July 23: IDF chief says military campaign at ‘a very significant juncture’

Turkey calls non-binding Knesset vote in favor of annexing West Bank ‘illegitimate’

Turkey brands the Knesset’s non-binding vote calling for the annexation of the West Bank an “illegitimate and provocative gesture aimed at undermining peace efforts.”

Alleging that the West Bank is a “Palestinian territory under Israeli occupation since 1967,” Turkey’s foreign ministry says the bid is “null and void under international law and without any validity.”

“The Netanyahu government’s efforts to survive through aggressive policies and illegal actions are leading to new crises every day and pose a serious threat to international order and regional security,” the ministry adds.

Turkey calls for “binding and deterrent measures without delay,” as well as for “the legal and moral obligations of the international system to be respected.”

Russia says it agreed at peace talks on new POW swap, ready to hand over more bodies

Russia agreed at peace talks with Ukraine today to exchange more prisoners of war and it is ready to hand over 3,000 more bodies of dead soldiers, Moscow’s chief delegate Vladimir Medinsky tells reporters.

Asked about Ukraine’s call for a meeting between presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, Medinsky says such a summit should only be used for signing documents, not for holding discussions.

Report: Trump told in May that his name appears in Epstein files

A billboard featuring a photo of former President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein is shown June 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (AP/Jeffrey Phelps)

US Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy told US President Donald Trump during a meeting in May that his name was in the Epstein files, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing senior administration officials.

The newspaper notes that Trump was also told that many other high-profile figures were named, and that the department did not plan to release any more documents related to the investigation.

The White House calls the report a continuation of “fake news stories” against the US president.

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media,” White House spokesman Steven Cheung says in an emailed statement.

UNRWA will soon run out of money, claims UN official

Palestinians walk next to the closed humanitarian aid distribution center of UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on April 29, 2025. (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

A UN official says the agency that assists Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, will soon run out of money.

Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari tells the UN Security Council that current forecasts show insufficient funds to sustain operations beyond 2025.

UNRWA was established in 1949 to aid Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

The agency provides health and education services to around 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and helps 3 million more in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric urges donors to contribute, emphasizing the agency’s critical role.

UNRWA also claimed last year that it was running out of funds.

Israel has accused the agency of working with Hamas, and has provided documentation of some of its employees taking part in the terror group’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel. Slain hostage Yonatan Samerano was seen being abducted in the back of a white UNRWA jeep on October 7, and other freed hostages have said that they were held in UNRWA facilities in Gaza.

Israel passed a law last year prohibiting the UN refugee agency from operating within Israel, though the legislation does not apply to the West Bank or Gaza Strip.

AG accuses government of improperly circumventing Knesset on cyber regulations

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara declares that the government’s decision to extend emergency regulations related to cyber attacks via a telephone vote is a “defective process” that improperly circumvents the Knesset.

In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Barahav-Miara — who the government is actively working to fire — says that legislation dealing with the issue is working its way through the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. She accuses the coalition of not dealing with the bill for political reasons and using that as a basis to bypass the Knesset altogether.

Suspected Bat Yam bus bomber arrested 5 months after botched attack

Border Police officers pose with Abed al-Karim Snober, a Palestinian terrorist accused of carrying out a botched bus bombing attack in February, following his arrest on July 22, 2025. (Israel Police)

A Palestinian terrorist suspected of being behind a botched bus bombing attack in central Israel in February was detained earlier today by Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Nablus, the IDF, Shin Bet and police announce.

In the attack on February 20, three empty buses exploded in quick succession in parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon, and two more unexploded devices were discovered on additional buses in Holon. No casualties were caused.

Abed al-Karim Snober, who is accused of carrying out the attack, was detained following a months-long manhunt, the IDF and Shin Bet say.

According to the military, an explosion yesterday in Nablus that was likely caused by the terrorist handling additional explosive devices in his possession, led forces to the apartment where he was hiding. The IDF says Snober was wounded and fled the site.

Overnight, IDF troops, Border Police officers and Shin Bet agents led a 19-hour pursuit after the terrorist, at the end of which he was detained.

The military says that during scans at the building where the explosion occurred a day earlier, forces found additional primed explosive devices and destroyed them.

Syria to sign 44 agreements worth nearly $6 billion with Saudi Arabia

Syria will sign 44 agreements with Saudi Arabia, estimated to be worth nearly $6 billion, says Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Moustafa.

He makes the remarks at a press conference as Damascus hosts a Saudi-Syrian investment conference attended by a top Saudi business delegation.

Responding to GHF collaboration offer, UN says it won’t work with groups that place Gazans at risk

Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center operated by the US-backed organization in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, June 26, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Asked about offers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to collaborate with the United Nations in order to distribute aid in Gaza, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says the UN welcomes cooperation with any organization that abides by humanitarian principles.

“One of them being that — don’t set up an operation that will increase the risk of people to be shot at or trampled while trying to get food,” he says, in a shot at GHF, which has been operating a small number of distribution sites in remote, militarized areas of Gaza that forced Palestinians to walk long distances, while crossing IDF lines in order to pick up aid.

For its part, GHF says it has been able to distribute over two million meals per day.

But GHF’s boxes are largely filled with dry food products that still need to be prepared elsewhere in a war-ravaged Strip with scarce clean water, cooking fuel or equipment.

Dujarric says at a press briefing that the UN has distributed 158,000 cooked meals at 64 community kitchens since Sunday, noting however, that the figure is declining due to the lack of food in the Strip.

“We have a system that works. All we’re asked is to be allowed to use that system. I don’t think we need to add another layer of for-profit organizations,” he adds.

Zelensky says he discussed ‘strengthening Ukraine’s air defense’ in talks with Israeli FM

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (right) meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on July 23, 2025. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses with visiting Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Kyiv today.

In a post on X, Zelensky expresses gratitude for Sa’ar’s visit and Israel’s “support of Ukraine and Ukrainians.”

The pair discussed “cooperation, primarily in the economic and defense sectors, strengthening of Ukraine’s air defense, and opportunities for joint weapons production,” he adds.

He also thanks Israel for its “decision to provide assistance for water supply systems in the southern regions” and says he hopes for help in “humanitarian demining of contaminated areas.”

In the Israeli readout of their meeting, Sa’ar said the pair discussed strengthening bilateral ties, the war in Ukraine, and “the situation in the Middle East, with an emphasis on Iran.”

3 soldiers suspected of sabotaging IDF drones, says military

An Israeli Air Force IAI Eitan drone is seen landing following operations in Iran at an airbase in Israel, in a handout photo published June 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Military Police has opened an investigation into three soldiers who are suspected of “sabotaging” several Israeli Air Force drones, the military says.

The case was first reported by the Ynet news site, and later confirmed by the IDF.

The IDF says “an investigation by the Military Police Investigatory Unit has been opened against two soldiers and a non-commissioned officer on suspicion of sabotaging several unmanned aerial vehicles.”

According to Ynet, the three IAF soldiers who served at the Palmachim Airbase were detained yesterday, and their remand has been extended until Sunday.

The “sabotage” could have led to the downing of the drones, Ynet cites military officials as saying.

No further details are provided in the report by Ynet or by the IDF.

UN: Aid is amassing at Gaza crossings because Israel not allowing drivers to pick it up

Aid awaits collection on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing with the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued on July 21, 2025. (COGAT)

Responding to Israeli accusations that the United Nations is failing to pick up humanitarian aid that has been amassing on the Gazan side of the border, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says that Israeli authorities haven’t been giving the necessary approvals for UN staff to even reach that assistance, let alone be able to pick it up and distribute it.

“The Kerem Shalom Crossing is not a McDonald’s drive-through where we just pull up and pick up what we’ve ordered,” Dujarric says during a briefing.

“To collect supplies that have reached any of the Israeli crossings around Gaza — all of which are fenced off and heavily guarded — drivers need multiple access approvals as well as a pause in the bombing and for the iron gates [at the crossing] to slide open,” adds the UN spokesperson. “We have to be allowed to come in with our own trucks. The goods have to switch from one truck to another. It’s a very lengthy procedure.”

“There are tremendous bureaucratic impediments. There are tremendous security impediments, and frankly, there’s a lack of willingness to allow us to do our work,” he adds.

Even in cases where the UN is able to reach the aid and distribute it, “all too often, civilians approaching our trucks are shot at or trampled while trying to get food,” he notes. “We must get reliable assurances that troops would not engage or be present along the routes of our convoys.”

The UN has recognized that an increasing number of its convoys have been looted by desperate Gazans, but it argues that only surging aid into and throughout the Strip will adequately address the problem.

Responding to Dujarric’s comments, COGAT — the Israeli military body responsible for facilitating the entry of aid into Gaza tells The Times of Israel that it has made efforts to “improve the collection and distribution of aid from crossings, including increasing the number of access points and operating hours, formulating joint plans with the UN, and more.”

“Despite these efforts, a significant portion of the trucks remain uncollected,” COGAT says, insisting that it will continue working to faciliate the entry of aid into the Strip in accordance with international law.

Iranian official threatens to quit Non-Proliferation Treaty if European countries impose snapback sanctions

In this Nov. 21, 2019 file photo Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, waits for the start of the IAEA board of governors meeting at the International Center in Vienna, Austria (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, file)

A top Iranian official warns that European threats to reimpose sanctions could lead Iran to withdraw from an international pact that limits the spread of nuclear weapons, one of the last remaining safeguards against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi discusses with reporters his country’s recourse against further financial punishment ahead of a critical meeting on Friday with Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul. The three European countries have suggested triggering a so-called snapback provision in that accord that would reimpose sanctions on Iran if there is no progress on a deal to limit its nuclear program by August.

Gharibabadi, who has been part of the nuclear negotiation team, says that despite domestic pressure to withdraw from the separate, older Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, especially in the aftermath of the recent Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear sites, Iran has remained compliant with the 1970 treaty.

“But, I’m quite confident that if the snapback is triggered, Iran will not show more restraint in this regard,” Gharibabadi says.

If Iran does exit the treaty, it will be just the second country to do so, after North Korea in 2003, whose withdrawal has never been formally accepted.

Iran has indicated an openness to restart negotiations with the US, with Gharibabadi saying that “the sooner, the better.”

But he warns the US against using the guise of diplomacy as cover for another military attack on Iran, referencing the scheduled plans for US-Iran talks days before Israel decided to issue its first airstrikes on Tehran.

As for talks with the Europeans, Gharibabadi says Friday’s meeting is very important, but that its success will depend on how the Europeans approach Iran this time around.

“We have always valued our meetings with the European countries. But there is an important issue: I think we have always told them that the policies of the European countries should be independent,” he says. “They should not coordinate their positions with the Americans.”

As Haredi protest disperses, police chief demands probe into allegations of police violence

Haredi protesters demonstrate against efforts to draft yeshiva students into the IDF at the entrance to Jerusalem on July 23, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Most ultra-Orthodox protesters in Jerusalem disperse, freeing traffic at the entrance to the city after two hours of congestion due to an anti-conscription demonstration.

Meanwhile, Israel Police chief Danny Levy orders that law enforcement look into violence against demonstrators, after an officer was filmed kicking and punching one of the protesters earlier.

תיעוד: שוטר מכה ובועט במפגין בירושלים >>@GLZRadio pic.twitter.com/ujWvQ5gIpe

— נועם נקש || Noam Nakash (@nakash_noam) July 23, 2025

The protest, sparked by the arrest of three Haredi draft dodgers yesterday, was organized by the radical Jerusalem Faction bloc, which stridently opposes efforts to draft yeshiva students into the army.

Several other demonstrations are occurring simultaneously in Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh and other areas across the country.

The Jerusalem Faction declares an end to the protest, but some stragglers continue to try to block traffic as Border Police officers push them back onto the sidewalk. No known arrests have been made so far in Jerusalem.

IDF chief says military campaign at ‘a very significant juncture’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meets with officers at an army base, July 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

During a visit to the IDF Ground Forces earlier today, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reiterates that “we are at a very significant juncture that will impact the continuation of the campaign.”

“There has never been a war like this in the history of the IDF. We are operating in Tehran, Sanaa, Beirut, Syria, Jenin and in the main center of gravity, the Gaza Strip,” he says, according to remarks provided by the IDF.

Israel accuses UN agency OCHA of being biased, announces cut to staff visas

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon speaks during a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting in New York on June 22, 2025. (Bryan R. Smith / AFP)

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon tells the UN Security Council that the Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is biased against Israel and that its employees are now required to undergo security vetting.

Danon asserts that Israel has uncovered “clear evidence of Hamas affiliations within OCHA’s ranks,” and says that “key employees” will not have their permits renewed, and international staff will have their visas cut to just one month.

“OCHA has long ceased to be a humanitarian body. It is a Hamas propaganda arm that operates from within UN institutions, and uses false data and inflammatory discourse to harm Israel,” Danon claims at the UNSC meeting.

Danon accuses UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher of abandoning “his sacred responsibility to act without bias” and demands that he retract his statement “that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.”

He also says that Jonathan Whittall, who heads OCHA in the Palestinian territories, must leave Israel by July 29 because of alleged bias against Israel, a decision Israel revealed on Sunday.

In response, OCHA spokeswoman Eri Kaneko says: “Any reduction of our own staff will stifle our already curtailed efforts to reach civilians across Gaza in urgent need of life-saving humanitarian aid.”

Ex-security guard at US Embassy in Norway charged with spying for Russia and Iran, motivated by Gaza war

A former security guard at the US Embassy in Norway has been indicted by prosecutors there on suspicion of espionage after he allegedly spied for Russia and Iran, state broadcaster NRK reports.

The Norwegian man, whose name has not been made public, was arrested last November on suspicion of having damaged national security. He is accused of handing over details about the embassy’s diplomats, its floor plans and security routines, among other things, NRK reports.

His defense attorney, Inger Zadig, says her client acknowledges the indictment’s facts but denies any criminal guilt.

“At its core, this case concerns legal interpretation — specifically, whether, and to what extent, the information in question was ‘classified’ under the law, and whether it was capable of harming fundamental national interests,” she writes in an email to The Associated Press. “If not, then sharing the information is not a criminal offense. Our client did not hold a security clearance, and his access to information that could threaten vital national interests was more or less non-existent. These issues will be thoroughly addressed in court.”

The broadcaster reports that America’s ties to Israel and the war in Gaza prompted the man to contact Russia and Iran.

The defendant faces up to 21 years in prison, NRK reports.

The US Embassy and the prosecutor’s office do not respond to AP’s requests for comment.

Haredi anti-draft protesters shut down traffic at entrance to Jerusalem

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a road in Jerusalem during a protest against army recruitment, July 23, 2025. (AP/Leo Correa)

Buses and cars have come to a complete standstill at the entrance to Jerusalem as hundreds of Haredi demonstrators block traffic under the Chords Bridge.

The protest, organized by the radical ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Faction, is one of many taking place across the country this evening in protest of the arrest of three Haredi draft dodgers yesterday.

Bus drivers stand outside their vehicles as protesters sit on the road holding signs against IDF conscription for Haredi yeshiva students and chant, “We will die rather than enlist.”

A bus driver tells The Times of Israel that he has been waiting for over an hour for the demonstration to end.

Police are huddling on one of the traffic islands and decline to enter the crowd or attempt to disperse the protesters. No known arrests have been made so far.

In a statement, police say that officers declared the demonstration illegal but were met with violence from the protesters, who reportedly threw bottles at cops and refused to heed their orders.

One protester tells The Times of Israel that the protest was sparked by yesterday’s arrests, but is also meant to “demonstrate power” amid growing calls to draft Haredim.

Brazil said to seek to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at ICJ

The International Court of Justice opens hearings on a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Brazil will request to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel’s actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, a source familiar with the matter tells Reuters.

South Africa filed a case in 2023 asking the ICJ to declare that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its crackdown against Hamas in Gaza. Other countries – such as Spain, Turkey and Colombia – had already asked the court to intervene in the case.

The decision was reported earlier by the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo and confirmed by Reuters.

Protesters at Tour de France demand Israel be kicked out of the race

French gendarmes form a perimeter as onlookers wave Palestinian flags along the race route during the 17th stage of the 112th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 160.4 km between Bollene and Valence, southern France, July 23, 2025. (Loic VENANCE / AFP)

Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists wave flags and unfurl banners as the Tour de France peloton rides through Dieulefit, a southeastern French town honored as a “Town of the Just” for sheltering Jewish people during World War II.

A house is draped with Palestinian flags and protesters wave dozens more by the roadside. Cries of “Free Palestine” echo through the town as the riders cycle through.

Vanessa Huguenin, who runs a family-owned department store in Dieulefit, a town of about 3,000 people, says the action had been planned for nearly two months to take advantage of the Tour’s visibility.

A man was also arrested last week in Toulouse after running onto the final straight of the stage wearing a T-shirt reading “Israel out of the Tour” and waving a black and white keffiyeh headdress.

Through a loudspeaker today, a protester shouts: “Mr. Adams, spokesperson for a genocidal army,” referring to Sylvan Adams, co-owner of the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team competing in the race. The protester called for the team to be kicked out.

“Israel-Premier Tech respects everyone’s right to free speech, which includes the right to protest,” says a statement from Israel-Premier Tech, which is Israel’s first elite cycling team, founded in 2014. “Our focus is on racing and we continue to work closely with race organizers and relevant parties to ensure that any protests do not jeopardize team members’ safety, nor impact races, or our right to participate.”

The team has been granted extra security on the Tour, with police officers by the team bus, and they were escorted by plain-clothed officers at the team’s presentation in Lille.

Abbas’s deputy calls Knesset vote on annexation a ‘dangerous escalation’

Secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein al-Sheikh, attends the 32nd PLO Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Zain Jaafar/AFP)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, says the Knesset’s vote earlier today adopting a symbolic measure in favor of Israel annexing the West Bank amounts to a “dangerous escalation that undermines the prospects for peace, stability and the two-state solution.”

Sheikh also calls the vote “a direct assault on the rights of the Palestinian people,” who ostensibly would not receive equal rights to their Israeli settler neighbors in a scenario where Jerusalem annexes the West Bank.

Urging the international community to intervene to roll back Israeli “violations,” the senior Palestinian official says countries should recognize a Palestinian state in response.

IDF soldiers recover tractor looted from Kfar Aza on October 7 and return it to kibbutz

IDF troops return a tractor that had been looted on October 7, 2023, and found in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun to its owners in Kfar Aza, in a video issued by the military on July 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the Givati Brigade operating in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun located over the weekend a tractor that had been looted by Palestinian terrorists from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Last night, the forces retrieved the tractor from inside the Strip, and this morning returned it to its owners, the military says.

On a large poster attached to the tractor, the soldiers wrote: “To the residents of Kfar Aza, with love from the Givati Brigade.”

On first Gaza visit since Oct. 7, Herzog says Israel is operating ‘in accordance with international law’

President Isaac Herzog visits the Gaza Strip on July 23, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog hails the service of reservists and active-duty soldiers during his first visit to Gaza since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, and asserts that Israel is operating in accordance with international law.

During the visit, Herzog meets with troops and receives an operational briefing from IDF Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, 99th Division commander Brig. Gen. Yoav Brunner and other senior officers.

Addressing efforts to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza, Herzog tells groups of soldiers in the Strip: “You are fighting to change the reality and bring our hostages back — that is the most urgent mission. There are currently intense negotiations underway, thanks to your actions and those of everyone fighting in the Strip. You are the ones who will bring our hostages home.”

Herzog is also shown the controversial Israel- and US-backed humanitarian aid mechanism in the territory, which has drawn sharp criticism in recent months — both for alleged IDF killings of civilians near aid sites and for falling short of addressing Gaza’s humanitarian needs.

“We are acting here and providing humanitarian aid in accordance with international law,” Herzog says. “Those trying to sabotage that aid are Hamas and its operatives, who are willing to do anything to stop our forces from dismantling infrastructure that could harm us and our civilians.”

Meeting with reservists from Battalion 969, Herzog tells them: “When I see you up close, it’s clear everything you do is to protect Israel’s citizens, defend the Gaza-border communities, and safeguard the country. You leave behind work and family without hesitation… It’s important to highlight the immense burden carried by reservists.”

President Isaac Herzog visits the Gaza Strip on July 23, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

He also meets with commanders from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, a unit intended for ultra-Orthodox soldiers, who affirm their commitment to integrating Haredi troops “while honoring their identity and beliefs.”

“There are changes underway in the Haredi community that must be supported,” Herzog tells them. “I want everyone to get under the stretcher,” he says, using a Hebrew idiom for everyone pitching in. “This is a real process. I’ve seen it firsthand in visits to bereaved Haredi families whose stories have gone untold.”

The president also meets with female lookout and combat intelligence soldiers from the 414th Battalion. After reports emerged that senior commanders refused to heed the warnings of young female surveillance soldiers responsible for watching the Gaza border in the weeks before October 7, Herzog says that since the attack, “the IDF has drawn many lessons” and asks the soldiers if they feel their commanders are sufficiently listening to them.

One female soldier replies that “since October 7, things have gotten much better — everything is much more open, and the communication has become more serious and meaningful,” according to Herzog’s office.

Iran says it agrees to visit by IAEA technical team in coming weeks

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

Iran has agreed to allow a technical team from the UN nuclear watchdog to visit in the coming weeks to discuss “a new modality” on relations between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Tehran, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says.

“The delegation will come to Iran to discuss the modality, not to go to the [nuclear] sites,” he tells reporters during a visit to New York.

Opposition lawmakers slam selection of Bismuth as next defense committee head

Likud MKs Boaz Bismuth (left) and Yuli Edelstein in the Knesset plenum, July 23, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

Opposition politicians slam the Likud party’s choice of MK Boaz Bismuth to lead the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, replacing current chairman Yuli Edelstein.

“This is a dark day for the State of Israel and the people of Israel. Bismuth was elected to promote evasion and this is spitting in the face of the fighters, the reservists and their families,” says Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, alleging that Likud has “become a branch of the Haredim and the draft dodgers.”

Blue and White-National Unity chairman Benny Gantz declares that “Likud members decided to abandon our heroic fighters, to close their eyes to the challenges and security interests of the State of Israel — for the sake of political interest.”

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman states that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “once again chosen evasion at the expense of state security, all for petty politics.”

“We must put an end to the rule of the evaders,” he tweets.

The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan asserts that Edelstein’s dismissal during wartime is aimed solely at “entrenching mass draft evasion and institutionalized refusal. This is a betrayal of the IDF, its fighters and the people of Israel. The Likud has forgotten what it means to be soldiers.”

Meanwhile, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi welcomes Bismuth’s selection, while Likud MK Dan Illouz states that while “it was wrong to bring the resolution to a vote today,” he wishes Bismuth “great success in the critical role he has taken on.”

“Boaz already knows that I will also insist on a good and effective draft law that will bring about historic change and will not support any other law,” Illouz declares.

Katz: If hostages not freed soon, ‘the gates of hell will open’

Defense Minister Israel Katz attends a state memorial ceremony for Operation Protective Edge at the National Memorial Hall at the entrance to the military cemetery on Mount Herzl on July 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz avers that if the hostages being held in Gaza are not returned to Israel soon, “the gates of hell will open.”

In a statement from his office, Katz says that the “Sinwar brothers” — Yahya and Mohammed — “ruined Gaza,” and that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the terror group’s new leader in Gaza, “is turning it into a sea of ruins.”

“The heads of Hamas abroad are celebrating in palaces and luxury hotels and refusing to release the hostages,” says Katz amid ongoing negotiations in Qatar over the details of a ceasefire deal. “If they won’t be freed soon, the gates of hell will open.”

WHO chief says ‘large proportion’ of Gaza’s people are ‘starving’

Palestinians wait to receive a hot meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025. (AFP)

The World Health Organization’s chief warns of widespread starvation in Gaza, with food deliveries into the war-ravaged Palestinian territory “far below what is needed for the survival of the population.”

“A large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving. I don’t know what you would call it other than mass starvation — and it’s man-made,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tells reporters.

Sa’ar meets Zelensky in Kyiv, discusses countering Iran

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (right) meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on July 23, 2025. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

According to Sa’ar’s office, the meeting was “friendly and conducted in a positive atmosphere.”

They discuss strengthening bilateral ties, the war in Ukraine, and “the situation in the Middle East, with an emphasis on Iran,” according to the Israeli readout.

Sa’ar asks Zelensky to push for the Ukrainian parliament to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, and calls for the E3 — Germany, France and the UK — to activate snapback sanctions on Iran.

He also presents Zelensky with the Dinah Project report on sexual violence by Palestinian terrorists in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Police work to disperse ultra-Orthodox protests in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak

Police disperse a protest of ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrating against IDF enlistment in Bnei Brak, July 23, 2025. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

Hundreds of Haredi protesters block traffic near the entrance to Jerusalem under the Chords Bridge, police say.

Footage from the protest shows ultra-Orthodox demonstrators sitting on the road, staring down buses trying to enter the capital while holding signs against IDF conscription. Police are working to restore order to the area and redirect traffic to alternative routes, law enforcement says.

Demonstrators near Bnei Brak are also blocking Route 4, adjacent to the ultra-Orthodox city. Police have declared the protest unlawful and are working to disperse the participants.

Additional protests are expected today in Modiin and Beit Shemesh, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

The protests are held in wake of the arrest of three Haredi draft dodgers who were interrogated by military police yesterday morning for avoiding conscription. The three were detained after infiltrating a construction site in Yehud, as part of a protest against a residential building plan that Haredi protesters allege is built on an ancient Jewish graveyard.

Netanyahu loyalist Boaz Bismuth voted in to replace Edelstein as head of Knesset defense committee

Likud MK Boaz Bismuth (left) speaks to fellow party MK Yuli Edelstein in the Knesset on July 23, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Likud MKs vote to replace Yuli Edelstein with Boaz Bismuth as chairman of the powerful Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Only four MKs vote to keep Edelstein in his position, with 29 coming out in favor of Bismuth, a member of the committee and close Netanyahu ally, who will now take over the process of legislating a bill regulating ultra-Orthodox enlistment.

Edelstein is being replaced over his refusal to advance a conscription bill based on a compromise reached with the Haredi parties last month. The change in leadership still needs to clear the Knesset House Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee itself.

The Israel National News site quotes Bismuth as stating that the combination of Torah study and military service is “beautiful” and that it is “possible to combine the two,” and that a conscription law “is a national matter — not a political one.”

Iran claims to have confronted US destroyer in the Gulf of Oman

In this June 1, 2017 photo, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, foreground, (DDG 62) makes its way with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, through the Sea of Japan. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelsey L. Adams/US Navy via AP)

Iranian forces confronted a US destroyer in the Gulf of Oman today, warning it to stay out of waters claimed by Tehran, state television reports.

State TV says that an Iranian army helicopter flew over the USS Fitzgerald at about 10 a.m. today after the vessel “attempted to approach the waters under the supervision” of Iran.

The destroyer issued threats of its own, the broadcaster claims, but “the Iranian pilot… reiterated the warning to stay away from Iranian waters,” forcing the US vessel to “give in” and alter its course.

There was no immediate comment from the US Navy.

In a video released by Iranian state TV, a destroyer is seen from what seems to be a helicopter window as the pilot calls on the vessel to “change course” and avoid approaching Iranian territorial waters.

Iranian forces have a history of confronting US forces in bodies of water off the country’s southern coast like the Gulf of Oman.

Lawmakers vote 71-13 in favor of non-binding motion calling for West Bank annexation

A view of the Knesset plenum on July 23, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Knesset lawmakers vote 71-13 in favor of a non-binding motion for the agenda in favor of annexing the West Bank in the Knesset today.

“The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel,” declares Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana following the vote, adding that “Jews cannot be the occupiers” of their own ancestral homeland.

“This is our land. This is our home. The Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. In 1967, the occupation did not begin; it ended, and our homeland was returned to its rightful owners. We are the original first natives of this piece of land. Jews cannot be the ‘occupier’ of a land that for 3,000 years has been called Judea,” says Ohana.

“These are truths that no false narrative can change. This is the historical truth…and this is also the one and only way to achieve true peace through strength and to destroy the false hopes that throb in the hearts of our enemies that we will disappear, be expelled or withdraw from our homeland. We are here to stay.”

The motion, advanced by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, Likud MK Dan Illouz and Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, describes Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley as “an inseparable part of the historical homeland of the Jewish people” and calls for applying Israeli sovereignty to these areas.

“This move would make it clear to the world that Israel will not accept solutions that involve dangerous territorial concessions, and that it is committed to its future as a secure Jewish state,” the proposal states.

Motions for the agenda have no practical implications and will not impact the legal status of the West Bank.

Last year, the Knesset approved a similar motion for the agenda opposing a Palestinian state that passed 68-9. Some opposition members, including MKs from Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, voted in favor of the motion, while MKs from the opposition’s centrist and left-wing parties Yesh Atid and Labor absented themselves from the vote.

Ahead of vote to replace him, Edelstein says he has always ‘paid a price for my ideology’

Likud's Yuli Edelstein leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Ahead of a Likud faction vote on his replacement, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein declares that he has always “remained faithful to my values and the principles for which I fought.”

“All along, since the days of the days of the communist Soviet Union, I have paid a price for my ideology. For my fight for the Land of Israel, the people of Israel and the Torah of Israel,” he declares, expressing support for a non-binding Knesset motion to annex the West Bank.

“I was not afraid then and I am not afraid today. The same sense of mission that accompanied me then accompanies me today, when the same goal remains before my eyes – to secure the future of our children in our homeland.”

Meeting top rabbi, Huckabee says Israel needs both Torah scholars and soldiers

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (left) meets with Rabbi Dov Lando in Bnei Brak on July 23, 2025. (Screenshot/Office of Rabbi Dov Lando)

Israel must have scholars studying Torah as well as soldiers, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee tells Rabbi Dov Lando, chairman of the Degel HaTorah party’s ruling Council of Torah Sages and one of the most prominent rabbinic leaders of the so-called “Lithuanian” stream of ultra-Orthodoxy.

“Let me express to you that I do understand that as important as it is to have soldiers, you must also have scholars, scholars who remind you who you are, why you’re here,” says Huckabee, who is also a Baptist minister. “And soldiers to keep and protect that that God has given them.”

“If only there were many Jews that understood that,” Lando responds in Hebrew, using an interpreter.

Huckabee was responding to a statement read in Hebrew by Lando, who told the ambassador that religious Jews in Israel are in “dire straits” over potential arrests for their refusal to heed IDF enlistment notices.

“The community of Torah and mitzvah-observant people here in the Holy Land is currently in dire straits,” says Lando, “as the legal system issues arrest warrants against yeshiva students studying Torah for the ‘crime’ of studying Torah.”

Any harm to Torah scholars harms all Jews and their right to exist, continues Lando.

He also expresses his “appreciation and respect” for US President Donald Trump and the American people “for their firm stand as a kingdom of grace for the right of the people of Israel in the land and around the world, and especially in the recent war with Iran.”

France warns of ‘risk of famine’ in Gaza, blaming Israel

Palestinians, mostly children, push to receive a hot meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025. (AFP)

France’s foreign ministry says that malnutrition and the “risk of famine” in war-torn Gaza is the “result of the blockade imposed by Israel” on the Palestinian territory.

Israel’s ramping up of military operations in Gaza this week “is accelerating the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, marked by malnutrition and the risk of famine. This situation is the result of the blockade imposed by Israel,” a spokesman says.

Dermer slated to meet with Witkoff in Rome tomorrow to discuss ceasefire talks

L: Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer at the Jewish News Syndicate conference in Jerusalem, on April 28, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90); R: US envoy Steve Witkoff speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is traveling to Rome to meet with US special envoy Steve Witkoff tomorrow to discuss the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, according to an official familiar with the talks.

US officials said Witkoff planned to head to Europe this week. The US State Department spokesperson said yesterday that he was headed to the Middle East, although a source later told The Times of Israel that Witkoff only plans to visit Qatar if progress is made in negotiations.

Hamas’s latest response to terms of truce deemed ‘unacceptable’ by mediators – source

Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip, July 22, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

Hamas submitted to Egyptian and Qatari negotiators last night in Doha a response to Israel’s proposed redeployment of IDF troops during the 60-day truce under discussion that the mediators deemed “unacceptable,” a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.

Hamas is divided about whether to take a more hardline approach or to make the compromises necessary to secure a deal, says the source, who adds that the terror group opted to adopt the former approach in order to maintain consensus.

The Egyptian and Qatari mediators told Hamas that they would not present the terror group’s response to US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff and demanded that it submit a softened proposal today, the source says, adding that the mediators’ frustration with Hamas continues to mount.

Jerusalem and Kyiv ‘have the same enemies,’ says Ukrainian ambassador

File: Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk attends a ceremony marking the two years anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Tel Aviv, on February 23, 2023. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

Today’s announcement on a strategic dialogue between Israel and Ukraine reopens the consultation mechanism that has been suspended since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk tells The Times of Israel.

The focus will be on Iran for the foreseeable future, he says: “We have been shot with the same drones. We have the same enemies.”

The two countries will work to prevent collaboration between common enemies, and to advance sanctions against them, says Korniychuk.

The next phase of the dialogue will take place when Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visits Israel. Sa’ar invited him to do so earlier today.

Israel and Ukraine are also working to restart their economic dialogue, says Korniychuk. Israel has nominated its representative to lead the consultation, while Ukraine has yet to do so.

Coalition clears Knesset agenda ahead of Likud vote on new defense committee chair

A view of the Knesset plenum on July 23, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The coalition clears the Knesset’s agenda ahead of a Likud faction vote on replacing Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein.

Lawmakers are currently voting on a symbolic Knesset motion calling for the annexation of the West Bank, but all further votes for today are canceled.

The Likud’s Knesset faction is expected to meet at 4 p.m. today to choose a replacement for Edelstein over his refusal to advance a conscription bill based on a compromise reached with the Haredi parties last month.

Lapid says anyone who seeks to harm PM ‘must face full severity of the law’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on the plenum floor of the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 23, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid issues a firm condemnation following news that a woman from central Israel had conspired to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I strongly condemn the attempt to harm Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Lapid says in a statement. “Anyone who has attempted to harm or seeks to harm [the prime minister] must face the full severity of the law.”

His remarks come after police revealed that a woman in her 70s, described as a known anti-government activist, was arrested two weeks ago after she conspired to assassinate the prime minister.

Foreign Ministry dismisses aid groups’ alarm over ‘mass starvation’ in Gaza, accuses them of serving Hamas

Israel rejects the statement by more than 100 aid organizations and human rights groups warning that “mass starvation” was spreading in Gaza, says the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

“These organizations are serving the propaganda of Hamas, using their numbers, justifying their horrors, instead of challenging the terror organization, they embrace it as their own,” says the ministry in an English-language statement. “In this critical time of negotiations, they are echoing Hamas’s propaganda and harming the chances for a ceasefire; we urge all organizations to cease from using Hamas talking points.”

The Foreign Ministry says that almost 4,500 trucks have entered Gaza since May 19, including 2,500 tons of baby food and high-calorie children’s food.

It adds that there are more than 700 truckloads of aid inside Gaza waiting to be distributed by the UN.

“This bottleneck is the main obstacle to maintaining a consistent flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip,” says the Foreign Ministry, “their obsession against Israel is more important to them then helping the people of Gaza.”

Greece condemns ‘outrageous’ protest that barred Israeli cruise ship from docking: ‘Antisemitism will not be tolerated’

Footage posted to social media shows a large anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protest that prevented hundreds of Israelis from disembarking a cruise ship at the Greek island of Syros, July 22, 2025. (X; used in accordance with article 27a of the Copyright Law)

A day after a large anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protest prevented an Israeli-owned cruise ship from docking at the Greek island of Syros — forcing its 1,600 passengers to reroute to Cyprus — Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis condemns the “outrageous” incident, stating that “any form” of antisemitism “will not be tolerated.”

“Antisemitism and any form of fascism and racism will not be tolerated in Greece,” Marinakis says in an interview addressing the incident with Parapolitika Radio 90.1, as cited by the AMNA news agency.

“I consider what happened in Syros to be outrageous. There are no words to describe it. It is an incident which, I must say on behalf of the Greek government, is isolated, and the authorities must do everything in their power to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” he continues.

“Every necessary measure must be taken to ensure that in such incidents, citizens are protected, regardless of where they come from, their origin, religion, or anything else,” Marinakis says.

“Protesting is not prohibited… If citizens need to be relocated to a place where they can carry out their demonstration perfectly well, then that must happen,” he adds, noting that “caution is needed regarding the very fine line between a protest and an act directed against any individual, regardless of their origin or religion.”

“If certain individuals, whose behavior falls under provisions of the anti-racism law, should be arrested, then they must be arrested,” he says.

Marinakis emphasizes that “there is no issue” in Greece-Israel relations as a result of the incident.

Before the decision was made to reroute the ship to Cyprus, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke with his Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis, to request Athens’ “intervention” in resolving the issue.

As Gazans go hungry, IDF posts video and images it says shows Hamas terrorists enjoying food in tunnel

IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee publishes footage and images of what he says are Hamas terrorists in Gaza tunnels enjoying fresh produce and a meal, while those above ground experience hunger and food scarcity.

In the video, terrorists are seen holding up to the camera mangoes, grapes, and bananas while in the tunnel, appearing to celebrate.

Another image shows terrorists sitting down for a meal, and another shows two holding up a fruit platter.

It is unclear exactly when the footage and photos were taken.

#خاص مشاهد حصرية من أنفاق حماس: هكذا يتصرف إرهابيو التنظيم تحت الأرض بعيدًا عن معاناة السكان وخلافًا لكذبة التجويع

⭕️ينشر جيش الدفاع مشاهد تكشف نمط حياة عناصر حماس داخل الأنفاق خلال الحرب.

⭕️في حين يتهم قادة الحركة إسرائل بكذبة التجويع، تُظهر المقاطع عناصر التنظيم وهم يتباهون… pic.twitter.com/3GjEKagJEo

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) July 23, 2025

Turkish officials say Syria asked Ankara to help boost defense capabilities after Sweida violence

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) shake hands during their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, May 24, 2025. (HANDOUT / TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP)

ANKARA, Turkey — Syria’s interim government has requested Turkey’s support to strengthen its defense capabilities, Turkish officials say, following sectarian violence over the past two weeks that increased tensions in Syria and drew intervention by Israel.

The Turkish Defense Ministry officials, who speak on condition of anonymity according to procedures, say that Syria has also sought assistance to combat “terrorist organizations,” including the Islamic State group.

Turkey — which has long expressed readiness to assist Syria — was working toward providing training, advisory services, and technical support to help strengthen Syria’s defense capacity, the officials add.

Syrian officials cannot be immediately reached for comment.

Tensions escalated in southern Syria last week, with violent clashes erupting between Bedouin Arab tribes and Druze militias in Sweida province. The conflict triggered Israeli airstrikes on convoys of government forces in Sweida and on Syria’s Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus, which Israel justified as efforts to protect Druze communities.

Turkey, which strongly supports Syria’s interim government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, has been seeking a defense agreement with Syria that could reportedly include establishing Turkish military bases on Syrian territory.

Ankara also backs an agreement reached between the interim Syrian administration and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, to integrate into Syria’s national army. Implementation of the deal has stalled, with a major sticking point being whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army or be dissolved completely.

Tunisian president shows Trump envoy pictures of starving Gazan children

TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisian President Kais Saied presented US counterpart Donald Trump’s senior Africa adviser with photographs of starving children in Gaza, official video of their meeting posted late Tuesday shows.

Saied told US envoy Massad Boulos, who is also the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, that “it is time for all of humanity to wake up and put an end to these crimes against the Palestinian people.”

“I believe you know these images well,” Saied is seen telling the envoy as he showed a photograph of what he described as “a child crying, eating sand in occupied Palestine.”

Saied showed Boulos several more images, saying that Palestinians in Gaza were subjected to crimes against humanity.

“It is absolutely unacceptable,” Saied is heard saying as Boulos stood silently, occasionally nodding. “It is a crime against all of humanity.”

⚡️WATCH:

Tunisian President Kais Saied shows photos of Gaza children to the US President's Advisor for Arab, Middle East and African Affairs. pic.twitter.com/7vTraIn7qM

— S2FUncensored (@S2FUncensored) July 23, 2025

Likud MK Vaturi pulls out of race to replace Edelstein as chair of Knesset defense panel

Likud MK Nissim Vaturi arrives to a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, in Jerusalem on May 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

MK Nissum Vaturi announces that he is withdrawing from the race to replace fellow Likud lawmaker Yuli Edelstein as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

The Likud faction is set to vote today on replacing Edelstein as chair of the influential panel.

With Vaturi out and Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky picked for the finance committee, it appears that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thrown his weight behind MK Boaz Bismuth to lead the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

In a video message announcing his withdrawal, Vaturi says that he will continue in his role as chairman of the Knesset Special Committee for Oversight of the Israeli Citizens’ Fund.

The committee oversees the sovereign wealth fund set up by Israel for proceeds from offshore gas extraction.

Police say anti-government activist, a woman in her 70s, suspected of conspiring to assassinate Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Muni Expo 2025 conference in Tel Aviv, on July 15, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

A known anti-government activist from central Israel was arrested two weeks ago after she conspired to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Kan public broadcaster reports, with Israel Police confirming the case.

According to police, the woman, in her 70s, was investigated by police and the Shin Bet security service.

Police say she approached other protesters to try and acquire weapons and information about the prime minister’s security arrangements.

The Kan public broadcaster, which first reported on the case, says that the woman, from Tel Aviv, was arrested two weeks ago and then released with an order to stay away from the premier and government buildings.

Tomorrow, criminal and terror charges are set to be filed against the woman, the report adds.

A court-issued gag order is in place regarding the suspect’s name and address, police say.

Netanyahu says he will back Likud MK Milwidsky to head Knesset finance panel

MK Hanoch Milwidsky attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on November 25, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces that he will support the appointment of Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky as temporary chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee. This appears to signal that the premier no longer supports the lawmaker as a replacement for Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein.

The Likud faction is set to vote later today on replacing Edelstein as chair of the influential panel, following Milwidsky’s request for a vote. Milwidsky and fellow Likud MKs Nissim Vaturi, Boaz Bismuth, are vying for the position.

While Milwidsky was widely seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s preferred choice, his candidacy has been opposed by many Likud MKs who argue he is unqualified.

IDF says deadly Gazan church strike result of misfired munition

A view of the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, after an Israeli tank shell hit the church, in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on July 17, 2025. (Omar al-Qattaa/AFP)

The IDF says that the Catholic church struck in Gaza City last Thursday was unintentionally hit during a military operation, while also confirming civilian injuries and damage to the site.

A probe completed last night by the Southern Command found that the Holy Family Church compound — Gaza’s only Catholic church — was hit due to a misfired munition during IDF activity in the area. Adjustments were made mid-operation to improve targeting accuracy, and the army says guidelines for using fire near religious and sensitive sites have since been reinforced.

The incident, which the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said killed three people and injured several others, including parish priest Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, sparked international condemnation and an expression of “deep sorrow” from Israel. At the time, the Foreign Ministry said Israel “never targets churches or religious sites.”

The IDF says it has coordinated the entry of humanitarian aid — food, medicine, and supplies — into the church through COGAT and enabled a visit by Greek and Latin Patriarchate representatives. Injured civilians have been evacuated for further medical treatment.

The military reiterates that it targets only military objectives and expresses regret for any civilian harm.

Karhi he says efforts being made to return Haredi politicians to government

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi at a committee meeting at the Knesset, June 24, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Reading out the names of Haredi cabinet members who recently resigned from the government over its failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi states that action is already being taken to ensure their return.

Addressing lawmakers in the Knesset, Karhi states that “we are acting, already today in our faction meeting, to ensure that these resignations are canceled and our coalition partners return to their roles as soon as possible.”

This afternoon, Likud lawmakers are slated to vote on a replacement for Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein over his refusal to advance a conscription bill based on a compromise reached with the Haredi parties last month.

According to Karhi, the coalition is “fighting here for a historic conscription law that will conscript about 17,000 young Haredi men within three years” while also “recognizing the value of those whose Torah is their profession” — a reference to those who have traditionally been exempt from military service due to their status as full-time yeshiva students.

Karhi alleges that anybody who opposes such a law “harms the security of the state” and declares that “finally, we are bringing something you never dreamed of, neither in Gantz’s exemption law nor in Lapid’s exemption law.”

Human Rights Watch denounces deadly Houthi maritime attacks as ‘war crimes’

Smoke plumes rising on the Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas after an attack by the Houthis in the Red Sea, on July 8, 2025. (ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTRE / AFP)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Human Rights Watch condemns Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels for deadly attacks that sank two commercial vessels this month, calling them violations of the laws of war.

The Houthis struck the Magic Seas and Eternity C cargo ships in the Red Sea, part of a campaign against maritime traffic they accuse of having links to Israel, launched over the Gaza war.

Fifteen people — including four confirmed dead — remain missing after the July 7 attack on the Eternity C.

The Yemeni rebels claimed to have “rescued” an unspecified number of crew, whose whereabouts are still unknown.

The attacks were “violations of the laws of war amounting to war crimes,” Human Rights Watch says in a statement, adding it found “no evidence that the ships were military targets.”

“They deliberately attacked commercial vessels that could clearly be identified as civilian,” the New York-based group says, adding that “detaining rescued crew members is also prohibited.”

UTJ’s Eichler to run unopposed for a seat on panel that picks rabbinical judges

United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler, chairs a Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee meeting in Jerusalem, on June 30, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler will run unopposed in today’s Knesset vote for a seat on the Rabbinical Judicial Appointments Committee after MK Moshe Gafni and MK Yinon Azoulay withdrew their candidacies.

Gafni, who leads UTJ’s Degel Hatorah faction, stepped down yesterday and called on Knesset members to support Eichler, who is from the ultra-Orthodox party’s Agudat Yisrael faction.

The Rabbinical Judicial Appointments Committee selects and appoints rabbinical court judges to serve in the religious court system, which handles matters like marriage, divorce, and conversion.

The committee is made up of rabbis, two Knesset members, serving rabbinical judges, lawyers, and members of the Bar Association.

UTJ formally left the coalition last week following the government’s failure to pass a draft exemption bill. Azoulay’s Shas party also left the government but remains in the coalition.

Shas says it will vote for symbolic Knesset motion calling for annexation of West Bank

Illustrative: Israeli soldiers operate in the West Bank city of Jenin, June 30, 2025. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party announces that it will vote in favor of a motion for the agenda in favor of annexing the West Bank in the Knesset today.

The motion, advanced by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, Likud MK Dan Illouz and Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, calls Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley “an inseparable part of the historical homeland of the Jewish people” and calls to apply Israeli sovereignty to these areas.

“This move would make it clear to the world that Israel will not accept solutions that involve dangerous territorial concessions, and that it is committed to its future as a secure Jewish state,” the proposal states.

Motions for the agenda have no practical implications and will not impact the legal status of the West Bank.

Last year, the Knesset plenum approved a similar motion for the agenda opposing a Palestinian state that passed 68-9. Some opposition members, including MKs from Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, voted in favor of the motion, while MKs from the opposition’s centrist and left-wing parties Yesh Atid and Labor absented themselves from the vote.

Lawmakers are also slated to vote on a bill sponsored by Rothman that would require the use of the term “Judea and Samaria” instead of the West Bank in Knesset legislation.

Israel, Ukraine launch strategic dialogue on Iranian threat, say Sa’ar

Israel and Ukraine launch a strategic dialogue on the Iranian threat, says Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar during a joint press conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

“Iran not only threatened Israel,” says Sa’ar. “It threatened regional and global security. It threatened Ukraine. Our actions against its weapons and technology contribute to European security — and to the security of Ukraine.”

Sa’ar says that Israel’s strikes on Iran last month “sent its nuclear ambitions years back.”

“We severely harmed its ballistic missile program,” he says. “And we also harmed the Iranian drone supply — the very same technology being used against Ukraine.”

Sa’ar calls on Germany, France, and the UK to activate the snapback mechanism, which would reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Lapid: Likud will become ‘branch of Haredi parties’ by replacing Edelstein

By holding a vote to replace Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud faction is turning itself into an arm of the Haredi parties, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares.

“Today the Likud faction will convene and, on Netanyahu’s orders, will officially announce that it is a branch of the Haredi [parties],” Lapid asserts in a speech to the Knesset.

“The nationalist camp is a joke, the right is a joke,” he says.

At the very least, Likud should stop calling itself a “nationalist party,” because such a party “doesn’t oust the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee just to encourage draft evasion in the middle of a war,” Lapid adds.

In Kyiv, Sa’ar denounces Russian strikes on civilians, highlights Ukraine and Israel’s ‘special bond’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 23, 2025. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)

Speaking in Kyiv alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says that Israel “condemns Russian strikes against civilians.”

He calls for a “durable and lasting peace that ensures security for Ukraine.”

“Israel and Ukraine share a special bond,” Sa’ar continues at a joint press conference. “Both our nations face difficult and challenging times. We both face war and pain. We are both resilient nations.”

Sa’ar says he is in the country “to show our solidarity and support for Ukraine and the people of Ukraine.”

Before the press conference, Sa’ar presented Sybiha with the Dinah Project report on sexual violence perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists on October 7.

Sa’ar also lays a wreath at the memorial wall for fallen Ukrainian soldiers, and visits the monument to the victims of the Holodomor genocide.

Shas denies taking part in effort to oust Edelstein, calls it internal Likud matter

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party denies being involved in the vote to replace Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein, calling it an internal Likud issue.

“Shas is not involved at all in the issue of appointing the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Our only demand to the prime minister is to fulfill his commitment to regulating the status of Torah scholars,” the ultra-Orthodox party says in a statement. “All other issues are the internal affairs of the Likud faction.”

This afternoon, Likud lawmakers are slated to vote on a replacement for Edelstein over his refusal to advance a conscription bill based on a compromise reached with the Haredi parties last month as part of an effort to prevent them from toppling the government ahead of the war with Iran.

Over 100 aid and human rights groups warn ‘mass starvation’ spreading in Gaza

Men walk carrying sacks of flour that were taken from a raided truck carrying foodstuffs, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025. (AFP)

More than 100 aid organizations and human rights groups warned on Wednesday that “mass starvation” was spreading in Gaza.

A statement with 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, warns that “our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away.”

The groups call for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through United Nations-led mechanisms.

Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza’s population is still suffering extreme scarcities.

Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid.

It also accuses UN organizations of not properly distributing aid, noting hundreds of trucks are awaiting collection on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

The controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said in a statement that the UN, which refuses to work with it, “has a capacity and operational problem” and called for “more collaboration” to deliver life-saving aid.

In their statement, the humanitarian organizations say warehouses with tons of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from delivering the goods.

“Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions,” the signatories say.

“It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage,” they add.

“The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF to reopen its medical facility next to Syrian Druze village, after closure during Iran war

IDF troops treat Syrians at a medical facility near the Druze village of Hader, southern Syria, in a handout photo issued on May 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it is reopening a medical facility it set up in southern Syria, next to the Druze village of Hader, after it was closed several weeks ago.

The “forward mobile triage” was established in May, amid the IDF’s ongoing operations in southern Syria. It was closed due to the war in Iran in June, as the forces operating it were diverted to other tasks.

Gantz: Open vote on Edelstein’s ouster will show Israelis which MKs are harming country’s security

Leader of the Blue and White Party MK Benny Gantz leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party over its decision to replace Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein, declaring that it will harm IDF soldiers.

“The only good thing about the Likud faction’s vote on choosing the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee being open — is that all the people of Israel will know who the Likud MKs are who are lending a hand to harming those who serve and to the security of the State of Israel,” he tweets.

The Likud faction vote on replacing Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein will no longer be held in secret after the party’s legal adviser determined that there should be an open ballot.

Likud MK Gotliv says ruling that vote on replacing Edelstein must be open ‘does not hold water’

Likud MK Tally Gotliv is physically restrained as she heckles MK Ayman Odeh, ahead of a vote on the Arab lawmaker's proposed expulsion from the Knesset, on July 14, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Today’s Likud faction vote on replacing Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Yuli Edelstein should be conducted by secret ballot, and the party’s legal adviser’s ruling that it cannot be is badly reasoned, argues MK Tally Gotliv, an alternate member of the committee.

“I disagree with [his] explanation. In my opinion, the vote should be secret and the legal adviser’s document does not hold water,” the Likud lawmaker tells The Times of Israel.

Likud party legal adviser Avi Halevi wrote that “all votes held within the faction, including the election of Knesset committee members and chairpeople” have been open and “an exception to this rule is inconsistent with the law, with the desired parliamentary tradition, and with the public duty that applies to elected officials.”

In Kyiv, Sa’ar meets soldier who lost family in Iranian strike on Bat Yam

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar meets with Artem Borik, whose family was killed in an Iranian missile strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 23, 2025. (Shlomi Amselam/GPO)

During a brief diplomatic visit to Kyiv, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets with Artem Borik, whose family was killed in an Iranian missile strike on Bat Yam during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last month.

“With a heavy heart, I met Artem in Kyiv,” Sa’ar says in a statement from his office. “I expressed my condolences and our shared grief over this tragic and devastating loss.”

“I told Artem that all of Israel stands with him in his pain. I also heard from him about his military service on the front lines, as a soldier in the Ukrainian army,” Sa’ar adds.

In the missile strike on a residential building in Bat Yam, Artem lost his 7-year-old daughter, Nastia — who had come to Israel for cancer treatment — his wife, Maria, Maria’s mother, and two of Nastia’s cousins, ages 9 and 13.

Artem, who is serving in Ukraine’s armed forces during its war with Russia, was unable to accompany his daughter to Israel due to wartime restrictions preventing men under the age of 60 from leaving the country.

Responding to Israel Medical Association, COGAT insists it is working to bring aid into Gaza

In response to the Israel Medical Association’s letter to Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, head of Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), urging him to ensure the entry of medical supplies and basic humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, a COGAT spokesman says the IDF, through COGAT, “is working to allow and facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip.”

Since the beginning of the war, over 45,000 tons of medical equipment have been transferred into the Gaza Strip, carried by more than 3,000 trucks, the COGAT spokesperson says, adding, “The IDF continuously and consistently facilitates the provision of medical services through aid organizations and the international community.”

COGAT has also helped international aid organizations to set up 13 field hospitals equipped with necessary medical supplies.

“Israel will continue to allow the entry of medical equipment and medicines into the Gaza Strip,” the spokesperson says, “while taking all possible measures to prevent the Hamas terrorist organization from seizing the aid and using it for terrorist activity and military purposes.”

Likud MK Illouz denounces party’s efforts to oust Edelstein as defense panel chair

Likud MK Dan Illouz speaks during a Knesset Economic Committee meeting in Jerusalem, on March 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

MK Dan Illouz slams his party’s decision to hold a vote to replace Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein, which he says will split Likud without advancing the passage of legislation conscripting the ultra-Orthodox.

Today’s faction vote on Edelstein’s replacement “appears to the public as yet another attempt to appease the ultra-Orthodox partners” and serves as “not only a blow to the national and liberal values of Likud [but] a blow to Likud itself,” Illouz tweets.

A former member of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Illouz was removed by Likud faction chairman Ofir Katz last year over his public opposition to coalition-backed legislation aimed at guaranteeing that state-funded daycare subsidies would continue for the children of ultra-Orthodox men who are obligated to perform military service, but have not done so.

“The servicemen are the heart and soul of the national camp. If we stop representing them — they might stop voting for us… Those who think that giving in to the demands of coalition partners will prolong our rule are, in practice, endangering the rule of the right in the long term,” Illouz asserts.

“An empty conscription law will not pass … and that will not change — no matter who heads the committee,” he adds.

Lapid says Netanyahu spearheading efforts to approve Haredi draft dodging

Opposition Leader Yesh Atid party chief MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading efforts to exempt thousands of ultra-Orthodox men from military service ahead of a key Likud faction vote today.

“This afternoon, Netanyahu will convene the members of his faction to vote to advance the draft dodging of thousands of healthy young people from the IDF,” Lapid says in a statement.

“He can no longer hide behind MKs Milwidsky, Vaturi, or Bismuth — this is on him. He owns it. He is the one leading and advancing this move — while our fighters are buckling under the burden,” he continues.

The Likud faction is set to vote later today on replacing MK Yuli Edelstein as chair of the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, after MK Hanoch Milwidsky requested a vote. Milwidsky, along with fellow Likud MKs Nissim Vaturi, Boaz Bismuth, are among those vying for the position.

Edelstein has refused to advance the ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill, leading the Haredi parties to quit the government last week.

Likud to hold open vote on replacing Edelstein as Knesset Defense Committee chair

A Likud faction vote on replacing Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein will no longer be held in secret after the party’s legal adviser determined that there should be an open ballot.

In the Knesset, “the accepted rule… is to hold open votes” while “exceptions to this arrangement… are rare,” writes Likud legal adviser Avi Halevi, in a letter published by Channel 12. As such, he continues, “the Likud faction in the Knesset adopted a consistent practice of open voting… [and] all votes held within the faction, including the election of Knesset committee members and chairpeople, were open.”

“An exception to this rule,” he asserts, “is inconsistent with the law, with the desired parliamentary tradition and with the public duty that applies to elected officials.”

According to the report, Edelstein, who is running for the position again, strongly supports the secret ballot, thinking that he could receive backing from colleagues who may be reluctant to defy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly.

However, a coalition insider told The Times of Israel that this would likely not help him retain the chairmanship.

A Likud source confirms to The Times of Israel that the ballot will not be secret.

IDF says 120 terror sites struck in Gaza over past day

IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, in images published on July 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli Air Force struck some 120 terror targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day, including cells of operatives, booby-trapped buildings, tunnels, and other infrastructure, the military says in a daily update.

Dozens of casualties were reported by media outlets in Gaza in the past day, but there are no immediate tolls from the Hamas-run health ministry or other health officials. Yesterday, the Hamas health ministry reported that 77 people were killed in the previous 24 hours.

The strikes come as five IDF divisions continue ground operations across the Strip.

Smotrich slams Edelstein for ‘unfair’ withdrawal of compromise Haredi enlistment bill

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Knesset conference discussing Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 22, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich harshly criticizes Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud) for reversing himself after reaching a compromise on conscription with the Haredim last month.

“Unfortunately, he retracted [the compromise bill] in an unfair and inappropriate manner,” Smotrich tells Army Radio, calling the agreements reached with the Haredim in June “excellent.”

“The Haredim are going to raise their hands in favor of a law that sets a target of 50 percent of each draft cohort within five years — I didn’t believe they would agree,” he says, arguing that the now-scuttled agreement would have led to the conscription of the Haredim.

Last Monday, the Haredi United Torah Judaism party quit the coalition after being presented with a copy of a proposed enlistment bill prepared by Edelstein, which they argued violated the terms of a compromise reached as part of an effort to prevent the Haredim from toppling the government ahead of the war with Iran.

They were followed on Wednesday by Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party Shas, which bolted the government while, unlike UTJ, remaining a member of the coalition.

Edelstein has said any conscription law would have to include sanctions on draft dodgers and their institutions. The bill he presented failed to deliver on several key Haredi demands, including offering full amnesty to yeshiva students who have already received and ignored enlistment orders.

This afternoon, Likud lawmakers are slated to vote on a replacement for Edelstein as chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee over his refusal to advance the compromise bill.

While Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky is widely seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s preferred choice, his candidacy has been opposed by many Likud MKs who argue he is unqualified. According to national broadcaster Kan, Shas and UTJ’s Degel Hatorah faction informed Netanyahu that they support MK Boaz Bismuth as committee chair.

In a statement last night, Degel Hatorah chairman Moshe Gafni told reporters that his party “has no connection” to the vote and “is not intervening” in it.

Israeli teens say anti-Israel mob attacked them on Rhodes

A group of Israeli teens were attacked by anti-Israel assailants on the Greek island of Rhodes last night, Hebrew media reports.

According to reports, an anti-Israel mob rallied outside a club frequented by Israelis, sparking a confrontation, where Israelis and pro-Palestinians were shouting and cursing at each other.

The group of teens, aged 17-18, decided to leave and not get involved in the tussle, but were then pursued by dozens of the anti-Israel assailants, one of the Israelis tells Channel 12 news.

According to Channel 12, a member of the group convinced the mob he wasn’t Israeli by speaking Dutch, while the others sprinted away. One of them was caught and beaten, suffering light injuries, while the other two managed to hide.

“We called the embassy and the police, who said that there was a car on the way, but nobody came. They only arrived after a long time, and they came with us to the apartment,” one of the teens tell Channel 12.

The incident came on the same day as anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters blocked tourists on an Israeli-owned cruise ship from disembarking at the Greek island of Syros.

NYT: Iranian officials suspect Israel to blame for mysterious blasts across country

Iranian officials believe that explosions across the country over the past month are acts of sabotage by Israel, The New York Times reports.

While officially, the mysterious blasts hitting apartment buildings and oil facilities have been blamed on aging infrastructure, three Iranian officials, including a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, tell the Times they suspect Israel is to blame.

A European official who deals with Iran also tells the newspaper he suspects Israel is involved.

Israeli officials decline to comment on the report.

The ongoing chaos followed the 12-day war last month, when Israel launched a sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program it said was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.

????Iran: 5 injured in an explosion in a residential building in the Fatemiyeh area of Qom city. According to the authorities, it was a water heater explosion… pic.twitter.com/dxbaRvdpSZ

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) July 22, 2025

Man killed in Lod, in third deadly shooting in Arab community overnight

Paramedics arrive to the scene of a fatal shooting in Lod on July 23, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

A man in his 30s was shot dead in Lod this morning, marking the third fatal shooting to rock the Arab community within a single night.

The victim is a resident of the central city named Suleiman Abu Ghanem, Ynet reports. He was found by medics lying unconscious on the street at around 6:30 a.m., and soon pronounced dead, Magen David Adom says.

Police opened an investigation into the shooting and have not yet arrested any suspects.

Two other Arab Israelis were killed overnight in fatal shootings, including one woman in Ararat an-Naqab and a man in Jaffa. In the former case, police later arrested four relatives of the murdered woman for interrogation, saying her death was connected to a family dispute.

Witkoff plans to meet in Rome with Israeli, Qatari officials on hostage deal Thursday — report

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff attends a meeting between US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images via AFP)

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff plans to meet Thursday in Rome with senior Israeli and Qatari officials as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire-hostage release deal in Gaza, Axios reports, citing two sources with knowledge of the upcoming meeting.

If talks advance significantly at the meeting, Witkoff will continue on to Doha to complete the deal, a US and Israeli source familiar with the details tell Axios.

Saudi report: Israel and Hamas have overcome most disputed issues in ceasefire talks

Israel and Hamas have overcome most of the contentious issues in the negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, including the key issue of the “keys” — referring to the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for the hostages, Saudi channel Al-Hadath reports.

According to the report, Israel has offered to release 125 prisoners serving life sentences and 1,100 prisoners who were arrested after October 7, 2023 — a proposal that is expected to be accepted.

UK’s Starmer said facing pressure from ministers to recognize Palestinian state

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a civil society summit in London, July 17, 2025.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing pressure from Labour cabinet ministers to immediately recognize a Palestinian state, according to the Guardian.

The UK newspaper says top ministers told Starmer during several cabinet meetings in recent months that London should play a leading role in recognizing Palestinian statehood.

“We say that recognizing Palestinian statehood is a really important symbol that you can only do once. But if not now, then when?” an unnamed cabinet member is quoted as saying.

Bernie Sanders meets anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil as latter refuses to condemn Hamas

US Senator Bernie Sanders meets with Mahmoud Khalil, the anti-Israel protest leader at Columbia University who the Trump administration is seeking to deport for supporting Hamas.

In a post on X alongside a photo of them together, Sanders writes that Khalil was “imprisoned for 104 days by the Trump administration for opposing Netanyahu’s illegal & horrific war in Gaza. Outrageous.”

“We must not allow Trump to destroy the First Amendment and freedom to dissent,” Sanders adds.

The meeting comes as Khalil is interviewed by CNN, which asks him if he “explicitly condemns Hamas, a designated terrorist organization in the United States, not just for their actions on October 7.”

Khalil responds by saying he condemns “the killing of all civilians,” prompting one of the interviewers to ask twice again if he will specifically denounce Hamas, noting that the Trump administration is accusing him of sympathizing with the Palestinian terror group.

“I simply asked and protested the war in Palestine. That’s what I did. That’s my duty as a Palestinian, as a human being right now, is to ask for the stop of the killing in my home country,” he says, before claiming that asking him to specifically denounce the terror group is “disingenuous and absurd.”

“That’s why I wouldn’t really engage much into such questions on condemnation or not. Because selective condemnations is not, wouldn’t get us anywhere. It’s just like hypocrite, to be honest,” Khalil states.

I met with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University, who was imprisoned for 104 days by the Trump administration for opposing Netanyahu’s illegal & horrific war in Gaza. Outrageous.

We must not allow Trump to destroy the First Amendment & freedom to dissent. pic.twitter.com/2iaIi8dUWF

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 22, 2025

Police arrest 4 relatives of woman found murdered in southern Bedouin village

Police arrested four family members of a woman who was murdered Tuesday night in the southern Bedouin village of Ararat an-Naqab, a spokesman for law enforcement says.

The victim, in her 40s, was found lifeless at around 11 p.m. in an open area near the town. Police suspect she was killed as part of a family dispute.

She is one of 143 Arab Israelis, among them 11 women, who have been killed in violent incidents since the start of the year, amid an unrelenting crime wave plaguing Arab locales throughout Israel.

Thousands in Tel Aviv rally against Gaza war, ‘demand to stop the starvation’

Activists protest against the war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis in Tel Aviv, July 22, 2025. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

Thousands of protesters marched to the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding an end to the ongoing Gaza war and calling attention to allegedly rising starvation in the Palestinian enclave.

Setting out from Habima Square, demonstrators marched through the city’s downtown carrying bags of flour and photos of Gazan children who reportedly died from hunger over the course of war.

“We are holding photos of Gazan Palestinian children who died of starvation, who simply starved to death,” says protest organizer Alon Lee-Green during the march. “They died as Israel blocks aid to Gaza, we are here demanding to stop the starvation.”

Israel has repeatedly dismissed reports of widespread famine in Gaza, saying it is permitting humanitarian aid, including food, to enter.

“They tell us there’s no starvation, these are lies. There’s pictures here of kids starving,” one protester says in a video from earlier this evening, pointing back to the photos of malnourished children.

No arrests were reported at the march.

Happening now in Tel Aviv: we march with the pictures of the children in Gaza who were starved to death by our government and our army. We cannot accept it. We call people to refuse the starvation, to refuse the killing, to refuse the annihilation. pic.twitter.com/RFhTIKZpoM

— Alon-Lee Green – ألون-لي جرين – אלון-לי גרין ???? (@AlonLeeGreen) July 22, 2025

Netanyahu speaks with Israeli hostage negotiators in Doha

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a situational assessment with the Israeli negotiating team in Doha, says an Israeli official.

The team has been in Qatar for over two weeks working to secure a ceasefire deal with Hamas that would see roughly half the remaining hostages, living and dead, released during a 60-day truce.

Police attempting to break up violent Haredi protests in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh

Haredi protesters sit on the ground, blocking a road in Jerusalem as police and Border Police officers attempt to disperse the demonstration on July 22, 2025. (Israel Police/Screenshot)

Police arrested a Haredi protester after he allegedly set fire to dumpsters during a stormy demonstration in Jerusalem tonight, law enforcement says.

The demonstration is occurring at the same time as a similar protest in Beit Shemesh, both over the arrest of three Haredi men during a protest at a construction site in Yehud.

Detained earlier today, the three were transferred to the military police after it was discovered they were draft dodgers, Hebrew outlets report.

Police declared both of tonight’s protests to be unlawful and are attempting to disperse crowds of hundreds, law enforcement says. An officer in Beit Shemesh sustained light injuries after a protester threw stones at him.

Protesters are allegedly blocking roads, setting dumpsters alight and throwing objects at police forces at the scene, as cops use riot control methods to break up the violent demonstrations.

For over two months, Haredi protesters have been attempting to thwart a residential construction project by the urban renewal firm Aura, which they say endangers an ancient Jewish cemetery in the central city.

Man shot dead in Jaffa, say police

A man in his 50s was shot dead in Jaffa tonight, marking the second fatal shooting to take place in the city within a week.

Paramedics found the unnamed victim lying unconscious on the ground near a local restaurant, suffering from several gunshot wounds, says the Magen David Adom emergency service. They pronounced him dead at the scene.

Police are investigating the incident and say they suspect the incident is not terror-related.

3 soldiers wounded during operations in Rafah, says military

Israeli troops seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo cleared for publication on July 22, 2025. (IDF)

Two combat engineers, including a platoon commander, were seriously wounded and another soldier was moderately hurt by an explosive device during operations in southern Gaza’s Rafah earlier today, the IDF announces.

The troops, who served with the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, were taken to hospitals and the families were notified, the army adds.