July 6: Sources say first round of Hamas-Israel talks in Doha end inconclusively

Two right-wing activists arrested for attacking law enforcement at protest in Jerusalem

Right-wing activists protest at the entrance to Jerusalem, following a shooting incident in which a 14-year-old Jewish teen was injured during a settler riot in the West Bank, July 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Police detained two right-wing activists for attacking law enforcement at a stormy protest at the entrance to Jerusalem tonight.

Hundreds of young men gathered under the Chords Bridge earlier to protest the wounding of a 14-year-old boy by gunfire over a week ago, during a settler riot against soldiers attempting to evacuate an illegal West Bank outpost.

The right-wing legal aid group Honenu claims that the boy was injured by IDF gunfire, although the army has rejected this, insisting that no live fire was used by soldiers at the scene that night.

Protesters in Jerusalem tonight “began disrupting public order by blocking traffic lanes” near Chords Bridge, say police.

Officers declared the protest illegal and attempted to push the protesters onto nearby sidewalks, leading to scuffling between law enforcement and right-wing activists.

Police say a female officer was lightly injured by demonstrators during the clashes.

IDF issues evacuation warnings for 3 Houthi-controlled ports, power plant in Yemen

The IDF issues an “urgent” evacuation warning for three Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen, saying that they will soon be targeted by Israeli airstrikes.

In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee warns those at the Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and Salif ports on the western coast to evacuate.

He also warns anyone inside the Ras Al-Katheeb power station in Hodeidah to evacuate the area.

Air Force says rocket fired from Gaza earlier this evening wasn’t intercepted due to human error

The Israeli Air Force says it conducted a preliminary investigation into the mortar shell that fell in the Nirim area earlier this evening. The findings revealed that the shell was not intercepted due to human error.

The IDF says that lessons have been drawn from the incident and corrective measures are already being put into action.

Two Palestinians said killed by Israeli fire in village near Nablus; no immediate comment from IDF

The Palestinian Authority health ministry says that two men were shot dead by Israeli forces near the city of Nablus, in the West Bank, earlier today.

Qusai Nasser Mahmud Nassar, 23, and Wissam Ghassan Hassan Shtayyeh, 37, “were shot and killed by the occupation forces on Sunday afternoon in the village of Salem, east of Nablus,” the ministry says in a statement.

According to WAFA, the PA’s official news agency, a 62-year-old man was also injured by the gunfire and was evacuated for medical treatment by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

It says that the Palestinian Red Crescent received Nassar’s body after the incident, but that the IDF has not yet handed over the body of Shtayyeh.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

High Court orders Karhi to extend tenure of Kan public broadcaster council member; Karhi says he won’t abide by ruling

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, during a discussion in the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, December 18, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice issues an interim order against Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, ordering him to extend the tenure of a council member of the Kan Public Broadcast Corporation until the court issues a final decision on his refusal to appoint new members to the council.

Council member Amir Sabhat’s tenure is due to end on July 13, and would leave just five spaces filled on the 12-member panel.

Since the quorum for decision-making on the council is seven, it has practically ceased to function after five members retired in November last year and another retired in February this year.

It is therefore unable to approve budgets, set broadcast policy, or wield its authority on any other matter for the public broadcaster.

Karhi insists that new council members will be appointed by selection committee, but that has yet to transpire.

Karhi, in response to the decision, vows not to abide by it, calling it “unlawful” and claiming that only the communications minister can extend a council member’s tenure.

“In the State of Israel, everyone is subject to the law, including their highnesses,” Karhi says acerbically about the High Court judges.

“And as with the previous illegal order, this order will not be honored here either. The corporation council will soon be formed through the legal search committee that I appointed as its chair, and not according to arbitrary orders,” he adds.

IDF says it struck Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon

The IDF says it carried out airstrikes against several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon a short while ago.

The strikes targeted military sites, infrastructure used for storing and producing strategic weapons, and a rocket launch site belonging to the terror group, it says.

The military says that Hezbollah’s presence and activity in the area constitute a clear violation of the agreements between Israel and Lebanon.

Ultra-Orthodox conscription law fails to meet the needs of the public, civic group says

Civic movement El HaDegel says it is rallying the public to protest the government’s proposed Haredi conscription law, which it says fails to serve the needs of the army and the broader public interest.

“The fight for equal and fair enlistment is our flagship issue,” says Yitzhaki Glick, an attorney, IDF reservist, and a leader in the group’s public policy efforts, in a Zoom meeting titled, “Conscription law or evasion law?”

The meeting, which is open to the public, has around 50 participants.

“The war in Gaza, the hostages, the Iranian attack — all of which are important — have been used by the coalition to advance this undemocratic goal,” he says. “But the issue of equal and fair conscription is central to all of the threats facing this country.

El HaDegel, formed by IDF reservists after the October 7, 2023, attacks, is promoting an alternative Basic Law that would make national or military service mandatory for all citizens, with legal penalties for those who refuse.

“Every citizen of Israel needs to serve,” says Glick. “If you don’t serve, you are not entitled to benefits from the state. You’re a criminal.”

“This issue is close to my heart because two of my sons are currently in the army,” says Lilac Idelberg, one of the organization’s leaders, a lawyer and member of the Nahariya City Council.

“Even if the proposed law is passed, it doesn’t even bring us close to the needs of the army,” she adds. “Our proposed bill, in contrast, would lead to the enlistment of all those who are legally required to serve.”

El HaDegel describes itself as nonpartisan and aims to promote “Zionist leadership, Zionist legislation, and Zionist action.”

The meeting comes as the IDF is set to begin sending 54,000 draft notices to Haredi men whose exemptions expired last year. Ultra-Orthodox parties have threatened to topple the coalition if new exemption legislation is not passed.

IDF says rocket launched from Gaza fell in open area near Nirim

Following the siren that sounded in Nirim, near the Gaza border, at 9 p.m., the IDF says one rocket was launched from southern Gaza and landed in an open area near Nirim.

No injuries or damage were reported.

BRICS nations condemn Israel over Iran war, in victory for Islamic Republic

Iran won the support of fellow BRICS nations meeting in Rio de Janeiro today, with the bloc condemning Israel and the US for the assault on Iran’s nuclear program and military infrastructure throughout the 12-day war last month.

“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025,” leaders say in a summit statement, without naming the US or Israel.

“We further express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities,” the bloc says.

The 11-nation grouping says the strikes “constitute a violation of international law.”

The declaration is a diplomatic victory for Tehran, which received limited regional or global support over a 12-day bombing campaign by the Israeli military, which culminated in US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan.

In retaliation Iran, had fired more than 500 ballistic missiles at Israel, killing 28 people.

The BRICS gathering includes Israel’s arch foe Iran, but also nations like Russia and China, which have ties with Tehran.

BRICS diplomats had been in disagreement over how strongly to denounce Israel’s bombing of Iran and its actions in Gaza, but ultimately strengthened their language at Tehran’s request.

Hundreds gather to mark 27th birthday of slain hostage Guy Illouz

Gilad Kahana, left, of The Giraffes, performs on July 6, 2025, in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, to mark the birthday of murdered hostage Guy Illouz. (Paulina Patimer/ Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

A grieving crowd of hundreds gathers at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to mark what would have been the 27th birthday of Guy Illouz, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and murdered in captivity. His body still held hostage.

Illouz, who worked in Israel’s music industry as a stagehand, has been mourned by local musicians, including Matti Caspi, Hayehudim, and others.

The rock band, The Giraffes, along with singer-songwriter Hemi Rudner perform in Illouz’s memory.

IDF investigating after sirens activated in Nirim, close to the Gaza border

A siren was activated in the southern community of Nirim, close to the Gaza border, a short while ago, the IDF says.

The circumstances are under investigation.

Trump said hoping to finalize framework for ending Gaza war in Monday’s meeting with Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump (right) shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7, 2025. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

US President Donald Trump hopes to finalize a framework for ending the war in Gaza during his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House tomorrow, reports Channel 12, citing senior US officials.

One of the central issues that the leaders will discuss is the “day after” plan for Gaza, the report says. This issue will also be the main focus of diplomatic talks during the US-backed 60-day truce that Hamas and Israel are currently negotiating in Doha.

The plans for the future of Gaza are still unclear, the report says, as Netanyahu has continued to insist that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority can be allowed to play a role in its post-war governance. Instead, he hopes that other countries in the region will take over control of the Strip, along with local Palestinian elements unaffiliated with both Hamas and the PA.

Arab nations have spoken out against this idea, saying they would not get involved unless the PA is allowed to play a role.

Channel 12 says that Trump’s stance on the issue of post-war governance in Gaza remains to be seen.

At the same time, Israel is willing to be more flexible in its demand that Hamas leaders are exiled from the Gaza Strip as part of any permanent end to the war, Channel 12 says, as “there aren’t many senior Hamas officials left in Gaza.”

The network quotes an Israeli official as saying that the Hamas leaders left in Gaza “wouldn’t fill a ship to be exiled—even a paddleboard would do.”

According to US sources, the Trump administration is interested in issuing a joint public declaration with Netanyahu “that will obligate both sides” to whatever agreement arises. “It could be that after the declaration, a few days will be needed to finalize details, but the goal is to establish commitment and obligation to the process,” the sources are quoted as saying.

Following last night’s meeting, unnamed Israeli cabinet ministers told Channel 12 that “Netanyahu is interested in reaching a deal, despite the obstacles that still exist.”

Haredi lawmakers said dissatisfied following meeting with Edelstein on IDF conscription bill

A meeting between Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Yuli Edelstein and representatives of the Haredi parties has ended without any breakthrough being reached on the controversial bill regulating the conscription of yeshiva students, Channel 12 reports.

Anonymous sources from the United Torah Judaism and Shas parties tell the news outlet that Edelstein only presented them with a general overview of the new, softened version of the conscription bill, rather than the full text.

As such, they say, “the crisis continues.”

The two Haredi parties are considering boycotting all plenum votes in the Knesset until presented with a new draft of the bill.

Netanyahu departs Israel for third visit with Trump in six months

Three-and-a-half hours behind schedule, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes off from Ben Gurion Airport, on the Wing of Zion plane, ahead of his third visit with US President Donald Trump in the last six months.

The two are expected to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, the war in Gaza, and efforts to expand the Abraham Accords.

IDF chief visits ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade training base, meets with soldiers

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir addresses members of the ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade at the brigade's training base, July 6, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited the ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade training base today, the IDF says, where he praised the soldiers, whom he said were “pioneers and trailblazers,” for their integration into the military.

“You are proof that there is no contradiction between a Haredi lifestyle and serving in the IDF,” Zamir told the troops. “A Haredi person who enlists will remain Haredi.”

During the visit, Zamir was briefed on the brigade’s training, the adaptations made for the ultra-Orthodox community, and its recent operations in Gaza. He emphasized the importance of the soldiers’ service at a time when Israel faces threats on multiple fronts, including from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip.

“We are doing everything to enable you to combine the world of Torah and learning with meaningful military service,” he said. “Your integration into the IDF is something you, your families, and your communities should take pride in.”

Zamir’s visit comes alongside the IDF’s announcement that it will begin issuing 54,000 draft notices this week to members of the ultra-Orthodox community, as well as reports of ramped-up enforcement measures against draft evaders and deserters across all demographics.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad says its delegation has arrived in Qatar for ceasefire talks

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group says a delegation has arrived in Doha for discussions on a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

It says that the delegation is headed by Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah.

Israelis, Jewish groups in US plan protests against Gaza war during Netanyahu visit

Israeli expats and leftist Jewish groups in the US are organizing protests in Washington, DC, and New York, against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit this week.

The protesters are calling for an end to the war in Gaza, the release of the hostages, and aid for Palestinians. The protests will take place tomorrow morning.

The protest in Washington, DC, will be held near the White House and is backed by groups including T’ruah, J Street, and the Israeli expat group UnXeptable.

“On the same day that Prime Minister Netanyahu will be in Washington to meet with President Trump, we’ll raise our voices and demand action,” a statement from the groups says. “Join us as we rally together for an end to the bloody war in Gaza, for the release of all remaining hostages, and for humanitarian aid to be rushed into Gaza.”

The demonstrators in New York are not part of a formal group, but are an outgrowth of a protest network that took shape in the US prior to the war in Gaza, amid the Netanyahu government’s judicial overhaul efforts.

The New York rally will take place outside the Israeli consulate.

Netanyahu, leaving for DC: We’re working for Gaza deal on our terms, Hamas won’t be there; chance to greatly expand peace accords

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press before boarding his flight to Washington DC, at Ben Gurion International Airport, July 6, 2025. (Lazar Berman/ The Times of Israel)

Before boarding his flight to Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel has an opportunity “to expand the circle of peace far beyond what we could have imagined.”

“We have already transformed the Middle East beyond recognition, and we now have a chance to bring a great future to the state of Israel, the people of Israel and the entire Middle East,” he says.

The premier also makes clear that Israel will not agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal that ultimately allows Hamas to remain in the Gaza Strip. It is working for a deal “under the terms we agreed to,” he says.

He says that while in Washington, he will thank US President Donald Trump for his “strong support” during Israel’s 12-day war against “our mutual enemy” Iran last month, which resulted in a “tremendous victory” over the Islamic Republic.

Iran had set out the goal of destroying Israel, he says. “For years, we feared what we would do about Iran and whether we could overcome Iran. Our heroic pilots have flown in the skies of Iran,” he says, hailing the IDF, the Mossad and all branches of the security establishment.

Israel also operated over Lebanon, he notes. “There too, for years, we were worried about what Hezbollah would do and how we could overcome it. We overcame it.”

“We struck Hamas,” he adds.

“This creates great responsibility and opportunities,” says Netanyahu.

There is an obligation “to preserve the achievement” and to ensure that Iran does not restart its nuclear weapons efforts.

As for Gaza, Netanyahu says Israel has attained “great achievements” but still has “missions to complete. To date,” he says, “we have freed 205 of 255 hostages, 144 of them alive. Twenty living hostages remain and 30 who are fallen. I am determined, we are determined, to bring back all of them.”

“And we are determined to ensure that Gaza will no longer constitute a threat to Israel. That means, we will not allow a situation that encourages more kidnappings, more murders, more executions, more invasions,” he says, as Israel’s negotiating team travels to Doha for indirect talks with Hamas. “That means one thing: eliminating Hamas’s military and governing capabilities. Hamas will not be there.”

“I am committed to both those missions, or really three missions,” he goes on: “The release and return of all the hostages, the living and the fallen; the destruction of Hamas’s capabilities – to kick it out of there, and to ensure that Gaza will no longer constitute a threat to Israel.”

“We’ve achieved and will achieve all those things thanks to the courage of our warriors,” he concludes, as well as the Israeli people’s resilience, and “as a result of the correct, courageous decisions that we took thanks to the support of the citizens of Israel for the people’s army.”

Asked whether there will be a hostage release deal this week, Netanyahu turns back to the reporters — something he rarely does – and says: “We are working to reach this deal under the terms we have agreed to.”

“I sent a team to the negotiations with clear directives,” he says. “I think the conversation with President Trump can certainly help advance the outcome we are all hoping for.”

Controversial bill to block non-Jews with Jewish grandparents from immigrating temporarily shelved

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation has put off its vote on a bill that would amend the Law of Return to strip people with Jewish grandparents of the right to immigrate to Israel and obtain citizenship.

The controversial bill seeks to redefine who is a Jew for the purpose of immigrating to Israel. It would reverse a 1970 modification to Israel’s Law of Return that allows any grandchild of a Jew to immigrate even if they themselves are not Jewish.

The bill would create chaos for new immigrants from Russia, where the majority of new immigrants have come from in recent years, of whom many are not considered Jewish according to religious law.

A spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin tells The Times of Israel the bill will be reintroduced in three weeks.

IDF to introduce new measures against draft dodgers and deserters

After the IDF announces that it plans to step up enforcement measures against draft evaders and deserters across all demographics, Hebrew press reports that the new measures will involve shortening the process of being declared a draft dodger and the establishment of Military Police checkpoints.

The IDF itself declines to specify what the measures will look like.

According to the reports, the lengthy process of declaring somebody an evader will be considerably shortened, so that a candidate for service who declines to show up when summoned will potentially be declared a draft dodger within as little as two months.

The IDF Military Police will also set up checkpoints at which they will be authorized to arrest draft dodgers in the West Bank and inside Israel proper, according to Behadrei Haredim correspondent Avraham Friend.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid welcomes the IDF’s move, stating that it is “the people’s army, not a half-people’s army.”

The IDF declines to comment beyond its initial statement announcing the increased enforcement.

Stav Levaton contributed to this report.

Opposition fumes as ultra-Orthodox lawmakers shown watered-down Haredi conscription bill

Likud lawmaker Yuli Edelstein presents representatives of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party with a copy of a compromise bill regulating the conscription of yeshiva students, paving the way for it to be debated in his Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

According to the Ynet website, the Haredi parties insisted on seeing a copy ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic trip to the United States, with Edelstein ultimately meeting with former Shas MK Ariel Attias.

The version shown to Attias is a draft, while the final version of the softened draft legislation will be presented to lawmakers within 48 hours, reports the Israel Hayom daily. It adds that the law’s presentation was delayed because of Edelstein’s insistence on introducing multiple changes to the text.

“If Yuli Edelstein, under pressure from Netanyahu, presents the law to the ultra-Orthodox before presenting it to soldiers and reservists, that sums up the whole story of the ‘evasion law,'” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says in a post on X.

“The time has come to put an end to the rule of the evaders. Conscription for all – this is the call of the hour,” posts Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman.

“Whoever needed proof that this law won’t draft a single ultra-Orthodox person got it the moment Edelstein went to approve the draft law with the Shas representative,” adds The Democrats chief Yair Golan.

Around the same time as Edelstein’s meeting with the Haredim, the IDF announced that it will begin issuing 54,000 draft notices this week to members of the ultra-Orthodox community whose exemption from military service as yeshiva students is no longer valid, following the expiration of the previous legal arrangement.

In addition, the IDF plans to step up enforcement against draft evaders and deserters across all demographics.

Israeli restaurateur Shahar Segal, whose Melbourne eatery was vandalized Friday, parts ways with Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

Israeli restaurateur Shahar Segal says his work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has concluded after less than a month and a half.

Segal had been working as something of a spokesperson for GHF by liaising with the Israeli press.

“My work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has always been rooted in the desire to support those affected by the ongoing war. This volunteer role was always designed to be temporary and has now concluded,” Segal writes on Instagram, without giving a reason for his departure.

On Friday, anti-Israel activists vandalized the Melbourne chain of the Miznon restaurant that he co-owns with Eyal Shani.

The GHF has received pushback as its model has forced Palestinians to walk long distances and cross IDF lines — often coming under deadly fire — to reach aid distribution sites.

IDF says it will issue 54,000 draft notices to ultra-Orthodox men this month

Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with police during a protest against Haredi conscription on Route 4 near Bnei Brak, June 5, 2025. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

The IDF announces it will begin issuing 54,000 draft notices this week to members of the ultra-Orthodox community whose exemption from military service as yeshiva students is no longer valid, following the expiration of the previous legal arrangement.

The summons will be distributed in several phases throughout July, with enlistment appointments scheduled across the 2025 draft year, the military says.

As part of the broader recruitment process, the IDF says it will focus on identifying candidates with high potential for combat and frontline support roles, citing increased operational needs.

In addition, the IDF plans to step up enforcement against draft evaders and deserters across all demographics.

While expanding Haredi enlistment, the IDF stresses that it remains committed to preserving the unique religious lifestyle of ultra-Orthodox recruits and developing tailored service tracks to support their integration.

Four arrested for trying to smuggle songbirds into Israel by gluing birds’ feet to their clothes

Israeli authorities rescued some 100 songbirds from an attempt to smuggle them illegally into the country from Jordan, on July 4, 2025. (Agriculture Ministry)

Israeli authorities arrested four Palestinians who tried to smuggle some 100 songbirds into Israel from Jordan via the Allenby Bridge crossing on Friday by gluing the birds onto themselves, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority reveals.

The alleged would-be smugglers had glued the birds’ feet to their clothes to hide them, the Nature and Parks authority says.

The songbirds are protected and can only be imported with a special license.

The men were spotted by staff from the Airports Authority and Customs.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority says that the men are awaiting charges and have been forbidden from approaching the Allenby Bridge crossing for the next three months.

In a joint statement, the Nature and Parks Authority and the police stress that importing animals without a permit and the necessary prior inspections is not only prohibited but can introduce diseases, parasites, and invasive species harmful to nature, wild animals, livestock, and humans.

Former head of IDF’s Iran directorate said to have taken part in airstrikes during last month’s war

Then-chief of staff of the Israeli Air Force, Brig.-Gen. Tal Kalman, discusses the changing threats against Israel during the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies' annual conference in Tel Aviv's Hilton Hotel on April 3, 2016. (The Fisher Institute)

The former head of the IDF’s now-defunct Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, Maj. Gen. Tal Kelman, was among the combat pilots selected to take part in the Israeli Air Force’s extensive strikes during Operation Rising Lion, which targeted critical sites deep within Iran last month, Walla News reports.

The Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate — which was responsible for overseeing the military’s Iran file — was disbanded earlier this year by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

Kelman, 57, played a central role in planning IDF strategy against the Iranian regime and overseeing intelligence tracking of its nuclear program during his time in the directorate. He is reported to have directly participated in the execution of airstrikes during the campaign.

Also taking part in the operation was Maj. Gen. Aviad Dagan, 52, the current head of the IDF’s Computer Service Directorate. Both Kelman and Dagan are seasoned fighter pilots and are now the highest-ranking officers publicly known to have been directly involved in the Iran strikes, Walla reports.

They were reportedly joined by several other senior IDF officers holding the rank of brigadier general, who were also integral to the wave of coordinated airstrikes conducted by the Israeli Air Force over the 12-day campaign, during which Israel maintained control of Iranian airspace.

Netanyahu delays departure to Washington, reportedly amid Haredi threats over conscription law

The Wing of Zion plane ahead of a trip by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States, February 2, 2025. (Lazar Berman/Times of Israel)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s flight to Washington, DC, has been delayed until early this evening, which Hebrew-language outlets are reporting is due to an emerging crisis in his coalition as ultra-Orthodox members of his government are demanding to see an updated draft of a controversial bill regulating the military conscription of yeshiva students.

The Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, have threatened to start boycotting all bills in the Knesset plenum starting tomorrow if they are dissatisfied with the updated legislation.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel that the flight, which should have taken off at 4 p.m., had been delayed by at least an hour, and Channel 12 now reports that it is not expected to depart before 6 p.m.

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Yuli Edelstein is expected to present the Haredim with the updated bill proposal today.

The Prime Minister’s Office denies that the Haredi draft legislation is the reason for the delay, saying that the flight has been pushed back due to a security consultation that the premier is currently participating in.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff on Monday before his evening meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Lapid: Government’s approach to Haredi draft legislation will reveal its true priorities

Ahead of the expected unveiling of Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Yuli Edelstein’s Haredi draft legislation, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says that the way in which it is presented will show what the government’s true priorities are.

“If Yuli Edelstein, under pressure from Netanyahu, presents the law to the ultra-Orthodox before presenting it to soldiers and reservists, that sums up the whole story of the ‘evasion law,'” Lapid says.

According to the ultra-Orthodox Kikar Hashabbat news website, former Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has announced that the Shas Council of Torah Sages will soon gather to discuss the latest version of the bill.

Yosef also said yesterday evening that “if the leaders of the government” understood how much protection yeshiva students’ Torah study provides for the country, they would increase their stipends instead of discussing sanctions for draft dodging.

Iran invites Western journalists to tour notorious Evin Prison in wake of Israeli strikes

This picture shows a view of the destruction at the visitors room at Evin Prison in Tehran after Israeli airstrikes last month, on July 1, 2025. (AFP)

Iran recently invited Western journalists to tour the infamous Evin Prison, with various media outlets publishing footage yesterday from inside its walls after it was targeted by an Israeli strike during last month’s 12-day war.

Evin Prison, located in Tehran, is the Islamic Republic’s most notorious jail for political prisoners, and number of foreign nationals are detained there as well.

It is a heavily fortified and secretive complex with a reputation for human rights abuses. While it is almost unheard of for Iran to bring Western journalists into the prison, its reason for doing so now was to display the damage it says was caused by the Israeli strikes.

Footage captured by Sky News shows damage sustained to the prison hospital, where the windows are blown out, damaged equipment is covered in debris, and exposed wires hang from the ceiling.

Sky News has witnessed the scale of the destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes at a notorious prison in Iran.

International affairs editor @DominicWaghorn is one of the few journalists to gain access to Evin prison in Tehran.

Eyewitness report ➡️ https://t.co/Oa925w3Rlh

— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 4, 2025

Sky News also shows the exterior of what Iran says is the heavily damaged visitors center, and notes that there are several other damaged buildings in the vicinity of the courtyard, but filming was not allowed there.

NBC News, which also sent a correspondent to tour the prison, shows a brief clip of one of the damaged administrative buildings.

Separately, the Washington Post estimates, based on its analysis of high-resolution satellite images of Evin Prison, that Israeli strikes either destroyed or damaged 17 buildings within the sprawling prison complex.

Citing image analysts, the Post says that the locations of the damaged buildings indicate that Israel carried out between four and six individual strikes, which appeared to target entry gates and take out prison staff in the central areas.

In addition, the Post says, around 60 acres of land surrounding the complex were burnt in fires triggered by the strikes.

The strikes are said by Iran to have killed at least 71 people, including staff, soldiers, visiting family members, and people living nearby.

Toddler found unconscious in locked car last week still in critical condition, hospital says

A Magen David Adom ambulance stands at the scene where a 2-year-old girl was found in a closed car, unattended, unconscious and in critical condition with signs of heat stroke, in Hadera, July 3, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

Rambam Medical Center in Haifa reports that a 2-year-old girl found unconscious in a car in Hadera on Thursday remains in critical condition in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Another toddler who was also trapped in a car the same day in Elyakhin, near Hadera, and arrived in serious condition is now stabilized and has been moved to the children’s ward. Her brother, 5, is in good condition in Hadera’s Hillel Yaffe Hospital.

Police located the children in Elyakhin after being alerted that they had gone missing, according to a police statement. Officers also arrived on the scene in Hadera after medical services alerted them that a small girl was found in a car in critical condition, police said.

Both cases are under investigation, police said, adding a warning to parents to make sure they don’t forget children in cars.

Toddlers dying after being forgotten in vehicles is a repeated occurrence in Israel, where temperatures in locked cars can soar to 70°C (160°F) — a level that can prove dangerous to children even for brief periods.

According to the Beterem – Safe Kids Israel organization, in 2010-2020, 34 babies and children in Israel died after they were left unattended in parked and locked cars.

Police investigating after grenade lobbed at yard of Holon home

Police have opened an investigation after a grenade was thrown at the yard of a home in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, less than an hour following a similar incident in Herzliya.

No injuries were reported in Holon.

Law enforcement does not believe that the incident is terror-related.

Earlier today, a man in his 40s was badly injured by an explosion in the upscale neighborhood of Herzliya Pituah — the third grenade-lobbing to rock the affluent suburb within a month.

Police have not yet arrested suspects in connection to either incident.

Matan Kahana formally resigns from Knesset after announcing departure from Gantz’s party

MK Matan Kahana attends a plenary session at the Knesset on May 7, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

MK Matan Kahana, formerly of Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, submits his official resignation letter to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

Written in the margin of the note is a promise to “continue to work for the unity of the Jewish people.”

Kahana, who represented the right-wing flank of Benny Gantz’s center-right party, announced his resignation from the Knesset last week, less than a day after Gantz’s number two, Gadi Eisenkot, announced his own imminent departure from the faction and the Knesset.

Gantz reverted the name of his party to its previous appellation, Blue and White, following Eisenkot and Kahana’s departure.

Speaking with The Times of Israel ahead of a press conference in Tel Aviv last week, Kahana said that he is in touch with former prime minister Naftali Bennett, whose party he used to be a member of, and will try to broker a political alliance between him and Eisenkot.

Eisenkot submitted his own letter of resignation to Ohana last week.

Eisenkot and Kahana are set to be replaced in the Knesset by Eitan Ginzburg and Yael Ron Ben-Moshe.

British maritime agency reports small vessels opened fire on ship off Yemen’s coast

CAIRO, Egypt — The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says a vessel had been engaged by multiple small vessels, which have opened fire with small arms and self-propelled grenades 51 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah.

Armed security teams have returned fire, and the situation is ongoing, UKMTO says in an advisory note.

UKMTO WARNING INCIDENT 026-25 – ATTACKhttps://t.co/CcRBRqH8Bb#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/rngVoNJyPI

— UKMTO Ops Centre (@UK_MTO) July 6, 2025

Israel says it killed commander of north Gaza naval force in strike on cafe last week

The IDF and Shin Bet announce that they killed Ramzi Ramadan Abd Ali Salah, the commander of Hamas’s naval force in northern Gaza, during an airstrike last Monday in Gaza City.

The military confirms that he was the target of the strike on a cafe, in which Hamas-linked authorities said killed 24 people.

Several other terrorists were also killed in the operation, the military says.

Salah, identified by the IDF as a key figure in Hamas’s maritime capabilities, had been actively planning attacks against Israeli forces operating in the Strip. He was targeted inside a building in Gaza City, where he was meeting with other operatives.

The strike, carried out by an Israeli Air Force jet, was guided by intelligence from the Navy, the Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Shin Bet.

Among the additional Hamas members killed were Hisham Ayman Atiya Mansour, deputy head of a Hamas mortar unit, and Nassim Muhammad Suleiman Abu Sabha, a member of Hamas’s mortar unit.

The IDF claims that several measures were taken to minimize civilian harm, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence assessments.

Salah is the fourth Hamas naval commander to be eliminated since the war began — with all three of his predecessors also killed in Israeli attacks — dealing repeated blows to the terror group’s maritime capabilities.

Hamas’s naval force is not currently considered operational, with no known maritime vessels in its waning military arsenal.

Haredi MKs could boycott Knesset votes until new conscription bill presented

UTJ lawmakers Ya'akov Tessler and Moshe Gafni attend a vote on the proposal to dissolve the Knesset, Jerusalem, June 12, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties are considering boycotting all plenum votes in the Knesset until presented with a new draft of a controversial bill regulating the conscription of yeshiva students.

A Haredi political source told Channel 12 earlier today that ultra-Orthodox lawmakers will not enter the Knesset plenum to vote with the coalition until they see forward movement on the bill, which is being worked on in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Speaking with The Times of Israel, another Haredi party source with knowledge of the matter says that the parties will make up their minds during tomorrow’s faction meetings.

“We need to wait and see because Yuli Edelstein said he would present [his draft] today, so we’re waiting,” the source adds.

Speaking with Radio Kol Barama last week, United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Roth noted that the Haredi parties were already boycotting private member bills by coalition MKs over delays in advancing the legislation.

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein is expected to present lawmakers with a revised version of the government’s ultra-Orthodox enlistment bill in the coming days, after the matter was briefly shelved due to the war with Iran.

According to national broadcaster Kan, the legislation will call for conscripting more than 4,800 Haredim in the first year.

An unreleased version of the bill that was being worked on by Edelstein’s committee prior to the Iran war was said to contain a raft of harsh sanctions on Haredi men who flout enlistment orders, including the loss of discounts on property taxes and public transportation, the removal of tax benefits for working women married to draft dodgers, exclusion from the housing lottery, and the cancellation of daycare and academic subsidies.

According to Channel 12, boycotting votes could postpone United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler’s appointment as housing minister. Eichler is slated to replace Tourism Minister Haim Katz, who took on the office on a temporary basis following the resignation of UTJ chairman Yitzchak Goldknopf.

IDF says troops destroyed several Assad regime outposts in Syrian buffer zone

Troops from the IDF’s 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade, under the command of the 210th Division, continue to carry out targeted operations in southern Syria, the military says.

In one such operation, reserve forces from the 810th Brigade, together with Yahalom combat engineers, destroyed several outposts belonging to the former Assad regime in the Syrian buffer zone.

According to the military, these outposts posed a direct threat to IDF positions in the Mount Hermon area.

The brigade’s forces continue to conduct proactive operations in southern Syria to protect the security of Israeli citizens, and residents of the Golan Heights in particular, the IDF says.

Man badly hurt in Herzliya grenade blast; police rule out terror motive

Paramedics arrive to the scene of a grenade explosion which injured a man in Herzliya, on July 6, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

A man in his 40s was badly injured in a grenade explosion in Herzliya this afternoon, first responders say.

Paramedics found the wounded man conscious but having suffered serious trauma to his upper body. They are taking him to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah.

The police have opened an investigation into the incident and ruled out a terror motive.

Police searching for man suspected of stabbing Petah Tikvah mall worker

Central District police are searching for a young man suspected of stabbing a mall employee in Petah Tikvah during a fight.

Paramedics took the stabbing victim, an 18-year-old with moderate injuries, to nearby Beilinson Hospital.

The alleged perpetrator is a resident of the city in his 20s. He fled the city’s Sirkin Mall after pulling a knife on the young employee, according to law enforcement.

“The suspect’s identity is known, and upon his arrest, he will be brought before a judge to request an extension on his detention along with an evaluation by medical professionals,” a police spokesman says.

Netanyahu reportedly decides new airport will be built near Rahat, Netivot

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided that a new airport will be built in the area of the Ziklag archaeological site, near the southern cities of Rahat and Netivot, Channel 12 reports.

The area is west of the site that has been previously mulled by the government — the southern moshav of Nevatim near the city of Beersheba.

High Court rules AG, government must provide update on deal to pick next Shin Bet chief within 48 hours

A High Court of Justice hearing on petitions against the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, April 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice rules that the Attorney General’s Office and the government must update justices within 48 hours if they have reached an agreement on the appointment of David Zini to head the Shin Bet security agency.

The court is seeking a compromise between the two sides over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment of Zini, which Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has said is unlawful and that the premier must delegate the authority to pick the next Shin Bet chief to another minister.

The attorney general made this determination after the High Court of Justice found Netanyahu’s dismissal of previous Shin Bet head Ronen Bar to be unlawful due to a conflict of interest owing to the Shin Bet’s probe into his close aides and their alleged ties to Qatar. Bar resigned from the post last month.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.

Police says suspect nabbed over murder of 25-year-old in Nazareth last month

Police say they have arrested a suspect in last month’s murder of 25-year-old Tawfik Abu Lashin in Nazareth.

Abu Lashin was shot dead at a car wash in the northern Arab city on June 25, mere hours before his cousin, Naif Abu Lashin, was killed in a similar incident in neighboring Yafia. Police suspect that the shootings are linked, related to a dispute between criminal organizations in the area.

After murdering Abu Lashin, the suspect fled the scene on his motorcycle and crashed into a parked car, injuring himself.

Police last Friday tracked the suspected assailant down to Emek Medical Center, where he had checked himself in due to the self-inflicted accident. An additional suspect was arrested in connection to the shooting that same day, a spokesman says.

A court has extended the detention of both suspects until tomorrow, July 7.

UK-funded report on Oct. 7 sexual violence to be published Tuesday, British paper says

Abandoned vehicles on Route 232 following the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival near Re'im on October 7, 2023. (South First Responders)

A report documenting “widespread and systematic” sexual violence during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, as well as assaults experienced by hostages held in Gaza, is set to be released Tuesday in Jerusalem, the British Sunday Times reports.

The Dinah Report, partly funded by the British government and written by Israeli gender and legal experts, aims “to counter denial, misinformation and global silence” over the massacre, and seeks “to set the historical record straight: Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war.”

The report compiles testimonies from 15 former hostages, a survivor of an attempted rape at the Supernova Music Festival, and to 17 people who witnessed or heard assaults, which took place across six locations, according to the Sunday Times.

“Clear patterns emerged in how the sexual violence was perpetrated,” the Sunday Times quotes the report as saying, “including victims found partially or fully naked with their hands tied, often to trees or poles; evidence of gang rapes followed by execution; and genital mutilation.”

Two IRGC members killed trying to defuse bombs left over from war with Israel

TEHRAN, Iran — Two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed today while attempting to defuse explosives in an area of the country’s west hit by Israeli strikes last month, Iranian media reports.

Tasnim news agency, citing a statement from the IRGC, says that “two members of the Guards were killed Sunday in Khorramabad while clearing the area of explosives left by the Zionist regime’s aggression.”

Gaza hospital officials say 33 killed in Israeli airstrikes

Smoke billows east of Gaza City, in the central Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on July 6, 2025. (Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say, after the military said it had struck over 100 terror targets in the embattled enclave in the past day.

Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital that serves the area.

In southern Gaza, 13 Palestinians were killed by strikes in Mawasi, an area on Gaza’s Mediterranean where many displaced people live in tents, officials at Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis tell The Associated Press. Five of the dead belonged to the same family, according to the hospital.

The figures offered by hospital officials do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 terror targets across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours.

It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons, and launchers, and that they killed a number of terror operatives in northern Gaza.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Israeli team heading to hostage talks is high level, but does not include senior-most officials — report

Gal Hirsch, the government's point man on missing and kidnapped citizens arrives to the funeral of late Israeli soldier Oron Shaul at the cemetery in Poriya Ilit on January 20, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

Israel’s delegation to Doha includes government hostage point man Gal Hirsch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political adviser Ophir Falk, deputy Shin Bet chief “Mem,” and a senior Mossad official, Army Radio reports.

The delegation is high-level, but at this stage does not include the senior-most officials who have been involved in talks — Mossad chief David Barnea, acting Shin Bet head “Shin” and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

The Kan public broadcaster reports that the team departed early this afternoon to Doha.

Ahead of PM’s White House visit, Herzog urges Netanyahu to seal hostage deal even if ‘the cost is not simple’

President Isaac Herzog (right) meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, July 6, 2025. On the table is a picture of the hostages held in Gaza. (Haim Zach/GPO)

In a rare occurrence, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits down with President Isaac Herzog ahead of his flight to Washington, where the premier is slated to meet with US President Donald Trump on Monday.

According to a readout from Herzog’s office, the president stresses the urgency of securing a breakthrough in talks for a hostage deal and ceasefire. “In his visit to Washington, the prime minister carries with him an important mission — advancing a deal to bring all our hostages home,” Herzog says.

“I fully support these efforts, even when they involve difficult, complex, and painful decisions… The cost is not simple, but I am confident that the cabinet and the security establishment will rise to the challenge, as they have until now,” Herzog adds.

Herzog wishes success to the negotiating team heading to Doha today and calls on “world leaders and international partners to use their full influence to help achieve a breakthrough… We have no time to waste.”

He also thanks Trump “for his support in eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat and for his unwavering support for Israel.”

According to Herzog’s office, the president expresses hope to Netanyahu that the trip could also “open the door to broader regional developments.” The two discuss “opportunities to deepen ties with additional countries, in the spirit of Trump’s Abraham Accords initiative.”

Netanyahu’s office has not issued a readout of the meeting.

Swiss embassy, which hosts US interests section, reopens in Tehran

VIENNA, Austria — Switzerland, which also represents US interests in Iran, has reopened its embassy in Tehran after a closure due to the air war between Israel and Iran, the Swiss foreign ministry says.

“Ambassador Nadine Olivieri Lozano and a small team returned to Tehran yesterday overland via Azerbaijan. The embassy will gradually resume operations,” the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs says in a statement. It had been closed since June 20.

IDF says company commander among four wounded in deadly Gaza skirmish last week

IDF Sgt. Asaf Zamir, 19. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF provides further details on the incident in which Sgt. Asaf Zamir, 19, from Dimona, was killed on Friday during combat in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza.

According to the military, Zamir fell during operational activity conducted by the 53rd Armored Corps Battalion of the 188th Brigade. In addition to Zamir’s death, four other soldiers were wounded — two of them severely and two moderately.

Among the injured was the company commander, who sustained wounds while attempting to rescue the forces under fire.

Shortly after the attack, the Israeli Air Force struck and eliminated part of the terrorist cell responsible for the assault.

The IDF expresses its condolences to the Zamir family and says it will continue to support them during this difficult time.

Smotrich blasts leak of cabinet row with Zamir; Gantz defends ‘honest’ IDF chief

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at the Knesset on May 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rails against “partial and biased leaks from the cabinet” following reports of a shouting match between him and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir during a security cabinet meeting on Saturday evening.

According to Hebrew media, Smotrich accused the military of failing to manage the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza, stating that Zamir had “failed enormously on this matter.”

Such leaks “harm the security of the state,” Smotrich says in a lengthy statement alleging that throughout the war, the IDF’s top leadership was failing in its mission and is “forcing the political echelon to introduce aid that reaches Hamas.”

Smotrich says he “does not intend to be deterred by the briefings against me,” alleging they constitute an “attempt to silence” his criticism.

Smotrich also slams the cabinet for its decision on Saturday to allow more aid into north Gaza, stating that it is “unacceptable to us and we will consider our steps against it.”

His recriminations are aimed at the IDF brass and not the rank-and-file soldiers and commanders, Smotrich specifies, adding that for all his appreciation, “my criticism is also of the prime minister” for not forcing the military leadership to follow the will of the politicians.

Responding to this morning’s reports about Smotrich, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff who previously served as a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, tweets that Zamir “is an honest, experienced, and statesmanlike individual.”

“The attempts by ministers to pin the political failure in removing Hamas’s rule on him and on the military echelon that has been fighting for nearly two years only underscore how much Israel needs honest leadership that prioritizes the country’s security over politics,” Gantz writes.

“In the consensus government that will be established after the elections, ministers who attack the IDF will be sacked and will not overpower the prime minister.”

In letter to PM, Chikli denounces emerging ‘partial’ hostage deal, warns against peace with Syria’s Sharaa

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli seen after a court hearing in Lod of the Shin Bet official arrested in suspicion of leaking classified information, April 15, 2025. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli publishes a letter expressing opposition to a partial ceasefire-hostage release deal with Hamas and to a peace agreement with Syria’s new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

In the letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chikli says that the emerging Gaza deal being negotiated is “problematic,” charging it allows Hamas to rebuild itself and leaves at least 10 living hostages in captivity.

“There is no room for an additional partial deal. Every deal at this point must include the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all the hostages without exception, and the permanent control of key areas of the entire northern [Gaza] border including Beit Hanoun, the eastern outskirts of Gaza City, a thick perimeter in the center of the Strip, and full control of the Morag Corridor and the south,” he writes.

Chikli cautions against reaching a peace deal with Sharaa in Syria, calling him a “terrorist” and “mass murderer,” due to his previous allegiance to al-Qaeda.

“It is forbidden to make any peace with this terrorist,” he asserts.

He claims that Sharaa only wants a hudna, or a long-term but temporary ceasefire, because he is in a weak position in Syria.

Smotrich reportedly clashes with Zamir over aid distribution in Gaza: ‘You have failed enormously’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is seen in southern Gaza, June 1, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich clashed with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, accusing the military of failing to manage the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza during last night’s security cabinet meeting, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

It is unclear if Smotrich’s comments refer to ongoing looting of aid by Hamas or chaos at aid sites run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

“The army is not ready to manage humanitarian aid. You have failed enormously on this matter,” Smotrich is quoted by Kan as telling Zamir.

“You have criticism for everything… You weaken the reservists. You weaken the morale of the soldiers. You are against the IDF. You are against everything and say we aren’t doing this and aren’t doing that,” Zamir is quoted as hitting back.

“Your problem is that you don’t know how to take criticism. I congratulate the successes, but on the humanitarian matter, you failed greatly,” Smotrich reportedly responded.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is quoted as rapping both sides for speaking in an “unreasonable” way and asking them to calm down.

Smotrich then is quoted as claiming Zamir will brief the press against him, to which the IDF chief responds: “I don’t brief anything.”

“Let’s do a polygraph,” Smotrich reportedly responds.

At a cabinet meeting last week, an argument was also reported between Zamir, Smotrich, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

According to a Channel 13 report, the far-right ministers charged that Zamir had given up on the idea of “complete victory” over Hamas due to his prioritization of the release of hostages, and voiced opposition to a two-month ceasefire in which half of the living hostages would be released.

“No problem, then remove ‘the return of the hostages’ as a goal of the war,” Zamir responded, according to Channel 13.

IDF says forces struck more than 130 terror sites over past day

IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout cleared for publication on July 6, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces that troops operating across the Gaza Strip struck over 130 terror targets in the past 24 hours, including command centers, weapons depots, rocket launchers, and terrorist cells. The aerial strikes were carried out in coordination with ground troops engaged in active operations throughout the Strip.

In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, combat teams from the Kfir Brigade and the 188th Armored Brigade raided multiple Hamas positions, locating and seizing combat equipment. Meanwhile, the IDF’s Gaza Division uncovered tunnel shafts and dismantled terror infrastructure in Rafah’s Jenina neighborhood.

Further north, the 98th Division, an elite formation of paratroopers and commando units, eliminated terrorists in Gaza City and struck military compounds, while the Commando Brigade destroyed surveillance equipment and additional infrastructure.

The 99th Division continued its operations to locate and demolish both surface and subterranean terror assets, including an explosives warehouse hit by the IDF’s 990th Reserve Artillery Regimen. Northern Brigade forces also struck several military structures.

In parallel, the 162nd Division reported the elimination of terrorists in the Jabaliya area and the outskirts of the Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods.

Netanyahu to meet Trump at 6:30 p.m. in Washington on Monday

US President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (Pool via AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at 6:30 p.m. local time on Monday, or 1:30 a.m. Israel time Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office tells The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu lands in Washington on Sunday night.

German daily says journalists pelted with stones by settlers in West Bank on Friday

Settlers threw large stones at a correspondent and cameraman from the German daily Die Welt during an attack on the West Bank village of Sinjil on Friday, the newspaper says in a statement.

“They managed to reach safety without physical injuries, but the cameraman’s car was severely damaged: a window was shattered and the bodywork was dented,” Die Welt says, adding that their employees wore press vests, clearly identifying them as journalists.

Die Welt’s director general says in a statement: “There is no justification for this attack. We strongly demand that the Israeli government guarantee the safety of all journalists in the West Bank. Freedom of the press — and therefore the safety of journalists — is an indispensable pillar of any democracy.”

Germany’s Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert says the reports are “extremely worrying.”

“The freedom of press and the safety of journalists must be guaranteed. In view of the continuous rise in extremist settler violence their work is essential,” he writes on X.

Reports about violent settler attack on international journalists, including a German correspondent, are extremely worrying. The freedom of press and the safety of journalists must be guaranteed. In view of the continuous rise in extremist settler violence their work is essential

— Steffen Seibert (@GerAmbTLV) July 5, 2025

Cabinet okays plan to allow more aid into north Gaza, Israeli official confirms to ToI

Illustrative: Armed Palestinians sit on trucks carrying humanitarian aid near the Zikim border crossing between Israel and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, June 25, 2025. (Ali Qariqa/Flash90)

The security cabinet approved a plan to allow more aid distribution in the northern Gaza Strip, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel, confirming Hebrew media reports.

The expansion of aid in northern Gaza will be done through international aid organizations, says the official.

United Nations World Food Programme Deputy executive director Carl Skau was in Israel last week to meet Israeli officials. He also went to Gaza City on Wednesday to meet locals and discuss the humanitarian situation there.

He told The Times of Israel that Israel allows the WFP to bring in 100 truckloads of food a day, accessing northern Gaza through the Netzarim Corridor and the Erez Crossing. However, Erez closed last week after the WFP sent the IDF footage of its trucks being commandeered by armed Gazans.

“We’re hopeful that that would open again because that’s the most secure. It’s the Netzarim Corridor that is very complicated,” said Skau.

Skau said that if there is a ceasefire in Gaza, the WFP is ready to bring in 500-600 trucks into Gaza by the next day: “We have food and we can mobilize in 24 hours.”

PM’s office says spokesman quitting had nothing to do with Netanyahu’s wife

Omer Dostri, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former spokesman. (Courtesy)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, had nothing to do with Omer Dostri stepping down as the premier’s spokesman over the weekend, Netanyahu’s office says in a statement.

“The decision to terminate his employment was made in coordination between the prime minister, his chief of staff, and Dostri,” says the PMO, adding that “the media is quick to turn Mrs. Netanyahu into its punching bag whenever it can.”

However, a source with knowledge of the details tells The Times of Israel that Dostri’s likely replacement, Ziv Agmon, is very close to Sara Netanyahu, and that her attitude toward Dostri played a role in his stepping down.

Leader of militia in Gaza fighting Hamas confirms cooperating with IDF

Members of the Abu Shabab gang in Gaza are seen in an undated video posted by the group. (screen capture: Facebook, 27a clause of the copyright law)

The head of a militia operating in an area of Gaza under Israeli military control, Yasser Abu Shabab, gives an interview to the Israeli public broadcaster’s Arabic-language radio station Makan, in which he says his fighters are young men of Palestinian origin living in the heart of the Strip, with no affiliation to any political ideology or organization.

The interview marks the first time the militia chief has given a live interview. In the past, he has provided voice recordings of himself reading statements and has given email interviews.

“We’ve tasted the bitterness and injustice inflicted on us by Hamas, and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to confront this aggression. We don’t rule out confrontation with Hamas and we don’t rule out civil war, no matter the cost,” he says.

In the interview, Abu Shabab confirms for the first time that his forces are cooperating at some level with the IDF.

“We didn’t have any security like we do in zones under Israeli control. We entered these areas and carried out operations beyond expectations. As long as the goal is support and assistance (from the IDF), and nothing more, when we go on a mission, we inform them — nothing beyond that — and we carry out the military operation,” he says.

Unconfirmed TV report says government votes to allow aid distribution in north Gaza

Palestinians carry bags containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The security cabinet overnight decided to allow the distribution of aid in the northern part of the Strip, according to an unconfirmed Channel 12 news report.

The report does not make clear if the aid operations will be carried out by the controversial US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has facilities in south and central Gaza, or by United Nations-backed aid groups.

The report says Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voted against the measure, reasoning it would impede efforts to move the Gazan population to the south of the Strip.

Israel has accused Hamas of hijacking aid deliveries by other humanitarian groups. The GHF, which, in addition to aid workers, employs private US military contractors to protect its distribution sites, says that since starting operations in May, it has delivered supplies to Palestinians, while other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted.”

The GHF bypasses traditional aid channels, including the United Nations, which says the US-based organization is neither impartial nor neutral, and forces Gazans to walk long distances to reach the aid.

The UN Human Rights Office said Friday more than 500 people had been killed in the vicinity of the GHF sites since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza in May.

Israel has accused Hamas of attacking Gazan aid seekers and falsifying death tolls but has also acknowledged that “several” Palestinian civilians have been killed by the IDF near GHF aid distribution sites. The IDF says troops have been issued new instructions following what it called “lessons learned.”

Hamas opposition to IDF presence in Gaza corridors will be obstacle in hostage talks, officials say

IDF troops are seen in the Morag Corridor area in the southern Gaza Strip, April 21, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The redeployment of IDF troops in Gaza is set to be a sticking point in negotiations for a ceasefire-hostage release deal, officials involved in the talks tell the Kan public broadcaster.

According to the officials, Hamas is insisting that the IDF’s redeployment should be open for discussion in the negotiations in Doha and opposes Israel’s demand to keep its presence on the Philadelphi and Morag corridors in the Strip.

Five Hebron sheikhs pen letter asking to join Abraham Accords as emirate, dismiss two-state solution — report

Israeli security in the West Bank city of Hebron, June 28, 2025. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

A group of five leading sheikhs in the Palestinian Authority’s Hebron district sent a letter to the government expressing a desire to join the Abraham Accords and to have peace with Israel, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The letter, addressed to Economy Minister Nir Barkat, expresses the sheikhs’ desire to break off from the Palestinian Authority and establish Hebron as an emirate that “recognize[s] the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.”

Then, “the State of Israel shall recognize the Emirate of Hebron as the Representative of the Arab residents in the Hebron District.”

The letter describes the proposed arrangement as “fair and decent,” and says ot can replace the Oslo Accords, “which only brought damage, death, economic disaster and destruction.”

Barkat tells the WSJ that the old two-state paradigm has failed, and that the Palestinian Authority is not trusted among its people and in Israel. The minister has hosted Sheikh Wadee’ al-Jaabari — one of the most influential Hebron clan leaders and the spearhead of the initiative — and other sheikhs at his home in Jerusalem for dozens of meetings since February.

“Sheikh Jaabari wants peace with Israel and to join the Abraham Accords, with the support of his fellow sheikhs. Who in Israel is going to say no?” Barkat says.

“There will be no Palestinian state — not even in 1,000 years,” Jaabari tells the newspaper. “After October 7, Israel will not give it.”

Another sheikh who joined the initiative concurred: “To think only about making a Palestinian state will bring us all to disaster.”

The WSJ says other sheikhs who agree with the initiative spoke anonymously to ensure their safety.

Jabari has long criticized the PA and backed cooperation with Israeli settlers, but has remained a marginalized figure in Palestinian national politics.

Man charged with setting fire to Melbourne synagogue, police still examining possible terror charges

Damage to the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne is seen on an Australian Broadcasting Corporation news report on July 5, 2025, following an arson attack the previous day (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

A man suspected of setting fire to an Australian synagogue as worshipers ate dinner inside has been arrested and charged, police said Sunday.

The 34-year-old is suspected of setting the front door of the busy East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue ablaze on Friday night while around 20 people were inside.

Victoria state police charged the man with a string of offenses, including reckless conduct endangering life.

“Detectives will continue to examine the intent and ideology of the person charged to determine if the incident is in fact terrorism,” police say in a statement.

The worshipers escaped unscathed through the back of the synagogue before firefighters doused the blaze.

Police said they were yet to find a link between the two other incidents targeting Jewish residents in Melbourne on Friday night.

In one instance, a group of about 20 anti-Israel protesters swarmed an Israeli-owned restaurant while chanting “Death to the IDF.”

The protesters allegedly flipped over tables and smashed a window, according to local media.

Cars were set on fire and daubed with antisemitic graffiti in a third incident in another part of the city.

IDF successfully downs missile launched from Yemen

The IDF says it successfully intercepted a missile launched from Yemen toward Israel.

Sirens had sounded in the Dead Sea and Judean Desert areas.

Sirens sound in Dead Sea area after missile launched from Yemen

Warning sirens sound in the Dead Sea area following a missile launch from Yemen.

The IDF says it is working to intercept the missile.

IDF says working to intercept missile launched from Yemen

The Israel Defense Forces says a missile has been launched toward Israel from Yemen, and that air defense systems are working to intercept it.

It urges the public to follow IDF Home Front Command instructions, if any are issued.

Dozens of protesters in Jerusalem demand Haredi men enlist in military

Protesters demand mandatory conscription for ultra-Orthodox men in Jerusalem on July 5, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

A few dozen protesters gather at the entrance to Jerusalem to demand that the government conscript ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF, amid increased calls to pass a law drafting Haredim.

The demonstrators, mostly Orthodox women, are protesting on the edge of a Haredi neighborhood while holding signs that read: “One who believes does not draft-dodge” and similar slogans.

“These young women that are here, their husbands are all on reserve duty,” says protest organizer Esthie Voltz to The Times of Israel.

She adds that her son-in-law — who is 45 with four children — was fired from his job after spending 13 months in the reserves.

Organizer Tehila Elitzur, speaking to the crowd, attests to mounting frustration amid the general public due to the lopsided burden religious Zionist, secular, and Druze populations have shouldered during the Gaza war.

She calls on the government to “lighten the burden of reserve duty” by passing a draft law, adding that the IDF suffers a severe personnel shortage.

“These groups [secular, religious Zionist, and Druze] are already conscripted to the furthest extent they can be; it must come from the Haredim,” she says.

Protesters recite the prayer for the State of Israel and sing the Israeli national anthem to conclude their demonstration, then disband.