July 6: Opposition boycotts vote as political Oct 7 probe passes 1st reading 59-0

Death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes rises to 3,535

The death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes has risen to 3,535, with more than 16,700 injured in the disaster, according to updated official figures.

The massive June 24 earthquakes flattened entire neighborhoods in La Guaira state, north of the capital Caracas, and thousands are still reported missing.

The government says 16,740 people were injured in the powerful back-to-back shocks and that over 17,000 were left homeless.

The government has not given a figure for those still missing under mountains of rubble, but the UN estimates that as many as 50,000 people may still be unaccounted for.

Many of the survivors are living in temporary camps on the street, in public parks, or in parking lots.

Jordan fuming at Israeli refusal to renew expired water deal — report

Jordan is furious about Israel’s continued refusal to renew a 2021 water agreement between the two neighbors, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan mandates that Jerusalem supply 50 million cubic meters annually to its eastern neighbor. In 2021, during the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government, Israel agreed to double the amount of fresh water it provides to Jordan, one of the world’s most water-deficient countries.

The 2021 agreement expired in late 2025 after a series of extensions. Israel reportedly conditioned the renewal on Jordan moderating its rhetoric toward Israel and restoring full diplomatic ties.

A Jordanian source close to the royal family tells the outlet: “The water issue is very important to us, and is part of the peace treaty.”

Jordan’s King Abdullah declined repeated requests from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet in March, according to Israeli media reports. One of Abdullah’s demands for agreeing to a meeting was the renewal of the water agreement, Kan says.

Report: As PM seeks Haredi loyalty after election, ultra-Orthodox leaders non-committal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently met with Haredi leaders and asked them to promise that they will remain an inseparable part of his right-wing bloc following the elections, Channel 12 reports.

According to the network, Shas party leader Aryeh Deri told the prime minister that without the passage of two laws to defend draft dodgers, there was nothing to talk about — specifically the Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value of the state, and temporary legislation to halt the arrests of Haredi draft dodgers for 90 days.

Leaders of United Torah Judaism were even less committal, the report said: Moshe Gafni of the Degel HaTorah faction told the premier that its support was not assured, and that its spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando had ruled that “as of now, there is no bloc.” Meanwhile, the Agudat Yisrael faction conveyed that it expected the Israeli leader to pass the bills before it would discuss the matter.

The coalition has been rushing to pass the laws to protect draft dodgers from arrest and financial sanctions, upon the demand of the Haredi factions, before the Knesset dissolves on July 17. The legislation is extremely unpopular among the general public, but Netanyahu views it as crucial to his chances of holding onto power.

Bus driver killed while changing tire when vehicle collapses on him

A bus driver has been killed while changing a tire in central Israel when the vehicle collapsed onto him, crushing him.

The incident occurred south of Rehovot. Paramedics who arrived on the scene declared the driver dead. Rescue services then arrived and used various tools to extricate him from underneath the bus.

The cause of the collapse is not immediately known.

Ambassador Leiter: Reports of rift in ties with US are overblown ‘drama’

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter insists that reports of a rupture in ties between Israel and the US are overblown.

“The media loves drama. So, if the president and the prime minister have 100 conversations that are pleasant, and then there are two conversations in which the president is having a bad day or is a little irritable and makes that known — that becomes the tenor of the relationship between the two men,” Leiter laments during an onstage interview in Washington.

“The relationship is good and solid. There are differences along the way, and they are legitimate,” he says, using as an example Israel’s opposition to the mulled US sale of F-35 fighter jet parts to Turkey. Leiter explains that Israel has made its position known and that the US has the right to decide how it wants to proceed.

He wholly rejects the notion that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragged the US into war with Iran, arguing that those claiming so are engaging in antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Leiter also rejects that it as a mistake for Israel to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, even though it has led to the elevation of more hardline IRGC officials. He argues that it is too early to say who will fill the leadership vacuum in Tehran and that in some previous cases, such voids have been filled by individuals willing to make peace.

Leiter dismisses US Vice President JD Vance’s recent claim that President Donald Trump is the only world leader left who is still sympathetic toward Israel. He points to strong Israeli ties with India, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Somaliand, and Armenia, highlighting Israel’s recent recognition of the Armenian genocide. That decision has received a chilly response in Armenia, amid accusations that it was only taken in order to snub Turkey.

While arguing that Vance was incorrect in describing Israel as diplomatically isolated, Leiter clarifies that he has never detected “a scintilla of antipathy toward Israel” from dozens of meetings with Vance.

Vance made the comments while calling out far-right Israeli ministers who have criticized the MOU that the US signed with Iran last month.

Leiter says that some ministers in Netanyahu’s government have acted “irresponsibly,” while calling out Israel’s critics who have used those individuals to lodge genocide accusations against Israel.

Israeli Ambassador Yechei Leiter criticizes U.S. media: "If we were guilty of the things that we're accused of my son would be alive today…Because we don't strike bomb population centers from above and we don't starve population centers and we don't commit genocide." pic.twitter.com/Ml6tFJqPwJ

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 6, 2026

Israeli envoy to Washington says next Israel-Lebanon talks set for next week

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter indicates that the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place next week in Rome.

“Next week, we’re going to be sitting in Rome on the 14th and 15th, bringing teams for each issue,” Leiter says during an onstage interview in Washington.

Leiter’s attendance at such talks would indicate that a separately planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be taking place.

The Israeli envoy reveals that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will be meeting with Trump at the White House on July 21 — a date that has not yet been publicly confirmed.

The US has sought to organize a trilateral meeting between Aoun, Netanyahu, and Trump, but Beirut has pushed back on the idea so long as Israel maintains forces in southern Lebanon.

Leiter insists that Israel does not have territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but will remain there until the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) can verifiably prove that they have begun disarming Hezbollah.

The Israeli envoy argues that one of the obstacles in the way of that goal is the presence of Hezbollah activists and sympathizers inside LAF units. Accordingly, Israel has submitted a proposal to have the US vet existing LAF units to weed out such Hezbollah sympathizers.

While Trump suggested during a May Oval Office meeting that Israel be the one to vet and train Lebanese soldiers, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio “came to the rescue and said, ‘Well Mr. President, they hate Hezbollah, but they’re not ready to love the Israelis yet.”

Pressed for additional details on this plan to vet LAF units, Leiter admits that it is still in the works. However, he says that some LAF units are not “saturated” with Hezbollah operatives and therefore can already begin operating against the terror group.

Leiter says that Israel is prepared to strengthen the current, anti-Hezbollah Lebanese government by providing intelligence on anyone seeking to harm its leaders.

He adds that Jerusalem is also prepared to lobby Washington to increase its financial assistance to the LAF if the latter proves that it is willing to take on Hezbollah.

Leiter praises the Lebanese government for refusing to reinstate direct flights between Beirut and Tehran, which the Israeli envoy says were being used to funnel Iranian funds to Hezbollah.

Leiter is asked about the deconfliction mechanism that was announced last month by US Vice President JD Vance, where representatives from the US Army’s Central Command and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sit together in Doha in order to prevent escalations in Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz. Israel, and Lebanon reportedly fumed at the establishment of the channel, insisting that Iran should not be given a say regarding developments in Beirut, while US officials are said to believe that Tehran is the only entity currently capable of reining in Hezbollah.

The Israeli envoy admits that he does not know if the mechanism described by Vance is actually operating. However, he says a separate deconfliction mechanism that includes representatives from the IDF’s Northern Command, the LAF’s Southern Command and CENTCOM is “working very closely… and directly and not with anybody else involved from the region.”

Knesset advances politically-appointed Oct 7 probe in 1st reading, amid opposition boycott

The Knesset votes 59-0 to advance highly controversial legislation establishing a politically-appointed probe into the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre.

Today’s vote is the bill’s first reading at the plenum. It requires two more readings to pass into law.

Under the bill, the same government that was in power when the attacks took place will have the power to unilaterally appoint the body investigating its own conduct.

Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote, which was assured passage, with the backing of the ultra-Orthodox parties. The opposition has boycotted the bill throughout the legislative process and has vowed not to cooperate with the proposed political commission.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not take part in the vote.

The legislation will now return to the Knesset Constitution Committee, where it will be prepared for its final two readings, expected to be pushed through next week ahead of the Knesset’s pre-election dissolution.

The proposal, promoted by Likud MK Ariel Kallner, calls for a Knesset supermajority — 80 out of 120 MKs — to appoint a six-member investigative committee and its chairman. If there is no agreement after two weeks, both the opposition and coalition would be allowed to select three committee members each, who would be joined by four supervisory members representing bereaved families.

However, the commission may begin operating as long as at least three members have been appointed, meaning that if the opposition continues to boycott the process, a commission composed solely of coalition appointees could still conduct the inquiry.

The opposition has demanded that an independent state commission of inquiry be appointed. Netanyahu has adamantly refused to establish one, despite overwhelming public support, because its members would be selected by the judiciary, which he claims is biased against him.

The October Council, an anti-government group representing hundreds of bereaved families, survivors and former hostages, accuses the government of advancing the legislation in order to “absolve them of their share of responsibility for the greatest massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

“This disgraceful bill is not intended to uncover the truth, but to bury it alongside our loved ones,” the group says.

“Moshe Gafni, Aryeh Deri, and Yitzhak Goldknopf — we will pursue you day and night for trading the blood of our loved ones for money,” the statement continues, referring to the leaders of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Shas parties, whose reported deal with Netanyahu to promote legislation to shield draft evaders from criminal or financial sanctions enabled the bill to pass. “This is not Judaism, and these are not its values.”

Reports: Settlers set fire to structure in West Bank overnight; no injuries

Palestinian media report that settlers set fire last night to a structure in the village of Surif, near Hebron in the southern West Bank.

Footage published online appears to show four people standing next to the structure before setting it ablaze.

No injuries have been reported.

مليشيات المستوطنين تهاجم قرية صوريف شمال الخليل وتحرق منشأة بعد منتصف الليلة pic.twitter.com/fvBNZk7QSh

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) July 6, 2026

Envoy to US says Israel views deal with Lebanon as superseding American MOU with Iran

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter says that Jerusalem views the framework deal it inked last month with Lebanon as superseding the memorandum of understanding that Washington signed with Iran.

“Both Israel and Lebanon clearly see our trilateral agreement superseding the first clause of the MOU. Whether or not the United States does, you’ll have to ask an administration spokesman,” Leiter says during an onstage interview hosted by the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington.

While the US brokered the talks between Jerusalem and Beirut that led to the framework deal in which the sides agree to prevent Iran from influencing developments in Lebanon, the MOU that US President Donald Trump went on to sign with Iran appeared to undermine the Israel-Lebanon channel by specifically extending the US-Iran ceasefire to include Lebanon and call for an end to military operations in the country.

Leiter recognizes that Iran, along with Pakistani and Qatari mediators, believes that the MOU should override the Israel-Lebanon framework deal. However, he argues that the MOU is merely a document aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz after Iran closed the channel in response to US and Israeli strikes. Leiter says the MOU “is not a closure of the operation against Iran and its nuclear pursuits.”

Leiter argues against the MOU’s envisioned sanctions relief to Iran, insisting that Tehran will use that money “for nefarious purposes.”

At the same time, the Israeli envoy recognizes the limits of Israel’s ability to influence US decision-making. “All we can do is weigh in… We can’t be part of that decision-making process. That’s too big for us. We know our size.”

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S: Yechiel Leiter

“Lebanon is gonna have to get ahold of itself.. make the choice— that it comes down to the side of accommodationism— those who have threatened the notion of Israel’s existence and that Lebanon can be used as a conduit to fulfill… pic.twitter.com/zVN33tSJI8

— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) July 6, 2026

He says there are some members of the Israeli government who are panicking over the MOU and its meaning for Iran and the region, but says he is “much more sanguine,” and is urging a wait-and-see approach regarding ongoing talks on a final deal that would more holistically address Iran’s nuclear program, missile program and support for proxies.

“Whether that’s in 60 days or 90 days or after the midterms… I’m quite sure that the administration didn’t go to war to go back into a situation where Iran has a pathway to once again try and produce nuclear weapons” by creating a shield via the mass production of ballistic missiles, he says.

While Trump made the destruction of Iran’s missile program an initial war aim, he shifted after signing the MOU last month to arguing that Tehran should be allowed to have some missiles as a means of self-defense against neighbors that also have them.

For his part, Leiter says, “I can’t imagine that any ultimate agreement with Iran would be absent a clause limiting the development of ballistic missiles.” He notes that Trump has also said any deal with Iran would have to address its support for proxies, though that issue, too, went unmentioned in the MOU.

Macron arrives in Syria for first post-Assad visit by West European head of state

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Damascus for the first visit by a Western European head of state since Syria’s new authorities took power in 2024.

Macron, who will depart on Tuesday, will advocate for “a free, pluralist Syria that respects each of its components” and plays a role in moderating Middle East tensions, the French presidency told journalists ahead of his visit.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani welcomes Macron upon arrival.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa has been rebooting Syria’s international credentials and seeking to revive his struggling country after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The last French president to visit was Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, before Assad brutally crushed pro-democracy protests in 2011, sparking a conflict that killed more than half a million people and devastated Syria’s infrastructure and industry.

A deadly bombing at a Damascus cafe last week was the latest security challenge for the new Islamist authorities who are trying to reunify the country after more than 13 years of civil war.

Syrian state news agency SANA describes the visit as “a pivotal step in the process of restoring Syria’s international presence.” It adds that, with the visit, “Syrian-French relations are entering a new phase based on mutual respect and a balanced partnership.”

Body of Khamenei arrives in Qom ahead of procession — state TV

The body of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives in the holy city of Qom ahead of a planned procession the following day, state television reports.

“The body of the martyred leader has arrived in Qom,” south of the capital Tehran, state television says on social media.

???? Footage of the funeral procession for the revered martyr Ayatollah Khamenei and his family, amidst mourners at Tehran's Azadi Square. pic.twitter.com/UjuB4iUD1K

— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) July 6, 2026

Report: Netanyahu urged Trump not to sell advanced weapons to Turkey

During their phone call on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained to US President Donald Trump about anti-Israel comments from senior Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Channel 12 reports.

Netanyahu urged Trump not to sell Turkey advanced platforms and weapons for its air force, according to the outlet.

Trump and Erdogan are expected to discuss Turkey’s wish to rejoin the F-35 program at the NATO summit this week in Ankara.

According to a senior US official, Trump might ask Erdogan to tone down the rhetoric against Israel.

IDF detains settlers attempting to cross into Syria from Mount Hermon

Troops detained several Israeli settler activists earlier today who attempted to cross the border into Syria from the Mount Hermon area, handing them over to police for further investigation, the IDF says.

The military strongly condemns the incident, calling it a “criminal offense” that endangers civilians and disrupts operational activity, and urges law enforcement authorities to “bring those involved to justice and to act decisively to curb the phenomenon.”

The activists, who call themselves the Bashan Pioneers, have attempted to enter Syria multiple times in the past year, including just yesterday, seeking to establish settlements in the area. They have received support from some lawmakers.

Sa’ar warns of Hamas ‘trick’ to ‘prevent disarmament’ after group dissolves Gaza government

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accuses Hamas of attempting to avoid disarming under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, after the terror group announced the dissolution of its governing administration in the Strip to prepare for the transfer of authority to the technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

“Hamas’s trick is simple. Hamas’s apparent willingness to ‘make room’ for a technocratic government is designed to prevent its own disarmament,” Sa’ar charges in a post on X.

Hamas’s trick is simple.

Hamas’s apparent willingness to “make room” for a technocratic government is designed to prevent its own disarmament.

Hamas seeks to replicate the “Hezbollah model” in Gaza:
a technocratic administration would be responsible for garbage collection and…

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) July 6, 2026

“Hamas seeks to replicate the ‘Hezbollah model’ in Gaza: a technocratic administration would be responsible for garbage collection and other municipal services, while Hamas would remain the dominant military force,” Sa’ar says. “As long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will of course operate as Hamas dictates.

“Israel insists on the full implementation of the Trump plan, with its core principles being the disarmament of Hamas and all other terrorist organizations, and the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” Sa’ar stresses.

The move by Hamas — which appears largely symbolic and aimed at demonstrating the terror group’s willingness to hand over authority to the National Committee — was also met with skepticism from the US-backed Board of Peace. The transition of governance in Gaza under the Trump plan has remained stalled for months, with the Board faulting Hamas for refusing to hand over its weapons, while the terror group argues that Israel must first adhere to the terms of a ceasefire inked last year.

IDF says it killed Hamas commander who trained Nukhba force leading up to Oct. 7

A Hamas commander responsible for training the terror group’s elite Nukhba Force ahead of the October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed in an overnight strike in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF says.

According to the military, Fadi Falah Ashour Daghmash served as a commander in the training department of Hamas’s military wing, overseeing various training programs, particularly for the Nukhba Force in the years leading up to the October 7 massacre.

The IDF says Daghmash also helped direct combat against troops during the war and, in recent months, had worked to advance additional attack plans and restore Hamas’s operational capabilities.

“The terrorist posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip,” the military adds.

צה"ל חיסל מפקד במחלקת האימונים של ארגון הטרור חמאס

צה"ל תקף בצפון רצועת עזה במהלך הלילה, וחיסל את המחבל פאדי פלאח עאשור דע'מש, מפקד במחלקת האימונים בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס.

דע'מש הוביל אימונים שונים, בדגש על אימוני מערך הנוח'בה בשנים שקדמו לטבח ה-7 באוקטובר, והיה… pic.twitter.com/GfCbM4vPqH

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 6, 2026

Knesset to split up controversial attorney general bill, clause allowing government to ignore AG remains

The Knesset plenum will vote this evening on splitting its highly controversial legislation to gut the powers of the attorney general, seemingly because the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee no longer has time to prepare the original bill, due to its size and potential impact.

If the plenum approves, the legislation will no longer divide the role of attorney general position in two — an attorney general and a prosecutor general — as the government sought to do throughout the entire legislative process of the bill. Instead, it will keep all roles under the authority of the attorney general.

The bill nevertheless preserves the most controversial aspect of the draft law: that the attorney general’s legal position will no longer be binding for the government. Critics of this provision, including Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, say that allowing the government to decide for itself whether its actions are legal will severely violate the rule of law and remove a key check on government power.

Constitution committee legal adviser Gur Bligh stated specifically during today’s hearing that a key concern over the bill was the ability of the government to ignore the attorney general’s legal positions in “extreme” situations in which it tries to expand its authority beyond the boundaries of the law. Bligh said this was “especially dangerous” regarding criminal proceedings and election law for which the bill does not provide “adequate safeguards.”

The new version of the bill also removes the highly politicized method of hiring and firing the attorney general, which the previous version of the legislation stipulated, and which critics said would almost certainly undermine the independence of the attorney general. But the new text of the bill says that the government will decide how the attorney general will be appointed and dismissed within 30 days of the law coming into effect after the upcoming elections.

The original version of the legislation passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum in June, but the plenum must approve the committee’s decision to split the bill.

Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman intends to begin the process of approving the bill for its final readings in Knesset tomorrow night, meaning that votes in the plenum for the final passage of the legislation will likely be scheduled for next week.

All living former Supreme Court presidents pan government for not respecting court ruling

All living former presidents of the Supreme Court condemn the government’s announcement yesterday that it does not see the court’s ruling on the functioning of the Second Authority council as valid, saying that refusing to respect or obey court rulings is “the last nail in the coffin of democracy.”

The Supreme Court presidents assert that the government’s declaration would create legal anarchy and concentrate all power in its hands.

“Such conduct completely undermines normal governance and law in the country. It will lead to anarchy and to the concentration of all governmental powers in the hands of a single body alone, and will make the existence of a functioning society impossible,” the former court presidents say.

The retired justices say that in order to avoid such catastrophic results, the government should immediately announce that it is committed to obeying court rulings.

The letter is signed by former Supreme Court presidents Aharon Barak, Dorit Beinisch, Asher Grunis, Esther Hayut and Uzi Vogelman.

On Sunday, the government said that it would not accept as valid any decisions made by the Second Authority media regulation body under the terms of a court ruling in June allowing it to function without a quorum.

The declaration gave rise to concerns that the government was violating the rule of law and taking the country towards a constitutional crisis, with President Isaac Herzog, the attorney general, and all heads of opposition parties condemning the move.

Earlier today, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not intend to go down the “slippery slope” of a constitutional crisis, and said that the premier would comply with the court decisions.

Analysts say Tehran crowd sizes don’t necessarily show vast popular support for regime

While Tehran is filled with mourners today, analysts — and even senior Iranian officials — caution that the crowd size cannot be equated to a popular endorsement of continued theocratic rule.

“If anyone’s thinking this is a litmus test for the popularity of the Islamic Republic, history tells us otherwise. It’s a funeral, and Iranians do funerals very well,” says Ali Ansari, professor of modern history at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

Reuters spoke to people attending the rallies who said they were only there as spectators or were motivated by a sense of religious duty in a country of strong Shi’ite Muslim tradition, rather than to display political allegiance.

“My attendance does not mean that I am pro-regime, this big event happened in my country and I wanted to witness history,” says Hamidreza, 63, a retired teacher in Tehran who says he always attends funerals of major national figures and asks to withhold his family name.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify crowd number, though drone footage appears to show hundreds of thousands of people.

The authorities can count on a steady base of ideological support that analysts often put at around 15-20% of the population of 93 million, based on support for hardline candidates in elections. During the last presidential vote in 2024, the hardline candidate Saeed Jalili received around 13.5 million votes.

The funeral is a rare national event — the first of a supreme leader since 1989, when Khamenei’s predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the 1979 revolution, was buried at a moment of high ideological fervor. His burial, two days after his death, drew millions of people in scenes that sometimes verged on chaos.

Khamenei, killed on February 28, could not be buried sooner because of the war, despite Islamic requirements for a swift funeral. But the delay has also given time for the authorities to plan a major state occasion.

This week’s events are also the first public commemorations since the end of a war that supporters of the Islamic Republic saw as existential.

“If we do not respect our leaders, the world will not respect us,” says Houshang Dabiri, 51, explaining why he traveled to Tehran from Shiraz for the funeral.

One senior source acknowledges that people are attending for a variety of reasons, including religious duty and backing for the state, and that many of those on the streets are the same people who always attend demonstrations arranged by the authorities to back official campaigns and policies.

Austria probes far-right MP’s ex-aide over neo-Nazi assault of taxi driver

A former parliamentary staffer for an Austrian far-right lawmaker has been embroiled in an investigation into the assault of a taxi driver blamed on neo-Nazi extremists, public media reports.

Prosecutor Anika Maierhofer confirms to AFP that the authorities have opened a probe into suspected neo-Nazi activities and aggravated violence following the assault in the central city of Leoben.

The attack has sparked a backlash across the political spectrum against the Alpine nation’s far-right FPOe party, which was founded by former Nazis and has long been criticized for its extremist ties.

According to a witness cited by Austria’s APA press agency, a former FPOe parliamentary staffer is one of three suspects accused of the June 20 assault on the sidelines of a gathering of the far-right Leder society.

The incident erupted after the taxi driver refused to transport the trio, who had reportedly entered his vehicle, chanted neo-Nazi slogans and made the Hitler salute.

After the driver alerted the emergency services, the passengers attempted to flee the scene, which the victim tried to prevent to allow the police to identify the suspects. The suspects are then accused of hitting the driver, with one of them strangling the victim and throwing him to the ground.

Lapid says coalition laying groundwork to contest election; opposition split over future of Likud

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accuses the government of laying the groundwork to contest the upcoming national election, following its unprecedented decision yesterday not to respect a June High Court ruling. He argues that the coalition wants “to go to elections without a court.”

At his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting, Lapid says Sunday’s cabinet declaration rejecting a High Court ruling concerning the Council of the Second Authority for Television and Radio is part of a larger “organized plan” to “steal the elections.”

Lapid argues that the coalition has increasingly directed its fire at the judiciary, including Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Solberg, who, despite being a conservative religious jurist who resides in a West Bank settlement, has “one fatal flaw” in that he also chairs the Central Elections Committee, and therefore has the authority to prevent the government from “stealing the election.”

Since taking office, the coalition has repeatedly sought to weaken and delegitimize the judiciary — one of Israel’s few checks on government power. With elections set to be held by October 27, critics argue that the coalition is preparing to contest an electoral defeat by eroding confidence in the courts and refusing to recognize their authority.

“If the government does not obey the law, we are not obligated to obey the government,” Lapid declares. “The laws they pass here will not apply to us. We will not cooperate with them, and we will repeal every law they pass and every appointment they make as soon as we return to power.”

Democrats party chair Yair Golan, meanwhile, urges fellow opposition leaders to pledge that no coalition minister or lawmaker supporting defiance of High Court rulings should be allowed to serve in a future “government of recovery and change.”

This contrasts with Lapid and Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman, who say they would be willing to sit in a government with a post-Netanyahu Likud, as well as Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, who has failed to cross the electoral threshold in polls for months, and who continues to advocate for a broad “Zionist” government while declining to explicitly rule out serving alongside Netanyahu.

While a post-Netanyahu Likud currently appears improbable, with Netanyahu firmly in control of the party after being reaffirmed as leader last year without opposition, Lapid and Liberman may nevertheless be seeking to signal to potential future defectors from the party that they would have a place in an alternative governing coalition.

IDF confirms strike on car in southern Lebanon that killed 4 people

The IDF confirms carrying out a strike in the Nabatieh al-Fawqa area in southern Lebanon this afternoon, saying it targeted suspects approaching Israel’s buffer zone.

The strike on a car in the area killed four people, according to Lebanese media.

The military says it identified a car with four suspects in it approaching the south Lebanon security zone.

The suspects “posed a threat to IDF soldiers,” and they were then targeted by the Israeli Air Force, the IDF says.

The Lebanese health ministry identifies the victims as school principal Esperanza Ghandour, her mother, a female domestic worker and a male foreign labourer.

Trump claims Iran’s made concessions, before admitting that they’re not final

US President Donald Trump says Iran has offered concessions in the nuclear talks, before admitting that those proposals aren’t final.

“We’ve gotten concessions, now they have to hold [to] those concessions,” Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump insists that the US will be allowed to extract Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, even though Tehran has never confirmed agreeing to that.

The US president then goes on to insist that the goal of the war was never to collapse the Iranian regime, even though on the first night of the operation, he called on Iranians to take over their government once the US-Israeli bombing campaign ceased.

“We’re close to maybe making a deal… I don’t know. We’re going to win one way or the other. Either we’re going to make a deal, or we’re going to finish the job,” Trump repeats.

However, talks between the US and Iran aren’t currently taking place, as the sides agreed to pause for the week of the slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral proceedings.

“I’d rather make a deal because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” he adds, noting that he has held off on targeting much of Iran’s civilian infrastructure but could decide to do so if deemed necessary.

Report: Netanyahu seeking 10 reserved spots in party’s election slate

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asking his Likud party to give him 10 reserved spots for candidates of his choice in the party’s election slate, eight of which will be in the top 25, Channel 12 reports.

The party is expected to vote on the proposal next week. It is set to hold party primaries on August 4.

The report adds that a proposal to keep almost all of the party’s members in their current positions may be brought to a steering committee.

The premier has sought to secure unprecedented influence over Likud’s Knesset slate, while broadening the party’s appeal beyond its traditional activist base. But the push has run into resistance from influential figures within his own party, exposing a rare internal power struggle over who will shape Likud’s future parliamentary lineup.

Netanyahu is reportedly concerned that primaries could elevate candidates who are highly popular among the Likud base but who internal party polling suggests are less appealing to moderate right-wing and swing voters whose support could prove decisive in the upcoming national election.

West Bank arts festival kicks off for first time since Gaza war

Ramallah’s Contemporary Arts Festival, one of the largest in the West Bank, starts today for the first time since the war in Gaza shut down most cultural activities in the territory.

Art, theater and film festivals once held in Ramallah and elsewhere in the West Bank came to a halt after the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, amid escalating violence, Israeli military raids and settler attacks following the outbreak of the Gaza war.

“Culture and art historically play an important and distinctive role in our struggle… because they reflect our identity and reinforce our role as a Palestinian society,” Khaled Aliyan, the festival’s director, tells AFP.

Aliyan says the festival, previously limited to contemporary dance, was expanded to include Palestinian artists from all fields.

Aliyan regrets that the West Bank’s cultural life experienced “a forced two-year suspension due to the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.”

Israel strongly rejects such accusations, saying the high death toll in Gaza is a result of Hamas and other terror groups operating from within densely populated civilian areas.

فيديو- تحت شعار "مكملين".. انطلاق مهرجان رام الله للفنون المعاصرة بتنظيم سرية رام الله الأولى ورعاية إعلامية من صدى نيوز pic.twitter.com/3XQozFX1nX

— SadaNews (@SadaNewsPS) July 6, 2026

Because of the war, many organizers in the field decided to pause cultural activities out of solidarity for their fellow Palestinians living in displacement and constant danger of airstrikes.

Smotrich says interest rate cut ‘a minimal reduction that does not match challenges’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticizes the Bank of Israel’s decision to cut the interest rate by 0.25%, calling it “a minimal reduction that does not match the challenges of the economy.”

Smotrich says he urged the Bank of Israel “to cut interest rates sharply” and says the current rate “is not aligned with the needs of the economy, and makes things harder for the high-tech sector and exports. A sharp interest rate reduction is the right step, one that will ease the cost of living and balance the strengthening of the shekel.”

Bank of Israel lowers interest rates to 3.5

The Bank of Israel lowers interest rates to 3.5 percent and sees the economy growing at a slightly faster pace this year, citing the US deal with Iran, eased global geopolitical tensions, and a stable inflation environment.

The central bank reduces borrowing costs from 3.75% to 3.5%, marking the third rate cut this year, after trimming borrowing costs in May and January.

“The memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran led to a decline in energy prices and a moderation of the global geopolitical tension, but the level of uncertainty remains high,” the central bank says. “Economic activity continues to recover moderately.”

The central bank says it expects the economy to grow by 4% in 2026, up from its previous March forecast of 3.8%. In 2027, the pace of growth is expected to pick up to 5.5%, similar to the March forecast. Israel’s economy grew 2.9% in 2025, which was overshadowed by the war with the Hamas terror group in ⁠Gaza for most of the year and fighting with Iran-backed proxies on multiple fronts.

Russian staff to return to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant from mid July — report

Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom plans to send staff back to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant from the middle of July, Rosatom’s head says, according to the Interfax news agency.

Rosatom, which is building two new units at Bushehr, evacuated hundreds of staff after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

Israeli aid team in Venezuela assessing quake-damaged buildings, not conducting rescues

Israel’s aid delegation to Venezuela, sent in the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes there, is assisting the South American country with engineering assessments of damaged buildings rather than search-and-rescue operations, the head of the team says.

“Unlike past missions, we were asked to help rehabilitate the country. At the request of the Venezuelan government, of course,” Home Front Command Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Elad Edri tells reporters.

The military’s delegation is made up of around 30 experts, mostly Home Front Command engineers who specialize in structural assessment. “This is a specific engineering discipline that enables an engineer to evaluate a building and determine whether it is suitable for rehabilitation or fit for use, or whether it needs to be demolished, which is extremely critical for the rehabilitation phase,” Edri says.

He tells reporters that there are an estimated 1,300 buildings that require structural assessment, an effort which began today in cooperation with local Venezuelan authorities, although it is unlikely that the Israeli team will go through all of them.

“Our teams of engineers will begin mapping the areas they requested. We were sent to classify buildings and say, okay, this one, destroy it, this one you can renovate, this one you can live in, this one you can’t live in,” Edri says.

He says the experts are also helping local authorities plan the demolition of unsafe buildings and the removal of debris.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry is also represented in the delegation, with the civilian component led by ambassador Yoed Magen, who grew up in Venezuela.

Despite Israel and Venezuela having no official diplomatic ties since 2009, Edri says the delegation has encountered no hostility from government officials or local residents. “We are here walking around in IDF uniforms with the state’s symbols with great pride. There is no concern for our safety,” he says.

Edri says the team was “shocked,” but “positively,” upon landing in Valencia on Wednesday, when they were greeted by members of Venezuela’s Jewish community, ambassadors, and local officials.

The delegation is currently expected to return to Israel on Sunday, although it could be asked to remain in the country for longer.

Ahead of Trump’s departure for Turkey, Netanyahu says Ankara shouldn’t be given F-35s or fighter jet parts

Ahead of US President Donald Trump departure later today for a NATO summit in Turkey, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urges Washington not to sell advanced weaponry to Ankara.

Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu calls Turkey “a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood.”

“I don’t think they should be given F-35s or engines for their fighter jets,” he insists.

Last month, Trump seemed to indicate he would agree to sell Turkey F110 fighter jet engines and readmit Turkey to the F-35 program.

Netanyahu argues that such a move would “upset the balance of power in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israel’s air superiority and also America’s posture in the Middle East.”

He calls Turkey “a great country” but laments that it is ruled by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who openly threatens Israel with destruction and who occupies half of Cyprus.

Netanyahu says that no date has been set for an upcoming visit to Washington, DC, to meet with Trump, and once again downplays recent tensions over the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.

“We see eye-to-eye on just about everything,” Netanyahu claims.

“We have disagreements from time to time, but we work them out because we’re allies,” he says, noting that they speak about disagreements “in open conversation.”

“The president has his way of expressing things and so do I,” Netanyahu says.

“We’re allies,” he repeats. “We’re your model ally.”

He stresses that Israel respects the US, and that there are “multiple ways of ironing out our differences as allies that respect each other.”

He says Israel would “like to see peace with Lebanon advance” during his trip. “The fact that we basically hammered the Iranian regime, we weakened it substantially and that opened the path for more peace deals.”

On Iran, he emphasizes that the Islamic Republic is “not America’s friend, and we should not let them have nuclear weapons or the means to deliver them.”

“This is a battle of freedom versus fanaticism,” Netanyahu says.

Asked why the regime in Iran is still standing, Netanyahu says it is because it has “a few hundred thousand goons who kill, murder in broad daylight and at night. They murder their own people.”

Reflecting on America’s 250th anniversary, Netanyahu calls the US “a tremendous force for good…without America there wouldn’t be any democracy in the world or any freedom in the world.”

“God bless America,” he concludes.

Weekend strike in Gaza targeted Hamas operatives trying to restore tunnel system, IDF says

An airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip over the weekend targeted five Hamas operatives who were attempting to restore a tunnel system, the military says.

The IDF says the tunnel was located on the western side of the Yellow Line, in Hamas-run territory.

The strike on Saturday killed Hudhayfah Hussein Abdullah al-Hawajr, a Nukhba Force operative in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion, the army says.

The other four operatives were hit in the strike, but their conditions are unknown.

After Hamas dissolves Gaza government, Board of Peace says it will judge handover ‘by actions’ alone; NCAG: ‘fully ready’ to govern

The Board of Peace says it will assess developments in Gaza “by actions, not promises,” after Hamas announced the dissolution of its governing administration in the Strip in preparation for the transfer of authority to the Board’s technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

The Board has “taken note” of Hamas’s announcement, it says in a statement on X, adding that, “ultimately, our assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza.”

We have taken note of the announcement today regarding the dissolution of the “Emergency Committee” in Gaza. Ultimately, our assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza. Decisions must be comprehensive with respect to the…

— Board of Peace (@BoardOfPeace) July 6, 2026

The move by Hamas is largely symbolic and appears intended to demonstrate that the terror group is willing to hand over the administration of Gaza to the National Committee, in line with US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza. However, that transition has been stalled in recent months, with the Board faulting Hamas for refusing to hand over its weapons, while the terror group argues that Israel must first adhere to the terms of a ceasefire inked last year.

The Board says it looks forward to advancing “the implementation mechanisms necessary to enable the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to assume full governing authority,” stressing that this will require “the consolidation of all weapons under the control of the NCAG as provided for in the Comprehensive Gaza Peace Plan and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803.”

“A genuine transfer of authority must enable the NCAG to exercise its mandate independently, including taking the administrative and governance decisions entrusted to it,” the Board says.

In a separate Arabic-language statement, Ali Shaath, the head of the National Committee, asserts that the body “is fully ready to carry out its national responsibilities, as soon as the necessary facilities and possibilities for its work are available.”

“The basic requirements for the success of the Committee are to have one authority, one law with a clear reference, and one weapon subject to this authority,” he adds.

Knesset committee approves contentious media overhaul bill for final readings in plenum

The Knesset committee preparing the government’s highly controversial media overhaul legislation approves the bill for its final readings in the Knesset plenum.

Chair of the Special Committee for the Communications Law Likud MK Galit Distel-Atbaryan says that media in Israel would change “from top to bottom,” allowing Israelis greater choice in what they watch as a result of the proposed law.

“Consumers will immediately feel the effect of lower prices. Everyone will benefit from the fruits of this reform,” asserts Distel-Atbaryan.

The opposition, however, denounced the advancement of the bill to its second and third readings in the Knesset plenum, saying the legislation will undermine freedom of the press and concentrate regulatory power in the government’s hands.

“This is the day on which a stamp of approval was given to a regime change law, which will take control over the free press in the State of Israel,” says Yesh Atid MK and special committee member for the opposition Shelly Tal Meron.

The Knesset is yet to set a date for the final readings in the plenum, with time running out for the coalition before the Knesset is dissolved at the end of the month, ahead of the election.

Knesset education panel votes to advance bill expanding gender segregation in academia; final readings likely later today

The Knesset Education Committee votes to advance a bill to expand gender segregation in academia to the Knesset plenum for its final two readings.

The bill, which is expected to be voted on in the plenum later today, would allow universities and colleges to offer gender-segregated master’s and doctoral degree programs subject to approval by the Council for Higher Education.

The legislation builds on a 2021 High Court ruling that upheld the Council for Higher Education’s policy permitting limited and specific gender-segregated undergraduate programs aimed at integrating ultra-Orthodox students into higher education and, ultimately, the workforce.

The court stressed at the time that the arrangement was specifically intended for the Haredi community and imposed safeguards, including limiting segregation to classrooms in mixed institutions and prohibiting discrimination against female lecturers.

The new legislation would extend that framework to master’s and doctoral programs and be open to all students, not only the Haredi community, while a proposed amendment by Shas MK Yossi Taieb to expand segregation to additional areas of campuses was rejected.

Proponents frame the bill as increasing educational opportunities for religious women, with bill sponsor MK Limor Son Har-Melech arguing the legislation will “advance women from sectors that have not received the opportunities they deserve,” while committee chair and Religious Zionism Zvi Sukkot says it would “expand freedom of choice.”

Opposition lawmakers and academic representatives have roundly denounced the bill, arguing that it unnecessarily expands gender segregation beyond existing arrangements, prioritizes religious rights over the rights of female students and lecturers to equality, dignity and freedom of movement, and harms academic freedom and the quality of teaching and research.

Education Committee member and Democrats MK Naama Lazimi condemns the “terrible bill,” saying lawmakers who oppose women serving in the Knesset or whose parties bar female candidates, including several of the committee members, “have no right to strip us of our freedoms and rights.”

Lebanese media reports four killed in earlier IDF drone strike on car in Nabatieh al-Fawqa area

Lebanese state media says an Israeli strike on a car in the country’s south earlier today killed four people, including three women.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) says a school principal, her mother, a foreign female domestic worker, and a male Syrian worker were killed when “an Israeli drone targeted the car” they were travelling in as they returned from inspecting their family home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Knesset legal adviser says controversial media overhaul bill can’t be changed further, risking Haredi support for it

Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik tells the special Knesset committee overseeing Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s highly controversial media reform bill that it is no longer possible to adjust clauses in the legislation to halt media broadcasts in the government media application on Shabbat or to filter adult content, as demanded by the ultra-Orthodox factions.

Afik’s comments are a severe blow to the bill, since the ultra-Orthodox parties have refused to back the legislation without the changes because they claim that in its current format, it would expand access to television broadcasts on Shabbat.

According to a report by Channel 13, the United Torah Judaism party is now refusing to vote for the bill, which could deprive the coalition of its majority for the legislation.

Shas also says it also cannot back the legislation because “the amendments we demanded, at the instruction of the rabbis, in order to prevent harm to religious values, were not included.”

However, the party says it will support splitting the bill and advancing other provisions regarding regulation for new television channels, including the pro-government Channel 14.

Karhi’s media overhaul bill would give the government significant control over broadcast media, news sites, and other media, and has been criticized by the Knesset’s professional legal staff and by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who have warned that it undermines press freedom and allows for political interference in the media.

Police say cops opened fire at car that accelerated toward them in Ar’ara; 5 wounded

Police officers opened fire on a car this morning after it accelerated toward them following shots toward it from another vehicle in the southern Bedouin town of Ar’ara, the Israel Police say.

Five people were wounded in the incident, three of whom were arrested, police say.

At least one of the people sustained serious wounds, according to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

Officers who searched the offending vehicle found the gun and magazines that the suspects allegedly used to fire the shots, according to police.

Footage from the scene shows officers ordering people in the car to get down on the ground as shots are heard around them

תקרית ירי ביישוב ערערה שבנגב. שימוש לפי ס' 27א pic.twitter.com/Jzs30qpcdZ

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) July 6, 2026

Hamas dissolves Gaza government in symbolic move ahead of eventual transfer of power to NCAG

The Hamas government in Gaza has announced the resignation of the so-called “Emergency Committee” — the Hamas-led administration that governs the Strip — in preparation for the transfer of authority to the technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

The Hamas government says in its announcement that all civil servants will continue providing services as usual, describing them as “public employees who are ready to work under the responsibility of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).” Hamas also says it has completed all the administrative steps necessary to transfer authority.

The move is largely symbolic and has little practical effect. It appears intended to demonstrate that the terror group is willing to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to the National Committee, in line with US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.

Lebanese media reports Israeli drone strike targeting car in Nabatieh al-Fawqa area

Lebanese media reports an Israeli drone strike in the Nabatieh al-Fawqa area, close to the Ali Taher ridge beneath which Hezbollah has a major tunnel system.

The strike targeted a car in the area, according to the reports.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

الطيران المسير استهدف بلدة النبطية الفوقا#ملحق pic.twitter.com/e04gASuRcA

— Mulhak – ملحق (@Mulhak) July 6, 2026

Coalition pushes ahead with Oct. 7 political probe, Torah study Basic Law, AG bills in contentious pre-election blitz

A raft of contentious coalition-backed bills is set to advance today in the Knesset as the government seeks to push through as much legislation as possible before the parliament’s expected dissolution on July 17, at which point most legislative activity is expected to halt ahead of elections, set to be held by October 27.

The plenum is expected to hold the first of three readings today on legislation establishing a highly polarizing, politically appointed probe into the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, which would grant the power to unilaterally appoint the commission to the same government that was in power when the attacks took place.

The bill is being advanced in lieu of a state commission of inquiry, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to form because its members would be selected by the judiciary, which he claims is biased against him, despite overwhelming public support for such a commission.

The third and final reading of a bill sponsored by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party expanding gender segregation in academia is also expected to be held today.

The initial bill proposed permitting mixed institutions to offer gender-segregated master’s and doctoral programs for religious students on a voluntary basis, but it has since been broadened to apply to undergraduate degrees and to permit segregation beyond classrooms to other areas of campus, as well.

Marathon deliberations are also continuing in committees today on several measures promoted by the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Shas parties, including a controversial proposed Basic Law on Torah study to shield Haredi draft dodgers from sanctions and parallel legislation freezing their arrests, as well as legislation repealing the previous government’s kashrut reform.

Committees are also deliberating several coalition priorities, including Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi’s broadcast media overhaul, which critics say is intended to concentrate more power over broadcast media in government, and a pair of bills curbing the powers of the attorney general — one of the sole checks on executive power.

The legislative blitz follows a reported agreement between Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties ending their boycott of coalition legislation last month. Under the deal, the coalition agreed to advance key Haredi priorities — including legislation aimed at preserving exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men from military service and related measures — in exchange for their support for the coalition’s own legislative agenda.

Israeli national arrested in Thailand on suspicion of operating unlicensed daycare — report

An Israeli national and a Romanian national have been arrested in Koh Phangan on suspicion of operating an unlicensed daycare center on the Thai island, according to local media outlet The Thaiger.

The Israeli national, identified by the outlet as Ziv Radomsky, is reportedly the owner of the unlicensed Little Panda daycare, and Romanian national Meda Andreea Capilna is suspected of working there without a permit.

Forty-two children with foreign citizenship between the ages of two and six were found to be enrolled in the daycare, according to The Thaiger.

The raid on the unlicensed institution took place on July 4, after police received a tip about foreign nationals operating an illegal business in the area, the report adds.

Likud minister insists Netanyahu will comply with High Court ruling, isn’t seeking constitutional crisis

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar disputes the claim that the government’s resolution yesterday amounts to a declaration of intent to ignore a ruling from the High Court of Justice, and insists that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not intend to go down the “slippery slope” of a constitutional crisis.

“As I know him, the prime minister will comply with the High Court’s decision; there won’t be a constitutional crisis here,” Zohar, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud, tells the Kan public broadcaster. “In my opinion, a constitutional crisis is the beginning of a slippery slope.”

He claims that the government resolution rejecting the High Court ruling on the operations of the Council of the Second Authority, the commercial broadcasting regulatory body, “did not create a constitutional crisis — but sought to prevent one.”

“We told the High Court that its behavior was against the law,” the Likud minister insists. “We must obey the High Court’s decisions, but we’ll say that we are on the verge of a constitutional crisis.”

IDF: 20 Hezbollah operatives killed, over 150 weapons found in Haddatha, southern Lebanon, in past month

Over 150 weapons were captured by Israeli troops during operations over the past month in the southern Lebanon town of Haddatha, the military says.

Haddatha is located some 10 kilometers north of Israel’s border.

The IDF says troops of the 401st Armored Brigade destroyed some 90 “terror infrastructures,” killed 20 Hezbollah operatives, and located over 150 weapons — including RPGs, anti-tank missiles, and firearms — during operations in the town.

יותר מ-150 אמצעי לחימה אותרו במרחב הכפר חדאתא: כוחות צוות הקרב החטיבתי 401 ממשיכים לפעול להסרת איומים במרחב הבטחוני בדרום לבנון

במהלך החודש האחרון, כוחות צוות הקרב החטיבתי 401 בפיקוד אוגדה 91, השיגו שליטה מבצעית במרחב הכפר חדאתא הנמצא במרחב הבטחוני בו פועלים כוחות צה"ל בדרום… pic.twitter.com/1NIGRPEGJl

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 6, 2026

Katz meets with new Israeli Air Force chief

Defense Minister Israel Katz meets with the new Israeli Air Force chief, Maj. Gen. Omer Tischler.

“During the meeting, the minister was presented with the operational situation assessment and the Air Force’s preparedness across all arenas, alongside the continued force build-up,” Katz’s office says.

Tischler became Air Force chief two months ago.

Katz: Any future Iranian leader who tries to harm Israel will meet same fate as Khamenei

As the funeral procession for Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei makes its way through Tehran, Defense Minister Israel Katz vows that any future Iranian leaders who try to harm Israel will face the same fate as him.

Khamenei, Katz says, “was assassinated by Israel because he set in motion and led the plan to destroy Israel.”

“The assassin was assassinated,” he says. “Any Iranian leader who tries to push plans to destroy Israel again will also be thwarted.”

He says that calls from funeral-goers for Iran to take revenge against US President Donald Trump “are a disgrace and indicate the true nature of the ayatollah regime.”

Katz stresses that although the US-Israeli war on Iran “removed the immediate threat of Israel’s destruction and significantly damaged Iran’s strategic capabilities,” Jerusalem remains on alert and is “prepared to once again defend itself on its own, at any time and against any threat.”

Fleet of Japan-linked ships carrying 12 million barrels of crude exits Strait of Hormuz

A fleet of 10 Japan-related vessels is exiting the Strait of Hormuz, shipping data on LSEG shows.

These include six very large crude carriers loaded with 12 million barrels of Middle Eastern crude, two chemical tankers, a vehicle carrier and a container ship, the data shows.

The tankers are carrying crudes from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that were loaded in late February to early March.

Most of the vessels are managed by Japanese shipper Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, which had said it would prioritize the safety of its seafarers, cargo, and vessels when traversing the strait.

Border Police soldier suspended after video shows him throwing stun grenade into car in Qalandiya, blocking driver’s exit — report

A Border Police soldier has been suspended from duty after he was caught on camera throwing a stun grenade into a car in the Qalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank and preventing the occupant from leaving the vehicle, the Ynet news outlet reports.

The news outlet shares footage of the incident captured by nearby security cameras.

מח״ש פתחה בחקירת התיעוד החריג הזה של לוחם מג״ב אתמול במחנה הפליטים קלנדיה כשהוא משליך רימון הלם לרכב ומונע מהנהג לצאת. במג״ב הגיבו: האירוע לא עומד בקנה אחד עם הנהלים@GLZRadio pic.twitter.com/diFfc660R9

— נועם נקש || Noam Nakash (@nakash_noam) July 6, 2026

In the footage, the soldier can be seen approaching the parked vehicle while shouting at the people inside.

The verbal confrontation lasts for a few seconds before the soldier launches the stun grenade into the vehicle, and it goes off.

Two passengers who were in the back of the car immediately throw open the door and escape as smoke pours out of it, but the soldier blocks the door next to the driver, leaning on it to prevent him from exiting the vehicle.

He moves away after a moment to train his gun on the passengers who escaped the vehicle, and fires at them as they duck for cover behind the car with their arms raised.

The soldier walks away while cursing at the two men, who do not appear to have been injured. The driver was also unharmed despite being prevented from exiting the vehicle, Ynet reports.

The Israel Police tells the news outlet that it has opened an investigation into the incident, and that in the meantime, the border police soldier has been suspended from duty.

“The documentation shows a soldier who acted in a manner inconsistent with procedures,” the police say. “Accordingly, the incident has been transferred to the Department of Internal Police Investigations for examination.”

Ex-supreme court justice: Government pledge to disobey High Court is ‘reminiscent of eve of Oct. 7’

Retired Supreme Court justice Hanan Melcer says that the government’s declaration of intent to disobey a High Court ruling yesterday has put Israel in a position “reminiscent of the eve of October 7,” when the coalition’s controversial judicial overhaul legislation sparked deep divisions among the Israeli public.

Speaking to the Kan public broadcaster, Melcer says that the government resolution rejecting the High Court ruling on the operations of the Council of the Second Authority, the commercial broadcasting regulatory body, has “crossed a red line” as it effectively “states that they don’t recognize the decisions of the High Court of Justice.”

“This is an attack on democracy,” warns the retired judge.

Continuing, Melcer says that Israel is now “in a situation reminiscent” of the months leading up to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which were marked by regular mass protests against the government’s push to overhaul Israel’s judicial system.

“Then, as now, someone broke out with the idea of a coup d’état and the abolition of judicial independence,” he says. “Our enemies heard, saw, and acted on it. I’m warning that, at least in my opinion, we’re in a very similar situation.”

‘We are here for revenge’: Mourners call to avenge Khamenei’s death as funeral procession moves through Tehran

Some Iranians are calling for revenge as the funeral procession for Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei makes its way through Tehran.

Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, and those of his family killed February 28 in an airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, are being carried on board a truck.

They will be taken through the streets of Tehran on their way to Mehrabad International Airport.

The truck is making its way through crowds of black-clad mourners, who reach out to touch the grating.

While some throw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing, others carry signs calling for the killing of both US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. An effigy of Trump being hanged is seen along the funeral procession’s route.

“Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it’s a very tough day,” mourner Fatima Hassan says.  “We are not here to say goodbye to him, we are here for revenge. And we will take revenge.”

Report: Six Palestinians injured during settler raid of southern West Bank village

Palestinian media reports that six Palestinians were injured by settlers in the village of Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills, in the West Bank.

Footage published from the scene shows Palestinians and settlers engaged in a physical confrontation, apparently in the area where Umm al-Khair and the nearby settlement of Carmel border each other.

No further details about the incident are currently available.

شبان يتصدّون لهجوم المستوطنين على خربة أم الخير في مسافر يطا، جنوب الخليل. pic.twitter.com/pGcI9FXTbI

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) July 5, 2026

Verdict expected today in Austrian torture trial of former Syrian officials

A former general and a former Syrian police officer will hear today in Vienna whether they have been found guilty of torturing opponents of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The trial is the latest to see suspects from the Syrian civil war tried in European courts under the legal tool of universal jurisdiction, allowing judges to rule on alleged serious crimes committed abroad.

Khaled al-Halabi, 63, a former intelligence services brigadier general who has been in pre-trial detention since 2024, is charged with torture, aggravated coercion, sexual coercion, as well as multiple counts of serious bodily harm.

Musab Abu Rukbah, 54, a former local police lieutenant colonel, is accused of serious bodily harm, aggravated coercion and sexual coercion in the city of Raqa between April 2011 and March 2013.

Both pleaded not guilty at the start of their trial beginning in June and face up to 10 years in prison.

Syrian officials have also faced trials in France, Germany, Sweden and Belgium for alleged crimes committed during the country’s civil war.

Russia launches deadly barrage on Kyiv on eve of NATO summit, killing 8 people

Russia strikes Ukraine’s Kyiv region with ballistic missiles, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens, authorities said, on the eve of a NATO summit in Turkey.

The assault is the second on the capital and its surroundings in less than a week and comes as both sides increased long-range attacks, underlining the growing reach of the war more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to discuss the war on the sidelines of the summit in the Turkish capital Ankara, which begins tomorrow.

After that, Trump plans to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as Washington seeks to revive stalled peace efforts.

An AFP journalist in Kyiv heard more than 10 explosions during a ballistic missile alert early Monday. Around 30 minutes later, AFP journalists saw several flashes in the sky as another series of blasts rang out.

Seven people were killed in Kyiv, and one in Bucha district northwest of the capital, authorities say, while at least 34 were wounded in Kyiv and its surrounding areas.

Iran sets off on a funeral procession through Tehran for slain supreme leader Khamenei

Iran begins a procession through its capital, Tehran, for the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, and those of his family killed Feb. 28 in an airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, is being carried on board a truck.

They will be taken through the streets of Tehran on their way to Mehrabad International Airport.

Iran’s theocracy plans to see large crowds attend the ceremony across the city to show popular support for the government.

Iranian state television reports the procession has started.

Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which will end Thursday as the 86-year-old Khamenei is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.

Report: Hamas plans to dissolve its Gaza government to allow in technocratic panel

Hamas is moving toward dissolving its Gaza governing body, Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports, citing two sources in the terror group.

The sources say this move would be meant to usher in the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a body of technocrats overseen by the US Board of Peace that is meant to administer Gaza in a period of transition from Hamas rule. The committee has not yet entered the Strip amid Hamas’s refusal to disarm.

One of the sources claims the dissolution will be announced tomorrow.

Yesterday, Kan news reported that Hamas has decided to stall for time in negotiations for its disarmament and for the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan for postwar Gaza, recognizing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing the same due to the upcoming Knesset election.

The outlet cited an internal document discussed in the past few days by the group. It said Hamas believes Netanyahu views any concession on Gaza as political suicide, and that he is intentionally stalling in the indirect negotiations, which haven’t made meaningful progress in months. The group has therefore decided to do the same, it said, and see what the next government brings.