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The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they unfolded.
German state encouraging Israel’s Rafael to establish operations at Volkswagen plant
Illustrative: A man walks past the empty stand of Israel Aerospace Industries with an empty Rafael stand seen at the Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 13, 2023. (AP/Jon Gambrell)
The German state of Lower Saxony is interested in supporting plans by Israeli defense company Rafael to establish operations at Volkswagen’s Osnabrueck site, two people familiar with the matter tell Reuters.
The sources say various structures are being examined to facilitate Rafael’s entry into the site, where production of Volkswagen’s T-Roc Cabriolet is due to end next year.
One model under discussion is a split of the Osnabrueck operation into two companies, an option first reported by the Handelsblatt news outlet, though the sources say this is only one of several strategies being considered.
Rafael is interested in manufacturing components for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system at the plant. Reuters reported in April that the Israeli state-owned defense company had signed a letter of intent with Volkswagen regarding the site.
A second source familiar with the discussions says that Lower Saxony — where Volkswagen is based and where it operates five of its six western German assembly plants — is optimistic the project will succeed despite reservations from Qatar, one of Volkswagen’s major shareholders.
Volkswagen and Rafael do not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US will focus counterterrorism efforts on left-wing groups, Rubio says
The US will push to focus international counterterrorism efforts on “far-left terror,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells officials from over 60 nations gathered in Washington, saying leftist violence has long been overlooked.
The conference in Washington hosted by Rubio has sparked concerns from Democrats that the Trump administration is politicizing counterterrorism efforts and draining resources from fighting extremism on other fronts.
In a speech, Rubio says the Islamic militancy threat is “severely diminished” due to coordinated international efforts but that rising left-wing violence is a “blind spot.”
“We can and we must identify and map this threat and rebuild our counterterrorism architecture to defeat it,” Rubio says, citing a transnational threat from groups who hate the West and target its politicians and infrastructure.
The conference marks the Trump administration’s most significant effort yet to internationalize a counterterrorism focus that critics say is not supported by data.
Trump has made countering left-wing groups a priority. Trump singled out the antifa movement on the campaign trail in 2024, and vowed to take action against left-wing groups he accuses of fomenting violence after the killing of conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk last year.
The Trump administration convened a law enforcement workshop in May to discuss the threat of far-left groups and would co-host a second workshop with Germany, Rubio says.
Iran judiciary denies Trump statement that American prisoner was freed
Iran’s judiciary says no American prisoner has been released or exchanged from its prisons, Iranian state media reports, after US President Donald Trump said a US citizen detained during the Biden administration in 2024 was freed.
The judiciary says checks show no convicted American prisoner, person accused of spying for the United States matching Trump’s description, or any other American detainee has been released from Iranian prisons or exchanged.
White House avoids saying if Trump agrees with Vance criticism of Israel’s reported MAGA influence campaign
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is asked whether US President Donald Trump agrees with Vice President JD Vance’s assertion yesterday that Israeli-backed actors are trying to undermine US negotiations with Iran.
“The president would certainly agree that foreign countries certainly try to persuade American public opinion. There’s no doubt about that. I think it’s just a basic fact,” she says, avoiding answering the question directly, and apparently teasing the speech Trump will be giving tonight about purported election interference.
Leavitt is also asked about Vance’s comments in the same Joe Rogan interview in which he defended the diplomatic engagements with Iran, even as Trump has continued to call its leaders crazy.
“The president and vice president are on the exact same page,” Leavitt says.
According to Leavitt, the latest US strikes were launched because Tehran violated the memorandum of understanding reached with Washington by attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
“President Trump is not going to sit by and allow these acts of terrorism to take place in the Strait without ensuring Iran pays consequences for that.”
She stresses that Trump remains open to diplomacy while insisting that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon.
Lebanese media reports Israeli drone strike in south; no IDF comment
Lebanese media reports that an Israeli drone strike hit the entrance of the town of Mayfadoun in southern Lebanon a short while ago.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
Trump to attend World Cup final on Sunday, White House says
US President Donald Trump will attend the soccer World Cup final between Argentina and Spain at the New York-New Jersey stadium on Sunday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says.
“We look forward to the final match on Sunday, and I know the president looks forward to attending,” Leavitt tells reporters at a press conference. “His attendance will cap what has been the most watched, most secure, and most successful World Cup in American history.”
Leavitt adds that she does not know whether Trump has a favorite in the final but encourages reporters to ask him. “I’m sure he’ll have a fun answer for you,” she says.
The US president will also attend a FIFA reception at the Trump Tower in New York City on Friday, Leavitt adds.
US launches wave of strikes against Iran for sixth consecutive night
The American military says it launched fresh strikes on Iran a short while ago, for the sixth consecutive night.
“US forces began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran for the fifth consecutive night to further degrade Iranian military capabilities,” the US Central Command says in a short statement.
Rebuffing Eisenkot’s overtures, Shas chief Deri says ‘we support Netanyahu, period’
Shas chair Aryeh Deri attends a Knesset plenum session and a vote on a bill to split the duties and powers of the attorney general, on July 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition rushed to pass a series of laws long demanded by the ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas party chief Aryeh Deri appears to reciprocate by declaring loyalty to the premier.
“We support Netanyahu, period,” he tells the Kikar Hashabbat ultra-Orthodox news site, rejecting recent overtures by Netanyahu’s main election rival, Gadi Eisenkot.
“Eisenkot is at the helm of a camp that hates everything to do with Judaism,” Deri says. “We are with Netanyahu full throttle.”
Shas’s spiritual leader, former chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, said last week that Netanyahu would “definitely not repent,” while Eisenkot “could.”
Herzog asked AG to examine alternatives to arrests of Haredi draft evaders – report
President Isaac Herzog attends a memorial ceremony for Zionist leader Theodor Herzl at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on July 5, 2026. (Alex Kolomoisky/POOL)
President Isaac Herzog’s office approached Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara a month ago to examine alternatives to arresting Haredi draft evaders, Channel 12 reports.
The proposal reportedly focused on replacing arrests with measures such as economic sanctions, with the aim of reducing tensions in Israeli society.
According to the report, the attorney general did not respond to the president’s inquiry and has declined to comment on today’s report.
Channel 12 also notes that Herzog did not present the proposal to the government, believing it had no realistic chance of advancing.
Opposition parties lambaste coalition’s ‘Erdogan’-style media overhaul legislation
Opposition leaders denounce the coalition’s media overhaul legislation that was passed into law this evening, accusing the government of trying to take control over the media to ensure success in the upcoming elections.
“In a democratic country, it is forbidden to silence the free press,” says Naftali Bennett, head of the Together party.
“In its final days, the government is passing absurd and dangerous laws whose sole purpose is to preserve its own political survival,” says Bennett, and vows to overturn this and other laws passed this week if elected.
Democrats party chairman Yair Golan says similarly that a potential government formed by the current opposition will repeal the law and eliminate “government propaganda channels that routinely report fake news.”
The Yisrael Beytenu party accuses the government of turning Israel into a country “modeled on [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s Turkey,” where press freedom and the independence of the judiciary have largely been neutered by the government.
“After trying to take over the judicial system, the government responsible for the October 7 massacre now wants to take over the media as well. Instead of a free press, they want a media made up of government mouthpieces and court reporters. In the next government, we will repeal this law as well,” the party says.
Report: Shin Bet has foiled plots against Israeli public figures, foreign influence campaigns ahead of elections
The Shin Bet has recently thwarted multiple plots targeting current and former senior political and security figures, reportedly arresting suspects involved in the plans, according to Channel 12.
Some of those targeted have reportedly received enhanced security and updated safety guidance.
Alongside the plots against Israeli officials, authorities reportedly disrupted several foreign influence operations aimed at shaping Israeli public discourse through social media.
Among them was a Telegram channel called “Bnei Eretz” (“Children of the Land”) which allegedly posed as an Israeli grassroots channel while being operated by a hostile foreign actor. According to the report, the network sought to recruit Israelis – some of whom were reportedly unaware of who was directing them – to spread incitement and carry out actions targeting political activists, including what are described as well-known leftists.
Channel 12 reports that Israeli security officials believe such efforts could intensify ahead of the upcoming elections, as foreign actors seek to exploit political polarization and social tensions.
Israel prepares for possible US-Iran escalation next week – report
Israel is preparing for a possible escalation in the exchange of fire between the United States and Iran next week following recent remarks by US President Donald Trump and ongoing diplomatic developments, Channel 12 reports.
According to the report, Israel believes the US may begin targeting Iranian civilian infrastructure, in line with Trump’s recent comments. Until now, US strikes have been focused primarily on Iranian military infrastructure.
Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Tuesday night on “Special Report with Bret Baier”: “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight. We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
He added: “I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets.”
A senior Israeli official says Israel is “preparing for an escalation of the confrontation and is ready for any scenario affecting Israel,” while emphasizing that current assessments remain that the conflict is still limited and that Israel is not a direct party to it.
Channel 12 also reports, citing two Arab diplomats, that Qatar has submitted a new proposal to Washington and Tehran aimed at resuming negotiations between the two countries and reducing tensions. According to the report, Iranian officials view the proposal as relatively favorable to their position, and attacks on Qatar have reportedly ceased since the proposal was presented.
Iran continues to talk to US, wants to make a deal, White House says
The White House says Iran continues to talk to the US and wants to make a deal.
It says recent American strikes on Iran are due to Tehran violating the memorandum of understanding between the countries.
IDF says Hamas commander who took part in Oct. 7 killed in Gaza
A Hamas commander who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed in an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the army announces.
The strike killed Nihad Riyad Abd al-Rahim Arouq, a platoon commander in Hamas’s Shati Battalion, according to the IDF.
Arouq participated in the October 7 onslaught and recently worked to train additional terrorists and advance attacks on troops, the military says.
“The terrorist posed a threat to our forces operating in the Gaza Strip and was eliminated in a precise aerial strike,” the IDF adds.
The IDF in recent months has ramped up strikes on terror operatives in Gaza, including numerous October 7 terrorists, saying they posed a threat to Israeli forces.
Petitions filed to High Court against media overhaul law immediately after its passage
Petitions against the coalition’s highly controversial media overhaul law are filed immediately to the High Court of Justice by several government watchdog groups and political parties.
The petitions request that the High Court strike down the legislation, as well as issue an interim order freezing its implementation before a final ruling.
The law will significantly expand government control over Israel’s broadcast media and news sector by overhauling media regulation, removing restrictions on cross-ownership, and giving the government greater influence over television ratings and state advertising allocations.
The petitions allege a slew of severe procedural flaws in the legislative process, which they say should invalidate the law by itself, something the Knesset legal adviser has repeatedly warned of regarding the manner in which the media law was passed.
A petition filed by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel also points out that parts of the law come into effect immediately, which will “cause irreversible damage to the media market” just ahead of the upcoming election.
“The communications minister himself declared that his goal is to ‘crush the left’s monopoly on the media’ — in other words, to subordinate the press to the government,” says Yaniv Goldberg of the Movement for Quality Government.
“We have petitioned the court because without a free media there are no free elections, and we are confident that the court will stop this legislative ambush as well.”
Second member of Smotrich’s party says he’ll leave party over stance on Haredi draft
Religious Zionism MK Moshe Solomon chairs a meeting of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee, February 15, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Religious Zionism MK Moshe Solomon becomes the second member of Bezalel Smotrich’s party — after Minister Ofir Sofer — to declare he won’t run for reelection over the faction’s non-opposition to a series of laws enshrining Haredi non-enlistment to the IDF.
“I believe in service in the IDF, in common sharing of the right to serve, as part of the responsibility for building the country and the entire nation,” he says on X. “When the party chose to give up those principles, I felt like I could no longer look my public in the eye and tell it that I represent it as expected of me.
“The faction’s decisions in the last few votes, as well as the decision to oust me from committees due to my value-based choice and the fulfillment of my public mission, proved to me that the party’s stance is different from the stance I represent.”
Smotrich removed Solomon from all Knesset committees for breaking coalition discipline and voting against a quasi-constitutional government bill that would equate Torah study with military service.
Dubai media office says no sounds of ‘explosions’ in downtown Dubai
Dubai Media Office says there have been no sounds of explosions in downtown Dubai, after witnesses earlier reported hearing booms in that area.
IDF spokesperson denounces politicians’ ‘cheap’ attacks on army chief
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says some attacks by politicians on the IDF chief of staff have been “cheap,” after Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir issued a letter against a new law freezing the arrest of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers.
“This is his job as chief of staff to express his professional position in the name of the IDF,” Defrin says on Nadav Perry’s “All In” podcast.
“And then there is criticism, some of it relevant and some not relevant and significant,” he says.
“When you criticize the chief of staff in an irrelevant manner, some of it being cheap in a certain way, you harm the entire army,” Defrin continues.
“The chief of staff is not Eyal Zamir; he’s the chief of the general staff, he’s this establishment, and he represents the company commander, the battalion commander, the soldier in Golani, and the soldier in the tank, on the warship, and the pilot. This is the chief of staff; if you harm him, you harm them,” he says.
Earlier today, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri lashed out at Zamir over his strong opposition to the draft dodger bill, accusing the military chief of trying “to help the left-wing bloc during an election campaign.”
Extremist Haredim block Route 4, some clash with civilians and cops
Hundreds of extremist Haredi men block roads in central Israel in protest of the recent arrests of draft dodgers, and clash with cops and members of the public.
The Tel Aviv light rail says it is operating along a shortened route that doesn’t include the Petah Tikva area due to the protests near that city and in Bnei Brak, as well as Geha Interchange on Route 4 that is located between them.
עימותים בין מפגיני הפלג הירושלמי ואזרחים בהפגנות במחלף גהה. המשטרה לא נוכחת בחלק מהמוקדים, והעניינים הופכים לאלימים. בהשוואה להפגנות קודמות יש כאן המון קטינים, חלקם צעירים במיוחד pic.twitter.com/c0998qp3Yj
— Yair Foldes (@Yair_Foldes) July 16, 2026
Police advised drivers to use alternative routes, but those have also been blocked, Hebrew media reports.
The demonstrators, many of them underage, clash with civilians in some cases, including breaking the side mirrors of a car that tried to push forward despite the road being blocked, according to Haaretz.
Knesset passes media overhaul law, giving government greater regulatory control, in final legislative push
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (left) and Justice Minister Yariv Levin shake hands in the Knesset after the coalition's media overhaul law is passed, on July 16, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Knesset votes 53-48 to pass Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s sweeping media overhaul, in the final part of the coalition’s legislative blitz before the Knesset dissolves tomorrow ahead of the October 27 election.
The law will significantly expand government control over Israel’s broadcast media and news sector by overhauling media regulation, removing longstanding oversight mechanisms, minimum journalistic standards, obligations to invest in original Israeli productions and restrictions on cross-ownership, while giving the government greater influence over television ratings and state advertising allocation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. on trial in cases relating to media control, participates in the debate though not in the final vote, and Karhi thanks him from the podium for assigning him to pilot the legislation through the Knesset. “Prime minister, I want to thank you and tell you that the mission you gave me four years ago — to deliver right-wing reform of the media — was today successfully completed.” (Note: An earlier version of this item incorrectly stated that Netanyahu participated in the vote.)
Critics argue the legislation is designed to dismantle existing safeguards and benefit broadcasters aligned with the current government.
The current version of the bill is the product of repeated revisions following resistance from coalition partners. Earlier proposals included a government-run streaming app allowing the public to watch television channels and sports broadcasts free of charge, but the provision was dropped after opposition from the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, which objected because the service would operate on Shabbat.
It also includes new provisions reportedly demanded by Noam MK Avi Maoz, restricting cable and satellite providers from broadcasting content involving violence, sexuality or religious conversion.
The legislation has drawn sharp criticism from the Knesset’s professional legal staff, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and opposition lawmakers, who argue that it would undermine press freedom and enable political interference in the media while decrying what they describe as a rushed legislative process that repeatedly bypassed normal parliamentary procedure.
They accuse the coalition of ignoring legal advice, introducing substantial last-minute changes and new provisions throughout the committee process, and giving lawmakers only hours to review revised versions of the legislation before voting.
The coalition is advancing the bill as one of a series of controversial measures it is seeking to enact before the Knesset dissolves, after securing the support of its ultra-Orthodox partners in exchange for passing legislation they had demanded, including a Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value of the state and a temporary law freezing the arrests of Haredi draft dodgers.
Booms heard in downtown Dubai — witnesses
Explosions are heard in downtown Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, witnesses say, amid ongoing strikes on Iran by the US and reportedly also some Gulf states, and retaliatory Iranian attacks on regional countries housing American troops.
US strikes hit around Iran’s Qeshm island — Iranian media
Iranian news agencies report that the United States has launched more strikes around Iran’s Gulf island of Qeshm near the Strait of Hormuz, as renewed hostilities flare between Washington and Tehran.
Fars news agency reports an “American missile strike in the vicinity of Qeshm,” citing local authorities, while Tasnim news agency says one of its correspondents has reported locations around Qeshm “were struck by projectiles from the American enemy.”
Heeding US demand, PA releases audit that purportedly found new welfare program ended ‘pay-to-slay’
Palestinian demonstrators hold pictures jailed Palestinians during a rally in Ramallah in the West Bank on April 19, 2026, to mark Prisoners' Day and to protest against the Knesset's approval of a new death penalty bill for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
The Palestinian Authority-linked body that manages Ramallah’s new welfare program has released the summary of an independent audit that determined that the system is not incentivizing recipients involved in attacks against Israel.
The PA announced last week what it said were the results of the Alvarez & Marsal audit, maintaining that it was further proof that it had properly implemented a reform to end a scheme that critics dubbed “pay-to-slay” because stipends were given to prisoners, including attackers, based on the length of their sentence.
Last year, the PA announced a new system under which welfare recipients would be compensated strictly according to their financial status.
As Israel and the US continued casting doubt on the program, Ramallah commissioned A&M to conduct an audit of the Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (PNEEI) that is responsible for divvying out welfare payments under the new system.
But the US State Department indicated that it still wasn’t satisfied with the PA announcement, calling on Ramallah to release the audit itself.
PNEEI complied and has released the audit’s summary section, while the PA has started sharing the remainder of the largely technical document in closed-door meetings, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
The A&M summary states that its audit determined that PNEEI’s welfare project is indeed based on recipients’ financial status and that no evidence was found showing that eligibility or payments are based on a relative’s status as a prisoner or “martyr.”
The audit identified one round of illicit payments under the previous system that was made in November 2025, but the PA had told auditors that those were for previously accrued obligations before the February 2025 reform was announced. PA President Mahmoud Abbas also fired his finance minister for those payments. The audit said additional documentation is still needed to independently verify that the old payment mechanisms have been permanently shut down.
Overall, the auditors concluded that the reform has largely succeeded in separating the new cash assistance program from the previous prisoner payment system, but they recommended stronger documentation, automation and financial controls to ensure the separation remains permanent.
ToI poll shows continued deadlock; 61% of public want Haredi draft-related laws annulled
L: Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot, on November 1, 2025. (Moshe Shai/Flash90) R: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Jewish News Syndicate conference in Jerusalem, on June 21, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
A new poll by Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site, again shows a deadlock between the pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs had elections been held today.
Similarly to previous Zman surveys, the new poll has Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party as the largest, with 23 Knesset seats. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud follows with 21, while Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid’s Together gets 15.
Yisrael Beytenu gets 10 seats, Shas 9, United Torah Judaism and The Democrats 8 each, Otzma Yehudit 7, a Hadash-Ta’al-Balad merger 6, Religious Zionism 5, while Ra’am and Benny Gantz’s and Dedy Simhi’s new centrist party getting 4 each.
Yoaz Hendel’s and Chili Tropper’s other new centrist party fails to pass the 3.25% electoral threshold, getting 2.4%.
The anti-Netanyahu bloc gets 56 seats in the 120-member parliament, while the pro-Netanyahu bloc gets 50. The Arab parties get a combined 10, while the remaining four seats belong to Gantz and Simhi, who could partner with either side though this wouldn’t muster a majority coalition.
The survey also asks whether the next Knesset should annul two controversial ultra-Orthodox-pushed laws passed this week, one enshrining Torah study as a basic value of the state and another halting the arrests of Haredi draft dodgers — both part of an attempt to continue decades of sweeping military exemptions for the community, which the High Court has said no longer have a legal basis.
The poll shows 61% of respondents say the laws should be nixed, 23% say they shouldn’t, and 16% don’t know.
The poll was conducted by political consultant Yossi Tatika of Tatika Research & Media in collaboration with the Adgenda panel managed by Roy Schindler. It was conducted on July 15 and 16 and included 500 Jewish and Arab respondents. The maximum margin of sampling error is 4.4%.
Houthi leader threatens Saudi oil and vital facilities if Riyadh escalates in Yemen
Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi says that all Saudi oil and other vital facilities would be targets for the group’s missiles and drones if Riyadh involves itself in what he describes as “comprehensive aggression” against Yemen and moves toward escalation.
The Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after they accused the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, breaking a four-year truce in the conflict between the two sides.
IDF’s West Bank chief says illegal farming settler outposts ‘greatly strengthen security’
View of the Zohar Yehuda Farm outpost in the Judean Desert in the West Bank, May 15, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The Israeli army general responsible for the West Bank says recently established illegal farming outposts “greatly strengthen security” in the territory.
Speaking at a conference yesterday organized by the so-called Farm Union, Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth says that the settlement farms “align well with the security concept. It does not contradict it.”
“It integrates with it, provided that this is also reflected in operational conduct, as well as ethical conduct, and in accordance with the law,” he says.
“All of this greatly strengthens security,” Bluth says.
“I have great faith in the people here. I look each and every one of you straight in the eye. I love you, I appreciate you, and I appreciate what you do,” he adds.
The left-wing Peace Now organization, which campaigns against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, says that some 120 illegal farming outposts have been established in the three-plus years since the government came to power.
Some of these farming outposts have become hotbeds for settler violence that terrorizes nearby Palestinian communities, as far-right activists use the agricultural communes to expand Israel’s grip over West Bank territory.
The outposts are frequently established on what is defined as state land but without cabinet authorization, meaning they are illegal under Israeli law.
However, government ministries have directly funded the farming outposts, providing them with security equipment and subsidies for raising livestock.
The government has been seeking to legalize the farming outposts.
Ministers said to approve lifetime security detail for Sara Netanyahu, five-year extension for sons
(From left to right) Avner, Sara, Benjamin and Yair Netanyahu tour the Golan Heights, on April 23, 2019. (PMO)
The Ministerial Committee on Shin Bet Affairs has approved a request to extend the security detail for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, for life, and to extend security protection for the couple’s two sons for five years, regardless of the outcome of future elections, according to Hebrew media reports.
The committee is said to have unanimously adopted the move on the recommendation of Shin Bet chief David Zini, who, according to earlier Hebrew media reports, submitted the request after pressure from Netanyahu and his wife, who had argued that the war with Iran and other security developments justified the extended protection.
Netanyahu, who is himself guaranteed protection for the next 20 years, was reportedly seeking the extension to go into effect immediately, regardless of the results of the upcoming elections.
However, officials in the National Security Council and the Shin Bet were said to be hesitant about the move, with sources saying that while they recognize the seriousness of potential threats, they saw no reason to decide now on security arrangements for the next five years.
The Prime Minister’s Office denied initial reports on the request, while the NSC and the Shin Bet refused to comment.
The PMO does not immediately respond to a request for comment on the move’s reported approval.
IDF controls 60% of Gaza, another invasion by Hamas ‘no longer possible,’ says senior officer
Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth speaks during a handover ceremony for the commander of the 99th Division, near Netiv Haasara on the Gaza border, July 15, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israeli military now controls more than 60% of the Gaza Strip’s territory, a senior officer says, well beyond the portion of the enclave that Israel was allowed to temporarily continue holding as part of an October 2025 ceasefire deal with Hamas.
“We are standing here [near] the northern Gaza Strip, looking at everything we have achieved — and we have achieved a great deal. More than 60% of the Strip is in our hands,” said Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth during a handover ceremony yesterday for the commander of the 99th Division, whose forces operated in the Strip in recent years.
“There is a security zone for the communities near the Gaza border, held by two divisions and the IDF’s finest soldiers. The threat of an invasion, as occurred nearly three years ago, is no longer possible,” he says.
Bluth adds, however, that “Hamas still controls [its portion of the Strip] and the murderous organization retains residual capabilities, and its vision of destroying Israel has not changed.”
In May, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he ordered the IDF to take control of 70% of the Gaza Strip. At the start of the truce, the military controlled around 53% of the war-torn Palestinian enclave, with Hamas controlling the other 47% where nearly all of the Strip’s two million residents live.
Likud vote on expanding Netanyahu’s control over party slate won’t be held today after court issues injunction
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his vote during the elections for the Likud Central Committee, at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, November 25, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
A vote planned for today by the 4,500-member Likud Central Committee on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to dramatically expand his control over the party’s Knesset slate is called off, after the Lod District Court issues an injunction halting the process until all party members are given the opportunity to participate in the vote.
Under the plan, approved by the party’s Constitution Committee earlier this week, Netanyahu would be granted eight reserved slots on the Likud list, including three in the top 10 and six in the top 20, as part of a compromise with committee chair and veteran Likud MK Haim Katz.
The proposal has divided the party, with senior Likud MK David Bitan leading the opposition, as the plan would significantly increase the prime minister’s control over the slate from the three reserved spots he was allotted in the party’s 2022 primaries. The party’s primaries were previously postponed from August 4 to August 17 amid the ongoing dispute.
The injunction was issued following several petitions to halt the vote, including one filed by the Likud Social Forum, which calls the court’s decision “a victory for common sense” and vows to continue protecting the rights of all of Likud’s 150,000 registered members.
“We will not allow the elections to be stolen,” the group says.
In response, Likud says that Netanyahu “insists that every Likud member be able to exercise their right to vote.”
“Because legal delays disrupted the voting process and prevented many members from casting their ballots, the Likud chairman and prime minister instructed the party administration not to hold the vote today and to set a new date for a repeat vote in the near future,” the party says.
Israel arrests officials in outlawed PFLP-linked health org in West Bank
Several top members of a health organization affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group were recently apprehended in the West Bank, Israeli authorities announce.
The Union of Health Committees was outlawed by Israel in 2021 for allegedly serving as “a central part of the financial apparatus” of the PFLP.
In a joint statement, the Shin Bet, police and IDF say that several senior employees at the Union of Health Committees were arrested after “the institution had resumed operating from its headquarters in Ramallah and continued employing operatives, including members of the Popular Front terrorist organization.”
Among those detained are PFLP operatives, the statement says.
The Shin Bet says that in the past few days, indictments were filed against some of the suspects, and additional indictments are expected in the coming weeks.
Home prices fall 1% in April-May, largest drop in eight years
Home prices in Israel recorded their largest monthly decline in eight years in April and May 2026, falling by 1% compared to the previous two-month period, according to the most recent report released by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics.
Market prices have fallen an average of 2% compared to the same period a year earlier, marking one of the few sustained annual declines in the past decade, the CBS says. Prices have declined in nine out of the last 12 months.
Israel’s housing market has slowed over the past year, partly in reaction to the multifront war Israel has been engaged in since Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023. High interest rates, a record supply of unsold new housing, and high prices have also helped to tamp down sales. The shekel’s strength against the dollar, currently at NIS 3.01, is also affecting demand from overseas buyers.
The Israeli currency is about 10% stronger than it was a year ago, and has fluctuated by more than 20% over the past 16 months, trading data shows. The strength of the shekel means that while interest from foreign buyers is still high, their dollars, pounds and euros don’t go as far as they used to, with the cost of homes rising by hundreds of thousands in some cases when exchanging currencies.
The decline also follows market uncertainties regarding the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28.
During April and May, prices declined by 2% in Tel Aviv, 1.8% in Jerusalem, 1% in the south, 0.5% in Haifa, and 0.3% in the north. It was unchanged in the central district.
Compared with the same period last year, prices have climbed 1.4% in the north and 0.3% in Jerusalem. Prices fell by 3.2% in the central district, 2.6% in Haifa, 2.5% in Tel Aviv, and 0.5% in the south.
Heavy traffic expected as extremist Haredim set to block central Israel highways at rush hour
Ultra-Orthodox men from an extreme sect gear up to block highways in central Israel during rush hour today, protesting recent arrests of draft dodgers.
The demonstrators, from an even more extreme group within the extreme Jerusalem Faction, are set to block Route 4 from Aluf Sade interchange until Em HaMoshavot interchange, and the Israel Police says heavy traffic is expected in both directions starting around now.
Protests and road blocking are also predicted to occur near Jabotinsky Road in Bnei Brak.
Police recommend that drivers use alternative routes and say cops are being deployed, adding that the force won’t allow the demonstrators to break the law.
Later, at 8 p.m., and more to the north, some 2,000 men from the Sanz Hasidic sect will hold a rally near the Neve Tzedek Military Prison to protest the arrest of two draft evaders from the community.
A law to halt the arrests of draft dodgers passed this week, but the High Court has frozen the legislation pending a decision on its legality.
Sources: Iran orders Houthis to close Red Sea gateway if US hits its power network
Backdropped by an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) tanker, a Yemeni soldier sails in waters north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in Mokha, Yemen, April 6, 2026 (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi rebels to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, three sources have told Reuters, posing a potent new threat to global energy supplies.
The idea has been discussed within the Islamic Republic’s leadership, and the message has been conveyed to Iran’s Houthi allies, two senior Iranian sources and a regional source familiar with the matter say, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The sources say the Houthis have been informed recently of Tehran’s request, which has not been previously reported.
They do not give further details on how it was conveyed or whether it was after US President Donald Trump’s threat to attack Iranian power infrastructure on Tuesday.
Iran’s foreign ministry and a spokesperson for the Houthi group are not immediately available to respond to Reuters’ request.
A source close to the Houthis says the group completed preparations to attack shipping by deploying missiles and drones near Bab el-Mandeb strait, the gateway to the Red Sea, in Yemen’s highlands overlooking Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden and is awaiting the order to begin.
Any threat to the Red Sea and its Bab el-Mandeb gateway risks hugely exacerbating the global energy crisis triggered by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and underscores the explosive risks stemming from a new round of warfare.
High Court sets July 28 hearing on law banning arrests of Haredi draft dodgers
Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg at a hearing on the draft of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the IDF, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, April 12, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The High Court of Justice sets July 28 as the date for a hearing over petitions against the law passed in Knesset on Tuesday halting arrests for Haredi draft dodgers.
Implementation of the highly contentious law was frozen by the court yesterday as it said it was preparing to review it.
Supreme Court President Isaac Amit determines that the petitions will be heard by a large panel of nine justices, which the court uses only for deliberating extremely weighty issues.
Amit himself is not on the panel, which will be headed instead by Deputy President Noam Sohlberg.
Sohlberg headed a judicial panel on petitions against the government’s failure to enforce ultra-Orthodox conscription last year, and wrote a fiercely worded ruling against the government and the refusal of the Haredi community to enlist. The ruling was issued unanimously by all five justices on the panel.
The new legislation bans arrests, investigations and enforcement measures against draft dodgers enrolled in yeshiva study until November 30, but will actually extend to February 2027 due to legal reasons tied to the upcoming elections.
Critics say that beyond encouraging draft-dodging, the law is discriminatory, for preventing arrests of draft-dodgers from only one part of the population while enabling the continued arrests of all others.
Government okays NIS 230 million for Jewish identity programs through Settlements Ministry
The government approves NIS 230 million ($77 million) in funding for a program to strengthen Jewish identity among young Israelis, proposed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strock of the ultranationalist Religous Zionist party.
“In recent years, and even more intensely since the October 7 attack, the Jewish Identity Directorate in the Settlement Ministry has identified a growing demand among the general public, and particularly among young people finishing military service and [higher education] students, to participate in programs run by the ministry to strengthen spiritual life and Jewish identity,” Smotrich and Strock’s announcement says.
It says the Jewish Identity Directorate has “doubled” its activities in recent years due to increased interest.
The new funding is designed to further expand the activities of the directorate and help it reach 10 percent of all students in Israel, and a similar proportion of those not in higher education.
Smotrich and Strock state that the “underlying premise of the decision is that strengthening Jewish identity is an increasingly important public need, and that the state has a responsibility to address it as part of strengthening Israel’s national and social resilience.”
Smotrich adds: “Investing in the identity and heritage of the younger generation is the way to ensure the spiritual victory of the people of Israel, and it is an inseparable part of our responsibility as a state.”
Local leaders warn law banning arrest of Haredi draft-dodgers deals ‘severe blow to national resilience’
The heads of dozens of local authorities have blasted the government over recent legislation aimed at enabling blanket exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.
A letter signed by local leaders across the country, including members of the ruling Likud party, warns that a bill approved Tuesday to ban the arrest of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers for seven months deals “a severe blow to national resilience and the cohesion of Israeli society.”
The move to “legitimize draft evasion of an entire group,” they say, “should never have come into existence, and certainly not during this complex time and in the face of the challenges Israel is currently confronting, as well as the challenges we will yet be required to face in the future.”
The mayors add: “Torah study is an important value in the Jewish nation, but no less important is the value of guarding and defending the land. Many of our residents prove that it is indeed possible to both study Torah and serve the country in the IDF and security forces.”
The legislation has since been frozen by the High Court of Justice as it prepares to review it.
Kuwait’s military says responding to new Iran drone attacks
Kuwait’s military says it is responding to renewed Iranian aerial attacks as Iran and the United States exchange strikes over control of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently engaging hostile drone attacks following the Iranian aggression,” Kuwait’s army says in a statement as an AFP journalist reports sounds of explosions near the Gulf state’s capital, Kuwait City.
Foreign Ministry begins preparing for 2,000-year anniversary of Jesus’s baptism
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, center, stands in a boat as part of a ceremony in the waters of the Jordan River during a baptism ceremony as part of the Orthodox Feast of the Epiphany at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site, near the West Bank town of Jericho, Israel, January 18, 2024. (AP/Leo Correa)
The Foreign Ministry has begun its preparations for the year 2030, to mark 2,000 years since the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, according to the ministry.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar appointed Ambassador George Deek, Israel’s special envoy to the Christian world, to head the working group for what the ministry is calling “an event of profound spiritual significance for more than two billion Christians worldwide.”
The working group will open dialogue with churches, Christian communities, and clergy around the world, says the Foreign Ministry. It will also coordinate with other ministries and government agencies to prepare for the expected arrival of millions of Christian pilgrims.
Sa’ar says that “strengthening our relationship with the Christian world and ensuring that the Holy Land remains accessible to the millions of believers who wish to visit are among Israel’s highest priorities.”
He also stresses that Israel will “continue to safeguard freedom of worship and access to holy sites for members of all faiths.”
The initiative comes after a series of high-profile Israeli missteps and controversies involving Christians in Israel and the country’s relationship with the Christian world.
Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu often steps in to defuse such crises and is well-received in the Evangelical Christian world, he has not appointed an adviser on Christian affairs.
Sa’ar appointed Deek — an Arab Christian from Jaffa — as envoy to the Christian world after a string of scandals earlier this year. On Palm Sunday, while the war with Iran was raging, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic official in the Holy Land, and other senior clergy were barred by police from worship at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre due to wartime restrictions.
Soon afterward, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was photographed smashing a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in the southern Lebanon village of Debel, an act that drew widespread condemnation in Israel and abroad.
Recent months have also seen attacks against Christian communities in the West Bank by extremist settlers and more frequent assaults against Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City, including incidents of spitting.
Sa’ar meets counterparts from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, hails ‘growing’ ties with Latin America
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (3rd left) meets with the foreign ministers of Latin American countries in Washington, DC, July 15, 2026. (Shmulik Almany)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with the foreign ministers of Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay overnight during his visit to Washington, his office says.
While visiting the US for a summit hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sa’ar met with Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez Lezcano, Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo, and Viviana Bobo, a senior advisor to Rubio on Latin American affairs.
The ministers discussed bilateral ties and “cooperation in areas including the economy and innovation,” as well as the “great change” taking place in Latin America, where government support for Israel is increasing with the rise of several right-wing governments.
“The relationship between Israel and Latin America is growing stronger and becoming more established,” Sa’ar says in a statement on the meeting, adding that the ministers “talked about the great change in Latin America and also about the challenges and dangers faced from its enemies.”
The meeting comes after Colombia’s incoming foreign minister told Sa’ar yesterday that Bogota will restore full diplomatic relations with Israel and open an embassy in Jerusalem. Bolivia renewed ties with Israel in December following the entry of a right-wing government.
Israeli strikes kill at least five Palestinians in Gaza, Palestinians say
Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip today, Palestinians say.
Medics say an Israeli airstrike killed two people near the Tuffah neighborhood in the north of the enclave, while a third person was killed in Israeli tank shelling in the Zeitoun suburb in eastern Gaza City.
Another airstrike at a tent encampment for displaced people in western Gaza City killed one person and wounded several, while an attack on a vehicle in Khan Younis, in the south, killed another, medics say.
Witnesses also reported that an airstrike hit a residential building in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.
The Israeli military has no immediate comment on any of the incidents. It generally says it targets terror operatives who are advancing attacks on troops and against Israel.
Deri accuses Zamir of election interference for opposing law banning arrests of draft dodgers
Shas Chairman MK Aryeh Deri smiles during a Knesset session at which a Basic Law defining Torah study as a foundational value was passed, July 13, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri attacks IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir over his strong opposition to the coalition’s recently passed law freezing the arrest of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers, accusing him of trying “to help the left-wing bloc during an election campaign.”
Before the law’s passage earlier this week, Zamir warned in a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Likud MK Boaz Bismuth that the legislation was “clearly and unequivocally inconsistent with the IDF’s needs,” and amounted to providing “mass exemptions from prosecution” for draft dodgers.
Some 72,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted, despite mounting calls for their conscription as Israel has fought wars on multiple fronts since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, while facing a growing manpower shortage.
Speaking to Kikar HaShabbat, Deri alleges that Zamir has “lost it” and is “preoccupied with attacks against him and with protecting his own reputation.”
Deri argues that the military chief knows arrests of Haredi draft dodgers “won’t bring a single new recruit.”
“What the chief of staff did was try to help the left-wing bloc during an election campaign,” he says. “He is the army’s chief of staff, he must not engage in politics. What he did set a very dangerous precedent… He caused great damage to the army. He did not help the army.”
Deri’s assertion directly contradicts testimony the IDF gave to the Knesset last month, attributing part of the increase in Haredi enlistment — from roughly 1,800 recruits in 2024 to an estimated 3,500 over the past year — to stepped-up enforcement measures.
According to the military, roughly 60 percent of Haredi draft dodgers who are arrested ultimately enlist, while the prospect of enforcement prompts many others to report voluntarily before facing sanctions.
Although only a few have actually been arrested, those cases have caused the ultra-Orthodox parties and the coalition a severe political headache, prompting the new legislation to freeze such arrests.
Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, assails Deri for his comments, calling them “a display of arrogance and detachment from reality.”
He goes on: “There is nothing Jewish about sending only part of the people of Israel to fight a necessary war. There is no leadership in turning the IDF chief of staff into a tool in your dirty political game.”
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, head of the Together party, says: “One moment Deri boasts about his draft-dodging grandchildren, and the next he attacks the IDF chief of staff, as though he bears no responsibility for the chaos and terrible rift in Israeli society.
“Only in a government like that of October 7 can someone like Deri — whose life’s work has been promoting mass draft evasion — dare to blame the chief of staff for his own failure.”
British 14-year-old pleads not guilty over alleged plot to attack mosques
A 14-year-old British boy has pleaded not guilty to preparation of terrorist acts relating to an alleged plot to attack two mosques in south London.
Prosecutors say the teenager was arrested for throwing a brick through a car window and that a manifesto was later found that revealed he had “a plan to carry out an act of terrorism… namely to attack worshipers at two mosques in Sutton.”
Government approves over NIS 1 billion for new access roads to West Bank settlements
A military vehicle drives down a road in the southern West Bank, August 15, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
Defense Minister Israel Katz announces that the government has approved a proposal to allocate over NIS 1 billion ($330 million) to build new access roads to West Bank settlements, as well as the southern area of Mevo’ot Arad.
“In 2026, NIS 60 million will be allocated to the program; in 2027, NIS 340 million; in 2028, an additional NIS 340 million; and in 2029, NIS 335 million,” Katz’s office says.
“We are continuing to lead a settlement revolution in Judea and Samaria,” his office says, using the biblical term for the West Bank. “Alongside the approval of 104 new communities and 160 farms, we are also ensuring the infrastructure that will enable their development, strengthen security, and improve residents’ quality of life. This is a strategic investment in the future of settlement and in the security of the State of Israel.”
Knesset begins debating media overhaul in final legislative push before dissolution
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi attends the Special Committee for the Communications Law at the Knesset, April 28, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Knesset begins debating Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s sweeping media overhaul bill, which is expected to pass today as part of the coalition’s legislative blitz before the Knesset dissolves tomorrow ahead of the October 27 election.
The bill would significantly expand government control over the broadcast media and news sector by restructuring media regulation. It also contains provisions critics say are intended to disadvantage Channels 12 and 13, which the government has frequently accused of bias, while benefiting the pro-government Channel 14.
The current version of the bill is the product of repeated revisions following resistance from coalition partners. Earlier proposals included a government-run streaming app that would allow the public to watch television channels and sports broadcasts free of charge, but the provision was dropped after opposition from the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, which objected because the service would operate on Shabbat.
It also includes new provisions reportedly demanded by MK Avi Maoz of the one-man Noam faction, restricting cable and satellite providers from broadcasting content involving violence, sexuality, or religious conversion.
The legislation has drawn sharp criticism from the Knesset’s professional legal staff, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and opposition lawmakers, who argue that it would undermine press freedom and enable political interference in the media, while decrying what they call a rushed legislative process that repeatedly bypassed normal parliamentary procedure.
They accuse the coalition of ignoring legal advice, introducing substantial last-minute changes and new provisions throughout the committee process, and giving lawmakers only hours to review revised versions of the legislation before voting.
The coalition is advancing the bill as one of a series of controversial measures it is seeking to enact before the Knesset dissolves, after securing the support of its ultra-Orthodox partners in exchange for passing legislation they had demanded, including a Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value of the state and a temporary law freezing the arrests of Haredi draft dodgers.
Kremlin says no immediate prospect for resuming peace talks with Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during an extended meeting at the summit of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, October 8, 2024. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP)
The Kremlin says that there is no immediate prospect for resuming peace talks with Ukraine, though it says that Russia remains open to it.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia is grateful for Turkey’s willingness to help peace efforts.
Peskov tells reporters that the Kremlin is monitoring a major reshuffle of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government but the naming of a new prime minister and defense minister will make no difference unless Kyiv is willing to make decisions leading to a peace settlement.
German neo-Nazi sent to male prison despite legal gender change
A German neo-Nazi provocateur who was slated to be sent to a women’s prison after having a legal gender change will instead be incarcerated with men, local authorities say.
Marla-Svenja Liebich — who used to go by the name of Sven before registering a new identity as a woman — has been accused of exploiting German laws on gender self-identification.
Liebich, who fled Germany after being convicted on charges including incitement to racial hatred and slander, was extradited yesterday from the Czech Republic to a women’s prison in the eastern German city of Chemnitz.
However, the facility’s management ultimately decided Liebich would serve the sentence in a men’s correctional facility, said a spokesman for the justice ministry in the eastern German state of Saxony.
Saxony’s justice minister, Constanze Geiert, praises the decision.
“Tricks, deceptions and games never succeed within the rule of law. It is fortunate that the correctional facility acted swiftly to clarify the situation and refused to play along with staged theatrics,” Geiert says in a statement.
She says the move “prioritized the safety of women in the Chemnitz correctional system.”
Military says Gaza strikes destroyed four Hamas weapon depots
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike at the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on July 16, 2026. (Eyad Baba/AFP)
Four Hamas weapon depots were destroyed in Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip overnight, the IDF announces.
The facilities had been used by Hamas to store assault rifles, RPGs, grenades, explosive devices, and other military equipment, according to the military.
The IDF says the weapons were intended to be used by Hamas in attacks on troops stationed in the Strip, and they were destroyed to “remove the threat.”
Woman killed by passing vehicle after being pulled over by police on side of highway
A woman has been killed after being hit by a car on a highway near the Iron Interchange in northern Israel. The woman had been pulled over by a police officer.
The woman, aged around 30, had been stopped after an officer saw her speaking on the phone while driving. The officer instructed her to exit her car and join him at his motorcycle for identification purposes. He then instructed her to return to her vehicle as he worked on her ticket.
At that stage, for an unknown reason, a passing vehicle swerved from the road and hit the woman, killing her. That car’s driver, a woman aged 47, was lightly hurt and taken to a Hadera hospital.
Police are investigating the circumstances of the deadly accident.
Netanyahu pushes off US trip to late July as Lindsey Graham’s funeral delayed
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be flying to the US next week, his office tells The Times of Israel.
He will instead fly at the end of the month, the PMO says, citing senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral service being pushed off until then.
Netanyahu was expected to meet with US President Donald Trump on the trip, amid expanding back-and-forth attacks by the US and Iran and US-backed negotiations with Lebanon.
Fewer vessels travel through Hormuz after renewed US blockade
Ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026 (AFP)
Fewer vessels traveled through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, the first day after the US reimposed its naval blockade on Iranian ports, with both countries escalating strikes across the Gulf, shipping data shows.
Nine vessels crossed the strait on Wednesday, mostly on the Iranian route, down from 13 the previous day, Kpler data shows.
There were no Very Large Crude Carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers visibly passing through the strait.
US Central Command said it disabled an unladen oil tanker that was attempting to sail toward Iran’s Kharg Island after it ignored multiple warnings, firing Hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack. The Curacao-flagged VLCC Belma was no longer transiting to Iran, it added.
Since resuming a naval blockade against Iran on Tuesday, the US has redirected two ships and disabled another, the military said.
Tel Aviv teacher suspected of sexual offenses against 12-year-old student
A teacher at a Tel Aviv school has been arrested on suspicion of committing sexual offenses against a female 12-year-old student.
The man, in his twenties, allegedly developed a relationship with the student, and the two would meet outside school hours.
The suspect is under arrest and is expected to brought before a judge to extend his remand.
Syria foils attempt to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah from Iraq — state news agency
Syria's (L) and Iraq's national flags are pictured near the Iraqi-Syrian border, in Al-Qaim, west of Iraq on January 23, 2026. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Syrian authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle in a shipment of advanced weapons and missiles over the border from Iraq, the state news agency SANA reports.
The report cites an Interior Ministry source, who says preliminary investigations show the shipment was intended for Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group.
Iran vows to ‘resist until the end,’ warns war could spread further
Screen capture from video of Iran's military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, January 2026. (YouTube; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Iran’s army says it will “undoubtedly resist until the end and will neutralize American interventions in the region.”
Iranian army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia says the only way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is for the US to comply with the 14-point memorandum of understanding that the two sides signed in June and the implementation of “Iranian regulations” regarding ship traffic in the strait.
Akraminia says that if US President Donald Trump carries out his threat to attack Iran’s infrastructure, Iran’s armed forces would strike “all remaining infrastructure” across the region, and the response would be more severe, wider in scope and more destructive than previous attacks.
The army says it targeted US bases in Kuwait and Jordan, warning its neighbors that allowing the US to launch attacks against it will not go unanswered.
“Our neighbors should know that providing a base to the Americans and allowing them to fire on Iranian soil is unacceptable and will not go unanswered,” Iran’s army says.
Departing Likud MK says party has ‘failed,’ reveals third of party MKs sought to remove PM after Oct. 7
Likud MK Dan Illouz attends a plenum session in Knesset, July 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Likud MK Dan Illouz says that following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, about a third of the party’s lawmakers sought to remove Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister.
“When something like October 7 happens, a country that wants to survive cannot simply carry on as usual,” he tells Ynet. “That also has to be reflected in the leadership, which needs to change. After October 7, that was obvious to a great many Likud members. Some of my colleagues, who today are very busy showing how close they are to Netanyahu, were back then focused on how we could replace him.”
Illouz, who announced yesterday he will not seek reelection in October due to his party’s support for legislation enabling blanket military exemptions for Haredi yeshiva students, is asked to confirm that there was a contingent in Likud that “tried to oust Netanyahu” weeks after October 7. “Absolutely,” he replies.
“I think at least a third of the Likud faction understood that the right thing for the State of Israel was for the leadership to change,” he goes on. “Not through elections, because we were in the middle of an intense war, but through a vote of no confidence.”
He says the only reason this effort did not move forward was failure to agree on who should replace the premier.
The Canadian-born Illouz immigrated to Israel in 2009. He says he joined Likud on the day he arrived.
“I believed in the path that Likud said it would pursue — a free-market economy, the integrity of the Land of Israel, and military service for everyone. I entered the Knesset as part of a ‘full right-wing’ government. That was our dream, and I thought we’d advance those goals. But now, as I reach the end of the Knesset’s term, I see that we’ve done exactly the opposite. The movement’s objectives have not advanced. We’ve completely failed to promote our values.”
IDF says strike killed Hamas sniper commander in Gaza
A Hamas sniper commander was killed in an Israeli strike in the central Gaza Strip yesterday.
The strike killed Omar Ahmed Abu Qasem, who the military says took part in attacks on troops in the Strip throughout the war.
Recently, Abu Qasem acted to restore Hamas’s capabilities and advance attacks, “in violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF adds.
צה"ל חיסל אחראי צליפה גדודי בארגון הטרור חמאס שלקח חלק במתווי טרור נגד כוחותינו
צה"ל תקף אתמול במרכז רצועת עזה, וחיסל את המחבל עומר אחמד אבו קאסם, אחראי צליפה גדודי בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס.
לאורך המלחמה, אבו קאסם לקח חלק בהוצאה לפועל של מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל ברצועת… pic.twitter.com/wFrL97u1Nm
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 16, 2026
Government approves sweeping overhaul of wounded veterans’ rehab system
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visits an injured soldier in Loewenstein Hospital Rehabilitation Center in Ra'anana, April 9, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
The government announces that it approved overnight a sweeping overhaul of the rehabilitation system for wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel, adopting recommendations made by a public committee last month amid warnings that the existing system could collapse under the growing number of casualties since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught triggered a multifront war.
The reform will transform the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department into a national authority with expanded staffing, funding and independence, while reducing bureaucracy, introducing artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, and expanding rehabilitation and mental health services.
Every wounded veteran will be assigned a dedicated case manager to coordinate treatment and benefits, eligibility procedures will be streamlined, family members will receive expanded psychological support, and a new automated system will proactively update veterans’ benefits.
“The plan we approved will provide them with a broad and comprehensive support system,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says. “Our wounded soldiers went into battle to defend the state, and we are fighting for them and for their rehabilitation. This is not only our moral duty – it is our national duty.”
“Today’s government decision is a historic reform that we have led in the rehabilitation system for wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel. It fundamentally changes the way the State of Israel treats the wounded,” says Defense Minister Israel Katz. “Our responsibility now is to implement these decisions in full.”
The decision comes after the Defense Ministry warned earlier this month that its rehabilitation system was struggling to cope with the unprecedented influx of casualties from the war. According to the ministry, some 26,200 wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel have sought treatment since the war began, roughly 65 percent of them for psychological conditions. The total number of wounded veterans under the ministry’s care is expected to surpass 90,000 in 2026 and reach around 100,000 by 2028.
Iran says Hormuz a red line, warns of attacks on regional infrastructure
The spokesperson for Iran’s top military command says Tehran will not allow US interference in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a red line.
Iran would target infrastructure across the region if US President Donald Trump carries out threats to attack Iranian infrastructure, the spokesperson warns.
Iran’s Guards say they struck US base in Jordan
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they struck a US air base in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to what they describe as an American attack near a children’s cancer hospital in Iran.
The IRGC says US forces “used air bases located in Jordan to target various parts of Iran, including the vicinity of a children’s cancer hospital,” and that its aerospace force responded by “launching two waves of missile strikes” on the bases in Jordan.
Defense Minister Katz speaks with US’s Hegseth on Iran operations
Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke with his American counterpart, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overnight, his office says.
Katz’s office says that Hegseth updated the defense minister “on the American military’s activities in Iran, and the two agreed to continue cooperation between the countries in the face of any possible developments.”
Katz also briefed Hegseth on Israel’s activities in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon, his office says.
“We have never asked the United States to act on our behalf along our borders. We are committed to defending the citizens of Israel against every threat, and that is what we intend to do,” Katz says.
Iran army says it struck US targets in Kuwait, Bahrain with drones
Iran’s army says it carried out drone attacks against US bases and facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, state TV reports, after the United States carried out strikes on the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s military says it targeted “radar systems, a Patriot air defense system, and fuel storage facilities at Ali Al Salem Air Base” in Kuwait and US military facilities at the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, IRIB reports.
Meanwhile Jordan says it has intercepted eight Iranian missiles today, according to the country’s state news agency.
Iraqi PM denounces drone attack over Erbil, doesn’t identify source
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemns a “drone attack” that violated the airspace of Erbil in the northern Kurdistan region, his office says, after several drones were shot down.
“We have directed the relevant security agencies… in coordination with the Region’s security forces, to take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such attacks and to thwart anyone attempting to harm the security of our noble Iraqi society, wherever they may be,” he says, without identifying the source of the drones.
US approves nearly $2 billion weapon sale to Saudi Arabia
The US State Department says it has approved the sale of an estimated $1.96 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia, as the war ramps up in the Middle East.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region,” the State Department says in a release.
Iranian army says it launched drone attack on US military sites in Jordan
The Iranian army says that it targeted US military facilities in Jordan with drones, state media reports, after the United States carried out another wave of strikes on Iran.
“The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that… in response to the enemy aggression, it targeted the communication systems and fuel storage facilities of the US military in Jordan using suicide (kamikaze) drones,” state television IRIB says.
Iran says US strikes hit targets around Tehran, province that is home to its missile program
The latest US strikes hit around Tehran, Iranian state media reports. It also reports American attacks targeted Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program.
US military says command posts, coastal surveillance sites among targets hit in latest wave of strikes
The US Central Command says that the US military completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran that it carried out at President Donald Trump’s direction, hitting targets further north.
“US forces struck Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities,” it says in a statement, adding it also hit targets in Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest port and key navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities on the Strait of Hormuz.
Massive poster depicting Trump in a coffin hung in Tehran
A billboard bearing anti-Trump messages, including the English-language phrase 'We Kill Trump,' and an apparent image of the US president in a coffin, is displayed at Islamic Revolution Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, July 15, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)
Iran has hung up a massive poster in Tehran depicting US President Donald Trump in a coffin, following calls to assassinate the American leader during the recent funeral of supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Kuwait downs Iranian drones as air raid sirens sound in Bahrain
Kuwait says it’s intercepting Iranian drones, while air raid sirens ring out in Bahrain, following another night of American strikes on Iranian territory.
In a statement on X, the Kuwaiti army says they are “engaging hostile drone attacks following the nefarious Iranian aggression.” Bahrain’s interior ministry urges citizens and residents to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”
Trump says Iran has released a wrongfully detained US citizen
In a sign of potential deescalation, US President Donald Trump praises Iran for releasing a “wrongfully detained” American citizen.
The woman held since December 2024 “is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition. The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” Trump writes on Truth Social.
Knesset passes law expanding gender segregation in academia
The Knesset votes 52-43 to pass a law to expand gender segregation in higher education by permitting universities and colleges to offer segregated master’s and doctoral degree programs subject to approval by the Council for Higher Education.
The law builds upon 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 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 make it available 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 law as increasing educational opportunities for religious women, with the legislation’s sponsor Otzma Yehudit 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 has said it would “expand freedom of choice.”
Opposition lawmakers and academic representatives, who campaigned intensely against the law’s passage, argue that it unnecessarily expands gender segregation beyond existing arrangements, prioritizing religious rights over the rights of female students and lecturers to equality, dignity and freedom of movement while harming academic freedom and the quality of teaching and research.
US House defeats amendment to end Israel aid, but nearly 50% of Democrats back measure
US Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, pictured at the US Capitol in Washington, DC,, April 29, 2026. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
The US House of Representatives defeats an amendment to cut off aid to Israel, despite nearly half of Democrats supporting it, reflecting the growing rupture between the party and Israel.
The House votes 314 to 104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
Besides Massie, the only Republican to back the measure, 103 Democrats vote in favor, a sharp departure from previous years in which bills supporting Israel passed almost unanimously. Democrats on the party’s left flank have been strongly pushing to end US military aid to Israel entirely amid the midterm election primary campaigns, while its establishment wing wants to limit the assistance to solely defensive weaponry.
While 48 percent of Democrats backed Massie’s amendment, the figure was well below reported predictions that as high as 150 Democrats could vote for it.
The number was expected to be higher because the measure was certain to fail, allowing Democrats to vote against Israel without any practical policy consequences.
Enough Democrats still felt uncomfortable enough with the scope of Massie’s amendment that they decided to vote against it, even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is overwhelmingly unpopular in the party.
Massie is a fiscal hawk who opposes all foreign aid, but he said he was also responding to the toll on civilians of Israel’s attacks on Hamas in Gaza. “There have been 70,000 casualties in Gaza, and I don’t think we should be part of that,” he said during House debate, without differentiating between civilians and combatants.
His amendment would have barred any funding in the appropriations bill from being used for Israel, and blocked $3.3 billion in annual security assistance Washington sends Israel.
The vote would have been largely symbolic even if the House had backed the amendment. To become law, it would have had to pass the Senate and override an almost certain veto by President Donald Trump, who has made support for Israel a central plank in his foreign policy.
The issue has also divided party leaders. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House Democratic leader, said on Tuesday he would oppose Massie’s amendment, saying it was “too broad.”
But on Wednesday,the No. 2 House Democrat, Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, said she would support it. “We should not provide a blank check for military aid to any country that does not comply with US law, interests, and values,” she said in a statement.
Vance claims Jeffrey Epstein had ties ‘to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence’
FILE - This March 28, 2017, photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)
US Vice President JD Vance claims that Jeffrey Epstein had ties to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence, echoing unproven rumors regarding the late convicted pedophile’s ties with the Mossad.
“He clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence,” Vance says on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Apparently referencing Epstein’s documented ties to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, Vance says “Epstein seemed to be connected to the elements of the Israeli deep state that were left of center. Like I’ve always found that fascinating.”
“It wasn’t like he was super connected to the right of center of Israeli politics. America, he was connected across the board. Like he had Republican friends, he had Democratic friends,” the vice president adds.
US military says it struck tanker attempting to breach blockade on Iran
The US military has disabled an unladen oil tanker attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, the US Central Command says in a post on X.
“The commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the US blockade. A US aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” it adds.
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