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The Times of Israel liveblogged Friday’s events as they happened.
Columbia University rejects anti-Israel divestment demands
Students boo as Columbia University's president Claire Shipman speaks during the Commencement Ceremony at Columbia University in New York on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Seth Wenig / POOL / AFP)
Columbia University in New York City rejects demands to divest holdings from entities affiliated with Israel.
The divestment demands were a focus of the anti-Israel protests that rocked the campus after the October 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel.
Activist groups filed three proposals calling on Columbia to divest from entities that violate human rights, to demand that companies the university has a stake in “cease any activities that are complicit in human rights violations against Palestinians,” and to divest from Israel.
The university rejects all three demands, stating that there is no consensus in the university community as required by its guidelines and that the proposals are vague and unworkable.
Trump said likely to sell F-35 fighters to Saudis
US President Donald Trump is expected to reach a deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allowing Riyadh to acquire F-35 stealth fighter jets, Bloomberg News reports on Friday, citing a White House official.
Trump and the crown prince plan to sign economic and defense agreements during a visit to the White House scheduled for Tuesday, the report adds.
UN official for violence against women falsely claims no investigations found evidence of rape on October 7
The United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, falsely says that there is no evidence of rape during the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
“No independent investigation found that rape took place on the 7th of October,” Alsalem writes on X.
A series of investigations have found evidence that Palestinians raped Israeli women during the invasion of Israel, including a report last year by Pramila Patten, the UN’s special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict.
Israel reportedly rejected request by Norwegian PM to visit country last month
Israel reportedly turned down a request by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to visit the country last month.
Israeli authorities told Norway that such a visit would be unwelcome, the local news outlet Dagens Næringsliv reports, citing unnamed sources.
Tensions between the two countries have boiled over amid Oslo’s criticism of Israel over the war in Gaza and Norway’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
PA welcomes US-led statement asserting that Trump’s Gaza plan offers pathway to Palestinian statehood
The Palestinian Authority welcomes the joint statement led by the US, which said that President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war offers a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
The joint statement was signed on to by the US, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey, and expressed support for the Washington-sponsored UN Security Council resolution establishing an International Stabilization Force in Gaza.
The joint statement notably stressed the plan’s creation of a pathway to Palestinian statehood as the US seeks to push back on efforts by Russia and China to block the resolution, arguing that it doesn’t go far enough on that issue.
“The State of Palestine welcomes the contents of this (joint) statement, which affirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, the establishment of their independent Palestinian state and the pursuit of peace, security and stability between Palestinians and Israelis, and stresses that this should be in accordance with international law,” the PA statement reads.
“The State of Palestine reaffirms its readiness to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip, within the framework of unity of the land, people and institutions, which considers the Strip an integral part of the State of Palestine,” it adds.
Witkoff said planning to meet soon with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is reportedly planning to meet with senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya in the near future to discuss the ongoing Gaza ceasefire.
It would be Witkoff’s second meeting with Hayya after the US envoy met with senior members of Hamas’s ceasefire negotiating team, along with fellow Trump adviser Jared Kushner, hours before an agreement was inked in Egypt on October 9.
A date has not yet been finalized by the meeting, The New York Times reports.
The plan highlights Washington’s desire to maintain a direct line of communication with the terror group after it had long used intermediaries, such as Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.
Shin Bet chief said to recommend electronic monitoring bracelets for violent settler extremists
Shin Bet chief David Zini attends the state memorial ceremony marking 30 years since the assassination of late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, held at Mount Herzl cemetery, in Jerusalem, on November 3, 2025. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
Shin Bet chief David Zini has reportedly recommended that the government approve the use of electronic monitoring bracelets on settler extremists amid the latest uptick in attacks on Palestinians.
Zini thinks this will be a more effective tool than the current one, which has been issuing restraining orders that ban suspects from the West Bank, Channel 12 says.
Zini has not gone as far as to urge Defense Minister Israel Katz to reverse his directive banning administrative detention against Jewish suspects.
The Shin Bet uses the draconian tool, which allows for the detention of suspects without due process, against thousands of Palestinians. Until Katz’s directive earlier this year, it was also used against just over a dozen Jewish suspects.
Channel 12 says Katz currently does not intend to reverse the order.
Palestinians return for prayers in West Bank mosque after settler attack
Palestinians attend Friday prayers at Al-Hajj Hamida Mosque in the West Bank town of Deir Istiya on November 14, 2025, one day after it was set on fire by Israeli settlers. (Ilia Yefimovich/dpa via Reuters Connect)
Palestinians in a village in the West Bank held weekly communal prayers on Friday after clearing insulting graffiti, broken glass and burn marks from a mosque they say was targeted by Jewish settlers amid a spike in attacks.
Villagers in Deir Istiya who cleaned up the mosque told Reuters that settlers had smashed windows, sprayed slogans insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammed and tried to torch the building in an assault on Wednesday night.
Reuters video of the mosque on Thursday showed the graffiti as well as shattered glass, charred internal walls and furniture, and a burnt Koran.
Israel’s military said security forces had arrived at the mosque after hearing reports of the attack, but had not identified or arrested any suspects.
It said in a statement to Reuters that it “condemns any force of violence and will continue to operate to safeguard the security and order in the area.”
Palestinians say Israeli forces do not protect them from settler violence. The Israeli military says soldiers are often dispatched to deal with any trouble.
“We are here for Friday prayer because it’s an Islamic holy site. We want to show Netanyahu and his allies that this mosque was fixed in 24 hours and we will put back the carpets soon,” said worshipper Wadee’ Salman, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
Iran president hails Iraqi PM election win
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian calls Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to congratulate him on his “glorious success” in this week’s parliamentary election.
Sudani is the leader of an alliance of Shiite factions, some with close ties to Iran, and is currently negotiating the formation of a new coalition to remain in office.
“I hope that during the new term, our relations and cooperation in all areas will develop and deepen further,” Pezeshkian says, according to a statement from his office.
US says its plan for postwar management of Gaza offers pathway to Palestinian statehood
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (seated at table, 3R) speaks during a United Nations Security Council ministerial meeting on Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York on September 23, 2025. (Charly Triballeau/Pool/AFP)
The US organizes a joint statement with Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey in support of Washington’s UN Security Council resolution to establish an International Stabilization Force in Gaza amid pushback from Russia and China.
“We are issuing this statement as the member states that gathered during [UN General Assembly] High-Level Week (in September) to begin this process, which offers a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” the statement reads.
“We emphasize that this is a sincere effort, and the Plan provides a viable path towards peace and stability, not only between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but for the entire region,” the joint statement continues. We are looking forward to this resolution’s swift adoption.”
US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan states that the conditions “may” be in place for “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” while “Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out.”
The joint statement notably appears to go further than the text of the plan by not leaving the question of a political horizon up for debate.
While the US surely needed to compromise on the language of the joint statement in order to get so many other countries on board and may never use such rhetoric in favor of Palestinian statehood on its own, the fact that it signed onto such a statement is quite extraordinary.
Despite the language of the 20-point plan, Trump has gone on the record in recent weeks saying that he hasn’t even decided whether he’ll back a two-state solution. Israel is vehemently opposed to the framework.
Haifa daycare teacher unknowingly brought rabid dog to work, exposing children
The Health Ministry says that 18 people were exposed to a stray dog infected with rabies near the central town of Jaljulia earlier this month.
The dog was adopted by a Haifa daycare teacher who brought it with her to work after bringing it to a veterinary clinic which deemed the animal to be healthy.
However, the dog went on to attack five children and four adults at the daycare center, Channel 12 reports.
The dog was then taken back to a clinic where it was diagnosed with rabies. The dog collapsed and died shortly thereafter, the network says.
Norwegian court rejects US request to extradite JCC hoax bomber due to mental state
Michael Kadar at his sentencing hearing at the Tel Aviv District Court on November 22, 2018. (Screen capture/X)
A Norwegian district court has rejected a US request to extradite Michael Kadar, who served seven years in Israeli prison for targeting Jewish community centers and institutions in multiple countries with a wave of bomb threats in 2016 and 2017 when he was a teenager.
The court accepted the defense’s argument that Kadar has autism and has suffered severe mental distress due to his continued imprisonment and that extraditing him to the US would risk a violation of his human rights.
The court also accepted the defense argument that Kadar was already sentenced for his crimes in Israel and that double jeopardy prevents him from being extradited to the US to stand trial for those same crimes.
The court ruling notes the lack of a clear promise by US authorities that they will provide Kadar with adequate mental health treatment.
While Kadar will not be extradited, Norwegian authorities will continue holding him in a state treatment facility while Oslo awaits a US decision on whether to file an appeal. If it does not do so, Kadar will be released.
Responding to the ruling, Kadar’s attorney Nir Yaslovitzh said in a statement that the court ruled “unequivocally” that his client suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and that his mental state does not allow him to stand trial, not today and not seven years ago when he was convicted in Israel.
“This is a professional finding based on testimony from two senior experts in forensic psychiatry, who determined that my client was and remains a sick person in need of treatment, not criminal proceedings. Unfortunately, the procedure conducted in Israel in the past did not give sufficient weight to his medical condition, thus causing my client a severe injustice that led to an unprecedented sentence,” Yaslovitzh says.
In light of the Norwegian ruling, a request for a retrial will be submitted in Israel, Yaslovitzh says.
Kadar was released from Israeli prison last year and left the country. While traveling in Norway, he requested asylum, triggering an existing US extradition request for him.
READ MORE: JCC hoax bomber’s mental state clouds relationship between crime and punishment
Trump to host hostages released in October ceasefire deal on Thursday, ToI told
A group of released hostages meets US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on March 5, 2025. (White House/X)
US President Donald Trump will host the Israeli hostages released in last month’s Gaza ceasefire deal at the White House on Thursday, November 20, a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.
Contrary to earlier reporting, Trump is not chartering a plane to ferry the former hostages to Washington. Instead, they are taking commercial flights on the Israeli government’s dime, the source says.
All 20 hostages released on October 13 have been invited by the White House.
Lighting strikes palm tree in Rosh Ha’ayin, sparking series of blasts as storm rages throughout country
A palm tree catches fire after being struck by lightning in Rosh Ha'ayin on November 14, 2025. (Screen capture/X)
Footage from the northern town of Rosh Ha’ayin caught lightning striking a palm tree moments ago, as storms rage throughout the country.
The strike set off a series of explosions in the area, as the tree was apparently near an electrical line.
תיעוד דרמטי מראש העין: ברק הכה בעץ דקל, פיצוצים עזים נשמעו בשכונה
(אורלי אלקלעי) pic.twitter.com/VEadkJBkx0
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 14, 2025
IDF claims Hezbollah behind 2023 death of Lebanese Christian politician
Hezbollah murdered a Lebanese politician in August 2023, whose death was initially claimed to have been a car accident, the IDF says.
Elias al-Hasrouni, 72, was a senior member of the Lebanese Forces, Lebanon’s main Christian party headed by Samir Geagea.
Hasrouni was found dead on August 2, 2023, in Ain Ebel — a Christian-majority town surrounded by Shiite villages with strong Hezbollah presence in southern Lebanon — with Lebanese media first reporting it to have been a car crash.
Days later, local authorities and Hasrouni’s party claimed he had been kidnapped by several individuals and taken elsewhere, where he was beaten to death.
In a post on X, Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says Hasrouni, who was “known for his strongly anti-Hezbollah stance,” was murdered by the terror group’s special operations unit.
“On the night of August 1, 2023, members of Unit 121 ambushed Hasrouni on a road near his home in Ain Ebel in southern Lebanon, where they kidnapped him and killed him by poisoning and breaking his ribs. Afterwards, to create the impression that he veered off the road and died in a car accident, they returned his body to his car, which they crashed into a tree, and left him inside it in a roadside ditch,” Adraee says.
According to Adraee, Unit 121, Hezbollah’s surveillance and special operations unit, “carries out assassinations targeting journalists, officers, politicians, and other figures in Lebanon who oppose Hezbollah and its activities.”
“This unit serves as the organization’s internal security arm, which it uses to track and eliminate its opponents,” he says, noting that among the unit’s victims was former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
“Despite the heavy blow Hezbollah suffered during the war, it continues to try to sow chaos in Lebanon and rebuild its strength by using Unit 121 and other tools. The Lebanese people, who yearn for stability and prosperity, fully understand the need to eliminate this decaying Iranian arm that has dragged the country into futile wars, spies on the population, and assassinates its opponents,” Adraee adds.
#خاص ???? جيش الدفاع يكشف عن وحدة الاغتيالات التابعة لحزب الله التي اغتالت السياسي المسيحي إلياس الحصروني
????يؤكد جيش الدفاع ما تم تداوله بشأن اغتيال أمين عام حزب القوات اللبنانية في بنت جبيل، إلياس الحصروني على يد الوحدة 121 التابعة لحزب الله الارهابي، وذلك خلافًا للشائعات التي… pic.twitter.com/eXr1ym2WKk
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 14, 2025
UNIFIL says parts of Israel’s Lebanon border wall crossed Blue Line
A protective wall at the Tel Hai junction in northern Israel, close to the Lebanon border, April 1, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/FLASH90)
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon says that recent surveys it conducted revealed that sections of Israel’s border wall had crossed the UN-recognized Blue Line.
According to UNIFIL, in October, its observers “conducted a geospatial survey of a concrete T-wall erected by the Israel Defense Forces southwest of Yaroun,” which confirmed that the wall “crossed the Blue Line, rendering more than 4,000 square meters of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the Lebanese people.”
UNIFIL says it informed the IDF of the findings and requested that it move the wall.
This month, UNIFIL says its observers “observed additional T-wall construction in the area.”
“A survey confirmed that a section of wall southeast of Yaroun also crossed the Blue Line. We will formally inform the IDF of our findings here as well,” the observer force says.
UNIFIL says that “Israeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“We again call on the IDF to respect the Blue Line in its full length and withdraw from all areas north of it,” it says, as the military still maintains five positions inside southern Lebanon following the November 2024 ceasefire that ended fighting with Hezbollah.
A new wall that is being constructed between Aitaroun and Maroun al-Ras is on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, UNIFIL adds.
Under US pressure, Lebanon announces stricter money transfer rules
A teller counts money at an exchange office in Beirut, Lebanon, on November 14, 2025. (Joseph EID / AFP)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon announces that money changers and transfer companies must comply with stricter rules as the country faces heavy US pressure to regulate its cash economy and cut off Hezbollah funding.
The move comes days after a visiting US official said his country was determined to cut off Tehran’s funding to the group, and after the US Treasury said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had transferred over $1 billion to Hezbollah this year, mainly via money exchange companies.
Lebanese authorities are seeking to disarm Hezbollah, which was badly weakened in a recent war with Israel, and face heavy US pressure to do so more quickly as well as fears of expanded Israeli military action.
As part of efforts “to remove Lebanon from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list… the central bank of Lebanon today has taken the first step in a series of precautionary measures aiming to strengthen the compliance environment within the financial sector,” a central bank statement says.
The FATF in October last year added Lebanon to its “grey list” of nations that are subject to increased monitoring of financial transactions.
The central bank says it was imposing measures “on all non-bank financial institutions licenced by the central bank of Lebanon, including money transfer companies, exchange bureaus,” and other firms handling foreign currency transactions and transfers to and from the country.
According to a central bank circular, from December 1, all non-bank financial institutions must “collect information and data linked to their customers and operations” for transactions of $1,000 or more and report them to the central bank.
Institutions must confirm they have collected the required information before carrying out any transaction, the circular adds.
The measures are consistent “with international standards on fighting money laundering and terrorist financing, and preventing the misuse of the authorised financial system for suspicious transactions.”
UN rights council orders probe into killings in Sudan’s El-Fasher
Sudanese people who fled El-Fasher prepare a meal at a camp for displaced people, in the northern Sudanese town of Al-Dabba, on November 13, 2025. (AFP)
GENEVA, Switzerland — The UN Human Rights Council orders investigators to seek to identify all those behind alleged atrocities in Sudan’s El-Fasher to help ensure they are brought to justice.
The United Nations’ top rights body adopts a resolution ordering the UN’s independent fact-finding mission on Sudan to urgently investigate violations of international law by all sides in the western city, and urging it to “identify, where possible,” suspected perpetrators in a bid to ensure they are “held accountable.”
Annual inflation holds at 2.5%, which may prompt interest rate reduction
Israel’s annual inflation rate held steady in October at 2.5 percent, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, a level that could prompt policymakers to reduce interest rates as early as later this month.
The October rate was in line with expectations of 2.5% in a Reuters poll and is within the government’s 1%-3% annual target range.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% in October from September.
The Bank of Israel will decide on interest rates on November 24. It has stayed on hold for nearly two years, taking a cautious approach on rates, arguing the two-year Gaza war helped to underpin inflation due to supply constraints, along with an expansionary budget to help fund the conflict.
Greece in talks with Israel to buy systems for ‘Achilles Shield’ air defense dome
Illustrative: Israeli Air Force soldiers pose in front of an Arrow air defense system battery, in a photo issued by the IDF on June 26, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
ATHENS, Greece — Greece is in talks with Israel to buy modern missile systems that would be used for a planned anti-aircraft defense dome, two officials with knowledge of the plan tell Reuters.
Athens has said it will spend about 28 billion euros ($33 billion) by 2036 to modernize its armed forces as it emerges from a 2009-2018 debt crisis and tries to keep pace with its historic rival, Turkey.
About 3 billion euros will be used to create a multi-layer anti-aircraft and anti-drone system, called the “Achilles Shield.” It also plans to buy new stealth fighter jets, frigates and submarines from the US and Europe.
“We want to buy 36 PULS artillery systems and anti-aircraft systems for ‘Achilles Shield’. The negotiations with Israel will intensify next month,” one of the officials says, adding that Greek companies would provide about 25 percent of the project.
The cost of 36 PULS rocket artillery systems, made by Israel’s Elbit, is estimated at 650 million euros, the official says, adding that they would be used to protect Greece’s eastern borders with Turkey.
IDF says it killed terror operative who crossed Gaza’s Yellow Line, approached troops
IDF troops of the Nahal Brigade operate in the Gaza Strip, in images released on June 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it killed a terror operative who crossed the Yellow Line demarcating the military’s withdrawal and approached troops in the southern Gaza Strip today.
The military says the operative “posed an immediate threat” to the troops of the Nahal Brigade, who then opened fire “to remove the threat.”
The IDF says it remains deployed in Gaza “in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.”
EU foreign ministers to discuss training 3,000 Palestinian police officers from Gaza
BRUSSELS, Belgium — European Union foreign ministers will discuss next week a proposal for the bloc to take the lead in training 3,000 Palestinian police officers with the aim of later deploying them in Gaza, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Final agreement reached on WZO and KKL leadership saga; no job for Yair Netanyahu
The opening event of the 39th World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem, October 28, 2025. (Zev Stub/ Times of Israel)
A final coalition agreement has been signed for the leadership of the World Zionist Organization and Jewish National Fund-KKL, concluding a dramatic negotiation process that included several surprise turns.
Under the agreement, Yaakov Hagoel of Likud will be the WZO Chairman for the first two and a half years, to be followed by a representative of the pluralistic/liberal bloc for the second half of the five-year term.
At KKL, a representative of the pluralistic/liberal bloc will serve as the chair for the first half of the term, followed by a representative of Likud for the second half.
Rabbi Doron Perez, chairman of the religious Zionist World Mizrachi movement and father of Cpt. Daniel Perez, who was killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, will be named the president of the WZO, instead of taking the chairmanship as announced earlier this week.
Yizhar Hess will continue in his role as WZO vice chair.
This divides the senior-most leadership positions at the national institutions evenly between the right/Haredi and liberal/pluralistic blocs, a WZO source says.
These positions, alongside the leadership of the Jewish National Fund-KKL, collectively command budgets of more than a billion dollars a year to be used for Jewish causes, including education and promoting Jewish immigration.
The leadership appointments don’t usually get so much attention, but a series of controversial events in recent weeks has brought them to the forefront.
Two weeks ago, at the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem, a previous leadership agreement was torn up at the last minute when it was revealed that Likud MK and Netanyahu loyalist Miki Zohar had snuck in a cushy job for the prime minister’s son, Yair Netanyahu.
In the end, the younger Netanyahu will not get any position in the WZO, a WZO source confirms.
Last week, as a revised agreement was being prepared, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid announced that his party would no longer take part in any of the negotiations, decrying a system steeped in “a culture of corruption and political appointments” even as he had become a major power broker within the WZO.
Calm returns to Sweida after round of clashes between Druze, government forces
A Druze militiaman carrying a machine gun walks past a burned-out car following sectarian clashes in the Druze-majority town of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
DAMASCUS, Syria — A new round of clashes between Druze armed groups and government forces in the province of Sweida in southern Syria has subsided, but leaves fears of another escalation.
Clashes yesterday led to both sides blaming each other for violating a ceasefire that ended several days of violent fighting in July. There were reports of people wounded on both sides, but no deaths were reported.
The National Guard, the de facto military in Sweida, accused government forces of launching an attack on the town of al-Majdal Thursday, “employing heavy and medium weapons and attack drones, in an aggressive attempt to breach our defense lines and target vital locations.”
“Our forces bravely and with high combat efficiency repelled this attack, inflicting heavy losses on the attacking forces in terms of equipment and personnel,” it says in a statement.
The government in Damascus accuses the Sweida factions of violating the ceasefire first.
Mustafa al-Bakour, the Damascus-appointed governor of Sweida province, says “some factions and the so-called National Guard” launched “attacks on de-escalation points.” The attacks, he adds, “constitute a clear violation of international agreements and obstruct efforts to rebuild and prepare for the return of residents to their villages.”
US official says Iran seized oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz
A frame grab from a video released by Iran's Revolutionary Guard on November 3, 2021, shows the Guard speed boats, center, in front of a US warship, left, amid the seizure of a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker, right, in the Gulf of Oman. (Revolutionary Guard via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker as it traveled through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a US official says, turning the ship into Iranian territorial waters in the first such interdiction in months in the strategic waterway.
Iran does not immediately acknowledge the seizure, though it comes as Tehran has been increasingly warning it can strike back after facing a 12-day war in June with Israel that saw the US strike Iranian nuclear sites.
The ship, the Talara, had been traveling from Ajman, United Arab Emirates, onward to Singapore when Iranian forces intercepted it, the US defense official, who speaks on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, says. A US Navy MQ-4C Triton drone had been circling above the area where the Talara was for hours observing the seizure, flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press shows.
A private security firm, Ambrey, describes the assault as involving three small boats approaching the Talara.
Indonesia says it has trained up to 20,000 troops for Gaza peacekeeping role
Trucks carrying commercial goods drive through Gaza City after entering from Israel via the Zikim crossing, in the northern Gaza Strip, November 13, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia has trained up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks during a planned peacekeeping operation in the war-torn enclave of Gaza, its defense minister says.
The world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, is among the countries with which the United States has discussed plans for a multinational stabilization force in Gaza, which include Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Qatar.
Last week, Reuters reported a draft readied by Washington for such a force that would authorize it to “use all necessary measures” to demilitarize Gaza, secure its borders, protect civilians and aid delivery, and support a newly trained Palestinian police force.
Indonesia says there is no decision yet on when troops will be deployed and what mandate they will have, underscoring the uncertainty over establishing an international presence in Gaza.
“We’ve prepared a maximum of 20,000 troops, but the specifications will revolve around health and construction,” Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin tells reporters. “We are waiting for further decisions on Gaza peace action.
IDF tells ToI it declared closed military zone over rise in violent incidents amid olive harvest
The IDF responds to a query from The Times of Israel, saying that it issued a closed military zone order ahead of the arrival of hundreds of activists due to a “rise in both the number and severity of violent incidents” during the olive harvesting season.
The IDF adds that the move followed a period of security tension during which forces dealt with friction between Israelis and Palestinians, and that a decision was made to restrict access to the olive-harvest event for anyone who is not a local resident or landowner.
“The decision was made following a situation assessment and in light of the forces available in the area, for the sake of public safety.”
As noted, about an hour ago, the IDF blocked hundreds of activists from Peace Now and Rabbis for Human Rights from reaching the village of Burin to join Palestinians for the olive harvest.
Authorities block left-wing activists from reaching West Bank olive harvest
Police and soldiers blocked seven buses carrying left-wing activists from traveling to the West Bank village of Burin to assist Palestinians in the olive harvest, after declaring the area a closed military zone.
Activists launch an impromptu demonstration on the road as police hold them up.
“I wish the Judea and Samaria police would demonstrate one percent of the determination it demonstrated here against extremist settlers who carry out daily nationalist crimes across the territories,” writes Labor MK Gilad Kariv, who was traveling with the activists, on X.
“Therefore, let it be clear: the Ariel station commander refuses to present the authorization letter from the army that allows him to make this decision,” he says.
הצבא הכריז על האזור בו צפוי להיערך "מסיק הסולידריות" כשטח צבאי סגור, המשטרה מנעה את הגעתם של אוטובוסים של "שלום עכשיו" למקום. המסיק נערך במחאה על העלייה החדה באלימות מתנחלים ביו"ש. ח"כ קריב: "עצירת האוטובוסים נעשתה באופן שרירותי ובמטרה ברורה למנוע פעולה פוליטית לגיטימית"… pic.twitter.com/9GLmZjqXXh
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 14, 2025
Gaza health officials say 15 Palestinian bodies returned by Israel
Gaza health officials say they have received the bodies of 15 Palestinians returned by Israel.
It comes after Hamas handed over the body of the deceased hostage Meny Godard, 73, last night.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF declares closed military zone in an area where activists planned to assist Palestinians with olive harvest
The IDF announces a closed military zone in the area of the village of Burin near Nablus in the West Bank, shortly before hundreds of left-wing activists were expected to arrive to assist Palestinians in their olive harvest.
The activists include, among others, members of Peace Now and Rabbis for Human Rights.
The visit had been planned as part of a broad effort to help Palestinians harvest their olives in the area, against the backdrop of numerous incidents of violence against Palestinians during the harvest season.
Throughout the olive harvest, there were several locations in the West Bank where the IDF issued closed military zone orders as Palestinians arrived to harvest olives on their own land.
The IDF has not yet responded.
לא יאומן – הוציאו לנו עכשיו צו הגבלת תנועה!
המחבלים מהמאחזים עדיין מסתובבים חופשי אבל 7 אוטובוסים של פעילי שלום עוצרים במחסום.
ממשלת הטרור היהודי pic.twitter.com/HA835HmSVm— שלום עכשיו (@PeaceNowIL) November 14, 2025
Oil tanker heading to Singapore makes sudden course change to Iran
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker, en route from the United Arab Emirates to Singapore, made a sudden course deviation while transiting the Gulf of Oman and headed towards Iranian territorial waters, British maritime security firm Ambrey says.
First snow falls on Hermon; roads flooded in Ashkelon and Ashdod
Snow falls for the first time this season on Mount Hermon, as a storm batters the country.
Down south, footage and images show roads are flooded in the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod.
????❄️☃️
מעטה דק דק של שלג ראשון לעונה (!) בפסגת החרמון.
צילם: כפיר סבג pic.twitter.com/BeNxWdE6wG— Rubi Hammerschlag | רובי המרשלג (@rubih67) November 14, 2025
גשם כבד יורד הבוקר ברחבי הארץ: סופות רעמים נשמעו באזור המרכז, הצפות תועדו באשדוד@WexlerSharon pic.twitter.com/rWPwomBdFi
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 14, 2025
4 Palestinians face charges over ISIS ties, plans for ‘great war of the end of days’
Illustrative: A symbol for the Islamic State terror group on a shirt worn by a terrorist who attacked security forces at the Qalandiya checkpoint, in the West Bank, December 7, 2024. (Israel Police)
Four residents of East Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood, allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State jihadist movement, are set to be charged for planning attacks against Jewish Israelis, the Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police announce.
The four Palestinians, all in their 20s, were detained recently by police officers over suspicions they were affiliated with the Islamic State.
The Shin Bet says that during their interrogations, it emerged that the four “support the ideology of the Islamic State, consumed large amounts of the organization’s content online, including gruesome materials and execution videos.”
“Influenced by the organization’s content, they planned to purchase military equipment, weapons, and arms to prepare for what they call ‘the great war of the end of days’ against Jews,” the agency says.
According to the Shin Bet, the suspects began acquiring military equipment, with one managing to purchase a pistol, which was later seized. The Shin Bet quotes the suspect as saying during his interrogation: “I will use the pistol against Jews or anyone who is not a Muslim.”
Indictments against two of the suspects are expected to be filed in the coming days, while the investigation of the other pair is ongoing, the agency says. All four are currently being held.
Tel Aviv light rail returns to full service
The Tel Aviv light rail returns to full service after running on a limited timetable due to power outages caused by stormy weather.
British agency reports maritime incident east of UAE
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says it has received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles east of UAE’s Khor Fakkan.
UKMTO marked the incident as ‘suspicious activity’ and added that authorities are investigating.
Tel Aviv light rail to operate on limited service amid storm
Passengers ride the Tel Aviv light rail on its first day of service, August 18, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
The Tel Aviv light rail will run on a limited service due to power outages as a storm lashes Israel.
The R1 route will only run from Bat Yam Kommemiyut to Tel Aviv’s Elifelet station, while the R3 route is canceled until further notice.
Coastal cities brace for flooding amid winter storm
Lightning illuminates the sky over the Upper Galilee, during a rain storm on November 13, 2025 (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
Heavy rains are expected throughout central Israel this morning, and flooding is possible in coastal cities, as a winter storm hits its peak.
The Israel Meteorological Society has warned of the risk of flash floods around streams in the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea.
Floods are also possible in river channels in the south, and the public is warned to stay away.
The wintry weather will persist throughout the day and into tomorrow, when it is expected to ease up.
US officials concerned sale of F-35s to Saudis could lead to tech reaching China — report
An Italian air force F-35 takes off during the "Blue Flag" multinational air defence exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on October 24, 2021. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
With the US considering the sale of F-35 fighters to Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reports concerns in the American intelligence community that the jets’ sensitive technology could reach China. Pentagon officials have warned that Beijing could gain access to the information, either through espionage or its growing security ties to Riyadh.
The proposed purchase of 48 aircraft worth billions comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to meet President Trump in Washington. Saudi leaders have also been lobbying the US to advance a civilian nuclear program.
The report says the sale has also revived debates over maintaining Israel’s military edge in the region. Israel is currently the only Middle East country with F-35s, and past talk of selling the fightters to Gulf states have stalled over similar concerns.
Anti-Israel influencer: Gal Gadot helped ‘normalize Israel as not a fascist ethno-state’
Illustrative: Hasan Piker speaks onstage during Politicon 2018 on October 20, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Politicon/AFP)
Well-known anti-Israel influencer Hasan Piker tells Variety that actress Gal Gadot “serves an important role in normalizing Israel as not a fascist ethno-state, but instead a place where a lot of beautiful women come from.”
In an interview on his activism against the Jewish state, Piker adds: “And those beautiful women happen to serve in the IDF, because there’s also this weird sexualization of the forces as well that takes place, and it plays another role in normalizing Israel and its activities and actions, and whitewashing it.”
He also attacks Jewish journalist Bari Weiss, saying: “Bari Weiss is everything that I despise about access journalism brown-nosing to institutionally powerful people and a major advocate for Israel as well. A person that has spent her entire career decrying woke or identity politics while simultaneously using her identity as a shield. Like, ‘I’m a lesbian woman. I can’t be intolerant.’ And also even using your identity as a Jewish woman to say, ‘Identity politics sucks unless we’re talking about Jewish people.’”
UN agency for Palestinian refugees asks for more funding
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which is no longer receiving US funding, has asked other donor nations for more money, warning that its operations could suffer without a cash infusion.
“We run week by week, month by month. I know that as of today, we will be able to process our salaries in November, but have no idea if or no visibility if we will be able to process our salaries in December,” chief Philippe Lazzarini tells a press conference.
Israel has barred UNRWA from operating on its soil after accusing employees of participating in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, and of inciting against it.
Following those allegations, the United States — historically the agency’s biggest donor — suspended its support. In the wake of Israel’s decision, UNRWA was forced to repatriate its international staff from Gaza and the West Bank, limiting its food aid distribution abilities.
But it still employs 12,000 people in the Palestinian territories, and its services are vital to Palestinians, Lazzarini insists.
“About 75,000 people were sheltered in 100 of our premises across the Gaza Strip,” he tells reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.
Police arrest man in Tel Aviv in connection with murder of foreign citizen
Police have arrested a man in Tel Aviv in connection with the alleged murder of a foreign citizen in the city.
The body was found decapitated in bushes in the city’s south.
Four brothers from Kafr Qasim arrested on suspicion of murdering their sister
Police arrest four brothers from Kafr Qasim on suspicion of murdering their 28-year-old sister Talil Amer earlier tonight.
Amer was found shot in an olive grove outside town. She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead.
The motive for the murder is not immediately clear.
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