Nov. 23: Netanyahu: Tabatabai was ‘mass murderer’ leading Hezbollah rearmament

Two injured in shooting in north Tel Aviv

Two people have been injured in a shooting in north Tel Aviv, close to Tel Aviv University, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.

One of the injured, a man in his 30s, is in serious condition and is unstable, MDA says. The other, a 24-year-old, was moderately injured.

The two were taken to Ichilov Medical Center for treatment.

Hebrew media reports that the incident is likely criminally motivated and is not terrorism.

Hezbollah announces 4 operatives killed in Beirut strike in addition to military chief

Hezbollah announces the deaths of four operatives in an Israeli strike on Beirut today, in addition to its de facto military leader, Haytham Ali Tabatabai.

They are named as Ibrahim Ali Hussein, Rifaat Ahmed Hussein, Mustafa Asaad Barrou and Qassem Hussein Barjawi.

Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike killed five people and wounded 28 more. It hit a multi-story building, sending debris crashing into cars on the main road below.

#متابعة| حزب الله يعلن استشهاد 4 من مقاوميه برفقة القائد هيثم الطبطبائي؛ جرّاء الغارة الإسرائيلية على بيروت، وهُم: قاسم حسين برجاوي، مصطفى أسعد برو، رفعت أحمد حسين، وإبراهيم علي حسين. pic.twitter.com/DTZ1TghZMI

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) November 23, 2025

Reuters contributed to this report.

Trump said to be advancing plans to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terror organization

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on November 19, 2025. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

US President Donald Trump is reportedly advancing plans to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization.

“It will be done in the strongest and most powerful terms… Final documents are being drawn,” the Just the News outlet quotes Trump as having said during an interview.

The move has not been independently confirmed by the White House.

Woman stabbed, seriously injured in Beersheba

A young woman has been stabbed and badly wounded in Beersheba, paramedics say.

The victim, around 25 years old, is semiconscious and in serious condition.

Medics are taking her to Soroka Medical Center in the southern city.

i24 News reports that the victim is an Arab transgender woman. Police are reportedly checking the possibility that she was stabbed in a hate crime or by a relative.

Hezbollah confirms death of its military chief in Israeli airstrike on Beirut

Hezbollah military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai, in a poster issued by the terror group after his death on November 23, 2025. (Hezbollah Media Office)

Hezbollah confirms the death of its de facto military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut earlier today, hours after Israel announced he had been killed.

Describing him as a “great Jihadi commander,” the Lebanese group says Tabatabai “dedicated his life to the resistance since its inception” over four decades ago, and “was among the leaders who laid the foundation” for it.

IDF said Palestinian shot dead in the West Bank had been throwing stones at troops

The IDF says it shot dead a Palestinian who hurled stones at troops in the West Bank this afternoon.

The incident began following reports of stone throwing by Palestinians against Israeli civilians near the West Bank settlement of Ofra, the military says.

The IDF says troops were dispatched to the scene and used riot dispersal means “to restore order in the area.”

“During the troops’ activity, a terrorist hurled rocks at the force, which responded with precise fire to neutralize the threat and eliminate the terrorist,” the IDF says, adding that no soldiers were wounded.

Palestinian media identified the man as Baraa Maali, 20. The Palestinian Authority’s official news outlet, WAFA, cited the leader of the nearby village of Deir Jarir as saying that Maali was shot dead as settlers attacked the village.

US feds investigating New York City synagogue protest

Protesters at Park East Synagogue in New York City, November 19, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

The US Department of Justice says it is investigating a protest outside a New York City synagogue last week.

During the protest, around 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, chanting violent and threatening slogans, and hurling discriminatory slurs at Jews.

The protest targeted an event at the synagogue that was providing information to Jews about immigrating to Israel.

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice, says, “Investigation is underway. The [Justice Department] has zero tolerance for violence/obstruction around any American house of worship.”

“Every time we see violence around a house of worship, we take action,” Dhillon says in a separate statement.

The federal FACE Act prohibits obstructing entrance or exit from a house of worship, including by threats and intimidation.

The Department of Justice sued anti-Zionist protesters under the FACE Act in September for allegedly intimidating Jewish worshipers at a New Jersey synagogue.

The department also backed a lawsuit filed under the act against protesters who scuffled with Jews outside a Los Angeles synagogue.

Unlike those incidents, though, the protesters in New York City did not appear to have physically obstructed the entrance to the synagogue.

The protesters gathered right next to the entrance to the synagogue, though.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, reportedly apologized to the synagogue yesterday for the police not keeping the front entrance to the synagogue clear, describing the scene at the entrance as “chaotic,” according to The New York Post.

Hamas: Meeting with Egyptian intel chief focused on completion of first ceasefire phase, operatives holed up in Rafah

Top Hamas officials met in Cairo today with Egypt’s intelligence chief and senior Gaza ceasefire mediator Hassan Rashad to discuss the completion of the comprehensive ceasefire plan’s first phase and the nature of its second phase, Hamas says in a statement.

In their meeting with Rashad, Hamas leaders Muhammad Darwish, Khaled Mashal, Khalil al-Hayya, Nizar Awdallah, Zaher Jabarin and Ghazi Hamed also discussed “ways to urgently address, via mediators’ efforts with the various parties,” the issue of dozens of Hamas operatives holed up underground in Israeli-controlled Rafah, Hamas says. It adds that contact with the operatives has been lost.

The statement comes after Israel on Friday killed or captured 17 operatives who tried to flee a tunnel in eastern Rafah. On Saturday, Israel carried out deadly strikes across Gaza in response to an attack on troops in the Strip’s south. According to Israel, the strikes killed several Hamas commanders.

The Hamas statement also comes after reports yesterday that the group informed mediators that the ceasefire was over.

Hamas, which denied the report, says in the statement today that it remains committed to the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, “stressing the importance of ending the continuing Zionist violations… via a clear and specific mechanism sponsored and overseen by the mediators,” including the US, Qatar, and Turkey along with Egypt.

The mechanism would “report to mediators on any violations, so that necessary steps can be taken to spot them in immediately and prevent unilateral steps resulting in escalation,” says Hamas.

The first phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan formed the basis of Israel and Hamas’s October 9 truce-hostage deal. The second phase would require Israel to withdraw further inside Gaza, and would see an International Stabilization Force and Trump-chaired Board of Peace start taking control of Gaza.

US reportedly happy with elimination of Hezbollah military chief – ‘Yalla, mazal tov, mabruk’

The US is “pleased” with Israel’s strike that killed Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s de facto chief of staff, a senior American official tells Channel 12.

“We are pleased with the elimination of the number two in Hezbollah,” says the official.

“We think it’s a wonderful thing. Yalla, mazal tov, mabruk,” concludes the official in Arabic and Hebrew.

Netanyahu: Tabatabai was ‘mass murderer’ leading Hezbollah rearmament

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s de facto chief of staff, led the terror group’s efforts to rearm.

“Israel will not let Hezbollah rebuild its strength,” Netanyahu insists in a video statement hours after the Israeli Air Force killed Tabatabai in an airstrike. He calls the senior Hezbollah official “a mass murderer” with the blood of many Israelis and Americans on his hands.

Netanyahu says that he “expects the Lebanese government to fulfill its commitment to disarm Hezbollah.”

“Only in this way will every citizen of Lebanon have a better future, and only in this way can peaceful and secure neighborly relations between Israel and Lebanon exist,” he says.

Netanyahu also praises US President Donald Trump for his decision to make the final preparations for outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood and declaring it a terrorist organization. He pledges that Israel will complete the process of outlawing the organization as well.

Israel currently bans only some branches of the movement in Israel.

Zamir says ‘not easy’ to sanction officers who failed on Oct. 7, but necessary to preserve trust in IDF

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks in a video statement, November 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says it was not easy for him to issue sanctions against officers over their roles in the October 7, 2023, failures, but stresses that it is necessary to maintain trust in the military.

“The IDF is committed to a thorough, professional, and in-depth inquiry of everything that occurred on that terrible day, and out of this commitment, I carried out a series of steps to advance the matter, including the establishment of an independent review team to examine the inquiries and their quality,” he says.

“My conclusions present an unequivocal picture: the IDF failed in its principal mission on October 7: to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” Zamir says.

“This is a severe, resounding, and systemic failure that relates to decisions and conduct before and during the event. The lessons of that day are many and important, and they must serve as our compass for the future, toward which I intend to lead the army,” he continues.

“Accordingly, I have decided, with great seriousness, to take personal decisions regarding certain officials who served on October 7. This decision is complex and derives from my responsibility to balance systemic and command considerations with the needs of the IDF in a volatile period with threats on all fronts,” Zamir says.

“My subordinates, it is not easy to make decisions that impact people I value and who have dedicated their lives to the security of the state; people with whom I have fought for decades. Alongside this, before my eyes stands the obligation to draw a clear line for command responsibility. This is not a responsibility we choose to take upon ourselves, but one we bear by virtue of being commanders in the IDF,” he continues.

“If we do not sharpen the meaning of responsibility, trust in the system will erode, and that trust is the foundation of our ability to fight, to win, and to defend the State of Israel,” Zamir says.

Zamir says that the commanders who were dismissed or censured “are among our finest commanders.”

“All of them have dedicated most of their lives to the IDF and the State of Israel. The vast majority of them have had a direct part in the operational successes the IDF has achieved over the past two years,” he says.

“I will continue to lead the IDF in the light of truth, and out of responsibility and devotion to the mission,” Zamir adds.

Israel: Assassination of Hezbollah military chief is response to ceasefire violations, Beirut failing to address them

Rescuers search for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the southern suburb of Beirut, on November 23, 2025. (AFP)

Israel’s elimination of Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s de facto chief of staff, came in response to “Hezbollah’s repeated violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the 2024 ceasefire understandings, as well as the threat he posed to Israel and to regional stability,” says the Foreign Ministry.

Israel, says the ministry in a statement, “will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its military capabilities and once again threaten the security of Israel and its citizens. The organization’s aggressive actions constitute a clear violation of international obligations and agreements.”

The Lebanese government has failed to address Hezbollah’s violations, says Israel, while Hezbollah is working to “restore and expand” its military capabilities.

“Israel is committed to the full implementation of the ceasefire understandings and has reported hundreds of violations through the international mechanism led by the United States,” says the Foreign Ministry. “The IDF will continue to act to defend the State of Israel, its citizens, and regional stability, with determination, responsibility, and precision.”

20-year-old Palestinian student said killed by IDF during settler attack near Ramallah

A young Palestinian man was killed by IDF gunfire in the West Bank village of Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry announces.

Citing village leader Fathi Hamdan, the PA’s official news outlet, WAFA, identifies the man as Baraa Khairi Ali Maali, 20, and says he was killed by IDF gunfire as settlers attacked the village.

Maali took a bullet to the chest from IDF forces who shot at Palestinians as they tried to fend off the settler attack, Hamdan tells WAFA. He was pronounced dead at the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, Hamdan says.

The Student Movement in the West Bank’s Birzeit University, where Maali was a student, announces a general strike tomorrow “mourning the martyr’s soul and condemning the Israeli killing policy against our people.”

The IDF says it will look into the report.

Netanyahu to deliver statement to the press at 8:05 p.m.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver a statement to the press at 8:05 p.m., his office says.

Host of senior officers including ex-IDF intel chief and Air Force chief dismissed, censured over Oct. 7 failures

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks at a cadets' graduation ceremony at the Bahad 1 officers' school in southern Israel, October 30, 2025. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has dismissed several senior officers and censured others over their roles in the October 7, 2023, failures.

Zamir summoned several top officers for meetings today, after vowing earlier this month to make “personal decisions” regarding the commanders based on the findings of a probe conducted by an external panel of experts. In addition, lower-ranking officers were summoned by Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai.

The decisions include:

Former Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, who resigned in August 2024, will be dismissed from reserve duty and no longer serve in the IDF.

Former Operations Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, who ended his tenure in July 2025, will be dismissed from reserve duty and no longer serve in the IDF.

Former Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, who resigned in March 2025, will be dismissed from reserve duty and no longer serve in the IDF.

Current Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, who on October 7 served as chief of the Operations Division, was censured but he will continue to serve in the role until the end of his four-year tenure — in 2028 — after which he will resign from the military, at his request.

Current Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar will be censured over the force’s failure to defend against Hamas’s drones and para-gliders on October 7. He will continue to serve in the role until the end of his tenure in April 2026.

Israeli Navy chief Vice Adm. David Sa’ar Salama will be censured over the Navy’s failure to defend against Hamas’s sea-borne attack on October 7. He will continue to serve in the role until the end of his tenure in the coming months.

Brig. Gen. “Gimmel,” who headed the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Operational Operations Division on October 7, will be ousted from the IDF.

Former signals intelligence Unit 8200 commander Brig. Gen. Yossi Sariel will be dismissed from reserve duty and no longer serve in the IDF.

Former Gaza Division commander Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld will be dismissed from reserve duty and no longer serve in the IDF.

Former Southern Command intelligence chief, Col. Ariel Lubovski, will be dismissed from reserve duty and no longer serve in the IDF.

Col. Haim Cohen, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade during October 7, will be dismissed from reserve duty and no longer serve in the IDF.

Lt. Col. “Alef,” the intelligence officer of the Gaza Division, will be ousted from the IDF.

Additionally, Zamir has ruled that there is no issue with promoting Brig. Gen. Eliad Moati, Brig. Gen. Manor Yanai, and Col. Ephraim Avni, after Defense Minister Israel Katz decided to hold up their planned appointments due to claims that they had supposed involvement in the failures on October 7.

IDF confirms Hezbollah chief of staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai killed in Beirut strike

Hezbollah military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai, in a poster issued by the terror group after his death on November 23, 2025. (Hezbollah Media Office)

The IDF confirms killing Hezbollah’s military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai in an airstrike in Beirut today, issuing footage of the attack.

In a statement, the IDF says that Tabatabai was a “veteran and central operative in the terror organization” after joining its ranks in the 1980s and holding several senior roles, including the commander of the elite Radwan Force and head of Hezbollah’s operations in Syria.

During the war, the military says Tabatabai was appointed to head Hezbollah’s operations division, responsible for “consolidating the organization’s situational picture and force buildup.”

In late 2024, after most of Hezbollah’s leadership was killed, he “effectively served as the official responsible for managing the fighting against Israel,” the IDF says,

After the end of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024, he was officially appointed as military chief of staff in the terror group.

“In this role, he led the organization’s reconstruction,” the military says.

The IDF says that it will “act against any attempts to rebuild and rearm the Hezbollah terror organization and will operate forcefully to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel,” while adding that it “remains committed to the understandings agreed upon between the State of Israel and Lebanon.”

An Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah’s military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai in Beirut, November 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

After Beirut strike, IDF chief says Israel committed to Lebanon truce but will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (right) is seen with Operations Division commander Brig. Gen. Yisrael Shomer, at the division's underground command center at the IDF HQ in Tel Aviv, November 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

After this afternoon’s strike on Hezbollah’s top military commander in Beirut, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military will continue to “remove any threat” to Israel.

“We struck the most senior commander in the Hezbollah terror organization. The strike was intended to prevent the organization’s buildup and to specifically target those who seek to harm the State of Israel,” he says at the IDF’s underground command center during the strike, according to remarks provided by the military.

“The IDF remains committed to the understandings agreed upon between the State of Israel and Lebanon, but we will not allow the Hezbollah terror organization to grow stronger and rearm, and we will act to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel,” he adds.

Ex-IDF operations directorate chief dismissed from reserves over role in Oct. 7 failures

Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, chief of the IDF Operations Directorate, attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset, July 18, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Former Operations Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk has been dismissed from reserve duty by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, over his role in the October 7, 2023, failures surrounding the Hamas-led attack.

Zamir summoned several top officers for meetings today, after vowing this month to make “personal decisions” regarding the commanders based on the findings of a probe conducted by an external panel of experts.

Basiuk was replaced as operations chief in July, after announcing his intention to resign.

Meanwhile, among those summoned today by Zamir who didn’t show up due to scheduling issues were former intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva and former signals intelligence Unit 8200 commander Brig. Gen. Yossi Sariel. They are set to meet with Zamir in the coming days.

The IDF is set to detail the full list of officers and sanctions, likely in the coming hours.

Israeli strike on Beirut ‘crosses a new red line,’ Hezbollah warns

Rescuers search for survivors at the site of an airstrike that Israel said targeted Hezbollah's military chief in a residential building in Beirut's southern Haret Hreik neighborhood on November 23, 2025. (Ibrahim Amro/AFP)

Hezbollah confirms an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier today targeted a senior commander but does not disclose the person’s identity, after Israel said it targeted the group’s chief of staff.

“The targeting was clearly aimed at a key… figure in the resistance, and the results are unknown,” Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati tells reporters in front of the strike location, adding that the attack “crosses a new red line.”

Israeli official: Hezbollah military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai killed in Beirut strike

Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s de facto military chief, was killed in the IDF airstrike on Beirut this afternoon, an Israeli official says.

Israel increasingly confident that Hezbollah’s military chief was killed in Beirut strike

Israel increasingly believes that Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s de facto military chief, was killed in this afternoon’s airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Israeli officials tell the Saudi al-Hadath outlet that the strike was successful and Tabatabai was eliminated, though the IDF has not yet confirmed this with full certainty.

Tabatabai, born in 1968 in Beirut, is the son of a south Lebanese mother and an Iranian father. He was raised in southern Lebanon and joined the terror group in his youth.

He has been wanted by the United States since 2016, with a $5 million bounty for information on him.

Tabatabai previously commanded Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, which was tasked with invading Israel. According to the US Department of State, he also commanded Hezbollah’s special forces in Syria and Yemen.

In 2015, Israel attempted to assassinate Tabatabai in southern Syria, in a strike that killed Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hezbollah commander killed in Damascus in 2008.

Tabatabai was promoted in the terror group in late 2024, after the IDF eliminated most of Hezbollah’s top leadership.

Report: Ex-defense minister Gallant evacuated from his home last year due to security threat, has not yet returned

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant arrives for a hearing at an internal Likud tribunal in Tel Aviv to present his defense against a move to expel him from the party, September 29, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant was evacuated from his home in Moshav Amikam in northern Israel last year due to a credible security threat, and has not been able to return home since, the Ynet news outlet reports.

The threat was identified shortly before Gallant was dismissed from his cabinet post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last November, Ynet says.

The news outlet does not provide further information about the nature of the security threat, but notes that, as Gallant is still unable to return home, it would appear to still be an active threat.

The former defense minister has been living in a different moshav ever since, Ynet says, but his home in Amikam still receives round-the-clock security.

Lebanon calls on international community to intervene after Israeli strike on Beirut

Lebanon President Joseph Aoun addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 23, 2025, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun calls on the international community to intervene firmly to stop Israeli attacks on the country after a deadly strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Israel has said that the strike targeted the Hezbollah terror group’s chief of staff.

In a statement, Aoun says Lebanon “reiterates its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.”

The strike in Beirut killed at least one person and wounded 21 more, Lebanon’s health ministry says.

Government approves plan to bring all Bnei Menashe Jews from India to Israel by 2030

Illustrative: Bnei Menashe Jewish community members pray in a local synagogue in Manipur, December 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

The government approved a proposal from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer to jumpstart efforts by the Bnei Menashe Jewish community in northeast India to move to Israel amid ethnic tensions in the Manipur and Mizoram regions, the premier’s office announces in a statement.

According to the cabinet resolution approved at today’s government meeting, 1,200 members of the community will immigrate by the end of 2026, and by 2030, the government expects to complete the arrival of some 5,800 additional immigrants. The move is intended to bring the entire Bnei Menashe community to Israel and reunite families with members who have already moved to the country, according to the statement.

The newcomers will be absorbed in Nof HaGalil and other northern cities, the statement adds.

Netanyahu calls the move “an important and Zionist decision that will also strengthen the North and the Galilee,” while thanking Sofer, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Minister Ze’ev Elkin, who is in charge of rehabilitating the Gaza and northern borders, for their cooperation on the initiative.

Over the past two decades, approximately 4,000 members of the community have immigrated to Israel under previous government decisions, and the government now seeks to complete the process of bringing the entire community, the premier’s office adds.

In a separate statement, Netanyahu’s office says that the premier met this morning with India’s Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, to discuss “strengthening economic ties between the two countries across a range of issues, including expanding investments, advancing a trade agreement,” and to promote the India-Middle East Europe economic corridor (IMEC), a US-backed trade and transportation initiative that includes Israel.

Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Indian Ambassador to Israel J.P. Singh also participated in the meeting.

Unvaccinated 18-month-old baby dies of measles in northern Israel

The Northern Medical Center (Poriya) in Tiberias reports that an 18-month-old baby, unvaccinated against measles, has died from the disease.

This is the tenth death from measles since the start of the outbreak in May. Most of them were healthy children with no underlying illnesses who were not vaccinated against measles.

The infant arrived at the Emergency Department in very severe condition and his condition deteriorated throughout the morning.

He was put on a ventilator, but despite the efforts of medical teams to resuscitate him, doctors pronounced him dead.

Areas currently classified as experiencing a measles outbreak are Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Harish, Modi’in Illit, Nof HaGalil, Kiryat Gat, Ashdod, Safed, Netivot, Haifa, Tiberias, the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, and the settlement of Tekoa.

The Health Ministry reiterates that measles is a disease that is preventable through an effective and safe vaccine.

Seeking medical treatment immediately upon the appearance of symptoms or suspicion of infection “saves lives,” the ministry says.

Israel will continue to act against those who threaten it, Katz vows after Beirut strike

Israel will continue to take action against those who threaten it, Defense Minister Israel Katz vows after the strike in Beirut today targeting Hezbollah military chief Haytham Ali Tabatabai.

“We will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the State of Israel,” Katz says in a statement released by his office.

“Whoever raises a hand against Israel — that hand will be cut off,” Katz says, adding that, together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he is “determined to continue the policy of maximum enforcement in Lebanon and everywhere else.”

He says he will not allow Israel to return to the situation that existed prior to October 7, 2023.

Report: Israel didn’t inform US ahead of strike in Beirut targeting Hezbollah’s chief of staff

The US was not told about the Israeli strike on Hezbollah’s de facto chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, in Beirut today, a senior US official tells Channel 12.

A second senior American official says that Washington has known for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but “did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike.”

Cabinet votes to appoint Justice Minister Yariv Levin to head labor, religious services, and Jerusalem ministries

Justice Minister Yariv Levin attends a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, November 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The cabinet approves Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s appointment to head several ministries vacated after the ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew from the coalition this summer.

In addition to Levin taking over the Labor, Religious Services and Jerusalem portfolios, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is temporarily given a number of powers usually assigned to the interior minister. Netanyahu cannot take over the ministry himself because, by law, a minister cannot serve while under indictment.

The appointments will require ratification by the Knesset.

Levin will remain in charge of these additional ministries “until Shas returns to the government,” a spokesman for the minister tells The Times of Israel.

In July, the government voted to appoint Levin to take over the interior, religious affairs and labor ministries in an acting capacity following Shas’s exit from the government. The welfare and health ministries were transferred to Tourism Minister Haim Katz (Likud), who was already serving as interim housing minister after United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf resigned from the post prior to leaving the government.

These acting appointments ended after three months, leaving multiple ministries without ministers, although Katz was appointed as permanent housing minister in September.

According to several reports, the ultra-Orthodox parties have indicated that they will support Levin’s appointment to head up the ministries due to the progress being made in passing a bill that would regulate Haredi draft, largely exempting yeshiva students from military conscription.

Netanyahu confirms Beirut strike targeted Hezbollah military chief: ‘Israel is determined to act to achieve its goals’

People gather looking at a residential building following an Israeli military strike in the Haret Hreik neighborhood, of Beirut's southern suburbs on November 23, 2025. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirms that the strike in Beirut targeted Hezbollah’s de facto chief of staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai.

“A short while ago, the IDF struck, in the heart of Beirut, the Hezbollah chief of staff who led the organization’s military buildup and armament efforts,” says the PMO.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the strike on the recommendation of the defense minister and the IDF chief of staff,” continues the statement.

“Israel is determined to act to achieve its goals, in any place and at any time.”

Smotrich to present Netanyahu with 2026 budget that faces battle for approval

Minister of Finance and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 17, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and senior ministry officials will present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today with the state budget and planned structural reforms for 2026, Smotrich’s office says.

“The finance minister will present to the prime minister the necessary measures to ensure continued economic growth and to combat the high cost of living,” it says.

It added that cabinet ministers would vote on the budget on Dec. 4 but it is unlikely the budget would be approved by year end.

According to law, the budget must be approved by the Knesset by the end of March or new elections are triggered.

Its final approval faces an uphill battle that could ultimately lead to new elections that in any case must be held by October 2026.

Israeli strike in Beirut targeted Hezbollah chief of staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai

A US poster offering a reward for information on Haytham Ali Tabatabai. Israel says it targeted him in a Beirut strike on November 23, 2025 (US Goverenment)

The target of the Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs a short while ago is senior Hezbollah leader Haytham Ali Tabatabai, according to Israeli officials.

Tabatabai is Hezbollah’s de facto chief of staff, and is considered to be the number two leader in the terror group, after secretary general Naim Qassem.

The IDF confirmed carrying out a strike on a “prominent” Hezbollah member in Beirut, and said it would provide details later.

In escalation, IDF says it carried out strike on ‘prominent’ Hezbollah operative in Beirut

Israeli military vehicles patrol close to the border fence separating northern Israel from southern Lebanon on November 23, 2025. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

The IDF says it conducted an airstrike against a “prominent” Hezbollah operative in Beirut a short while ago.

According to Lebanese media, the strike took place in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a known Hezbollah stronghold.

The IDF says it will provide further details soon.

Israel has increased its strikes on Hezbollah in recent weeks amid accusations that the terror group was violating the year-old ceasefire and in frustration at lagging Lebanese efforts to disarm the terror group.

However, Israel has held off on striking the Lebanese capital.

The last IDF strikes on Beirut took place in July, although those attacks targeted Hezbollah infrastructure following evacuation warnings.

BREAKING 🔴🔴🔴

IDF: Initial report – A short while ago, the IDF conducted a precise strike targeting a key Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut. Details to follow. pic.twitter.com/xIa3pX7D2x

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) November 23, 2025

MK Bismuth says IDF not completing formalities that would allow draft of ultra-Orthodox youth

Ultra-Orthodox soldiers from the IDF's new Haredi Hasmonean Brigade take part in a beret march after completing seven months of basic and advanced training, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, on August 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth demands that the IDF present a timetable for the approval of a General Staff order formalizing arrangements facilitating service conditions for ultra-Orthodox servicemen.

In a tweet, the Likud lawmaker, whose panel is expected to soon resume deliberations on a bill regulating Haredi conscription, says that he wrote to IDF Personnel Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa this month complaining that the decision to approve such an order has not been implemented “despite repeated declarations of progress.”

“Now, ahead of the continuation of discussions on the enlistment law, I have again demanded answers. I am determined to complete the regulation of the issue, but continuing the process requires the approval of the General Staff Order, a central and essential component for advancing the law, strengthening trust, and creating an infrastructure that will enable the formulation of a real solution,” Bismuth declares.

In his letter, dated November 10, Bismuth insisted that a “clear and binding” General Staff order constitutes “a basic condition for the army’s ability to manage the issue in a professional, transparent and coordinated manner.”

Such an order would address concerns expressed by some Haredi leaders, such as Rabbi Moshe Maya, a member of the Shas party’s ruling Council of Torah Sages, who told Radio Kol Hai in August that any arrangements facilitating Haredi enlistment must be anchored in such an order or they would be “worthless.”

Addressing the Knesset State Control Committee the following month, Bar Kalifa told lawmakers that the military was “committed to creating a General Staff order and an adviser on Haredi affairs — and the chief of staff has already approved it.”

Beyond the order, the IDF already has systems in place to facilitate the Haredi draft and it already operates several special units and an battalion for ultra-Orthodox troops.

The ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party last week stated that it supports Bismuth’s latest draft of the controversial legislation, which critics allege would allow mass evasion by members of the Haredi community. While fellow ultra-Orthodox faction Agudat Yisrael opposes the bill, a Shas party source told The Times of Israel that his party had “signaled a long time ago that it is in favor.”

This morning, the Ynet news site reported that the Haredi parties had been informed by the Prime Minister’s Office that the bill would again be placed on the agenda of Bismuth’s committee for further discussion next week.

However, senior sources connected to the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party told The Times of Israel that they were unaware of any such message.

Erdogan says Turkey evaluating deployment of forces for Gaza stabilization force

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025. (Photo by Marco Longari / AFP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey was still evaluating how to potentially deploy its security forces to an International Stabilization Force being planned in Gaza, adding that a decision would be made after these discussions.

NATO member Turkey played a key role in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, becoming one of the signatories of the accord signed in Egypt. It has vowed to monitor its implementation and voiced a desire to join the planned stabilization force.

Speaking at a press conference after the G20 summit in South Africa, Erdogan repeats his view that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza amounted to “genocide” and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was responsible. Israel rejects accusations of genocide.

Israel has also said it will not allow Turkish troops on the ground in Gaza.

Starmer suggests ex-prince Andrew should testify in US investigation into Jeffrey Epstein

Prince Andrew looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

Pressure is increasing for the former prince Andrew to give evidence to a US congressional committee investigating the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after Britain’s prime minister suggested he should testify.

Keir Starmer declines to comment directly about King Charles III’s disgraced younger brother, but told reporters traveling with him for the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg that as a “general principle” people should provide evidence to investigators.

“I don’t comment on his particular case,’’ Starmer says. “But as a general principle I’ve held for a very long time is that anybody who has got relevant information in relation to these kind of cases should give that evidence to those that need it.’’

The former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has so far ignored a request from members of the House Oversight Committee for a “transcribed interview” about his “long-standing friendship” with Epstein. Andrew was stripped of his royal titles and honors last month as the royal family tried to insulate itself from criticism about his relationship with Epstein.

Starmer’s comments came after Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the committee’s ranking Democrat, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat from Virginia, said Andrew “continues to hide” from serious questions.

“Our work will move forward with or without him, and we will hold anyone who was involved in these crimes accountable, no matter their wealth, status or political party,” they said in a statement released on Friday. “We will get justice for the survivors.”

Protesters outside police HQ over spiraling deaths from crime in Arab community

Members of the ‘Standing Together’ movement protest outside Israel’s national police headquarters in Jerusalem against rising violence in Arab communities in Israel, November 23, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A small group of demonstrators douse themselves in fake blood outside the police national headquarters in Jerusalem, in protest of law enforcement’s failure to counteract violent crime in Arab society.

While some dozen protesters lie on the ground covered in red paint, others hold a sign calling for authorities to “end the abandonment” of Arab society, as homicides continue to accumulate across Israel.

So far this year, 231 Arab citizens have been killed in mostly gang-related shootings and stabbings. In 2024, the total number of Arab homicide victims was 230, per the Abraham Initiatives organization.

The past three years under National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have seen a dramatic increase in the number of Arab murder victims. Before 2023, the annual figure never surpassed 150.

“The violence is raging because the government allows it. This isn’t a failure — it’s a choice,” says the Standing Together movement, which organized the demonstration, in a statement.

Pope urges release of 315 seized in Nigerian mass Catholic school kidnapping

Pope Leo XIV leaves after a Mass for the Jubilee of the Choirs in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV calls for the release of over 300 hostages taken from a Catholic school in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria.

“I learned with immense sadness the news of the kidnappings of priests, faithful, and students in Nigeria,” he says.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Saturday said gunmen had kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in raids on two schools in the country.

“I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages,” Leo says, expressing his “deep sorrow, especially for the many young boys and girls kidnapped and for their anguished families.”

“Let us pray for these brothers and sisters of ours and that churches and schools may always and everywhere remain places of safety and hope,” he says at the end of the Angelus prayer.

Gunmen on Monday stormed a secondary school in Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls. That was followed by an early Friday raid on St Mary’s co-education school in Niger state.

Jewish teen indicted on terror charges for arson attacks against West Bank Palestinians

A Palestinian man uses a cellphone to record a burning truck after an alleged settler attack in the village of Beit Lid, east of Tulkarm in the West Bank on November 11, 2025. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

In a rare move, prosecutors indict a Jewish teenager on terror charges after he was arrested on suspicion of participating in a large-scale arson attack against Palestinians in the West Bank.

He is accused of embarking with dozens of other masked settler extremists on a “campaign of destruction and devastation” on November 11 in the northern West Bank, between Nablus and Tulkarem.

The mob of attackers “set fire to cars, destroyed buildings and attacked Palestinian residents with clubs and stones,” prosecutors write. The rampage left several people with serious injuries, including skull fractures.

The unnamed minor, one of four suspects nabbed, is charged in the Central District Juvenile Court with arson, aggravated sabotage, malicious damage, and intentional sabotage of a vehicle. Prosecutors request he remain in detention until the end of legal proceedings.

The teenager, alongside dozens of others equipped with combustible materials, clubs and stones, came to a logistics center near the village of Beit Lid and broke into the premises after trying to smash the security camera at the entrance, according to today’s indictment.

Employees were forced to hide in the building, as the enraged mob set fire to vehicles parked in a nearby lot. The settlers attempted to break into the building itself, but the workers managed to barricade the door.

The mob moved onto two other locations in the area, setting fire to trucks, vehicles, a water tank and other buildings. They continued to cause damage to property and attacked Palestinians with clubs and stones, then fled the scene, prosecutors say.

The suspect was detained by IDF troops alongside two others shortly after the attack. The soldiers handcuffed the three and loaded them into a military vehicle, but came under attack by rioting settlers, who managed to free two of the suspects.

The defendant also attempted to escape and managed to tear the zip ties he was cuffed with, but soldiers kept him from fleeing, prosecutors write. He is the first person to be charged in connection to the rampage earlier this month.

Recent months have seen a dramatic increase in settler violence, with Israeli authorities only recently vowing to crackdown.

Air Force, Navy chief, top generals among officers summoned by Zamir for Oct. 7 hearings

L-R: Planning Directorate chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel, IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, Operations Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, and Operations Division chief Brig. Gen. Yisrael Shomer, at the IDF's underground command center, early June 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The senior officers summoned by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ahead of “personal recommendations” and sanctions over the October 7, 2023, failures include the chiefs of the Air Force and Navy, and a host of senior generals.

The senior officers who were summoned include Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar; Navy chief Vice Adm. David Sa’ar Salama; former Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk; former Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva; former Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman; former Gaza Division commander Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld; and current Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, who on October 7 served as chief of the Operations Division.

Lower-ranking officers were summoned by Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai.

Among them is Col. Ariel Lubovski, who served as the intelligence officer of the Southern Command on October 7.

Coalition minister, MK lead protest outside cabinet meeting, calling for West Bank annexation

Minister of Education Yoav Kisch attends a demonstration calling for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and opposing a Palestinian state, outside the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, November 23, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Education Minister Yoav Kisch (Likud) and Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) attend a protest outside of today’s government meeting demanding the annexation of the West Bank.

“There must not, under any circumstances, be a Palestinian state. I’m saying this as clearly as I can,” declares Kisch.

“More than that, we must advance sovereignty,” he continues, standing next to a sign that says: “Don’t upset God. Don’t go up against the Bible. Judea-Samaria-Gaza belong to the Jewish people!”

“Right now is an opportunity. There is an opportunity here at home. We must convey this message and act on it,” Kisch declares. “I think this is the best answer to all those who talk about this delusion called a Palestinian state. It is dangerous to Israel’s security, contrary to historical justice and to our right to the land… and we will establish one state, as the prime minister said, between the Jordan and the sea — and that is the State of Israel,” he says before heading into the gathering.

“The people demand it. Every poll shows it. The Knesset has affirmed it. It’s time for the government to do it… We must make sure that no Palestinian state is created and that the territories of Judea and Samaria are under the sovereignty of the State of Israel, not only through military control but through applying sovereignty on the ground itself,” says Rothman, using the Biblical terms for the West Bank.

“Today a government decision on applying sovereignty could be issued. It is in the hands of the government, and that is what we need to do,” he adds.

Most of the international community considers Israel’s control of the West Bank an illegal occupation and US President Donald Trump has said he won’t let Israel annex the territory that the Palestinians claim for a future state.

Hundreds attend funeral for legendary Netanya mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar

People pay their respects to Miriam Feirberg,-Ikar, the mayor of Netanya who passed away a few days ago, during her funeral ceremony at Miriam Stadium in Netanya, November 23, 2025. (Tal Gal/Flash90)

Hundreds attend the funeral for Miriam Feirberg-Ikar, who served as mayor of the coastal city of Netanya since 1998, who died on Friday after a years-long battle with a serious illness.

Feirberg-Ikar’s coffin was placed in the city’s Miriam Stadium, which was named after her, for the public to come and pay their respect.

“You were a woman of the people, talking to everyone from the most senior to the most humble face-to-face, full of desire to help and give advice,” her husband Ronny Ikar says in his eulogy.

“You were a mayor who loved not only the position, but the city and the residents. You were a lioness, a superwoman,” he says.

A social worker by training, she worked in various capacities in Netanya’s municipality since the 1970s before being elected mayor in 1998 on the municipal Likud ticket.

She was re-elected five more times, most recently in 2024. At the time of her death, Feirberg-Ikar was tied with Tel Aviv’s Ron Huldai as the longest-serving mayor in Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led the cabinet meeting in holding a minute silence for her earlier in the day.

Iran warns of attempts to target Supreme Leader Khamenei

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him addressing a meeting with local champions and medalists of sports and world science awards in Tehran on October 20, 2025. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran’s intelligence ministry has warned of attempts by foreign adversaries, including the United States and Israel, to target Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and destabilize the Islamic Republic.

The country’s ISNA news agency reports that intelligence minister Esmail Khatib cautioned, “The enemy seeks to target the supreme leader, sometimes with assassination attempts, sometimes with hostile attacks.”

While it was not immediately clear if the minister was referring to a specific incident, and Iranian officials often allege foreign plots, statements on threats against Khamenei’s life had been rare prior to a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.

“Those who act in this direction, knowingly or unknowingly, are the infiltrating agents of the enemy,” Khatib adds, referring directly to Israel and the United States.

During the conflict earlier this year, Israel targeted senior Iranian military officials, nuclear scientists and sites, with the US later joining with strikes on key nuclear facilities.

Asked about reports during the war that US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill the supreme leader out of concern it would escalate the Iran-Israel showdown, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was dismissive but said the move would “end the conflict.”

At the time, Trump had also said that Iran’s supreme leader was a “very easy target” and that “we are not going to take him out, at least not for now.”

Netanyahu requests shorter testimony session in court tomorrow due to ‘diplomatic meeting’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court for a hearing in his corruption trial, October 28, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requests a shorter court hearing tomorrow as he continues to testify in his long-running corruption trial, due to a “diplomatic meeting.”

Netanyahu’s lawyers tell the court that the unspecified meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Netanyahu has been on the stand since late last year.

The request is the latest in a series Netanyahu’s defense team has made in recent weeks. He has asked to end hearings early due to affairs of state or his health.

Netanyahu is on trial in three corruption cases, the first sitting prime minister in Israeli history to face criminal charges. He faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000 and Case 2000, and charges of bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust, in Case 4000.

The premier has denied any wrongdoing and said all the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution.

Netanyahu says Israel will keep striking Hezbollah and Hamas as necessary

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on November 23, 2025. (Ma’ayan Toaf/GPO)

Israel will keep striking Hezbollah and Hamas over ceasefire violations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.

“We continue to strike terrorism on several fronts,” he says. “This weekend the IDF struck in Lebanon, and we will continue to do whatever is necessary to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its capacity to threaten us.”

The Israeli Air Force launched a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets across Lebanon on Saturday afternoon, and separately said it killed two members of the terror group in drone strikes in the country’s south.

Netanyahu says that Israel was pursuing a similar strategy in the Gaza Strip.

“Since the ceasefire,” he continues, “Hamas has not stopped violating it, and we are acting accordingly. There were several attempts by them to infiltrate our territory beyond the Yellow Line and harm our soldiers. We thwarted these forcefully, and we responded and exacted a very heavy price. Many terrorists were eliminated, and terrorists were also captured from the tunnels in Rafah.”

Israel carried out airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday after a Palestinian gunman opened fire on Israeli troops in the Strip’s south. According to Netanyahu’s office, five senior Hamas officials were killed in the strikes.

Netanyahu also pushes back on criticism that critical decisions on Gaza were going through Washington.

“All the talk that ‘we must obtain approval’ from this or that party is simply a complete lie,” he insists. “We act without relying on anyone. The immediate actions to thwart attacks are carried out automatically by the IDF. As for the responses — they go through the defense minister and eventually come to me, and we decide independently of any external actor, as it should be.”

“Israel is responsible for its own security.”

IDF confirms killing top Hamas commander in Saturday strike in Gaza

Palestinians gather to look at a destroyed vehicle targeted by the military, in Gaza City, on November 22, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The IDF and Shin Bet confirm killing Alaa Hadidi, chief of supply in Hamas’s weapons manufacturing headquarters, in an airstrike in Gaza City yesterday.

The strike came in response to an attack by a Palestinian gunman on troops in the southern Gaza Strip.

The military says Hadidi was a “central source of knowledge” in the field of supply and weapons production, and during the war he worked to provide Hamas’s fighters with weapons.

IDF chief summoning top military commanders ahead of sanctions over Oct. 7 failures

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir at the graduation of an IDF officers' course, October 30, 2025. (Noam Revkin Fenton/FLASH90)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has summoned senior officers who had roles in the October 7, 2023, failures, with the intention of issuing sanctions against the commanders, according to the military.

Zamir said earlier this month that he would make “personal decisions” regarding senior officers based on the findings of a probe conducted by an external panel of experts, including potential dismissal from the military.

Zamir is set to conclude the meetings by this evening, and the IDF will then issue a statement with the details.

At this stage, the IDF is not detailing the names of the officers and the sanctions.

The IDF’s initial October 7 investigations were led by former chief of staff Herzi Halevi.

In one of his first decisions upon entering the role in March, Zamir appointed the external panel to further examine those probes.

That panel found that most of investigations were inadequate, and some were unacceptable.

Some of the officers have already retired while others are still in the military. The IDF says that Zamir’s decisions were made after a long period of consideration.

The military says that the “personal decisions” are a necessary step in the IDF’s growth process, in order to strengthen public trust in the army, and between commanders and subordinates.

In addition to the meetings between Zamir and the senior officers, similar discussions are also being held at lower ranks, according to the IDF.

The Ynet site, which first reported the move, says that among those to be summoned are the current chief of the Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, who on October 7 headed the Operations Division. Binder’s appointment to the intel chief role was considered controversial and was met with protests from some lawmakers and the families of some fallen soldiers.

It says that Zamir also summoned former head of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, who resigned from the position earlier this year.

Levin appeals to High Court against delay in appointing judge to oversee Sde Teiman leak probe

Supreme Court Justice Yael Willner at a court hearing on who will have authority over the Sde Teiman leak probe, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, November 11, 2025 (Yonatan SIndel/Flash90)

Justice Minister Yariv Levin appeals to the High Court of Justice to suspend an interim order delaying his appointment of a retired judge to head the investigation into the former military advocate general.

The court issued the order after Levin officially submitted the appointment of Yosef Ben-Hamo to oversee the probe into Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi over her role in leaking a video purportedly showing Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman facility.

According to the court ruling, the appointment of Ben-Hamo is temporarily stayed, and Levin, the attorney general, and the state attorney’s office have until Monday to respond to the petition.

However, Levin urges that it be lifted now, saying the delay was causing harm to the investigation and implying that the the attorney general and the state attorney’s office were using the delay to get around earlier court rulings.

“Elements who were disqualified by the High Court from overseeing the investigation due to their involvement in the affair are… petitioning the court to revoke the minister’s authority to appoint an external oversight entity,” Levin charges, even though the appeal was filed by the Israel Democracy Guard NGO.

He alleges that “the purpose of this unprecedented action is none other than to delay and thwart the investigation, and in this way prevent it from reaching the truth.”

Levin nominated Ben-Hamo after the court ruled last week that he was allowed to make an appointment, sidelining the attorney general — who he has accused of covering up an investigation into the leak — but invalidating his previous nominee.

The Israel Democracy Guard argued that the ruling earlier this week set an unprecedented principle enabling political involvement in a criminal process.

IDF conducting drill to test reservist call-up response time

The IDF is conducting a reservist call-up drill this morning, during which reserve soldiers in several units will receive phone calls and text messages to test their response times.

A very limited number of the reservists will need to actually show up to their units as part of the exercise. The vast majority will not be required to show up for duty.

The IDF says the drill was pre-planned. The military routinely checks reservist response times.

Four rescued from Haifa building after suspected arson

Firefighters rescued four people from a burning apartment building that caught fire this morning in Haifa, the Fire and Rescue Service says.

The blazes broke out due to a suspected car bombing in the city. The flames spread to laundry lines and soon reached the structure, the agency reports.

Firefighters say they found three trapped adults and a baby while searching the apartments, and evacuated them in stable condition with mild injuries.

An investigator from the Fire and Rescue Service dispatched to the scene believes the incident is criminal.

כאוס ברחובות. פיצוץ פלילי גרם לשריפה בבניין מגורים ברחוב ניסנבוים בשכונת יזרעאליה בחיפה, 4 לכודים חולצו. כבאים שהגיעו מצאו רכב בוער שהביא כבר לשריפת מסתורי כביסה מחוץ למבנה ועשן חדר אל תוך הדירות. חולצו כשלושה מבוגרים ותינוק. מצבם קל. חוקר דליקות מתחנת חיפה במקום. מדובר באירוע… pic.twitter.com/cQm1o2zgxx

— יואב איתיאל מדווח כי (@yoavetiel) November 23, 2025

Government set to approve Levin to temporarily head ministries vacated by ultra-Orthodox parties

Justice Minister Yariv Levin attends a plenum session at the Knesset in Jerusalem, October 29, 2025. (Chaim Goldbergl/Flash90)

The government is set to vote to approve the temporary appointments of heads of ministries vacated after the ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew from the coalition, Hebrew media report.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin will take over the Labor, Religious Services and Jerusalem portfolios, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will head the Interior Ministry.

According to several reports, the ultra-Orthodox parties have indicated that they will support the move due to the progress being made in passing bill that would regulate Haredi draft, largely exempting yeshiva students from military conscription.

Canada PM and German Chancellor Merz discuss Ukraine, Gaza on G20 sidelines

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney (L), France's President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stand together as they attend a family photo event during a G20 Leaders' Summit plenary session at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 22, 2025. (Photo by Misper Apawu / POOL / AFP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the war in Ukraine and the situation in Gaza on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, the two countries say in a joint statement.

The two leaders reaffirm support for Ukraine and emphasized that any agreement must involve Kyiv directly, protect its fundamental interests and include concrete security assurances.

On Gaza, Carney and Merz reiterate support for Trump’s Comprehensive Peace Plan to end the war and also agree on the importance of allowing large-scale humanitarian aid to enter.

The two leaders also talked about collaboration in areas such as critical minerals, clean energy, artificial intelligence, aerospace and defense.

Boy, 14, arrested for role in attack on ultra-Orthodox MK over Haredi draft law

A police officer stands next to a broken car window in footage of the mob attack on Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur's car in the Jerusalem area, November 15, 2025. (Screenshot from X)

Jerusalem police say they have detained a 14-year-old boy for his role in the attack on Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur last week.

A group of extremists, protesting his cooperation in the advancement of a bill to regulate conscription for yeshiva students, smashed a window of Ben-Tzur’s vehicle as he left a weekly lesson in Jerusalem.

Police say they are still searching for others involved.

The protests were the latest instances in which a hardline faction of Haredim demonstrated its rejection of any plan that would conscript yeshiva students, even though the proposed law would likely enshrine mass exemptions for the community.

The attack on Ben-Tzur’s car drew condemnation from across the political spectrum.

Fire services battling large blaze in Haifa neighborhood

A brush fire burns near Haifa's Ein Hayam neighborhood on November 23, 2025 (Fire and Rescue Service)

A large fire erupted near Haifa’s Ein Hayam neighborhood, sending thick smoke into nearby homes.

Nine teams are battling the blaze, the fire and rescue service says.

There are no immediate reports of injuries.

The fire comes as the country experiences unseasonably high temperatures and dry conditions, with coastal areas seeing one of the hottest November days in its 77-year history.

Top Hamas team said in Cairo to discuss escalation in Gaza, transition to 2nd stage of Trump plan

A delegation of senior Hamas officials has arrived in Cairo to meet Egyptian intelligence officials and discuss the recent escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, the Saudi Al-Hadath outlet reports, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

The team is also expected to meet representatives of mediator countries — Egypt, Qatar and the United States — to discuss “ways to contain the escalation” and the transition to the second stage of US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza’s future, the report says.

US, Ukraine and European officials hold talks in Geneva on Trump’s plan to end Russia’s war

Top officials from the United States and Ukraine, as well as national security advisers from France, Britain and Germany, will hold talks in Geneva today to discuss Washington’s draft plan to end the war in Ukraine.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are due to arrive today for the talks on ending Russia’s invasion, now in its fourth year.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has until Thursday to approve the 28-point plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO.

“We hope to iron out the final details… to draft a deal that is advantageous to [Ukraine],” a US official says. “Nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together,” the official adds, referring to Trump and Zelensky.

US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll has arrived in Geneva ahead of the talks, and a Ukrainian delegation had been expected last night, the official says. Ukraine has confirmed its participation.

National security advisers from the so-called E3 alliance of France, Britain and Germany will join the discussions, alongside the European Union. Italy will also send an official, diplomatic sources says.

European and other Western leaders have said the US peace plan, which endorses key Russian demands, is a basis for talks to end the war but needs “additional work,” as they seek a better deal for Kyiv before Thursday’s deadline.

A German government source says a European draft peace plan, which is based on the US proposal, has been sent to Ukraine and to the US administration.

Before the talks, Zelensky has warned that Ukraine risks losing its dignity and freedom — or Washington’s backing — over the plan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the plan as the basis of a resolution to the conflict, but Moscow may object to some proposals in the scheme, which requires its forces to pull back from some areas they have captured.

Further IDF strikes reported overnight in Gaza

Gazan media reports Israeli strikes overnight in Rafah and near Khan Younis in the Strip’s south.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.