Nov. 28: COGAT says 15th field hospital since start of war opened in Gaza

Flights to Philadelphia International resume after brief ground stop over bomb threat

Flights to the Philadelphia International Airport were briefly grounded due to a bomb threat that was resolved without incident, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration and police.

The FAA issued a ground stop advisory for the airport shortly after 7 p.m. local time (0000 GMT), saying there was a bomb threat. About 30 minutes later, the FAA said the security incident was resolved, and normal operations had resumed.

The ground stoppage was due to a “situation requiring the assistance of the Philadelphia Police aboard a plane,” a police spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The plane was cleared for takeoff, and the ground stoppage was lifted, the spokesperson added.

There were reports of bomb threats at other US airports earlier this month that were also cleared without incident.

Man shot and killed in Arraba; 2nd victim seriously injured

A man was shot and killed and a second injured in the northern town of Arraba, emergency services say.

Magen David Adom says paramedics declared the man’s death on the scene and took the second victim, aged around 18, to the Ziv Medical Center in Safed. He is said to be in serious condition.

Murder rates have spiked over the past three years, with 2025 on pace to be the deadliest yet. Members of the Arab community blame a host of problems, including insufficient policing, and government policies that have allowed organized crime to grow.

Ukrainian team to visit US this weekend for talks on plan to end war, official says

Ukrainian negotiators will visit the United States this weekend for talks on Washington’s plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, a senior official briefed on the matter tells AFP.

“The delegation is planning to meet with the American side at the end of this week,” the source said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. The talks may take place in Florida, the source adds.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, was meant to take part in the talks before his dismissal today amid a widening corruption probe, the official says.

IDF said mulling expanded op in Syria if it finds Sharaa’s forces fired on troops

The military is considering an expanded operation in southern Syria if it finds that Syrian government forces fired on soldiers during an arrest operation in Beit Jinn, Channel 13 says in an unsourced report.

According to Channel 13, if it is discovered that forces under Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa took part in the gun battle, the Israel Defense Forces will launch airstrikes to eliminate targets, and conduct fewer arrest operations.

The Kan public broadcaster reports that Israel has already identified that some of those planning attacks against IDF soldiers and the Druze community in Syria are a part of Sharaa’s intelligence forces.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, troops came under fire after they detained two members of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization, acting on intelligence information collected in recent weeks indicating that they were planning attacks on Israel.

The military said the troops returned fire, and the Israeli Air Force also provided support with strikes from helicopters and drones. Fighter jets also conducted several strikes on predetermined targets, the IDF said.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

IDF says it thwarted weapons smuggling attempt from Jordan into Israel

The IDF says it foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel from Jordan earlier today, arresting one suspect in the process.

Troops of the Lions of the Jordan Battalion, alongside police officers, captured two pistols that were being smuggled over the border, in the northern portion of the Jordan Valley, the military says.

One suspect was also detained in the area. The weapons and the suspect were taken by police for further investigation, the army adds.

Trump declares all orders signed by autopen under Biden ‘terminated’

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump says all documents signed by autopen under Joe Biden are “terminated,” in a legally uncertain move as the US president escalates attacks on his predecessor.

“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump says on social media.

“I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.”

COGAT says 15th field hospital since start of war opened in Gaza

The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT) says it facilitated the opening of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip — the 15th since the beginning of the war against Hamas.

The facility, opened in coordination with the International Medical Corps, “is designed to expand essential medical services in areas of prenatal care, mental Health, Physiotherapy, and Inpatient Care for the civilian population,” COGAT says in a statement.

It says the hospital includes 150 beds, 200 medical staff, and has been treating over 1,000 patients a day.

The statement does not say exactly where the hospital is located.

Hezbollah chief says he will pass along note to pope during visit to Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem welcomes Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to Lebanon, saying he has tasked members of the Iran-backed terror group with delivering a letter to the pontiff.

“I welcome the Pope’s visit to Lebanon,” Qassem says in a televised speech, adding that he “tasked members of our political council with visiting the Papal Embassy and presenting a letter from Hezbollah to the Pope, which will also be published in the media.”

After visiting Turkey, Leo is due to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday for a three-day trip that includes an open-air mass at Beirut’s waterfront that organizers expect to draw 120,000 people, as well as an interreligious meeting in the city center.

“We welcome this visit at this pivotal moment, and we pray that the Holy Father will contribute to spreading peace in Lebanon, liberating it, ending the (Israeli) aggression, and standing by it and by the oppressed, as we have always known him to do,” Qassem says.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Police arrest anti-government activist for allegedly inciting violence in post calling for ‘rebellion,’ reports say

Police arrest anti-government activist Dr. Yolanda Yavor, a Tel Aviv University lecturer from Or Akiva, for social media posts allegedly inciting violence, Hebrew media outlets report.

“The only choice is to be, that is to fight the traitor, the mouthpieces, the damned collaborators and his militias with all the strength and all means — or to stop,” she wrote, according to the Ynet news site.

“We said ‘democracy or rebellion,’ remember?” she wrote, referencing a chant at anti-government protests. “So let’s have a rebellion. But a real one, like one imported from Romania, not from Ali Express from the corner of Kaplan.”

She hashtagged, “Netanyahu is a traitor,” “dictators are not overthrown at the ballot box,” and “they’re coming to take you.”

Police will request to extend her custody by five days tomorrow at the Haifa Magistrate’s Court, the Maariv news site reports.

Yavor was arrested for allegedly inciting the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s murder in September.

Officers who shot Palestinian suspects filmed surrendering released after questioning, report says

The questioning of three Border Police officers seen on footage appearing to shoot two Palestinian suspects who surrendered to them in Jenin has ended, according to the Ynet news site.

The three are released on restrictive conditions and are barred from contacting anyone involved in the case, Ynet reports.

UN panel urges Israel to independently probe Palestinian torture allegations

GENEVA, Switzerland — A UN committee urges Israel to set up an independent investigatory commission to probe claims of torture of Palestinians, and warned the situation had “gravely intensified” since the start of the Gaza war.

The United Nations Committee against Torture says it was “deeply concerned about reports indicating a de facto state policy of organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” in Israel.

The committee, whose 10 independent experts monitor how countries implement an international convention against torture, stresses that it “unequivocally condemns the attack perpetrated by Hamas and other groups on October 7, 2023, against Israel.”

But in a report published after a regular review of Israel, it “also expressed its deep concern over the disproportionate nature of Israel’s response to these attacks.”

And it decries “a range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” warning that it risked leading to “cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population.”

The experts call on Israel to “establish an independent, impartial and effective ad hoc investigatory commission to review and investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment committed during the current armed conflict.”

Hezbollah’s leader says it has ‘right to respond’ to Israel’s killing of military chief

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah’s leader says the terror group has the right to respond to Israel’s assassination of its top military chief in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs last week.

In a televised speech, Naim Qassem calls the killing of Haytham Ali Tabtabai “a blatant aggression and a heinous crime,” adding that his group had “the right to respond, and we will determine the timing for that.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Ukraine’s Zelensky sacks powerful chief of staff after anti-graft raid on home

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announces the resignation of his powerful chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who was also the country’s lead negotiator in talks with the US, after Yermak’s residence was searched by anti-corruption investigators.

The unprecedented search at the heart of Ukraine’s government comes at a time when Kyiv is under intense US pressure to sign a peace deal nearly four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Yermak has been a trusted confidant of Zelensky’s for years, and the Ukrainian leader has long resisted pressure to replace him. His departure is a blow for the Ukrainian leader, who risks disrupting his negotiating strategy.

In a nod to likely controversy over Yermak’s long stay at his side, Zelensky says  Russia was waiting for Ukraine to make missteps and upset the delicate and tense peace negotiations.

“We don’t have a right to retreat or argue between ourselves. If we lose unity, we risk losing everything, ourselves, Ukraine, our future,” Zelensky says. “We must unite, we must hold on. We have no other choice. We won’t have another Ukraine.”

Yermak’s name did not appear on a list of officials that Zelensky says would make up the Ukrainian delegation for the next round of negotiations with the United States.

Two Israelis who took part in high-profile kidnapping in Germany to give evidence — report

Two Israelis who took part in a high-profile kidnapping landed this week in Germany to give evidence to police on the case, the Bild tabloid reports.

The two are members of a group of former Mossad agents believed to have been hired by a well-known heiress to a German chain of steakhouses, Christina Block, to kidnap her children from their father’s house, with whom she had divorced and was engaged in a custody battle.

According to Bild, one of the Israelis, unnamed in the report, was questioned by police yesterday. The man reportedly told the police that the operation was coordinated with German authorities.

The kidnappers did not act in secret, used real passports, and rented cars with their own credit cards, he told the investigators, Bild reports. He is said to have described his links to Block and the chain of command in the operation.

He also reportedly confirmed allegations by Block’s ex-husband that Israeli model Jonathan Carlsson, who is suspected of having taken part in the kidnapping, assaulted him during the kidnapping.

The second Israeli is set to confirm the details, Bild reports.

Block faces trial alongside her partner, the German television presenter Gerhard Delling, and a 35-year-old Israeli man, who allegedly took part in the kidnapping, among others.

On New Year’s Eve 2023, the Israeli man and other suspects — some of whom are still on the run from authorities — are accused of ambushing the father at his Danish property and knocking him down.

The group allegedly dragged the two children, a boy and a girl aged 10 and 13 at the time of the incident, into a car and drove them away, according to the indictment.

The children, who resisted the alleged kidnappers, are said to have had their mouths taped, and the hands of one of them were tied.

The pair were held in a mobile home in the southwest of Germany until Block arrived to pick them up on January 2, 2024, prosecutors said.

Delling is accused of abetting the kidnapping effort and organizing Block’s return to Hamburg with the children.

The children were later handed over to police custody by a lawyer in the northern German city.

Flights and trains canceled as anti-Israel activists rally against Italian PM

ROME, Italy — Strikes and protests in Italy against Giorgia Meloni’s government cause the cancellation of dozens of flights and disrupted train services around the country.

The hardline USB union and smaller worker organizations call the one-day action against the government’s plans to raise military spending and its support for Israel.

Recent years have seen the emergence of the USB as an aggressive grassroots union which is challenging the traditional dominance of the three main confederations, the left-wing CGIL and the centrist CISL and UIL.

Milan’s Malpensa canceled at least 27 flights, while Bologna scrapped at least 17. Other affected airports include Milan’s Linate, Naples, and Venice.

Italy’s flagship carrier ITA Airways says it canceled 26 domestic flights due to the strikes.

Train cancellations are announced in the main stations of Rome, Turin, Milan and Genoa, and protests prevented trains from stopping at the smaller Milan station of Lambrate.

Urban public transport services are disrupted in Rome and several other cities.

Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters march in Turin, many waving Palestinian flags, and another pro-Gaza march in Genoa is attended by UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian rights Francesca Albanese and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

Members of the ultra-Orthodox, anti-Zionist Neturei Karta group joined the rally in Genoa, as did Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who has been detained by Israel twice after taking part in two flotillas attempting to break the blockade on Gaza.

In Venice, activists blocked access to the offices of Italian defense group Leonardo before they were dispersed by police using water cannon.

The USB has organized another national day of protest on Saturday against what it calls Meloni’s “war budget,” saying the 2026 financial bill favors military spending over much-needed investment in health, education, and welfare.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Syrians hold rallies marking year since offensive that toppled Assad

DAMASCUS, Syria — Demonstrators across multiple Syrian cities condemn the deadly overnight Israeli operation in the south of the country during rallies to mark one year since the start of the offensive that toppled former ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had called on Thursday for Syrians to “go down to the squares” to commemorate the moment his Islamist-led coalition launched an offensive from their Idlib stronghold in northwest Syria that culminated in the toppling of Assad just 11 days later.

Mass rallies take place in Damascus and other major Syrian cities, including Aleppo, Homs, Iblib, Tartu and Latakia, with participants chanting in support of Sharaa and Islamism.

AFP correspondents in the capital say participants condemned the Israeli incursion on Beit Jin, southern Syria, which killed 13 people, holding banners that read “Beit Jin makes us proud” and “stop Israeli attacks.” The IDF said they entered the village to arrest two members of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization when they came under fire from unknown assailants.

“After we were victorious against Bashar al-Assad, we will be victorious against Israel,” 29-year-old teacher Batul Imad al-Din tells AFP in Damascus.

“We are here in response to those who say that nothing has changed in Syria. We are happy and feel free,” she adds.

Technician Bassel Azizieh says he was “here in support of my state, the state that represents me and the entire Syrian people without exception.”

Since coming to power, Sharaa has been staunch in his insistence on a centralized, unitary Syria while facing calls for federalism for the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional country.

Azizieh says they “also came down to pay our respects to the martyrs of the Israeli aggression” on Beit Jin.

The rallies come days after protests in Latakia and several Alawite-majority areas denouncing repeated abuses targeting the minority community, from which Assad hails.

Sharaa said on Thursday that protesters had “legitimate demands,” emphasizing the importance of “national unity” and reiterating his rejection of federalism.

Mohammed Shukri, 28, says after participating in the Damascus rally that he was “here for the unity of Syria and to say that Syria is one for everyone.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

MP posts full British police report used to justify ban on Israeli soccer fans, links it to research by anti-Israel group

A Conservative British MP yesterday published the full police report used to justify a ban on Israeli fans attending a soccer game in Birmingham earlier this month, the UK Jewish News reports.

“A reminder: Birmingham Council’s Safety Advisory Group banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the match against Aston Villa. They did so on the back of this West Midlands Police intelligence report. But that report has since been widely discredited,” West Suffolk MP Nick Timothy writes in an X thread after he publishes the report.

Timothy says much of the West Midlands report “bears some resemblance to this ‘research’ report by the Hind Jijab Foundation” — a Belgium-based anti-Israel organization.

“The Foundation claims it ‘laid the groundwork’ for the police. Its chairman, Dyab Abou Jahjah, is a former Hezbollah fighter,” he writes.

Some of the report was revealed by the Sunday Times earlier this week, which found that the report claimed that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans threw “innocent members of the public into the river,” that 500-600 “intentionally targeted Muslim communities,” at an Amsterdam match last year, and that the violence forced the deployment of 5,000 police officers.

However, Dutch law enforcement told the newspaper the examples used to justify the ban were false.

Officials said 10 Israelis were injured in the violence in Amsterdam last year, which the victims said was perpetrated largely by local Muslims and Arabs, with hundreds more besieged in their hotels and fearing they could be attacked when trying to reach their flights home.

IDF chief visits hospitalized soldiers hurt in overnight battle in Syria

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited hospitalized troops who were wounded in the overnight clash with unknown gunmen in Syria.

Six soldiers of the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade were injured in the fighting, including three seriously.

Man allegedly sets fire to historic Sadigura synagogue in Ukraine

The synagogue of the Sadigura Hasidic dynasty in Ukraine, known among Hassidim as the Kloiz Kadisha, was set on fire Thursday evening, Israeli media reports.

A man, said to be mentally disturbed, allegedly entered the synagogue in Sadigura and set it on fire when the guard briefly left his post. Police were called to the scene and arrested him, reports say.

Images show property damage, including burnt books and chairs, but the building appears largely intact.

The same man is believed to have also set fire to a church in the same area a month earlier.

The synagogue was built by Rabbi Israel of Ruzhin, the founder of the Sadigura dynasty, some 180 years ago. It was abandoned during World War I, and re‑consecrated and restored several years ago.

Father of Ran Gvili, one of two deceased hostages still held, will speak at possible final Hostages Square rally tomorrow night

Itzik Gvili, father of hostage Ran Gvili, one of the two remaining deceased bodies in Gaza, will speak tomorrow night at what may be the final rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

Master Sgt. Ran Gvili and Thai worker Sudthisak Rinthalak are the two slain captives still held in Gaza, after the body of Kibbutz Be’eri’s Dror Or was released for burial earlier this week.

A spokesperson for the Hostages Families Forum said Friday that it hasn’t yet been declared whether there will be future rallies.

The Hostages Families Forum said earlier this week that the Saturday night rally may be the last, as it will greatly narrow its activities now that there are only two families left to support.

The Forum recommended stopping the rallies by the end of November, given the cost of around NIS 200,000 ($61,000) each week to erect a stage with video and sound systems, adding that the rallies don’t serve the current struggle of Hamas searching for and locating the remaining bodies in Gaza.

The Gvili family has said it understands the Forum’s decision.

Rinthalak’s family is located in Thailand, and while the Forum is in touch with the Thai Embassy, it has not been involved in rallies.

The other speakers at Saturday night’s Tel Aviv rally are Jon Polin, the father of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin; Ayelet Goldin, sister of slain soldier Lieutenant Hadar Goldin; Nira Sharabi, wife of Yossi Sharabi, a hostage slain in Hamas captivity; and Eyal Eshel, father of surveillance soldier Roni Eshel, who was killed on October 7 at the Nahal Oz base.

Alongside the Tel Aviv rally, additional rallies will be held at Shaar HaNegev Junction and Carmei Gat, the Kiryat Gat neighborhood home to the evacuated Kibbutz Nir Oz community.

Jerusalem’s Safeguarding Our Shared Home protest group posted that it will hold a farewell evening on Saturday evening for the Hostages’ Tent at the corner of Aza Road and Balfour, erected since the start of the struggle for the hostages.

IDF says it killed terrorist who posed threat to soldiers in south Gaza

The IDF says it killed a terror operative who approached Israeli troops and “posed an immediate threat” in the southern Gaza Strip earlier today.

The military says the operative was identified by soldiers of the Kfir Brigade on the eastern side of the Yellow Line, meaning IDF-held territory.

A short while later, the operative was targeted and killed in an airstrike, the IDF adds.

Poll: 2/3 of American Jews think Mamdani will make NYC less safe

Two-thirds of American Jews believe that New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will make the city’s Jewish community less safe, according to a new survey.

The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) Voice of the Jewish People Index, published yesterday, finds that 67 percent of respondents said Mamdani’s victory was likely to make Jews in the city less safe. Some 64% of American Jews say they view Mamdani as both anti-Israel and antisemitic.

Mamdani is set to take office in January 2026 in the city of more than a million Jews, the largest Jewish population in the world. Some 56% of respondents said they were “concerned” by Mamdani’s victory, the most common emotion cited.

Beyond New York, American Jews report broad anxieties about rising antisemitism coming from both sides of the political spectrum, the report finds. Of them, 62% said they were worried equally about antisemitism coming from both political sides (left and right), 20% were mainly worried about antisemitism from the left, and 17% claimed most concern about antisemitism from the right.

The report also finds that 82% of American Jews plan to light Hanukkah candles all eight nights of the holiday, and another 11% plan to light at least some nights.

Pope Leo meets Middle East Christian leaders, condemns religious violence

IZNIK — Pope Leo condemns violence in the name of religion at a landmark event with Christian leaders from across the Middle East, urging them during his first overseas trip as leader of the Catholic Church to overcome centuries of heated divisions.

At a celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of a major Church council with senior clerics from countries including Turkey, Egypt, Syria and Israel, Leo calls it a scandal that the world’s 2.6 billion Christians were not more united.

“Today, the whole of humanity, afflicted by violence and conflict, is crying out for reconciliation,” Leo says at a ceremony in the Turkish town of Iznik, once known as Nicaea, where early churchmen created the Nicene Creed still used by most Christians today.

“We must strongly reject the use of religion for justifying war, violence, or any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism,” says Leo, the first American pope. “The paths to follow are those of fraternal encounter, dialogue and cooperation.”

Today’s ceremony, at which the Church leaders pray in English, Greek and Arabic and light candles near the underwater ruins of a fourth-century basilica, is the main reason for Leo’s four-day visit to predominantly Muslim Turkey.

Germany’s Merz to visit Israel, meet Netanyahu

BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Israel on December 6 and 7 for his first official visit since taking office, a German government spokesperson says.

Merz is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on December 7 to discuss bilateral relations, the ceasefire in Gaza and other international issues. He will also visit the Yad Vashem memorial and hold talks with local representatives from civil society, the spokesperson adds during a regular government press conference.

Germany has long been one of Israel’s staunchest supporters, but has also criticized Netanyahu’s government over its strategy in the devastating Gaza war.

This month, the German government moved to resume weapons sales to Israel that had been suspended since August over the war, but said the decision is subject to the observance of the ceasefire and the large-scale provision of humanitarian aid.

IDF soldier moderately injured by shrapnel during operational activity in southern Gaza

An IDF soldier was moderately injured in an accident during operational activity in the southern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military says.

The IDF says the soldier was taken to a hospital for treatment, and his family was notified.

According to a preliminary IDF probe, the soldier was injured by shrapnel in the Khan Younis area.

Syrian media says 13 killed in Israeli Beit Jinn raid, one of IDF’s deadliest since Assad’s fall

Thirteen people were killed in an Israeli raid in southern Syria overnight, Syrian state media updates, with Damascus accusing Israel of a “war crime” in a village where Israel said its troops came under fire during an operation to arrest militants.

The Israeli military said six soldiers were wounded, three of them severely, by militant fire during the raid in the village of Beit Jinn.

The casualty tolls suggest the Israeli raid spiralled into one of the deadliest since President Bashar al-Assad was toppled a year ago.

Israel frequently bombed Syria when it was ruled by Assad and stepped up its military operations in the country after he was ousted, citing goals that include keeping militants away from the frontier.

The Israeli military said its troops had gone on an operation to detain suspects belonging to Jama’a Islamiya — a Lebanese Sunni Islamist group which fired rockets at Israel from Lebanon during the Gaza war — accusing them of involvement in “terrorist plots.”

The military described the raid as part of routine operations in the area in recent months.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Navy rescues 3 civilians from drowning off Nahariya coast, IDF says

The Israeli Navy says it rescued several civilians who were at risk of drowning off the coast of Nahariya in northern Israel this morning.

Sailors of the 914th Patrol Squadron were dispatched to the area, where they located and rescued two civilians. The IDF says the forces carried out resuscitation efforts “for a long time” on the civilians, saving their lives.

Separately, the same force located another man who had lost his boat and was at risk of drowning in the same area. The military says the sailors also brought him ashore.

The three civilians were handed over to medical officials for further treatment, the IDF adds.

German president pays tribute to victims in Guernica, razed by Nazis

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier pays tribute to Nazi war victims in Guernica, the first German leader to visit the Spanish town where hundreds of civilians were killed in 1937.

Steinmeier joins King Felipe VI at a remembrance ceremony in the northern Basque town, which Nazi Germany’s elite Condor Legion razed in support of General Francisco Franco’s rebels during the Spanish Civil War, AFP journalists report.

Hanegbi slams draft exemption bill, says it ‘enables evasion’ and endangers Israel

Former national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi sharply criticizes the government’s proposed draft exemption bill, warning that it “enables evasion” and threatens Israel’s future.

In a Facebook post, Hanegbi — who was abruptly removed from his post last month by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid reported disagreements over Gaza war policy — says the current proposal “does not advance” the IDF’s urgent need for thousands of additional combat soldiers following the war.

Hanegbi writes that the military burden “still falls on the shoulders of a relatively small few,” noting that all four of his sons served in combat roles, with three fighting in Gaza in recent years. He argues that while Torah study is a cherished value, “it must be combined with the value of defending the state and its citizens.”

The longtime Likud minister adds that his experience in the cabinet, the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the National Security Council convinced him that the IDF “knows how to successfully integrate” military service with religious commitments. He calls on the government and Knesset to “ensure this without further delay.”

Dan Tolkowsky, former IAF commander and Israeli high-tech pioneer, dies at 104

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Dan Tolkowsky, the fifth commander of the Israeli Air Force and later a key figure in the development of Israel’s high-tech and venture capital sectors, has died at the age of 104.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1921, Tolkowsky joined the Haganah in his youth before studying mechanical engineering in London. In 1942, he volunteered for the British Royal Air Force, where he served as a Spitfire pilot during World War 2, taking part in battles in Italy, southern France, and Greece.

In 1948, Tolkowsky joined the newly established IAF, and he fought in the War of Independence, carrying out bombing campaigns on the Egyptian front. He later held several top roles in the force.

In 1953, he took over as IAF commander, after previously serving as chief of staff — a role akin to a deputy to then-air force chief Haim Laskov.

He served in the role until 1958. During his tenure, he oversaw the introduction of the first jet aircraft in the IAF, and he led the corps through the 1956 Sinai Campaign.

After leaving the military, he became a prominent business and technology leader, serving as CEO of Discount Investments and helping lay the foundations of Israel’s venture capital and hi-tech ecosystem.

WATCH: IDF footage shows overnight arrest of terror suspects in Syria, clash with gunmen

The IDF publishes footage showing the arrest of two members of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn overnight, and a clash between troops and unknown gunmen in the area.

During the exchange of fire, six soldiers were wounded, including three seriously.

A third suspect was also detained, and the IDF reports killing several gunmen in the clash.

According to Syrian media, at least 13 people were killed in the area.

Troops of the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade detain suspects and clash with gunmen in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn, early November 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

UN condemns Israel’s killing of surrendered Palestinians in Jenin

The UN human rights office says it is appalled by the killing of two Palestinian men by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, saying the incident appeared to amount to summary executions.

“We’re appalled by the brazen killing by Israeli border police yesterday of two Palestinian men in Jenin in the occupied West Bank in yet another apparent summary execution,” the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Jeremy Laurence tells a UN briefing in Geneva.

The two men killed yesterday appeared to be surrendering and unarmed during a raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestine TV news footage showed.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF to investigate video of soldier kicking elderly Palestinian man during West Bank raid

The IDF says it will investigate footage showing soldiers kicking an elderly Palestinian man in the West Bank earlier this week.

The video showed a man walking on a street in the West Bank town of Tubas on Wednesday in front of soldiers, one of whom then kicks him forcefully, causing him to fall.

“The soldier’s conduct as reflected in the video is not in accordance with procedures, and the case will be investigated,” the military tells The Times of Israel in response to a query.

The IDF says that it had imposed a curfew on Tubas as it launched a major counter-terrorism operation in the area, and as such, civilians were not permitted to be outside.

“The suspect in the video did not stop despite requests from the force, who then initiated a suspect arrest procedure that included firing into the air,” the army says, adding that the man was released after questioning.

جنود الاحتلال يعتدون على رجل مُسن، وينكلون به في مدينة طوباس. pic.twitter.com/zIWZYgAyai

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 26, 2025

Islamic Jihad says two men shot dead in Jenin were part of its military wing

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group says the two terror suspects who were shot dead by Border Police officers after surrendering to them in the West Bank city of Jenin yesterday were members of its military wing.

In a statement, the Al-Quds Brigades identifies Youssef Asasa, 37, as a “field commander” and Mahmoud Abdallah, 26, as “one of the fighters” in the terror group’s local wing in Jenin.

Footage from the incident showed the two men exiting a building with their hands raised before they were killed.

The Justice Ministry’s Department for Internal Police Investigations has opened a criminal investigation into a Border Police officer involved in the incident.

Police accused of censorship after officers raid Standing Together event in Haifa — report

Police officers twice raided a “Standing Together” gathering at the Haifa Congress Center — once late last night and again this morning — in what activists described as an attempt to monitor and censor their political messaging, Haaretz reports.

Attendees assert that officers told them they were present “to make sure their messages were legal.”

According to an activist identified as Nadav, police contacted a commander after spotting a sign reading “Get Out of Gaza,” allegedly instructing organizers to remove it.

“The police decided to act as censors of messages they don’t like,” Nadav tells Haaretz, adding that officers later walked through the event “with weapons and rifles.”

He says police returned this morning and warned organizers they would “cut the microphones and disperse the event” if there was any “provocation,” but declined to define what that meant.

Alon-Lee Green, co-director of Standing Together, accuses authorities of politically motivated intimidation.

“It’s clear to us that they are trying to intimidate our freedom of expression and our very right to organize Jews and Arabs together,” he says, adding that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir “sends police to censor us and silence us” while failing to address violence in Arab communities.

Police have not yet issued a statement on the incident.

Criminal probe launched into officer who shot surrendered Palestinians in Jenin

The Department for Internal Police Investigations has opened a criminal investigation into a Border Police officer who was filmed fatally shooting two Palestinian terror suspects in Jenin after they had surrendered.

The agency confirms the probe was launched after it contacted the Military Police regarding the incident, which took place yesterday evening during a counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank city.

Footage from the incident shows the two suspects exiting a building with their hands raised before they were killed.

The IDF and police said yesterday that the “incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant authorities for examination.”

Netzach Yehuda CEO demands major changes to Haredi draft bill in letter to Bismuth

Yossi Levi, head of an NGO supporting Haredi soldiers, is urging MK Boaz Bismuth, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, to implement significant changes to Israel’s draft conscription bill, highlighting the law’s failure to recognize Haredi hesder yeshivas.

Levi’s Netzach Yehuda NGO supports the Netzach Yehuda Battalion, established more than 25 years ago to enable Haredi men to serve as combat soldiers. Hesder yeshivas, primarily attended by young men from the religious Zionist community, combine Torah study with shortened military service.

In a letter to Bismuth, Levi calls for a balanced framework that addresses Israel’s security needs while respecting the Haredi way of life. He criticizes the current bill for lacking a structured plan for integrating Haredim into the IDF, describing it as largely declarative and difficult to implement.

The NGO’s proposed amendments include binding recruitment targets, with at least 30 percent of Haredi recruits assigned to combat units; civil-security service beginning only at age 22; and adaptations within the IDF, including a dedicated Haredi platoon, a separate recruitment office and formal spiritual guidance.

Levi also emphasizes the need for an official government plan for Haredi conscription, modeled on the proven programs used to integrate Haredim into civilian employment.

Syria calls deadly Israeli operation a ‘war crime’

Syria condemns the Israeli military operation in southern Syria that killed 13 people overnight as a “war crime.”

“Syria denounces… the criminal aggression” of the Israeli army in the village of Beit Jin, the foreign ministry says in a statement, adding that such acts aim to “ignite the region” in conflict.

“This is a war crime.”

During the operation, IDF troops exchanged fire with Syrian gunmen, leaving six soldiers wounded, while the Israeli Air Force carried out supporting airstrikes, causing multiple casualties among the Syrian forces.

Three Syrian terror suspects were taken into IDF custody.

IDF finds bodies of nine terror operatives near Rafah tunnels

The bodies of nine terror operatives were located by Israeli troops operating in eastern Rafah — an IDF-held area in the southern Gaza Strip where dozens of Hamas fighters were believed to be trapped in tunnels.

The military says the operatives were likely killed as a result of “intensive and focused IDF operations in the area,” which included airstrikes and demolitions of the tunnel routes.

The bodies of the nine operatives were located in the area of the tunnels by troops of the Nahal Brigade and elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, the army says.

In recent weeks, the IDF has reported killing over 30 terror operatives and capturing a further eight, after they tried to flee from the tunnels in Rafah.

The IDF has vowed to kill or capture all the remaining operatives on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line, separating Gaza in accordance with the October ceasefire agreement.

Construction site in northern Israel closed after weapons found

Northern District police and Border Police troops raided a building under construction in the northern town of Arraba last weekend, uncovering a stash of weapons, including Glock and Desert Eagle pistols, magazines, and ammunition, police announced in a statement.

A 32-year-old resident was arrested on suspicion of possession, and his questioning is ongoing. Following the discovery, Misgav Police Station commander, Superintendent (Res.) Aner Yosef issued a 30-day closure order for the site.

Authorities say the operation is part of ongoing efforts to combat serious crime and illegal weapons possession in the region. Since the start of 2025, over 990 weapons have been seized in northern Israel, and several armed cells have been thwarted.

Health Ministry flags error in genetic test kits detecting rare mutation

The Health Ministry says that a malfunction has been discovered in test kits used to detect a mutation in the MECR gene, which raises the risk of a severe genetic neurological disease in fetuses, according to Haaretz.

The genetic screening tests were produced by Thermo Fisher and used for pregnant women or those planning pregnancy, as well as the biological father. The MECR mutation is one of many examined in Israel’s expanded genetic screening panel. The disease is rare but more common among people of Ashkenazi Jewish origin.

The mistake stemmed from a computer error in the software that analyzes samples. The ministry then ordered all genetic laboratories using the software to reread the tests, and 109 new carriers were found, of whom only one couple were both carriers — a necessary condition for an increased risk of the disease.

The ministry has established a special review committee that will examine all the mutations the test kit is designed to detect. The review will take several weeks, and its results will be presented to the public when they are available.

Man found dead in central Tel Aviv; body shows signs of violence, MDA says

Paramedics found a man’s body inside a vehicle this morning in central Tel Aviv, Magen David Adom says.

The deceased, a 62-year-old man, appears to have been killed, with signs of violence on his body. He was found unconscious by paramedics and pronounced dead on the spot.

Police have not yet commented on the incident.

Floods ravage Southeast Asia as rescuers ramp up recovery efforts; death toll passes 180

The death toll from floods across large swathes of Southeast Asia has reached at least 183, with authorities in the region working to rescue stranded citizens, restore power and communications and coordinate recovery efforts as the waters began to recede.

Large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been stricken by cyclone-fuelled torrential rain for a week, with a rare tropical storm forming in the Malacca Strait.

Another 46 people were killed by a cyclone in the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka, authorities said.

In badly hit Sumatra in Indonesia, 94 people have been confirmed dead, according to data from three provincial authorities.

In the Padang Pariaman region of Sumatra, where a total of 22 people died, residents must cope with water levels at least one meter high, and have still not been reached by search and rescue personnel.

“We’re running out of supplies and food,” says Muhammad Rais, a 40-year-old resident who was forced to move to the second floor of his home yesterday to escape the rapidly rising waters.

Communications remain down in some parts of the island, and authorities are working to restore power and clear roads that have been blocked by landslide debris, says Abdul Muhari, spokesman for Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency.

Indonesia will continue to airlift aid and rescue personnel into stricken areas on Friday, he adds.

IDF plans demolition of 24 buildings in Jenin refugee camp

The IDF says that earlier this week, authorities notified Palestinian residents in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank that the army intends to demolish 24 buildings.

“The demolition of buildings is required in accordance with a clear and necessary operational need,” the military says.

On Tuesday, the Civil Administration body in the Defense Ministry notified the residents of the IDF’s plans.

The military says the residents of the buildings have been given time to take their belongings.

The decision to demolish the structures was made by the chief of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, “after careful consideration, while reducing the scope of demolition to the minimum required, and after considering other alternatives,” the IDF says.

The IDF has already demolished hundreds of buildings in the Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarem camps in the West Bank this year, with officers saying it is intended to “preserve the IDF’s freedom of operation.”

“There is extensive use by terror organizations of explosive devices that endanger IDF troops operating in the camps, sometimes in densely populated civilian areas, posing a risk both to the troops and to nearby civilians. In the past month alone, IDF troops have arrested several terrorists and located additional explosive devices in the camps that had not yet been cleared since the IDF began operating in the camps daily,” the army adds.

Hong Kong tower fire death toll rises to 128, as 200 remain missing

The death toll from Hong Kong’s worst fire in nearly 80 years has risen to 128, and about 200 people remain missing from the high-rise residential complex that was engulfed by the blaze, the city’s security chief says.

The fire hit the Wang Fuk Court development, with eight 32-storey towers, in the northern district of Tai Po on Wednesday afternoon.

Hong Kong Security Chief Chris Tang, speaking at a press conference, says fire alarms in the complex had not been working properly.

Rescue efforts have now been concluded, and at least 79 people, including 12 firefighters, were injured, he says.

The estate, housing more than 4,600 people, had been wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh for renovation work.

Police say they have arrested three construction company officials on suspicion of manslaughter for using unsafe materials, including flammable foam boards blocking windows.

Nasser Hospital: One killed by IDF drone strike east of Khan Younis

A Palestinian man was killed by an Israeli drone strike this morning on Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital says.

Bani Suheila is on the Israeli-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line.

The Palestinian Authority’s WAFA news agency also reports additional Israeli shelling of the area as well as airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, and gunfire from Israeli Navy ships on the Rafah beach.

Rambam Hospital treats two soldiers seriously injured in Syria operation

Two of the soldiers wounded in a clash with terror suspects in southern Syria remain in serious condition, Rambam Medical Center says.

The soldiers were airlifted by helicopter to the Haifa hospital and are currently receiving treatment in the surgical ward before being transferred to the intensive care unit.

Four additional soldiers were also injured in the operation, including another in serious condition, while the remaining three sustained moderate or minor injuries.

Police shutter Tel Aviv nightclub after partygoers assault, bite officers

Police shut down a Tel Aviv nightclub and arrested four of the partygoers after they attacked and bit officers last night, law enforcement says.

Officers were initially called to the club on the city’s bustling Rothschild Boulevard due to a brawl that had broken out. Teams that arrived at the scene were confronted by two women who attempted to stop them from investigating the incident.

The women were then joined by two men, who assaulted the officers, hurling threats and even trying to bite the cops. Two officers required medical treatment as a result.

Additional forces were called to the scene and arrested the four for assault, obstructing police officers, and making threats. The nightclub was swiftly shuttered by police.

The suspects, all in their 20s and 30s, reside in Atlit, Rishon Lezion and Ramat Gan, law enforcement adds. They will appear in court today, where police will request an extension on their remand.

Poll: Opposition maintains 61-seat bloc as draft-exemption debate shifts political map

Israel’s opposition continues to outpace the governing coalition, holding a 61-seat majority — enough to form a government without relying on Arab parties — for the second consecutive week, according to a new Maariv survey.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennet leads the opposition, with his Bennett 2026 party holding 22 seats.

The coalition — made up of Likud (25), Otzma Yehudit (9), Shas (8), and United Torah Judaism (7) — stands at 49 seats.

The poll suggests that heightened public debate surrounding the government’s controversial draft-exemption bill may be reshaping voter sentiment.

The newly established Reservists’ Party, led by former communications minister Yoaz Hendel, crosses the electoral threshold this week, earning 4 seats. Meanwhile, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism, and the Palestinian nationalist party Balad once again fail to cross the threshold.

The survey also shows strong public backing for IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir in his public spat with Defense Minister Israel Katz: 41 percent of respondents said Zamir was in the right, compared to just 20% who sided with Katz. Another 39% were unsure.

On the question of preferred prime minister, current premier Benjamin Netanyahu narrowly leads Bennett, 43% to 41%. Netanyahu’s margin widens against other potential contenders, including Gadi Eisenkot (43-38%) and Avigdor Liberman (46-32%).

The poll was conducted November 26-27 among 500 Jewish and Arab adults, with a margin of error of 4.4%.

Man arrested in Jaffa with loaded handgun, police say

Police say they arrested a man in possession of a handgun in Jaffa last night. The weapon’s magazine contained seven bullets.

While conducting operational activities, detectives and patrol officers located the suspect, a man in his 30s, in a residential compound at around 8:30 p.m. He was arrested for questioning.

IDF releases footage of Beit Jinn strikes in southern Syria

The IDF publishes footage showing its airstrikes against gunmen in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn, after troops came under fire during an arrest operation.

According to the latest reports from Syrian media, at least ten people were killed by the Israeli strikes. The military says that it killed several gunmen in the fighting, without specifying a number.

Syrian report: Nine dead, several injured in Beit Jinn strikes during IDF raid

The Syria TV outlet reports that nine people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the southern town of Beit Jinn, coinciding with an overnight IDF raid that ended with the arrest of three terror suspects.

The network says several civilians were also injured in the operation.

In the aftermath of the strikes and the coinciding firefight between Israeli troops and Syrian gunmen, residents were seen fleeing Beit Jinn for nearby villages, according to the report.

Six Israeli soldiers were also injured in the incident, three of them seriously.

IDF: Third suspect detained in overnight Syria raid

The IDF updates that a third suspect was detained during the overnight operation in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn.

Earlier, the military said a man and his brother, members of al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, were detained in the raid.

In total, three suspects were arrested and taken to Israel for questioning, the army updates.

Rocket-firing brothers arrested in Syria as firefight leaves six IDF soldiers hurt

Two members of al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya who were detained overnight in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn had in the past launched rockets at Israel, according to the military.

The IDF says it had collected intelligence in recent weeks indicating that the operatives were planning additional attacks against Israel.

The pair are brothers, with one considered by the IDF to be the “main” suspect. Israeli troops arrested them in their beds at home.

As the troops began to leave the home with the two suspects, they came under fire, according to the IDF. The troops returned fire, and the Israeli Air Force also provided support with strikes from helicopters and drones. Fighter jets also conducted several strikes on predetermined targets, the military says.

The military says that several gunmen were killed in the fighting.

The gunfire mostly targeted an army Humvee, which, as a result, got stuck. The troops inside were forced to abandon the vehicle inside Beit Jinn. Later, the IDF bombed the Humvee from the air.

Six soldiers were wounded by the gunfire, including three seriously. IAF helicopters airlifted the wounded troops to hospitals in Israel.

Six soldiers wounded as IDF detains terror suspects in southern Syria

Six IDF troops were wounded, including three seriously, after coming under fire during an arrest operation in southern Syria overnight, the military says.

The IDF says that soldiers of the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade set out to detain members of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization, following intelligence information collected in recent weeks indicating that they were operating in the Syrian village of Beit Jinn and worked to advance attacks on Israel.

“During the operation, terrorists opened fire at IDF troops, who returned fire,” the military says, adding that the Israeli Air Force also struck the area to support the ground troops.

As a result of the gunfire, two officers and a reservist were seriously hurt. Another reservist was moderately injured, and two additional reserve soldiers were lightly hurt, the army says.

The troops were taken to hospitals for treatment.

The IDF says that the overnight raid was completed, with all of the wanted suspects detained and several gunmen killed.

According to Syrian media, at least two people were killed by the Israeli strikes.

Trump says to ‘permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries’

US President Donald Trump says he planד to suspend migration from what he calls “third world countries,” a day after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard soldiers in Washington.

“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover,” Trump writes on social media.

He also threatens to reverse “millions” of admissions granted under his predecessor Joe Biden, and to “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States.”

Syrian media reports two killed by Israeli strikes in village of Beit Jinn; no comment from IDF

Syrian media reports that two people were killed by Israeli strikes in the southern village of Beit Jinn, amid a clash between locals and IDF troops.

The reports say that the Israeli helicopters and artillery struck in the area.

The IDF has not yet issued a statement on the incident.

Trump says one US National Guard member has died of wounds sustained in DC shooting

Sarah Beckstrom, one of the two US National Guard members shot in Washington on Wednesday, has died, US President Donald Trump says.

“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person … She’s just passed away. She’s no longer with us,” Trump says in his first live remarks since the shooting.

Specialist Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who worked with the CIA in his native country and immigrated to the US in 2021, officials said earlier Thursday.

Daughter of detained Hamas health official says she was abducted by Israel-backed gang and handed over to IDF

Gazan nurse Tasneem al-Hams, the daughter of senior Hamas health official Dr. Marwan al-Hams, was released from Israeli prison this afternoon, the Hamas-affiliated Prisoners’ Affairs Office says.

The Palestinian Center for Prisoner Advocacy NGO on Monday accused Israel of using al-Hams to pressure her father. Israel acknowledged last week that it had detained the father in July as part of an effort to gather information on the whereabouts of slain captive soldier Hadar Goldin, whose remains were returned earlier this month as part of the Gaza ceasefire after 11 years in the Strip.

In an interview with Gaza City-based photojournalist Ahmed Marwan following her release, the younger al-Hams says she was abducted last month by the Israeli-backed, anti-Hamas Abu Shabab gang and handed over to Israeli forces east of Khan Younis.

#فيديو| شهادة الممرضة الأسيرة المحررة تسنيم الهمص ابنة الطبيب الأسير مروان الهمص، تروي تفاصيل اختطافها من قبل عصابة العميل ياسر أبو وتسليمها للاحتلال pic.twitter.com/UvTqoFXDMF

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) November 27, 2025

She was moved around the Ashkelon, Ramleh, Damon and Megiddo prisons, she says, adding that in Ashkelon she was placed in a solitary confinement cell and in Damon she was held with roughly 50 other women.

The Hamas-affiliated prisoners’ office reported on October 2 that al-Hams, in her twenties, was abducted by a “five-member armed force” from a “medical point south of Khan Younis.”

Some Palestinian media had reported she was released earlier this month, but according to the prisoners’ office, citing her brother, a November 16 Israeli order that she be released was not implemented, and she was instead held until today.

The elder al-Hams, head of the Hamas-run health ministry’s field hospital division, is still in Israeli custody, after Israel refused to include him among the Gazans who were set free as part of the truce-hostage deal, according to a Hamas source cited. The doctor’s specific location is unclear.

#صور| اللحظات الأولى للقاء الأسيرة الممرضة تسنيم الهمص بعائلتها عقب الإفراج عنها، فيما لا يزال والدها الطبيب مروان الهمص في سجون الاحتلال pic.twitter.com/4D0S72W9sZ

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) November 27, 2025