Oct. 22: PM’s wife reportedly pressed Likud ministers to sign letter calling for presidential pardon

Gaza malnutrition to have ‘generational’ impact on newborns, UN warns

A Palestinian man inspects the damage around his home in the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on October 20, 2025 (Eyad BABA / AFP)

A senior UN official warns of “generational” impacts in Gaza from malnutrition among pregnant women and babies, urging a surge of aid to help prevent potential lifelong health issues.

“The sheer extent of the devastation looked like the set of a dystopian film,” Andrew Saberton, deputy executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), tells reporters after his visit to the war-torn enclave.

He says that a quarter of Gaza’s population is “starving.”

“That includes 11,500 pregnant women for whom starvation is particularly catastrophic for both mother and newborn,” says Saberton, whose agency leads reproductive and maternal health programs around the world.

As a result, 70 percent of newborns are premature or underweight, compared to 20 percent before Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel kicked off the war.

“Malnutrition will have generational effects, not on the mother, but on the newborn, likely to result in ever longer lasting care and problems throughout the life of the baby,” he says at UN headquarters in New York.

The recent ceasefire has allowed more freedom of movement for humanitarian workers, says Saberton, but only a “trickle of aid” is being allowed in, that is “nowhere near enough.”

Iran welcomes conditional release of Iranian student in France

Iran welcomes the conditional release of an Iranian student from French prison, the country’s foreign ministry says, adding Tehran will strive for her full release.

Iran has accused France of arbitrarily detaining Mahdieh Esfandiari, a student living in the French city of Lyon, who was arrested this year over anti-Israel social media posts.

“Iran’s Foreign Ministry welcomes the decision of a French judge to issue a conditional release order for Ms. Esfandiari and will continue its efforts until this Iranian compatriot is fully released and returns to her homeland,” a ministry statement says.

On Tuesday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted a foreign ministry official as saying that Esfandiari was getting ready for a prisoner swap.

No detail was provided in the ministry’s statement regarding two French citizens, Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, who have been detained in Iran since 2022 and could be part of an exchange. They were sentenced to long prison sentences last week on spying charges that Paris called “unfounded.”

UAE says national security adviser discusses Gaza with Witkoff, Kushner

The United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, discussed today developments related to the ceasefire in Gaza and efforts to consolidate it with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Emirati state news agency WAM reports.

The meeting in the Gulf country comes after a visit by the two US officials to Israel.

Haredi leaders plan major rally against conscription on Sunday

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community is planning a major rally against the conscription of yeshiva students on Sunday, says a spokesman for Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party and one of the senior heads of the non-Hasidic “Lithuanian” branch of Haredi Judaism in Israel.

“At the instruction of the leader of the generation, Rabbi Dov Lando, preparations are underway for a central prayer rally on Sunday,” the spokesman says in a terse statement with no additional information.

Lando’s announcement comes as ultra-Orthodox activists and lawmakers rage against what they describe as a “wave of arrests” of yeshiva students who ignored enlistment orders and are evading military service.

According to the hardline Jerusalem Faction, the IDF resumed enforcement operations last Friday, raiding a number of homes in Jerusalem, the West Bank community of Adam, Ramat Gan and Givatayim.

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is expected to present a bill regulating ultra-Orthodox enlistment next week.

Dozens honor slain Thai hostage at airport as body flown home after release

A farewell ceremony is held at Ben Gurion Airport for Thai national Sonthaya Oakkharasri, whose body was returned from Gaza by Hamas, on October 22, 2025 (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

Dozens gathered at Ben Gurion Airport today to pay respects to Thai national Sonthaya Oakkharasri, whose body was flown home for burial.

Oakkharasri was a 30-year-old Thai worker who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, and, according to intelligence, murdered on the same day.

He arrived in Israel in 2018 to work and support his family, first working in northern Israel and later moving to the Gaza envelope. He was set to return to Thailand in October 2023 and dreamed of building his own farm, according to the Hostages Forum.

Oakkharasri’s friends from the Thai community in Israel were in attendance, as well as farmers he had worked with over his years in Israel.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin was present and laid a wreath on Oakkharasri’s coffin, speaking briefly.

Boonyarit Vichienpuntu, Thailand’s ambassador to Israel, said at the ceremony that Thailand regards Israel as a friend.

“We send our people here, and Israelis also want to come to Thailand,” Vichienpuntu said, according to Haaretz. “Even now, after that tragic day, there are many Thai workers in Israel. That shows that we trust and believe in the safety of this country, and we will always stand by your side.”

Vichienpuntu said he spoke with Oakkharasri’s family, who are deeply grateful for everything that was done to bring his body home.

Thai workers like Oakkharasri experienced the trauma and horror of October 7, with Israelis, said Amit Yifrach, Secretary General of the Moshav Movement and Chairman of the Israeli Farmers Federation.

“These are people who had no part in our regional conflict and came here simply to earn a living for their families — and their fate became intertwined with ours,” said Yifrach. “Today, all the farmers of Israel and all Israeli citizens bow their heads in his memory, share in the sorrow of his family in Thailand, and embrace the Thai people, who have paid such a heavy price.”

Following the return of the bodies of Oakkharasri and Nepalese agricultural student Bipin Joshi to their homelands, the bodies of two foreign nationals are still held by Hamas: those of Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak and Joshua Mollel from Tanzania.

More than 650 US rabbis issue warning against Mamdani, anti-Zionism in politics

New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a mayoral debate, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis, Pool)

More than 650 rabbis across the US have signed an open letter warning about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and anti-Zionism in politics.

“We cannot remain silent in the face of rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization throughout our nation,” says the letter, titled “A rabbinic call to action: Defending the Jewish future.”

The statement cites Mamdani’s defense of the phrase “Globalize the Intifada,” which he has since said he would “discourage”; his refusal to acknowledge Israel’s existence as a Jewish state; and his repeated accusations against Israel of genocide in Gaza.

“We will not accept a culture that treats Jewish self-determination as a negotiable ideal or Jewish inclusion as something to be “granted.” The safety and dignity of Jews in every city depend on rejecting that false choice,” the letter says.

“We call on all Americans who value peace and equality to participate fully in the democratic process in order to stand up for candidates who reject antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric, and who affirm Israel’s right to exist in peace and security,” the letter says. “Now is the time for everyone to unite across political and moral divides, and to reject the language that seeks to delegitimize our Jewish identity and our community.”

Signatories include rabbis at some of New York City’s leading synagogues — Rabbi Joshua Davidson of Temple Emanu-El; Rabbi David Gelfand of Temple Israel of the City of New York; Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of Kehilath Jeshurun, and Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, president of the New York Board of Rabbis and Senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue.

The letter was organized by the Jewish Majority advocacy group.

Major street closures expected in central Tel Aviv Thursday as Vance visits

Many streets in central Tel Aviv will be closed off tomorrow between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. as US Vice President JD Vance visits the city.

Streets that will be either partially or fully shut for the duration include Kaplan Street, Begin Road from Jabotinsky Street to Hashmonaim Street, Shaul Hamelech Street, Laskov Street, Heftman Street, Dubnov Street and Weizmann Street.

The HaShalom Interchange will also be closed.

Turkish clubs protest as Israel to resume hosting Euro basketball games

Two of Turkey’s top basketball clubs have protested over a EuroLeague decision to once again let Israeli teams host European competition home games in Israel.

In a joint statement, Istanbul’s Fenerbahce Beko and Anadolu Efes express concern at the decision, questioning how it was reached and saying that they have begun talks with EuroLeague’s management over the issue.

Since Israel’s war against Gaza’s Hamas rulers began in October 2023, Israeli clubs in the EuroLeague and EuroCup have played their home games abroad.

But following this month’s ceasefire agreement, EuroLeague clubs met on Tuesday and “approved the proposal to return matches to Israel starting December 1, 2025,” the body said.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, six-time winners of the competition, and Hapoel Tel Aviv are playing in the EuroLeague this season while Hapoel Jerusalem is in the second-tier EuroCup.

“Fenerbahce Beko and Anadolu Efes have expressed their disapproval of the matter and clearly voiced their concerns about the potential outcome should the decision be implemented,” the clubs write on X.

Although the EuroLeague press release and statements by its CEO Paulius Motiejunas “indicated that all members were unanimous during the decision-making process, no vote was taken at the meeting,” they write.

PM said to tell Vance he’s open to advancing Gaza plan, with some reservations

Palestinians walk past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 22, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

During his meeting today with US Vice President JD Vance, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed willingness to assist in implementing the next stages of Washington’s Gaza ceasefire plan, Channel 12 reports, citing American and Israeli officials familiar with the discussions.

According to those officials, Vance urged Netanyahu to give Washington time to roll out the plan, to which the premier responded by showing a readiness to cooperate in the coming phases.

In a separate report, the network says that Netanyahu outlined several red lines to the US in recent days, including absolute opposition to any Turkish presence in Gaza and to the Palestinian Authority or Hamas playing a governing role there “the day after” the war. He is also said to have insisted that a full IDF withdrawal could only take place after Hamas is fully disarmed and the Strip demilitarized.

An Israeli security official tells the network that Washington views Turkey as essential to the plan’s success and sees no viable alternative to eventual Palestinian Authority involvement, a point that could force Netanyahu into compromise as Washington’s pressure increases.

A source close to US President Donald Trump tells the network that Trump is pleased that “the United States has so far managed to keep both sides in line,” referring to Israel and Hamas.

The network adds that Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, departed Israel for Riyadh late last night, where they met with senior Saudi officials to further rally support for the deal. From Riyadh, they continued to Abu Dhabi today for meetings with Emirati officials toward the same goal. Flight tracking data appears to corroborate the report.

According to the network, these meetings are aimed at mobilizing financial, military, and diplomatic backing from Arab states for the deal.

Report: PM’s wife pressed Likud ministers to sign letter calling for presidential pardon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara while visiting released hostages at Beilinson Hospital, in Petah Tikva, October 14, 2025. (GPO/screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara lobbied Likud ministers to sign a letter to President Isaac Herzog calling for a pardon for her husband, Kan news reports.

The letter was submitted to Herzog yesterday. Spearheaded by Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman and signed by every one of Likud’s 19 ministers and deputy ministers, it contends that the trial is “harming the unity of the people” and says that Netanyahu is “leading a historic victory over the enemies of Israel.” It urges Herzog to seize the moment.

The Kan report says Netanyahu’s wife pressed several ministers who had not signed the letter in the past week, saying: “This is good timing — even Trump asked, it’s important for us. The cases are baseless and will lead nowhere anyway, let’s just finish with this.”

Kan says following Sara’s appeal, ministers who were hesitating “fell in line” and signed the letter.

Haredi anti-draft demonstrations held throughout country after arrest of yeshiva students

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men attend a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who ignored enlistment orders in Mea Shearim, October 22, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Haredi anti-draft demonstrators are protesting nationwide against the arrest of three yeshiva students last night, as the IDF ramps up its enforcement action against ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

To publicize the mass demonstrations taking place, Haredi protest groups put out fliers coopting hostages’ families’ rhetoric, comparing detained draft dodgers to those taken captive by Hamas on October 7.

One such poster condemning the arrest of yeshiva student Ariel Shamai was emblazoned with a yellow ribbon and read, “Return him to yeshiva now,” accompanied by smaller text: “Until the last hostage.”

In Jerusalem, dozens of protesters gathered to block traffic, with some throwing stones at cars passing on Bar Lev Road, police say. Footage shared by law enforcement showed ultra-Orthodox attempting to block vehicles on the thoroughfare running through the city.

הפרות סדר בבירה: חרדים שמפגינים נגד מעצר עריקים חוסמים את כביש בר לב בירושלים ועוד צירים של הרכבת הקלה, תוך כדי שהם מיידים אבנים לעבר כלי רכב חולפים pic.twitter.com/OFXOj9becC

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) October 22, 2025

Near Bnei Brak, police geared up for a large anti-draft protest to take place on Route 4 and closed the road to traffic, only for another group of demonstrators to gather within the city itself, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Hundreds of protesters are also demonstrating outside the Beit Lid military prison, demanding that the deserters go free.

Two remain in custody after one of the students, who was nabbed by Military Police while sitting shiva for his recently deceased father, went free earlier this afternoon.

Vance visits City of David National Park near Jerusalem’s Old City

Excavations of a unique ancient installation at the Givati Parking Lot dig in the City of David, Jerusalem, August 2023. (Kobi Harathi/City of David)

US Vice President JD Vance visited the City of David National Park near Jerusalem’s Old City tonight, according to a spokesperson for the site.

Signing the guestbook at the park, Vance, who arrived in Israel this week to shore up Washington’s ceasefire plan in Gaza, wrote: “Thank you for preserving this place, a global heritage site for all the children of Abraham.”

During his visit, the vice president walked the entire length of the recently opened Pilgrimage Road — a newly excavated tunnel that foundation archaeologists say was used during the Second Temple period (516 BCE–70 CE) by Jewish pilgrims making their way to the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Jews.

Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio participated in the opening ceremony of the road, alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

Rubio’s participation drew attention to controversy over the site’s location in East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, amid reports at the time that the secretary was supportive of Israel annexing the West Bank in response to Western states recognizing a Palestinian state.

The visit underscored the Trump administration’s continued backing of initiatives viewed by critics as reinforcing Israel’s claims to East Jerusalem, which Palestinians regard as the capital of a future state.

Norway to propose UN resolution demanding Israel lift Gaza aid restrictions

Norway will propose a UN General Assembly resolution demanding that Israel lift restrictions on aid to Palestinians, Oslo’s foreign minister says, following an International Court of Justice ruling on the war.

The Scandinavian country initiated the UN resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the ICJ on Israel’s obligations, and the court ruled earlier that Israel is obliged under international law to facilitate the delivery of aid to Gaza.

“Norway intends to follow up on this (ICJ) decision with a new resolution at the UN General Assembly,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide tells a press conference.

“No country can place itself above its obligations under international law. This is essential, both for Palestinians and for all other populations living in situations of war and conflict,” he adds.

The ministry specifies that Norway will file the resolution with several other countries to support the ICJ ruling and help make sure its opinion is followed with action.

Report: Senior defense officials warn Hamas reestablishing control in Gaza

A member of the internal security forces loyal to the Palestinian terror group Hamas mans a checkpoint in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on October 12, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Senior defense officials have warned Israel’s leaders that Hamas is reestablishing control and governance over the Gaza Strip, Channel 13 news reports.

The network says this includes action against its opponents, the collection of taxes and the operation of municipal services.

According to Channel 13, the defense establishment recommends moving forward to the next phase of Trump’s ceasefire plan, which would ostensibly see Hamas disarmed and new leadership established in Gaza.

IDF demolishes home of accomplice to deadly West Bank shooting attack

IDF troops demolish the home of Jamil Samarah in the West Bank town of Bruqin, October 22, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF troops demolish the home of a Palestinian terrorist accused of being an accomplice to a deadly shooting attack in the West Bank in May, during which a pregnant woman was killed, forcing doctors to perform an emergency C-section to deliver her son, who died two weeks later.

In the attack on May 14 near the Palestinian village of Bruqin and the settlement of Bruchin, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire from the side of a road on Israeli motorists, killing Tzeela Gez, 30, and wounding her husband. Gez had been heading to a hospital to give birth. Her baby, named Ravid Haim, was delivered by emergency C-section at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, but died 15 days later.

The gunman, Naael Samarah, a member of Hamas, was shot and killed by IDF troops in the area four days later. Three more Hamas terrorists were later arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack.

Among them was Jamil Samarah. The military says troops operated in the West Bank town of Bruqin earlier today to raze Jamil Samarah’s home. Naael Samarah’s home was demolished in September.

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

Edelstein says he’s proud of standing by his values after ouster from top committee

Responding to his removal from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after bucking party discipline to vote in favor of a West Bank settlement annexation bill, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein states that “the public already knows that my word is my word.”

“If my entire sin was that I kept to the right on [the issue of] the Land of Israel and voted in favor of applying sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, then I am proud of that. Just as I am proud that I prevented [Haredi draft] evasion and that I am fighting for genuine ultra-Orthodox conscription,” the veteran lawmaker says in a statement.

“Even outside the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, I will continue to fight for equal conscription and for the Land of Israel. Any such dismissal is a moral badge of honor for me. Anyone who thinks that this deters me is greatly mistaken,” he adds.

Asked for comment, Likud MK Tally Gotliv, an alternate member of the committee who sometimes takes part in votes, backs Edelstein’s ouster.

“Ultimately, the ruling party has coalition discipline. Fortunately, we were given the option not to vote against [the bill], but to abstain from voting. Yuli Edelstein, for political reasons, decided to vote against the party’s position,” she tells The Times of Israel.

“He wanted to win political capital, and there is a sanction for that. The sanction is that he will not be on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee — and I received sanctions for much less than that, by the way.”

At funeral, Tal Haimi’s father and sister speak of longing for his company

Zohar Haimi, far right, father of Tal Haimi, whose body was returned from Gaza, at his Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak burial on October 22, 2025 (Dana Reany/Hostages Forum)

Tal Haimi is eulogized by his father Zohar Haimi and sister Or Haimi at his Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak funeral, attended by thousands.

“You have returned to us, to our family,” Zohar Haimi says. “Both the personal and close-knit one, and our kibbutz family.”

“Not as we wished — not to embrace you alive, so that you could be a father to a daughter and three sons; a partner to the one who for two years has been running what feels like an orphanage; a brother to your sister Or; and to me, the son who rose up and protected us with his life. [Not as] an uncle to all your nieces and nephews, and a friend to all your friends.”

“Because that’s who you were, a man of family and of people,” Zohar says.

He speaks of the longing for his son, for his kind, blue eyes and his powerful hugs. He also speaks about Lior Rudaeff, a fellow member of the Nir Yitzhak emergency squad who was killed on October 7 in battle, and whose body is still held hostage in Gaza. He speaks of the wait for him and the other remaining hostages’ bodies.

Haimi’s sister, Or, eulogizes her only sibling, remembering their shared language, their dreams as well as her brother’s calm strength and support.

“I don’t want a funeral, and I don’t want to say goodbye,” Or says, adding that she wants her brother there for her sister-in-law and their kids, to be “the uncle who could do anything” for her kids. She longs to plan their father’s birthdays together, to meet at the kibbutz playgrounds at the end of the school day.

“You have to meet Lotan,” she says, referring to her brother’s baby son, born after he was killed. “How much light he brings into dark days, and how much strength there is in each of the children.”

Dissenting ICJ judge says court failed to sufficiently consider Israel’s arguments

Ugandan Judge Julia Sebutinde makes her solemn declaration as a new member of the ICJ in the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace in The Hague, March 12, 2012. (ICJ)

Vice President of the International Court of Justice Julia Sebutinde dissents from the court’s advisory opinion that Israel is obligated to cooperate with the controversial UNRWA agency, saying the court did not “sufficiently consider” Israel’s arguments that Hamas operatives have infiltrated UNRWA.

Sebutinde, who has frequently issued opinions and rulings in favor of Israel, also argues that “Israel retains discretion under international humanitarian law to determine how aid is delivered” in Gaza, and asserts that Israel is “not legally required to channel such assistance specifically or solely through UNRWA.”

The judge also writes that there is “no obligation to assist UN agencies acting contrary to the Charter’s principles,” as Israel has alleged UNRWA is doing, due to what it says is the widespread use Hamas has made of UNRWA facilities in Gaza, the participation of several UNRWA employees in the October 7, 2023 massacres, and Israel’s allegation that over 1,400 of UNRWA’s approximately 13,000 Gaza employees are members of Hamas and other terrorist groups.

“There is no legal requirement for Israel to permit specific third States or international organizations to conduct humanitarian activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, if doing so would compromise its security,” Sebutinde writes.

At funeral, wife of Tal Haimi who died defending kibbutz tells him she’s ‘proud to be your widow’

Ela Haimi, right, and her eldest son at the October 22, 2025, funeral of her husband, Tal Haimi, whose body was returned from Gaza days earlier, in Kinnutz Nir Yitzhak. (Dana Reany/Hostages Forum)

At Tal Haimi’s funeral in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, his wife Ela Haimi says she planned this day “so many times, waited for it for so long.”

In December 2023, when Haimi was notified by the IDF that her husband had been killed, his body taken captive, she held a funeral and sat shiva, burying his bloodied helmet in order to offer her young children a sense of closure.

“I said goodbye to you this afternoon; you came back to us clothed and whole,” says Haimi, who gave birth to the couple’s fourth child after it was determined that her husband was killed. “I touched every part of you, and you’d be glad to know that even the shirt of Support Company 9255 was with you — and survived.”

Haimi says she told her husband’s body what the family had been through over the last two years, reviewing each of their children.

“There’s one child you didn’t get to meet, but he already knows you well,” says Haimi, referring to her youngest, Lotan. “I played you a recording of him saying “Abba” and giggling — I hope you could hear it.”

“In no scenario did I imagine giving birth to and raising a baby without you — but then I look at him, and everything becomes a little more possible,” she says.

Ela speaks of the details she’s learned of the battle Tal fought on October 7, his bravery and heroism. She speaks of his merits as a husband, partner and father.

“Tal, I was proud to be your wife,” she says. “I am proud to be your widow. Thank you for 22 shared years.”

She tells her husband that even with his return, it will take time for their community and country to recover and reunite. She asks the country’s leaders to make Israel a better place, a safe place to live.

Opposition MK on Edelstein’s removal: Netanyahu wants yes-men who will do what he says

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein’s removal from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee “supposedly because he voted in favor of sovereignty, indicates the true intentions of the Likud movement,” says fellow committee member Moshe Tur-Paz (Yesh Atid).

Likud decided to remove Edelstein from the committee after he supported a West Bank settlement annexation bill boycotted by the party, helping it pass by one vote.

“Netanyahu does not want MKs with independent positions in the Likud. He does not want people, God forbid, who maintain their values… who are not willing to vote in favor of the evasion law,” Tur-Paz tells The Times of Israel.

“He wants yes-men who will do what he says. He is used to that. Unfortunately, Yuli Edelstein, an excellent committee member… has now been dismissed in order to continue the preparation of the evasion law. We will see in his place an MK who will become a yes-man and raise his hand in favor of evasion… This proves where Netanyahu is headed.”

Likud to kick Edelstein off Knesset committee after he votes for settlement annexation bill

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein attends a meeting of the Knesset House Committee, August 4, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has decided to remove MK Yuli Edelstein from his seat on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after he voted in favor of a West Bank settlement annexation bill that was boycotted by the party, a spokesperson for the lawmaker confirms to The Times of Israel.

Edelstein broke ranks to vote in favor, casting a decisive vote and helping the bill scrape by 25-24. In a statement, he said that he supported the measure because “Israeli sovereignty in all parts of our homeland is the order of the day” and called on “all Zionist factions to vote in favor.”

Edelstein was ousted as chairman of the powerful committee in July, after the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties quit the government over his proposed enlistment bill, which levied harsh sanctions on draft evaders. He was replaced by fellow Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, who is currently working on a new draft of the legislation.

According to the Ynet news site, Likud is concerned that Edelstein will vote against Bismuth’s bill in the committee.

Foreign Ministry ‘categorically rejects’ ICJ position in Gaza aid

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks during a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, September 15, 2025. (Olivier Fitoussi/POOL)

Israel says it “categorically rejects” the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion that it is obligated to cooperate with the controversial UNRWA aid agency, saying the court ignored the “extensive evidence” Israel provided regarding what it says is UNRWA’s “infiltration” by Hamas and the organization’s complicity in terrorist activities, including the October 7 massacres.

“This is yet another political attempt to impose political measures against Israel under the guise of “international law,” the Foreign Ministry says in response to the ruling.

“Hamas terror activity within UNRWA took place before the October 7 massacre, during the massacre, and after the massacre,” the ministry added, saying that the UN failed to properly investigate the level of Hamas infiltration of UNRWA.

“Israel will not cooperate with an organization that is infested with terror activity,” the ministry insists, adding that it “fully rejects the politicization of international law, which seeks to produce political outcomes and impose measures intended to harm the State of Israel.”

Hundreds at funeral of Tal Haimi after body’s return from Gaza

Hundreds of mourners gather in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak to attend the funeral of Tal Haimi, whose body was returned to Israel on Monday night after having been held by Hamas in Gaza for over two years.

Haimi, 41, the head of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak’s civil defense squad, was killed while defending his community on October 7, 2023. His body was abducted to the Gaza Strip.

He and other members of the rapid response team battled the invading terrorists at the entrance to the kibbutz until he was shot dead. In December 2023, Tal’s family was informed based on intelligence that he had been killed on October 7 and his body taken hostage. His family had previously held a funeral for him, but awaited his body.

Tal is survived by his wife, Ela, and their four children, Nir, Einav, Udi, and Lotan. Lotan was born in May 2024, seven months after Tal was killed.

עשרות תושבי המועצה האזורית אשכול וחבריו של טל חיימי ז"ל מלווים את השיירה לקראת הלוויתו בקיבוץ ניר יצחק. התושבים עומדים עם דגלים ושלטים בצומת הקיבוץ ובשער הכניסה@shapira_nitzan pic.twitter.com/nQlhm6SMQw

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) October 22, 2025

Israel’s UN ambassador: World Court’s advisory opinion on UNRWA is ‘shameful’

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon speaks during a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting in New York on June 22, 2025. (Bryan R. Smith / AFP)

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon says the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on UNRWA is “shameful.”

“They are blaming Israel for not cooperating with UN organs… They should be blaming themselves. Those organs became breeding grounds for terrorists. Take for example UNRWA… an organization that supported Hamas for years,” Danon says.

ICJ dismisses Israel’s argument that UNRWA organization is not impartial or neutral

In its opinion, the ICJ dismisses Israel’s main argument for the legislation against UNRWA — that the organization is no longer impartial or neutral — stating that there is no evidence that UNRWA breached the impartiality requirements under Article 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which it says relate to discrimination in the provision of humanitarian aid and services.

The court also says that neutrality is not a requirement under Article 59, although it concedes it can be used to determine impartiality, and says that the “information before the court is not sufficient” to establish that UNRWA is not a neutral organization.

Israel argued in its submission to the court that UNRWA has been subject to “widespread infiltration by terrorist organizations,” and stated that “Hamas command-and-control centers, hideouts, and weapon storage facilities” were found within or in the immediate surrounding of at least 32 UNRWA facilities, including schools, warehouses, compounds, and apartments in Gaza during the course of the current war.

It also noted that several UNRWA employees took part in the October 7, 2023, massacres by Hamas and other terrorist groups; that senior Hamas military personnel were UNRWA members, and that over 1,400 of UNRWA’s approximately 13,000 Gaza employees were members of Hamas or other terrorist groups.

Israel therefore argued that UNRWA was neither impartial or neutral, and actually violated articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter, meaning that Israel was not obligated to allow its operations.

Knesset votes down opposition bills to penalize yeshiva students who evade draft

The Knesset has voted down a package of bills from opposition MKs that would financially penalize yeshiva students who avoid military service. The bills, led by Yesh Atid’s MK Meirav Cohen, seek to condition state benefits on compliance with national service laws, amid ongoing pressures from ultra-Orthodox parties on the government to pass a law exempting yeshiva students and Haredim in general from the draft.

Cohen’s bill package includes measures to revoke national insurance discounts, as well as block access to state and municipal housing benefits and financial aid for those who evade the draft.

“Anyone who breaks the law and fails to show up at the recruitment office should not continue receiving fast-tracked state benefits,” Cohen says.

Speaking before the Knesset, she says, “The only way to get young ultra-Orthodox people to enlist is to change the economic system: Serve, and you’ll receive. Don’t serve, and you won’t. It’s that simple.”

Additionally, Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer’s proposal to block monthly childcare payments to parents who fail to complete mandatory military service was voted down. According to his proposal, parents who fulfill their service obligations would receive a 50% increase in allowances, and exemptions would be made for age, disability, or bereaved families.

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 24 are eligible for military service but have not enlisted. The Israel Defense Forces says it urgently needs 12,000 recruits due to strain on standing and reserve forces caused by the war against Hamas in Gaza and other fronts.

ICJ: Israel has not backed up claims many UNRWA staff are Hamas

The International Court of Justice says Israel has not backed up allegations that members of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, also worked for the Hamas terror group it is fighting in Gaza.

“The court finds that Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA’s employees are ‘members of Hamas… or other terrorist factions,'” says ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa.

Israel banned UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil after accusing some of its staff of taking part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war.

A series of investigations, including one led by France’s former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA. However, the April 2024 report said Israel had “yet to provide supporting evidence” of its allegation that “a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organizations.”

World Court: Israel must facilitate UN aid schemes in Gaza, including UNRWA’s

View of the Peace Palace which houses World Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on Sept. 19, 2023 (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

The International Court of Justice in an advisory opinion asserts that Israel is legally obligated to allow the highly controversial UNRWA agency to provide humanitarian aid and services in Gaza. The ruling, which is non-binding, comes in response to Israeli legislation last year severely restricting the organization’s operations, and request from UN member states to the ICJ for an advisory opinion on the new law.

“The court considers that Israel is under an obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities, including UNRWA,” says ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa.

He says Israel must meet the “basic needs” of the population of Gaza, including providing everything they need to survive. “As an occupying power, Israel is obliged to ensure the basic needs of the local population, including the supplies essential for their survival,” says Iwasawa.

Ex-hostage Maxim Herkin, a captain in the reserves, appears in uniform after release

Released hostage Maxim Herkin, who is a captain in the IDF reserves, attended a ceremony for outstanding soldiers in his unit last night while wearing his uniform for the first time in over two years.

Herkin, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen, was abducted by Hamas terrorists from the Nova music festival near Re’im on October 7, 2023, and released last week.

"בזכותם חזרתי הביתה. תמיד היחידה הזאת הייתה חלק מהחיים שלי": סרן (במיל') מקסים הרקין הגיע, לבוש במדים, לטקס המצטיינים בראשות מפקד מרכז ההובלה, שם פגש את חבריו. הרקין סיים קורס קצינים כחודשיים לפני שנחטף והיה אמור להתחיל את שירות המילואים שלו כמפקד מחלקה ב-9 באוקטובר 2023… pic.twitter.com/TRMJRadqy3

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 22, 2025

“Thanks to you, I returned home to my civilian family a few days ago. And today, I returned to my family in uniform,” Herkin said at the ceremony.

Herkin served in the Technological and Logistics Directorate’s Transportation Center — the IDF unit responsible for transport in the military, especially of heavy cargo — during his mandatory service and in the reserves.

Family of Palestinian-American teen arrested during West Bank visit says condition worsening after 8 months

Palestinian-American teen Mohammed Ibrahim. who was arrested by the IDF in the West Bank in February 2025 (Courtesy)

The family of a Palestinian-American teenager arrested in February by the IDF on allegations that he threw stones during a family visit to the West Bank from Florida says his condition has significantly deteriorated due to poor conditions in an Israeli prison, where he has been held for nearly eight months.

The family of 16-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim publishes testimony from a lawyer who recently visited him at Ofer Prison in the West Bank, where she said she learned that the boy had contracted scabies and had lost roughly 25 pounds (11 kilograms) due to insufficient food for inmates.

US Rep. Kathy Castor says Ibrahim has not received a trial date or even been formally charged.

The State Department has said it is aware of the teen’s case and is providing consular services but has declined to comment further.

The Israel Prison Service does not immediately respond to a request for comment but has long dismissed mounting allegations of abuse of Palestinian inmates.

The IDF also doesn’t immediately comment on the reasons for Ibrahim’s arrest.

On Tuesday, 20 Democratic lawmakers penned a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urging them to intervene on Ibrahim’s behalf.

“As you know, Palestinians are subject to military law in the West Bank and are tried in military courts where there have been well-documented concerns about Palestinians not receiving fair due process,” states the letter organized by Sen. Chris Van Hollen

“Mohammed is also the first cousin of Saifullah Kamel Musallet, the 20-year-old U.S. citizen who was reportedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July 2025. To date, no one has been arrested concerning his killing,” it adds, requesting a response by November 3.

Olympic Committee seeks ban on sporting events in Indonesia after exclusion of Israeli athletes

The International Olympic Committee says it will recommend that no international sporting events be held in Indonesia, after the country barred Israeli gymnasts from taking part in a world championship there last week.

In a statement, the IOC says that Indonesia’s actions undermine the “fundamental principles of non-discrimination, autonomy and political neutrality that govern the Olympic Movement.”

Moving forward, the IOC says that it will “end any form of dialogue” with Indonesia about it hosting “Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Olympic events or conferences” until the country promises to allow “all participants, regardless of nationality, to attend.” In addition, the IOC says that it will tell all international sporting federations not to host “any international sports events or meetings in Indonesia.”

Yael Arad, the head of the Olympic Committee of Israel, welcomes the announcement and thanks the IOC for standing “firm against malicious attempts to disrupt global sports.” She vows that Israeli athletes will “continue to appear on the major, significant stages and we will continue — as at the Paris Olympic Games – to bring to light the Israeli excellence of our wonderful athletes.”

Vance and US ambassador meet with bereaved families and former hostages

US Vice President JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are currently meeting with a group of hostages’ families in Jerusalem.

The delegation includes former hostages, family members of deceased hostages who are still in Gaza, and family members of those killed in Hamas’s October 7 attack, Vance’s office says.

Likud dismisses annexation vote as ‘trolling’ meant to damage relations with the US

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party dismisses the Knesset’s preliminary approval of a bill to annex the West Bank as “trolling… aimed at damaging our relations with the US and Israel’s great achievements in the campaign” in Gaza.

“We strengthen settlements every day with actions, budgets, construction, industry, and not with words,” the party says, insisting that “true sovereignty will be achieved not with a show-off law for the protocol, but by working properly on the ground and creating the political conditions appropriate for the recognition of our sovereignty, as was done in the Golan Heights and in Jerusalem.”

Prominent Jewish figures call for sanctions on Israel: ‘Ceasefire must be beginning, not the end’

Hannah Einbinder accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for 'Hacks' during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

As the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas enters its second week, prominent Jews from around the world who have criticized Israel throughout the war have now signed onto a letter urging global leaders to ensure that the deal results in a “new era of peace and justice for all.”

The letter, which was addressed to António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, and world leaders, also demands that Israel be held to account for “grievous violations of international law.”

“It was international pressure that helped to secure this ceasefire, and it must be sustained to guarantee that it endures. The ceasefire must be the beginning, not the end,” the letter says. “The risk of reverting to a political reality of indifference to occupation and permanent conflict is too great. This same pressure must be continued to deliver a new era of peace and justice for all—Palestinians and Israelis alike.”

The letter urges “businesses, labor unions, civil society” and United Nations member states to take four steps: comply with decisions of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court (which issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year); impose sanctions and arms embargoes on Israel; ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza; and “refute false accusations of antisemitism.”

It was signed by a host of prominent Jewish celebrities and public figures, many of whom have been outspoken in their criticism of Israel since the beginning of its two-year war against Hamas in Gaza.

They include Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov, Emmy Award-winning actors Ilana Glazer and Hannah Einbinder, Canadian trauma guru Gabor Maté, and Oscar winners Jonathan Glazer and Yuval Avraham, who co-directed the documentary “No Other Land.”

The initiating signatories included American author and editor-at-large of Jewish Currents Peter Beinart; former Knesset speaker Avraham Burg; former Israeli negotiator Daniel Levy; Libby Lenkinski, the vice president for public engagement of the New Israel Fund; British activist Em Hilton, and former Belgian member of parliament Simone Susskind.

“We shall not rest until this ceasefire carries forward into an end of occupation and apartheid,” the letter says. “We write in the hope that this initiative further emboldens a moment of renewed Jewish commitment to act with conscience and compassion. We vow to work urgently to achieve equality, justice, and freedom for Palestinians and Israelis.”

Sa’ar speaks with Bahraini FM on Trump’s Gaza plan

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has spoken with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al Zayani, according to Sa’ar’s office.

They discussed US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, and “express their commitment to work towards its success,” according to the Israeli readout.

Israel’s new ambassador to Manama, Sammy Revel, presented his credentials to King Hamad Al Khalifa last week.

Rebelling against PM, MKs pass preliminary reading of West Bank settlements annexation bill

A session at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem on October 22, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

In an embarrassment to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right-wing lawmakers have voted to pass, in its preliminary reading, a bill that would apply Israeli sovereignty to West Bank settlements, despite opposition, from Netanyahu and his Likud party.

All but one Likud MK boycotted the vote. MK Yuli Edelstein broke ranks to vote in favor, casting a decisive vote and helping the bill scrape by 25-24.

The passage of the bill comes as US Vice President JD Vance is in Israel, and could potentially lead to a crisis with the Trump administration, which has opposed annexation.

The bill still must pass three additional readings to become law. It will now go to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further deliberations.

Sponsored by far-right MK Avi Maoz of the one-man Noam party, the legislation states that “the State of Israel will apply its laws and sovereignty to the settlement areas in Judea and Samaria, in order to establish the status of these areas as an inseparable part of the sovereign State of Israel.”

In a statement accompanying the bill, Maoz said: “The Holy One, blessed be He, gave the people of Israel the Land of Israel. Settlement in the Land of Israel is the redemption and national revival, settlement is what makes the Land of Israel flourish after two thousand years of exile. In applying sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, we are making a correction that is long overdue. Since the government has been procrastinating, our job as members of Knesset is to do this.”

The bill was supported by the far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties as well as United Torah Judaism’s Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction.

A more limited annexation bill sponsored by Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman of the opposition also passed 32-9 in a preliminary reading. Liberman’s bill calls for applying sovereignty to the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.

PM’s office says there will be no Turkish troops deployed in Gaza, after reports of clash with Egypt on matter

There will be no Turkish troops in Gaza, the Prime Minister’s Office insists after reports emerge of a disagreement on the issue during yesterday’s meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad.

“There is no disagreement,” the Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel. “There will be no Turkish involvement.”

Sky News Arabia reports that in the meeting Netanyahu rejected Turkish participation in a potential peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip, citing a Palestinian source.

He also “completely rejected” Palestinian Authority security forces trained by Egypt and Jordan in Gaza, the source tells the UK-Emirati outlet.

“Netanyahu insists that the second-phase conditions be implemented first, namely the disarmament of Hamas and its relinquishment of control over Gaza, before any discussion of local administration or security forces operating in Gaza,” says the Palestinian source.

Israel publishes footage of Hamas breaking Gazans’ legs with metal bars, criticizes ‘deafening silence’ from global activists

Screen grab from video published by the Foreign Ministry apparently showing Hamas attacking rivals in Gaza (Foreign Ministry)

After Hamas rounded up and shot dozens of Gazans in broad daylight — claiming without evidence that they were informants and criminals — footage emerges of Hamas operatives breaking the legs of Palestinians with metal bars.

The videos depict blindfolded and handcuffed Gazans being pushed to ground as their legs are stretched out before being struck in their shins with rods and shrieking in agony.

The Foreign Ministry blasts “the deafening silence from ‘the moral preachers,'” in a video shared to X.

“Where are you?” asks the narrator. “All the loud voices? The human-rights warriors? The moral preachers? The queers for Palestine?”

“Are these your freedom fighters? The ones you march for? You vanished. Hamas must go,” says the Foreign Ministry.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Hamas told ceasefire mediators it will stop public executions of rivals.

Killings in public by Palestinian Hamas – and deafening silence from the “moral preachers”.
Do you hear the sound of the crickets? pic.twitter.com/CcnX94d39U

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 22, 2025

32 activists seeking to help with Palestinian olive harvest expelled from Israel, banned for 99 years over alleged ties to banned group

Thirty-two foreign activists seeking to help Palestinian olive growers with their olive harvest have been expelled from Israel and banned from entering the country for 99 years, following coordinated action by the Interior Ministry’s Population and Immigration Authority, the police in the West Bank, the National Security Ministry and the Samaria District Council.

According to a joint statement put out by some of those agencies today, the 32 activists “identified” with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) organization, which was banned by Israel in 2021 for its ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization.

The activists had sought to help olive growers in the Palestinian village of Burin in the northern West Bank, but when they arrived there last Thursday they were told by IDF forces that a closed military zone order had been issued that day banning the entry of anyone into the area who was not formally registered to take part in the harvest.

According to Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan, the activists, whom the joint statement referred to as “anarchists,” staged an “illegal demonstration” close to Burin junction and a nearby farming outpost on land that was subject to the closed military order.

Dagan says residents of the unspecified farm contacted him, and he subsequently sent requests to IDF officers and cabinet ministers asking for the activists to be expelled from the country.

The joint statement says that during the subsequent investigation by the police it was discovered that the activists “were indeed identified” with UAWC, and they were therefore deported.

Lea Tsemel, a long time hard-left activist lawyer and member of the Balad party who provided legal counsel to the activists, says she was unaware of any protest that had taken place in the area.

Tsemel says the activists were detained for violating the closed military zone order, but had been entirely unaware that the order had been issued.

The activists were arrested, taken to the Ariel police station, and then according to Tsemel eventually to Givon Prison next to Ramle where they were held in what she said were “violent conditions,” until they were deported.

The activists were deported in stages over the course of the last week.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who is also interim interior minister, says that the operation “delivers a clear message that there will be zero tolerance for violating the sovereignty of the state, incitement to terrorism, and support for it,” although Burin and the West Bank are not sovereign Israeli territory.

A spokesman for Levin is unable to answer how the activists were able to enter Israel if they were associated with what Israel defines to be a terrorist organization.

Burin has suffered from repeated attacks by extremist Jewish settler activists from nearby illegal outposts such as Givat Ronen in recent years, including arson attacks against olive groves belonging to residents of the town, as well as theft of the olives and other efforts at undermining the town’s olive industry.

Iran says it won’t return to nuclear talks as long as US makes ‘unreasonable demands’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on during a meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, September 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

Iran will not return to negotiations with the United States as long as Washington makes “unreasonable demands,” the Iranian foreign minister says, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Tehran and Washington engaged in five rounds of indirect nuclear negotiations that ended with the 12-day air war in June in which Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites.

“Talks that were ongoing with the US as well as New York negotiations were suspended and did not go forward because of US excessive demands,” Abbas Araghchi says according to Tasnim, referring to the five rounds of talks and the UN General Assembly.

Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy Israel.

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had taken steps toward weaponization.

Iran ratifies law joining UN anti-terror financing treaty in hope of easing sanctions

Iran ratifies a law joining a United Nations convention against terror financing, local media reports, in hopes it will lead to access to global banking, an easing of trade and relieving pressure on its sanctions-hit economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was elected last year on a promise to ease relations with the West and secure the lifting of sanctions that are hurting the economy.

His administration is trying to bring the country into line with the demands of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which monitors money laundering and terrorist financing.

Tehran has for years provided support to the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups, as well as Yemen’s Houthis. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is designated a terror group in the US.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Herzog to Vance: ‘We must offer hope for the region, for Israel, for our Palestinian neighbors’

President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal welcome US President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha in Jerusalem on October 22, 2025 (Ma’ayan Toaf/GPO)

After their meeting, President Isaac Herzog tells US Vice President JD Vance that he is a “huge fan” of his book “Hillbilly Elegy,” calling it “incredible.”

“I was always impressed by your story and the way it was told,” he says.

Herzog says Israel is “grateful to President Donald Trump for his steadfast insistence on moving forward. We must move forward, we must offer hope for the region, for Israel, for our Palestinian neighbors, and for the future of our children.”

At the same time, says Herzog, “we insist and want to see all of our hostages back for a respectful burial.”

Vance will meet hostages’ families after the Herzog visit.

“We’re here to talk to about peace,” says Vance. “We’re here to talk about how to ensure that the peace agreement that started about a week ago sticks, that we can move to stage two and stage three with success.”

“God bless you,” says Vance.

“To the president and people of Israel — you have a beautiful country,” writes Vance in the guestbook. “Thank you for your kindness and welcome!!!”

78-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of murdering 48-year-old daughter

Police have arrested a 78-year-old woman on suspicion of murdering her 48-old-daughter, who was found dead in her home in Rehovot on Monday.

Law enforcement says it is suspected that the younger woman was killed a number of days before her body was found.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, the daughter had mental health issues and was cared for by her mother.

The outlet says police are investigating whether the cause of death was strangulation or poisoning.

The older woman is due in court today for a hearing on her detention, police say.

Vance: ‘These are days of destiny… Tough task ahead of us to disarm Hamas, rebuild Gaza, ensure terror group no longer threatens Israel’

US Vice President JD Vance, left, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Israel on Oct. 22, 2025. (Nathan Howard/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Standing alongside US Vice President JD Vance, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauds the “unmatched alliance and partnership with the United States.”

“That is changing the Middle East, and it’s changing the world,” he says. “That’s creating opportunities not only for security, but for the expansion of peace, which we’re working on very, very diligently.”

Netanyahu tells Vance he was impressed “with your clarity, with your incisiveness, with your solidarity for our common cause, and just a genuine friendship that I saw both in conference meetings, but also in our private meetings.”

Speaking after Netanyahu, Vance says, “These are days of destiny, and we’ve very excited to sit down and work together on the Gaza peace plan. We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas, to rebuild Gaza, to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel.”

He says over the past day, there have been very good conversations with Israel and with Arab countries, “who are stepping up and volunteering to play a very positive role in this.”

“We’re going to do great things here,” he says.

“We’re just creating an unbelievable day after, with a completely new vision,” says Netanyahu.

He adds that they discussed who will run Gaza, who will provide security, and that there were some “very, very good ideas.”

“It’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s possible,” Netanyahu says.

Asked about a potential Turkish presence in Gaza, Netanyahu says, “Israel, will obviously, have to decide together on who does that. So I have very strong opinions about that.”

Vance says that “we are creating a peace plan, an infrastructure here where nothing existed even a week and a day ago.”

“That’s going to require a lot of work,” says Vance. “It requires a lot of ingenuity.”

He says that “we are on an incredible pathway to do something that’s never been done.”

Vance says that if Gaza is done right, it could “create a model for peace agreements all over the world.”

Zamir tells commanders IDF must start training again after two years of war

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (center) and Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo (left) are seen at a drill in northern Israel, October 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir tells commanders that the military must return to carrying out training after two years of war.

“Alongside the continuation of operational activity, thwarting threats and maintaining a high level of alertness, you must return to training and improve readiness for war across all sectors,” Zamir said during a visit yesterday to an ongoing major drill along the Lebanon border.

The 91st “Galilee” Division’s drill, which began on Sunday and will conclude on Thursday, is one of the largest exercises conducted by the army in the past two years. The IDF says it is the first “full division-level drill” since the start of the war.

The drill follows Zamir’s directive to all military commands and branches to “return to training to continue improving the IDF’s preparedness for war across all sectors.”

The military says the drill has involved various defensive and offensive scenarios, “as well as an assessment of the division’s readiness and capability.”

The IDF warned that explosions may be heard, there will be troops acting as an opposing force — including flying paragliders — and there will be an increased movement of drones, aircraft, Navy vessels, and troops in the Galilee.

Netanyahu rejects idea Israel is a US client state: ‘Hogwash’; Vance: We’re monitoring ceasefire, but not like ‘you monitor a toddler’

US Vice President JD Vance, second right, listens as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Israel, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Nathan Howard/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

After his meeting with US Vice President JD Vance, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the idea that Israel is an American client state as “hogwash.”

“I want to put it very clearly,” he says in response to a question. “One week they say that Israel controls the United States. A week later they say the United States controls Israel. This is hogwash.”

“We have a partnership, an alliance of partners,” says Netanyahu, “who share common values and common goals. We can have discussions, we can have disagreements here and there, but on the whole, I have to say that in the past year we’ve had agreement — agreement not only on goals but how to reach them.”

Netanyahu says Israel has succeeded in “putting the knife at Hamas’s throat, that was the military effort guided by Israel, and the other effort was to isolate Hamas in the Arab and Muslim world, which I think the [US] president did brilliantly with his team.”

Vance makes similar comments on the relationship.

“We don’t want a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is,” says Vance. “We don’t want a client state, and that’s not what Israel is. We want a partnership. We want an ally here.”

He says his visit and those of other senior officials are aimed at monitoring the ceasefire. But, he goes on, “It’s not about monitoring in the sense of, you know, you monitor a toddler. It’s about monitoring in the sense that there’s a lot of work, a lot of good people who are doing that work, and it’s important for the principals in the administration to keep on ensuring that our people are doing what we need them to do.”

Vance adds: “The president believes that Israel, with our Gulf Arab allies, can play a very positive leadership role in this region — to where frankly the United States can care less about the Middle East because our allies in the region are stepping up, and taking control and taking ownership of their area of the world.”

“That doesn’t mean we don’t have interests here,” Vance continues. “That doesn’t mean we don’t care about what happens here. But we actually see this as an opportunity to build on the Abraham Accords, I think this Gaza deal is a critical piece of unlocking the Abraham Accords, but what it could allow is an alliance structure in the Middle East that perseveres, that endures, that allows the good people in this region of the world to step up and take ownership of their own backyard. That’s in the United States’ best interests. I happen to think that’s in Israel’s best interests, too.”

“We make the decisions for the security of Israel,” Netanyahu says. “But we make common decisions for the region which I think can serve us both.”

Hamas tells mediators it will stop public executions of rivals – report

A member of the internal security forces loyal to Palestinian terror group Hamas greets young Gazans in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on October 12, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

Hamas has told ceasefire mediators that it will stop its public executions of members of rival gangs and clans, Arab officials tell the Wall Street Journal.

The decision by the terror group came after mediators told Hamas that Israel could use the executions as an excuse to resume fighting in Gaza, the report says.

The report does not clarify whether the decision is specific to public killings.

Read more: The return of Hamas: With wave of executions, terror group reasserts control in Gaza

Witkoff and Kushner have left Israel, US diplomatic source says

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks to the media as US Vice President JD Vance and Jared Kushner stand next to him, in Kiryat Gat, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Top White House aides Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have left Israel, a US diplomatic source tells The Times of Israel.

The two advisers to US President Donald Trump were in Israel for a number of days amid efforts to shore up the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal.

US Vice President JD Vance is currently in Israel and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to arrive tomorrow.

Knesset panel votes down Oct. 7 state commission of inquiry proposal; bereaved families: Coalition ‘burying the truth’

Committee chair Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levy embraces a bereaved family member at a State Control Committee meeting at the Knesset on October 22, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Knesset State Control Committee votes down a proposal to establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, blocking an opposition-led effort to launch an official and impartial investigation into failures before and during the onslaught.

Coalition committee members from the ruling Likud and ultra-orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties vote against the motion, while opposition MKs from Yesh Atid, Blue and White, and Ra’am back it.

The proposal would have allowed a committee, under the State Comptroller Law, to investigate the events surrounding the Hamas-led onslaught, which saw the murder of some 1,200 and the kidnapping of 251 in the country’s worst security and intelligence failure, as well as the subsequent war.

Opposition MKs condemn the outcome as a moral failure, with Democrats MK Efrat Rayten Marom saying responsibility for the disaster “lies squarely with Netanyahu,” and calling the absence of any representative from the Prime Minister’s Office at the hearing “a disgrace.”

Committee chair and Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levy warns that without such an inquiry, “public trust will continue to erode.”

The decision also provokes outrage among bereaved families.

Reut Edri, whose son Ido was murdered at the Nova festival, says, “There can be no revival [of the country] without responsibility and a real investigation.”

The October Council, representing over 200 bereaved families, accuses the coalition of “burying the truth” and declares that “the grace period for the Knesset is over,” vowing to continue public pressure until a state inquiry is established.

The government is considering establishing and appointing its own panel to investigate the catastrophic Hamas invasion and subsequent war instead of an impartial state commission of inquiry.

Polls show a majority of the Israeli public believes there should be a state commission of inquiry.

IDF: Platoon commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force killed in earlier Lebanon strike

A platoon commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon today, the military says.

According to the IDF, the operative, Issa Ahmad Karbala, was involved in moving weapons around in Lebanon and advancing attacks against Israel.

The military says Karbala’s activities “constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

He was targeted while riding a motorcycle in the town of Ain Qana. Lebanon’s health ministry also confirms that one person was killed in the strike.

اعدمته السلطات اللبنانيه بتواطؤ مع جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي قبل قليل في عين قانا pic.twitter.com/7UeJptJNad

— قاسم .8 حساب جديد (@kassem1271833) October 22, 2025

Netanyahus, Vances sit for brunch in Jerusalem ahead of Gaza ceasefire meetings

(L-R) US Vice President JD Vance, Sara Netanyahu, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Second Lady Usha Vance brunch in Jerusalem on October 22, 2025 (Screen grab/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office releases footage of him and his wife Sara greeting US Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance at his office in Jerusalem.

The Netanyahus receive the Vances in a small and somewhat stiff ceremony with a four-person IDF band and honor guard, then exchange pleasantries.

The two couples then sit for a brunch before the working meetings begin, which will focus largely on the ceasefire in Gaza.

ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו ורעייתו שרה נתניהו מקבלים את פניו של סגן נשיא ארה״ב, ג׳יי. די. ואנס ורעייתו אושה ואנס, במשרד ראש הממשלה בירושלים. pic.twitter.com/aErmQQWb2T

— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) October 22, 2025

Trump’s granddaughter, Arabella Kushner, sends handwritten notes to freed hostages: ‘Your strength gives hope’

Jared Kushner (R) meets freed hostage Nimrod Cohen, who is holding a handwritten note from Kushner's daughter, Arabella Kushner, in Tel Aviv on October 21, 2025 (David Azagury/US Embassy Jerusalem)

US President Donald Trump’s granddaughter sent handwritten letters to the freed hostages which were delivered by her father, White House adviser Jared Kushner, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Kushner, along with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, met with a number of the former captives yesterday in Tel Aviv and delivered the letters.

A photo released by the US embassy shows Kushner and freed hostage Nimrod Cohen holding an envelope addressed to him personally “from Arabella.”

Trump’s son-in-law is seen holding a stack of the notes in a photo with freed twins Gali and Ziv Berman.

A letter to Segev Kalfon reads: “Your strength gives hope to so many people around the world. I admire your bravery and the light you bring to others. Thank you, Arabella Kushner.”

And here is the note she wrote (in this picture, to Segev Kalfon) pic.twitter.com/z4AKHCnKJY

— Gili Cohen (@gilicohen10) October 22, 2025

Coalition pulls all private member bills from agenda amid rift with Haredi parties over draft exemption

A plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 29, 2025 (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

All private member bills sponsored by coalition lawmakers have been removed from the Knesset agenda amid the ongoing rift with ultra-Orthodox parties over the stalled military draft exemption law for yeshiva students, leaving the government without a majority and legislative activity effectively frozen.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party slams the situation as proof of government dysfunction, saying, “They’ve lost the ability to govern, and it’s time for them to go home.”

While coalition bills are on hold, opposition laws are still on the agenda, including a proposal by Avi Maoz, leader and sole MK of the far-right Noam party, who quit the coalition in July, to apply Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank.

According to Hebrew media reports, Constitution Committee chair Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman says all coalition bills, including his own — which seeks to split the role of the attorney general into two jobs — have been delayed until next week.

He says the legislation was pulled from the agenda due to US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel, citing the coalition’s request to postpone votes due to ministers’ involvement in the trip and difficulty securing their attendance at votes.

However, Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak rejects this assertion, telling The Times of Israel that the legislation was pulled because the coalition lacks a majority, as has been the case for months.

“MK Rothman’s lies and those of the rest of the coalition’s representatives won’t help — they have no majority in the Knesset and no majority among the public. This is a failed and reckless minority government. It’s time to go to elections,” he says.

A coalition source confirms that members pulled their bills due to lacking a majority. “It’s been like this since [the ultra-Orthodox parties] stopped voting with the government, going back to the last session. Every week, the Wednesday agenda just gets delayed,” they say.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties quit the government in July — though Shas remains in the coalition — to protest the stalled draft exemption bill for Haredi men and continue their legislative boycott.

Vance arrives for meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem

US Vice President JD Vance arrives at Ben Gurion Airport on October 21, 2025 in Tel Aviv. (POOL / Getty Images via AFP)

US Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha arrive at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, according to the White House pool.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, they were slated to be greeted by Netanyahu and his wife Sara in a small private ceremony.

The first meeting, just between the vice president and the prime minister, will be followed by an expanded meeting with senior staff.

Louvre reopens for first time after daring jewel heist

People queue in the Louvre pyramid courtyard moments before the announcement the museum will remain closed for a second day running after thieves stole crown jewels from the museum in Paris a day earlier, in Paris on October 20, 2025. JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

The Louvre museum in Paris reopens, three days after thieves made off with historic royal jewels worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) in a daring daylight robbery.

From 9 a.m. (0700 GMT), the museum’s usual opening time, the first visitors began entering the world-famous institution, though the museum said the Apollo Gallery, where Sunday’s theft occurred, remains closed.

Scores of investigators are looking for the culprits, working on the theory that it was an organized crime group that clambered up a ladder on a truck to break into the museum, then dropped a diamond-studded crown as they fled.

UAE official reiterates annexation would be ‘red line,’ emphasizes importance of Israel’s security

Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash attends World Government Summit at the Dubai Expo 2020, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 29, 2022 (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, says in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi that maximalist views on the Palestinian issues are no longer valid, emphasizing the need for security for Israel alongside the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.

Gargash reiterates that any annexation of Palestinian territories would be considered a “red line,” adding that discussions are ongoing regarding sending personnel to be on the ground in Gaza.

Rubio set to arrive in Israel tomorrow for 2-day visit

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a plane as he departs Tel Aviv for Qatar following an official visit, at Ben Gurion International Airport, September 16, 2025 (Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Israel tomorrow for a two-day visit, a US official tells The Times of Israel.

The trip will be officially announced later today, and will focus on supporting the successful implementation of Washington’s ceasefire plan in Gaza, according to the official.

It follows the visits of US Vice President JD Vance and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to the country this week. This will be Rubio’s fourth visit to Israel since taking office in January.

Lebanese media: 1 killed in Israeli strike in south Lebanon

One person was killed in an Israeli strike on a motorbike in the Ain Qana area of south Lebanon, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen network reports.

There is no comment from the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel has targeted Hezbollah sites and operatives in frequent strikes since a November 2024 deal ended the fighting, which began after the Hezbollah terror group started attacking Israeli communities and military posts following its Palestinian ally Hamas’s October 2023 terror onslaught.

Israel says the strikes are in response to violations of the ceasefire agreement by  Hezbollah.

Vance to meet with Netanyahu in Jerusalem for Gaza ceasefire talks, then with Herzog

US Vice President JD Vance speak to the media as Jared Kushner looks on, in Kiryat Gat, Oct. 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

US Vice President JD Vance spent the night at King David Hotel in Jerusalem, and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem this morning at 10 a.m.

Vance and his wife Usha will be received by Netanyahu and his wife Sara, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The two leaders will hold an expanded meeting at 11 a.m. that will include their aides, according to the PMO.

Top White House Middle East advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were with Vance at the US-Israel Gaza ceasefire coordination center in Kiryat Gat yesterday, and will likely be present at the meeting at Netanyahu’s office, which will focus largely on the ceasefire in Gaza.

The White House has yet to put out a schedule for the day.

Vance will head to the President’s Residence afterward for a meeting with President Isaac Herzog at noon.

Report: PM’s associates were involved in Likud ministers’ letter to Herzog requesting pardon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court for his corruption trial, October 15, 2025. (Reuven Kastro/POOL)

Associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were involved in the letter from Likud ministers to President Isaac Herzog, implying that he should pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the criminal charges he has faced in a years-long trial in the Jerusalem District Court, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The outlet does not detail the extent of the involvement of the premier’s associates.

The letter, authored by Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, was signed by cabinet ministers and deputy ministers from the premier’s party.

Kan notes that the letter does not directly request a pardon, instead contending that the trial is “harming the unity of the people,” and saying that Netanyahu is “leading a historic victory over the enemies of Israel.”

Netanyahu is charged with one count of bribery, as well as fraud and breach of trust in three different cases relating to corruption allegations against him. His trial began in 2020 and is still far from being concluded. He is the first sitting prime minister to go on trial.

The president of the state is empowered to grant pardons to those convicted in court, and on very rare occasions, before legal proceedings have been concluded, if it is deemed to be for the public good.

The individual seeking the pardon or an immediate family member must make the request, which Netanyahu and his relatives have yet to do.

Top UN court to rule on Israel’s obligations to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gazans

A protester with a Palestinian flag at the International Court of Justice, which opens hearings on a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance into Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

The top United Nations court will rule today on Israel’s obligations towards agencies providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, as aid groups scramble to scale up operations following a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague have been asked for an “advisory opinion” laying out Israel’s duty to facilitate aid in Gaza.

The UN asked the ICJ to clarify Israel’s obligations toward the UN and other bodies “including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival” of Palestinians.

An ICJ opinion is not legally binding, but the court believes it carries “great legal weight and moral authority.”

ICJ judges heard a week of evidence in April from dozens of nations and organizations, much of which revolved around the status of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Israel last year passed a law that banned UNRWA from operating in the country, as it said the organization had employed members of Hamas who took part in the October 7, 2023, onslaught, among a series of other accusations including that the organization runs schools that incite to terrorism and perpetuates Palestinians’ refugee status by passing it by generation unlike the rest of the world’s refugees.

Israel did not take part in the ICJ hearings but Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar described them as “part of a systematic persecution and delegitimization of Israel.”

Despite ‘tremendous pain,’ mother of slain hostage Tamir Adar expresses ‘great relief over his return’

Yael Adar, mother of murdered hostage Tamir Adar, speaks at a pre-Passover event in the Kibbutz Nir Oz dining hall on April 11, 2024. (Photo by Liron Moldovan/Flash90)

The mother of slain hostage Tamir Adar eulogizes her son after his remains were returned to Israel overnight, saying that while “the pain of our loss is tremendous, there is great relief over his return.”

“Tamir is free to be buried in his land,” Yael Adar writes on Facebook. “I am grateful for what he left behind and his legacy, which will still be talked about.”

She adds: “My heart is with the 13 families who are still waiting for their loved ones.”

Tamir Adar, killed while fighting Hamas on Oct. 7, named as second slain hostage returned overnight

Tamir Adar, 38, was killed and abducted by Hamas terrorists while he was defending his kibbutz, Nir Oz, on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)

The Prime Minister’s Office names the second slain hostage returned overnight as Tamir Adar, 38, a Kibbutz Nir Oz resident whose body was abducted to Gaza after he was killed while fighting to repel the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel.

Adar set out on the morning of October 7 to support Nir Oz’s local security team when news of the attack began to arrive. He told his wife and children to stay locked in their reinforced room.

His grandmother, Yaffa Adar, was also kidnapped that day and released 48 days later.

Tamir is survived by his wife, Hadas, children Asaf and Neta, his parents Yael and Moshe, and three siblings, Nir, Inbar and Roni, as well as several grandparents.

Remains returned by Hamas identified as Arie Zalmanowicz and another hostage

Arie Zalmanowicz (Courtesy)

The Prime Minister’s Office announces that the remains returned from Gaza have been identified as Arie “Zalman” Zalmanowicz and another hostage held by Hamas whose family has not yet cleared the name for publication.

Zalmanowicz, 85, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was kidnapped from his home during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror onslaught and died in captivity. The IDF says that forensic analysts are working to determine the cause of death, noting the date he died has been declared as November 17, 2023.

Hostage Farhan al-Qadi, who was rescued by Israeli troops in August 2024, recounted that he was held in a Gaza hospital with Arie, who was diabetic, and was with him when died due to lack of treatment, malnutrition and neglect.

Zalmanowicz is survived by his two sons, Boaz and Yoav, and five grandchildren, who sat shiva for him after authorities declared his death but could not hold a funeral without his body. His wife, Ruth, died in 1997.

Saudi crown prince to visit White House next month as Trump pushes for Israel normalization deal

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shake hands after exchanging documents during a signing ceremony at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump will host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on November 18, an Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

The de facto Saudi ruler will use the meeting to secure US security guarantees from Washington, while Trump aims to use the sit-down to advance an Israel-Saudi normalization agreement, the diplomat says.

Riyadh has long insisted that it will only normalize ties with Israel if Jerusalem agrees to establish a time-bound, irreversible pathway to a future Palestinian state — something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently opposes.

Nearly all US Senate Democrats urge Trump to ‘reinforce’ his stance against West Bank annexation

Almost the entire Democratic Senate caucus has signed a letter to US President Donald Trump hailing his pledge to prevent Israel from annexing the West Bank, while urging him to double down on the stance now that a ceasefire has been reached in Gaza.

Trump broke his silence on the issue last month, telling reporters, “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. It’s not going to happen… “There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now.”

The comments took the remaining air out of efforts by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government and Israel’s influential settler lobby, which saw in Trump a unique opportunity to advance their desire to annex the West Bank.

“We write to express support for your comments opposing any efforts by the government of Israel to annex territory in the West Bank and to urge your administration to promote steps to preserve the viability of a two-state solution and the success of the Abraham Accords,” reads the letter organized by Senator Adam Schiff, which was signed by 45 Democratic caucus members in the Senate.

As the minority party in both houses of Congress, it is highly unlikely that this or any letter organized by Democrats will move the needle in Trump’s decision-making, but expressions of praise for the Republican president from the opposition party are particularly rare these days.

“Since your [20-point] plan for Gaza does not address the West Bank, it is imperative that your administration reinforce your comments and emphasize its opposition to annexation,” the senators add.

“As longstanding supporters of Israel’s security and Palestinian aspirations for statehood, we are unified in our opposition to unilateral measures by either party that undermine the prospect of lasting peace through negotiations to achieve a two-state solution,” the letter continues.

“That includes any steps by Israel to annex territory or expand settlements that prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. Such steps have elicited deep concern and opposition from Arab partners and place at risk your past achievements under the Abraham Accords and the possibility of expanding them further.”

The lone Democratic caucus member not to sign onto the letter is Senator John Fetterman, a frequent lone wolf in the party on these issues.

US military says ceasefire HQ in Israel will be able ‘to assess real-time developments in Gaza’

US special envoy Steve Witkof (2nd-L) reacts while Jared Kushner (C) and CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper (L) look on as US Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press conference, following a military briefing at the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel on October 21, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool/AFP)

Over the next two weeks, US military personnel will integrate representatives from partner countries, NGOs, international organizations and the private sector to the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), the commander of US forces in the Mideast announces, after the center in southern Israel was unveiled Tuesday by visiting US Vice President JD Vance.

“The CMCC is designed to support stabilization efforts. US military personnel will not deploy into Gaza but will instead help facilitate the flow of humanitarian, logistical, and security assistance from international counterparts into Gaza,” says a statement from US CENTCOM.

“The CMCC will also monitor implementation of the ceasefire agreement, featuring an operations floor that allows staff to assess real-time developments in Gaza,” the CENTCOM statement adds.

“Bringing together stakeholders who share the goal of successful stabilization in Gaza is essential for a peaceful transition,” says US CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper.

The CMCC is designed to support stabilization efforts, though, US military personnel will not be deployed to Gaza and will instead help facilitate the flow of humanitarian, logistical, and security assistance from international counterparts into the enclave.

Approximately 200 US military personnel were dispatched to establish the CMCC.

Facing threats from Trump and Vance, Hamas says it’s committed to Gaza ceasefire

Members of the Hamas terror group apparently work on searching for bodies of the hostages in an area in Hamad City, Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

In the face of threats from US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Hamas says it remains committed to the ceasefire in Gaza, blaming Israel for breaching the agreement.

A delegation from the terror group says at a meeting with Turkish government officials today that the group remains committed to the deal despite what it called Israel’s “repeated violations,” according to a Hamas statement.

On Sunday, the IDF said terror operatives in Gaza carried out an attack that killed two soldiers, and accused Hamas of violating the agreement. Hamas said the attack happened in an area controlled by Israel. Israeli retaliatory strikes were said to kill more than 20.

In a visit to Israel today, US Vice President JD Vance said the ceasefire plan was going better than he expected but warned Hamas it would be obliterated if it did not cooperate, echoing a Trump threat earlier in the day of “fast, furious and brutal force.”