Sept. 4: IDF says it already controls 40% of Gaza City ahead of main offensive

Eight IDF soldiers said briefly detained after accidently crossing into Jordan

Eight IDF soldiers were briefly detained by Jordanian forces after accidentally crossing the border in a recent incident, Sky News Arabia reports.

The incident occurred on August 27, the report says, noting the soldiers were returned to Israel shortly after being detained.

The report, citing a Jordanian official, does not give details as to why the soldiers crossed the border,

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Argentina charges Nazi’s daughter for concealing looted art, discovers 22 stolen Matisse works

The daughter and son-in-law of a Nazi who stole art from European Jews during World War II were charged in an Argentine court Thursday with hiding numerous works, including 22 by French painter Henri Matisse.

The pair came into the spotlight after an 18th century painting stolen from a Dutch Jewish art collector was spotted in an Argentine property ad last month, only to vanish once again.

“Portrait of a Lady” by Italian baroque painter Giuseppe Ghislandi was missing for eight decades before being photographed in the home of a daughter of Nazi Friedrich Kadgien, who had fled to Argentina after the war and died there in 1978.

Police opened an investigation and conducted multiple raids in search of the painting, only to find 22 works from the 1940s by Matisse (1869-1954), and others whose origins have yet to be determined.

The artworks were found in the Argentine seaside resort of Mar del Plata in possession of members of the Kadgien family, officials said.

Daughter Patricia Kadgien, 58, and her 60-year-old husband ultimately handed over the Ghislandi work, and appeared in court today where they were charged with “concealment,” according to prosecutors.

“Portrait of a Lady” was part of the extensive collection of Jacques Goudstikker, who died while fleeing the Netherlands in 1940 when it was invaded by Nazi Germany.

It is thought to be worth about $50,000 today, according to Argentine media reports.

Top German officials, led by Gestapo founder Hermann Goering, divvied up Goudstikker’s collection and Kadgien — a financial adviser to Adolf Hitler — was placed in charge of moving the plunder to South America.

After the war, the Dutch state retrieved some 300 works from the collection, most of which were returned to Goudstikker’s heirs, though many remain scattered around the globe.

Thousands of Nazis fled across the Atlantic after World War II, and many found refuge in Chile and Argentina.

Three people shot and killed in suspected organized crime attacks within hours

Three people are shot and killed in suspected organized crime attacks within the space of a few hours, police and medics say.

Two men are found with gunshot wounds near Kibbutz Nahsholim in northern Israel.

Magen David Adom medics found the two men in their 20s in their vehicle with gunshot wounds and declared them dead at the scene.

Police set up roadblocks near the scene in a bid to find the shooters and were investigating the incident.

The shooting came soon after a man in his 50s was shot to death in the northern town of Isfiya.

Police say both incidents are criminal and likely linked to organized crime feuds among the Arab community.

Six people have been killed in similar incidents since the start of the week.

The Abraham Initiatives organization, which tracks Arab murder victims, says that there have now been 176 homicides in the Arab community since the start of the year. The homicide rate is about 12 percent higher than it was during the same period last year, the group says.

Arab politicians have often placed blame on police for failing to solve Arab sector murders, contributing to a lack of deterrence against violent crime.

Paramount looks to buy Bari Weiss’s Free Press for over $100 million, give her senior role at CBS — report

The Paramount media company is preparing to acquire The Free Press news site, founded by Jewish journalist Bari Weiss, for over $100 million, according to a report by Puck, an online news outlet.

David Ellison, the head of Paramount, pitched Weiss on acquiring The Free Press in July and the two sides have since agreed to a deal and are finalizing an agreement, Puck reports, citing “a source with knowledge of the negotiations.”

Neither side has confirmed the report.

Ellison is expected to offer “well above” $100 million. As part of the deal, Ellison also plans to grant Weiss a a leading role at CBS News, part of the Paramount media network, the report says.

Weiss, a prominent critic of the far left, made a high-profile exit from The New York Times in 2020, saying she had been subjected to bullying from colleagues who had called her a “Nazi and a racist” and complained about her coverage of Jews.

The established The Free Press in 2022. Since then, the site has become a popular alternative to the perceived leftist slant of mainstream media outlets like The New York Times.

Genocide scholars group, under fire for Israel condemnation, rejects criticism of its open-door policy

The International Association of Genocide Scholars, under fire after accusing Israel of genocide earlier this week, rejects criticism of its resolution against Israel and says it has blocked new members from joining.

The Monday resolution garnered widespread media coverage that portrayed the group as a prestigious cadre of experts, but pro-Israel activists later discovered that anyone could join the association for as little as $30. Some of the activists joined the association, some using prank names.

Critics said the open membership policy undermined the association’s position as a body of experts.

Other criticism focused on the substance of the resolution, which cited casualty figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry that did not differentiate between civilians and combatants; cited international groups that reinterpreted the legal definition of genocide to accuse Israel; cited a UN investigator with a history of antisemitism; and misinterpreted an International Court of Justice ruling.

The association did not include any original scholarship in its resolution.

Members of the association also decried what they said was a lack of transparency while passing the genocide resolution. The association did not hold discussions about the resolution, did not allow a forum for publishing internal dissenting opinions after requests from members, and did not state who drafted the resolution.

The response, sent to members today and shared with The Times of Israel, highlights the “broad interest” and “positive” media coverage generated by the resolution, and reiterates that the statement was published in accordance with the group’s bylaws and standard practices.

International Association of Genocide Scholars responds to criticism in a message to its members from the executive board pic.twitter.com/GeFZsvuA1T

— Luke Tress (@luketress) September 4, 2025

The statement censures the “campaign to spam our membership” with fake names “such as ‘Adolf Hitler’ or email addresses such as fuckiags@retards.” In response, the association has temporarily blocked new members from joining.

The executive board also disabled the association’s public members directory for the protection of members, the statement says, adding that the executive board has been harassed in emails and on social media.

The group digs in on its open door policy, saying the association is “designed to be open to all who are committed to working on issues pertaining to genocide,” including “artists, advocates, independent scholars, global majority scholars, marginalized communities, and survivors.”

“The goal is to includes voices of those who may not have PhDs, official institutional affiliation, or the financial means to access ‘conventional education’ that often privileges Global North forms of expertise. It is intended to circumvent any ivory tower privilege,” the statement says.

The statement does not address the substantive criticism of the resolution or the lack of transparency surrounding the passing of the resolution.

Israel said planning to spend $5.3 million to facilitate Hasidic pilgrimage to Ukraine

Israel will spend an estimated NIS 20 million ($5.3 million) to enable tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews to travel to Uman, Ukraine in an annual pilgrimage to the grave of Hasidic leader Rabbi Nachman of Breslov over the Rosh Hashanah holiday in September, according to a Channel 12 report.

Of that, NIS 8.7 million ($2.6 million) alone will be spent on the construction of a temporary terminal in Chișinău, in neighboring Moldova, which is expected to process some 500 pilgrims per hour.

Due to the war in Ukraine, most pilgrims will have to travel via Moldova.

Beyond that, expenses for food, policing, and security are expected to total around NIS 7 million ($1.9 million). Israel will send a support team of 90 security guards during flights, 24 police officers, and 50 translators.

The funds will be transferred directly from Israel to the Moldovan government, which demanded that Israel fund the terminal’s construction and provide security and logistical support as conditions for its cooperation.

According to a Hebrew media report in August, Israel had until September 3 to transfer the full amount for the operation to the Moldovan government, or it would not be allowed to proceed.

However, a senior government official cited in Channel 12’s report says that Israel has yet to approve the plan and that “the government cannot operate on such a timetable.”

Reports of the funding have sparked outrage in Israel, which has faced severe budget cuts amid the almost two-year war in Gaza and in light of the ongoing controversy over attempts to exempt the ultra-Orthodox from military service.

Haredi leaders have been pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow ultra-Orthodox draft draft dodgers to be allowed out of the country to take part in the pilgrimage.

Ukraine has also expressed reservations about allowing in pilgrims this year, due to the ongoing war with Russia.

Northwestern University president says he will resign after tensions with White House over campus antisemitism

Northwestern University President Michael Schill announces that he will resign, ending a three-year tenure marked by the freeze of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding by the Trump administration and heated criticism from House Republicans over the university’s response to anti-Israel and antisemitic campus protests.

In a statement announcing his resignation, Schill acknowledges those challenges directly.

“It is critical that we continue to protect the university’s research mission and excellence while preserving academic freedom, integrity, and independence,” he says.

Northwestern emerged as a prominent target of  US President Donald Trump’s campaign to reshape elite colleges he has derided as hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism. In April, the administration froze $790 million in federal funding for the school in Evanston, Illinois, which is among dozens of colleges that have been under investigation over claims that they did not do enough to protect Jewish students during campus protests.

During the wave of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests in spring 2024, Northwestern drew ire from conservatives over an agreement it struck with demonstrators to take down their encampment. In exchange, Northwestern pledged to reestablish an advisory committee on university investments in Israel and other commitments.

Schill defended the arrangement during an appearance in May 2024 before a House committee investigating campus antisemitism.

“We had to get the encampment down,” Schill said. “The police solution was not going to be available to us to keep people safe, and also may not be the wisest solution as we’ve seen at other campuses across the country.”

Supporters of Israel and the administration officials have framed the protests at Northwestern and other schools as antisemitic and “pro-Hamas.” But people involved in the demonstrations reject that characterization. They say advocating for Palestinian rights or a Palestinian state, or criticizing Israeli military action, is not antisemitic.

Schill will continue as president until an interim leader is chosen, Northwestern says. He also will work with the Board of Trustees on efforts to restore the university’s frozen federal funding, the school says.

Rubio says US closely watching Israel’s West Bank annexation plans, won’t say if it has Trump support

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says it is “watching closely,” but will “not opine” today on whether the Trump administration supports Israel annexing the West Bank.

While dodging the question regarding Washington’s stance on the controversial move during a press conference in Ecuador, Rubio claims the US predicted that Israel could take such steps in response to Western countries recognizing the state of Palestine.

“We’re watching it closely. I’m not going to opine on it today,” Rubio says of the annexation issue.

“As far as what you’re seeing with the West Bank and the annexation, that’s not a final thing. That’s something that’s being discussed among some elements of Israeli politics,” he adds.

However, he notes, “We told all these countries…. ‘If you do this recognition stuff’… there [isn’t] going to be a Palestinian state, because that’s not the way a Palestinian state is going to happen — [by having] a press conference somewhere, and we told them that it would lead to these sort of reciprocal actions, and [that] it would make a ceasefire harder,” Rubio says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold a ministerial consult tonight to discuss the matter, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel earlier this week.

Rubio then reiterates his claim that the July 24 French announcement that it would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN in September led Hamas to raise its demands in negotiations — an assertion that Arab diplomats have disputed to The Times of Israel, explaining that Hamas had submitted its response that day — one that was rejected by Israel and the US — several hours before the declaration out of Paris.

The secretary of state is also asked about his decision last week to bar the PA’s leadership from attending the UN General Assembly later this month and whether Washington views the PA as illegitimate

“The Palestinian Authority has its own set of problems,” he says, highlighting Ramallah’s welfare system that includes payments to security prisoners based on the length of their sentence in Israeli jail.

Abbas signed a decree in February that ended the policy and replaced it with a new one, which the PA has begun implementing. In June, Ramallah invited the US to certify that the new policy is now in place, though, the Trump administration has yet to send a delegation to Ramallah.

Karhi threatens to withhold funds from public broadcaster if it airs film depicting IDF atrocities in War of Independence

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi is threatening to withhold funding from Israel’s public broadcaster Kan if it airs the documentary “1948 – Remember, Remember Not,” according to a report by Ynet.

“Media reviews indicate that the film adopts and promotes a false and antisemitic narrative, accusing IDF soldiers of committing massacres and rapes during the War of Independence,” says Karhi in a letter to Kan CEO Golan Yochpaz.

The film, directed by Neta Shoshani, retells the events of the 1948 war through the voices of both Jews and Arabs, incorporating footage, journals, and letters written at the time.

The minister is threatening to cut Kan’s budget if the film is aired.

Karhi has crusaded against the documentary ever since it premiered in Tel Aviv’s annual Docaviv Film Festival in 2023.

While Kan has refused Karhi’s demands not to air the film following its premiere, the controversy delayed the film’s release, which was further delayed due to Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, according to Kan.

The dispute is part of Karhi’s broader campaign to dismantle the public broadcaster. For more than two years, he has advanced legislation to privatize Kan or shut it down entirely, including a bill stating that if no private buyer is found within two years, Kan will be shuttered and its intellectual property transferred to the government.

Poll shows Bennett, Liberman union would become largest party

A poll published today indicates that a union between former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman would be the biggest party if elections were held today.

The Channel 12 poll shows that if the two anti-Netanyahu right-wing leaders were to unite, they would be the biggest party, with 30 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, followed by the prime minister’s Likud party on 25.

Under such a scenario, the left-wing Democrats under Yair Golan would get 11 seats, a party headed by former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot would get 10, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid would have eight, as would the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas.

The Ashkenazi Haredi United Torah Judaism and the far-right Otzmah Yehudit would both garner seven seats, the two Arab parties Hadash Ta’al and Ra’am would each get five seats, while Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism would scrape past the electoral threshold and get four seats, the poll finds.

Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, and the Arab Balad party would not make it into the Knesset.

The results indicate the opposition will be unable to form a government with 59 seats, unless they include one of the Arab parties. The current coalition gets 51 seats.

The poll also finds that should Bennett and Liberman run separately, Netanyahu’s Likud will remain the largest party; however, the opposition would gain one seat overall and take 60 mandates.

The poll also finds that 47% of the public wants Israel to accept a partial ceasefire deal that would bring home some of the hostages and halt the planned conquest of Gaza City. Thirty-nine percent want the military to push ahead with the conquest of Gaza City, while 14% said they don’t know.

The poll surveyed 500 respondents and had a margin of error of 4.4%.

Israel says top EU official ‘mouthpiece for Hamas’ after ‘genocide’ comments

Israel slams remarks made by European Commission vice president Teresa Ribera in which she called the war in Gaza a “genocide,” accusing her of being a “mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda.”

“We strongly condemn the baseless allegations made by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein writes on X.

“Instead of parroting the ‘genocide’ blood libel spread by Hamas, Ribera should have called for the release of all hostages and for Hamas to lay down its arms so that the war can end.”

We strongly condemn the baseless allegations made by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, @Teresaribera.

By doing so, Ribera has made herself a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda.
Instead of parroting the “genocide” blood libel spread by Hamas, Ribera should… pic.twitter.com/AkczI1CjxA

— Oren Marmorstein (@OrenMarmorstein) September 4, 2025

Despite visa bans, PA not pushing to have UNGA moved from New York

While the Palestinian Authority is engaging in an international diplomatic blitz aimed at convincing the Trump administration to reverse its decision to bar the leadership in Ramallah from attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month, they are not pushing for the gathering to be moved outside the US if Washington doesn’t budge, a Palestinian official says.

Ramallah is hoping Saudi Arabia and other allied countries will succeed in convincing the US to reverse its visa ban, since in addition to hoping to speak during the UNGA’s high-level week, PA President Mahmoud Abbas was planning to address a conference being organized by France and Saudi Arabia on September that is aimed at promoting a two-state solution and will see several major Western countries announcing their respective recognitions of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian official says that if the effort falls through, Ramallah’s contingency plan is for Abbas to address the two-state solution conference virtually — as was first reported in The New York Times.

In 1988, world leaders decided to move the General Assembly session to Geneva after the US barred the entry of then-PLO chairman Yasser Arafat.

United to resume flights from Chicago and Washington, D.C. to Tel Aviv

US carrier United Airlines announces that it will resume direct flight routes from Chicago and Washington, D.C. to Tel Aviv from November.

“The resumption of these flights underscores United’s longstanding commitment to Tel Aviv,” says Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of Global Network Planning and Alliances.

For the first time since 2023, United will restart operating its flight services to Tel Aviv from Chicago O’Hare on November 1 and Washington Dulles international airports on November 2.

United says it “offers more flights to Tel Aviv than any other US airline and will be the only airline operating flights between Tel Aviv and both Chicago and Washington D.C.”

The US airline at the end of July resumed twice daily flight services from New York’s Newark airport to Tel Aviv.

“United’s service to Tel Aviv always follows a detailed assessment of operational, safety, and security considerations in the region,” United stated.

Airlines have cut flights and services to Israel amid the ongoing conflicts, including the war with Iran, and amid Houthi missile attacks on Ben Gurion airport.

Belgium said working to bar Ben Gvir and Smotrich from all EU nations

After Belgium declared far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir personae non gratae, Brussels is also working to extend this ban across all 29 European states that are members of the Schengen Agreement, Channel 12 reports.

The Schengen framework abolished internal border checks, enabling free movement within Europe. But it also requires enforcement against those barred from entry. A senior Belgian Foreign Ministry official tells the network that Belgium intends to push for Smotrich and Ben Gvir to be denied entry throughout the entire Schengen zone.

While the final decision would still rest with each border officer, Belgium aims to see the ban applied consistently across all the countries, the report continues.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot unveiled the ban on the “two extremist Israeli ministers” on Tuesday, alongside his announcement that Belgium will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, adding that sanctions will be imposed on the Israeli government.

The Netherlands and Norway have already barred the two Israeli ministers.

Daniel Levy steps down as Tottenham executive chairman

Tottenham announces that Daniel Levy has stepped down as executive chairman of the Premier League soccer club.

Levy has led the north London club for almost 25 years and was the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League.

“I am incredibly proud of the work I have done together with the executive team and all our employees,” Levy says in the club’s announcement.

“We have built this club into a global heavyweight competing at the highest level. More than that, we have built a community.”

The 63-year-old Levy thanked the Spurs fans who “have supported me over the years.”

“It hasn’t always been an easy journey, but significant progress has been made. I will continue to support this club passionately,” he said.

His departure comes several months after Tottenham ended a 17-year trophy drought by beating Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League final.

It was the first major title for Tottenham since it won the English League Cup in 2008, and first European triumph since it won its second UEFA Cup — the equivalent of the Europa League now — in 1984.

Tottenham, one of the top Premier League teams, is known for its sizable Jewish fanbase and has a rich and at times controversial Jewish history. Tottenham fans have for decades called themselves “Yids” and the “Yid army” in an affectionate way, but in recent years the club asked fans to stop using the term, which is considered by many to be an antisemitic slur.

Owner says Vuelta a España asked Israeli team to withdraw from race amid pro-Palestinian protests

The organizers of the Vuelta a España cycling race in Spain asked the Israeli cycling team to withdraw from the competition amid disruptive anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests, the team’s owner, philanthropist Sylvan Adams, tells Channel 12 news.

“They called us and asked us to withdraw from the competition,” Adams says. “We’re not leaving. I’m proud of our Israeli name.”

Despite rising pressure from cyclists at the Vuelta a España race in Spain for Israel to withdraw from the competition, the Israeli cycling team said Wednesday it “remains committed to racing on.”

The integrity of the entire race has been threatened by anti-Israel protesters who have repeatedly interfered in the competition, members of the peloton say.

Yesterday, organizers were forced to end the race early due to clashes at the finish line.

Shin Bet said to warn Palestinian Authority on verge of collapse, West Bank could descend into chaos

Senior officials in the Shin Bet security agency have warned the political leadership in recent closed-door meetings that the Palestinian Authority is showing signs of unraveling, raising the risk of a “flare-up” in the West Bank — a front that Israel’s security establishment has largely managed to keep quiet over the past two years, reports Channel 12.

The security officials reportedly voiced concern that the PA is facing severe economic strain, saying that “unemployment is rising, security personnel are receiving little or no pay, and core functions are eroding. These factors could trigger chaos and a flare-up.”

In internal discussions, the Shin Bet has argued that since the PA’s survival ultimately serves Israel’s interests, steps should be taken to prevent its collapse, including restoring funds the cabinet decided to withhold from the PA, the report continues.

While such a move is strongly supported by the international community, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich remains firmly opposed to it, the network notes.

The Shin Bet declined to comment to Channel 12 on “matters discussed behind closed doors.”

IDF says it already controls 40% of Gaza City ahead of main offensive

IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says the military currently controls about 40% of Gaza City as it presses ahead with plans to fully capture the city, noting that Israeli forces are nearing control of half its territory.

Israel declared Gaza City, in the north of the territory, a combat zone last week. Parts of the city are already considered “red zones,” where Palestinians have been ordered to evacuate ahead of expected heavy fighting.

Defrin also rejects reports that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir opposes the operation, saying Zamir fully supports the plan to seize Gaza City. He adds that Zamir has made clear that if no alternative framework emerges for the “day after the war,” Israel will establish a military government in the Gaza Strip.

US envoy Witkoff said in Paris for meeting with Qataris on hostage release deal

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting in Paris right now with Qatari officials to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, Channel 12 reports, citing two sources familiar with the details.

On Wednesday, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer spoke with Witkoff and Qatari officials, according to the report.

“So far, there is no progress in the negotiations – mainly due to the Israeli position,” says one of the sources.

“There is no significant American move,” an Israeli official tells Channel 12.

“Hamas in the meantime is not softening enough. No one has a rabbit to pull out of the hat yet.”

IDF confirms it killed 12 Houthi ministers last week, says group’s leader a target for elimination

The IDF confirms 12 senior Houthi officials were killed in an airstrike in the Sanaa area last week, including the group’s prime minister, and says that its leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, remains a target for elimination.

The strike, carried out Thursday, targeted military infrastructure used by senior Houthi military commanders and government ministers allegedly involved in directing terror operations against Israel.

According to the IDF, the Houthis systematically use civilian infrastructure as cover for military activity, diverting an estimated $1.5 billion toward weapons and terror operations at the expense of the local population.

Beyond launching attacks against Israel, the Iran-backed group has also sought to disrupt international shipping lanes in the Red Sea in an effort to undermine global trade.

The IDF says assessments of the strike are ongoing.

IDF releases new images of slain Hamas spokesman, video of his killing

The IDF releases new footage showing the airstrike that killed Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — Hamas’s military wing spokesman and head of its propaganda apparatus.

Kahlout, killed in a joint IDF-Shin Bet strike last week, had long served as the masked face of Hamas, directing the group’s propaganda and psychological warfare, according to the IDF.

During the war, the IDF says he oversaw the distribution of cameras used to document the October 7 massacre and the release of videos of Israeli hostages.

The army also publishes a newly uncovered image showing Kahlout alongside Hamas’s former military chief Muhammad Deif, Khan Younis Brigade chief Rafa’a Salameh — all later killed in separate Israeli strikes — and intelligence chief Muhammad Odeh, highlighting his senior role within the terror group.

צה״ל חושף תמונה חדשה של חד׳יפה כחלות ״אבו עוביידה״: צפו בתיעוד חיסולו

בשבוע שעבר, צה"ל ושב"כ תקפו וחיסלו את דובר הזרוע הצבאית וראש מערך התעמולה של ארגון הטרור חמאס, חד׳יפה כחלות, המכונה "אבו עוביידה"

לכל הפרטים ???? https://t.co/gifpC8Dfke pic.twitter.com/lpdL7J9CYg

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 4, 2025

Sa’ar speaks to French counterpart, says no Macron visit unless Paris drops Palestinian state recognition

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urges French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to withdraw France’s planned unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood this month, telling him that French President Emmanuel Macron will not be welcome to visit Israel so long as the move remains on the agenda, according to a statement from his office.

In a phone call, Sa’ar called on Barrot “to reconsider France’s initiative to recognize a ‘Palestinian state,’ stating that the French initiative undermines stability in the Middle East and harms Israel’s national and security interests,” the statement says.

“Israel seeks good relations with France, but France must respect Israel’s position when it comes to matters essential to its security and future,” Sa’ar further clarified during the conversation.

Sa’ar also said that any visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Israel “has no place” so long as France “persists in its initiative and in efforts that harm Israel’s interests.”

Last night, the Kan public broadcaster reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had conditioned a requested visit by Macron on scrapping the recognition initiative — a demand the French president reportedly rejected.

The two ministers also discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip, the European snapback process against Iran, Lebanon, and the war in Ukraine, the statement adds.

There was no immediate French readout of the call.

‘A military occupation’: District of Columbia sues over Trump’s National Guard deployment

The District of Columbia sues to stop US President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard during his law enforcement intervention in Washington.

The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, says the surge of troops essentially amounts to an “involuntary military occupation.” He argues in the federal lawsuit that the deployment coinciding with an executive order Aug. 11 that now involves more than 1,000 troops is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement.

A federal judge in California recently ruled that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles after days of protests over immigration raids in June was illegal.

The Republican administration is appealing that decision and Trump has said he is ready to order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition in those Democrat-led cities. That court ruling, however, does not directly apply to Washington, where the president has more control over the Guard than in states.

South Sudan again denies deals to accept Gazans or third party deportees from the US

South Sudan will not accept Palestinians from Gaza, its government says, telling reporters there was also no deal with Washington to take more third-nation deportees.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he would permit Gazans to emigrate voluntarily, and that his government was talking to a number of potential host countries.

Among them was reportedly South Sudan, which in August welcomed Israel’s deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel, calling it “the highest-level engagement from an Israeli official to South Sudan thus far.”

But the desperately poor country, which is itself struggling with a worrying uptick of violence, has repeatedly denied reports that it would take Palestinians.

“There has never been any question that has been discussed… on the issue of Palestinians being resettled in South Sudan,” Philip Jada Natana, director general for bilateral relations, tells reporters.

In a weekly briefing, foreign ministry spokesperson Apuk Ayuel Mayen also clarifies there was no deal between Washington and Juba over third-country deportees — despite South Sudan accepting eight men in July.

Suspect in killing of Israeli embassy staffers in Washington pleads not guilty

The suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Washington museum in what US authorities have called an anti-Israel, antisemitic hate crime pleads not guilty to a raft of criminal charges.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, is facing nine federal charges, including murder of a foreign official and perpetrating a hate crime resulting in death.

US prosecutors have alleged that Rodriguez was motivated by hatred of Israel when he fatally shot Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington on May 21.

Rodriguez, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, answered “yes” when Washington-based US District Judge Randolph Moss asked if he was satisfied with his legal representation. His lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf during a brief hearing.

The indictment cites statements Rodriguez allegedly made online prior to the shooting, including a call to “vaporize every Israeli 18 and above.” Rodriguez told police at the scene, “I did it for Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza” and posted an online manifesto declaring that perpetrators and abettors of Israel’s military actions in Gaza had “forfeited their humanity,” according to court documents.

The indictment includes findings that would make Rodriguez eligible for the death penalty if convicted, the start of what would likely be a years-long process.

President Donald Trump’s administration has touted the case and the hate crime charges as part of its larger effort to confront antisemitism, which has also included a series of civil rights investigations into colleges and universities and attempts to deport some pro-Palestinian student activists.

Lischinsky, a research assistant in the embassy’s political section, and Milgrim, a member of the embassy’s administrative staff, were about to be engaged at the time of the shooting. They were attending an event for young diplomats hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.

Top EU official calls Gaza a ‘genocide,’ says it exposes bloc’s failure to act

One of the European Union’s most senior officials on Thursday called the war in Gaza a “genocide,” ramping up criticism of Israel and slamming the 27-nation bloc for failing to act to stop it.

“The genocide in Gaza exposes Europe’s failure to act and speak with one voice,” European Commission vice president Teresa Ribera says during a speech in Paris.

Israel vociferously denies that it is carrying out a genocide in Gaza, where it is fighting the Hamas terror group.

IDF says it intercepted two drones fired from Yemen

The IDF says that the Israeli Air Force intercepted two unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Yemen a short while ago.

The drones were downed before they entered Israeli airspace, and no alerts were activated, in accordance with IDF policy.

The military later releases footage.

בשבוע האחרון, חיל-האוויר יירט חמישה כטב"מים ושני טילי קרקע-קרקע ששוגרו מתימן.

בחודשים האחרונים, במסגרת שיתוף הפעולה בין מערכי חיל-האוויר, נסגרו עשרות מעגלים על כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים וטילי קרקע-קרקע ששוגרו מתימן ויורטו בהצלחה. pic.twitter.com/cmehIP1V7o

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) September 4, 2025

Gaza aid group says boy reported killed at site found and transported safely out of Gaza

A Gazan boy whom a former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor claimed was killed by the IDF has been located and sent abroad with his mother, says the US- and Israeli-backed GHF.

Former US special forces soldier Anthony Aguilar told international media outlets in July that after he gave food to “Amir” at a GHF site in southern Gaza, the IDF opened fire and killed him.

Democratic US Senator Bernie Sanders pushed Aguilar’s story on his official social media accounts, saying that the veteran “witnessed atrocities committed using American taxpayer dollars.”

After the story was picked up around the world, the GHF began looking for the boy, who they say is named Abd al-Rahim “Aboud” Mohammed Hamdan.

The organization says it used connections with Gazans, and experts in its team, to find the boy and his mother.

The GHF says it used biometrics and other means to identify the boy, and found in his possession the shirt he was wearing in the Aguilar video.

He and his mother are in a secure, undisclosed location, says the GHF in a press conference.

The GHF shares photos of the boy with GHF staff and outside of the Gaza Strip, as well as video of Aboud with rescuers. They also share a video of his mother speaking with GHF staff.

“I want to travel for my son’s best interest,” she says in Arabic in an edited video. “I’m leaving out of my own free will, no one pressured me.”

WATCH: Abood and his biological mother with a GHF humanitarian lead.

"You doing okay? I'm okay."

Learn the full story of how we found and brought Abood and his family to safety: ⬇️https://t.co/sNdE78biuO pic.twitter.com/1qUq5lfp9m

— Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (@GHFUpdates) September 4, 2025

“Thanks to our extraordinary relationship with the people of Gaza, our aid teams, American military veterans, and the deep trust built through GHF’s daily distribution of humanitarian aid – we were able to locate Aboud and he is now safe,” says GHF CEO John Acree.

“We are grateful to all those who worked day and night on this remarkable mission, including the US Embassy in Israel and regional governments, all of whom coordinated closely with GHF to ensure the safety of one child.”

What followed was a high-stakes, multinational diplomatic effort. We are grateful to the U.S. Embassy in Israel, and to other countries in the region for their close coordination with GHF over the past week to make this rescue possible.

Abood is alive. He is safe. pic.twitter.com/KGbH5AsjVi

— Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (@GHFUpdates) September 4, 2025

Drone said to target civilian vehicle on road to Syria’s Aleppo airport

A drone targeted a civilian vehicle on the road to Syria’s Aleppo airport, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

SANA did not give any further details about the incident.

استـ ـهـ ـداف سيارة على طريق مطار #حلب الدولي pic.twitter.com/8pZRGve2bM

— المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان (@syriahr) September 4, 2025

IDF said firing artillery shells at areas near Gaza City to encourage population to flee

The IDF is firing artillery shells at unpopulated areas near Gaza City in a bid to force the civilian population to flee ahead of the expected operation to capture the city, the Haaretz daily reports.

The move comes amid  IDF assessments reportedly indicating that some 200,000 of Gaza City’s estimated one million residents will refuse to evacuate as the military’s planned conquest of the city nears.

Yesterday, it was reported that 70,000 to 80,000 people had fled the city so far, most within the past 72 hours — a figure still far short of Gaza City’s total civilian population.

Despite repeated IDF calls to head south and the looming danger of the coming offensive — expected to take place mid-September — Gazans in the city say no place in the Strip is safe and that they have nowhere to relocate. Many also cited fatigue from earlier displacements during previous rounds of fighting, as well as the difficulties and costs of moving, particularly for the elderly, infirm, or malnourished.

The IDF declined to comment on the accusations of using live fire as a method of forcing evacuation.

Hamas health authorites say at least 53 Gazans killed as IDF pushes ahead with Gaza op

Gaza’s Hamas-run health authorities say Israeli fire across the enclave killed at least 53 people today, most of them in Gaza City, where Israeli forces have advanced through the outer suburbs and are now a few miles from the city center.

Residents say Israeli strikes targeted Gaza City’s Zeitoun, Sabra, Tuffah, and Shejaia districts from the ground and air. Tanks pushed into the eastern part of the Sheikh Radwan district northwest of the city center, destroying houses and causing fires in tent encampments.

In the Tuffah neighborhood, medics say five houses were damaged by heavy Israeli strikes that killed eight people and wounded dozens of others.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on those reports. The Israeli military has said it is operating on the outskirts of the city to dismantle terrorists’ tunnels and locate weapons.

Israel says it does not deliberately target civilians and notes that Hamas makes widespread use of civilian infrastructure in addition to its vast network of tunnels under Gaza.

Hosting Herzog, Pope Leo calls for Gaza ceasefire to be reached ‘with urgency’

Calling the meeting “cordial,” the Vatican says “particular attention” was given to the war in Gaza during Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with President Isaac Herzog, and that the pontiff called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza to be reached “with urgency.”

According to the Vatican readout, Leo expresses his hope for “a speedy resumption of negotiations so that, with willingness and courageous decisions, as well as the support of the international community, the release of all hostages can be achieved, a permanent ceasefire reached with urgency, the safe entry of humanitarian aid into the most affected areas be facilitated, and full respect for humanitarian law be ensured, together with the legitimate aspirations of the two peoples.”

He also says “a two-state solution is the only way out of the current war.”

The pope raises the often thorny issue of relations between Israeli government offices and the Catholic Church in Israel, “with particular attention to the importance of Christian communities and their commitment, both locally and throughout the Middle East, to human and social development, especially in the areas of education, the promotion of social cohesion, and regional stability.”

Herzog meets with Pope Leo, asks for help with the hostages, gives reassurances about Christians in the Holy Land

President Isaac Herzog meets Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican’s political leadership in the Vatican, asking the pontiff to assist in efforts to free the hostages, a day before the 700th day of their captivity in Gaza.

Herzog also seeks to reassure the Vatican over the treatment of Chirstians in the Holy Land and the situation in Gaza.

Herzog “emphasized that the 48 men and women still in captivity are in immediate and grave danger, and he called for intensified international efforts to secure their release as soon as possible,” says the President’s Residence in a statement, adding that Herzog asked the pope to meet with hostage families.

They also discuss the global fight against antisemitism, and “the importance of protecting minorities in the Middle East – particularly Christian communities and the Druze community in Syria.”

Herzog’s office says that “the situation of Christian communities in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza,” was discussed, a likely reference to consistent criticism from the Catholic Church over Israel’s policies toward Christians in Israel and in Palestinian territories.

“This is a very important and sensitive issue,” says Herzog after the meeting. “I spoke about the wonderful communities in Israel, about the duty and need to safeguard and protect them, and I reiterated Israel’s clear commitment to freedom of religion, of worship, and of course to the development and protection of the Christian communities in the Holy Land.”

The Vatican brought up the humanitarian situation in Gaza as well.

According to Herzog, the issue “resonates strongly in the world’s media and certainly affects Israel’s relations with various countries. I described the massive Israeli effort currently underway, which has significantly changed the situation, the facts, and the reality on the ground.”

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher also joined the meeting.

“The very fact that Pope Leo XIV, who has just entered his office, receives the president of the State of Israel at the Vatican is a very important statement,” says Herzog. “It shows the great importance of the relationship between the Holy See and the State of Israel, and of course with the Jewish people. The issues at hand are extremely sensitive and weighty these very days.”

Herzog says Israel “would be delighted” to host Leo on a visit.

Afghanistan quake toll rises sharply to over 2,200, making it the country’s deadliest in decades

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan over the weekend rises sharply to more than 2,200, according to a new toll, making it the deadliest in decades to hit the country.

The vast majority of those killed in the magnitude-6.0 earthquake that jolted the mountainous region bordering Pakistan late Sunday were in Kunar province, where 2,205 people died and 3,640 were injured, according to a Taliban government toll.

Another 12 people were killed and hundreds injured in the neighboring provinces of Nangarhar and Laghman.

Houthis claim 11 UN staffers arrested in Yemen this week were spying for Israel

UN staff arrested by Yemen’s Huthi rebels earlier this week are suspected of spying for Israel and the United States, a Houthi official tells AFP on condition of anonymity.

At least 11 United Nations workers were detained on Sunday after an Israeli airstrike killed the Houthis’ prime minister and about half of his cabinet last week.

“Those who were arrested from among the United Nations employees are accused of spying for the American and Israeli aggression,” the official from the Iran-backed group says.

“Whoever has the accusations against them confirmed will be referred to trial.”

The detainees include workers from the World Food Programme and UNICEF, which provides aid and support for children.

Dozens of other people were arrested on Saturday “on suspicion of collaborating with Israel,” a Yemeni security source told AFP at the time.

The arrests came after Houthi prime minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, nine ministers and two cabinet officials were killed in the Israeli airstrike last Thursday.

The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the Hamas terror group’s October 7 massacre and hostage-taking in southern Israel.

Neither the UN nor the EU recognizes the group as the legitimate government in Yemen, and the UN designates the Houthis as a terrorist organization. The Western-recognized Republic of Yemen, which is battling the rebels, is the country’s official representative at the UN.

Iran says Australian ambassador left country amid downgrading of ties over antisemitic attacks

Bilateral ties between Tehran and Canberra have been downgraded and Australia’s ambassador has left Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador last month, accusing the Islamic Republic of directing two antisemitic arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne last year. The first was an arson attack on Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher deli in Sydney, on October 20. The second was an arson attack targeting the Adass Israel synagogue on December 6.

Last month, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of being behind the pair of attacks and expelled Tehran’s ambassador, calling the Iranian actions “dangerous acts of aggression” designed to undermine his country’s social cohesion.

Albanese announced that Canberra had also pulled its diplomats from the Islamic Republic and will list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organization.

Finance, defense ministries launch benefits package for combat reservists and their families

The finance and defense ministries, together with the IDF, have launched “Fighter,” a special benefits club for combat reservists and their spouses.

According to a statement from Defense Minister Israel Katz’s office, each reservist will receive a digital card loaded with credit based on reserve duty days — up to NIS 5,000 ($1,500) per year — redeemable for leisure, culture, restaurants, clothing, and government service fees. The card can also be used by reservists’ spouses, recognizing their shared role in supporting service.

“The day before yesterday, tens of thousands of reservists were called up again with the goal of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas,” Katz says. “As a country and society, it is our duty to recognize and support all reservists and their families.”

“The ‘Fighter’ card is another step to embrace reservists and their families,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich adds. “The grants and benefits cannot replace the days you were away from home, but they are a mark of recognition and appreciation from the State of Israel.”

Addressing reservists, Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa says, “Beyond any financial or monetary considerations… the reservists showing up now… you are reminded that it’s not by the army, money, or force, but by your spirit that we succeed,” adding that the defense administration will continue pursuing efforts to improve reservist benefits.

3-year-old in critical condition after apparently being left in car in Beersheba

A three-year-old was found unconscious in Beersheba after apparently being forgotten in a car for a long period of time, paramedics say.

He is in critical condition.

Medics are taking the child to Soroka Medical Center in the southern city, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, it is suspected that the child was forgotten in the car when the mother was taking children to daycare this morning.

Toddlers dying after being forgotten in vehicles is a repeated occurrence in Israel, where temperatures in locked cars can soar to 70°C (160°F) — a level that can prove dangerous to children even over brief periods.

According to the Beterem – Safe Kids Israel organization, in 2010-2020, 34 babies and children in Israel died after they were left unattended in parked and locked cars.

Suspect due in court for plea hearing over killing of couple outside DC Jewish museum

The suspect accused of gunning down a young couple outside a Washington Jewish museum in what US authorities have called an anti-Israel hate crime is set to appear in court today to enter a plea to a raft of criminal charges.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, is facing nine federal charges including murder of a foreign official and perpetrating a hate crime resulting in death.

US prosecutors have alleged that Rodriguez was motivated by hatred of Israel when he fatally shot Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, as they were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington on May 21.

The indictment cites statements Rodriguez allegedly made online prior to the shooting including a call to “vaporize every Israeli 18 and above.” Rodriguez told police at the scene, “I did it for Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza” and posted an online manifesto declaring that perpetrators and abettors of Israel’s military actions in Gaza had “forfeited their humanity,” according to court documents.

The indictment includes findings that would make Rodriguez eligible for the death penalty if convicted, the start of what would likely be a years-long process.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

State to pay NIS 17 million to man acquitted of 13-year-old’s murder after 15 years in jail

The state will pay NIS 17 million (approximately $5 million) in compensation to Roman Zadorov, who was acquitted in 2023 of the 2006 murder of a 13-year-old schoolgirl after he served 15 years in jail, Hebrew media reports.

The sum was agreed upon between prosecutors and Zadorov, and will come into force after it is approved by the Tel Aviv District Court in the coming days.

In a dramatic ruling in perhaps the most famous murder case in Israeli history, Roman Zadorov was acquitted of the murder of a 13-year-old schoolgirl Tair Rada that horrified the nation, in a retrial that overturned previous convictions that saw him serve more than a decade behind bars after being sentenced to life.

The gruesome murder of Rada in a school bathroom in the northern town of Katzrin has long been the subject of intense debate online and in the media, with many believing the now 45-year-old Zadorov was not the killer and had been convicted based on insufficient circumstantial evidence, while ignoring evidence that indicated the presence of another person at the scene. Others were convinced the evidence, while incomplete, left little room for doubt he was the culprit.

Suspension of official from hostage negotiating team extended for 30 days amid Qatargate probe

Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav “Poli” Mordechai, previously suspended from the IDF’s hostage negotiation team amid the ongoing “Qatargate” investigation, agrees to a police request to extend the ban and also distance himself from senior officials.

Police questioned Mordechai on August 21, deeming his testimony “problematic,” which led to a 14-day suspension from the sensitive portfolio.

Following the extension, he is now barred from the team for a further 30 days and must avoid contact with Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, who oversees the file, former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and the Shin Bet deputy chief.

His agreement prompted the cancellation of a scheduled hearing at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, which had been set to issue an official order restricting his contact.

Yesterday, it was reported that Alon was summoned to give testimony regarding the roles of Mordechai and a former senior Mossad official, focusing on their business ties to Qatar.

Mordechai, who previously served as head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), head of the Civil Administration, and IDF Spokesperson, held a senior role in the hostage negotiation team, serving as Alon’s deputy, and continued in the position even after reports of his Qatar links surfaced.

The IDF has emphasized that Mordechai is fully committed to the hostage negotiation team, does not negotiate directly with intermediaries, and provides a critical contribution to operations.

Woman shot and killed near Rahat; police suspect family member

A 27-year-old woman was found dead near the Bedouin city of Rahat, paramedics and police say. She had been shot and killed.

The victim was named as Gigi al-Huzail, a resident of Rahat.

Police suspect she was killed by a family member. She was found with signs of beating to her body, according to Arabic-language outlets.

Her body was found on Route 264, between Rahat and Kibbutz Shoval, according to a local Hatzalah spokesman quoted by the Arab48 news site.

Medics pronounced her dead on the scene, says the Magen David Adom emergency service.

According to the Michal Sela Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating domestic violence, 25 women have been killed this year by family members. The tally does not include the latest killing.

Netanyahu to hold top-level meeting on West Bank today

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a “situation assessment” on the West Bank at 6 p.m. today, the office of one of the ministers tells The Times of Israel.

According to Hebrew-language reports, Netanyahu is set to gather top ministers and aides for a discussion to explore the possibility of applying Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.

However, the Israel official denies that it is a meeting on annexation and says that the matter is not on the formal agenda.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who will attend the meeting, yesterday unveiled a proposal for Israel to annex 82 percent of the West Bank.

Earlier this year, the Knesset approved a non-binding motion to annex the West Bank by a vote of 71-13.

Man accused of arson at hostage protest near PM’s residence to be kept in custody

A 60-year-old arrested on suspicion of setting fire to several trash bins during a hostage protest in Jerusalem will remain in detention for another five days, police announce.

Officers brought Amos Doron, a resident of Ramat Gan, to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, where he was ordered to remain in police custody until September 8.

Doron was arrested yesterday over a fire lit near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence that destroyed a car and forced residents in nearby buildings to evacuate.

Police presented the presiding judge with footage of Doron at the scene of the incident, claiming he was in disguise when he set the fire, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

Doron reportedly denies the allegations against him.

Meanwhile, the detention of another protester arrested yesterday, who allegedly lit a smoke bomb atop the National Library after climbing to the building’s roof with 12 other demonstrators, was extended yesterday until this evening.

Police announce their intention to appeal yesterday’s court ruling in a bid to keep the suspect in custody for longer.

Mandela’s Hamas-supporting grandson to join Gaza flotilla, says Palestinians’ plight worse than apartheid

Nelson Mandela’s grandson — a supporter of the Hamas terror group — says Palestinians’ lives are worse than anything Black South Africans experienced under apartheid, and urges the global community to come to their aid.

Mandla Mandela, 51, speaks ahead of boarding a flight to Tunisia to join a flotilla of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists aiming to deliver food and humanitarian supplies to Gaza.

“Many of us that have visited the occupied territories in Palestine have only come back with one conclusion: that the Palestinians are experiencing a far worse form of apartheid than we ever experienced,” Mandela says.

“We believe that the global community has to continue supporting the Palestinians, just as they stood side-by-side with us.”

Israel rejects comparisons between the lives of Palestinians and the apartheid era in South Africa.

Mandela is joining a group of 10 South African activists in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes dozens of boats and hundreds of people from 44 countries including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

South Africa’s African National Congress says their mission “echoes our own struggle for liberation.”

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007 in a violent coup. Israel says it is necessary to limit Hamas’s ability to smuggle in arms. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Food experts warned earlier this month that Gaza City had fallen into famine, and that half a million people across the Strip were facing catastrophic levels of hunger — claims that were swiftly rejected by Israel.

Mandela emphasizes that, when apartheid ended in 1994, it was after intense pressure and sanctions from other nations.

“They isolated apartheid South Africa and finally collapsed it. We believe that the time has come for that to be done for the Palestinians,” he says.

Last year, Mandela said the UK government denied him an entry visa because of his support for the Hamas terror organization.

The letter from the UK Home Office denying him entry pointed out several of Mandela’s posts on Instagram in which he voiced his support for Hamas, including one showing him with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an explosion in Tehran last July.

It also noted that Mandela attended Haniyeh’s funeral, having met him twice earlier in the year, and posted a photo of himself with a senior Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal.

Projectile hit sea near vessel in Red Sea off Yemen’s Hodeidah, maritime agency says

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency says it received a report of an incident 178 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah, where an unknown projectile was seen to hit the sea some distance from a vessel.

The vessel and crew were safe and proceeding to their next port of call, UKMTO says in a post on X.

IDF releases footage showing Gaza man castigating Hamas, says group killed his son at aid center

The IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) publishes new footage in which a former Gaza school principal launches a scathing attack on Hamas leadership, accusing the terror group of murdering his son and other workers at aid distribution centers in Khan Younis.

The man, identified as Sa’ad al-Mihsal, says his son Osama, who worked at the distribution centers, is among 12 young men killed by Hamas operatives in a recent incident.

“An incident in which 12 young men are killed — to what Islam do those murderers and criminals belong?” he asks, adding, “To the leadership outside Gaza, to the faction leaders who negotiate prisoner exchanges in return for cartons of aid — the blood of our sons takes priority, the blood of our sons is what you must look into first.”

He further accuses Hamas of plundering resources and abandoning residents, saying, “Our honor has been violated, our children’s money has been looted and stolen.”

Al-Mihsal recalls the joy he and other Gazans felt when they “saw those hostages return in good health, with beauty and clothing,” but says that faith in the group has since collapsed. It was unclear whether he was referring to hostages taken by terror groups and released in deals, or using the term to refer to Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in under the deals.

“To what Islam do we belong?” he demands.

COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian says the testimony exposes Hamas’s true face. Addressing Gazans directly, he says, “The terrorist organization Hamas is your enemy. It steals your resources, spreads lies, and tramples on your rights… It is not protecting the Gaza Strip, but rather destroying it and you from within.”

The video follows a similar audio recording released by the IDF yesterday, in which a Gaza City resident is heard telling a COGAT officer that Hamas is actively preventing civilians from evacuating south ahead of the IDF’s planned offensive to conquer Gaza City.

This is Sa'ad al-Mihsal, a former principal of a school in Gaza, attacking Hamas for murdering his son, who was working at a distribution site in Khan Yunis. Al-Mihsal also accuses Hamas of neglecting the residents of the Gaza Strip, violating their dignity, and stealing their… pic.twitter.com/b2KGIKccwA

— COGAT (@cogatonline) September 4, 2025

Prosecutors charge man from Baqa al-Gharbiya as member of ISIS

State prosecutors filed charges against a resident of Baqa al-Gharbiya accused of swearing allegiance to ISIS, police say.

The defendant, 25-year-old Najib Deek, allegedly swore allegiance to the Islamic State, joining the terror group as a member and consuming its content online — including videos of executions and beheadings.

Police say Deek had also been planning an attack against Israeli security forces, which was spurred on by his “growing religious fervor and the war in the Gaza Strip.”

But state prosecutors in the Haifa District who filed the indictment do not accuse the defendant of plotting a terror attack, and charge him solely with membership in a terrorist organization.

According to the indictment itself, the defendant “weighed the possibility” of setting off a grenade near a kiosk frequented by soldiers. He also considered traveling to Somalia to join an ISIS cell there.

Police, working off intelligence provided by the Shin Bet, arrested Deek several weeks ago. He was indicted by state prosecutors in the Hadera Magistrate’s Court.

Eisenkot: Gantz should resign if Blue and White-National Unity party nears electoral threshold

If Blue and White-National Unity is around the electoral threshold of 3.25 percent then chairman Benny Gantz should step down, former party number two Gadi Eisenkot declares.

“If Gantz is around the threshold, he needs to resign,” the former MK tells Army Radio.

Eisenkot also says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame for the lack of hostage deal, rather than the far-right ministers in his cabinet.

The former IDF chief says that while military head Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says that the conditions have been met for the hostages’ return, “the prime minister ignores and obstructs. It isn’t [far-right ministers] Ben Gvir and Smotrich, it’s [Netanyahu].”

In a statement, Blue and White-National Unity calls it “inconceivable” that Eisenkot “claims that Netanyahu is not making a hostage deal because of Ben Gvir and Smotrich — and instead of joining Gantz’s initiative for a time-limited government to bring back the hostages, continues to be preoccupied with polls and strategic consulting.”

“We suggest that Gadi stop focusing on polls — some of which show him not even passing the electoral threshold — and on elections that unfortunately have not yet been declared, and start dealing with what can be done today for the hostages, for the soldiers, for the country,” the party states.

Gantz last week called on Netanyahu and fellow opposition leaders to establish a temporary emergency government tasked with securing the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and drafting Haredi young men — a proposal that was met with derision from the opposition.

Israeli leaders yesterday dismissed a statement from Hamas declaring its willingness to free all the hostages in an exchange for ending the war in Gaza. Zamir has urged the government to accept a deal to reach a ceasefire that will see the hostages released.

Eisenkot, who was No. 2 in Blue and White, quit both the faction and Knesset over the summer, stating that while he and Gantz worked together for many years and respect each other, their differences eventually drove them apart politically.

Arab foreign ministers meet in Cairo for talks on Palestinian state recognition, Gaza war

The foreign ministers of the Arab League are meeting in Cairo as part of a gathering that takes place at the ministerial level every few months.

According to Arab media reports, the session will focus on the Palestinian issue, including efforts to persuade more Western countries to recognize a Palestinian state, and to halt the “Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.”

Father of hostage Alon Ohel: ‘Fight for him in the same way that he is fighting for his life’

The father of Alon Ohel, who has been held hostage for nearly 700 days since he was kidnapped from the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, pleads for the government and Israelis to fight for his son’s release.

“Alon is in extremely difficult conditions — wounded, surviving and fighting for almost 700 days,” Kobi Ohel tells the Kan public broadcaster.

“I ask our leadership to fight for his life, just as Alon is surviving and fighting for his life,” he says. “Alon is a citizen of this country. He deserves to have his life saved along with the other hostages who need to come back.”

“I call on the citizens of the state – do not be indifferent. Our existence, our mutual guarantee, our understanding that the State of Israel is the safest place for us as its citizens is important, and this is why the state was established,” he says.

“Look at your children, you know where they are. I don’t know where Alon is,” he says. “I know that he is captive in difficult conditions, and is waiting for his life to be saved.”

Freed hostages have told the family that Ohel has had shrapnel stuck in his eye, shoulder, and arm since his abduction, that he is bound in chains, and that he has received almost no food.

Footage apparently shows Hamas members beating merchants who refused to accept cash

Social media accounts affiliated with Hamas publish footage showing men identified as Hamas members beating a number of people in Gaza with clubs, apparently vendors who were not accepting cash payments.

According to the accounts, the victims were merchants in Khan Younis who had refused to accept the currency, amid a growing crisis in the Gaza economy for a number of months as banks remain closed and the condition of physical money deteriorates.

Hamas is apparently attempting to keep the economy moving by insisting that vendors accept cash, no matter the condition, rather than use bartering or other arrangements.

On September 1, Hamas’s Khan Younis police issued a statement instructing merchants to accept all types of banknotes and coins, whether new or worn, so long as they are not counterfeit.

https://twitter.com/nurityohanan/status/1963487706836541921

Turkey bans concert of French-Jewish singer Enrico Macias over pro-Israel stance

Turkish authorities ban a concert of Enrico Macias, a French singer of Algerian-Jewish origin, after there were calls for protest over his pro-Israeli stance.

The Istanbul governor’s office says that Macias’ performance scheduled for Friday evening in the city has been banned “after intense calls for protests against the concert.”

The governorate says it wants to prevent any demonstrations on the sidelines of the concert “against the genocide of the terrorist state Israel in Gaza and its supporters.”

Such protests would place protesters “in an unjust position legally, and cause grievances,” the office says in a statement.

Any protests around the concert venue in Istanbul’s Sisli district on Friday were also banned by the governor.

The 86-year-old singer tells AFP that he has performed in Turkey for 60 years and is “deeply surprised and saddened not to be able to see my audience, with whom I have always shared values of peace and fraternity.”

NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel over its actions in Gaza amid the war against Hamas, and says it is committing genocide there.

It has halted all trade with Israel, called for international measures against it, and has repeatedly urged world powers to stop supporting Israel. Israel denies accusations of genocide.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF representative to key defense panel: ‘Not certain the conquest of Gaza City will cause Hamas to budge’

An IDF representative told a closed-door session of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday that it is not certain that the conquest of Gaza City will cause Hamas to budge, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

According to the report, the military representative made the comment in response to a question from Likud MK Amit Halevi.

“Why would the occupation of Gaza City cause Hamas to budge at all?” the military representative was asked, Kan says.

“I did not say it would move Hamas, it is not certain at all. The city has symbolic significance,” the IDF representative told the key defense committee, according to the report.

The panel was also told that according to IDF estimates, some 800,000 people remain in Gaza City as of yesterday.

Israel has declared Gaza City, in the north of the territory, to be a combat zone while the military moves forward with plans to overtake it in a campaign to push Hamas into submission. Parts of the city are already considered “red zones,” where Palestinians have been ordered to evacuate ahead of expected heavy fighting.

Israeli television reported yesterday that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir is planning to warn the government that there will be no option but to impose military rule over the Gaza Strip if the plans go ahead to conquer Gaza City.

Zamir is opposed to the government’s plan to conquer Gaza City and has urged the government to accept the deal to reach a ceasefire that will see the hostages released.

The TV report said Zamir will carry out the orders to capture Gaza City, but is warning the government to prepare for the military and diplomatic consequences.

Katz threatens Houthis after 3rd missile fired at Israel: ‘We’ll complete all 10 plagues’

After the Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel for the third time in less than 24 hours, Defense Minister Israel Katz warns that there will be a response of Biblical proportions.

“The Houthis are firing missiles at Israel again,” Katz writes on X. “A plague of darkness, a plague of [death of] the firstborn – we will complete all ten plagues.”

Two of the missiles were intercepted and the third landed outside of Israel, the IDF said. There were no injuries.

One of the missiles fired yesterday from Yemen had a cluster bomb warhead, the military said.

Colombia coal exports plummet after ban on Israel sales

Colombia’s coal exports fell by almost half in July compared to the same month last year, official figures show, amid a global price crisis and days after President Gustavo Petro’s ban on sales to Israel.

Colombia is Latin America’s leading coal producer but the sector has contracted for five consecutive quarters due to the collapse of international prices and domestic policies.

The country exported $479.8 million worth of coal in July, a 45.8 percent drop from the $885.8 million sold during July 2024, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics.

Local mining unions blame increased production in Indonesia that has driven down global prices.

Last month, Petro issued a second decree for Colombia to halt coal exports to Israel, renewing a June 2024 edict.

Colombia was previously Israel’s top coal supplier.

In a broader push for sustainability, the leftist president has imposed higher taxes on coal with a view to moving his country toward renewable energies.

Since coming to power in 2022, Petro has also halted several mining projects and instead promoted agriculture and tourism as alternative sectors for the roughly 350,000 people employed in mineral exploration.

Trump advisers offer job to Adams to quit NYC mayoral race, clear path for Mamdani-Cuomo

New York City Mayor Eric Adams insists that he isn’t dropping his reelection campaign after reports he had been approached about potentially taking a job with the federal government.

Trump administration intermediaries recently reached out to people close to Adams, a Democrat, to discuss whether he would be open to abandoning his reelection campaign to take a federal job, according to a person familiar with those conversations.

The person speaks to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of those conversations.

It is unclear how far those talks progressed, but as media reports about them multiply, Adams insists in interviews and through a spokesperson that he has no intention of dropping out of the contest against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

“Mayor Adams has not met with Donald Trump — don’t believe the noise. He is not dropping out of the race,” says his campaign spokesperson, Todd Shapiro.

After Mamdani romped in the Democratic primary, which Adams had skipped, some pundits suggested that the 33-year-old democratic socialist might be unbeatable in the general election unless either Cuomo or Adams dropped out.

During a series of television interviews where he had intended to talk about his efforts to fight crime in the city, Adams battles back against the idea that he might leave the race.

“If there’s any changes in this race, I will announce that,” Adams tells Fox 5. “Right now, we’re moving straight ahead to do — No. 1, serve this city as we’re currently doing, doing a darn good job. And we’re looking forward to reelection.”

After spending Tuesday in Florida after his 65th birthday, Adams is asked whether he met with anyone from the Trump administration while there. The mayor will only say that he “met with several political figures,” including Miami’s Republican mayor.

The White House does not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Mamdani held a news conference in Manhattan yesterday, calling the reports “an affront to democracy.”

“We know that this city will decide its own future. And we know that it is New Yorkers that we will turn to to make that decision in November, not the White House in Washington, D.C.,” he says.

Adams had previously quit the Democratic primary after he was charged in a federal corruption case. The Trump administration successfully moved to drop the case so the mayor could better assist with the president’s immigration agenda, which freed Adams up to run as an independent in the general election, but has not helped his image in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.

A spokesperson for Cuomo, who is now running as an independent candidate, does not immediately return a request for comment.

IDF says Houthi missile landed in open area outside Israel

The military says that the missile launched by Yemen’s Houthis landed in an open area outside Israeli territory.

IDF working to down missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis, the third in past day

The IDF says it has spotted a ballistic missile that was launched from Yemen toward Israel, with air defenses working to down the projectile.

The missile is the third to be fired at Israel by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the past day.

US ‘very troubled’ by Norway’s divestment from Caterpillar for supplying gear to Israel

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s administration says it’s “very troubled” by the divestment by Norway’s $2 trillion wealth fund from US construction equipment group Caterpillar, adding Washington is directly engaging with the Norwegian government on the issue.

Norway’s $2 trillion wealth fund, the world’s largest and operated by Norway’s central bank, said last week it had divested from Caterpillar on ethics grounds over the use of the company’s products by Israeli authorities in Gaza and the Israeli-controlled West Bank.

The fund’s ethics watchdog said that in its assessment, Caterpillar’s products such as bulldozers it manufactured were being used by Israeli authorities “to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law” such as the “widespread unlawful destruction of Palestinian property.”

The fund said Caterpillar has “not implemented any measures to pre­vent such use.” Caterpillar has not responded to requests for comment on the wealth fund’s move.

“We are very troubled by the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund’s decision, which appears to be based on illegitimate claims against Caterpillar and the Israeli government,” a US State Department spokesperson says.

“We are engaging directly with the Norwegian government on this matter.”

Trump ally and Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham has suggested Washington should impose tariffs and visa revocations in retaliation.

UK charges 6 anti-Israel activists for supporting proscribed terror group Palestine Action

British authorities have charged six people for participating in meetings to plan a demonstration in support of the banned group Palestine Action, prosecutors say.

The six, aged from 26 to 62, are charged “with various offenses of encouraging support for a proscribed terrorist organization,” the Crown Prosecution Service says in a statement.

They were placed in detention and are due to appear in court on Thursday. They risk up to 14 years in prison.

Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organization and banned in July after vandalism at a Royal Air Force base.

The charges result from 13 online meetings they attended to prepare for several protests over the summer.

During an online press conference Wednesday, representatives of the group Defend Our Juries, to which the arrested individuals belonged, confirmed that demonstrations would go ahead on Saturday in London, Derry in Northern Ireland, and Edinburgh in Scotland.

Ashkenazi Haredi leaders, Jerusalem reach deal on school placement of Sephardic students

Ashkenazi Haredi leaders and the Jerusalem Municipality reach an agreement on the placement of Sephardic girls in high schools and post-high school programs run by Ashkenazi institutions, after many of them delayed the opening of the school year over the issue.

“After many efforts, we succeeded in finding a solution that will allow the school year to open in the seminaries,” Mayor Moshe Lion says in a statement. “As part of the solution, two new classes will be opened to accommodate all the girls who, until now, had no placement. I want to thank all those who helped lead this solution.”

On the instructions of community rabbis, multiple seminaries in Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem declined to allow ninth graders to begin their studies Monday in order to protest instructions by the two cities’ municipalities to accept students of Middle Eastern and North African heritage who had not been accepted elsewhere.

Discrimination against Sephardic students has plagued the Haredi community for years, and critics charge that many Ashkenazi schools maintain unofficial quotas of Sephardic students due to racism against families of Middle Eastern origin.

Earlier this week, Channel 13 news reported that Rabbi Dov Lando, one of the most prominent rabbinic leaders of the so-called Lithuanian stream of Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodoxy and the spiritual leader of the United Torah Judaism party’s Degel HaTorah faction, was behind instructions to local rabbis not to accept the girls.

According to a statement by Lando’s office, the rabbi directed the “Old Seminary” — a prestigious Beit Yaakov teacher training program — and the other seminaries to open the school year after the agreement reached with the mayor.

“The cries of the students cannot be ignored,” Lando told the seminary’s director, Rabbi Yisrael Levin, according to the statement.

Asked if all the students in the new classes are of Sephardic origin, a spokesperson for the municipality says that is not the case.

“The Jerusalem Municipality, under my leadership, will not allow any form of discrimination — not on racial grounds nor on any other basis,” Lion says in the statement.

According to the Haredi news outlet Kikar HaShabbat, work on a solution is currently underway for the seminaries in Beit Shemesh, where efforts are being made to establish a new seminary for the students who did not receive a placement.

Ruling against Trump, US judge says ‘antisemitism used as smokescreen’ to cut Harvard’s funding

BOSTON — A federal judge in Boston orders the reversal of cuts of more than $2.6 billion in federal funding for Harvard University, delivering a significant victory to the Ivy League school in its battle with the Trump administration.

US District Judge Allison Burroughs rules the cuts amounted to illegal retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of White House demands for changes to its governance and policies.

The government had tied the freezes at Harvard to delays in dealing with antisemitism on its campus, but the judge says the federally funded research had little connection to antisemitism. “A review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that Defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities,” Burroughs writes.

The ruling reverses a series of funding freezes that later became outright cuts as the Trump administration escalated its fight with the nation’s wealthiest university. The administration also has sought to prevent the school from hosting foreign students and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status in a clash watched widely across higher education.

Whether Harvard actually receives the money remains to be seen. If the ruling stands, it promises to revive Harvard’s sprawling research operation and hundreds of projects that lost federal money.

Neither the White House nor Harvard respond immediately to requests for comment.

Beyond the courthouse, the Trump administration and Harvard officials have been discussing a potential agreement that would end investigations and allow the university to regain access to federal funding. US President Donald Trump has said he wants Harvard to pay no less than $500 million, but no deal has materialized, even as the administration has struck agreements with Columbia and Brown.

Harvard’s lawsuit accused the Trump administration of waging a retaliation campaign against the university after it rejected a series of demands in an April 11 letter from a federal antisemitism task force.

The letter demanded sweeping changes related to campus protests, academics and admissions. It was meant to address government accusations that the university had become a hotbed of liberalism and tolerated anti-Jewish harassment on campus.