Sept. 5: IDF said to believe Hamas may try to move hostages ahead of intensified Gaza City op

NYC Mayor Adams says willing to hear about other jobs amid reports of possible Saudi envoy position

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a campaign launch rally at City Hall in New York, June. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he is willing to listen to job opportunities that would allow him to serve his country, but has not yet received any “formal offers” — and he intends to stay in office and continue campaigning for reelection.

The statement came amid revelations that intermediaries for US President Donald Trump have reached out to people close to Adams to talk about whether the Democrat would consider abandoning his reelection campaign to take a federal job.

“While I will always listen if called to serve our country, no formal offers have been made. I am still running for reelection, and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker,” he says.

Adams’ comments came a day after Trump told reporters he would prefer not to have Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic nominee, as the city’s next mayor. He said he’d like to see two out of the three other major candidates — which also include former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa — leave the race to create a one-on-one contest.

During a trip to Florida earlier this week, Adams met with Steve Witkoff, a former real estate developer in New York who is now one of Trump’s main diplomatic envoys in Washington. According to reports, Witkoff is pushing for Adams to be offered the post of ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Trump plans to reinterpret 1987 missile treaty so US can sell heavy attack drones abroad

A US MQ-9 Reaper drone in an exercise over Texas, November 3, 2019. (Air National Guard/Technical Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez)

US President Donald Trump is expected to unilaterally reinterpret a 38-year-old arms control treaty to sell sophisticated “Reaper” style and other advanced military drones abroad, according to a US official and four people familiar with the plan.

The new interpretation would unlock the sale of more than 100 MQ-9 drones to Saudi Arabia, which the kingdom requested in the spring of this year and could be part of a $142 billion arms deal announced in May. US allies in the Pacific and Europe have also expressed interest.

By designating drones as aircraft like the F-16 rather than missile systems, the United States will sidestep the 35-nation Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) agreement it signed in 1987, propelling drone sales to countries like UAE and in Eastern European nations that have struggled to get their hands on America’s best unmanned aerial vehicles.

The new policy will allow General Atomics, Kratos KTOS.O, and Anduril, which manufacture large drones, to have their products treated as “Foreign Military Sales” by the State Department, allowing them to be easily sold internationally, according to a US official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

This effort is the first part of a planned “major” review of the US Foreign Military Sales program, the official says.

A US Department of State spokesperson declines to comment.

Under the current interpretation of the MTCR, the sale of many military drones is subject to a “strong presumption of denial” unless a compelling security reason is given and the buyer agrees to use the weapons in strict accordance with international law.

The MTCR was originally meant to curb the sale of long-range missiles that can deliver weapons of mass destruction. Though drones were invented many years later, they were considered within the scope of the MTCR due to their ability to fly long distances and carry weapons.

US drone manufacturers are facing stiff competition overseas, especially from Israeli, Chinese and Turkish rivals who often sell under lighter restrictions.

Neither China or Israel are signatories to the MTCR and have won sales in the Middle East as a result. Turkey signed on to the MTCR in 1997 but has been able to showcase its Bayraktar-TB2 drones against Russian forces in Ukraine because it is shorter-range, lighter and covered under a different standard under the treaty than heavier drones like the Reaper.

Russia has been using both domestic and Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.

The US has not been selling or donating large drones to Kyiv for fear that advanced technologies could fall into enemy hands.

Global competition for market share is white hot because military drones and drones adapted from consumer technology are seen as integral to the modern battlefield.

The US official who spoke on condition of anonymity says the new guidelines will allow the US “to become the premier drone provider instead of ceding that space to Turkey and China.”

Report: Halevi proposed comprehensive hostage deal last year, Netanyahu refused

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a cadets graduation ceremony at the IDF's officers school in southern Israel, known as Bahad 1, March 7, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi tried to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a deal that would have seen all the hostages freed ahead of the Rafah offensive last year, and the premier firmly rejected the proposal, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Unnamed sources tell the outlet that in the months before the IDF operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Halevi pushed for a ceasefire deal that would see all the hostages released in one phase.

According to the plan formulated by the military, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza would make it easier for the IDF to defeat the Hamas terror group.

The report says that when Halevi raised the proposal at a meeting of the high-level security cabinet, Netanyahu quickly rejected it as “defeat.”

The report says that the dismissal of the plan was so firm that it wasn’t even suggested to the team negotiating a hostage-ceasefire deal, with Netanyahu’s government instead pushing for a phased agreement.

Kan says that the Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

Last month, Hamas said it had agreed to the partial ceasefire-hostage release deal that was almost identical to one Israel had previously approved, but Jerusalem has not yet responded to the proposal, and Netanyahu has not brought it before the cabinet for deliberation, reportedly saying Sunday that the agreement is “not on the table.”

Netanyahu says in public that he will not accept a phased deal, instead now demanding a comprehensive agreement to return all the captives in one go and see Hamas surrender and demilitarize.

IDF said to believe Hamas may try to move hostages ahead of intensified Gaza City op

A picture shows a view of a makeshift displacement camp at the Yarmuk Sports Stadium, once a football arena, as smoke billows during Israeli strikes on Gaza City on September 4, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The Israel Defense Forces assesses that Hamas may try to move the hostages held in Gaza City ahead of the intensified military operation there, Channel 13 reports.

The report says that the military believes that the video of hostages Alon Ohel and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, released today by the terror group but apparently dated August 28, 2025, was filmed in an area of the Shati refugee camp, where the IDF is not present.

According to Channel 13, the military admits that they do not have a complete intelligence picture of the locations of all the hostages held in Gaza.

Report: Government wants to cancel security protection for Gantz, Gallant

Outgoing defense minister Benny Gantz (left) embraces his successor Yoav Gallant, at military headquarters in Tel Aviv, January 1, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government wants to cancel security for former defense ministers Benny Gantz and Yoav Gallant, Channel 12 news reports.

The unsourced report says that Justice Minister Yariv Levin is pushing for the security details to be cut for defense ministers who served less than three years.

Channel 12 notes that the three-year deadline would “by chance” mean that Gantz and Gallant were no longer eligible, while Netanyahu’s son Yair, who lives in Miami, still enjoys costly protection.

PM to Israeli cycling team after Spain protests: ‘Great job for not giving in to hate’

Team Israel Premier-Tech's Italian rider Marco Frigo (C) rides next to pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the start of the 12th stage of the Vuelta a Espana, a 144,9 km race between Laredo and Corrales de Buelna, on September 4, 2025. (ANDER GILLENEA / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sends a message of support to the Israeli cycling team after pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a race in Spain and demanded that the Israeli team be ejected from the competition.

“Great job to Sylvan [Adams] and Israel’s cycling team for not giving in to hate and intimidation. You make Israel proud!” the message on X reads.

Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said yesterday that he would support the expulsion of Israel Premier Tech from the Spanish Vuelta cycling race.

Lebanon says army will begin implementing Hezbollah disarmament plan, but details of proposal kept secret

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) heads a cabinet session to discuss an army plan to disarm Hezbollah, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, on September 5, 2025 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

The Lebanese military will begin implementing its plan to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, information minister Paul Morcos says, following a government session discussing the matter.

“The Lebanese army will begin implementing the [Hezbollah disarmament] plan, but in accordance with the available capabilities, which are limited in terms of logistics, material and human resources,” Morcos says when speaking to journalists after the session.

The cabinet decided to keep the details of the army’s plan “secret,” according to a statement read by Morcos.

The Iran-backed group and its allies object to the disarmament plan and all five Shi’ite ministers walked out of the cabinet session as soon as Lebanese army commander Rodolphe Haykal entered to present it earlier today.

Calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament have taken center stage in Lebanon since the terror group sustained heavy losses in a yearlong conflict with Israel. The results of that war, which ended last November, upended a power balance that had long been dominated by the Shi’ite Muslim group.

This year, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, under pressure from the United States, has pushed for the terror group to disarm. Israel has said it would withdraw from sites in Lebanon that its troops still occupy if Hezbollah lays down its weapons. But Hezbollah has rejected any move to dismantle its arsenal.

Troops shot and killed man who threw ‘suspicious object’ at West Bank checkpoint, IDF says

The IDF says troops shot and killed a man who hurled a “suspicious object” at a military checkpoint near the village of Burin in the northern West Bank.

According to the army, the assailant ignored soldiers’ calls to halt, leading them to open fire under arrest procedure protocols.

No Israeli forces were injured in the incident.

Family of hostage Alon Ohel: ‘Video shows he’s now blind in his right eye; Hamas bears responsibility’

Alon Ohel, taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from the Supernova rave. (Courtesy)

After the Hamas terror group released a propaganda video showing Alon Ohel, the hostage’s family says medical experts have told them that he is now blind in one eye.

“We were shocked to see Alon’s condition. After consulting with eye specialists in Israel and around the world, it is clear that Alon has lost sight in his right eye,” the family says in a statement.

“The frequent blinking we observe indicates severe difficulty focusing and seeing for extended periods,” the family says in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“No international law permits holding an injured civilian captive without proper medical treatment,” the family says. “The responsibility for Alon’s well-being lies with his captors and Hamas leadership, who are obligated to preserve his life and health according to international law.”

The family reiterates its request that neither the video nor images from it are published by the media or shared online.

In February, the Kan public broadcaster reported that there were indications that Ohel could lose his sight due to shrapnel injuries, among other wounds. The assessment was made based on the testimonies of freed hostages.

Earlier today, Hamas released a video of Ohel and Guy Gilboa-Dalal.

It was the first time Ohel had been seen in a video since he and Gilboa-Dalal and 249 others were taken hostage during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The video was released as a major new Israeli offensive looms in Gaza City — where Gilboa-Dalal says in the clip that he is located.

Netanyahu accuses Egypt of imprisoning Gazans ‘against their will’ in growing war of words

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening ceremony of the new Knesset museum, in Jerusalem on August 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In a growing war of words between Israel and Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Cairo of “imprisoning against their will residents in Gaza who want to leave a war zone.”

The statement comes in the wake of Egyptian anger over Netanyahu saying in an interview with the Abu Ali Express channel that he would allow Gazans to leave through the Rafah Crossing, but “they would be blocked by Egypt.”

In response, Egypt’s foreign ministry expressed its “utmost condemnation” of Netanyahu’s statement, and called it “part of his continuous attempts to prolong the period of escalation in the region and entrench instability to avoid confronting the consequences of Israeli violations in Gaza, both internally and externally.”

“Displacement is not an option and it is a red line for Egypt and we will not allow it to happen,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters earlier on Friday in Nicosia.

“Displacement means liquidation and the end of the Palestinian cause and there is no legal or moral or ethical ground to evict people from their homeland,” he said. He also repeated Egypt’s accusation that Israel is committing genocide, a charge Israel adamantly rejects.

Egypt is bolstering its forces along its shared border with Gaza ahead of the IDF’s offensive to capture Gaza City, due to concerns that the mass evacuation of Palestinians from the north of the Gaza Strip could lead to an attempt to flee into the Sinai.

Egypt closed its border with Gaza after Israel captured the Rafah crossing, which it controls. Following the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, Egypt constructed a concrete border wall that reaches six meters into the ground and is topped with barbed wire. It has also built berms and enhanced surveillance at border posts, security sources said.

IDF says 70 wanted Palestinians arrested in West Bank counter-terror raids

IDF troops prepare for counterterrorism operations in the West Bank, in a photo cleared for publication on September 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says its forces, together with the Shin Bet, Border Police and West Bank police, arrested 70 wanted Palestinians over the past week in counterterrorism raids across the West Bank.

In the northern West Bank, troops detained 25 suspects, seized 13 rifles, four pistols and a Carlo-style submachine gun, and destroyed several explosive devices, the announcement says. Another pistol was confiscated in the Hebron area.

According to the IDF, a senior Hamas operative preparing an improvised explosive device (IED) attack against Israeli civilians was arrested in the town of Seida in the northern West Bank. In Qabatiya, also in the territory’s north, soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit detained several additional suspects and neutralized an IED.

Dozens more Palestinians accused of involvement in terror activity were arrested elsewhere in the West Bank. During large-scale raids in Silwad and Ein Yabrud, northeast of Ramallah, and Hizma, in the northern part of east Jerusalem in Israel, the IDF says its forces seized weapons and “incitement materials.”

The suspects and confiscated weapons were handed over to police and the Shin Bet for further investigation, the announcement said.

UK foreign secretary Lammy to be replaced in Starmer cabinet reshuffle

A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament's Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) shows Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy delivering a speech on the Middle East in the House of Commons in London on September 1, 2025. (PRU/AFP)

Britain’s David Lammy, who slammed Israel over its actions in Gaza earlier this week, will be replaced as foreign minister by Yvette Cooper, who is currently interior minister, UK media reports.

If confirmed, the appointment would be the most significant of a ministerial cabinet reshuffle being carried out by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, triggered by the resignation of deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, after she admitted underpaying property tax on a new home.

Local British media reports say Lammy will become deputy prime minister and justice minister.

According to Sky News, the move is widely seen as a large blow for Lammy after Starmer apparently promised him five years in the position as recently as November.

Earlier this week, Lammy slammed Israel for “man-made famine” in Gaza, and said Israel’s reputation is diminishing among the world’s young people.

The then-foreign minister told the UK parliament he was “outraged by the Israeli government’s refusal to allow in sufficient aid” to Gaza.

“This is not a natural disaster,” he said. “It’s a man-made famine in the 21st century.”

He also blasted Hamas for “deliberately starving Israeli hostages.”

As home secretary, Cooper proscribed Palestine Action.

In this video grab taken from footage broadcast by the UK Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) via the Parliament TV website on June 16, 2025, Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper makes a statement in the House of Commons (PRU / AFP)

In reversal, Spanish chess tourney says Israelis can compete under their flag — report

After informing Israeli players that they would not be able to compete under their national flag, a Spanish chess tournament has reversed course and will now allow the Israeli flag to be raised, Channel 12 reports.

Hebrew media outlets had reported that the organizers of the Open Sestao Basque Country competition next week sent a letter to the seven Israelis set to participate, saying that they would be allowed to compete only under the flag of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), and that the decision was made due to “reasons beyond our control,” which they did not detail.

“This step was agreed upon by both the chief arbiter of the competition and the Spanish Chess Federation,” the letter reportedly said. “The FIDE flag will appear both on the official draw lists and on the players’ posters.”

Following that report, FIDE said that it was not involved in and had not been consulted about the decision, and that it “strongly condemns any form of discrimination, including on the basis of nationality and flag.”

The organization added, “The same rules apply to Israel and its players as to all other member federations that are not under any form of sanctions.”

Now, Channel 12 reporter Elad Simchayoff reports that the ban on the Israeli flag has been canceled. He posts a copy of an email, appearing to be from the director of the tournament, saying the decision was reversed.

The decision is reversed! The Israeli players will be allowed to play under the Israeli flag ???????? pic.twitter.com/3ulJjS2hEM

— Elad Simchayoff (@Elad_Si) September 5, 2025

“In the last few hours, we have consulted with institutions and companies that support us in the Open,” reads the email from Miguel Angel Del Olmo Alonso. “The decision has been made to reinstate your country’s flag on both Info64 and Chess Results. The Israeli flag is going to be raised. The players will be notified.”

But the email also references recent disruptions of the Vuelta a España, a major Spanish cycling race, by pro-Palestinian protesters, which prompted calls for an Israeli team to drop out. The email says that the chess tournament will not provide extra security to the Israeli players.

“But we must also highlight what happened at the Vuelta a España cycling tour in Bilbao. A very adverse atmosphere,” the email says. “Our club cannot guarantee safety measures that differ from those of the other players.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Netanyahu speaks with parents of hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Alon Ohel after Hamas posts video of them

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with the parents of hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel after Hamas publishes a video of the two, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The PMO stresses that “the war can end immediately under the conditions set by Israel,” listing them as “the release of all our hostages, both the living and the fallen; the disarmament of Hamas; the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip; Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip; and the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that will not pose a threat to Israel.”

“No malicious propaganda video will weaken our resolve or divert us from our determination to achieve these goals,” says Netanyahu’s office.

Hezbollah-linked ministers walk out of Lebanese cabinet talks on disarming terror group

Five Shiite ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally Amal, along with one independent Shiite Muslim minister, walk out of a Lebanese cabinet meeting where ministers are due to discuss a plan to disarm the terror group, Lebanese media reports.

The session is being attended by Lebanese Army commanders, who are expected to present a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of 2025. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, facing US pressure, has pushed for the terror group to give up its weapons by the end of the year.

Hezbollah, which emerged significantly weakened from its war last year with Israel, has vehemently rejected laying down its arms. Israel continues to station troops at several points inside Lebanon and has carried out strikes it says are in response to Hezbollah’s violations of the November 2024 ceasefire that ended the war.

The cabinet meeting has continued despite the walkout. However, it remains unclear what the nature of the Lebanese army’s plan will be, and whether it will include the possibility of the army confronting Hezbollah over disarmament.

West Bank clash in which Israeli man was injured did not involve Palestinians, IDF says

The IDF says the clash in the southern West Bank earlier today, in which an Israeli man was lightly injured, occurred when Israeli civilians attacked Israeli workers who were operating alongside security forces during a law enforcement operation near the West Bank settlement of Metzad earlier today. The statement contradicts earlier reports that said Palestinians were involved in the clashes.

According to the army, one of the workers struck an Israeli civilian with a metal rod in self-defense, leaving him injured. The man was evacuated for medical treatment as security forces moved to break up the altercation and detain those involved.

The account diverges from initial reports, which stated that a 24-year-old Israeli was attacked by a Palestinian during clashes between settlers and Palestinians.

Paramedics said the man sustained a head injury and was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Hospital. Magen David Adom had reported that the alleged assailant had been arrested.

Footage from the scene shows groups of men swinging rods and cursing at each other with soldiers nearby.

Wife of hostage Omri Miran: Officials say Israel is headed to ‘murder of the hostages’

Lishay Miran-Lavi, wife of Hamas-held hostage Omri Miran, speaks at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square on September 5, 2025. (Uriel Even Sapir/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Lishay Miran-Lavi, wife of Hamas-held hostage Omri Miran, tells demonstrators at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, based on conversations with officials, that Israel is headed for the “murder of hostages.”

She speaks at a Kabbalat Shabbat service being held at the square as part of a day of protests and actions to mark the hostages’ 700th day in captivity.

“In recent days, the families of hostages received calls from official sources,” she says. “I cannot give too much detail at this stage, and I don’t want to hurt other families, but I can say to you knowingly: The Israeli government is laying the groundwork for ‘murder of hostages B.'”

The name appears to be a reference to Gideon’s Chariots B, the name the IDF has given to its offensive to conquer Gaza City.

Relatives of hostages and the IDF’s top brass have warned that the operation could endanger at least 20 hostages thought to be alive. In total, terrorists in Gaza are holding 48 hostages.

“This is not a theory, this is not a worry, this is a real-time alert that’s coming from senior official sources,” Miran-Lavi adds. “I hope that in the coming days the public can gain more exposure to this, and that the matter won’t be kept from it or censored.”

She continues: “I am concerned that the Israeli government is waging a war of attrition against us, against citizens of Israel in general and the families of hostages in particular.”

Spanish foreign minister says Israeli cycling team should be expelled from Vuelta

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares listens as he meets with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington, DC, on May 22, 2025. (Drew ANGERER / AFP)

Spain’s foreign minister says that he would support the expulsion of Israel Premier Tech from the Spanish Vuelta cycling race after the team was targeted by a pro-Palestinian protest that disrupted the event.

José Manuel Albares said late on Thursday that he would “understand and be in favor” of the Israeli team being removed from the race, while adding that his government doesn’t claim to have the power to do so. He made the statement in response to a question by a journalist.

“We have to send a message to Israel and the Israeli society that Europe and Israel can only have normal relations when human rights are respected,” Albares says.

Wednesday’s protest in the northern city of Bilbao targeted the Israel Premier Tech team amid the ongoing war in Gaza. The protest produced chaotic scenes of a crowd pushing against temporary metal barriers along the final kilometers of the course with police and security personnel holding them back. Many protestors carried Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian signs.

Race officials called off the stage about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the end of the circular route out of and into Bilbao. There was no stage winner.

Immediately after the incident, Vuelta organizers issued a statement condemning the “events that took place” while also backing the right to peaceful protest.

“La Vuelta respects and defends the right to peaceful demonstration within the context of the event, but cannot tolerate any acts that put at risk the physical safety of the participants or any member of the race caravan,” the statement read.

Vuelta technical director Kiko Garcia, however, appeared to suggest that Israel Premier Tech should consider dropping out or for the UCI, cycling’s governing body, to intervene, because there was a risk of more protests if it kept racing.

“At some point someone will have to decide if we protect an international event like the Vuelta, or if we protect a team,” García said, adding that he hopes “the Israeli team realizes that by being here it doesn’t help the safety of everyone else.”

Israel Premier Tech, however, stated it was not pulling out.

“Any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling — not only for Israel Premier Tech, but for all teams,” it said.

Egypt vows to block displacement of Gazans, says it would mean ‘end of Palestinian cause,’ again accuses Israel of genocide

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends an Arab officials' meeting in Riyadh on January 12, 2025. (Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

Egypt says it will not tolerate mass displacement of Palestinians and repeats its charge that Israel is committing genocide, continuing to ratchet up its criticism of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as thousands of residents of Gaza City defied Israeli orders to leave.

“Displacement is not an option and it is a red line for Egypt and we will not allow it to happen,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty tells reporters in Nicosia.

“Displacement means liquidation and the end of the Palestinian cause and there is no legal or moral or ethical ground to evict people from their homeland,” he says.

He continues, “What is happening on the ground is far beyond the imagination. There is a genocide in motion there, mass killing of civilians, artificial starvation created by the Israelis.”

Israel adamantly rejects the accusations that it is causing starvation in Gaza and committing a genocide there, saying it makes efforts to facilitate humanitarian assistance and to avoid civilian casualties. It blames Hamas for fighting among civilian populations and accuses it of stealing aid.

Chess Federation looking into reported ban on Israeli flag at Spanish tournament

Players compete at the World Team Chess Championship in Jerusalem, November 20, 2022 (FIDE - International Chess Federation via Facebook)

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) says that it was not involved in and had not been consulted over a reported decision by a Spanish tournament to forbid Israeli players from competing under their national flag.

“FIDE had no prior knowledge of this decision, did not make any ruling on this, nor was it consulted by the organizers,” the federation says in a statement. “FIDE strongly condemns any form of discrimination, including on the basis of nationality and flag. The same rules apply to Israel and its players as to all other member federations that are not under any form of sanctions.”

The organizers of the Bilbao Sestao Basque Country tournament, which starts next week, were not immediately reachable for comment.

The governing body says it has requested detailed information from the organizers and will take all necessary actions to ensure its principles are upheld.

Hebrew media outlets reported today that the organizers of the competition next week have sent a letter to the seven Israelis set to participate, claiming the decision was made due to “reasons beyond our control” that they did not detail.

“This step was agreed upon by both the chief arbiter of the competition and the Spanish Chess Federation,” the letter reportedly says. “The FIDE flag will appear both on the official draw lists and on the players’ posters.”

Israeli players have on the FIDE to intervene, reports said.

Chess players from Russia and Belarus have been required to compete under the FIDE flag since 2022, following sanctions imposed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. But Israeli players are not subject to such restrictions.

Zev Stub contributed to this report. 

Israeli lightly injured in apparent clash with Palestinians in West Bank

A young Israeli man was lightly injured after being attacked by a man with a metal rod, in apparent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers near Asfar, a Haredi settlement in the West Bank.

Paramedics say the 24-year-old, who sustained a head injury, was brought conscious to a Magen David Adom team in the area. He was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Hospital for further treatment.

According to Magen David Adom, the man’s attacker was arrested by security forces.

Footage appearing to be from the incident shows a group of Palestinians and Israelis brawling with metal rods and cursing each other as soldiers are present at the scene. According to Ynet, the clashes broke out during the evacuation of a small Israeli outpost in the region.

ישמעאל מרים את הראש.
מחבלים ערבים שככל הנראה מועסקים על ידי המנהל האזרחי, תקפו יהודים במוטות ברזל באיזור מיצד שבגוש עציון – פצוע מטופל במקום.
תמשיכו להעסיק אותם… pic.twitter.com/W8zLwyb1dv

— Igal Malka – ???????????????????????? (@igal_malka) September 5, 2025

Huckabee: ‘The US has never asked Israel to not apply sovereignty’ to the West Bank

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee speaks to The Times of Israel, August 12, 2025. (Courtesy)

Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, appears to say the US has not come out against an Israeli decision to apply sovereignty to the West Bank.

Discussions on applying sovereignty to parts of the territory, a step tantamount to annexation, have been on the government’s agenda this week. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly convened top ministers to talk about applying sovereignty. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich unveiled a plan to annex 82% of the West Bank.

On Friday, Tamir Morag, a reporter for Channel 14, posted a quote from Huckabee saying that the US has not come out against applying sovereignty.

“The US has never asked Israel to not apply sovereignty,” Huckabee said, according to the post on X. “I have repeatedly stated that the US. respects Israel as a sovereign nation and will not tell Israel what to do. This is also what Secretary Rubio has said as recently as this week.”

Huckabee confirms the quote, reposting it and writing, “I appreciate Channel 14 in Israel clarifying their story. Responsible journalism.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee:

“The U.S. has never asked Israel to not apply sovereignty. I have repeatedly stated that the U.S. respects Israel as a sovereign nation and will not tell Israel what to do. This is also what Secretary Rubio has said as recently as this…

— תמיר מורג Tamir Morag (@Tamir114) September 5, 2025

Huckabee’s statement comes five years after Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and then-senior adviser, said that American officials “do not plan to give our consent for some time,” to Israeli annexation of West Bank territory, following the announcement of a normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Kushner said at the time, in August 2020, that “right now the focus has to be on getting this new peace agreement implemented.”

That statement came after he had similarly ruled out US approval of annexation ahead of an upcoming Israeli election.

That normalization agreement turned into the Abraham Accords, a normalization deal between Israel and four Arab countries. This week, a UAE envoy told The Times of Israel that if Israel moves forward with annexation, it would constitute a “red line” that would “end regional integration.”

Earlier this week, Huckabee reportedly warned Israeli officials that the Trump administration was very concerned that the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority was nearing collapse. Smotrich has ordered the withholding of funds that are usually transferred to the PA.

“If the Palestinian economy collapses, that is nobody’s victory,” Huckabee reportedly told Channel 12, adding that “desperate people do desperate things.”

Lazar Berman contributed to this report. 

Person with measles flew from NYC to Tel Aviv on Sunday, Health Ministry says

The Health Ministry states that a patient with measles flew on an Arkia flight from New York on Sunday, August 31, at 2:30 a.m. and landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on the same day at 8:00 p.m.

Passengers who were on this flight are asked to ensure that they are vaccinated in accordance with the ministry’s recommendations. Individuals can update their vaccination status via the government’s personal website through the digital vaccination register.

It is recommended that infants under one year of age, immunocompromised people, and unvaccinated pregnant women contact the ministry to clarify the need for a passive vaccination according to their condition.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that manifests itself in fever, general malaise, runny nose, and a rash, and may have severe and even life-threatening complications.

IDF confirms strike on Gaza City high-rise that it says housed Hamas infrastructure

An IDF graphic depicting Al-Mushtaha tower in Gaza City, which the IDF says was used for Hamas activity, before it was targeted in an air strike on September 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF confirms that it struck a high-rise building in Gaza City earlier today, following reports from media in Gaza that the Al-Mushtaha tower was hit three times.

According to the military, the building was being used by Hamas as operational infrastructure, including underground facilities beneath the tower that were utilized to plan attacks, stage ambushes against IDF forces and provide escape routes for terror operatives.

אחרי הודעת כץ ודו"צ שצה"ל יחל לתקוף רבי קומות בעזה: תיעוד תקיפת מגדל אל-מושתהא במערב העיר עזה pic.twitter.com/0OT7ypCiuw

— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) September 5, 2025

The IDF says it took measures ahead of the strike to reduce civilian harm, including issuing warnings, using precision munitions, conducting aerial surveillance and drawing on additional intelligence.

Footage from Gaza had earlier shown a large cloud of smoke rising from the site after residents were told to evacuate.

It remains unclear if there were any casualties.

‘Please bring us back’: Hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal’s family authorizes publication of clip from Hamas video

Hamas-held hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal speaks in a video released by the terror group on September 5, 2025.

The family of Hamas-held hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal has authorized the publication of part of a video posted by the terror group today showing him in captivity.

In the 28-second clip, Gilboa-Dalal says the date is August 28, 2025, and that he is being held by Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza City.

Gilboa-Dalal is shown with short hair, wearing a dark blue shirt, and displaying expressions of distress, placing his face in his hands. In part of the video, he appears to be sitting in the backseat of a car aboveground.

In remarks likely dictated to him by his captors, he pleads for his release.

“This is all we want, we just want it to end,” he says. “We want to return to our families. Please bring us back.”

A clip of a video of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal published by Hamas on September 5, 2025, and authorized for publication by Gilboa-Dalal’s family.

The full video also includes footage of Alon Ohel, the first time he has been seen in a video since he, Gilboa-Dalal, and hundreds of others were taken hostage during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Ohel’s family has not consented to the publication of the footage showing him.

Gilboa-Dalal’s family said in a statement, “We received a sign of life from our Guy after half a year since the last video where he was seen with Evyatar David, watching their friends be released” during a ceasefire in February.

The statement adds, “Guy, Alon and other hostages were taken to Gaza and we fear greatly for their lives. We must bring them home.”

The posting of the video, widely seen as propaganda for the terror group, comes as Israel is ramping up an offensive in Gaza City. Hamas published it on the 700th day of the war, as protests across Israel called for an agreement to release the 48 hostages still held by terror groups in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

Trump to reinterpret 1987 missile treaty to sell heavy attack drones abroad

Heven's tactical hydrogen-powered Raider drone can carry up to 23kg and fly for up to 12 hours. (Courtesy)

US President Donald Trump is expected to unilaterally reinterpret a 38-year-old arms control treaty to sell sophisticated “Reaper” style and other advanced military drones abroad, according to a US official and four people familiar with the plan.

According to an exclusive Reuters report, the new interpretation would unlock the sale of more than 100 MQ-9 drones to Saudi Arabia, which the kingdom requested in the spring of this year and could be part of a $142 billion arms deal announced in May. US allies in the Pacific and Europe have also expressed interest.

By designating drones as aircraft like the F-16 rather than missile systems, the United States will sidestep the 35-nation Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) agreement it signed in 1987, propelling drone sales to countries like the UAE and Eastern European nations that have struggled to get their hands on America’s best unmanned aerial vehicles.

US drone manufacturers are facing stiff competition overseas, especially from Israeli, Chinese and Turkish rivals who often sell under lighter restrictions.

Neither China nor Israel is a signatory to the MTCR and both have won sales in the Middle East as a result.

This effort is the first part of a planned “major” review of the US Foreign Military Sales program, the official said.

A US Department of State spokesperson declined to comment.

The MTCR was originally meant to curb the sale of long-range missiles that can deliver weapons of mass destruction. Though drones were invented many years later, they were considered within the scope of the MTCR due to their ability to fly long distances and carry weapons.

Under the current interpretation of the MTCR, the sale of many military drones is subject to a “strong presumption of denial” unless a compelling security reason is given and the buyer agrees to use the weapons in strict accordance with international law.

IDF says it will target multi-story buildings in Gaza City used by Hamas, as local media report strike

A screenshot from an illustrative IDF video showing a digital rendering of a Hamas observational command center in a Gaza City building. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces that in the coming days it will carry out targeted strikes against multi-story buildings in Gaza City that Hamas has converted into military infrastructure, confirming Defense Minister Israel Katz’s earlier comments.

Alongside that announcement, media outlets in Gaza report that the IDF struck the Al-Mushtaha tower in Gaza City three times. Footage shows a heavy cloud of smoke at the site, after residents were called to evacuate. It is unclear whether there were any casualties in the incident. The IDF has yet to comment on the strike.

According to the military’s announcement, intelligence has revealed that Hamas has embedded sniper and anti-tank positions, surveillance systems, command-and-control centers and observation posts inside residential buildings, while also planting explosives nearby to ambush Israeli forces. Additionally, the terror group’s tunnels are said to run beneath and around these buildings.

The IDF says these sites pose a direct threat to its troops as operations in Gaza City expand, and therefore will be struck soon.

The military stresses that it will issue warnings and employ precision strikes to reduce the risk to civilians, while again accusing Hamas of using Gaza’s civilian population as human shields.

The confirmation follows Katz’s declaration earlier today that the “gates of Hell” in Gaza are opening, signaling that the campaign to seize Gaza City is entering a new phase.

Yesterday, IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israeli forces now control roughly 40 percent of the city and intend to push further in the coming days as part of the broader plan to seize full control.

Family of Alon Ohel confirms he is second hostage in video Hamas published today

Alon Ohel, taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from the Supernova rave. (Courtesy)

The family of hostage Alon Ohel confirms that he is the second captive seen in the video published today by Hamas.

The video posted by the terror group also shows footage of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal. Unusually, Gilboa-Dalal is seen in part of the footage above ground, inside a car. In the video, he refers to being held captive for 22 months, which could indicate that the footage was filmed recently.

Ohel’s family has now consented to his being identified as the second hostage in the video, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

This is the first time a video has been released showing Ohel in captivity. His family received their first sign of life for him during a ceasefire in February, when released hostages reported having been held alongside him. At the time, his mother said she was told that he was being held starving in chains in a Hamas tunnel, and had multiple untreated injuries.

The families have not given consent for the video itself to be published.

Katz: IDF sent evacuation notice in Gaza City, ‘bolt is now removed from the gates of Hell’

Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks to press at the site of a missile impact in Holon on June 19, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel has issued its first formal evacuation notice to residents of a multi-story building in Gaza City ahead of an impending strike, warning that IDF operations there will only intensify until Hamas agrees to Israel’s terms to a ceasefire deal.

“The bolt is now being removed from the gates of Hell in Gaza,” he posts on X. “Once the door is opened, it will not be closed, and IDF operations will intensify — until Hamas’s murderers and rapists accept Israel’s conditions for ending the war, first and foremost the release of all hostages and disarmament — or be destroyed.”

The statement comes as the IDF prepares to expand its ground offensive into Gaza City, with senior commanders framing the campaign as a decisive maneuver aimed at breaking Hamas’s remaining strongholds.

Yesterday, IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israeli forces now control roughly 40 percent of the city and intend to push further in the coming days as part of the broader plan to seize full control.

Lapid, Golan: Hostage video underscores need for deal; Ben Gvir demands ‘full occupation’

Reacting to a video Hamas published today of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, politicians from across the political spectrum say it affirms their positions on the war in Gaza.

Opposition lawmakers respond to the video, which also included footage of another hostage, by saying it underscores their calls for a deal to free the 48 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza, at least 20 of whom, including Gilboa-Dalal, are thought to be alive.

“The sign of life that was publicized this morning is another painful reminder that Israel must return to negotiations to bring back the captives and try to close a deal,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid posted on X.

Yair Golan, chair of the left-wing Democrats party, wrote, that the video “illustrates the immediate need to bring everyone back,” adding, “The most just war in Israel’s history has become a war for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s survival.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, by contrast, repeats his demand for Israel to occupy Gaza.

“Hamas’ psychological terror is meant to make us stop the operation in Gaza,” he posts on X. “The warranted response: Full occupation, total crushing, encouragement of massive [Palestinian] migration. Only thus do we win, and only thus do we bring back the hostages in security.”

The family of the second hostage has asked for him not to be identified, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. The families have not given consent for the video itself to be published.

Aussies in Tel Aviv rally against Australian Palestine recognition, antisemitism: ‘Protect your mates’

Australian-Israelis rally outside the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv on September 5, 2025. (Noam Lehmann/The Times of Israel)

Some three dozen Australian-Israelis and their supporters rally outside the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv to protest what they describe as Canberra’s complacency toward antisemitism and appeasement of terrorism.

Protesters cite a series of violent incidents against Jews in Australia and accuse Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong of giving a reward for the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, by announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state this month.

Bearing Australian and Israeli flags, protesters chant “Am Yisrael Chai” and “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi,” as well as “Protect your mates, no terror state.” Some passing drivers honk in approval.

“This is a protest for all Aussies, no matter where you are,” says Michael Frum, one of the organizers.

Lisa Segelov, who has engaged in pro-Israel public diplomacy in Australian media since the October 7 attack, says there has been an “infiltration and normalization of terror in Australia,” and that the relationship between Israel and Australia has “hit an all-time low.”

Jews in Australia are now “afraid to wear a kippa, afraid to wear a Magen David, afraid to put a mezuza on their door, afraid to walk their children home from Jewish day school,” says Segelov, describing the situation as a departure from the “Australian values” of mutual respect that she and her classmates were taught decades ago.

Segelov and Frum both cite the arson attack at the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne last year, which Albanese, Wong and the Australian intelligence chief condemned and blamed last week on Iran.

Frum, clad in an Australian cricket jersey, tells The Times of Israel that he thinks the Australian government has known for some time about Iranian antisemitic plots, and went public with the accusation only after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “called out” Albanese for being “weak.”

Frum also accuses the Albanese government of having failed to arrest people who allegedly chanted “gas the Jews” at an anti-Israel rally outside the Sydney Opera House on October 9, 2023, two days after the Hamas-led attack.

In February 2024, Australian police said analysis of footage from the protest indicated there had been no such chant by protesters. The Zionist Federation of Australia responded at the time that, in any case, other antisemitic chants were heard at the rally.

In shade of Vuelta cycling race fiasco, Spanish chess tourney demands Israelis shun their flag

Players compete at the Israeli Chess Federation tournament in Acre, January 2024. (Olga Volkov)

Israeli chess players set to take part in an international tournament in Spain next week have been told they may not compete under Israel’s national flag and are allowed to participate only under the flag of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

Hebrew media outlets report that the organizers of the Open Sestao Basque Country competition next week have sent a letter to the seven Israelis set to participate, claiming the decision was made due to “reasons beyond our control.”

“This step was agreed upon by both the chief arbiter of the competition and the Spanish Chess Federation,” the letter reportedly says. “The FIDE flag will appear both on the official draw lists and on the players’ posters.”

Israeli players have called on the FIDE to intervene, reports say.

The letter comes as a major cycling competition in Spain, the Vuelta a España, is being overrun by anti-Israel protesters interfering in the event, threatening the operations of the entire race.

An Israeli team, Israel–Premier Tech, has faced calls to withdraw from the competition, including from the event’s organizers. But the team has declared it “remains committed to racing on.”

Hamas releases video of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal and another captive

Guy Gilboa-Dalal was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from the Supernova desert rave (Courtesy)

Hamas releases a video showing the hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal together with another hostage.

Unusually, Gilboa-Dalal is seen in part of the footage above ground, inside a car. In the video, he refers to being held captive for 22 months, which could indicate that the footage was filmed recently.

The family of the second hostage has asked for him not to be identified, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. The families have not given consent for the video itself to be published.

Gilboa-Dalal was last seen in a video in February, during a ceasefire, when Hamas forced him and another captive, Evyatar David, to watch the release of other hostages.

Finland joins declaration on peaceful Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, right, meets Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Maria Valtonen in Brussels, February 24, 2025. (Shalev Man/Foreign Ministry)

Finland is joining a declaration on a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question and implementation of a two-state solution, the Nordic country says in a statement.

Unlike some other European nations, such as Spain and Norway, Finland has not recognized Palestine as a state. Several other Western Ccountries, including France, have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state this month at the United Nations General Assembly. The Finnish coalition government is internally divided over a formal recognition.

Today’s declaration follows an international conference at the UN in July hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on the decades-long conflict. Israel’s government opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, and it and the United States boycotted the event.

“The process led by France and Saudi Arabia is the most significant international effort in years to create the conditions for a two-state solution,” Finland’s foreign minister Elina Valtonen says on X.

The first step outlined in the declaration is to end the nearly two-year-long war between Israel and the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia and France have called on countries at the United Nations to support the declaration that outlines “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards implementing a two-state solution.

IDF announces death of Hamas military wing’s money manager

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a photo cleared for publication on September 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces that troops working with the Shin Bet security agency killed Nur al-Din Dabbaghsh earlier this week, a Hamas operative who managed finances for the group’s military arm. Dabbaghsh was accused of collecting and transferring tens of millions of dollars to the terror group during the war, money that Israel says funded weapons and operations, and helped sustain the organization’s fighting capabilities.

The military also says its forces continue to strike Hamas infrastructure and operatives across the Gaza Strip, targeting sites both above and below ground while intensifying pressure on Hamas’ military wing.

In northern Gaza, forces from the 99th Division report destroying anti-tank missile launch sites, a weapons storage facility, and additional infrastructure, while soldiers from the Nahal Brigade killed several Hamas operatives in clashes nearby.

Elsewhere, Givati Brigade troops and the 401st Armored Brigade, operating under 162nd Division, continue advancing in the Jabalia area and elsewhere on the outskirts of Gaza City, where they have eliminated terrorists, dismantled explosives, and destroyed further Hamas positions.

Putin threatens to target any Western troops in Ukraine

Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with service members as part of the "Time of Heroes" program, which aims to integrate veterans into high-ranking public positions, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin / POOL / AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin warns that any Western forces deployed to Ukraine would be a “legitimate” target for Moscow’s army, a day after Kyiv’s allies said they had committed to a troop presence in the event of a peace deal.

Two dozen countries, led by France and Britain, pledged Thursday to join a “reassurance” force on land, at sea and in the air to patrol any agreement to end the conflict, unleashed by Russia in February 2022.

Tens of thousands have been killed in three-and-a-half years of fighting, which has forced millions from their homes and destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Kyiv says security guarantees, backed by Western troops, are crucial to any agreement, in order to ensure Russia does not relaunch its offensive in the future.

“If some troops appear there, especially now during the fighting, we proceed from the premise that they will be legitimate targets,” Putin says at an economic forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.

He adds that the deployment of such a force was not conducive to long-term peace and said Ukraine’s closer military ties with the West were one of what he calls the “root causes” of the conflict.

Ukraine’s allies have not revealed any specific details of the plan, including how many troops it would involve and how specific countries would contribute. The troops would not be deployed “on the front line” but aim to “prevent any new major aggression”, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

“We have today 26 countries who have formally committed — some others have not yet taken a position — to deploy as a ‘reassurance force’ troops in Ukraine, or be present on the ground, in the sea, or in the air,” Macron told reporters on Thursday, standing alongside Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky hailed the move: “I think that today, for the first time in a long time, this is the first such serious concrete step.”

Report: US considering imposing restrictions on Iranian delegation, other nations during UN General Assembly

After denying visas for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and members of his large delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly this month, the US is now considering ramping up restrictions on several other delegations that would severely limit their ability to travel inside New York City.

Potential travel and other restrictions could soon be imposed on delegations from Iran, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Brazil, according to an internal State Department memo seen by The Associated Press.

The movements of Iranian diplomats are severely limited in New York, but one proposal being floated would bar them from shopping at big, members-only wholesale stores like Costco and Sam’s Club without first receiving State Department permission.

Such stores have been a favorite of Iranian diplomats posted to and visiting New York because they can buy large quantities of products not available in their economically isolated country relatively cheaply and send them home.

‘I never imagined I would reach the 700th day’: Ex-hostages plead for loved ones’ release

Survivors of the October 7, 2023, massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz mark 700 days since the brutal Hamas-led invasion with a press conference in Kiryat Gat, where the community was temporarily relocated in the wake of the assault.

Among those speaking are former hostages Arbel Yehoud and Iair Horn. Yehoud’s partner, Ariel Cunio, and Horn’s brother, Eitan Horn, are still held captive in Gaza.

“I have a million stories about what it’s like to be in hell, to be in captivity,” says Horn. “I can say that we didn’t eat anything, that there was no air to breathe in the tunnels, that we barely drank water — and even when we did, it was salty. But after 700 days, it seems that it doesn’t matter to anyone, and that it’s ok to keep people captive.”

“I never imagined that we would reach the 700th day and that I would have to stand here and talk about my brother Eitan, who is still a hostage, and my friends who are still being held hostage,” Horn says.

He says that he doesn’t want to end up like the brother of Ron Arad, who has been classified as missing since 1988, or like Tzur Goldin, the brother of Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held by Hamas since 2014.

“I want to be with my brother now,” he says.

When Yehoud speaks, she laments all that was lost when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into the “private paradise” of Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.

“We were abducted from there to the depths of hell in Gaza,” says Yehoud, who spent 482 days in captivity. “There are no special days in captivity, you survive each day as it comes, every minute is an eternity and every second brings the risk of death.”

“There is immense anxiety, abuse, and terrible suffering,” adds Yehoud, before addressing Cunio directly.

“I am fighting, do not break, my love,” she pleads. “Keep holding on to hope and do not let go for a second. We will not give up, and we will not break for a second until you return to us.”

13 Palestinians said injured in settler attack in the southern West Bank

Palestinian media reports that 13 Palestinians were injured in a settler attack last night in the South Hebron Hills, in the southern West Bank.

According to the reports, several settlers entered the village of Khallet al-Daba and assaulted residents, some of them with pepper spray.

Thirteen residents were reportedly injured, including an infant.

Some suffered light injuries from the pepper spray, while three were more seriously hurt.

There is no response from the IDF or the police.

Hostages’ families, activists mark 700 days since October 7 with protests across Israel

An exhibit in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square marks 700 days since the October 7, 2023, massacre, on September 5, 2025. (Rei Ash/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Protests are being held across Israel today to mark 700 days since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion and massacre, and to call for the release of the remaining 48 hostages.

In Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, activists have displayed a large “SOS” sign on the ground, along with a sand timer, signaling that time is running out for the hostages. Protesters wearing yellow shirts and head coverings are dotted about the exhibit.

Additional protests are scheduled to take place throughout the day, and at a demonstration outside the President’s Residence in Jerusalem at 8 a.m.

At 9 a.m., members of Kibbutz Nir Oz will deliver a statement to the media from Kiryat Gat. Several former hostages will be in attendance, the Kan public broadcaster says, including Arbel Yehoud, whose partner Ariel Cunio is still captive in Gaza.

Report: Herzog to visit the UK next week, sparking anger within Starmer’s Labour Party

President Isaac Herzog speaks during a public event on September 2, 2025 (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog is due to travel to the UK next week, according to an unconfirmed report published by The Guardian.

According to the report, the visit will be a controversial one, as Labour Party lawmakers in the UK are urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other members of government to avoid meeting with Herzog, due to the ongoing war in Gaza.

No meetings between Herzog and any government ministers have been confirmed as of yet, the Guardian reports, but it cites a source familiar with the matter as saying that no appointments with ministers will be confirmed until next week.

Israel has not confirmed whether Herzog will be visiting the UK next week.

Herzog’s reported visit, which the newspaper says will take place on Wednesday and Thursday next week, has provoked mixed reactions, with some Labour Members of Parliament declaring that Starmer must not meet with the Israeli president, and others seeing it as a chance for dialogue and diplomatic breakthroughs regarding the war in Gaza.

Labour MP John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor of the exchequer, tells British news outlets that Herzog should be prevented from entering the country altogether, and that Starmer is “shaming” the UK by “inviting” Herzog.

It is not clear, however, if Herzog’s reported visit comes at Starmer’s invitation.

“Herzog is the mouthpiece of the IDF butchers and should never be allowed near our country,” says McDonnell.

Labour MP Emily Thornberry, who chairs the UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee, takes a different approach, however, telling the Guardian that “efforts should be made to engage” with Herzog, who is seen by many as a more moderate figure than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The only solution to this is through politics,” says Thornberry of the war in Gaza and the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding that Herzog is “easier to talk to than many in the extreme right-wing government in Israel.”

Israelis among the injured in Lisbon streetcar derailment

Police officers inspect the site where a tourist streetcar derailed and crashed in Lisbon, Portugal, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP/Armando Franca)

Israelis are among those injured in a streetcar derailment in Portugal’s capital on Wednesday, AP reports.

The crash killed 16 people and injured 21 others, emergency services said. At least half the victims were foreigners.

Investigators are still sifting through the wreckage in downtown Lisbon, trying to determine why the popular tourist attraction derailed during the busy summer season.

Portugal’s attorney-general’s office says eight victims have been identified so far: five Portuguese, two South Koreans and a Swiss person. There is “a high possibility,” based on recovered documents and other evidence, that the victims also include two Canadians, one American, one German and one Ukrainian, according to the head of the national investigative police, Luís Neves. Three remain to be identified.

Among the injured are Spaniards, Israelis, Portuguese, Brazilians, Italians and French people, the executive director of Portugal’s National Health Service, Álvaro Santos Almeida, has said.

US imposes sanctions on Palestinians who asked for Israel war crimes probe

The United States has imposed sanctions on three Palestinian human rights groups that asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel over allegations of genocide in Gaza, according to a notice posted to the US Treasury Department’s website.

The three groups — Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Ramallah-based Al-Haq — were listed under what the Treasury Department says are International Criminal Court-related designations.

The groups asked the ICC in November 2023 to investigate Israeli air strikes on densely populated civilian areas of Gaza, the siege of the territory and displacement of the population. A year later, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions on ICC judges as well as its chief prosecutor over the Israeli arrest warrants and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.

Trump to rename Department of Defense the ‘Department of War,’ official says

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, June 22, 2025, after the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to destroy the country's nuclear program. (AP/Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defense the “Department of War,” a White House official says.

The order would authorize Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Defense Department, and subordinate officials to use secondary titles such as “Secretary of War,” “Department of War,” and “Deputy Secretary of War” in official correspondence, public communications, according to a White House fact sheet.

The move, which would put Trump’s stamp on the government’s biggest organization and likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars, would instruct Hegseth to recommend legislative and executive actions required to make the renaming permanent.

Since taking office in January, Trump has set out to rename a range of places and institutions, including the Gulf of Mexico, and to restore the original names of military bases that were changed after racial justice protests.

Department name changes are rare, and require congressional approval, but Trump’s fellow Republicans hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, and the party’s congressional leaders have shown little appetite for opposing any of Trump’s initiatives.

The US Department of Defense was called the War Department until 1949, when Congress consolidated the Army, Navy and Air Force in the wake of World War II. The name was chosen in part to signal that in the nuclear age, the US was focused on preventing wars, according to historians.

Hegseth has said that changing the name is “not just about words — it’s about the warrior ethos.”