Sept. 6: Beersheba mayor said to turn down Netanyahu offer to run with Likud; Ayelet Shaked won’t run

Israeli embassy demands Belgium apologize for condemning killing of Gaza aid worker, citing post describing him as Hamas fighter

Israel’s embassy in Belgium demands an apology from Brussels over its condemnation of an IDF strike that killed an employee of the Belgian development agency Enabel in Gaza in April 2024, citing newly surfaced material that it says indicates the worker was in fact a Hamas fighter.

The embassy points to a post by a channel affiliated with Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade describing Abdallah Nabhan as a “mujahid” and showing him in uniform.

Following the strike, “Belgium summoned Israel’s ambassador, and international condemnation followed,” the embassy writes on X, saying, “before rushing to condemn Israel, facts matter…A public apology would be preferable, but a private one will also be accepted.”

The report has not been independently verified, and there is no immediate response from Belgium.

At the time of the strike, Belgium’s development minister said Nabhan, 33, and his seven-year-old son had been killed in eastern Rafah.

The Israeli Embassy is owed an apology!

In April 2024, Abdallah Nabhan, an employee of Belgium’s development agency Enabel, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Belgium summoned Israel’s ambassador, and international condemnation followed.

New evidence now indicates that… https://t.co/NXXVI2urJU pic.twitter.com/p3vJPZPesq

— Israel in Belgium (@IsraelinBelgium) September 6, 2026

The embassy’s demand comes as Hamas and other Gaza terror groups have begun identifying slain combatants they had declined to name in recent years — some previously described as journalists or civilians — lending credence in certain cases to Israeli assertions that they were legitimate military targets and prompting a reassessment of previous reports.

Police chief reportedly makes senior appointments despite Ben Gvir’s election freeze

Police Chief Commissioner Daniel Levy is seen during the annual LGBTQ Pride Parade in Jerusalem, on June 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Police Commissioner Daniel Levy has gone ahead with the first round of senior appointments in the force despite National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s directive earlier today to hold off on them until after the October 27 election, Hebrew media outlets report.

Ben Gvir reportedly issued the directive after a deal he and Levy reached on the matter fell through because Ben Gvir was opposed to Levy’s planned appointment of perceived allies of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, including Assistant Commissioner Tamar Liberty for the role of deputy police legal adviser.

Nonetheless, the Ynet news site reports that Liberty’s appointment is one that Levy approved tonight.

In response to reports on the appointments, Ben Gvir’s office reiterates that “there will be no appointments before the election, other than extraordinary cases,” which the minister will approve on a case-by-case basis “after the rationales are presented by the Commissioner.”

Ben Gvir’s statement refers to tonight’s reported appointments as merely “recommendations for appointments in the police.”

Golan: Israel should deprive ‘woke’ critics of ammunition by adhering to liberal values

Democrats party chair Yair Golan, left, speaks in Tel Aviv on September 6, 2026. (Noam Lehmann/The Times of Israel)

Yair Golan, chair of the left-wing Democrats party, says at an election event for English speakers that Israel should deprive its “woke” and progressive critics of “ammunition” by adhering to “liberal democratic values.”

At the event hosted by the Tel Aviv International Salon, Golan, a former deputy IDF chief, relates in English many of his party’s central pledges, such as ending military service exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox, separating religion and state, curbing settler violence, seeking a diplomatic solution to the “Palestinian problem” and rallying Saudi Arabia and other “moderate” Arab states against Iran.

During a question-and-answer period, one attendee asks Golan how he would work with US Democratic politicians like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who are vocal opponents of Israel.

Golan responds that “there is no need to work with anyone.” British-born Lt. Col. (res.) Peter Lerner, who previously served in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and is moderating the event, corrects him, “everyone.”

“Not with everyone,” Golan continues.

But Golan adds, “It’s a wider question, where are we heading. If Israel will be perceived as an extreme nation… a kind of theocratical country — well, the minute we do that, we disconnect our ties with the West.”

As “the homeland of all the Jewish people,” Golan says, “in order to keep our destiny, in order to keep our mission… we need to be with the West, and we need to preserve and to enforce these liberal democratic values.”

He adds that in the military he felt a close kinship with his US counterparts because “we truly felt at that time that we are together, we are the vanguard of the democratic world.”

“So yes, we can work with Democrats and Republicans,” Golan says.

He adds, “I know there is the ‘woke’ and ‘progressive’ and… all kinds of figures that are truly very negative from (an) Israeli perspective,” Golan says. “We should not give them… more and more ammunition from day to day.”

Poll shows pro-Netanyahu bloc leading — but far from a majority

A new poll by the Kan public broadcaster shows the bloc of parties supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leading against his opponents — a stark shift after months of polls that showed the premier’s camp trailing.

But the poll still indicates that both blocs would be far from winning a 61-seat majority in the Knesset, with no apparent path to get there.

The poll shows the premier’s bloc with 52, while the opposition bloc would win 51. Arab parties would win 13 in total, while a non-aligned party would win the remaining four.

The opposition Yashar party leads with 23 seats, while Netanyahu’s Likud would win 20.

The poll is released shortly after the center-right politician Yoaz Hendel joins forces with economist Yaron Zelekha in a new party, two days ahead of the deadline for parties to submit their final lists of candidates in the October 27 election.

Hendel and Zelekha are considered swing votes that could align either with Netanyahu or his opponents. The poll shows the Hendel-Zelekha party squeaking into the Knesset with four seats.

Two new pro-Netanyahu slates also make it in, according to the poll: Ofer Winter’s People of Israel with four seats, and the merger between the far-right Religious Zionism and Zehut parties, with six.

Even if the Hendel-Zelekha party were to join one of the blocs, both would still be short of a majority.

The poll was taken today by the Kantar polling firm, with 551 respondents and a 4.2% margin of error.

Iran’s government to raise gas prices for heavy users due to war and sanctions

Iran will raise the price of gasoline for users surpassing 110 liters (29 gallons) per month starting on Tuesday, a government spokesperson says, as it steps up efforts to tackle problems created by the war and crippling US economic sanctions.

The price for lighter users will remain unchanged, but the price beyond the 110-liter limit will be raised to 100,000 Iranian rials per liter (around 4 US cents based on the free-market rate, or some 15 cents a gallon), Fatemeh Mohajerani says in comments carried by state media.

The increase in Iran’s gasoline price, which is one of the lowest in the world, was discussed by the government and postponed amid concerns it could trigger new protests. Iran experienced widespread protests in 2019 over the same issue.

The higher fuel price is due to “current conditions,” Mohajerani says.

Other motorists can still buy up to 60 liters at 15,000 rials per liter and an additional 50 liters at 30,000 rials per liter, she adds.

In December, Iran partially raised the price of its subsidized gasoline for most users, as the OPEC member sought to control rising fuel demand.

Iran says it will declare ‘prohibited zone’ near Strait of Hormuz in coming days

Iran’s top security chief Mohsen Rezaei said his country would establish a “prohibited zone” near the Strait of Hormuz, state media report.

“In the coming days, a prohibited zone will be announced outside the Strait of Hormuz. This zone will start from the US Navy’s blockade line and include areas of the Persian Gulf. Any ship entering this new zone will be placed on the sanctions list” of Iran, Rezaei tells state TV.

Report: Israir to launch direct TLV-NYC route next week, run 3 flights weekly starting at $1,900 per ticket

An Israir flight takes off from Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, August 25, 2024. (Yossi Aloni/ Flash90/ File)

The Israeli budget carrier Israir will begin direct flights between Tel Aviv and New York City on September 15, joining the flagship El Al and the budget airline Arkia, Channel 12 reports.

The launch of the route between Ben Gurion Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport comes at a time when flights between the US and Israel have become scarce and expensive due to waves of cancellations amid the wars in Gaza and Iran.

According to the report, Israir will begin by offering three flights per week between the destinations and will ramp up to daily flights by the end of October.

The flights will initially cost $950 for a one-way ticket and $1,900 for a round trip, a figure expected to fall to $1,600 by the end of the Jewish holiday season in mid-October, Channel 12 reports.

Kushner: Israeli government acting ‘a little irrational’ on Gaza due to next month’s election

US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff, left, and Jared Kushner arrive in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 6, 2026. (AP/Francisco Seco)

US special envoy Jared Kushner says next month’s Knesset election has made Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government act “a little irrational” when it comes to Gaza.

“I think we agree with the Israelis on the end state for Gaza,” Kushner says at a press appearance during a visit to Kyiv, where he was taking part in negotiations over the war.

“They just have crazy elections, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards,” he adds.

The US has been trying to advance the Board of Peace’s plan to decommission the weapons of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, to be paired with an Israeli withdrawal from the Strip.

However, Israel’s opposition to the plan has led to its stalling.

Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu unveils Knesset slate, with bereaved father and former mayor at No. 2

Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beytenu party, and party members at an event ahead of the upcoming election in Tel Aviv, September 6, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu, Avigdor Liberman’s hawkish opposition party, presents its slate of candidates in next month’s election at an event attended by more than 1,000 people in Tel Aviv.

Liberman leads the 25-member slate, followed by former Beit Shean mayor and ex-Likud party member Rafi Ben Shitrit. Ben Shitrit’s son Shimon Alroy was killed fighting at the Nahal Oz military outpost during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Col. (res.) Talia Lankri, a former deputy head of the National Security Council, is placed third, followed by incumbent party lawmakers Oded Forer and Yulia Malinovsky.

In sixth place is Sharon Sharabi, the brother of released Hamas hostage Eli Sharabi and Yossi Sharabi, who was murdered in Hamas captivity.

MKs Hamad Amar, a Druze lawmaker, and Evgeny Sova take the seventh and eighth spots, followed by Lod Deputy Mayor Elvira Kolikhman.

Former Likud MK and vocal critic of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ruling party Dan Illouz takes 10th place on the slate.

Others on the slate include Lili Ben Ami, whose sister Michal Sela was murdered in 2019 and who has since worked to combat violence against women; Metula Mayor David Azoulai; Capt. (res.) Israel Ben-Shitrit, who was seriously wounded fighting in Khan Younis; and former MKs Limor Magen Telem and Sharon Roffe Ofir.

Polls project that the party will win approximately 8 to 11 seats in the October 27 election.

Report: Several global terror plots against Jews, Israelis foiled at last minute in past year

Police protect a Jewish center during an anti-Zionist rally, in Brooklyn, New York City, May 12, 2026. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

Israeli security agencies, at times working with international partners, have thwarted dozens of terror plots worldwide over the past year, including planned attacks against Israelis and Jews, Channel 12 reports.

Some of the plots were foiled just minutes before they were due to be carried out, according to the network.

While Iran and its terror proxy Hezbollah have been behind efforts to attack Israelis abroad, Hamas — another terror group backed by Iran — is increasingly attempting to mount attacks overseas as it struggles to operate in the West Bank and continues to observe the ceasefire in Gaza, the report says.

Israeli officials nonetheless continue to regard Iran as a principal global terror threat. A senior National Security Council official tells Channel 12 that Tehran has “significantly expanded” its organizations and infrastructure used to advance attacks abroad, describing the campaign as part of a “strategic doctrine.”

The report comes after the National Security Council warned Israelis traveling abroad to exercise heightened vigilance, saying the upcoming Jewish holiday period carries an elevated risk of attempted attacks.

High Court: Settler violence violates Jewish tradition and the values of the biblical prophets

Settlers in the yard of a Palestinian home in the village of Jalud before taking it over, July 2026. (Courtesy)

The High Court of Justice lambastes the IDF, police and Defense Minister Israel Katz for failing to tackle extremist settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, saying such attacks “contravene the fundamental moral values and principles of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state” and violate the principles central to Jewish heritage and the prophets of the Bible.

The court makes the unusually harsh moral statement over a case in which the residents of three buildings in the West Bank Palestinian village of Jalud have petitioned the court to enable them to return safely to their homes.

In July, the residents were violently expelled by extremist settlers who set up an illegal outpost close to the village and besieged the petitioners’ homes.

“First and foremost, this is a completely unacceptable phenomenon that stands in contrast to the basic values and moral principles of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and in contrast to the principles of liberty, fairness, and justice of Jewish heritage and the [biblical] prophets of Israel,” the court says in a decision signed by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, and Justices Alex Stein and Yechiel Kasher.

The justices add that extremist settler violence and the failure to tackle it also harm Israel’s image internationally as a state that respects the rule of law.

The court takes the IDF and police to task for failing to act effectively to enable the residents to return to their homes in Jalud in safety, and demands answers to specific and granular questions regarding the case. Those questions include how security forces have worked to prosecute the perpetrators and how they are working to prevent future attacks on Jalud.

The court further orders the IDF and police to enable the residents to return to their homes in safety within 14 days, to provide them with protection when they return, and to enable them to bring in the necessary equipment and materials for fixing the homes and utilities damaged in the attack.

The court also issues a conditional order over the case, putting the burden of proof on the IDF and police to actively demonstrate how they are implementing the court’s orders.

Beersheba mayor reportedly turns down Netanyahu offer of No. 3 slot on Likud slate, top portfolio and title of deputy PM

Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovich (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90, Omer Meran/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly offered the third slot on the Likud Knesset slate, and the promise of a senior ministerial portfolio, to Beersheba Mayor Ruvik Danilovich, but the mayor turned him down.

Netanyahu has slots 3, 9 and 15 to allocate to personal choices on the Likud slate, and has until Tuesday night to fill them.

According to Channel 12, Netanyahu sweetened his offer to Danilovich with the pledge to also make him a deputy prime minister if he forms the next government. Likud surveys reportedly showed the popular mayor to be capable of drawing significant additional support to Likud.

After Danilovich turned down Netanyahu, he was asked to reconsider, said no again, was asked to reconsider again, and said no a third time, the TV report says. It adds that Netanyahu is courting other mayors, among other possibilities, to fill the empty slots.

Netanyahu has tried thus far in vain to persuade Ofer Winter, head of the new People of Israel party, to merge into Likud, with the offer of multiple slots on the Likud slate, or to have Winter agree to a technical merger with Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism, which would see the parties run together but give them the option of splitting up following the vote.

Danilovich was also reportedly approached by leading opposition parties including Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad and Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar. He was reportedly courted by the Labor Party in the 2019 elections and by Likud in 2022.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 also reports that a merger between Yashar and B’Yachad is looking less and less likely, because extensive surveys showed that such a partnership would send 2% of the parties’ current voters into the Netanyahu-led bloc.

Bennett was ready to be “very generous” as regards a merger, the report says, implying he was not insisting on leading it, while Eisenkot was ready to be generous in terms of allocating slots to B’Yachad on a merged slate, but the unpromising survey data appears to have held sway.

Ayelet Shaked, former justice minister, says she will sit out election

Ayelet Shaked attends International Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony in memory of Holocaust survivor Meir Grant, in Herzliya, January 27, 2020. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Ayelet Shaked, a one-time rising star on the right who served as justice minister and interior minister, says she will sit out the upcoming election, according to Hebrew media reports.

Shaked was the longtime political partner of Naftali Bennett, and led a succession of right-wing parties with him. She was appointed justice minister in 2015 at age 39.

When Bennett became prime minister in 2021, unseating Benjamin Netanyahu, Shaked served as interior minister, then took over Bennett’s party the following year when the government collapsed. She did not win enough votes to be reelected to the Knesset.

Leading up to this year’s October 27 election, there was heavy speculation that Shaked would join a party. But she did not join Bennett’s new faction, B’Yachad, or any of the other lists competing.

Bennett formally announces ‘experienced and tenacious’ B’Yachad slate, vows ‘repairs from day one’

The B'Yachad party unveils its slate of candidates in the 2026 election, September 6, 2026, in Tel Aviv. (Ariela Karmel/Times of Israel)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett presents the final list of candidates for B’Yachad, the party he founded with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, which he calls “the most talented, results-driven and dedicated slate to run for the Knesset in a generation.”

“This is Israel’s team of doers!,” he continues in a speech to supporters at an event in Tel Aviv. “The most experienced and tenacious parliamentarians, the best directors-general in the country, fighters and heroes of October 7 who saved the country once and are now joining us to save it again.”

Both Bennett’s and Lapid’s factions announced their lists of candidates yesterday and earlier today, but this is the first presentation of their final, combined roster ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for parties to submit their final slates for the October 27 election.

Yesh Atid will receive four of the top 10 spots on the joint list of candidates and around half of the first 15 spots overall, with candidates alternating between the two factions.

Bennett will lead the joint slate, with Lapid in second place, followed by Keren Terner, former director general of both the Finance and Transportation Ministries; Yesh Atid MK and Opposition Whip Merav Ben Ari; and Liran Avisar Ben-Horin, a former director general of the Communications Ministry.

Rounding out the top 10 are former IDF general Noam Tibon, who joined Yesh Atid last year, followed by former Ra’anana Municipality director general Michal Negri, former Blue and White lawmaker Eitan Ginzburg, Yesh Atid MK and former minister Meirav Cohen, and Yonatan Shalev, a 23-year-old military reservist activist.

In eleventh place is Bruria Naim Arman, followed by Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben Barak, Amir Strugo, Yesh Atid MK Naor Shiri, Nissan Ze’evi, and Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak.

The party is projected to win about 12 to 15 seats in next month’s election, a result that would make it the Knesset’s third-biggest party. The slate has a significant number of former civil servants and reservists.

“Israel is not being governed, and to fix Israel, we need the country’s very best managers and doers — people who know how to begin making repairs from day one,” says Bennett.

He repeats his campaign pledges to establish a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught; draft ultra-Orthodox men into the military; and declare Qatar an enemy state.

Two settlers, including IDF soldier, detained on suspicion of taking part in Qusra attack

Settlers who raided a Palestinian village gather on the balcony of a building under construction in the West Bank's Qusra, August 29, 2026. (AP/Majdi Mohammed)

Two West Bank settlers, including an 18-year-old IDF soldier from the Jordan Valley, were arrested today on suspicion of taking part in the attack in Qusra on August 29, police say, weeks into a siege by settlers on several homes in the Nablus-area Palestinian town.

The attack saw settlers seize a Palestinian home with a family inside.

Officers who searched the car of one of the suspects, a 19-year-old from the northern West Bank, found a knife, a switchblade and tear gas, according to police.

The two suspects were arrested by police in cooperation with the Shin Bet, and the military police also took part in the arrest of the soldier, police say.

Both suspects were taken for interrogation and will later be brought before a judge to have their detention extended, according to police.

Meanwhile, another suspect in the Qusra attack who was arrested on Thursday will also be brought before a judge tomorrow to have his detention extended, police add.

“The joint investigative team of police and the Shin Bet is continuing efforts to gather evidence and take testimonies to locate and arrest everyone who took part in this serious incident,” police say.

Tropper merges party with Eisenkot’s Yashar, will be placed 6th; Shira Shapira, bereaved mom of Aner, to be No. 10

Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot (center) along with Zionist Home leader Chili Tropper (second from right) and candidates Shira Shapira, Elyasaf Peretz and Shlomi Yehiav, in a photo published on September 6, 2026, following a political merger. (Yahav Trodler/Yashar)

Zionist Home chair Chili Tropper folds his party into election frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, after terminating his short-lived alliance with Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists party.

The move comes two days before the deadline for parties to submit their candidate lists for the October 27 election.

Tropper will now be placed in the sixth spot on the Yashar Knesset slate, while his Zionist Home colleagues, bereaved family members Shira Shapira and Elyasaf Peretz, will receive realistic spots further down the list.

According to Channel 12, Shapira is expected to be placed 10th on the list, and Peretz will be placed either in the 20th or 21st spot. Shapira’s son, Aner, 22, was killed after defending people hiding from terrorists throwing grenades into a bomb shelter during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught.

The alliance will be a complete merger rather than a technical agreement, meaning Tropper will not be able to split his faction off from Yashar once elected.

Zamir calls military’s snap drill of multi-front fighting ‘message to our enemies’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks with troops at the Tzeelim training base in southern Israel, during a major snap drill, September 6, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military’s snap drill today is “a message to our enemies.”

“The IDF is capable, prepared and ready to defend the State of Israel, and prepared to act quickly and attack with force anyone who tries to harm us,” Zamir says while visiting troops taking part in the exercise.

“Our message is clear — anyone who tries to harm the State of Israel and its citizens will face a determined, prepared and ready IDF, and will pay an immediate and very heavy price,” he adds.

IDF snap drill simulated simultaneous fighting in north, south, Tel Aviv, West Bank

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and the military's General Staff are seen at the IDF's main command center, September 6, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

A snap drill conducted by the Israeli military this morning was designed to push the General Staff to its limits, testing how commanders would prioritize forces amid simultaneous “complex” incidents on multiple fronts.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir launched the drill in the early morning hours, with the military saying it was aimed at testing the functioning of the military’s top-level headquarters during a crisis.

Most members of the General Staff — including commanders of the military’s commands, directorates and wings — were kept unaware of the exercise. The head of the Operations Directorate was the main exception.

The drill ended with a scenario in which the entire military would be called up and the IDF would shift to a defensive posture on all fronts.

Among the scenarios tested simultaneously were the infiltration of 10 to 15 terrorists from Lebanon into a border community; a terror attack on Route 60 in the West Bank; an infiltration into a West Bank settlement; rocket attacks on Tel Aviv; and fighting along the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip.

As part of the simulated scenario, the fighting on the Yellow Line spiraled out of control, allowing terrorists to breach Israeli territory from Gaza and infiltrate three border communities.

In the simulation, one battalion was airlifted by helicopters from central Israel to the Tzeelim training base in the south, where the troops then “recaptured” one of the communities invaded by the simulated terrorists.

During the drill, some systems were deliberately disrupted to test how commanders would operate without them.

No Iranian ballistic missile attack was simulated, as that would have made the scenario artificially decisive. Instead, the IDF focused on creating operational dilemmas for commanders and testing their decision-making under pressure.

An initial debrief by senior officers found that the IDF’s overall readiness was “very good.” A more extensive review of the drill is expected to take place in the coming days.

The IDF said earlier that the drill was intended to better prepare the military for the upcoming Jewish holiday period while also testing the implementation of lessons learned from the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught and the multi-front war that followed.

German far-right AfD wins landslide in eastern state vote, exit polls say

A sign held up as Ulrich Siegmund, top candidate in the Saxony-Anhalt state election for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, addresses a campaign event in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on September 5, 2026, one day before regional elections in the eastern federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. (Ronny HARTMANN/AFP)

Germany’s far-right AfD won key regional elections today by a landslide with at least 44 percent of the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, exit polls by two public broadcasters say.

The result could bring to power the first far-right state government in the nation’s post-World War II history.

The AfD was far ahead of the center-right CDU of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which stood at 18.5 percent, but it was too early to say whether the far-right party would win an absolute majority, say public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.

Alice Weidel, co-leader of AfD, says the party has a clear government mandate after the state election and will talk to all parties.

Netanyahu: Iran regime’s ‘end is near,’ Israel determined to ‘complete mission’ of toppling it

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a state ceremony reburying Shimon and Rivka Herzl, the grandparents of Theodor Herzl, founder of modern political Zionism, alongside their grandson on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem, August 5, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts Israel’s determination to “complete the mission” of toppling Iran’s regime, declaring that “its end is near,” in a Hebrew-language video message released by his office from a pre-Rosh Hashanah event at today’s cabinet meeting.

If Iran were to “miscalculate” and attack Israel, “it will suffer a blow it cannot even imagine,” Netanyahu warns, saying the regime “is weak, it is fighting for its life, it is faltering.”

The comments come amid concerns that Iran could attack Israel during the Jewish holiday season, which begins with Rosh Hashanah next week.

Netanyahu made similar remarks on Thursday, saying Israel’s “central mission” is to topple the Iranian regime, while crediting Israel’s military operations since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre with stemming the Iranian nuclear and missile threats.

3 reported killed in Israeli strike in south Lebanon

Lebanese media reports three dead in an Israeli strike in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon a short while ago.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the strike.

Netanyahu orders West Bank outposts to be removed amid US pressure, sources tell Reuters

New prefabricated settlement outpost homes are placed along a road that leads toward the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair, wedged between the new outpost of Karmel and the Israeli settlement of Karmel, south of the town of Yatta in the southern area of the Palestinian West Bank on May 20, 2026. (HAZEM BADER/AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered illegal settler outposts in the West Bank to be dismantled, two people familiar with the matter tell Reuters, amid pressure from the US to crack down on settler attacks on Palestinians.

Netanyahu ordered the eviction of the outposts in response to pressure from the United States, the sources say.

While outposts are technically considered illegal under Israeli law, as they’re established without all of the necessary permits, most of them receive varying degrees of government support and funding. Some have later been formally recognized.

The state has from time to time demolished such outposts. Outposts are often rebuilt immediately after being demolished, and previous government decisions to crack down on the phenomenon have not been widely enforced.

It was not immediately clear when the operation would begin. The Ynet news site earlier reported the orders targeted around 100 outposts across the West Bank.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denounced violent settlers as terrorists yesterday and called for them to face severe consequences following a meeting with several Palestinian Americans in a West Bank town.

The Prime Minister’s office does not respond to a request to comment.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, asked at a conference in Jerusalem about the Ynet report, says Netanyahu has given “an instruction to evict places built in Areas A and B,” referring to parts of the West Bank meant to be under full or partial Palestinian Authority control. The effort to crack down on Area B outposts, however, is reportedly not new, as it was part of a government decision in April, according to the Ma’ariv outlet.

In recent months, the West Bank has seen near-daily incidents of settler violence and harassment. Arrests and prosecutions are rare, and critics accuse the government of condoning or even encouraging the attacks.

Yesterday, Huckabee said it was in Israel’s own interest to take action against settlers carrying out what he described as “criminal behavior and terrorism.”

Blaming ‘Zionists,’ Susan Sarandon says she’s still losing film roles over her Gaza stance

Susan Sarandon at the Toronto International Film Festival at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 10, 2018, in Toronto. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Susan Sarandon says she is still having roles “taken away” from her in Hollywood because of her outspoken criticism of Israel over the Gaza war.

She elaborates that “there are still very strongly held positions within my industry that are held by Zionists” who feel negatively toward her.

The US film star was dropped by her agency UTA in November 2023, shortly after the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught that began the war, over controversial remarks at a pro-Palestinian rally which she later said she regretted.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, where she has a role in Italian film “The Echo Chamber,” she claims the “narrative” around the Gaza war and the United States’ support for Israel had “completely changed.”

“There’s a lot of things that people are aware of now,” the Oscar winner tells a press conference, referring to the extent of US financial and military aid for Israel. She mentions “the ties of Zionists with America in our politics.”

“In terms of the power structure, I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still,” she adds. She says later, “I think there has been a change in terms of understanding of the situation and, I think, the general public, but there are still very strongly held positions within my industry that are held by Zionists, and who have not relaxed their feelings towards me.”

“But I found my family, I found my people, and I’m okay,” she adds to a round of applause.

Susan Sarandon on whether she’s still blacklisted in Hollywood for being outspoken about Palestine, if she would work with studios again and feeling more welcome internationally: “In terms of the power structure, I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are… pic.twitter.com/iWlZAzeqM9

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 6, 2026

The veteran star of “Dead Man Walking” has been one of Hollywood’s most outspoken pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists, alongside others such as Mark Ruffalo, Richard Gere and Joaquin Phoenix.

Sarandon was dropped by United Talent Agency for telling a 2023 rally that Jewish Americans were “getting a taste of what it is like to be Muslim in this country” because of rising antisemitic violence.

She issued a public apology, saying her choice of words had been a “terrible mistake” because they implied “that until recently Jews have been strangers to persecution, when the opposite is true.”

Police said stationed outside Jerusalem Old City Armenian cathedral to stop people from spitting at it

The Israel Police has placed officers outside the St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem’s Old City to try to crack down on Jewish passersby spitting at the building, but it doesn’t seem to be halting the displays of contempt.

Police were stationed outside the Armenian holy site for the first time on Saturday, according to Yisca Harani from the Religious Freedom Data Center, which documents religious discrimination in Israel.

من كثرة بصق واعتداء الإسرائيليين على مدخل كنيسة دير مار يعقوب في حي الأرمن في القدس المحتلة، وانتشار الفيديوهات والضغط السياسي، وضعت السلطات الإسرائيلية حراساً على الكنيسة، ورغم ذلك استمر البصق؛ فهي عادة وثقافة مجتمع كامل، كما في هذا المشهد الذي بصقت فيه إسرائيليتان على الكنيسة.… pic.twitter.com/MfcoqCQB0I

— Tamer | تامر (@tamerqdh) September 6, 2026

Harani shares footage from last night showing a young Jewish woman walking by and spitting at the cathedral before appearing to lick her fingers.

The woman is then approached by the officers, but the footage doesn’t show what happened next, and police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Harani shares another clip from this morning, which appears to show a Jewish passerby hocking a loogie in the direction of the Old City’s Armenian monastery.

Ditched by partner, center-right Hendel joins forces with economist Yaron Zelekha

Prof. Yaron Zelekha, head of the New Economic Party, seen at an election campaign event focused on the cost of groceries, at Hacarmel market in Tel Aviv on March 9, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Center-right politician Yoaz Hendel will embark on a joint run for the Knesset with economist Yaron Zelekha, the pair announce, as Hendel’s former partner Chili Tropper announces that he is joining frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party.

The game of political musical chairs is taking place two days before the final deadline for parties to submit their final slates ahead of the October 27 election.

Hendel and Tropper had united earlier this year as the heads of a centrist party, though polls had consistently shown it falling short of entering the Knesset.

Zelekha, a former Finance Ministry official, has in the past founded parties focused on economics that have likewise not made it into the Knesset.

He promises to “fight tycoons and the cost of living,” as well as pledging to advance “full universal service,” a reference to military and national service.

Report: Girl killed, several people wounded in strike on vehicle in Gaza

Hamas-run media outlets in Gaza report that a girl was killed and several people were wounded in an IDF strike on a vehicle in the al-Nasr neighborhood of Gaza City. The girl’s age is not specified.

The Times of Israel could not independently verify the information. The IDF has yet to comment.

#فيديو
من مكان #القصف الإسرائيلي لسيارة في منطقة النصر غربي مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/tZmoUeLVNf

— غزة الآن – Gaza Now (@nowgnna) September 6, 2026

Greece wants deeper ties with both Israel and Arab countries, its premier says

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides at Paphos military airport, Paphos, Cyprus, on March 9, 2026. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool Photo via AP)

Greece will press ahead with its strategic defense cooperation with Israel but also wants to deepen relations with other states in the Middle East, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says.

Greece-Israeli ties and defense, security and energy cooperation have become increasingly close over the past decade and Mitsotakis enjoys a friendly rapport with his counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shared concerns about Turkey have helped boost ties. The two countries signed a $3.5 billion deal last week for Israel to build an air defense shield in Greece.

Mitsotakis tells reporters in Thessaloniki that Greece is only one of five NATO countries spending at least 3.5% of its GDP on core defense.

Asked about US President Donald Trump’s expressed desire to sell the advanced F-35 multirole combat aircraft to Turkey, Mitsotakis replies that he will not tell the US what to do, but notes that legal obstacles remain as Turkey was sanctioned for buying the S-400 air defense system from Russia.

Greece will take delivery of its first 20 F-35s in late 2028, with an option to buy 20 more.

Mitsotakis also says he plans to visit Saudi Arabia soon, and that the recently concluded Mecca Joint Defense Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey changes nothing in Greece’s relations with Riyadh.

Greece has maintained an air defense battery in Saudi Arabia since 2021, and has used its Patriot missiles four times since July to down drones and ballistic missiles, allegedly from Yemen, aimed at the kingdom’s oil refineries.

Mitsotakis will visit Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi.

IDF announces probe of troops who appeared to eject Palestinian man from vehicle

The IDF says it is investigating troops who allegedly ejected a Palestinian man out of the back of a military vehicle in the West Bank over the weekend.

The Saturday footage from al-Mughayyir showed an IDF “David” vehicle closing its rear door after the Palestinian man had apparently dropped out of it. The man is seen lying on the ground as the army vehicle drives off.

In response to the footage, the army says that “the conduct of the troops toward the suspect and the person recorded in the video is being investigated.”

The IDF says that troops were in the village following reports of a suspected explosive device and a stone barrier placed on a road.

שבת קודש.
אל-מוע'ייר, נפת רמאללה ואל-בירה.

אחרי שעוכב, נחקר והוכה – חיילים השליכו פלסטיני מרכב צבאי והמשיכו לדרכם.
​
ואל תטרידו את "טובי בנינו" בשאלות על מוסר, קוד אתי או שבועת הרופא. pic.twitter.com/J6gOr5WdkC

— מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) September 5, 2026

Government expands fortification effort to 89 communities on Lebanon border

Construction of reinforced safe rooms in northern Israeli communities under the government's Shield of the North fortification program, September 6, 2026. (Defense Ministry)

The government announces that it is expanding its Shield of the North fortification program to communities located up to nine kilometers (5.6 miles) from the Lebanese border.

Under the expanded program, eligible homeowners will be able to receive grants of up to NIS 182,000 ($60,400) to build reinforced safe rooms to provide cover in the event of missile fire. Applications are expected to open on September 15.

More than 15,000 safe rooms are slated to be built across 89 communities. The plan also provides NIS 4.2 billion ($1.4 billion) for reinforcement work covering some 11,000 apartments in multi-unit buildings.

The expansion comes in addition to some 3,000 safe rooms being built within one kilometer of the border, more than half of which have been completed or are nearing completion, according to a joint statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Defense Ministry and Home Front Command.

The program is expanding protection in the communities after years during which they were battered by missile and drone fire from the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

2 desalination stations still shut down more than a week after algae forced closures

General view of a water desalination facility near Rishon Lezion, central Israel, September 2, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Eight days after all but one of Israel’s six desalination stations had to be closed because of marine algae, two — in southern Ashkelon and Ashdod — are still shut down, while another three — Palmachim and Soreq A and B — are still operating only partially.

The sixth, in Hadera, which is further north on the Mediterranean coast, is unaffected so far, and continues to function at full capacity.

Despite that, the Water Authority and the Energy, Water, and Infrastructure Ministry say in a joint statement that “system stability is being maintained,” with water supply to all residents and the agricultural sector continuing as normal.

This, the statement says, is thanks to the desalinated water that the working stations are able to produce, combined with additional pumping from the Sea of Galilee,”hundreds of drillings” into aquifers across the country, and reservoirs that were refilled over the weekend by the Mekorot water company.

The authority says it will order a bigger stock of reverse osmosis membranes to allow for replacement of the crucial piece of the desalination process, should existing ones at the affected stations be damaged by materials at sea.

Scientists at the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, a state research organization, are still sampling seawater to learn more about the algal blooms that threaten the sensitive membranes and have been traced to the Nile Delta.

Last week, the Water Authority dumped a cocktail of materials, including large quantities of copper sulfate, from the air along a nine-kilometer (5.6-mile) stretch of marine coastline in hopes of destroying the algae.

That prompted the Health Ministry to call for a temporary ban on fishing, which remains in effect.

The closure of five stations at once is unprecedented and led to water supply being temporarily suspended for southern farmers and for municipal services such as irrigation of gardens and parks.

Reshuffling Knesset slate, Ben Gvir promotes MKs Son Har-Melech, Kroizer; Fogel bows out

MKs Limor Son Har-Melech (left) and Yitzhak Kroizer (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90/ File, Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announces that MK Limor Son Har-Melech will take the fifth spot on his far-right Otzma Yehudit party’s electoral slate, followed by MK Yitzhak Kroizer.

The announcement prompts MK Zvika Fogel to announce that he will not run with the party in the October 27 election.

The announcement comes two days before the deadline for parties to submit their final slates of candidates, as factions across the spectrum announce additions and reshufflings of their rosters.

Fogel, who chairs the Knesset National Security Committee, announces his departure after it became clear he would be pushed down from his previous position as the party’s fifth-ranked candidate to at least seventh place. The party is projected to win seven to nine seats, according to polls.

Fogel says he will continue working on behalf of the country “in any way that is available to me,” but does not specify whether he intends to join another party, run for the Knesset through another framework or leave electoral politics altogether.

Ben Gvir’s announcement marks a slight promotion for Son Har-Melech and Kroizer, who were respectively the party’s sixth- and seventh-ranked candidates in the 2022 election. It also reflects their growing prominence within the party, particularly in the case of Son Har-Melech, who has emerged as one of Otzma Yehudit’s highest-profile lawmakers and sponsored a series of controversial legislative initiatives, including the law introducing the death penalty for terrorists, a priority of Ben Gvir’s that passed in March.

Like most parties, Otzma Yehudit does not hold primaries, with Ben Gvir selecting the candidates and determining their placement on the party slate. He will again head the slate, followed by Likud MK Tally Gotliv, whose tumultuous move to Otzma Yehudit was announced last week; Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf; and Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu.

Ben Gvir freezes senior police appointments until after election

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir holds a press conference at the Etzel Museum in Tel Aviv, following the announcement that the wreck of the Altalena had been located intact at a depth of 503 meters off Israel’s coast. August 24, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has decided to push off senior police appointments until after the October 27 election, reportedly backing away from a deal he cut with Police Commissioner Daniel Levy to promote top officers as soon as this week.

In a statement quoted by Hebrew media, Ben Gvir says he “made clear to the chief commissioner that it’s unseemly to make senior appointments six weeks before the election, because that could strike part of the public as a power grab.”

“All appointments will be frozen until after the election, except urgent cases that will be examined individually,” the statement says.

Though Ben Gvir attributes the appointments freeze to the election, Hebrew media reports his agreement with Levy fell through because of disputes over the positions of the force’s deputy legal adviser and head of the police’s lawsuit division.

Sources close to Ben Gvir are cited by the pro-government Channel 14 as saying he was blocking candidates Levy wants to promote who are considered close to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who has repeatedly clashed with the government, and whom the government has long sought to oust.

One of those candidates is Assistant Commissioner Tamar Liberty, whom Levy wants to re-appoint to the role of deputy legal adviser, according to Channel 14 and other outlets.

A source in Ben Gvir’s office called Liberty “the attorney general’s pick,” and police confirmed there were “significant discussions” about Liberty’s appointment, the Ynet news site says.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 quotes a senior police official as saying police would proceed today with planned discussions on appointments despite Ben Gvir’s statement, and that “the chief commissioner expects the national security minister to back the organization in the appointments process, as is the case in other organizations within the scope of the National Security Ministry.”

Naftali Bennett unveils opposition B’Yachad party’s slate, tapping former senior officials and reservists

The B'Yachad party's top 10 Knesset candidates, in order: Top row (left to right): Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Keren Terner, Meirav Ben Ari, Liran Avisar Ben-Horin. Bottom row (left to right): Noam Tibon, Michal Negri, Eitan Ginzburg, Merav Cohen, Yonatan Shalev. (Screenshot/Channel 12, Yahav Trudler, Courtesy Finance Ministry, Miriam Alster/FLASH90, Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, Courtesy of the Together party, Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90, Courtesy Bennett 2026, Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90). (Screenshot/Channel 12, Yahav Trudler, Courtesy Finance Ministry, Miriam Alster/FLASH90, Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, Courtesy of the Together party, Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90, Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90, Courtesy Bennett 2026)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett unveils his slate of candidates who will run with B’Yachad, the party he founded with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid in an effort to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

B’Yachad incorporates Lapid’s centrist Yesh Atid party, which unveiled its own candidates yesterday.

Among Bennett’s top candidates are Keren Terner, an economist by training who previously served as director general of both the Finance and Transportation ministries, and Liran Avisar Ben-Horin, a former director general of the Communications Ministry.

They’re followed by former Ra’anana Municipality director general Michal Negri, former Blue and White lawmaker Eitan Ginzburg, and Yonatan Shalev, a 23-year-old military reservist activist.

Bennett’s candidates will alternate with Lapid’s on the list, which is projected to win about 12 to 15 seats in next month’s election, a result that would make it the Knesset’s third-biggest party.

Bennett will lead the joint slate, with Lapid in second place, followed by Terner, Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben Ari, Avisar Ben-Horin and former IDF general Noam Tibon, according to Channel 12. The next six will be Negri, Ginzburg, Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen, Shalev, Bruria Naim Arman and Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben Barak.

The full slate will be introduced at an event this evening, ahead of a Tuesday deadline for parties to finalize their candidate rosters.

Lebanese president urges US to help stop Israeli attacks after ‘dangerous escalation’

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks while meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, July 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urges Washington and the international community to help stop Israeli attacks after strikes today killed at least four people amid a truce and Israel-Lebanon talks.

The strikes, which also damaged government premises and destroyed an out-of-service hospital, were “a dangerous escalation… reaching Lebanese state institutions” and health facilities, Aoun says in a statement, calling on the US and other countries “to urgently act to stop these violations.”

The IDF said the airstrikes in southern Lebanon were in response to a Hezbollah drone attack and targeted members of the terror group and its infrastructure.

Western Wall cleared of thousands of notes ahead of Rosh Hashanah

Workers remove handwritten prayer notes placed between the ancient stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, September 6, 2026. (Flash90)

Thousands of notes and messages left by visitors from Israel and across the world in the past months are being removed from the Western Wall, days ahead of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, which begins Friday evening.

The pieces of paper will be transferred for ritual burial in a geniza site on the Mount of Olives. Jewish law requires that documents bearing the Hebrew name of God be disposed of by burying them in a designated area in a Jewish cemetery or synagogue.

The cracks between the wall’s stones are cleared every six months — ahead of Passover and Rosh Hashanah.

Gas prices to fall at midnight

Illustrative photo of a gas station in Jerusalem, August 30, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signs off on a cut to excise tax, days after the move was given the go-ahead by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

The price, set by the government, will now be NIS 7.75 per liter, equivalent to $9.70 per gallon. The move will come into effect midnight Sunday-Monday.

There had been speculation that Baharav-Miara would nix the reduction by deeming it a case of improper electioneering less than two months before the October 27 election, as she did in 2022 when then-finance minister Avigdor Liberman tried to lower gas prices ahead of that year’s election.

Central Elections Committee votes to allow parties to use real-time voting data on election day

Central Elections Committee acting director general Dean Livne (left) and Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg, the CEC chairman (center), meet with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at the Knesset in Jerusalem on August 2, 2026. (Central Elections Committee)

The Central Elections Committee votes to allow the use of real-time data allowing party-appointed polling station workers to tell party campaign headquarters which voters have voted on election day.

The practice, done through the Elector app, has been used for several election cycles in particular by the Likud and the Haredi political parties, but Central Elections Committee Chairman Noam Sohlberg banned it last month, stating that it violated the right to privacy of voters.

After the Likud party filed a petition against the decision, the High Court of Justice decided last week that the whole committee — which reflects the balance of parties in the Knesset — should decide on the matter, not the chairman.

The plenum decides today to reject Sohlberg’s decision and enable party polling station workers to send the voting data, although not the time of voting, and stipulating that the data will not be passed to a third party and be destroyed after the elections.

Likud strongly objected to Sohlberg’s decision, arguing in the High Court that he did not have the authority to make the decision and that it was a key part of the party’s election day operations which should not be banned now, during election season.

The court said that the question of whether Sohlberg had the authority to ban the practice was “difficult” and “complex,” and so referred the decision to the CEC plenum. The justices did, however, agree that the practice was a violation of the right to privacy.

It is possible that the CEC’s decision can now be petitioned to the High Court over the privacy issue.

Zamir says IDF in ‘tense and volatile period’ ahead of Jewish holidays

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is seen at the IDF's main command center, September 6, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military is in a “tense and volatile period across all sectors,” ahead of the upcoming Jewish holiday season.

The remarks were made by Zamir during an assessment with the military’s top brass amid a snap drill that was launched this morning.

“We are in a tense and volatile period across all sectors, and are preparing for the upcoming holiday period. We continue to draw lessons, and as I have defined it, the baseline posture of the entire IDF is readiness for a surprise attack,” he says, according to remarks published by the army.

The drill launched by Zamir early this morning is aimed at testing the functioning of the military’s top-level headquarters during a “sudden multifront scenario.”

“The exercise constitutes a significant part of the IDF’s preparations for the upcoming holiday period,” Zamir says during the assessment.

Israeli forces say they found a rocket during raid in West Bank village

A rocket was found by Israeli forces during a raid against a Hamas cell in the West Bank village of Aqqaba overnight, the police and military say,

Officers of the police’s elite Yamam unit and IDF troops had raided Aqqaba following intelligence provided by the Shin Bet on a Hamas network in the area.

During the raid, the police and military say, the Yamam officers and IDF soldiers apprehended 10 Hamas operatives. At one location, the Yamam officers located a rocket without a launcher, the statement says.

One of the detained Hamas operatives also led the forces to several more weapons, including an assault rifle and a large amount of explosive material, the IDF and police say.

The suspects were taken for Shin Bet questioning, and the weapons, including the rocket, were destroyed at the scene by police sappers, the statement adds.

In recent years, there have been several attempts by Palestinian terror groups to develop and launch crude rockets from the West Bank at Israeli settlements and at Israel, though with little to no success.

Pardes Hanna school broken into, daubed with swastikas and a racial slur

Swastikas sprayed during a break-in at Shvilim democratic school in Pardes Hanna on September 6, 2026. (Pardes Hanna Municipality)

A school in Pardes Hanna was broken in to and its art room daubed with swastikas, the municipality says.

Photos shared by the municipality from the classroom in the Shvilim democratic school show swastikas and a racial slur spray-painted on desks, windows and walls.

The school principal filed a police complaint, the municipality says.

“We view gravely any expression of racism, hate and violence, and especially the use of Nazi symbols. This kind of act has no room in our school system and community,” the municipality says.

Officers from the Zichron Yaakov police station are investigating the break-in and vandalism, police say.

צלבי קרס רוססו בבית ספר בפרדס חנה, כיתת האומנות נפרצה והושחתה. המשטרה פתחה בחקירה
(אורלי אלקלעי) pic.twitter.com/mz5C5f0oJM

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 6, 2026

Ben Gvir, police chief reportedly cut deal to make senior appointments before election

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (right) and police chief Danny Levy attend a ceremony at the Israel Police headquarters in Jerusalem, November 30, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Police Chief Commissioner Daniel Levy has agreed to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s demand to make senior appointments before the October 27 election, Hebrew media reports.

Levy’s decision comes two weeks after he reportedly told top police brass that he would hold off on the appointments until after the election to avoid the impression that Ben Gvir was pressuring him, according to i24 and Haaretz.

But in recent days, Levy and Ben Gvir reached a deal to promote their respective preferred candidates as soon as this week, Haaretz reports.

The newspaper cites an unnamed senior police official as saying Levy “made an about-face” and Ben Gvir “wants to show at all costs that he controls police, specifically now, before the election.”

Despite seeking to make the appointments this week, Ben Gvir has not given Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara the notice required by the High Court, Haaretz says.

The court, ruling on petitions against Ben Gvir’s alleged interference in police, had in April ordered the minister to give seven days’ notice before making appointments to any position with the rank of at least commissioner, police’s second-highest rank, and to sensitive positions with the rank of at least chief superintendent, police’s fifth-highest rank.

The directives cited the need to ensure that the public service keeps functioning and that senior appointments aren’t abused for electoral gain.

Nonetheless, top police brass are set to convene today to discuss appointments of officers to positions that carry the rank of assistant commissioner, police’s third-highest rank, according to police sources cited by i24.

According to Haaretz, at least seven officers are expected to be promoted to assistant commissioner roles.

They reportedly include Jerusalem’s Old City police chief, Commander Dvir Tamim, who has facilitated Jewish prayer atop the Temple Mount in violation of the delicate status quo arrangement that bans non-Muslim prayer at the holy site, Haaretz reports.

Tamim is expected to become head of police in central Israel’s Sharon Region, replacing Assistant Commissioner Eli Pinto, who was ousted amid accusations that he mishandled the investigation into the murder of 21-year-old Yemanu Zeleka in Petah Tikva on Independence Day, in April.

Meanwhile, Haaretz reports, Levy wants to promote police’s current controversial spokesperson, Commander Aryeh Doron, to head the Spokesperson’s Division instead of Assistant Commissioner Lior Abudraham, who is retiring amid an investigation against him for alleged sexual harassment.

Levy also reportedly seeks to promote Commissioner Yehiel Bohadana, head of police’s Coastal District, to the role of deputy police chief, Haaretz says, adding that Bohadana has relatively little experience in senior roles.

Under Baharav-Miara’s directives, the promotion of Bohadana in an election period requires special approval from the attorney general because he holds the rank of commissioner.

Haaretz says the promotion of Doron would also require Baharav-Miara’s extraordinary approval because the officer’s new job would put him on the police’s General Staff.

Israel Prize laureate Adi Altschuler joins Yashar, tapped as party’s candidate for education minister

Adi Altschuler (L) and Gadi Eisenkot in a photo released September 6, 2026 (Yahav Trodler/Yashar)

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party announces the addition of Israel Prize-winning educator and social entrepreneur Adi Altschuler to its electoral slate, naming her as the party’s candidate for education minister in a potential government.

Altschuler appears to be the first member of Yashar’s growing electoral slate whom the party has publicly designated as its candidate for a specific ministerial portfolio.

“Adi is one of Israel’s leading figures in education and social affairs,” Eisenkot says, citing her more than two decades of experience. “I am pleased that Adi accepted my request to be Yashar’s candidate for education minister in the government we will form.”

Altschuler, 39, founded the Krembo Wings youth movement and the Zikaron BaSalon initiative, which organizes intimate Holocaust remembrance gatherings in private homes. She also co-founded Inclu, a network of inclusive schools and kindergartens.

She was awarded the Israel Prize this year for her contributions to Israeli society and education, and received the Presidential Medal of Honor in 2023.

“We are on the cusp of change, at a historic moment, and I do not have the privilege of standing on the sidelines,” Altschuler says, thanking Eisenkot for the “meaningful offer” to serve as education minister in a government led by him.

“We will work to create a united society here and a high-quality, healthy education system that is good for children, families and all educational staff,” she adds.

Over 1,300 doctors left Israel over past 3 years, research finds, the equivalent of a hospital

An underground parking area converted into a treatment ward at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, after many patients were relocated following the outbreak of war, June 8, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

About 1,370 doctors left Israel for at least one year between 2023 and 2025, according to new Tel Aviv University research based on Central Bureau of Statistics data.

That number has nearly doubled compared to the previous decade.

The study, reported by Hebrew-language media outlets, tracked population registry and medical licensing records.

In 2023, 416 doctors left Israel, followed by 530 in 2024. Preliminary estimates for 2025 indicate that around 419 physicians left the country, according to their data.

The uptick appeared across all medical specialties, including pediatricians, ophthalmologists, and dermatologists, and from all geographical regions of Israel.

The Ynet news site notes that the number of doctors who have left is the equivalent of the number of doctors at a large hospital.

While residing abroad for a year does not automatically imply permanent emigration, temporary stays abroad frequently transition into permanent relocation, say the researchers, Prof. Itai Ater, Prof. Nitzan Bergman and Doron Zamir.

“Israel is losing its best people,” Ater says. “The departure of nearly 1,400 doctors translates directly into longer wait times, less effective medical care, and ultimately severe harm to our quality of life.”

IDF confirms striking disused hospital in south Lebanon, says it was used as Hezbollah command center

The IDF says its airstrikes in southern Lebanon this morning, in response to a Hezbollah drone attack, targeted members of the terror group and its infrastructure.

Among the targets were weapon depots and other buildings used by Hezbollah to advance attacks, as well as a command center based out of a former hospital, the military says. Lebanese media reported earlier that the disused Ghandour Hospital in Nabatieh al-Fawqa was demolished in a strike.

The IDF says that recently, Hezbollah operatives involved in “artillery and surveillance” had been operating from the command center at the hospital compound.

All of the strikes were carried out to “remove threats,” the military says, and came in response to this morning’s drone attack on troops operating in the Ali Taher Ridge area.

בתגובה לשיגור שני רחפני הנפץ לעבר כוחותינו במרחב הביטחוני: צה"ל תקף מחבלים ותשתיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב דרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/KCr1XEXU11

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 6, 2026

8 Muslim-majority countries condemn ‘provocative’ proposals by Katz, Ben Gvir promoting Gaza emigration

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan issue a joint condemnation of remarks by Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling for plans to facilitate the emigration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

The ministers “strongly condemn” remarks by Ben Gvir and Katz “regarding the displacement of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, and what they contained in terms of proposing plans and mechanisms aimed at forcibly expelling Palestinians from their land,” according to an Arabic-language statement.

“These statements and provocative proposals represent a flagrant violation of the principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, and a direct threat to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” the statement adds.

Ben Gvir on Thursday unveiled a plan aimed at removing the vast majority of Gaza’s Palestinian population from the territory through what he termed “voluntary emigration,” including by establishing a dedicated government ministry, saying he hoped to advance the plan if the coalition remains in power after elections in late October.

Ben Gvir’s proposal came a day after Katz said plans to facilitate mass emigration from Gaza remain under discussion and were merely “frozen” by US President Donald Trump, who had initially proposed relocating Gaza’s roughly 2.3 million residents in February 2025. Katz said Israel was prepared to facilitate departures by land, sea and air, but acknowledged that no countries were currently willing to absorb Gazans on the scale envisioned.

Such plans, which come as political parties ramp up their campaigning ahead of elections, would face massive international pushback if implemented.

Iran’s response to US strikes on tankers will be ‘more painful,’ parliament speaker says

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf gives a press conference at an event marking 40 days since the burial of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba Mosque in Iraq’s central holy shrine city of Karbala on August 20, 2026. (Karar Jabbar/AFP)

The US should understand that the rules of the game in war against Iran have changed “before it is too late,” says Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, a day after the US struck several Iranian tankers in the Gulf.

“From now on, any attack against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” he says in a speech published on his Telegram channel.

Court extends detention of man suspected of lacing baby food with sedatives

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court extends the detention of a man suspected of lacing baby food with sedatives in Jerusalem supermarkets, according to police.

The suspect’s custody was extended until Wednesday, police say.

The man, a resident of southern Israel in his 40s, was arrested last week, and the court ordered that he be kept in custody.

Several infants were hospitalized with symptoms of benzodiazepine poisoning in June after consuming baby food bought in Jerusalem.

Tropper, Hendel split, with Zionist Home leader set to join Eisenkot’s Yashar

Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper attend a campaign event in Jerusalem, on August 5, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Chili Tropper’s Zionist Home and Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists party are splitting their recently formed center-right alliance, the Reservists party announces, as Hebrew media reports that Tropper is set to join Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for parties to submit their Knesset slates.

According to the reports, Tropper is expected to receive a spot among the top five candidates on Yashar’s slate, while his Zionist Home colleagues, bereaved family members Shira Shapira and Elyasaf Peretz, will receive realistic spots further down the list.

Hendel and his Reservists will not join Yashar.

In a statement announcing the split, the Reservists party says that Tropper and Hendel had each made “a personal decision” in light of the “complicated political reality,” while stressing that their longstanding friendship and “ideological partnership” remains intact.

Tropper, who quit Benny Gantz’s Blue and White in May, and Hendel joined forces this summer and established the Zionist Home-Reservists just last month, with the stated goal of helping establish as broad a “Zionist government” as possible. The party failed to rise in the polls and was hovering around the 3.25% electoral threshold.

The move comes as Yashar has emerged as the dominant party in the opposition in recent polls, running neck-and-neck with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud at around 26 seats. Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid’s B’Yachad alliance, with which Tropper also held talks, has meanwhile slid to around 14 seats.

B’Yachad is expected to announce its final slate today while Yashar will do so tomorrow. Parties have until Tuesday to submit their final candidates lists for the October 27 election.

Witkoff, Kushner set for talks in Kyiv after meeting with Putin in Moscow

US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff, right, and Jared Kushner wait to attend the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, on September 5, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to arrive in Kyiv in their first visit to the Ukrainian capital as part of a renewed push for peace in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The visit by the emissaries follows a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday. The visits by Witkoff and Kushner, who is also US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are an attempt to revive peace talks during escalating aerial attacks by both sides.

The air war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified as troops have struggled to make progress along the 1,250-kilometer (775-mile) front line. Russia has recently been using fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and the recurring wail of air-raid sirens has become part of daily life in Kyiv.

Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to pause strikes on each other’s capitals while the talks take place.

4 killed and 20 wounded in IDF strikes, say Lebanese health authorities

People watch a smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike that hit a house in Arab Salim village after an evacuation warning, southern Lebanon, September 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese health authorities reports four dead and 20 wounded in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon since this morning.

In a statement carried by the official National News Agency, the Lebanese health ministry says two people were killed and two were wounded in Nabatieh al-Fawqa; eight people were injured in Nabatieh; two people were killed and six were injured in Arab Salim; and four people were wounded in Kafr Rumman.

Earlier, the IDF said it was striking Hezbollah sites in response to a drone attack on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Israel warns of ongoing terror threats to Jews, Israelis abroad ahead of High Holidays

Armed police officers stand with their weapons outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025 (Paul Currie / AFP)

The National Security Council issues an updated warning of terror threats against Israelis and Jews abroad ahead of the Jewish holiday season, which begins this weekend with Rosh Hashanah and ends three weeks later with the conclusion of Sukkot.

In a statement, the NSC, which is part of the Prime Minister’s Office, says that Iran and its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, and global jihadi groups Islamic State and al-Qaeda, remain highly motivated to target Israelis and Jews worldwide.

Israel’s recent conflicts against Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and others, together with “incitement campaigns,” have led “to a steep increase in terrorist factions’ motivation to attack Israeli and Jewish targets around the world,” the NSC says.

The council again warns that October 7 — the third anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel — could “be the focus of protests and demonstrations (possibly involving violence), as well as increased efforts to carry out attacks.”

The council advises against travel to high-risk countries including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen — which is in any case forbidden by law — as well as countries that neighbor Iran, and Egypt (including Sinai), Jordan, Somaliland, and others.

It also notes a “marked increase in lone-wolf attacks” stemming from “ideological radicalization” and “worsening anti-Israel discourse online.”

The council urges Israelis to exercise caution and refrain from displaying Israeli or Jewish symbols in countries with a Level 3 threat level.

In case of suspected threats abroad, Israelis should first contact local security services and then the NSC’s hotline at +972-2-6667444.

Two people were killed on October 2, 2025, when a man rammed his car into the gates of a Manchester synagogue during prayer services on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. In 2019, two residents of Germany’s Halle were shot dead on the street during an attempted massacre by a gunman at the city’s synagogue on Yom Kippur.

Boy in critical condition with rare ‘brain-eating amoeba’ after swimming in Sea of Galilee

Illustrative: Israeli youngsters at Kursi Beach, Sea of Galilee, on April 17, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

A 9-year-old child is hospitalized in serious condition with encephalitis and is sedated and intubated in the intensive care unit at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, the Health Ministry says.

Tests sent to the ministry’s laboratory overnight confirmed that the boy contracted the infection from Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba.

An initial epidemiological investigation revealed that the child swam at Kursi Beach on the Sea of Galilee about a week before he was hospitalized.

The amoeba causes an extremely rare but highly fatal infection of the central nervous system. Fewer than 500 cases have been reported worldwide, including two in the US over the past year. Israel has seen three recorded cases in recent years.

Naegleria fowleri thrives in warm freshwater sources. Infection occurs exclusively when contaminated water enters through the nose, allowing the organism to travel to the brain. It cannot be contracted by drinking water, nor does it spread from person to person.

To reduce risk when swimming in warm freshwater, health officials advise keeping water from entering the nose — especially when diving, jumping, or putting one’s head underwater — by holding the nose shut or using nose clips. Swimmers should also avoid stirring up sediment in shallow waters, where concentrations of the amoeba can be higher.

Israeli security forces to conduct large, pre-planned drill in Eilat area tomorrow

Israeli security forces will conduct a large-scale, pre-planned drill in the southernmost city of Eilat and the surrounding area tomorrow, the military and police announce.

As part of the drill, security forces, aircraft, and vessels will be more heavily present in the area.

The IDF and Israel Police say that as part of the exercise, security forces will “practice a variety of complex extreme scenarios in the air, at sea and on land, with an emphasis on protecting communities and the Eilat city area.”

Iran arrests multiple people accused of waving flag of outlawed opposition group

Iranian authorities have arrested a number of people accused of appearing in a rare video waving the flag of an outlawed opposition group, state television says.

Videos circulating online in recent days showed individuals riding motorbikes on empty streets in Iran while waving the white-and-red banner of the banned People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK).

State television says authorities identified and arrested “all the individuals who appeared in this clip” and that they were “associated” with MEK, without specifying how many.

It says the motorcade had been traveling near the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, but it was not clear when the footage was recorded.

In an ususual event, the MEK published a video yesterday of a street rally some of its supporters had in Karaj.

According to Fars News, all people in the video were subsequently identified and arrested.

Seeing such an open show of support in Iran itself for a banned group that… pic.twitter.com/XBxjZNYYwr

— Alireza Talakoubnejad (@websterkaroon) September 5, 2026

2 London apartments thought to be owned by Khamenei near the Israeli Embassy go up for sale

Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a demonstration to mark Jerusalem Day in Tehran, May 31, 2019. (Saeid Zareian/DPA/Reuters); Israel’s UK Embassy in Kensington, west London, March 23, 2010. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Two apartments thought to be owned by Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and located close to the Israeli embassy in London have been put on the market, the Sunday Times reports.

The two apartments, acquired through various intermediaries in 2014 and 2016, are located on the sixth and seventh floors of a building on the same street as the embassy, Palace Green in Kensington, British media reported earlier this year.

At the time, the Daily Mail quoted a terrorism and security specialist saying that the location of the apartments means “Iran owns the view into the back of the Israeli Embassy from less than 50 meters away.”

The Sunday Times says the apartments have been put up for sale after Iranian banker Ali Ansari, accused of being a frontman for Khamenei, was placed under sanctions.

The report says Ansari recently defaulted on the mortgages, so the British government decided the properties should be sold.

The report says the apartments at 3a Palace Green, close to Kensington Palace Gardens, have servants’ quarters and private roof terraces.

One of the apartments was bought for £19 million (approximately $25.6 million) in 2016, but is now on the market for £12 million (approximately $16.2 million). The second apartment was bought in 2014 for £16.75 million (approximately $22.6 million) but does not have a public listing, so the sale price is unknown.

Voters in German state of Saxony-Anhalt go to polls, with far-right AfD the clear frontrunner

A sign held up as Ulrich Siegmund, top candidate in the Saxony-Anhalt state election for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, addresses a campaign event in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on September 5, 2026, one day before regional elections in the eastern federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. (Ronny HARTMANN/AFP)

Voters in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt go to the polls in a closely watched election that could see the Alternative for Germany (AfD) become the first far-right party to take power at a state level since World War II.

Under the 35-year-old leader Ulrich Siegmund, the party has been polling comfortably ahead for months, and there is a genuine chance the AfD could take an absolute majority on this evening, particularly if several smaller parties fail to clear Germany’s 5 percent threshold to enter parliament.

The vote is being closely watched as a barometer for the government of the deeply unpopular Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has attempted to chip away at the AfD’s popularity by taking a tougher line on migration and security.

Recent surveys place the AfD at just over 40%, followed by Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) at 23%.

An absolute majority would allow the AfD to bypass mainstream parties’ efforts to keep the party blocked out of power by refusing to work with it under a longstanding “firewall” policy.

Achieving an absolute majority is a high bar to clear in Germany’s proportional electoral system, which was designed in part to encourage coalition governments and make it difficult for one party to rule alone.

If the AfD falls short of an outright majority, a CDU-led administration under incumbent state premier Sven Schulze is the most likely outcome, though the exact shape of any coalition would depend on which parties enter.

Read more: German far-right AfD party’s projected win puts Jews between the left and a hard place

IDF strike said to destroy empty Lebanon hospital after drone attack targeting troops

Lebanese media reports that an Israeli airstrike this morning destroyed Ghandour Hospital in the southern town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

According to the reports, the facility was empty of all patients and staff.

The IDF said it was carrying out strikes on Hezbollah sites in response to a drone attack on troops operating in southern Lebanon early this morning.

The military has not commented specifically on the hospital strike.

????غارة إسرائيلية تُدمّر مستشفى غندور في بلدة النبطية الفوقا بالكامل صباح اليوم، مع الإشارة إلى أن المستشفى كان خالياً من المرضى والموظفين pic.twitter.com/idsrsFZbN2

— Annahar النهار (@Annahar) September 6, 2026

Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after brother found in underground trash can

A man has been arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of his brother, who was found in an underground trash can in Jerusalem, police say.

The victim was taken to hospital in moderate condition after he was rescued in the Gilo neighborhood.

Video shows a crane lifting the trash can from its position, which has an underground compartment to increase its storage area.

מתמודד נפש בן 28 נעצר בחשד לניסיון רצח לאחר שהשליך את אחיו לפח מוטמן בירושלים. האח, גם הוא מתמודד נפש, חולץ ופונה במצב בינוני לבית החולים | תיעוד החילוץ@VeredPelman (צילום: כבאות והצלה לישראל) pic.twitter.com/9g61DguHOL

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 6, 2026

Police say that after an initial investigation raised suspicions that the victim’s brother was responsible, the 28-year-old was arrested and taken for questioning.

He will appear in court later today for a hearing on his detention.

Zamir launches snap drill testing IDF’s readiness for ‘sudden, complex, multifront’ scenario

Early this morning, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir launched a snap drill testing the functioning of the military’s top-level headquarters during a “sudden multi-front scenario.”

The IDF says the drill will “examine the alertness and readiness” of the headquarters, the readiness of standby forces, and “the ability to deal with a sudden, complex, multifront, and large-scale event,” to better prepare the military for the upcoming Jewish holiday period.

The commanders of all the military’s commands, directorates, and wings were ordered to rush to their headquarters for the purpose of the drill. The exercise had been kept a secret until it was launched, with few officers being aware of it, including major generals, according to the IDF.

All of the IDF’s standby forces were also being activated as part of the exercise, including the deployment of one battalion by helicopters. The military warns that there will be increased movement of security forces and aircraft across the country today.

Zamir is observing the drill from the military’s main command center, as well as touring troops on the ground, the military says. Officers from the IDF Comptroller Unit are also carrying out examinations at the various headquarters.

The IDF says the drill is part of “an ongoing process aimed at strengthening the IDF’s foundations, and the operational fitness and readiness of all levels of troops and commanders.”

“As part of it, the implementation of operational plans is being drilled and examined alongside lessons learned from fighting in the various sectors and from the events of October 7,” the military adds.

Woman aged around 70 shot, seriously wounded in Qalansawe

A woman aged around 70 was shot and wounded in the central city of Qalansawe, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.

The woman is in serious condition and has been taken to the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, medics say.

There is no immediate comment from police and no reports of arrests.

IDF issues ‘urgent’ evacuation warning for south Lebanon’s Arab Salim ahead of strike on Hezbollah

The IDF issues an “urgent warning” to residents of the southern Lebanon town of Arab Salim ahead of an airstrike against Hezbollah.

The evacuation warning applies to one building in the town and the surrounding area, and it comes “following the blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement by the Hezbollah terror organization, after it launched an explosive-laden drone toward IDF troops,” says Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokeswoman.

Residents are instructed to evacuate at least 300 meters from the building that the military says belongs to Hezbollah.

The warning comes amid other airstrikes in southern Lebanon this morning, however evacuation warnings have become somewhat rare — the last one was a month ago.

The IDF said earlier it was striking Hezbollah sites in response to the drone attack on troops operating in the Ali Taher Ridge area.

IDF striking targets in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launches explosive drones at troops

The IDF says it is striking targets in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched two explosive drones at troops operating in the Ali Taher Ridge area of southern Lebanon earlier this morning.

One of the drones launched by the terror group was shot down by troops, the IDF says, adding that no soldiers were injured in the incident.

“This constitutes a blatant violation [of the ceasefire] by the Hezbollah terror organization,” the IDF says in a statement.

IRGC says it attacked US naval drone trying to enter Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it attacked a US naval drone that was trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, hours after Tehran and Washington traded strikes.

“The heroic Naval Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked an American military unmanned surface vessel (remotely operated vessel) that was attempting to enter the protected area of the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC sayd in a statement carried by Iranian state television IRIB.

US envoys discussed ‘substantive plans’ with Putin for ending Ukraine war — White House

US envoys discussed “substantive plans” for next steps toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine during their meeting Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House says.

US President Donald Trump’s business partner Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner “discussed substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks, and look forward to equally productive meetings tomorrow in Ukraine,” a White House official says in a statement to AFP.

Anti-government protester expected to be charged with incitement to terror — report

An anti-government activist is expected to be indicted on charges of incitement to terror in the coming days, Channel 13 reports, over social media posts allegedly inciting violence against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others.

Yolanda Yavor, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University, was arrested in November for Facebook posts that called, among other things, for the people to launch a “real rebellion” against the “traitor” Netanyahu.

According to Channel 13, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman have decided that, pending a hearing, Yavor will stand trial on charges of incitement to terror.

The decision has sparked criticism, however, with an unnamed source close to Yavor telling Channel 13 that Netanyahu’s Likud party “exerted pressure” on Baharav-Miara and Aisman to put her on trial.

Yavor’s attorney, Oshrat Kirma, accuses the legal officials of pushing the case through immediately following a request from Likud to expedite the process.

“There is no doubt that the motives here are political,” she says in remarks carried by Channel 13.

Report: Palestinian man thrown out of IDF vehicle after being detained, beaten

A Palestinian man was reportedly thrown out of an Israeli military vehicle on Saturday outside the West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir, after he was detained and beaten by soldiers, according to the left-wing Israeli group Looking the Occupation in the Eye.

The organization posts footage of a man lying on the ground covering his face, as soldiers close the back door of a military vehicle, apparently after tossing the man out onto the ground.

The man lies motionless on the ground as the military vehicle drives away. A second person can be seen approaching him as the video cuts off.

“After being detained, interrogated and beaten – a Palestinian man was thrown of a military vehicle and the soldiers continued on their way,” Looking the Occupation in the Eye writes on X.

There is no comment on the incident from the IDF.

Holy Shabbat.
Al-Mughayyir, Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate.

After being detained, interrogated and beaten – a Palestinian man was thrown of a military vehicle and the soldiers continued on their way.
​
Don't bother "our finest sons" with questions about morality, the code… pic.twitter.com/XCkFrSjJUH

— מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) September 5, 2026

Top UTJ rabbi confirms Gafni, Maklev are standing down, says candidate list needed ‘refresh’

Rabbi Dov Lando, the leading rabbinic authority for the Degel Hatorah faction of the United Torah Judaism party, confirms that veteran lawmakers Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev will not stand in the upcoming election.

Following media reports on the matter earlier tonight, Lando’s office publishes a statement confirming that the 96-year-old rabbi wrote to Gafni and Maklev this evening to inform them of this decision.

Lando “warmly thanked the men for their activity in recent years in total obedience with [religious leaders], and in particular in their fight for the position of yeshiva students” as exempt from the military draft, his office says.

“However, due to the need to refresh the Knesset members, the two will leave the Knesset in order to bring in new representatives,” the statement adds.

Earlier, Hebrew media outlets reported that the decision to oust Maklev and Gafni was a result of internal struggle over Degel HaTorah’s political direction and its relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling government, particularly after UTJ failed to secure the passage of a law broadly exempting Haredi men from military service.