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Key updates, 1 September 2026:
Kuwait and Bahrain report Iranian drone attacks after US base in Jordan targeted
Officials in Kuwait and Bahrain report that their countries’ respective air defenses were activated against incoming Iranian drone attacks.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the countries hosting US troops.
The reported attacks come after Iran targeted a US base in Jordan.
Jordan says it intercepted ballistic missiles from Iran
Jordan’s army says it has intercepted 10 ballistic missiles launched from Iran while three others landed in remote areas.
“Jordan’s air defense systems engaged 13 ballistic missiles that entered the Kingdom’s airspace, successfully intercepting and destroying 10 of them, while three missiles fell in remote areas away from populated centers,” the army says in a statement, adding that no casualties were reported.
Trump says US strikes target Iranian effort to rebuild radar system
US President Donald Trump tells Fox News that the latest round of strikes focused heavily on efforts to reconstruct radar that had been decimated by earlier US-Israel strikes in the six-month old conflict.
Trump, in a phone call with the network, says the US military has been monitoring Iran’s efforts to rebuild radar systems and waited until the work was almost completed before carrying out the strikes, according to correspondent Trey Yingst.
President Trump told Fox News a lot of Iranian radar was hit tonight.
"They tried to rebuild their radar because they can't see anything," President Trump said. "We waited until it was almost built and then we hit it."
The President said if Iran responds, "They'll be hit much… pic.twitter.com/NGfYulLhpC
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) September 1, 2026
Earlier, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was ready to return to a ceasefire agreement brokered with the US in June if Washington was willing to abide by the terms.
But Trump appeared to pour cold water on the possibility of a return to the ceasefire, at least in the near term. Yingst says Trump told him, “I think an agreement with them isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
Alarm sirens activated in Jordan amid Iranian strikes, state TV says
Alarm sirens have been activated in Jordan’s Mafraq and Aqaba governorates, state TV reports, as Iran launched attacks against U.S. interests and bases in the region in retaliation for its strikes on Iran.
Netanyahu clarifies that he is not accusing security officials of ‘betrayal’ on Oct. 7, just ‘failure’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in a video posted to social media on September 1, 2026. (Screencapture/Facebook)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu puts out a video on social media clarifying that he is not accusing top security officials of “betrayal” during the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, just “failure.”
In the video, Netanyahu is asked about comments made on the news this evening that he and his wife were deliberately stoking conspiracy theories, and implying top officials knew of the Hamas plans ahead of time.
“Complete nonsense,” Netanyahu says.
“They have asked me several times, do I think there was a betrayal, and I said ‘no, I don’t think there was a betrayal, I think there was a failure, a great failure.'”
“And it can be found in the night, and the morning before the attack when there were all the signs and they decided — because of a fear of a miscalculation, so as not to annoy Hamas — not to wake me up, and not to attack before hand. That’s the failure, but it’s not betrayal.”
His video comes after Netanyahu claimed during an Instagram livestream that senior IDF and defense officials deliberately chose not to wake him in the hours before the attack.
Yesterday, his wife, Sara Netanyahu, peddled a conspiracy theory targeting Democrats party leader Yair Golan, insinuating without evidence that Golan had advance notice of the onslaught. Golan has said he will sue her for libel if she does not apologize. She has refused.
Channel 12’s political correspondent says these appear to be deliberate moves by the Netanyahu family to reframe the narrative surrounding the failures of October 7, ahead of the upcoming elections.
She quotes a Likud source as saying: “Sara Netanyahu’s comment was not a random remark. There is a decision by the family to spread conspiracy theories in the time leading up to the election to distance Netanyahu from the massacre at any cost.”
IDF dismisses reservist commander who prayed with settlers besieging Qusra; still no arrests from latest attack
The IDF says it has dismissed a reservist commander who, along with his troops, joined settlers for prayers at an illegal outpost set up in the West Bank Palestinian village of Qusra last month, rather than removing them from the site.
The commander had acted “contrary to what was expected of him and contrary to the instructions given to him,” the military says.
Footage had shown soldiers arriving at the structure illegally erected by settlers in Qusra on August 10, and praying with them.
An IDF inquiry into the conduct of the troops during the incident was wrapped up today.
“The inquiry found that this was a reserve force that acted in accordance with the instructions of the force commander, who led the activity contrary to what was expected of him and contrary to the instructions given to him,” the IDF says in response to a query.
The military says that the troops were sent to the area to be a barrier between the settlers and Palestinian residents, “and to refrain from carrying out actions that could be interpreted as identification with or support for illegal activity at an outpost that had caused harm.”
Following the inquiry, the IDF says that it was decided to remove the commander from his role. Should the reservist express a desire to continue serving, he would be allowed to do so in a non-command role, according to a military source.
The other troops seen praying had “acted in accordance with their commander’s instructions, and therefore it was decided not to take action against them,” the IDF adds.
אך ביומיים האחרונים האירוע החמיר עם חסימת דרכי הגישה. הוא הוסיף כי הוא מנסה למצוא דרך להוציא את אשתו ובנותיו. אתמול תועדו חיילים מגיעים לסוכה שאותה הקימו המתנחלים ומתפללים איתם. לאחר מכן לפי חסאן הם עזבו את המקום ולא פינו את המתנחלים. פניתי לצה"ל לפני זמן קצר, נאמר לי שבודקים. pic.twitter.com/OTwREJ8zGM
— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) August 10, 2026
Meanwhile, as of this evening, there have still been no arrests made in connection with the latest settler attack on Qusra on Saturday, even though footage showed the faces of a number of those involved.
Police yesterday said investigators visited the scene and collected findings and evidence, and took testimony. Police also said they had issued a number of warrants for the suspects “in order to arrest them in order to bring them to justice,” but did not give any details.
Hebrew media said eight warrants had been issued.
The attack, in which dozens of settlers descended on the town from a nearby hillside and occupied a Palestinian home there, was the latest in a string of assaults on the village, which was besieged by settlers in recent weeks, and took place amid a months-long surge in settler violence.
Saturday’s attack, in addition to an attack on a crew of journalists in the nearby Palestinian town of Jalud, has drawn international condemnation.
Iranian official says 2 killed, others wounded at wedding by US attack
An Iranian official says that two people were killed and several others were wounded by a US attack while attending a wedding in the south.
“A residential home was attacked while people were holding a wedding ceremony,” Ahmad Nafisi, deputy governor of Hormozgan province, tells state television, adding that “two people were reported martyred and a number of others wounded.”
After stormy meeting, Airports Authority and workers reach deal to allow normal operations
Thousands of passengers wait at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv after operations shut down on August 20, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
The Israel Airports Authority management and the workers’ union reach an agreement to ensure smooth, continuous operations amid peak flight and passenger traffic expected during the busy Jewish holiday period starting this month, the Histadrut Labor Federation says.
Following a lengthy and heated discussion, the sides agree to turn over a “new leaf” based on partnership, trust, and dialogue, the union says.
The meeting follows last month’s wildcat strike over staff shortages, which caused chaos for travelers on Ben Gurion Airport’s busiest day of the year. The operational disruption sparked concerns that the airport wasn’t equipped to handle heavy traffic during the Jewish holidays.
This year, Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of September 11, commencing three weeks of Jewish holidays during which large numbers of tourists come to Israel. During September, about 2.5 million passengers are expected to travel via Ben Gurion Airport, according to the IAA.
As part of the agreements, IAA management will “accelerate the recruitment of necessary personnel” in line with a planned hiring program, the Histadrut says in a joint statement.
To address future airport traffic challenges, joint efforts will be explored to help the IAA operate more efficiently and provide high-quality, advanced services to the traveling public, the Histadrut says.
IAEA says Syria site bombed by Israel in 2007 ‘consistent with nuclear reactor’
The Syrian nuclear reactor site before it was destroyed by the IDF in 2007, as seen from a satellite. (Photo: Google Earth)
A Syrian site held infrastructure “consistent with a nuclear reactor,” the UN nuclear watchdog says in a confidential report seen by AFP, adding that the country under ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad “failed to report nuclear material, facilities and activities.”
Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month visited two sites, one in Deir Ezzor and a second location related to nuclear material identified by Syria.
The Deir Ezzor site was the target of an Israeli strike in September 2007. Israel did not officially take responsibility for the bombing for more than a decade, in part to avoid retaliation from Damascus. But Jerusalem was widely presumed to be behind the strike, and officially acknowledged it in 2018.
“Based on observations made by the agency at the Deir Ezzor site, the agency confirms that the cooling infrastructure which has now been uncovered is consistent with that of a nuclear reactor,” the IAEA said.
The agency says it would continue to monitor the activities at the site “as the excavation work progresses.”
“Based on the information provided by Syria and the results of the agency’s verification activities conducted at several locations in Syria, the agency is able to establish that the former Syrian authorities had failed to report nuclear material, facilities and activities,” it says.
Besides the “nuclear reactor under construction” at the Deir Ezzor site, the IAEA lists a fuel fabrication plant, where the nuclear fuel for the reactor was manufactured, and a location where the nuclear fuel, as well as uranium scrap and waste, were stored.
Grossi said last month in Damascus that IAEA inspectors had found several tons of nuclear material in Syria, at a site Damascus reported to the agency in July.
Bank of Israel says next government must find solution to allow banks to continue working with PA
Israel’s next government will need to find a solution that will allow Israeli banks to continue working with their Palestinian counterparts after a deal was reached to continue services until the end of 2026, a senior Bank of Israel official says.
Two Israeli banks had been set to halt working with Palestinian banks — Israel Discount Bank on September 1 and Bank Hapoalim in a month — due to concerns over the risks of associating with possible terrorism financing and money laundering. But after negotiations with the Finance Ministry, the banks have agreed to delay severing ties until the end of 2026, Bank of Israel Deputy Governor Andrew Abir says.
“Then, it will be an issue for the new government to decide who should be carrying on that burden of the business of correspondent banking with Palestinian banks,” he tells Reuters. “The deadline has been pushed off.”
Israel heads to elections on October 27.
Discount and Hapoalim have been providing correspondent services with Palestinian banks through a series of indemnity waivers signed by Israel’s finance minister.
Iran state TV says US targeted airport in south
The United States struck an airport in the southern Iranian province of Kerman, state television reports, as Washington announced a fresh wave of attacks.
“Minutes ago, the enemy US attack targeted Jiroft airport,” state television says, after reporting several strikes along the coast of the Strait of Hormuz and on Iranian islands in the Gulf.
Iran media says military launches ‘decisive operation’ against US targets
Iranian media reports that the country’s military had launched a “decisive operation” against US targets in the region, as Washington carried out a fresh round of strikes.
The Tasnim news agency says a “decisive operation by Iran’s armed forces in response to the US enemy has begun. The US bases and interests in the region are being targeted by Iranian missiles and drones.”
Key Update
Footage shows capture of Hamas security chief
Footage published by Al Jazeera shows the raid in Gaza City earlier today, during which the chief of Hamas’s internal security apparatus, Muein al-Arabid, was captured.
The IDF and Shin Bet said the raid was carried out by special forces of the security agency.
The footage shows a van arriving at the scene, apparently while the incident was already underway, with gunfire heard coming from forces inside the vehicle. Shortly beforehand, a man is seen crawling nearby and attempting to hide, apparently al-Arabid.
مشاهد خاصة للجزيرة توثق إصابة أحد ضباط جهاز الأمن الداخلي في غزة خلال عملية استهدافه واختطافه#الأخبار pic.twitter.com/ImaHsmz8P6
— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) September 1, 2026
Netanyahu meets US envoy to Beirut, Huckabee, ahead of upcoming Israel-Lebanon talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets in Jerusalem with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on September 1, 2026. (Maayan Toaf / GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets in Jerusalem with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who have been involved in the direct Israel-Lebanon talks mediated by Washington, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
National Security Advisor Shmuel Ben Ezra is also seen in the meeting, though the PMO provides no details on what was discussed.
The sit-down takes place ahead of an expected eighth round of talks early this month in Rome. Last month’s round of talks in Rome saw setbacks amid an escalation in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
In June, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a framework deal that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon’s south and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces to the region, starting in test areas known as “pilot zones,” though its implementation has faced ongoing difficulties.
Netanyahu claims defense officials intentionally failed to wake him in the hours before Oct. 7 attack
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims during an Instagram livestream that senior IDF and defense officials deliberately chose not to wake him hours before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught because “they knew that, as prime minister of Israel, I would have immediately given the order to put the entire military on alert.”
The remarks, broadcast on Channel 12 news, are similar to comments he made on a podcast yesterday and on Channel 14 on Sunday night, and mark a shift from Netanyahu’s previous claim that events would have unfolded differently had he been woken up before the attack began, with the premier now alleging that defense officials intentionally kept him uninformed. In the Channel 14 interview, he elaborated that the defense chiefs chose not to wake him because they assessed Hamas would not attack, feared he would order a major alert, and were worried that this would trigger a Hamas attack.
Netanyahu says in the Instagram livestream that he would have “woken up all the communities, woken up all the security coordinators and told the air force to be ready to strike and kill anyone approaching the fence.”
“So I am not telling you that some wouldn’t have breached [the fence],” he says, adding that he could have also canceled the Nova music festival. “It is so obvious that all of this could have been done.”
Netanyahu made similar remarks on a podcast yesterday, in a clip he later reposted to his X account, alleging that senior defense officials deliberately did not wake him before the attack.
He singled out then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, accusing Bar of seeking to maintain a discreet, mid-level state of readiness and avoid broad military action for fear of provoking an escalation with Hamas. Netanyahu claimed defense officials did not alert him because they knew he would mobilize the military and order the air force to strike anyone approaching the Gaza border.
שאלתם: למה לא העירו אותי ב-7 באוקטובר >> pic.twitter.com/3EnyY4Xeea
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) August 31, 2026
On Sunday, he had told Channel 14 at some length that Israel’s security chiefs, dismissive of indications that Hamas was about to attack, chose not to wake him in the hours before the attack because they feared he would order a major alert and actually prompt a Hamas attack.
“On that night” of October 6-7, “there was an assessment [by Israel’s military and security chiefs] that ‘we generals, heads of the security establishment, we are responsible people. And these politicians, including the prime minister, are laymen. They were elected? So what. We know how to act responsibly. And acting responsibly requires preventing a situation of miscalculation. And how would there be a miscalculation? If, heaven forbid, we wake the prime minister, he’ll say, Wake up the whole IDF immediately. Scramble the air force. Nobody should cross that fence; maybe some will cross, but it doesn’t matter. This [prime ministerial alert] could cause Hamas to attack us.’ If you think I’m exaggerating, wait and see,” saying that when the protocols of that night are published, he will be vindicated.
He went on: “You asked me what would have happened if they had woken me? This [October 7 invasion] would not have taken place.”
“I’m not telling you that nothing would have happened. [Hamas] had prepared it,” he continued, blaming the failure in part on the security establishment’s prewar “conception” that Hamas was deterred, which he sought to distance himself from.
“There was never any underestimation [on my part]… As for [Hamas’s] desire to destroy us, [to underestimate] that is such a disconnect from reality,” Netanyahu said.
His comments came after his wife, Sara Netanyahu, peddled a conspiracy theory targeting Democrats party leader Yair Golan, insinuating without evidence in an interview aired yesterday that Golan had advance notice of the onslaught. Golan has said he will sue her for libel if she does not apologize. She has refused.
Channel 12’s political correspondent says these appear to be deliberate moves by the Netanyahu family to reframe the narrative surrounding the failures of October 7, ahead of the upcoming elections.
In February this year, Netanyahu released a 55-page document with select quotations from cabinet meetings in the years leading up to October 7, which painted a picture in which the premier ostensibly pushed for aggressive policies against Hamas, while his current political rivals and security chiefs urged long-term deals with the terror group and blocked the assassinations of its leaders.
That document omitted the protocols of an October 1, 2023, meeting at which Netanyahu reportedly instructed his top advisers and security chiefs to maintain the status quo that saw the terror group receive economic incentives to maintain quiet.
“The prime minister expressed great appreciation to all the security services on their activities to maintain the quiet on all fronts,” read the leaked summary from the protocol of that meeting, reported by Channel 12, “with an emphasis on the holidays, and stresses that we must act with moderation in order to cool down the fronts and avoid escalation…”
In the meeting, according to the network, the security chiefs recommended that Israel move toward assassinating Hamas leaders. However, Netanyahu conditioned any such operations on conflict breaking out, and even then instructed the defense establishment to focus on the West Bank leadership.
In his 2022 memoir, Bibi, Netanyahu wrote that Hamas was sufficiently constrained and that he didn’t want to wage all-out war in Gaza when he was more concerned about Iran, Time magazine noted. “Did I really want to tie down the IDF in Gaza for years when we had to deal with Iran and a possible Syrian front?” he wrote. “The answer was categorically no. I had bigger fish to fry.”
Netanyahu’s office acknowledged in March 2025 that the premier’s intelligence officer received an Israel Defense Forces memo detailing suspicious Hamas activity three hours before the terror group’s October 7, 2023, invasion and onslaught, and didn’t pass it on. The premier’s office argued that this was justified given what it said was the document’s non-urgent framing.
In an affidavit to the High Court in April 2025, then Shin Bet chief Bar wrote that at 3:03 a.m. on October 7, all security agencies were issued an alert about “unusual preparations and the possibility of offensive intentions by Hamas.” Bar added that, at 5:15 a.m., “alongside various directives, I instructed that the Prime Minister’s military secretary be updated.”
Bar added: “I say this with pain – no one anticipated an attack of this scale, certainly not on that morning. The update to the Prime Minister was part of a series of directives I gave at the conclusion of that meeting, and it was delivered immediately, as part of the continuous chain of command from the moment I was alerted during the night until the end of that discussion.”
Netanyahu has for three years resisted a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the Hamas invasion and massacre.
Key Update
Netanyahu hosts DR Congo president, both agree to expand security, economic ties
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) met the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi in Jerusalem on September 1, 2026 (Maayan Toaf/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi in his office today, hailing Israel’s “wonderful friendship” with the Central African country, according to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office.
During their meeting, which Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also attended, the two leaders “agreed to strengthen economic and security ties between the two countries.”
“This is a wonderful friendship. We are strengthening it, and this visit will help strengthen it even further,” Netanyahu says in the readout.
The two countries have boosted ties in recent years amid efforts by Israel to expand diplomatic relations in Africa. Tshisekedi announced in 2023 he would move the Congolese embassy to Jerusalem, and Israel plans to open an official embassy in Kinshasa in return, though both moves have been delayed.
In July, Sa’ar and DRC Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba signed memorandums of understanding focused on diplomatic training, agriculture, health care, and technology.
Trump says new Iran strikes in retaliation for Tehran’s attempts to mine Hormuz
US President Donald Trump confirms the American military’s strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, claiming they are ongoing and in retaliation for Tehran’s “failed attempt” to lay mines in the channel.
Trump insists on Truth Social that there are currently no mines in the strait and says that all of the missiles Iran fired at US troops in Jordan were shot down. Yesterday, he admitted that one of them had gone through.
The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are large and powerful, and in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines (They have been completely removed or… pic.twitter.com/64FZNNnIMi
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) September 1, 2026
“If the failed nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings. When it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!” Trump writes.
Sara Netanyahu refuses to apologize to Yair Golan, threatens to countersue
Sara Netanyahu attends a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center in northern Jerusalem, July 5, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, refuses to apologize for spreading a conspiracy theory about The Democrats leader Yair Golan and threatens to countersue him.
Golan earlier sent a warning letter ahead of legal action to Sara Netanyahu, accusing her of accusations that “amount to the most serious libel.”
The action comes after Netanyahu pushed a baseless conspiracy theory during an interview yesterday that the left-wing politician had advance notice of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.
He warned that should she fail to retract her statement, apologize and make a substantial donation to the Nova survivors within 24 hours, he would file a suit for NIS 2.5 million ($825,000) in damages.
In response, the prime minister’s wife accuses him of “wild lies,” distorting her words. She similarly gives him a 48-hour window to retract his claims and make a donation to a pre-military preparatory academy or be sued for NIS 1 million ($330,000)
Golan, a former deputy IDF chief of staff, drove to the site of the Nova music festival massacre on the morning of October 7 and rescued multiple people, later earning praise for his actions.
US strikes on Iran signal shift to broader targets than before
The ongoing US strikes on Iran are broader than previous waves and have already targeted dozens of sites, Channel 12 reports.
For the first time, the US is also targeting tankers belonging to Iran’s state-owned oil company as part of a new “tanker-for-tanker” policy, a senior US official tells the network. Under the policy, Washington will strike an Iranian oil tanker each time Tehran attacks a tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest strikes have also reportedly targeted air-defense systems, radar installations and anti-ship cruise-missile launchers.
According to Channel 12, Iran had recently begun moving weapons from the Tehran area toward the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the US military to warn US President Donald Trump that Tehran was re-establishing its capabilities in the area and that it was time to “mow the lawn.”
Smotrich, Feiglin confirm joint run for elections, urge other right-wing parties to join
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (R) signs an agreement with Moshe Feiglin for a joint run in the Knesset elections on September 1, 2026. (Religious Zionism)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who chairs the far-right Religious Zionism party, announces a joint run as a technical bloc for the upcoming elections with Moshe Feiglin, chair of Zehut.
“The time for responsibility has come,” Smotrich says in a post announcing the move.
The move comes amid pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to unite smaller right-wing parties to prevent votes from being lost should one or more of them fail to cross the electoral threshold. Itamar Ben Gvir has refused to run his Otzma Yehudit party together with Smotrich again, as has Ofer Winter and his new People of Israel party.
Nevertheless, Smotrich urges other parties to join them.
“I call from here to all parties in the National Bloc: take responsibility and join us. I will ensure that no voice on the right is lost,” he says.
Smotrich warns that the achievements of the outgoing government are at stake if they lose.
“The future of the national camp is at stake – the future of the settlements, the legal system, security, and our ability to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state,” he says.
Feiglin’s Zehut (Identity) party failed to cross the electoral threshold the last time it ran, in 2019, and is now polling at less than 1%.
Smotrich is also polling on the cusp of the threshold.
In response to the announcement, Winter says that “the people of Israel want something new.”
US military confirms fresh strikes in Iran after attacks on shipping, US forces
The US military confirms carrying out renewed strikes against targets in Iran.
“Today at 12 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran,” CENTCOM says in a statement.
“The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region,” it says.
Iran launched the missiles at a US base in Jordan late Sunday night in retaliation for the US striking Iranian military’s assets, which the US says were preparing to drop mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said the US strikes killed two people and wounded several more.
Iran also launched several missiles and a drone at the United Arab Emirates. There were no reports of damage.
US said striking Iranian targets around Strait of Hormuz
The US Air Force was striking Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reports, citing US officials.
Explosions are heard in the Iranian port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik and on Qeshm Island, according to Iranian media.
Key Update
Navy’s sixth Dolphin 2-class submarine, Drakon, on its way to Israel
Israeli Navy sailors are seen on top of INS Drakon at Kiel shipyard in Germany, in a handout photo published September 1, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israeli Navy’s sixth submarine, INS “Drakon” — or Dragon — is now en route to Israel from Germany, the IDF and Defense Ministry announce.
A ceremony was held earlier this week at Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems’ shipyard in Kiel, Germany, to mark the sending off of the Dolphin 2-class submarine for Israel.
“An Israeli flag was raised aboard the submarine, officially marking the beginning of its voyage to Israel,” the statement says. Another ceremony will be held at the Haifa Naval Base upon its arrival.
The INS Drakon is to be equipped with “innovative and advanced technologies that place Israel at the forefront of global military technology and will enhance the Israeli Navy’s operational flexibility for years to come,” the military says.
The submarine’s originally proposed name was Dakar, after an Israeli submarine that sank in 1968. Dragon is meant to be a compromise after some of the families of the fallen sailors from the original Dakar protested the proposal to recycle the name.
“Dakar” will instead be reserved for the name of the overall class of the Navy’s future submarines, which are scheduled for delivery in the early 2030s.
Raid to capture to Hamas commander carried out by Shin Bet special forces
People gather around a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli strike in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on September 1, 2026. (Omar AL-QATTAA/AFP)
Today’s operation to capture the chief of Hamas’s internal security apparatus in Gaza City was carried out by special forces of the Shin Bet, the security agency and the IDF, announced in a joint statement.
Arabic-language media reports claimed that an Israeli-backed anti-Hamas militia carried out the raid.
The IDF and Shin Bet say the special forces raided a building in Gaza City and captured the Hamas security chief, who was named earlier as Muein al-Arabid.
During the raid, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on several “military targets in the area to remove threats to the forces.” No Israeli forces were injured in the operation, the military and Shin Bet say.
The security chief had recently been working to “consolidate the Hamas terror organization’s control over the northern Gaza Strip” and to advance attacks on IDF troops deployed in the Strip, according to the military.
The IDF adds that the operation was intended to “remove threats and undermine Hamas’s control in the area and its plans to advance terrorist activities against IDF troops and Israeli civilians.”
Ministry warns of agriculture crisis as desalination plants shut again
Farmers at moshav Sade Nitzan, northern Negev desert, October 9, 2025. (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)
The Agriculture Ministry warns that the unprecedented shutdown of Israel’s desalination plants has triggered a severe agricultural water crisis, threatening food production continuity and crop survival, particularly in the south.
Following an emergency assessment led by Ministry Director General Oren Lavi, officials mapped critical shortages concentrated in the Ramat Negev and Nitzana areas, where extensive vegetable fields, greenhouses, and young seedlings need continuous irrigation.
With water cutoffs risking irreversible damage to sensitive crops and livestock, the ministry is coordinating directly with the Water Authority and Mekorot to prioritize emergency supplies and is deploying water tankers to affected dairy farms in places such as Kibbutz Gezer and Moshav Matzliah in central Israel as a temporary stopgap.
Warning that prolonged shortages could disrupt fresh produce supplies ahead of the upcoming religious holidays, the ministry stresses that these emergency measures cannot replace regular infrastructure supply and vows to maintain intensive monitoring to prevent permanent harm to Israel’s agricultural sector and food security.
Key Update
New footage shows Yair Golan in the Gaza border area where he was evacuating wounded on Oct. 7
Yair Golan (left), with Gaza border farmer Oz Davidian (right), in an image showing Golan going to rescue survivors near the Gaza border soon after the Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)
New footage and pictures broadcast by Channel 12 shows The Democrats leader Yair Golan in the Gaza border area where he was evacuating wounded people during the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
The material is broadcast in the wake of Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insinuating without evidence in an interview aired yesterday that Golan had advance notice of the onslaught, drawing a furious response from the latter’s party. Golan said he would sue her.
Golan, a former deputy IDF chief of staff, drove to the site of the Nova music festival massacre on the morning of October 7 and rescued multiple people, later earning praise for his actions.
Two pictures of Golan at the time he was helping rescue people are supplied by Oz Davidian, a local farmer who was hailed for his heroism on the day, making some 20 trips on the day to rescue people from the Nova music festival.
“To focus on the facts, on Oct 7, I met Yair Golan in the field. He was in a small car, a Toyota Yaris that could not cross the wadi. I helped him across in my truck while he covered us. We then went in to retrieve three kids who were hiding from the terrorist fire,” Davidian tells Channel 12.
One of the pictures was taken by one of the survivors, while the other was a selfie taken by Davidian. “I thought it might be the last picture ever taken of me.
“I’m forced to come here and to give an interview because it’s not only that he was there on October 7, but he was with me in the vehicle; we rescued three children alive,” Davidian says. “Afterwards, by himself, he rescued another group.”
Another video, shot by a Channel 12 correspondent on his phone, shows Golan with a woman he rescued from the Nova party and brought to Ofakim.
Netanyahu says captured Hamas commander was chief of the terror group’s internal security apparatus
Muein al-Arabid, head of Hamas's internal security apparatus, was captured by Israel on September 1, 2026. (Social media/ used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Hamas commander captured earlier today in Gaza City was chief of the terror group’s internal security apparatus.
He was named earlier as Muein al-Arabid.
“I commend the Shin Bet and the IDF, who in a bold operation arrested today the head of Hamas’s internal security apparatus near his home in Gaza,” Netanyahu says in a statement.
Netanyahu says the captured officer is “one of Hamas’s most senior leaders, was responsible for hiding and moving our hostages, hiding senior Hamas officials, force build-up, and attempting to restore the capabilities of the terror organization.”
“Recently, he was engaged in efforts to restore Hamas’s governance in Gaza, in deception regarding the issue of demilitarizing the Strip, and assisted in carrying out terror attacks against our forces and our civilians,” he says.
Netanyahu adds that Israel “will continue to pursue all Hamas leaders and everyone who took part in the October 7 massacre.”
FBI’s Kash Patel hosts Shin Bet chief Zini in Washington
Shin Bet chief David Zini holds his first meeting with FBI director Kash Patel in Washington.
Patel says the meeting focused on “our shared work together, including counterterrorism efforts, breaking terrorist financing networks, intelligence sharing and building our technological capabilities like counter unmanned aerial systems (UAS) training.”
This is Zini’s first publicized visit to the US since taking over the Shin Bet last October.
Honored to host Israeli Security Agency Director General David Zini at @FBI HQ – great meeting on our shared work together including counterterrorism efforts, breaking terrorist financing networks, intelligence sharing, and building our technological capabilities like counter UAS… pic.twitter.com/Hdh86L9eSv
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 1, 2026
Sa’ar threatens retaliation if UK imposes West Bank settlement sanctions
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks during a press conference with Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (not pictured) at government building in Suva on June 2, 2026. (Leon LORD/AFP)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warns that Israel has “tools” with which it “will act against” the United Kingdom if London imposes sanctions on Jerusalem over its E1 settlement project.
“If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain,” Sa’ar says in a segment of a Hebrew-language podcast interview with Ynet, aired shortly after British Foreign Secretary reiterated that London plans to unveil a “comprehensive” package of measures targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the coming weeks in response to the project.
Asked how concerned he is about the prospect of sanctions, Sa’ar stresses that Israel will respond and charges that any British measures would be politically motivated.
“There is a government there that is systematically acting against Israel. It has already harmed defense exports to us and imposed sanctions on ministers. What guides it is its domestic politics, and at the end of the month the Labour Party conference is convening,” he says.
Pressed on how Israel would respond, Sa’ar declines to elaborate, saying only: “There are tools..I’m saying this clearly and unequivocally. If they act, I think they will be making a major mistake. It will work the opposite way from how they may be dreaming it will work.”
Pressed further, he says: “Why hint at it? What I’ve said is enough. We are preparing. If they make a mistake, there will be a response.”
A source with knowledge of the matter told The Times of Israel last week that Sa’ar warned Miliband that Israel would respond to British sanctions with punitive measures of its own.
Those could include the expulsion of British officials from the International Gaza Support Center, as well as more extreme steps, the source said.
Smotrich, Feiglin said to agree on joint run in upcoming election
Left: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends the Religious Zionism party primary in Jerusalem, July 26, 2026. Right: Moshe Feiglin attends a Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting in Jerusalem, August 11, 2024. (Both Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who chairs the far-right Religious Zionism party, agrees a joint run for the upcoming elections with Moshe Feiglin, chair of Zehut, multiple Hebrew media reports say.
According to the reports, Zehut will get three of the top 10 places on the joint list, with Feiglin taking the second spot.
The move comes amid pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to unite smaller right-wing parties to prevent votes from being lost should one or more of them fail to cross the electoral vote threshold. Itamar Ben Gvir has refused to run his Otzma Yehudit party together with Smotrich again, as has Ofer Winter and his new People of Israel party.
Sources involved in the talks say that the announcement of the formation of the “technical bloc” should be come soon.
Feiglin’s Zehut (Identity) party failed to cross the electoral threshold the last time it ran, in 2019, and is now polling at less than 1%.
Smotrich is also polling on the cusp of the threshold.
Foreign Ministry hosts global Jewish leaders to affirm anti-Zionism is antisemitism
Jewish leaders meet at the J50 Forum in Jerusalem, September 1, 2026 (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)
Figty-nine senior representatives of leading Jewish communities and organizations from dozens of countries convened this week in Jerusalem for the J50 Forum, the Foreign Ministry says.
The forum was established last year to strengthen cooperation between Israel and the leadership of major Jewish communities. It had its first meeting in December.
Discussions focused on the dramatic rise in antisemitism around the world and increasing attacks against Jewish communities. The meeting also addressed attempts to impose sanctions on Israel, developments in the West Bank, the upcoming election period, and the situation of Christian communities in Israel.
A central objective of the Forum was to advance a joint declaration by Jewish leaders affirming that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, the ministry says.
“Against the global tide of antisemitism and the attempts to isolate and delegitimize Israel, the message from Jerusalem is clear: united, we are stronger,” Sa’ar says.
The forum was organized by Israel’s Foreign Ministry and chaired by William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and the heads of Jewish organizations from Europe, North and South America, Australia and South Africa.
Yair Golan sends warning letter to Sara Netanyahu ahead of $825,000 libel suit
Sara Netanyahu attends a “Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit,” at the US State Department, March 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The Democrats leader Yair Golan sends a warning letter ahead of legal action to Sara Netanyahu, accusing the prime minister’s wife of accusations that “amount to the most serious libel.”
Golan warns that should she fail to retract her statement, apologize and make a substantial donation to the Nova survivors, he will file a suit for NIS 2.5 million ($825,000) in damages.
The action comes after Netanyahu pushed a baseless conspiracy theory during an interview yesterday that the left-wing politician had advance notice of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.
Golan, a former deputy IDF chief of staff, drove to the site of the Nova music festival massacre on the morning of October 7 and rescued multiple people, later earning praise for his actions.
UK to unveil ‘comprehensive’ response to Israeli West Bank settlement plans in coming weeks
This picture taken from the E1 area northeast of Jerusalem shows vehicles moving along a highway near the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim on February 4, 2026. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP)
Britain will set out a “comprehensive” package of measures on Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the coming weeks, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband says.
Miliband tells lawmakers that Israel’s E1 settlement project would cut across land which the Palestinians seek for a state and “risks making a Palestinian state unviable.”
“This government will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution,” he says. “We will act and I will set out a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks.”
Britain and other European nations have criticized Israel’s plans, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham said before taking office that he was “looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements.”
The Times reported on Monday that US President Donald Trump’s administration is “closely” tracking any plans to introduce a trade ban.
12 prison guards indicted on charge of reckless homicide after Palestinian detainee beaten to death
The Ketziot prison seen on September 13, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
Twelve prison guards are indicted on a charge of reckless homicide over the death of Palestinian prisoner Thaer Abu Asab in November 2023, who was severely beaten in his prison cell in Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert.
Abu Asab sustained tears in the wall of the heart on the left-ventricular side and in the right atrium, and several broken ribs, as a result of the beating, which led to cardiac failure and his ultimate death, the indictment said.
According to the indictment filed by the State Attorney’s Office to the Beersheba District Court, senior prison officer Walid Hatib initiated and oversaw the beatings. He ordered 11 prison guards in the prison wing he was responsible for to enter one of the cells and beat the prisoners on November 18, 2023.
“Immediately upon entering the cell, as detailed above, the defendants, acting together, beat the deceased [Abu Asab] and all the other prisoners in the cell with their fists and kicked them. Some of them struck the prisoners forcefully with clubs while some of the prisoners were lying on the floor, screaming and crying from the severity of the blows,” the indictment alleges.
The indictment says Hatib led the prison guards to the cell, entered it with them and beat at least one prisoner while overseeing the physical assault of the other prisoners by the other prison guards, and then after several minutes ordered the prison guards to stop and leave.
The indictment says that the prison guards intended to physically harm the prisoners and were aware that the beatings could lead to the death of their victims.
Abu Asab, 38 at the time of his death, was a member of the Fatah movement and had been jailed since 2005 on charges of attempted murder relating to a terror attack.
Prisoner Thaer Abu Asab was beaten to death inside prison, then we were told it was not a murder.
This is how a prisoner is killed, and the blood is washed away with legal language.
Mentioning his name is a duty—because forgetting him is exactly what the jailer wants. pic.twitter.com/AQYXM7BSxl— Osama Abu Rabee أسامة أبوربيع (@dn_osama_rabee) February 8, 2026
According to the Physicians for Human Rights Israel organization, 105 Palestinian prisoners and security prisoners have died in Israeli prisons and detention facilities since the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and the subsequent wars.
Israel’s Public Defender’s Office has reported on severe violence against Palestinian prisoners since October 7, while numerous Israeli and international organizations have alleged that Palestinian prisoners have been subjected to systematic violence and abuse in Israeli prisons and detention centers over the last three years.
Key Update
Likud demands Yair Golan condemn posters targeting Ohana’s children
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana attends a Likud party conference ahead of the party’s primary election in the northern city of Haifa, August 16, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party demands that The Democrats chairman Yair Golan condemn the “despicable” posters denigrating Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) that were posted this morning along the path his children take to school.
One poster declared, “No forgiveness for the collaborator with the one who funded Hamas.” Another called him “A collaborator in the robbery and plunder,” apparently referring to criticism of state funds going to various narrow coalition causes.
In a statement, Likud insists that Golan also denounce support for the posters “shown by members of his party, Ami Dror and Amir Shperling,” adding that backing posts that target family members “crosses a red line.”
Speaking with The Times of Israel this morning, a spokesman distanced the left-wing party from a tweet by Shperling, a former comedy writer and member of The Democrats’ media team, in which he wrote to Ohana that “we’ve only just begun.”
In a separate post, Dror, an anti-government protest leader who joined the party in January before withdrawing from its primary, called Ohana a “zero” who will end up in prison because his actions led to the deaths of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
“I wish Ella and David a good life, that they cut off all contact with you, and that they remember, every day, every hour, that there are so many children who didn’t go to school today only because of their contemptible father and his traitorous friends,” Dror wrote, naming Ohana’s children.
Energy minister says he’ll ensure water supply to all homes amid desalination plan shutdowns
Emergency drinking water tanks are placed near the Old City of Jerusalem amid nationwide water supply disruptions, September 1, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Energy Minister Eli Cohen reassures the public that there will be an uninterrupted water supply to homes, even with most desalination plants shut down for the second time in days.
“The State of Israel has a dependable water supply, and we will ensure the regular supply of water to all homes throughout the country,” Cohen says.
His statement comes after local authorities were told to limit the use of public water, and to reduce irrigation in agriculture and public parks and gardens.
Five out of the country’s six desalination stations first shut down Saturday due to high levels of turbidity, or murkiness, apparently due to microalgae being carried to Israel’s southern coast by waves from the Nile Delta. They had reopened on Monday.
Cohen says the phenomenon was extremely rare and “not seen in the last 20 years.”
Key Update
Bank of Israel cuts interest rates for 4th time this year citing postwar economic recovery
Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron speaks during a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on August 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
The Bank of Israel lowers interest rates for a fourth time this year to 3.25 percent, citing an economy recovering from the war with Iran, a moderation in the inflation environment, and a stable local currency.
At its last decision in July, the central bank reduced borrowing costs from 3.75% to 3.5%, after trimming rates in May and January.
“National accounts figures for the second quarter partly reflect recovery of the economy from the impact of the military operation against Iran,” the central bank says. “Uncertainty remains high in view of the geopolitical tensions.”
“However, during the reviewed period, Israel’s risk premium remained at levels similar to those prior to October 7, 2023, and the exchange rate remained virtually unchanged,” the central bank adds.
Ahead of the central bank’s decision, forecasters were split over whether the central bank, led by Governor Amir Yaron, would lower borrowing costs or take a cautious approach and pause rate cuts.
Hapoalim joins Discount in putting off cessation of correspondent banking services to Palestinian banks
A woman takes out money from a Bank Hapoalim ATM in Tel Aviv on March 25, 2025. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
Bank Hapoalim has joined Bank Discount in pushing off its plan to cease providing correspondent banking services to Palestinian financial institutions until the end of 2026, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
Bank Hapoalim had informed Palestinian banks in July that it planned to halt providing the service tethering the West Bank to the global economy on October 1.
Yesterday, a similar decision was made by Discount, one day before its deadline was set to kick in.
In response to East Jerusalem school strike, Israel claims all eligible West Bank teachers received entry permits
Teacher Hussam Nmir checks a classroom at Saint George’s School in East Jerusalem, September 1, 2026, as Christian schools in Jerusalem suspended classes alleging Israeli authorities did not renew work permits for teachers and staff from the West Bank (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) responds to a strike launched this morning by dozens of schools in East Jerusalem, rejecting claims that teachers from the West Bank have not been allowed to enter East Jerusalem to work at the schools.
COGAT tells The Times of Israel that “the claim that there are dozens of teachers without entry permits is incorrect. All teachers and staff eligible for entry permits received designated permits, following security clearance and an eligibility review, before the start of the school year.”
Today, private schools in East Jerusalem announced an open-ended strike to protest what they say is Israel’s failure to allow teachers from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem.
Over the past three years, since the October 7, 2023, massacre, there have been increasing reports of difficulties faced by Palestinian teachers from the West Bank seeking to enter Jerusalem for work, amid sweeping restrictions on the issuance and renewal of entry permits for West Bank residents.
Joint List slams Ra’am for spurning it to run with Segalovitz
Head of Ra’am Mansour Abbas (right) holds a joint press conference with Yoav Segalovitz (left), who will run on the Ra'am slate in October's elections, in Nazareth, August 31, 2026. (Michael Giladi/FLASH90)
The three parties comprising the Joint List slam Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas for mounting a joint run with former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz rather than with other Arab factions.
In a statement, the Joint List dismisses the Jewish, Zionist former police official, lawmaker and deputy minister as “a former army officer who emphasizes and prides himself on his Zionist identity,” stating that his inclusion on the Ra’am list came “at the expense of the Arab public’s votes” and shows that his partnership with Abbas is based on the acceptance of “the framework of Zionist supremacy.”
“We are in favor of the broadest possible Arab-Jewish partnership in struggle but a true partnership must be a partnership between equals, based on opposition to the occupation, racism and supremacy” and Segalovitz’s inclusion as Abbas’s number two “effectively grants one of the safest spots on the list to a Yesh Atid member, who continues to adhere to his party’s positions and was even granted freedom of vote on issues related to the occupation, conscription, and matters concerning the principles of the Arab public,” the Joint List adds.
In a joint press conference on Monday evening, Abbas said that Ra’am’s top priority is eliminating crime and violence against innocent citizens and the only way to accomplish this goal is to create partnerships.
His decision to remain separate from the other Arab factions appeared to anger his former colleagues, with the Joint List asking how Ra’am failed “to find a sufficient common denominator with three parties representing broad segments of Arab society, yet managed to quickly find common ground with Segalovitz and even make political concessions for him to join.”
Ousted UK Prime Minister Starmer quits parliament to focus on international affairs
Britain’s outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he leaves 10 Downing Street in London, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Keir Starmer will stand down as a member of parliament, he says, some six weeks after he resigned as Britain’s prime minister having lost the support of his Labour Party.
Starmer guided Labour into power in 2024 with one of the biggest parliamentary majorities in Britain’s modern history, completing a remarkable turnaround having become Labour leader four years earlier after its worst election showing since 1935.
But the former lawyer, whose tenure as prime minister was marked by several damaging U-turns, failed to connect with voters and steadily lost the support of the public and his party.
Starmer had previously said he would remain as a lawmaker until the next general election. But he tells the Camden New Journal, a local newspaper in his North London constituency, that he has changed his mind and intends to “concentrate on international affairs.” He confirms his resignation in a statement on X.
It has been an honour and a privilege to represent Holborn and St Pancras for the last 11 years.
My statement. pic.twitter.com/xzu4xcIno2
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 1, 2026
Despite the sagging popularity at home that cost him his job, foreign affairs were often seen as a strength during Starmer’s premiership. He worked closely with French President Emmanuel Macron to establish the so-called Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine, reset ties with China, recognized a Palestinian state and had mixed success in efforts to build relations with US President Donald Trump.
The newspaper report does not give a timeframe for when an election would be held for Starmer’s seat in the constituency of Holborn and St Pancras.
Starmer comfortably held the seat in 2024 with a majority of just over 11,500, though an independent candidate who campaigned primarily on opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza took nearly 19% of the vote.
IDF says it hit Hamas commander in north Gaza strike
The IDF says it struck a Hamas commander in northern Gaza’s Jabalia a short while ago.
Palestinian media reported several injuries in a strike in the Strip’s north.
The military justifies the strike amid the ceasefire by saying that the unnamed commander had been advancing attacks on troops and civilians, as well as trying to restore Hamas capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.”
The strike was carried out to “remove the threat,” the military adds.
Iran president meets Putin on sidelines of SCO summit
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on September 1, 2026. (Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP)
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, the Iranian presidency says.
“During the meeting, the latest state of bilateral relations between Iran and Russia was reviewed and the two sides discussed ways to strengthen and expand cooperation in various fields,” says the presidency in a statement accompanied by images of Putin and Pezeshkian shaking hands.
Syria says it wants diplomatic solution with Israel despite attacks
Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani speaks in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 25, 2026. (LOUAI BESHARA/AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani says that his country is working towards a “diplomatic solution” with Israel, with US mediation, despite ongoing Israeli strikes.
Israel has launched numerous strikes on Syria since the current Islamist authorities ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The latest came last month, when the Israeli Air Force struck a Syrian military airport, saying Turkey was planning to deploy forces there and Damascus had ignored Jerusalem’s warnings on the matter.
Israel also sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974. Israel has carried out repeated incursions deeper into Syrian territory and has vowed to keep troops in a “security zone” in southern Syria, where it seeks a broader demilitarized area.
“The attacks are still ongoing. We observed 65 incursions in July alone, and 52 in the first 18 days of August,” Shaibani tells a press conference with his visiting Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
He slams a “campaign of raids on homes in Quneitra province and the Damascus countryside,” and says Syria has registered 147 cases of Israeli troops detaining Syrians so far this year, with “49 of them still detained.”
Israel argues such operations are necessary to defend its border amid the unrest and lawlessness brought about by the regime change.
“Despite these challenges, we are still committed to the option of a diplomatic solution and we are working seriously to achieve this,” Shaibani says, adding: “We are engaged in negotiations mediated by the United States of America.”
Israel and Syria have held several rounds of direct talks, most recently last month in Jordan.
Last week Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Shaibani held a meeting to defuse tensions between the countries, Syrian state media confirmed.
After January negotiations in Paris, the sides agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism as they edge towards a security agreement.
Shaibani says that statements from Israeli officials expressing their intention to keep forces in Jabal al-Sheikh, or Mount Hermon, are “an explicit declaration on consolidating the occupation” and that they invalidate “any flimsy security pretexts.”
He says the talks aim to “stop the attacks and arrests” and secure an Israeli withdrawal to pre-December 2024 positions “with a full return to adherence to the 1974 disengagement agreement.”
Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz visited troops in southern Syria, reiterating a pledge to keep forces in the area as long as there are “threats” to the country’s security.
Ben Gvir’s party says it distributed children’s book glorifying him, depicting Arab MKs as ‘enemy’ at dozens of schools
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party says hundreds of its activists handed out a children’s book about his time in office outside dozens of schools across the country to mark the start of the school year.
The book, “HaSar SheLo Atzar” (The Minister Who Didn’t Stop), includes a charicature of an angry Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara cursing Ben Gvir in anger, and calls Arab MKs Ahmad Tibi and Mansour Abbas “enemies from within” comparable to the “enemies from without” Iran and Hezbollah.
Told in rhymes, the book also touts Ben Gvir’s expansion of private gun ownership and civilian security squads, his successful effort to pass a death penalty law for Palestinian terrorists, and his increased efforts to raze Bedouin structures built in the Negev without permits.
Ben Gvir himself will attend a party convention in Netanya this evening to officially launch the book, the party says.
קצת לפני שמשיקים מחר את הספר באופן רשמי, שולח לכם גרסא מיוחדת ומונפשת של השר שלא עצר, צפיה מהנה…
עופר רוזנבאום pic.twitter.com/gbB4dHIlkH
— ????????✡️????????SELECTIVIT ????????✡️???????? (@selectivit) September 1, 2026
Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg, who is the deputy president of the Supreme Court, overnight rejected a motion by the Movement for Quality Government to ban the book’s distribution.
Parents at a secular public school in Jerusalem called the municipality and police on activists who set up a stand to distribute the book outside the school this morning, Kan news reports, without saying if the authorities took any action.
A mother outside the school tells the outlet that the first day of the school year “should be a happy occasion, and instead the kids come and see a stand of hate.”
Likud’s Gotliv says not in talks with any other party, Netanyahu ‘stabbed me in the back’
Likud MK Tally Gotliv at a hearing on a petition demanding the formation of a state commission of inquiry into October 7 at the High Court in Jerusalem, April 23, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
MK Tally Gotliv denies holding talks with other parties after declaring on Monday that she was willing to consider leaving Likud because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “seeking to politically eliminate” her.
“I am not in negotiations with any party,” Gotliv tells The Times of Israel when asked about a Channel 12 report that said she was in talks to jump factions and that Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir is considering giving her a spot on his slate should she leave Likud.
Gotliv also tells Radio Kol Barama that she believes Netanyahu “stabbed me in the back.”
She accuses Likud of sidelining female candidates and declares that “no one is more loyal than I am to the prime minister and the Likud party,” in a series of follow-up posts on X.
“It is the prime minister and his advisers who are working to exclude me from Likud, completely contrary to the will of the voters,” she declares. She alleges that Netanyahu is backing off from efforts to curb the power of the judiciary.
Yesterday Gotliv wrote on X, following her poor showing in the Likud party primary two weeks ago: “My dedication to the prime minister and to the right-wing government has always been immense. I literally threw myself on the barbed wire for the prime minister and the right-wing government. I do not expect applause, but I certainly will not agree to be treated as a doormat.”
She accused Netanyahu of “accepting the advice of those around him and seeking to politically eliminate me in the primaries.” She said he “excluded me from the Likud campaign” and has “chosen to push me to a hidden corner in the background,” and that the party continues to “portray me as a weakening force within Likud.”
In recordings broadcast by Channel 12 on Monday, Gotliv could be heard alleging that Netanyahu had accepted a deal for a pardon in his ongoing corruption trial in exchange for dropping the judicial reform.
Likud rejected the allegation, saying Gotliv’s allegation was “a complete lie without any basis whatsoever.”
Gotliv is currently slated to be in the 20th spot on the Likud party list. She came 12th in the primary but was pushed down due to the large number of reserved slots granted to Netanyahu.
According to Hebrew media reports, the premier’s push for reserved slots was based on concerns that the primary could elevate controversial candidates who are highly popular among the Likud base such as Gotliv. Following the primary, Gotliv alleged fraud, claiming that her name had been left off ballots at some polling stations.
The final deadline for parties to submit their electoral lists to the Knesset is September 8. Recent polls have predicted Likud will win 19-22 seats in the October 27 national election.
Hamas-affiliated site claims Israeli force tried and failed to target ‘resistance’ figure
Al-Majd al-Amni, a website affiliated with Hamas, reports that “an Israeli special force attempted to carry out a security operation aimed at targeting a figure from the ‘resistance,’ but [Hamas’s] security forces thwarted the mission.”
“The failure is an embarrassment for the occupation army,” the report adds.
Al-Quds al-Ikhbariya, another Hamas-affiliated outlet, claims that during the operation, Hamas operatives attempted to capture members of an Israeli special force, but Israeli air intervention prevented them from doing so.
Other reports indicate the force was an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia, and not Israeli troops.
Defense minister says senior Hamas member captured a short time ago
People gather around a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli strike in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on September 1, 2026. (Omar AL-QATTAA/AFP)
Defense Minister Israel Katz says a senior Hamas member was captured a short while ago, after an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia reportedly carried out a raid in Gaza City with Israeli air support.
Katz does not provide any further details. An Israeli security source claims the captured Hamas commander is the chief of the terror group’s internal security apparatus.
Speaking from the Gaza border community of Netiv Haasara, Katz says that “even as we stand here, the activity of our forces in Gaza City continues at all times.”
“A short while ago, a senior Hamas terrorist was arrested. This is our policy: We do not wait for threats, we pursue Hamas terrorists, thwart them, and destroy their terror infrastructure,” Katz says.
Key Update
Gaza reports: Three killed in IDF strikes; militia reportedly targeted senior Hamas official
Hamas-run media outlets in Gaza report that three people, including a woman and a child, were killed in the heavy IDF strikes in Gaza City and several others were wounded. The casualty toll is preliminary.
Saudi outlet Al-Hadath reports that Israel-backed militias were operating in the area and attempted to abduct an unidentified individual in Gaza.
According to a report by Qatar’s Al-Araby TV, an armed militia attempted to target a senior official in Hamas’s internal security apparatus in the Strip.
East Jerusalem private schools strike over restrictions on teachers from West Bank
Teacher Hussam Nmir checks a classroom at Saint George’s School in East Jerusalem, September 1, 2026, as Christian schools in Jerusalem suspend classes after Israeli authorities did not renew work permits for teachers and staff from the West Bank. (AP/Mahmoud Illean)
Dozens of private schools in East Jerusalem have gone on strike and have not opened for the new school year, in protest over what they say is Israel’s failure to allow teachers from the West Bank to enter East Jerusalem to work at the schools.
The strike is set to continue until further notice. Municipal schools in East Jerusalem opened as usual today.
The striking schools serve some 15,000 students, according to data from Ir Amim, an organization that monitors developments in East Jerusalem. Many are Christian schools run by churches and other Christian institutions. The institutions are considered prestigious within Arab society in Israel, and particularly in Jerusalem.
Over the past three years, since the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas in southern Israel, there have been increasing reports of difficulties faced by Palestinian teachers from the West Bank seeking to enter Jerusalem for work, amid sweeping restrictions on the issuance and renewal of entry permits for West Bank residents. In early January 2026, several private schools in East Jerusalem held a one-day strike to protest the failure to renew permits for teachers who live in the West Bank.
A law that took effect in February 2026 bars holders of degrees from Palestinian Authority institutions of higher education from being authorized to work as teachers in Israeli schools, including private schools. However, the law exempts teachers who were already employed before it took effect, as well as those who had completed at least one year of their degree studies before the law came into force.
Democrats party distances itself from PR man who supported anti-Ohana posters
A spokesman for Yair Golan’s The Democrats distances the opposition party from a member of its public relations team after he appeared to endorse posters denigrating Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) that were pasted along the path his children take to school.
One poster declared, “No forgiveness for the collaborator with the one who funded Hamas.” Another called him “A collaborator in the robbery and plunder,” apparently referring to criticism of state funds going to various narrow coalition causes.
Responding to Ohana’s X post condemning the incident, Amir Shperling tweeted “We’ve only just begun,” alongside a heart emoji.
A former writer for the satirical television show “Eretz Nehederet” (A Wonderful Country), Shperling joined The Democrats’ media team last December, with chairman Golan declaring that he was coming on board “to make a truly wonderful country here.”
רק התחלנו❤️
— אמיר שפרלינג (@ShperlingAmir) September 1, 2026
A spokesman for The Democrats tells The Times of Israel: “Amir wrote these things solely of his own initiative. They were not coordinated with us, nor do they reflect our views.”
Shperling writes in a followup tweet: “Anyone who thinks I am afraid of threats, getting fired, or any smear tweet, curses, etc., because of my response to Amir Ohana, one of the destroyers of this country… will find that they are mistaken. I answered Amir Ohana in response to his victim-playing tweet that ‘We’ve only just begun,’ and we really have only just begun. The person who destroyed the country should have thought about his children, not me.”
In his own tweet condemning the posters, Ohana had written that “there is no camp as violent, abhorrent and ugly in spirit as the camp capable of sullying my children’s first day of school in this way.”
Asked to clarify if he was referring to the entire opposition, a spokesman for Ohana simply sends a link to Shperling’s tweet and writes “this camp.”
In his own tweet, The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv condemns those involving Ohana’s children in politics but declares that the Likud lawmaker is “the last person who should preach morality,” because his rhetoric backs and “encourages crude violence.”
“I still remember approaching you at the podium and telling you that bereaved parents and families of hostages were being beaten in the hallways of the Knesset and thrown to the floor, and you just shrugged your shoulders,” Kariv declares.
Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz also condemns the posts, telling Ohana in a tweet that “it’s time for us Israelis to stop the divisive discourse that’s tearing us apart.”
“I’m sure that an overwhelming majority of opposition voters see this act as bullying and oppose it — just as an overwhelming majority among coalition voters oppose extremist acts. Our children deserve better.”
A recent poll by the Institute for National Security Studies found that 39% of Israelis ranked “violent conflict between groups” in Israel as one of the country’s leading threats, alongside a nuclear Iran.
IDF confirms strikes in Gaza to ‘remove threats to security forces’
The Israeli military confirms carrying out strikes against “a number of targets” in the Gaza Strip a short while ago, saying it was to “remove threats to security forces.”
No Israeli troops were injured, the military adds.
Palestinian media claimed that a “special unit” — apparently an Israeli-backed anti-Hamas militia — infiltrated the western part of Gaza City, before being detected by Hamas.
Following the alleged discovery of the “special forces,” the IDF carried out strikes in the area, which reportedly killed at least one and wounded others.
Palestinian reports claim ‘special Israeli unit’ infiltrated Gaza City; it may be an anti-Hamas militia
Palestinian media reports claim that a “special Israeli unit” infiltrated the western part of Gaza City this morning.
In an attempt to secure the unit after it was discovered, the Israeli military carried out shelling and airstrikes in the area, the reports claim, killing at least one and wounding others.
At times, Palestinian media has referred to Israeli-backed anti-Hamas militias operating in the Strip as “Israeli forces.” In the past, Israel has provided anti-Hamas militias with air support.
Heavy clashes are ongoing in western Gaza City following the infiltration of an armed group into a Hamas position.
It is unknown if this is an Israeli special forces group or an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia. Israeli airstrikes, artillery shelling, and drone strikes are… pic.twitter.com/s22yPhWb2e
— AMK Mapping ???????? (@AMK_Mapping_) September 1, 2026
The IDF declines to comment on the strikes at this stage.
Palestinian media: One dead, several wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza City
Palestinian media reports at least one dead and several wounded in a series of Israeli strikes in Gaza City a short while ago.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the strikes.
قصف لا يتوقف..
عاجل | مصدر في الإسعاف والطوارئ: مصابون بنيران مسيرات إسرائيلية في منطقة الكتيبة غربي مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/E80hGJ4enX— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 1, 2026
Court extends custody of man suspected of lacing supermarket baby food with sedatives
A man suspected of lacing baby food in Jerusalem supermarkets with sedatives has been ordered kept in custody by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.
The man is a resident of the south in his forties. He was arrested yesterday.
Several infants were hospitalized with symptoms of benzodiazepine poisoning in June after consuming baby food bought in the city.
Ohana blasts ‘violent, abhorrent’ political camp after posters criticizing him put up on his kids’ way to school
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana lashes out at his critics in the opposition after unidentified individuals pasted posters denigrating him on the path his children take to school.
“There is no camp as violent, abhorrent and ugly in spirit as the camp capable of sullying my children’s first day of school in this way — Ella and David, who are starting sixth grade this morning,” Ohana writes.
He does not clarify who exactly he is referring to. “Camp” is usually used in Hebrew to refer to broad political groupings of the left and right, rather than smaller specific groups.
אין מחנה אלים, מתועב וכעור נפש כמו המחנה שמסוגל להכתים כך את היום הראשון ללימודים של ילדיי, אלה ודוד שעולים הבוקר לכיתה ו׳.
כך – כל המסלול מהבית עד לבית הספר. זה לא מיועד לי – זה מיועד להם, ולחבריהם לכיתה ולבית הספר.
האם זו דמותה של המדינה שאנו רוצים לחיות בה? האם כך נרצה לברר… pic.twitter.com/UfpFit9Muv
— Amir Ohana – אמיר אוחנה (@AmirOhana) September 1, 2026
“It was like this all the way from home to school,” he says. “This isn’t targeted at me — it’s targeted at them, and at their classmates and schoolmates. Is this the kind of country we want to live in? Is this how we want to resolve our political disagreements? That is up to you.”
One poster declared, “No forgiveness for the collaborator with the one who funded Hamas.” Another called him “A collaborator in the robbery and plunder,” apparently referring to criticism of state funds going to various narrow coalition causes.
Police arrest eight Israelis suspected of arson and assault in West Bank
Residents in Khirbet a-Tuba in the West Bank's South Hebron Hills attempt to douse flames after extremist settlers allegedly set fire to several homes and attacked people, August 6, 2026 (Screenshots/Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Police say they arrested eight Israelis in the West Bank overnight suspected of involvement in “serious arson and assault incidents in the southern Hebron Hills.”
Three vehicles allegedly used by the suspects to carry out offenses were seized.
The suspects, residents of the West Bank and central Israel aged 16 to 20, were taken for questioning.
In a statement, police say they view “with utmost severity cases of violence and property damage that harm the security of the state and the entire settlement enterprise.”
Police tell The Times of Israel that some of the detainees are suspected of setting fire to a mosque and several homes in Khirbet a-Tuba in the South Hebron Hills on August 5, in an incident in which six Palestinians were reported injured after being beaten by settlers.
Others are suspected of setting fire to a mosque in al-Tuwani, also in the South Hebron Hills, on July 19.
New EU circumcision certification program looks to keep brit milah safe in Europe
Against the backdrop of rising fears that Jewish circumcision practices may be outlawed in Europe, European Jewish organizations have launched a new medical certification program for Jewish circumcisers.
While no countries have laws explicitly banning circumcision, some mandate that all medical procedures must be performed by a licensed doctor. Last year, in Belgium, several mohels (individuals who perform circumcision) were arrested for working without a medical license.
At the time, Jewish community representatives charged that the raids were part of a larger campaign of intimidation against religious figures in Belgium as antisemitic sentiments increase.
“The problem is that there is no clear law regarding circumcision at the moment,” Belgian MP Michael Freilich, the country’s only Orthodox Jewish lawmaker, told The Times of Israel at the time. “It’s not that brit milah is not allowed; it’s that there needs to be a clearer law about who can perform the procedure.”
The new program by the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE), based in Brussels, aims to address these concerns by offering certification that will be recognized throughout the European Union. European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Oliver Várhelyi offered his support for the program.
“Jewish life and Jewish religious practice belong in Europe,” Várhelyi said. “Our responsibility is to ensure that longstanding traditions can continue in a framework that meets the highest standards of child welfare, medical safety and professional responsibility, in line with European standards.”
Manchester synagogue holds memorial for Yom Kippur terror attack victims
Heaton Park Synagogue's Rabbi Daniel Walker speaks at a memorial service for victims of the 2025 Yom Kippur terror attack, August 31, 2026 (Courtesy Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Region)
More than 800 people gathered yesterday at Manchester’s Heaton Park Synagogue to commemorate last year’s deadly Yom Kippur terrorist attack there.
Two people were killed on October 2, 2025, when British-Syrian citizen Jihad al-Shamie rammed his car into the gates of the synagogue during prayer services on the holiest day of the Jewish year. Al-Shamie stabbed Melvin Cravitz, 66, to death, then tried to storm the synagogue before police shot him dead. Adrian Daulby, 53, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest fired by a police officer responding to the situation.
The attack was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Monday’s event was attended by community members, religious leaders, and high-ranking civic and political officials, including Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government Angela Rayner, Minister for Faith Flo Eshalomi, Metro Mayor Bev Craig, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson.
“Being back here today, in this place where so much changed for our community, is incredibly emotional,” said the synagogue’s rabbi, Daniel Walker. “We have been through something unimaginable, but we are here, together.”
Desalination plants again shut down due to murky seawater
After operating through the night, most desalination plants are again shut down as seawater turbidity rises, the Water Authority announces.
Local authorities are told to limit the use of public water, and to reduce irrigation in agriculture and public parks and gardens.
Supply to homes will continue, a statement says, adding that the Water Authority’s operations center will handle localized shortages of supply.
Five out of six desalination stations were shut on Saturday due to high levels of turbidity, or murkiness, apparently due to microalgae being carried to Israel’s southern coast by waves from the Nile Delta.
Iran says it has enough foreign currency despite US sanctions
People withdraw money from an ATM in the Iranian capital Tehran on September 28, 2025. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
Iran has sufficient foreign currency reserves despite US sanctions, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati says, after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tehran was lashing out because it was losing the economic war.
The central bank is ready to inject up to $2 billion into the foreign exchange market to calm recent volatility, Hemmati says, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
“I am telling the president of the United States: Iran has [foreign] currency and it has enough,” he adds.
His comments appear aimed at reassuring markets after Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, pointed to growing difficulties for an economy facing US sanctions and a naval blockade.
Hemmati says the central bank is continuing to collect foreign currency receivables and has domestic reserves as well as other resources, though he adds that details of those cannot be disclosed.
Iran’s president says Tehran would ‘immediately’ reciprocate if US returns to June deal
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says that Tehran would “immediately” reciprocate if the United States returns to a June deal aimed at ending their war.
“I state explicitly that if the United States returns to its commitments under the aforementioned memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take reciprocal action,” Pezeshkian says at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, according to the website of the Iranian presidency.
Metula elementary school and kindergarten open for first time since war
Metula Mayor David Azoulay greets students at Hanadiv Elementary School on September 1, 2026 (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)
For the first time since October 2023, Metula has reopened its Hanadiv Elementary School, with 36 students in grades one to six and 18 in kindergarten.
“This is very good news,” Mayor David Azoulay tells The Times of Israel as he stands at the school entrance welcoming students, parents and teachers.
Metula is Israel’s northernmost community, located near the Lebanon border, which has been the site of heavy fighting over the past three years.
Residents of the picturesque village were evacuated for more than a year in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in southern Israel, when Lebanese terror group Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel. Hezbollah rockets and drones damaged many of the village’s buildings, including the school, which has been renovated.
A Metula spokesperson says that roughly 65% of the town’s residents on the Israel-Lebanon border have returned.
“When I went to school here in the 1980s, we had 17 kids in each grade,” Shimon Gino, a lawyer who grew up in Metula, tells The Times of Israel. He says his wife and four children have returned after being evacuated during the war.
“One of my daughters started first grade during COVID and then went through the war in two different schools. Now she’s back here. It won’t be easy, but kids can adjust. They’re very excited,” he said.
Golan says he’ll sue PM’s wife for pushing treason theory; Eisenkot: Outrageous claim meant to fan hatred
Leader of the Democrats party Yair Golan leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on June 22, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Democrats party leader Yair Golan says he intends to sue Sara Netanyahu for defamation, after the prime minister’s wife pushed a baseless conspiracy theory during an interview yesterday that the left-wing politician had advance notice of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.
“We will definitely file a lawsuit against Sara Netanyahu,” Golan tells Army Radio.
Golan, a former deputy IDF chief of staff, drove to the site of the Nova music festival massacre on the morning of October 7 and rescued multiple people, later earning praise for his actions.
He says her comments were “part of the fueling of the ongoing, reckless incitement. It’s the current prime minister’s standard method.”
“That’s what he did in ’95, and we all remember how that ended,” he adds, referring to the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, which was preceded by incitement and claims of treason against the Israeli leader. Some claim Benjamin Netanyahu enabled and encouraged such incitement ahead of Rabin’s killing — a claim he denies.
Meanwhile, Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, says on X: “The outrageous conspiracy theory of treason, which has absolutely no factual basis and which the prime minister’s wife spread last night, is intended solely to fan hatred and perpetuate the Netanyahu government, whose only way of ruling is to divide.”
He goes on: “Netanyahu is running from responsibility for the worst failure in Israel’s history, to which he led us blindly, through negligence and by ignoring every warning sign. Some people claim that they ‘weren’t woken up,’ while others got up and rushed into action — without asking questions.
“They will not succeed in turning good into evil, or truth into lies. We will not allow it, and the people of Israel will not allow it. I stand with my friend, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yair Golan, who fought for the State of Israel for decades and, on the morning of October 7, showed responsibility and courage and heroically saved lives.”
Key Update
Flood death toll rises to over 1,000, mostly in Nepal; 2 Israelis still missing
Nepal Army soldiers carry a body of a worker recovered from the site of a hydropower project in Upper Trishuli, Nepal, September 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Kaslai Dine)
Devastating floods on the China-Nepal border have killed at least 987 people in Nepal, the disaster authority says, taking overall deaths to more than 1,000.
Chinese state media earlier confirmed 16 people were killed in Tibet, bringing the total toll from Wednesday’s disaster to 1,003.
The number of missing in Nepal drops to 3,916, as rescue efforts enter a seventh day, and the bodies recovered rise.
In China, state media says that 546 people are missing, taking the overall number of missing to 4,462.
The missing in Nepal include 583 foreigners from over 30 nationalities. The missing in China include 261 foreigners from 23 countries.
Among those missing are two Israeli citizens.
Key Update
North Korea and US show signs of resuming dialogue, South Korean lawmaker says
North Korea and the United States are showing signs of resuming dialogue, a South Korean lawmaker says after being briefed by Seoul’s intelligence agency.
There has, however, been no confirmation of specific contacts between Pyongyang and Washington, he tells a televised briefing.
“Regarding a North Korea-US summit, there was an assessment that talks could be possible at anytime,” lawmaker Youn Kun-young says.
US President Donald Trump said last month he planned to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year after he ordered a major scaling back of annual military exercises between the United States and South Korea.The two met three times in 2018 and 2019.
Youn also tells reporters that Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes that North Korea is continuing to take steps to position Kim Jong Un’s daughter, known as Ju Ae, as his successor.
Report: Settlers set fire to West Bank mosque, spray graffiti
Palestinian media report that settlers set fire to a mosque in the village of Bizzariya in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank. No injuries were reported.
Graffiti in Hebrew sprayed nearby was also documented.
متابعة| مستوطنون يخطّون شعارات معادية على جدران مسجد، بعد أن أحرقوه خلال هجومهم على قرية بزاريا، شمال غرب نابلس، فجر اليوم. pic.twitter.com/o9YFJddlwQ
— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) September 1, 2026
One message declares: “Evacuations [of outposts] = trouble. You’ve been warned.”
2.6 million students return to school amid teacher shortages, systemic challenges
Schoolchildren pose for a picture ahead of the start of the academic year in Moshav Yashresh, August 27, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
Some 2.6 million students and preschoolers return to school around the country this morning at some some 28,000 institutions. The number includes some 180,000 first graders.
“We are opening the school year with a great sense of responsibility and a clear direction: to strengthen Israeli students’ sense of belonging and resilience, deepen their identity, values and heritage, while at the same time providing them with the knowledge and tools that will enable them to lead and succeed in a rapidly changing world,” Education Minister Yoav Kisch said ahead of the start of the school year.
But national education is also facing numerous challenges, with a recent study finding that Israeli teachers perform considerably worse than their OECD counterparts in literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills at every level of the education system.
There is also a shortage in capable teachers. The Central Bureau of Statistics recently assessed that schools are missing some 31,000 teachers qualified to teach the subjects they have been assigned. The Education Ministry insists it is missing only several hundred educators.
In a recent poll published by Channel 12, 68% gave the education system a “poor” grade, compared to 25% who said it was functioning well.
For the first time this year, 9th graders will be taught “financial education” classes, meant to give them better tools to handle their finances as adults, including lessons on cosumerism, investments, budgeting and more.
In the south and in the north, in communities devastated on October 7, 2023, and during the ensuing war, many students will return to schools in their home towns for the first time since the attack, after being housed temporarily elsewhere in the country while the communities were rebuilt and rehabilitated.
In Jerusalem, police will secure a new secular school opening today in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood, after ultra-Orthodox extremists protested last night outside the institution.
Key Update
Shin Bet chief said to fly to US to discuss ‘sensitive matters’ with FBI counterparts
Shin Bet chief David Zini is seen at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem during Memorial Day, April 21, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Shin Bet chief David Zini flew covertly to the United States on Saturday evening in his first foreign trip since entering the role, Channel 13 news reports, without citing sources.
Zini reportedly traveled to meet his counterparts from the FBI and discuss a series of “sensitive matters,” including settler violence in the West Bank and the spiriting away of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair from Miami to Israel amid an Iranian plot to kill him.
Israel said unhappy with progress on Hezbollah disarmament in pilot zones; Lebanese army officers said to oppose IDF pullout
Israel is dissatisfied with the Lebanese army’s progress so far in disarming Hezbollah in the pilot zones it has been operating in in southern Lebanon, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
The outlet quotes an unnamed senior US official as saying that Lebanese army officers have voiced opposition to an IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon at this time, fearing that the Iran-backed terror group will return to the area.
“We are working with both sides to reach a future arrangement, but it will take time,” the American official says.
Palestinian elderly couple allegedly beaten by settlers in West Bank village
An elderly Palestinian woman has been hospitalized with a serious head injury after being beaten by settlers during a raid of the central West Bank village of Burqa earlier tonight, the Red Crescent emergency service claims.
The woman’s husband was also injured, and several sheep belonging to residents of the village were stolen, according to Al Jazeera.
مستوطنون يعتدون بالضرب المبرح على المسنة فاطمة معطان وزوجها وجيه حمدان في بلدة برقة قضاء رام الله ما أدى إلى إصابتها في رأسها إصابة بليغة وسرقة عدد من أغنامهما#فيديو pic.twitter.com/VejbmbLKL1
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) August 31, 2026
Yesh Atid co-founder MK Mickey Levy says he won’t run for reelection, will head party’s court
MK Mickey Levy, head of the State Control Committee, leads a committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on September 13, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Yesh Atid founding member MK Mickey Levy will not run on the B’Yachad list of candidates in the October 27 election and will instead become the head of Yesh Atid’s internal court, Levy and party chief Yair Lapid say.
However, according to Yesh Atid’s internal regulations, the court head must be a former judge or a lawyer with at least 15 years of experience — criteria Levy doesn’t meet.
The move comes hours after another founding member, MK Meir Cohen, similarly said he wouldn’t run for reelection and would be appointed chairman and president of the Yesh Atid convention — the party’s central internal representative body.
The announcements come as Yesh Atid — currently the largest opposition party — is expected to shrink significantly after next month’s vote. Having polled near the 3.25% electoral threshold, it merged earlier this year with Naftali Bennett’s new party to create the B’Yachad alliance, which itself has since lost significant ground in opinion polls.
“Mickey is staying in Yesh Atid, has accepted my request to be the head of the party court, and will work in the elections until victory, but he has decided to vacate his spot because the slate should be led by the party’s next generation,” Lapid says in a tweet that also mentions Cohen’s stepping aside.
In a letter to Yesh Atid members cited in Hebrew media, Levy hails his long history with Yesh Atid since its 2011 founding, his relationship with Lapid and the latter’s leadership.
“I am ending this chapter with my head held high, wholeheartedly and with great satisfaction for the honor to serve, work and have influence,” he says. “I have no anger or bitterness. I mainly have great gratitude and pride for the path we have gone together.”
Tanker struck by three projectiles while sailing out of Strait of Hormuz, monitor says
A tanker has reported being struck by three projectiles while sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz, 17 nautical miles east of Oman’s Khasab, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) says.
No casualties or environmental impact have been reported, UKMTO says.
Police to secure new secular school in Jerusalem today after Haredi protest, vandalism
Police have decided to provide security for a new secular school opening today in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Yovel neighborhood, after ultra-Orthodox extremists protested last night against “immodesty” in the capital, Hebrew media reports say.
Dozens arrived outside the school, scrawled “Stop the immodesty” on the walls, covered windows with stickers with slogans against enlisting in the IDF, and left paint and trash near the entrance gate, according to the Ynet news site.
The report cites a notice sent by the school to parents, saying that due to the vandalism, police are set to secure the area tonight and in the morning as students arrive.
Today is the first day of the school year, and the first-ever day of studies for this particular school.
המתיחות סביב המרחב הציבורי בירושלים עולה מדרגה: אחרי המחאות בקפה בסטמה וחסימת האוטובוסים בכניסה לעיר, הערב חרדים קיימו עצרת מחאה מול בית ספר ממלכתי חדש, שצפוי לפתוח מחר את שעריו בשכונת קריית יובל. pic.twitter.com/EGI0q3wcf7
— לירן תמרי | Liran Tamari (@liran__tamari) August 31, 2026
Iranian media say Saudi oil tanker stopped in Strait of Hormuz; no Saudi confirmation
A Saudi oil tanker has been stopped while transiting through the southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reports.
There is no immediate Saudi confirmation.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said it received a report of an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Indian Ocean, without providing further details.
French court orders Gaza photo put back into festival
A French court orders a leading photo festival to put back on display a photo of two Gaza soccer teams that was withdrawn halfway through the exhibition.
Organizers of the Deauville Sports Images Festival quietly took down the picture, showing the two teams on a pitch surrounded by destroyed buildings, by Gaza photographer Jehad Alshrafi for the Associated Press news agency.
A lawyer for Deauville town hall, Marie-Therese Sur-Le Liboux, defended the decision, saying there was a risk of public disorder and that the town authorities had observed a “torrent of hatred” on social media, but did not give examples.
The court “suspends” the order made by the Channel resort’s mayor on August 20, saying it was not “necessary” or “proportionate.” The exhibition, on the values of sport, opened in June and is due to run until September 6.
Deauville officials tell the court it will take six days to get the photo printed again and put back on display. Agnes Tricoire, head of the OLC rights group that sought the court order, says it would be “scandalous” if the original photo has been destroyed and vows more action.
Sara Netanyahu suggests, sans evidence, that Yair Golan had advance notice of Oct. 7; his party decries ‘slander’
Sara Netanyahu in a Channel 14 interview broadcast on August 31, 2026. (Screenshot/Channel 14)
Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claims without evidence that left-wing politician Yair Golan had advance notice of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught, drawing a furious response from the latter’s party.
Golan, a former deputy IDF chief of staff, drove on October 7 to where the Nova music festival massacre was being perpetrated and rescued people, later earning praise for his actions.
But Sara Netanyahu, in an interview with the staunchly pro-government Channel 14, suggests that his prompt response to the massacre meant he had advance warning of it.
“When you’re a military man of such high rank, claiming that you fought on October 7, already early in the morning you were there, already dressed and ready at a very, very early hour when others didn’t know, such as the prime minister,” she says directly after talking about Golan, adding: “Who is the prime minister anyway to know that a war is breaking out? Why let him know?”
In fact, Golan has said multiple times that he headed south around 8 a.m., 1.5 hours after the attack began.
Golan’s party, the Democrats, slams her statement in a post on X, saying it “forcefully condemns the slanderous and lying words of Sara Netanyahu this evening on Channel 14.”
“Spreading conspiracies against the general Yair Golan, and tarring his heroism on October 7, crosses a red line bordering on insanity,” the party says.
Sara Netanyahu is not the first member of her immediate family to spread conspiracy theories about October 7. The Netanyahus’ adult son Yair suggested there was treason in the lead-up to the attack, prompting the prime minister to reportedly tell lawmakers that while “there was a serious intelligence failure” ahead of the October 7 attack, “there was no treason.”
Key Update
Polls show reshuffling of parties wouldn’t much change election picture, with anti-Netanyahu bloc just short of majority
A series of polls by Channel 12 shows that the Israeli electorate would remain deadlocked, albeit with the anti-Netanyahu bloc close to a Knesset majority, even if several small factions formed alliances or melded into bigger parties.
The polls, examining a series of theoretical party mergers, come about a week before the September 8 deadline when parties must submit their final electoral slates. Current polls show a group of small parties all hovering at or below the threshold of votes needed to enter the Knesset.
The network’s first poll, surveying the current electoral landscape, finds that the bloc of parties opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would win 59 seats, two short of a 61-seat majority in the Knesset, while the pro-Netanyahu parties would win 50 seats. Arab parties would win 11 seats.
In that poll, the centrist Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, would win 24, followed by Netanyahu’s Likud with 23. Most of the smaller parties hovered around the same place they’ve found themselves in recent polls.
Notably, the new right-wing party People of Israel, led by ex-general Ofer Winter, would enter the Knesset with four seats, while the far-right Religious Zionism party, currently in the Knesset, would fall short.
Another poll found that if Religious Zionism merged with Moshe Feiglin’s far-right party, it would enter the Knesset with five seats but wouldn’t change the overall makeup of the blocs. The same is true if Religious Zionism united with the far-right Otzma Yehudit, as Netanyahu has pleaded for. In that case, the pro-Netanyahu bloc would gain a seat but still be short of a majority.
If, however, Religious Zionism merged into Likud, and a variety of non-aligned right-wing parties merged, the anti-Netanyahu bloc would stand at 57, while the non-aligned right would squeak into the Knesset with four seats. If that party decided to join the anti-Netanyahu bloc, it would add up to a bare majority of 61.
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