Sept. 10: Earthquake recorded after IDF demolition of Hezbollah tunnel network in south Lebanon

Election polls show little change, continued deadlock after party slates finalized

Election polls released the day after parties submitted their official slates for the October 27 election indicate that the finalization of the electoral landscape hasn’t affected voters’ preferences.

Polls by Channel 12, Channel 13 and the Kan public broadcaster show neither the pro- nor anti-Benjamin Netanyahu blocs winning a 61-seat majority of the 120-seat Knesset.

Channel 12’s poll, in line with previous ones, finds that the bloc of anti-Benjamin Netanyahu parties would win 57 seats, while the bloc supporting the prime minister would win just 52. Largely Arab parties would win the remaining 11 seats.

Channel 13 and Kan’s polls both had the blocs tied, at 53 and 52 seats each, respectively. In Channel 13’s poll, Arab parties won the remaining 14 seats, while in Kan’s poll, 12 seats went to the Arab parties while the remaining four went to the centrist, nonaligned party led by Yoaz Hendel.

Channel 12’s poll had Gadi Eisenkot’s centrist opposition party leading with 25 seats, followed by Netanyahu’s Likud with 21.

Uproar in Likud after Haim Katz tries to fire interim head of Israel Land Authority

Minister Haim Katz at a press conference in Tel Aviv, August 24, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLash90)

Likud party ministers and local officials are sent into an uproar after Construction and Housing Minister Haim Katz attempted to fire Yehuda Eliyahu, the interim head of the Israel Land Authority.

The move has led Likud to issue a statement saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Eliyahu’s appointment, that he does “important national work in the Galilee and Negev, and will not be fired.”

Katz claims in a statement that he was summoning Eliyahu to a hearing prior to termination due to mismanagement, inappropriate remarks and discrimination toward women, according to the Ynet outlet.

“The series of matters will be examined in the framework of the hearing, which will be held with an open heart and willing spirit, and according to the rules of proper management,” Katz says.

But news of the hearing has led to a cascade of protests from Eliyahu’s defenders, who are accusing Katz of a power grab. Eliyahu is an ally of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi notes that Eliyahu’s appointment faced legal challenges, and accuses Katz in a social media post of “paving the way for an appointment that’s acceptable to the deep state.”

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli posts, “Yehuda Eliyahu is one of the most important appointees of the nationalist camp, and no power broker with a reserved spot [on the Likud election slate] will move him out of his job.”

Ynet reports that dozens of mayors and local officials have also come out in an open letter against firing Eliyahu, saying that doing so will impede the development of the Negev and Galilee.

Top Hamas operative freed in 2011 Gilad Shalit deal killed in Gaza, terror group says

The Hamas terror group announces the death of a top member in an Israeli strike in Gaza City today.

Farah Hamed is described by Hamas as a “commander and fighter” in the terror group’s military wing, and a member of the “Military Council of the al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank.”

Hamed was a member of the “Silwad cell,” which operated during the Second Intifada and carried out a series of deadly shooting attacks in the West Bank.

Originally from the Ramallah area, Hamed was released from prison and deported to Gaza in 2011 as part of the prisoner exchange deal for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In May 2024, the head of the cell, who was also released in the Shalit deal, was killed in Rafah.

Hamed was targeted in a strike in Gaza City’s Sheikh Ijlin neighborhood earlier today, according to Palestinian media.

The IDF has not yet issued a statement on the strike.

عاجل | استشهاد الأسير المحرر المبعد "فرح أحمد حامد" من بلدة سلواد في رام الله؛ جراء قصف الاحتلال في شارع الرشيد بمنطقة الشيخ عجلين، جنوب غرب مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/R63IbUrBtg

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 9, 2026

‘False identification’ of drone triggers sirens in several Lebanon border towns

Air raid sirens are activated in several Israeli communities near the Lebanon border, due to what the military says is “a false identification” of a drone.

Trump said told by top advisers that Iran conflict could last beyond his presidency

US President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, and Vice President JD Vance listen in the Oval Office at the White House, April 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Top White House advisers, including US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have privately warned President Donald Trump that the conflict with Iran could extend through the remainder of his presidency, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials.

The report says Vance, Rubio and other officials have told Trump that Iran could continue holding out against American economic and military pressure, extending the conflict beyond the US presidential inauguration in January 2029.

“President Trump has destroyed Iran’s military capabilities and is crippling what’s left of its abysmal economy with the most powerful naval blockade in world history and crushing sanctions,” a White House spokesperson tells the newspaper in response. “Only President Trump knows what he will do and when.”

Several US warplanes reportedly damaged in Iranian attack on airbase in Jordan

Illustrative: A US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the 127th Wing, Michigan Air National Guard, flies over Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, Sept. 9, 2025 (US Air National Guard)

Multiple American military aircraft suffered damage in strikes overnight on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, CBS reporter Jennifer Jacobs says on X.

One A-10 Thunderbolt, known as the Warthog, was struck and left with a missing wing, while roughly eight F-15s sustained light damage and were placed back into service, she adds.

‘I wasn’t in makeup’: Gallant slams Netanyahu’s ‘atmosphere of defeatism’ in days after Oct. 7

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, October 28, 2023. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

In an interview with Channel 12 news, former defense minister Yoav Gallant says he didn’t see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kirya military HQ in Tel Aviv until 10 a.m. on October 7, 2023, some 3.5 hours after Hamas-launched its devastating invasion of Israel.

Asked if the two spoke by phone before then, Gallant says he can’t remember “but in any case there was not a meaningful [call] and I don’t know who initiated it.”

Gallant dismisses the notion that Netanyahu was the only senior figure holding it together in the days after the onslaught, telling the network to look at pictures from meetings at the time to determine “who looked how.”

“I, by the way, was not in makeup,” Gallant says in a dig at Netanyahu. “I saw a prime minister who was either producing or feeling and bringing an atmosphere of defeatism. It really worried me.”

Gallant is also dismissive of Netanyahu’s claim that “everything would have looked different” if he was woken up before the attack.

“OK, they woke him up at 6:30, and he arrived [at the Kirya] at 10. If they woke him up during the night, he apparently would’ve gotten there around 3.5 hours later,” he says.

The ruling Likud party in response accuses Gallant of lying and insists Netanyahu was at the Kirya by 8:22 a.m. “and waited for Gallant and the chief of staff until 9:55,” without specifying what the premier did during that time.

“In any case, for hours later there was no relevant situational assessment to present to the prime minister,” Likud adds.

Trump warns Iran ‘not to get cute’ or US will bomb Pickaxe nuclear site

This June 15, 2026, photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, upper right, and the construction at Pickaxe Mountain directly to the south of it. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

US President Donald Trump says the United States may hit Iran’s Pickaxe ​Mountain, urging Tehran to be cautious.

“We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard,” Trump says in a speech at the midterm Republican convention.

Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, is a fortified site with two deeply buried tunnel complexes.

Trump has been threatening strikes on Pickaxe Mountain since at least mid-July.

Saudi civil defense issues emergency alert, then gives all-clear

Saudi civil defense issues an emergency alert for the southwestern province of Khamis Mushait to warn of potential danger for the fourth time in 24 hours.

The civil defense posts on X shortly afterward saying the danger has passed.

Singapore says Iran-backed militia chief who plotted antisemitic attacks sought entry in past

This photo from a criminal complaint unsealed Friday, May 15, 2026, by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, shows Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, right, with Qassem Soleimani, then-commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. (US District Court for the Southern District of New York via AP)

An Iraqi commander of the Iran-backed militia who allegedly plotted attacks against Jewish targets in Europe, Canada and the United States tried to enter Singapore on multiple occasions, the city-state’s security agency says.

Singapore says it would not have allowed Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi to enter the country. But it warned the case highlighted how conflicts in the Middle East could raise terrorism risks in Southeast Asia.

US prosecutors identified Al-Saadi in charges filed in May as a senior figure in Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi armed group designated by Washington as a terrorist organisation linked to the IRGC. According to US authorities, he directed and encouraged attacks on US and Israeli interests, and urged the killing of Americans and Jews in retaliation for the war against Iran.

In an annual terrorism threat assessment report, Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) says that Al-Saadi, who is in US custody awaiting trial, applied for visas to visit Singapore in 2023 and 2024.

“Baqer had applied for visas to visit Singapore on three separate occasions in 2023 and 2024, but did not eventually travel to Singapore,” the agency says.

The ISD says it believed Al-Saadi had travelled elsewhere in Southeast Asia during that period.

“Had he attempted to enter Singapore, he would have been denied entry,” it adds. “We do not discount the possibility that Baqer’s travel to this region could have been for terrorism purposes, and he could have set his sights on targeting Singapore, including US and Israeli/Jewish interests here.”

The agency says it is working with intelligence partners to investigate his activities.

Activities by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its network of armed proxies “have elevated the threat of terrorism beyond the immediate theatre of conflict in the Middle East,” it adds.

August hottest month ever recorded globally, EU monitor says

A lifeguard keeps watch along the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on August 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Finley)

The EU climate monitor says August was the hottest single month ever recorded globally and that summer in western Europe was the warmest it had measured.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service says global average air temperatures in August were 16.96ºC (62.53ºF) — surpassing by 0.01ºC the previous high set in July 2023 — and that western Europe endured its “warmest summer on record.”

Jewish mayor of Providence loses Democratic primary to anti-Israel challenger

Then-Providence Mayor-elect Brett Smiley gives a speech during an election night gathering of Rhode Island Democratic candidates and supporters, November 8, 2022, in Providence. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Brett Smiley, the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, is defeated in the Democratic primary by David Morales, a 27-year-old Democratic socialist who attacked the incumbent over his support for Israel.

Morales, a state representative, won the Wednesday primary with 53% of the vote. He is heavily favored to win the November election.

During the campaign, Morales repeatedly criticized Smiley’s support for Israel, which Morales accuses of committing genocide in Gaza.

Smiley converted to Judaism and held a bar mitzvah while in office. He has also traveled to Israel as mayor.

In December, Morales criticized Smiley for attending the North American Mayors’ Summit Against Antisemitism, held by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, whose Mayors Advisory Board Smiley chairs.

“To me that is unacceptable,” Morales said at the time, citing the group’s opposition to anti-Israel activism. “The mayor should be more concerned with fighting the affordability crisis in Providence than defending a genocide.”

Morales also supports a ballot initiative that city residents will vote on this November saying Providence should refrain from investing in “foreign countries conducting ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal military occupation, or genocide.”

The language of the actual ballot petition does not mention Israel, nor any other country, by name. But the signature campaign was led by Providence for Palestine, a local activist coalition, and both its proponents and opponents have framed the measure as a referendum on Israel and the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Major Jewish groups announce NYC rally against antisemitism during UN General Assembly

The symbol of the United Nations is displayed outside the Secretariat Building, February 28, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Major Jewish groups in New York City announce a rally against antisemitism to be held during the UN General Assembly later this month.

The rally aims to “call on world leaders to act decisively to stop the growing tide of antisemitism.”

“Tell world leaders — no more excuses,” say the protest advertisements.

The rally is organized by a broad swath of large communal organizations, some of which do not frequently sign onto protests.

Organizers include the UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Conference of Presidents, the Union for Reform Judaism, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Yeshiva University, the Israeli American Council and StandWithUs.

The protest will take place at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, across from the United Nations headquarters in midtown Manhattan, on September 23, at the beginning of the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Week, in which world leaders address the UN.

The protest will take place the day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN. Earlier this year, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani denounced Netanyahu as a “war criminal” while lamenting that New York lacked the authority to arrest the premier on an International Criminal Court warrant.

The rally reflects growing frustration in the New York Jewish community about antisemitism. There has been an uptick in protests against antisemitism in the past year, as organizations and activists transitioned from rallying to release the hostages in Gaza to demonstrating for local Jewish concerns.

Yesterday, the pro-Israel activist groups EndJewHatred and the Lawfare Project protested near the offices of the far-left, anti-Israel Democratic Socialists of America in Manhattan.

Organizers say in a statement that several hundred people attended.

The protesters demanded that Mamdani and New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels implement a mandatory curriculum on the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Speakers, including New Yorkers who lost family in the terror attacks 25 years ago, decried Mamdani’s friendly ties with anti-Israel streamer Hasan Piker, who said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.”

Mamdani has called that comment “objectionable and reprehensible” and has said he will attend the memorial.

Report: Israeli strike in Gaza kills 4, including 2 children

An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip this morning killed a family of four, including two children, Palestinian media reports.

The strike hit a home in the Beit Lahia area, the reports say. A hospital official at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City identifies the children as aged 12 and 8.

The IDF tells The Times of Israel that it is looking into the reports.

Separately, Palestinian media reports a strike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis that wounded three people, two of them children.

The military tells The Times of Israel that in the Khan Younis strike it targeted a “terrorist,” with further details to be provided later.

AFP contributed to this report.

Iran using barter system with China to bypass sanctions, sources tell Reuters

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing, China, May 6, 2026. (Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Minister via AP)

Iran has used a barter-like arrangement to bypass sanctions on its oil sales and buy billions of dollars’ worth of goods from China, including military gear, two senior Iranian sources and three other people familiar with the matter tell Reuters.

The secretive trade mechanism, in which Iranian oil is exchanged for credits for Chinese imports, has provided a financial lifeline for Tehran in recent years as the United States stepped up economic and military pressure over its nuclear program, according to the sources, who speak on condition of anonymity.

It has also helped China, the world’s biggest crude importer, retain access to discounted Iranian oil while shielding banks and companies that export to the Islamic Republic from international scrutiny or penalties, they say.

The US has imposed sanctions on some smaller Chinese entities that buy or facilitate shipments of Iranian oil but has stopped short of the most punishing measures that could have repercussions on the global economy.

Reuters could not determine the impact on the barter-like arrangement of the US naval blockade imposed on Iran as part of the six-month war. No Iranian crude cargoes have successfully transited the Strait ​of Hormuz to China since the blockade was reinstated on July 14, the news agency reported last week.

China and Iran have repeatedly denounced what they regard as illegal unilateral Western sanctions and have vowed to protect their interests. The countries are longstanding economic and political partners but have said little publicly about how they keep trade flowing despite international restrictions.

Iran has used the arrangement to buy medicines, vehicles and communication equipment from China, all the sources say. The manufacturers do not deal directly with Iran, and there is no indication they are in breach of sanctions.

The mechanism was also used at least once in the past year in connection with contracts to supply Iran with air defense equipment worth millions of dollars, the sources say.

Strikes in Gaza destroy 3 Hamas weapons depots, IDF says

Three Hamas weapon depots were destroyed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the IDF and Shin Bet announce.

The military says the sites were used by Hamas to store firearms, explosive devices, anti-tank rockets, and other equipment.

The IDF says it will continue “to operate decisively to degrade the capabilities of terror organizations in the Gaza Strip while thwarting any attempt to rebuild capabilities or possess weapons intended to harm our forces.”

צה"ל ושב"כ השמידו שלושה מחסני אמצעי לחימה של ארגון הטרור חמאס ברצועת עזה

צה"ל ושב"כ תקפו אתמול בשלושה מרחבים שונים ברצועת עזה והשמידו שלושה מחסני אמצעי לחימה של ארגון הטרור חמאס.

ארגון הטרור חמאס איחסן בתוך המחסנים כלי נשק, מטענים, טילי נ"ט וציוד לחימה נוסף pic.twitter.com/ZvCSaDTFBO

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 10, 2026

Soldier suspected of stealing guns from naval commando base

Commandos of the Israeli Navy's Shayetet 13 unit operate in the southern Lebanon town of Khiam, in a handout photo issued on March 27, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

A soldier has been detained on suspicion that he stole three weapons from naval commandos at his base in northern Israel.

The three assault rifles were stolen from the Atlit Naval Base, home to the Shayetet 13 commando unit, shortly after midnight between Monday and Tuesday, the IDF says.

The military says that a joint investigation by the Military Police and Israel Police was launched, during which a soldier from the base was detained.

At the end of the investigation, the findings will be handed over to the Military Advocate General for review and charges, the IDF says.

“The IDF views any incident of theft of weapons with great severity and is determined to prevent such incidents in cooperation with the Israel Police,” the military adds.

The theft of guns from IDF bases has long been an issue for the military. Guns and other weapons are stolen from bases both by soldiers serving on them and by residents of surrounding communities.

Yemen’s Houthis report about 40 Saudi strikes in fresh attack

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels reported about 40 airstrikes launched by Saudi forces today in a fresh salvo following attacks by the group against the kingdom.

“The Saudi enemy’s air force conducted around 40 strikes in recent hours in the governorates of Taiz, Hodeida, Al-Jawf and Marib,” Houthi news agency Saba says.

Pakistan says there are no plans to expand ‘defensive’ alliance with Turkey, Saudi Arabia

From left, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pose after signing a trilateral defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 7, 2026. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

The Mecca agreement, signed between Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia last month, is a “defensive alliance” and there are no plans to expand it at the moment, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson says.

The statement comes in response to a question at a weekly briefing on how Pakistan plans to fulfill its obligations under the accord after Saudi Arabia was attacked by the Iran-backed Houthis.

Prosecutors to indict man suspected of lacing supermarket baby food with sedatives — police

A man suspected of injecting sedatives into baby food in Jerusalem supermarkets will be indicted in the coming days, police say.

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

The suspect, 41-year-old Beersheba resident Yan Shamla, allegedly stole the baby food packets from the stores and laced them with sedatives before putting them back. The police publish brief security camera footage they say was taken moments before he returned the poisoned packets.

Shamla was arrested late last month. Prosecutors will today issue a statement ahead of the indictment against him, and will request a five-day extension of his custody until the indictment itself is filed, police say.

Police investigators had analyzed “many hundreds of hours security camera footage from different locations” to single out a suspect from among the hundreds of people who passed through those locations every day, police say, adding that the Shin Bet assisted in the investigation.

Once Shamla was singled out, undercover detectives tracked his daily movements until they gathered enough evidence to arrest him in his home and take him in for questioning, police say.

Peer-reviewed journal publishes data study on NY Times bias against Israel in Gaza war coverage

Protesters outside The New York Times offices in New York City, May 14, 2026. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

A peer-reviewed academic journal publishes a data study that found a bias against Israel in The New York Times’s coverage of the Gaza war.

The study, by Edieal Pinker of the Yale school of management, says that the newspaper downplayed Israeli losses incurred after the October 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel and minimized the role of Palestinian violence in perpetuating the conflict.

The Times of Israel covered the study last year.

The study’s final version is published in the Studies in Conflict & Terrorism academic journal.

The study analyzed 1,559 articles about the conflict in The New York Times from the date of the Hamas-led onslaught that launched the war on October 7, 2023, through June 7, 2024.

The report argued that the coverage “assign[ed] near-exclusive agency and responsibility to Israel while diminishing Hamas’s role in sustaining the conflict.”

The coverage often omitted Israeli military losses, Hamas terrorist casualties and Palestinian violence after the October 7 attack, while often reporting on Palestinian suffering, the study said.

Israel was portrayed as the “sole aggressor” following the Hamas attack and “seemingly bears no costs from conducting the war except for a loss of international support and public sympathy,” while “Palestinians are portrayed as passive victims whose suffering grows daily as they are relentlessly attacked by the Israeli military,” the study says.

Pro-Israel activists have long accused the Times of being biased against Israel, while pro-Palestinian activists have often complained of what they perceive as a pro-Israel bias in the paper.

The New York Times said in response to the initial study that it “has covered this war with more rigor than virtually any other US news organization, reporting on the conflict from all angles.”

“Our editors make careful and deliberate choices about every story we publish to ensure our language, framing, prominence and tone remain true to our mission of independent journalism,” a spokesperson said. “We remain open to good-faith disagreement but will not change our coverage to buttress entrenched perspectives. Our commitment is to independent reporting that our readers can trust.”

Pinker says the published study is “mainly the same” as the initial report “but it is good to have the stamp of approval” of a peer-reviewed journal.

9/11 victims honored at memorial ceremony in Jerusalem marking 25 years since attack

A ceremony in Jerusalem marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, September 9, 2026. (Alex Kolomoisky/KKL-JNF)

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee joined Israeli and American officials yesterday at a memorial ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The event was held early due to the Rosh Hashanah holiday, which begins on the evening of that date.

The memorial in Jerusalem’s Arazim Valley, established in 2009, is the only site outside the United States that displays the names of all 2,977 people killed in the attacks. The 30-foot bronze sculpture depicts an American flag rising in the shape of a memorial flame and incorporates a piece of metal from the ruins of the World Trade Center.

The annual ceremony was organized by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, Jewish National Fund-USA, and the US Embassy in Israel.

“Twenty-five years after the horrific September 11 attacks, we remember the 2,977 innocent lives taken,” Huckabee said in prepared remarks at the ceremony. He called the memorial a testament to US-Israel solidarity and a shared resolve to confront terrorism and protect innocent life.

Israel’s new envoy to Turkey begins work as tensions continue to define relations

Joel Lion, Israel's top envoy to Turkey. (Armenian Technology Ministry)

Joel Lion, Israel’s former ambassador to Ukraine, Moldova, and Armenia, presented his credentials to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry in Ankara yesterday, the Foreign Ministry announces.

Lion will be Israel’s top diplomatic envoy to Turkey, serving as the acting chargé d’affaires.

He replaces Irit Lillian, who was appointed Israel’s ambassador to Ankara in 2022 and retired over the summer. She had returned to Israel following the outbreak of the war against Hamas after the October 7, 2023, attack due to security concerns. Turkey subsequently recalled its own ambassador from Israel.

Since then, Lillian had continued managing ties with Turkish officials on a professional level from Israel, passing messages between the sides and handling issues involving Israeli citizens in Turkey.

The Israeli embassy in Turkey remains closed.

Israel’s relations with Turkey, once a close security ally of Israel, drastically deteriorated following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rise to power. They have collapsed since the start of the Gaza war as Turkey halted trade and direct flights to Israel.

Katz again threatens ‘powerful response’ if Iran attacks Israel

Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks at a pilots' graduation ceremony at the Hatzerim Airbase, July 9, 2026. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

Defense Minister Israel Katz again warns that any attack on Israel from Iran will be met with a “powerful response.”

In recent weeks, Iran has launched dozens of ballistic missiles at US targets in Israel’s eastern neighbor, Jordan.

“Given the possibility that, due to the economic stranglehold and heavy pressure Iran is under, they may decide to act against Israel, I once again warn the Iranian leadership: Any attack on Israel, for any reason and in any place, will be met with a powerful response, one that will inflict severe damage on Iran that it has never suffered before, including to its main energy facilities, which provide resources and capabilities to the Iranian war and terror apparatus, and to harming the citizens of the State of Israel,” Katz says in a video statement.

Israeli who went missing after reportedly entering Palestinian town is found, security services say

Illustration: Israeli soldiers block the entrance to Salfit, in the West Bank on April 30, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Security forces a short while ago located a man who was reported missing last night after he entered a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank of his own volition, according to a joint statement by the police, military, Shin Bet and the Israel Prison Service.

The man was identified as a 53-year-old from the northern West Bank settlement of Ariel. He was found safe and sound, the security services say.

The services do not say which Palestinian village the man reportedly entered or where he was found.

Forces from each of the security services had commenced searches for the missing man overnight, the services said in an earlier statement, adding that a police helicopter and the elite IPS unit Metzada are involved in the operation.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news outlet, reports Israeli forces this morning entered the towns of Kifl Haris and Qira, near the larger Palestinian city of Salfit, which is adjacent to Ariel. The forces deployed in several areas in the towns and flew surveillance drones overhead, WAFA reports.

In Cyprus, Herzog expresses hope that he’ll someday meet Lebanon’s president there

President Isaac Herzog meets with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides, at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, September 10, 2026. (Ma'ayan Toaf)

Meeting with his Cypriot counterpart in Nicosia, President Isaac Herzog expresses hope for peace between Israel and Lebanon.

“My dream is for the president of Israel and the president of Cyprus to meet together with the president of Lebanon here,” says Herzog ahead of his meeting with Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia. “I believe that we should move toward peace in our region while making sure that terror is shunned and removed, and that life thrives between nations and peoples for the well-being of the entire region and the world.”

Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered framework agreement on June 26 aimed at paving the way toward an eventual peace deal. Israel agreed to withdraw from two small areas beyond the buffer zone it holds in Lebanon, with Lebanese troops taking over, while Israeli officials say further withdrawals will depend on measurable progress by the Lebanese army in disarming Hezbollah.

Israeli forces seal tunnel hidden in ancient cistern in Palestinian village near security barrier, police say

Security personnel operate inside a tunnel that police say was hidden in an ancient water cistern in the central West Bank Palestinian village of al-Jib, in a picture published on September 10, 2026. (Israel Police)

Police say that overnight, they and the military finished sealing a tunnel hidden in an ancient water cistern in the Palestinian village al-Jib, north of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The tunnel appeared to be in the process of being dug. Israeli forces discovered it on August 28, adjacent to the security barrier between Israel and the West Bank, and close to the settlements of Givon and Givat Ze’ev, police say, adding that the tunnel was “in an advanced stage of excavation.”

Following the discovery of the tunnel, a suspect was detained while in possession of digging equipment, police say, without specifying the suspect’s nationality or when or where the arrest happened.

The statement also does not specify the tunnel’s dimensions, route or alleged purpose, or the age of the cistern, which Jerusalem-area Palestinian outlet al-Qastal describes as belonging to a resident of al-Jib.

Qatar pans Netanyahu’s visit to Syrian Hermon

Qatar blasts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to IDF-held territory on Mount Hermon in Syria yesterday, calling it “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the fraternal Syrian Arab Republic, a flagrant breach of international law, and a serious threat to regional security.”

It also calls for the international community to compel Israel to stop military strikes in Syrian territory.

Speaking from the summit of Mount Hermon, Netanyahu said that Iran was close to defeat, and that Israel “will not allow any terrorist army to establish itself along our border.”

Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with the UAE — state TV

Algeria says it is cutting diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates following years of tension, with Algiers accusing Abu Dhabi of interfering in national and regional affairs.

“Algeria has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, following the exhaustion of all means to preserve bilateral relations,” Algeria’s state television announces.

Iran suspends freight charge on foreign vessels carrying energy products to, from Iran

Iran has suspended a 10 percent charge on freight fees for foreign vessels carrying imported or exported oil, gas and liquid petroleum products to and from Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency reports.

A US naval blockade has sharply disrupted the country’s seaborne oil exports.

Iran’s government opposes bill to expand definition of ‘enemy infiltration’

Illustration: A meeting of Iran's parliament on March 2, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran’s government opposes a parliamentary bill that would impose tougher criminal penalties for activities deemed to constitute foreign influence or infiltration, state news agency IRNA reports.

The bill, backed by parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, would restrict contacts with foreign media and institutions, the sharing of information, scientific cooperation, and other activities that authorities deem to facilitate foreign influence.

The elected government’s opposition to the measure appears to signal pushback toward hardliners, who have supported enacting tougher security laws during the war with the US and Israel.

Almost 1 in 12 Jewish Israelis have visited Rabbi Nachman’s gravesite in Uman — poll

Orthodox Jews pray at the tomb of Rabbi Nachman, the great-grandson of the founder of the Hasidic movement, in the town of Uman, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Some eight percent of Jewish Israeli adults, nearly one in 12, have traveled to Uman, a pilgrimage site in Ukraine where the Hasidic sage Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried, according to a new poll by the Israel Democracy Institute.

Uman and the gravesite traditionally draw masses of pilgrims around Rosh Hashanah, a practice promoted by the Breslov Hasidic movement. But while the survey finds that nearly one in five ultra-Orthodox Israelis have taken the trip to the gravesite, the proportion is even higher among Israelis who identify as “traditional,” which in Israel generally indicates observance of many religious rituals without strict adherence to every facet of Jewish law.

Among that group, the survey finds, 23% have visited Uman. Additionally, although Rabbi Nachman was from Eastern Europe, the historical heartland of Ashkenazi Jewry, the survey finds that 13% of Mizrahi Israelis have visited Uman, compared to only five percent of Ashkenazi Israelis.

The survey finds that 22.5% of those who have visited the Uman gravesite return there annually.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov lived at the turn of the 19th century, and his followers are known today for their ecstatic dancing and singing. One of his most famous sayings is: “It is a great mitzvah to always be happy.”

Despite the share of Israelis who have visited his resting place, it’s unclear whether the country as a whole is following the rebbe’s recommendation. A separate IDI survey finds that 61% of Israelis characterize the national mood as poor, though 59% say their personal mood is positive.

Hormuz shipping traffic in single digits, data shows

Commercial vessels lie anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, September 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Vessel transits via the Strait of Hormuz fell yesterday to seven from 12 the previous day, preliminary ship-tracking data shows, with levels also below the 10-day average of 14.

Out of these seven ships, four vessels exited and three entered, according to the data.

Some vessels could be sailing through the waterway with their transponders turned off and would not be counted toward the totals.

Of the exits, one was a very large crude carrier – Finland Prosperity – carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude.

No tankers carrying liquefied natural gas left the Strait.

The remaining three exits were made by two dry bulk carriers and a short-range dirty products tanker.

Meanwhile, of the three ships that entered, one was a dry bulk carrier and the other two were a short-range tanker and a medium-range-sized tanker.

At the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, 28 commodity ships sailed through it yesterday, similar to the 10-day average of 27.

Of the total, 16 ships entered and 12 exited.

Veteran Israeli actor sentenced to jail for tax evasion

The Tel Aviv District Court sentences veteran Israeli actor Dan Turgeman to 10 months in jail for tax evasion, accepting prosecutors’ appeal against an earlier, shorter sentence, but reducing by half the fine that the lower court issued him.

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court had sentenced Turgeman last year to nine months of community service and six months’ probation, and also hit him with a NIS 100,000 ($33,000) fine, after the actor and entrepreneur was convicted of failing to pay taxes on income of some NIS 3.6 million ($1.18 million) between the years 2008 and 2017.

ערעור המדינה התקבל, ודן תורג'מן ירצה 10 חודשי מאסר בפועל במקום עבודות שירותhttps://t.co/XhLY58Ojlc pic.twitter.com/16bnnWxhFv

— Globes גלובס (@globesnews) September 10, 2026

The lower court said it was giving a lenient sentence because of the time that passed since the crimes, and also criticized the prosecution for taking so long to file an indictment.

The District Court accepts prosecutors’ appeal, citing the legal precedent that deliberate tax evasion carries jail time. However, the court reduces the fine on Turgeman to NIS 50,000 ($16,500).

Turgeman, who starred in several Israeli soap operas in the early 2000s, is expected to begin his prison sentence in March.

As UK considers scope of new boycott, Israel’s contributions to NHS loom large

A Teva Pharmaceuticals logistics center in Shoham, January 7, 2021. (Yossi Aloni/ Flash90)

After the UK government announced its intention to impose widespread sanctions against Israeli settlements — the scope of which is not yet known — critics are pointing to the damage a boycott could do to British citizens if it disrupts access to Israeli products and innovation.

“There could be a dramatic impact on healthcare provision because of the dominance of Israeli drug firms,” according to The Telegraph’s deputy political editor.

A key concern is the fact that Israeli pharmaceutical companies, primarily Teva, supply 1 in 7 drugs provided by the National Health Service, according to the British Embassy. As of 2017, 100 million prescription items for medicines came from Israeli companies.

According to Teva United Kingdom, the company’s generic medicines save the NHS £2.4 billion annually.

Because developing an originator medicine often takes over a decade of research and trials, the manufacturer is given exclusive rights to the medicine it developed for a period, during which prices are much higher in order to recoup upfront costs. After that period, generic manufacturers can develop the same medicine.

“Because the development costs are lower, a manufacturer’s selling price to the NHS is significantly reduced,” according to Medicines UK.

Though Teva is not based in the West Bank, Israel could move to restrict British access to Israeli innovation, or London could implement wide-ranging measures that end up affecting a range of Israeli companies with even tenuous connections to companies in the settlements.

In addition, more than 300 Israeli companies operate in the UK.

UK police say two people arrested in suspected crimes tied to Iran

Two people have been arrested in London as part of an investigation into suspected National Security Act offenses linked to Iran, British police say.

London’s Metropolitan Police notes in a statement: “The investigation is not connected to any of the incidents or attacks earlier this year that have been targeted at various venues and buildings linked to Jewish and Iranian communities across London.”

IDF: Strike on north Gaza building targeted terror operative, was carried out after warning

The Israeli military says a terror operative was killed in an airstrike on a building in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, after Palestinian media said that four members of a family, including two children, were killed in the attack.

According to the IDF, the building near the Yellow Line in the Beit Lahia area had been used in the past by terror operatives.

Before carrying out the strike overnight, the IDF says that it issued a warning “to allow civilians to evacuate the structure.”

“Only after the warning was issued was the strike carried out, while additional measures were taken to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved [civilians], including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance,” the military says.

The army says that the strike killed Muaman Abd al-Rahman Ahmad, “a military operative who took a direct part in fighting against IDF troops.”

Chikli says he ‘rejects’ idea that government should apologize for October 7

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli attends a special plenary session at the auditorium in the Knesset, Jerusalem, during the war with Iran and Hezbollah, March 9, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli suggests the current government has nothing to apologize for in regards to Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

“I think that asking me to say ‘I’m sorry’ is essentially placing blame on us — as though we did it deliberately. And that is something I reject,” Chikli says during an interview with the Kan public broadcaster’s Reshet Bet radio station.

“The people who pushed for the Oslo Accords, who pushed for the [Gaza] disengagement — those are the people who should apologize,” he continues. “There is a limit to what I’m willing to hear from people who, all along the way, promoted the very policies that brought us to these catastrophes. I opposed the disengagement and the Oslo Accords. What do you mean, apologize to the residents of the Gaza border communities?”

Chikli admits to a “serious security failure” ahead of October 7, which he says should be studied. “But when it’s presented as though I intentionally caused harm, as though there was some kind of malice involved, that’s just not where I am.”

Benjamin Netanyahu served as prime minister from 2009 to 2021 and from 2022 to the present day. He has rejected calls for a state commission of inquiry into October 7 and has largely sought to deflect any blame for failing to prevent the attack.

IDF says Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel on Oct. 7 killed in airstrike

An explosion erupts following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, September 9, 2026. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught and was involved in the killing of Nahal Brigade commander Col. Jonathan Steinberg was killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip this week, the military announces.

The strike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis on Monday killed Ismail Ibrahim Darwish Qandil, a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force, according to the IDF.

בעת האחרונה המחבל קידם מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל ואזרחי מדינת ישראל ופעל לשיקום יכולות הארגון, תוך הפרה שיטתית של הפסקת האש. המחבל חוסל במטרה להסיר את האיום שהיווה.

כוחות צה"ל בפיקוד הדרום פרוסים במרחב בהתאם להסכם וימשיכו לפעול להסרת כל איום מיידי pic.twitter.com/MilvPXk4kd

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 10, 2026

The IDF says Qandil invaded Israel on October 7 and took part in killing Steinberg near the border community of Kerem Shalom.

Recently, Qandil had been advancing attacks on troops and civilians, as well as attempting to restore Hamas capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the military says, adding that he was killed “to remove the threat he posed.”

Yashar and Democrats sign surplus-vote agreement, as do Yisrael Beytenu and B’Yachad

Left to right: Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan and Avigdor Liberman. (Composite photo; credits: Flash90)

Israel’s four main opposition parties announce that they will sign surplus-vote agreements aimed at maximizing the anti-Netanyahu bloc’s representation in the next Knesset.

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party announces that it will sign an agreement with Yair Golan’s Democrats, while Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu will sign one with B’Yachad, the joint electoral list headed by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

“In the upcoming election, the goal is clear: to prevent the loss of votes, maximize the strength of the bloc and replace the government responsible for the October 7 failure,” the Democrats say, welcoming the agreement with Yashar and cooperation across the opposition bloc.

Yashar says the agreements will help ensure that “every ballot cast by Israelis seeking change and the replacement of the government responsible for the October 7 failure will go to one of the parties in the change bloc.”

Unlike the mergers Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed among smaller right-wing parties at risk of failing to cross the 3.25% electoral threshold, the agreements do not combine the four opposition parties into joint lists. Each will run independently and receive its own votes and seats.

Rather, under Israel’s electoral system, the agreements allow each pair to pool their surplus votes when the final Knesset seats are allocated, increasing the chances that one of the parties will pick up an additional seat.

All four opposition parties are currently polling far above the electoral threshold, with yesterday’s Channel 12 poll giving Yashar 25 seats, surpassing Netanyahu’s Likud by four seats. B’Yachad has been consistently polling at around 13 seats, the Democrats at 10 and Yisrael Beytenu at nine, giving the four-party opposition bloc a combined 57 seats, while other recent polls have put them at or even above the 61-seat majority needed to form a government.

Houthis say Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb navigation safe and operating normally

Yemen’s Houthi rebels march during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, September 10, 2026. (AP)

The spokesperson for Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, Mohammed Abdulsalam, claims that that navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb remains safe and regular, as fighting with Saudi-backed government forces intensifies.

In a post on X, Abdulsalam says Yemen poses no threat to shipping and that ongoing Houthi operations are defensive and limited to previously announced targets. He says the operations will end once attacks on Yemen stop and a blockade is lifted.

Switzerland publishes 200-page dossier on Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele

This 1944 photo obtained from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum shows Nazi officers (L-R) Josef Kramer, commandant of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp; Dr. Josef Mengele, known as the Angel of Death; Richard Baer, commander of the Auschwitz I concentration camp;Auschwitz concentration camp officer Karl Hoecker; and an unidentified officer, as they gather in front of a building at Solahutte the SS retreat outside of Auschwitz (Handout / Holocaust Memorial Museum / AFP)

The Swiss federal intelligence service publishes a 200-page dossier on the notorious Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, the German doctor known as the “Angel of Death” for conducting horrific medical experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz.

During World War II, Mengele served at the Auschwitz extermination camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, where about 1.1 million people were killed, approximately 1 million of them Jews. He became infamous for carrying out brutal medical experiments on inmates, including children, under the guise of scientific research.

After the war, Mengele obtained a Red Cross travel document under a false identity, allowing him to leave Europe. Like many former Nazi officials, he spent years in hiding in Latin America while being pursued internationally for his crimes. He drowned in 1979 while swimming on the coast of Brazil.

The documents released by Swiss authorities include material provided to police suggesting that Mengele may have returned to Switzerland after initially fleeing Germany, or may have been planning to enter the country under a false name, according to the German news agency dpa.

Historians seeking to establish whether Mengele spent time in Switzerland while being pursued as a war criminal, without Swiss authorities catching him, had long sought access to the files.

Swiss authorities had maintained that the documents should remain sealed until 2071 on security grounds and to protect individuals named in them.

Historian Gérard Wettstein successfully challenged those restrictions before the Federal Administrative Court, leading to the online publication. Some sections have been redacted to protect sources and the personal data of third parties, authorities say.

Prosecutors close high-profile rape case, citing lack of evidence

Prosecutors have closed a high-profile rape case, citing a lack of evidence.

The case in question is against musician Yuval Wilner, who was accused of rape by fellow singer Shaylee Atary, as well as another woman, Naama Shahar.

Atary — whose husband, Yahav Winner, was murdered on October 7 — accused Wilner of raping her in 2011, and again filed a complaint against him in 2022. Police reopened the case in 2025.

Shahar came forward with her accusation earlier this year in a social media post, accusing Wilner of raping her in 2022.

Atary has publicly railed against the state response to rape victims, accusing authorities of negligence.

Houthi media says Saudi Arabia launched 10 strikes on Yemen’s Taiz province

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of launching strikes on the southwestern province of Taiz, after they seized the key Red Sea city of Mocha.

“The Saudi enemy launched 10 strikes on the Dhubab district in western Taiz,” the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV channel says.

Kerem Shalom crossing to Gaza to shut for Rosh Hashanah

A view of the the US-led International Stabilization Force base near Kerem Shalom on the border with the Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/FLASH90)

Israel will close the Kerem Shalom Crossing with the Gaza Strip on Sunday for Rosh Hashanah, authorities announce.

In a statement, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories says that despite the closure, aid will still be collected from the Gazan side of the crossing on the Jewish New Year.

After Sunday, the crossing will “continue to operate at a stable volume to meet the needs identified by the international community, with hundreds of aid trucks entering Gaza daily,” COGAT adds.

Sissi will press Abbas to reconcile with Dahlan during Cairo meet next week — officials

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, greets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during the emergency Arab summit at Egypt's New Administrative Capital, just outside Cairo, March 4, 2025. (Egyptian Presidency Media Office via AP)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will travel to Cairo next week to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a Palestinian official and a second official familiar with the matter tell The Times of Israel.

The second official says Sissi will use the meeting to again urge Abbas to reconcile with longtime Fatah rival Mohammad Dahlan, who heads a breakaway faction of Abbas’s Fatah party and has been living in exile in the United Arab Emirates for more than 15 years.

Egypt believes reconciliation within Fatah is critical before the Palestinian legislative election currently scheduled for November 28.

Cairo already tried leaning on Abbas to reconcile with Dahlan ahead of an internal Fatah election earlier this year, but did not succeed.

Polling has indicated the many current divisions within Fatah are harming the party’s chances to perform well in the election.

Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub said earlier today those divisions are why the elections — which haven’t been held since 2006 — may well end up being delayed yet again.

IDF: Palestinian planning shooting attack arrested in West Bank raid

A Palestinian planning an imminent shooting attack was apprehended by Israeli commandos in the West Bank earlier today, following a week-long manhunt, the military announces.

The IDF says troops of the Duvdevan Commando Unit raided the town of Beitunia and captured Ismail Ankaio, along with a second wanted man.

“Ankaio was planning to carry out a shooting attack imminently and was arrested following a weeklong manhunt for him,” the army says.

כוחות צה"ל ימשיכו לפעול ביוזמה והתקפיות לסיכול טרור ולמצות את הדין עם כל מי שיבקש לפגוע באזרחי מדינת ישראל pic.twitter.com/jnfTwjZt2O

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 10, 2026

Israeli-made film about Gaza gets 25-minute ovation at Venice premiere

(From L) British director Jonathan Glazer, Israeli journalist and director Rachel Szor, Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham and British producer James Wilson attend the photocall of 'NAZA' at the 83rd International Venice Film Festival, at Venice Lido, Italy, on September 10, 2026. (Stefano RELLANDINI/AFP)

A new documentary from Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor about killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza receives a 25-minute ovation at its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, an AFP reporter witnesses.

The audience claps continuously for the directing pair after the screening of “NAZA,” beating the 23-minute ovation given last year for the “Voice of Hind Rajab,” a docu-drama about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl by Israeli forces.

Naza, il documentario su Gaza di Yuval Abraham e Rachel Szor ha ricevuto una standing ovation di 25 minuti a #Venezia83, diventando la standing ovation più lunga di sempre al festival di Venezia.pic.twitter.com/W8QqhkR66o

— Rebelle Vague (@rebellevague) September 10, 2026

Israel preparing for possible Iranian escalation over holiday, but hasn’t issued any warnings — report

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

In a series of meetings over the past day, Israel’s security services discussed the possibility of an escalation from Iran, Channel 12 news reports.

Israel is preparing to counter the possibility of Iranian ballistic missile fire at Israel and Iranian terror attacks on Israeli or Jewish targets abroad, according to the outlet.

The steady Iranian missile fire against Jordan and the success of the US economic blockade against Iran both point toward a potential escalation in Israeli eyes.

Hezbollah is also working to convince Iran to come to its aid in Lebanon, according to the report.

However, there is no concrete warning or specific plot that has been uncovered ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, says Channel 12.

Hamas terrorist behind 2003 shooting that killed MK’s husband slain in Gaza airstrike, says Israel

An explosion erupts following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, September 9, 2026. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israeli security bodies confirm the killing of a top member of the Hamas terror group, responsible for numerous deadly terror attacks, in a strike in Gaza City yesterday.

Yesterday, Hamas said Farah Hamed, a “commander and fighter” in the terror group’s military wing and a member of the “Military Council of the al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank,” was killed in a strike in Gaza City’s Sheikh Ijlin neighborhood.

The strike killing Hamed was carried out by the Israel Police’s elite Gideonim unit (Unit 33), in a joint operation with the Shin Bet and IDF, the three bodies say.

Israeli security bodies confirm the killing of a top member of the Hamas terror group, responsible for numerous deadly terror attacks, in a strike in Gaza City yesterday.

Yesterday, Hamas said Farah Hamed, a "commander and fighter" in the terror group's military wing, and a… pic.twitter.com/fQRlGcBnDa

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 10, 2026

Hamed was a member of the “Silwad cell,” which operated during the Second Intifada and carried out a series of deadly shooting attacks in the West Bank.

According to the Shin Bet, Hamed was involved in a November 2002 shooting at Rimonim Junction, in which Esther Galia Attiya was killed; a June 2003 shooting on Route 60 in which Zvi (Howard) Goldstein was killed; an August 2003 shooting which critically wounded current Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, and killed her husband, Shalom Har-Melech; and an October 2003 shooting in Ein Yabrud in which three soldiers were killed: Sgt. Elad Polak, Sgt. Roi Yaakov Solomon and Staff Sgt. Erez Idan.

The Shin Bet says Hamed was a “senior figure” in Hamas’s so-called West Bank Headquarters, a unit involved in recruiting terrorists and advancing attacks against Israel from or within the West Bank, and that he also took part in fighting against IDF troops during the war in Gaza.

Since he was released to Gaza in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, the Shin Bet says he “continued to belong to Hamas’s military wing and was involved in recruiting and directing the organization to advance attacks” in the West Bank.

IDF set to demolish major Hezbollah tunnel system under Ali Taher Ridge

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali Taher Ridge on August 14, 2026. (AFP)

The IDF is set to demolish a major Hezbollah tunnel system beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon tonight.

Residents of northern Israel have been notified by local authorities that explosions are expected to be heard in the coming hours. A statement from the Upper Galilee Regional Council says that the IDF will carry out a “series of strikes and controlled explosions in Lebanon,” which will be heard across the region.

The IDF has been preparing to blow up the Ali Taher Ridge tunnels after clearing the underground site of Hezbollah operatives in recent weeks.

Iran ostensibly warned the US that it would respond to any Israeli offensive against the Hezbollah facility beneath the hill, according to a report by Reuters last week, although that came after the IDF had already captured and cleared the site.

IDF: Over 1,100 tons of explosives used to blow up tunnel system in south Lebanon

The IDF says more than 1,100 tons of explosives were used to demolish the Hezbollah tunnels beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon this evening.

Inside the two tunnels, spanning over two kilometers, troops found dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles and drones, along with firearms, anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of mines and other explosives, the military says.

According to the IDF, the tunnel systems under Ali Taher served as the “nerve center” of the terror group’s Badr regional division — a unit tasked with the area of southern Lebanon that is north of the Litani River. The IDF describes the facility as a “strategic infrastructure that was built over two decades,” an activity it said was financed and planned by Iran.

With the demolition of the Ali Taher underground site this evening, the IDF says it has now completed destroying a major Hezbollah tunnel network in the Ali Taher and Beaufort Castle area, which included a total of eight tunnels spanning 5.4 kilometers.

Next round of Israel-Lebanon talks to be held in Rome next week

A motorcade arrives at the United States Embassy in Rome, Italy, where ambassadors-level talks between Israel and Lebanon are expected to take place, August 4, 2026. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)

The next round of US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Rome next week, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

The talks will extend for two days, but it has not yet been finalized whether they will begin on Tuesday or Wednesday, the official says.

Meanwhile, a US State Department official says in a statement to querying reporters that Washington is closely monitoring “calls from Southern Lebanon, where people are demanding their government assert sovereignty and stop Hezbollah from firing and storing weapons in their communities.”

“We applaud those communities and support the Government of Lebanon’s receptiveness to their requests,” the official continues.

“We urge the Government of Lebanon to formulate a plan for disarmament in all Lebanese territory, as laid out in the Trilateral Framework,” the US official says.

Report: US troops are in Saudi Arabia providing intel for strikes on Houthis

Yemen’s Houthi rebels march during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, September 10, 2026. (AP)

US military advisers are reportedly present in Saudi Arabia and assisting the Gulf nation in its strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

According to CNN, citing five sources familiar with the operation, approximately 100 American military personnel are in the country and taking part in the efforts.

The report says the US is sharing intelligence as well as an AI targeting program with Riyadh, but not participating directly in any of the strikes.

Earthquake recorded after Israel blows up Hezbollah tunnels in south Lebanon

A 4.1-magnitude earthquake was registered in southern Lebanon, the United States Geological Survey says, after massive explosions were reported while Israel said it was destroying Hezbollah underground infrastructure.

AFP journalists reported a huge explosion that caused tremors, while Defense Minister Israel Katz released images showing a fireball erupting into the sky.

הבטחנו וקיימנו.
המחבלים חוסלו ומנהרות עלי טאהר הושמדו.
כל הכבוד לצה"ל ???????? pic.twitter.com/yd9n4KjqGH

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) September 10, 2026

US slaps new sanctions on networks aiding Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies

The US government announces new sanctions against firms and individuals it says are aiding Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East as it intensifies its campaign to isolate Iran economically.

The latest sanctions are part of the Treasury Department’s “Operation Economic Outcast,” first announced August 24, which aims to cut off the revenues that Tehran is using to fund the war, build missiles, conduct cyberattacks and support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.

Today’s actions by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control hit entities and individuals in Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey that Washington says supported Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia paramilitary group under the command of the IRGC, and Hezbollah.

“Operation Economic Outcast is targeting those who continue to stand with the failing Iranian regime,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says in a statement. “Whether they finance terror, launder money, or help Iran evade sanctions, we will find them, cut them off from the US financial system, and dismantle the networks keeping the regime afloat.”