Sept. 15: Heavy Israeli airstrikes reported in northwest Gaza City as ground op looms

Inaugurating contentious ancient Jerusalem road, Rubio calls it an ‘humbling experience’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and their spouses attend a ceremony at the City of David in Jerusalem on September 15, 2025. (Kobi Harati/ City of David)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio inaugurates a newly excavated ancient road at the City of David National Park near Jerusalem’s Old City, in a private event also attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, the City of David Foundation says in a statement.

In a brief clip shared by the organization from the event – from which local and international media are barred – Rubio says: “To stand here today on the very road where, 2,000 years ago, so many from everywhere ventured to fulfill that desire to be closer to the Creator is a humbling and honoring experience.”

Netanyahu adds: “2,000 years after the destruction of the Second Temple, we are rediscovering our past and building our future — based on the Jerusalem of 2,000 years ago.”

He appears to hit back at past remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, saying: “This is our city, Mr. Erdoğan. It’s not your city. It’s our city. It will always be our city. It will not be divided again.”

“That’s why I so much appreciate the leadership of [US] President [Donald] Trump in this area as well,” he goes on. He noted that when the US president declared Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in his first term — “something that should have been acknowledged by every leader in the world” — and moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, Netanyahu told him that any fallout “will be primarily directed at us, and we are definitely ready. So he just did it.'”

“And I welcome today [Rubio], who understands that this is the foundation of our common Judeo-Christian heritage… This is our city. It is forever our city. It will never be divided again,” he declares.

Huckabee also hails Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided” capital, saying: “The Jewish people never forgot that this was their land, their home, their undivided, indisputable, indigenous capital from eternity.”

The event marked the opening of a newly completed excavation of the “Pilgrim’s Road,” which was discovered at the base of the City of David, an archaeological site just south of the Old City, in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, believed to have been used during the Second Temple period (516 BCE–70 CE) by Jewish pilgrims making their way to the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Jews, which is also sacred to Muslims as the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Despite criticism that the move would amount to US recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the contested area, Rubio dismissed what he described as “politics” around the event ahead of his visit, telling reporters that the City of David is “one of the most important archaeological sites in the world” and “important” to “multiple faiths.”

Trump: If Hamas is using hostages as human shields, ‘ALL BETS ARE OFF’

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Airport on September 14, 2025, in Morristown, New Jersey. (AP/ Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump says he read a report that Hamas has positioned hostages as human shields in Gaza City, calling it a “human atrocity” and threatening the terror group.

“I have just read a News Report that Hamas has moved the hostages above ground to use them as human shields against Israel’s ground offensive,” Trump writes on his social media network, Truth Social.

“I hope the Leaders of Hamas know what they’re getting into if they do such a thing. This is a human atrocity, the likes of which few people have ever seen before. Don’t let this happen or, ALL ‘BETS’ ARE OFF. RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES NOW!” he adds.

The US president has issued a number of threats against the Hamas terror group if it does not cede to demands, but it is not clear what actions — if any — he intends to take.

Last night, the mother of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal said she had received information that her son had been moved above ground in Gaza City to serve as a human shield for Hamas operatives.

Hostages Forum: This might be ‘the last night’ alive for captives held in Gaza

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of the hostages held in Gaza and the end of the war, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. September 13, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/ FLASH90)

Amid reports that the IDF is beginning the first stages of its attack on Gaza City, the Hostages Families Forum issues a desperate plea to protect their loved ones, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sacrificing them.

“The 710th night in Gaza might be the last night in the lives of the hostages who are barely surviving, and the last night of the ability to locate and return the slain hostages for a proper burial,” the group says in a statement.

The group alleges that a significant number of the 22 hostages considered by Israel to be alive are being held in Gaza City.

“The prime minister is consciously choosing to sacrifice them on the altar of political considerations,” the group adds, accusing him of ignoring advice from the IDF chief of staff, who has reportedly warned against the operation.

IDF attacking Gaza City with warplanes, artillery and drones, Palestinians report

An Israeli army flare drifts over buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, September 15, 2025. (AP/ Leo Correa)

Palestinian media outlets report that the IDF is currently striking Gaza City with warplanes, artillery, and drones.

According to the reports, the attacks are causing massive explosions that can be heard from afar.

Leaders of Canada, France, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and UK discuss ‘advancing peace’

The leaders of Canada, France, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Britain held a call today to discuss the situation in the Middle East, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says in a statement.

“All leaders agreed that the focus must remain on advancing peace and security, including reaching a lasting ceasefire, securing the release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas, and scaling up flows of life-saving assistance for Palestinian civilians,” it says.

The call was chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Sa’ar urges 250 visiting US state legislators to pass anti-BDS laws in their states

A group of 250 US state legislators poses for a photo outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on September 15, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz/ Knesset Press Office)

Speaking to a delegation of 250 US state legislators visiting Israel during a turbulent diplomatic week, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rallies their support against what he describes as a coordinated campaign by “enemies” of Israel to isolate the Jewish state.

“We are witnessing a coordinated global effort against Israel today,” Sa’ar says, backing claims made earlier by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the same event, in which the premier said China and Qatar were spearheading media and political efforts against Israel.

“It’s not an attempt to change our borders. It’s not an attempt to establish a Palestinian state. It’s an attempt to eliminate the State of Israel, the only Jewish state. This is what it is,” Sa’ar tells the legislators.

Sa’ar says Israel’s “enemies” have turned to “propaganda, political, legal and economic warfare,” urging the legislator’s assistance in fighting the “increased use” of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“The best answer against BDS, until this day — has been anti-BDS legislation by your states,” he tells them.

The delegation then continues to the Knesset, where Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana echoes Netanyahu and Sa’ar in hailing United States-Israel relations, before picking up an electric guitar to perform for the crowd with Israeli rock band Stella Maris.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (right) plays guitar with rock band Stella Maris at the Knesset on September 15, 2025. (Nava Freiberg/Times of Israel)

“The America-Israel relationship is unlike any other. It is not merely a matter of interest, though ours align closely, nor is it simply a matter of policy or economics… it is a bond rooted in principle and shared beliefs,” he says.

Ohana thanks the group of legislators — made up of Democrats and Republicans from all 50 states — and the US for supporting Israel. He then plays a series of rock classics, including “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Guns N’ Roses — which he dedicates to the recently murdered conservative US commentator Charlie Kirk — earning a standing ovation.

IDF says it struck Hezbollah headquarters in southern Lebanon

The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh a short while ago, saying it targeted a Hezbollah headquarters.

“The presence of the headquarters in the area is a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military says.

Visiting Rubio meets with families of hostages still held in Gaza

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on September 15, 2025. (Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with a number of family members of hostages still being held in Gaza,

The meeting was attended by both members of the mainstream Hostages Families Forum as well as by representatives from the right-wing Tikvah Forum.

The Hostages Forum says that during the meeting, the families “emphasized to Secretary Rubio that the expansion of fighting endangers the lives of the hostages who remain alive and risks the disappearance of those who have already been killed.”

Those at the meeting say that they “urged the Trump administration to act swiftly to resume negotiations, stressing that time is running out for the hostages.”

Tzika Mor, the father of hostage Eitan Mor, and a member of the Tikvah Forum, asserts after the meeting that he heard from Rubio the viewpoints voiced by the Tikvah Forum families since the start — that the State of Israel “can’t accept the edicts of Hamas.”

He adds that the Israeli government knows that without heavy pressure on Hamas, the terror organization will never return all of the hostages.

Mor says that “all of the hostages who have returned until now were released only because of pressure placed on Hamas.”

In order for Hamas to return the remaining hostages, says Mor, “it needs to receive the kind of pressure that will not only bring Hamas to the negotiating table, but the kind of pressure to make Hamas understand that it will be destroyed.”

A source associated with the Hostages Families Forum, however, asserts that Mor is trying to sabotage negotiations, after Rubio stressed to the families that conditions are fragile and that he will continue from Israel to other locations to see how to restart the negotiations on Trump’s proposal.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes reported in northwest Gaza City

Palestinian media reports a series of intensive Israeli airstrikes in northwest Gaza City.

The IDF has not yet commented.

In recent days, the military has carried out hundreds of strikes in Gaza City, including against tall buildings, ahead of a looming offensive against Hamas in the area.

غارات إسرائيلية عنيفة على شمال غرب مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/0p2aM58ErB

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 15, 2025

Report: Netanyahu told Trump about Doha strike in advance, he ‘didn’t say no’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks, as US President Donald Trump looks on during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, July 7, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Donald Trump about the impending strike on Hamas leaders in Doha some 50 minutes before the attack, Axios reports, citing three Israeli officials “with direct knowledge.”

Seven Israeli officials tell the outlet that the White House knew about the attack before missiles were launched, though Washington claims it was only updated after they were fired.

The Israeli update left Trump enough time to call off the strike, the three officials tell Axios.

“Trump knew about the strike before the missiles were launched. First, there was a discussion on the political level between Netanyahu and Trump, and afterwards through military channels,” says a senior Israeli official. “Trump didn’t say no.”

“If Trump had wanted to stop it, he could have,” says a second official. “In practice, he didn’t.”

Israel went along with the White House version to protect the relationship, says an official, while another adds that “the Americans are putting on a show.”

Netanyahu aide Tzachi Braverman tapped as next Israeli ambassador to UK

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief of staff Tzachi Braverman at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 13, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)

Tzachi Braverman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, is approved by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee as the next ambassador in London, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

The appointment comes on the last day of current Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely’s term, a diplomatic source tells The Times of Israel.

Braverman, one of Netanyahu’s closest advisers, is under investigation for forgery and fraud over the illegal altering of records in the Prime Minister’s Office, and has been questioned by police. Braverman is suspected of having altered the stated time at which Netanyahu first received an update on the October 7 Hamas invasion via phone call from his military secretary at the time, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, allegedly changing it from 6:40 a.m. to 6:29 a.m.

According to Channel 12, Braverman allegedly first attempted to persuade a stenographer to change the time written in the transcript, insisting that it was incorrectly stated as 6:40 a.m., but she refused, and he then changed it himself.

Netanyahu’s office at the time firmly denied the allegations of Braverman’s misconduct, calling them “another complete fabrication that is also part of an unprecedented media witch hunt against the Prime Minister’s Office during wartime, designed to whitewash the grave failures of others on the night of October 7.”

Braverman, too, has strongly denied the allegations, calling them “severe slander” and “wild incitement,” and threatened to sue Kan if it did not retract the allegations and issue a public apology after the network named him in connection with the blackmail case. Kan stood by its reporting.

IDF chief reportedly yells at cabinet ministers: Go secure a hostage release deal!

L-R: Defense Minister Israel Katz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir at the IAF's command center, August 24, 2025. (Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO)

In the meeting last night on the future of the campaign in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the meeting by confronting military chiefs over leaks to the media, saying that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Eyal Zamir opposes the operation in Gaza City, Channel 12 reports.

“What is this?” Netanyahu said as he waved around articles on Zamir’s opposition to the operation, per the report. “Stop giving briefings against the operation. This cannot continue! We made the decision — and you need carry it out. This isn’t an army that has a state; it’s a state that has an army.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir then challenged Zamir: “What is your reaction to these accusations?”

Zamir said he was unaware of any briefings given to journalists.

Meanwhile, according to a report in Channel 13, Zamir fired back at the members of the cabinet.

“I am preparing the army for ground maneuvers and am calling up reservists to defeat Hamas according to your instructions,” said Zamir. “Why isn’t the negotiating team traveling around the world now, in order to bring about a deal by force,” he continued. “Why do we always have to depend on [the US]?”

“Why is Dadi sitting here,” he asked, using Mossad chief David Barnea’s nickname. “Why are you in Israel? Go bring us a deal by force!”

Per Channel 13, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer responded by reminding Zamir that, before the attacks on Iran, “You stood here and said that the US won’t be with us in Iran, that they won’t fight alongside us. In the end, everything that happened contradicted what you said and your assessments.”

“There is a deal on the table now, and it is there only because we didn’t listen to you and we didn’t adopt your position,” Dermer reportedly adds.

“So take the deal!” Zamir yelled back.

Gulf states demand US ‘use their influence’ to rein in Israel

Members of the press follow updates from the media center set up for the 2025 Arab Islamic extraordinary summit in Doha on September 15, 2025. (Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

The Gulf states call on their close ally — Washington — to use its leverage to rein in Israel following unprecedented Israeli strikes on Hamas in Qatar last week.

“We also expect our strategic partners in the United States to use their influence on Israel in order for it to stop this behavior… They have leverage and influence on Israel, and it’s about time that this leverage and influence be used,” Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi says in a press conference following a summit in Doha.

State Department: Rubio will voice support for Qatari sovereignty in Doha

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife Jeanette Dousdebes, arrive at Ben Gurion Airport on September 14, 2025. (Nathan Howard / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will voice support for Qatar’s sovereignty during a visit to the Gulf country tomorrow, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders there, the State Department says.

“Secretary Rubio will reaffirm America’s full support for Qatar’s security and sovereignty following Israel’s strike in Doha,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott says in a statement, as Rubio met with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem.

Washington has expressed dissatisfaction with the Israeli strike last week on a major US ally, although Rubio has said it will not shake the US-Israel relationship.

IDF announces 4 new brigadier generals and 6 new colonels amid senior appointments

From left to right: Maj. Gen. Rami Abudraham, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Maj. Gen. Mishel Yanko, and Defense Minister Israel Katz, at Abudraham’s promotion to major general, August 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announces a round of senior appointments in the military, which were all approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz.

During the last round of appointments, Katz clashed with Zamir for not consulting with him before the announcement. Katz eventually approved Zamir’s list, aside from two officers whose ties to the failures on October 7, 2023, are still being investigated.

The latest list includes four new brigadier generals and six new colonels, alongside a brigadier general and 26 colonels moving to new positions at the same rank.

Some of the notable roles include new commanders for the Golani Brigade, the Bahad 1 officers school, the School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders, the Multi-Domain unit, the Hasmonean Brigade, the 401st Armored Brigade, and the 215th and 214th artillery regiments.

Another 25 senior officers are being sent to academic studies between roles.

Around 30 Haredi draft dodgers said to be arrested at airport trying to get to Uman

Travelers walk with their luggage following the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, June 25, 2025. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Almost 30 draft dodgers have been arrested at Ben Gurion Airport trying to leave the country to attend the annual pilgrimage to the Ukrainian city of Uman, the Jerusalem Faction announces.

According to the extremist ultra-Orthodox group, which is vociferously opposed to the enlistment of yeshiva students, “nearly 30 ultra-Orthodox evaders have been detained at the airport since this morning on their way to Uman and were arrested by the military police and transferred to [the IDF base at] Tel HaShomer. In the coming hours, they will stand trial or disciplinary proceedings.”

The group says it expects more arrests of evaders attempting to leave the country over the coming days.

If correct, this marks a significant increase in arrests. Earlier today, the Jerusalem Faction stated that eight draft dodgers had been arrested at the airport this morning, raising the number held in military custody to 33.

Afterwards, United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to work for their “immediate release,” claiming that they had been imprisoned “for the ‘crime’ of Torah study.”

After warning of isolation, Netanyahu defends strength of Israeli economy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, September 15, 2025. (Olivier Fitoussi/ POOL)

After coming under fire for saying earlier today that Israel is facing increasing economic isolation as the war in Gaza drags on, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes a second stab at damage control.

“To all the doom-and-gloom forecasters in economics, in the end the Israeli stock market is the strongest in the world,” he says in a statement.

“The shekel has strengthened, the deficit has shrunk, despite the war, and foreign investment in R&D is the highest in the world, after the United States. Investing in Israel is the smart thing to do.”

He says that his government will continue to “increase investments in weapons production so as not to be dependent on weak Western European leaders who give in to the extreme Muslim minorities in their countries — and that is exactly what we are doing.”

His office also shares a graph showing that Israel ranks second in the world in R&D investment.

After emergency summit, Arab leaders to call to ‘review diplomatic ties’ with Israel

Reporters follow Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's address at the media center during the opening of the 2025 Arab Islamic emergency summit in Doha on September 15, 2025. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

Arab and Muslim leaders call to review diplomatic and economic ties with Israel after its unprecedented attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, according to a draft statement seen by AFP.

The summit in Doha adopts a joint statement that it has yet to make public, but in a draft seen by AFP, it calls “upon all states to take all possible legal and effective measures to prevent Israel from continuing its actions against the Palestinian people, including by… reviewing diplomatic and economic relations with it, and initiating legal proceedings against it.”

Israel has long maintained ties with Egypt and Jordan, and brokered ties five years ago with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, while it has pushed to expand its relations with Saudi Arabia and recently even Syria.

IAF chief backs helicopter pilots after report questioned their actions on October 7

Israeli Air Force chief Tomer Bar and senior IAF officers monitor the strikes on Houthi targets in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, on September 10, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar spoke with helicopter crews who fought in southern Israel during the October 7 onslaught, after a recent report chastised the pilots for not engaging a convoy of terrorist pickup trucks near the Nova music festival, where dozens were murdered and abducted.

The military says the claims raised recently against the pilot’s actions by the Kan public broadcaster’s Ayala Hasson and others are “false.”

Despite the army investigating the IAF’s operations that day — and publishing them to the public — Hasson’s report on Kan questioned: “What happened there, why haven’t we heard about it to this day, and will there be a real investigation to check why the terrorists were not eliminated?”

Both the IAF’s investigation and one conducted specifically into the Nova party found that an IAF helicopter flew by the music festival area after it was instructed to reach the Re’im military base, and en route spotted a convoy of pickup trucks driving on Route 232 — the same terrorists who had earlier murdered dozens at the party.

The helicopter crew, however, was unaware of the party’s existence and had no contact with ground troops there. They decided not to open fire at the unknown vehicles driving on a major highway, fearing they might hit civilians or potential hostages being held by the terrorists.

תיעוד בלעדי: מסוק קרב מעל שיירת הטנדרים והמחבלים של חמאס בזמן הטבח בנובה בבוקר 7 באוקטובר @AyalaHasson #חדשותהשבת pic.twitter.com/OrojWit8x0

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 13, 2025

“I back you and the decisions you made that difficult morning. The in-depth investigation that was conducted and presented to me, to the chief of staff, and to the General Staff review teams of the October 7 inquiries reinforces confidence in your decisions and in your actions,” Bar says to the aircrews today, according to the IDF.

“It pained me to see that claims are being raised against you that have no basis in reality and are apparently driven by extraneous considerations. It was important for me to tell you that you are not alone; the entire force and I are behind you, we know the facts and understand the broader picture,” he says.

“From the moment you took off, you acted decisively, sought engagement, attacked and eliminated terrorists throughout the [Gaza border area], even when you did not have a complete operational picture. You tried in every way to connect with ground forces and to assist the brave civilians who were fighting for their lives,” Bar continues.

“The mission was difficult and complex, facing the reality of thousands of terrorists infiltrating the communities and the difficulty of distinguishing between the enemy and our forces. You acted as much as possible under the fog of war. I back and support you,” he adds.

Gulf leaders call defense meeting in Doha after Israeli strike

Members of the press follow updates from the media center set up for the 2025 Arab Islamic extraordinary summit in Doha on September 15, 2025. (Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

Gulf leaders say that the Gulf Cooperation Council’s joint defense body will meet in Doha following Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital last week.

In a statement, the leaders call for measures to activate the bloc’s “joint defense mechanism,” without providing further details.

Annual inflation in Israel retreated in August, new data shows

People shop at the Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem, on June 25, 2025, a day after Israel and Iran reached a ceasefire to end 12 days of conflict. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Israeli annual inflation in August retreated, moving within the government’s target range for the first time in more than a year, led by declines in the costs of fresh fruit, along with clothing and footwear, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics show.

Annual inflation over the past 12 months decelerated to 2.9 percent, down from 3.1% in July, and 3.3% in June. For the first time since June 2024, the inflation rate moved within the government’s annual target range of between 1% to 3%.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation that tracks the average cost of household goods, rose in August by 0.7%, at the higher end of analysts’ expectations of an increase of between 0.6% to 0.7%.

In August, declines were seen in the prices of fresh fruit, which declined 2.7%, clothing and footwear, which fell 1.6%, while home furniture prices slipped 0.5%.

These were offset by notable increases in the costs of culture and entertainment, which rose 2.9%, and transportation and communication, which was up 1.6%. The cost of fresh vegetables increased 1.5%, and expenses for foreign travel soared by 17.2%.

Rents on renewal of contracts rose 2.7% in August, and rents on contracts for new tenants jumped 5.5%.

UTJ’s Goldknopf demands Netanyahu secure release of 33 Haredi draft dodgers

United Torah Judaism party head Yitzhak Goldknopf at a meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on June 9, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to work for the “immediate release” of the more than 30 Haredi men currently being held in military prison for evading the draft.

In a letter to Netanyahu, Goldknopf claims that the draft dodgers were imprisoned “for the ‘crime’ of Torah study” and bemoans the fact that “in the Jewish state, Torah scholars are being arrested and harassed, as well as their families.”

“The painful facts speak for themselves, and therefore I ask you… to work for their immediate release, and at the very least to allow them to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with their families, to pray in the synagogue where they pray every year,” he writes.

In a statement this morning, the Jerusalem Faction, an extremist ultra-Orthodox group vociferously opposed to the enlistment of yeshiva students, said that 33 draft dodgers are currently being held in military prisons. An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson did not immediately confirm or deny the Jerusalem Faction’s numbers.

Man fatally stabbed by his brother in Kafr Qasim, says police

A 20-year-old was fatally stabbed by his older brother this afternoon in Kafr Qasim, police say.

The victim, Zafar Amer, was attacked by his brother in their family’s home in the central Arab city, in what appears to have been a dispute between the two siblings. He was taken to the hospital while in critical condition, but soon succumbed to his wounds.

Officers who arrived at the scene launched a manhunt for the man’s brother and managed to arrest him within the hour. Police plan to bring the suspect before a judge tomorrow and request to extend his detention.

Since the start of the year, 180 Arab Israelis have been killed in violent criminal incidents according to data from the Abraham Initiatives, which collects data on Arab homicide victims.

Kafr Qasim saw another one of its residents fall victim to the rampant crime wave in Arab society just last week, when 30-year-old Yahya Abu Jabar was shot and killed in the city Friday morning.

Likud minister skips police questioning and instead demands court free arrested associate

Social Equality Minister May Golan arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial is being held, December 10, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Flouting police’s attempts to question her, Social Equality Minister May Golan instead arrives at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court and demands her former adviser be released, after he was arrested earlier today on suspicion of fraud and other financial crimes.

Golan, a central suspect in a probe into alleged widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer funds in her ministry, was summoned by police to be interrogated earlier today, after they went public with the investigation this morning.

Although her defense attorney initially signaled she would show up for questioning, Golan later announced she would only heed the summons if officers released her associate, a lawyer who used to serve as her adviser. She then skipped the interrogation altogether.

This evening in the courthouse, Golan says that she will “show up to any interrogation” once they release the lawyer. To a group of reporters gathered there, she adds that she “has nothing to fear and nothing to hide.”

The minister and her associates are suspected of fraud, misusing public funds for private purposes, creating fictitious positions in the Social Equality Ministry and concealing sources of funding. This was done through the use of NGOs and government systems as a “tool for illegally extracting funds,” police said earlier today.

1 dead in Israeli drone strike on car in south Lebanon, reports local media

Lebanese media reports one dead in an Israeli drone strike against a car in the southern Lebanon town of Yater.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

مراسلة «الأخبار»: إصابة مواطن جراء استهداف سيارته بغارة إسرائيلية في بلدة ياطر pic.twitter.com/U0A4A483DL

— جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) September 15, 2025

IDF names 21 ‘key’ Islamic Jihad operatives killed in recent Gaza operations

This infographic published by the IDF on September 15, 2025, shows a list of Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives killed in the Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)

Following intelligence investigations, the IDF and Shin Bet say they are able to reveal the identities of 21 “key terrorists” of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group who are among hundreds of operatives killed during operations in the Gaza Strip in the past six months.

Among them are the following commanders of Islamic Jihad units:

Muhammad Mashtaha, responsible for “military specialization” in the northern Gaza Strip; Amir Wadi, responsible for the sniper array in the Khan Younis Brigade; Jamal Maamar, responsible for rocket artillery in Rafah; Fadl Abu al-Ata, a sector commander in the Gaza City Brigade; Abdullah Abu Tir, the commander of the eastern sector in Khan Younis; Waam Abu Hajaj, commander of the eastern sector in the northern Gaza Strip; and Samir Abu Shawish, commander of the Yabna sector in Rafah.

In addition, the IDF and Shin Bet name the following Islamic Jihad experts in weapons manufacturing: Muntasir Salah, Ahmad Qadi, Fuad Ghanam, Khaled Bana and Saeed Mashraoui.

Lastly, the statement names Islamic Jihad operatives who carried out attacks against troops in Gaza and were killed: Basem al-Kheir, the head of a sniper cell; Youssef Kassab, the deputy commander of the eastern sector in Rafah; and Murad Abu-Jarad, the deputy commander of the Beit Hanoun sector in northern Gaza.

Several other lower-ranking operatives are not named in the statement but included in an infographic published by the IDF.

Construction work on Jerusalem’s King George Street begins, upending traffic arrangements

A view of the Jerusalem Light Rail on Jaffa Street, near the junction with King George Street, September 4, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)

Construction begins today in Jerusalem on a new section of the city’s light rail network that will shut access to some of the capital’s most central streets for several years.

As part of the construction of the Blue Line, which will eventually reach from Gilo to Ramat Eshkol, traffic between King George Street and Strauss Street (in the section between Ben Yehuda and HaNevi’im streets) will be redirected to alternative routes in the City center.

“We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact of the works on your routine,” the city says in a statement.

Private vehicles heading north on King George will be diverted at Shmuel Hanagid Street, while a new southbound bus lane has been introduced on the road. Parking spaces along that stretch will be removed, with alternative parking provided at the Ma’alot lot for residents. Bus routes will also be diverted.

City officials say the changes will cause inevitable disruptions but are necessary to advance the new light rail line, which they hope will transport 250,000 people a day. When complete, King George and Strauss streets will reopen exclusively for trains and pedestrians, creating a car-free promenade similar to Jaffa Street, while the light rail will run underground in a 2 km- (1.25 mile-) long tunnel that begins at the intersection of Jaffa and Strauss Streets.

Pedestrian crossings and businesses in the area will remain open, the city says.

If all goes according to plan, the southern portion of the Blue Line, from Gilo to the city center, will be operational by 2028, and the entire 52-station track, extending to Ramat Eshkol in the northern part of the city, will be operational by 2030, the city has said.

Haredi draft dodger jumps from balcony to avoid arrest by police, says group

An ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student escaped arrest for draft evasion by the military police last night by jumping off his apartment’s balcony, the extremist Jerusalem Faction announces.

In a statement, the hardline anti-enlistment Haredi group says that the military police raided the Netivot home of a 20-year-old student of Jerusalem’s Shaarei Shalom Yeshiva after he failed to obey conscription orders, at which point he “jumped off the balcony and escaped.”

It remains unclear why this specific evader was targeted by police for a raid.

In an earlier statement today, the Jerusalem Faction announced that eight draft dodgers, mostly belonging to the Breslov Hasidic sect, were arrested this morning at Ben Gurion Airport while trying to leave the country. The group claimed that 33 draft dodgers are currently being held in military prisons. An IDF spokesperson does not immediately confirm or deny the Jerusalem Faction’s numbers.

Israel receives first images from newly launched spy satellite Ofek 19

The launch of the Ofek 19 spy satellite from Palmachim air base, September 2, 2025. (Defense Ministry)

Israel’s newest spy satellite has beamed back its first images, nearly two weeks after it was launched into orbit, the Defense Ministry says.

“About two weeks after its successful launch into space, the engineering teams… yesterday for the first time activated the [synthetic aperture] radar of the Ofek 19 satellite and downloaded the first images from the satellite,” the ministry says.

The ministry does not release copies of these initial photographs to the public.

The Ofek 19 satellite was launched on September 2 in a joint operation by the Defense Ministry’s Space Department and the Israel Aerospace Industries.

According to the ministry, since the launch, teams from both organizations have been performing checks on the satellite to ensure it is operating correctly.

Once operational, the satellite will be handed over to the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 9900, a visual intelligence detachment that controls all of the nation’s spy satellites.

Israel says it facilitated moving Christian archaeological artifacts to safe Gaza location

A trove of archaeological artifacts belonging to the Christian community in Gaza has been transferred to a secure location in the Strip, says Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities (COGAT) in the Territories.

The artifacts include rare mosaics and pottery.

Last week, Olivier Poquillon, director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), told AFP that Israeli authorities ordered EBAF — one of the oldest academic institutions in the region — to evacuate its archaeological storehouse located on the ground floor of a residential tower in Gaza City that was due to be targeted.

The Israeli army did not confirm the warning when asked by AFP, but several sources said France, UNESCO and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem played a key role in securing a brief reprieve that allowed most of the artifacts to be removed.

While COGAT’s statement does not specify which warehouse has been evacuated, it says the operation was carried out in coordination with its Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) for Gaza, in cooperation with an unnamed international organization. The transfer is described as “part of the efforts to allow the movement of residents and international organizations to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection.”

According to the statement, the content of multiple warehouses belonging to international organizations is in the process of being relocated to the south of the Strip, where Israel has been setting up areas that it describes as safe.

EBAF’s storage contained around 180 cubic meters of finds from Gaza’s five main archaeological sites, including the fourth-century Saint Hilarion Monastery, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

PM says Qatar, China attempting to ‘blockade’ Israel politically, but ‘the US is with us’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on September 15, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says China and Qatar are leading a campaign in Western media to “besiege” Israel by eroding the support of its allies, speaking to a delegation of 250 US state legislators at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

“We value and cherish your support,” the premier tells the delegation — the largest group of legislators from a single country ever to visit Israel — adding that “there is an effort to erode [that support].”

“An effort to besiege — not isolate as much as besiege Israel — that is orchestrated by the same forces that supported Iran,” he continues.

While Iran attempted “a military siege” on Israel through its network of terror proxies, and Israel was “able to break loose from that siege,” the premier says, “we will have to do several things to break loose from this siege that is organized by a few states.”

He names those states: “One is China. And the other is Qatar. They are organizing an attack on Israel… [through] the social media of the Western world and the United States. We will have to counter it, and we will counter it with our own methods,” he warns.

Clarifying his statements to i24 news after speaking, Netanyahu says in Hebrew: “There is now an attempt to impose a blockade on Israel by various entities and countries, led by Qatar. First of all, a media blockade funded with enormous sums of money, both from Qatar and from other countries such as China.”

“In the coming years, we will need to strengthen our independent arms industries so that we have independence in weaponry, an armaments economy, and the industrial capability to produce them. That is why we will break through this blockade,” he adds, reiterating comments he made earlier today at an event hosted by the accountant general.

“Have they achieved global isolation? No. The US is with us, as are many other countries. But we do currently have a problem centered in Western Europe, and we are working and will continue to work to remove this blockade,” he says. “Just as we succeeded with the military blockade, we will also succeed with the political blockade.”

At Doha Summit, Egypt and Jordan say Israeli actions ‘hinder future of peace’

Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (C) welcomes King Abdullah II of Jordan upon his arrival to attend an Arab Islamic summit in Doha on September 15, 2025. (Qatar News Agency / AFP)

The leaders of Egypt and Jordan express heavy criticism of Israel at an emergency summit of Arab and Islamic states convened in Doha in the wake of an Israeli airstrike on Hamas officials in Qatar, saying that its actions hinder any new regional peace deals.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi says at the Arab summit in Qatar that Israel crossed “all red lines” in its strike on Doha.

“Israel’s conduct has crossed all red lines, and we condemn this in the strongest terms,” he says. The Egyptian president adds, “Israeli chaos requires joint action to protect our interests.”

“What is happening right now hinders the future of peace, threatens your security and the security of the peoples in the region and adds obstacles to chances for any new peace agreements and even aborts existing ones,” says Sissi, whose country has maintained consistent if bumpy ties with Israel for 45 years.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, whose nation also signed a peace deal with Israel 30 years ago, says at the summit that “the strike in Qatar is proof that the Israeli threat knows no bounds, and our response must be clear and deterrent.”

He calls on Arab and Islamic states to adopt practical decisions on the matter, and “review all tools of joint action” to face this threat.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Palestinian man shot and killed while trying to scale security barrier, say police

Police confirm that its forces shot and killed a Palestinian man who attempted to scale Israel’s security barrier and cross into Jerusalem earlier today.

The man was shot in the al-Ram area in northern Jerusalem, near a hole in the barrier which two Palestinian terrorists managed to slip through last week before carrying out a deadly shooting at the Ramot Junction, killing six Israelis.

The deceased man’s name is Sanad Hantouli, Arab outlets report. He lived in Silat ad-Dhahr, a Palestinian town south of Jenin.

Border Police had been operating in the area as part of an “ongoing effort to prevent the infiltration of terrorists from the West Bank into Israel” when they spotted Hantouli scaling the wall, police say: “The suspect was shot, neutralized, and later pronounced dead by medical personnel.”

Last week, police shot at two Palestinians who tried to sneak through the same breach. Both were moderately injured from the gunfire.

Qatari emir: Israel is ‘seeking the failure’ of ceasefire-hostage release talks

Reporters follow Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's address at the media center during the opening of the 2025 Arab Islamic emergency summit in Doha on September 15, 2025. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani says at the opening of the Arab summit in Doha that Israel is clearly “seeking the failure” of the ceasefire and hostage release negotiations.

Days after Israel struck Hamas officials gathered in Doha, Tamim avers that “whoever attacks a mediating party is seeking the failure of the negotiations, and if the release of the hostages means the end of the war — then it is not interested in that.”

He adds that Israel seeks to turn Gaza into a place unfit for habitation in order to force residents to emigrate, thereby realizing the vision of a “Greater Israel.”

Tamim also describes the Israeli strike on Qatar as terrorist and cowardly, noting that Doha has been trying for two years to bring about a ceasefire and to secure the release of the Israeli hostages.

“If Israel wanted to eliminate the Hamas leadership — why did it negotiate with them? And if it wanted to hold negotiations to release the hostages, why is it killing everyone who negotiates on its behalf?”

Nazareth man indicted for extortion attempt of shop owner in ‘protection’ racket

State prosecutors file charges against a man from Nazareth accused of trying to extort hundreds of thousands of shekels from a shop owner, police announce today.

The defendant, 58-year-old Mohammad Ibn Nimr al-Kasisi, tried to threaten the anonymous complainant into forking over NIS 600,000 worth of protection money if he wanted to avoid damage to his shop.

Over WhatsApp, Kasisi made threats on the business owner’s life and family, telling him he had just one day to pay him.

“You have until tomorrow, I’m telling you, because tomorrow I’ll tear your son’s head from his body,” the defendant said, according to the indictment. He also threatened to throw a grenade into the complainant’s grocery store when it opened the next day.

Police arrested the defendant on August 24 in his home in Nazareth. They are requesting from the Nazareth District Court that he remain in custody until the end of legal proceedings against him.

Katz says Defense Ministry is working to boost support for IDF widows and orphans

Defense Minister Israel Katz meets with Zehava Gross Meydan, chair of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, and the group’s CEO Shlomi Nahumson, to discuss new measures aimed at improving support for bereaved families, the Defense Ministry says.

In the meeting, Katz stresses the ministry’s commitment to widows and orphans of IDF and security personnel, outlining ongoing efforts led by Aryeh Moalem, head of the department for the families of fallen soldiers, commemoration and heritage, to enhance their welfare. These efforts include advancing broad legislation in coordination with the Finance Ministry.

The IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, a nonprofit that supports widows and orphans of Israeli servicemen, reaffirms its position that all IDF orphans must receive equal treatment, regardless of age. In general, IDF orphans receive government benefits only until the age of 18, while the organization itself extends its services and support to orphans from birth through age 30.

Katz notes that the proposed legislation marks both a correction of “historic injustices” and a substantial expansion of benefits. He stresses the need to move the bill forward “hand in hand” in order to achieve the necessary breakthrough.

Alongside monthly stipends, Katz and the organization’s leadership also discussed additional support options, including municipal tax reductions and preferential terms for purchasing real estate.

Rubio will head to Qatar following his trip to Israel

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands on the tarmac before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, Sept. 13, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Qatar tomorrow, a week after Israel attacked a Hamas gathering in the key US partner nation, a US official says.

Rubio, who discussed Qatar today in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will stop in the Gulf country on his way to London, where he will join US President Donald Trump on a state visit, the official adds.

Washington has been critical of the Israeli strike on Hamas officials in Doha, although Rubio said it will not shake the strong US-Israel alliance.

Netanyahu admits Israel is economically isolated, will need to become self-reliant

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on September 15, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admits that Israel is facing increasing economic isolation as the war in Gaza drags on and will have to become more self-reliant.

“Israel is in a sort of isolation,” he says at a conference of the Finance Ministry’s accountant general in Jerusalem, and may have to move toward a self-sufficient economy.

“We will increasingly need to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics [without foreign trade],” he says. “The word I most hate. I am a supporter of the free market, but we may find ourselves in a situation where our arms industries are blocked. We will need to develop arms industries here — not only research and development, but also the ability to produce what we need.”

Netanyahu says that he believes Israel can exit this isolation, but blames mass migration to Europe of Muslim immigrants for “bending the governments” in an anti-Israel direction and leading them to cancel defense deals with the Jewish state.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams Netanyahu after his comments.

“Netanyahu’s statement that Israel is entering isolation and needs to adapt to an isolation economy is a crazy statement. Isolation is not a decree of fate, it is the product of a wrong and failed policy of Netanyahu and his government,” says Lapid. “They are turning Israel into a third-world country and are not even trying to change the situation.”

Likud minister May Golan threatens to ignore police summons after raid of her office

Social Equality Minister May Golan attends a Status of Women and Gender Equality Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem on May 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Social Equality Minister May Golan, who is suspected of fraud and illegally pocketing taxpayer money, threatens not to show up to a police interrogation today, after investigators summoned her for questioning.

Police are reportedly slated to question her today in the headquarters of law enforcement’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit.

Earlier this morning, police announced that they arrested Golan’s former adviser and detained several of her associates as part of a probe into allegations of widespread fraud and nepotism in her office.

Though Golan’s defense attorney previously confirmed she would show up for questioning, the Likud minister now backtracks, saying she will merely “consider” heeding police summons on the condition her associates are released.

“I will consider coming to the interrogation only if all my associates who were arrested, with the aim of intimidating me, are released immediately,” she says.

She calls the police’s string of arrests and detentions this morning a “dirty move” intended to “threaten innocent people just because they worked and [currently] work for May Golan the ‘Bibist,'” referencing her support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The minister and her associates are suspected of fraud, misusing public funds for private purposes, creating fictitious positions in the Social Equality Ministry and concealing sources of funding. According to police, this was done through the use of NGOs and government systems as a “tool for illegally extracting funds.”

Israel will face more rounds of fighting against Iran, warns Defense Ministry director

Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram speaks at a Finance Ministry conference, September 15, 2025. (Defense Ministry)

Defense Ministry director general Amir Baram warns that Israel will face additional rounds of fighting against Iran in the future, after what he deems Israel’s success in the 12-day war in June.

It “ended in a clear Israeli victory, but there will be additional rounds against Iran,” he says. “The Iranians have not disappeared, they are feeling humiliated and therefore are investing huge sums in defense and in accelerated force-building processes.”

Speaking during a speech at a conference hosted by the Finance Ministry’s accountant general, Baram also reveals the cost of Israel’s strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, and interceptions of the Iran-backed group’s missiles.

“To maintain military superiority, the Defense Ministry operates on three time horizons: in the immediate term, procurement; in the medium term, improving readiness for the coming decade; and in the long term, developing game-changing weapon systems for future arenas,” he says.

Baram says the ministry is in the midst of establishing a “Supreme Armaments Council,” which he says will enable Israel to “significantly expedite” its readiness for wars with Iran and other distant enemies.

“We must invest now in thinking about ‘the next surprises’ and about the next pager operations,” he says, referring to Israel’s attack on Hezbollah last year. “This is security economics.”

“Each such surprise has broad implications: Our strikes in Yemen cost on average about 50 million NIS ($15 million), but it has wide implications for our deterrence and global positioning. An Arrow 3 interception costs between 15–30 million NIS ($4.5-9 million), but the damage from a miss will reach nearly 300 million NIS ($90 million),” Baram says.

“Therefore, we must make a fundamental change in the production and procurement processes of critical defense and combat systems; a process that the Iranian regime completes in a month takes months and even years in Israel,” he says.

Lastly, Baram says that last week, the ministry signed weapons export deals worth $2.5 billion, despite a number of countries canceling defense deals with Israel: “I cannot mention the names of the countries, but there they understand the significance of long-term defense investment in an unstable world.”

Rubio to inaugurate contentious excavated ancient road near Jerusalem’s Old City

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, September 14, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

As part of his official visit to Israel this week, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he will inaugurate a newly excavated ancient road at the City of David National Park near Jerusalem’s Old City tonight, calling it “one of the most important archaeological sites on the planet.”

Speaking at a press conference alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rubio says he will later “inaugurate and open to the world perhaps one of the most important archaeological sites on the planet — one that has deep meaning to so many people in the United States as well.”

“It’s an honor to be here and be a part of that,” he adds.

While parts of the road were previously opened, it has now been fully excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority, allowing visitors to walk from one end to the other. Rubio will inaugurate the newly completed route at 8 p.m. tonight, a spokesperson for the City of David tells The Times of Israel.

According to the City of David Foundation, the tunnel — dubbed “Pilgrim’s Road” — was discovered at the Pool of Siloam at the base of the City of David, an archaeological site just south of the Old City, and runs 600 meters (1,970 feet) to the Temple Mount. Foundation archaeologists say the path was used during the Second Temple period (516 BCE–70 CE) by Jewish pilgrims making their way to the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Jews, which is also sacred to Muslims as the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The top US diplomat will knock down a temporary wall built near the Southern Wall excavations to “open” the Pilgrim’s Path to the Temple Mount, a source with knowledge adds. Reports about the visit have highlighted controversy over the City of David’s location in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, amid reports that Rubio is supportive of Israel annexing the West Bank in response to Western states planning to recognize a Palestinian state this month.

Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman previously sparked controversy over his use of a sledgehammer to knock down a temporary wall unveiling a different part of the site, though he rejected criticism that the move signaled US recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the contested area.

Ahead of his trip, Rubio dismissed what he described as “politics” around the event, telling reporters that the City of David is “one of the most important archaeological sites in the world” and that he’s visited the site “numerous times.”

“I understand people want to involve politics in it. I understand everything in this region is political to some extent. But at the end of the day, it’s an extraordinary archaeological site. It just is, and I think an important one for multiple faiths,” he said.

‘Tinder Swindler’ Leviev arrested in Georgia

Simon Leviev speaks to Channel 12 news in Tel Aviv, May 9, 2022 (Channel 12 screenshot)

Israeli fraudster Simon Leviev, made famous by 2022 Netflix documentary “The Tinder Swindler,” has been arrested in Georgia, officials say.

Leviev, 34, whose real name is Shimon Yehuda Hayut, rose to notoriety after investigative reports and media coverage exposed a pattern of defrauding potential paramours and financial crimes.

He has been “arrested at Batumi’s airport at Interpol’s request,” Georgia’s interior ministry spokesman Tato Kuchava tells AFP, without giving further details.

Between 2017 and 2019, Leviev allegedly used the dating app Tinder to pose as the wealthy heir of Israeli magnate Lev Leviev and trick women into advancing him large sums of money, which he never repaid. The elaborate deception reportedly involved fake luxury lifestyles, bodyguards and private jets, making the scam unusually convincing and costly.

Immigration to Israel down by over a third, Rosh Hashanah stats show

Some 21,244 new immigrants have arrived in Israel since the Rosh Hashanah holiday last year, a decline of 34% from 32,140 over the same period a year earlier, the Immigration and Absorption Ministry says.

The main reason for the decline was a 52% drop in immigrants coming from Russia, from 19,407 to 9,282.

According to details provided by the ministry, immigration from the United States declined about 10% to 2,910, while French aliyah rose about 20% to 2,649.

Estimates, including by leading demographers and the aliyah organization Nefesh B’Nefesh, forecast significant rises in immigration from the US and France for the secular year 2025.

Despite the overall drop, Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer says the numbers of those who are still coming despite the war “are inspiring.”

“Thousands of Jews chose this year to take a courageous step and uproot their lives from many countries around the world in order to come to Israel precisely now and express trust and solidarity in the country,” he says.

Explosive found on army vehicle during tune-up

An explosive device was discovered attached to an army vehicle while it was being serviced at a civilian auto repair shop in the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim earlier today, the military says.

According to the IDF, the device was likely placed on the vehicle during recent operations in Tulkarem. The explosive was safely removed by police sappers.

מעלה אדומים: מוסכניק איתר מטען מאולתר שהוצמד לרכב צבאי שטופל במוסך שלו. חבלני משטרה פירקו את המטען, אין נפגעים pic.twitter.com/NTwuIUB9FQ

— שלמה רייכמן🎗️ || shlomo raichman (@shlomoraichman) September 15, 2025

The army says an investigation is underway.

Eight more draft dodgers reportedly arrested while attempting to fly to Ukraine

Eight draft dodgers, mostly belonging to the Breslov Hasidic sect, were arrested this morning at Ben Gurion International Airport, according to the Jerusalem Faction, an extremist ultra-Orthodox group vociferously opposed to the enlistment of yeshiva students.

The group claims that 33 draft dodgers are currently being held in military prisons. An IDF spokesperson does not immediately confirm or deny the Jerusalem Faction’s numbers.

According to the group, the eight arrested Monday were on their way to the Ukrainian city of Uman for the annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, joining 10 other thwarted pilgrims arrested last week.

Addressing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last week, Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate’s Planning and Personnel Management Division, stated that the military would increase enforcement at the airport ahead of the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties have lobbied Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and military officials to allow draft-dodging yeshiva students to take part in the annual pilgrimage without fear of arrest. However, the Attorney General’s Office informed the government earlier this month that it has no right to create a mechanism to let ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers leave Israel.

Haredim celebrate the sheva brachos of a detained draft dodger outside a military prison last Wednesday. (Video courtesy the Jerusalem Faction.) pic.twitter.com/HPQmKjXb0a

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) September 15, 2025

According to the Jerusalem Faction one of those arrested is a young man who was arrested only days after his wedding when he went to file a police complaint in an unrelated matter. The man’s friends gathered outside the prison to mark the end of a traditional week-long post-wedding celebration, a Jerusalem Faction spokesperson tells The Times of Israel, sharing video of the party.

Four localities join ban on chicken-swinging Yom Kippur rite

Ultra-Orthodox Jews perform the kaparot ceremony on October 10, 2016, in the neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Just ten out of 77 local authorities contacted by an animal rights organization have agreed to ban the practice of using live chickens for the kaparot rite in the run-up to Yom Kippur, which begins on October 1.

The ritual involves reciting prayers while swinging a live chicken around one’s head three times in the belief that this transfers one’s sins to the chicken as a method of spiritual cleansing ahead of the Day of Atonement. The chicken is then slaughtered and its meat is donated to the poor.

Traditionally, money can be used instead of the chicken, which many Jewish groups have encouraged due to concerns of animal cruelty.

The four local authorities that have pledged for the first time not to allow the ceremony within their jurisdictions are Kiryat Bialik near Haifa, the Jezreel Valley Regional Authority in the Lower Galilee, and the Tel Aviv suburbs of Holon and Rishon Lezion.

They join Kfar Saba, Ra’anana, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Petah Tikva, Beersheba and Ashkelon in prohibiting kaparot using live chickens.

Where permitted, the ceremony requires a permit from the council’s veterinarian and a separate permit for slaughtering livestock outside of a slaughterhouse.

Let the Animals Live, which made the appeal to the authorities, says in a statement that the birds are transported crammed into narrow cages without food or water, then subjected to extreme stress and often broken limbs by being swung around. While most of the chickens are then sent to slaughterhouses, some are butchered on the spot by people who are not qualified to do so, the organization claims.

Video shows air force strike toppling Gaza City tower

Footage published by Palestinian media shows an Israeli Air Force strike leveling the Ghefari Tower on the coast of Gaza City, following an evacuation warning to those nearby.

The military had said that the tall building, which was already partially collapsed, was being used by Hamas.

لحظة قصف الاحتلال بصاروخين لبرج الغفري السكني في مدينة غزة، ما تسبب بتدميره بالكامل. pic.twitter.com/tvkIPmrc9v

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 15, 2025

The IDF confirms carrying out the strike, saying that Hamas placed surveillance equipment and set up observation posts at the Ghefari Tower in order to track troop movements and advance attacks.

Netanyahu says those slamming Israel over Qatar attack showing ‘immense hypocrisy’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is “immense cynicism and hypocrisy” in criticism of Israel over the strike in Qatar targeting Hamas, standing alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, despite US President Donald Trump being among those slamming Israel over the news.

Netanyahu points out UN Resolution 1373, which was approved post-9/11 and says no country can harbor or give safe haven to terrorists.

He stresses that the US “acted very boldly against the terrorist havens that were given to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The terrorist haven that was given to the chief terrorist [Osama] Bin Laden in Pakistan.”

“You don’t have such sovereignty when you are effectively giving a base to terrorists,” he says.

Netanyahu seems to acknowledge that Israel did not succeed in killing Hamas leaders, but says Israel still sent a message to terrorists with the strike.

“It didn’t fail because it had one central message and we considered it before we launched it, and that is, you can hide, you can run, but we’ll get you.”

Asked about anger from Gulf allies over the strike, Rubio says, “some fundamentals still remain that have to be addressed, irrespective of what has occurred.”

He says hostages are still being held and Hamas still exists, and must be eliminated.

“They all still have to be addressed,” he says, adding that the US will focus on solving those issues.

Rubio calls the wave of recognition of a Palestinian state “an impediment to peace” that emboldens Hamas.

Netanyahu also says high-rise buildings being knocked down in Gaza are Hamas strongholds.

He says the world should “get their priorities and facts right” on Gaza, and that Israel will continue doing what it can to get them out of harm’s way.

Commenting on Kirk killing, Netanyahu says he, too, is threatened by political violence

Israel and the US are facing “extraordinary violence” from political opponents, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after being asked about assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“President Trump, there’s been two attempted assassinations against him,” says Netanyahu. “One nearly succeeded. I’ve been targeted myself with death threats which are pretty much daily. My family is targeted and so are ministers and public figures. They’re harassed. They’re threatened in Israel and in America. And this is a challenge to our democracy.”

“These people increasingly are more and more violent,” he continues. “And the more they speak of democracy, the more they threaten it. They basically say that the greatest danger to democracy is democracy.”

Netanyahu calls Kirk a “tremendous, tremendous friend of Israel and he believed and discussed with me how to defend Israel, how to defend Western civilization. He actually wrote a detailed memorandum suggesting how we should do that.”

“He saw our battle as a common one for our common values and our common freedom,” Netanyahu continues. “He also believed in having free discourse. He was a great American patriot, a believer in the freedom, liberties that America gave to the world and a believer in the common foundation of our civilization which he attached to this city, this country, this land.”

“He was struck down,” says the prime minister. “The most important thing is to make sure that his legacy isn’t struck down, that it continues to live.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Kirk’s killing was like “a death in the family,” noting that he was a personal friend of many in the Trump administration.

Bennett slams ‘crooked’ government after cannabis plants found in home of minister’s aide

Eyeing a political comeback, former prime minister Naftali Bennett slams the current government as “crooked from top to bottom” following a report that police uncovered a an illegal marijuana grow operation at the house of Minister May Golan’s chief of staff.

“The current government is crooked from top to bottom, a rot that is spreading to all parts of the public sector. When Qatari employees sit in the prime minister’s office in the midst of a war, it is not surprising that a drug den is exposed in the office of another minister,” he says in a statement, referring to allegations surrounding work done for Qatar by aides of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Woe to the nation that is forced to see its children grow up facing such a rotten role model. Israel will soon embark on a new path,” Bennett adds.

Police this morning arrested a lawyer and detained several other suspects Monday morning as part of an investigation into Golan and her associates, who are suspected of fraud, illegally pocketing the ministry’s funds and other financial crimes.

While carrying out raids, the police discovered the alleged drug den in Yavne at the home of Golan’s chief of staff. According to Channel 12, the plants belong to the aide’s husband and both of them were arrested.

Rubio says US ‘focused on what happens next’ after Qatar strike

Israel’s decision to act against Hamas in Qatar was a “wholly independent decision,” says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We assume full responsibility,” he stresses.

“We did it on our own. Period.”

“We are focused on what happens next,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says about Israel’s strike in Doha last week.

Rubio says that the “ideal outcome” is for Hamas to simply surrender, but “it may require ultimately a concise military operation to eliminate them.”

“As much as we may wish that there be a sort of a peaceful diplomatic way to end it,” says Rubio, “and we’ll continue to explore and be dedicated to it, we also have to be prepared for the possibility that that’s not going to happen.”

Rubio says Hamas must be eliminated as armed group before Gaza can see peace

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says “every single hostage, both living and deceased,” must be home immediately, and that Hamas “can no longer continue to exist as an armed element that threatens the peace and security, not just of Israel, but of the world.”

Gazans deserve a better future, he says, but that can’t begin “until Hamas is eliminated and until all of the hostages, both living and deceased, are home.”

US President Donald Trump remains “committed firmly” to those goals, he says.

Rubio stresses that Iran’s missiles and nuclear program threaten not only Israel and the US, but also Gulf allies and Europe.

He says a nuclear Iran is an “unacceptable risk” for the world. Trump, he says, will continue the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

He blasts Hamas’s “unparalleled barbarism” on October 7 and in the war since then, and says the Gazan people cannot have peace or a better future without Hamas “eliminated” and all hostages returned home.

Rubio expresses excitement about opening “perhaps one of the most important archaeological sites in the planet” later this evening in the City of David, “one that has deep meaning to so many people in the United States.”

He will formally open a Second Temple-era pilgrims’ road to the Temple Mount.

Netanyahu says Rubio visit shows US stands with Israel against ‘weak’ critics

Speaking alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises the two countries’ “common resolve” and the decision by US President Donald Trump to strike Iran’s nuclear program.

Netanyahu says “we are committed” to bringing all the hostages home, and thanks Trump for his help.

He says Israel knows it must defeat Hamas and “ensure that they no longer are enabled to turn Gaza into a threat to Israel.”

Rubio’s presence is a “powerful affirmation of a powerful bond,” and “a clear message that America stands with Israel in the face of terror, in the face of …Middle Age lies that are directed against us, the rising antisemitism of the world and the weak governments that are putting pressures on us because they collapse under the pressure of Islamist minorities,” Netanyahu says.

Netanyahu says that US President Donald  Trump told him recently to “remember October 7.”

“It’s like remember the Alamo. Remember October 7. And we remember. We remember the savagery. We remember the incredible massacre of the innocent. We remember our hostages and we’re committed to bringing all of them home, the living and the dead,” he continues. “And we appreciate all the help that President Trump and you have given us in this sacred task.”

He says Trump “has shown consistent leadership, moral clarity, and bold
actions that have strengthened the alliance between our nations as never before. The American-Israeli alliance has never been as strong as it is now.”

Netanyahu calls the president “an outstanding global leader. He’s really
transforming the world to better all of us.”

“We will continue to act together,” to confront common enemies and to protect their common civilization, says Netanyahu.

Rubio headed to Qatar after Israel — report

US Secretary of State will visit Qatar Tuesday, The Washington Post reports, citing two American sources.

Rubio is in Israel, where he is discussing US displeasure over Jerusalem’s strike on a Hamas compound in Doha, while Qatar is hosting top officials from across the Arab and Muslim world to formulate a joint response.

US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack is also in Qatar today, the Post reports.

Rubio, who is delivering a statement to the press alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met with the premier one-on-one for about an hour and a half before starting an expanded meeting with aides, according to a US official.

Rubio had said he would speak to Netanyahu about Israeli military plans to seize Gaza City, the largest urban center in the devastated territory, as well as the government’s talk of annexing parts of the occupied West Bank in hopes of precluding a Palestinian state.

Rubio earlier said Trump wants the Gaza war to be “finished with” — which would mean the release of hostages and ensuring Hamas is “no longer a threat.”

Army warns it will hit Gaza City tower

The IDF issues an evacuation warning for Palestinians residing in the vicinity of a building in Gaza City, known as the Ghefari Tower, ahead of an airstrike, as it continues to target Gaza City’s skyline.

“The IDF will strike the building soon due to the presence of Hamas terror infrastructure inside or nearby,” the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, says.

#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى كل من لم يخل بعد منطقة ميناء غزة وحي الرمال في البلوكات 707, 708, 663, 782 وتحديدًا في برج الغفري المحدد باللون الأحمر وفي الخيام القريبة منه والواقع في مفترق شارع جابر بن حيان وعمر المختار

⭕️سيهاجم جيش الدفاع المبنى في الوقت القريب نظرًا لوجود بنى تحتية… pic.twitter.com/k7nsOIyxDr

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) September 15, 2025

Yesterday, the military struck four tall buildings in Gaza City following warnings, while saying the towers were being used by Hamas. The last few days have seen other mid-rise towers also brought down.

In recent days, the IDF has instructed Palestinians in all areas of Gaza City to leave for the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone” in the Strip’s south, ahead of a major offensive against Hamas.

Out of the one million Palestinians who were in Gaza City, more than 320,000 have evacuated, according to IDF estimates.

Netanyahu summit with Rubio ends

Israeli and US officials meet in Jerusalem on September 15, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has concluded his working meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his office says.

Netanyahu was joined at the discussion by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, and ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee was also at the meeting.

Rubio is now meeting with his counterpart Gideon Sa’ar in Jerusalem, after which the US secretary of state and Netanyahu will give statements to the media.

Combat vets toss piles of pills around Knesset meeting on suicides to highlight distress

A Knesset hearing on preventing suicide among soldiers and veterans turns chaotic as combat veterans pour bags of medications onto the table, loudly warning that there will be more suicides during the upcoming holiday season if something does not change.

“We’ve been crying out for years, the holidays will be a trigger for more cases,” one veteran yells as others toss boxes and bags of pills around the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee meeting, underlining the deep levels of distress many are dealing with and complaining that those who have experienced trauma have not been provided with adequate treatment.

הלומי הקרב זרקו תרופות בועדת העבודה והרווחה העוסקת במניעת אובדנות – "הכל זה אובדנות, מה אנחנו מחבלים!?" pic.twitter.com/MSsnXmSpyM

— ערוץ כנסת (@KnessetT) September 15, 2025

“Five years ago I warned you about these suicides. You did nothing. You did nothing,” the veteran says, referring to an apparent uptick in veterans and soldiers taking their own lives in the wake of fighting in Gaza.

Committee chairwoman Michal Woldiger (Religious Zionism) responds with exasperation that they can keep throwing pills if they want, but “we want to help you. I can’t run a discussion like this.”

At the beginning of the hearing, Woldiger said the increase in suicides was not unique to military veterans.

“The recent war has exacerbated the need and unfortunately we are seeing a sharp increase in the number of calls for help, in the sense of distress and in the number of suicides, both in civilian society and among those serving in the IDF. In previous discussions we have already warned of gaps in the areas of detection, prevention and treatment, but things have not been sufficiently advanced and improved,” she said.

Police said to bust marijuana grow lab while raiding home of May Golan aide

Police carrying out raids this morning related to an investigation into fraud suspicions surrounding the Social Equality Ministry also uncovered an illegal marijuana grow operation at the house of Minister May Golan’s chief of staff, Channel 12 news reports.

The network publishes a picture of the alleged drug den in Yavne, showing some three dozen small plants under lights.

תיעוד בלעדי: מעבדת הסמים שאותרה בביתה של מנהלת הלשכה של השרה מאי גולן@_Gitsis_ pic.twitter.com/Yjk6FfYL8c

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) September 15, 2025

According to the network, the plants belong to the aide’s husband. Both the aide and the husband were arrested, Channel 12 reports.

There is no immediate comment from police.

Families of hostages appeal to IDF chief for meeting over looming Gaza City offensive

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum renews its demand for an urgent meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir after he was quoted in the media casting doubt over plans to conquer Gaza City and what the government hopes to accomplish with the offensive.

“Your statements clearly indicate that Operation Chariots of Gideon II will not bring about Hamas’s surrender and will lead to an endless war in the Strip, nullifying all military achievements gained at tremendous cost,” the Forum writes in an open letter to Zamir.

“We can no longer wait. We demand an immediate meeting. We demand that you refrain from unnecessary action that will, by definition, result in the killing and murder of our loved ones,” the families write. “The IDF must present a clear policy to the public and families: no more living hostages murdered in captivity as a result of military pressure, and no more bodies disappearing under rubble, losing any chance to locate them and return them for proper burial.”

MK booted from Foreign Affairs Committee meeting after bashing coalition

The Democrats MK Efrat Rayten Marom is ejected from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after asking chairman Boaz Bismuth about a report that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir criticized the government during a closed-door Knesset meeting last week.

According to comments leaked to Ynet, Zamir told the Knesset Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has left the military in the dark regarding the next stages of the war following the current operation aimed at conquering Gaza City.

Bismuth, of Netanyahu’s Likud party, declines to confirm the report while denouncing those who would leak from closed meetings, prompting Rayten Marom to counter that the governing coalition is unable to take criticism.

She is then ejected from the chamber where the powerful committee is meeting.

Kan rebuffs calls to bow out of Eurovision over boycott threats

A protestor holds a Palestinian flag as she takes part in a demonstration against Israel during the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 opening ceremony in Basel, Switzerland, on May 11, 2025. (Stefan Wermuth / AFP)

The director of Israel’s public broadcaster rejects calls for it to drop out of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna after several countries threatened to boycott the annual competition if Israel is not barred.

“There is no reason why Israel should not continue to be a significant part of this cultural event, which cannot become political,” says Golan Yochpaz, the CEO of Kan, at an event launching the network’s new content for this fall.

Yochpaz points out that since the current Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation was established in 2017, “Israel is one of the most successful participants in the Eurovision contest — in the past seven years its songs and representatives have finished in 5th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st place.”

His comments are the first public response by Kan to the growing number of countries that have threatened to withdraw from the competition if Israel is allowed to participate, amid widespread global criticism of the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. So far, the Netherlands and Ireland have said they will not take part if Israel is allowed to, while Spain, Slovenia and Iceland have threatened the same.

According to a report in Ynet yesterday, Eurovision organizers hinted to Kan — Israel’s representative to the European Broadcasting Union that organizes the campy contest — that Israel should either temporarily drop out of the contest or perform under a neutral flag to avoid being barred entirely. Neither Kan nor the EBU confirmed the report.

The EBU held a meeting in London in July in which Israel’s participation next year was discussed, but the union declined to vote on the matter then, pushing off the decision until later this year. The EBU said at the time that it would consult with members and experts before issuing a full report this fall, ahead of the next organization-wide meeting slated for December.

Ben Gvir calls for ‘luxury neighborhood’ to be built over Gaza ruins

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks during a ceremony at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, September 15, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says he wants to build a luxe neighborhood for Israeli police officers over the ruins of the Gaza Strip, earning a smattering of applause from high-ranking police officials at a Rosh Hashanah toast.

“We will finish the mission, occupy Gaza, encourage voluntary emigration,” the far-right leader asserts to the crowd in a large auditorium in Beit Shemesh.

Once that is achieved, “we want to establish a neighborhood of police officers also in Gaza,” he says forcefully. “On the seashore, all [will be] perfect,” he adds to applause. He describes the envisioned neighborhood as “luxurious” with high-rise buildings overlooking the Mediterranean.

“The time has come to settle — Jewish settlement, the time has come to encourage voluntary emigration [of Gazans], the time has come to bring the death penalty for terrorists,” he continues.

Ben Gvir last week vowed to push forward with proposed legislation to implement the death penalty for Palestinian terrorists following a deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem. It will be discussed tomorrow in the Knesset National Security Committee.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government is not pursuing the resettlement of Gaza, despite some in his cabinet pushing for it.

UN rights council to hold urgent meeting on Doha strike

The United Nations Human Rights Council says it will host an urgent debate on Tuesday regarding Israel’s “recent military aggression” targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar last week.

The council says it received two official requests for the debate, one from Pakistan on behalf of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the other from Kuwait on behalf of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

The meeting will mark the council’s 10th urgent debate since its creation in 2006. Israel accuses the body of obsessing over its conduct while ignoring rights violations around the world, including by its members.

Israel launched an airstrike on Hamas leaders meeting in the Qatari capital last week, killing five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer, and sparking widespread condemnation.

Gaza-bound flotilla sets sail from Tunisia after repeated delays

Activists ride aboard a vessel departing from Tunisia's northern port of Bizerte on September 14, 2025 to join the last boats taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip. (Mohamed FLISS / AFP)

A flotilla bound for Gaza carrying pro-Palestinian activists has set sail from Tunisia after repeated delays, with plans to challenge Israel’s blockade on the Palestinian territory.

“We are also trying to send a message to the people of Gaza that the world has not forgotten about you,” Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg says before boarding in the northern port of Bizerte.

“When our governments are failing to step up then we have no choice but to take matters into our own hands,” she tells AFP.

Around 20 boats that had sailed from Barcelona converged in Bizerte, with the last vessels leaving at dawn, an AFP journalist reports. The departure had been repeatedly postponed due to security concerns, delays in preparing some of the boats and weather conditions.

Yasemin Acar, who helps coordinate the flotilla from the Maghreb, posts images on Instagram of boats also departing in the early hours.

“The blockade of Gaza must end,” and “We are leaving for solidarity, dignity and justice,” a caption reads.

The vessels, which are also carrying symbolic packages of humanitarian aid, moved to Bizerte, after a turbulent stay in Sidi Bou Said near Tunis that saw two vessels catch fire, in what activists claimed was a drone attack.

European Parliament member Rima Hassan, who like Thunberg was detained aboard the Madleen sailboat during a previous attempt to reach Gaza in June, says she fears further attacks.

“We are preparing for different scenarios,” she says, noting the most prominent figures had been split between the two largest coordinating boats “to balance things out and avoid concentrating all the visible personalities on a single vessel.”

Netanyahu and Rubio meet in Jerusalem

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, hosting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on September 15, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office sends out photos of the premier meeting in his Jerusalem office with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The two are seen smiling and relaxed, despite tensions hanging over the meeting due to US displeasure with Netanyahu’s decision to order a strike on Hamas in Qatar, a subject expected to top the agenda at the planned three-hour discussion.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, hosting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on September 15, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Netanyahu’s office does not release any information alongside the photos.

The pair are expected to deliver statements following the talks.

Interreligious brawl reportedly breaks out on flight to Romania

A brawl broke out between passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv to Bucharest overnight, Romanian news outlets reports, requiring riot police to meet the plane after it landed at Henri Coandă International Airport.

According to the reports, the fighting broke out between passengers of different faiths after some began praying, angering others.

The reports do not specify the faiths of the alleged parties or if the conflict had anything to do with the thousands of Hasidic Jews making their way to Uman, Ukraine, via neighboring countries, including Romania, for an annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage.

According to local news site Antena3, seven people were fined 4,000 leu ($925) each. They also face police questioning in coming days, according to news site libertatea.ro.

Zamir reported to tell MKs army in dark about what comes after Gaza City takeover

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks on a phone at the Israeli Air Force underground command center, September 9, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told lawmakers on the Knesset Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has left the military in the dark regarding the next stages of the war following the current operation aimed at conquering Gaza City, according to reported comments leaked to the Ynet news site.

“The prime minister is not telling us what comes next, we don’t know what to prepare for,” Zamir is quoted telling the subcommittee’s members during a closed-door briefing on Friday, echoing comments he is reported to have made in cabinet meetings as well. “If they want a military government, then they should say military government.”

Ynet reports that Zamir also called efforts by the the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza a “failure.”

According to Channel 12, Zamir informed senior Israeli leaders ahead of the launch of the upcoming operation that the military was “committed to the goals of the war as defined by the cabinet but Hamas will not be defeated militarily and politically even after the operation to capture Gaza City.”

During a cabinet meeting earlier this month, Zamir reportedly warned that the plan to conquer Gaza City would drag Israel into a full-fledged military occupation of the Strip.

Palestinian reportedly shot dead while trying to cross security barrier near Jerusalem

Illustrative: A Palestinian man climbs the security barrier at the West Bank town of al-Ram to cross into Israel illegally, on September 15, 2024. (AP/ Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinian news sites report that a Palestinian man who attempted to cross the West Bank security fence in the al-Ram area on the outskirts of Jerusalem was shot and killed by the Israeli security forces.

The shooting reportedly occurs in the same area where a pair of Palestinians who killed six people in a Jerusalem shooting attack exactly a week ago are thought to have crossed into Israel, using a hole in the barrier.

There is no immediate response to the reports from Israeli authorities.

Israeli forces shot several Palestinians trying to cross the barrier in the area in recent days.

According to the reports, the man was attempting to enter Israel for work illegally.

Netanyahu and Rubio set to kick off lengthy meeting on Gaza, Qatar

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to begin hosting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his office in Jerusalem for a three-hour meeting scheduled for 10 a.m.

The two are slated to give statements after the sit-down, which is expected to focus on Gaza, Israel’s recent strikes on Hamas in Qatar, Iran and other bilateral issues.

At 4 p.m., Netanyahu will participate in the “Fifty States, One Israel” event at the Foreign Ministry, welcoming state legislators from all 50 US states.

Army said raiding several West Bank towns

Palestinian media outlets report that the Israeli army is carrying out daylight raids in several West Bank towns this morning.

Army vehicles are spotted in Tubas, and Nablus in the northern West Bank, and in Birzeit and al-Bireh outside Ramallah.

برفقة "مجنزرة".. قوات الاحتلال تقتحم عدة أحياء في مدينة البيرة pic.twitter.com/5oFVDMNtNw

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 15, 2025

مجنزرة برفقة آليات عسكرية!

قوات الاحتلال تقتحم حي سطح مرحبا في مدينة #البيرة pic.twitter.com/FptaXFWZpX

— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) September 15, 2025

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Israeli runners make strides at Tokyo World Championship

Athletes compete in the men's marathon final during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 15, 2025. (Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)

Two Israeli marathoners have finished in the top 8 at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo.

Haimro Alame snags fourth place in the men’s race with a time 2:10:03, just 15 seconds behind Tanzanian winner Alphonce Feliz Simbu.

Fellow Israeli Gashau Ayale takes seventh place with a time of 2:10:27.

In the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase, Adva Cohen sets a new national record with a time of 9:19:90, shaving five seconds off the old record.

Despite the achievement, the time is puts her in sixth place in her heat, meaning she does not advance to the next round.

Army says Hezbollah arms maker killed in southern Lebanon drone strike

A Hezbollah operative involved in developing and manufacturing weapons for the Lebanese terror group was killed in a drone strike in southern Lebanon last night, the Israeli military says.

According to the IDF, Muhammad Ali Yassin was targeted in a car in the Nabatieh area. Lebanon’s health ministry says one person was killed in a strike that took place in the town of Burj Qalaouiyah, south of Nabatieh.

“During the war, Yassin took part in the development and production of weapons for the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon,” the army says, adding that his activities “constituted a violation of the understanding between Israel and Lebanon.”

The IDF issues footage showing the strike.

צה״ל חיסל מחבל אשר עסק בפיתוח וייצור אמצעי לחימה בארגון הטרור חיזבאללה

צה״ל תקף וחיסל אתמול (א'), באמצעות כלי טיס את מחמד עלי יאסין, מחבל מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב נבטיה שבדרום לבנון.

במהלך המלחמה, יאסין עסק בפיתוח וייצור אמצעי לחימה עבור ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בלבנון.… pic.twitter.com/uIAI8kEwrL

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 15, 2025

Since a November 2024 ceasefire, the IDF says it has killed over 230 Hezbollah operatives in strikes in Lebanon, saying they were violating the terms of the truce.

IDF estimates 20,000 Palestinians left Gaza City overnight

Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza by foot and in vehicles along the coastal road toward southern Gaza, Sunday, September 14, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

More than 320,000 Palestinians have so far evacuated Gaza City to other areas of the Strip, according to fresh IDF estimates, ahead of the army’s planned offensive against Hamas in the area.

Some 20,000 are estimated to have left Gaza City overnight.

Around one million Palestinians were estimated to be residing in Gaza City before the IDF began to prepare for the major offensive against Hamas there. Last week, the IDF ordered all of Gaza City to evacuate immediately ahead of the planned offensive.

Civilians have been instructed to head for an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Strip’s south, but many Gazans say nowhere in the Strip is safe.

Police arrest lawyer as part of corruption probe into Likud minister and associates

Social Equality Minister May Golan, at the Knesset plenum, in Jerusalem, January 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Police arrested a lawyer this morning as part of an ongoing investigation into Social Equality Minister May Golan and her associates, who are suspected of fraud, illegally pocketing the ministry’s funds, and other financial crimes.

Investigators have been probing the right-wing lawmaker for months, but this morning’s announcement marks the first time law enforcement has gone public with the case against her.

In a statement, police say that Golan and her associates are suspected of fraud, misusing public funds for private purposes, creating fictitious positions in the Social Equality Ministry, and concealing sources of funding.

All this was done through the use of NGOs and government systems as a “tool for illegally extracting funds,” police add.

Several other suspects were detained alongside the lawyer this morning and taken in for questioning at the offices of the police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit.

Police say they will bring the arrested lawyer before the Rishon LeZion Magistrate’s Court today with a request to extend his detention.

Hebrew media reports say Golan is expected to be interviewed by police over the suspicions later today.

Last month, it was reported that Golan and several prominent figures in Israeli social-welfare groups engineered an elaborate deal in which her ministry would give money to ZAKA for a program ostensibly aimed at aiding the elderly, while in reality, the money would go to her and associates.

Golan is also suspected of hiring a string of close friends and colleagues in the Social Equality Ministry, paying them salaries despite them doing no work.

These supposed employees at the ministry included the wife of Golan’s long-time legal adviser, who runs a dog grooming business but was also listed as a salaried employee in her office. The attorney himself had been paid thousands of shekels to prepare legal documents that were never filed, Channel 12 News reported earlier this year.

Ahead of Gaza City op, Hamas moved hostages above ground to restrict army’s movements — report

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of the Israeli hostages held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. September 13, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

Ahead of Israel’s operation to conquer Gaza City, Hamas has moved hostages above ground to homes and tents to restrict the military from operating in certain areas, Palestinian sources in Gaza tell the Kan public broadcaster.

Yesterday, the mother of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal said she was informed that her son is being held above ground in Gaza City, after the terror group published a video of him last week in which he was in the backseat of a car above ground.

Three Jewish sites vandalized over weekend with antisemitic graffiti in Halifax, Canada

Two synagogues and a Jewish community building were vandalized with antisemitic graffiti over the weekend in Halifax, Canada.

The Beth Israel synagogue was vandalized with graffiti reading, “Jews did 9/11,” and on the same street, the Shaar Shalom Congregation was vandalized with a swastika.

Graffiti reading, “Jews did 9/11,” was also scrawled on a building linked with the Chabad-Lubavitch of the Maritimes Rohr Family Institute.

We condemn the vandalization of three synagogues in Halifax last night with antisemitism graffiti. We urge the authorities to respond urgently and swiftly. pic.twitter.com/cSzYpWblwX

— Israël à Montréal (@IsraelaMTL) September 14, 2025

Rabbi Yakov Kerzner of Beth Israel synagogue tells the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation the incidents are an “escalation which does concern the Jewish community.”

“We haven’t experienced this until now in Halifax,” he says.

“I’ve seen it … throughout Canada over the last two years…. I don’t know where this is going but I’m concerned about it,” Rabbi Gary Karlin of Shaar Shalom says.

Report: Palestinian in Lebanon arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Israel

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reports that Palestinian security forces in Lebanon — forces that operate inside the Palestinian refugee camps in the country — arrested a Palestinian who collaborated with Israel.

According to the report, the detainee is himself a member of those Palestinian security forces and was caught in possession of $400,000 along with several phones and computers.

Sources tell the newspaper that after his arrest, the Palestinian admitted to being part of a network of eight collaborators working within the Palestinian security forces in refugee camps around the city of Tyre, and that he had transferred information that assisted Israel in carrying out assassinations in the Tyre area. The report did not specify who the assassinated individuals were.

Emmy Award ceremony sees multiple tributes to Palestinians

Hannah Einbinder accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for "Hacks" during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Several actors are using the Emmy Awards ceremony to spread pro-Palestinian messages.

Hannah Einbinder, who wins best supporting actress in a comedy for “Hacks,” ends her speech by cursing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and says: “Free Palestine.”

On the red carpet, fellow “Hacks” star Megan Stalter holds a bag with “Cease fire!” written on it.

Actor Javier Bardem wears a Palestinian keffiyeh and makes lengthy remarks about Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

#Emmys nominee Javier Bardem voices his support to end the genocide in Gaza and talks about the growing movement of Film Workers for Palestine. pic.twitter.com/baBVco4g5I

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 14, 2025

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Bardem highlights the allegation by the International Association of Genocide Scholars that the war is a genocide, urging a “commercial and diplomatic blockade” and sanctions on Israel, adding: “Free Palestine.”

Bardem touts a pledge signed by himself and over 4,000 filmmakers to not work with any Israeli institution that hasn’t disavowed the war, rejecting a statement by the Paramount production firm that criticized the push.

“We do not target individuals by their identity,” he claims, even though the pledge only demands disavowal of the war from Israelis. “What we target are those complicit film companies and institutions that are involved in whitewashing or justifying the genocide of Israel in Gaza and its apartheid regime.”

Bardem, nominated for best supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” vows to “never work” with firms “not condemning the genocide in Gaza, adding that if he subsequently gets fewer roles, this would be “absolutely irrelevant compared to what is going on there.”

AP contributed to this report.

In rare Israel interview, Netanyahu rejects claims he’s extending war needlessly, compares it to Battle of Fallujah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, in an interview with Channel 13 news aired September 14, 2025. (Screenshot: Channel 13)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a rare interview to an Israeli outlet that isn’t staunchly supportive of him, rejecting accusations that he has extended the Gaza war for political reasons, and arguing that the almost two-year war has gone by relatively quickly, considering the task at hand.

Speaking to Channel 13 news as part of an upcoming exposé by the outlet featuring transcripts from June’s 12-day war with Iran, Netanyahu says that “the moment this war began, I said on its second day that we would change the face of the Middle East.”

“We are not only fighting Hamas — we are fighting the whole Iranian axis, of which Hamas is only one part,” he says. “And we eliminated the axis’s components, one by one. First of all, we tended to Hamas, we had to enter Rafah and take control of the Philadelphi [Corridor], then move to the north and do the pager [operation] and eliminate Hezbollah and advance, and as a result, [the rule of Syria’s Bashar] al-Assad fell. All these stages in effect took apart the Iranian axis as they had been preparing it to eliminate Israel.”

Asked if this means that had the October 2023 Hamas onslaught — which started the war — not happened, Iran would have gone nuclear, Netanyahu says: “No, I don’t know that, because we would surely have seen this, but Iran planned this chokehold and wanted to take these last few steps in its nuclear program — weaponization, meaning creating a nuclear weapon — very carefully, and it did this very carefully.”

The interviewer then asks Netanyahu if he understands those who believe that the swiftness of the Iran war shows that he can wrap up wars quickly when he wants to, and that he is therefore extending the war in Gaza for almost two years to serve his own political survival.

“This question and its premise are bad-natured and false,” Netanyahu answers, making a parallel with the US-led takeover of Iraq’s Fallujah in 2004.

“How long did it take to win in Fallujah? Nine months,” he says. “For nine months, the whole world took on 3,000 terrorists in a place that is far less complex than Gaza. So first of all, I think we are doing it faster than all those armies combined, under much more difficult conditions. Secondly, we are conducting this war with challenges that nobody else has. This is a war with hostages. When there are hostages, you are careful, you do ceasefires.

“Thirdly, you had an American administration that, after a few weeks of unreserved support, started not only having reservations, but also blocking us,” the premier adds, taking aim once again at former US president Joe Biden’s administration, and acknowledging that Donald Trump’s administration has been very supportive since it took power in January.

“What happened was, we didn’t only need to defeat Hamas — we needed to defeat the entire Iranian axis, including a war with Iran itself. So I think that we are now in the decisive stage. What started in Gaza will end in Gaza.”

Further quotes from the interview are set to air Tuesday evening as part of the full exposé about the Iran war protocols.

NY governor endorses Mamdani, saying they discussed antisemitism

FILE - New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks at a news conference, February 20, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

New York Governor Kathy Hochul endorses New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani for mayor, in a major boost for the harsh US critic of Israel.

Hochul is a moderate Democrat and a firm supporter of Israel, while Mamdani is on the far left and has made harsh criticism of Israel central to his politics.

Mamdani won the Democratic party mayoral primary earlier this year, making him the heavy favorite in November’s general election.

His leading opponent in the general election is former governor Andrew Cuomo, another pro-Israel moderate and Hochul’s predecessor. Mamdani defeated Cuomo in the primary.

New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks on stage for the March on Wall Street, August 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Hochul, announcing her endorsement in The New York Times, says she has been speaking with Mamdani for months, including about Jewish issues.

“We discussed the need to combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally,” Hochul says. “I’ve been glad to see him meet with Jewish leaders across the city, listening and addressing their concerns directly. I look forward to working together to make sure New Yorkers of all faiths feel safe and welcome in New York City.”

Mamdani’s Jewish allies are mainly far-left Israel critics.

Mamdani is divisive among Jewish voters. He was the leading candidate among Jews in the four-way race, with around 37% support, according to a July poll by the pro-Israel New York Solidarity Network. That figure is similar to his support among the non-Jewish population.

While 60% of Jews were opposed to Mamdani, their support was divided among the other mayoral candidates.

Slightly more than half of the city’s Jews believe Mamdani is antisemitic, and 58% believe the city will be less safe for Jews if Mamdani is elected, the poll found.

Hochul’s endorsement is a major win for Mamdani because she is a moderate Democratic Party veteran whose backing will likely assuage voters who are concerned about the upstart Mamdani’s far-left politics and policy proposals.

Rubio, Netanyahu to meet at 10 a.m. Monday, then deliver press statements — State Department

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, September 14, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 10 a.m. local time Monday, the State Department says.

At 1:55 p.m., after the meeting in Jerusalem, Rubio and Netanyahu will deliver joint press statements, the announcement adds.

Trump: Israel must be ‘very, very careful’ in its approach to America’s ‘great ally’ Qatar

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Airport, September 14, 2025, in Morristown, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump says Israel must be “very careful” about how it handles Qatar.

At Morristown Airport in New Jersey, Trump is asked by a reporter whether he has a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding last week’s Israeli strikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar, which appear to have failed to take them out.

“My message is that they have to be very, very careful. They have to do something about Hamas, but Qatar has been a great ally to the United States,” Trump answers.

After dining with Doha’s ruler Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Friday, the US president calls him a “wonderful person” and adds that he has told him Qatar needs “better public relations” since “people talk of it so badly, and they shouldn’t be.”

Reporter: What is your message to Netanyahu about strikes on Qatar?

Trump: They have be very careful. They have to do something about Hamas. But Qatar has been a great ally to the US. A lot of people don’t know that. pic.twitter.com/HyfZlLN1Ab

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 14, 2025

Haifa oil refinery can’t open new sulphur site until emissions transgressions are probed

The cooling towers of the Haifa Oil Refineries are seen lit by green and blue lights as night falls over the northern port city after another day of rocket attacks fired by Hezbollah terrorists from south Lebanon, July 24, 2006. (Gali Tibbon / AFP)

A planning committee decides not to approve a bid by the Bazan oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa to build a facility to solidify sulphur until it has examined the circumstances around benzene emissions in July that were 100 times higher than normal, as well as protocols for activating an emergency team.

Celebrating the delay and expressing determination to close Bazan altogether in line with a government decision to shutter the petrochemical complex by 2030 and rehabilitate the entire Haifa Bay area, the environmental organization Green Course notes the company’s repeated violations of its air emissions permits, which have resulted in millions of dollars in fines.

Government tells High Court it will return to old method of firing attorney general, with certain conditions

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting in the Knesset on April 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The government tells the High Court of Justice that it is willing to return to the original method used to fire an attorney general, after the court recommended that it rescind the method used to try and oust Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara earlier this year.

Earlier this month, the court decided unanimously to recommend to the government that it cancel its decision to fire Baharav-Miara, and gave it until September 14 to inform the court whether it accepted the recommendation to abolish the new method for firing the attorney general that the government established in June, and by extension to cancel the dismissal of Baharav-Miara.

The government’s response, submitted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, comes just minutes before the 11:59 p.m. deadline.

The government voted unanimously on August 4 to fire Baharav-Miara, but only after it failed to complete the dismissal process established in the year 2000, which determined that a public, professional committee be charged with recommending the appointment and dismissal of attorneys general.

In order to try and push through her dismissal, the government had established a ministerial committee to make the recommendation instead, and adopted that committee’s recommendation when it fired her in August.

In its September 1 decision, issued in response to petitions against Baharav-Miara’s ouster, the court recommended to the government that it return to the original method for firing the attorney general by consulting the public, professional committee established in 2000.

The government now informs the court that it will hold a hearing on the possibility of returning to the previously-approved method, if the decision can be made within the next two weeks, and with guarantees that the committee will not include a former justice minister or attorney general, given that it was unable to find any who were willing to take part in the panel previously.