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Key updates, 25 September 2026:
Israeli ambassador offers Starlink terminal to Iranian diplomat on UN floor
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon tries to give an Iranian diplomat the Starlink terminal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used in his speech.
“It can be very useful to let the Iranian people get their freedom after what you did to them,” he says as the Iranian turns away and does not respond.
The Iranian government imposed a months-long internet blackout in January 2026 in response to widespread protests across the country.
The blackout was officially ended in late May.
The Iranian representative didn’t want the starlink 🙁 pic.twitter.com/wpElxvrrr4
— Danny Danon ???????? דני דנון (@dannydanon) September 24, 2026
Report: Armenian Christian child attacked in Jerusalem for riding bike with headphones on during Yom Kippur
A nine-year-old Armenian Christian boy was reportedly attacked by Jewish extremists in Jerusalem for riding his bike with headphones on during Yom Kippur earlier this week.
Channel 13 airs footage of the boy receiving treatment from paramedics in an ambulance after he was pepper-sprayed by the Jewish extremists.
The network says this was the second time that the boy has been attacked. The first time he was with his father, who protected him, but this time he was alone.
His mother tells the network that her son has had a hard time sleeping since the attack and has become fearful of outwardly Jewish-looking individuals.
Channel 13 says that despite the attack being caught on security cameras, police closed the case without making any arrests.
תסתכלו על וויליאם. הוא בן 9 . בריונים קיצוניים התיזו עליו פלפל. כל חטאו שהיה שביום כיפור הוא רכב על אופניים סמוך לממילא בירושלים ושמע, רחמנא ליצלן, מוזיקה באוזניות. הם ניגשו אליו באיומים, דרשו שיוריד את האוזניות. הוא עשה את זה , אבל אז הם שמעו שהוא מדבר באנגלית. No English ,… pic.twitter.com/ofcfJxDnak
— Yossi Eli (@Yossi_eli) September 24, 2026
Representatives from Abraham Accords countries meet in NYC for first time since Jan. 2023
The N7 Foundation hosts a roundtable for Abraham Accords countries in New York on September 24, 2026. (Courtesy)
NEW YORK — Representatives from the Abraham Accords countries of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco held a joint meeting in New York for the first time since January 2023.
The roundtable was convened by the N7 Foundation, which works to advance the Abraham Accords. Also participating were US Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker and a representative from Kazakhstan.
The representatives discussed ways to strengthen the Abraham Accords, which the US has struggled to expand following the outbreak of the Gaza war.
Israel’s Abu Farchi sent off after gun gesture celebration in soccer match against Austria
Israel’s Saied Abu Farchi, right, scores his sides first goal past Austria’s Philipp Lienhart during the Nations League Group B3 soccer match between Austria and Israel in Linz, Austria, September 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Israel forward Saied Abu Farchi was sent off for celebrating his goal against Austria in their 3-1 UEFA Nations League defeat tonight by using the corner flag to simulate a gun.
Abu Farchi headed home in the 55th minute to bring Israel level after Austria had taken the lead through a Romano Schmid penalty before halftime at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz.
The 20-year-old ran to the corner flag, grabbed it and made a gun-firing gesture during his celebration.
The referee had booked Abu Farchi four minutes earlier and showed him a second yellow card for the celebration, followed by a red, leaving Israel with 10 players.
Austria regained the lead in the 90th minute through Phillipp Mwene, who netted following a cross from Paul Wanner. Sasa Kalajdzic added a third in stoppage time with a close-range finish.
UAE says suspending all flights operated by Iranian airlines to comply with US sanctions
The United Arab Emirates confirms that it os suspending all flights operated by Iranian airlines until further notice to comply with US sanctions.
“The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) announced the suspension of all flights operated by Iranian airlines to and from the UAE, effective today, Thursday, September 24, until further notice,” reads a statement published on the official news agency WAM. The decision was “based on the US sanctions imposed on Iranian airlines preventing them from using airports around the world.”
Iranian president to Fox News: US ‘must choose’ whether to end war
It is for the United States to decide whether to end its war against Iran, as Tehran does not wish to continue fighting, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian tells Fox News in an interview.
“When we can resolve issues through dialog, we shouldn’t resort to killing one another. But with the instigations conducted by Israel, they have imposed this war on us,” he says in remarks translated by the broadcaster.
“But we do not wish to continue,” Pezeshkian adds. “It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not.”
Colombia’s new government cuts ties with Iran
Colombia says it had cut diplomatic ties with Iran, the latest Washington ally in Latin America to sever links with the US arch-foe.
Colombia’s new right-wing president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has redrawn Colombia’s alliances since taking over from his leftist predecessor Gustavo Petro on August 7 with the full-throated endorsement of US President Donald Trump.
Before his inauguration, De la Espriella also announced plans to sever ties with authoritarian leftist regimes in Cuba and Nicaragua, though he has yet to do so.
His government says the decision to cut ties with Iran, which took effect on September 19, was based on “hemispheric national security” considerations.
It accuses the Iranian government of having ties to “narco-terrorist groups that threaten the security of the country,” without giving proof of the allegations.
The government further lambasts Tehran for blocking traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and attacking other countries in the Middle East in its war with the United States and Israel.
Bogota adds that it would maintain consular relations with Tehran.
Turkey rejects Netanyahu’s ‘baseless accusations’ at UN, state media reports
Turkey rejects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “baseless accusations” at the United Nations, its state-run news agency Anadolu reports.
Netanyahu had called Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “tyrant” during a fiery speech at the UN, accusing Ankara of harbouring Hamas terror leaders.
The Israeli leader’s address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, in which he denounced enemies and allies alike, sparked uproar in the chamber.
Dozens of envoys from across the world walked out, some jeering and booing, while Netanyahu’s own team stood and applauded, and the speaker of the session shouted for order.
“The latest country to become a super spreader of antisemitic lies (is Turkey),” he said.
“Erdogan is a tyrant. He also hosts the Hamas terror chiefs.”
Anadolu quotes the Turkish presidency’s communications director Burhanettin Duran, as slamming Netanyahu’s allegation as “incompatible” with UN values.
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s use of the UN General Assembly podium to level ‘baseless accusations’ against Turkiye and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was incompatible with the ‘ideals of peace, law and dialogue’ represented by the UN,” Duran says.
Netanyahu’s words cannot “make his massacres, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the proceedings before international law invisible,” he adds.
Gulf of Oman ship-to-ship oil transfers reach limit as Saudi exports surge
Trade sources and analysts tell Reuters that ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman for oil from inside the Strait of Hormuz have reached their limits after Saudi Arabia diverted exports from the Red Sea.
The increasing amount of Saudi exports this month requires more supertankers to shuttle crude through Hormuz to conduct cargo transfers, they say. That has reduced ship availability, raising shipping costs and increasing the time cargoes are on the water before reaching refineries.
The ship-to-ship transfer system sees many vessels float alongside each other, connected by ropes and hoses, creating a sort of floating bridge. The shuttling process cuts the distance any one ship must travel, but the stopgap measure is complex and expensive.
Meanwhile, preliminary ship-tracking data shows vessel transits at the Strait of Hormuz fell yesterday to nine, compared with the previous day’s 14, with levels also lower than the 10-day average of around 18.
However, some vessels may be sailing through the waterways with their transponders turned off, and they are not considered in the tally.
Yehuda Atlas, beloved children’s book author, dies at 89
Portrait of Yehuda Atlas, children’s book writer. December 03, 2012. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)
Israel mourns the passing of Yehuda Atlas, a journalist, writer, and translator who rose to prominence after the publication of his 1977 children’s poetry book Ve Hayeled Hazeh Hu Ani (translated into English as “It’s Me”).
Atlas died yesterday at 89, according to an announcement by Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.
President Isaac Herzog eulogized Atlas in a statement, saying the author’s work was “an inseparable part of Israeli children’s world” and that he “will be missed by many, but the fruits of his talent will certainly continue to accompany the children of Israel for generations to come.”
Two reservists killed in IDF drone explosion accident during operations in Gaza
Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem (left) and Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali (right), who were killed when an IDF drone exploded during operations in the Gaza Strip on September 24, 2026. (Courtesy)
Two IDF reservists were killed yesterday after a small explosive drone they were operating in the Gaza Strip crashed for an unknown reason and exploded shortly after, the military announced.
The troops are named as Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, from Har Halutz, and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, from Jerusalem.
Both served in the Jerusalem Brigade’s 7007th Battalion.
According to a preliminary investigation by the military, the two soldiers on Thursday afternoon had been operating first-person view (FPV) drones known as “Atalef” — Hebrew for bat — from an army post inside the military’s Gaza buffer zone in the Strip’s north.
A first drone carried out its intended mission, while a second, during takeoff, crashed inside the army post for an as-yet-unknown reason. The soldiers approached the crashed drone several minutes later, picked it up, and it then exploded, fatally wounding them, according to the initial probe.
The pair were taken to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, where their deaths were declared.
Amid the investigation into the cause of the crash and explosion, the military has temporarily grounded all small drones capable of carrying explosive payloads — both suicide drones and those that drop their explosives on a target.
Ex-PA minister details his pre-Oct. 7 warning about Sinwar’s ‘earthquake’ threat
An undated photo of Sufian Abu Zaida, former Fatah cabinet minister. (Flash90)
Former PA minister Sufian Abu Zaida details the warning he conveyed in September 2023 about an “earthquake” being planned by then-Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar, in an interview with the Pan-Arab news channel Al-Rad.
The remarks confirm what Israeli journalist Shlomi Eldar revealed last week, after Abu Zaida came forward as the Palestinian source referred to in a bombshell report about the warning.
The Fatah member says he mediated efforts to reach a hostage-prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, which was then the Gaza Strip’s de facto government, for about a year and a half before October 2023.
The timeline would place the start of talks during the previous Bennett-Lapid government, whereas Eldar’s report indicated they started when the current, Netanyahu-led government took office. The discrepancy is not immediately explained.
The deal was supposed to include the four living and deceased hostages being held in Gaza at the time in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, Abu Zaida says.
According to the Palestinian official, in late September, Sinwar asked him to convey a message to Israel saying: “By the end of September, we will put the cards on the table, and it will cause an earthquake in the negotiations. They should prepare themselves for the prisons [in Israel] to be emptied.”
The Al-Rad report says that Abu Zaida, who is close to former senior Palestinian official Mohammed Dahlan, informed Dahlan and his close associate Samir Mashharawi about the message while also conveying it to Shin Bet officials.
According to an investigation by Eldar and Ruti Yuval published in Haaretz, a similar message about an “earthquake” that Sinwar would carry out was subsequently conveyed through Dahlan’s associates to Mohammed bin Zayed, the president of the United Arab Emirates, who called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and passed the message on to him as well.
Abu Zaida does not address that element of the report.
Woman in her 30s found dead in Haifa; boyfriend arrested ‘to clarify his involvement’
A woman in her 30s is pronounced dead after police found her lifeless in Haifa, in what Hebrew media report as a suspected murder.
According to the Ynet news site, her boyfriend — a 28-year-old man — called the police at around 1 a.m. this morning.
When officers and paramedics arrived, they found her in a stairwell with no signs of life and indications of severe trauma to her upper body, the outlet says.
Police say they’ve arrested her boyfriend “to clarify his involvement,” and later today will ask a court to extend his remand.
But, they add, “all avenues of investigation are being examined, including the possibility of self-harm.”
Board of Peace met with UNRWA despite saying it has no Gaza role, agency’s ex-chief says
Palestinian children sit in their classroom on the first day of the new academic year at a UN-run school in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, September 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Philippe Lazzarini, former head of UNRWA, says that behind the scenes, members of the US-led Board of Peace, seeking to demilitarize the Gaza Strip, are open to working with the UN agency for Palestinians.
Lazzarini tells The Associated Press that members of the Palestinian technocratic committee backed by the Board want to work with the agency.
Another UN official shares minutes from meetings where UNRWA and the committee discussed collaborating on plans for Gaza.
A Board of Peace official confirms that members have met multiple times with UNRWA officials. The official says that the agency’s “days are over,” but its programs “may persist if they are serving Gazans well.”
Israel has long accused UNRWA of fomenting anti-Israel sentiment in its schools, and in the aftermath of the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, also accused it of collaborating with the terror group, which was the Strip’s de facto government at the time.
In late 2024, Israel passed legislation banning UNRWA from Israeli territory, including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after the Six Day War of June 1967.
Key Update
Man in his 30s wounded in suspected stabbing in Netivot; not terror-related
Police say they’ve opened an investigation after a man in his 30s was wounded in a suspected stabbing in the southern Israeli city of Netivot.
“It is suspected that the background to this incident is criminal,” police say in a statement.
The Ynet news site describes the run-up to the incident as a “clash at a kiosk” on the city’s Hagefen Street.
The man has been transferred for medical care and his condition is considered serious, police say.
IDF will set up expert panel to probe Gaza drone accident that killed two reservists
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered the establishment of an expert panel to investigate the deadly “safety incident” in the Gaza Strip yesterday, in which two reservists were killed by a crashed military drone.
The team will be headed by a brigadier general from the Ground Forces, and it will “examine the circumstances of the incident in order to prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future,” the army says.
An initial IDF probe found that after the explosive drone crashed inside an army post, the soldiers operating it approached it and picked it up before it exploded, killing Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem.
Meanwhile, the chief of the Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan, ordered that such drones be grounded for at least 48 hours amid the investigation. Following that, a new assessment will be held, the military says.
Turkey’s army chief will travel to Saudi Arabia for defense pact meeting on Yemen
In this photo released by the Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkey’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu poses for a photograph with Libyan Chief of General Staff Gen. Mohamed Ali Ahmed El Haddad (cropped out) during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, December 23, 2025. (Turkish Defense Ministry via AP)
Turkey’s Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet his Saudi and Pakistani counterparts as part of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, the Turkish defense ministry says.
Earlier, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the chiefs of staff would hold an urgent meeting to discuss ways to support Riyadh under the defense pact following attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. Ankara has said it could help meet Riyadh’s military needs if necessary.
Zelensky says India, Turkey, Egypt, Mideast nations in Black Sea talks
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, September 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that India, Turkey, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries were taking part in talks on unblocking shipping in the Black Sea.
“Egypt, India, Turkey, and representatives from the Middle East — I had separate conversations with the leadership of these countries, and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also been in contact with their counterparts in these countries,” he tells reporters in a WhatsApp briefing.
“In addition to these countries, there were also proposals from other nations to unblock the Black Sea.”
US proposes UAE host trilateral meeting with Ukraine and Russia on war, Zelensky says
An undated handout photograph released on March 28, 2026, by the United Arab Emirates Presidential Court shows UAE's President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (R) meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the United Arab Emirates (Abdulla AL-NEYADI / UAE PRESIDENTIAL COURT / AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the United States has proposed that the United Arab Emirates host a trilateral meeting with Ukraine and Russia to discuss efforts to end their four-and-a-half-year conflict.
“The American side has proposed… meeting at a technical level in a three-way format,” Zelenskiy tells reporters in a briefing via WhatsApp. “We are awaiting a proposal from the United States regarding the date, and the United States has suggested the Emirates as a possible location.”
Turkish parliament will take up Pakistan, Saudi Arabia defense pact next month, speaker says
Illustrative: Turkish members of Parliament attend a session to discuss the 2024 Central Government Budget Law Proposal at the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) in Ankara on December 11, 2023. (Adem ALTAN / AFP)
A joint defense pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan has not yet been submitted to Turkey’s parliament for approval, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus says, adding he expected the agreement to be formally submitted when parliament returns from recess next month.
The regional powers signed the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” in August, weeks before Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks against Saudi Arabia amid the war in Iran. Similar to NATO’s Article 5, the pact stipulates that an attack on one ally constitutes an attack on all.
“For international agreements to come into effect, parliamentary approval is needed. The meetings held as part of the agreement at the moment are preparatory meetings,” Kurtulmus tells reporters in Ankara.
IDF names two Hamas operatives, including head of funding mechanism, killed in Gaza strikes yesterday
Palestinians in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Abed Rahim Khatib/FLASH90)
Two Hamas operatives, including one involved in smuggling funds to the terror group, were killed in separate Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.
One strike in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah killed Jabr Moqbel, identified by the IDF as a Hamas member and head of the “Moqbel” money exchange network, “which transferred millions of shekels in foreign currency to Hamas.”
“These funds are used by Hamas to finance terrorists, restore military infrastructure, and advance attacks against IDF troops,” the army says.
Another strike on Thursday in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis killed Hasan al-Batta, identified by the IDF as a Hamas sniper operative.
Both operatives were involved in advancing attacks and restoring Hamas capabilities “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the military says, adding that they were killed “to remove the threat.”
IDF seals home of Palestinian terrorist who killed Israeli at West Bank spring on Sunday
IDF troops seal the home of a Palestinian terrorist in the West Bank village of Bidu, September 25, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF troops sealed the home of the Palestinian terrorist who shot dead Netanel Shukrun, an Israeli father of six, at a natural spring in the West Bank earlier this week, the military says.
Following the attack on Sunday, the eve of Yom Kippur, the gunman fled the scene while coming under fire from a soldier in the area. He was captured by troops hours later at a hospital near Ramallah.
Over Yom Kippur, troops operated in the village of Bidu and measured the 37-year-old terrorist’s home.
Overnight, the home was sealed ahead of its planned demolition, the army says this morning.
As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.
Sealing the homes of attackers is often a replacement or stopgap for demolishing them. In general, the demolition process takes several months, as the High Court must address appeals by the family, and security forces often wait for an optimal time to enter Palestinian cities or neighborhoods for the operation.
The IDF says the temporary sealing of the home was approved by Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, and that the military “intends to continue to advance the process of demolishing the house.”
Israeli troops destroy mile-long Hamas tunnel in IDF-held portion of Gaza Strip
Israeli troops razed a two-kilometer (1.2 miles) tunnel in the IDF-held portion of the Gaza Strip recently, the military says.
The IDF says it comes amid efforts to clear the areas of the Strip under Israeli control of Hamas infrastructure.
Key Update
High Court of Justice will take up disqualification of Sami Abou Shehadeh on Thursday
MK Sami Abou Shehadeh speaks during a Joint List faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 24, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
The High Court of Justice says it will consider on Thursday the Central Elections Committee’s decisions to disqualify Balad party head Sami Abu Shehadeh and Joint List MK Ofer Cassif from running in the October 27 elections.
The rulings by the CEC, made up almost entirely of politicians representing Knesset factions, must be approved by the court, which is likely to strike down the ban on Cassif.
But the 30-4 vote on Wednesday to disqualify Abu Shehadeh had the support of all opposition parties and rare backing from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who oversees the panel.
Sohlberg said Abou Shahadeh had failed to adequately answer allegations that he expressed support for Hamas’s armed struggle against Israel in an article he published a day after the October 7, 2023, massacre.
The case will be taken up by a nine-judge panel, consisting of all the current justices except for Sohlberg and Ruth Ronnen.
Key Update
Abdul El-Sayed suggests one of Israel’s war aims in Iran conflict was to annex south Lebanon
US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, left, and former US vice president Kamala Harris participate in a roundtable discussion about reproductive health at Birth Detroit, in Detroit, September 22, 2026. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP, Pool)
US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed tells columnist Ezra Klein that one of Israel’s “big war aims” in the conflict with Iran was “setting up for the annexation of southern Lebanon.”
The US and Israel jointly attacked the Islamic Republic on February 28, with the declared goals of thwarting its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and destabilizing the regime.
Two days later, the Hezbollah terror group attacked Israel from Lebanon, in support of Iran.
Israel responded with major airstrikes and a ground invasion, establishing a security zone in southern Lebanon that it has vowed to remain in until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Israeli officials have stressed the country has “no territorial ambitions” in southern Lebanon, which it has occupied and withdrawn from several times in the past amid prior conflicts.
El-Sayed has also been criticized this week for declining on Wednesday to explicitly condemn the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and for headlining a fundraiser with Arab-American journalist Osama Siblani, who is outspoken in his support for Hamas and Hezbollah, that same day.
Army bolstering forces across all fronts ahead of week-long Sukkot holiday
The Israel Defense Forces says it is bolstering forces across all fronts ahead of the Sukkot holiday, following similar moves conducted ahead of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Standing army battalions in each of the military’s regional commands will remain deployed on alert until the end of the holiday period, and brigade headquarters are on standby for activation if needed, according to the IDF.
During the week-long Sukkot holiday, several combat companies will be allocated to bolster each sector, and additional companies will be placed on standby. In the West Bank, the Central Command is being reinforced by several units, including commandos from Maglan.
Most rookies at the army’s training bases will also remain at their bases during the holiday to provide additional standby forces in the various sectors.
The IDF says that, also as part of preparation for the holiday, “multi-organizational discussions” were held to ensure “synchronization, readiness, and coordination between the organizations.”
Key Update
IDF says it launched interceptor at ‘suspicious aerial target’ in southern Lebanon
Illustrative: IDF troops operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo published on June 1, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it launched an interceptor missile a short while ago toward a “suspicious aerial target” identified over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are operating.
The circumstances of the incident are under further investigation, the military says.
No sirens sounded in any towns, as no threat was posed to Israeli civilians.
Netanyahu mourns reservists killed yesterday in Gaza drone accident
Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem (left) and Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali (right), who were killed when an IDF drone exploded during operations in the Gaza Strip on September 24, 2026. (Courtesy)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourns the two reservists killed in a drone explosion accident in Gaza.
“Nadav and Ofek, of blessed memory, were courageous reservist fighters who defended Israel’s security. We embrace their families in this difficult time and send them our deepest condolences,” he writes on X.
“The IDF is investigating the incident, we must learn all the necessary lessons and implement them to ensure the security and wellbeing of IDF soldiers,” he adds.
Netanyahu lands in Israel after one-day trip for UN speech
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lands back in Israel after his one-day trip to New York to speak at the United Nations.
Though he took off on Wing of Zion from the Nevatim Air Base near Beersheba, he landed back at Ben Gurion Airport.
For the second consecutive official trip abroad, Netanyahu did not permit Israel’s traveling diplomatic press corps on his taxpayer-funded plane.
Russian drone attack kills 14-year-old Ukrainian-Israeli boy in Kyiv
A police officer throws fragments of a Shahed drone from the balcony of a house damaged in a Russian strike on a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A 14-year-old boy with Israeli citizenship was killed this morning in a Russian drone strike on an apartment building in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, the Foreign Ministry says.
The embassy in Kyiv and the Foreign Ministry’s Situation Center for Israelis in distress abroad are in touch with the family of the victim and are ready to assist them with whatever they need, says the ministry.
Key Update
All 4 Iraqi airports that hosted flights to and from Iran have suspended them
This picture shows a Baghdad airport terminal on February 20, 2025. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Iraq’s Erbil and Sulaimaniya airports suspended Iranian flights starting today, two sources tell Reuters, after other Iraqi airports took the same step earlier in the week.
The move means that, according to sources and state media, flights to and from Iran are suspended from all four Iraqi airports at which they were operating — Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniya.
Washington announced it would impose sanctions on any global companies doing business with Iranian airlines after September 23, with the aim of grounding Iran’s entire civilian fleet worldwide.
The United Arab Emirates, the Middle East’s biggest travel hub, also said yesterday it was suspending all flights by Iranian airlines to and from the country until further notice.
East German town bans new Holocaust-memory ‘stumbling blocks,’ with AfD, CDU support
Then-US ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann touches the freshly laid 'Stolpersteine' (stumbling stones) for members of her family in Feuchtwangen, Bavaria, on May 30, 2023. (Thomas Kienzle/AFP)
An East German town approves a motion by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and ruling center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to reject future installation of brass plaques commemorating victims of Nazi persecution.
The “Stolpersteine” are a prominent feature of Germany’s Holocaust remembrance culture. The council votes to stop further plaques and for future commemorations to be concentrated at a memorial site on the town’s northern cemetery.
The decision comes as the AfD tops national polls ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU. It has fueled debate over the CDU’s adherence to the “Brandmauer,” an informal firewall by which Germany’s mainstream parties rule out formal cooperation with the AfD.
Local branches of the AfD and the CDU do not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Pope warns a ‘paradise of machines’ could undermine humanity, in Paris speech
Pope Leo XIV speaks during a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, September 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez, Pool)
Pope Leo XIV warns that a “paradise of machines” risks undermining humanity, as he addresses French President Emmanuel Macron and diplomats at the Élysée Palace.
“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a ‘paradise of machines’ invading and conditioning our daily lives, there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good,” the pontiff says.
Leo also appeals to AI developers to slow down.
A chorus of leaders in the industry have warned in recent weeks that the technology is moving too fast to control, and a slew of industry insiders have publicly resigned, warning it “could kill us all by the end of the decade” if it isn’t curtailed.
Doron Weizman, 54, charged over murder of mafia boss last month
Doron Weizman, 54, of Moshav Hazon in the Galilee, is indicted in the Haifa District Court for murdering Yanis Yushvaev, the head of Israel’s Caucasian Mafia.
Yushvaev, 40, a resident of the central town of Or Akiva, was well known to police and had been repeatedly arrested in recent years on suspicion of violent crimes.
Haifa district prosecutors accuse Weizman of aggravated murder, weapons offenses, and driving without a license and without insurance.
Weizman denies he is the man in the footage of the shooting, which took place last month in Caesarea.
Footage of the shooting showed a man wearing a hoodie and cap approaching a restaurant at the Caesarea Junction gas station. The man met Yushvaev and two other men at the door as they walked out, and passed them by, only to suddenly spin around, draw a handgun and shoot Yushvaev from behind at point-blank range. He then fled the scene.
הנרצח בתחנת הדלק בקיסריה: ראש המאפיה הקווקזית יאניס יושבייב. המשטרה פתחה במצוד אחר החשודים. pic.twitter.com/GhJ23SIXrm
— חדר מלחמה (@waroomisrael) August 23, 2026
Trump told Xi that China’s support for Iran is unacceptable, US envoy says
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump made clear during candid talks at the White House with Chinese President Xi Jinping that Chinese help for Iran is unacceptable, US Ambassador to China David Perdue tells CNBC.
Ahead of the meeting, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that China has sent around 1,300 air shipments containing dual-use components for drones and missiles to Iran’s Defense Ministry this year through the end of June.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Key Update
IDF strikes this week killed 2 Hamas operatives, including one who took part in Oct. 7 and held hostages
Two Hamas terrorists killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, in an image published on September 25, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
Two Hamas operatives, including a terrorist who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and held hostages in captivity, were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip earlier this week, the military announces.
A strike on Wednesday in Gaza City killed Hassan Mahmoud Siam, identified by the military as a Hamas commander who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
During the war, Siam was also involved in holding hostages Amit Soussana, Keith and Aviva Siegel, and Dafna Elyakim in captivity, the military says.
A separate strike in Gaza City on Tuesday killed Adham Sohbi Salim Ziara, also a Hamas member, the army says.
The IDF says both operatives had been advancing attacks and restoring Hamas infrastructure “in systematic violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
“As part of these efforts, the terrorists were involved in plans to fire at our forces and in planting explosive devices in the area of the Yellow Line,” the IDF says, adding that they were killed “to remove the threat.”
US TV networks will resume covering Trump events amid White House access row
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with China’s President Xi Jinping in the East Room of the White House during a State Dinner, September 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON — US television networks will resume their coverage of President Donald Trump’s events, a CNN reporter says, amid an ongoing court fight after the administration blocked it from the White House along with MS NOW and Politico.
CNN says it would be at the National Archives today when Trump is set to tour the complex housing America’s founding documents, including the US Constitution, with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the First Amendment case winds through the US courts.
“There will be pool coverage,” CNN reporter Kristen Holmes says on air, speaking from White House grounds where the network’s access was reinstated a day earlier.
Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
UN Security Council condemns Houthi escalation against Saudi Arabia, in rare display of consensus
Illustrative: Clément Delangue, CEO of and co-founder of Hugging Face, speaks remotely during a UN Security Council meeting, New York City, September 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council condemns escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemeni Houthi rebels in a rare show of unity from the UN’s top body.
“The members of the Security Council condemned, in the strongest terms, continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks impacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury of civilians, including women and children,” says the rotating president of the Council, French UN envoy Jerome Bonnafont, delivering a joint statement.
Key Update
Court extends police custody of East Jerusalem man suspected of murdering wife
The Haifa Magistrate’s Court has extended police custody of an East Jerusalem resident suspected of murdering his wife in Haifa last night.
Ali Maswade, 28, denies involvement in the killing, the Ynet news site reports.
The woman was pronounced dead after police found her lifeless in Haifa, reports say.
IDF warns it will keep targeting Hamas moneymen in Gaza; 16 killed so far
Displaced Palestinians gather amid the rubble of a heavily damaged building being used as a shelter in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on September 19, 2026. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
The Israeli military warns that it will continue to target Hamas members involved in financing the terror group’s military wing.
Since the start of the war, the IDF says that it has killed 16 “key” Hamas financial officers, involved in transferring more than $1 billion in funds to the terror group and financing its military activities, “using a network of dozens of money changers in Turkey and the Gaza Strip.”
“The IDF and Shin Bet are focusing efforts on harming the Hamas terror organization’s financing capabilities, particularly preventing the rehabilitation of its infrastructure and military capabilities, while eliminating the network of money changers that finances Hamas’s military wing,” the army says.
The IDF says it warns residents of Gaza that “additional elements are operating in your area that continue to engage in financing efforts, fund transfers and advancing the military activities of the Hamas terror organization while putting your lives at risk.”
In a warning to those transferring the funds to Hamas, the military says it will “continue to act against you and strike those who take a direct part in the financing mechanisms of Hamas’s military activities, which are a target of IDF and Shin Bet operations.”
A strike in Gaza yesterday killed a Hamas member involved in transferring “millions of shekels in foreign currency to Hamas.” Another strike on Wednesday killed Hamas’s top financial official, according to the military.
At UN, Lebanon’s PM says recovering territory from Israeli occupation is existential challenge
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, September 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam says that recovering his country’s territory from Israeli occupation is one of the existential challenges for which he is responsible.
Israel occupied parts of southern Lebanon after the Hezbollah terror group launched attacks on Israel in March in support of its patron, Iran.
Salam insists at the UN General Assembly on the need to “avert the vacuum” that would be caused by withdrawing the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, deployed in the south of his country without a viable replacement.
The force is scheduled to begin its departure at the end of the year.
Salam lists “three existential challenges” for the country that he is tasked with solving as prime minister.
One is to “regain the trust of its people” after the country’s financial collapse and disastrous Beirut Port explosion in 2020, he says. The second is to “reclaim national decision-making,” that “no weapons exist outside armed forces,” and no decisions on war can be made by non-state actors.
The third is to “recover all of its territory from Israeli occupation and to extend its sovereignty and extend its sovereignty over its own national soil,” citing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 as a key guideline for relations with Israel.
The resolution ended the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006 and required that the Iran-backed terror group disarm and retreat north of the Litani River.
Israeli officials repeatedly accused Lebanon and the UN’s UNIFIL mission of failing to implement the resolution.
Under a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon reached in June, the Lebanese army is supposed to gradually take control of southern Lebanon as Hezbollah disarms and Israeli forces withdraw. Progress has been slow, however, with Israel saying it will remain in the area as long as Hezbollah poses a threat.
Daniel Omansky, 14, named as Israeli killed in Russian drone strike on Kyiv
Daniel Omansky, 14, is named as the Israeli killed this morning in a Russian drone strike on an apartment building in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
The Israeli Embassy in Kyiv and the Foreign Ministry’s Situation Center for Israelis in distress abroad are in touch with the family of the victim and are ready to assist them with whatever they need, the Foreign Ministry said earlier.
Key Update
NY politicians detained at anti-Netanyahu protest trumpet their arrests, are charged with disorderly conduct
Politicians detained by police yesterday for protesting Israel outside the United Nations were issued summonses for disorderly conduct and released, the NYPD says.
The protest was organized by the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace shortly before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the UN General Assembly.
The NYPD says officers were called to the unscheduled demonstration and saw protesters blocking traffic.
Officers repeatedly instructed them to disperse and told them they could leave, but would be arrested if they continued to block the intersection.
The NYPD says 103 individuals were taken into custody. Jewish Voice for Peace yesterday put the figure at 104 arrests.
Those detained have received court summonses for disorderly conduct.
The offense is a low-level violation, not a crime, so the protesters were immediately released, will have to appear in court, and will likely face minor penalties, such as a small fine, or have the case dismissed.
Nine leftist politicians from New York City were among those detained, including House primary winner Darializa Avila Chevalier, state senate candidate Aber Kawas, city councilmembers Alexa Avilés and Chi Ossé, and state assembly member Emily Gallagher.
The nine politicians all post photos or videos of their arrests on social media.
As the Democratic Nominee for New York's 13th Congressional District, I refuse to allow a war criminal to roam the streets of our city unchallenged. I refuse to be complicit in genocide. pic.twitter.com/UcGhZC8I7f
— Darializa for Congress (@DarializaforNY) September 25, 2026
“I refuse to allow a war criminal to roam the streets of our city unchallenged,” Chevalier says.
Several politicians from outside the city were at the protest but were not arrested, so they will not need to return to the city for court appearances.
Report: Contradicting Feldstein, Einhorn told Israeli investigator they were both paid to work for Qatar’s benefit
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former aide Yisrael Einhorn. (KAN screenshot).
Yisrael Einhorn, a former adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is a suspect in both the Qatargate and leaked documents scandals, told an Israeli police investigator that he and fellow suspect Eli Feldstein were paid by US lobbyist Jay Footlik, a paid advocate for Qatar, to work for Doha’s benefit, the Haaretz daily reports.
Einhorn, who lives in Serbia and has been declared a “fugitive criminal” by police for not submitting to his arrest warrant, was questioned by Deputy Commissioner Momi Meshulam in July 2025 in Serbia amid his refusal to return to Israel, Haaretz reports.
During the questioning, Einhorn refused to return to Israel for the investigation since Israel Police could not guarantee they would return his passport and allow him to return to Serbia, Haaretz reports.
Einhorn reportedly told Meshulam that Eli Feldstein’s claim that the money he received from Footlik was for work in the Prime Minister’s Office is a “complete fantasy.”
“He knows, just like me, that he worked for Qatar,” Einhorn is quoted as telling Meshulam. “We worked closely to spread the truth on Qatari issues.”
Einhorn, Jonatan Urich and fellow ex-Netanyahu aide Feldstein are accused of leaking a classified IDF document to the Bild newspaper in Germany in summer 2024 to influence Israeli public opinion about hostage negotiations with Hamas.
Separately, in the Qatargate affair, Einhorn, Urich and Feldstein are accused of taking money to spearhead a public relations campaign to cast Qatar in a positive light for over a year after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, despite the Gulf state’s strong ties to the terror group, and doing so while working in the Prime Minister’s Office.
UN blacklists 61 more firms operating in West Bank settlements
View of the new Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Arugot in Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, September 3, 2026. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
GENEVA, Switzerland — The United Nations human rights office issues a list adding 61 more companies operating in West Bank settlements, which the global body considers illegal.
The database is highly sensitive as firms could be targeted for boycotts or divestment to pressure Israel over settler expansion in the territory that is home to over 3 million Palestinians.
The database, first released in 2020, now includes 214 firms, mostly from Israel, but also from 10 other countries including France, Germany, China and the US.
Newly added firms included Israeli pesticide maker ADAMA, part of Chinese-owned Syngenta Group, Israel-based real estate investment holding company Alony Hetz and Spain’s Salvat Logistica.
They do not immediately respond to a request for comment on their inclusion in the UN database.
They joined companies such as travel agency Expedia and home-rental company Airbnb already on the list.
Israel, which views the West Bank as disputed rather than occupied, has previously said the list unfairly vilifies companies working legally.
“This is a distorted mechanism — created by a deeply flawed body with an automatic majority against Israel,” Israel’s diplomatic mission says, alleging that the database was established to “persecute” the Jewish state.
Over 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, which Palestinians claim, along with East Jerusalem and Gaza, as the basis of a future independent state.
Israel has said it has no intention of dismantling any of its West Bank settlements, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out an independent Palestinian state.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
‘Deterred’ by protests, IDF and police have halted proactive arrests of Haredi draft dodgers — report
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a road during a protest against conscription into the Israeli army in Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv on August 24, 2026. (ilia YEFIMOVICH/AFP)
The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police have stopped proactively arresting ultra-Orthodox draft evaders, the Kan public broadcaster reports, citing senior judicial officials.
Authorities have been “deterred” by mass demonstrations by Haredim that caused significant disruptions across the country in recent months.
In April, the High Court of Justice ordered the government to explain its failure to issue enough conscription orders to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students to meet the needs of the IDF, and its failure to enforce the orders it had issued. The police subsequently announced in May that new orders had been issued to officers to detain draft dodgers and wait for the Military Police to pick them up.
Efforts by the current government to enshrine in law a blanket ultra-Orthodox exemption from the draft have drawn fierce opposition from reservists, Knesset legal advisers and much of the public.
The coalition sought in July to halt arrests of Haredi draft evaders for seven months, but the High Court froze the legislation before it could take effect and later extended the freeze while considering petitions against the law.
Man pleads not guilty to attempted murder over stabbing of two Jews in Golders Green
Essa Suleiman who is charged with attempted murder over a knife attack during which two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, appears via video link at the Old Bailey as his trial date has been set for next March, in London, Britain, May 15, 2026, in this courtroom sketch. (Julia Quenzler/Reuters)
LONDON — A 45-year-old man pleads not guilty to charges of attempted murder over a knife attack during which two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London.
Essa Suleiman, a British national who was born in Somalia, appears at London’s Old Bailey court and pleads not guilty to two counts of attempted murder, as well as a third count relating to an unconnected incident earlier the same day.
Oct. 7 footage to be shown outside New York screening of ‘NAZA’
Dashcam footage of Aner Shapira tossing out grenades hurled by Hamas terrorists into a bombshelter near Re'im on October 7, 2023. (Screen capture/X)
The Israeli-American Council will show footage of Hamas’s October 2023 invasion of Israel outside the North American premiere of the documentary “NAZA” in New York City tomorrow.
“NAZA” purports to show that the IDF used AI for Gaza targeting and accepted high numbers of civilian deaths as acceptable collateral damage in the early stages of the war. The IDF has denied the main claims of the film.
The film’s North American premiere will take place at Lincoln Center as part of the New York Film Festival.
The Israeli-American Council announces a rally outside the screening that will show a compilation of raw footage from the October 7, 2023, massacre, including video filmed by the Hamas terrorists.
The footage will be shown on mobile LED screens, organizers say.
Two survivors of the Nova music festival massacre, Rom El-Hai and Shalev Bitton, will join the rally, along with Yunis Alkarnawi, a Bedouin Israeli who saved people from the festival.
UAE-owned Manchester City found guilty for breaching Premier League financial rules
Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland, top, who plays for Manchester City, duels for the ball with Bournemouth's Lewis Cook during the English FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality stadium in Bournemouth, England, March 30, 2025. (Ian Walton/AP)
MANCHESTER — Manchester City have been found guilty of all but one of 115 Premier League charges they face for breaching financial regulations, the Athletic reports.
The report adds that no sanction has yet been decided and that City are set to appeal.
The outcome of an independent hearing that began more than two years ago could send shock waves through English football.
The legacy of City’s trophy-laden era is on the line over accusations that it had been built on financial impropriety.
City were charged by the Premier League in 2023 following an investigation into alleged breaches between 2009 and 2018.
The club, which has always denied the allegations, was accused of failing to provide accurate financial information and details of payments to players and coaches, as well as breaches of financial sustainability rules.
Under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour, whose Abu Dhabi United Group acquired the club in 2008, City have become the dominant force in English football.
They have won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups and one Champions League in the past 15 years.
Despite pre-Oct. 7 warning, PM told aides striking Gaza could harm Saudi normalization talks — NYT
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the United Nations in New York City, September 24, 2026. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s goal should be to maintain calm in Gaza so as not to thwart a potential normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, at a security meeting six days before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre, and after he personally received a warning over a potential Hamas attack from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, The New York Times reports.
Netanyahu did not mention the warning at the meeting with top security officials, instead warning that any major attack on Gaza would sabotage efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reports, citing minutes from the meeting.
The prime minister’s position came in contrast to those of some of the security officials present, who advocated for strikes against senior leaders of Hamas directing terror activities in the West Bank, the report says.
Earlier this month, The Times of Israel confirmed a Haaretz daily report that some 10 days before the Hamas-led massacre, Netanyahu was personally warned by the leader of the UAE that Hamas was planning a major offensive move against Israel, but did not update Israeli security leaders and did nothing with the information.
Netanyahu has denied the claim and has threatened to sue Haaretz, though he has yet to actually do so.
Key Update
Trump says he discussed Iran war in meeting with China’s Xi
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says he had discussed the Iran war with visiting Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, following allegations that Beijing has been supporting Tehran.
“We did, we did,” Trump says when asked if they had talked about Iran, as he showed Xi around the National Archives in Washington on the last day of the Chinese leader’s state visit.
Asked if he thought there would be progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump replies: “I think we’re going to do great.”
Tehran will make no nuclear concessions, Hormuz to stay shut until conditions met, senior Iranian official says
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visiting the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, in Tehran, November 2, 2025. (Handout / Iranian Atomic Organization (IAEO) / AFP)
UNITED NATIONS — Iran will show no flexibility over its nuclear program even if the United States accepts its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which calls for steps including the lifting of a US naval blockade on Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official tells Reuters.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the waterway would remain closed until “all of Iran’s conditions are met” by the United States.
Under Iran’s proposal, Tehran has offered to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. Within seven days, hostilities would end on all fronts, including Lebanon; the United States would lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen funds and waive its oil sanctions, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday.
The proposal follows a sharp escalation in Middle East tensions after seven months of war between Iran and the United States, with Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen launching missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia.
In first, Irish soccer player publicly opposes match with Israel set for Sunday
Kosovo’s Baton Zabergja, right, challenges for the ball with Ireland’s Jason Knight during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Kosovo and Ireland in Pristina, Kosovo, September 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
LONDON — Midfielder Jason Knight has become the first Ireland player to oppose playing Israel in the Nations League on Sunday.
The match will take place in the Hungarian city of Debrecen despite ongoing calls for Ireland to boycott the fixture.
No tickets for the game will be made available to Irish supporters after the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) declined its allocation.
“I don’t think the game should be going ahead, but it is going ahead,” Knight tells reporters after Thursday’s 1-0 loss to Kosovo.
“We’ll have a deeper talk about it and what that means.
“I’m quite experienced. None of us have gone through this scenario before, but I’d like to think I’m experienced, thick-skinned, and I can get through most things, and that is what I will try and do.”
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson said last week that some of his players felt uncomfortable about having to take part in the Israel games.
The two nations are due to meet again on October 4 at another neutral venue in Backa Topola, Serbia.
“I’ll try and focus on the football as much as I can,” adds Knight, who plays for Championship club Bristol City.
“It’s a bigger spotlight obviously and not focused on the football itself.
“It’s very, very unusual and none of us have come into this scenario before so we’re learning on the fly as well.”
Court extends custody of man suspected of throwing salt shakers at Bennett last night
The Tel Aviv District Court extends police custody of a man suspected of throwing two salt shakers toward B’Yachad party leader Naftali Bennett at a Bnei Brak restaurant last night, injuring a member of his team.
The suspect is named as Eliya Azard, a resident of the city.
Bennett was visiting the restaurant to film a video as part of his “Parliament” social media series, in which he sits with locals and discusses political issues, when a far-right mob arrived and caused disruptions.
Footage shows Bennett sitting and talking when two salt shakers were thrown in his direction. A female member of his staff was injured, his party said in a statement.
Another hit the wall, police say.
The suspect was arrested shortly afterward, police add.
One of the far-right activists present was pro-government provocateur Mordechai David, to whom Bennett is heard saying in a video: “I suggest you enlist [in the army] tomorrow, because from the moment I am prime minister you won’t receive a shekel from the state.”
תיעוד השלכת החפץ על בנט במסעדה בבני ברק אמש. החשוד, בן 26, לא שיתף פעולה בחקירה והובא הבוקר לבית משפט@uri_sela (צילום: סעיף 27א לחוק זכויות היוצרים) pic.twitter.com/ysAKkqpKd6
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 25, 2026
הפרגוד: בנט חולץ ממסעדת מוטיס' בבני ברק לאחר שקיצונים הגיעו למקום ואיימו לפגוע בו pic.twitter.com/s8TPIGURh6
— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) September 24, 2026
US congress received intel Saudis haven’t ruled out nuclear weapons program — report
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, left, and Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, shake hands after exchanging documents during a signing ceremony at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Congress received a classified assessment by the US intelligence community that Saudi Arabia has not dismissed the possibility of developing a nuclear weapons program, unnamed US officials tell The Washington Post.
Washington and Riyadh confirmed in July they had reached an agreement that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program.
US lawmakers from both parties and Israeli officials have voiced deep concern over such a project due to fears Saudi Arabia could eventually convert it to develop nuclear weapons, though it doesn’t appear likely the Republican-controlled legislature will block its implementation.
A group of Democratic senators led by Massachusetts’ Ed Markey and Jeff Merkley of Oregon sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio today warning of the departure from precedent, which may spark a process “that is all but certain to allow Riyadh to acquire the means to enrich uranium and possibly develop nuclear weapons,” The Post reports.
Merkley tells The Post that the situation is “bogus as hell,” arguing that Saudi demands suggest its intentions for a nuclear program go beyond civilian use.
Riyadh does not respond directly to The Post’s questions, instead relaying an earlier statement from its energy minister that their plan is “peaceful.”
The US State Department says Washington “does not and will not support a Saudi nuclear weapon program,” and defends the decision.
The CIA declined to comment.
23-year-old man shot dead in northern town, as crime wave in Arab community spirals
A man is shot dead in the northern town of Kabul, authorities say, amid the ongoing crime wave plaguing the Arab community.
Paramedics treated Mohammed Samer Yassin, 23, on the scene, then took him to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
He was declared dead at the hospital.
He is the 182nd Arab homicide victim in Israel this year, according to figures from the Abraham Initiatives, a coexistence group.
Yemen’s president urges people to join army, offers future amnesty to Houthi rebels who leave group
Members of the Haj Ali Araj family, who are displaced from Mokha, arrive at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen, September 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
Rashid al-Alimi, the Riyadh-based president of Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government, calls on Yemenis to mobilize and join the armed forces.
He also offers a future general amnesty to Houthi fighters and affiliates who leave the group starting September 26.
Ro Khanna calls for release of terror convict Barghouti, in apparent first for US lawmaker
US Rep. Ro Khanna calls for the release of imprisoned Palestinian leader and convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti, apparently becoming the first US lawmaker to do so.
“I’m calling for the release of Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison,” the Democratic lawmaker says in a video statement.
“Palestinians must choose their own leaders. Barghouti has a unique standing among all Palestinian factions. He’s seen as non-corrupt, a strong leader and secular. Barghouti could deliver a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel,” he says.
The current hardline, right-wing Israeli government has vowed to never allow a Palestinian state to be established.
Barghouti, a prominent Fatah figure during the Second Intifada, was convicted by an Israeli court on five counts of murder and sentenced to multiple life terms for his role in terror attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He is seen by many Palestinians as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Barghouti has denied the charges for which he was convicted, and rejected the Israeli court’s jurisdiction to try him as a member of the PA’s parliament.
I am calling for the release of Marwan Bhargouti from Israeli prison. pic.twitter.com/z0T1vmlVho
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) September 25, 2026
“Several prominent Israelis, including former directors of Shin Bet and Mossad, have called for his release, as has the leader of the IDF team that apprehended him,” he says.
“Releasing Barghouti does not provide him with a pardon or moral absolution of crimes he may have committed. In fact, a number of human rights groups say he did not even receive a fair trial, but the release is needed to move peace forward — just like Arafat and Rabin worked for peace, despite their pasts,” Khanna says.
The Democratic lawmaker compares the situation to the Irish Troubles, in which the Irish Republican Army, which “did terrible things,” eventually was allowed to participate in politics.
“If we’re lucky enough to have a just peace in Israel-Palestine, we will need a truth and reconciliation commission. But for now, we must begin to give Palestinians a voice in their sovereignty and the peace process. Release Barghouti,” he says.
Khanna, who once described himself as pro-Israel, has turned into a prominent Israeli critic in his party. He is weighing a 2028 presidential run.
IDF says ‘false identification’ triggered launch of interceptor in southern Lebanon
The military says the launch of an interceptor missile earlier today in southern Lebanon was caused by a “false identification.”
Pakistani, Saudi and Turkish military chiefs vow to actualize defense deal during meeting in Riyadh
From R to L: Turkey's Chief of General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, Pakistan's military chief Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and Saudi military chief General Fayyadh Bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili at a meeting in Riyadh, September 25, 2026. (Turkish Defense Ministry/X)
The military chiefs of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey discussed enhancing intelligence sharing, military coordination and capability integration at a meeting in Riyadh, the Pakistan military says.
The chiefs reviewed the security situation and threats facing Saudi Arabia, affirmed a commitment to collective defense, and vowed to turn Makkah Joint Defense Agreement commitments into effective cooperation, the Pakistan military adds.
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