Sept. 27: Gaza City mayor and other notables in Strip appeal to Trump for ceasefire

Gaza City mayor and other notables in Strip appeal to Trump for ceasefire

Smoke rises following an Israeli military strike in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

In a letter obtained by The Times of Israel, Gaza City Mayor Yahya al-Sarraj, together with Gazan business and academic leaders, appeals to US President Donald Trump to work toward a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The signatories write in the letter to Trump, “You have the power to succeed where others failed, to stop the bloodshed, protect innocent lives and set the stage for a just and lasting peace.”

Trump recently formulated a 21-point plan to end the war and release the hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. He is due to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Al-Sarraj is affiliated with Hamas, as are all Gaza mayors. It is also unclear if all the signatories are currently located in the Strip, though al-Sarraj himself has been present there in recent months.

Israel is currently conducting a major offensive to conquer Gaza City.

Huckabee reportedly to travel to Egypt amid US efforts to end Gaza war

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee speaks to The Times of Israel, August 12, 2025. (Courtesy)

Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, is due to travel to Egypt soon to speak with senior officials there about the Gaza war, The New York Times reports.

The impending visit is to take place as US President Donald Trump pushes his 21-point plan to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of the 48 hostages held there by Hamas. Trump is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Three US and Middle Eastern officials have confirmed the visit, The Times reports. It would be the first visit to Egypt of an ambassador to Israel in decades, the publication says.

One of the officials Huckabee is reportedly expected to meet is Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who accused Israel of “genocide” and other crimes in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly tonight. Israel adamantly rejects the accusation.

Egypt, which borders Gaza, has acted as a mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, but relations between Cairo and Jerusalem have become strained during the war.

Palestinian reports: Palestinian woman, two foreigners injured in West Bank settler attack

Palestinian media reports that a 61-year-old Palestinian woman and two foreign volunteers were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers in the village of al-Fakheet in the South Hebron Hills in the southern West Bank.

According to the reports, the woman was evacuated to the nearby Abu Al-Hasn Government Hospital with bruises. It was also reported that settlers vandalized equipment in the village.

The Israel Defense Forces have not immediately responded to a request for comment on the incident.

PM’s office claims hundreds of thousands in Gaza, Iran scanned QR code linking to Oct. 7 atrocities

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 26, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson says in a statement that a QR code he had pinned to his chest during his speech at the United Nations yesterday has been scanned more than 1 million times, with some 30 percent of scans occurring in Gaza and Iran.

The QR code links to footage of atrocities carried out by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack, his office previously said.

The statement adds that Netanyahu’s speech to the UN General Assembly has been published with Arabic dubbing. Ahead of the speech, the prime minister had ordered that it be broadcast in Gaza via loudspeakers mounted on trucks in and around the Strip.

At protest, ex-hostage says she’s unsure if captives’ return is Israel’s top priority

Released hostage Doron Steinbrecher speaks to a rally in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square on September 27, 2025. (Uriel Even Sapir/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Doron Steinbrecher, who was released from Hamas captivity in January as part of the most recent Gaza ceasefire, says she doesn’t know if she still believes that the hostages’ return is Israel’s top priority.

“I tried to believe it when my tunnel was bombed and I was smuggled into the streets of Gaza, I tried to believe it when I heard military choppers flying overhead,” she says to thousands of people at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where rallygoers have unfurled a large poster addressed to US President Donald Trump reading, “All 48 hostages home now.”

In captivity, she says, “You want to believe it when you hear the prime minister address you directly via loudspeakers” — a reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial move during his UN speech on Friday to air his speech via speakers mounted on trucks in and around Gaza — and “you want to believe it when you hear Trump’s threats and promises again and again. You want to believe it when you hear that [White House Mideast envoy Steve] Witkoff is optimistic.”

“You hold on to everything to believe — every date, every memory, every occasion, you mark anything you can so you don’t give up,” she says, days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

“But I don’t know if they still believe — I don’t know if I still believe — that everything is being done,” she says. “But I have no choice but to believe they’ll come back,” she adds. “We have no choice, and neither do they.”

Amid the current operation to take over Gaza City, “it’s unclear that there will be any living hostages left, unclear that it will be possible to locate the dead,” she says. “Soldiers will keep getting killed and injured mentally and physically… [and] the country will keep being at war and not begin its rehabilitation.”

“We’ve gone through more and more days, holidays and special occasions, and the hostages haven’t returned. That doesn’t bother decision-makers?” she asks. “I want to believe that everything is being done to bring them home, that it’s the top priority.”

“If there is an opportunity” for a hostage-ceasefire deal now, she says, “don’t miss out on that hope. Save them, us.”

Egypt FM accuses Israel of ‘genocide,’ ‘wanton aggression’ in Mideast in UN speech

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, 2025, at UN headquarters. (AP/Pamela Smith)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty accuses Israel of “genocide” in Gaza and of pursuing a policy of “wanton aggression” in the Middle East in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Abdelatty, who has previously accused Israel of genocide, says that Jerusalem has an “extremist ideology” and says it is destabilizing the region and contravening the UN’s purpose.

“The continued Israeli occupation, the genocide transpiring today in the Gaza Strip, depriving the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights, most notably the right to establish its independent state… this hollows out any narrative of peace and security in the region,” he says. “Israel cannot be secure when others are not secure. The region cannot see stability without an independent State of Palestine.

In a speech whose bulk focused on Israel, Abdelatty condemns Israel’s recent strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar and accuses Israel of violating the sovereignty of Syria and Lebanon, where the IDF has stationed troops in border zones. He also accuses Israel of pursuing a policy of “systemic starvation” in Gaza.

Israel has adamantly rejected the charge that it is committing genocide in Gaza and denies that there is widespread starvation in the Strip, saying that it takes measures to avoid civilian casualties and to facilitate the flow of aid.

Abdelatty, whose country has acted as a mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, praises US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, which includes the release of all Israeli hostages, the removal of Hamas from power and a political pathway to a Palestinian state.

He repeats Egypt’s pledge that it will not tolerate the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Jerusalem protest sets out from Old City, demanding hostage deal and end to war

Protesters demanding a hostage-ceasefire deal march from Jaffa Gate to the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on September 27, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Hundreds of protesters set out from the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, demanding a hostage deal and end to the war.

Marching along the Old City walls, demonstrators chant, “There is no atonement for a government that forsakes.”

The protesters are jeered by several passersby, mostly Jews in Orthodox garb, as they continue toward the prime minister’s residence.

Before protesters start marching, an organizer with the Israeli Reform movement leads the crowd in a Havdalah ceremony to conclude Shabbat.

She notes that the Jews worldwide just celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, earlier this week, and will mark Yom Kippur on Wednesday night and Thursday.

“Here we are a moment before Yom Kippur, she says. “But we haven’t forgotten for a second that this war is ongoing.”

She goes on to assert that the new year cannot truly begin “until the hostages return and the war comes to an end.”

Netanyahu bracing for ‘painful concessions’ under US Gaza plan — report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (not pictured) give a press statement after their meeting at the Prime Minister Office in Jerusalem, on September 15, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with United States President Donald Trump on Monday, the premier and his team are expecting that Israel will have to make “painful and significant” concessions under the American plan to end the war in Gaza, reports Channel 12, without citing sources.

These include concessions that would “contradict Israel’s stated policy and the decisions taken by the cabinet in recent weeks,” particularly regarding the plan’s call for the gradual expansion of Palestinian Authority involvement in postwar Gaza, according to the network.

The report adds that the US is currently exerting “heavy pressure” on Qatar to push Hamas to agree to the details of Trump’s plan in the coming days, in an effort to shift the diplomatic demands entirely onto Netanyahu and Israel.

Brother of slain captive slams PM’s ’empty’ UN speech, blames him for Oct. 7 ‘holocaust’

Danny Elgarat, brother of slain hostage Itzik Elgarat, speaks at a protest to end the war and bring back the hostages in Tel Aviv on September 27, 2025. (Yael Gadot/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Dani Elgarat, the remains of whose brother Itzik Elgarat were returned by Hamas during a ceasefire earlier this year, accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning the hostages and seeking to take over the Shin Bet security service.

He also accuses the prime minister of being responsible for a “holocaust” by allowing the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack.

Speaking to some 300 people at the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, in the first anti-government protest there in several weeks, Elgarat parodies the section of Netanyahu’s Friday speech to the United Nations General Assembly in which he posed multiple-choice questions to his viewers.

“What is Bibi responsible for?” asks Elgarat, using the premier’s nickname. “For the October 7 holocaust? For the deaths in captivity of 42 hostages? For the abandonment of the hostages in Gaza? For the abandonment of the soldiers in a political war? Or all of the above?”

As in Netanyahu’s speech, where the premier sought to show that Iran and its proxies sought to kill Westerners, Elgarat says the answer to his question is “all of the above.”

“But the worst sin of all is Netanyahu’s way of abusing the hostage families, and now, the hostages themselves,” he says. He slammed Netanyahu’s order to the military to broadcast his speech via loudspeakers in and around Gaza so that the premier, according to his remarks at the UN, could speak directly to the hostages.

“Instead of embracing and listening [to the hostage families], he operates a network of loudspeakers against the captives and their families, he spreads lies, he spreads lies, he tries to call their loyalty into question and sap their strength,” says Elgarat. “And why? Only because they remind him that he is responsible. And that is a moral low point that only Netanyahu could descend to.”

“In addition to that, there is the corruption that continues harming national security, and at the top of the list, the appointment of the Shin Bet head,” Maj. Gen. (res.) David Zini, Netanyahu’s nominee, whose candidacy was approved by a statutory committee on Thursday after a protracted legal battle.

“Netanyahu wants to take even the most sensitive body and turn it into a political pawn,” says Elgarat.

“We don’t need more empty speeches — we need strong, honest leadership,” says Elgarat, who is running in primary elections for a seat in Knesset as part of the left-wing Democrats party.

He castigates “a leadership that is willing to pay a political price to save the nation, bring back the hostages, undo the schism and return the Zionist dream to its rightful place.”

“The real Israel” does not belong to Netanyahu, he says. “It belongs to us, and we’ll establish it anew. We’re going to beat him.”

After the speech, the crowd chants, “a political war — a betrayal of Israel,” and “Bibi and Sinwar — money from Qatar,” a reference to the Qatari cash that flowed to Gaza and Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s chief there, for years with Netanyahu’s approval, and to allegations that Netanyahu’s aides worked for Qatar while in his employ.

Smotrich demands Israeli sovereignty in parts of West Bank, freezing out of PA as part of Trump peace plan

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference held on "Operation Rising Lion" at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on June 23, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/FLASH90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has laid out three key demands in relation to the Trump peace plan, Channel 12 reports.

The far-right minister reportedly insists there be no role for the Palestinian Authority in governing Gaza or the West Bank; that Hamas be completely dismantled and disarmed; and that Israel assert sovereignty over parts of the West Bank without recognizing a Palestinian state.

His remarks come as new details emerge about the latest American proposal for ending the war in Gaza. The 21-point plan, obtained by The Times of Israel, encourages Palestinians to remain in the Strip while creating a pathway toward a future Palestinian state. It also includes familiar elements from earlier initiatives, such as the release of all hostages within 48 hours and the removal of Hamas from power.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said Wednesday he expected a breakthrough related to Gaza in the coming days. Witkoff noted that Trump had presented his ideas during a meeting with Arab and Islamic countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week.

Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionism party, has long opposed Palestinian statehood and has pressed for extending Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank and Gaza, where he has called for renewed Israeli settlement.

Yair Golan: IDF chief should have refused to broadcast Netanyahu’s UN speech in Gaza

Leader of The Democrats party Yair Golan leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 26, 2025. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Yair Golan, chair of the left-wing Democrats party, says IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir should have refused the order to broadcast Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s United Nations speech in Gaza.

Netanyahu, who addressed the UN General Assembly on Friday, had ordered the military to broadcast the speech on loudspeakers in the Gaza Strip. The speech was reportedly played on speakers mounted on nine trucks on the Israeli border with Gaza and within the Strip itself. A link to a broadcast of the speech was also said to have been texted to Palestinians in the Strip.

In an interview with Channel 12, Golan slams Zamir for following the order to broadcast the speech, saying it “really disappointed” him.

“I would have gone into a room with the prime minister and said, ‘Listen, I’m ready to do anything logical for this operation, but here there’s no operational logic. I won’t do this,'” Golan says.

When asked whether he thinks Zamir should have refused to carry out the order, Golan replies, “Unequivocally.”

“This has no justification,” he continues. “I’m not just talking about a risk to soldiers. I’m saying that blatantly, this is a step where the only reason to carry it out is the prime minister’s political needs.”

He repeats that Zamir should have objected privately, rather than making a public declaration refusing the order.

Hezbollah chief vows terror group will ‘never abandon’ arms, marking one year since Nasrallah’s death

Supporters of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah attend a ceremony marking the first anniversary of Israel's assassination of their longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2025. The Iran-backed group, weakened by a deadly war with Israel last year, has organised a series of commemorative events to mark Nasrallah's death. (Photo by Anwar AMRO / AFP)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem says the terror group would not allow itself to be disarmed as he addressed supporters marking one year since the killing by Israel of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah.

“We will never abandon our weapons, nor will we relinquish them,” Qassem tells the tens of thousands of supporters gathered at the tomb of the former chief in Beirut.

“We are ready for martyrdom,” he adds.

Year after killing Nasrallah, IDF says terror chief didn’t realize he was Israel’s next target

Smoke rises above Beirut's southern suburbs during an Israeli strike on September 27, 2024. (AFP)

Marking a year since the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the IDF says it is revealing intelligence that suggests the terror chief was unaware he was Israel’s next target, as he remained in his bunker to plan new attacks.

In the days leading up to Nasrallah’s death on September 27, 2024, and following the so-called pager attack and killing of top commanders in the terror group, the Military Intelligence Directorate says the Hezbollah leader “remained in place without realizing that he was the next target for elimination.”

“In the days before his elimination, Nasrallah tried to rebuild the organization’s capabilities and plan counterattacks, but each of them was quickly thwarted,” the IDF says.

While Nasrallah was trying to recover from Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah, “precise intelligence” that had been gathered over the years “enabled an exact hold on the location of his secret bunker, whose construction was made possible using Iranian technology and strict compartmentalization, even within the closest circles of the terror organization,” the IDF says.

During the strike on September 27, 2024, Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped 83 bunker-busting bombs on Nasrallah’s underground command center in Beirut, killing the Hezbollah leader alongside other top commanders in the terror group.

Hamas operative who killed officer Arnon Zmora during Gaza hostage rescue op slain in airstrike

Chief Inspector Arnon Zmora, who was killed in a mission to rescue hostages held in the Gaza Strip, June 8, 2024. (Israel Police)

A Hamas operative who killed Israeli police officer Ch. Insp. Arnon Zmora, during a hostage rescue mission in the central Gaza Strip last summer, was killed in a recent airstrike in the Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet and IDF announce.

Muhammad Ahmad Yousef al-Jamal, a member of Hamas, was among those guarding hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv, according to the IDF and Shin Bet.

On June 8, 2024, Israeli special forces from the Shin Bet and Israel Police’s elite Yamam unit raided an apartment belonging to Abdallah al-Jamal — his relative and a journalist — in Nuseirat and rescued the three hostages, in a mission later named Operation Arnon after the slain Yamam officer.

As the forces breached the building where the hostages were held, Muhammad al-Jamal shot Zmora fatally. Abdallah al-Jamal and other members of the al-Jamal family were killed during the raid, but not Muhammad.

Alongside al-Jamal, the recent Israeli Air Force strike also killed Sari Idris Muhammad al-Aqrab, a Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught and was considered “close” to al-Jamal, the Shin Bet says.

Fourth baby in a week dies of measles in Jerusalem, reports say

A baby dies after contracting the measles virus in Jerusalem, the latest death, Hebrew media reports.

In the past months, outbreaks of measles have been registered in towns with large ultra-Orthodox communities, including Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, and Modi’in Illit. Some parts of the Haredi population have been increasingly skeptical of vaccines in recent years.

All of the victims of the disease this week were younger than two, and all four died in Jerusalem, according to hospital officials and the Health Ministry. The first death was announced on Monday, another died on Wednesday night, and the third died Thursday morning.

In total, six children, all younger than two and a half years old, have died of measles since August.

Addressing UN, Russian FM accuses Israel of trying to ‘blow up’ the Middle East

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, in New York City, on September 27, 2025. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

UNITED NATIONS — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accuses Israel of seeking to “blow up” the whole Middle East as he criticized Israel’s attacks in Iran and Qatar and opposed calls to annex the West Bank.

“Israel’s illegal use of force against the Palestinians and aggressive actions against Iran, Qatar, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq today threaten to blow up the entire Middle East,” Lavrov says in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

Lavrov also accuses Western powers of sabotaging diplomacy on Iran through the reimposition of UN sanctions expected within hours.

The rejection of a Russian bid to extend the deadline “finally exposed the West’s policy of sabotaging the pursuit of constructive solutions in the UN Security Council, as well as its desire to extract unilateral concessions from Tehran through blackmail and pressure,” Lavrov tells the UN.

IDF soldiers demolish home of one of deadly Jerusalem terror attack perpetrators

IDF troops carry out a home demolition of a terrorist, in the West Bank town of Qubeiba, on September 27, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF troops demolished the home of one of two Palestinian terrorists who carried out a shooting attack in Jerusalem earlier this month that killed six people, the military says.

Overnight, the IDF says troops operated in the West Bank town of Qubeiba, near Ramallah, and razed the house of Muthanna Amro, 20.

Amro carried out the attack at Jerusalem’s Ramot Junction on September 6, along with Mohammad Taha, 21, from the nearby town of Qatanna.

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

The military intends to demolish Taha’s home as well, and has already surveyed it and sealed it shut in the interim.

IDF troops demolish the home of Muthanna Amro, who carried out a terror attack in Jerusalem, in the West Bank town of Qubeiba, September 27, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Two IDF troops hurt in separate suspected accidents in Gaza

Two IDF soldiers were wounded in suspected accidents in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military says.

In one incident, a soldier was lightly injured after being hit by shrapnel from a grenade, and in the second, a troop was moderately wounded by gunfire shrapnel.

Both were taken to hospitals and their families were updated.

Some 50,000 anti-Israel protesters march in Berlin demanding end to war in Gaza

People protest against Israel during a mass demonstration called "All Eyes on Gaza" in support of Palestinians and against Israel, in Berlin, Germany, September 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Christoph Soeder)

BERLIN, Germany — Tens of thousands of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters take to the streets of the German capital.

The demonstrators call for a conclusion to the Israel-Hamas war, shouting slogans like “free, free Palestine,” and they demanded an end to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Around 50,000 people take part in the march through Berlin’s downtown area, according to police. About 1,800 law enforcement officers are deployed to monitor the demonstrators.

The protesters also call for a halt to German arms exports to Israel and demand European Union sanctions against Israel, German news agency dpa reports.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Lebanese media reports Israeli drones flying above Nasrallah memorial

Lebanese media outlets report that Israeli drones are flying above the memorial ceremony for slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.

Earlier this year, at the terror chief’s funeral, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut.

Israeli team excluded from Italian cycling race next week ‘over safety reasons’

Team Israel Premier Tech's US rider Matthew Riccitello competes during the 18th stage of the Vuelta a Espana, a 26 km race against the clock between Valladolid and Valladolid, on September 11, 2025. (Miguel Riopa/AFP)

ROME, Italy — Israel Premier Tech has been excluded from the Giro dell’Emilia cycling race on October 4 in Italy for safety reasons, the organizers tell AFP.

Adriano Amici, president of GS Emilia, which organizes the one-day race, says the team “will unfortunately not be present at our race. We had to make this decision for reasons of public security.”

Colombian president accuses US of violating international law after visa revoked

Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaks through a megaphone at an anti-Israel rally in New York, September 26, 2025. (Screen capture: MinCultura Colombia via X)

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Gustavo Petro dismisses the US decision to revoke his visa and accused Washington of violating international law over his criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don’t care. I don’t need a visa… because I’m not only a Colombian citizen but a European citizen, and I truly consider myself a free person in the world,” Petro says on social media.

“Revoking it for denouncing genocide shows the US no longer respects international law,” he adds on a post on X.

Israel has repeatedly denied genocide charges over its actions in Gaza and says it is acting in self-defense to eliminate Hamas and return hostages kidnapped in the October 7, 2023, massacre.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF footage shows drone strike against Hamas operatives in Gaza City

The IDF releases footage of a drone strike against Hamas operatives who were spotted trying to plant bombs in the ground in Gaza City.

The operatives, who are seen digging in the ground while trying to hide under blankets, had been identified by troops of the 188th Armored Brigade, who then called in the Israeli Air Force strike, killing them, the military says.

This video released by the IDF on September 27, 2025, shows a drone strike on Hamas operatives attempting to plant a bomb in Gaza City. (Israel Defense Forces)

Einav Zangauker: If Netanyahu returns from US without hostage deal, ‘indescribable hell’ awaits

Einav Zanguker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, threatens to intensify demonstrations for a deal to end the war and return the captives if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not come back from his trip to the United States with an agreement.

“In contrast to the campaign of lies by the angel of sabotage, Netanyahu, there are 48 families whose loved ones are in captivity, and everyone needs to return, not just those he addressed,” Zangauker says at a weekly press conference in Tel Aviv, accusing the prime minister of torpedoing every chance for a deal in the past two years.

“If you sabotage another agreement, we will haunt you until the end of time,” she says. “I am looking at you in the eyes, Netanyahu. If you come back without an agreement, an indescribable hell is waiting for you here. The demonstrations and the strikes in recent weeks will look like child’s play.”

Hamas official says terror group has not been presented with Trump’s Gaza plan

CAIRO, Egypt — Hamas has not received US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire-hostage release plan, the Palestinian terror group says.

“Hamas has not been presented with any plan,” a Hamas official who asked not to be named tells Reuters.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Thousands of Hezbollah supporters gather at Nasrallah’s tomb to mark year since assassination

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Thousands of Hezbollah supporters gather at the tomb of the terror group’s former chief, Hassan Nasrallah, to mark the first anniversary of Israel’s assassination of their longtime leader.

The Iran-backed terror group, weakened by a deadly war with Israel last year, has organized a series of commemorative events to mark Nasrallah’s death.

Waving the group’s yellow banner as well as Lebanese, Palestinian and Iranian flags, Hezbollah supporters gather at the leader’s mausoleum, near Beirut airport, while partisan and religious songs blared from loudspeakers, an AFP journalist reports.

The charismatic leader, a major figure in the wider region, was killed in a massive Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27, 2024.

Without Nasrallah and with much of its military capability destroyed by Israel, Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanese politics has weakened.

The government has gone as far as to order the army to disarm the terror group, once thought better-equipped than the state.

Thousands in attendance for the one-year martyrdom anniversary held for Hezbollah leaders Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine. pic.twitter.com/lS02YCkEU7

— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) September 27, 2025

For many of the supporters gathered for the anniversary, that should not be allowed to happen.

Wisam Hodroj, a 51-year-old working in Iraq, arrived early at the commemorations, where the new leader Naim Qassem was due to speak in the presence of Iranian security chief Ali Larijani.

He says: “What has happened since the last war has only increased our enthusiasm and strength. Today, we have a new cause — we will not compromise on our weapons, and we will not hand them over.”

Nearby, Ali Jaafar, a 21-year-old university student, tells AFP: “Handing over the weapons is the dream of the enemies, the internal and external ones — but it will remain just a dream.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Ukraine received Patriot anti-aircraft system from Israel, Zelensky says

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a press conference in Kyiv on September 27, 2025. (Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine received a US-made Patriot air defense system from Israel a month ago, President Volodymyr Zelensky says.

“The Israeli (Patriot) system is operating in Ukraine. It has been operating for a month. We will receive two Patriot systems in the fall,” Zelensky tells journalists during a briefing.

Khamenei mocks Netanyahu UN walkout: ‘Most despised and isolated regime in the world’

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mocks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after hundreds of diplomats from dozens of countries staged a walkout of his speech to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday.

“Today, the evil Zionist regime is the most despised and isolated regime in the world,” he says in a post on X, together with a photo of Netanyahu speaking to a largely empty General Assembly.

Today, the evil Zionist regime is the most despised and isolated regime in the world. pic.twitter.com/pWJBQSQBho

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) September 27, 2025

British medical tribunal allows doctor to continue working despite antisemitic, anti-Israel posts

The British Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service is allowing a doctor to continue practicing despite social media posts complaining about “Jewish supremacy” in the United Kingdom and calling for Jews to be expelled from Israel, British media reported yesteday.

In social media posts, Dr. Rahmeh Aladwan wrote, “the UK is occupied and controlled by Jewish supremacy – in fact most Christian majority countries are” and “Rabbis need to reject the Amalek commandment and the notion that non-jews are lesser than goyim.”

She has labeled the Royal Free Hospital in London, known for having large numbers of Jewish patients, a “Jewish Supremacy Cesspit,” and wrote on X: “not trying to be unreasonable, but every f***ing settler will leave Palestine. It’s not for liberal Jewish supremacists (Zionists) or their enablers to decide that Palestinians must live with their land thieves, murderers and rapists. Algeria did it. So will Palestine.”

She is also a member of the terror-proscribed Palestine Action group.

The decision to allow her to continue working is slammed by UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

“The racist language of ‘Jewish supremacy’ reflects the values of Nazis, not the NHS. I fail to see how medics using such language with impunity doesn’t undermine confidence in the medical profession. I have no confidence in the our regulation system,” Streeting writes on X.

The racist language of ‘Jewish supremacy’ reflects the values of Nazis, not the NHS.

I fail to see how medics using such language with impunity doesn’t undermine confidence in the medical profession. I have no confidence in the our regulation system.https://t.co/RlkbHikjT0

— Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) September 26, 2025

Syrian judge issues arrest warrant for Assad over November 2011 incidents in Daraa

Then-president Bashar al-Assad, center, waves to his supporters at a polling station during presidential elections in the town of Douma, near the Syrian capital of Damascus, May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

A Syrian judge issues an arrest warrant in absentia against former ruler Bashar al-Assad over incidents that occurred in November 2011 in the city of Daraa.

Investigating Judge Tawfiq al-Ali says the warrants include premeditated murder, torture leading to death, and deprivation of liberty, according to the SANA state-owned news agency.

The judge is probing a lawsuit by families of victims of incidents that took place on November 23, 2011, in Daraa, amid the country’s brutal civil war.

Assad fled to Moscow in December when rebel forces overthrew his regime.

Year after assassination, Hezbollah-linked outlet publishes what it claims to be last image of Nasrallah

Marking a year since his assassination by Israel, the Hezbollah-linked al-Mayadeen outlet airs what it says is the last image of the Lebanese terror group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Nasrallah is seen at Hezbollah’s “command operations room,” days before he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, al-Mayadeen says.

At that point, Israel had begun a major offensive against Hezbollah, beginning with the so-called pager attack, and continuing with strikes that took out many of the group’s top commanders and key infrastructure.

The offensive culminated with the assassination of Nasrallah while he was at Hezbollah’s main underground command center in Beirut on September 27, 2024. The Israeli Air Force dropped dozens of bunker-busting bombs on the site, leveling several buildings in the process. Days later, the IDF sent ground troops into southern Lebanon.

#خاص_الميادين | الميادين تنشر آخر صورة للشهيد السيد حسن نصر الله في غرفة عمليات قيادة المقاومة قبل أيام من استشهاده.. #الميادين pic.twitter.com/GvaIKsDIqC

— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) September 27, 2025

Popular Tel Aviv shwarma restaurant damaged after part of building collapses

A police officer outside the Yashka shwarma restaurant where a balcony collapsed, on Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv, September 27, 2025. (Israel Police)

A balcony of a Dizengoff Street building collapses, causing damage to the front of the popular Yashka shwarma restaurant.

Police say officers came to the scene in Tel Aviv to assist residents of the building to evacuate and to keep passersby on the busy street from approaching.

The restaurant is closed over Shabbat, and no one was injured in the incident.

Top Iranian security official calls on region to unite against ‘Israel’s conspiracies’

Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, delivers a statement after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker in Beirut on November 15, 2024. (AFP)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A top Iranian security official calls on regional countries to put their difference aside and cooperate closely as they face what he called “Israel’s conspiracies.”

Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, speaks in Beirut, where he arrived earlier today to attend the anniversary of Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

Iran has been the main backer of Hezbollah over the past four decades, supplying it with weapons and money that have turned it into one of the most powerful terror groups in the region. But Hezbollah suffered heavy losses in a 14-month war with Israel, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, with many of its political and military commanders killed in Israeli strikes.

“Today, amid Israel’s conspiracies, regional states should closely cooperate, and even if there were disagreements between them, they should put these disagreements aside,” Larjani says after a nearly one-hour meeting with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Larijani praises the call by Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem for Saudi Arabia to open a new page after years of tense relations, calling it “a step in the right direction.” Referring to Israel, Larijani says Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah both “have a common enemy.”

Asked about reports that Israel might launch new strikes against Iran, Larijani says, “We are ready to face all scenarios, but I don’t think that the Israelis will behave in this stupid way.”

“If they do that, they will receive strong retaliation,” Larijani says, without elaborating.

IDF: Over 750,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City to Strip’s south amid offensive

Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza, by vehicle and on foot, carrying their belongings along the coastal road near Wadi Gaza, September 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

More than 750,000 Palestinians have so far evacuated Gaza City to the Strip’s south, according to the IDF, as the military intensifies its offensive against Hamas there.

Around one million Palestinians were estimated to be residing in Gaza City before the IDF launched the major offensive. Civilians were ordered to evacuate to an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.

The rate of Palestinians leaving the area has risen in the past week, as the IDF advances deeper into Gaza City.

“Gaza City is emptying because its residents realize that the military operation is escalating and that moving south is for their safety, says Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman.

“We call on you to move to the humanitarian area in al-Mawasi as soon as possible and to join more than 750,000 of the city’s residents who left in recent days and weeks for their safety,” he adds.

IDF hits 120 terror targets across Strip as troops continue push into Gaza City

IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip, in an image published on September 27, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli Air Force struck some 120 targets in the Gaza Strip in the past day, including buildings used by terror groups, terror operatives and other infrastructure, the military says, as troops continue to advance in Gaza City.

In Gaza City, the IDF says the 98th Division killed several gunmen and located many weapons, including RPGs and rockets. The division also directed drone strikes on a Hamas surveillance post and a staging point for Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives, according to the IDF.

The 162nd and 36th divisions are also operating in Gaza City, and in the past day, killed additional terror operatives and destroyed Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels.

Israelis report receiving calls with recorded messages trying to recruit Iranian agents

Illustrative: A cybersecurity expert talks about Iran hacking techniques, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

The National Cyber Directorate says it is investigating multiple reports from Israelis who have received calls with recorded Hebrew messages trying to recruit, threaten and intimidate them.

According to Ynet, one of the recordings claims to be Iranian intelligence, looking to recruit agents.

“Iranian intelligence is looking for official agents — competitive salary, comprehensive security. Find us on Telegram and the internet,” one of the recordings says, as quoted by Ynet.

The directorate warns people not to answer calls from numbers 03-6817 and 03-3067, and if you do so, disconnect immediately.

“The National Cyber Directorate emphasizes this is solely an intimidation attempt that does not damage phones,” a statement by the directorate says.

Unidentified drones seen overnight at Denmark’s largest military base

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Unidentified drones were observed during the night over Denmark’s biggest military base, police say, the latest in a slew of sightings that Danish officials have called a “hybrid attack.”

The mystery drone observations have prompted the closure of several airports across the Scandinavian country since Monday, when the first drones appeared.

“I can confirm that we had an incident around 8:15 p.m. (1815 GMT Friday) that lasted for some hours. One to two drones were observed outside and over the airbase,” duty officer Simon Skelsjaer tells AFP, referring to the Karup military base.

He says police could not comment on where the drones came from, adding: “We didn’t take them down.”

Police were cooperating with the military in their investigation, he says.

The Karup base shares its runways with the Midtjylland civilian airport, which was briefly closed, though no flights were affected as no commercial flights were scheduled at that hour, Skelsjaer says.

Pezeshkian says US demanded Iran hand over all enriched uranium for sanctions relief

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian takes questions from the media at a press briefing in New York, September 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Washington had demanded that Tehran hand over all its enriched uranium in return for a three-month reprieve from sanctions, rejecting this as “unacceptable.”

The United States “wants us to hand over all our enriched uranium to them, and in return they would give us three months” exemption from sanctions, Pezeshkian tells reporters in New York before leaving for Tehran. “This is by no means acceptable.”

IDF said to demolish home of Palestinian terrorist who carried out deadly Jerusalem shooting

Police and rescue personnel at the scene of a terror attack at Ramot Junction in Jerusalem, September 8, 2025 (Oren Ben Hakoon/FLASH90)

Israeli forces reportedly demolish the house of one of two Palestinians who carried out a shooting terror attack in Jerusalem earlier this month that killed six people.

The two-story house of Muthanna Amro was blown up at dawn in the town of Al-Qubaybah in the West Bank, town mayor Nafiz Hamouda tells AFP.

The IDF, when contacted, says it is looking into the report.

Hamouda says the military had notified residents 10 days earlier of its intention to demolish the property.

“Last night they came, and at dawn today the house was blown up,” he says.

The blast also caused significant damage to four or five neighboring houses, Hamouda says.

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks. Israeli officials have said the policy is intended to dissuade Palestinians from planning terror attacks, as doing so will harm their extended families’ livelihood. Critics have called it collective punishment.

Six people were murdered and 12 were wounded, six of them seriously, when a pair of Palestinian terrorists opened fire on vehicles and pedestrians in Jerusalem’s Ramot Junction on September 6. A soldier and a number of civilians who were present at the scene fired at the terrorists and killed them.

لحظة تفجير جيش الاحتلال منزل الشهيد مثنى عمرو احد منفذي عملية القدس في بلدة لقبيبة قضاء القدس المحتلة pic.twitter.com/vinwNR5qhJ

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 27, 2025

At least 32 killed in overnight strikes, Gazan health authorities say

Smoke rises following an Israeli military strike in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli strikes killed at least 32 people across Gaza overnight, Gazan health officials say, as international pressure grows for a ceasefire-hostage deal.

Strikes in central and northern Gaza killed people in their homes in the early hours of the morning, including nine from the same family in a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to health staff at the Al-Awda hospital where the bodies were brought.

The strikes demolished a house in Gaza City’s Tufah neighborhood, killing at least 11 people, more than half of them women and children, according to the Al-Ahly Hospital where the bodies were brought. Four other people were killed when an airstrike hit their homes in the Shati refugee camp, according to Shifa hospital.

Gazan authorities, tied to Hamas, do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

International Paralympic Committee lifts partial suspensions of Russia, Belarus

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin stands with a glass among Russian Paralympians, medallists from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games following a state awards ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on December 16, 2024. (Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)

The International Paralympic Committee decides to lift a partial suspension of Russia and Belarus imposed since Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

This decision, taken at the IPC’s general assembly meeting in Seoul, opens the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics next year.

However, the decision on which nations compete in the six sports on the winter program is governed by the international sports federations that have so far maintained a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

The Russian Paralympic Committee welcomes the move, calling it “a fair decision” and “an example of how athletes’ rights should be protected without discrimination on national or political grounds.”

To be eligible, each athlete must have an active license for the 2025-2026 season from their international federations for para Alpine skiing, para cross-country skiing, para snowboarding, para biathlon, para ice hockey and wheelchair curling.

The partial suspension was adopted by the IPC General Assembly in 2023.

However some Russian and Belarusian athletes were permitted to compete at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris under a neutral flag and strict neutrality conditions.

The IPC had excluded the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The IPC’s latest decision comes eight days after the International Olympic Committee authorized the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, providing they compete under a neutral flag and meet neutrality conditions.

After Netanyahu, UAE FM meeting, top Emirati official says West Bank annexation ‘file closed’

The diplomatic advisor to the United Arab Emirates president, Anwar Gargash, arrives to attend the opening ceremony of the summit on peace in Ukraine, at the luxury Burgenstock resort, near Lucerne, Switzlernand, June 15, 2024. (Denis Balibouse/Pool/AFP)

In the wake of a meeting between UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a top Emirati official says that Israel will not be annexing the West Bank.

Bin Zayed in the meeting conveyed “the UAE’s decisive position closing the file on Israeli annexation of Palestinian lands,” writes Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, on X. “The meeting represents a bold step in support of international efforts to end the war in Gaza and reach a permanent ceasefire that ends the humanitarian tragedy and bolsters the path to peace,” he adds.

Bin Zayed and Netanyahu met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

US President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that Israeli annexation of the West Bank is “not going to happen.”

Earlier this month, a top United Arab Emirates official warned Israel that annexing the West Bank would cross a “red line” that would “end the vision of regional integration.

Iran recalls UK, Germany, France envoys for consultations as snapback sanctions set to take force

In this Aug. 21, 2010 file photo, an Iranian security officer directs media at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, with the reactor building seen in the background, just outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Iran has recalled its ambassadors to Germany, France and the United Kingdom for consultation over the dispute mechanism to reinstate UN sanctions over its nuclear program, the country’s Mehr state news agency reports.

The move comes after a Russian and Chinese push yesterday to delay the revival of the international sanctions on Iran failed at the 15-member UN Security Council after only four countries supported their draft resolution, opening the door for the reimposition of sanctions.

The UN sanctions, notably on Iran’s banking and oil sectors, are set to take effect automatically at the end of today.

European powers triggered the process to reimpose economic sanctions after demanding Iran reverse a series of steps it took after Israel and the United States bombed its nuclear sites in June.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, did confirm yesterday that inspections of Iranian nuclear sites had resumed this week after a hiatus following Washington and Israel’s strikes. It did not disclose, however, whether inspectors visited sites damaged in the US and Israeli attacks, amid questions over the status of Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched nearly to weapons-grade levels.

Report: As Witkoff negotiated ceasefire deal with Qatari mediation, his son pitched investment billions from Doha

Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy for the Middle East, accompanied by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaks with reporters at the White House, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)

The son of top Trump envoy Steve Witkoff pitched for billions from Middle East governments involved in ceasefire talks at the same time his father was negotiating for a hostage deal, The New York Times reports.

According to the report, Alex Witkoff solicited Qatar for a planned investment fund that would focus on commercial real estate projects in the US, a spokesperson for Doha’s sovereign wealth fund tells the newspaper.

Individuals familiar with the proposals, but not authorized to speak on the matter, tell the outlet that Alex Witkoff later told potential investors that he had secured pledges worth billions of dollars from government-affiliated funds in Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.

The soliciting of funds came as Steve Witkoff was working to try to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, with Doha’s mediation.

The Times says that the fund could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue for the Witkoff Group. The report says Steve Witkoff remains a partial owner of the real estate company after selling some of his stake earlier this year.

Alex Witkoff addresses the United Hatzalah Gala in New York Jun 12, 2025. (Screen capture/YouTube)

The report also says Alex Witkoff was still discussing the fund as recently as a month ago, but that shortly after the newspaper began to ask questions, a Witkoff Group spokesperson said the “preliminary” plans for the fund were “not moving forward.”

When asked for comment by the Times, a spokesperson for the White House says it is “another bogus smear from the failing New York Times against Steve Witkoff,” without making reference to any alleged inaccuracies in the questions asked, the newspaper says.

Responding to the NYT report, a Witkoff Group spokesperson says, “Many of the reported statements in this article are patently false and the New York Times intentionally chose not to include our full statement, which is not a surprise given the ‘journalist’ Debra Kamin who wrote it failed to disclose her clear conflicts of interest including her radical left-wing history of anti-Trump posts and donating to democrats like Elizabeth Warren For President.”

“We never went beyond preliminary discussions regarding forming this fund, never said to possible investors that funds were ‘locked down’ from these companies, and never even spoke to some of the purported possible investors mentioned,” the Witkoff Group spokesperson adds.

“While Witkoff Group routinely explores real estate opportunities, we chose not to proceed here, strictly as a matter of economics. We concluded that falling rates from the Fed in an increasingly overcrowded private credit market rendered profitability challenging. The idea that we scrapped this plan because of a media inquiry is genuinely laughable.”

“Our founder Steve Witkoff has had no involvement in our company since 2024, and so despite the dishonest innuendo, the suggestion that any sort of “conflict of interest” exists is categorically false. The Witkoff Group has been active in both real estate equity and credit (including funds) since the 1990s and we will not be bullied by a leftwing smear campaign from the media to try to force us to stop doing the work that we’ve done for 30 years – because our founder – who no longer has anything to do with our company – happens to now work for the current administration,” the statement concludes.

Qatar also issued its own statement denying the claims detailed in the report, which it described as “entirely false and so lacking in credibility that they can only be described as absurd.”

Statement from the International Media Office of the State of Qatar in response to false accusations in The New York Times pic.twitter.com/Z7TPAJ2QCt

— Qatar's International Media Office (@IMO_Qatar) September 27, 2025

Man wearing Star of David necklace attacked on German tram in apparent antisemitic assault

A man wearing a Star of David necklace was attacked in Germany in an apparent antisemitic attack, German media reports.

The Bild tabloid reports the man was attacked yesterday while traveling on a tram in Erfurt in the east of the country.

“According to current information, the perpetrator recognized a chain with a Star of David on it and subsequently attempted to pull the man off the train,” a police spokesperson tells the outlet. “He kicked him several times.”

“We classify the attack as a politically motivated crime,” police say.

FBI fires agents seen kneeling in photo during 2020 George Floyd protests

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officers take a knee with demonstrators, as they march on Pennsylvania Avenue, June 4, 2020, in Washington, during a protest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The FBI has fired agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington that followed the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, three people familiar with the matter say.

The bureau last spring had reassigned the agents but has since fired them, say the people, who insist on anonymity to discuss personnel matters with The Associated Press.

The number of FBI employees terminated was not immediately clear, but two people say it was roughly 20.

The photographs at issue showed a group of agents in a taking a knee during one of the demonstrations following the May 2020 killing of Floyd, a death that led to a national reckoning over policing and racial injustice and sparked widespread anger after millions of people saw video of the arrest. The kneeling had angered some in the FBI but was also understood as a possible de-escalation tactic during a period of protests.

The FBI Agents Association confirms in a statement that more than a dozen agents had been fired, including military veterans with additional statutory protections, and condemn the move as unlawful. It calls on Congress to investigate and says the firings were another indication of FBI Director Kash Patel’s disregard for the legal rights of bureau employees.

“As Director Patel has repeatedly stated, nobody is above the law,” the agents association says. “But rather than providing these agents with fair treatment and due process, Patel chose to again violate the law by ignoring these agents’ constitutional and legal rights instead of following the requisite process.”

An FBI spokesman declines to comment.

US House Democrats release Epstein schedules showing plans to meet Musk, Thiel, Bannon

This photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, March 28, 2017. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP)

US Congressional Democrats release daily schedules belonging to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 2014 to 2019, which show Epstein had plans to meet with Republican donors Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and conservative commentator Steve Bannon.

The documents, which Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say came from Epstein’s estate in response to a congressional subpoena, also showed Britain’s Prince Andrew flew on Epstein’s private jet in 2000.

There were no accusations of any wrongdoing by Musk, Thiel, Bannon or Andrew in the documents released. The daily calendars do not indicate whether Epstein’s meetings with Musk, Thiel and Bannon in fact took place.

In an X post referencing a news story about the documents’ release, Musk wrote: “This is false.”

A spokesperson for Thiel and lawyers who have represented Bannon and Andrew did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

US President Donald Trump has been facing criticism in recent months from his conservative base and congressional Democrats over his administration’s handling of the Epstein case.

The Justice Department in early July said it would not make public files from its sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, reneging on earlier promises from Trump and his allies to do so.

The Democrats say the documents showed Epstein was friends with “some of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the world,” and called on the Justice Department to release all the documents from its probe.

“Oversight Democrats will not stop until we identify everyone complicit in Epstein’s heinous crimes,” Sara Guerrero, a spokesperson for the committee, says in a press release accompanying the documents.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in congressional testimony earlier this month that there was no credible information that Epstein trafficked women and underage girls to anyone but himself.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, to which he had pleaded not guilty.

Colombian president’s US visa revoked after he urged American soldiers to disobey orders during anti-Israel rally

Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 23, 2025, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

The United States will revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s visa because he “urged US soldiers to disobey orders and incite violence” in New York on Friday, the US State Department says.

“We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions,” the State Department says on X.

Petro’s remarks came as he spoke at an anti-Israel rally held outside UN headquarters as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly, where the Colombian leader called for the formation of a global military force to “liberate Palestine.”

At another event in New York Friday, Petro said Colombia would enlist volunteers to fight in Gaza and was willing to go himself.

Ante las personas que participaron en la manifestación en apoyo a Palestina, el Presidente @petrogustavo reafirmó su compromiso de presentar una resolución ante la ONU para conformar un ejército de salvación del mundo que libere a Palestina y lograr que dos terceras partes de las… pic.twitter.com/Vf2X2lSNJv

— MinCultura Colombia (@mincultura) September 27, 2025

Jennifer Lawrence accuses Israel of ‘genocide’ in Gaza: ‘I’m terrified. It’s mortifying’

Jennifer Lawrence arrives to receive the Donostia Award at the 73rd San Sebastian Film Festival in San Sebastian, northern Spain, September 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Jennifer Lawrence has accused Israel of “genocide” in its war against Hamas in Gaza, joining other popular film stars to level that charge.

Asked about the Gaza war and other hot-button political issues during a press conference about her new movie “Die,” Lawrence said, “I’m terrified. It’s mortifying. What’s happening is no less than a genocide and it’s terrible.”

“What makes me so sad is the disrespect in the discourse of American politics right now and how that is going to be normalized to the kids right now,” she continued, according to the Guardian. “It’s going to be normal to them that politicians lie.”

Lawrence also calls to “stay focused on who is responsible,” in apparent reference to a recent pledge signed by members of the film industry to boycott their Israeli counterparts.

New Zealand to hold off on Palestine recognition, says move not ‘prudent’ at moment

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 26, 2025, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peter says in New York that New Zealand will not be recognizing the state of Palestine at this time.

“With a war raging, Hamas remaining the de facto government of Gaza, and no clarity on next steps, too many questions remain about the future state of Palestine for it to be prudent for New Zealand to announce recognition at this time,” Peters says in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

UAE says FM stressed need to end Gaza war during meeting with Netanyahu

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed stressed the urgent need for ending the Gaza war during his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, UAE state news agency reports.

Earlier in September, the UAE warned Israel that annexation in the West Bank would constitute a “red line” for Abu Dhabi that would severely undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israeli relations.

Trump vows ‘intense’ talks to continue until deal reached to free hostages, end Gaza war

US President Donald Trump walks to the Oval Office of the White House upon return from attending the Ryder Cup golfing tournament, in Washington on September 26, 2025. (Allison Robbert/AFP)

After declaring a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal was “very close,” US President Donald Trump writes on his Truth Social app that he’s “pleased to report that we are having very inspired and productive discussions with the Middle Eastern Community concerning Gaza.”

“Intense negotiations have been going on for four days, and will continue for as long as necessary in order to get a Successfully Completed Agreement. All of the Countries within the Region are involved, Hamas is very much aware of these discussions, and Israel has been informed at all levels, including Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu,” he says, referring to the premier by his nickname.

Trump adds: “There is more Goodwill and Enthusiasm for getting a Deal done, after so many decades, than I have ever seen before. Everyone is excited to put this period of Death and Darkness behind them. It is an Honor to be a part of this Negotiation. We must get the Hostages back, and get a PERMANENT AND LONGLASTING PEACE!”

Emirati FM to warn Netanyahu that annexation could endanger Abraham Accords — report

Then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu meets with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in Tel Aviv on September 16, 2022. (Benjamin Netanyahu/X)

UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will warn Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Abraham Accords could be harmed if Israel annexes any parts of the West Bank, Channel 12 news reports ahead of their expected meeting in New York on Friday evening.

An Emirati source tells the network that bin Zayed will tell Netanyahu that Abu Dhabi sees the Abraham Accords “as a cornerstone for a better future in the region… and at the same time will stress the United Arab Emirates’ deep concern about recent developments, particularly actions that endanger the chances of the two-state solution.”

“He will warn again danger steps, such as the callous attack on Qatar and annexation in the West Bank, which could endanger this historic accomplishment,” the source adds.

The source also says the UAE’s top diplomat is expected to update the premier on US President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the Gaza war and freeing the hostages.

IAEA says it resumed nuclear inspections in Iran, doesn’t disclose which sites were visited

Illustrative: An unidentified International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector disconnects the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production at the nuclear research center of Natanz, some 300 kilometers south of Tehran, Iran, on January 20, 2014. (KAZEM GHANE/IRNA/AFP)

UN nuclear watchdog IAEA says it has resumed inspections in Iran this week following a hiatus in the wake of US and Israeli attacks on Tehran’s atomic facilities.

“Inspections are… confidential and we cannot confirm their location but we can confirm that inspections have taken place this week,” it says in a statement.

Pezeshkian says Iran won’t leave non-proliferation pact as UN sanctions set to return

Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran, signs a note in a United Nations book during the General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, September 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that his country will not leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty even if UN sanctions come back into force as expected this weekend.

“We do not intend to leave the NPT,” Pezeshkian tells reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, warning that foreign powers were seeking “a superficial pretext to set the region ablaze.”

Pezeshkian also says that US President Donald Trump’s administration did not show sincerity in nuclear talks, including negotiations before an Israeli strike.

“The wall of mistrust between us and the Americans is quite high. We came to understandings a number of times but they were never taken seriously by the Americans,” he adds.

Russia meanwhile declares there will be “no snapback” of UN sanctions on Iran even after the failure by Moscow and Beijing at the Security Council to stave off the measures.

“There has been no snapback and there will be no snapback — any moves to resuscitate anti-Iranian Security Council resolutions, which were in effect prior to 2015, are null and void,” Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky says.