Sept. 7: Responding to Trump, Hamas says it’s ‘ready to immediately sit at the negotiating table’

Responding to Trump, Hamas says it’s ‘ready to immediately sit at the negotiating table’

Hamas terrorists stand in formation ahead of a ceremony to hand over Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025. (AP Photo/ Abdel Kareem Hana, File)

After US President Donald Trump issued his “last warning” to Hamas to accept his latest ceasefire/hostage release offer, the terror group says in a carefully worded statement that it “is ready to immediately sit at the negotiating table to discuss the release of all prisoners in exchange for a clear declaration to end the war, a total withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and creation of a committee of independent Palestinians to run the Gaza Strip.”

“Hamas welcomes any move that helps the efforts to stop the aggression against our people,” the statement says, affirming that it received “some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire.”

Hamas says it is in “constant contact with the mediators to turn these ideas into a comprehensive agreement that meets our demands.”

Herzog: Israel must establish a state commission of inquiry into Oct 7

Speaking before families of hostages and victims of October 7 and the Gaza war, President Isaac Herzog says Israel “must establish a state commission of inquiry” into the events, which the government has been resisting for nearly two years.

“This is the right course of action, and it must be done as soon as possible,” he tells the conference of the October Council, a lobby group representing family members of hostages and those killed on October 7 as well as survivors of the attack.

“We must study the failure and the disaster in depth, this entire catastrophe, in order to understand, learn, and draw lessons. We must establish a state commission of inquiry,” he says.

הנשיא הרצוג בכנס החירום של "מועצת אוקטובר" הדורשת להקים ועדת חקירה ממלכתית – ״עלינו להקים ועדת חקירה ממלכתית. זו הדרך הנכונה וכך יש לעשות בהקדם״ pic.twitter.com/NbT7poLRxk

— דפנה ליאל (@DaphnaLiel) September 7, 2025

“The role of such a commission, composed of a diverse and broad membership that includes various disciplines, as is fitting for examining a historical disaster of this magnitude, is not political,” he says. (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed a court-appointed state commission would be a biased and political one.)

“Its role, first and foremost, is to look toward the future: to get to the root of the failures, the deficiencies that led us to October 7, and to correct them so that they never happen again,” he argues. “Avoiding the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, in my view, is a serious mistake.”

Cop shot and seriously injured during police chase in north

A police officer has been shot and seriously injured during a police chase in northern Israel.

Cops were chasing suspects on an all-terrain vehicle near Zalafa, southeast of Haifa, when the suspects opened fire at them.

Sa’ar to leave for two-day visit to Hungary and Croatia

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will take off tomorrow for a two-day visit to Hungary and Croatia, his office says.

In Hungary, Sa’ar will meet with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. The next day, he will head to Croatia to meet Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman, and the Speaker of the Parliament Gordan Jandroković.

Sa’ar will also meet Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović and Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu.

Hungary, Croatia, and Romania are all in the European Union, where some member states are pushing for EU sanctions on Israel.

All four countries are in NATO.

Smotrich heads delegation to India for economic cooperation deals

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on August 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is leading an economic delegation to India to seal cooperation agreements that are expected to deepen economic relations and boost mutual investments between the two countries.

Smotrich is joined by the ministry’s chief economist, Shmuel Abramzon, and other senior officials, including Accountant General Yali Rothenberg and Director-General Ilan Rom, as well as Israel Securities Authority Chairman Seffy Singer.

During the three-day visit to India starting Monday, Smotrich is expected to meet with his counterpart and other senior government officials, alongside business representatives and representatives of the Jewish community in the country.

Kan: Minister Dermer set to meet Syria’s foreign minister this week

Kan news report that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is set to meet Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani this week, as the two sides continue to conduct US mediated talks on de-escalating the conflict in southern Syria.

No further details are offered.

Trump issues ‘last warning’ to Hamas to accept hostage deal

US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at LaGuardia International Airport in Queens, New York, on September 7, 2025 (Mandel NGAN / AFP)

US President Donald Trump gives what he declares is his “last warning” to Hamas to accept his terms for ending the war.

The message is sent in a Truth Social post that doesn’t specify what those terms are, though some of the alleged details were reported earlier today. But Trump says Israel has accepted them.

“Everyone wants the hostages HOME. Everyone wants this war to end!” Trump writes

“It is time for Hamas to accept [my terms] as well,” he writes.

“I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning. There will not be another one,” Trump asserts.

Trump has issued a nearly identical ultimatum before, though, threatening Hamas with “HELL TO PAY” in a March post that he also claimed was his “last warning.”

Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Hamas should “IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 Hostages.”

There are currently 48 hostages in Gaza — roughly 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.

Shares at Tel Aviv Stock Exchange hit new record highs today

Shares listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange jumped and hit fresh record highs on Sunday, even as a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels evaded Israeli air defenses and smashed into the Ramon Airport terminal in southern Israel.

“Investors view the Ramon Airport [strike] as a one-time incident that will not affect the market in the coming days,” Mizrahi Tefahot Bank chief markets economist Ronen Menachem tells The Times of Israel. “Israeli shares have broken through a few records this year, but the stock market is still very volatile, reacting to geopolitical news and economic projections.

“There is also some positive sentiment ahead of inflation numbers and expectations of interest rates coming down in the coming months,” adds Menachem.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA-125 index gained 1.5% at the end of the trading day. Shares of Israel’s flag carrier El AL added 3.4% and smaller rival Israir was up 1.9%. The benchmark index has increased more than 30% so far this year.

The TA-35 index of blue-chip companies rose 1.2%. The TA-90 index, which tracks the shares with the highest capitalization not included in the TA-35 index, leaped 2.3%, and the TA-Cleantech index soared 2.6%

Israel ‘seriously considering’ latest US truce offer, but Hamas seen as unlikely to accept

US President Donald Trump, right, listens as White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, left, speaks on May 28, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Israel is “very seriously considering” US President Donald Trump’s new hostage release-ceasefire proposal, according to a source close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“It seems that Hamas will continue its refusal,” says the source.

The Trump proposal envisions the release of all hostages on the first day of a truce and, if subsequent talks bear fruit, the end of the war in Gaza, Channel 12 reports.

Hamas has yet to respond. The terror group is seen as unlikely to accept such an offer.

According to the proposal, Hamas would release all 48 living and dead hostages on day one, while Israel would release hundreds of terrorists with blood on their hands, and thousands of other prisoners.

In addition, the IDF would call off the impending conquest of Gaza City and would remain outside the city, according to the report.

The two sides would engage in talks over the end of the war under the personal oversight of Trump, and the ceasefire would continue as long as negotiations last.

According to Channel 12, Trump and US special envoy Steve Witkoff came up with the idea during a round of golf a week ago. Witkoff passed the offer through unofficial Trump adviser Bishara Bahbah and Israeli activist Gershon Baskin.

Witkoff met with Qatari officials in Paris last week to discuss the idea. There have been multiple reports in recent days that the White House was pushing a new vision for a comprehensive deal, but more precise details only emerged today.

Channel 12 notes that the terror group is wary of offers that don’t go through Egypt and Qatar, and is reluctant to take Trump at his word after he didn’t give them anything in exchange for the release of US-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander, though it had been understood he would pressure Israel to end the war.

The proposal comes as Israel continues its preparations for the invasion of Gaza City.

Scottish antisemitism watchdog warns government language on Israel endangers Jews

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney delivers a speech calling on the Scottish Parliament to recognise the State of Palestine, at the Scottish Government Buildings in Edinburgh, Scotland on September 3, 2025. (ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP)

The group Scotland Against Antisemitism says it has delivered an open letter to First Minister John Swinney, warning that recent statements on Israel by the Scottish government could exacerbate antisemitism and increase the risk to the Jewish community.

It says the letter has so far received some 3,000 signatures including from lawyers, politicians, educators, clergy, students and citizens in Scotland and elsewhere.

The group notes that there are some 5,000 Scottish Jews, less than 0.1% of the population, but that hate crimes targeting the community accounted for 17% of all religiously motivated crimes last year.

It says government comments on Israel risks legitimizing hostility and emboldening extremists

It calls on the government to retract provocative statements, consult with the Jewish community and implement concrete steps to safeguard their security.

Katz okays most senior IDF appointments after clash with chief of staff — but rejects two

Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks to press at the site of a missile impact in Holon on June 19, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz has approved a list of senior appointments in the military that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced four weeks ago, a move that led to a public clash between the two.

The military says Katz approved the list, except for two names: Brig. Gen. Eliad Moati, who was set to command the 210th Division, and Brig. Gen. Manor Yanai, who was appointed as chief of staff at the Ground Forces.

Moati is a former commander of the Border Defense Corps, responsible for the IDF’s surveillance soldiers, many of whom were killed and abducted during the October 7, 2023, onslaught. He had entered the role only a week before the massacre. Since then, Moati was appointed to head the Tzeelim training base, a move Katz approved.

Yanai is chief of staff at the Southern Command, serving in the role since before the October 7 onslaught.

Katz has previously said he would not approve the appointments of officers potentially involved in the October 7 failures until the IDF completes its internal investigations.

Watch the full lunar eclipse over Israel, now in progress

A reminder that Israel is currently experiencing a full lunar eclipse. It is expected to reach totality in the next hour or so, displaying as a “blood moon.”

The eclipse can be viewed live on a YouTube by the Israel Astronomical Association, though of course, looking out the window with your own eyes is the best method.

IDF says drone that hit southern airport was erroneously not classified as a threat

An Israeli Air Force investigation into today’s Houthi drone attack on Ramon Airport in southern Israel has found that the aircraft was detected by radar, but it was not classified as a threat by air defense troops.

As a result, no sirens sounded, no attempts were made to shoot it down, and the drone ultimately struck the airport, causing damage and lightly injuring one person.

The military says that there is “no indication of technical malfunction in the existing detection systems,” and the failure to shoot down the drone was solely a result of it not being classified as a threat, due to human error.

החלונות התנפצו: תיעוד מהנזק שנגרם בנמל התעופה רמון. pic.twitter.com/JgehLHpGEL

— מה חדש. What's new❓ (@Gloz111) September 7, 2025

Moments before the impact at Ramon Airport, three other drones from Yemen were shot down over the border with Egypt.

The IDF says the fourth drone that hit Ramon was not different from those shot down previously, and does not represent a new threat.

IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar is set to conduct a more in-depth probe into the drone attack later, the military adds.

A similar case happened in July 2024, when a Houthi drone was identified but not classified as a threat and struck a building in Tel Aviv, killing a man.

The military says that the Houthis have launched over 150 drones at Israel since the beginning of the war, 98% of which have been intercepted.

Trump says ready to move on new Russia sanctions

US President Donald Trump says he is prepared to move forward on new sanctions on Moscow, hours after Russia fired its biggest-ever aerial barrage at Ukraine.

Speaking outside the White House, he replies “yeah, I am,” when asked if he is ready to impose more sanctions against Russia, without giving further details.

Jordanian king rejects any Israeli move to annex West Bank

Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses a press conference with the German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin on July 29, 2025. (John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

King Abdullah II of Jordan reaffirmed his “absolute refusal” towards any efforts by Israel to annex the West Bank during a visit to the UAE, the royal palace says.

The message comes after several Israeli officials suggested that the country could proceed with the annexation of large tracts of the territory in response to moves by Western governments to recognize Palestinian statehood this month.

According to a palace statement, Abdullah reiterates “Jordan’s absolute refusal of any Israeli measures aimed at annexing the West Bank and forcing Palestinians to leave.”

He also rejects any plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza or to separate the two Palestinian territories.

He is joined by Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in expressing opposition to Israeli plans to expand settlements in the West Bank, held by Israel since 1967.

They also rejected “Israeli plans aimed at perpetuating the occupation of Gaza and expanding military control.”

The United Arab Emirates warned this week that annexation would be a “red line.”

Military strikes another Gaza City high-rise after evacuation warnings

The Israeli Air Force bombed a high-rise building in Gaza City a short while ago that the IDF says was used by Hamas, after issuing several warnings for civilians to leave the area ahead of a planned strike.

According to the military, Hamas “installed intelligence gathering means” at the al-Ru’ya building and “positioned observation posts to monitor the location of IDF troops in the area.”

The IDF says Hamas operatives also planted many explosive devices near the building as part of preparations for the military’s offensive in Gaza City.

Before the strike, the IDF issued two evacuation warnings.

لحظة قصف طيران الاحتلال لبناية "الرؤيا"، في حي تل الهوا، جنوب غرب مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/iYwlXZytFJ

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) September 7, 2025

Former senior police officer Yoram Halevi to head COGAT, Israel’s liaison to Palestinians

Then-Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevi speaks to the press at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on July 27, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Retired senior police officer Yoram Halevi has been appointed as the next chief of Israel’s liaison body to the Palestinians, the military and Defense Minister Israel Katz announce.

It is unprecedented for a former senior police officer to be given a top role in the IDF.

Halevi was selected to head the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) by Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

Katz’s office says the defense minister interviewed several candidates for the role, “and after consideration, it was decided to appoint Halevi to the position.”

He will replace Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, who has served in the role for the past four years.

Deputy Commissioner (ret.) Halevi previously headed the Israel Police’s Jerusalem and Southern districts, the Border Police, the Lahav 433 major crimes unit, and the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit, and served in other top roles.

In a statement, Katz says, “Halevi has extensive experience by virtue of the many roles he has filled in the past with great distinction in the Israel Police, including as commander of the Jerusalem District. He is very familiar with the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and with the Palestinian issue, and I am convinced he will carry out the role in the best possible way.”

Halevi will be awarded the rank of major general upon entering the role of head of COGAT and will join the IDF’s General Staff Forum.

Lapid: Israel is failing to respond to Gaza mediators’ offer

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on July 28, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said earlier today that Israel is failing to respond to mediators working on a hostage release deal, repeating previous claims he has made about the government ignoring efforts to advance negotiations.

Speaking at a Yesh Atid faction meeting in Tel Aviv during the Knesset’s summer recess, Lapid said senior officials from countries brokering the talks contacted him again last week.

“They said to me: ‘We don’t understand. We still haven’t received any answer. Not a positive one, not even a negative one. Israel simply isn’t responding,’” said Lapid.

He insisted a deal was within reach, noting that both the Israeli negotiating team and the military back a deal that would release the remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

“There is a hostage deal on the table. It can be done, it must be done. Hamas has told the mediators it is ready for either a partial deal or a full one. What cannot be done is to not even to try,” the opposition leader said.

Lapid criticized Netanyahu for not prioritizing the hostage deal.

“In the last month, the government has held more meetings on flights to Uman than on freeing the hostages,” he said, referring to the annual pilgrimage to Ukraine that thousands of Hasidic worshippers attend over Rosh Hashanah. The government is helping to fund the event to the tune of at least NIS 20 million ($5.9 million), drawing significant public criticism.

Some 70,000 march against antisemitism in London — organizers

Britain's March Against Antisemitism approaches Trafalgar Square, September 7, 2025 (Nathan Lilienfed/Campaign Against Antisemitism)

An estimated 70,000 people participated in London’s March Against Antisemitism today, the event’s organizer says.

The march from the BBC to Parliament Square, organized by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and backed by other Jewish communal organizations, was addressed by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and Deputy Leader of Reform UK Richard Tice, among others, CAA says. Representatives from the ruling Labour government were conspicuously absent, despite an invitation delivered weeks ago, CAA adds.

“The government’s scandalous decision not to send someone to address the Jewish community at a time of the worst antisemitism in the UK in living memory will do nothing to reassure British Jews that this government has their back or even understands the scale of the crisis,” CAA says.

The event was held a day after London police said they had arrested nearly 900 people at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group proscribed by the government as a terrorist organization.

Earlier today, CAA published a study showing that more than one in five British adults now hold entrenched antisemitic views, nearly double the level recorded four years ago.

IDF says it demolished large Hamas tunnel in Gaza City

A Hamas tunnel spanning hundreds of meters in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood was recently razed, the military says, attaching a video of the demolition.

The IDF says the tunnel was located during operations of the Nahal Brigade in the area. The tunnel featured a room that was used by Hamas’s forces in Zeitoun to coordinate attacks, according to the military.

IDF repeats Gaza City evacuation warning ahead of strike on high-rise

The IDF repeats an evacuation warning for Palestinians residing in the vicinity of a high-rise building in Gaza City ahead of an airstrike.

Yesterday, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee warned those near the al-Ru’ya building to leave before a strike is conducted.

“The IDF will strike the building soon due to the presence of Hamas terror infrastructure inside or nearby,” Adraee says in a new warning.

Civilians are instructed to leave Gaza City for the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone” in the Strip’s south.

#عاجل ‼️ إنذار عاجل ومتكرر إلى سكان مدينة غزة في البلوكات 726, 727, 784, 786 وتحديدًا في عمارة الرؤيا المحددة بالأحمر والخيم المجاورة لها والواقعة في مفرق بيروت وشارع جامعة الدول العربية

⭕️سيهاجم جيش الدفاع المبنى في الوقت القريب نظرًا لوجود بنى تحتية إرهابية لحماس داخله أو… https://t.co/ePXLvF8rRC

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) September 7, 2025

Months later, censor allows footage of Iranian missile hitting near government building

Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene of an Iranian ballistic missile impact in Haifa, June 20, 2025. The Sail Tower is seen on the right. (Flash90)

Nearly three months later, Israel’s Military Censor has permitted the publication of footage showing an Iranian ballistic missile impact near a building housing government offices in the northern city of Haifa.

In the attack on June 20 during the war between the two countries, one of Iran’s missiles hit next to Sail Tower, a 29-story skyscraper in downtown Haifa, blowing out many of the windows.

Videos of the strike were widely circulated on social media, and the censor previously permitted images from the scene of the impact, as well as the fact that a mosque adjacent to the tower was damaged.

The building has been abandoned since the attack, with the government offices moving to other locations.

The Iranian attack involved some 25 missiles, the IDF said at the time. The impact in Haifa wounded at least 23 people, three of them seriously.

More than two months later, Israel’s censor has permitted the publication of footage of the Iranian missile strike near a building in Haifa which housed government offices. pic.twitter.com/SHUmwFkzJp

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) September 7, 2025

Ramon Airport reopens after Houthi attack

The Israel Airports Authority says Ramon Airport in southern Israel has resumed full operations for both takeoffs and landings, following an explosive drone impact incident.

The airspace was shut down earlier after a drone launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis impacted at the airport.

The reopening of the airspace above Ramon Airport follows a “comprehensive situation assessment with the participation of all relevant professional and security bodies,” the Israeli Airports Authority says.

“Following the completion of all safety and security checks, compliance with international civil aviation standards, and receipt of final approval from the Air Force – Ramon Airport has now been reopened for full operations, for both departures and arrivals.”

The Israel Airports Authority has “informed the airlines of the airport’s reopening and will continue to closely oversee the resumption of operations, in order to ensure orderly, safe, and continuous functioning of the airport.”

Weekly cabinet meeting held underground for 2nd week

For the second week in a row, the weekly cabinet meeting was held today in a secure, underground location in Jerusalem, the office of one of the ministers tells The Times of Israel.

Last week’s meeting was relocated following Houthi threats, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the threats during that meeting.

Security has been greatly bolstered around senior officials following the elimination of top Houthi leaders in Yemen late last month.

Ben Gvir, Levin blast court ruling that Palestinian prisoners must be given more food

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on June 30, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounces the High Court’s ruling against his prison feeding policies, questioning whether the judges are “of Israel.”

“Our hostages in Gaza have no High Court to defend them. The murderous Nukhba terrorists and abominable rapists have, to our disgrace, the High Court protecting them,” Ben Gvir adds. He asserts the the policy of providing “the most minimal conditions under the law” for prisoners will be preserved.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin makes similar comments, saying that “while the hostages are being starved in the tunnels, a duo of judges in the High Court require that the food given to the worst terrorists be improved.”

High Court: State failing to adequately feed Palestinian security prisoners

Israeli security forces on guard at Ofer Prison, outside of Jerusalem, February 8, 2025. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice rules two to one that the state is not fulfilling its legal obligations to adequately feed Palestinian security prisoners in custody in Israeli prisons and detention centers, and that it must take steps to provide such prisoners with enough food “to enable a basic existence.”

The petitions were filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Gisha organizations in April last year against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the Israel Prison Service, whom they accused of deliberately reducing prisoner rations below the level of subsistence and essentially starving Palestinian security prisoners.

Judges Daphne Barak Erez, Ofer Grosskopf, and David Mintz rule unanimously that the Israel Prison Service is legally obligated to provide prisoners with food to ensure a “basic level of existence.” Mintz disagrees, however, with Barak-Erez and Grosskopf’s opinion that the state is not fulfilling those legal obligations.

Writing for the majority, Barak-Erez determines that the legal level of nutrition has not been maintained for Palestinian prisoners, and that steps must be taken to rectify the situation.

“It must be remembered that the painful testimonies of freed [Israeli] hostages show that a stricter food regime [for Palestinian prisoners] does not improve the suffering of our kidnapped brothers who are still in trouble and captivity, and even the opposite,” notes Barak Erez.

And Grosskopf writes that the state has not sufficiently demonstrated it is implementing its obligations for nutrition.

Mintz dissents, maintaining that the state is ensuring a basic and legally acceptable level of nutrition for the prisoners, in terms of the approved menu and the provision of food itself in the prisons.

“The High Court of Justice ordered a halt to Ben Gvir’s policy of starving security prisoners,” says Oded Feller, an attorney for ACRI, adding that “a state does not starve people,” regardless of what they have done.

“The policy, which lasted for nearly two years, turned prisons in Israel into torture camps, and according to testimonies from hostages, also led to increased abuse of them.”

Delegation of 250 US state legislators to head to Israel next week

A delegation of 250 United States state legislators will arrive in Israel next week, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, marking the largest-ever group of elected officials to visit the country in a single trip.

The bipartisan contingent — five lawmakers from each of America’s 50 states, most visiting Israel for the first time — comes as the ministry intensifies efforts to bring in foreign delegations amid mounting international criticism of the war in Gaza.

During the weeklong visit, the lawmakers are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. They will tour the country, including the Gaza border region, where they will plant trees, in a visit designed to highlight Israel’s security, economic and social realities.

The ministry stresses the delegation’s strategic importance, noting that state legislators often influence anti-Israel bills such as those supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Israel hopes the visitors will help block hostile legislation at the state level and promote initiatives combating antisemitism and strengthening US-Israel ties.

The visit was previously announced as part of a broader campaign launched last month to host some 400 delegations involving over 5,000 participants by year’s end, “to help spread the Israeli narrative in international media,” according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, a Foreign Ministry official reports that the cabinet’s plan to debate a separate proposal to establish a new public diplomacy unit in the ministry tasked with countering anti-Israel messaging has been delayed until next week.

London police say 890 arrested at yesterday’s rally for banned anti-Israel Palestine Action group

Police officers carry a protester during a protest to support Palestine Action in London, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.(AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

London police say they arrested 890 people at a demonstration yesterday in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel group banned by the British government as a terrorist organization.

The Metropolitan Police say 857 people were arrested for showing support for Palestine Action, while 33 people were arrested for other offenses, including 17 for assaulting police officers.

Police had warned ahead of the demonstration that anyone showing support for the group would be arrested.

Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes. The group accuses Britain’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Police officers seen arresting protesters during a rally supporting the banned anti-Israel Palestine Action group in London, September 6, 2025. (Ed Lawrence/AFPTV/AFP)

Man lightly injured by shrapnel when Houthi drone hit Ramon Airport, medics say

Damage caused to the passenger terminal at Ramon Airport in southern Israel following a Houthi drone impact, September 7, 2025. (Social media: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A man aged 63 was lightly injured by shrapnel after a Houthi drone struck Ramon Airport in southern Israel, Magen David Adom says.

MDA says it is treating several others suffering from acute anxiety.

The drone launched from Yemen struck the passenger terminal at the airport, causing damage.

IDF investigating failure to trigger sirens before drone impact at southern airport

Smoke rises after an explosive drone impacts at Ramon Airport in south Israel on September 7, 2025. (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

No sirens sounded for the Houthi drone that struck Ramon Airport in southern Israel, the military confirms.

The IDF says it is investigating the failure to identify the drone that was launched from Yemen.

Earlier, three other Houthi drones from Yemen were shot down by the Israeli Air Force.

Airspace closed over Ramon Airport after Houthi explosive drone impact

Smoke rises after an explosive drone impacts at Ramon Airport in south Israel on September 7, 2025. (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Israel has closed airspace over Ramon Airport in southern Israel, Israeli Airport Authority says.

The announcement comes after an explosive drone launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis impacted at the airport, lightly injuring two people.

2 lightly hurt by Houthi drone impact at terminal in south Israel’s Ramon Airport, medics say

Two people are lightly hurt by the Houthi drone impact at Ramon Airport in southern Israel, according to Magen David Adom.

One of the victims was hit by shrapnel or the blast of the impact, while the second is being treated for acute anxiety, according to the ambulance service.

The drone launched from Yemen struck the passenger terminal at the airport north of Eilat. The IDF is investigating.

Explosive drone launched from Yemen impacts at Ramon Airport in southern Israel

Smoke rises after an explosive drone impacts at Ramon Airport in south Israel on September 7, 2025 (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Security forces are responding to reports of an explosive drone impact at Ramon Airport in southern Israel, north of Eilat.

Footage from the scene shows smoke rising near the airport terminal.

The reports come after the military said it had shot down three drones from Yemen.

Security forces are responding to reports of an explosive drone impact at Ramon Airport in southern Israel, north of Eilat.

The reports come after the military said it shot down three drones from Yemen. pic.twitter.com/Y7uqLNAbDi

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 7, 2025

Some 100,000 civilians have evacuated Gaza City amid widening IDF operation, Netanyahu says

A girl rides through the broken windshield at the front of a vehicle transporting people and their belongings while evacuating southbound from Gaza City on September 2, 2025 (Eyad BABA / AFP)

Around 100,00 civilians have left Gaza City amid a widening military operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicates at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

After talking about the growing IDF operations in Gaza City, Netanyahu says “about 100,000 people have left Gaza. Hamas is trying to do everything to prevent them from leaving and to keep them there to serve as human shields.”

Netanyahu was referring to Gaza City, not the entire Gaza Strip, the Prime Minister’s Office later tells The Times of Israel.

The IDF has been trying to get civilians in Gaza City to evacuate to the south as troops move closer to the heart of the city.

The UN estimates that around 1 million Palestinians remain in Gaza City.

Hamas has been shooting women and children in the legs to try to prevent their departure, claims Netanyahu.

“We want to focus on the terrorists themselves, and allow the civilian population to get out,” says Netanyahu.

“Our effort in Gaza against the last strongholds – essentially the last important stronghold, Gaza City – is part of our effort to complete the dismantling of the Iranian axis stranglehold,” he says, echoing language he used in 2024 about the southern city of Rafah.

Israeli strike targets Gaza City mosque, apparently with prior warning; no comment from IDF

Palestinians check the rubble after an Israeli strike leveled the al-Tawheed Wal Sunna mosque, apparently after a warning from the IDF, in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City on September 7, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The Israeli Air Force bombed the al-Tawheed Wal Sunna mosque in Gaza City’s Daraj neighborhood this morning, according to Palestinian media.

Footage of the strike indicates that the IDF gave prior warning.

There is no immediate comment from the military on the strike.

لحظة استهداف مسجد التوحيد والسنة قي شارع النفق بمدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/ICgjgTNTny

— صالح الجعفراوي | Saleh Aljafarawi (@S_Aljafarawi) September 7, 2025

Netanyahu says Israel ‘paying the price’ on world stage for war in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting in Jerualem on September 7, 2025. (GPO/screenshot)

Amid persistent and growing international condemnation of Israel’s war in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is “aware of the price we are paying in the diplomatic and public relations theater.”

Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, he says the best way to deal with the challenge is to “establish new mechanisms.”

The cabinet discusses a proposal to establish a new public diplomacy body within the Foreign Ministry, but Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar disagree over whether the appointment of the organization’s director needs the prime minister’s approval, according to Walla.

Netanyahu also says that ending the war as quickly as possible with a victory will help deal with the challenge — but that he will always prioritize victory over public relations: “If I have to choose between victory over our enemies and bad propaganda against us, I choose victory over our enemies rather than the opposite. I do not want articles saying that we were defeated by our enemies but received good obituaries in the world press. I choose victory.”

Survey reveals deep financial impact of war on reservists’ spouses

Reservists of the Jerusalem Brigade operate in the northern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the IDF on May 15, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

A new Central Bureau of Statistics report highlights the widespread impact of ongoing reserve service during the ongoing war on Israeli families.

The survey, conducted for the first time in April-May, was based on responses from spouses of reservists called up between October 7, 2023, and February 2025.

According to the survey, 73% of self-employed wives of reservists and 25% of salaried spouses — most of them wives — reported harm to their employment. One in ten spouses who were salaried before October 7 are no longer working, while one in five of those who were self-employed have either closed their businesses or moved into salaried jobs.

Financial strain is also widespread and increases with longer service: 34% of families of reservists serving 100–150 days reported economic hardship, climbing to 38% among those whose partners served 250 days or more. Divorced women (58%) and single mothers (48%) with children shared with reservists are reported as being particularly affected.

The academic toll is evident in the report as well. Nearly half of reservists’ wives who are students said their grades suffered, 29% postponed courses, and 8% dropped out entirely. Among reservists themselves, dropout rates stood at 4.7%, lower than the 8.5% among other students.

The findings come as tens of thousands of reservists have been issued emergency call-up orders for Operation “Gideon’s Chariots B” in Gaza, as the IDF prepares to conquer Gaza City in the Strip’s north.

In front of thousands of young people, Pope declares ‘God’s influencer’ first millennial saint

Pope Leo XIV greets faithful as he leaves in the Popemobile after presiding a Holy Mass and canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on September 7, 2025 (Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

A teenager who died of leukemia in 2006 becomes the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation in a Vatican ceremony led by Pope Leo and attended by thousands of young worshippers from dozens of countries.

Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian boy who died aged 15, learned computer code to build websites to spread his faith. His story has drawn wide attention from Catholic youth, and he is now at the same level as Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi.

Leo, the first US pontiff, canonizes Acutis along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian man who was known for helping those in need and who died of polio in the 1920s.

In impromptu remarks to crowds in St. Peter’s Square at the opening of the event, Leo says Acutis and Frassati were examples of holiness, and of helping those in need.

“All of you, all of us together, are called to be saints,” the pontiff tells the young crowd, which had spilled out of the square down the main boulevard into the Vatican from Rome.

Acutis’ canonization had been hotly anticipated by many Catholic youths for months. It was originally set for April but was postponed after the death of Pope Francis.

However, behind the celebration lies a troubling legacy: The very miracles Acutis has promoted online are rooted in centuries-old antisemitic myths that have fueled hatred and violence against Jewish communities.

Some leading Jews and Catholics have criticized Rome for overlooking the antisemitic motifs tied to some of these miracles.

Read more: First ‘millennial saint’ is about to be canonized for publicizing miracles with troubling past

3 drones launched by Yemen’s Houthis intercepted, IDF says

Three drones launched by the Houthis in Yemen at Israel were shot down by the Israeli Air Force a short while ago, the IDF says.

Two of the drones were intercepted before crossing Israel’s borders, according to the IDF.

The third was shot down after entering Israeli airspace via Egypt, setting off sirens in several communities on the border.

Footage shows the moment one of the Houthi drones was shot down over the Egyptian border by an Israeli Air Force helicopter a short while ago.

In all, three drones were intercepted, including two that did not cross the border, according to the IDF. pic.twitter.com/gTECGMYVov

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 7, 2025

IDF declares area around military chief’s home a closed zone amid anti-war protests

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meets with top officers on August 13, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

In an unusual move, the chief of the Home Front Command signed an order declaring the area around IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir’s house a “closed military zone,” following anti-war protests there.

The order was signed by Maj. Gen. Shai Klepper on Friday, according to the document shared online by Rotem Sivan, the leader of a protest group representing mothers of combat soldiers.

Last week, members of a different group, Standing Together (Omdim Beyachad), poured buckets of red paint on the street and a wall outside the home of Zamir in Ramot HaShavim, a town adjacent to Hod Hasharon.

It is unclear why the protests were not limited by the police, and instead, the military resorted to an order signed by a major general.

The military says that “the decision to declare the area a closed military zone was made based on professional and security considerations.”

תושבי רמות השבים, מושב בשרון, התעוררו הבוקר לגלות שהם גרים בשטח צבאי סגור.
מדוע?
כי הרמטכ"ל מפחד מהאימהות.
אחרי שיצא אל האמהות שעומדות מול ביתו, והבטיח לנו שישמור על הילדים שלנו, אותם הוא שולח לתוך מלכודת מוות, הוא מורה לאלוף פיקוד העורף להכריז על ביתו כשטח צבאי סגור.

צבא שמפחד… pic.twitter.com/JuXiZ2hL6T

— Rotem Sivan (@DrRotemSivan) September 7, 2025

Oct. 7 terrorist who bragged to parents about massacring Jews killed in strike, Netanyahu confirms

Israeli soldiers remove bodies of Israeli civilians in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Israeli-Gaza border in southern Israel, October 10, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Israel killed the Hamas terrorist who called his parents from Israel on October 7 and bragged to his parents that he had personally slaughtered 10 Jews, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirms at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

According to Netanyahu, Israel then called those same parents and told them their son had been killed.

In the Oct. 7 phone call released by Israel in the days following the massacre, the man could be heard excitedly telling his parents that he was in a kibbutz near the Gaza border. “Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews!” he said, according to an English translation.

Yesterday, Palestinian media in Gaza identified the man as Mahmoud Afana, and said he was killed in Deir al-Balah.

“We are deepening the maneuver on the outskirts of Gaza City, and inside Gaza City,” says Netanyahu.

“We are destroying terror infrastructure, we are taking down terror towers, and we have established another humanitarian zone to allow Gaza’s civilian population to move to a place of safety and also receive humanitarian aid there,” he continues, adding that around 100,000 civilians have evacuated from Gaza City.

Netanyahu says that Hamas is firing at women and children to keep them from leaving.

“We want to focus on the terrorists themselves, and allow the civilian population to get out,” says Netanyahu.

“Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews!”

Listen to a phone call of a Hamas terrorist calling home, bragging about how many people he massacred.

The whole world needs to hear this. pic.twitter.com/Xv0ykyxvrF

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 24, 2023

Sirens in towns near Egyptian border warn of drone attack from Yemen

Sirens warning of a suspected drone infiltration sound in several communities on the Egyptian border.

The Israeli Air Force is working to shoot down three drones launched at Israel from Yemen.

Report: Netanyahu to visit West Bank, sign framework for controversial construction

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Fourth of July reception hosted by conservative US news network Newsmax in Jerusalem on August 13, 2025. (Ronen Zvulun / POOL / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly visit the West Bank settlement city of Maale Adumim on Thursday and sign a framework agreement for the construction of a large number of housing units, including the controversial E1 project.

According to Army Radio, Netanyahu will sign the agreement with Maale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrah.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yifrah tells Army Radio that there is currently “a golden opportunity” to annex parts or all of the West Bank, but says that there is no plan to sign a framework agreement on Thursday.

“I’d be happy if he surprises us,” Yifrah says.

The Civil Administration of the Defense Ministry last month approved the E1 construction plans, which would see 3,412 housing units built in a new neighborhood of Maale Adumim located between Jerusalem and the settlement city itself.

Advocates of a two-state solution have argued that the project would practically divide the West Bank in two for its Palestinian population, sever Palestinian East Jerusalem from the West Bank, and severely harm the future viability of a Palestinian state, although some experts say solutions could be found.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said upon final approval of the project that it was “another nail in the coffin” of the idea of a Palestinian state.

Final approval of the E1 project prompted intense condemnation from numerous countries, including major European states as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney even included the advancement of the E1 project as one of the reasons behind his decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly this month.

View of the area of the planned controversial E1 West Bank construction project between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, August 21, 2025 (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

IDF working to shoot down 3 drones launched by Yemen’s Houthis

Three drones launched by the Houthis in Yemen at Israel were identified over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula a short while ago, according to military sources.

The Israeli Air Force is working to shoot the drones down.

The Houthis have launched numerous drones at Israel during the war.

Ben Gvir confronted by residents during Umm al-Fahm visit: ‘When Arabs are killed it doesn’t bother you’

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tours the Arab Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm on September 7, 2025. (Photo distributed by a spokesperson for Ben Gvir)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tours Umm al-Fahm this morning alongside a large contingent of police forces, aimed at encouraging police to crack down on unlawful construction.

The far-right politician’s provocative visit to the Arab city sparks opposition from residents, some of whom hassle him as he walks the streets, flanked by security guards and Border Police officers.

“You destroyed this country, you destroyed it all,” one bystander can be heard saying in a video online. “We follow the law better than you do.”

“We are the landlords here,” the bystander continues, repurposing Ben Gvir’s well-known campaign slogan in the 2022 elections, seen by many as explicitly antagonistic toward Arabs. He accuses the minister of neglecting the spiraling murder rate in Arab towns throughout Israel, saying, “When Arabs are killed it doesn’t bother you.”

Over the past week alone, 11 Arab Israelis across the country have been killed in violent criminal incidents. Arab politicians and communal leaders have accused Ben Gvir of purposeful neglect of the issue, citing the infrequency with which police solve Arab sector murders.

Ben Gvir bickers with some of the residents, remarking to a man, “You aren’t used to seeing police?” to which the resident replies: “My father was a police officer.”

In a statement from his office, Ben Gvir says the tour was coordinated with police, Border Police and Israel Land Authority officials.

“After three decades of neglect and lawlessness, finally we are acting and enforcing, in the Negev, in Umm al-Fahm and everywhere,” he claims in a statement. “I am impressed with the work of the forces and expect as much action as possible against construction offenders. Governance and sovereignty begin here.”

The city’s Mayor Samir Mahamid comes out strongly against Ben Gvir’s visit, which was said not to have been coordinated with local officials. Mahamid accuses him of coming to Umm al-Fahm in order to “sow destruction, division and hatred” and claims the visit is a cynical publicity stunt aimed at “creating headlines” at the expense of the city’s residents.

השר בן גביר מגיע לאום אל פחם לא כדי לסייע אלא כדי לזרוע הרס, פירוד ושנאה. מניעיו פוליטיים וציניים- ליצור כותרות על חשבון חיי תושבים שוחרי חיים ושוויון. אנו דוחים בשאט נפש ניסיונות שכאלה. עיריית אום אל פחם תמשיך לפעול לבנייה ולשיפור איכות החיים בעיר. pic.twitter.com/SYl3Ncj5bN

— ד״ר סמיר מחאמיד Dr. Samir mahamid (@SamirMhamid) September 7, 2025

Sa’ar, Danish FM clash on Gaza humanitarian situation, evacuation of injured Gazans

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (R) meets with Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke in Jerusalem, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen present clashing interpretations of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and differ on the issue of transferring medical patients out of the territory, at their joint press conference in Jerusalem this morning.

Addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Sa’ar points to progress, saying, “There is a big change on the ground.”

“It’s not something that you can find in Western media, but the facts are we fulfilled all our understandings with the [European Union] on the matter,” he continues, referring to agreements reached with Brussels in July on the need to increase aid flow into the Strip.

“More than that, after we also started with the humanitarian corridors policy and airdrops, huge quantities entered the Gaza Strip, and that was reflected in the dramatic decline of the price of products. Therefore, the situation today is totally different from what it was a few months ago,” Sa’ar says.

Sa’ar says that he and his Danish counterpart agreed this morning to cooperate on humanitarian issues, including medical evacuations: “We decided together to have a joint team to find a cooperation on a humanitarian issue, to see what we can do together, among other things on the medical evacuation of people from Gaza,” he says, adding that Foreign Ministry Director-General Eden Bar Tal would be the point of contact.

He further says, “There is an anti-Israeli obsession wave in Europe today. Europe faces security and strategic challenges. I believe that Europe needs Israel no less than Israel needs Europe. A constructive dialogue cannot be based on threats and sanctions.”

Rasmussen, however, appears to downplay the progress Jerusalem has made on humanitarian issues: “We do not agree on any major breakthrough,” he says, explaining that he “reiterated Denmark’s offer to help assist with the treatment of patients from Gaza in East Jerusalem or the West Bank… You are not open for giving these patients access.”

“Having said that, I’m pleased that we at least agreed that we will now ask a joint team to look into what could be done alternatively, for instance, by investments in Gaza… We should explore that and we should work closely together because we stand ready with personnel, with money and equipment,” he continues.

“It would, of course, have been much easier if you would allow transport of the patients from Gaza to East Jerusalem, but I can’t force you to do that, even though it could save many lives,” says the Danish foreign minister and former Danish premier.

Rasmussen notes that dialogue with the EU in July led to improvements, but says Denmark is still “extremely concerned about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza,” repeating calls for Israel “to stop the military offensive in Gaza, to ensure immediate and unhindered humanitarian assistance.” He notes that Denmark, as chair of the EU for the second half of the year, is discussing the issue with European partners.

Pressed by foreign media on why Israel won’t allow medical evacuations to the West Bank or East Jerusalem, Sa’ar responds: “It’s a war, and we have our security concerns. I can ask why Copenhagen doesn’t want to get these patients as well.”

“But we agreed to look into whether we can do it with some Arab states, and we will work constructively to see whether we have solutions that can be acceptable. We are looking forward to working together on that, not only on this medical evacuation, but on anything connected to the humanitarian situation. We are open to work together with Denmark and with the EU,” Sa’ar says.

Bismuth indicates willingness to continue military exemptions for Haredi young men registered in yeshivas

MK Boaz Bismuth chairs a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, September 3, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

Members of the ultra-Orthodox community who study full-time in yeshiva ought to be allowed to continue their studies while those who do not should be conscripted, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth declared during a recent meeting with senior Sephardic Rabbi Tzemach Mazuz, video shows.

Declaring that “we must not have a religious war,” the Likud lawmaker insisted in the Thursday meeting that it is an “honor” to serve in the IDF but adds “he who studies will [continue to] study” and will not be conscripted for military service because this provides a kind of “insurance” for the future of Judaism, according to a video of the conversation published by i24 News.

It is unclear how much of a change such an approach would make to enlistment rates. While significant numbers of Haredi men are not full-time students, many have traditionally been registered as such in yeshivas in order to avoid conscription.

Bismuth’s committee is slated to hold three days of back-to-back sessions to discuss legislation regulating Haredi enlistment this week.

It is doubtful that any bill completely exempting yeshiva students from military service, as the Haredi parties demand, will pass and if one does, it is almost certain to be struck down by the High Court of Justice, which last year ruled that long-standing IDF exemptions for yeshiva students were illegal.

Haredi faction denies it agreed to support revised budget boosting defense spending

United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni attends a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee, August 12, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Degel HaTorah chairman Mosher Gafni denies that his faction had agreed to support a revised 2025 budget significantly increasing defense spending. Degel HaTorah is one of two factions comprising the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party.

“Contrary to various reports, no decision was made regarding the vote on the budget later this week in the Knesset,” Gafni, who chaired the Knesset Finance Committee until UTJ left the coalition over a dispute involving military exemptions for yeshiva students, says in a statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government last month voted to approve a NIS 31 billion ($9 billion) increase to the 2025 state budget, NIS 1.6 billion ($473 million) of which will go toward humanitarian aid for Gaza. The increase will primarily go toward defense spending and will be accompanied by an across-the-board cut of 3.35 percent of ministerial budgets set to go into effect at the beginning of next year.

UTJ criticized the proposed budget amendments, railing against a cut of NIS 481 million ($142 million) in taxpayer money set aside for Haredi schools’ eventual inclusion in the government’s New Horizon program, which funds work in small groups between teachers and pupils and bumps up teacher salaries, among other initiatives.

The program is currently restricted to state schools and does not apply to independent Haredi institutions, which do not teach secular subjects. The money is currently frozen until it can eventually be legally allocated.

Danish FM: Israel doesn’t have ‘veto’ over potential future recognition of Palestinian state by Denmark

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (left) and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar meet in Jerusalem on September 7, 2025 (X)

Speaking at a press conference alongside Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen says that Copenhagen does not currently plan to join other Western capitals in recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this month, but stresses that Israeli opposition to a two-state solution would not serve as a “veto” over Denmark’s support for an eventual Palestinian state.

Rasmussen, also a former prime minister of Denmark, expresses concern over “strong statements from Israeli ministers” that completely reject the possibility of Palestinian statehood, “ever.”

“Then it goes without saying that we have to take the decision right back to ourselves, so to speak,” he continues, adding, “That’s why we have made it clear that we will not give Israel or others a veto on the Danish position.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that we will never, in reality, recognize a Palestinian state which is ruled by Hamas or any other terrorist organization,” he emphasizes, saying the move “comes with a lot of preconditions – disarmed Palestinian state, recognizing Israel, transparency, democracy… That is our position.”

Following Rasmussen’s remarks, Sa’ar adds that states currently pushing for Palestinian statehood “ignore the most important fact… that the [Palestinian Authority], according to what they do, they don’t deserve a state.”

He backs this with accusations that the PA has failed to combat terrorism, address security concerns, or end incitement to terrorism in education facilities. He says he was briefed on Thursday about issues of incitement in PA-run schools, saying, “It’s terrible.”

Sa’ar points to the controversial “pay-for-slay” policy of the PA, which gave stipends to the families of slain terrorists and of security prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Though PA President Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree in February canceling legislation that established the old system, and reports have shown improvement, Sa’ar downplays these efforts at reform: “They say they will change it, but they never did. They only change how they are doing that, transferring it from one pocket to the other. But they never disconnected themselves… from the ethos of terror in the Palestinian society.”

Otzma Yehudit says party will vote against increasing deficit, as minister blasts Smotrich

Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf at the annual Jerusalem Conference of the 'Besheva' group in Jerusalem, on February 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf says that Otzma Yehudit will vote against increasing the deficit in the cabinet today, accusing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of gutting his ministry’s budget during the far-right party’s brief stint in the opposition earlier this year.

In a tweet, Wasserlauf accuses Smotrich of reallocating hundreds of millions of shekels, forcing him “to cut basic programs for the residents of the Negev and Galilee.” He adds that Otzma Yehudit chairman National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had instructed his party’s ministers to oppose the deficit increase “until this terrible and immoral injustice is corrected.”

It is unclear what, if any, the impact would be of the party voting against the deficit rise.

Ben Gvir withdrew his ultranationalist party from the government after a ceasefire agreement was signed between Israel and Hamas in January of this year. The party returned to the coalition when fighting resumed some two months later.

Responding to Wasserlauf, a spokesman for Smotrich sends out a statement attributed to “senior Finance Ministry officials” stating that not a “single shekel” had been cut during Otzma Yehudit’s time in the opposition and that the ministry’s entire budget was only “250/300 million shekels.”

While the government did implement across-the-board ministerial budget cuts in recent weeks to boost defense spending, additional cuts were subsequently made to boost security at schools as demanded by Ben Gvir “following the mismanagement of funds for the security of educational institutions at the National Security Ministry,” the statement adds.

Wasserlauf “wants to squeeze out additional coalition funds because in the 2025 budget, Otzma was outside,” Smotrich’s spokesman charged.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference with mayors of settlements in the West Bank, at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, September 3, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Sa’ar: Western recognition of Palestinian state ‘will push Israel to also make unilateral decisions’

(L) Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar hold a press conference in Jerusalem on September 7, 2025 (Shlomi Amselem/GPO)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slams European plans for recognition of a Palestinian state this month, warning that such moves will push Israel to take reciprocal measures, at a joint press conference in Jerusalem with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

Emphasizing the importance of “dialogue” with Europe on regional issues, Sa’ar says he told Rasmussen this morning that “states like France and the [United Kingdom] that pushed the so-called ‘recognition’ of a so-called ‘Palestinian state’ had made a tremendous mistake.”

“Because you cannot disconnect the issue of statehood, which is one of the final status agreement issues,” he continues, referring to the five agreed-upon status quo issues that were defined in the 1990s Oslo peace process framework between Israel and the Palestinians.

The issues included the status of Jerusalem, the final boundaries between Israel and a Palestinian state, the future of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, the fate of Palestinian refugees and their claimed “right of return,” as well as security arrangements.

“You cannot disconnect statehood from peace, because if you do that, it will make it even harder to reach peace. A peace agreement in the future can happen only in a bilateral context,” Sa’ar says.

He reiterates that unilateral recognition “will be a present for Hamas,” as it would link recognition to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre that sparked the ongoing war. “This is how Palestinians looked at it. It will not bring us closer to peace or security. It will destabilize the region,” he says.

“It will push Israel also to have unilateral decisions, and that would be a grave mistake,” Sa’ar warns, urging “responsible states in Europe, including Denmark,” to push against the move. “We still have time to prevent it.”

In the Q&A portion of the press conference, Sa’ar addresses reports that Israel might annex parts of the West Bank in retaliation for Western recognition of a Palestinian state.

“We are having discussions on this issue with [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,]” Sa’ar says, adding vaguely, “There will be a decision. I think I don’t have to elaborate.”

He adds that he discussed the matter with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to Washington last month, saying, “If there will be any news, I’m sure it will be declared.”

Pope Leo to declare 15-year-old computer whiz, known as God’s influencer, a saint

Pope Leo XIV speaks ahead of a Holy Mass and canonisation ceremony of Blessed Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on September 7, 2025 (Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

Pope Leo XIV presides over the canonization of the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint, a 15-year-old computer whiz who used technology to spread the faith and earned the nickname “God’s influencer.”

Tens of thousands of people pack St. Peter’s Square for the open-air Mass to declare Carlo Acutis a saint.

Leo, history’s first American pope, made an unscripted appearance to the crowd before the Mass began, welcoming “so many young people who have come for this Holy Mass.”

Acutis, who is being sainted for his exemplary life and for using his computer skills to spread his faith, will become the Roman Catholic Church’s first millennial saint in Leo’s first canonization ceremony.

But behind the celebration lies a troubling legacy: The very miracles Acutis has promoted online are rooted in centuries-old antisemitic myths that have fueled hatred and violence against Jewish communities.

Some leading Jews and Catholics have criticized Rome for overlooking the antisemitic motifs tied to some of these miracles.

Read more: First ‘millennial saint’ is about to be canonized for publicizing miracles with troubling past

A nun checks her phone as a portrait of late Italian teenager Carlo Acutis is displayed onto the facade of Saint Peter’s Basilica in the background ahead of a Holy Mass and canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on September 7, 2025 (Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

Russia launched over 800 drones at Ukraine in record attack, Ukrainian air force says

Local residents move across a bridge as smoke rises following Russian drone and missile strike in Kyiv on September 7, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (OLEKSII FILIPPOV / AFP)

Russia fired at least 805 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine overnight, the largest air attack of the war, according to Ukraine’s air force.

“Air force units detected and tracked 818 air attack vehicles,” the air force posts on Telegram.

Air defenses shot down or suppressed 747 drones and four missiles, it adds.

New public committee to examine treatment, rehabilitation of wounded soldiers

IDF troops evacuate soldiers wounded by a Hezbollah missile attack against the the Ramim Ridge area, near the border with Lebanon, September 19, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

In a joint statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announce the creation of a public committee to formulate recommendations to expand Israel’s national response for treating and rehabilitating wounded IDF soldiers, amid what officials describe as the fastest rise in casualties in the history of Israel’s wars.

According to the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department, by 2028 some 100,000 wounded are projected to be under its care, including around 50,000 suffering from psychological trauma. These figures encompass all veterans from all wars — soldiers from the ongoing conflict along with those injured in previous ones.

In March, it was reported that the department was caring for some 78,000 individuals from all of Israel’s wars and operations, including disabled underground fighters from the British Mandate era, before the establishment of the state in 1948.

The committee will be chaired by Shlomo Mor-Yosef, chairman of Leumit Health Services, with Yitzhak Shapira, deputy director of Ichilov Hospital, serving as his deputy. Its members will include representatives from the IDF, the Finance Ministry, the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department, the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization, and leading experts in rehabilitation and psychiatry.

It will examine and recommend improvements in key areas, including recognition processes for wounded veterans, streamlining medical and psychological rehabilitation, employment integration, family support systems, and allocation of budget and manpower resources.

“IDF wounded are the emissaries of us all, and the national duty is to ensure them full rehabilitation, to accompany and support them all along the way,” Katz says. “The decision to establish the public committee stems from a deep understanding of the costs of war and the growing need… We will leave no one behind.”

“Our obligation to IDF wounded is absolute,” Smotrich adds. “They are the moral spearhead of the people of Israel, and our responsibility is to provide them with the best treatment, rehabilitation, and support, without unnecessary bureaucracy or delays.”

Mother of hostage Alon Ohel, seen in Hamas video: ‘His smile gives a lot of hope; his life is in PM’s hands’

Alon Ohel, a hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, is seen in a propaganda video released by the terror group on September 5, 2025. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

The mother of hostage Alon Ohel says that seeing her son’s smile in a Hamas video released Friday gave her hope.

“His speech is a little slurred, but he seems fine,” Idit Alon tells the Kan public broadcaster. “To see him and see that there’s still something of him, his smile — in one moment it gives a lot of hope. He’s alive and we have to bring them home.”

Idit Ohel says that she told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that her son’s fate is the premier’s responsibility.

“I spoke with the prime minister about Alon — the conversation between us will remain between us, but I clarified things with him and he listened,” she says.

“Alon’s life is in the hands of the prime minister, under his personal responsibility. We trust him, but it is entirely his responsibility,” she says.

Alon’s family yesterday permitted the publication of a photo from the video released a day earlier. The video, which also included hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, was the first time Ohel had been seen alive since he was taken hostage along with 250 others during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Netanyahu spoke with the families of both hostages following the publication of the video, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Ohel, 24, a talented pianist, went to the Supernova desert rave with several friends, reaching the party at 5:30 a.m., an hour before the Hamas attack began. Ohel and his friends fled to a field shelter, which was later attacked by terrorists, with many of those inside murdered.

Ohel’s family said Friday that experts told them the video showed that Ohel had lost vision in his right eye. In February, the Kan public broadcaster reported that there were indications that Ohel could lose his sight due to shrapnel injuries, among other wounds. The assessment was made based on the testimonies of freed hostages.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for Gaza rocket fire at southern Israel

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for this morning’s rocket fire from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel.

In a statement on Telegram, the terror group says it launched two rockets at the southern city of Netivot.

One rocket was intercepted and the second struck an open area, according to the IDF. There were no reports of injuries.

Undersea cables severed in Red Sea, disrupting internet access in parts of Mideast and Asia

Undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea disrupted internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East, experts say, though it wasn’t immediately clear what caused the incident.

There has been concern about the cables being targeted in a Red Sea campaign by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which the rebels describe as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Houthis have denied attacking the lines in the past.

Microsoft announces via a status website that the Mideast “may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea.” The Redmond, Washington-based firm does not immediately elaborate, though it says that internet traffic not moving through the Middle East “is not impacted.”

NetBlocks, which monitors internet access, says “a series of subsea cable outages in the Red Sea has degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries,” which it says include India and Pakistan. It blames “failures affecting the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.”

The South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 cable is run by Tata Communications, part of the Indian conglomerate. The India-Middle East-Western Europe cable is run by another consortium overseen by Alcatel-Lucent. Both firms do not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pakistan Telecommunications Co. Ltd., a telecommunication giant in that country, notes that the cuts have taken place in a statement on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia does not immediately acknowledge the disruption and authorities there do not respond to a request for comment.

In the United Arab Emirates, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, internet users on the country’s state-owned Du and Etisalat networks are complaining of slower internet speeds. The government does not immediately acknowledge the disruption.

Subsea cables can be cut by anchors dropped from ships, but can also be targeted in attacks.

Reports: 2 Palestinians injured by settler gunfire in attack near Hebron in the West Bank

Palestinian media reports that settlers attacked people and property in the Khilat al-Is area near the village of al-Shuyukh, north of Hebron in the West Bank, overnight.

According to the reports, two Palestinians were wounded by settler gunfire — one in the abdomen and one in the neck — and were in stable condition.

Additionally, the group of extremists reportedly set a number of properties on fire.

The IDF has not yet issued a response.

مستوطنون يهاجمون بلدة الشيوخ وخلة العيس شمال الخليل، ويطلقون النار على الأهالي، فيما اندلعت النيران قرب منازلهم وأعقب الهجوم اقتحام واسع للاحتلال#التلفزيون_العربي pic.twitter.com/c7cmAXiBpA

— التلفزيون العربي (@AlarabyTV) September 7, 2025

Report: US conveyed new principles for comprehensive hostage-ceasefire deal to Hamas via Israeli mediator

Thousands attend a protest in Jerusalem calling for an end to the war and the release of all hostages from Hamas captivity on September 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)

The United States has conveyed to the Hamas terror group a new set of principles for a comprehensive agreement, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

A source confirmed the report to Times of Israel.

According to Kan, the proposal has not been fully formulated but is instead an outline of principles for future negotiations.

The outlet says the proposal was conveyed to the terror group via Gershon Baskin, a key Israeli negotiator in the deal that led to the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit from Hamas captivity in 2011.

Channel 12 reports that Baskin, who is in contact with senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, received the proposal from US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.

In an apparent about-face after months of negotiations for a partial deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly declared that he will now only entertain a comprehensive deal that would see the release of all 48 hostages held in Gaza.

Hamas yesterday released a statement saying the terror group is open to any deal that ends the war, along with a full Israeli withdrawal, unfettered access for aid and other demands.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

2 rockets fired from Gaza toward border towns; one intercepted, 2nd lands in unpopulated area

Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli communities a short time ago, the Israel Defense Forces says.

One of the rockets was intercepted while the second landed in an unpopulated area, the military says.

It is the first time rockets have been fired from Gaza in some three weeks.

The rockets had triggered sirens in the town of Netivot and a number of surrounding communities.

The Magen David Adom emergency service says there were no immediate reports of injuries. There were no reports of damage.

Rocket sirens sound in communities close to Gaza border

Sirens sound in a number of communities close to the Gaza border, warning of incoming rocket fire.

Alerts are heard in the town of Netivot are surrounding communities.

The Israel Defense Forces says it is looking into the incident.

UK museum postpones exhibition on Jewish life due to ‘potential risks at a sensitive time’

A UK museum has postponed an exhibition on Jewish life in a seaside town due to “potential risks at a sensitive time,” Britain’s Telegraph reports.

The UK outlet says the Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth had been set to open an exhibition on Jewish life in the town between 1880 and 2020.

When reached for comment by the newspaper, the museum says while the exhibition will not open in November after an assessment of the potential risks, the institution is working to reschedule it.

“Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum is an important heritage asset housing culturally significant art,” the museum says. “In planning all exhibitions, we carefully assess any potential risks. We recognise this is a sensitive time and due to requirements related to this event, the museum has decided to postpone the exhibition and is working with the organisers to reschedule it for a later date.”

The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit providing security protection to British Jews, said in August that antisemitic incidents recorded in the UK neared record levels in first half of 2025.

Russian attack sparks fire at government building in Kyiv

A fire broke out on the top of an administrative building in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi district after a Russian attack on the city, Timur Tkachenko, the head of the military administration of the Ukrainian capital says on social media.

Reuters’ witnesses say they saw thick smoke rising from the main building of the Ukrainian government.

Spain said planning to OK sweeping arms embargo on Israel, may declare Netanyahu persona non grata

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech at Las Cortes Congress of Deputies in Madrid on May 7, 2025. (Thomas Coex/AFP)

Spain plans to approve a complete and immediate arms embargo on Israel on Tuesday and may even declare Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers persona non grata, local news outlet El País reports.

Madrid’s government, which has escalated its anti-Israel rhetoric amid the war against Hamas in Gaza, is working to impose a sweeping ban on all direct and indirect deals on weapons or military technologies with any Israeli public or private body, the Spanish report says, citing unnamed sources.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government pledged to stop selling arms to Israel shortly after Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023. Last year, the Spanish government widened that commitment to include weapons purchases from Israel. In recent months, it has canceled several high-profile deals with Israeli companies.

The El País report says the intention is for the more complete embargo to take immediate effect this coming week by making it part of a royal decree, with the text building on the content of a law bill presented last year by the left-wing Sumar political alliance, which is part of the ruling coalition and has demanded stronger moves against Jerusalem.

Sumar founder Yolanda Díaz reportedly declares that her alliance is working with the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party on a package of steps aimed at “severing relations with the criminal Netanyahu regime,” halt all trade relations altogether, and declare the premier — as well as Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — persona non grata in Spain “for their incitement to genocide, forced starvation and ethnic cleansing.”

Spain is a long-time critic of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Speaking in the Spanish parliament last month, Sanchez called Israel a “genocidal state.”

His foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, told reporters last month that Spain would request the “immediate suspension” of the European Union’s cooperation deal with Israel, and would also urge partners to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

Spain had already outraged Jerusalem by recognizing Palestinian statehood in May 2024, in a joint move with Ireland and Norway.

Saudi Arabia, UAE said to agree on freezing normalization over West Bank annexation plans

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (not pictured) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 20, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein / Pool / AFP)

Saudi Arabia has given the United Arab Emirates its blessing to reconsider normalization with Israel should moves be made toward the annexation of the West Bank, Israel’s Kan news outlet reports, citing a source close to the Saudi royal family.

According to the report, the issue was discussed during a recent meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, who met in Riyadh last week. The Saudi Press Agency reported that the two discussed “the latest developments in Palestine,” among other matters.

Kan quotes the source saying the two agreed that a pullback from the Abraham Accords would be a “realistic” option should moves toward annexation be made.

The source adds that any such move would also halt progress toward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE agreed to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 in exchange for Israel shelving plans to annex parts of the West Bank, in a move widely seen as having Riyadh’s tacit backing.

Abu Dhabi recently dispatched a number of warnings to Israel against revived plans to extend sovereignty to parts of the territory, including in an interview with The Times of Israel, an official statement and via backchannel sources. According to The Washington Post, the statements alarmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the point that annexation was taken off the agenda for a Thursday night cabinet meeting.

Riyadh earlier today published a statement condemning Israeli comments on displacing Palestinians in Gaza, and accusing Israel of genocide. The statement made no direct reference to West Bank annexation.

Israeli drone said to strike dump truck in southern Lebanon

Lebanese media report that an Israeli drone fired on a truck in the southern Lebanese town of Maaliyeh just before midnight.

Videos shared online show what appears to be a dump truck engulfed in flames in the town, which is southeast of Tyre.

غارة اسرائيلية شنتها طائرة مسيرة استهدفت شاحنة في منطقة المعلية قضاء صور جنوب لبنان pic.twitter.com/3pckkw9yVW

— زكريا احمد الطالبي (@Zk2ria) September 6, 2025

According to the Elnashra news site, the truck was transporting rubble before it was hit with a pair of missiles.

It is unclear if there were any injuries in the alleged attack.

There is no comment from the Israeli military, which has carried out hundreds of strikes on alleged Hezbollah activity in southern Lebanon since a ceasefire some 10 months ago.

Ex-Mossad head Cohen distances self from Qatari funding for Hamas; says PM should boot aides paid by Doha

Then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, new Mossad chief David Barnea, center, and Yossi Cohen, at a farewell ceremony for departing Shin Bet chief Cohen, on May 31, 2021. (Kobi Gideon / GPO)

In the extensive Channel 12 interview tonight in which he says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should step aside, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen also says Netanyahu should have “immediately suspended” any aide working in the Prime Minister’s Office who has been working for Qatar.

“No worker in the PMO should be taking money from any foreign state,” he says, referring to allegations in the Qatargate affair, in which figures working for Netanyahu are suspected of also being paid to advocate for Doha. “And maybe Qatar above all.”

Cohen, who acknowledges playing a role in facilitating the supply of Qatari money to Gaza, claims that the Shin Bet and COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) initiated the policy, and that he merely helped implement a measure overseen by Netanyahu. He says he never worked for Qatar or benefited from the policy in any way.

“I do not feel guilty as regards the Israeli policy on the Qatari money [for Hamas],” he says. “The Qatari money was ultimately the responsibility of the government of Israel and its head.”

The Shin Bet immediately issues a statement denying that it initiated the policy, which was publicly endorsed by Netanyahu. Since October 7, the prime minister has been widely criticized over the measure, which was intended to ease financial pressure on Gazans, for ostensibly having helped fund Hamas.

Cohen also says he sought to have the Mossad play a role in Gaza during his 2016-2021 term, but claims the IDF and Shin Bet rejected the idea. He does not claim that Mossad involvement would have prevented October 7. He says he warned in July 2023 that the rift in Israel over the judicial overhaul was weakening Israel’s internal resilience and that there was reason to fear a war was imminent.

After the invasion, he says he warned Netanyahu to be wary of rushing into Gaza, and to “check the intelligence” that he was being given. “They’ll tell you the army is ready to go in tomorrow morning,” he says he told the prime minister. “Don’t buy it.”

Cohen also says he wanted to target Hezbollah long before October 7, and indicates he wanted to target a key facility in Iran after the killing of Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2020, but Netanyahu was talked out of this by then IDF chief Aviv Kohavi.

Kohavi issues a statement saying the IDF opposed a different operation proposed by Cohen to kill Soleimani, and backed what proved to be a successful operation.

Cohen also denies any wrongdoing in the “submarine affair” concerning naval purchases by previous Netanyahu governments. A state commission of inquiry last year said that the former Mossad chief’s conduct in the purchase of the submarines “resulted in the serious disruption of work processes and force building, and harmed the decision-making process in a series of sensitive issues, thereby jeopardizing national security and harming the foreign relations and economic interests of the State of Israel.”

He says he found that accusation shocking, and has no doubt that it will be proved false.

Cabinet set to vote on creating body to defend Israel in media, online

The cabinet will vote Sunday on creating a public diplomacy agency within the Foreign Ministry aimed at countering anti-Israel content in the media with the help of online bloggers and social media influencers, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The resolution set to be considered by the cabinet includes a clause allowing for the appointment of a person to head the body without needing to go through the tender process.

Jerusalem has been criticized as only half-heartedly attempting to shape public opinion and make its case in the international arena, even as it has inched toward pariah status with the war in Gaza grinding on, including dominant media narratives painting it as an unjustified aggressor.

A body already exists within the Foreign Ministry tasked with advancing Israel’s interests in the media. The resolution creates a Foreign Ministry Public Diplomacy Directorate, run by a head of Public Diplomacy.

It does not say what its relationship will be with the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, which is currently without a director.

The Foreign Ministry will hire outside staff “in the fields of digital media, social networks, advanced technologies, strategic communications, creative, production, and spokespeople,” according to the resolution.

The directorate will be funded by the Foreign Ministry’s existing budget.

Man found dead in Arab town, foul play suspected

Police are investigating after a man was found dead with suspected stab wounds in the northern town of Kafr Yasif, according to Hebrew media reports.

The Ynet news site describes the victim as a 41-year-old resident of Majd al-Krum, quoting residents who believe he was the victim of an internal clan feud.

The killing would mark the 177th among Israel’s Arab population this year, according to a tally published by the Abraham Initiatives watchdog, putting 2025 on pace to be the bloodiest yet for the community, which has been wracked by rising violence in recent years.

Report: Mediators to unveil proposal for full Gaza deal this week; Netanyahu skeptical

The US, Qatar and Egypt are expected this week to proffer a full Gaza ceasefire deal that brings all hostages home, ends the war and replaces Hamas with a new administration running the Strip, the Kan public broadcaster reports, without citing a source.

Kan quotes a source close to Netanyahu as reacting that Israel would be willing to call off its planned offensive aimed at conquering Gaza City in favor of a “real deal” ending the war and freeing the hostages, but no such offer is currently on the table.

Netanyahu’s government has declared that it will no longer entertain partial deals.

Hamas yesterday released a statement saying the terror group is open to any deal that ends the war, along with a full Israeli withdrawal, unfettered access for aid and other demands.

MK says massive protests could push PM to end war, gets into verbal tussle with cop

MK Gilad Kariv is seen on video getting in a shouting match with a police officer on the sidelines of the hostage rally in central Jerusalem, with the two accusing each other of being embarrassments.

According to Ynet, the altercation began after Kariv, from the Democrats, accused the cop of violently arresting a protester. A video shows the two arguing at a breakaway protest outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home, where many protesters headed after the main rally outside his official residence down the street ended.

“Don’t yell at me,” the cop says, to which Kariv responds, “I’ll yell at you,” prompting the officer to say then he will yell back.

The two then accuse each other of “threatening.”

הוא עובד אצלו? גלעד קריב צורח על קצין משטרה. pic.twitter.com/yKyVFpI8ma

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) September 6, 2025

“Shame on you, you are an embarrassment to your uniform,” Kariv says as the officer begins to walk away, to which the officer shoots back “you are an embarrassment to the Knesset,” telling the lawmaker that he needs to work on his decorum as the two continue shouting and pointing fingers at each other.

Following the confrontation, National Security Minister Itamar Ben GVir says he will ask Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to censure Kariv, declaring that “the police are not a punching bag for frustrated politicians.”

Moments earlier, at the main protest, Kariv told The Times of Israel that a large sustained protest movement with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators could push Netanyahu to end the war.

“Without hundreds of thousands of Israelis protesting, this war — like the First Lebanon War — will last 18 years,” he said, adding that the demonstrations should be nonviolent, while still “paralyzing the country.

“The Israeli public needs to take to the streets because Netanyahu won’t do the right thing, Netanyahu is not driven by morality and conscience. Netanyahu is a narcissist and a borderline psychopath,” he asserted. “The only thing that will move Netanyahu is one million Israelis in the streets and American pressure.”

Standing alongside Kariv, fellow Democrats MK Na’ama Lazimi branded Netanyahu a “complete sociopath,” pointing to Netanyahu’s claim earlier this year that he sleeps with a clean conscience, even after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

“You can’t expect him to act rationally, out of an understanding of the sanctity of life and what his role and responsibility is,” Lazimi lamented.

But she said he could be moved by public sentiment.

“When there are demonstrations… they stress him out and make him tremble,” Lazimi claimed.

“Netanyahu cares about his seat, he about his political survival, he cares about his trial. When we are here, he trembles. We need to come out en masse to save our brothers and ourselves,” she added.