Sept. 9: Qatari PM says Doha to continue as mediator after Israeli attack, reserves right to respond

US pressured Qatar not to give up on Israel-Hamas mediation

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani addresses a press conference following Israeli strikes in Doha on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP)

WASHINGTON — The US leaned on Qatar not to halt its mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel after the latter carried out a strike in Doha targeting the terror group’s leadership, a diplomatic source tells The Times of Israel.

The US pressure came after Qatari leaders notified the Trump administration earlier today that they planned to temporarily suspend their mediation efforts.

The source says the US pressure worked in getting Qatar to reverse its initial decision.

Qatar’s prime minister then announced that Doha would remain engaged.

Qatari PM says Doha will continue mediation efforts, reserves right to respond to Israeli attack

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani addresses a press conference following Israeli strikes in Doha on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP)

Qatar’s prime minister warns his country reserves the right to respond to Israel’s deadly attack on Hamas in Doha, calling it a “pivotal moment” for the region, but says his country will continue mediation efforts.

“Qatar… reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani tells a press conference.

“We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment. There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions,” he adds.

Al-Thani says that despite the attack, Qatar will continue mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

“Nothing will deter us from continuing this mediation in the region,” Al Thani says.

Earlier, diplomatic sources said Qatar would temporarily halt efforts.

Police say gunfire on vehicle reported near Gaza border, no injuries

Police say they received a report of gunfire toward a vehicle at the Yad Mordechai Junction in southern Israel, close to the border with the Gaza Strip.

No injuries are reported in the incident, police say, adding that officers have been dispatched to scan the scene and set up roadblocks in the area.

“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation,” police add.

Houthis claim cluster bomb missile fired at ‘sensitive’ targets in Jerusalem area

People take cover as siren warns of incoming missile fired from Yemen, in Jerusalem, September 9, 2025. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)

The Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for this evening’s ballistic missile attack on Israel, claiming to have targeted “several sensitive targets” in the Jerusalem area using a projectile with a cluster bomb warhead.

According to the military, the missile was successfully intercepted. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

The Iran-backed Houthis have fired several missiles with cluster bomb warheads at Israel in recent weeks.

The terror group also claims to have launched three drones at Israel today, targeting Ramon Airport and “two vital targets” in the Eilat area.

The IDF reported shooting down one drone over southern Israel. The other two likely failed to reach the country.

Qatar tells UN it will not tolerate ‘reckless Israeli behavior’

Qatar Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani addresses the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Qatar tells the United Nations Security Council that it will “not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security” after Israel carried out an attack targeting Hamas leaders in Doha.

“The State of Qatar strongly condemns this cowardly criminal assault, which constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms,” Qatar’s UN Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani writes to the council in a letter seen by Reuters.

“Investigations are underway at the highest level, and further details will be announced as soon as they are available,” she adds, describing the Israeli attack as a “serious escalation.”

Qatar informs US it’s temporarily suspending mediation efforts to reach hostage-ceasefire deal

US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff (second from L) meets with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan along with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s top aide Hussein al-Sheikh in Doha, Qatar on March 12, 2025. (Qatari foreign ministry)

WASHINGTON — Qatar informed the Trump administration earlier today that it is temporarily suspending its mediation efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas and Israel after the latter carried out a strike targeting the former’s leaders in Doha, a diplomatic source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.

No official announcement has been made by Qatar on the matter, though.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani is slated to issue public remarks in the coming hours, the source says.

Qatar has paused its mediation efforts at earlier stages of the war due to frustration with the parties, but subsequently did come back to the table following requests from the US, which values the role Doha has played.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders call for mass protests against military draft on Thursday

Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators block a road in Jerusalem during a protest against the detention of yeshiva students who ignored IDF conscription orders, August 07, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The rabbinic leadership of the ultra-Orthodox Shas, Agudat Yisrael and Degel Hatorah parties release a joint letter calling on the Haredi public to take to the streets on Thursday to protest government efforts to conscript yeshiva students, which has led to the arrest of multiple draft dodgers in recent months.

Rather than strengthening Torah study while Israel is faced with bloodthirsty enemies, the Israeli authorities are seeking to “mortally harm the world of Torah,” the letter stated, urging the “God fearing” to go out to the streets of “each and every city [as far as possible] to stand and beg the creator of the universe to save us from all our troubles, send complete healing to all of the wounded and nullify the thoughts of our enemies.”

The planned demonstrations are slated to occur three weeks after an international day of prayer and fasting called by the Haredi rabbinic leadership, which itself came a day after protesters affiliated with the extremist Jerusalem Faction held a “day of rage,” blocking several highway intersections in central Israel.

In recent months, anti-enlistment protesters have also held multiple demonstrations outside the Beit Lid military prison, where several draft dodgers have been held, and blocked traffic near Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem.

The rabbinic leadership of Shas, Agudat Yisrael and Degel Hatorah released a joint letter calling on the Haredi public to take to the streets on Thursday to protest government efforts to conscript yeshiva students (ht @lechathila) pic.twitter.com/noMiwh012Y

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) September 9, 2025

UN says many Gazans find it ‘simply impossible’ to evacuate Gaza City despite Israeli order

A vehicle towing a cart and transporting evacuees fleeing southbound from Gaza City moves along the coastal road in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

While Israel has issued an evacuation order covering the entirety of Gaza City, where roughly one million Palestinians were at one point sheltering, many of those still there have found leaving “simply impossible,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric says.

“Transportation can cost over $1,000; the coastal road that people would take is barely passable, and displacement sites in the south are beyond overcrowded, as we have been describing,” Dujarric says during a press briefing, citing accounts from UN humanitarian officials on the ground.

“Most people have already been displaced countless times. They are exhausted, they are out of money, and they are hungry,” he says.

Still, roughly 9,400 people managed to leave northern Gaza for the south, bringing the number since mid-August to nearly 62,000 displaced in total, says the UN spokesperson.

“Throughout Gaza, people are living out in the open, in makeshift shelters patched together from worn tarpaulins. A fresh supply of tents has only just begun to trickle into Gaza, after months of being blocked by the Israeli authorities,” he says.

UN satellites spotted roughly 1,500 people living in tents along the Gaza shore that are at high risk of being swept up by the high tides on the already-crammed coastline.

Despite the Gaza City evacuation order, many will remain in the northern area of the Strip, the UN estimates.

“Regardless of displacement orders or the labelling of some areas by the Israeli authorities as either ‘humanitarian’ or ‘dangerous,’ Dujarric says. “Safety is not guaranteed anywhere across the Gaza Strip. OCHA reminds us that civilians must be protected, wherever they are.”

The UN spokesperson says Israeli restrictions, particularly the new registration process for NGOs looking to operate in Gaza, have led to many delays in collecting and transporting aid from the southern Gaza border.

Turning to the West Bank, the UN spokesperson notes that Israel’s security crackdown in the West Bank following a deadly terror shooting in Jerusalem yesterday led hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to be trapped for hours at newly established checkpoints.

Several areas were cut off as a result of the checkpoints, including the Biddu enclave in the central West Bank, which is home to some 40,000 Palestinians and which was completely sealed off, Dujarric says.

IAEA chief says Iran agreement on resumption of inspections ‘important step in right direction’

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (C) meets with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi (L) and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi in Cairo on September 9, 2025. This is the first meeting between Tehran and the IAEA since Iran suspended cooperation following a 12-day war in June during which Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities, after which Tehran has said future cooperation with the agency will take "a new form." (Photo by Ahmed HASAN / AFP)

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi hails a new framework agreement with Iran, calling it an “important step in the right direction.”

In a post on X, he says he agreed with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a Cairo meeting “on practical modalities to resume inspection activities in Iran.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, meanwhile, welcomes a cooperation framework between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog, saying it can open a “new path” to talks over Iran’s nuclear program.

At a joint press conference in Cairo with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and IAEA chief Grossi, Abdelatty says he hopes the deal could first “enable an understanding” with European powers who have threatened to reimpose sanctions, and then “lead to a return to the negotiation table between Iran and the United States.”

Qatari leaders tell Trump that Israeli strike on Doha harms chances of Gaza ceasefire

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (R) receives US President Donald Trump in the Qatari capital Doha on May 14, 2025 (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

WASHINGTON — Qatar’s Emir Tamim and Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani warned US President Donald Trump during phone calls in recent hours that today’s Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders on Qatari soil will only harm efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Israel argues that the strike — whose exact results have not been confirmed — actually makes it easier to reach an agreement.

But a senior Qatari official who met earlier Tuesday in Washington with hostage families noted that Israel made the same assertion after it killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024 and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in October 2024, a diplomatic source tells The Times of Israel. A hostage deal wasn’t struck until January 2025.

The Qatari official told the hostage families that talks had been progressing in recent days following US President Donald Trump’s public threats against Hamas, the diplomatic source says. A member of the hostage family delegation confirms this account to The Times of Israel.

An Arab mediating source was far less optimistic about the chances for a deal when he spoke to The Times of Israel yesterday, explaining that Hamas has pushed back against the idea of immediately releasing all remaining hostages without concrete guarantees that Israel will not be able to resume the war.

During the meeting with the senior Qatari official in Washington, hostage families expressed their frustration with the Israeli strike, arguing that Hamas’s leaders abroad have not been those dragging their feet on reaching an agreement and were viewed as more flexible than those in Gaza.

During their calls with Trump earlier today, the Qatari emir and premier expressed their outrage over the Israeli strike and said that they expected the US to issue a condemnation, given that it violated international law and took place on the soil of a US ally, the diplomatic source says.

Following the calls, the White House did issue a condemnation, while also lining up behind Israel’s claim that the strikes could present an “opportunity for peace” and that taking out Hamas leaders is a “worthy goal.”

Macron names defense minister Lecornu as new prime minister

France's Minister of Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu leaves the Elysee presidential palace after the weekly cabinet meeting in Paris on March 5, 2025. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday named defense minister Sebastien Lecornu as the new prime minister to replace Francois Bayrou and resolve a deepening political crisis as protests loom in the next days.

Macron has told Lecornu “to consult the political forces represented in parliament with a view to adopting a budget for the nation and making the agreements essential for the decisions of the coming months,” the Elysee announced.

Bayrou, who survived just nine months in office, submitted his resignation to Macron earlier on Tuesday after France’s parliament ousted the government.

On Monday, Bayrou suffered a crushing loss in a confidence vote he had himself called, plunging France into fresh uncertainty and leaving Macron with the task of finding the seventh premier of his mandate.

Qatar says US warning of Israeli strike came after ‘explosions sounded’

Qatar denies receiving advance warning from the United States of Israeli strikes on Doha, saying the notification came after the attack had already started.

“Statements circulating about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance are false. The call received from an American official came as explosions sounded from the Israeli attack in Doha,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari posted on X.

Iran says it agrees on a new cooperation framework with UN nuclear watchdog

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, center, meets with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, left, and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP/Khaled Elfiqi)

Iran says it has agreed on a new cooperation framework with the UN nuclear watchdog after its suspension of cooperation following June attacks by Israel and the United States.

“Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have reached an understanding on how to engage under the new circumstances,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei tells state television after a meeting in Cairo between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.

Hostage point man tells families Israel working to safeguard captives after strike on Hamas leaders

Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza and their supporters protest outside a US Embassy event in Jerusalem, calling for the release of the hostages, September 9, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israel’s point man on hostages, Gal Hirsch, has reportedly told families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza that Israel is working to protect their loved ones following its strikes against Hamas leaders in Qatar this afternoon, adding that leaders of the terror group living abroad posed a “significant obstacle” in hostage negotiations.

According to Hebrew media reports, Hirsch sent a message to the families emphasizing that “We are monitoring the condition and location [of the hostages], especially in light of the developments of the past hours.”

Hirsch is quoted as saying that “Consistently and over time, the Hamas leadership known as ‘Hamas abroad’ has been an obstacle to reaching an agreement.”

He is said to have told the families that Israel accepted United States President Donald Trump’s latest proposal for a hostage release and ceasefire deal with Hamas, and will continue pressing to advance the deal.

“We are steadfast in our mission — to bring back all the hostages. They are before our eyes 24 hours a day,” Hirsch reportedly wrote, adding that he is in Washington and available to the families at all times.

White House condemns Israel for striking Hamas chiefs inside ally Qatar; Trump calls Netanyahu; tells Qatari leaders there’ll be no further attacks on their soil

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

The Trump Administration slams Israel for targeting Hamas leaders inside the territory of US ally Qatar, while stressing that eliminating Hamas is a worthy goal.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sets out the administration’s position in a prepared statement, in which she says US President Donald Trump told the Qataris of the impending Israeli strike after he learned about it from the US military. Trump also spoke to Netanyahu and to Qatar’s leaders after the attack.

Reading from the statement, she begins by saying the White House was notified “by the US military” ahead of the attack.

She then condemns Israel, saying that “unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel’s or America’s goals.”

However, she says, “eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”

She says Trump, on learning of the imminent strike, immediately told special envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris “of the impending attack, which he did.”

Trump “views Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the United States and feels very badly about the location of this attack,” says Leavitt.

Trump wants all of the hostages in Gaza and the bodies released, she adds, and “this war to end now.”

Noting that Trump called Netanyahu after the attacks, she continues: “The prime minister told President Trump that he wants to make peace, and quickly.”

Trump believes “this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace,” she says.

Trump also called the Qatari emir and prime minister to thank them for their “support and friendship” with the US, and he “assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil.”

Report says Israel has been planning strike on Hamas leaders for months

Israel has been planning the strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar for months, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, the IDF stepped up preparation in the past month, and a previous date for the operation was delayed for unspecified reasons.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office earlier said that he ordered the operation after yesterday’s deadly terror attack in Jerusalem, which was claimed by Hamas.

Hamas acknowledges 5 killed in Israeli strike, but claims assassination attempt of leaders failed

This frame grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after an Israeli strike in Doha's capital Qatar on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Jacqueline PENNEY / AFPTV / AFP)

In its first official statement since an Israeli airstrike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, the terror group acknowledges that 5 of its members were killed, but claims that Israel failed in what it called an attempt to assassinate the group’s ceasefire negotiation team.

According to the statement, the dead are Himam al-Hayya, son of Hamas leader in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya; Jihad Labad Abu Bilal, Khalil al-Hayya’s office director; and three “associates” — apparently bodyguards or advisers to senior Hamas officials — Abdullah Abu Khalil, Muaman Abu Omar, and Ahmad Abu Malek.

In the statement, Hamas said that the attack on the delegation while it was discussing the American ceasefire proposal “proves that Netanyahu and his government are not interested in reaching any agreement.”

Hamas, which has sometimes only confirmed the assassination of its leaders months later, offered no immediate proof that its top leaders had survived.

UK, France and Spain condemn Israeli strike in Qatar

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Toulon, southern France, August 29, 2025. (Manon Cruz/Pool via AP)

The United Kingdom, France, and Spain condemn Israel’s strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha today as violations of international law, calling for de-escalation in the region.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer writes on X that the strikes “violate Qatar’s sovereignty and risk further escalation across the region,” urging “an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and a huge surge in aid into Gaza.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also takes to X to say the strikes “are unacceptable, whatever the reason,” adding that, “Under no circumstances should the war spread throughout the region.”

Spain’s Foreign Ministry issues a statement against the attacks, saying they violate “Qatari territorial sovereignty” in a “flagrant breach of international law,” calling for “an immediate end to violence and a return to diplomatic negotiations.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hits back at Madrid, writing in a post on X that, after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced nine punitive measures against Israel for its wartime conduct in Gaza, “Yesterday – Hamas praised Spain’s decisions against Israel. Today – Spain condemned Israel’s strike against Hamas terrorist leaders.”

“This is how true partnership looks like” Sa’ar quips.

IDF chief: Strike on Hamas leaders shows Israel will ‘settle accounts with our enemies’ anywhere in world

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

While authorizing the strike on Hamas’s leadership in Qatar, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says Israel will “settle accounts with our enemies” anywhere in the world.

“These are the terrorists whose only aspiration was to be the spearhead for the destruction of the State of Israel. We will continue to carry out this mission everywhere, at any range, near and far, in order to settle accounts with our enemies,” he says to the Israeli Air Force pilots who set out to carry out the strike, according to remarks published by the IDF.

“We are settling a moral and ethical account on behalf of all the victims of October 7. We will not rest and we will not be silent until we bring back our hostages and defeat Hamas,” Zamir adds.

Qatar says one member of its security forces killed in Israeli strike on Doha

This frame grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after an Israeli strike in Doha's capital Qatar on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Jacqueline PENNEY / AFPTV / AFP)

The Qatari Interior Ministry announces that one member of the “internal security forces” was killed in the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha and several were injured.

The statement also says that Qatari security forces continue to secure the area hit by the strike.

Reports say that Qatar has been guarding the building where Hamas leaders would meet since October 7, 2023.

Channel 12 says that Qatar is using bulldozers at the site to try to bring out the bodies, adding that four bodies have been recovered so far.

Report: Israel informed US of Qatar strike when jets were in the air, Trump gave order to tell Qataris

Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jets fly over Israel en route to carry out strikes in Iran, in a handout photo published on June 25, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel informed the US of its intention to strike Hamas leaders in Qatar when the jets were already in the air, Channel 12 reports.

Quoting several US officials, the report says that the US, which has a large military base in Qatar, identified Israeli jets heading toward the east and demanded an explanation from Israel.

Israel informed the US that it was carrying out an attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar.

The information was sent to US President Donald Trump, who gave an order to inform Qatar.

However, the report says that the information was sent when the missiles were already in the air.

The report notes that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met with US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Miami yesterday and did not mention the plan.

Netanyahu on the strike on Hamas leaders: This can pave way to ‘immediate’ end of war in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in Jerusalem on September 9, 2025 (Screencapture/GPO)

In his English remarks at a US Embassy event in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu specifies that the “surgical, precision” Israeli airstrike targeting the “savage” Hamas leaders in Doha can pave the way to the “immediate” end of the war in Gaza.

“This action can open the door to the end of the war in Gaza,” he says.

He goes on, “Israel has accepted the proposal put forward by President Trump to end the war, beginning with the immediate release of all our hostages, which have been held in the dungeons of Gaza for 700 days.”

“If President Trump’s proposal is accepted, the war can end immediately,” he says, “We can begin once again to pursue the expansion of peace in our region for the benefit of all.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in Jerusalem on September 9, 2025 (GPO)

Netanyahu’s English formulation is a little different from his preceding Hebrew remarks, in which he said, “This war can end immediately, because we have already done something: We accepted the principles that President Trump set out to end the war. Those principles include the immediate release of all our hostages and the other principles for ending the war that Israel set out.”

IDF intercepts Houthi missile

A ballistic missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen at Israel a short while ago was intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

There are no immediate reports of impacts or injuries. Sirens had sounded in the Jerusalem area, southern West Bank settlements, and some communities near the Dead Sea.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have launched 81 ballistic missiles and at least 35 drones at Israel.

IDF identifies missile launched at Israel from Yemen; sirens in Jerusalem and West Bank

A ballistic missile has been launched from Yemen at Israel, the military says.

Sirens sound in the Jerusalem area, southern West Bank settlements, and several communities near the Dead Sea, following the launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen.

The IDF says it is working to shoot down the projectile.

Israeli defense official suggests strike on Hamas leaders could help bring war to an end

Defense Minister Israel Katz (center) and IDF chief Eyal Zamir (right) approve strikes on Yemen on August 28, 2025. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)

A “senior defense official” in a statement sent out to reporters says the Israeli strike on Hamas’s leadership in Qatar today may bring about an end to the war in the Gaza Strip.

“The beheading of Hamas’s leadership today in Qatar is a brilliant and powerful operation carried out by the IDF and the Shin Bet in accordance with the directive of the prime minister and defense minister,” the official says.

He says the strike, dubbed Summit of Fire, “constitutes a significant step in the victory over the Hamas terror organization, delivers justice to those responsible for the October 7 massacre, and strengthens Israel’s deterrent image, and may also generate a change of direction that will bring an end to the war in Gaza under the conditions set by the State of Israel, foremost among them the release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas.”

“This is also a message to the residents of Gaza that the time has come to rebel against the weakened Hamas and to act to end the war,” the official adds.

After Qatar strike, Netanyahu says no more immunity for terror leaders in ‘particular places’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on September 9, 2025 (Screencapture/GPO)

Speaking at a US Embassy event in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that “the days are over when terror leaders will enjoy immunity in a particular place.”

He makes the remarks after overseeing the airstrike in Qatar against Hamas leaders.

Says Netanyahu: “Our enemies must know one thing — since the creation of Israel, the blood of Jews is not cheap!”

He says the Hamas leaders were meeting in the exact place where they celebrated on October 7, 2023, while Hamas was still carrying out the slaughter inside Israel.

The war in Gaza can end “immediately,” he says, saying that Israel has accepted the principles that US President Donald Trump presented.

In English, he turns to the Gazan people: “Don’t be derailed by these murderous terrorists, by these killers. They don’t care a hoot about you…Their partners in Gaza don’t care about you. They go to the underground tunnels, and they keep you above ground so you serve as human shields for them.”

“Stand up for your rights and for your future,” he continues in a message that is sure to upset his far-right coalition partners. “Make peace with us, and accept President Trump’s proposal. Don’t worry, you can do it, and we can promise you a different future. But you’ve got to take these people out of the way. If you do, there is no limit to our common future.”

WATCH LIVE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Remarks at a US Embassy US Independence Day Event https://t.co/dGT8mPjaZw

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 9, 2025

Arabic reports: Five killed in strike in Qatar, not from Hamas leadership

Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli strike on Hamas leaders, in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (UGC via AP)

Arabic media outlets report that five people were killed in a strike in Qatar.

The reports say they were Hamas members but not part of the leadership.

According to the reports, the dead are Himam al-Hayya, son of Hamas Gaza leader Khalil al-Hayya; Jihad Labad Abu Bilal, Khalil al-Hayya’s office director; and three “associates,” possibly referring to bodyguards or advisers of senior Hamas officials – Abdullah Abu Khalil, Moamen Abu Omar, and Ahmad Abu Malek.

Israeli officials have said they are increasingly optimistic that Hamas’s leadership was killed after 10 bombs were dropped on the site, noting that Hamas has tried to conceal the loss of its leaders in the past.

Hostage families express ‘deep concern and heavy anxiety’ for Gaza captives after Doha strikes

Thousands attend a protest march in Jerusalem, calling for a deal to end to the war and secure the release of all the hostages from Hamas captivity, September 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

The forum representing the families of the hostages for the release of hostages held in Gaza expressed “deep concern” following an Israeli attack on Tuesday on Hamas’s leadership in Qatar, which has been mediating ceasefire talks.

“The families of the hostages are following the developments in Doha with deep concern and heavy anxiety. A grave fear now hangs over the price that the hostages may pay,” a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says, adding that: “The chance of bringing them back now faces greater uncertainty than ever before.”

NYPD steps up protection of religious sites after Qatar airstrike

NYPD officers stand guard during an anti-Israel rally at the Israeli consulate on October 9, 2023 in New York City, two days after the Hamas attack on southern Israel. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP)

The NYPD says it is “tracking the situation unfolding in Qatar” after Israeli airstrikes targeted Hamas leaders in Doha.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we’re deploying additional resources to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites across NYC,” the police say in a statement.

The NYPD is also coordinating its response with federal authorities, the statement says.

Law enforcement in New York often increases presence at Jewish sites and other locations during unrest in the Middle East due to fears the conflict could spill over into the city.

Israel said increasingly optimistic Doha strike killed Hamas leaders

Images appear to show the moment Israeli bombs hit a site in Doha, Qatar where Hamas leaders had gathered on September 9, 2025 (Screencapture/X)

Israel is increasingly optimistic that its strike on Hamas’s leadership in Qatar was successful, Army Radio cites a defense official as saying.

“It looks good, we knew Hamas would try to hide what happened there,” the official is quoted as saying.

Earlier, Hamas sources told Reuters that the terror group’s officials in the ceasefire negotiating team survived the Israeli attack.

Air Force dropped more than 10 bombs on Hamas HQ in Qatar during long-range mission

This frame grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after an Israeli strike in Doha's capital Qatar on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Jacqueline PENNEY / AFPTV / AFP)

More than 10 Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped over 10 munitions in the strike on Hamas’s leadership in Qatar, according to military officials.

The munitions all hit a building where Hamas leaders were believed to have been gathered within seconds.

En route to carrying out the strike and on the way back to Israel, several aerial refuelings were carried out.

Reported footage of the Israeli airstrike that targeted Hamas' leadership in Doha today. pic.twitter.com/vm0E4fepjZ

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) September 9, 2025

Turkey says Qatar strike shows Israel not interested in peace

This frame grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after an Israeli strike in Doha's capital Qatar on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Jacqueline PENNEY / AFPTV / AFP)

Turkey says Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar shows that Jerusalem is not interested in peace.

“The targeting of the Hamas negotiating delegation while ceasefire talks continue shows that Israel does not aim to reach peace, but rather continue the war,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry says in a statement.

“This situation is clear proof that Israel has adopted its expansionist politics in the region and terrorism as a state policy.”

PA’s Abbas condemns ‘blatant Israeli aggression against Qatar’

This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office (PPO) shows Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (C) holding hands with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (R) as he is received by the latter in Doha on February 12, 2024. (Photo by PPO / AFP)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemns the “blatant Israeli aggression against Qatar” after an Israeli strike targeted Hamas leaders in the Gulf nation.

In a statement from his office, he says the move “constitutes a grave violation of international law and an escalation that threatens security and stability in the region.”

The statement adds that “the solution lies in a just and comprehensive peace for the Palestinian cause.”

Spanish Vuelta cycle race stage 16 cut short due to anti-Israel protests

Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters wave flags and shout as the peloton rides by in Poio at the start of the 16th stage of the Vuelta a Espana on September 9, 2025. (Photo by Miguel RIOPA / AFP)

Stage 16 of the Vuelta a España was shortened by eight kilometers on Tuesday because of a “big protest” close to the finish, race organizers say.

Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests have affected several stages of cycling’s third-biggest grand tour, with stage 11 neutralized before the finish in Bilbao last week, and with no winner declared due to demonstrators disrupting the run-in.

There have been a series of disruptions by pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters during the three-week Grand Tour race in Spain, prompting calls for the Israeli team, Israel — Premier Tech, to withdraw.

UN chief condemns Israeli attack on Hamas’s headquarters in Doha

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, pictured at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IX) in Yokohama, Japan, on Wednesday, August 20, 2025. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemns the Israeli attack on Hamas’s headquarters in Doha.

“We are just learning about the Israeli attacks in Qatar, a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages,” Guterres tells reporters at a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

“I condemn this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” he says, adding, “all parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it.”

Israel informed US ahead of Qatar strike: White House official

A damaged building in Qatar after an Israeli airstrike targeted Hamas's leadership on September 9, 2025. (Screencapture/Reuters)

Israel notified the United States before it carried out airstrikes on senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha, a White House official says.

“We were informed in advance,” the official tells AFP on condition of anonymity about the strike on Qatar, a key US ally that’s home to a large US military base.

Netanyahu gave green light to strike on Hamas leaders after Jerusalem terror attack, killing of soldiers

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at the Shin Bet's command center during strikes on Hamas in Qatar, September 9, 2025. (Shin Bet)

Last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel’s security agencies to prepare for a strike on Hamas leaders abroad in the wake of yesterday’s terror attack in Jerusalem that killed six people and the deadly attack on an Israeli tank in northern Gaza that killed four soldiers, say Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz in a joint statement.

Katz “fully supported” the move, according to the statement.

The two identified an “operational opportunity” at noon today, they say, and gave the green light to the IDF and Shin Bet.

“The Prime Minister and Defense Minister believed the operation was fully justified, given that this Hamas leadership was the one that initiated and organized the October 7th massacre,” Netanyahu and Katz say, “and has since continued to carry out murderous attacks against Israel and its citizens, including taking responsibility for the murder of our civilians in yesterday’s attack in Jerusalem.”

UAE expresses solidarity with Qatar, Jordan condemns ‘brutal Israeli aggression’

A damaged building in Qatar after an Israeli airstrike targeted Hamas's leadership on September 9, 2025 (Screencapture/Reuters)

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed offers a brief comment on the Israeli strike on Hamas leader in Qatar, posting on X: “In full solidarity with dear Qatar.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi sharply condemns the attack, calling it “a blatant violation of international law, a serious threat to the security of the brotherly Qatari people and residents of Qatar, and an extension of the brutal Israeli aggression that threatens the security and stability of the region.”

“Israel will continue to persist in its aggression,” he continues, “its brutal wars, its violations of international law, and its threat to regional and international peace and security unless the international community, especially the Security Council, takes the necessary steps to deter it and curb its aggression.”

More than 500 experts sign demand that genocide ‘scholars’ group retract accusation against Israel

A woman wears a sticker reading "Gaza = Genocide, Boycott Israel" ahead of the opening ceremony of the 82nd Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido, on August 27, 2025. (Tiziana FABI / AFP)

A letter demanding the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) rescind an accusation against Israel is finalized with 537 signatories.

The signees include experts in the field of law, antisemitism, history, the Holocaust and genocide, as well as former prosecutors and government officials.

The IAGS has a membership of around 500, although only 129 voted on the genocide resolution, most of those in favor.

The IAGS also has an open-door policy for members, with no qualifications needed to join, and did not release the names of those who voted to accuse Israel of genocide.

The list finalized today includes the name and affiliation of the signatories.

They include Eli Rosenbaum, a former US Department of Justice war crimes prosecutor; Jeffrey Mausner, a former Nazi war crimes prosecutor for the US; Bruce Einhorn, a former US federal judge; Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian minister of justice; and prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz.

Other signatories include faculty at universities across the US, the Holocaust Museum of South Florida and the Vermont Holocaust Memorial.

The campaign was organized in large part by the Academic Engagement Network, a Jewish advocacy group for university faculty.

“Scholarship must be guided by rigorous standards of empirical accuracy and academic integrity, not distorted for ideological ends,” said the group’s director, Miriam Elman.

Saudi Arabia condemns ‘criminal’ Israeli strike on Qatari soil

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speaks at the Saudi-US Investment Forum at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has called Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Al Thani to condemn Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, says the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

The crown prince offers Saudi Arabia’s “full support for the sisterly State of Qatar, and its condemnation of the blatant Israeli attack on the sisterly State of Qatar, which constitutes a criminal act and a flagrant violation of international laws and norms,” says the kingdom’s Foreign Ministry.

Saudi Arabia says it is also “deploying all its capabilities” to support Qatar “and the measures it is taking to protect its security and preserve its sovereignty.”

Shin Bet publishes photo of Israeli leaders at command center during Doha strike

L-R: Defense Minister Israel Katz, Military Secretary to the Prime Minister Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu's chief of staff Tzachi Braverman, and acting Shin Bet head "Mem" are seen at the agency's command center during strikes on Hamas in Qatar, September 9, 2025. (Shin Bet)

The Shin Bet security agency publishes photos from its special operations command center during the Israeli Air Force strike against Hamas’s leadership in Qatar.

During the strike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, acting Shin Bet chief “Mem,” IDF Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder and other officials were at the command center.

The strike targeting Hamas’s leadership, dubbed Summit of Fire, was a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet.

Palestinian reports say 2 killed in Doha strike, but fatalities do not include leaders

Palestinian media reports that two people were killed in the Israeli airstrike in Doha, but senior Hamas leaders were not.

Reports name the dead as Himam al-Hayya, the son of Hamas leader in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya, and Jihad Labad, the director of Khalil al-Hayya’s office.

According to the reports, no other Palestinians were killed in the attack.

Hamas sources say leaders survived Israeli strike

Two Hamas sources tell Reuters that Hamas officials in the ceasefire negotiating team survived the attack.

Israeli officials told Reuters the strike was aimed at top Hamas leaders including Khalil al-Hayya, the terror group’s exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator.

Several blasts were heard in Qatar’s Doha, Reuters witnesses said. Plumes of black smoke were billowing from the city’s Legtifya petrol station. Next door to the petrol station is a small residential compound that has been guarded by Qatar’s emiri guard 24 hours a day since the beginning of the Gaza conflict.

Ambulances and at least 15 police and unmarked government cars thronged the streets around the blast site an hour after the strike.

المبنى المقصوف في الدوحة

قيادة حماس كانت بالمقر pic.twitter.com/wOukbZh5cd

— Hanzala (@Hanzpal2) September 9, 2025

IDF says it shot down drone launched from Yemen

A drone launched by the Houthis in Yemen at Israel was shot down by the Israeli Air Force near Eilat a short while ago, the IDF says.

No sirens were activated.

Israeli politicians hail strike on Hamas leaders

Politicians across the political spectrum celebrate this afternoon’s apparent Israeli airstrike against Hamas leaders in Qatar.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid releases a statement congratulating “the Air Force, IDF, Shin Bet and all security forces for an extraordinary operation to thwart our enemy,” although he does not mention anybody belonging to the political echelon.

Unlike Lapid, Blue and White-National Unity chairman Benny Gantz commends “the political echelon” for its decision to launch the strike, stating that Israel “must pursue Hamas terrorists and their leaders everywhere and at all times.”

“The most important thing now: not to miss opportunities. Leverage the achievements of our fighters to bring back all the hostages and replace Hamas rule in Gaza,” he tweets.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tweets that “terrorists do not have and will not have immunity from the long arm of Israel anywhere in the world.”

“We made a correct decision and it was perfectly executed by the IDF and Shin Bet,” he writes, thanking God.

“Jewish blood is no longer cheap. The decision we made to attack those who brought upon us the massacre of October 7 is another historic decision in a series of important and historic decisions we have made,” declares National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. “I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed,” he adds, quoting from Psalm 18.

“Thus shall all thy enemies perish, O Lord. Israel’s long hand will not be shortened in the face of any enemy, whoever it may be,” posts Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, congratulating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his cabinet and Israel’s security forces “for a precise and lethal operation.”

Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf tweets “to every place we want in every way we choose” alongside flexing muscle and Israeli flag emojis, while fellow Otzma Yehudit lawmaker Almog Cohen posts a photo of senior Hamas leaders with with the word “revenge” in Arabic.

انتقام! pic.twitter.com/Ov0buXySXA

— אלמוג כהן Almog cohen (@almog_cohen08) September 9, 2025

“The time has come to punish the little devil, the backbone of the great devil,” declares Likud MK Avichai Boaron, while Otzma Yehudit MK Zvika Fogel enthuses that the Qataris, who have been involved in mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas, “have learned a new form of negotiation under fire.”

Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot insists that “there is no move that brings the return of the hostages closer than the elimination of Hamas leaders.”

“The leaders of Hamas are marked for death. Every one of them. Our hostages are not. Netanyahu’s test after 704 days is one: the swift return of all hostages and the end of the war,” tweets The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv.

‘Israel takes full responsibility’: Netanyahu says Qatar strike 100% Israeli operation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the scene of a terror attack at Ramot junction, entrance to Jerusalem, September 8, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The strike against Hamas leaders in Doha was an entirely Israeli operation, says the Prime Minister’s Office in an English-language statement.

“Today’s action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation,” writes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

“Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”

Prime Minister's Office:

Today's action against the top terrorist chieftains of Hamas was a wholly independent Israeli operation.

Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 9, 2025

Israeli media reports say that US President Donald Trump was aware of the planned strike and gave his blessing.

Two days ago Trump issued a “last warning” to Hamas.

“I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. “This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

Hamas official says group’s leaders had gathered in Doha to discuss ceasefire deal

People watch as leaflets dropped by the Israeli military urging evacuation south to al-Mawasi land in Gaza City on September 9, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

A Hamas official in Gaza tells AFP that the Palestinian group’s leaders targeted in Israel’s strike in Doha had gathered to discuss the latest ceasefire proposal.

“In a new Zionist crime, the Hamas negotiating delegation was targeted during its meeting in Doha, while discussing (US) President (Donald) Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” the official says on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak on the issue.

IDF says name of Qatar strike operation is ‘Summit of Fire’

The name of the IDF strike on Hamas’s leadership in Qatar is Operation Summit of Fire, according to the military.

Channel 12 previously reported the name was “Day of Judgment.”

Conflicting reports emerge on fate of Hamas leaders targeted in Doha strike

Al Jazeera reports, citing a senior Hamas official, that the Hamas leadership headed by Khalil al-Hayya, which had convened in Qatar, survived the strike.

However, the Saudi channel Al-Hadath reported earlier that several senior Hamas figures — including Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Mashaal, Zaher Jabarin, and Nizar Awadallah — had been killed.

There has been no official statement from Hamas or Qatari authorities.

Palestinian Authority condemns strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar

The deputy chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Hussein al-Sheikh, condemns the Israeli strike in Qatar against senior Hamas officials.

In a statement on X, al-Sheikh writes that this is “a grave violation of international law and of Qatar’s sovereignty, and it threatens stability in the region.”

Senior Qatari official says targeted Hamas leaders had gathered to discuss ceasefire proposal

A composite image of the five members of Hamas's temporary joint leadership. Top row from left: Zaher Jabarin, Khaled Mashaal, Khalil al-Hayya. Bottom row from left: Muhammad Ismail Darwish, Nizar Awadallah. (Credits: Mahmud Hams/AFP, Louai Beshara/AFP, Hamas, Ashraf Amra/APA/ZUMA Press via Alamy)

A senior Qatari official blasts Israel for conducting a strike on Hamas’s leaders on Qatari soil, saying it came as Doha was working to advance the hostage deal framework crafted last week by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

“Hamas received the new US proposal from us, which we obtained from Witkoff last week in Paris. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani met with Hamas negotiators yesterday. The Hamas delegation then decided to meet again today to discuss the proposal, traveling from Turkey to Qatar where the strike took place,” the official continues.

“However, as has happened before, the Israelis undermined hopes for peace, further prolonging the war and complicating efforts to bring back the hostages,” says the senior Qatari official in a statement.

Reports say Hamas top leaders were in Doha building hit by strike including Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Mashaal

From left to right: Hamas West Bank leader Zaher Jabarin, the chairman of the group's consultative council Mohammed Ismail Darwish, known as Abu Omar Hassan, and senior official Khaled Mashaal receive condolences during the funeral of the terror group's top leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Qatari capital Doha on August 2, 2024. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)

Arab media reports say Hamas’s top leaders were all present when the building they were in was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

Among the members of the delegation attacked at the Hamas headquarters in Doha was the Hamas leader in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya.

Also believed to have been present at the headquarters during the strike were senior Hamas figures: Zaher Jabarin, who leads Hamas in the West Bank, Muhammad Darwish, head of Hamas’s Shura Council, and Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas abroad.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh leads other leaders of the terror group in prayer as footage of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror attack is aired on TV. Khalil al-Hayya is standing behind him (second from right).(Screen capture/X)

There was no official confirmation from authorities.

AG tells High Court that Ben Gvir has violated commitment not to interfere with police

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sits next to senior police officers at event inaugurating volunteer police unit at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron on July 9, 2025. (Israel Police)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara tells the High Court of Justice that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has violated commitments he made to the court not to interfere in operative police policy relating to protests and investigations, and to ensure that the police remained politically neutral.

“Despite the minister’s commitment to the honorable court to act in accordance with the principles that were formulated in his agreement as a guarantee for upholding the law, the principles are being violated and the law is being violated,” the attorney general tells the High Court.

“This is being done in a manner that will further harm the proper, professional and politically neutral activities of the police,” the attorney general added, and called on the court to schedule an urgent hearing on the case.

The attorney general’s submission to the High Court was made as part of proceedings over previously submitted petitions asking the court to order Ben Gvir removed from office for unlawfully interfering with operative police policies, appointments and investigations.

In April, the attorney general and the far-right minister agreed on a set of core principles with which he would comply, and which were submitted to the court, in order for Baharav-Miara to agree to defend Ben Gvir in the High Court of Justice against the petitions.

Qatar ‘strongly condemns’ Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, calling it ‘cowardly’

This frame grab from AFPTV footage shows Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari speaking during a media briefing in Doha on June 17, 2025. (Jacqueline PENNEY / AFPTV / AFP)

Qatar “strongly condemns” the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, calling it “cowardly.”

Saying that the strike “targeted residential buildings housing several members of the Political Bureau of Hamas,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari says that the “criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar.”

Ansari adds that Qatar “will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and the ongoing disruption of regional security, nor any act that targets its security and sovereignty.”

Qatar is investigating “at the highest level,” he says.

Hamas claims responsibility for deadly Jerusalem attack yesterday

Police and rescue personnel at the scene of a terror attack at Ramot Junction, Jerusalem, September 8, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claims responsibility for yesterday’s attack in Jerusalem in which six people were killed.

In a statement, the terror group says that the assailants who carried out the attack, Muhammad Taha and Muthanna Amro, were members. No further details were provided about the planning or execution of the attack.

Israel said to name strike on Hamas in Qatar ‘Day of Judgment’

Footage posted to social media shows explosions in Doha, Qatar on September 9, 2025. (X: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The official name for the strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar is “Atzeret HaDin,” which translates roughly to Day of Judgment, according to Channel 12.

The name evokes the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, during which Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023. It also signals the coming Jewish High Holidays.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left his closed-door legal hearing today for a long recess because of “an exceptional security matter,” according to the Kan public broadcaster.

He spoke at length with his military secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, reports Kan.

Trump said to give Israel green light for strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar

US President Donald Trump speaks to the White House Religious Liberty Commission during an event at the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US President Donald Trump gave the green light for the Israeli strike in Qatar, a senior Israeli official tells Channel 12.

Longtime Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal — whom Israel tried to assassinate in Jordan in 1997 — was among the Hamas leaders at the meeting targeted by Israel, according to the report.

IDF says it carried out airstrike on Hamas leadership as explosions rock Doha

Footage posted to social media shows explosions in Doha, Qatar on September 9, 2025. (X: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

In a statement, the IDF and Shin Bet announce targeting Hamas’s leadership in a strike carried out by the Israeli Air Force.

The statement does not explicitly mention Qatar, but comes following reports of large explosions in Doha, where Hamas’s top leadership resides.

“The members of the leadership who were struck led the terror organization’s activities for years, and are directly responsible for carrying out the October 7 massacre and waging the war against the State of Israel,” the statement says.

The military says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using precision munitions and other intelligence.

Israel said to carry out strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar

The explosion in Qatar’s capital of Doha is the result of an Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in the city, unnamed senior Israeli officials tell Hebrew media.

Most of Hamas’s leadership in Gaza has been killed in the war that began on October 7, 2023, while the terror group’s political leadership abroad has mostly been untouched.

Qatar serves as one of the two Arab countries, along with Egypt, mediating talks between Israel and Hamas.

#عاجل | رويترز: تصاعد أعمدة الدخان عقب انفجارات في الدوحة pic.twitter.com/8UF9RpL00u

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) September 9, 2025

Several blasts heard in Qatar’s Doha

Several blasts are heard in Qatar’s capital, Doha, Reuters witnesses say.

Smoke was seen rising over the Katara District in the capital, an eyewitness says.

Reporte sobre explosiones en Doha, Catar.
Se trataría aparentemente de un intento de asesinato.

Se continuará actualizando en caso necesario/relevancia.

Moked Bitajón pic.twitter.com/phTPDFh0ZI

— Moked Bitajon X (@Moked_Bitajon) September 9, 2025

Army to destroy homes of two Palestinian terrorists who killed woman on her way to give birth

Tzeela Gez, who was killed in a West Bank terror shooting on the night of May 14, 2025 (Facebook, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

The army says it is planning on razing the West Bank homes of two Palestinians who carried out a shooting attack earlier this year that killed a pregnant woman on her way to a hospital to give birth.

The IDF said it would destroy the homes of Naael and Maher Samarah.

Naael Samarah, a member of Hamas, was shot and killed by the IDF in the days after the attack, while Maher Samarah was one of three other accomplices arrested and charged.

In the attack on May 14, near the Palestinian village of Bruqin and the settlement of Bruchin, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire from the side of a road on Israeli motorists, killing Tzeela Gez, 30, and wounding her husband.

Gez had been heading to a hospital to give birth. Her baby, named Ravid Haim, was delivered by emergency C-section at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, but died 15 days later.

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks, saying the measure is intended as a deterrent.

Lawmakers call for better, clearer rules for burying stillborns

Speaking at a meeting of the Knesset Health Committee on the topic of the urgent need to update the protocols for the burial of fetuses and stillborns, MK Yonatan Mashriki (Shas) calls on the Health Ministry to quickly formulate a uniform, national protocol for handling the burial of fetuses, and to publish an information booklet for parents about their rights.

Critics say that parents of stillborns, who are already in the throes of mental anguish, often encounter confusing procedures, a lack of organized information, and an inadequate response from medical and government agencies when dealing with how to bury the fetus.

Mashriki calls on the Health Ministry to convene a roundtable with the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the National Insurance Institute, and burial companies to act promptly to update the procedure, which was last revised in 2014.

According to the initiator of the discussion, MK Michal Waldiger (Religious Zionism party), stillbirths are a “human tragedy that strikes approximately 1,500 families every year.”

Ohad Weigler, a representative of the nonprofit Itim, says the ministry has been working on the issue “for over three years, and with each passing day, additional families join the circle of pain.”

He says that the existing protocol gives parents the right to attend the funeral organized by the hospital, but this right is not included in the forms submitted for their signature.

Hila Cohen-Eiss, who had a stillbirth 13 years ago, says that she only found out after signing the forms presented to her in the delivery room that she had effectively given up “all information regarding my son and his burial place.”

She stresses the need for parents to wait to sign the forms in another hospital ward or at home, to allow them to cope with the loss.

She says the hospital rabbi told her she lost her rights to know the burial place of her son, whom she named Yonatan.

“I still don’t know where he is buried,” Cohen-Eiss says.

After he’s banned, Ben Gvir says Spain should take in Gazans

Responding to Spain’s decision to bar him and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tweets in Spanish: “Don’t let me in… but give the people from Gaza free entry into Spain.”

Spain in July allowed 16 Gazans to come to the country for medical treatment.

Madrid announced an hour ago that it was banning Ben Gvir and Smotrich in the wake of Israeli sanctions against two Spanish ministers and Israeli claims that Spain’s government was advancing antisemitic policies.

Israel’s moves came in response to an announcement from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of an arms embargo and partial import ban over Israel’s wartime conduct in Gaza.

Spain also recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv for consultations Monday.

Spain bans Smotrich, Ben Gvir in latest reciprocal rap

Spain is barring National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares says at a press conference, amid an ongoing tit-for-tat between Jerusalem and Madrid.

The move comes after Israel announced it would impose sanctions on two Spanish ministers, and accused Spain’s government of advancing antisemitic policies.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry also recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv for consultations in response to the antisemitism charge.

The latest flurry of diplomatic measures comes after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Monday an arms embargo and partial import ban over Israel’s wartime conduct in Gaza. Spain broke with European allies last year by recognizing a Palestinian state.

Spain’s decision comes five weeks after Ben Gvir and Smotrich were banned from entering The Netherlands. Slovenia and Belgium have also banned the two ministers. Belgium is reportedly working to extend this ban across all 29 European states that are members of the Schengen Agreement.

EU foreign policy czar says Israel sanctions primed, but some states don’t want to pull trigger

The European Commission’s plans to impose a freeze on trade and suspend a research agreement with Israel are being thwarted by opposition from members states, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas tells the European Parliament, according to Politico.

“Our options for more action are clear and remain on the table, but member states disagree on how to get the Israeli government to change course,” Kaja Kallas is quoted saying. “We cannot move as a union until member states share the same view on what to do.”

Kallas is quoted saying that the commission compiled a whole “inventory” of possible steps against Israel, but needs unity to implement any of the measures.

Among the options are a ban on trade and kicking Israel out of participation in the Horizon fund, which awards multi-million euro grants to scientific research and other innovations.

She is also quoted saying that “I believe we must continue diplomatic efforts with Israel because we cannot get anywhere if we do not talk.”

Israel has long relied on a handful of countries, largely on the eastern end of the 28-nation bloc, to stymie EU designs against it.

Lebanon says Hezbollah will be disarmed south of Litani within months

Fighters from the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah carry out a training exercise in Aaramta village in the Jezzine District, southern Lebanon, May 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanon’s army will have fully disarmed Hezbollah near the border with Israel within three months, Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi tells AFP.

Raggi says army chief Rodolphe Haykal presented the government with a five-stage plan last week to implement a policy setting the Lebanese state as the only legitimate bearer of arms.

The first stage should take “three months… during which the removal of weapons will be completed south of the Litani River,” in November, he says.

Israel has demanded for years that armed Hezbollah activity be barred south of the Litani, which is located some 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Israeli border in many places.

Bennett defends attorney general, takes aim at ministers, in new recording

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett speaks during a tech conference in Ness Ziona, May 5, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

In newly published audio from a recent conference in Kfar Saba, former prime minister Naftali Bennett can be heard defending the conduct of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara while launching fierce attacks on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Education Minister Yoav Kisch.

In the recordings, published by the Walla news site, Bennett criticizes the slow pace of judicial proceedings but speaks out against the coalition’s judicial overhaul agenda while defending Baharav-Miara, who he says “helped [the previous government] bring the Shin Bet into the fight against crime in Arab society — within legal limits.”

Bennett’s short-lived government appointed Baharav-Miara, who is now facing being fired by the current government over her professional opinions against the legality of many of its policies.

“That is exactly her role: to allow the government to implement legitimate policy. In contrast, the current government behaves differently – instead of coming to work, it is busy with jobs and politics, and therefore the attorney general is forced to stand against it as a gatekeeper,” he said.

Bennett calls Ben Gvir “the most failed police minister in the history of the state,” whose decision to disband an inter-ministerial team dealing with Arab crime led to a soaring murder rate.

A steadily rising murder rate in the Arab community was briefly halted under Bennett, but the tally has since risen every year, with 2025 on pace to break last year’s record murder rate.

As for Kisch, Bennett says that the education minister was focused on providing jobs for Likud activists, prompting Kisch to release a statement accusing Bennett of lying and threatening a lawsuit.

“This time he crossed a red line with lies and slander that have no connection to reality. The matter will be dealt with through legal means,” Kisch says in a statement.

Bennett in the recording promises to establishment a state commission of inquiry into October 7, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being “busy blaming everyone – the Shin Bet, the army, the Attorney General.”

The former right-wing party leader states that his new faction has already recruited 200 local campaign chiefs and 9,000 activists, adding that he is being much more careful in vetting candidates for his 2026 Knesset candidate list.

This is the second time that Walla has reported comments made by Bennett during last week’s conference. In a previous report, the news site quoted Bennett as stating that the current government was made up of “stupid” ministers and that he intended to unite the various opposition parties and figures to form a “big party” that could defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition in the next election.

‘Shameful’: Freed hostages chide MKs for failing captives, say they would act to save own relatives

Sharon Aloni Cunio at a Knesset meeting on September 9, 2025. (Ron Melamed/ Hostage and Missing Families Forum)

Addressing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, freed hostages Iair Horn and Sharon Aloni Cunio demand the return of those remaining in Hamas captivity, blaming lawmakers and the government for failing to secure their release.

Aloni Cunio, who was freed in November 2023 along with her two daughters, Yuli and Emma, but whose husband David Cunio and brother-in-law Ariel Cunio remain hostage, complains that lawmakers are doing “the exact opposite of bringing [the hostages] back.”

“Why aren’t you by our side — is it because they’re not your family members?” she asks. “How much longer will I lie to my daughters, telling them [that their father will be released] any minute now?”

“How much more can I take? This is daily abuse. Why do I have to come here and reopen my trauma just to fight for my husband and brother-in-law? It’s shameful that you have not a shred of compassion for us or for them. I’m sorry I have to come and disrupt your agenda just to remind you that there are still 48 hostages there. I hope this moves you — even just a little,” she declares.

Horn, who was abducted from his Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7 and released from Hamas captivity in February 2025 as part of a mediated ceasefire-hostage release deal, but whose brother Eitan remains captive, says a deal “is probably the best way to release the rest of the hostages.”

“My heart is broken. What happened yesterday was another blow,” he says, referring to the four IDF servicemen killed in a Hamas attack on the outskirts of Gaza City early Monday morning.

He recalls how he helped his brother younger brother Eitan run for his life while Israeli forces bombed near the tunnel in which they were being held.

“I’m stuck on October 7. The whole family is stuck. I’ll probably never get over it. I’ll cope, but I think the country is in distress, the people of Israel are in distress, and in order to begin to heal, we need to end this whole thing — the entire war — and bring back the hostages, and go back to trying to be something closer to a proper country and society,” he says.

France defends Palestine recognition as key to Arab support for disarming Hamas

French Ambassador to Israel Frederic Journes defends France’s campaign this month to recognize and rally support for recognition of a Palestinian state despite Israel’s strong opposition, saying Paris views the move as “key leverage” that can help Israel by building an international coalition to oversee postwar Gaza and by encouraging greater Arab cooperation with Israel.

“Our recognition of Palestine was the key leverage that we used together with Saudi Arabia to bring on board Muslim and Arab states, to accept a future normalized with Israel. It brought on board countries like Qatar to say that the future of Gaza [needs to be] Hamas-free,” Journes tells Israeli reporters.

While aware that French recognition “is often depicted [in Israel] as a reward for Hamas, a reward for terror, and a threat to Israeli security, [it] is not that,” he adds, stressing that the process France is endorsing through recognition “contains a proposal signed even by the Arab League of a future of normalization with Israel [alongside] a Palestinian state.”

The envoy refers to the outcome document of a July United Nations conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on reviving the two-state solution. At that conference, Arab and Muslim states — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey — signed a declaration that, for the first time, condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, demanded the release of all hostages, called on Hamas to disarm, and urged an end so its rule of Gaza.

“While it might be considered as just words,” he adds, the declaration also calls on the Palestinian Authority not only to cooperate with Israel but also to commit to being a demilitarized state. It further urges the PA to crack down on terror by ending payments to terrorists and their families, stopping anti-Israel incitement, and holding elections only for parties that recognize Israel and support peace.

“The initiative also proposes a path for Gaza with a stabilization force — which we are trying to build – on the governance that will not include Hamas,” he adds.

“All of this needs, of course, to be translated into facts, but this is a start of a process,” he adds.

“The security of Israel is extremely important to us,” he continues, noting that Israel has condemned unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state over concerns that it rewards Hamas and fails to facilitate a viable peace plan.

He adds that the ongoing conflict in Gaza must be brought to an end: “Endless war may be reassuring at first because your neighborhood is not a friendly one, but it must be exhausting.”

“Peace is hard. The only thing is, war is harder,” the ambassador says.

Some Gaza City residents seen resisting Israeli warnings to flee south

Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza carry their belongings along the coastal road toward southern Gaza, Tuesday, September 9, 2025, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders from Gaza City. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza report on a protest by dozens of people in Gaza City insisting that they will not leave the city.

Footage shows demonstrators carrying signs reading “We will not leave” and expressing the sentiment that they will only leave when they’re dead.

Israel has stepped up warnings for residents of the city to leave, issuing a call for the entire city to evacuate to southern Gaza and dropping leaflets with the warning over the city.

"النزوح من غزة نحو السماء فقط"..

الأهالي في مدينة غزة ينظمون وقفة للتأكيد على رفض النزوح والخروج من المدينة وعدم الرضوخ لتهديدات الاحتلال.#لن_نرحل#مش_طالعين pic.twitter.com/N0FEFlsl7p

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) September 9, 2025

Public protests are rare in Gaza, and the fact that it was publicized by Hamas media may indicate that the rally was organized by the terror group rather than being a spontaneous demonstration.

Israel says Hamas is trying to stop Gazans from leaving the city, hoping to use them as human shields.

Many in the city, including some who have been displaced repeatedly during the war, have expressed exasperation with the demand to evacuate, arguing that nowhere in the enclave is safe.

“Despite the bombardment in the past week, I have resisted leaving, but now I will go to be with my daughter,” a 55-year-old mother of six tells Reuters by text message.

While pictures out of Gaza show some leaving to the south, there are no immediate signs of a mass exodus in the wake of Israel’s warnings.

Another Gazan woman says the choice now is whether “to stay and die at home in Gaza City, or follow Israel orders and leave Gaza and die in the south.”

Nazi exploitation of soccer on show in WJC exhibit at UN Human Rights Council

The "Sports. Crowds. Power." exhibit at the United Nations Palais des Nations in an undated photo. (Shahar Azran)

As the United Nations’ Human Rights Council meets this week in Geneva, the World Jewish Congress and German NGO What Matters have installed an exhibition showing how the Nazi regime exploited soccer to spread propaganda and persecute Jews.

First shown at Berlin’s Olympiapark during UEFA Euro 2024, the exhibition, entitled “Sports. Crowds. Power.” examines how Jewish athletes and clubs were marginalized, while some continued to play even in ghettos and concentration camps. It also addresses the incomplete reckoning with extremism in postwar soccer culture.

“Bringing this exhibition to the United Nations is our way of sounding the alarm,” says WJC Israel CEO Sara Friedman. “The diplomatic community has an obligation to reflect on the dangers, and the deadly consequences, of silence and inaction.”

She adds, “Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, we must ensure that the sporting community stands firmly against antisemitism.”

The exhibit is on display at the United Nations Palais des Nations through September 12, and will be moved to Geneva’s main stadium for public viewings September 15–19.

Israel has accepted Trump proposal for Gaza, ready to end war ‘tomorrow,’ Sa’ar says

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, left, speaks in Zagreb, Croatia, alongside Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić-Radman on September 9, 2025. (Shalev Man/Foreign Ministry)

Israel “said yes” to US President Donald Trump’s latest proposal for a hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says during a press conference in Croatia.

“The war in Gaza can end tomorrow,” says Sa’ar.

“We are ready to accept a deal that would end this war, based on the cabinet decision,” Sa’ar says. He adds that Israel’s government has two demands for the war to end — the release of all Israelis hostages and Hamas laying down its arms.

Hamas’s disarmament “ensures a better future for Gazans, for the Palestinians there,” he continues, calling Hamas “a problem for Palestinians and for the region.”

The US and Israel have yet to detail what the proposal entails, though some purported details have been leaked to the press, including the immediate release of all hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and an agreement by Israel not to resume fighting. Channel 12 news reported on Sunday that under the new proposal, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza would be gradual but would take place mostly at the start of the ceasefire. Negotiators would then have 60 days — or as long as it takes — to come to an agreement on the disarmament of Hamas, the specifics of Israel’s withdrawal, and an alternative government for Gaza, according to the network.

Sa’ar also praises Lebanon’s government for its cabinet decision to disarm the Hezbollah terror group, calling it “very important for the future of Lebanon and for the region as a whole.”

“Israelis and Palestinians have suffered enough,” says Sa’ar. “As long as these terror states exist, as long as Hamas remains in power, the suffering on both sides will not end.”

Kathmandu chaos: Nepali PM resigns as social media protesters defy curfew, torch politicians’ homes

People displaying Nepal's national flag burn tires during a demonstration in Kathmandu on September 9, 2025. (Prabin RANABHAT / AFP)

Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has resigned amid fiery protests in Kathmandu as anti-corruption demonstrators defy an indefinite curfew and clash with police, a day after 19 people died in violent protests triggered by a social media ban.

The unrest is the worst in decades in the poor Himalayan country that is wedged between India and China and has struggled with political instability and economic uncertainty since protests led to the abolition of its monarchy in 2008.

Oli’s government lifted the social media ban after protests turned violent Monday, with police opening fire on protesters outside of parliament, killing 19 and injuring more than a 100.

But anger against the government has shown no signs of abating, as protesters gather in front of parliament and other places in the capital Kathmandu, with indications that some have set fire to the homes of politicians.

I am inside the Nepal Parliament right now. Nepali Youth are celebrating the fall of KP Sharma Oli Govt and Parliament being gutted in Kathmandu. The Nepal Parliament is burning. pic.twitter.com/LHM1EmSaAu

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 9, 2025

Protesters also set fire to tire on some roads, throw stones at police personnel in riot gear and chase them through narrow streets amid clouds of thick black smoke.

Arrival of planes from the southern side at Kathmandu airport, Nepal’s main international gateway, was closed because of poor visibility due to the smoke from fires set by protesters in areas nearby, aviation authority official Gyanendra Bhul said.

Helicopter movement in TIA, #Kathmandu sky filled with black smoke.#EnoughisEnough #BoycottGovernment #Nepalprotest #endcorruption pic.twitter.com/W5AuCY5xkA

— Anup Pokharel (@utdAOMINE) September 9, 2025

Hundreds of people from some towns located near the India-Nepal border have started marching towards Kathmandu to support the protesters, one tells Reuters by phone.

Ben Gvir okays arming residents of Yeruham in Negev

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, left, speaks with Yeruham Mayor Nili Aharon on September 8, 2025. (Courtesy/Office of Itamar Ben Gvir)

Residents of Yeruham will now be eligible for personal firearms licenses, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announces, a day after he visited the southern town.

The working-class Negev burg joins over a dozen localities across the country whose residents are newly eligible for gun permits, which are normally restricted to those in areas considered at high risk of terror activity.

The announcement is the latest development in the far-right lawmaker’s ongoing reform to arm Israel’s civilian population.

In a statement, Ben Gvir says it was “once again proven that firearms save lives” during yesterday’s deadly terror attack at a Jerusalem bus stop, in which an off-duty soldier and an armed civilian shot and killed the two Palestinian gunmen.

Yeruham’s local council head Nili Aharon says the step will “enhance the feeling of security” for residents of the sleepy town, which is rarely mentioned in the context of terror. “There is no doubt that in the current reality this is essential,” she adds.

Requests for gun permits surged following Hamas’s massive October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. According to Ben Gvir’s office, over 230,000 gun licenses have been issued since the start of the firearms reform, which he began before the war.

The campaign to arm civilians is not without its critics, and several women’s groups have decried the rising number of guns in Israeli homes, saying it poses a risk to victims of domestic violence.

The increased ease of the licensing process has also prompted accusations that some of those acquiring permits are not fit to own a gun, and would be liable to kill others with the weapons. Police do not collect data on the number of people shot by privately held firearms, however.

In the wake of October 7, the National Security Ministry also granted temporary authority to Ben Gvir’s personal staff appointees, Knesset employees and others to approve gun license applications. Several were subsequently investigated by police on suspicion that the ministry inappropriately issued firearms permits.

Israeli schools have among largest class sizes, lowest teacher salaries, OECD report finds

First graders sit in their classroom on the first day of school in Jerusalem, September 1, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Israel has the second-most crowded classrooms among developed countries and salaries for its teachers are among the lowest despite spending more of its GDP on primary, secondary, and post-secondary education than any other country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the group says in a new report.

The latest OECD figures show that Israel’s average elementary school class size stood at 27 students in 2023, unchanged from a decade earlier. For middle school, class sizes have grown from 28 in 2013 to 30 in 2023. Only Chile’s classes are more crowded, the report finds.

The report notes that in most OECD countries, the average class size in elementary schools is 21 students, and that all have fewer than 25, except for Chile, Israel, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

The annual Education at a Glance report is considered the most comprehensive international comparison of education systems, covering access, outcomes, financing, and teaching conditions across the developed world.

Most of the underlying statistics are from 2022 or 2023, since that’s the latest full dataset available when the report was compiled.

The report finds that Israel’s low spending on teacher salaries combined with large class sizes results in relatively low costs per student compared to the OECD average. However, “this is counterbalanced by longer instruction time and shorter teaching time, which increase staffing requirements.”

Responding to the findings, Education Minister Yoav Kisch said that the ministry is working with the Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office “to re-examine the staffing model and measures to reduce class sizes,” to address overcrowding and teacher burnout.

Likud MK Bitan takes stand in bribery trial, proclaims innocence

Likud MK David Bitan outside Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv on November 27, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Four years after being indicted for allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of shekels in bribes, Likud MK David Bitan is taking the stand at the Central District Court in Lod, telling the court that he will prove his innocence.

Bitan, who currently chairs the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, was indicted in August 2021 on charges of bribery, money laundering and tax offenses, as well as fraud and breach of trust, over accusations he pocketed some NIS 715,000 ($220,000) in bribes while serving in public office.

Addressing the court, Bitan says he “did not accept a bribe, I did not commit a breach of trust. Everything will be revealed in my testimony,” Channel 13 reports.

The charges date back to when Bitan was deputy mayor of Rishon Lezion, but also include his tenure as an MK after he was elected to the Knesset in 2013.

While he has denied wrongdoing, Bitan, a staunch ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stepped down from his role as coalition whip in 2017, shortly after news of the police investigation broke.

He is accused of receiving bribes from his business associate Moshe Yosef and from businessman Dror Glazer to help push through commercial developments. Both men have testified against him.

In 2022, Hatzi Hinam  supermarket chain executive Lihi Sonek-Kuperli was convicted of bribing Bitan.

Alleged Israeli strike south of Beirut said to wound Hezbollah man

A security source tells AFP that an alleged Israeli strike Tuesday south of Beirut targeted a member of the Hezbollah terror group.

State media in Lebanon confirms that a drone attacked a car in an area some 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the capital.

“An enemy drone targeted a little while ago a car… between the towns of Jiyeh and Barja,” the National News Agency reports.

The security source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, says the strike targeted “a Hezbollah member, who was wounded but not killed.”

The IDF has yet to comment on the strike.

Civil rights group presses AG to oppose punitive action against relatives, neighbors of Jerusalem attackers

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) calls on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to instruct the IDF and the Defense Ministry to refrain from imposing what it called a collective punishment on relatives and neighbors of the two terrorists who murdered six people in yesterday’s terror attack.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said today that he ordered authorities to impose “civil sanctions” on relatives of the terrorists and the residents of their hometowns in the West Bank, including revoking 750 work and entry permits to Israel and the demolition of illegal structures in the towns.

“Collective punishment is prohibited under both Israeli law and international humanitarian law. Such actions are war crimes,” ACRI tells the attorney general.

“We ask you to instruct the Defense Ministry and the army to immediately cease committing war crimes.”

ACRI says it sent a similar letter to Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.

The Yesh Din civil rights organization also sent similar legal warnings to Baharav-Miara, Tomer-Yerushalmi, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Monday evening following media reports of planned punitive actions by IDF forces against the Palestinian towns where the terrorists came from.

“International humanitarian law absolutely prohibits collective punishment without exception,” the organization stated.

Yesh Din referenced a recent incident in which the IDF uprooted thousands of olive trees in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir in what appeared to be a reprisal for a shooting attack in the area carried out by a Palestinian resident of al-Mughayyir against Israelis nearby.

The Attorney General’s Office declines to comment on the letters.

Sa’ar says Israel wants to end Gaza war based on new Trump plan

Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, left, welcomes Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar following a meeting at the government building in Zagreb, on September 9, 2025. (DAMIR SENCAR / AFP)

Israel seeks to bring the war in Gaza to an end “based on President Trump’s proposal and in accordance with the principles established by the security cabinet,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in Zagreb, Sa’ar office says.

The statement appears to mark the first  time an Israeli official has publicly accepted the outline that the White House presented last week for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of all hostages, though Israel and the US have yet to officially reveal what it entails.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Israel had accepted his terms for a hostage deal that ends the war, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to hold a cabinet meeting to discuss the exchange, which could well face pushback from his far-right coalition partners over any requirement to withdraw from Gaza, where many of them envision Israel reestablishing settlements.

The proposal envisions Hamas releasing all remaining hostages within the first 48 hours of the deal in exchange for an assurance from the US that Israel would not subsequently resume the war, along with the release of several thousand Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, including roughly 250 serving life sentences for involvement in attacks in which Israelis were killed, an Arab mediating source told The Times of Israel.

According to the Israeli readout, Sa’ar tells his host that “while Israel desires peace, it cannot and will not compromise on its security and the security of its citizens.”

Cops arrested on suspicion of passing information to underworld family

Former and current police officers are among five suspects arrested on suspicion of leaking information to a known crime family, the Justice Ministry’s Department for Internal Police Investigations says.

The family in question is the Musli family, according to Ynet, a powerful crime syndicate whose kingpin, Yossi Musli, was released from prison earlier this year.

The five suspects were arrested today on suspicion of bribery, fraud, breach of trust and violations of privacy protection law, DIPI says.

The suspects will be brought to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court tomorrow for a hearing on their continued detention.

Israeli households expected to chuck NIS 600 worth of food during holidays — study

Shoppers buying groceries at the Mahane Yehuda Market during the war with Iran on June 17, 2025. (Rossella Tercatin/Times of Israel)

The average Israeli family is expected to waste NIS 600 ($160) worth of food during upcoming holiday season, according to new data from Leket Israel- The National Food Bank and the BDO consulting firm.

The study projects that food sales during the month of the High Holy Days will reach NIS 8.9 billion ($2.4 billion). Of this, food worth approximately NIS 1.4 billion ($380 million), equivalent to 260,000 tons, is expected to go to waste.

The average Israeli household is expected to spend NIS 3,900 ($1,050) on food during the High Holidays, an increase of 20% compared to 2022. More than a third of the NIS 600 ($160) expected to be thrown away will come from fruit and vegetables. The average includes non-Jewish families.

Food waste is one of the key factors driving the cost of living, Leket says. Beyond the direct expense of food that is purchased but not consumed, additional waste occurs at earlier stages of the value chain, in the farms, the processing stage, packaging, transportation, and marketing, driving the cost of food up.

“Over the past year, food prices have risen by 5%, while inflation has further exacerbated the issue,” Leket says in a statement. “Food waste contributes an additional NIS 10,200 ($2,750) per household annually to the cost of living, of which about NIS 3,700 ($1,000) is attributable to losses in agriculture, distribution, and industry.”

Iranian foreign minister to meet IAEA chief in Egypt, Cairo confirms

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry confirms that Cairo will host a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi, the first such meeting since Tehran suspended cooperation with the agency two months ago.

Egypt’s foreign ministry says the meeting, which was earlier announced by Iran, will take place Tuesday, and include Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

“During a trip to Cairo, a meeting will be held with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency to conclude negotiations on a new protocol for interaction between Iran and the Agency,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.

It will be the first meeting between Tehran and the IAEA chief since Iran suspended cooperation following a 12-day war with Israel in June, during which Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iran is currently under growing pressure to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal and resume inspections, as Britain, France, and Germany have initiated steps to reimpose UN sanctions under the agreement’s dispute resolution mechanism.

On Monday, Grossi said progress had been made in talks between Iran and the IAEA, but time was running low with an agreement yet to be clinched.

Katz orders crackdown on work permits for those living in same town as Jerusalem attackers

Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has ordered authorities to impose “civil sanctions” on the relatives of two terrorists who carried out yesterday’s deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem, as well as residents of their Ramallah-area hometowns of Qatanna and Qubeiba, appearing to impose a collective punishment on Palestinians who are not accused of involvement in or knowledge of the assault.

Katz says 750 work and entry permits to Israel will be revoked. Immediate family members of Palestinians accused of terror are barred from working in Israel as a matter of policy, but it is more rare for Israeli authorities to revoke work permits of members of of Palestinian terrorists’ extended family.

Israeli officials have said the policy is intended to dissuade Palestinians from planning terror attacks, as doing so will harm their extended family’s livelihood. Critics have called it collective punishment.

Katz also says he ordered the demolition of “any illegal structures in the villages” though it’s unclear what the practical implications of that may be. Both villages lie in Area B of the West Bank, where Israel has no authority over civil matters such as issuing building permits.

Katz says he ordered the sanctions at the recommendation of defense officials, including the outgoing chief of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian.

The two gunmen, Mohammad Taha, 21, from Qatanna, and Muthanna Amro, 20, from Qubeiba, murdered six people and wounded over a dozen others at Ramot Junction in Jerusalem, before being killed by an off-duty soldier and armed civilians.

Israel razes home of Palestinian accused of deadly 2024 bus shooting

Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simha, killed in a terror shooting in the West Bank on December 11, 2024 (Courtesy)

Israeli troops razed the home of a Palestinian accused of taking part in a deadly terror attack that killed a child on a bus in the West Bank last year, the military says.

The shooting attack against a bus headed to Jerusalem on December 11, 2024, killed Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simha, 12, and injured three others.

According to the IDF, the attack was carried out by several gunmen, including Thabet Mohammed Masalmeh, whose home in the town of Bayt Awa was demolished overnight.

כוחות צה״ל הרסו את ביתו של המחבל שביצע את פיגוע הירי בצומת אלחאדר בו נרצח אזרח ישראלי ונפצעו נוספים

כוחות צה״ל מחטיבת יהודה וכוחות מיחידת יהל״ם, פעלו הלילה בבית עווא להריסת ביתו של המחבל תאבת מוחמד מסאלמה.
יחד עם מחבלים נוספים, ביצע המחבל פיגוע ירי בצומת אלחאדר ב-11 בדצמבר 2024.… pic.twitter.com/sxWBhmUJns

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 9, 2025

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

Gaza flotilla footage claims to show flaming object hitting boat from above

Screen capture from video of an alleged drone attack on the lead vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla for Gaza, September 9, 2025. (X)

The Global Sumud Flotilla publishes footage that appears to show the “Family” boat being struck by a flaming object falling from the sky.

The pro-Palestinian flotilla heading to Gaza claims its boat was hit by an Israeli drone in Tunisian waters, but Tunisian authorities say no drone was detected, instead blaming a fire on board that may have been caused by a lit cigarette in a lifejacket storage area.

The footage does not appear to show a missile or other munition hitting the boat, but rather something trailing fire, like a flare or firework.

Footage from another boat of our Flotilla shows the exact moment the Family Boat was struck from above. pic.twitter.com/qVpUyg56uP

— Global Sumud Flotilla (@GlobalSumudFlot) September 9, 2025

The Portuguese-flagged boat, carrying the flotilla’s steering committee, sustained fire damage to its main deck and below-deck storage, Global Sumud Flotilla says in a statement.

“While all participants are safe, details about the attack remain limited,” it says.

Flotilla organizers plan to hold a press conference this morning to provide an update on the incident and their mission, which has been plagued by weather delays and other mishaps.

Army surveys Jerusalem attackers’ homes for potential demolition

Israeli troops take positions in a West Bank Palestinian town during anti-terror operations on September 9, 2025, following an attack in Jerusalem the day before. (IDF Spokesperson)

IDF surveyors have taken measurements at the homes of the two Palestinian terrorists who carried out a deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem yesterday, to prepare their potential demolition, the army says.

The two gunmen, Mohammad Taha, 21, from Qatanna, and Muthanna Amro, 20, from Qubeiba, murdered six people and wounded over a dozen others at Ramot Junction in the capital before being killed by an off-duty soldier and armed civilians.

Mohammad Taha, 21, from Qatanna, and Muthanna Amro, 20, from Qubeiba, named by the Shin Bet as the perpetrators of a deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem on September 8, 2025.

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks, saying the measure is intended as a deterrent.

In addition to measuring the homes in the two villages on the outskirts of Ramallah, the IDF says troops scanned several sites and questioned suspects in the area.

כוחות צה״ל מיפו את בתיהם של שני המחבלים שביצעו את הפיגוע אתמול בצומת רמות: הפעילויות לסיכול טרור בכפרים נמשכת

כוחות צה״ל מרחיבים את הפעילות לסיכול טרור באוגדת יהודה ושומרון.

כוחות צה״ל מחטיבת בנימין פעלו בכפרים ׳קטנה׳ ו׳אלקוביבה׳ למיפוי בתיהם של המחבלים מחמד טהה ומותנא עומר,… pic.twitter.com/77wOf3pVhy

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 9, 2025

Israeli drone strike reported south of Beirut

Lebanese media report an Israeli drone strike on a car between the towns of Barja and Jiyeh, just south of the capital Beirut.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the strike, which comes a day after Israel struck Hezbollah sites deep inside Lebanon, killing at least 5, according to Lebanese authorities.

بالفيديو: غارة من مسيرة اسرائيلية تستهدف سيارة بين برجا والجية في قضاء الشوف pic.twitter.com/XHy3m1I6S5

— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) September 9, 2025

Gaza authorities say five high-rises toppled since weekend

Palestinians take cover during an Israeli strike on a building in Gaza City, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, after the Israeli army issued a prior warning. (AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)

Five Gaza high-rises have been destroyed by the Israeli military in the last 72 hours, according to the Strip’s Civil Defense agency, a rescue and emergency body in the Strip controlled by Hamas.

The buildings, most of them 10-15 stories, housed some 4,100 people in 209 apartments, the agency says.

Strikes targeting the buildings also destroyed 350 nearby tents sheltering some 3,500 people, it adds.

The tally for the number of buildings hit is far smaller than claims from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz that dozens such buildings have been hit in recent days.

The IDF says the buildings were used by Hamas to conduct operations against troops, including surveillance, and residents of the buildings were warned before the strikes.

In first, Israel orders all of Gaza City to evacuate ahead of ground invasion

The IDF says Palestinian civilians in all areas of Gaza City must evacuate immediately ahead of a major ground offensive against Hamas in the area.

The warning marks the first widespread evacuation order for all of Gaza City. Previous warnings issued by the IDF in recent days only included specific buildings and the area surrounding them.

“The IDF is determined to defeat Hamas and will operate in the Gaza City area with great force, just as it has throughout the Strip,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, says on X.

#عاجل إلى جميع سكان مدينة غزة والمتواجدين في كل أحيائها، من المدينة القديمة وتفاح شرقًا وحتى البحر غربًا

⭕️جيش الدفاع مصمم على حسم حماس وسيعمل في منطقة مدينة غزة بقوة كبيرة، كما عمل في مختلف أنحاء القطاع.

⭕️من أجل سلامتكم، أخلوا فورًا عبر محور الرشيد باتجاه المنطقة الإنسانية في… pic.twitter.com/XiNYwBhPOQ

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) September 9, 2025

Palestinians are instructed to head to the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Strip’s south via the coastal road.

“Remaining in the area is extremely dangerous,” Adraee says.

The announcement also provides a phone number for Palestinians to “report Hamas roadblocks or attempts by its members to prevent evacuation.”

Defense minister says ‘Gaza will be razed’ if no Hamas surrender

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Gaza will be reduced to rubble if Hamas does not disarm and free the hostages it has held for 23 months, his latest bellicose threat as the military prepares to invade Gaza City and brings down several mid-rise towers.

“An unprecedented hurricane hit Gaza yesterday,” Katz writes on X. “Thirty multi-story terror buildings were attacked and destroyed and dozens more terror targets were bombed and demolished, to thwart infrastructure for observation and terror, and pave the way for ground forces.”

סופת ההוריקן היכתה אתמול בעזה בעוצמה חסרת תקדים. 30 בנייני טרור רבי קומות הותקפו ונהרסו ועוד עשרות רבות של מטרות טרור הופצצו והושמדו, לסיכול תשתיות התצפית והטרור ופילוס הדרך לכוחות המתמרנים.
אם מחבלי החמאס לא יניחו את הנשק וישחררו את כל החטופים – הם יושמדו ועזה תיחרב. pic.twitter.com/YnK30yCFxg

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) September 9, 2025

The post is accompanied by a video showing the collapse of the al-Ruya tower in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood yesterday, after Katz had promised that “a powerful hurricane will hit the skies of Gaza City.”

Palestinian reports said several high-rises were targeted in attacks Monday, though the Israel Defense Forces only confirmed hitting two.

In recent days, the IDF has conducted several strikes on Gaza City high-rises it said were used by Hamas to conduct operations against troops, after warning residents to flee.

“If Hamas terrorists do not lay down their arms and free all the hostages, they will be destroyed and Gaza will be razed,” Katz says.

Two women injured in Ramot attack still in serious condition — hospital

People light candles at the site of a terror attack at Ramot junction in Jerusalem on September 8, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)

Two women who were badly wounded in yesterday’s terror attack at Jerusalem’s Ramot junction continue to be treated in intensive care, Shaare Zedek Medical Center says.

The two, who are sedated and on ventilators, are listed in serious but stable condition.

Four other wounded women were operated on during the night and are listed in moderate condition.

The hospital says that more than 30 anxiety victims arrived over the past 24 hours to receive treatment at the hospital’s mental health center.

Eight wounded patients are being treated at Hadassah Mount Scopus and Hadassah Ein Kerem, the hospital system says, two in moderate condition due to gunshot wounds and the rest with light injuries.

Six people were killed in the shooting attack.

Fourth soldier killed in Gaza attack named as Matan Abramovitz, 21

Matan Abramovitz. (Courtesy)

The IDF names the fourth soldier killed in yesterday’s Hamas attack on an army encampment on the outskirts of Gaza City as Lt. Matan Abramovitz, 21, from Ganei Tikva.

Abramovitz, who served in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion, was killed alongside the three other members of his tank early Monday.

The three others were named yesterday evening as Staff Sgt. Uri Lamed, Sgt. Amit Arye Regev, and Sgt. Gadi Cotal.

According to an initial IDF probe, Hamas gunmen opened fire on the tank at the entrance to the encampment, before hurling an explosive device which exploded inside the armored vehicle, killing the four troops.

Contradicting Gaza flotilla’s claim, Tunisia’s national guard says ‘no drones’ detected, blast caused internally

Tunisia’s national guard says it has detected “no drones” after the organizers of a Gaza-bound flotilla claimed one of their boats had been hit by a suspected UAV off Tunisia’s coast.

“According to preliminary findings, a fire broke out in the life jackets on board a ship anchored 50 miles from the port of Sidi Bou Said, which had come from Spain,” national guard spokesman Houcem Eddine Jebabli tells AFP.

“The investigation is ongoing and no drone has been detected,” he adds.

Gaza flotilla airs footage of moment of alleged drone strike on its lead boat

The Global Sumud Flotilla, set to try to break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip, publishes more footage of the alleged drone strike that hit its main boat tonight in the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said.

The lead boat, “Family,” is set to carry Greta Thunberg and other activists when the flotilla sets sail on Wednesday.

The organizers have said all passengers and crew are safe.

More footage from Family boat’s CCTV confirming the drone strike. pic.twitter.com/XZUydsapXd

— Global Sumud Flotilla (@GlobalSumudFlot) September 9, 2025

Drone said to strike main boat of Thunberg-led Gaza flotilla in Tunisian port

A drone allegedly targets the lead boat of a large flotilla set to try to break the Israeli maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip, according to organizers.

The incident is said to have occurred inside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said, from which the Global Sumud Flotilla plans to depart on Wednesday.

The lead boat, “Family,” is set to carry Greta Thunberg and other activists.

The organizers say the vessel, carrying members of its steering committee, was struck by what is suspected to be a drone, with all passengers and crew reported safe.

Francesca Albanese, the staunchly anti-Israel UN rapporteur from the Palestinians, tweets that she is “at the port now trying to figure out the facts, with local authorities and flotilla people.”

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese from the port of Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia: The lead boat of the #SumudFlotilla was attacked by a drone inside the port.#SumudForGaza #Sumud#قافلة_الصمود # #sumudforgazza pic.twitter.com/hwjE9PK0dM

— Ab (@Abdnys) September 8, 2025

Reuters contributed to this report.

Activists play soccer with mock severed Netanyahu head in front of UN in New York

An anarchist US activist group plays soccer with a mock severed head of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

The INDECLINE group posts a video of the game, saying they are holding the event ahead of this month’s UN General Assembly.

“The ball is the head of Benjamin Netanyahu,” says the video, which is titled “Freedom Kick.”

The footage shows the UN headquarters, the Israeli flag and a group of activists, many of whom are masked, posing in front of a Netanyahu head.

The rest of the video shows the activists kicking Netanyahu’s head around a field during the game, set to a punk rock soundtrack.

The head has been donated to “The Palestinian Genocide Museum,” the video says.

It’s unclear what the head is made of.

The group posts photos of the game alongside a caption accusing Israel of a Holocaust in Gaza.

Pro-Israel US Christian groups sue UN’s Albanese for alleged defamation

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, speaks to journalists in Rome, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pro-Israel US Christian groups sue UN rapporteur for the Palestinians Francesca Albanese for alleged defamation and libel.

The plaintiffs in the case are Christian Friends of Israeli Communities and Christians for Israel USA, two US-based nonprofits.

In a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Colorado, where Christian Friends of Israeli Communities is based, the two groups say Albanese has “spread malicious lies” to “harm their reputations and financial wellbeing” due to their support for Israel.

In April, Albanese sent letters to the two groups accusing them of complicity in “gross human rights violations that require immediate cessation,” war crimes, crimes against humanity and apartheid, according to the lawsuit.

The letters said the plaintiffs were at “serious risk of being implicated in international crimes” and potentially criminally liable.

The lawsuit includes copies of the letters, which accused the nonprofits of aiding illegal settlement activity, assisting the Israeli military, denying the Palestinians the right to self-determination and aiding the unlawful annexation of Palestinian land.

The letters drew a response from Leo Terrell, the head of an antisemitism task force at the US Department of Justice, who warned Albanese that her actions were false and defamatory, the lawsuit says.

Weeks later, Albanese published a UN report that attacked the two Christian groups. The report said the groups and others should be punished by governments, courts and the public; demanded the nonprofits cease any activity linked to “crimes against the Palestinian people” and pay reparations to Palestinians; be investigated by international and US authorities; and be subject to a boycott.

Albanese made the statements knowing they were false, which would constitute defamation and libel, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit says Albanese has claimed immunity as a UN official, but argues that she made the defamatory remarks outside of her official duties.

Albanese has a history of antisemitism and extremist rhetoric toward Israel and has been sanctioned by the US government.

Syria slams alleged Israeli strikes as ‘blatant infringement’ of regional stability

Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemns a wave of reported Israeli airstrikes in the country as “a blatant infringement” of its sovereignty and regional stability.

In a statement, the ministry charges that the attacks are part of an ongoing series of escalations pursued by Israel against Syrian territory.

Israel struck in the vicinity of Syria’s central Homs city, the coastal city of Latakia and the historic city of Palmyra, Syrian state-affiliated media has said.

There has been no immediate comment from Israel.

British PM meets Palestinian Authority chief; they agree no role for Hamas in future governance

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) shakes hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the beginning of their meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on September 8, 2025. (Photo by Jonathan Brady / POOL / AFP)

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in London, as the UK government edges towards recognizing a Palestinian state.

The leaders discussed “the need for an urgent solution to end the horrific suffering and famine” in Gaza and the release of hostages held by the Hamas terror group, a spokesperson for Starmer’s Downing Street office says in a statement.

Abbas welcomed the UK’s “pledge to recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting later this month, unless Israel changes its course,” the spokesperson adds.

Several countries, including Britain and France, have announced they intend to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this month. Starmer’s government has said it will take the step if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire in the war, triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 onslaught, or doesn’t take “substantive” steps to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace.

His meeting with Abbas “is part of the prime minister’s ongoing efforts to reach a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Gaza,” Downing Street said ahead of the bilateral.

During their talks, both leaders “agreed there will be absolutely no role for Hamas in the future governance of Palestine” and reiterated the need for a “long-term solution” to the conflict.

Starmer “welcomed” Abbas’s “commitment to reform of the Palestinian Authority as a vital part of this work,” his office says.

Abbas, 89, arrived in London on Sunday night for a three-day visit.

He has been barred from attending the UN General Assembly in New York by the US State Department.

After reported Homs-area strike, vicinity of 2 more Syrian cities said hit by Israel

In addition to striking a military base near Syria’s central city of Homs, Israel has also hit targets in the vicinity of the coastal city of Latakia and the historic city of Palmyra, Syrian state-affiliated media reports.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on any of the strikes.

Syrian media does not elaborate further on the size or the impact of the reported strikes.

Israeli airstrikes in Syria have been relatively rare in recent months.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

IDF strikes military base in Syria, local reports say

Syrian media reports an Israeli airstrike against a military base near the city of Homs.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Israeli airstrikes in Syria have been relatively rare in recent months.

#Syria: explosion, resulting from an Israeli airstrike, occurred at a former Air Defense base located on outskirts of #Homs-city (area of Maskanah). https://t.co/GD21PQUDvR https://t.co/IMTxsyQXiR pic.twitter.com/JiEDyjfdZc

— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) September 8, 2025

UK doesn’t believe Israel is committing genocide, Lammy wrote last week, before he was ousted as foreign secretary

Britain's then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy meets with US Vice President JD Vance (not in picture) at Chevening House, in Chevening, southeast England, on August 8, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett / POOL / AFP)

The British government does not believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, former foreign secretary David Lammy wrote in a letter last week, The Times reports.

“As per the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide occurs only where there is specific ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group,'” Lammy wrote to Sarah Champion, chairwoman of the British Parliament’s International Development Committee. “The government has not concluded that Israel is acting with that intent.”

He was responding to a letter from Champion asking why the UK was supplying parts for F-35 fighter jets that have made their way to Israel.

Lammy wrote the letter before he was replaced as foreign secretary last week.

Government ministers, including Lammy himself, have said previously that it is not up to the government to determine whether Israel is committing genocide. Israel adamantly rejects the charge.