Oct. 2: Israeli officials expected to question copilot who attempted to crash flydubai flight, source says

UK police charge Iranian men for plotting Yom Kippur terror attack in northern England

LONDON — Two Iranian men have been charged with plotting a terror attack on the Jewish community in Manchester on the eve of Yom Kippur, UK police say.

“Salam Ahmadyan 36 of Liverpool and Rahman Salehi 34 of Salford, both Iranian nationals, were arrested in Manchester on Sunday, 20 September,” a statement say.

“It is alleged that the two men were in contact with an overseas third-party who may be in Iran in relation to the plot,” the statement adds.

Reuters contributed to this report.

West Bank mayor: Settlers attacked Palestinians who tried to open gate to leave village, army shot dead 19-year-old

Baha al-Natshah, a resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab, who was killed in the West Bank on October 2, 2026. (Courtesy)

Kobar’s Mayor Mounir Badwan says Palestinians in the village tried to pass through a gate recently erected by settlers to keep them inside the West Bank village when they were attacked, leading to a clash in which 19-year-old Baha al-Natshah was shot dead by the military.

“When the young Palestinians tried to open it, the settlers attacked them,” Kobar’s Mayor Mounir Badwan tells AFP.

“The army arrived, and they started shooting live bullets,” he says.

Army bullets hit 19-year-old Baha Sami al-Natsheh, the mayor says. The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, however, says settlers shot him.

The Israeli army “left him bleeding on the ground and prevented medical teams from reaching him,” the mayor says.

The Palestinian Red Crescent confirms that Israeli forces refused to let it reach an injured person in Kobar.

The Palestinian Authority body that coordinates with Israel says Natsheh, who lived in east Jerusalem, later died of his wounds and that “his body is being withheld by the Israeli authorities”.

The Israeli military, contacted by AFP for its version of events, says it is checking.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Saudi coalition says it shot down three ballistic missiles launched by Houthis

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis says that it has intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.

PA: 19-year-old killed by settler gunfire in West Bank, body confiscated by IDF

Baha al-Natshah, a resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab, who was killed in the West Bank on October 2, 2026. (Courtesy)

The Palestinian Authority health ministry says a 19-year-old was shot dead by Israeli settlers earlier this afternoon in the central West Bank village of Kobar.

The victim has been identified as Baha al-Natshah, a resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab.

The PA ministry says IDF troops subsequently raided Kobar to confiscate the 19-year-old’s body.

The health ministry says it was informed of the teen’s death by the PA’s civil affairs ministry, which coordinates with Israel.

According to Army Radio, the incident took place outside the illegal Israeli farming outpost of Eretz HaTzvi, which is adjacent to Kobar.

The report says that two Palestinians hurled Molotov cocktails at the entrance to the illegal outpost, without causing any injuries or damage.

One of the armed members of the outpost opened fire at the Palestinians, striking one of them. IDF troops then arrived at the scene and detained both Palestinians, according to the report.

The IDF was contacted by The Times of Israel for a comment but has yet to respond.

Houthis say Saudis launched 94 strikes in areas in Yemen under their control in past 24 hours

SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s Houthis say that Saudi forces launched 94 strikes against areas under their control in the past 24 hours, as the pro-Iran group and the Riyadh-backed government clash in the country’s revived civil war.

The group says that the number of Saudi strikes on its positions has reached 1,350 since the start of the renewed fighting, saying they targeted areas across Houthi-held Yemen.

Flydubai officials tell TV channel they could resume flights tomorrow, but Israeli officials not allowing them

A flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft prepares for landing at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Lod on September 30, 2026. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Officials from flydubai tell Channel 12 news they want to resume services to Israel, but Israeli officials have forced us to cancel flights until further notice.

The officials say they are ready to return to Israel tomorrow.

The report does not provide a response from officials in Jerusalem.

Flydubai attacker was reportedly indoctrinated into al-Qaeda ideology

An ongoing investigation into the copilot who attempted to crash a flydubai plane full of Israeli passengers finds he went through a process of indoctrination, apparently into “al-Qaeda’s ideology,” Channel 12 news reports.

According to the investigation, the copilot held meetings with unspecified religious figures as part of his radicalization, the report says.

The current assessment by investigators is that the decision to attempt to carry out a terror attack was his own, but investigators are working to make sure there are no copycats in other foreign airlines, the report adds.

The Israeli security establishment is approaching this investigation as if the plane actually crashed, the report says.

Simhat Torah holiday commences in Israel, marking 3-year Hebrew calendar anniversary of Oct. 7 attack

The Simhat Torah holiday has commenced in Israel, in what marks the three-year Hebrew calendar anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.

Report: At least 6 Arab bus drivers assaulted in Jerusalem within 24 hours; just 1 arrest made

At least six Arab bus drivers were physically assaulted by Jewish youth in racially motivated attacks in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the Haaretz daily reports.

The attacks involved teens spitting on drivers, throwing rocks and beating them in various locations throughout the city, Haaretz reports.

Only one minor was arrested in connection to one of the cases, the report says.

Tanker hit by unknown projectile while leaving Hormuz; no casualties reported

A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz, causing a small fire and a blackout onboard, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency says.

The fire was extinguished and no casualties or environmental damage were reported, UKMTO says.

Iraq to allow 40 Iranian flights a day, except for Mahan Air, due to US sanctions

An Iranian Mahan Air plane lands at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on February 4, 2021. (Saeed Kaari/IKAC via AP)

Iranian airlines, excluding Mahan Air, are allowed 40 daily flights to and from Iraq’s Najaf international airport, the Iraqi prime minister’s office says, following a suspension of flights due to US sanctions.

US imposes sanctions on Hamas financial network, including two France-based funds

Illustrative: Palestinians carry the bodies of Hamas terrorists Mohannad Abu Foul and Izz al-Din al-Bik, during their funeral after they were killed in an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, September 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

WASHINGTON — The United States issues additional sanctions targeting Hamas’s financial network, including targeting a member of the Palestinian terror group’s military wing, two France-based fundraisers, and two entities, the US Treasury Department said.

“These designations expose a sophisticated, multi‑year financing architecture that moved more than $2 million to Hamas through deceptive charitable fronts and cryptocurrency channels, demonstrating the organization’s persistent ability to adapt its fundraising mechanisms to evade detection,” Treasury says in a statement.

The Hamas member, Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq, is a battalion deputy in the Hamas military wing based in Gaza, Treasury says. He oversees a financial network that has used various money services businesses and cryptocurrency wallets to transfer significant funds to the Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades, it adds.

As part of the same case, the US Justice Department issues an indictment against the Hamas commander.

The indictment against Saleem Alzaq follows a recent related arrest in Florida and two other arrests in Louisiana.

The Justice Department says three more of Alzaq’s associates have been arrested in France.

Alzaq does not appear to be in US custody, however. Court filings have said he resides in Gaza, and authorities have not announced an arrest.

The Department of Justice says Alzaq collected more than $1.7 million through charity fronts and transferred the money to Hamas.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Flydubai CEO: Full probe underway after attempted terror attack on flight to Tel Aviv

Ghaith al-Ghaith, CEO of Flydubai, speaks during a press conference in Dubai on March 19, 2016. (MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP)

Flydubai says a full official investigation was underway into the attempted terror attack on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv that was diverted to Saudi Arabia on September 30.

“It is important that we allow this process to establish the facts,” Chief Executive Officer Ghaith Al Ghaith says in a statement.

The Boeing 737 flight was carrying 174 passengers, almost all of them Israelis, when an Omani copilot stabbed the pilot in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, which plunged nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) in less than 30 seconds.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

UAE source to Channel 12: Election driving Israeli government conduct after attempted flydubai terror attack

A source close to the United Arab Emirates’ government tells Channel 12 news that the UAE feels that the Israeli government is exploiting the attempted terror attack on a flydubai flight for political purposes.

The source says Israel is responsible for stopping continued flydubai services, and that labeling repatriation flights by Israeli carriers as “rescue flights” misrepresents the UAE as “a country where there is war or a crisis, and that’s not the case.”

“The Emiratis do not understand Israel’s conduct, and their feeling is that the election is driving the matter, not logic,” the source is quoted by Channel 12 as saying.

“They [the Emiratis] are constructive, conducting a parallel investigation and wanting to resolve the crisis, while Israel is dragging its feet and creating obstacles,” the source says.

The source notes that Etihad, another UAE carrier that flies to Abu Dhabi, is continuing services, “while enforcing a strict protocol,” and says those rules should be applied to flydubai too.

Flydubai hero’s wife says Tom Cruise should play him in movie as couple meets US envoy in Jerusalem

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee meets with Yaniv Hayun, who helped subdue the copilot who attempted to crash a flydubai flight earlier this week, and his wife, Meital, at the country’s embassy in Jerusalem.

Huckabee writes on X that he gave him an autographed hat from US President Donald Trump, and says the couple “inspired the world.”

“I asked Israeli Meital Hayoun, wife of Yaniv, the Israeli hero whose courageous action saved 170 ppl on flight who should play her husband in the movie. ‘Tom Cruise’ was answer. I asked him who should play her. He said ‘The most beautiful woman in world.’ SMART & HEROIC!”

Israeli plumber who heroically subdued terrorist & grabbed the controls of plane came to @usembassyjlm & I gave him my autographed hat from @POTUS . Yaniv & Meital Hayoun inspired the world. He loves @realDonaldTrump & I'll post his message to @POTUS later. What a story! pic.twitter.com/idue8RUBme

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 2, 2026

I asked Israeli Meital Hayoun, wife of Yaniv the Israeli hero whose courageous action saved 170 ppl on flight who should play her husband in the movie. "Tom Cruise" was answer. I asked him who should play her. He said "The most beautiful woman in world." SMART & HEROIC! pic.twitter.com/Wc1sNjdl9S

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 2, 2026

IDF: Soldier filmed threatening Bedouin man removed from combat duty

A soldier who was filmed several days ago threatening a Bedouin man during a search of his home has been removed from combat duty, the IDF tells The Times of Israel.

The soldier was filmed on September 29 threatening a Bedouin man after entering his home near the village of a-Taybeh, close to Ramallah. In the video, which was sent to the man’s father, Mohammed Kaabneh, the soldier can be heard saying that “he will be beaten to a pulp; his eyes will be black and blue.”

According to the father, the incident occurred after settlers pepper-sprayed another of his sons and later entered the family’s home with soldiers and damaged property.

The IDF says that on the day, troops were dispatched to the area of the village of a-Taybeh following a report of a confrontation between Israeli civilians and a Bedouin family.

“Upon their arrival, the troops did not identify any confrontation and conducted an operational search of the house. The troops did not use violence against any of those involved. The conduct of the soldier seen in the video is inconsistent with the IDF’s values. Following an investigation into the incident, the soldier faced disciplinary proceedings, at the conclusion of which it was decided to remove him from combat duty,” the IDF says.

"הבן שלך מפורק מכות": פורעים יהודים פרצו לבית משפחה בדואית בשטח B, שברו הרסו תקפו את אחד הילדים וחייל שהיה איתם שלח סרטון מאיים מהבית לאבא. pic.twitter.com/3BdLCqOlVg

— כרמלה מנשה (@ela1949) October 1, 2026

Netanyahu: We are still working to understand who, if anyone, sent Omani flydubai pilot

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a video statement on October 2, 2026. (Screenshot/Benjamin Netanyahu via X)

Israel still does not know if the Omani flydubai pilot was acting alone or not, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“As more time goes by, the picture is becoming clearer,” says Netanyahu in a video released by his office.

“Yaniv [Hayun] and his hero friends prevented a September 11-like disaster,” says the prime minister. “The perpetrator went through Islamist radicalization.”

The pilot, he says, “came to crash the plane along with its passengers.”

“We are clarifying right now if he was sent,” Netanyahu adds. “And whoever sent him will pay a heavy price.”

Major fire shuts down Beersheba area wastewater treatment plant

A major fire has shut down operations at the Shoket Wastewater Treatment Plant near Beersheba, with the result that some 30,000 cubic meters of untreated wastewater will be flowing daily into the already highly polluted Hebron Stream, and from there into the Beersheba and Besor streams.

The Environmental Protection Ministry says repairs could take several weeks.

Its southern district office is instructing local authorities downstream — those of Al-Kasum, Omer, Bnei Shimon, Beersheba and Eshkol — to warn residents about potential bad smells and ask them to stay away from the streams and avoid contact with the water.

The authorities have been told to increase monitoring for the presence of mosquitoes in the coming weeks and to carry out pest control if necessary.

Police are investigating what caused the fire.

Meeting of ‘Mecca Accord’ committee in Saudi to focus on Houthi attacks, Pakistan says

In this photo released by the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from left, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan pose for photo prior to their meeting to discuss the Iran war, in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 29, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP)

An emergency meeting of the strategic political defense committee under the pact between Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia will focus on Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s foreign minister says.

The meeting will be held next week, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar tells reporters.

The regional powers signed the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” in August, weeks before Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks against Saudi ​Arabia.

Former UN food agency official who says he was fired over Gaza war launches appeal

Screen capture from video of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) director Ben Davis, 2026. (The Italian Insider/used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A former senior UN food agency official who says he was fired for allegedly organizing weekly moment-of-silence protests over the war in Gaza launches an appeal against his dismissal.

Benjamin Davis, 62, a Spanish American director at the Food and Agriculture Organization, was informed that his employment would end on September 30 at the request of Director-General Qu Dongyu, according to documents seen by Reuters.

The papers cite breaches of international civil service standards that require staff to act with impartiality.

Three in four families go hungry in parts of Yemen from new fighting – WFP

Mohammed al-Salami, displaced with his family from the city of Mokha, sits beside his son Tarek, 7, who is showing symptoms of malnutrition and receiving treatment as other family members sit nearby at a therapeutic feeding center in Buraiqa, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen, September 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

Three in four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry from the “absolutely devastating” impact of a surge in fighting, which has displaced tens of thousands of people and disrupted supplies to millions, the World Food Programme says.

Yemen is experiencing the most serious escalation in fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi group since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks ​in 2022. The renewed ​conflict could reshape control in Yemen, with implications for Red Sea shipping lanes.

Within just a few weeks, the fighting has driven the share of households without sufficient food to 74% in government-controlled areas accessible to WFP, the UN hunger body’s assistant executive director for program operations told reporters in Geneva. The total population of government-held areas is estimated at around 10 million people.

Prices of basic food staples such as wheat flour and vegetable oil are rising in a country that imports around 90% of its food.

“We are looking at a hunger crisis that is going to grow as it persists,” Hollingworth said, adding that frontline areas like Taiz were increasingly hard to access due to the fighting.

WFP said it was scaling up its response but unless it gets around $125,000 in funding within a few weeks it will run out of food stocks and money to help the 152,000 newly displaced persons inside the country, as well as the 1.4 million people it is already supporting.

IDF: Hamas sniper killed in strike in southern Gaza last night, was planning attacks

A Hamas sniper was killed in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip last night, the IDF says, adding that he was planning attacks on troops.

The military says the strike in Khan Younis killed Tamer Hamaida, who served as a sniper operative in Hamas’s military wing.

Throughout the war, Hamaida plotted various attacks, including sniper attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, the military adds.

Liberman calls to outlaw Balad party, after High Court allows it to run in election

Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman tours a US- and Israeli-run facility located near the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, which is expected to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, August 12, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/ Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu party chief MK Avigdor Liberman writes on X that “so long as [Sami] Abou Shehadeh remains head of Balad, and representatives of his party are in the Knesset, a terror organization is being represented in the Knesset. We must outlaw Balad.”

He is responding to the High Court of Justice decision allowing the Arab-led Joint List to run in the October election, striking down a ban imposed by the Central Elections Committee.

The court did not have to formally rule on the ban against Abou Shehadeh — imposed over the content of an article he published the day after the October 7 attack — because he withdrew his candidacy after the justices said they would uphold the ban if he did not.

Religious Zionism party chief Bezalel Smotrich responds to Liberman, accusing the latter of “partnering with a bloc that has declared it will set up a government with the support of the Joint List the day after the election.”

The anti-Netanyahu bloc has not made such a declaration. Party leaders in the bloc differ on the question of how much to cooperate with Arab-led parties, with some advocating partnership and others eschewing it.

Speculation has mounted that the bloc may rely on Arab parties abstaining from a vote on a new government in order to ensure that the anti-Netanyahu parties have a majority, depending on the result of the October 27 election.

Smotrich also says that a Liberman-led government would cut off the “settlement revolution” carried out by the current leadership.

Clashes between settlers, Palestinians reported in West Bank amid olive harvest

Palestinian media report clashes between settlers and Palestinians in several West Bank villages.

In the village of Beita, south of Nablus, an armed settler, apparently a member of the security squad of one of the nearby settlements, was filmed telling Palestinians and activists accompanying them that they were not allowed to be in the area.

Soldiers later removed the Palestinians from the area. Troops were also filmed firing tear gas in the area.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that one person was injured in an attack by settlers in Beita.

Settlers were also reported to have attacked Palestinians harvesting olives near the village of Asira al-Shamaliya, north of Nablus, while soldiers reportedly prevented Palestinians from harvesting olives near the village of Ni’lin, in the Ramallah area. No injuries were reported in either incident.

In the West Bank, Palestinians are barred from harvesting olives in some areas, permitted to do so freely in others, while in some locations harvesting requires prior coordination with the Civil Administration. It is currently unclear what restrictions applied to the areas where the Palestinians attempted to harvest.

مستوطنون مسلحون برفقة قوات الاحتلال يحاولون منع الأهالي من قطف ثمار الزيتون في بلدة بيتا جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/AkiGBp6TYP

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) October 2, 2026

📷 صور | تحت تهديد السلاح وقنابل الصوت.. جنود الاحتلال يمنعون الأهالي بالقوة من قطف ثمار الزيتون في جبل العرمة ببلدة بيتا جنوب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/RcUZ0ojqYO

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) October 2, 2026

جنود الاحتلال يمنعون الأهالي من قطف ثمار الزيتون في جبل العرمة ببلدة بيتا جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/JWCe9K78Fl

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 2, 2026

5 suspects, including 2 minors, arrested after Tel Aviv violence that included apparent kidnapping

Police report the arrest of five people, including two minors, who are suspected of involvement in a violent incident last night in Tel Aviv in which a person was forced into a car that drove away.

The suspects, who were allegedly armed, were caught during a police search of the area and were taken for interrogation, police say, adding that they will likely request the court today to extend the suspects’ detention.

Rights group, US lawmakers condemn first Starbucks stores in China’s Xinjiang

A guard tower and barbed wire fence surround a detention facility in the Kunshan Industrial Park in Artux in western China's Xinjiang region. December 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

An advocacy group and US lawmakers criticize Starbucks for opening its first cafes in China’s Xinjiang, despite human rights violations against the region’s Uighur Muslim population.

The American coffee giant opened two stores in Urumqi, the regional capital, on Tuesday, in a move heralded by Chinese state media outlets.

John Moolenaar, chairman of the US House Select Committee on China, calls the development “morally bankrupt” in a statement.

The World Uyghur Congress group says Starbucks “is once again choosing to ignore a dire human rights situation… by opening stores in the region,” and that “companies should not contribute to an economy where state-imposed forced labor remains a serious concern.”

By an act of Congress passed in 2021, Washington assumes all products from Xinjiang are tainted by forced labor unless proven otherwise.

Beijing’s crackdown in the region began almost a decade ago, with the government citing separatist activity.

According to the US State Department, the subsequent policies have included the detention of more than a million people, forced sterilization, forced labor, and “draconian restrictions” on freedom of religion, expression, and movement. In 2021, it labeled the campaign a genocide.

The United Nations has also warned of possible crimes against humanity, as have major human rights groups.

‘I couldn’t let all of them die’: Flydubai pilot recounts opening cockpit door with ‘one last push’

Captain Smit Machchhar (left) speaks by video chat to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on October 2, 2026. (Screenshots via X)

The Indian captain who was stabbed by his copilot in an apparent effort to crash a Dubai-Tel Aviv flydubai flight on Wednesday replays the dramatic attack in a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Smit ​Machchhar, seen with a tube in his nose and bandages on his head and hands, speaks to Modi from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi.

“I knew that the aircraft was going down … I had fallen to the ground. I told myself that the door is right there, just open it. I managed to do it and people entered,” he says.

“I have been flying for the last 17 years, have been a captain for the last 11 years. I knew that the aircraft was going down.”

“Others came in and also played a role [in controlling the situation]. I was of course fighting for my own life,” he says, according to the BBC.

“But I also knew I couldn’t let all of them die,” he adds, according to a New York Times translation.

Modi praises Machchhar’s bravery and says his presence of mind saved lives and saved the reputation of Indian pilots.

“I know God saved me,” says an emotional Machchhar, who is from Modi’s home state of Gujarat. He tells the prime minister he recited a Hindu prayer to the monkey god Hanuman during the ordeal.

Machchhar was covered with blood and on the floor when he managed to open the cockpit door, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Reuters on Thursday.

That allowed passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot and let a second pair of flydubai pilots on board take control of the jet and land it in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Indian PM Narendra Modi video calls Captain Smit Machchhar, praised his courage, composure; Says the country is praying for him after he risked his life to save others. The Indian pilot helped saved lives of over 150 people in the Fly Dubai flight from UAE to Israel

Full Video: pic.twitter.com/bg3PvogzUP

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) October 2, 2026

Arkia says it will operate repatriation flight this evening, Israir awaiting final confirmation

Illustrative: An Israir flight taking off from Ben Gurion Airport, September 3, 2015. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Israeli carrier Arkia says it has received all necessary approvals from the United Arab Emirates and will operate a repatriation flight to bring back stranded Israelis from Dubai this evening.

Overnight, the Transportation Ministry said that repatriation flights by Israeli carriers to bring citizens home are expected to begin today, but with some delay, after earlier reports that the United Arab Emirates pulled its authorization.

“Following extensive discussions and intensive efforts by all parties involved, Arkia has received necessary approvals to operate flights from Dubai and will operate one flight today and another one tomorrow,” the airline says.

Arkia’s flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv is scheduled to depart later this evening. Arkia says it is working to schedule three additional flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv over the weekend — beyond those already planned.

Israeli carrier Israir says it has received necessary approvals from Dubai Airport to operate a repatriation flight later today from Dubai to Tel Aviv, but has not yet opened ticket sales pending final approvals from additional authorities.

Earlier today, Israel’s flagship airline El Al cancelled a repatriation flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv scheduled to depart this morning due to the withdrawal of UAE authorization.

“El Al was prepared to operate special rescue flights from Dubai today according to the takeoff times approved for it,” the airline says. “Unfortunately, the approvals were unexpectedly canceled, and we were forced to notify customers of the cancellation of our flights for today.”

“We are working to obtain approvals to operate flights on Saturday night [after Shabbat] and will update our customers accordingly,” El Al says.

El Al does not operate regular commercial flights during Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest), which runs from sundown on Friday until nightfall on Saturday.

25-year-old Arab Israeli arrested, suspected of spying for Iran; indictment today

The police and Shin Bet announce that in recent weeks, they’ve arrested another Israeli citizen on suspicion of spying for Iran.

A joint statement names the suspect as Mohammad Halaf, a 25-year-old resident of the northern city of Baqa al-Gharbiya.

Halaf is accused of making contact with Iranian agents and carrying out missions on their behalf, in exchange for “thousands of shekels.”

Today, he will be indicted in the Haifa District Court on charges of harming state security, the agencies say.

Over the past two years, Israel has arrested dozens of people on suspicion of carrying out acts on behalf of Iran in exchange for money. The suspects typically make initial contact with Iranian agents through social media, especially the messaging platform Telegram.

Small plane crashes on Route 65, near Kafr Qara; two people injured

The site of a small plane crash near Kafr Qara, southeast of Haifa, on October 2, 2026. (Magen David Adom)

A small plane crashes along Route 65, near the city of Kafr Qara southeast of Haifa.

Magen David Adom paramedics take a 34-year-old man who is moderately injured, with burn marks, to Rambam Medical Center.

After initially reporting that another injured person was trapped at the scene and being rescued, MDA says additional teams are currently treating a second injured person at the crash site.

Police officers are dispatched to the area, and Route 65 is closed to traffic. Drivers are requested to stay away from the area.

Early reports say the plane crashed in an open area and then caught fire. According to the Kan public broadcaster, the aircraft appears to have been a crop-dusting plane.

US Rep. Chuy Garcia, progressive of Illinois, calls for release of Marwan Barghouti

Left: US Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García marches in the Mexican Independence Day Parade, September 14, 2025, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. Right: Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti (C) is accompanied by Israeli prison guards after a hearing at Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, January 25, 2012. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad, AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

US Rep. Chuy Garcia, a progressive Democrat from Illinois, calls for the release of Palestinian terror convict Marwan Barghouti, asserting he did not receive a fair trial and accusing Israel of torturing him.

“I support the release of Marwan Barghouti. He did not receive a fair trial and has been tortured in Israeli prison for over 20 years. He is a popular and unifying voice for the Palestinian people, and as we push to end Israel’s atrocities, his release would help advance freedom and self-determination for Palestine. Marwan — and everyone unjustly detained by Israel — must be released,” Garcia writes on X.

Barghouti, a prominent Fatah figure during the Second Intifada, was convicted by an Israeli court in 2002 and sentenced to five cumulative life terms plus 40 years in prison for helping plan terror attacks during the Second Intifada that killed five civilians. Barghouti has denied the charges and also denied the jurisdiction of the Israeli court to try him as a member of the PA’s parliament.

He is seen by many Palestinians and some members of the international community as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

A week ago, Rep. Ro Khanna became the first US lawmaker to call for Barghouti’s release. The Democrat from California did not assert Barghouti was tried unfairly — though he floated the idea, citing “a number of human rights groups” — but rather argued that peace processes often involve figures with violent pasts, including some who have done “terrible things.”

IDF on shooting of 51-year-old Palestinian: Soldiers opened fire at stone-throwers

The IDF responds to Palestinian reports that a 51-year-old man was shot dead yesterday in the village of Yasuf in the western West Bank, saying that soldiers “carried out a suspect arrest procedure that included opening fire at terrorists who were throwing stones. Hits were identified.”

According to the IDF, Palestinians had earlier thrown stones at Israelis on the outskirts of the village and subsequently at IDF troops who were dispatched to the scene. An Israeli was injured as a result and evacuated for medical treatment.

The IDF adds that troops were conducting searches for the stone-throwers and other suspects who were at the scene.

El Al says repatriation flights today canceled, due to UAE pulling approval

Israel’s flagship airliner El Al says its repatriation flights to bring home Israelis stranded in Dubai have been canceled for today, after the United Arab Emirates withdrew its authorization for the flights.

Overnight, it was reported that the UAE had withdrawn its approval. Shortly thereafter, the Transportation Ministry said that delays were expected, but the flights would ultimately proceed.

In a notification linked at the top of El Al’s website,  the carrier now says that “due to the cancellation of approval for Israeli companies to land in Dubai, as was reported by the authorities in Israel, we are forced to cancel, at this stage, our rescue flights (LY974-1 LY972) for tomorrow, Friday, October 2.”

Flights next week remain scheduled, according to the notice. However, these are all sold out.

According to Channel 12, the official cancellation comes after “long hours of conversations between senior officials in Israel and officials in the Emirates did not reach final agreements and approvals for Israeli carriers’ planes to land in the country.”

Yemen air force says it carried out 20 strikes on Houthi targets in Taiz province

Yemen’s armed forces spokesperson says that air force warplanes carried out 20 precision strikes over the past three hours targeting Houthi movements, reinforcements, gatherings, personnel, vehicles and military equipment in Taiz province.

The strikes hit hostile targets directly and inflicted losses on Houthi militia personnel, equipment and military movements, the spokesperson says in a post on X.

US deploys two more Patriot batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to defend energy sites — report

A Patriot missile mobile launcher is displayed outside the Fort Sill Army Post near Lawton, Oklahoma, on March 21, 2023. (AP/Sean Murphy, File)

The United States military recently deployed two extra Patriot missile defense system batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to defend their oil and gas facilities, two US officials and one regional source tell the Axios news site. 

The delivery occurred last month, according to the report.

According to the report, the US will need to use Saudi airspace if it resumes significant operations against Iran, but will likely be denied if Riyadh feels that its energy facilities will be exposed to Iranian attacks.

A US Central Command spokesman declines to comment on the report.

Loud blasts heard in Houthi-run Yemeni capital Sanaa amid reported Saudi attack

SANAA, Yemen — Loud explosions were heard this evening in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, which is controlled by pro-Iranian Houthi forces, an AFP correspondent says.

The Saba agency, which is affiliated with the anti-government fighters, speaks of “Saudi aggression” on X.

After several years of calm, Yemen plunged back into war in July with the Houthis, who control Sanaa and Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, against the government backed by Riyadh.

Herzog speaks with Palestinian man assaulted by ultra-Orthodox mob in Jerusalem

President Isaac Herzog speaks with Ahmed al-Husseini, the Palestinian man from East Jerusalem who was assaulted by an ultra-Orthodox mob outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate earlier this week.

Husseini’s assault was livestreamed on social media, with the person filming the incident heard declaring in delight, “Wow, they’re f**cking up an Arab.”

“I wanted to express my deep sorrow to you,” says Herzog, according to the President’s Residence. “I was truly saddened to see what happened to you, and I think the entire people of Israel were deeply pained to see this incident. This should never happen. No elderly person, and no person whatsoever, should be treated this way. I strongly condemn the violence against you.”