Oct. 17: Lapid says he doesn’t trust Netanyahu not to launch Iran strike that could disrupt election

CENTCOM chief: US has blocked Iran from exporting $25b worth of oil

Adm. Brad Cooper, USN, Commander, US Central Command, appears before a House Committee on Armed Services business meeting on the US Military Posture and National Security Challenges in the Greater Middle East and Africa, on Capitol Hill, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

The US has blocked Iran from exporting $25 billion worth of oil through a naval blockade and has helped to freeze $350 million worth of cryptocurrency belonging to the Islamic Republic, the commander of US forces in the Middle East says in a video.

Adm. Brad Cooper, who oversees US Central Command, outlines efforts to pressure Iran as it continues to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had effectively closed the vital oil shipping corridor after the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, pushing up global oil prices.

Cooper says US forces are helping ships get through the strait, including 400 merchant vessels over the past week, and have helped usher out more than a billion barrels of oil since the war began.

He says more than 20 civilian mariners have been killed by Iran’s attacks against commercial shipping since February.

Update from CENTCOM Commander: pic.twitter.com/YR9yHJ5IQB

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 16, 2026

Costa Rica’s Grynspan holds narrow lead in race to become next UN chief, as all contenders receive veto in latest straw poll

Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan attends a meeting with other Latin American and Caribbean candidates for UN secretary-general to discuss their proposals in Montevideo, Uruguay, August 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

An informal poll by the UN Security Council places former Costa Rican vice president Rebeca Grynspan as the narrow frontrunner in the race to become the 10th UN secretary-general, two sources close ‌to the process say.

Grynspan, the daughter of two Jewish refugees who fled the Second World War, has maintained a fairly consistent lead in the straw polls.

A diplomat says that Grynspan and the other six candidates to lead the United Nations all received a vote of “discourage,” effectively a veto, from a permanent UN Security Council member in the latest informal poll.

The vote is the first time in six rounds of informal straw polling that Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States anonymously use colored straws to indicate vetoes, while the 10 elected members continue to use plain markers.

Amid Houthi attacks, UK advises against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia

Britain’s Foreign Office says it advises against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia, after attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on the country.

Iran Guards say oil tanker exploded after hitting mine in ‘unauthorized’ route through Hormuz

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say that an oil tanker exploded and caught fire after hitting a naval mine while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reports.

The report says the tanker was carrying over 2 million barrels of crude oil and was attempting to illegally transit the strategic waterway through a route unauthorized by Iran.

Trump signs executive order waiving new Russia sanctions, tariffs

This combination photo shows US President Donald Trump in a business roundtable in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 16, 2025, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo, Files)

President Donald Trump signs an executive order waiving sweeping US sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia’s energy revenues after signing them into law last month.

The Lindsey Graham Act — named after the deceased US senator who sponsored the bill — allowed Trump the authority to impose duties up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

“As described further in section 4 of this order, I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” the executive order says.

The law targeted Russia’s energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Trump’s reversal on the Russia sanctions comes after a controversial deal he struck with Putin that would allow Russia diesel exports in exchange for US sanctions relief.

Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since the deal, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it a “weak decision” and Ukrainian forces resuming attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Iranian military support said to fuel Houthi territorial gains, attacks on Saudi Arabia

Supporters of the Houthi authorities brandish their weapons during a protest against Saudi intervention in Yemen, in Sanaa, on October 9, 2026. (Mohammed HUWAIS/AFP)

Iran has stepped up its military assistance to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, helping the group carry out increasingly sophisticated attacks on Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with Saudi and Yemeni intelligence.

According to the report, Tehran has provided intelligence, training, tactical advice and assistance in targeting missile and drone strikes, helping the Houthis make rapid territorial gains.

The Iran-backed group now controls Yemen’s coastline along the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key passage for Saudi oil shipments, and has targeted Saudi tankers, energy infrastructure and airports. A strike on Riyadh’s international airport last weekend killed at least 13 people.

The growing cooperation underscores Iran’s ability to pressure Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states through terror proxies as the United States seeks to end the war with the Islamic Republic.

“The connection is very, very strong on the operational level,” Danny Citrinowicz, the IDF’s former top Iran researcher, tells the Journal, describing the relationship as one of “shared strategic interest that isn’t based on a client-patron relationship, but rather on strategic cooperation.”

Iran has supported the Houthis in its conflict against Saudi Arabia for years, supplying weapons and deploying Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah operatives to train the group in producing and operating missiles and drones.

Israeli arrested in Colombia over alleged $16 million bank fraud in Dubai — report

An Israeli man suspected of involvement in a $16 million bank fraud scheme in Dubai has been arrested in Colombia at Interpol’s request, Hebrew media reports.

Michael Mizrahi, 61, who also holds Mexican citizenship, was detained at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport shortly after arriving in the country.

According to the reports, Mizrahi, nicknamed “the Banker,” allegedly belonged to an international fraud ring that swindled Dubai’s Bank of Khartoum out of some 61.4 million dirhams ($16 million).

The suspects allegedly posed as wealthy investors and business representatives, using forged financial documents and fictitious investment projects to secure funds from the bank. Investigators believe some of the money was transferred to companies owned by Mizrahi.

Colombian Interpol chief Col. Elver Vicente Alfonso Sanabria confirms the arrest, saying authorities had cooperated with law enforcement officials in Dubai.

Colombian prosecutors are now handling Mizrahi’s extradition to the United Arab Emirates. If he contests the extradition, the process could be delayed by several weeks.

Tanker struck by unknown projectile off Saudi Arabia, says maritime agency

A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile 68 nautical miles northeast of Saudi Arabia’s Jubail yesterday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says.

All crew members are safe and have been evacuated, it says, adding that no environmental impact has been reported.

Saudi airstrikes killed three children in Yemen, Houthis say

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels say that airstrikes from Saudi Arabia killed three children in Yemen’s southwestern province of Dhamar yesterday.

The Houthi-run health ministry says that yesterday’s strikes hit houses in al-Ar village in the Dawran Aness district, killing one child aged 8 and two children aged 10 and wounding more than a dozen people.

The Houthis blame Saudi Arabia for the strike, which comes amid heightened fighting between the group and the kingdom and its Yemeni allies. Saudi Arabia doesn’t immediately comment on the strike.

The children are among 124 people the Houthis say have been killed in their territories since fighting resumed in September, according to the ministry.

IDF: Troops dispatched to West Bank village after Israeli injured in clash

The military says troops and Border Police officers were dispatched to the West Bank village of Beit Lid following reports of a “confrontation between several Israeli civilians and several Palestinians in the area.”

An Israeli civilian was injured in the area and taken for medical treatment, and “reports of additional injuries are being examined,” the army says.

“The forces are conducting searches in the area,” the IDF adds.

Egypt’s Sisi says his presidency will end in 2030

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi attends a session of the BRICS Plus Outreach format in New Delhi, India, on September 13, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says that his presidential term will end in 2030 and that the question of his departure from office was “settled and will not be discussed”, reaffirming that Egypt’s constitution would not be further amended.

Sissi, who has ruled Egypt since 2014, was granted the ability to remain in office until 2030 under constitutional amendments approved by Egypt’s parliament in 2019.

If he completes his current term, he will have served as president for 16 years.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Pope Leo to be discharged from hospital, Vatican says

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus noon prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, August 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo is expected to leave the hospital this afternoon following surgery for lung cancer, the Vatican says.

He will lead prayers from his apartment at the Vatican to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square tomorrow, his first public appearance since he was hospitalized.

Saudi Arabia executes five Saudis convicted of ‘terrorism-related’ offenses

Saudi Arabia has executed five Saudi nationals convicted of “terrorism-related offenses,” including joining an unspecified foreign organization designated as terrorist, attacking security forces and supporting attacks inside the kingdom, the interior ministry says.

Wapo photojournalist undergoes surgery on her hand; suffered broken vertebrae in Israeli settler attack

American photojournalist Heidi Levine lies on a gurney in the emergency room of the government hospital in the city of Ramallah, as she is treated after being attacked by Israeli settlers while photographing Palestinian farmers harvesting their olives in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah on October 16, 2026. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP)

Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine is undergoing surgery on her finger, which was nearly detached from her hand after she was beaten by settlers in the West Bank, her daughter says.

Ashley Milner tells The Associated Press that the finger on her mother’s left hand was cut to the bone and a tendon was visible. She says Levine also has a broken rib and multiple broken vertebrae as well as lacerations across her body.

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villages across the West Bank yesterday, setting fire to cars and trees and beating residents as well as Levine in the latest violence to disrupt the territory’s annual olive harvest this month.

Levine said the perpetrators — armed with bottles and slingshots — “were kicking me for like 10 minutes and I was trying to hold onto my cameras and my bag.” She said her helmet and protective vest, which was marked “PRESS,” likely saved her from more serious injuries.

Settler violence against Palestinians has soared this year and spiked further in the weeks leading up to Israel’s October 27 election. Israeli authorities have been accused by local residents and rights groups of doing little to stop the attacks.

Liberman urges anti-Netanyahu voters not to waste ballots on smaller parties

Yisrael Beytenu party chairman MK Avigdor Liberman. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman urges voters to back only one of the four parties in the “serving bloc,” a grouping of Zionist opposition parties that advocate military service for ultra-Orthodox men, a day after accusing fellow opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot of seeking to form a government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the October 27 election.

“I call on my colleagues in the serving bloc to focus on just two messages,” Liberman writes in a post on X, calling for voter turnout to exceed 76% and urging Israelis to “vote only for one of the four parties in the bloc, and not waste votes on fringe parties.”

The appeal comes a day after Liberman accused Eisenkot, whose Yashar party leads the opposition bloc in polls, of trying to siphon votes from allied parties to strengthen his position ahead of potential coalition negotiations with Netanyahu.

Eisenkot, who has publicly ruled out forming a government with Netanyahu, dismissed the accusations as a “spin” and told Israelis to “not be rattled by the background noise,” saying he seeks “a clear majority of more than 61 Zionist seats for change.”

Yemen’s Houthis free 159 pro-government fighters under amnesty

Prisoners detained in connection with Yemen’s ongoing conflict line up before they are freed by the Houthis in a release supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross, in Sanaa, Yemen, October 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Yemen’s Houthis announce the release of 159 pro-government fighters under an amnesty announced after they seized swathes of land in a major offensive last month.

The prisoners had “voluntarily surrendered themselves without fighting” as the Iran-backed group captured strategic positions along the Red Sea, Houthi official Abdelqader al-Murtada tells a press conference in Sanaa.

The Houthis’ war with the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government reignited in July, triggering attacks on Saudi oil shipments and other targets including airports.

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirms the unilateral release of 159 prisoners and says it has given support by organizing interviews and health checks, contacting families and helping arrange transport.

Murtada says 323 prisoners were released under the amnesty last month after surrendering in Hodeidah governorate.

People of Israel’s Yoseph Haddad says Likud offered him top 10 slot to join party

People of Israel party member Yoseph Haddad speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Arab Israeli activist Yoseph Haddad, who is running for the Knesset with Ofer Winter’s right-wing People of Israel party, says Likud offered him a top 10 spot on its electoral slate and a ministerial position in a last-minute bid to recruit him.

“Right up until the eleventh hour… Likud offered me a place in the top 10 on its electoral slate and a promise to serve as a minister,” Haddad says at an event in Kfar Saba.

Haddad also criticizes Likud for attacking Winter’s party, insisting it will cross the electoral threshold, despite polls showing otherwise.

Rejecting suggestions that Winter could join forces with Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, Haddad says his party would join a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but only if it commits to military conscription for ultra-Orthodox men.

“We will not join any government that does not ensure military enlistment for everyone. We will fight for the rights of those who serve,” Haddad says.

Araghchi says Iran backs ‘political process’ to solve Saudi-Houthis conflict

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrives the opening session of the 52nd Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Baghdad, Iraq, October 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that Tehran supports a “political process” to resolve the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

“We support an inclusive and comprehensive political process as the only practical and sustainable way to resolve the issue,” Araghchi says in a speech at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Baghdad.

Armed settlers raided Palestinian village to reclaim allegedly stolen livestock, but also stole sheep — military official

Armed Israeli settlers raided a Palestinian village in the southern West Bank this morning to allegedly return stolen livestock, although a military official says the Israelis also stole sheep from the Palestinians.

Footage published by Palestinian media showed the settlers with assault rifles riding on ATVs into the hamlet. According to reports, the Israelis broke into a building where livestock was kept and took the sheep with them.

In response to a query, the military says troops and Border Police officers were dispatched to the area “following a violent confrontation that developed amid reports of livestock belonging to Israeli civilians being stolen.”

The forces fired warning shots in the air to “disperse the confrontation,” and police officers later entered the area with IDF escort to collect findings for an investigation.

“All details of the incident, including the identities of those involved, are being examined,” the military says.

A military official says that the identities of the armed Israelis are unknown, and it cannot yet be determined whether the ATVs belong to security bodies.

The official says the IDF is aware of “livestock being stolen by both sides,” and that stolen sheep belonging to Palestinians will be returned to them later.

💢 مشاهد متداولة توثق هجوم أعداد كبيرة من المستوطنين الإسرائيليين على خربة ماعين التابعة لبلدة الكرمل شرق يطا، جنوبي الخليل في الضفة الغربية المحتلة، والاعتداء على الأهالي وسرقة مواشيهم.https://t.co/WHZUQMMCC3 pic.twitter.com/pmHU75xT3O

— Anadolu العربية (@aa_arabic) October 17, 2026

Police fire tear gas, scuffle with protesters in Paris as violent rallies engulf France

Protesters hold the French flag and the Palestinian flag as they stand on the statue of the Place de la Republique during a demonstration against the cost of living and rising fuel prices in Paris as part of nationwide protests, October 17, 2026. (Jack Taylor/Reuters)

Scuffles break out in Paris between police and small groups of protesters joining a march as part of nationwide demonstrations against rising living costs and in support of high school students’ grievances.

Police use tear gas to push back people wearing hoods and masks and throwing fireworks and other objects at officers in the Place de la République, northeast of the Paris city center. Large numbers of riot police are deployed in the square and surrounding streets.

The tourist office of the French city of Lyon is also set on fire, amid nationwide protests, BFMTV says.

Protesters across France responded to calls on social media to revive the “yellow vest” movement, which emerged in 2018 against social injustice. Student groups protesting since mid-September through school blockades have urged supporters to join them.

The CGT, one of France’s major labor unions, also backed the protests, calling for “higher wages and pensions, lower prices and the protection of public services that meet people’s needs.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Police say probe launched into footage of settler attack on European diplomats

The Israel Police says it has launched an investigation into footage showing European diplomats being attacked by settlers in the West Bank village of Taybeh.

“Upon receiving the footage, police opened an investigation, and the Foreign Ministry was also notified to locate the victims, collect testimony, and identify the suspects so they can be brought to justice,” the police say.

The Israel Police adds that it “condemns violence of any kind and will pursue these investigations to ensure that all those involved in these incidents are brought to justice.”

Dutch rapper sentenced to 40 hours of community service for doxing Jewish woman and journalist

A Dutch court has sentenced rapper Appa to forty hours of community service, half of which is suspended for a two-year probationary period, for doxing a Jewish woman and a journalist, Dutch media reports.

Appa, 43, had taken part in the doxing of the family members of Israeli soldiers who lived in the Netherlands in 2025. The journalist covered the matter, writing two articles about it, drawing the rapper’s attention.

A judge in Utrecht found that Appa violated the privacy of the victim. Appa had published a photo of the journalist with the text: “… and that is why you are making a fool of yourself, just like that terrorist.”

The judge rejected Appa’s defense, which argued that he only wanted to gain details about the Jewish woman for a possible lawsuit against her, while wanting to correct the journalist over what he believed to be incorrect reporting.

Democrats’ Golan says government ‘drowning all of us in a sea of terror’ after reported settler attack on European diplomats

The Democrats leader Yair Golan accuses the “Netanyahu-Smotrich government” of “drowning all of us in a sea of terror” after reports that extremist settlers attacked European diplomats in the West Bank.

“My position is clear: We must fight Jewish terror with an iron fist, just as we fight against Palestinian terror. Return to the use of administrative detention against dangerous Jewish terror operatives, in accordance with the law; terror hubs must be dismantled, illegal outposts evacuated, rioters arrested and brought to trial,” he writes on X.

IDF condemns ‘severe’ settler attack on European diplomats, says visit not coordinated with army

The Israeli military says it condemns the “severe” attack by settlers on European diplomats in the West Bank village of Taybeh today, while adding that the visit had not been coordinated with the army.

“The IDF strongly condemns the severe act of violence that took place in the area of Taybeh, during which diplomatic representatives were attacked by Israeli rioters,” the military says.

The army says police officers are now entering the area with IDF escort to collect evidence and take testimonies for an investigation.

“The consulate’s visit was not coordinated with the IDF,” the military says, while adding that “such coordination is important to prevent incidents of this kind.”

A preliminary probe by the army has found that no troops were present at the scene at the time of the attack.

A report of the attack was sent by an Israeli civilian who was accompanying the diplomats to a phone number of the military’s regional brigade, but the IDF says that the brigade’s operations room “is designated to receive reports from security personnel only, and not from civilians.”

“The operations room receives dozens of operational reports each day and responds only to authorized personnel, not civilians,” the military says, adding that “other designated channels are available for civilians to submit complaints.”

“All circumstances surrounding the incident will be examined,” the military adds.

#Breaking: European diplomats, including French and Polish representatives, who went to the West Bank to observe the olive harvest, have been violently assaulted by Israeli settlers. pic.twitter.com/i2jLVrTdDW

— Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي (@NTarnopolsky) October 17, 2026

Saudi Arabia says four drones shot down, including over Riyadh, amid fighting with Houthis

Buildings and construction sites fill the skyline, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 14, 2026. (AP Pjoto/Baraa Anwer)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia says that it intercepted four drones today, including over the capital Riyadh, as the country comes under repeated fire from Yemen’s Houthis.

Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government in its civil war with the Iran-backed Houthis.

Since the conflict flared back to life in July after a years-long hiatus, the kingdom has faced sustained Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting its oil installations, tankers and airports.

“We have intercepted and destroyed four drones over the past few hours in the regions of Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and the South,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki wrote on X.

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis’ recent escalation, a charge Tehran denies.

Belgian FM blasts settler attack on European diplomats, vows to press for sanctions

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot slams “in the strongest terms” the settler attack against European diplomats in the West Bank village of Taybeh and vows to press the European Union to put sanctions on those responsible for the violence.

“A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged. Our team is safe,” he writes on X.

“Palestinians face this violence every day. Settlers also target journalists reporting on it and diplomats. Harvesting olives, reporting the news or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack,” he says.

“As the occupying power, Israeli authorities must protect Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible to justice. Impunity for violent settlers must end,” he continues.

“Belgium will continue to press for EU sanctions against those responsible for this violence and those who support them,” he adds.

“This violence cannot be separated from Israel’s illegal settlement policy. Belgium condemns settlement expansion and attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land. The occupation of the Palestinian territory must end.”

🇵🇸 I condemn in the strongest terms the attack by masked settlers in Taybeh, in the occupied West Bank, against Palestinians, our Consul General, French and Polish diplomats as well as catholic representatives. A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged. Our team…

— Maxime PREVOT (@prevotmaxime) October 17, 2026

Sa’ar condemns settler attack on European diplomats, laments delegation’s lack of coordination with IDF

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says he condemns the settler attack on European diplomats in the West Bank village of Taybeh, but laments that the delegation’s visit “was not coordinated with the IDF in advance.

“A police investigation has been opened, and forensic investigators from the Judea and Samaria District are already at the scene collecting evidence. The Foreign Ministry is in contact with the ambassadors of the countries concerned in order to assist the law enforcement authorities, who are working to identify the attackers and bring them to justice,” Sa’ar writes on X.

“Without detracting from the severity of the incident, it is unfortunate that the visit was not coordinated with the IDF in advance. Such coordination could have helped safeguard the visitors’ security,” he claims.

Critics accuse the government of condoning and even encouraging the violence, which has led to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian families.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers have regularly downplayed the burgeoning violence as a marginal concern, claiming that nearly all incidents are the work of a few hundred wayward youths.

I strongly condemn the severe acts of violence by Israeli rioters in the area of Taybeh.

A police investigation has been opened, and forensic investigators from the Judea and Samaria District are already at the scene collecting evidence.

The Foreign Ministry is in contact with…

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) October 17, 2026

Egypt said to mull supporting defense of Saudi Arabia in face of Houthi attacks

CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt’s parliament will meet in an emergency session after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi requested authorization that could allow Egypt to support the defense of Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, if requested by the kingdom.

“The House of Representatives, headed by Counsellor Hisham Badawi, will hold an emergency session tomorrow, Sunday, in response to President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s call,” state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reports.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Eisenkot calls settler attacks ‘Jewish terror under the auspices of the government of Israel’

Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot says settler attacks in the West Bank are “Jewish terror under the auspices of the government of Israel,” after European diplomats were assaulted in the West Bank today.

“Once again, within a single day, squads of violent lawbreakers attack foreign citizens — and this time, diplomats and official officeholders,” he says.

Eisenkot says the attacks are “burning up the last shreds of legitimacy the State of Israel has left, endangering security forces, and harming the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria, and national security.”

4 Hamas operatives, including Oct. 7 terrorist, killed in Gaza strikes — IDF

Four Hamas operatives, including a terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught, were killed in recent strikes in the Gaza Strip, the military announces.

A strike on Thursday killed Mahmoud Khaled Mohammed Madhoun, identified by the IDF as a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force who took part in anti-tank missile attacks on troops during the war.

Separate strikes yesterday killed Ubaida Suhail Hamad Murtaja, a Hamas sniper operative, and Adham Khalil Mohammed Marouf, a Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, the IDF says.

The IDF says that another strike earlier today in the Strip’s south killed Hamas operative Abd al-Jawad Juda.

The four operatives had recently been involved in advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, and attempting to restore Hamas’s capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the military adds.

בתקיפות שונות ברצועת עזה: צה"ל חיסל ארבעה מחבלים מארגון הטרור חמאס, בהם מחבל שפשט לישראל בטבח 7 באוקטובר

צה"ל תקף בימים האחרונים במספר מרחבים ברצועת עזה וחיסל ארבעה מחבלים מהזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס:
• שלשום חוסל מחמוד חאלד מחמד מדהון, מחבל נוח'בה בזרוע הצבאית של ארגון… pic.twitter.com/rgvhU8H9mi

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 17, 2026

French mayor attacked by settlers says incident proves government tolerance for violence

A French mayor who was attacked today by Israeli settlers in the West Bank tells AFP that the incident showed a tolerance by Israel’s right-wing government for settler violence.

“I think that if settlers are behaving like this, there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government,” Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, says after he was attacked on a goodwill visit to the town of Taybeh.

Herzog apologizes to photographer beaten by settlers, says he was ‘morally tormented’ by thoughts of attack

President Isaac Herzog arrives in Baku, Azerbaijan, October 14, 2026. (Maayan Toaf / GPO)

President Issac Herzog speaks to the Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, who was beaten by settlers yesterday in the West Bank, saying he condemns the “outrageous and shocking” violence.

“I was morally tormented during Shabbat when I thought about it, and I express deep sorrow and apologize for what you went through,” the president told Levine in a phone call, according to a readout by his office.

“The despicable behavior of these criminals does not represent the citizens and values ​​of the State of Israel,” he told the photographer, the readout says.

The president urged law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those responsible.

Netanyahu’s office on Taybeh attack: It’s too early to draw conclusions, especially amid smear campaign against settlers

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office urges caution around reports of a settler attack against European diplomats in the West Bank village of Taybeh, saying the police investigation is ongoing.

The prime minister’s statement appears to contradict the military’s comment, which condemned what it called the “severe” attack by settlers on the diplomats.

“We urge caution before drawing conclusions from today’s reports that European diplomats were attacked by masked Israelis in Judea and Samaria,” says the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement posted on X, while adding that violence against diplomats is “unacceptable.”

“The more serious the accusation, the greater the demand for compelling evidence,” says the PMO.

The statement lays out a series of facts about the incident — that the diplomats “entered a sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination with the IDF”; that it included French Communist Party mayor Bernard Baudoux, a vocal advocate for Palestinians; that footage shows masked individuals approaching a diplomatic vehicle, while other images show a broken window and someone lying on the ground.

“These images alone do not establish the complete sequence of events or individual responsibility,” says Netanyahu’s office. “Those circumstances remain under investigation.”

The PMO stresses that Israeli police are investigating “to establish the facts and identify those responsible.”

Netanyahu’s office also raises concerns about a “coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest.”

Lapid says he doesn’t trust Netanyahu not to launch Iran strike that could disrupt elections

B'Yachad party member Yair Lapid speaks at the “Law and Lies” conference on October 12, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says he does not trust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on security matters when asked whether the premier could launch a military strike against Iran that would lead to the postponement of the October 27 election.

“I trust the army, I trust the [IDF] chief of staff. I don’t trust Netanyahu on security matters. He cannot be trusted,” Lapid tells Channel 12 in an interview.

“There is no intelligence – and I am familiar with the most sensitive intelligence – that justifies preventing elections from taking place in Israel,” he says. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t attack Iran. But there is no intelligence justification for an attack on Iran that would disrupt the elections.”

Asked about the possibility of US President Donald Trump intervening in the Israeli election by endorsing Netanyahu or another candidate, Lapid says: “We are asking him not to interfere in Israel’s elections. We are a democracy. I don’t think an Israeli prime minister should interfere in elections in the United States, and I don’t think an American president should interfere in Israeli elections.”

Photographer beaten by settlers slams Netanyahu for doubting attack: ‘Mr. prime minister, maybe take another look at those videos’

Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine at Beilinson Hospital, in Petah Tikva, October 17, 2026. (Channel 12 news screenshot)

Heidi Levine, the Washington Post photographer who was beaten by settlers in the West Bank yesterday, shares her story with Channel 12 news.

Levine says after arriving on the scene, she could see masked men with tzitzit, at which point “everyone started to scatter.”

At that point, she says, she was set upon by a group of men, who she said numbered at least 20.

“They threw me to the ground, and they just started kicking me and beating me with sticks,” she says.

“I’ve had two doctors and a nurse suspect that I was actually stabbed in and near my buttocks area, from maybe a knife,” she says. “Other colleagues have told me that they’ve even seen that the settlers are now tying nails onto their sticks,” she says.

“They broke my cameras off my shoulders. They broke the straps. At one point they stood me up on my feet because they weren’t trying to help me; they were actually trying to rob me further,” she adds.

Then, she says, they pushed her back down and continued hitting her.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it,” she says.

She slams the prime minister for suggesting that the settlers were trying to help her up: “That is such a lie and the biggest insult.”

She says the Palestinians were trying to push settlers away, and without them, “I probably would have been dead.”

“Mr. prime minister, maybe take another look at those videos, okay? And really look at those videos with your full attention because you’ll see nobody was trying to help me except for my colleagues,” she says.

“I’m not going to let what happened to me yesterday stop me,” she says.

“I am not going to let these thugs, which I’m sorry to say, are, in my words and in my mind and other people’s minds, literally Jewish terrorists, and they are destroying the whole image for everyone in Israel all over the world,” she says.

“Because when anyone hears the word Israeli or the country Israel, the only thing that comes to their mind is these guys who did what they did to me yesterday, and I have been to so many funerals of people who have been killed by them,” she says.

“They stole my camera, my gear, my documents, but they didn’t steal my commitments,” she says.

In latest TV appearance, Netanyahu says interview blitz aimed at boosting turnout in ‘tied’ race

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in an interview, on October 17, 2026. (i24NEWS screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that the October 27 election is effectively tied and that the outcome will depend on voter turnout, in a rare interview with Hebrew-language media urging his supporters to head to the polls.

“We’re tied,” Netanyahu tells i24NEWS, which is owned by French-Israeli billionaire and Netanyahu ally Patrick Drahi. “If we get the extra mandate or two extra mandates because people come out to vote, we’ll win, and if they don’t come out and stay home, we’ll lose.”

“That’s why I’m appearing here, to tell all my supporters who really want a strong right-wing government: Go out to vote,” he says, urging viewers to bring their grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins to the polls.

Recent polls have consistently shown neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the Jewish-led opposition parties securing the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority. The latest survey by The Times of Israel’s sister site Zman Yisrael gives Netanyahu’s bloc 49 seats to the opposition’s 54, with Eisenkot’s Yashar emerging as the largest party.

Asked whether the October 27 election will take place on schedule amid concerns about a possible war with Iran, Netanyahu replies, “Of course, as far as it depends on me,” but then alleges that Israel’s enemies, including Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, are seeking to interfere in the vote.

“They all say the same thing: Netanyahu has to lose,” he claims, adding that Israel is seeing signs of attempts to interfere in the election, including by “creating security incidents.”

Netanyahu also leaves open the possibility of military action against Iran, despite touting his government’s achievements against Tehran. “We did 90 percent of the work, but you know, it’s like cancer. If you don’t get rid of this regime in Iran, it will come back,” he says.

Netanyahu condemns violence but casts doubt on documented settler assault of US photographer

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts doubt on the reported assault of an American photojournalist by extremist settlers in the West Bank, despite clear video footage documenting the attack, while simultaneously condemning settler violence as a “scourge” that must be eradicated.

In his first public remarks on the incident, Netanyahu tells i24NEWS that reports of such attacks sometimes turn out to be inaccurate, when asked about the assault on Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, who was beaten by masked settlers while covering the Palestinian olive harvest near Ramallah yesterday.

“Many times we’ve been told that certain things happened, and then it turns out that things weren’t exactly as they were presented,” he says.

When the interviewer pushes back, pointing to footage of the assault and Levine’s own testimony, Netanyahu responds, “I don’t know. We’re checking it out.”

Netanyahu nevertheless condemns extremist settler violence more broadly, saying, “I am not willing to accept groups taking the law into their own hands,” and adding, “I brought the Shin Bet in there. We will uproot this scourge.”

He also says that such violence “tarnishes a huge public of settlers who are law-abiding, who are among the most moral people we have.”

Settler leader claims ‘provocateurs and terrorists’ causing violence in West Bank, violent Israelis ‘playing into their hands’

Chairman of the Binyamin Regional Council Yisrael Ganz is announced as the next chairman of the Yesha Council, an umbrella group of West Bank settlement municipal authorities, May 6, 2024. (Baruch Greenberg)

Against the background of severe violence by settler extremists in recent days, head of the Yesha Council settlements umbrella group Israel Ganz alleges that it is Palestinian rights activists who are sowing violence in the West Bank.

“In the last two days, groups of provocateurs and terrorists are sowing chaos using the olive harvest as an excuse,” says Ganz.

Ganz, who also heads the Benjamin Regional Council settlement authority, claims that such people go to “friction points” in order to “stir up the region and create confrontations.”

“In many situations they are the actual aggressors, go wild, and harm Israelis,” alleges Ganz, and says their activities must be stopped.

Ganz is referring to Israeli and foreign organizations and activists who carry out so-called protective presence activities in which they accompany Palestinian agricultural workers onto their land to assist them when confronted by Israeli security forces and document violence by settler extremists.

There is very little documentation of such activists engaging in violent acts, however, despite Ganz’s claims.

Ganz issued qualified criticism of extremist violence, saying that “Israelis using violence play into their hands and harm people, the settlements, and the state.”

He called on the police to “take responsibility” and impose order.

“A police force which knows how to deal with organized crime must stop stone throwers, and organizers of disturbances of the public order which are known ahead of time, Israelis, Arabs, and foreigners alike, instead of sufficing with condemnation and a claim that an investigation has been opened after the incident has ended,” says Ganz.

Post by wife of aide to British PM backing Palestine Action doesn’t warrant probe, UK police says

Illustrative: Protesters hold a banner outside the Royal Courts Of Justice in central London on June 15, 2026, amid a legal standoff between the UK government and the Palestine Action group. (CARLOS JASSO / AFP)

LONDON — Police say a social media post by the wife of the British prime minister’s national security adviser backing the banned activist group Palestine Action did not merit a criminal investigation.

Sarah Helm, a journalist and author and wife of Jonathan Powell, Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s national security adviser, posted on X Thursday, “God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action,” an activist group banned as terrorist by the UK government last year.

A spokesperson for the capital’s police force says specialist officers had looked at the post and ruled it “did not meet the criminal threshold” and “no further police action will be taken.”

Helm was commenting after publisher Faber said this week that its Irish author Sally Rooney cannot sell her books in the UK because of her support for Palestine Action, which it is now illegal in the UK to support or finance.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism had responded on X that Helm’s post was “gobsmacking” and “clearly, the police need to investigate and Ms Helm must face the full force of the law.”

French FM demands Israel hold extremist settlers responsible for attack on mayor

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot visits Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on October 7, 2026. (Jack GUEZ/AFP)

PARIS, France — French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot demands that Israel crack down on “criminal violence” after a French mayor was beaten by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, “was violently assaulted by extremist settlers,” Barrot says on X.

“The Israeli authorities must arrest those responsible for these revolting acts and take them to justice. They must urgently halt this criminal violence and guarantee the safety of civilian populations, as they are compelled to do under international law.”

Lebanon’s Aoun asks visiting French FM for help preventing security vacuum in south after UNIFIL pullout

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, saying he would welcome any effort to prevent a security vacuum in the south if UN peacekeepers withdraw as planned at the end of the year.

Barrot is in Beirut for a two-day visit to discuss “mechanisms for an international presence” in the south — the scene of repeated conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah — after the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires.

In a statement, Aoun reiterates Lebanon’s desire to extend UNIFIL’s mandate, but adds, “if this proves impossible, Lebanon welcomes any arrangement that ensures an international presence in the south, prevents a vacuum, and avoids placing the Lebanese army in direct contact with the Israeli army.”

الرئيس جوزاف عون خلال استقباله وفداً وزارياً فرنسياً برئاسة وزير أوروبا والشؤون الخارجية جان نويل بارو:

– شكر الرئيس الفرنسي إيمانويل ماكرون على قراره إعادة الطيران التجاري الفرنسي إلى بيروت، ودعمه انضمام مرفأي بيروت وطرابلس إلى «نادي موانئ الممر الاقتصادي IMEC»، ودوره في إنشاء… pic.twitter.com/aKH3v2c5JO

— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) October 17, 2026

Huckabee casts attack on WaPo photographer ‘despicable act of terror,’ says perpetrators should spend years in jail

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee calls the attack on Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine a “despicable act of terror,” and those responsible should spend years in prison.

Without specifically blaming extremist settlers, Huckabee says the details of the incident are under investigation.

“Attacking a female photographer is [a] despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards. Dishonorable act of senseless violence,” he writes on X.

Heidi Levine, photojournalist for @wapo suffered serious injuries from vicious & cowardly attack. Heidi is US Citizen, clear ID as journalist. Details of who under investigation, but those who attacked unarmed reporter should spend YRS in prison. We have called for a full…

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 17, 2026

Lebanon says military delegation will press for halt to Israeli attacks at US talks

A Lebanese military delegation will present Beirut’s demands for an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon at a trilateral meeting in Tampa, Florida, on October 20, the Lebanese presidency says in a post on X.

Lebanon and Israel have held a number of direct talks in recent months, aimed at ending hostilities since a new war erupted on March 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel in support of its patron.

Under a deal reached through US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks, Beirut vowed to disarm Hezbollah, which would in turn lead to Israeli troops gradually withdrawing from Lebanon. But Hezbollah has refused to disarm as long as Israeli forces remain on Lebanese land, and Israel has continued striking terror targets in southern Lebanon, which it says are violating the agreement.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.