Oct. 23: At site of deadly shooting, IDF chief vows to ‘pursue all those involved’ in attack

Trump backs US campaign attack ad featuring Democrat’s estranged mother

US President Donald Trump backs Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor, over an attack ad featuring his Democratic rival’s estranged mother, whose husband was charged with raping the candidate as a child.

Ramaswamy faced a firestorm of criticism over the ad featuring the mother of Amy Acton, who remained married to the man who the candidate says sexually abused her for years.

But Trump on his Truth Social network defends the “very powerful” advertisement and accused the media of a “well coordinated attack” aimed at getting Ramaswamy, a former presidential hopeful, to stop running it.

“Vivek should keep it up, and let everyone listen to the mother of a defective, dishonest, and incapable Candidate, explain how the daughter is a DISASTER who, uncontrollably, lies, cheats, and steals!” Trump writes.

The estranged mom of Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor, just called her daughter a liar and urged people not to vote for her.

What the ad leaves out: Acton and her brother were removed from their mother’s custody after Acton accused her stepfather of sexual… pic.twitter.com/kAqn3tMl7F

— The Recount (@therecount) October 20, 2026

“I only wish the mothers of my opponents would be so brave as to come forward and explain that their son or daughter is a liar, and much worse.”

Trump, 80, adds: “If my mother, the legendary Mary MacLeod Trump, said anything bad about me, the Fake News would play it up.”

Authorities move to deport 11 foreign activists who allegedly took part in uncoordinated West Bank olive harvest

Israel Police say officers detained 11 foreign activists and one Palestinian earlier today after their group tried to harvest olive trees in an area of the southern West Bank without coordinating in advance with authorities as required.

Police say in a statement that the area that the Palestinians and foreign activists tried to reach was a closed military zone.

Another mass detention of activists in the West Bank, this time in Masafer Yatta.

No mass detentions of Israeli settler terrorists. Instead, activists who came to help Palestinians harvest their olives are the ones being detained. pic.twitter.com/UznWNrdQaB

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) October 22, 2026

One clip of footage from the area shows Israeli forces detaining the group, and another shows settlers attacking them and trying to destroy the olives that they picked.

Israeli and foreign activists have been showing up in the West Bank in growing numbers in order to try to protect Palestinians, who have been facing regular attacks from settlers while harvesting their olives.

Israeli settler terrorists attack Palestinian olive harvesters and throw their freshly picked olives to the ground in Shaab Al-Butum, Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. pic.twitter.com/kr9efkWRaF

— Government Communication Center (@pal_gcc_en) October 22, 2026

Yesterday, police and the IDF claimed that a similar incident had taken place near the Beitar Illit settlement — and involved Congressional candidate Brad Lander — but official Defense Ministry maps later proved that the area in question did not, in fact, require prior coordination in order to enter.

Police say that during the latest incident, the activists refused to identify themselves or leave the area, leading to their detention.

Officers subsequently examined the social media accounts of the activists and discovered that two of them had published posts expressing praise for “terrorists,” police claim, without elaborating.

All 11 foreign activists were transferred to the Population Immigration and Border Authority for a hearing on their deportation from Israel, police say.

Back in the field harvesting olives this morning at the invitation of Palestinian families (near Beit Jala today) with @rabbijilljacobs @truahrabbis and many other new released-from-detention friends.

Our harvest today was peaceful & successful. Sadly, another harvest in Masafer… pic.twitter.com/1s6QAsbM5r

— Brad Lander (@bradlander) October 22, 2026

Riyadh-led coalition says it shot down Houthi ballistic missile targeting Saudi Arabia’s Najran

The Saudi-led coalition says its forces just shot down a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis toward the southern Saudi city of Najran, near the border with Yemen.

Video shows cop cuffing Arab bus driver on the ground for allegedly entering crowded intersection

Footage shows a police officer sitting on top of an Arab bus driver on a Jerusalem sidewalk and handcuffing him, after the driver allegedly drove into a crowded intersection and refused to show identification.

The driver can be heard pleading with the officer to stop, and in separate footage says to the officer, “I’m sick.” The officer responds: “I’m also sick.”

Passengers tell the officer that the driver didn’t do anything and say the officer is behaving inappropriately, but the officer ignores them as he looks up the driver on a police computer.

After the footage is shared widely, police say in a statement that the officer detained the driver on Wednesday after he “entered an intersection that wasn’t clear” and then “again and again refused the officer’s demands to identify himself” and show a driver’s license.

The driver was released after he was identified and his violation registered, police say.

Veteran Arab MK Ahmad Tibi, no. 2 on the Joint List slate in Tuesday’s Knesset election, shares the footage on X, and says: “It’s not just street thugs who beat up Arab bus drivers — it’s also police.”

עוד יותר גרוע ואכזרי. בריון משטרתי https://t.co/o9rQlm3uPP pic.twitter.com/fSyJG5Une8

— Ahmad Tibi (@Ahmad_tibi) October 22, 2026

Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted Houthi missile launched at Riyadh

The Saudi-led military says it has intercepted a ballistic missile fired at Riyadh by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to a statement quoted by the kingdom’s official press agency.

Video shows glass bottle thrown toward Netanyahu’s motorcade at Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda

Video shows a glass bottle was thrown at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s motorcade at Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market, a popular nightlife spot that the premier made a late night campaign stop at.

Security personnel and police can then be seen running into the crowd of onlookers as they try to find who threw the bottle.

חדשות הסקופים
ראשוני: תקרית חריגה בשוק מחנה יהודה בירושלים: בקבוק זכוכית הושלך לעבר שיירתו של ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו לא נגרם נזק צילום : משה אריה צפו 🎥@netanyahu pic.twitter.com/alTW6a8Xna

— חדשות הסקופים. (@Haskupim) October 22, 2026

At least one person injured in West Bank shooting, IDF says

The Israeli army says it has received a report of a shooting attack in the southern West Bank.

At least one person is reportedly injured at the scene.

The shooting took place at the Judea Junction on Route 35, near Hebron.

Troops were dispatched to the scene, launched a pursuit after the gunman, and are carrying out roadblocks in the area, the IDF says, adding that further details of the attack are under review.

2 injured, one of them seriously, in West Bank shooting attack; 2 gunmen shot dead

Two Israelis were injured in the shooting attack in the southern West Bank, according to first responders.

One is said to be seriously injured while the second is in light-to-moderate condition.

Meanwhile, the IDF says two gunmen who carried out the attack were shot dead by troops as they tried to flee the scene.

The IDF says it has set up roadblocks and imposed closures on nearby Palestinian towns.

Wounded toll in West Bank shooting attack rises to 4, with 2 in serious condition

The wounded toll of the shooting attack in the southern West Bank rises to four, according to first responders.

Two are in serious condition and two are lightly hurt, according to medics.

Magen David Adom says one of those it is treating is unconscious.

Waze rejects Malaysia’s allegations that Israeli-founded app exploits user data

Former police data analyst Davin Hall uses the Waze navigation app while driving through Greensboro, North Carolina, on June 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Navigation app Waze rejects Malaysia’s allegations that it allows the exploitation of users’ personal data, after the country banned civil servants from using it over its Israeli links.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the ban on Wednesday to “safeguard government information and users’ personal data against the threat of misuse by the Israeli regime.”

Muslim-majority Malaysia is a longstanding and vocal critic of Israel and maintains no diplomatic relations with it.

Waze, owned by Google, was founded in Israel and remains incorporated there.

“Claims that Waze collects sensitive government information or allows any entity to exploit personal user data are completely false,” a Waze spokesperson says in a statement.

“Waze operates under strict privacy policies that protect user data and comply with global legal data protection standards,” the statement reads.

3 victims of West Bank shooting attack taken to Jerusalem hospitals

Three victims of the shooting attack in the southern West Bank arrive at hospitals in Jerusalem.

Shaare Zedek Medical Centre says two men, both conscious and in moderate condition, were brought to the hospital.

Hadassah Hospital Ein Karem says one man arrived in good condition after being wounded in the shooting.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it treated two others in critical condition at the scene of the attack.

Footage shows prolonged gun battle in wake of West Bank attack: ‘Take cover by the ambulance’

Footage from the scene of the shooting attack in the southern West Bank shows a prolonged gunfight between the Palestinian gunmen and IDF troops.

“Take cover, come to the ambulance it’s bullet proof,” a medic is heard calling to soldiers as gunshots ring out.

“We haven’t yet managed to extract the wounded out, there is active shooting for over 20 minutes,” he is heard saying in another clip.

The two Palestinian gunmen were shot dead by soldiers of the Home Front Command’s Ari Battalion, who were deployed to the area.

According to the military, the gunmen were armed with an M16 assault rifle and a pistol.

The IDF says it has imposed closures on several Palestinian towns in the area, including a full closure on Hebron.

פיגוע סמוך לצומת יהודה: שני פצועים במצב קשה, ושניים קל. המחבלים ניסו להימלט, אך בתום מרדף קצר חוסלו בידי כוחות צה"ל, שהקימו חסימות באזור – והטילו כתר על כפרים. pic.twitter.com/fMfViJfoD0

— זירת החדשות (@ZiratNews) October 23, 2026

"תתפסו מחסה, האמבולנס ממוגן!": ירי מסיבי בזירת הפיגוע | תיעוד דרמטי@Heller_shlomi https://t.co/Xk71RSgvpq pic.twitter.com/EMEGjmnEFG

— i24NEWS (@i24NEWS_HE) October 23, 2026

Photos show Palestinian gunmen during firefight with IDF troops amid West Bank shooting attack

One of two Palestinian gunmen during a gun battle with Israeli troops after a shooting attack at a checkpoint near Hebron in the West Bank on October 23, 2026. (HAZEM BADER/AFP)

Photos published by the AFP news agency appear to show the gunmen who carried out a shooting attack in the southern West Bank.

Five people were injured, two of them critically, when two gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint near Hebron.

The two shooters were killed by troops amid a gun battle that lasted over 20 minutes.

The pictures appear to show the gunmen amid the firefight.

AFP says their Hebron-based photographer was en route to another assignment when he witnessed the gun battle break out at the checkpoint.

IDF chief: Troops who killed Palestinian gunmen in West Bank prevented a more severe attack

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is seen at the IDF's main command center, September 6, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the soldiers who killed the two Palestinian gunmen in the southern West Bank this morning prevented a more severe attack.

“This was a serious attack. The troops’ swift action prevented an even more serious attack and further harm to civilians and security forces,” he says during an assessment with officers on the shooting.

Zamir says that “a large quantity of ammunition was found in the vehicle in which the terrorists arrived at the scene of the attack, which was intended to be used to carry out a larger-scale attack.”

According to the IDF, the gunmen were armed with an M16 rifle and a pistol, and they were shot dead by the deputy commander of the Home Front Command’s Ari Battalion and a company commander who rushed to the scene.

Zamir also ordered that preparations be made for additional forces to be deployed to the Central Command if required.

Ben Gvir calls for Palestinian Authority to be dismantled after West Bank attack

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to the media at the scene of a shooting attack carried out by Palestinian gunmen at a junction near Hebron in the West Bank, October 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint in the West Bank, injuring five people, two of them critically.

“We have to act before it’s too late. The Palestinian Authority must be dismantled and demilitarized, and its terror infrastructure wiped out completely,” says Ben Gvir in a statement, five days ahead of Israel’s elections.

There is no immediate indication of any Palestinian Authority involvement in the incident.

Netanyahu, security chiefs order preparations for full West Bank lockdown after shooting attack

Israeli security forces near the scene of a shooting attack near the West Bank city of Hebron, October 23, 2026. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a situation assessment with the country’s security chiefs and ordered an immediate closure of Hebron and preparations for a full lockdown across the West Bank, he says on X.

He says he was joined by Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Shin Bet head David Zini, National Security Adviser Shmuel Ben Ezra, and head of IDF Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth.

“Our forces are operating with increased intensity to thwart terrorism and are carrying out extensive waves of arrests,” says Netanyahu. “We will pursue Hamas terrorists and those who send them everywhere and at all times. You have no safe haven.”

The West Bank and Gaza were expected to be under lockdown on Monday and Tuesday for Israel’s election.

2 Palestinian gunmen planned a larger attack targeting Israeli civilians in West Bank, IDF believes

A Palestinian gunman during a gun battle with Israeli troops after a shooting attack at a checkpoint near Hebron in the West Bank on October 23, 2026. (HAZEM BADER/AFP)

The two Palestinian gunmen who carried out this morning’s shooting on the outskirts of Hebron in the southern West Bank are believed by the military to have initially planned their attack on Israeli civilians.

The pair, both from Hebron, arrived by car at around 7:30 a.m. at a temporary checkpoint set up by the army at the exit to Hebron. The soldiers stationed there, from the Home Front Command’s 775th “Ari” Search and Rescue Battalion, were conducting routine checks on Palestinian cars leaving the city.

The IDF believes that the gunmen realized they would not be able to reach the Route 35 highway and target Israeli civilians there, and instead decided to open fire at the checkpoint.

The pair exited their car on a side street near the checkpoint armed with an assault rifle and a pistol, and using the buildings as cover, opened fire on the checkpoint, according to a preliminary probe.

The clash between the gunmen and IDF troops lasted over 20 minutes, during which five Israelis were wounded, including two critically and three in light-to-moderate condition.

The deputy commander of the Ari Battalion, a company commander, and an officer of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion who was stationed nearby and rushed to the scene, flanked the two gunmen and killed them.

The IDF says it later found a large quantity of ammunition in their vehicle, and believes that the checkpoint thwarted their plan to carry out a mass-casualty attack on Israeli civilians on Route 35.

The military’s probe has so far found that there was no specific warning of the attack, but the IDF is already on heightened alert ahead of the election and amid settler violence in the West Bank.

The IDF and Shin Bet are meanwhile investigating whether the two gunmen acted alone or were part of a larger terror network and received funding and direction from a terror group.

IDF troops operating at homes of Palestinian gunmen who carried out West Bank shooting attack

The IDF says it has launched a raid in the Hebron area of the southern West Bank following this morning’s shooting attack.

Troops are operating at the homes of the two gunmen who opened fire on soldiers at a checkpoint, the military says, amid plans to demolish them.

Hebron and other Palestinian villages in the area are under full closure, according to the military.

Security camera footage shows gunmen shooting toward West Bank checkpoint

Security camera footage shows the two gunmen exiting their vehicle near a West Bank checkpoint, and heading round a corner to carry out a shooting attack.

The checkpoint cannot be seen in the video.

תיעוד פיגוע הירי בצומת יהודה:@HGoldich pic.twitter.com/6scAiEzc7S

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 23, 2026

Settlement security coordinator charged with firing on Palestinian car at unauthorized roadblock, badly wounding woman

Pinhas Shem Tov Ran, a civilian security coordinator accused of shooting and seriously wounding a Palestinian woman in the West Bank, arrives at the Jerusalem District Court following his indictment, October 23, 2026. (Flash90)

The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office charges the civilian security coordinator of the northern West Bank’s Gidonim Ridge settlement bloc with seriously wounding a woman when he fired on a Palestinian car at an unauthorized roadblock he set up in the Nablus-area village of Aqraba on September 18.

The security coordinator, Pinhas Shem Tov Ran, erected the roadblock even though it was outside his geographic purview, according to the indictment filed at the Jerusalem District Court.

Ran, 37, had been admonished repeatedly by military officials, “following several unusual incidents,” to act only in his designated area and “adhere to guidelines in general, and to the rules of engagement in particular,” the indictment says.

According to the indictment, Ran was traveling from his home in Giv’ot Olam to another nearby settlement when he decided to enter Aqraba, where he “stopped some passersby and checked their IDs without justification or authorization.”

He was accompanied by another armed man, identified as a career soldier in the IDF, though the roadblock was not set up in a military capacity, according to prosecutors.

The two men were riding a Ranger ATV, which the government typically supplies to designated West Bank farming settlements, though the indictment does not specify whether Ran was driving a state-supplied ATV. Such vehicles have repeatedly been used in settler attacks against Palestinians.

During the roadblock in Aqraba, a Palestinian driver refused Ran’s orders to show an ID and sped away, the indictment says. It adds that the driver, who noticed the two men on the ATV were not soldiers and that one wore a face mask, said that he feared they would attack him.

As the car sped away, Ran fired at least three shots at it, injuring the driver’s wife, who was hospitalized for several days and required surgery to remove the bullets, the indictment says. One of the bullets was lodged in her lung, near her heart, it says.

Ran and the other armed man then continued to their destination, and on their way back to Giv’ot Olam stopped in Aqraba, where Ran “searched for the shells at the shooting site to thwart a judicial process,” prosecutors say.

Later, when security officials asked him whether he had heard of a shooting incident in the area, Ran denied having been in there or knowing about a shooting, the indictment says.

He is charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent, which carries up to 20 years in prison, and with obstruction of justice, which carries up to three years in prison.

Ran claims he fired in the air after the driver charged the car at him and his companion “in a manner that seemed to them like a ramming attempt,” which forced them to jump aside upon sensing “immediate life-threatening danger,” according to a statement from the right-wing Honenu legal aid organization, which is representing him.

The statement does not address the military’s claim that the two men were operating an unauthorized roadblock, or explain how shots fired in the air would have lodged themselves in a passenger’s lung.

Ran is the son of veteran far-right activist Avri Ran, who founded Giv’ot Olam and also lives there. A younger son, Or, was killed defending Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, Honenu notes.

Police had said last week that two suspects were arrested over an “extremist violence incident” in Aqraba last month, but a strict order was placed on the details of the incident or the identity of the suspects.

Honenu at the time identified the two detainees as security personnel and later said one of them had been released to house arrest.

This week, other West Bank civilian security coordinators — known by the Hebrew acronym Ravshatzim — drove their patrol vehicles in a convoy down the Ayalon Highway and rallied in front of the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv in protest against Pinhas Ran’s continued detention.

Man arrested, charged over arson attack on Long Island synagogue; no injuries

A man has been arrested on suspicion of trying to set fire to a Long Island synagogue, local media reports.

Azzm Khan, 29, repeatedly hit the door to Young Israel of West Hempstead with a baseball bat, says Long Island’s News 12. The door was damaged but did not give way.

He then took a lawn sign from outside a nearby home and set it alight, before trying to slide it under the synagogue’s door.

When that failed, Khan is alleged to have placed the burning sign on a bush outside the synagogue.

The attack took place at around 1 a.m. yesterday. There were no injuries.

Police say the suspect is also thought to have damaged a police vehicle in the area.

Khan is charged with two counts of third-degree criminal mischief, third-degree arson and fifth-degree arson, says News 12.

Louvre, other major Paris museums to close tomorrow over concerns of potential violence during protests

People queue in the Louvre pyramid courtyard moments before the announcement the museum will remain closed for a second day running after thieves stole crown jewels from the museum in Paris a day earlier, in Paris on October 20, 2025. JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

The Louvre and several other major Paris museums will be closed tomorrow over concerns about potential violence during planned protests, France’s culture ministry says.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the ministry says the Orsay and Picasso museums were also among those that will close.

Protests last Saturday devolved into mayhem, with rioters setting fires, smashing shop windows, looting and clashing with police.

The ministry calls on all institutions under its authority to adopt any necessary measures to ensure “visitor safety, staff protection and the preservation of artworks,” according to the statement.

Saudi missile plant expansion may produce more powerful missiles, researchers say

Saudi Arabia appears to be expanding its ballistic missile factory to build larger solid-fuel missiles that could fly farther or carry heavier payloads, according to two US researchers who analyzed more than a year of commercial satellite images.

More capable missiles could help Saudi Arabia to deter attacks by Iran and make its military more self-reliant, while possibly strengthening its position in a deadly conflict with Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi fighters.

But they risk fueling a regional missile race and could deepen opposition in the US Congress to a US-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement that has already raised concerns about proliferation.

Satellite company Planet Labs, based in the US, took images of the al-Duwadimi complex about 125 miles (200 km) west of Riyadh between April 2025 and September 2026.

The two researchers, Sam Lair and Michael Duitsman of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, assessed that those images show a new building that houses casting pits — wells in which a mixture of fuel ingredients is poured into missile motor casings and allowed to harden.

The Saudi embassy and Information Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia appears to be expanding its ballistic missile factory to build larger solid-fuel missiles, according to researchers who analyzed commercial satellite images, Reuters reports.

Images taken between April 2025 and September 2026 show a new building at the… pic.twitter.com/FsAQVDSfWp

— Military Summary (@MilitarySummary) October 23, 2026

1 killed, 4 wounded in shooting near Paris; prosecutors investigating as suspected terror attack

A man opened fire from a vehicle on Friday in the streets of the town of Trappes, west of Paris, killing one person and wounding four, a police source says.

The man was arrested in the nearby town of Coignieres after opening fire in Trappes and neighboring La Verriere around 10:30 am (0830 GMT), police say.

French prosecutors say they are investigating the shooting as a suspected terror attack.

Local authorities say the toll could change as emergency services are still working at the scene, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) west of the French capital.

“An individual fired shots from his vehicle at multiple people along his path, in Trappes and La Verriere,” Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh writes on Instagram.

Writing on X, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu says the case was “very serious” and says “all resources of the security forces and the judiciary are fully mobilized.”

The shooting comes as France is on edge following riots on the sidelines of mass protests over the cost of living last weekend, which saw some of the worst street violence the country has seen in recent years.

Foreign ministers meet in Turkey for talks on Middle East conflict, Russia-Ukraine war

Turkey hosts meetings with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and European nations — the UK, France, Germany and Italy — to discuss conflicts in the Middle East and efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to press for diplomacy to ease tensions between the United States and Iran, stress the importance of freedom of navigation through Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandab Strait and reaffirm Turkey’s support for Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthi attacks.

At the opening of a conference on mediation in Istanbul ahead of the meetings, Fidan says that in an “increasingly deteriorating environment, the return of diplomacy and mediation for peaceful resolution of conflicts is now more necessary than ever.”

UK, French air forces stage first ever simulation of joint nuclear strike

French and British air forces have for the first time staged a joint exercise simulating a nuclear strike, the countries’ defence ministries say in a statement.

The exercise, codenamed “Rummy,” involved RAF Typhoon fighter jets alongside French Rafale aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea, it says.

The exercise was conducted in compliance with security procedures, did not involve any actual nuclear weapons and was aimed at enhancing coordination between Western Europe’s two nuclear powers, the statement adds.

France to mobilize 70,000 security forces for protests tomorrow, interior minister says

A man walks past a burnt out car on Rue Yves Toudic destroyed after a weekend of protests against the 'high cost of living,' in central Paris on October 19, 2026. (Kiran RIDLEY/AFP)

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez says that 70,000 security forces will be mobilized throughout the country to keep order tomorrow, adding there have been calls for looting and violence from the ultra-left.

“Look at social media: There have been calls from the far-left to target public buildings. We are not talking about a nice protest,” Nunez tells reporters. “We are ready tomorrow to be extremely firm and not tolerate anything.”

Reports: Two killed in IDF strike in Gaza

Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza report that two people were killed in an IDF strike in northwestern Gaza City.

There is no comment from the IDF.

IDF Central Command chief: Troops thwarted ‘grave terror attack’ against civilians

IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth (left) and West Bank division commander Brig. Gen. Kobi Heller are seen at the scene of a shooting attack near Hebron in the West Bank October 23, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The chief of the IDF Central Command says “a grave terror attack against Israeli civilians was thwarted” this morning in the West Bank, “thanks to the bravery of IDF soldiers.”

“Unfortunately, we paid a heavy price during the encounter, and two combat soldiers fell in battle. I wish to extend my condolences to their families,” Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth says in a video statement from the scene near Hebron.

“The IDF is the protective shield of Israeli civilians,” he continues.

Bluth says the IDF is “launching a significant counterterrorism operation, alongside imposing a cordon on the areas of Hebron and Halhul.”

“We will bring all terrorists to justice and dismantle terrorist infrastructure of all kinds,” he adds.

French minister says Paris shooting ‘clearly a terrorist crime’

Police officers look at evidences on a site of a petrol station where a man opened fire from his car, killing one person and injuring four others according to police sources, in Trappes, Paris’ suburb on October 23, 2026. (Dimitar DILKOFF/AFP)

A shooting today during which a person was killed and at least four others were injured at Trappes, in the Yvelines district west of Paris, was “clearly a terrorist crime,” says Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.

Nunez adds that investigations by the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s body are still ongoing.

White House: Melania Trump secures ceasefire in Russian-controlled city of Oleshky

US First Lady Melania Trump has secured a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky, which will begin on October 29, the White House says.

Residents of the southern Ukrainian town, occupied by Russian forces since February 2022, have reported a deepening food crisis.

“Both nations agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway,” a White House statement says.

Melania Trump has been active in trying to get Ukrainian children seized by Russia during the war returned to their families.

“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water,” Melania Trump says in the statement.

UAE closes beach in Sharjah as precaution over tanker oil spill

FILE: The Chinese-flagged container shipping vessel Hui Fa transits the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the emirate of Sharjah in the east of the UAE on October 13, 2026. (AFP)

The United Arab Emirates has temporarily closed Al Hamriyah beach in Sharjah as a precaution against marine pollution from an oil spill involving a tanker, says the Sharjah Government Media Bureau.

Authorities are taking measures to protect beaches and prevent pollution from reaching the shore and urge fishermen and sea-goers to follow official safety instructions.

Jordan now says 6 killed in shooting attack on funeral at church

Six people were killed and 28 wounded in an attack by unidentified assailants during a funeral at a church in Jordan’s Karak governorate, the Public Security Directorate says, after state-owned media had earlier reported that seven people were killed.

Authorities say an investigation is under way and that they will announce its findings as they became available.

French FM: Escalation between Iran and US ‘would leave no winners’

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot at the Place de la Concorde before the start of the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. (Benoit Tessier/Pool Photo via AP)

France’s foreign minister says that any renewed escalation between Iran and the United States will only have losers and raise oil prices.

“A further escalation between Iran and the United States would leave no winners and would likely have very serious consequences for hydrocarbon prices,” Jean-Noel Barrot tells reporters in Istanbul after a meeting with counterparts from Britain, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu convinces Haredi party backed by rabbi accused of sex offenses to drop out

The Achi (My Brother) party announces that it is dropping out of the election with just four days to go until polls open.

The party was not projected to pass the electoral threshold in any poll.

Achi was launched as a national party in June by disciples of the late Rabbi Yoram Abergel, from the southern city of Netivot, and its spiritual leader is Abergel’s son Haim Yosef Abergel, head of the late rabbi’s yeshiva network, who was arrested in August last year on suspicion of sexual offenses against young girls.

The Ynet news site publishes video of a phone conversation between Abergel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu where the premier praises him for “truly caring for our people” and references an agreement reached between them.

The Likud party issues a statement noting that it reached a deal with the Achi party to appoint a representative of the party as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office “to advance our shared principles.”

Netanyahu has also been heavily pressing Ofer Winter’s People of Israel party and Moti Leitner’s Charedi Public Party to drop out over concerns that votes for the right-wing bloc will go to waste if the parties don’t enter the Knesset. Those parties have steadfastly refused the calls to exit the race.

IDF to hold drill next week simulating multi-front attack

IDF troops carry out a drill on the Syria border, in a photo published September 3, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it will carry out a drill simulating a multi-front attack next week, just before Israel’s national election.

The exercise will take place on Sunday and Monday in the north and center of the country, with the participation of the Israeli Air Force, Northern Command and Central Command. There will be an increased presence of security forces and aircraft in those areas, the IDF warns.

The IDF says the drill “aims to practice and improve the IDF’s readiness for multi-front defense along the borders and preparedness to transition to an escalation.”

Troops will practice “a variety of scenarios, including a surprise attack and infiltration into Israeli territory by air and land,” the military says, adding that it also includes implementing lessons learned from the October 7 onslaught.

The IDF says the drill was pre-planned, and there is no fear of a security incident.

Israel issues warning to its citizens in France to ‘exercise caution’ amid protests

A protester waves a Palestinian flag as he gathers with others to demonstrate against the 'high cost of living,' in Paris on October 17, 2026, amid nationwide unrest in France. (Kiran Ridley/AFP)

Israel issues a warning to its citizens in France to “exercise heightened caution” amid ongoing protests in the country, with renewed rallies expected tomorrow.

The Foreign Ministry issues a series of guidelines to Israeli citizens, warning them to avoid protest sites “even when demonstrations appear peaceful, due to the risk of sudden escalation and violent clashes.”

It also tells any Israelis planning to travel to France in the coming days to “check the security situation in the areas they intend to visit in advance.”

Jordan’s king vows ‘harshest retaliation’ after church shooting

This screen grab taken from CCTV footage aired by Jordan’s state broadcaster Al-Mamlaka shows the moment gunmen attacked a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hammoud in Karak governorate on October 23, 2026. (Al Mamlaka TV/AFP)

Jordan’s King Abdullah II vows the “harshest retaliation” after gunmen killed at least six people and wounded 28 at a church in the kingdom.

“The terrorist attack against Karak will be met with the harshest retaliation,” he says in an English-language post on X, referring to the southern governorate. “We will strike with an iron fist against those who dare to threaten our nation.”

Trump weighs quick end to Iran war against letting conflict ‘wither’

US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the T. Ed Garrison Arena, October 21, 2026, in Pendleton, South Carolina. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

US President Donald Trump says the United States could end the war with Iran quickly, but questions whether Washington should seek a swift conclusion or allow the conflict to gradually wind down.

“We could end it very quickly,” Trump says, echoing comments he has made almost daily in recent months. “Do we want to finish it or let it wither is the question.”

Netanyahu: Israel needs to prep ‘alternate economy’ to circumvent any global sanctions

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Hatikva Market in Tel Aviv as part of the Likud party’s campaign ahead of Israel’s upcoming general election, October 22, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel should prepare its economy and banking sector for the possibility of harsh global sanctions.

In an interview aired today with the Channel 10 economic TV network, Netanyahu is asked how concerned he is about such sanctions affecting Israel’s economy, pointing to broad UK sanctions on settlements announced last month.

“Of course I’m concerned,” says Netanyahu, suggesting that “tens of billions of US aid dollars to the defense budget — get used to it — won’t keep coming. Because America has changed. Not because Israel has. It’s over and it will be over; it’s just a question of time.”

Netanyahu has previously said that Israel should work on phasing out its dependence on US military aid.

In addition, Netanyahu says during the interview, “you have to understand that there could be sanctions. And banking sanctions mean you need to organize an alternate economy that can circumvent them,” pointing to “currencies that get around this,” including the blockchain cryptocurrency network.

The blockchain is “one of the” options Israel is exploring to circumvent such possible sanctions, “and I’ve already asked for a plan to be prepared for that,” Netanyahu adds.

Hundreds of Syrians protest against Israeli military activity in territory

Syrians wave flags and hold portraits of people who were reportedly arrested during Israeli military incursions in southern Syria, as they protest near the United Nations building in Damascus, on October 23, 2026. (LOUAI BESHARA/AFP)

Hundreds rally across Syria today condemning Israeli incursions in the country’s south, including one this week that killed a man with a disability, AFP correspondents and state media report.

The IDF said yesterday that troops fired at a suspect who was approaching them and who did not stop despite warnings, and that the incident is under review.

Protesters rally in several locations including Damascus and central Syria’s Homs, decrying Israeli incursions and attacks in the southern Quneitra and Daraa provinces, state media reports. An AFP correspondent in Daraa city sees hundreds rallying, some waving Syrian flags.

Protester Taysir al-Hariri tells AFP that demonstrators had gathered to “send a message to the world” that Syria stands united “against Israeli incursions and against anyone who is tempted to tamper… with national security.”

US envoy: There ‘absolutely’ could be a US strike on Iran ‘this weekend’

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks in a panel during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, April 17, 2026. (AP/Riza Ozel)

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack says there “absolutely” could be a US strike on Iran as early as this weekend.

“Could there be a strike this weekend? Absolutely,” Barrack — who also serves as the US special envoy to Syria and Iraq — says in an interview with the online commentator Mario Nawfal.

“The president is very clear. He’s open and available and accessible to a deal. And we’ve been at the table for months and months and months,” Barrack adds, saying that “the nuclear proliferation and where we go with the enrichment and all those things are, are details, the punctuation in the chapter that needs to be finished.”

Barrack says the US is “in a bargain for unfreezing assets, releasing sanctions, no more kinetic engagement, supplying the needed help to Israel, our ally.”

🇺🇸🇮🇷 BREAKING: AMB. TOM BARRACK WARNS U.S. STRIKE COULD HAPPEN THIS WEEKEND

I asked Trump's Special Envoy, Tom Barrack: “Could there be a strike on this this weekend?

His answer was direct: "Absolutely.”

Amb. Barrack laid out exactly where things stand with Iran right now.… pic.twitter.com/upe7UlgGvb

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 23, 2026

The US envoy also echoes similar comments made in recent months by US President Donald Trump, suggesting that the US seeks to make a diplomatic deal, “but if we don’t, and if you keep threatening the world, our allies, the Gulf, there will be a consequence.”

“The consequence won’t be regime change,” Barrack adds. “The United States, the president of the United States has said he’s not interested in regime change. He’s interested in rebalancing so that there’s no hostages, there’s no threats, and the world can calm down and ensure what’s there. The problem with regime change always is — what’s the day two scenario?”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that he stressed to Trump in a recent call the need to bring down the Iranian regime.

Barrack is known to regularly pontificate about Middle East developments in public—a rarity for a sitting US official —but it is often unclear whether his comments represent administration policy or just his personal thoughts.

Italy calls for release of five of its activists arrested by Israel in the West Bank

IDF soldiers gather on a road close to an olive grove following a reported attack by Israeli settlers on a Palestinian home in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya on October 19, 2026. (ilia YEFIMOVICH/AFP)

Italy has called for the immediate release of five Italian activists, all women, held by Israeli forces in the West Bank, says Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

Italian foreign ministry sources say the women were detained yesterday by Israeli police in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, next to Hebron, along with other international activists, while seeking to protect Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest.

“What happened is unacceptable, they were not committing any crime,” Tajani tells reporters on the sidelines of an international summit in Istanbul, adding he hopes they will be released in a matter of hours.

The women were expected to be transferred to Israel’s immigration authority today pending expulsion and repatriation procedures, Israeli authorities told Italian diplomats earlier in the day, according to the sources.

IDF demolishes buildings near Hebron in response to West Bank shooting attack

Israeli bulldozers demolish a Palestinian building in the West Bank city of Hebron on October 23, 2026. (HAZEM BADER/AFP)

Israeli forces demolish a number of buildings near Hebron in response to a shooting attack nearby that killed two IDF soldiers earlier today.

IDF soldiers are seen in footage ordering Palestinians in the Farsh al-Hawa area near Hebron to evacuate their homes ahead of the demolition, in what the Palestinian Authority says amounts to collective punishment in the wake of the deadly shooting.

Armed soldiers are seen shoving Palestinian civilians to vacate the premises, after their belongings have been swiftly loaded onto trucks. Photos and video from the site show structures being bulldozed by Israeli forces.

فيديو | قوات الاحتلال تخلي منزلا بالقوة تمهيدا لهدمه في منطقة فرش الهوى بالخليل pic.twitter.com/MfCynmPimo

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) October 23, 2026

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier today that Israel would demolish the entire neighborhood where the two shooters lived, expanding punitive measures against Palestinians from just the homes of the perpetrators.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich then posted a video from the site saying that he ordered “a series of demolitions of illegal structures” in order to “create deterrence and exact a price for the serious attack today.”

“We are already here with the equipment on the ground, sending an unequivocal message to our enemies: if you mess with us, we will exact a very, very painful price from you,” he added.

אנחנו מעבירים מסר חד-משמעי לאויבינו: אם תתעסקו עם היהודים, תשלמו מחירים כואבים מאוד.

כחלק מיצירת ההרתעה וגביית המחיר על ההיתקלות הקשה היום באזור חברון, הנחיתי להרוס שורה של מבנים בלתי חוקיים, שנהרסים ברגעים אלה ממש. pic.twitter.com/s2be7Ype6z

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) October 23, 2026

Turkey says renewed fighting with Iran is ‘not in any way a solution’

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint news conference with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani in Damascus, Syria, September 13, 2026. (AP/Ghaith Alsayed)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan cautions against any renewed attack on Iran, saying such a move will exacerbate tensions and further expand the conflict there, adding that diplomacy and dialogue are the only way to end the war.

Fidan met his counterparts from Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Britain and Italy in Istanbul to discuss developments in the Iran war, attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthi militants, and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“We are all in agreement that a new attack on Iran would expand the war in the region,” Fidan tells a press conference after the meeting. “A military intervention on Iran is not in any way a solution. Nobody approves this at the moment,” he adds.

Rights group reports 672 incidents of settler violence since start of olive harvest 1 month ago

Masked extremist Jewish settlers clash with Palestinians during the annual olive harvest in the village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah in the West Bank, where several people, including American photojournalist Heidi Levine, were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers, October 16, 2026. (Flash90)

More than 670 incidents of settler violence have taken place since the start of the Palestinian olive harvest nearly one month ago, according to the Yesh Din rights group.

The 672 incidents since September 27 amount to an average of more than 25 incidents per day and have been taking place in 194 Palestinian communities across the West Bank, Yesh Din says.

The attacks include 135 incidents of physical violence, 106 incidents of blocking Palestinians from harvesting their olive trees, 176 incidents of theft and property damage and 49 incidents of tree vandalism.

More than 23% of the incidents took place while the IDF was on site or involved, according to Yesh Din.

IDF chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said last week that the military “will continue to act to enable the harvest to take place,” but activists and Palestinians have repeatedly reported Israeli forces detaining activists or preventing them from reaching olive groves.

The data are based on documentation by Yesh Din field researchers, verified information from the field, and cross-referencing public reports and accounts from various sources. The review covers the period from September 27 to October 22, 2026.

“Settler violence during the olive harvest is a recurring phenomenon, but the scale of violence by settlers and soldiers that we are witnessing and documenting this year is exceptional,” says Yesh Din executive director Ziv Stahl.

“The near-total absence of law enforcement by the Israeli military and police, coupled with the backing settlers receive from government officials, makes clear that this violence is part of a broader, systematic Israeli government policy of forcibly displacing Palestinians from their land as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing, paving the way for the annexation of the West Bank without its Palestinian population,” she adds.

Report: Likud already preparing to challenge results from Arab polling stations

Workers prepare ballot boxes for the upcoming election at the Central Elections Committee warehouse in Shoham, ahead of their distribution to polling stations across the country, October 14, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party is reportedly already preparing to challenge results from polling stations in Arab cities and towns before voting has even begun.

According to a Channel 12 news report, Likud is already drawing up a number of complaints and allegations of fraud for voting stations in Arab communities.

The party is reportedly readying to challenge women who show up to vote fully veiled as well as allegations that some polling stations have segregated voting times for men and women. The TV channel says such issues are already addressed by Central Elections Commission regulations.

Trump: Vance’s decision not to endorse Netanyahu ‘is up to him’

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, October 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

US President Donald Trump says his Vice President JD Vance’s decision not to endorse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “up to him.”

Trump endorsed Netanyahu earlier this week, but Vance declined to join him in backing the Israeli leader, saying he was focusing on US midterm elections and not looking overseas.

“I don’t know that he did or didn’t, that’s up to him,” Trump says, before being told by the reporter that Vance did not. He then says: “I would leave that up to him.”

Macron calls deadly shooting a ‘racist terrorist attack,’ mayor says it was ‘probably Islamophobic’

France’s President Emmanuel Macron meets with community members at the town hall following a shooting in Trappes, near Paris on October 23, 2026. (Hannah McKay/POOL/AFP)

A gunman firing from his car killed one person and wounded five — including a 12-year-old girl shot eight times — in the Paris suburbs today, in what the French presidency condemns as a “racist terrorist attack.”

French President Emmanuel Macron visits the working-class town of Trappes southwest of Paris, which is home to a large Muslim population, and where a gunman opened fire earlier in the day in an attack suspected of having targeted people of foreign origin.

This was a “racist, terrorist attack,” says the Elysee presidential palace.

Trappes Mayor Ali Rabeh says the man was “firing at random, wanting to cause a bloodbath” as he drove through Trappes and neighboring La Verriere.

Most of the victims were from foreign backgrounds and prosecutors are investigating whether the acts targeted the “real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion” of the victims.

Police arrested the alleged shooter — a 39-year-old man, according to a source familiar with the case — in nearby Coignieres. Officers found him in possession of a submachine gun and tear-gas grenades, according to a police source.

It was “objectively a racist, probably Islamophobic attack,” the mayor says, calling for national unity.

Trump says he doesn’t ‘know anything about’ possible US strike on Iran this weekend

US President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at Alico Arena on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University, October 23, 2026, in Fort Myers, Florida. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

After his envoy in the Middle East claimed that the US could “absolutely” strike Iran this weekend, US President Donald Trump seems to pour cold water on the idea, telling reporters he’s unfamiliar with such plans.

Trump is asked about Tom Barrack’s comments before boarding a plane in Florida.

“That’s my ambassador to Turkey. He’s a pretty powerful man, I guess,” Trump quips, apparently suggesting that Barrack doesn’t have the credentials to be making such predictions.

“If that’s the case, I don’t know anything about it,” Trump adds.

Haifa woman allegedly stabbed to death by her husband

A woman in Haifa was allegedly stabbed to death by her husband earlier today.

According to reports, the woman — named as Jana Zikova, 43 — was killed in front of the couple’s 6-year-old son.

Police are investigating the circumstances.

The Michal Sela advocacy group says Zikova is the 12th woman to be allegedly murdered by her partner so far this year in Israel.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan say ‘Israeli occupation main source of regional instability’

Foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan say that the “Israeli occupation was the main source of instability in the region and beyond,” calling for the urgent implementation of a two-state solution, according to a joint statement issued after a meeting in Istanbul.

The ministers say Israeli policies have “deepened global perceptions of injustice” and reaffirm their support for a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, Saudi Arabia’s SPA news agency reports.

Trump says US ‘may do another little Epic Fury’ against Iran

US President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd after speaking during a campaign rally at the Alico Arena, Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida on October 23, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP)

US President Donald Trump suggests that Washington may carry out another military operation against Iran.

“We may do another little Epic Fury,” Trump says in remarks at a rally in Florida as he spoke about the war. He does not elaborate.

“Operation Epic Fury” is the name used by the US military for its war against Iran.

Later in the rally, Trump claims the United States will take care of Cuba after dealing with Iran and will send Secretary of State Marco Rubio to finish the deal.

“We’ll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran… then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal,” Trump says.