Sept. 14: Otzma Yehudit files petition to disqualify Democrats party in tit-for-tat

Otzma Yehudit fires back, files petition to bar Democrats from Knesset

A man casts his vote at a polling station in Jerusalem, on November 1, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)

The far-right Otzma Yehudit party has filed a petition to bar the left-wing Democrats from the Knesset, Hebrew media outlets report.

The move comes shortly after the Democrats petitioned to bar Otzma Yehudit, accusing it of inciting racism and undermining democracy.

The Otzma petition likewise accuses the Democrats of inciting racism, and undermining Israel’s character as a Jewish and democratic state, according to the reports.

The petition cites remarks by Democrats chair Yair Golan disparaging West Bank settlers and Haredim, according to Israel Hayom.

Egypt’s Sissi to host Saudi crown prince tomorrow, presidency says

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Cairo, Egypt, on March 4, 2018. (Mohammed Samaha/Egypt's state news agency, MENA via AP/ File)

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is set to welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Egypt tomorrow, the presidency says, against the backdrop of fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.

The presidency says there will be “a bilateral meeting between the two leaders.”

The visit comes after a week-long Houthi offensive that culminated in the rebels capturing Yemen’s Red Sea coast, cementing their hold on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through which Saudi oil transits.

US imposes Iran-related sanctions on Russia’s VTB

The United States imposes Iran-related sanctions on Russia’s VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company, accusing it of involvement in Iranian sanctions evasion, according to a statement.

VTB was previously sanctioned in 2022 in Ukraine-related action.

Oil tanker exploded after colliding with mines in Hormuz, Iran’s Fars reports

An oil tanker exploded and caught fire after colliding with mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s IRGC said, according to the state-affiliated Fars agency, without saying when the incident occurred.

Polls show continued deadlock, with nonaligned party set to squeak into Knesset

Separate election polls on Channels 11 and 12 again both show neither the pro- nor anti-Benjamin Netanyahu blocs getting enough votes to win a majority in the Knesset.

Polls have consistently shown for months that both camps would fall short of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat body.

But in a shift, both of today’s polls show that a center-right party, led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, would receive just enough votes to make it in with four seats. The party is not aligned with either of the two blocs.

The Channel 11 poll finds that the blocs supporting and opposing the prime minister would win 52 seats each. The largely Arab parties would win 12 seats in total, while the Hendel-Zelekha party would win the remaining four.

The Channel 12 poll finds that the anti-Netanyahu bloc would win 54 seats, a decline from its previous surveys, while the pro-Netanyahu bloc would win 50. The largely Arab parties would likewise win 12 seats in total, while the Hendel-Zelekha party would win four.

Both Channels 11 and 12 show Gadi Eisenkot’s centrist opposition Yashar party leading with 24 or 23 votes, respectively, followed by Netanyahu’s Likud with 20. The polls additionally show both the far-right Religious Zionism and Ofer Winter’s new right-wing party, The People of Israel, getting enough votes to enter the Knesset.

Both polls were published today. Channel 11’s had 551 respondents and a margin of error of 4.2%. Channel 12’s had 502 respondents and a margin of error of 4.4%.

‘NAZA’ producer slams Israeli response to film as ‘authoritarian,’ defends its content

Directors Yuval Abraham (right) and Rachel Szor (left), winners of the Special Jury Prize for 'Naza,' attend a photocall on the red carpet following the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido on September 12, 2026. (Stefano RELLANDINI/AFP)

“The Guardian,” the British newspaper that co-produced the documentary “NAZA,” slams Israel’s response to the film as “authoritarian” and praises its Israeli directors.

The documentary, which won a prize at the Venice Film Festival but is not in wide release, alleges that Israel used AI-powered strikes to kill civilians in Gaza, a claim the IDF denies.

Israeli military leaders and politicians have called the film a “blood libel,” considered legal action, and threatened to strip the directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, of their citizenship.

“’The Guardian’ is disturbed to see the authoritarian response to ‘NAZA’ in Israel,” the statement reads. “Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are brave journalists and filmmakers. The attacks against them come from people who have not yet seen the film.”

It adds, “’NAZA’ is based on more than three years of investigative journalism. The testimonies it contains are true and we believe they deserve to be heard. The interviews were given by confidential journalistic sources.”

The statement concludes, “We will robustly defend ‘NAZA’ – and the team behind it – from any attacks or attempts at censorship.”

Court overturns ruling ordering ex-employee to pay compensation to Sara Netanyahu

Sara Netanyahu attends a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center in northern Jerusalem, July 5, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court overturns a ruling ordering Sylvie Genesia, a former worker in the Prime Minister’s Residence, to pay Sara Netanyahu NIS 100,000 ($32,750), after Genesia lost a defamation suit against the prime minister’s wife on technical grounds earlier this year.

Genesia lost the defamation suit filed by Netanyahu against her, due to the repeated failure by her former attorney to submit closing arguments to the court on time, first in December 2025 and then again in May 2026.

But the court annuls that decision, with Judge Ilan Rosen ruling that the failure to submit the filings was due entirely to the conduct of Genesia’s previous attorney and not due to any failing of hers.

Genesia’s new attorney Shaul Ida, who took the case pro bono, filed closing arguments for his client when requesting the cancellation of the NIS 100,000 payment. Netanyahu’s lawyer now has until October 15 to file his closing arguments, after which a full ruling will be given.

“Following the judge’s explicit statements in the two rulings issued so far, and after the Netanyahu family lawyer explicitly admitted that the suit was intended so that other employees ‘would see and be deterred,’ in his own words, there is no longer any doubt that this is an intimidation suit brought by the most powerful woman in the country, with the involvement of the prime minister himself, against a vulnerable, resourceless domestic worker,” says Ida, following the ruling.

Genesia, who worked as a member of the cleaning staff at the Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem, sued Netanyahu and the HR company that employed her in the Jerusalem Labor Court for NIS 650,000 ($179,400) in damages for mistreatment she says she experienced while working at the residence.

Genesia claimed she was subject to harassment, humiliation, and repeated violations of her working conditions, including Sara Netanyahu calling her names and, on one occasion, throwing an iron at her. Those proceedings have, however, been dismissed.

Portugal says Israel undermining Palestinian state through settlement expansion

Portugal’s foreign minister says Israeli settlement expansion and economic pressure in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are undermining prospects for a viable Palestinian state.

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel says Israel’s E1 settlement plan is “extremely pernicious” because it would divide the West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem and is incompatible with a two-state solution.

Israel’s withholding of Palestinian tax revenues amounts to a “brutal strangulation” of the Palestinian Authority’s finances, preventing the economy from functioning, he says after meeting Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin in Lisbon.

Rangel also cites the closure of Christian schools in East Jerusalem as evidence of worsening conditions there.

Mahmoud Khalil lawsuit says Columbia failed to protect pro-Palestinian activists

Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian US activist Mahmoud Khalil carries a Palestinian flag during a rally celebrating his return from immigration detention, June 22, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova)

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia University, alleging it failed to address harassment against him and other members of a pro-Palestinian campus group, and retaliated against them when they reported it.

The university’s “deliberate indifference” led to the doxing of multiple group members and Khalil’s detention by immigration agents, according to the civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court in New York City.

The university declines to comment on the lawsuit, but says in an email that “creating a campus environment where every member of our community feels welcome, supported, and safe is fundamental to who we are as a university.”

“Columbia is committed to protecting our community from discrimination and harassment, and responding promptly and appropriately when concerns arise,” it says.

Khalil also sued Columbia last year to block the release of student records to a congressional committee.

A former graduate student at Columbia University, Khalil gained prominence as a spokesperson for student pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists during the Gaza war

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him at his campus apartment in March 2025, and he quickly became the face of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Khalil spent 104 days in a Louisiana immigration jail before a federal judge in New Jersey ordered his release. His deportation case remains active.

Khalil’s lawsuit says Columbia “refused to correct disinformation” about him while he was detained, “allowing a false narrative about his conduct and role to persist and further enabling peer-on-peer harassment of other Palestinian students and students with perceived shared Arab and/or Muslim ancestry.”

Instead of investigating reports of harassment, the university retaliated by characterizing events by a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel campus group as security risks and revising disciplinary policy to target criticism of the Israeli government, according to the lawsuit.

It accuses Columbia of civil rights violations, requests a court order restoring Khalil’s access to the campus and ending the Palestinian group’s suspension, and seeks damages “to be determined at trial.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report. 

Reports: Settlers throw stones at Palestinians, set fire to fields in West Bank

Palestinian media outlets have published footage from the past several hours showing a group of settlers throwing stones toward the village of Burqa, in the Ramallah area. One of them is also seen drawing a handgun and pointing it toward those filming.

There are no reports of injuries in the incident.

🚨Horrific:
Masked Israeli settlers aim a gun and throw stones at Palestinians, today in Burqa, Ramallah pic.twitter.com/c7a9mPKhcD

— Unarmed Civilian Protection in Palestine (@ucpinpalestine) September 14, 2026

Separately, settlers were reported to have set fire to Palestinian fields in the village of Deir Ballut in the western West Bank. There are no reports of injuries in that case either.

مستوطنون يضرمون النار بغرفة زراعية في دير بلوط غرب #سلفيت #فيديو pic.twitter.com/TPLSYho6Y9

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) September 14, 2026

Deputy mayor accused of sex crimes against city worker said questioned on suspicion of threatening her

A Rishon Lezion deputy mayor who is accused of sex crimes against a city employee was questioned Wednesday on suspicion of threatening her, Hebrew media reports.

When police arranged for the deputy mayor to meet in person with the worker, the suspect said he would reveal WhatsApp messages the accuser had sent him, which “sounded to the investigator who conducted the [meeting] as though he were threatening the complainant,” a source quoted by the Ynet news site says.

The deputy mayor’s attorney Ofer Almog tells Ynet that the suspect denies making any threats, and that his comments in the meeting were made “out of genuine distress regarding false claims raised by the complainant.”

The deputy mayor, whose name is under a gag order, was arrested on August 5, but returned to work last week after restrictions against him were lifted.

The complainant has been on sick leave since the arrest and has requested the municipality establish a framework that will let her come back to work without coming into contact with the suspect, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The municipality tells the outlet that it is “accompanying the complainant with sensitivity” and “has offered her several alternatives that will allow her to continue working in a protected manner.”

Court extends detention of 6 suspects in murder of 19-year old in Jerusalem home

Agam Tsarafi, left, and Shilat Houta, right, suspects in the July murder of Benayahu Razi in Jerusalem, and Linor Sasson, suspected in aiding them, are brought to a court hearing at the Jerusalem District Court, August 7, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)

The detention of six suspects in the murder of 19-year-old Benayahu Razi is extended by the Jerusalem District Court, Hebrew media reports.

The court is also considering a request by Linor Sasson, the mother of one of the suspects who is charged with helping the suspected murderers flee the scene, for him to be released to house arrest. But the court has yet to issue a decision in the matter.

According to reports, at the end of today’s hearing, Razi’s mother Dikla shouted at the mother of Shilat Houta, one of the suspects in Razi’s murder, “You brought a murderer into the world,” with Houta’s family members responding, “The truth will come out.”

Indictments were filed in August against 19-year-old Agam Tsarafi, 20-year-old Shilat Houta, and four minors for the murder of Razi in an Airbnb in Jerusalem’s Nachlaot neighborhood on July 11.

Trump says US making more ‘elite weapons’ than ever, sending them to troops in Mideast

US President Donald Trump talks with reporters after an emergency inflatable slide deployed on Air Force One before before Trump arrived to board at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, September 9, 2026. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

US President Donald Trump says he has just received a report stating that the US is producing more “exquisite and elite weapons than at any time in our history.”

“They are being delivered on a daily basis to our forces in the Middle East and beyond,” he writes on Truth Social.

“Our defense company factories are moving 24/7, while at the same time building, on average, 4 to 5 large-scale brand new plants, each!”

“A primary focus of this production has been Patriots, THAAD Systems, Tomahawks and other standard missile systems, of which we already have large numbers in stock,” Trump adds.

Netanyahu calls ‘NAZA’ film ‘intolerable,’ then pivots to attacking his political rivals

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a cabinet meeting, September 6, 2026, in Jerusalem. (Omer Meran/ GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joins the chorus of condemnations of ‘NAZA,’ the Israeli-made documentary that accuses Israel of AI-assisted killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

He then pivots in the statement to attacking his rivals in next month’s election, accusing them of being party to similar “incitement” against Israel.

Netanyahu gives no indication in the one-minute video statement posted to social media that he has seen the film, which won an award at the Venice Film Festival but is not in wide release.

“I heard of it, and it’s shocking,” he says. “We’re fighting worldwide antisemitic incitement, but when it comes from within us, it’s intolerable.”

He then goes on to cite controversial statements and actions by his political rivals, including Yair Golan, chair of the left-wing Democrats, who sparked outrage last year when he said, “A sane country does not fight against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not give itself the aim of expelling populations.”

Netanyahu also attempts to tie his chief rival, centrist candidate Gadi Eisenkot, to Golan, noting that the two politicians’ parties recently signed a vote-sharing agreement.

In fact, Eisenkot condemned ‘NAZA’ yesterday, calling it “a distorted and one-sided picture” that causes damage to Israel.

Eisenkot is a former IDF chief of staff and Golan is a former deputy chief of staff.

The IDF, whose top officials have also not seen the film, has likewise rejected its claims.

Universities slam Belgian refusal to evacuate Gaza students

Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, January 29, 2026. (AP Photo/ Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Belgium’s top universities condemn the government’s refusal to help 13 students from war-torn Gaza who received scholarships at Belgian universities reach the country.

Brussels set aside plans to evacuate the Palestinian students last week, in a case that has split the coalition government.

The rectors of the European country’s top 10 universities express their “dismay” at the move in a letter, accusing the administration of using the students as “bargaining chips” in “disgraceful political horse-trading.”

Centrist Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot has advocated in favor of evacuating the students, but has faced opposition from the Flemish conservatives party of Prime Minister Bart De Wever, according to a government source.

“They must not be treated as bargaining chips or as variables to be adjusted in political debates on migration,” the rectors write of the Gaza students.

“Their cases must be assessed for what they are: those of students and researchers who have been awarded scholarships on the basis of their academic merit and who have all expressed their intention to return to their home countries to contribute to their reconstruction.”

The students are among about 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza currently waiting to reach Belgium, having been granted the right to do so, mainly under family reunification rules, according to several NGOs.

Yet evacuations from the territory are proceeding at a trickle, with activists and now the universities accusing the government of deliberately slowing down the process.

“Discussions in recent weeks also show that the obstacles cited do not stem from insurmountable constraints but rather from a lack of political will,” the university chiefs write.

Senior Sunni cleric shot dead by unidentified gunmen in southeast Iran – state media

Molavi Yusef Gorgij, a senior Sunni Muslim cleric, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in southeastern Iran today, the official news agency IRNA reports.

IRNA quotes a local governor as saying Gorgij “was active in the fight against divisive elements and Zionism,” a description suggesting the cleric was pro-government.

Trump now says he’s open to engaging with Iran to negotiate a deal

US President Donald Trump returns a salute as he walks from Marine One to his limousine upon his arrival at the Ellipse just outside of the White House, September 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US President Donald Trump says the US is open to engaging with Iran after previously repeatedly insisting that he did not want to negotiate with the Islamic Republic.

“The failing nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the USA will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to,” he writes on Truth Social.

The US and Iran have engaged in several rounds of talks over the ongoing war.

Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran’s US tour after ‘Free Palestine’ controversy

Macklemore performs during the opening ceremony of the 2023 Invictus Games at the Merkur Spielarena in Dusseldorf, western Germany on September 9, 2023. (Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

Macklemore has been dropped from the remaining dates of British singer Ed Sheeran’s US tour, after the US rapper sparked controversy by calling out “Free Palestine” from the stage and singing an anti-Israel protest song.

“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,” Messina Touring Group, which is promoting the US portion of the tour, tells Rolling Stone magazine.

Macklemore, who has been an outspoken pro-Palestinian activist for years, sparked shock and anger from some Israeli concertgoers after his performance.

The Israeli-American Council welcomes Messina’s announcement.

“Anyone who chooses to turn an 80,000-person concert into a vehicle for advancing a one-sided political agenda must stand behind that choice,” the pro-Israel group says. “A concert stage is not a platform for anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda.”

Rolling Stone reports that Macklemore was due to perform at eight more shows, mostly on the US East Coast.

Zamir tells troops IDF hasn’t seen ‘NAZA’ yet, will accept ‘substantive criticism,’ not ‘unfounded vilification’

Illustration: IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks with officers in southern Syria, August 19, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir issues a missive to troops in the wake of the “NAZA” documentary, which accuses Israel of AI-assisted killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip, a claim the IDF has denied.

“I have not watched the film, I do not know whom they interviewed in it or who or what is behind it. The claims and events were not presented to the IDF, and therefore it is difficult to respond to the matter seriously and professionally,” he writes.

“We are an organization that has learned firsthand the importance of criticism and doubt. We constantly work to investigate, correct and improve, and we will continue to accept any substantive criticism and examine ourselves,” Zamir continues.

“That said, false, manipulative and unfounded vilification is not legitimate criticism, even if it receives sanctimonious applause,” he says.

“We will continue to defend the State of Israel and its citizens, and we will not allow blood libels and lies disguised as investigative journalism to harm our right to defend ourselves,” Zamir adds.

The IDF has asked the Israeli filmmakers of ‘NAZA’ for a screening of the documentary so it can respond to the film’s allegations.

Senior Fatah member arrested in West Bank, accused by IDF of terror activity

A senior member of the Fatah movement, who the military and Shin Bet say was involved in terror activity, was nabbed by commandos in the West Bank city of Tulkarem this morning.

The IDF and Shin Bet say that following a manhunt in recent weeks, troops of the Duvdevan Commando Unit raided Tulkarem and apprehended Muhammad Ibrahim Shahada.

Shahada had been wanted after allegedly being involved in “planning and carrying out attacks, and trafficking in weapons,” the joint statement says.

Netanyahu: We will continue destroying Hezbollah sites in Lebanon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a video message, September 14, 2026. (Screenshot/GPO)

Israel will keep destroying Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a video statement.

“We have achieved another huge victory over Hezbollah,” he claims. “We destroyed its great terror stronghold on the Beaufort ridge and the Ali Taher ridge.”

“Our policy is clear — we will continue to destroy terror infrastructure in the security zone in Lebanon,” Netanyahu pledges. “We will continue to remove any threat to Israel.”

Turning to Israel’s foes, Netanyahu repeats his threat that, “If you haven’t learned the lesson by now, and you decide to attack us again, you will absorb even heavier blows. There is more work to complete, and with God’s help we will complete it.”

Trump says US has tools to keep AI safe, concerns are part of ‘sick conspiracy’

President Donald Trump steps off from Marine One upon his arrival at the Ellipse just outside of the White House, September 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US President Donald Trump says the US already has guardrails in place to regulate and prosecute AI companies, appearing to play down widespread concerns expressed by industry leaders over the weekend about the potential for AI to spin out of human control and endanger humanity.

“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a strong and smart (high IQ!) president, and the USA has that, in spades!” Trump writes on Truth Social, adding that China would benefit from the doubt being cast on artificial intelligence development.

“We already have tremendous criminal and regulatory power over these companies! There is a sick conspiracy going on against AI and data centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China.”

Public concerns about the potential harm from AI grew in the US after two Anthropic researchers issued warnings last week that the rapidly progressing technology could lead to the extinction of the human race ‌in the not-too-distant future.

On Saturday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei outlined a three-step framework intended to slow development and create more time to manage its risks. The proposal was immediately endorsed by several other executives at major AI companies, including Elon Musk, who runs xAI, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Trump says the tools intended to keep AI safe had already been used on Amodei.

“The Trump Administration has stopped AI ‘people’ from doing bad, or potentially bad, ‘things,’ like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel’ – and we will continue to do so,” he said.

Trump has resisted stirring concerns about AI and has largely embraced AI firms in his second term.

IDF chief orders examination of legal action on ‘NAZA’ film, probe into leak of classified info

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks at a cadets' graduation ceremony at the Bahad 1 officers' school in southern Israel, June 25, 2026. (Screenshot/Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says he has instructed the military’s top legal official to examine the possibility of taking legal action against the documentary “NAZA” and those involved in it, and separately orders an investigation into the leaking of classified materials used in its production.

Zamir today held a meeting with senior military officials on the new documentary, which contains allegations that Israel ordered AI-powered attacks in the Gaza Strip that led to civilian deaths.

The IDF has said it rejects the film’s claims, based on excerpts and a promotional clip that are available for public viewing, but it has not yet seen the full documentary. The military has requested a screening so it can address the film’s allegations in full.

“According to the reports that have emerged so far, this is not a film criticizing the IDF and is not an attempt to ascertain the truth. It is based on blood libels, deliberate distortion of reality, and false and serious accusations against IDF soldiers and commanders,” Zamir says in a statement.

He says that the film “adopts narratives of Israel’s haters, defames our soldiers and commanders, and seeks to portray the IDF as deliberately acting unlawfully.”

“This is a dangerous attempt to strip us of the legitimacy to defend ourselves against the worst of our enemies, and in doing so to pose a real danger to IDF soldiers and commanders,” Zamir continues.

“We will not allow IDF soldiers to be turned into targets through lies and blood libels. Faced with such an attempt, we must act resolutely, using all the tools at our disposal, legal, command, and public diplomacy,” he adds.

At the end of the meeting, Zamir ordered the establishment of a “multi-organizational and multidisciplinary team” headed by the Planning Directorate, to “formulate courses of action and tools for addressing false claims against the IDF and its soldiers, in cooperation with experts from Israel and around the world.”

He also instructed Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir to “examine and advance possible legal actions regarding the film and those involved in it… due to the dissemination of false claims against IDF soldiers, and their possible implications for their personal security and the security of the state.”

And lastly, Zamir instructed the military’s top brass to examine “information security aspects and possible individuals involved in the leaking of classified materials that were used in producing the film.”

The meeting Zamir held was attended by Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Itzik Cohen, Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir, Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Omer Tishler, the commander of the Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200, and IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.

EU chief slams ‘relentless attacks by Iran’s proxies’ on Gulf countries

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a media conference regarding energy at EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen condemns “relentless attacks” by Iranian-backed armed groups in the Gulf, following the latest strikes by Yemen’s Houthis against Saudi military targets.

“We stand in solidarity with our Gulf partners in the face of relentless attacks by Iran’s proxies,” the European Commission chief posts on X. “We all have a stake in this.”

Tehran has long supported the Houthis, who call for the destruction of Israel, but the Islamic Republic denies any involvement in the revival of Yemen’s civil war.

Saudi oil pipeline hit in strikes will be mostly out of service for several weeks

This screen grab taken from undated video footage released on September 12, 2026 by Ansarullah Media Centre purportedly shows a truck belonging to Saudi-backed forces burning after Houthi fighters set it on fire. (ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTRE/AFP)

A crucial Saudi oil pipeline that was struck in an attack last week will mostly be out of service for weeks as the damage is repaired, two regional officials tell the Associated Press, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized more islands dominating key Red Sea shipping routes in new blows to Saudi Arabia’s oil exports.

The developments further strain Saudi Arabia’s effort to get its oil to market while avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint at the mouth of the Persian Gulf where Iranian attacks have stifled shipping.

The kingdom relies on the East-West Pipeline, which runs the breadth of the country, to move its crude production from Gulf ports to ports on its western, Red Sea coast. From there it can be put on tankers for export.

An attack that Saudi Arabia blamed on drones from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq forced the shutdown of the 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) pipeline on Thursday.

The officials, who have been briefed on the matter, say repairing the damage could take three to five weeks, including at a major pumping facility. One of the officials says the line may work partially while teams carry out the repairs. The pipeline has a total capacity to carry up to 7 million barrels of oil a day.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media.

The Saudi oil company Aramco, which operates the pipeline, does not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government-run Center for International Communication, which oversees foreign media in the kingdom, says it is looking into an AP inquiry about how long it will take to repair the pipeline.

The Houthis captured the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish, government and Houthi officials say. The islands lie 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The strait is a choke point that connects the Red Sea to the open ocean and Saudi Arabia’s key Asian markets.

UN calls for ‘urgent action’ to rein in AI in face of ‘unprecedented risks’

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), Volker Turk, speaks during a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 26, 2025. (AP)

The United Nations rights chief calls for countries and “frontier” artificial intelligence companies to act urgently to rein in a technology he warns poses “unprecedented risks.”

In a letter sent to countries and AI developers and shared with the media, Volker Turk cautions that the world is “on the cusp of irreversible change, affecting not just us but generations of humanity to come.”

He adds, “The current race towards ever more powerful AI is a step change towards greater existential risks to every aspect of our lives.”

He sends the letter at a time when worries over the risks of “superintelligent” computer systems have been on full display, after a researcher publicly resigned from leading AI firm Anthropic over fears that the technology could escape human control.

Another Anthropic employee, who did not resign, stated publicly that “we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans,” and that he thought the chances were greater than “10 percent within the next decade.”

Amid the outcry, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called Saturday for AI companies to “pace the frontier” — or coordinate a slowdown in the technology’s development, with his chief competitors, xAI’s Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, publicly supporting him.

“In today’s world, we are almost entirely reliant on a small number of powerful companies to make the right choices on Al development for all of humanity,” Turk laments. “I call on States and companies to mobilize urgently through multilateral fora to chart a path for action to govern advanced, frontier AI models, grounded in international human rights law.”

IDF asks ‘NAZA’ filmmakers to screen documentary for military officials so it can address claims, calls allegations in trailer false

Directors Yuval Abraham (left) and Rachel Szor, winners of the special jury prize for the film ‘Naza,’ pose for photographers during the closing ceremony of the 83rd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, September 12, 2026. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says he invites the Israeli filmmakers of NAZA — a new documentary about allegations that Israel used AI-powered attacks in the Gaza Strip that led to civilian deaths — to allow military officials to view the film so that the IDF can respond in a “substantive manner.”

The 80-minute film by filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor — whose title is a Hebrew acronym meaning collateral damage — won a special jury prize this week at the Venice Film Festival.

“The film ‘NAZA’ has not yet been released in full, but from what can be seen in the trailer, it presents a series of serious and false claims regarding the IDF and its personnel. The claims presented in the trailer are untrue, and some are even presented in a distorted, falsified manner, disconnected from the reality on the ground,” says Defrin in a Hebrew-language post on X.

“It is important to me to emphasize that the IDF is a values-based military that operates in accordance with international law and according to binding professional values and standards. This is how we have operated throughout the past three years, and this is how we will continue to operate, even under the most complex combat conditions,” he continues.

Defrin says that “to enable a substantive, professional and fact-based discussion, rather than settling for false portrayals, I invite the filmmakers to allow IDF representatives to view the full film, so that we can address each of the claims raised in it in a substantive manner.”

“The public discussion surrounding the film should be conducted on the basis of facts — not on the basis of false portrayals and slanderous lies,” he says.

Among the film’s allegations is one, featured in a promotional video of the documentary, that it planned a strike during the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in which 500 civilian deaths had been anticipated. The IDF has denied that claim as “completely false.”

Referring to the Hamas-led 2023 attack that launched the war, Defrin adds, “Since October 7, the IDF has worked tirelessly to defend the state and its citizens.”

The IDF already on Friday said it “categorically rejects” the allegations made in the film, saying that decisions regarding the selection and approval of strikes were made “by human personnel only… and not by artificial intelligence.”

The military said that “the excerpts cited include claims regarding national and military strategy that are clearly beyond the knowledge of junior-level soldiers,” and that there are “references to situations in which IDF Intelligence Directorate soldiers, who were allegedly interviewed for the film, by definition would not have been involved.”

Lapid and Netanyahu meet, said to disagree over how to increase defense budget

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) at the IDF's Kirya military headquarters on March 17, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO); Opposition Leader and head of the Yesh Atid party MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, March 23, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid hold a security meeting in Jerusalem.

The leader of the opposition is traditionally briefed once a month by the prime minister on sensitive national security issues, although Netanyahu and Lapid, who have an acrimonious relationship, have not kept to this schedule.

According to an opposition source, the meeting began with a standard security update from Netanyahu. After that, the head of the IDF Planning Directorate, Maj. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, and National Security Adviser Shmuel Ben Ezra entered, while Accountant General Michal Abadi-Boiangiu joined by phone.

According to Lapid’s office, Netanyahu then asked for the opposition’s support in putting Israel’s budget back on the table in order to allocate more money to Israel’s defense establishment.

Lapid responded that he supports giving more money to the IDF, but it cannot come from additional taxes on Israel’s middle class or reservists, according to his office. He asked that Netanyahu draw the money from budgets allocated to his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners.

“Instead, include in the proposal the cancellation of the corrupt coalition funds and the tens of billions of shekels you are currently transferring to fund Haredi draft evasion,” Lapid tells Netanyahu, “and we will support the proposal in the Knesset as well.”

The Prime Minister’s Office does not provide comment on the meeting.

US energy secretary says Washington opposed Iranian nuclear chief attending IAEA conference

United States Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during the annual General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, September 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright says the United States opposed the Iranian nuclear agency head attending an annual conference of the UN nuclear watchdog.

“He’s a sanctioned individual and we don’t want sanctioned individuals evading their sanctions. He asked for a waiver of the sanctions and it was denied,” Wright tells reporters in Vienna, the seat of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, has regularly attended and addressed the IAEA’s General Conference in Vienna since being appointed head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization in 2021.

Iranian state TV said Eslami and a delegation “took a regular flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were blocked on the way because of obstructions by the United States.”

Norway weighing bill imposing up to 3 years in prison for trade with settlements, East Jerusalem, FM says

Norway Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide speaks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay, Metro Manila, July 22, 2026. (Rolex Dela Pena/Pool via AP)

Norway is weighing legislation this fall banning trade with Israeli settlements and providing for penalties of up to three years in prison for violations, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide tells state broadcaster NRK, prompting backlash from Israel’s embassy in Oslo.

“The arguments [in support of the bill] have only become stronger because the situation in the West Bank has become even worse. In addition, so many other countries are now doing the same thing the government has already proposed through this bill,” Eide tells NRK in a Norwegian-language interview.

The trade ban law, which would apply to individuals and companies trading with settlements, according to NRK, follows the United Kingdom’s newly announced wide-ranging sanctions package against Israeli West Bank settlements last week. Norway, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden issued a joint statement shortly after expressing their intentions to take or support similar measures.

“Israel has become far too accustomed to being able to intimidate Western countries by saying they were antisemites if they criticized Israel for abuses and violations of international law. Now the [protective cover] that Israel has in many ways enjoyed is gone,” Eide says.

East Jerusalem, which holds a status different to that of the West Bank, is also covered by the bill, according to NRK.

While dozens of countries have recognized East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory and the capital of a future Palestinian state, Israel formally annexed the area in 1980, 13 years after capturing the territory during the 1967 Six Day War. Many of the dozens of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem are, in practice, fully integrated neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The UK is undecided as to whether Jewish areas in East Jerusalem would be covered by its sanctions, a British official told reporters last week.

Trade between Norway and the Israeli settlements is not extensive, Eide notes to NRK, saying “the goods in question include, for example, wine and some agricultural products.”

Israel’s embassy in Norway decries the potential measure, calling the “proposal to criminalize trade” the “latest example of the Norwegian foreign minister’s obsessive anti-Israel activism on the global stage.”

Fauda co-creator as Oct. 7 episodes gain traction across Middle East: ‘Most important thing I’ve done in my career’

'Fauda' co-creators Avi Issacharoff (left) and Lior Raz in Tel Aviv, May 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

One of the co-creators of Fauda says the most recent season dealing with October 7 is the most important thing he has done in his career, as the show seemingly gains traction in countries across the Middle East.

“We hoped the season would succeed, but there was also a sense of skepticism given October 7 and the fact that global public opinion is anti-Israel — which is the understatement of the year,” Avi Issacharoff tells the Kan public broadcaster. “And then you find yourself surprised, thinking: ‘Wait, what? Number one in Lebanon?'”

Issacharoff and Lior Raz rewrote the season in the wake of October 7, and two of its episodes directly deal with the tragedies and horror of that day, with the remainder of episodes dealing with the aftermath and impact.

Days after the show premiered its fifth season on Netflix, it has received strong viewing figures around the globe, including in the Arab world, according to tracking site Flixpatrol.

Additionally, some social media users have posted in recent days that the series has shown them for the first time what happened in Israel on October, 7, 2023.

“We didn’t set out to serve as a diplomacy tool for the State of Israel. We came as Israelis to tell a story that burned inside us. We realized we couldn’t rely on government bodies — which had failed to function on October 7 and 8 — because they simply aren’t functioning now either. It doesn’t interest them,” says Issacharoff, formerly the Times of Israel’s Middle East analyst.

“Our enemy is playing against an open goal when it comes to public diplomacy,” says Issacharoff.

He tells Kan that: “In my 26 years as a journalist and screenwriter, this is undoubtedly the most important thing I’ve ever done. I realized that if someone on the other side of the world sees this, it will move them.”

Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh party leaders assert right to ‘self-determination’ at rare meeting

(L to R) Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) leader John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth of Plaid Cymru in Wales, Mary Lou McDonald, president of Irish Republicans Sinn Fein and Michelle O’Neill, vice president of Irish Republicans Sinn Fein pose together with a memorandum of understanding as they attend a meeting in Cardiff, Wales on September 14, 2026, to press for self-determination votes in their territories. (Adrian DENNIS/AFP)

The leaders of the main Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh parties declare their right to “self determination” in a joint agreement signed at a rare meeting in the Welsh capital Cardiff.

“Our nations have the right to self-determination. No Westminster government has the right to block democracy or undermine the principle that our people will decide their own future,” they say in a memorandum of understanding referring to the UK-wide parliament in London.

All three parties — the Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru in Wales and the pro-Irish unity Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland — want to break away from the UK but have different positions on how and when this might take place.

MBS met with US CENTCOM chief amid rising attacks by Houthis, says Saudi state media

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman looks on during a meeting with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on November 18, 2025. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper and discussed the latest regional developments, Saudi state television reports, amid an escalation in attacks on the kingdom by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.

It is unclear where the meeting was held.

Netanyahu to fly to New York next week for UN speech

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 26, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take off for the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Wednesday, September 23, and will return on Friday, September 25, a Prime Minister’s Office source tells The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu’s UN speech will take place on Thursday, September 24.

There is no word on whether Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump while he is in the US. The two last met in July.

Israeli diplomats have said they expect major protests against Netanyahu’s presence at the UN. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani promised to arrest Netanyahu if he came to the city, but acknowledged in July that, as mayor, he did not actually have the ability to do so.

Israelis in the city who are opposed to Netanyahu’s government also typically protest during the premier’s annual visit for the UNGA.

Iran blames US for blocking nuclear chief’s travel to Vienna conference

Mohammad Eslami, Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), speaks during the 69th regular plenary session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria on September 15, 2025. (Joe Klamar/AFP)

Iran’s nuclear chief was blocked from attending an annual conference at the headquarters of the UN’s nuclear agency in Vienna due to opposition from the United States, Iranian state television says.

“Mohammad Eslami and his delegation took a regular flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were blocked on the way because of obstructions by the United States,” the state broadcaster reports, saying he had returned to the capital Tehran.

He was due to attend the annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, which runs until Friday in Austria.

He attended last year’s conference and delivered a speech there on behalf of Iran, a member state of the IAEA.

Austria sought a waiver of the travel ban on Eslami with the UN sanctions committee, but it was not granted, an official said yesterday. The official wasn’t authorized to comment on the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

China denies reports it gave Iran intel before deadly strike on US base in Jordan

Beijing rejects “groundless” reports that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite images of a military base housing US troops in Jordan, before and after an Iranian strike killed three American soldiers.

The reports by the Wall Street Journal over the weekend related to July 17 missile strikes launched by Iran on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

Unnamed American officials cited in the Journal’s reporting did not name the Chinese entities involved, and did not suggest that Beijing was directly to blame.

“We firmly oppose groundless suspicion and accusations without evidence,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun tells a news conference.

US President Donald Trump sought to downplay the reports, which could deepen tensions ahead of a planned visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24.

“You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them too,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One yesterday.

“That’s what we do. They basically do what we do,” he said.

Israeli rights group says harm to West Bank living conditions ‘eliminating’ Palestinian collective existence

Palestinian students walk on their way home after receiving their year end reports from school, in the West Bank Bedouin hamlets of Khan al-Ahmar, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

The B’Tselem human rights group issues a lengthy new report accusing Israel of a multi-pronged effort to harm “the material, social and political conditions that enable Palestinian collective existence,” which the left-wing organization describes as the “Elimination Project.”

B’Tselem’s report argues that this project has accelerated since the government took office in December 2022 and especially following the October 7, 2023 Hamas invasion and massacres.

The report asserts that five key “domains of action” are driving the “elimination” of Palestinians from the West Bank: violence and intimidation, movement restrictions, economic strangulation, social and political destruction, and ethnic cleansing and territorial takeover.

“Together, these domains restrict West Bank Palestinians’ ability to maintain the basics of daily life while also undermining the conditions that enable Palestinian society to exist as a political, social and territorial body with institutions, collective rights and a shared future,” the report asserts.

The report says that since October 7, 2023, 200 new checkpoints have been established in the territory by Israeli forces; some 18 percent of West Bank land has been seized through the establishment of settlements and illegal settlement outposts; and 64 Palestinian shepherding communities have been depopulated under extreme settler and military harassment.

The report also says that 1,087 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including 242 children and 21 women. According to the IDF, the vast majority of Palestinians killed by troops in the West Bank in recent years were gunmen or rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.

“States and international institutions must use every means available to stop Israeli crimes, protect Palestinians, and stop the elimination project,” B’Tselem Executive Director Yuli Novak says at a press conference on the new report.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iranian Kurdish opposition camps targeted with missiles in Iraq’s Kurdistan, sources say

Missile attacks targeted three camps belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition groups east of Sulaimaniya in Iraq’s Kurdistan region early on Monday, two security sources say, adding that no casualties were reported.

Iran summons Austria envoy after nuke chief blocked from Vienna meeting

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei during a weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in the capital Tehran, on February 10, 2026. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran says it summoned Austria’s charge d’affaires after the European country refused to allow Iran’s nuclear chief to take part in a meeting of the UN nuclear agency in Vienna.

“The Austrian government’s refusal to issue visas to the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a completely unjustified decision,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei says at a press conference in Tehran.

“It is clear to us that this incident occurred under American pressure, but that does not absolve the Austrian government of responsibility.”

Tehran says Saudi Arabia requested delay of Hormuz meeting between Iran, Gulf states

Saudi Arabia requested the postponement of a meeting between Tehran and Gulf powers that was supposed to take place in Oman, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson says.

There is no comment from Riyadh on the claim.

Iran’s foreign ministry had said there would be a meeting hosted by Oman where the future of the Strait of Hormuz, vital for global oil and gas flows, would be negotiated.

Tehran said Iraq and Gulf countries would take part, without specifying which states, but no country in the region had confirmed its participation while Bahrain ruled out attending.

“It has been decided to postpone to a later date the regional meeting that was to be held on Monday in Salalah, in order to create conditions conducive to a constructive dialogue,” the Oman News Agency said yesterday.

Man charged with murder over Beit Shemesh killing of 7-year-old, attempted killing of 2nd child

Hillel Mordechai Dadon. (Courtesy)

A man is charged with murder over the killing of a young boy in Beit Shemesh last month and the attempted murder of the child’s cousin.

Liel Ifergan, 26, is accused of stabbing to death 7-year-old Hillel Mordechai Dadon and injuring his 4-year-old cousin, while their parents were out of the house

“It is difficult to grasp the gap between an innocent game played by two children in a pool, and the defendant’s decision to arm himself with a knife and take their lives,” prosecutors say, according to reports.

Prosecutors request that Ifergan is detained until the conclusion of legal proceedings.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, Ifergan was armed with a knife when he entered the yard of the neighboring building and stabbed Hillel Mordechai in the chest and his cousin in the neck.

He then fled back the scene and cleaned the blood off the knife, prosecutors say.

Ifergan was reportedly hospitalized at the Eitanim psychiatric hospital several years ago, and he was scheduled for a check-up with his psychiatrist in December. Police said at the time of the murder that the suspect had not been previously known to them.

US set to axe climate pollution limits for power plants – reports

The Jeffrey Energy Center coal-fired power plant operates at sunset January 3, 2026, in Topeka, Kansas (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

US President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to remove limits on climate pollution from coal and gas power plants, according to US media reports.

The change would roll back rules introduced by former president Joe Biden’s administration in 2024 which required coal and gas power plants to eliminate nearly all their carbon emissions.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin is expected to announce the change during a G20 energy ministers’ meeting in Houston, Bloomberg News and the New York Times report, citing people familiar with the matter.

Under the new rules, power plants would still be subject to some limits on mercury, arsenic and other contaminants, according to the Times.

Coal is the fuel that emits the highest levels of greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change.

Trump frequently calls human-induced climate change “a hoax” and has worked since returning to office last year to remove a number of environmental regulations, many of which limited fossil fuel use.

This year the EPA overturned its 2009 Endangerment Finding, the scientific determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare.

IDF says troops nabbed Palestinian planning shooting attack on Israeli civilians on Rosh Hashanah

A Palestinian man planning an “imminent” shooting attack against Israeli civilians was apprehended by Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron over the weekend, the military announces.

The IDF says troops raided Hebron on Saturday and captured Abd al-Rahman, following information provided by the Shin Bet security agency about his plans to “carry out a shooting attack against Israeli civilians in the immediate timeframe” during the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

South Korea condemns Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia, urges immediate halt

This photo provided by the Saudi Press Agency shows damage to a building after a projectile fell in Al-Tawwal, Jazan, Saudi Arabia, on the southern border with Yemen, September 12, 2026. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry condemns what it said was a Houthi attack on civilian and economic facilities in southern Saudi Arabia that injured multiple civilians, and urged the Iran-aligned group to immediately stop such attacks.

The ministry says in a statement that attacks on civilians, civilian facilities and actions that undermined free and safe navigation could not be justified under any circumstances, and expresses solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

British Jewish man found dead in forest near Uman; body said to have signs of violence

The body of a British Jewish man showing signs of violence was found in a forest near Uman, Hebrew-language media reports.

Reports say the circumstances surrounding the death of the man aged around 45 and a father of seven, remain unclear.

Ukrainian authorities are reportedly examining if the man was murdered.

The victim’s body was discovered by a group of men who had gone into the forest to pray and meditate.

Uman, a pilgrimage site in Ukraine where the Hasidic sage Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried, traditionally draw masses of pilgrims around Rosh Hashanah.

Sweden’s center-left bloc leads close election against right-wing government

People prepare to cast their vote for Sweden’s general election in a booth at a polling station in Nacka on September 13, 2026. (Jonathan NACKSTRAND/AFP)

Sweden’s national election results show a narrow lead for the center-left opposition over the right-wing government, which could halt the Nordic nation’s drift away from its liberal heritage.

The left-leaning bloc, headed by the Social Democrats’ leader Magdalena Andersson, is expected to win 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament, the Riksdag, based on votes from 6,195 of Sweden’s 6,312 election districts, the election authority says.

The right-wing governing bloc of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is seen winning 173 seats, with ballot-counting continuing, and with a final results expected to come on Wednesday at the earliest.

The election, while unlikely to change the course of Sweden’s pro-Western and pro-Ukraine stance, could decide whether Kristersson’s push toward a hard-right clampdown on migration continues or even accelerates.

Given the closeness of the race, the winner may not be known for several days, after all overseas ballots have been counted.

US officer shot down over Iran in April tells of rescue: ‘One of the greatest moments of my life’

The air crew officer shot down over Iran in April and identified only as Bravo gives an interview broadcast September 13, 2026 (Screen grab/CBS 60 Minutes)

One of two US aircrew whose F-15E was shot down over Iran in April gives his first public account of the ordeal and rescue in a report that features newly declassified footage.

CNN reported Saturday that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other political officials at the Pentagon had pushed the two to take part in the interview.

The crew member who agreed to appear (the pilot did not), is identified only as “Bravo,” the jet’s weapons systems officer who spent roughly two days alone in the Iranian mountains.

According to CBS’s “60 minutes” the officer fell to the ground at around 70-100 mph because his parachute was damaged when Iran shot down the plane.

“At one point when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” he tells the broadcaster.

“I had injuries, but we all train to adapt and overcome the things that we’re faced with,” he says. “I moved as quickly as I could, despite the injuries, away from the place that I landed.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command, tells CBS News that there were over 90 US service members on the ground in the rescue operation that saw US military boots on the ground in Iran for the first time in 46 years.

Bravo says seeing his rescuers was “one of the greatest moments of my life.”

Dramatic video, obtained first by 60 Minutes, shows the rescue of two Air Force officers shot down over a mountainous desert region of Iran back in April. https://t.co/MMeYIaZvfu pic.twitter.com/37AR1xc9bj

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 14, 2026

Saudi Civil Defense issues several alerts overnight in southern cities amid Houthi attacks

The Saudi Civil Defense issued several alerts overnight for potential danger in four southern cities — Najran, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Abha — before sending all-clear notices.

The latest alerts were for the Khamis Mushait and Abha areas, with the Civil Service then saying the danger “has passed.”

The alerts come amid persistent Houthi attacks from Yemen.

Hormuz shipping traffic remains below 10-day average at weekend, data shows

Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a single digit per day at the weekend, preliminary ship-tracking data shows, well below a 10-day average of 14.

Over the weekend, a total of four vessels exited the Gulf via the strait and 10 entered it, according to the data.

The figures exclude any vessels that might have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.

Trump downplays report China gave Iran intel before deadly strike on US base in Jordan

US President Donald Trump downplays reports that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite images of a military base in Jordan before and after an Iranian strike killed three US soldiers.

“You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you’re right, and we spy on them too,” Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One a day after The Wall Street Journal reported Beijing’s intelligence sharing.

“That’s what we do. They basically do what we do,” Trump says.

The incident could deepen tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of a planned state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24.

On July 17, Iran launched missile strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which houses US forces. Three US Army soldiers were killed.

Unnamed American officials cited in the Journal’s reporting did not name the Chinese entities involved, and did not suggest that Beijing was directly to blame.

Chinese officials asked for proof of the transfer of satellite imagery when prodded by the US officials, and refused to acknowledge that Chinese companies were involved in providing Tehran with satellite images, the Journal reported late Friday.

Trump has warned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and in May, Washington sanctioned three China-based satellite companies for enabling Iran’s military operations.

China is a top economic partner of Iran, buying much of its oil output, and also an important diplomatic backer.

Trump says of Xi that “he’s behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well.”

Asked if he would ever allow Chinese cars to be sold in the United States, Trump says: “I haven’t. I’m the one that kept them out. The tariffs kept them out.”

Trump praises Witkoff, Kushner, says ‘there’s not a lot of fighting in Gaza,’ Hamas willing to disarm

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on Air Force One from Shannon, Ireland, to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, September 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

US President Donald Trump touts the work of his special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner amid reports he is looking to elevate CIA chief John Ratcliffe in their stead.

Asked about the matter by reporters on Air Force One, Trump highlights Witkoff’s and Kushner’s work to secure a ceasefire in Gaza last year.

“Look at Gaza, for example. Look at the fact that we got all of the hostages back,” Trump says.

“There’s not a lot of fighting in Gaza. Hamas is now willing to give up their weapons,” he adds.

Q: Do you have concerns about Witkoff and Kushner in their ability to close the deal?

Trump: No, they’re doing a great job. Look at Gaza. pic.twitter.com/rRR03LhpSE

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 13, 2026

Israel has still carried out near-daily strikes in Gaza against what it says are Hamas operatives posing threats to troops, though those strikes have also regularly taken the lives of civilians, including women and children.

IDF denies claim in new ‘NAZA’ documentary that it planned Gaza strike with anticipated 500 civilian deaths

The Israeli military denies ever planning or carrying out a strike during the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in which 500 civilian deaths were anticipated, following such claims made in a documentary by Israeli filmmakers about Israel’s alleged AI-powered attacks that have led to civilian deaths.

A promotional clip for the film “NAZA” — a Hebrew acronym meaning collateral damage — shows a purported Israeli intelligence soldier being asked what the largest number of expected civilian deaths was ever approved for a strike in Gaza.

“I don’t know how many were killed, because they never check this, but there was once an approval for 500,” the whistleblower says.

In response to an X post (below) containing the clip, the Israel Defense Forces says the claim is “completely false.”

𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗢𝗠𝗕𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟 🚨🇮🇱

Ex-Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers BROKE THEIR SILENCE, describing an ICE-COLD SYSTEM where strikes were calculated to kill as many people as possible in Gaza.

Their testimony is now a film at the Venice Film Festival. pic.twitter.com/lwdMSMbErm

— Rabbi Jeff (@RabbiJeffx) September 10, 2026

“The IDF has never planned, approved, or carried out a strike in Gaza in which 500 civilians or anything near that number were anticipated to be killed. Nor was any credible claim raised throughout the war suggesting that an IDF strike had caused anything near that number of fatalities,” the military says.

The IDF says that filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor “couldn’t possibly verify this claim, there is no real supporting evidence, and yet they published it anyway.”

“Additionally, nothing about the interviewee, not his service nor his role can be independently checked and verified,” the military adds.

The IDF already on Friday said it “categorically rejects” the allegations made in the film, saying that decisions regarding the selection and approval of strikes were made “by human personnel only… and not by artificial intelligence.”

Also, in its initial response to the film, the IDF said that “the excerpts cited include claims regarding national and military strategy that are clearly beyond the knowledge of junior-level soldiers,” and that there are “references to situations in which IDF Intelligence Directorate soldiers, who were allegedly interviewed for the film, by definition would not have been involved.”

The 80-minute documentary won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival.