Sept. 15: Far-right minister says he doesn’t want anti-government protesters enlisting for combat duty

Katz confirms Hamas Rafah Brigade commander killed in IDF strike

The commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip this evening, Defense Minister Israel Katz says in a statement.

Gazan media identified the slain Hamas commander as Nael Abu Obeid, also known as Abu Atiya.

The military said earlier that it struck a senior Hamas member, with further details to be provided later.

Ed Sheeran says dropping Macklemore from US tour was not his decision

Pop star Ed Sheeran says dropping American rapper Macklemore from his US tour was not Sheeran’s decision but that of the tour’s promoter, even as Sheeran distinguished his political approach from Macklemore’s.

Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran’s US tour after he sparked controversy by calling out “Free Palestine” from the stage and singing an anti-Israel protest song during a September 4 concert in New Jersey.

“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision; it was not mine,” Sheeran says on Instagram.

Messina Touring Group, promoter of the US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, told Rolling Stone that venue owners on upcoming US tour dates notified the promoters they will not allow a concert to take place ​with Macklemore in the lineup.

Macklemore has ⁠long been an outspoken pro-Palestinian activist.

Sheeran says he respects Macklemore’s “strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes” but that his own approach is to not use his “professional platform for politics.”

Sheeran says venues for upcoming tour dates warned they would pull the shows over Macklemore. He writes that he tried to resolve the situation but was unsuccessful, leading to the cancellation of Macklemore’s appearances.

Sheeran writes, “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated.”

Yair Golan posts satirical video accusing PM of using ‘NAZA’ to distract from his Oct. 7 failures, doesn’t explicitly condemn film

Yair Golan, chair of the left-wing Democrats party, posts a satirical video suggesting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is treating the controversy over the documentary ‘NAZA’ like the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.

The video then accuses Netanyahu of using the ‘NAZA’ controversy to distract from his own failures surrounding the October 7 onslaught.

‘NAZA’ is a documentary by Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor that alleges that Israel killed civilians with AI-powered strikes. Though few in Israel have seen the full film, which is not in wide release, the IDF has denied claims made in its promotional materials and a broad range of politicians, including allies of Golan, have harshly condemned it.

Golan’s video notably does not explicitly condemn the film — though he captions the video with the text “I condemn.” But it draws a satirical parallel between the Venice Film Festival, where the documentary won an award, and the October 7 attack.

“Israel was hit hard,” a voiceover says against photos of Szor and Abraham and the festival. “There are many hard questions that must be asked.”

אני מגנה. pic.twitter.com/6afPzG1XXQ

— Yair Golan – יאיר גולן (@YairGolan1) September 15, 2026

“Who is funding the Venice Festival with suitcases of money?” it goes on to ask, a reference to the suitcases of cash from Qatar that were transferred to Hamas with Netanyahu’s approval.

It then asks, “Did the prime minister receive a warning about the Venice Festival?” That is a reference to a recent report that Netanyahu was warned of the October 7 attack days ahead of time and did not act on it, an allegation Netanyahu has vehemently denied.

“There’s no doubt: The Venice Festival catastrophe is the worst catastrophe to happen to the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” the video says.

It then adds, referring to Netanyahu, “He wants us to talk about anything except for his debacle,” going on to accuse Netanyahu of being responsible for letting the October 7 attack happen.

Netanyahu has tried over the past couple of days to tie Golan to the film. Fifteen minutes before Golan posted the video, Netanyahu said in his own post on X, “Outrageous: Yair Golan and his party members refuse to condemn the defamatory film about heroic IDF soldiers.”

Hamas Rafah Brigade commander likely killed in IDF strike, security official says

The commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade was likely killed in this evening’s strike in the southern Gaza Strip, a “senior security official” says in a statement to reporters.

The official says, “It appears that the elimination of the Rafah Brigade commander was successful.”

Gazan media identify the slain Hamas commander as Nael Abu Obeid, also known as Abu Atiya.

وإنا على فراقك لمحزونون يا أبا عطية
لكن لا نقول إلا ما يرضي ربنا
إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون
قائد لواء رفح د. نائل عبيد ابو عطية شهيد.ا ???? pic.twitter.com/UP1jtUzM0U

— م.محمد الشريف #غزة???? (@emshareif) September 15, 2026

Netanyahu, Katz confirm that IDF strike targeted commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirm in a joint statement that the target of the strike in the southern Gaza Strip a short while ago was the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade.

“The IDF has just struck the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, after the commander of the Khan Younis Brigade and other senior members of the organization were eliminated earlier this week,” they say.

The pair say that Israel’s “message is clear: No terrorist is immune, and Hamas will not be in Gaza.”

US ambassador visits Lebanese army-held ‘pilot zone’ near Israel

The US ambassador to Lebanon visited the country’s south today, his embassy says, where he went to a village that recently came under the control of the Lebanese army following a deal with Israel.

The US-backed June agreement states that the Israeli military will withdraw from areas of south Lebanon it held in parallel with the deployment of the Lebanese army, starting with so-called pilot zones, under the condition that the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah disarms.

An AFP correspondent sees a convoy carrying the US envoy, Michel Issa, entering the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, where he visited a church, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

U.S. Ambassador Michel Issa visited southern Lebanon today to assess conditions on the ground and see firsthand the progress and challenges in the pilot zones.
The United States remains committed to supporting the Government of Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces in… pic.twitter.com/0u4u6Vjfha

— U.S. Embassy Beirut (@usembassybeirut) September 15, 2026

The US embassy says that Issa “visited southern Lebanon today to assess conditions on the ground and see firsthand the progress and challenges in the pilot zones.”

It quotes him saying that his visit to the south allowed him “to witness firsthand the challenges facing its communities.”

“I deeply sympathize with residents who have endured displacement and uncertainty, and I understand their urgent desire to return home and rebuild their lives in safety and dignity,” he says.

The NNA says an Israeli drone surveyed the area during the visit and reported Israeli military vehicle movements in the neighboring town.

IDF says it hit senior Hamas official; Palestinian media report 2 killed in strike, including child

The Israeli military says it struck a senior member of the Hamas terror group in the southern Gaza Strip a short while ago.

Further details on the strike, carried out in conjunction with the Shin Bet security agency, will be provided later, the army adds.

The target of the strike is the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, according to an Israeli security source.

Palestinian media outlets affiliated with Hamas, meanwhile, report that two people, including an 8-year-old girl, were killed and 14 others were wounded in a strike in western Khan Younis.

The Times of Israel cannot independently verify the information.

Israel has ramped up strikes on senior Hamas military wing commanders in recent weeks. On Thursday, an Israeli strike killed Muhammad Abdul Salam al-Yazouri, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, and a strike last night killed Ahmad al-Batash, the commander of the Jabalia Battalion.

Trump administration plans $2.8 billion munitions sale to Israel, sources say

US President Donald Trump leaves after visiting Ireland’s President Catherine Connolly at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin, Ireland, on September 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to sell to Israel a munitions package worth $2.8 billion, which will include tens of thousands of highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs, according to a US official familiar with the sale.

The planned sale, which has been informally communicated to relevant congressional committees that weigh in on large arms sales, includes 20,000 MK 84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says.

News of the package was first reported by the Washington Post.

The State Department and the Israeli embassy do not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US public support for Israel has fallen amid the Gaza war, which was launched with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel.

The 2,000-pound bombs have been regularly used by Israel in Gaza as well as in Lebanon, drawing scrutiny from rights experts. Former US president Joe Biden paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in 2024.

Allianz halts sponsorship of Spain fest due to criticism of its ties to Israel

View of the Allianz insurance company March 21, 2025 in La Defense business district outside Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

Allianz has suspended its sponsorship of one of Spain’s top cultural events after celebrities threatened a boycott over the German insurance giant’s ties to Israel, organizers say.

“Allianz is today the world’s largest buyer of Israeli state bonds and, therefore, an essential financial backer of the ongoing genocide,” the celebrities said in a statement, referring to the Gaza war launched after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in Israel.

They said they would snub the annual Festival of Ideas in Madrid unless it committed to “not accepting economic support, in this or future editions, from companies that collaborate with the State of Israel in the destruction of the Palestinian people.”

The more than 20 celebrities included Oscar-nominated Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen.

The festival announces in a statement that it agreed with Allianz to suspend the sponsorship of the event, due to run for four days from Thursday, in which acclaimed British writer Zadie Smith is set to take part.

“Both parties agree that the festival should continue to be a space dedicated to the free exchange of ideas, open debate and the diversity of opinions without any external controversy diverting attention from its programme, participants or audience,” the statement reads.

Army chiefs of Israel, US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar other Arab states met to discuss Iran war — report

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, left, and US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper salute during an event in Israel, August 10, 2026. (IDF)

The military chiefs of Israel, the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt held a meeting in Germany last week about the war with Iran and regional tensions, two Israeli officials tell the Axios news site.

The private meeting at a secluded ski resort, organized by US CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper and confirmed by CENTCOM to Axios, was the first such gathering since the US and Israel launched their joint campaign against Iran in February, according to the report. The officials have previously held similar meetings, according to the report.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir briefed his counterparts on “IDF operations on various fronts” during the meeting, the report says.

During the sit-down, Cooper reportedly told his counterparts that the US military would not withdraw its forces from the region despite Iranian attacks on American bases, and briefed them on US plans for expanding maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has tried to obstruct.

In a statement to Axios confirming the meeting, CENTCOM says it “hosted senior military leaders from eight nations during a scheduled conference in Germany. The leaders discussed opportunities for enhancing security cooperation in the Middle East.”

A source familiar with the matter also tells Axios that Israel and Saudi Arabia, with CENTCOM assistance, are discussing ways Jerusalem could assist Riyadh in confronting Houthi advances toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait amid renewed conflict between the two, and attacks by the Iran-backed group on the kingdom, adding it is unlikely Israel will take any offensive actions.

Earlier today, Israel Hayom reported that CENTCOM had been overseeing contacts between the two countries over the Houthi attacks.

The IDF declined a request for comment on the Germany meeting from The Times of Israel.

Man shot dead in Jaffa, suspect arrested — police

A 28-year-old man was fatally shot in Jaffa this evening, police say.

A suspect in his 20s has been detained, Tel Aviv District Police chief Haim Sargaroff says on the scene.

The victim was pronounced dead at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, according to police.

He is the 177th Arab homicide victim in Israel this year, according to figures from the Abraham Initiatives, a coexistence group.

US energy chief says Saudi Arabia oil pipeline should be back online within days

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks during an event, May 4, 2026, in the East Room at the White House in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Crude oil should be flowing through Saudi Arabia’s vital East-West Pipeline within days, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright tells CNBC, after the kingdom was forced to temporarily close it following attacks by Iran-aligned groups.

“It’s still a detailed assessment, but I think it will be measured in days,” Wright says on the sidelines of a G20 energy meeting in Houston. He says Saudi Arabia is taking steps to move more oil out of the Strait of Hormuz with assistance from the US military.

Sources that speak to Reuters give varying estimates of how long the pipeline will be offline, with ​one saying the damage could take as long as five to six weeks to repair. Another says it could be fixed sooner ​and resume pumping partially while repairs take place.

The 1,200-km (745-mile) East-West Pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula has served as the main route for global supplies of Middle Eastern oil for the past six months while the strait between Iran and Oman has been largely shut by the Iran war. The pipeline had been moving 4 million to 5 million barrels per day, amounting to 4% to 5% of global supply, sparing Saudi Arabia the brunt of the disruption that has crippled other Gulf oil and gas exporters.

Rob Reiner’s son will not face death penalty, prosecutor says

Nick Reiner pleads not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, with public defense attorney, Kimberly Green, during his arraignment on murder charges for the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, February 23, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Chris Torres/Pool Photo via AP, File)

The son of Hollywood icon Rob Reiner will not face the death penalty when he stands trial over the killings of his parents, Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor says.

Nick Reiner, who turned 33 yesterday, was arrested in December 2025 after his parents’ bloodied bodies were discovered at their home in the affluent Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of lying in wait.

Rob Reiner, 78 — the director behind classics including “When Harry Met Sally” and “A Few Good Men” — and his wife Michele Singer, 70, were stabbed to death.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says the decision not to pursue the death penalty followed “rigorous review,” including discussions with the Reiner family.

“They made their views very clear,” Hochman says at an early morning press briefing, referring to Nick Reiner’s siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner. “We took their views into consideration in ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty.”

The maximum sentence Nick Reiner will face is life in prison without possibility of parole. The prosecutor estimates a trial will not begin before 2027.

Nick Reiner had a history of addiction and mental health issues.

Head of Israel’s nuclear agency: We will act against Iran again if necessary

Israel Atomic Energy Commission Director General Moshe Edri, speaking at the IAEA's 70th General Conference in Vienna on September 15, 2026. (Prime Minister's Office)

Israel will act again against Iran if necessary, the head of Israel’s nuclear agency tells the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“It’s clear that a public threat by the radical regime of the ayatollahs in Iran to destroy the State of Israel is something we cannot ignore,” says Israel Atomic Energy Commission Director General Moshe Edri, speaking at the IAEA’s 70th General Conference in Vienna.

“Israel cannot, and will not, sit idle, in light of such a threat,” Edri continues. “We acted to ensure our survival, and we will do it again if needed.”

Edri also blasts the agency for continuing to include an agenda item in its meetings on Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons program.

He says the item is “politically driven, and is completely outside the scope of the IAEA Statute and mandate. It also diverts the attention of this forum from addressing the core issues on its agenda, such as Iran’s violations of its safeguards agreement.”

Herzog appears to pan Smotrich AI video showing judges dragged away: ‘Argue on the merits’

A swearing in ceremony for newly appointed judges at the President’s residence in Jerusalem, on September 15, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog calls for reasoned debate during the current election campaign, repeating his warning that elections “are not a civil war” and appearing to criticize an AI video posted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich showing Supreme Court judges and the attorney general being dragged away from a protest by guards.

He makes the remarks during a swearing-in ceremony for 79 new judges at the president’s residence.

“I have made clear time and again, and I will repeat it and warn, elections are not a civil war. Neither [are they fought] through offensive AI videos as well,” he says, without directly calling out the video, which Smotrich posted earlier today as he unveiled a proposal for a radical overhaul of the judiciary.

“It is possible to argue on the merits. We are destined to live here together, and only together do we have a shared future,” adds the president.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, who was depicted in the video, tells the new judges in his speech that “the principle of judicial independence and autonomy… is the cornerstone of the legal system of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”

The judges were appointed in June after pressure from the Supreme Court ended Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s 18-month refusal to convene the Judicial Selection Committee. Levin continues to refuse to recognize Amit as Supreme Court president and was an architect of the outgoing government’s efforts to weaken the judiciary.

Amit tells the new judges that the “challenges of life” in Israel will “test your judicial backbone,” adding, “In your roles you will be required to make unpleasant and unpopular decisions,” a possible reference to the rulings by the Supreme Court striking down legislation and government decisions over the last four years, which raised the ire of the outgoing government.

Levin, for his part, lauded the controversial legislation he pushed through the Knesset last year, which increased the power of politicians in judicial appointments at the expense of the professional legal establishment.

He said of the new judges that they were a testament to what he termed “a revolution” in judicial appointments in that they come from “all sectors of the public, and all areas of the country.

Levin also appeared to warn the Supreme Court not to strike down the legislation changing the judicial appointments process, noting that during the next government’s term, two-thirds of the Supreme Court bench will need to be appointed.

“It is appropriate that the appointments be made in the way established by the Knesset, which will guarantee diversity and representation of all parts of the people,” he says.

Lebanon prosecutor requests charges for ex-president over port blast: official

Lebanese President Michel Aoun gives a speech on the maritime border agreement with Israel in the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, October 13, 2022. (Dalati Nohra via AP)

A Lebanese prosecutor requested that former president Michel Aoun be indicted over the 2020 Beirut port blast that killed more than 200 people, a judicial official tells AFP.

The prosecutor at Lebanon’s Court of Cassation asked the judge overseeing the case, Tarek Bitar, to “press charges against [former] president Aoun, given that he had prior knowledge of the presence of ammonium nitrate at the port and its danger, without taking the necessary measures or referring the matter to the Higher Defence Council,” says the official, requesting anonymity.

Islamic Jihad terrorist who participated in Oct. 7 killed in strike — IDF

A Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip over the weekend, the military announces.

The strike in Khan Younis killed Mohsen Farid Said Abu Hadaf, who the military says served as the commander of a rocket squad in the Islamic Jihad terror group.

On October 7, Abu Hadaf raided the Kissufim area, according to the IDF.

Recently, the military says, Abu Hadaf had been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.”

“The terrorist was eliminated to remove the threat he posed,” the IDF adds.

חיל-האוויר חיסל ראש חולייה מארגון הטרור גא"פ שפשט למרחב כיסופים בטבח 7 באוקטובר

חיל-האוויר תקף בסוף השבוע שעבר בחאן יונס שבדרום רצועת עזה, וחיסל את המחבל מוחסן פריד סעיד אבו הדאף, ראש חוליית רקטות בארגון הטרור גא"פ.

המחבל פשט למרחב כיסופים בטבח 7 באוקטובר.

בעת האחרונה, המחבל… pic.twitter.com/SyYkNRarfJ

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) September 15, 2026

Israeli journalists’ union ‘shocked’ at violent threats against ‘NAZA’ filmmakers

Journalist and director Rachel Szor and Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham attend the photocall of “Naza” presented in competition at the 83rd International Venice Film Festival, at Venice Lido on September 10, 2026. (Stefano Rellandini/AFP)

The Union of Journalists in Israel condemns the threats of violence against Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the Israeli directors of the documentary ‘NAZA,’ which alleges that Israel killed civilians in Gaza with AI-powered strikes.

The film is not in wide release, so few Israelis have seen it, but it won a prize at the Venice Film Festival earlier this week. Afterward, Culture Minister Miki Zohar urged that their citizenship be revoked, the IDF floated legal proceedings against them, and they have faced widespread outcry in Israel, including accusations of treason.

The IDF has denied claims made in the film’s promotional materials and has requested a full screening.

The journalists’ union, in its statement, says freedom of expression is critical to the functioning of democracy.

“The Union of Journalists joins creative organizations in expressing shock at the violent reactions and the threats faced by the creators of the ‘NAZA’ film,” the statement says. “Freedom of expression is meant particularly to allow a discussion of opinions, positions and statements that challenge the discourse and various institutions.”

It continues, “Without freedom of expression there is no democracy, and without democracy the State of Israel will not survive.”

Abraham, in an interview last night on Channel 13, defended the documentary as a work of journalism and said its claims had been verified. He conveyed fear about the possibility of returning to Israel.

The statement from the journalists’ union comes a day after a graffiti artist called Abraham and Szor “traitors” in a mural on a wall in Ashdod.

EU deputies lift immunity for Polish lawmaker, who could now be charged with Holocaust denial

Far-right Polish lawmaker Grzegorz Braun speaks to parliament in Warsaw, Poland, on December 11, 2023. (AP Photo/ Czarek Sokolowski)

The European Union parliament lifts the legal immunity of extreme right-wing Polish deputy Grzegorz Braun, who could now face criminal proceedings for denying the existence of the Holocaust.

The target of several investigations for provocative acts and comments, Braun, 59, has been a European deputy since 2024. Polish prosecutors called on the parliament to lift the immunity of his Polish Crown Confederation (KKP) party in February.

He was accused of denying, during a 2025 radio interview, the existence of the Holocaust and gas chambers at the Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.

More than one million people, nearly all of them Jews, were killed at Auschwitz during World War II and some six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust in total.

Under Polish law, a jail term of up to three years can be ordered for the public denial of Nazi atrocities, communist crimes, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.

Braun’s immunity has already been lifted for investigations into the extinguishing of Hanukkah candles in the Polish parliament with a fire extinguisher, destroying an exhibition on the LGBTQ community, and attacks on Ukrainian and European symbols.

The lifting of immunity by the EU parliament is not a finding of guilt; it merely allows an investigation and potential proceedings.

UK, US and Netherlands issue advisory on Iran spyware

An illustrative photo of a person typing on a keyboard as part of a cyber breach. (Techa Tungateja; iStock by Getty Images)

Britain, the United States and the Netherlands issue a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing spyware they say is used by Iranian state-linked actors to target dissidents, activists and journalists.

Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre says Iranian state-linked cyber actors used a spyware family known as “CHOSEN BRICK” to steal emails, messages and other sensitive information through “spear-phishing” campaigns on messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.

Oil loadings suspended at Saudi’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, shipping sources say

Oil loadings at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu have been suspended, days after the world’s biggest crude exporter closed its East-West pipeline due to an attack by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, shipping industry sources say.

Saudi Aramco, which has increased use of the Yanbu terminal since the US war with Iran began on February 28, declines to comment.

In remarks aimed at ‘NAZA,’ senior IDF official says army will answer ‘false claims’ with ‘facts’

Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor speaks at a Jewish New Year event in the Eshkol Regional Council, September 15, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The chief of the IDF Southern Command, in comments aimed at the film “NAZA,” says, “Faced with false claims, we will present the facts.”

“Throughout this entire war, we insist on… distinguishing between the enemy and those who are not involved, striking the enemy, thwarting it, and at the same time doing everything in our power to minimize harm to those who are not involved,” says Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor at a Rosh Hashanah event in the Eshkol Regional Council on the border with Gaza.

“Hamas, by contrast, cynically uses civilians as human shields and as cover for itself, benefiting if they are harmed, and benefiting if we refrain from harming them and its operatives,” he says at the Jewish New Year event.

The 80-minute film by Israelis Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor — whose title is a Hebrew acronym meaning collateral damage — alleges that AI-powered strikes by Israel in the Gaza Strip led to civilian deaths. It includes testimonies from 24 purported anonymous Israeli intelligence soldiers.

Asor says that “Faced with false claims, we will present the facts. To difficult questions, we will answer honestly. And when a failure is revealed among us, we will examine, learn, and correct it.”

So far, the military has reacted only to clips of the movie posted online, and has not yet seen the full documentary. The IDF has said it “categorically rejects” allegations made in the documentary and criticized the use of anonymous testimonies.

Poll: West Bank Palestinians split on whether Israel has right to exist, could be eliminated

Mourners take part in a funeral procession for two Palestinians killed during an Israeli raid in the West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir, September 3, 2026. (STR)

West Bank Palestinians are split on whether Israel has a right to exist, and whether its existence could be brought to an end at some point, according to a survey conducted by Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.

The poll finds that 41% of respondents say Israel has a right to exist, compared with 46% who say it does not. In a separate question, 42% say they believe it would be possible to bring about the end of Israel’s existence, either in the near or distant future. Conversely, 32% say ending Israel’s existence is impossible.

Asked about resolving the conflict with Israel, 52% say they prefer negotiations as the best means of ending the conflict, compared with 13% who favor unarmed popular resistance and 12% who chose armed resistance.

Fifty-seven percent agreed with the statement that violent struggle had failed and that Palestinians should instead focus on diplomatic efforts in the international arena.

No proposed political framework for resolving the conflict receives majority support. Twenty-seven percent favor a two-state solution; 22% support a single binational state with full equal rights; 26% favor a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea” — encompassing all of what they consider “historic Palestine” — with no permanent Jewish presence; and 17% favor a Palestinian state throughout the entire territory in which Jews would be permitted to live as citizens or residents.

Regarding the future of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, 40% of respondents say the terror group should disarm, though fewer than half of those respondents believe it would actually agree to do so.

The most popular option for the future administration of the Gaza Strip is a technocratic government — the existing, US-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) — selected by 32% of respondents. Twenty-one percent favored the Palestinian Authority, which governs West Bank Palestinian population centers, another 21% favor a Fatah-Hamas unity government, and just 5% choose Hamas.

In a question asking respondents whom they would prefer to succeed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, nearly half — 44% — say they do not know or declined to answer.

Among respondents who express a clear preference, Marwan Barghouti, who is serving multiple life sentences in Israeli prison for his role in planning deadly terror attacks, leads the field by a wide margin, with 34% support. Hussein al-Sheikh, Abbas’s deputy, receives 8%.

Respondents identify unemployment and livelihood concerns (97%), settler violence (96%) and IDF operations in the West Bank (91%) as among the most significant problems they face. In addition, 60% report a low or very low sense of personal security.

A 53% majority say US President Donald Trump is not at all committed to Palestinian interests.

The survey was conducted by telephone between June 27 and July 2, 2026, among a sample of 400 Palestinian respondents in the West Bank. The margin of error is 4.9%.

Egypt’s Sissi and Saudi crown prince stress need for security of Red Sea navigation

In this photo provided by the Egyptian Presidential Press Office, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, shake hands at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, September 15, 2026. (Egyptian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed the need to ensure freedom and security of navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea during talks today, the Egyptian presidency says.

Sissi also expressed support for Saudi measures to protect its security and stability, and for efforts to reach a comprehensive and sustainable political solution to the Yemen crisis, the presidency says.

Reports: US mediating Israel-Saudi contacts over intel on Houthis; IDF said to advise staying out of fighting

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)

The US Central Command has been overseeing contacts between Saudi Arabia and Israel over the Houthi advances in Yemen and the Iran-backed group’s attacks on Saudi Arabia, Israel Hayom reports, citing anonymous diplomatic and security sources.

The goal of the contacts is to share Israeli intelligence that could help Riyadh defend itself, according to the report.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman turned to CENTCOM to enlist the Israeli aid, notes Israel Hayom. According to the sources, the Saudis have also turned to other Gulf states and Egypt.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment, and CENTCOM did not immediately respond.

Meanwhile, Haaretz reports that the Israeli military recommended that Israel’s leaders avoid ordering strikes on the Houthis or other actions that would place Israel at the forefront of the military struggle against the group.

Citing two senior defense sources, Haaretz says military officials told the political echelon that the focus should remain on a “political effort to create an international and regional coalition” against the Houthis.

Reports: 2 killed in Gaza City strike, including child; IDF says it targeted terror operative

Palestinian media outlets in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip report that two people were killed in an IDF strike in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

من مكان الاستهداف الأخير في حي الشيخ رضوان بمدينة غزة.#غزة pic.twitter.com/3okumCUw02

— غزة الآن – Gaza Now (@nowgnna) September 15, 2026

According to the reports, one of those killed, Muhammad al-Zinati, was a child; his age is not specified.

The IDF tells The Times of Israel that it targeted a terror operative in the area, with further details to be provided later.

#عاجل | ارتقاء الطفل محمد الزيناتي جراء قصف طائرات الاحتلال للمارة في الشارع الثالث بحي الشيخ رضوان شمالي مدينة غزة، حيث كان في محيط منطقة سكنه. pic.twitter.com/nbsfEJprQh

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) September 15, 2026

‘1,000 alarm clocks’: Oct. 7 families say government’s failures spanned 15 years

Relatives of victims of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, unveiling a dossier on the government’s failures in the years leading up to the attack, argue that the massacre resulted from a long-term Israeli policy of strengthening Hamas.

They also lament that no one has formally been held responsible for allowing the onslaught. Speakers at a press conference on the dossier blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to prevent it.

“Three years later, no one has been held accountable for their responsibility for the most horrifying military, security and political failure in our history,” says Noam Peri, whose father, Chaim Peri, was abducted alive from Kibbutz Nir Oz and later murdered in Hamas captivity. “A commission of inquiry has not even been established.”

“As the evidence accumulates and ‘Case 7/10’ becomes clearer – go in and see for yourselves – the picture, sadly, is unmistakable,” she says. “Netanyahu and his governments genuinely preferred Hamas rule. That was their policy for more than a decade.”

Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel Gat was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri and murdered in captivity in Gaza, rejects Netanyahu’s recent remarks blaming security officials for failing to wake him before the attack.

“Netanyahu says he was not woken on October 7. But here, in ‘Case 7/10’ there are 1,000 alarm clocks,” Dickmann says. He accuses Netanyahu’s camp of “trying to reduce a failure that lasted a decade and a half to a single three-hour incident.”

“We will not allow you to bury the October 7 failure as you erased the 46 hostages who were murdered in captivity,” he adds. “We will not allow you to lie and claim that you brought everyone home.”

Michel Ilouz, whose son Guy was abducted to Gaza and murdered in captivity, says the government in 2018 asked Qatar to transfer money to Hamas, a terror organization with the stated goal of destroying Israel.

“Did you take into account that this would end with nearly 2,000 graves? That the country’s citizens would be slaughtered here?” he asks.

Naomi Or Ofek, a 16-year-old relative of victims Dror and Yonat Or and their children, surviving hostages Liam, Noam and Alma Or, argues that Israel’s leaders are not “entitled to the benefit of the doubt.”

She says, “Those responsible for the failure are clear, and they are evading responsibility.”

Hamas battalion commander killed in Gaza strike — IDF

The commander of Hamas’s Jabalia Battalion was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip late last night, the military announces.

The strike on a car north of Gaza City killed Ahmad al-Batash, who commanded the Jabalia Battalion in Hamas’s North Gaza Brigade, according to the IDF and a “martyr poster” circulated by Palestinian media.

As in other recent strikes, the military says Batash was involved lately in advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians and tried to restore Hamas’s capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.”

“The terrorist was eliminated to remove the threat he posed,” the army says.

عكا/ حدشوت للو تسنزورا:
اغتيال القيادي البارز في كتائب القسام "أحمد البطش" إثر غارة جوية استهدفت مركبة كان يستقلها شمال غرب مدينة #غزة. pic.twitter.com/IQSZDk1ttg

— غزة الآن – Gaza Now (@nowgnna) September 14, 2026

Batash is the latest in a list of senior Hamas commanders to be killed in Israeli strikes.

A strike on Thursday killed Muhammad Abdul Salam al-Yazouri, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade.

In the past two weeks alone, some 25 terror operatives were killed in Israeli strikes in the Strip, including at least 10 commanders in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force, according to the military.

US sank two IRGC boats trying to snatch Navy drone — report

The vessels described in media reports as “fishing boats” struck by the US military yesterday were being used by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to try to snatch an American drone, Axios reports.

According to a US official, the US Navy identified the IRGC attempt, and a US drone fired two missiles, destroying both boats. Iranian media said fishing boats were hit and that fishermen were missing.

“Iranian small boats recently attempted to take possession of a US unmanned surface vessel, ” says US Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins, “but they were unsuccessful after CENTCOM forcefully responded.”

“The surface drone remains under US operational control,” he says.

A US official also tells Axios that Navy ships are leading tankers through Hormuz during the day, and not only at night, as has been the case in recent weeks. The official adds that an average of 40 ships make it through the strait every day, transporting 14 million barrels of oil a day.

Report: Eisenkot fears defections from party if he forms minority government with Arab support

Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot attends the presentation of the party’s candidate list ahead of the upcoming general elections in Rosh HaAyin, September 7, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot is reportedly concerned about potential defections from his party, particularly in the event that he forms a minority government with support from Arab parties that remain outside of the coalition, according to a Channel 12 report.

Eisenkot reportedly told members of his slate that they would be expected to abide by party discipline or resign from the Knesset if they felt unable to support such a government. Eisenkot reportedly told candidates that he expects them to follow his own example, having resigned from the Knesset when he disagreed with decisions made by his former party, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, instead of remaining in the Knesset and rebelling against the faction.

The Yashar leader reportedly told his slate that if his prospective coalition – Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu and Yair Golan’s Democrats – fails to win 61 seats, he hopes to establish a minority government. He plans to achieve that goal by persuading Arab parties to abstain from the vote over the new coalition, which would give his government a majority of the Knesset’s remaining members.

Eisenkot’s four-party bloc has been polling around 57 seats for months, more than the 52 seats the current coalition is slated to win, but still several short of the 61 needed for a majority. This means that the bloc would require support from another party, most likely Mansour Abbas’s Arab-majority Ra’am, in order to form a coalition.

Eisenkot has reportedly insisted that he plans to go down that road rather than form a unity government with members of the current coalition. But that appears to be in conflict with recent remarks by his own No. 2, Yoram Cohen, who said the party would be open to partnering with the far-right Religious Zionism and even with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, provided Netanyahu does not lead the government.

Eisenkot has also left the door open to governing with the ultra-Orthodox Shas party if it accepts his demand for universal military service.

The prospect of defections may be particularly sensitive for Yashar given its right-leaning slate and large number of political newcomers whose positions, and willingness to adhere to party discipline, have never been tested in elected office.

Defections are ultimately what collapsed Naftali Bennett’s short-lived anti-Netanyahu government in 2022, as Idit Silman left his party for Likud.

Channel 12 reports that Yashar previously considered requiring all candidates to sign a written commitment that there “would be no Silman,” but ultimately abandoned the idea.

Troops near border in Lebanon locate Hezbollah rocket launcher, projectiles — IDF

A cache of Hezbollah rockets captured by IDF troops in the Mount Dov area of southern Lebanon, September 14, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops operating on the Lebanese side of Mount Dov located a Hezbollah rocket launcher and several projectiles, the military says.

The IDF says the rockets were found yesterday by troops of the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade during scans of Mount Dov, in the military’s south Lebanon buffer zone.

The rockets were likely left behind by Hezbollah when the ceasefire took effect in April.

Oman says it’s searching for two crew members after tanker hit

The sun sets over commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, with the city’s skyline in the background, September 6, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Oman says it is searching for two missing crew members who were aboard a tanker targeted in the Strait of Hormuz that is now being towed.

Vessels in the vital strait have come under repeated attack as Tehran seeks to maintain a stranglehold on the waterway in its war with the United States. Washington has also kept up a counterblockade of Iranian ports.

The Omani Maritime Security Center says it is overseeing a towing operation for the Panama-flagged oil tanker ELGAIA to a port in Oman after a fire was extinguished in its engine room following an attack northeast of Musandam.

The center, which is affiliated with Oman’s Ministry of Defense, adds in a statement on X that “a Royal Navy of Oman vessel evacuated 23 crew members from the tanker and provided them with the necessary medical care.”

A search continues for two crew members who remain missing, it adds.

Oman does not say when the ship was attacked.

However, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a marine monitor, says a vessel had been on fire on Saturday after it was struck by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz.

British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech also reports that a Panama-flagged tanker had been struck that day and that the Omani navy was evacuating the crew.

More than 100,000 have been displaced in the fighting in Yemen, the UN says

Yemeni civilians celebrate while riding in the back of a pickup truck in the Bani Matar district, Yemen, September 12, 2026, as they follow a convoy carrying Houthi prisoners freed in Mokha on its way to Sanaa following the Houthi takeover of the southern Red Sea port city. (AP Photo/STR)

Flaring fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen has displaced more than 100,000 people inside the country, while thousands more have fled abroad, the United Nations says.

The UN refugee agency warns in a statement that “rapidly escalating hostilities along Yemen’s western coast have displaced more than 100,000 people inside the country and forced thousands more to seek safety across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in Djibouti.”

2 Hamas commanders killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza — IDF

Two Hamas commanders were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.

One strike in Khan Younis killed Rafat Abu Zamar, a company commander in Hamas’s operations division, according to the military.

The IDF says Abu Zamar led training for terrorists ahead of the October 7, 2023, onslaught, and recently was involved in training operatives and developing Hamas’s capabilities.

A separate strike in Gaza City on Monday killed Muhammad Khader Fahmi Aghour, identified by the IDF as a member of Hamas involved in the production of weapons.

The military says the strikes on Abu Zamar and Aghour were carried out after both were involved in advancing attacks and restoring Hamas capabilities “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.”

Israel’s ambassador to Thailand plays down anti-Israeli protests

Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Alona Fisher-Kamm gestures during an interview with AFP at the Embassy of Israel in Bangkok on September 15, 2026. (ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP)

Thailand has long been welcoming to Israelis in a way some other countries have not — and Israel’s ambassador wants it to stay that way, after several anti-Israeli protests and disputes involving tourists.

“We have to work together to make sure that the conflict in the Middle East is not imported here to Thailand,” Ambassador Alona Fisher-Kamm tells AFP in an interview.

“It’s still very hard for me to use the word antisemitic here in Thailand,” she says at the embassy in Bangkok.

“It’s really, really far from their mentality, from their tolerance, from what they think.”

On several occasions in recent weeks, protesters have gathered outside the embassy to voice their displeasure with Israelis.

During a rally last week led by Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the ultra-royalist “Yellow Shirt” movement, some demonstrators brandished signs reading “Jews Out” or “You Jewish folks don’t understand Thai culture, so get out.”

Protests also took place on the tourist island of Phuket, where a dinner organized to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, was canceled at the last minute due to fears of violence.

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, a special envoy on antisemitism for the US State Department, said on X he was “deeply concerned by rising antisemitic rhetoric in Thailand.”

The protesters have been primarily focused on alleged instances of rude or inconsiderate behavior by Israeli tourists, who are accused of failing to respect local customs.

“I believe that there is a kind of culture gap between Israelis and Thais,” acknowledges Fisher-Kamm, noting some “cases of disrespect” and “misbehavior.”

The ambassador plays down the incidents, arguing there is a “phenomenon to amplify or to take these incidents out of proportion.”

“There is a kind of campaign in the social media that is trying to separate between Israelis and Thais,” she adds.

Nonetheless, Fisher-Kamm met last week with Thailand’s foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, to discuss the situation and, as she puts it, “to see what can be done to minimize this.”

“It’s a beautiful country. The people are tolerant, they are nice, they are smart, they are welcoming,” says Fisher-Kamm. “It’s not a secret that Europe might not be as appealing as it was for Israeli tourists these days. They are trying to be as far as possible from the conflict.”

Cops searching for East Jerusalem woman missing for days; case under gag order

Police are scanning the Mevasseret Zion area for a woman from East Jerusalem who has been missing for several days.

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court has placed further details of the investigation under a gag order.

The woman’s disappearance is thought to be of a criminal nature. A police source cited by the Ynet news site says the woman’s life is in “immediate danger.”

Turkey pro-Kurd party slams LGBTQ crackdown

A protester holds a transgender flag during a demonstration against the arrests of LGBTQ activists in Izmir, on September 14, 2026. (Murat Kocabas/AFP)

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party denounces the authorities’ crackdown on LGBTQ people, saying “repression” undermines the peace process it is mediating between Ankara and PKK militants.

“The language of peace cannot go hand in hand with repression,” the party says on X.

“Pursuing a peace process and building a democratic society while speaking of peace on the one hand and restricting democratic space on the other will neither be convincing nor inspire confidence.”

Turkish police arrested dozens of people on Sunday in gay bars and at the homes of LGBTQ activists on charges including “obscenity,” “assisting prostitution” and having “financial links abroad.”

Authorities have blocked social media accounts belonging to human rights defenders and media outlets as part of operations dubbed “My Family Is Safe.”

Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek has vowed to continue the campaign, brushing off concerns voiced by the European Union.

The DEM is acting as an intermediary between the Turkish government and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, following the Kurdish force’s disbandment. DEM is regularly accused by other opposition parties of sparing the government criticism so as not to jeopardize the peace process aimed at ending its decades-long separatist campaign.

Same-sex relations is not a criminal offense in Turkey, but homophobia is prevalent, including at the highest levels of the state.

Former hostage Liri Albag assails ‘disgusting’ Gaza film ‘NAZA’, says filmmakers ‘sold out own people’

Freed former hostage Liri Albag speaks during a rally calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, June 28, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Former hostage Liri Albag calls for the creators of a film accusing the army of callous mass civilian killings in Gaza to be booted from the country.

Israelis Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are behind the film “NAZA,” which won a special jury prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Anonymous testimony by IDF soldiers in the film alleges “mass killing on an industrial scale” in Gaza, claiming Israel used AI-assisted systems to sanction mass civilian deaths as collateral damage for hitting military targets. Israel rejects the premise of the film, and says it has gone to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties.

“On October 7, if you’d been in the Gaza envelope, none of the terrorists would have stopped to say, ‘Hey, leave him alone, that one’s okay — don’t hurt him,'” Albag writes in an Instagram post, alongside a photo of Abraham.

“Or perhaps you would have simply joined the ‘struggle for the liberation of Palestine’ and harmed your own people?” Albag writes. “I initially planned to write “harmed your own blood,” but then I remembered we really don’t share the same blood, and thank goodness for that!!!!!!!!!!”

She goes on: “Disgusting. You sold out your own people for people who wish for your death. And for that, there is no forgiveness.”

Adds Albag: “How the hell do people like this have citizenship here?!?!?! Kick them right out of our country.”

Saudi civil defense issues brief alerts over attack threats in Mecca, Jeddah, Taif

Saudi Arabia issues brief alerts over possible attacks in the holy city of Mecca and in the Jeddah and Taif governorates, after the kingdom was repeatedly targeted by the Iran-backed Houthis in recent days.

The alerts, including the first one issued in Mecca since the Middle East war began, are quickly lifted, according to the Saudi civil defense. They come a day after a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks launched from Yemen, which injured 13 people in the kingdom’s south.

Kremlin says it welcomes Trump’s idea of energy truce with Ukraine

The Kremlin says it welcomes a US proposal for a Russia-Ukraine moratorium on attacking each other’s energy infrastructure, while adding that “illegal” sanctions on Russian energy supplies should be lifted.

US President Donald Trump said yesterday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed not to hit each other’s energy targets.

UN rights chief: Finding of remains of hundreds killed in Gaza strikes raises concerns of war crimes

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks to the media during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The recovery of hundreds of bodies from the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza during the war that began nearly three years ago has raised fresh concerns about possible war crimes, the UN human rights chief says.

Volker Turk says the remains of what appear to be entire families are being unearthed from sites destroyed during Israeli strikes, adding that many victims were women and children.

“It is heartbreaking that the loved ones of those missing for so long are only now having their worst fears confirmed,” he says in a statement.

He says the discoveries revive concerns raised in a 2024 UN report that found Israeli strikes on residential buildings and other civilian sites during the early weeks of the war may have violated international humanitarian law.

The Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry do not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations that it deliberately targets civilians and says it acted in accordance with international law while fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Man who murdered Arab teen in 2023 roadside altercation sentenced to 22 years

Undated photo of Diar Umari. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Dennis Mokin, who killed 19-year-old Diar Umari in a May 2023 road rage incident, is sentenced to 22 years in prison.

The Nazareth District Court also orders Mokin to pay Umari’s family NIS 258,000 ($84,500) in damages.

Mokin, a resident of the northern Jewish community of Gan Ner, fatally shot Umari, of the neighboring Arab community of Sandala, during a roadside argument in the area on May 6, 2023, and continued shooting at Umari even as the teenager tried to get back to his car.

Umari collapsed in a pool of blood and died as Mokin, who was driving drunk, left the scene, and later returned with his sister, whom he asked to lie to police and say that she had been the one driving.

The shooting, which was caught on camera, sparked outrage in Arab society.

In a two-to-one ruling in December, the judges in the case convicted Mokin of murder with depraved indifference rather than intent, because he fired the fatal shot when Umari was trying to pry away his gun.

Umari’s parents slammed the ruling at the time, saying their son was killed intentionally.

Umari’s father Ahmed tells the Arab48 news site after the sentencing that the punishment, given the “murderous settler criminal, who hates our Arab people,” will not “quench our thirst, nor the thirst of our people, family and countrymen, for retribution.”

Gan Ner is not a settlement and is located in Israel proper.

“Our wound will keep bleeding forever,” Ahmed says.

Prominent Greek neo-Nazi exits prison, vows to return to politics

File: Ilias Kasidiaris, a former lawmaker with Golden Dawn looks on during the Golden Dawn trial in Athens on October 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

The former spokesman of Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, Ilias Kasidiaris, was released from prison today and vows a return to politics.

Kasidiaris, 45, was handed a 13-year sentence as a leading member of the violent outfit that for years carried out beatings of migrants and political opponents, and the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas.

Dozens of supporters, several holding Greek flags, wait for him outside prison.

“Ilias we are with you,” many chant.

His release comes during a rise of the far right in several European countries, including Germany, where the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party recently won a regional election, a first since World War II.

Formerly a Golden Dawn MP from 2012 to 2019, Kasidiaris was jailed for six years and worked off the rest of his sentence while behind bars.

He previously spent a year in pre-trial detention in 2014 before his incarceration in 2020.

Even during his incarceration, the former food chemist never ceased his political activity on social media, particularly on his YouTube channel, which has 162,000 subscribers.

In July he drew the attention of Elon Musk, whom he has praised as “the most eminent personality in the world.” The multibillionaire, who backs far-right groups in Europe including AfD in Germany, said on X on July 17 that Kasidiaris’s continued incarceration was “messed up.”

Before his imprisonment in October 2020, the former Golden Dawn spokesman had launched a new political party, the Hellenes, and tried from his cell to run as a candidate in the 2023 legislative elections. But the Greek Supreme Court banned his party from the ballot.

A former drill instructor of Golden Dawn members, Kasidiaris has been pictured with a swastika tattoo on his left arm and is known for fits of violence. During a television talk show in 2012, he slapped a communist MP and threw a glass of water in the face of a left-wing party lawmaker. He has also spat at and struck camera crews.

Legal experts have noted that Kasidiaris is barred from running for office until 2033, when his prison term was to nominally end.

UN says Ebola epidemic still massive, not yet peaked

UN officials say that efforts to curb Ebola in eastern Congo are beginning to show results but stress that the epidemic remains “massive” and will take months to bring under control.

“It remains a deadly and a massive epidemic. There are some areas of progress, but nonetheless, in other areas, we continue to see growth in cases,” Julien Harneis, UN special Ebola coordinator, tells a Geneva press briefing.

Asked about reports that the epidemic has reached a turning point, the World Health Organization’s Olivier le Polain says: “It’s too early to confidently say we have passed a peak.”

IDF says Palestinian shot dead near Ramallah tried to grab soldier’s weapon

The IDF responds to Palestinian reports that Ziad Jaber, 54, was shot dead by Israeli troops in al-Bireh near Ramallah this morning, telling The Times of Israel that during operational activity, the man “attempted to grab the weapon of one of the soldiers” and was shot.

China urges US to ‘stop preparing for war in outer space’

China urges the United States to “stop preparing for war” in space, after the US Space Force confirmed it had deployed weapons into orbit for the first time.

“We urge the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun tells a news briefing, warning against an “arms race” in space.

Russia attacked port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, governor says

Russia attacked port infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Black Sea region of Odesa overnight, the regional governor says.

Residential buildings, logistics facilities and transport infrastructure came under attack, Oleh Kiper says.

Reports: Palestinian man shot dead by IDF near Ramallah

The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry says that Ziad Jaber, 54, was shot dead by IDF troops in al-Bireh, near Ramallah.

Further details of the incident are unclear. The IDF has yet to respond.

أعلنت وزارة الصحة، يوم الثلاثاء، استشهاد المواطن زياد محمد جابر (54 عامًا)، برصاص قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي في أم الشرايط بمدينة البيرة.

????أفادت الوزارة بأن جابر استشهد متأثرًا بإصابته برصاص جيش الاحتلال، خلال اقتحام القوات أم الشرايط. pic.twitter.com/s5q6vuJTew

— Ultra Palestine – الترا فلسطين (@palestineultra) September 15, 2026

‘The Pitt’s’ Noah Wyle repeats as best actor in a drama at Emmy Awards

Noah Wyle poses in the press room with the awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for “The Pitt” and outstanding drama series for “The Pitt” during the 78th Emmy Awards on September 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

A “Widow’s Bay” wave slammed into the Emmy Awards on Monday night, as the Apple TV show set a single-season record for a comedy with 14 wins, including best comedy series and best actor for star Matthew Rhys, who personally took home three trophies.

“The Pitt” won best drama series for the second straight year, and Jewish star Noah Wyle repeated as best actor in a drama, but the HBO Max emergency room drama won no other Emmys and underperformed its expectations.

Wyle won for playing Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, a role that brought him a major career revival after starring in “ER” in the 1990s.

“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and this is the only club I’ve ever wanted to join,” Wyle said in his acceptance.

Wyle said backstage that they’d all be back at work in the morning, and they’re already midway through this season.

Saudi Arabia says danger has passed after apparent Houthi attacks trigger alerts in 6 cities

The Saudi Arabian Civil Defense sends an all-clear after issuing alerts for potential danger in six cities, including Yanbu, the kingdom’s main Red Sea oil port, where millions of barrels a day are loaded.

Saudi Civil Defense says the danger had passed in Jeddah, Abha, Jazan, AlUla and Taif after the areas received emergency alerts amid an uptick in attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.

The Houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi cities and energy infrastructure while advancing along Yemen’s Red Sea coast towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route.

Hormuz traffic dwindles after Middle East attacks intensify, shipping data shows

Shipping traffic at the Strait of Hormuz dwindled further at the start of this week after attacks intensified in the Middle East, shipping data shows.

Commodity vessel transits at Hormuz totalled four on Monday, down from ten during the previous day, preliminary data from Kpler shows.

Saudi-led coalition says 13 civilians injured in Houthi attacks on three Saudi cities

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says that 13 civilians were injured in attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis on the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif on Monday.

Robert Kraft takes credit for helping pressure Ed Sheeran to drop Macklemore from his tour

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft arrives before an NFL football owners meeting on August 26, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Robert Kraft, the Jewish and pro-Israel billionaire, takes credit Monday for helping to pressure Ed Sheeran to drop pro-Palestinian rapper Macklemore from his tour.

Kraft, who owns one of the stadiums where Macklemore was scheduled to perform, confirmed the rapper’s own account of the businessman’s involvement in a statement shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

“Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,” Kraft says.

His statement continued, “Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”

The controversy stemmed from a recent show at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, where Macklemore upset some Jewish and pro-Israel groups by accusing Israel of genocide and saying “Free Palestine” onstage while showing images of the war in Gaza.

Patriots owner Bob Kraft has released a statement addressing his decision to block Macklemore from performing with Ed Sheeran at Gillette Stadium, a move that ultimately led Sheeran to drop Macklemore from his tour. pic.twitter.com/ubNQ6Ovyhe

— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) September 14, 2026

McConnell returns to US Senate for first time since his June hospitalization

US Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to reporters at the US Capitol, September 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returns to the Senate to vote on Monday for the first time in three months, noticeably more frail after he was hospitalized for a June fall in his home.

McConnell’s lengthy absence from the Senate generated a flood of criticism and online speculation, as he initially remained quiet for weeks about his condition. The 84-year-old senator eventually disclosed that he had been “briefly unconscious” due to the fall and had also been treated for mild pneumonia in the hospital.

He briefly addresses reporters from a wheelchair outside the Senate chamber ahead of the vote, smiling but speaking slowly and with some difficulty. McConnell jokes that he wasn’t sure how many reporters would be there after dodging so many questions during his almost two decades as leader.

He says he was back in the Senate to work on a pending farm bill and because he has an ongoing interest in NATO and “backing up our good friends who are totally in the fight against the Russians.”

Reporters and photographers were told by Senate staff not to take video of his remarks in the second-floor hallway, even though video is often permitted in that area. Still images were allowed.

In a statement issued before his remarks, McConnell said that “my recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier.”

“I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our conference needs me.”

Trump nominates GOP lawmaker as ambassador to Saudi Arabia

US Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, arrives at a campaign event, February 16, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

US President Donald Trump has nominated Texas Republican Representative Wesley Hunt to be ambassador to Saudi Arabia, which would fill a position vacant since Trump began his second term in January 2025.

Hunt, a US Army veteran once deployed to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, is not running for re-election to the House, after making an unsuccessful bid for the US Senate.

If his nomination is approved by the US Senate, Hunt would go to Riyadh at a time when months of war on Iran have raised fears of wider conflict and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched attacks on Saudi Arabia.

US judge blocks Trump limits on duration of visas for foreign students, journalists

A federal judge has blocked US President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing a new rule that would limit how long foreign students and journalists can remain in the US without applying for extensions.

US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston rules in favor of a coalition of unions and advocacy groups just a day before the US Department of Homeland Security’s rule was set to take effect.

Trump’s son confirms Russian businessman paid for post-wedding festivities

A Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin paid for celebrations after the wedding of President Donald Trump’s eldest son and his new bride, the couple confirms.

Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Trump say in a jointly signed post on Bettina’s Instagram account that their “dear friend” Umar Kremlev “very generously hosted two incredible nights” of festivities in the Bahamas in May.

The confirmation came after the ProPublica investigative website reported that Kremlev footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars for the parties.

“It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” says the post by Bettina and Don Jr.

President Trump did not attend the wedding or the festivities, saying he had to stay in Washington during talks on the Iran war.

Kremlev is head of the International Boxing Association (IBA), with which the International Olympic Committee severed links after repeated warnings over financial governance and ethical concerns.

Bettina Trump defends letting Putin-linked Russian oligarch pay for Don Jr. wedding celebrations: 'Fortunate to have wonderful friends' https://t.co/MhTBbrdVhu pic.twitter.com/44KwD7iqpy

— New York Post (@nypost) September 14, 2026

Einav Zangauker says she felt ‘betrayed’ by Netanyahu, who did PR ‘on our backs’

Einav Zangauker speaks at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on July 2, 2026, during a rally marking 1,000 days since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, when her son Matan was abducted. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Einav Zangauker, mother of former hostage Matan Zangauker and one of the most outspoken advocates for the captives’ release from Gaza, says in an interview with Channel 13 that she felt “betrayed” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following their first meeting.

Her son, Matan, was taken captive in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught. Before the massacre, she tells the network, she “was a prisoner to an extreme right-wing ideology.”

She says that at first, the IDF could not give her accurate information regarding Matan’s whereabouts and estimated that there was a 60 percent chance he had been killed.

She recalls being disillusioned with Netanyahu and his wife Sara when they met with families of hostages. She says that Sara Netanyahu came to the meeting with her stylist.

“The prime minister focused, for the whole meeting, on talking about how great he was, how great of a fighter he was,” she says. “He spoke of his brother Yoni [who was killed in the 1976 raid on Entebbe] and his heroism.”

"עשה יח"צ על גבנו, הרגשתי נבגדת": עינב צנגאוקר על היחסים עם נתניהו, שיתוף הפעולה עם גופי המודיעין – והשריון שבוטלhttps://t.co/Ff57iXZ1LW@shamambo pic.twitter.com/V3y78Nv4JK

— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) September 14, 2026

“I saw the disrespect of the prime minister and his wife. This crazy PR stunt that was being done on the backs of the [hostage] families. It wasn’t easy to realize that [this was] the person I believed in and thought of as ‘Mr. Security.’ I felt betrayed.”

She adds that at one point, the Shin Bet recorded a message from her in Arabic, in which she was to speak directly to Matan’s captors.

He was released in October, one of the last 20 living hostages to go free.

This year, Zangauker had expected to be given a reserved spot on the slate of the left-wing Democrats party, but chair Yair Golan announced that he would forgo his ability to choose candidates for the slate, leaving Zangauker off the list. She says it was his decision and that she was “obviously disappointed.”

“I understood during my and the families’ entire struggle that only elected officials change policy,” she says. “They make the decisions. They determine the policy. Only entering politics can bring change.”

‘NAZA’ co-director accuses Israeli media of ignoring Gaza civilian casualties over 3 years of war

Yuval Abraham (left), in an interview on Channel 13 with presenter Raviv Drucker (right), September 14, 2026. (Screenshot)

Yuval Abraham, the Israeli co-director of the documentary ‘NAZA,’ which alleges that Israel used AI-powered strikes to kill civilians in Gaza, defends the film’s claims and its framing in an interview on Israeli Channel 13.

He also says that he is working to screen the film in Israel and that he hopes to return there.

In the interview, which frequently turns tense, journalist Raviv Drucker repeatedly casts doubt on how Abraham and co-director Rachel Szor could have verified the film’s allegations, made by 24 anonymous IDF Intelligence Corps soldiers.

Drucker is one of the few Israelis to have seen the film in its entirety. The IDF has denied claims contained in the film’s promotional materials, and has requested a screening, but its leaders have not seen the film.

Drucker casts doubt on allegations including IDF approvals of strikes killing hundreds of civilians, or that the IDF killed hundreds of noncombatants who did not evacuate their neighborhoods, even in the absence of a Hamas target. He says that on multiple occasions, when he would report on soldiers’ testimonies, he found himself unable to verify them or discovered they were inaccurate.

Abraham says the allegations were verified, noting that he produced the film in partnership with the British publication, “The Guardian,” and that the film’s creators had to take steps to protect the identities of the soldiers.

“This is a ‘Guardian’ film, made in cooperation with a leading publication, with a staff of editors who had access to the raw materials,” Abraham says. “The identities of the people were verified, the cases they discussed were verified.”

Asked why the film does not spend more time on the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that launched the war, or the mistreatment of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, Abraham responds that it did include those topics, and repeatedly challenges Drucker to do more investigative journalism about Gaza.

“Why didn’t you broadcast?” he asks Drucker. “Three years, in the [Israeli TV news] investigative programs, there wasn’t even one item, if I’m not mistaken, that dealt with the rules of engagement in Gaza, that dealt with the collateral damage policy, that researched in-depth the damage to innocent Palestinians’ lives in the Strip.”

He continues, “You say, ‘It wasn’t complex enough. Okay. So why didn’t you broadcast something complex yourself?”

Asked whether he hopes to screen the movie in Israel, Abraham says, “That’s the goal. We really want to. We’ll do everything possible so that it’s broadcast as widely as possible in Israel.”

Abraham and Szor now face threats of legal action in Israel, including a threat to have their citizenship revoked, and condemnation across the political spectrum. But Abraham says he still considers Israel his home.

“Israel is my home, it’s the place where I want to live, the place that’s so important to me,” he says. “So of course I’m scared that I won’t be able to return. Like, what will I do here, abroad?”