Two Maldivian Flydubai pilots have reportedly been arrested in the UAE as investigators examine the foiled attack on an Israel-bound flight. Adhadhu reported that their families were informed of the arrests by the Maldivian embassy. Government spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef and a foreign-ministry spokesman disputed the report; the pilots’ alleged involvement has not been independently confirmed.

UAE prosecutors said on October 9 that the Omani co-pilot accused of attacking Flight FZ1073’s captain intended to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport’s passenger terminal, inspired by 9/11. The September 30 flight was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

The injured captain resisted the axe attack. Other pilots aboard, assisted by cabin crew and passengers, subdued the suspect and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors say the suspect claimed he acted alone, but possible accomplices and other connections remain under investigation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare statement of condolence to Saudi Arabia following a devastating Houthi-led attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300 others.

The attack took place Saturday, with a follow-up strike on Sunday that caused a fire at the airport. Airport operations were suspended, and major carriers, including Lufthansa, Emirates, and Air Arabia, canceled flights, while Western embassies issued travel warnings.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia called the attack a “full-fledged war crime” and vowed retaliation. With Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirming that American citizens were killed in the attack, President Donald Trump said he would consider bolstering the Saudi response with U.S. strikes on the Houthis.

In addition, the Houthis struck King Khalid International Airport Wednesday, killing a Sudanese national. 

The Israeli premier said he strongly condemned the attack while offering his condolences to the people of Saudi Arabia.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the horrific terrorist attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which claimed the lives of 12 innocent people and injured hundreds more,” Netanyahu posted on X.

“On behalf of the people of Israel, I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those murdered and our wishes for a full recovery to the injured,” he continued.

“Terrorism targets innocent people and seeks to spread fear and instability. It must be confronted with resolve,” he declared.

“Israel looks forward to a strong Middle East — one that stands united against threats, protects its people, and builds a future of security, cooperation, and prosperity for all the peoples of our region,” he concluded.

U.S. antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun said he honored the hero plumber of the dramatic rescue of flydubai Flight FZ1073 from an imminent crash.

The incident unfolded Sept. 30 when a fight broke out in the cockpit of flydubai Flight 1073, which was carrying about 180 Israeli passengers. The alleged hijacker, Hamam al-Hammami, who was a co-pilot, tried to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX, managing to push the aircraft into a nosedive of 14,000 feet in just one minute. Passengers rushed the cockpit, which had been opened by Indian pilot Smit Machchhar just before he lost consciousness, and subdued the potential hijacker. Two pilots who had been on the flight took control and diverted the plane to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where Machchhar and Hammami were taken to a hospital for treatment. Video footage shows that a passenger was wounded and bleeding as well.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Hammami intended to kill the captain and take control of the flight, planning to crash into Ben-Gurion International airport.

A flydubai airplane lands at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport Nov. 26, 2020. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

Yaniv Hayoun was one of the first people to rush the cockpit. Seeing the co-pilot, Hammami, attacking the captain, the 50-year-old plumber put him in a chokehold and dragged him away. Noticing the captain lying on the floor, he raced to the controls and pulled the plane out of its nosedive seconds before it would have crashed into the desert.

Hayoun, who had never flown a plane before, said he knew what to do because he had watched the aviation documentary series Mayday (Air Crash Investigation).

Kaploun awarded the plumber a State Department prayer book, kippah, and a coin commemorating 250 years of American independence.

“Yaniv is a real-life hero,” Kaploun posted on X.

“After saving countless lives aboard the flydubai flight, Yaniv told me that it was God who gave him the strength. He said he will always pray that good triumphs over evil,” he wrote.

When he raised a triumphant fist in the air, flydubai passenger Asaf Rajuan didn’t realize his pose mimicked President Donald Trump’s after he was shot and a bullet grazed his ear during an assassination attempt in July 2024. Both men struck a pose lifting their right fists in the air with blood dripping down their faces, looking uncannily alike.

The photo went viral, not least because of its coincidental but remarkable resemblance to the iconic Trump photo.

Trump’s photo was taken by Evan Vucci, a photographer for the Associated Press, on July 13, 2024, while the then-presidential candidate spoke at a campaign stop. After a bullet grazed his ear and just before he was swarmed by Secret Service agents, Trump pumped a fist in the air and shouted, “Fight!” The iconic image became an internet phenomenon, besides dominating mainstream media as it became the face of Trump’s campaign for president.

An early post of the photo by Elon Musk garnered 176 million views and 3 million likes.

View from the flydubai airplane approaching Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. (Credit: Uri Pintov)

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post Sunday about the photo, Rajuan laughed about it, saying, “I didn’t plan it.” Addressing the resemblance between the two photos on Channel 12, he said that the gesture was spontaneous and that he found the incident humorous.

Rajuan said that the photo was taken shortly after the co-pilot had been restrained, and that he hadn’t even noticed he was bleeding.

“People told me to touch my face. I didn’t even understand what they were talking about,” he told the Post.

The incident unfolded Sept. 30 when a fight broke out in the cockpit of flydubai Flight 1073, which was carrying about 180 Israeli passengers. The alleged hijacker, Hamam al-Hammami, who was a co-pilot, tried to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX, managing to push the aircraft into a nosedive of 14,000 feet in just one minute. Passengers rushed the cockpit, which had been opened by Indian pilot Smit Machchhar just before he lost consciousness, and subdued the potential hijacker. Two pilots who had been on the flight took control and diverted the plane to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where Machchhar and Hammami were taken to a hospital for treatment. Video footage shows that a passenger was wounded and bleeding as well.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Hammami intended to kill the captain and take control of the flight, planning to crash into Ben-Gurion International airport.

Israel’s ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, slammed the Canadian government Saturday night for its recognition of a Palestinian state a year ago, after the conditions it had laid out for the Palestinian Authority never materialized.

The latest in a string of “broken promises” was last week’s announcement that the PA had decided to postpone elections again, the first that would have been held in 20 years. The flimsy excuse given was that Trump’s Gaza peace plan had not effected the changes in Gaza that the PA had hoped to see by now, though the connection between that and the ability to hold elections was not explained.

“One year ago Canada recognised Palestinian statehood in exchange for Mahmoud Abbas’s ‘commitments’ — a list of 30-years long broken promises,” Moed wrote on X.

President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas. (Credit: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Now Abbas postponed elections to September 2027… Add that to the continuing Pay4Slay program for terrorists, and many other undelivered reforms,” he added.

“What more is needed to recognise and admit that Canada’s irreversible move was in vain?” he concluded.

As for the move being irreversible, Moed later conceded that pressure indeed should be applied to Canada to reverse the decision.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had announced in February that direct elections for the Palestinian National Council would be held on Nov. 1 and would be open to all Arabs from Gaza, Judea and Samaria, as well as those who now live elsewhere around the world.

The 90-year-old is in the 21st year of the four-year term he was elected to in 2005, yet he has called this year, 2026, “the year of Palestinian democracy.” He has not called for presidential elections, however.

This would not be the first time Abbas has called for elections, but in the past they did not materialize. For this reason, skepticism that elections will finally take place after the latest delay runs high.

Israeli judoka Raz Hershko won the bronze medal in the open-weight category (over 78 kg) at the Judo World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday.

Hershko began her campaign with smashing victories, winning an ippon victory (the highest score in judo, which immediately and decisively ends the bout) over Ling Fang Chang from Taiwan, then won a match against Estonia’s Emma-Melis Aktas in the round of 16, advancing to the final four, where she defeated Brazil’s Beatriz Souza. After a good run with a more-than respectable showing, she lost to South Korea’s Lee Hyeon-ji in the semifinals, dropping into the third-place match.

The judo athlete won the bronze medal by defeating Helena Vuković of Croatia with an ippon in golden score, which in judo means there is no time limit; however, Hershko bagged the victory in just four minutes.

Israeli officials congratulated Hershko.

“Congratulations to Raz Hershko on winning the bronze medal at the World Judo Championships!” Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon posted on X. “Raz continues to prove time and again that she is one of Israel’s greatest athletes and brings us honor and pride in the world.”

“Proud of you!” he added.

Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar posted, “Israeli Pride! Congratulations to Raz Hershko on winning the bronze medal at the Judo World Championships! You continue to prove that you’re one of the best in the world and to bring great honor to the State of Israel. Proud of you!”

 At the European Judo Championships in April, Hershko took home the gold, winning her second gold medal at the European Judo Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, and winning a medal for the fifth time overall.

A passenger on flydubai Flight 1073, the flight that was nearly hijacked and was diverted just before hitting the ground by Israeli passengers before being taken over by pilots who had been on the flight, said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that he still had questions.

Asaf Rajuan, who had been returning from a family vacation in Thailand, said he saw a woman run down the aisle, where he was seated in 7D, shouting that someone had a knife, then saw his family flung into the air. Thinking they were about to die, he raced toward the front of the aircraft, where he described the co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, emerging from the cockpit with a small head wound and covered in blood, some of which was not his own.

In allegations that remain unsubstantiated, Rajuan accused two of the flight attendants of aiding the hijacker. He said that one of them approached Hammami after he had been restrained and began to untie him but stopped after passengers confronted the attendant.

Asaf Rajuan. (Credit: Asaf Rajuan)

Another suspicious act he described was an attendant approaching the captain while he was receiving medical treatment with a tablet. In this case, too, passengers stopped the attendant because it made no sense to administer oral medication to someone in that condition.

Rajuan said that there were repeated confrontations between the attendants and passengers as he described their physical strength and fierce determination to prevent anyone from filming the incident as it unfolded.

Finally, Rajuan had questions about the pilots on board the flight who took control and flew the plane to Saudi Arabia without communicating with the passengers. The former flydubai passenger said that the pilots had to be cajoled and hustled to the cockpit to take over.

“I had to shake them to get them to move to the front and take control of the plane,” Tal, another passenger on the flight, said.

We know the names of the co-pilot, the captain, and all the Israelis involved in the rescue effort, but, as he pointed out, we have not heard from the pilots, nor have they been identified. Rajuan would like to hear their firsthand accounts and the reason for their initial hesitation.

Rajuan said that in such an atmosphere, he and other passengers became paranoid, suspecting everyone and trusting no one, although he admitted to N12 News, “I have no proof.”

“I hope that Israel will investigate it as it should be,” he said. “Because it’s something that needs answers.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has issued a direct warning to senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, declaring that his turn is coming.

“We eliminated the Hamas leaders in Gaza. Al-Hayya’s turn will also come, and he will be sent to join Haniyeh and his companions in hell,” Katz declared.

The Video That Speaks Volumes:

The accompanying footage takes us back to the morning of October 7, 2023, as Hamas terrorists were slaughtering innocent Israelis, kidnapping families, and carrying out atrocities across southern Israel.

In the video, Khalil al-Hayya can be seen standing beside then-Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, pointing toward a television screen as the Hamas leadership celebrates the carnage their organization had orchestrated.

Also present is Haniyeh’s deputy, Saleh al-Arouri, alongside other senior Hamas officials gathered abroad for what became an infamous prayer of thanksgiving.

While Israeli communities were under attack, Hamas leaders watched the unfolding horror on television and celebrated.

Three years later, the fate of those Hamas leaders has changed dramatically.

Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Iran, in July 2024. Al-Arouri was eliminated in Beirut, Lebanon, in January 2024. Other senior Hamas figures have also been killed.

Al-Hayya survived an Israeli assassination attempt targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar and remains a prominent figure in the terrorist organization.

Katz also blasted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accusing him of continuing to support Hamas and allowing the terrorist organization to operate from Turkish territory.

Now, Israel’s defense minister has delivered a chilling message to the Hamas leader seen pointing at the television as the October 7 massacre unfolded.

“Al-Hayya’s Turn Will Also Come.”

The mother of Israeli hostage Avinatan Or said in an interview on Channel 14’s program “The Patriots” Saturday night that his Hamas captor told him that Hamas was too weak to hold on to the hostages any longer.

Ditza Or said that when her son found out that Hamas had agreed to release all the remaining hostages in one fell swoop, he asked his captor why the group would agree to release all of its precious remaining bargaining chips, with which it held such sway over the Israelis.

“Why are you releasing all of us in one day? Everyone you have left, all your diamonds?” his mother quoted him as saying.

The IDF eliminated Hamas terrorist Muhammad Fuad Gasser Sayid, who held Avinatan Or in captivity. Or is pictured here with his captor. (Credit: IDF)

“Hamas is weak. There’s nothing we can do. We have to,” she quoted the terrorist as responding.

According to Ditza, Avinatan recounted the exchange during an interview with “Uvda,” which aired on Oct. 5, but the broadcaster left it out of the final version.

The mother said that when she heard about Avinatan’s exchange with his captor, she felt vindicated.

“We said from the beginning that the only way to bring back the hostages, as many as possible and ultimately all of them, was to defeat Hamas,” she said.

Avinatan Or was released on Oct. 13, 2025, as part of the ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, after 738 days in captivity. The former hostage was arrested alongside his then-girlfriend Noa Argamani on Oct. 7, 2023, at the Nova Music Festival. Their capture became the face of the hostage crisis as wrenching footage of their abduction became one of the most famous videos of that terrible day.

The IDF recently eliminated the terrorist who held him hostage as part of its mission to capture or kill every single terrorist who participated in the Oct. 7 attack or in holding hostages.

Israel Police announced Sunday the arrest of an Arab youth in his 20s on suspicion of intending to carry out an imminent terror attack.

Police said they had received an alert that the young man intended to carry out a terror attack near Maale Adumim in Judea and immediately combed the area, setting up checkpoints in the Jerusalem Envelope and conducting an extensive search. They said they found the suspect near the village of Al Eizariya in Judea with a knife in his possession, along with a glass filled with nails and stuffed with paper, which they believe he meant to ignite before hurling it at civilians.

The police found a glass stuffed with nails and paper in the suspect’s possession. (Credit: Israel Police)

The suspect was arrested and is being held in custody for questioning.

“He was transferred for questioning to the police station in Ma’ale Adumim, after which he was remanded,” police said. “The investigation of the case was assigned to the counterterrorism unit of the Judea and Samaria District’s Central Unit, and it is ongoing.”

Columbia University is facing renewed criticism after a campus dining hall displayed a menu listing “October 7th Blush Sauce” on the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel.

The controversial wording appeared at John Jay Dining Hall on October 7, 2026, exactly three years after Hamas terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages.

The pinkish-red pasta sauce was listed alongside ordinary menu options, but the inclusion of the date sparked outrage, with critics questioning how such a reference could appear on one of the most painful days in Jewish history.

Now Columbia University is explaining what happened.

Vicki Dunn, assistant vice president of Columbia Dining, insisted the wording was an accidental formatting error, not an intentional reference to the massacre.

“This was an unfortunate mistake and was not intended as a reference to the events of October 7,” Dunn said.

She explained that the sauce was already scheduled to be served and that the date was accidentally carried over when staff copied the information into the menu template.

Dunn apologized for the confusion and concern, confirming that the signs were removed once the error was discovered.

Columbia also announced that dining menus would undergo an additional staff review before being posted.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 16: Mahmoud Khalil, former Columbia University graduate student known for his role in the 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian protests, leads a Pro-Palestinian “March for Humanity” against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on August 16, 2025 in New York City. A coalition of over 200 groups and organizations, including Palestinian diaspora groups, pro-Palestinian solidarity groups, labor unions, anti-war groups, and faith groups organized the march.(Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

The controversy comes amid years of turmoil surrounding anti-Israel activism at Columbia.

Since October 7, 2023, the university has witnessed massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations, tent encampments, building occupations, arrests, and repeated allegations of antisemitism.

Among the movement’s most prominent figures was Mahmoud Khalil, a leading negotiator for Columbia’s pro-Palestinian protesters. His detention by U.S. immigration authorities in 2025 triggered a national legal and political controversy.

On the third anniversary of the massacre, pro-Palestinian demonstrators also gathered outside Columbia, where protesters chanted slogans calling for an intifada while Jewish students and families commemorated the victims of Hamas.

For critics, the menu controversy has renewed concerns about the atmosphere Jewish students have faced on campus since October 7.

Columbia insists it was an innocent mistake. But critics are questioning how such an extraordinarily insensitive error could have made it onto a dining hall menu on that particular day.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski refused to say that Israel has a right to exist when pressed repeatedly by his interviewer on a BBC Radio 4 program Saturday.

Polanski, who is Jewish, was barred from Israel after his party adopted a resolution a week ago stating that Zionism is racism while he was away on the campaign trail, though he endorsed the resolution.

The resolution, which passed by 1,022 votes to 813, says that “Zionism should be treated as any other form of racism” and calls for the “establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital,” which opponents see as a call to eradicate the only Jewish state in the world.

Polanski’s interviewer asked, “What we’re talking about is whether a state created by the United Nations in the aftermath of pogroms and Holocaust, the worst act of racism in the history of the planet, has a right to exist or not. This is a question you have always dodged. Will you now say that you think there ought to be a safe home for Jews in a state called Israel, the state created by the U.N.?”

“I believe everyone deserves a safe home, and I’ve not dodged the question in fact,” the Green Party leader said.

The interviewer pressed him again.

“This motion [the Green Party resolution] was co-proposed by a Holocaust survivor,” Polanski said.

The interviewer pressed him a third time.

“I believe Israelis and Palestinians should have equal rights in a democracy,” Polanski said.

The interviewer, refusing to let him get away without answering, pressed him a fourth time.

After three more times, Polanski finally said, still not answering the question, “I don’t believe that any state has the right to oppress or to commit apartheid, and certainly not genocide on another people. Now it may be that in the future that there is a solution, in which case Israelis and Palestinians can have equal rights.”

President Donald Trump delivered an emotional tribute to the 18 American service members killed during the war with Iran, declaring that their sacrifices helped prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Speaking at a rally in Tennessee, Trump recalled meeting the families of fallen troops, describing those encounters as among the most painful responsibilities of being commander in chief.

“We lost 18 great people,” Trump said, calling the fallen Americans heroes and acknowledging that others were wounded during the conflict.

But the president insisted their sacrifice had accomplished something of historic importance.

“Those young people did not die in vain,” Trump declared, arguing that the American military campaign had stopped Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“You just can’t let a total lunatic or a group of lunatics have nuclear weapons,” he warned.

Trump also suggested that Iran could escalate tensions ahead of November’s midterm elections, while emphasizing that the United States retains overwhelming military options.

His remarks come as Washington pursues a possible diplomatic agreement with Tehran while keeping additional military strikes on the table.

The president has pledged to hold off on further attacks until after the November 3 elections, although American military planners have reportedly developed options for renewed operations targeting Iranian military infrastructure.

Vice President JD Vance has meanwhile made clear that any agreement must include meaningful, verifiable restrictions on Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

Despite Trump’s assertion that Iran’s nuclear ambitions have been stopped, negotiations remain unresolved, with Tehran continuing to resist American demands.

The president’s message was unmistakable: The 18 Americans who gave their lives will be remembered as heroes whose sacrifice, he maintains, helped prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

In an interview with Channel 12 Saturday, Boy George, the 1980s pop icon who composed a musical tribute to the victims of the Nova Music Festival massacre called “We Will Dance Again,” said that he has received threats and has been harassed over his upcoming concert in Israel.

“I’ve had threats, and I’ve had people defacing my pictures and concert posters,” George said. “For me personally, none of those people look like peace.”

“Some of these people do not care about anything,” he added. “Their political views are Dolce & Gabbana [fashion brands]. Suddenly, to have a position on something that I know you don’t care about, it makes me so angry.”

The singer also said that supporting Israel doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about Palestinians.

“I never, ever said I didn’t care about Palestine,” he said. “I just know Jewish people and I know they’re good people, and I know they want to live.”

Boy George described his feelings about visiting an exhibition about the Nova Music Festival massacre and how it inspired him to write “We Will Dance Again.”

He also described how he felt watching news about the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre on TV.

“I saw it on TV, and I remember being absolutely physically traumatized by what I was seeing,” the musician said. “Just so shocked. And to see people with children, and women, saying that it didn’t happen is mind-blowing to me.”

“When I wrote ‘We Will Dance Again,’ I felt like the world had really broken my heart again,” he added, saying that the song was “an emotional statement rather than a political one.”

“It just happened. I was just sitting in my flat on Friday night writing away, writing lyrics, and then I played it back … and I got quite tearful,” he said.

In the interview, Boy George discussed the difficulty of finding musicians willing to perform with him in Israel.

“We are trying to find a band right now,” he said. “We’re working on it.”

Boy George is seen attending the “David Bowie: You’re Not Alone” premiere at Lightroom on April 21, 2026, in London. (Credit: Ricky Vigil M./Justin E. Palmer/GC Images)

“I’m trying to find people who are brave enough to come,” he added.

Tickets to his show, which is scheduled for Nov. 4 in Tel Aviv, are sold out, and he is trying to schedule a second show.

Boy George unleashed a wave of anger and backlash when he released his song “We Will Dance Again” in July, which laid out his sentiments in black and white. In the song, he told his anti-Israel listeners that what they call genocide is in fact a war, and he accused his fellow musicians of acting like sheep, following the herd.

“But if you’re ever confused, I stand with the Jews,” he stated unequivocally in the song.

His record label manager, Tony Pontius, quit over the song, saying he wanted “nothing to do with it.” His manager, Paul Kemsley, pulled him from a two-week performance tour of the hit West End revival of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” in which he was supposed to play King Herod. Bandcamp removed his song and his page from its platform.

A giant London mural of Boy George, painted by international muralist Benzi Brofman to honor the 1980s pop icon for his musical tribute to the victims of the Nova Music Festival massacre, was defaced with a red triangle, the symbol Hamas uses to mark its targets.

Iran retains the ability to manufacture missiles and drones despite U.S. and Israeli strikes, Western officials told Bloomberg, with one saying Russia is supplying Tehran with missiles. The assessment points to an enduring threat as Washington weighs renewed military action against the Islamic Republic.

Officials familiar with intelligence assessments said parts of Iran’s weapons-manufacturing infrastructure survived the strikes, allowing the regime to replenish its arsenal. One official described substantial ballistic missile stocks and remaining anti-ship weapons, with the capacity to produce more relatively quickly. Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment on the reported deliveries.

The White House rejected the assessment. Spokesperson Anna Kelly said Operation Epic Fury had destroyed Iran’s ballistic missiles, production facilities and navy, following earlier U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also maintained that the campaign destroyed Iran’s military-industrial capacity.

WASHINGTON DC, USA – JULY 28: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY â” MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘MA’AYAN TOAF / GPO / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) U.S. President Donald Trump meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at White House in Washington DC, United States on July 28, 2026. (Photo by Maâayan Toaf (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Surviving production does not necessarily mean Iran has restored its full prewar manufacturing capacity. The reporting describes facilities that remain usable and an ability to replace weapons, not an undamaged defense industry. Neither a verified current production rate nor the types and quantities of the reported Russian missile deliveries were disclosed.

The Russian claim adds another dimension to an established weapons relationship. In 2024, Britain, France and Germany said they had confirmed Iranian ballistic missile transfers to Russia for its war against Ukraine and announced punitive measures. The latest assessment suggests Moscow is now helping replenish the arsenal of the regime that previously supplied it.

TOPSHOT – In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of an international forum “Interrelation of times and civilizations – basis of peace and development” dedicated to the 300th anniversary of poet Magtymguly Fragi’s birthday in Ashgabat on October 11, 2024. (Photo by Alexander SHCHERBAK / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER SHCHERBAK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon has developed an option for roughly three days of intensive strikes focused on Iranian missile and drone arsenals. Possible additional targets include energy facilities and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command centers. Trump has publicly ruled out attacks before the U.S. midterm elections; the reported preparations are not an announced decision to launch a campaign.

Separately, Maariv reported that Washington had pressed Israel to strike Iran alone, seeking to avoid the political fallout of restarting the war before the American vote. It said Washington later backed away after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned that renewed fighting could force Israel’s election to be postponed. The newspaper did not identify sources for that account, which remains publicly unconfirmed.

SHADMOT MEHOLA, ISRAEL – APRIL 3: An Israeli woman with a child looks at the tail section of a ballistic missile launched from Iran, in the Jewish settlement of Shadmot Mehola in the northern Jordan Valley on April 03, 2026 in Shadmot Mehola, Israel. Iran has continued firing waves of drones and missiles at Israel after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran early on February 28th. (Photo by Erik Marmor/Getty Images)

For Israel, the immediate concern is another missile barrage. Channel 12 reporting cited an Israeli assessment that Tehran would respond to renewed American strikes with massive missile fire at Israel. The unresolved threat is therefore not simply what Iran has left, but how quickly it can replace what it uses.

A shipment of military components bound for Israel has become the target of a coordinated boycott at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, with cargo workers refusing to load it onto an El Al aircraft and three French organizations seeking an emergency court order to stop its export.

Israeli security officials have intervened to try to resolve the dispute and secure the cargo’s transfer. The shipment, intended for Elbit Systems Land, was scheduled to leave Paris on Saturday evening. The refusal followed a decision by a workers’ committee at a cargo-handling company operating at the airport.

The confrontation followed an earlier, disputed attempt to transport the same consignment through Air France. French unions and pro-Palestinian activists claim their intervention prevented it from departing on Thursday, after which the shipment was rebooked onto El Al. Urgence Palestine says it holds documents supporting the original booking and the subsequent arrangements.

An El Al Israel arlines aircraft is seen on the runway prior to arrival of the Israeli Olympic delegation at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, on July 22, 2024, as part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (Photo by Victoria Valdivia / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by VICTORIA VALDIVIA/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Air France denies that account. The airline says it had no reservation for the goods on the indicated date or any other date, and that it does not transport weapons or ammunition to Israel. France’s Foreign Ministry repeated the airline’s denial at its latest relevant press briefing.

According to the organizations challenging the shipment, the cargo consists of planetary gearboxes, mechanical components intended for military vehicles, manufactured by Mijno Precision Gearing in Saint-Etienne. They identify the recipient as Elbit’s land-systems division, rather than an Israeli military unit receiving finished weapons directly.

The campaign has now moved into the courts. NIDAL, ASER and JURDI say they filed an emergency application with the Paris Administrative Court, asking authorities to examine the goods’ classification, determine whether an export license was issued and identify the intended end user. They want customs to hold the shipment during that examination and have pledged to appeal if their request is rejected.

The French government, meanwhile, maintains that its military export controls are strict. Its Foreign Ministry says licenses for Israel are permitted only for exclusively defensive purposes or for components incorporated into equipment subsequently exported to third countries. It says those transfers are subject to oversight and safeguards concerning their intended use. Those are France’s stated rules, not confirmation of this particular shipment’s authorization or destination after assembly.

The dispute follows repeated confrontations over Israeli defense companies’ access to French industry events. At this year’s Eurosatory exhibition, 14 Israeli firms were prevented from presenting their systems on opening day. Israel’s Defense Ministry said booths were boarded up despite the companies complying with restrictions requiring defensive displays. Elbit was among the companies whose exhibits remained accessible.

PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 04: General view of the Eiffel Tower and Jardins du Trocadero on June 04, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

This time, the pressure targets the movement of components into Israel, not simply access to an exhibition. The immediate outcome remains unclear: the available reports do not confirm whether the El Al shipment ultimately departed or whether the court issued an order.

Newly released statistics from the British Home Office show that Jews in England and Wales are nine times more likely to be the victims of hate crimes than Muslims.

The figures show that in the 12 months preceding March 2026, Jews suffered from hate crimes at a rate of 116.5 per 10,000 people, while Muslims suffered from hate crimes at a rate of 13.3 per 10,000 people.

The report also included the following sobering statistics:

• Hate crimes increased by 7 percent in the period covered to 146,825 incidents.
• Religiously motivated hate crimes increased by 13 percent to 11,419 offenses.
• Racially motivated hate crimes increased by 9 percent to 107,926 violations.
• Hate crimes against Muslims increased by 15 percent compared to 10 percent for Jews.
• Hate crimes against Jews reached their highest recorded level.

The Home Office said the sharp rise in hate crimes occurred in October 2025 “following a series of antisemitic crimes after the Heaton Park Synagogue terror attack and have been at an elevated level since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict.”

The Community Security Trust (CST), a British charity that protects Jews from antisemitism by raising government funds and organizing security for Jewish institutions and investigating and reporting hate crime data, said, “Antisemitic hate crime remains at an unacceptably high level.”

Citing “an urgent need to reduce the amount of incitement connected to conflict overseas,” the organization added that “much more needs to be done across society to tackle this problem.”

The United States imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court after Navi Pillay, a former judge who authored a United Nations Commission of Inquiry report accusing Israel of genocide, won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday.

Although the investigators on the Commission of Inquiry are supposed to avoid even the appearance of bias, according to the U.N.’s own standards, Pillay, along with the other two commissioners, boasted a record of antisemitic and anti-Israel activity:

• In November 2017, Pillay accused Israel of apartheid.
• In June 2020, she signed the South African boycott, divestment, and sanctions petition against Israel.
• In May 2021, she described Israel’s actions as inhuman.
• In June 2021, she wrote a letter to Joe Biden demanding a call for an end to Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people.

Already back in 2012, Congress had sent a bipartisan letter to the U.N. requesting that Pillay’s term as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights not be extended.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands. Credit: Shao Haijun/Xinhua via Getty Images)

“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio ​said in a statement.

“That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban ⁠transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate,” he added.

However, the sanctions are structured to allow the court to correct course. To that end, the United States issued several exemptions that would permit some transactions for ICC telecommunications, software, and pension payments, as well as transactions linked to ICC detainees.

“Either the ICC ⁠will end ​its threats, or we will end the ICC. We expect our allies, many of whom are part of ​the ICC and that rely on American servicemembers for their defense, to rein in the court,” Rubio said.

“We have structured this action to provide an opportunity for States Parties to negotiate and present a solution to address our ​concerns. If these efforts do not bear fruit, we will continue to adjust accordingly,” Rubio added.

ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan slammed the sanctions and vowed that the ICC would continue its work regardless.

“The sanctions are intended to undermine the ​rule of law internationally and the work that an independent judicial institution is doing,” Khan said. “Our work will continue across all our situations, our investigations, and our prosecutions.”

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is facing fierce backlash following his announcement that the execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan would be livestreamed for public viewing.

Hasan was court-martialed in 2009 for shooting and killing 13 service members at the military base in Fort Hood, Texas, which resulted in a death sentence. The Pentagon announced that he would face death by firing squad, which Trump had approved earlier this week. It would be the first execution to be carried out by the military since 1961, while last public execution in the United States was in 1936.

American social media platforms will have to deal with the question of livestreaming the execution, since the live broadcasting of executions is strictly prohibited on American platforms.

Former Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. (Credit: Handout/Getty Images)

Republican and Democratic lawmakers and former officeholders united in their vociferous condemnation of returning to America’s past of public executions.

“Hasan should face the death penalty, but making his execution public and streaming it? Beyond disgusting. Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do. It should not be happening in America,” wrote Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on X.

Criticism also emerged from the far-right, with Joe Kent, former head of the National Counterterrorism Center, who resigned in protest over the Iran war, joining the chorus of denunciations.

“There is no doubt Hassan deserves to die. His crimes were demonic and unforgivable—death by firing squad is borderline too merciful. But broadcasting his execution is beneath the dignity & decency of our nation,” posted Kent.

“Americans will use violence if and when justified, but we do not rejoice in it. Kill him swiftly & silently,” he added.

“Streaming his execution is not just a stain on our morality—it also gives the terrorists free propaganda that they will use to radicalize & recruit more terrorists like Hassan,” he declared.

“There is a reason why we treat the meting out of justice with the seriousness it demands,” said Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.). “We are a democratic country and should take the rule of law seriously, not turn it into a spectacle.”

“We can seek justice in this country without glorifying violence and turning an execution into a grotesque public spectacle,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) wrote on X.

“What this criminal did was abhorrent and must be punished—but we as a country cannot condone livestreaming a man’s death for entertainment. We are long past the days of public hangings in the town square. Kids watch what our leaders do and say, is this kind of bloodshed really what we want them seeing?” she added.

“The Pentagon must revoke this decision immediately,” she demanded.

Some Republicans voiced their support for the move, however.

“Excellent. Public execution is what this terrorist deserves,” said Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) on X. “We will be watching.”

The Palestinian Authority decided to postpone legislative elections, the first in 20 years since Hamas seized power in 2006, yet again. The elections were supposed to be held on Nov. 28. Since 2006, Hamas has been ruling in Gaza, while Fatah has been governing in Judea and Samaria.

Citing concerns about the deteriorating political, economic, and security conditions in the territories, Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh explained in a letter dated Oct. 8 to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot that the elections would be postponed until September 2027.

Al Sheikh said that the Palestinian Authority had set the date of the elections with the expectation that President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan would have effected changes, such as curbing settler violence, the deployment of the international security force (ISF) and Palestinian police in Gaza, the demilitarization of the Strip, and the withdrawal of the Israeli military.

“However, these steps, understandings and promises have not materialized. Rather, conditions have worsened throughout the Palestinian territory,” the letter said.

“The assessment concluded that the anticipated political, security and economic conditions, on which the scheduling of the legislative elections for 28 November 2026 was based, have not materialized,” the letter explained.

“Holding them under the current circumstances faces fundamental obstacles affecting their inclusiveness, freedom of participation and the integrity of the electoral process,” it said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had announced in February that direct elections for the Palestinian National Council would be held on Nov. 1 and would be open to all Arabs from Gaza, Judea and Samaria, as well as those who now live elsewhere around the world.

The 90-year-old is in the 21st year of the four-year term he was elected to in 2005, yet he has called this year, 2026, “the year of Palestinian democracy.” He has not called for presidential elections, however.

This would not be the first time Abbas has called for elections, but in the past they did not materialize. For this reason, skepticism that elections will take place runs high.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has unleashed a blistering attack following the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, a former International Criminal Court (ICC) judge who later chaired a controversial UN investigation accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Pillay, an 85-year-old South African jurist and former UN human rights chief, has spent decades in international law, including serving as an ICC judge from 2003 to 2008.

But it was her leadership of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Israel and the Palestinian territories that placed her at the center of a fierce international controversy.

In September 2025, the commission accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, allegations Israel categorically rejected as politically motivated and biased.

Following the Nobel announcement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded with extraordinary language.

“If there were an award for lies, hatred, and blood libels, Navi Pillay wouldn’t just be a contender. She’d be a frontrunner.”

The ministry accused Pillay of relentlessly demonizing Israel and promoting what it called the “genoLIE.”

Then came its most explosive statement:

“Now that the Nobel commission has rewarded the biggest lie of the 21st century, Joseph Goebbels is certainly applauding from hell.”

Goebbels served as Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister and was a central figure in spreading antisemitic propaganda during the Holocaust.

Pillay’s UN commission operated separately from the ICC and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is hearing South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

Israel maintains that its military campaign in Gaza was directed against Hamas following the October 7, 2023 massacre, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

The Nobel Committee has highlighted Pillay’s decades of work in international justice and human rights.

Israel, however, argues that honoring the former ICC judge rewards an investigation it considers deeply prejudiced against the Jewish state.

The controversy has now placed one of the world’s most prestigious peace awards at the center of an international confrontation over accusations of genocide, antisemitism, and the credibility of UN investigations.

British Airways plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv beginning Oct. 25, joining other major carriers that have been gradually restoring service since the disruption to their operations in February due to the Iran war.

For example, Delta and United Airlines resumed operations in early September, with Delta offering one daily flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport and United offering two daily flights from Newark Liberty International Airport, following the resumption of flights by major European airlines just in time for the Jewish holiday season.

While travelers are hoping this means a drop in airfare prices, travel agents are cautioning that price drops will take time and will likely not take effect until after the holiday season.

In an interview at the time with an Israel-based outlet, Mark Feldman, CEO of Jerusalem’s Ziontours, noted the discrepancy in pricing between the two major airlines.

“It is curious that while Delta has aggressively been marketing their return with attractive fares, United has taken the opposite approach,” he said. “They have priced their flights for the remainder of 2026 at very high prices in their economy, Premium Economy and Business classes.”

American Airlines is still holding off on providing service until the spring.

Unlike its previous service of two daily flights between London Heathrow Airport and Ben-Gurion International Airport, British Airways will now offer only one daily flight, but tickets are already available for purchase.

About 1,200 Christian leaders from 123 countries visited Shiloh in Samaria Friday to gather and pray at the site of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), where it reposed for more than three centuries before being moved to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the ninth century BCE.

The group had arrived earlier in the week as part of the Friends of Zion Ambassador Summit for its second annual gathering to commemorate the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and hear firsthand accounts from hostages, survivors, and families of victims.

“God chose Judea and Samaria. This is where it all began,” Mike Evans, the founder of the event, said. “Eighty percent of the stories in the Bible originate in Judea and Samaria. We must secure recognition for Judea and Samaria.”

Miss Universe Israel 2025 Melanie Shiraz, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, and other officials have participated in the event.

Evans said that the purpose of the summit is for Christians to “see Israel for themselves, hear directly from those whose lives were changed forever on October 7,” when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

The main event, which was attended by approximately 2,000 people, was held Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the site of the Nova Festival massacre, where former hostage Noa Argamani and other former hostages received the Hineni award. The event also featured wounded soldiers, victims’ families, Christian and Jewish leaders, and Israeli officials. After the conference, Friends of Zion participants will serve as ambassadors to their communities to fight anti-Israel propaganda.

Israeli Ambassador George Deek, Israel’s special envoy to the Christian world, said the gathering “carries a powerful message: Israel does not stand alone.”

“The bond between Israel and Christians around the world must be built on truth, courage, and a shared determination to confront antisemitism and hatred wherever they appear,” he said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reportedly announced that Nidal Hasan, the Palestinian-American former Army major responsible for the 2009 Fort Hood terrorist massacre, will face a public execution by firing squad on December 3rd.

Even more extraordinary, the execution would reportedly take place at the very location where Hasan carried out his deadly attack.

“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it. That it’s public. Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things!”

“He’s gonna get a firing squad of soldiers. As it should be.”

When Jack Posobiec asked whether Hasan had made any final requests, Hegseth reportedly responded:

“Don’t care. We’ll see him on December 3rd.”

On November 5, 2009, Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire on fellow service members at Fort Hood, murdering 13 people and wounding more than 30 others.

Hasan, an American-born son of Palestinian immigrants, was sentenced to death in 2013 and has spent more than a decade on military death row.

The Israeli heroes who helped prevent an unimaginable catastrophe aboard Flydubai Flight 1073 were honored today by President Isaac Herzog with the President’s Medal for Civilian Bravery.

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President Herzog praised the extraordinary courage of Yaniv Hayun, known as “Yaniv the Plumber,” Dr. Shota Musayev, Tali and Tzvika Manes, Or Pardilov, and Asaf Rejwan, whose quick thinking and fearless actions helped save the 174 souls aboard the aircraft.

Yaniv Hayun

“We couldn’t hold back tears of excitement in the face of the incredible story of heroism aboard Flydubai Flight 1073,” Herzog said, describing the extraordinary courage and resourcefulness that prevented a devastating tragedy.

Dr. Shota Musayev

And Let’s Not Forget One Of The Youngest Heroes Of All: Little Nina Manes!

It was Nina’s trip to the bathroom that led her mother, Tali, to notice something was terribly wrong near the cockpit. Tali raised the alarm, helping set in motion the extraordinary chain of events that would ultimately save so many lives.

Or Pardilov

See Something. Say Something. Sometimes, Even The Smallest Actions Can Save 174 Lives.

Ordinary Israelis. Extraordinary courage. A miracle in the sky that the world will never forget.

Watch The Most Beautiful And Emotional Moments From Today’s Ceremony.

Tali and Tzvika Manes

About 50 police officers were injured and more than 500 protesters were arrested during clashes near Place de la Bastille in Paris Thursday.

The protest, attended by about 25,000 students, follows days of demonstrations and rioting that swept across the country in cities such as Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lyon, Rennes, and Paris, with protesters holding signs that said “The state has killed national education.

At times, the protests turned violent, as protesters lit fires in the streets and police used tear gas, batons, and non-lethal grenades to disperse the crowds, leading to more than 6,000 arrests, as well as injuries among more than 700 police officers.

A 15-year-old boy lost a hand Monday after picking up a grenade that was supposed to be non-lethal.

Students are protesting a long school day that begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Others have cited unsanitary conditions such as rat infestations and leaking pipes.

The protests erupted against the backdrop of weakening growth and burgeoning debt as the government struggles to perform basic tasks such as passing a budget since President Emmanuel Macron and his allies lost their majority in a parliamentary vote about two years ago.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu described the protests as the biggest in decades, telling lawmakers that at least 215 teenagers and 85 school staff have been injured in the riots. He said that this constitutes “the heaviest toll in decades paid by the school system.”

Macron convened an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss the situation.

President Donald Trump awarded the National Medal of Science to Elon Musk, as well as to  Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su at the Institute of Peace in Washington. He also awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, and Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, marking the first time he has awarded these medals as president.

Musk became a trillionaire in June, while the other recipients of the award are billionaires; all but Nadella make up four of the seven wealthiest people in the world. In addition, all have contributed financially to Trump and the Republican Party.

“First, we honor an industrial titan, a brilliant engineer, and one of the greatest technology founders to ever live. His name is Elon Musk. Quite honestly, there is nobody like him,” Trump said at the ceremony. “Few Americans in history have done more to advance America’s national interest and Elon, in one field after another, his genius and determination have made science fiction into reality, and that is so true.”

“Nobody thought it was possible to do the things he’s doing, and in so many different ways, SpaceX saved NASA from relying on foreign nations to send our astronauts into space,” Trump added. “And I want to congratulate SpaceX on the safe return of crew 12 from the International Space Station just a few hours ago. Congratulations! Wow. We wanted to make sure.”

“Could you imagine if things didn’t work out so well, it would be not a very happy moment,” he continued. “I wonder if he’d be here. I think he might not be here, but it always works out well for Elon, right? We’re proud of you. Very proud of you. National treasure under Elon’s leadership, space.”

Despite some rocky moments in their relationship, when Musk criticized Trump for his tax-and-spend bill and for his appearance in the Epstein files, prompting Trump to lash out, the two appeared together at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk following his assassination and seem to have gotten along well since then.

The Houthis struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, killing a Sudanese national, according to the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority. The strike hit an aircraft, which ignited on impact and generated thick plumes of smoke.

The attack on one of the most important airports in Saudi Arabia has caused airlines to cancel flights, while Yemen has imposed a no-fly zone in retaliation for what it says are attacks on its civilians.

A strike on Abha International Airport the previous day killed two people, one from Bangladesh and the other from the Philippines, and injured 28 passengers. The strike on King Khalid International Airport injured 89 people. Authorities said all injured people had been transported to the hospital for treatment.

“The Authority continues — in full coordination and continuous cooperation with the relevant security agencies — to assess the damage and take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of passengers and airport employees and to maintain the highest standards of security and safety at the Kingdom’s airports,” the aviation authority said.

After capturing and then losing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen, the Houthis have successfully launched a series of deadly attacks against Saudi Arabia.

A Russian bomb struck two buses in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk Thursday, killing about 30 civilians and leaving debris and body parts strewn across the area.

As Russians step up their aggression in a series of deadly strikes in broad daylight, Ukrainians must remain on the alert around the clock. Another bomb struck a street in the city, adding 18 people to the death toll and bringing the number of those killed over this past week to 78, including children. A deliberate strike on a civilian bus would be classified as a war crime.

WARNING: GRAPHIC

“Doctors are now fighting to save the lives of people injured in the Russian strike on Kramatorsk. As of now, 30 people have been confirmed killed, and sadly, that number may rise,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X. “The Russian bomb effectively hit two city minibuses. Some of those killed have still not been identified because of the severity of their injuries. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. Another 18 people were injured in the strike. Residential buildings and cars were also damaged.”

“This strike will not go unanswered. Russia is trying to destroy all life in Donbas, and a response from the world is a must. A forceful response — exactly as the Russians deserve for all the deaths they have brought. May all those killed rest in peace,” he concluded.

WARNING: GRAPHIC

Vadym Filashkin, regional governor of Kramatorsk, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians, forcing him to close down public transportation because of “the sharp deterioration of the security situation.”

Ukraine is struggling to defend itself amid a worldwide shortage of defense missiles driven by heavy use of the missiles during the Iran war. Zelensky has pleaded with the international community to send more military aid so Ukraine can deflect Russian ballistic missiles and drones.

Just yesterday, a series of devastating strikes on Kyiv and several regions across Ukraine, including Pryluky, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, and Oleksandriia, left about two dozen people dead, including five children.

Award-winning Dutch Jewish cookbook author and journalist Jigal Krant was kicked and beaten by an explicitly pro-Hamas mob on Oct. 7 until he was bleeding, then hauled away by police for being the aggressor, according to his own account.

While there is no video footage of the assault as of this writing, there is video of the protest at the train station where the incident occurred.

“Just been besieged, kicked, and beaten by a terrorist Hamas mob at Utrecht Centraal. Until I was bleeding. I had verbally expressed my displeasure. The police left the mob alone and forcibly removed me and demanded my details,” he posted on X.

“I HATE THIS COUNTRY. I HATE IT,” he wrote.

In a fuller statement of the account, Krant said that a mob blocked the entrance to Utrecht Central Station, the Netherlands’ largest train station, forcing him and other commuters to walk through the crowd.

“A day full of pent-up tension came to a head,” he said in a statement on X. “The hateful and hurtful slogans, and the signs and banners with blatant lies, became too much for me.” At that point, he tugged on a flag and expressed his feelings about the mob’s position, telling them that Oct. 7 was the wrong time to “spew their hatred.” He insisted that he did not physically attack anyone or damage any flags.

At the same moment, five or six Moroccan youths rushed him and beat him until he bled, leaving him with a swollen leg, some abrasions, and pain in his arm. He then said that police who had observed the incident hauled him away as the perpetrator.

Krant wrote that this incident “strengthens my conviction that there is no longer a future for us Jews in the Netherlands.”

“The institutions are once again happily falling into step with evil, just as they did 80 years ago,” he said. “How could the municipality of Utrecht have given its approval for this on October 7? Why do the police blindly take the side of that rabble? Why are signs saying ‘we support Hamas’ tolerated?”

JBN reached out to Krant, but he did not wish to comment further on this story.

Yesterday, we remembered October 7. We remembered the more than 1,200 lives lost, the families torn apart, and the communities destroyed. We looked back at the horrors of that day and the people whose lives would never be the same. But today, October 8, I want to focus on something else. I want to remember what happened in the days that followed. While families were still searching for loved ones and the country was trying to understand what had happened, people were already stepping up to help. Israelis opened their homes to strangers, restaurants began preparing meals for soldiers, and volunteers collected everything from clothing to medical supplies. Nobody was waiting around to be asked. They saw what needed to be done and did it.

Some of that spirit was already on display during the massacre itself. At the Nova festival, 22-year-old Aner Shapira stood at the entrance of a bomb shelter, throwing seven grenades back outside before the eighth killed him. Because of his courage, others survived. Youssef Ziadna, a Bedouin Arab bus driver, drove into danger and rescued approximately 30 people fleeing the festival. Neither of them knew what the next day would bring. They simply knew that people needed their help. And those were just two stories among countless acts of bravery, many of which we’ll probably never hear about.

In the days after October 7, something incredible happened across Israel. Dr. Nechumi Yaffe, an ultra-Orthodox Israeli woman, helped organize a volunteer initiative that grew to approximately 14,000 people. Religious and secular Jews, who had spent months disagreeing about so much, were now working together to help their fellow Israelis. Near Metula, a farmer was worried about losing his persimmon harvest because he didn’t have enough workers. His daughter reached out for help, and 170 volunteers showed up. In four days, they picked 40 tons of fruit. Across the country, thousands of people did the same. They helped farmers, delivered groceries, packed supplies, and supported families who had lost everything. Hundreds of ZAKA volunteers spent weeks doing the heartbreaking work of recovering victims so that their families could give them a proper burial. These weren’t all people who had planned to become volunteers. They were people who had jobs, families, and their own problems, but decided that helping others was more important.

And it wasn’t just happening in Israel. In Jewish communities around the world, people were organizing fundraisers, collecting donations, packing supplies, and looking for any way they could help. Here in New Jersey, like in so many other places, it felt as though everyone wanted to do something. People who had never met an Israeli soldier were sending packages. Families who had never visited the communities attacked on October 7 were raising money to help them rebuild. For many young Jews, myself included, those days also changed the way we looked at our Jewish identity and our connection to Israel. Three years later, that connection is still there. Families are returning to the communities that were attacked, homes are being rebuilt, and people are doing their best to move forward while remembering those they lost. It reminds me of a quote I love: “We might be the tiniest nation on earth, but we are, without question, the biggest family.”

That’s what I think of when I hear the words October 8th Jew. Not just the people who performed extraordinary rescues or organized thousands of volunteers, but everyone who decided to do something. The teenager packing a care package, the family opening its home, the volunteer spending a day on a farm, or the person checking in on someone who was struggling. Yesterday, we remembered what was taken from us on October 7, and we must never stop remembering. But today, let’s also remember the incredible amount of good that came afterward. The friendships, the kindness, the generosity, and the feeling that no matter where we lived or how different we were, we were all there for one another. October 7 is the story of what was done to us. October 8 is the story of what we chose to do for one another. And I hope that spirit stays with us long after the anniversaries are over.

Just days after the reported Flydubai cockpit attack that nearly ended in catastrophe, another airline pilot is raising serious questions about aviation security.

An EgyptAir pilot identified as Osama Mansour, who uses the Instagram handle @OsaPilot, posted footage of an Israeli El Al aircraft at an airport in Italy. The exact airport has not been confirmed.

But what makes the video particularly disturbing is the audio Mansour reportedly chose.

It features former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat declaring:

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and violence for violence.”

These weren’t just random words.

Sadat delivered that warning on October 16, 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, just ten days after Egypt launched its surprise offensive against Israeli forces in Sinai.

Screenshot

In that speech, Sadat warned that Egypt possessed missiles capable of striking deep inside Israel and was prepared to retaliate militarily.

In other words, the pilot reportedly selected audio from a wartime speech specifically directed at Israel, not simply a generic patriotic message.

And there’s more.

The Arabic caption accompanying the video translates to “A surprise entrance that shakes things up,” alongside an Egyptian flag 🇪🇬, a smiling emoji 😊 and a flexing bicep 💪.

The post reportedly remains publicly visible on his Instagram account.

The timing is particularly unsettling following the reported September 30 Flydubai incident, in which a co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain and attempted to bring down an aircraft carrying Israeli passengers. Israeli passengers reportedly intervened and helped avert catastrophe.

Could this be another warning sign that aviation authorities cannot afford to overlook?

While Mansour’s post does not establish any intention to attack an aircraft, the combination of wartime threats against Israel, footage of an Israeli passenger plane and language suggesting a surprise entrance raises legitimate questions.

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Has EgyptAir reviewed the video? Has the pilot been questioned about his intentions? Are aviation authorities investigating?

After Flydubai, should airlines be taking messages like these more seriously before it’s too late?

Former hostage Noa Argamani visited the site of the Supernova Music Festival massacre Thursday for the first time since Oct. 7, 2023, when she was brutally kidnapped, becoming the face of the plight of the hostages as footage of her harrowing abduction captured people’s hearts.

About 1,000 Christian leaders from the Friends of Zion Ambassador Summit accompanied her and fellow former hostages Romi Gonen and Elkana Bohbot, as well as Hila Abir, whose brother was murdered at the festival. The four received the Hineni award from Mike Evans, founder of Friends of Zion.

“Thank you so much for coming to this place. Thank you for everything you are doing, and for all your love and support,” Argamani told the delegation.

More than 1,000 Christian leaders and influencers from 117 countries arrived in Israel Monday for the second annual Friends of Zion Ambassador Summit to commemorate the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and hear firsthand accounts from hostages, survivors, and families of victims.

Evans said the purpose of the summit is for Christians to “see Israel for themselves, hear directly from those whose lives were changed forever on October 7,” when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. After the conference, Friends of Zion participants will serve as ambassadors to their communities, fighting anti-Israel propaganda.

Argamani posted on X that despite the three years that had passed, the pain of Oct. 7 is always with her.

“But at the same time, the pain is always here. It never really leaves, and sometimes, it only gets stronger,” she wrote.

“This year, when I went to visit the graves of my friends, I felt like it had somehow become even harder,” she said.

Addressing a lost loved one, she wrote that perhaps it’s getting harder because everyone who is alive has moved on, while the dead remain frozen in time.

“Maybe because the hostages are finally home. Maybe because I’m no longer part of that fight. Or maybe because everyone else has already graduated, moved to Tel Aviv, and started their careers. And you remain there, like a memory from another life. A life that was innocent, young, and happy. A group of friends simply enjoying life, dreaming big, with no idea how quickly everything could change,” she wrote.

“And for those of us who have lost someone we love, it isn’t easy to watch the world keep moving when some people’s lives simply stopped,” she added.

Speaking to reporters in Athens Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Iran’s economy is in “total and complete freefall” and that it has “lost complete control of the straits.”

“The Straits of Hormuz are open. There’s almost as much oil flowing out now as there was before this conflict began. So they’ve lost complete control of the straits,” he said, adding that harsh sanctions have achieved their objective of crippling Iran’s economy, bringing the country to “a place few countries in the world have been.”

Because Iran spends all its money on Hamas and Hezbollah, “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, simple, period, end of story,” the secretary of state said.

“And anything they agree to that would be acceptable to the United States has to be something that ensures that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he added.

Shipping data shows that crude oil exports last week were hovering at around pre-war levels, but attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz continue to increase, reaching their highest level last week since the operation against Iran began in February.

Rubio was in Greece for the dedication of the U.S. Embassy in Greece, which was recently renovated, and for talks with the Greek government on increasing intelligence sharing on counterterrorism. Greece has been a key NATO ally of the United States, helping to protect shipping in the Red Sea and allowing the U.S. to maintain military installations to provide security in the Mediterranean Sea.

Diplomats were seen leaving the nearly 200-year-old British consulate in East Jerusalem Thursday, the deadline for their expulsion that had been ordered by Israel in retaliation for Britain’s sanctions on goods and services from Judea and Samaria.

The U.K.’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, quietly visited Israel last week to discuss a solution that would prevent the closure of its consulate, but the U.K. did not publicly disclose the visit. Israel held firm but agreed to allow seven workers to remain in exchange for Britain allowing Israel’s 27 diplomats to remain in Britain. The consulate has been downgraded to the U.K. Mission, and workers removed the previous signage Thursday.

The spat between Jerusalem and London unfolded after Britain announced measures against Judea and Samaria in September to punish Israel for its proposed construction in Section E1 near Maale Adumim in Judea and for its alleged failure to crack down on settler violence.

The day after British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced the United Kingdom’s intent to sanction Judea and Samaria, the U.K., France, and Canada issued a joint statement about the ban, followed by another joint statement on the ban by Canada, France, the U.K., Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, in which they signaled that they had already implemented or were planning to implement measures against the region.

Eight Muslim countries praised the sweeping ban on all goods and services in Judea and Samaria.

Israel retaliated by giving the British government 30 days to close its consulate, ordering British officials at the U.S.-led International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat to cease operations, and canceling the British Support Team that trains Palestinian Authority police in Ramallah.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband. (Credit: Screengrab)

Miliband struck a defiant tone Thursday, stating that “We have been clear that we do not accept that the Government of Israel has the legal right to close the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, which has been there for nearly 200 years.”

“The UK Government reiterates its long-standing view that East Jerusalem is occupied territory,” he said.

“Following discussions with the Government of Israel, our Consulate General building will not be closing, and will be known as the UK Mission, Jerusalem from today,” he continued. “The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational and will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people.”

An Israeli diplomatic source said in a statement to The Daily Mail, “The British consulate is closing. It will no longer have the diplomatic standing of a consulate, nor will it provide consular services. Its operations will be drastically reduced, with diplomatic staff cut from 27 to just seven.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“This decision comes in response to a series of anti-Israel measures taken by the Labour Government, including its recognition of a Palestinian state, renewed funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, sanctions and restrictions on Israeli arms,” the source continued, adding that the “British mission has been operating under Israeli diplomatic privileges and permissions while pursuing policies that Israel considers unilateral, biased and hostile to the state. We are no longer prepared to allow that arrangement to continue.”

Israel’s order to close the East Jerusalem consulate does not affect the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, and Israel encouraged the 30 diplomats it expelled from East Jerusalem to move to the Tel Aviv embassy and continue working from there.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the British government for its hypocrisy in accepting Israeli intelligence that averted the recent foiled terrorist attack on RAF Fairford, which saved an untold number of British lives, while sanctioning Judea and Samaria and engaging in incendiary anti-Israel rhetoric.

“It’s mind-blowing hypocrisy. I don’t know how many lives we have saved giving Britain information about impending attacks,” Netanyahu said.

“They’re appeasing, they’re attacking Israel, [the country] that is fighting the terrorists in the terrorist regime that is attacking them. They appease their enemies, and they attack their protectors, really. That’s what’s happening. But this is a twist of both logic and justice. It doesn’t serve Britain well, it doesn’t serve the world well,” he added.

A pharmacy student from Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina neighborhood has been indicted over allegations that he planned terrorist attacks against Jews using explosive devices and deadly poisons, according to an initial report on the case.

The student had already worked as a pharmacy assistant and frequently consumed content associated with Hamas and ISIS. The allegations describe plans for physical attacks, not simply the viewing of extremist material.

His pharmaceutical background adds a troubling dimension to the alleged poison plot. However, the initial account does not say that he poisoned patients, tampered with medication or used his workplace to obtain dangerous substances. It also does not identify the intended attack locations or establish how close the plans came to execution.

JERUSALEM – DECEMBER 03: The Western Wall stands in afternoon light in the Old City during increased tensions between Palestinians and Israelis on December 03, 2023 in Jerusalem. Gunmen, claimed by Hamas to be members of their group, shot numerous people at a bus stop on Thursday morning on the outskirts of Jerusalem before being shot dead. Israel and Hamas have resumed fighting following a truce that lasted nearly a week. Both sides had agreed on the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The reported consumption of Hamas and ISIS content does not, by itself, establish that either terrorist organization recruited him or directed the alleged plot. Those operational links, along with any alleged accomplices or materials recovered, remain unconfirmed in the information available.

Israeli authorities have previously uncovered alleged ISIS involvement among medical personnel. In a separate case announced in August 2024, the Shin Bet and police said a medical intern at Soroka Medical Center had joined ISIS, pledged allegiance to the organization and intensively consumed its extremist content. Authorities confirmed that an indictment had been filed in that case.

The Beit Hanina report does not identify the defendant, his academic institution or the pharmacy where he worked. For now, the central allegation is a planned terrorist campaign against Jews involving both bombs and lethal poisons; the evidence and precise charges require the full indictment to establish.

Three years to the day after Hamas carried out the October 7 massacre in Israel, federal authorities announced the arrest of an 18-year-old Somali-American accused of plotting a mass-casualty terrorist attack at Minnesota’s Mall of America.

According to U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Dan Rosen, Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud was arrested by the FBI on charges stemming from an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS.

Investigators say Mohamud specifically selected the mall because he believed it was Jewish-owned and allegedly hoped to murder between 30 and 60 innocent shoppers.

The teenager allegedly planned to strike on October 24, targeting a crowded public gathering.

But the FBI was already watching.

On October 6, an undercover agent posing as an ISIS operative allegedly sold Mohamud a disabled AK-47 rifle, ammunition and magazines. Federal agents arrested him immediately afterward.

Authorities say the investigation began nearly two years earlier, when Mohamud was just 16.

The timing of the announcement was particularly chilling: October 7, exactly three years after Hamas terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people in Israel.

From the communities attacked in Israel to a shopping mall in Minnesota, the case highlights the continuing threat of extremist violence and antisemitism.

Mohamud has been charged, not convicted, and the allegations remain to be proven in court.

The massive shopping complex is owned by Triple Five Group, controlled by the Ghermezian family, Jewish entrepreneurs originally from Iran who built one of North America’s largest shopping mall empires. What began as a remarkable immigrant success story allegedly became the very reason an ISIS-inspired teenager wanted to turn the mall into a scene of mass murder.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee has rejected reports that Israelis could lose visa-free access to the United States following the attempted terrorist attack aboard a flydubai flight. His intervention followed warnings that failures to screen foreign aircrew could put Israel’s compliance with American security requirements under scrutiny.

“There is no change to the visa waiver for Israelis flying to the United States,” Huckabee said, according to Channel 14’s reporting. The statement pushes back against suggestions that the travel benefit is in immediate jeopardy, while the aviation-security failures remain the subject of investigations.

An airplane of budget airline flydubai lands at Israel’s Ben Gurion aiport near Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020 on the first scheduled commercial service between the two cities, following the normalisation of ties between the UAE and Israel. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

The concern surfaced after Channel 12 reported that an American delegation examining aviation security in the United Arab Emirates was expected to visit Israel to assess compliance with the Visa Waiver Program. Separately, a source familiar with the matter told Walla, in reporting carried by The Jerusalem Post, that Israel could face scrutiny over whether it properly receives and reviews information about arriving passengers and aircrew. A senior State Department official initially declined to comment on possible future actions. Neither report announced a decision to suspend Israel’s participation.

The controversy stems from flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Omani copilot Hamam al-Hammami is accused of attacking Capt. Smit Machchhar with an emergency ax and attempting to crash the aircraft. Israeli passengers and crew intervened, and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia. The attack turned the question of who checks foreign pilots into an urgent national-security issue.

The reported failures extend beyond one flight. Roughly 1,240 aircrew members from countries described as hostile entered Israel over the previous year. The Wall Street Journal separately reported that al-Hammami had previously been grounded in Oman over extremist behavior, but those warnings were not shared with the broader aviation-security system.

Israeli authorities also face questions about earlier opportunities to tighten oversight. The Transportation Ministry had rejected offers of security assistance. The ministry said additional funding it requested had not been provided. Transportation Minister Miri Regev is now seeking NIS 40 million and 10 additional staff positions for oversight of charter flights, according to Channel 12.

Regev has also reportedly proposed a special aviation-entry authorization requiring advance approval for arriving passengers and crew, with additional intelligence screening for people from countries designated high-risk. That remains a proposal, not an implemented requirement; officials cited concerns that other countries could impose similar restrictions on Israelis.

Israel joined the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in 2023. Eligible Israelis with qualifying biometric passports and approved ESTA authorization can travel for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a conventional visa. Huckabee’s latest position is that this arrangement remains unchanged. The immediate challenge is closing the security gaps exposed by the attack, not an announced cancellation of visa-free travel.

President Donald Trump is weighing new strikes against Iran before the U.S. midterm elections, with the White House requesting military options from the Pentagon, according to The Atlantic. The potential targets, scope and decision to proceed remain under discussion.

A subsequent Axios report said the Pentagon had instructed U.S. Central Command to complete preparations for a possible return to major combat operations. No final decision or attack date has been set. Sources said a broader campaign could target Iranian nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure and other infrastructure.

The timing remains contentious. According to The Atlantic’s reporting, some officials favor limited strikes before the vote to demonstrate military progress. Others argue for waiting, warning that renewed fighting, particularly American casualties, could damage Republican candidates. Options for a broader campaign after the elections are also being considered.

INDIAN OCEAN – JANUARY 26: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – ‘U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND / HANDOUT’ – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) Sailors aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) perform routine maintenance as the aircraft carrier sails in the Indian Ocean, Jan. 26. The US deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East on Monday as Washington strengthens its military presence in the region. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier enters the region ‘to promote regional security and stability,’ the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said through the US social media company X. (Photo by CENTCOM/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Even supporters of limited strikes reportedly acknowledge their limitations: bombing alone would not produce an agreement with Tehran, guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz or bring gasoline prices down before voters cast their ballots.

For Israel, the implications extend beyond Washington’s political calendar. Axios reported renewed consultations between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while warning that an expanded campaign could trigger another wave of Iranian ballistic missile attacks against Israel.

The nuclear dispute remains the central obstacle to an agreement. Vice President JD Vance told Reuters that Washington requires actual reductions in Iran’s uranium-enrichment capacity, not assurances of future restraint. “We’re not going to trade words for actions,” he said. A senior Iranian official countered that recognition of Iran’s right to enrichment remains a non-negotiable demand.

TOPSHOT – A man poses for a photo next to a fallen rocket half-buried in the ground on the outskirts of Jericho on June 8, 2026, following Iranian and Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks. Israel and Iran traded fire on June 8, seriously testing a fragile truce and threating hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images) /

The unresolved questions concern both Iran’s capabilities and its nuclear material. Reuters reported that Tehran has not informed the International Atomic Energy Agency how much enriched uranium survived earlier attacks or allowed inspectors back into the bombed sites. Before the 2025 strikes, Iran had accumulated uranium enriched to 60%, approaching the roughly 90% level used in nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking a nuclear arsenal.

Vance also acknowledged uncertainty over how much authority Iran’s negotiating counterparts actually wield, adding another complication to efforts to turn indirect talks into an enforceable agreement.

Three years ago, my family stood just a few miles from Gaza with absolutely no idea how much our lives, Israel, and the Jewish world were about to change. On Thursday of Chol Hamoed Sukkot 2023, about 36 hours before the October 7 massacre, I toured southern Israel with my extended family. There were around 35 of us. We visited Kibbutz Nahal Oz, ate lunch in Netivot, met soldiers stationed near the Gaza border, and ended the day riding bikes through Kibbutz Be’eri as the sun was setting.

I remember taking a picture of that sunset in Be’eri. It was beautiful and peaceful. At the time, it was just another photo from a family trip. Looking at it now is completely different. Our guide that day was Ilan Fiorentino, a member of Kibbutz Nahal Oz who served as the community’s security chief and spent years helping protect the people around him. He showed us the area, spoke to us about life near the Gaza border, and shared his community with us. I remember how warm he was and how proud he seemed to be of the place he called home.

That would be the last tour Ilan ever gave. Thirty-six hours later, on October 7, he was killed defending his kibbutz from Hamas terrorists. The places we had just visited became scenes of unimaginable destruction. Communities we had walked through were invaded. People we had met were suddenly missing, murdered, fighting for their lives, or taken hostage. For me, October 7 was never something happening in a faraway place on a television screen. I had stood there 36 hours earlier, and three years later, that feeling has never really left me.

So much has happened since that morning. We have mourned families and communities shattered by the massacre, watched Israeli soldiers leave their homes and families to defend the country, prayed for hostages held in Gaza, attended funerals, said Tehillim, celebrated rescues and homecomings, and watched an entire generation of Jews become more connected to one another. There were moments of overwhelming darkness, but there were also moments that showed me what the Jewish people are capable of. I saw that for myself when I returned to Israel just a few months later, in January 2024.

It was a completely different Israel from the country I had left after Sukkot. The war was everywhere. Hostage posters lined Ben Gurion Airport. Israeli flags seemed to hang from every car and building. Families from the South were still displaced from their homes. Soldiers filled the streets, and entire communities had reorganized themselves around helping one another. But what I remember most from that trip is not the fear. It is the strength.

I spent time packing toys and supplies for displaced children and for the children of soldiers, tied tzitzit for chayalim, visited Sderot and saw the physical damage left behind from October 7, stood at the site of the Nova Festival and met families mourning their children, helped prepare food for soldiers near the Gaza border, and picked oranges on a kibbutz whose workforce had been devastated by the attack. I also visited injured soldiers at Tel HaShomer Hospital, danced with soldiers heading to new fronts, spent time with displaced families and children from Sderot, and visited Hostage Square, where I walked through a model tunnel meant to give people even the smallest sense of what the hostages were experiencing.

Everywhere I went, I met people who had every reason to stop, shut down, or give up. Instead, they were thinking about someone else. That trip taught me the real meaning of מי כעמך ישראל. There truly is no nation like the Jewish people.

One image from that trip has stayed with me especially strongly. The South of Israel is famous for its red kalanit flowers. Many of those flowers had been crushed and destroyed on October 7, but only a few months later, they were blooming again. To me, those flowers looked like Israel itself: hurt, changed, and carrying the scars of what had happened, but still growing.

I remember hearing a line during that trip that captured exactly what I was seeing: “Hamas tried to bury us, but they did not realize that we were seeds”. That was Israel in January 2024. In Sderot, at army bases, inside volunteer warehouses, in hospitals, at Hostage Square, at the Kotel, and inside people’s homes, I saw a country in pain that had decided it would keep going. I saw people spending their entire days packing supplies for strangers, Israelis feeding and housing soldiers, families baking challah for the front lines, and Jews from completely different backgrounds coming together to sing, pray, and give one another strength.

At one event for displaced families, a young child was asked what she was thankful to Hashem for. Her answer was simple: “Thank you Hashem for my life.” That answer has stayed with me for nearly three years. After everything she had experienced, that child still chose gratitude. That is the Israel I saw after October 7.

Over the past three years, I have also experienced October 7 from another perspective I never could have imagined on that first morning: through my work with JBN. Working behind one of the largest Jewish social media platforms has shown me a side of the story that most people never see. Behind every breaking-news post is a real family waiting for information. Behind every photo of a fallen soldier is a mother, father, sibling, friend, school, and community whose world has changed forever. Behind every hostage poster is a family refusing to let the world forget the person they love.

There were days when our feeds seemed filled with terrible news: soldiers killed, hostage updates, funerals, attacks in Israel, and antisemitic incidents around the world. Sometimes one heartbreaking story would be followed almost immediately by another. Working with JBN has made me understand the responsibility that comes with Jewish media. A person may see a post for a few seconds before scrolling on, but for the family in that post, it is not content. It is their entire life.

That has changed the way I look at news. It has taught me that we cannot allow people to become numbers. October 7 was not simply a death toll. Every person had a name, a family, a life, and a story. The same is true of every soldier who gave his or her life protecting Israel, and every hostage whose face we shared again and again so the world would not forget. Social media moves incredibly quickly. One story replaces another within minutes, and yesterday’s headline disappears under today’s news. But some stories demand that we stop scrolling. October 7 is one of them.

Three years later, I often think back to something I spoke about just one month after the attacks: the privilege we have to stand tall, stand proud, and stand strong as Jews. At the time, those words were about finding strength during one of the darkest moments our people had experienced in generations. Today, they mean even more.

Standing proud does not mean ignoring the pain of the past three years. It means carrying it with us. It means remembering Ilan Fiorentino and the communities of the Gaza border, remembering the people dancing at the Nova Festival who never came home, remembering the soldiers who ran toward danger to protect others, and remembering the hostages and their families who made sure the world learned their names and saw their faces. It also means remembering what I saw when I returned to Israel just a few months later: a people who refused to let tragedy be the end of their story.

October 7 changed Israel. It changed the Jewish people, and it changed me. When I look back at the sunset photo I took in Be’eri on October 5, 2023, I think about how little I knew in that moment. I had no idea that 36 hours later, everything around me would change. I had no idea that people I had just met would be murdered, or that places I had just visited would become names known around the world for the worst possible reasons.

But three years later, my story with Israel does not end with that sunset.

I just returned from Israel this week after spending Sukkot there, and the country I saw was alive. The streets were full, tourists were everywhere, families were traveling, restaurants were busy, and people were celebrating Sukkot. After everything Israel has gone through over the past three years, there was something incredibly powerful about simply seeing the country full of life again.

One morning, I stood on the Western Wall Heritage Foundation rooftop overlooking the Kotel during Birkat Kohanim. From above, I watched tens of thousands of Jews packed into the plaza below, listening to the Kohanim bless the crowd and then singing Hallel together. Standing there, I could not stop thinking about how far we had come. Three years earlier, we were waking up to sirens, terror, and unimaginable loss. Now I was looking down at tens of thousands of Jews standing together in Jerusalem, singing to Hashem.

That week, I also attended two concerts that captured that same feeling in a different way. At United Hatzalah’s 2026 concert, former hostage Bar Kuperstein walked onto the stage and sang. I immediately thought about the same concert one year earlier. In 2025, Bar was still being held hostage in Gaza. He would come home just one day later. This year, he was standing on a stage in Jerusalem, alive and free.

It is hard to describe what a moment like that feels like after following these stories for years, especially while working at JBN. For so long, these were faces on hostage posters and names in headlines. Then suddenly, you are watching one of them standing on a stage in front of you.

The next night, I went to the Yeshiva University concert. At one point, the entire crowd began singing “Abba Todah,” thanking G-d for everything He has done for us. This year, those words felt different. We were thanking Hashem for the miracles of the past three years, for people who came home, for soldiers who returned to their families, for a country that continued to stand, and for a Jewish people that continued to sing. We were also thanking Him for the miracles of just this past week, including the Flydubai plane incident that could have ended very differently.

Standing there and listening to thousands of people sing “Abba Todah,” I thought back to the sunset in Be’eri. Three years ago, I took a picture of a peaceful sunset 36 hours before everything changed. Three years later, I stood in Jerusalem surrounded by thousands of Jews singing Hallel, singing “Abba Todah,” and thanking Hashem for allowing us to still be here.

There has been so much pain between those two moments. There are names and faces we can never forget, and families whose lives will never be the same. October 7 will always be part of who we are. But it is not the end of the story.

Israel is alive. The Jewish people are alive. And three years later, after everything we have been through, we are still standing together, still singing, and still saying thank you.

Am Yisrael Chai.

The IDF announced Wednesday that it had demolished the home of the terrorist who murdered Netanel Shukrun on the eve of Yom Kippur.

Shukrun, 36, had gone with his son to immerse in a natural spring before Yom Kippur, as is the custom of some Orthodox Jews. The spring was located near Neve Tzuf in Samaria.

The terrorist opened fire on the spring, striking the father of six, who was in his car. His son, who was also in the car, was unharmed. The terrorist then fled on foot but was captured hours later by IDF soldiers, who found him in a hospital in Ramallah.

The demolition took place in the town of Biddu, northwest of Jerusalem.

In addition, the IDF said it “destroyed monuments inciting terrorism and memorials to terrorists throughout the West Bank, as part of the effort against incitement to terror.” It also carried out counterterrorism raids throughout Judea and Samaria, arresting “dozens” of “terror inciters who expressed support for the October 7 massacre,” the military said.

“In addition, they arrested wanted individuals affiliated with Hamas and searched for weapons,” the military added.

Wednesday, Oct. 7, marks Putin’s 74th birthday amid a series of devastating strikes on Kyiv and several regions across Ukraine, including Pryluky, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, and Oleksandriia, that left about two dozen people dead, including five children.

“On Putin’s birthday, Russian generals brought him his favorite present: war crimes,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

One Russian official said that the purpose of the strikes is to make Russians afraid to go to sleep.

“That is exactly what the enemy is counting on. For us to be afraid to fall asleep. To let our children out of our sight. To plan anything. So that everyone thinks: Next time it could be my address,” said Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the regional military administration in Kremenchuk.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for help amid a shortage of defense missiles due to the war in Iran.

In a lengthy statement on X, the president described the attack and closed with an expression of gratitude for assistance rendered.

“Today, as a birthday ‘gift’ to Putin, the Russian army destroyed a residential building in Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region,” he wrote. “Tragically, as of now, five people have been reported killed and 26 injured, including five children. There may still be people under the rubble. First responders are working nonstop at the site — doing everything possible to find every person.”

“Russian missile strikes also damaged five apartment buildings in Dnipro and four high-rise buildings in Kremenchuk,” he continued. “Tragically, two people were killed and eight injured … My condolences to all the families and loved ones of those killed.”

“Overall, infrastructure in Kyiv and 12 regions came under attack last night. One of the key targets was our energy infrastructure. The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively. This was one of the most vile strikes: 70 missiles in total, many of them ballistic, as well as ‘shaheds.’ Unfortunately, only some of them were shot down,” he said.

“Russian ballistic missiles remain the greatest challenge. And air defense packages for us right now are a vital necessity. That is why every day we are looking for missiles for Patriot systems that can and must actually protect people’s lives here, in Ukrainian skies. Thank you to everyone who is helping us,” he concluded.

Kyiv was prepared for the assault, but due to the lack of defensive missiles for its Patriot air defense system, the Ukrainian army could not deflect all the strikes.

The most famous landmark in Berlin, Germany, the 18th-century neoclassical monument known as the Brandenburg Gate, is lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag to mark the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct.7, 2023, attack on Israel in which the terrorist group murdered 1,200 Israelis and took another 251 hostages.

“Berlin is sending a signal to the world that we stand with Israel, that we hope with the families of the hostages that humanity and compassion will always be stronger than hatred,” said Kai Wegner, the mayor of the German capital.

“Berlin is the city of freedom,” he added.

The iconic gate was also illuminated with the slogan “Bring them home now,” the slogan chanted by hostage supporters to urge action on behalf of those in Hamas captivity after they were kidnapped from their homes or from the Nova Music Festival and brought to the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor thanked the city for its show of support.

Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, poses in front of the Brandenburg Gate, spectacularly illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag. (Credit: Ron Prosor)

“Three years after October 7, the Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in the colors of Israel,” the diplomat wrote on X. “I thank Mayor Kai Wegner for this from the bottom of my heart. It is an important gesture to all Jews who must hide their identity every day on Berlin’s streets.”

“The Israel-haters have not succeeded in driving a wedge between us. We know exactly who stood by our side in these three years. Because true friendship is only revealed in difficult times. Toda raba,” he added.

The Metropolitan Police announced Wednesday that it had arrested a number of masked protesters outside the office of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, a group established in 1760 that represents the Jewish community in the United Kingdom.

Police said they had arrested five protesters “for inciting racial hatred, involving allegedly shouting or chanting slogans calling for intifada. They remain in police custody,” adding that the protest was effectively over.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews issued a statement denouncing the protesters and vowing to keep standing up for the Jewish community.

“On the anniversary of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, masked protesters demonstrated outside our office today, chanting about ‘intifada’ and harassing our neighbours. We are grateful to the Metropolitan Police for their swift response and making arrests on the spot,” the group wrote.

“We will not be threatened or intimidated by this small and extremist minority of British society. We will continue undeterred to advocate for the Jewish people, here and around the world, and to stand up for peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians and the wider Middle East,” it concluded.

Video footage posted by an anti-Israel news organization called The Canary shows protesters chanting outside the office of the Board of Deputies of British Jews in the Camden neighborhood of London. One of the neighbors emerges from her home and shouts at them to go away, telling them she lives there.

A couple who co-wrote a play commemorating Oct. 7 based on survivors’ testimonies staged the first showing of the play at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., Tuesday, but the performance was disrupted by the fire alarm.

The husband and wife team, Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney, is calling on police to investigate the incident.

In an interview with an Israel-based outlet, McAleer said, “these people are demonic.”

“Disrupting the truth, disrupting stories of tragedy and heroism. They should be ashamed of themselves,” he said. “This just makes us all the more determined to take this play to every campus across America.”

“The police must investigate this,” he told the outlet. “The people responsible must be found and prosecuted.”

McElhinney posted about the incident on X along with a video of the alarm going off and people evacuating.

“Right now at Northwestern Our play October 7 has been disrupted by someone setting off a fire alarm. The whole theater has to be evacuated. This hits even stronger because it’s already October 7 in Israel,” she wrote.

The disruption delayed the finishing of the performance even more than a simple evacuation would warrant because, while security allowed the attendees to return to their seats, they searched everyone first. Nevertheless, the play finished to a standing ovation.

Security cameras caught French member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan knocking down an Israeli flag Tuesday at an exhibit commemorating the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis, leaving both the Israeli flag and the EU flag lying on the floor. The MEP is under investigation for the incident.

Hassan defended herself, saying she did not intentionally knock down the EU flag but that it fell after she pulled down the Israeli one.

“I did not touch the European flag. It simply fell after the Israeli flag,” she said under questioning by the president, Roberta Metsola.

Hassan’s staff issued a statement saying that Hassan “removed the Israeli flag from its stand. The European Union flag, attached to the same base, then accidentally fell due to the loss of balance. Neither flag was trampled or damaged.”

“Our action was part of denouncing the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli government,” but was “in no way aimed at the people this event sought to honour, nor at their memory,” it added. “It is entirely possible — as we did with our group — to commemorate the victims of October 7 without associating ourselves with the genocidal Israeli state.”

Metsola denounced the action at the European Parliament.

“We take this extremely seriously,” she said. “This house is a place where all of us must feel safe and secure, and we reject, in the strongest possible terms, any action by any person that feels or makes anyone feel less protected here … we cannot have actions that could make people fearful of speaking. We cannot have damage to property, and we cannot have attempts to intimidate rather than to debate.”

The president added that at the Oct. 7 commemoration event, the victims would be remembered with the “dignity that they deserve.”

“So, at a time of rising global anti-Semitism, we owe it to Europe’s Jewish community to ensure that when they look to us, they see that this is their house too. So, tomorrow we will mark another anniversary since that Black October 7 three years ago, and on your behalf, I will speak at the event, and we will remember the victims with the dignity that they deserve.”

Hassan joined the flotilla to Gaza that attempted to break the blockade. She was detained by the Israeli authorities and deported.

The European Jewish Congress fiercely condemned Hassan for her action, saying it was “appalled” and calling on the EU to conduct a full investigation.

“This goes far beyond political disagreement or provocation,” the group stated on X. “These flags formed part of a memorial to the victims of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and to those abducted by Hamas. To deliberately interfere with such a memorial, on the eve of the anniversary of the attacks, would show a profound contempt for their memory and for the suffering of their families.”

“We call on the Parliament to establish exactly what happened, make the relevant evidence public and, if the allegations are confirmed, take appropriate disciplinary action. The victims of October 7 and the hostages deserve dignity and respect. Their memory must never become a target for political provocation,” the EJC said.

In a post marking the commemoration of Oct. 7, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “We will never forget this act of barbarism.”

Rubio is in Athens, Greece, for the dedication of the U.S. Embassy in Greece, which was recently renovated. While there, he posted an Oct. 7 message on X.

“Three years ago today, Hamas terrorists tortured, mutilated, and murdered 1,200 innocent civilians in Israel,” the secretary of state wrote.

German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz. (Credit: Friedrich Mertz)

“Among those slain were men, women, and children — including dozens of Americans,” he added.

“We will never forget this act of barbarism against an ally and recommit ourselves to the defense of civilization,” he declared.

World leaders also commemorated the day that Hamas invaded Israel and massacred 1,200 Israelis in the most brutal ways imaginable and took 251 hostages, touching off a long, grinding war in which Israel has sharply reduced the threat from Hamas by decimating its leadership and destroying its military capabilities.

German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz said that antisemitism was rising to historically high levels and that his government would do everything in its power to combat it while reaffirming his commitment to the two-state solution.

“Germany stands firmly by Israel’s side. Our Israeli friends can count on our commitment to ensuring that such a crime never happens again,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron. (Credit: Emmanuel Macron)

“We do not forget the names or the faces: those of Maya, Ohad, Valentin, and so many others,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “Combating antisemitism and terrorism, everywhere and always, working for peace and the security of all: that is France’s commitment.”

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham posted a lengthy statement on X commemorating Oct. 7, acknowledging the rise in antisemitism in the United Kingdom, and vowing to fight it, though he did not address criticism that his anti-Israel policies were contributing to the rising hostility toward Jews.

“Three years on from the October 7 attacks on Israel, we remember those who were senselessly killed by Hamas terrorists,” the premier wrote. “The impact of the attacks has been felt not just in Israel, but in Jewish communities across the world who still bear the burden of the tragic events that day.”

“In the years since, we have seen a disturbing rise in antisemitic behaviour in the UK,” he added. “A year ago we witnessed a horrifying terrorist attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, with further attacks against Jewish people and institutions since.”

Burnham said he stands with the Jewish community and pledged his aid to fight antisemitism.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. (Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

“I want Britain’s Jewish community to hear this from me directly. We stand with you. Abuse and violence against you, in any form, will not be tolerated. Not on our streets, not online, not in our schools or universities,” he wrote. “That’s why we are funding protection for synagogues, schools and community buildings, and why we will come down hard on antisemitism wherever it is found – in classrooms, on campuses and in neighbourhoods.”

“At home, we are committed to protecting our citizens from vile hatred. Abroad, we continue to work towards a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security,” he continued.

“An attack on Jewish people in Britain is an attack on all of us. Antisemitism has no place in this country, and we will do everything we can to stamp it out,” he concluded.

Israeli broadcaster Kan News aired a documentary earlier this week featuring newly released security footage from Soroka Medical Center, part of Clalit Health Services in Beersheba, showing the chaos of the day and the frantic efforts to save the lives of critically wounded victims of the attack.

The documentary, titled “The Shift” and broadcast on Kan’s “Zman Emet” program, showed 674 patients arriving from the site of the massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, when hordes of Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel and massacred hundreds of Israelis at the Nova Music Festival and kibbutzim near the border, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

The hospital, located in the largest city in Israel’s south, took the lead in treating the victims of the horrific massacre, treating hundreds of patients in one day, an unprecedented amount of care by any standards.

The security cameras show harrowing scenes of wounded victims streaming into the hospital, family members desperately searching for relatives, and the staff working tirelessly to treat patient after patient.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the film “a historical document,” saying “The film captures the scale of the trauma and the magnitude of the heroism on October 7th.”

Dr. Ori Galante, head of the internal medicine intensive care unit, said the film honors “the extraordinary people of Soroka, every single one of them, women and men, each in their own role, from the first cleaner to the last doctor.”

“These are people who put their own lives at risk, left their families at home, and rushed to the hospital that Saturday, driven by a deep inner conviction to help others, regardless of their religion, race, gender, or political beliefs,” Galante said.

“A hospital is not supposed to be able to function under circumstances like these. The reason we succeeded, and what made all the difference, was the people,” he added.

Lenny Steinberg, director of the Oregon Hillel Foundation, was shocked and outraged to discover that posters had been hung all over campus bearing his photo and the caption “Enemy of the People” and accusing him of supporting genocide, along with the injunction to get “Hillel off campus.”

“There was a huge level of, like, I saw this coming, and that’s absolutely absurd in and of itself,” he said. “This is my face being plastered in places and falsely accusing me of things I don’t actually support, and this is really truly affecting my staff, our students, our parents.”

Two Democratic senators and one Democratic representative from Oregon issued a joint statement condemning the action, saying that “we should all unequivocally condemn the antisemitic targeting of Oregon Hillel and its executive director on the University of Oregon campus.”

Lenny Steinberg, director of the Oregon Hillel Foundation. (Credit: Oregon Hillel)

“Targeting Hillel and its leadership with this hateful rhetoric is a blatant effort to intimidate and demonize a Jewish organization and the Jewish students it represents,” they added.

Karl Scholz, the university president, sent a campus-wide message also condemning the posters and vowing that action would be taken.

“While we do not know if the flyers were posted by someone affiliated with our university, this type of language on our campus—language that targets based on religious and ethnic identity—is reprehensible,” he wrote.

The flyers “promoted isolation and fear, and fear erodes the foundation of our community,” he added. “Antisemitism, violence and threats have no place here.”

Jewish advocates and advocacy groups also expressed outrage over the posters.

“It takes true cowardice and real depravity to target a Hillel international director whose job simply is to support Jewish life on a college campus. This kind of campaign isn’t free speech; its targeted harassment and the University of Oregon must take action,” wrote Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, on X.

CAM Alerts noted that these wanted-style posters constituted intimidation, not protest.

“Campus posters branded Oregon Hillel director Lenny Steinberg an ‘Enemy of the People’ and demanded ‘HILLEL OFF CAMPUS!!!’ Wanted-style targeting of a Jewish campus leader is intimidation, not protest,” the group posted on X.

Steinberg said that after viewing the posters, he felt “sad, angry, and scared.”

In an interview with an Israel-based outlet, he said it was “heartbreaking” to see this happen around the same time Hillel’s sukkah was stolen.

“To have to send my community two messages of, ‘Hey, this happened and guess what, now this happened,’ I don’t want to be sending these messages,” he told the outlet. “I want to be promoting Jewish joy and having smiling students go on hikes and sing prayers with us and be in the sukkah.”

“It’s not fair,” he said.

Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 released the recordings of calls made by hero paramedic Amit Mann during her final hours as she desperately tried to save lives and herself before her tragic murder in Kibbutz Be’eri at the hands of Hamas terrorists.

Mann made urgent calls to police and Magen David Adom from the dental clinic at the kibbutz, where she had arrived shortly after 7 a.m. and set up a makeshift hospital to treat the wounded.

“I don’t understand what is going on,” she said in her first call to police, her voice audibly trembling. “There are a lot of wounded people here, and there are a lot of dead people here. There is still active shooting here, and there are no forces that can evacuate the wounded?”

“I think there are still terrorists walking around, these are the reports we are receiving from the entire kibbutz,” she added. “What can we do? Is the army here? Are there police officers here?”

In this video, Amit Mann shows her vibrancy and joie de vivre. (Credit: X)

The dispatcher said that the police were aware of the situation and advised her to stay inside and keep calm. “We’re on our way to control the situation,” he added.

“Just tell me you’re here,” she answered in panic as the dispatcher attempted to keep her calm.

Mann made seven calls to MDA before making her final call to police. In one of her calls to the ambulance service, she said, “Listen, there’s a terrorist infiltration in Be’eri. Get an ambulance or police here! Urgent! Urgent!” In another call, she said she didn’t have enough equipment while saying that there was shooting going on, adding that she was treating a man at the time.

At 10:41 a.m. she made a final call to police pleading for help.

Mann’s sister Haviva discovered the existence of the recordings when she contacted MDA for information about the exact times Mann called for a presentation about her sister. Once that discovery was made, the family requested that the government compile a database of victims’ last phone calls.

Haviva told Channel 12 that hearing the recordings broke her heart, adding that despite her sister’s distress, she put on a brave front and mustered up her strength so she could tend to the wounded.

Haviva spoke to her sister one final time shortly after 2 p.m. that day, when Mann told her she had been shot. Then the phone disconnected.

Mann died in the makeshift hospital she had set up for the injured.

As videos and photos circulated online showing the scale of devastation in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces published a video showing what lies beneath the rubble: a vast network of heavily fortified tunnels. Beneath the surface, Hamas built a military fortress that housed its military equipment and weapons arsenals and provided places for its terrorists to hide and conduct ambush-style raids on Israeli troops.

In the video, satellite photos of Rafah were shown, overlaid by bright red lines crisscrossing over each other to form a complex maze. These images were followed by actual footage taken by IDF soldiers inside the tunnels.

“This is the terror hidden beneath Gaza’s neighborhoods, stadiums, mosques, schools, owner compounds, hospitals, and civilian homes,” the narrator said. “Hamas will stop at nothing to spread terror, exploiting civilian infrastructure to carry out its attacks. This is why the IDF continues to operate: to protect Israeli civilians from Hamas’s terror.”

Civilian infrastructure that is used to house or protect military targets loses its protection under international humanitarian law. Hamas’ ploy to dig a massive and complex tunnel network beneath the entire Strip endangered all of Gaza by rendering nearly all of the civilian infrastructure a legitimate military target. The IDF has accused Hamas throughout the war of using civilians as human shields, for which the tunnel network provides ample evidence.

A classified Knesset hearing was told Tuesday that 1,240 airline crew members from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel had entered the country, including citizens of Syria, Lebanon and Oman. The disclosures emerged during an Intelligence Subcommittee examination of security failures surrounding the attempted terror attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073.

According to i24NEWS, a Transportation Ministry representative was surprised by the figures, said he had been unaware of them and asked to submit a formal inquiry on the issue.

The hearing also addressed tighter screening. Ynet reports that the National Security Council was asked to coordinate with the Mossad and Shin Bet on identifying high-risk countries, with crew lists from those countries to be submitted 48 hours before flights to Israel for security review and approval.

“The face of civil aviation in Israel will change from today,” committee chairman Boaz Bismuth said afterward, adding that the relevant agencies would be required to complete internal reviews and provide clear answers.

Bogdan Klich, the Polish chargé d’affaires at the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C., lashed out at Tucker Carlson for recent comments he made regarding World War II, calling them “Nazi propaganda” and demanding an apology.

In an Oct. 2 podcast with British politician Jacob Rees-Mogg, Carlson claimed that “Hitler said 15% of Poland was once Germany and it was given to Poland at the Treaty of Versailles. That was German territory with Germans in it,” adding that “Hitler did not want to go to war with the United Kingdom.” He then asked Rees-Mogg whether Britain would have benefited more from Hitler’s victory rather than from his defeat.

Addressing his statement directly to Carlson, Klich wrote, “I am outraged by the false and deeply troubling statements you made regarding the outbreak of the Second World War during your recent conversation with Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.” The diplomat added that Carlson’s justification for “Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939” is “a colossal insult to the millions of victims of Nazism, including hundreds of thousands of American soldiers who had been killed or wounded while liberating Europe from the occupation by the Third Reich.”

Bogdan Klich, chargé d’affaires at the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C. (Credit: Bogdan Klich)

Klich took Carlson to task for denying the historical truth that the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany not only because of their obligation as allies but also because war was coming to their borders regardless, since Hitler’s intention was to conquer the world. The envoy also lectured him for abandoning journalistic ethics.

“As an American journalist who enjoys the democratic right to the freedom of speech, you have now become an apologist for Adolf Hitler. In doing so, you resort to lies, completely falsifying the documented historical record,” he said.

Klich then schooled the former Fox News host in the facts.

“Let me therefore remind you of the indisputable facts,” he said. “Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland on September 1st, 1939 was a meticulously planned and brutal war of aggression. Hitler’s objective was the complete destruction of the Polish state and the physical extermination of its population, followed by a continued bloody conquest of the world. Hitler acted in collusion with another totalitarian criminal, Joseph Stalin. Together, they planned what is known as the fourth partition of Poland, set out in the secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which paved the way for the tragedy of millions of people in Central and Eastern Europe, including the near-total extermination of Europe’s Jewish population.”

The Polish diplomat concluded his statement with a demand for an apology and a warning.

“I demand that you immediately and publicly retract and apologize for these deceitful and disgraceful statements,” he said. “Nazi propaganda cannot be rehabilitated under the guise of free speech, nor should the freedom of speech be used to desecrate the memory of the victims of the Second World War.”

“History must not be distorted. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” Klich warned.

The Dawson College chapter of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) is organizing an Oct. 7 walkout for Wednesday at 1:30, with a flyer instructing attendees to enter through the De Maisonneuve Entrance of the college in Montreal, Quebec.

In its social media post promoting the event, the group, which uses the Hamas red triangle as its logo, said that the walkout will mark three years of “genocide” and “resistance,” adding that the student group refuses to be “silenced.”

Critics have said that “resistance” is merely a euphemism for terrorism.

The event will “mark 3 years of genocide, and 3 years of resistance of our people in Gaza,” the statement said. “The student movement has stood resilient in the face of the increased repression and punitive measure by our government and administrations to discourage students from standing against the zionist entity.”

SPHR’s flyer promoting its Oct. 7 walkout. (Credit: SPHR)

“We, the students, will not be intimidated into silence and continue to support the brave people of Palestine, we continue to struggle until the hour of liberation. The student intifada lives,” SPHR added. “Gaza remains our compass, and we will gather on October 7 to remind ourselves of the role of our movement, and show our support for Palestinian liberation.”

“As students, we must not forget,” the group declared. “Let us show the world that Palestine will not be forgotten and that our voices will not be silenced.”

SPHR also called on the school to cut ties with Israel.

“As Palestinians continue to face violence and displacement Gaza and the West Bank, the University of Calgary continues to call itself inclusive while maintaining ties and relationships that contribute to its complicity,” the group said.

“We’re calling on our university to take accountability its complicity,” it concluded.

Critics blasted anti-Israel events scheduled for Oct. 7.

“They could protest any day. They’re choosing Oct 7th for a reason,” one social media user posted.

“This is like walking out on 9/11…a hate-filled spit-in-the face of AMERICANS taken hostage on Oct 7 by terrorists and murdered,” posted another, adding that colleges should expel anyone who participates.

Human rights activist and Jewish advocate Emily Schrader agreed.

“Anyone ‘walking out’ on October 7th should not be allowed to return. Immediate expulsion for terror support,” she wrote.

Jews were blocked from joining the Cable Street March in London Sunday, a march that commemorates the Battle of Cable Street in 1936, when thousands of London’s Jewish residents stood shoulder to shoulder with Irish dockers, trade unionists, and socialists in an anti-fascist march to stop the followers of Oswald Mosley, a British fascist politician, from marching through London’s East End.

When Jewish leaders tried to coordinate with the event’s organizers, they were met with hostility and were told they were unwelcome, forcing them to organize a separate event.

A Jewish man who tried to join the main event was forcibly ejected simply because he was Jewish and was then escorted away by police.

Josh Howie, reporting live from the scene, said that “the Jews had to basically come on our own march,” adding that relatives of the original marchers and even one old man who had marched at the Battle of Cable Street attended the Jewish event.

“We have the relatives here of the people who attended 90 years ago who fought back against the fascists,” he said. “I marched next to a man, Michael. He’s 94 years old. He was here on that very day, yet it’s shameful that Unite the Unions, who are also organizing another march, which is just running parallel to us, basically could not guarantee the safety of the Jews and the relatives of the Jews who were here 90 years ago.”

Paris and London have chosen different ways to address the anti-Israel protests scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7, the anniversary of the 2023 Hamas attack against Israel that claimed about 1,200 lives and took another 251 hostages.

Citing a security risk, Paris Police Chief Patrice Faure announced Tuesday a ban on an anti-Israel protest scheduled for that day, explaining that the commemorations of the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack along with anti-Israel demonstrations will create tensions during a time when antisemitism is rising to historic levels.

The official social media account of the Préfet de Police posted a statement regarding the ban on X.

Paris Police Chief Patrice Faure. (Credit: Préfet de Police)

“At the request of the Minister of the Interior, Nunez Laurent, I have issued an order prohibiting a demonstration ‘against the genocide in Gaza and for respect of the ceasefire’ in Paris on Wednesday, October 7, 2026,” Faure wrote. “This date marks the third anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel and will give rise to numerous commemorations. In a context of heightened terrorist threat and while antisemitic acts remain at a historically high level in our country, such a demonstration on that day poses significant risks of disturbances to public order.”

“In the face of this, in particular, and in view of all the risks identified, my responsibility is to ensure the safety of all. I have therefore decided to prohibit this demonstration,” he added.

London is taking a different tack, allowing a planned Oct. 7 anti-Israel protest to proceed but imposing restrictions, such as banning masks. In a statement, the Metropolitan Police defended its decision to allow the protest to go forward, saying that it did not meet the high threshold for extreme public disturbances to be banned.

“We have imposed robust conditions on a student march due to take place on Wednesday, 7 October in central London to prevent serious disruption to communities,” the police said in a statement, adding that it understands the concerns of the Jewish community.

“The event is being held on the third anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and the start of the ensuing conflict in Gaza. This will be a day of mourning and reflection for many in London. We know how concerned Jewish communities are at the timing of this event,” the police said.

“The stringent conditions will help us manage this event and minimise disruption. Anyone who breaches the conditions or commits offences faces arrest,” it assured the Jewish community.

Explaining why it couldn’t ban the protest, the police added, “We hear the calls for this event to be banned — police cannot ban protests and can only ask the Home Secretary to do so if the risk of serious disorder is so high that it can’t be managed by conditions. That high bar is not met here.”

More than 1,000 Christian leaders and influencers from 117 countries arrived in Israel Monday for the second annual Friends of Zion Ambassador Summit to commemorate the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and hear firsthand accounts from hostages, survivors, and families of victims.

Miss Universe Israel 2025 Melanie Shiraz, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, and other officials will participate in the event, which was organized by Christian evangelical Mike Evans.

Evans said the purpose of the summit is for Christians to “see Israel for themselves, hear directly from those whose lives were changed forever on October 7,” when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

“We are bringing together a new generation of leaders alongside experienced voices to bear witness, to remember and to strengthen the bonds between Israel and Christian communities around the world,” he said.

Several hundred of the participants are ages 18 to 29, which Shiraz said is significant because they are the next generation of influencers on social media.

“This is the generation forming its understanding of Israel right now, often through social media, where the loudest or most viral narrative can easily become the dominant one,” she said.

“Giving young people the opportunity to come here, meet Israelis, experience the country for themselves and form their own opinions is incredibly powerful.”

Miss Universe Melanie Shiraz. (Credit: Jewish Lives Matter)

Shiraz also stressed the importance of meeting real Israelis to counteract the dehumanization taking place in the world today.

“When people meet Israelis, hear our stories and experience this country for themselves, Israel stops being an abstract headline and becomes something deeply personal,” she said. “They are coming to listen, to witness, to meet Israelis and to experience this country for themselves.”

The main event, which will be attended by approximately 2,000 people, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 7, and will feature former hostages Agam Berger, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Bar Kupershtein, and Evyatar David, as well as wounded soldiers, victims’ families, Christian and Jewish leaders, and Israeli officials. After the conference, Friends of Zion participants will serve as ambassadors to their communities.

Israeli Ambassador George Deek, Israel’s special envoy to the Christian world, said the gathering “carries a powerful message: Israel does not stand alone.”

“The bond between Israel and Christians around the world must be built on truth, courage, and a shared determination to confront antisemitism and hatred wherever they appear,” he said.

President Donald Trump has approved execution by U.S. Army firing squad for Nidal Malik Hasan, the Palestinian-American terrorist convicted of carrying out the 2009 Fort Hood massacre.

Hasan, who was born in Virginia to Palestinian parents, served as a U.S. Army psychiatrist and rose to the rank of major.

On November 5, 2009, Hasan entered Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center and opened fire on troops preparing for deployment, murdering 13 people and wounding 32 others.

Witnesses testified that Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. Hasan later acknowledged carrying out the massacre and portrayed his actions as an effort to defend Muslims fighting American forces overseas.

A military jury convicted him of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder and sentenced him to death in 2013.

Now, more than 16 years later, his execution is moving closer.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the firing squad, and Trump approved the recommendation.

“Judgment day for Hasan has finally come,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.

Hegseth’s response was one word:

“Justice.”

The Secretary of the Army will determine the time and location of the execution. Hasan can still pursue additional litigation that could delay it.

If carried out, Hasan would become the first U.S. service member executed by the military since 1961.

A Kuwaiti man who tried to enter Israel’s embassy in London carrying two knives and a handwritten “martyrdom note” has been sentenced to life in prison. Abdullah Albadri, 34, received a minimum term of 20 years at the Old Bailey on Monday, October 5, following his conviction for preparing an act of terrorism.

The attempted breach took place shortly before 6 p.m. on April 28, 2025. Albadri arrived with a scarf covering his head and face and sunglasses concealing his appearance, then began climbing the embassy’s perimeter fence. Armed diplomatic protection officers pulled him down within seconds, stopping him before he could enter the grounds. A search uncovered two knives in his clothing.

Investigators subsequently uncovered evidence of advance preparation. His phone showed searches for the embassy’s location, alongside Arabic-language searches relating to suicide and martyrdom. Police said the note he carried expressed an intention to die, while body-camera footage recorded him acknowledging that he had weapons and wanted to commit a crime inside the embassy. Detectives concluded that he sought revenge for Israel’s actions in Gaza.

According to Reuters, prosecutors told the court that Albadri first reached Britain by small boat in 2021, later withdrew his application to remain and apparently left the country. He returned through Dover on April 12, 2025, and again sought asylum. Prosecutors said messages on his phone indicated that his claim was rejected on April 24—four days before the attempted attack.

The prosecution’s case centered on his intentions: the embassy was deliberately chosen as a target representing Israel, and his preparations demonstrated a plan to use violence to exert political pressure. The jury accepted that argument, convicting him of preparing terrorist acts and two offenses involving possession of a bladed article.

London counterterrorism chief Helen Flanagan praised the officers who stopped him, saying the sentence reflected both the danger he posed and his lack of remorse. She also said police continue reviewing security arrangements with the embassy, which has faced other security alerts.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he personally believes Iran was responsible for last week’s flydubai attack, hours after Vice President JD Vance said he had not seen conclusive evidence linking Tehran to the incident.

“I do. I personally do,” Trump told reporters when asked whether Iran was responsible. He did not explain the basis for his assessment.

Earlier, Vance said U.S. officials were examining a possible Iranian connection, but deferred to CIA Director John Ratcliffe and intelligence officials. “I wouldn’t say I’ve seen anything conclusive just yet,” he said before departing for Alaska.

The investigation centers on an Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to seize control of a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight. Shin Bet investigators are participating in his interrogation in the United Arab Emirates, as authorities examine whether he acted independently or had outside backing.

The Times of Israel reported that Israeli security officials have so far assessed that the co-pilot acted alone. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also said it is too early to determine whether Iran was involved.

In a lightning advance Monday against the Iran-backed Houthis, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces recaptured the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, driving the Houthis as far as Mocha with the support of heavy Saudi airstrikes, according to Yemeni government reports.

The Yemeni government said it had retaken much of the strait, a vital shipping route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The government said that it had also made gains in Mocha, with Houthi fighters retreating into the mountains.

Government troops also regained important positions in the Dhubab district, including an airstrip near the strait. The Houthis had seized this area last month, a move that sent the global oil market into a panic and drove up oil prices. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping lane for the world’s oil supply, means that the threat to Bab el-Mandeb further endangers the world’s oil supply.

Because of the massive amount of shipments that pass through Bab el-Mandeb, the Yemeni government takeover signifies more safety for ships transiting the strait and passing between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. However, the Houthis still have the capability to endanger ships by launching drones from deeper inland or further along the northern coast.

The Houthis have made important gains in other areas, maintaining their threat to the city of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, by reportedly capturing part of the mountain road leading to the city and encircling it with their fighters. The Houthis have also threatened strikes on aircraft flying through Saudi airspace.

The war is worsening Yemen’s already dire humanitarian situation. In Taiz, which has been on the front line of the war, people lined up for fuel and cooking gas Monday.

Turkey and Pakistan agreed to quickly deploy forces and military equipment to Saudi Arabia. The three countries signed a defense agreement called the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all. The three states accused the Houthis of attacking Mecca and Medina in addition to Saudi cities and civilian infrastructure.

In a statement Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the IDF had eliminated 4,000 out of 6,000 terrorists who had participated in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, constituting two-thirds of the total, and he vowed that Israel would finish the job.

“4,000 terrorists who infiltrated Israel on October 7 have been eliminated — 2,000 remain,” he wrote.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I ordered the IDF to pursue and eliminate them all — from the top brass to the rank and file,” he added.

“This is the command of the murdered and the fallen, and this is our duty as a people and a state — and we will fulfill it,” he vowed.

Hamas breaches the fence along the border on Oct. 7. (Credit: X)

Despite the ceasefire, the IDF has been picking off Oct. 7 terrorists, claiming they posed an active threat to allow it to conduct the strikes, taking down 17 in September alone.

To that end, the IDF and Shin Bet established a special operation conducted by a unit called Nili to hunt down and eliminate every single terrorist who participated in the Oct. 7 attack, abused hostages, held hostages in captivity or participated in the hostage release ceremonies. Hamas leaders who orchestrated the attack were also included on the list.

Nili has achieved stunning successes so far, as evinced by Katz’s announcement that 4,000 out of 6,000 terrorists had been eliminated. Nili operatives, who comprise Shin Bet officials and IDF soldiers and reservists, use footage from Hamas GoPro cameras, facial recognition software, online video and photographic evidence, artificial intelligence and traditional tools to collect information on the ground, members of the Nili unit told Channel 12 News in their first open acknowledgment of the special operation.

Finding and locating the terrorists meant sifting through thousands of documents and other pieces of evidence, “an endless pile of material,” as described by Adi Rotem, a former senior official with the Shin Bet.

The terrorists who kidnapped Yaffa Adar, 85; Yagil Yaakov, 12; Yarden Bibas; and Avinatan Or, as well as the terrorist who drove his tractor through the border fence, have all been eliminated.

The IDF eliminated Hamas terrorist Muhammad Fuad Gasser Sayid, who held Avinatan Or in captivity. Or is pictured here with his captor. (Credit: IDF)

“It could be the driver who drove a tractor [across the border], and it could be a Nukhba company commander who led the invasion,” said Lammed, a Nili operative who is also a lieutenant in the IDF’s Southern Command.

“You feel the tension [during a mission to eliminate terrorists],” she added. “You feel the quiet, the seconds before the missile hits; everyone is just waiting for the strike to hit the person.”

Lammed described the mission targeting a platoon commander who led the invasion of the Nahal Oz IDF base.

“We knew what time he went to the shop, we knew the path he took; this is the task of intelligence, to take every target of interest to us, and investigate him down to the smallest detail, to the level of when he goes to pray, and what he eats for breakfast,” she explained.

The IDF estimates that 1,200 to 1,600 were killed inside Israel during the attack. Another 300 were captured and await justice in Israeli prisons, while the remainder fled back to the Gaza Strip, where about 2,400 were killed in the ensuing fighting or were targeted by Israel.

New details from the investigation into the attempted destruction of the Israel-bound Flydubai flight may explain what passengers witnessed immediately after the alleged attack.

According to information reported by Israel’s Channel 12, co-pilot Hammam Al Hammami told investigators that his actions were motivated by the war in Gaza.

“I did it as revenge for Gaza. I wanted to die as a shahid,” he reportedly said during questioning.

co-pilot Hammam Al Hammami

That reported statement could also explain something Israeli hero Yaniv Hayoun and other passengers say happened after they overpowered and restrained Al Hammami.

According to Hayoun’s account, the subdued co-pilot repeatedly begged the Israelis to kill him, saying over and over in English:

“Kill me! Kill me!”

If investigators confirm his reported confession, those pleas take on new significance: Al Hammami allegedly expected his attack to end with his own death and viewed dying during it as martyrdom.

But investigators are now pursuing another critical question: Did he act alone?

Israel’s Shin Bet is involved in the investigation, while authorities are examining whether Al Hammami received assistance, instructions or encouragement from another person or organization. His cellphone is reportedly a major focus, with Saudi and Emirati investigators examining his communications, contacts and activities leading up to the flight.

Investigators are also examining trips Al Hammami reportedly made to countries hostile to Israel. According to the report, a Mossad representative told Israeli ministers that authorities are investigating whether he could have been recruited or directed during one of those visits.

UAE authorities have also questioned the flight attendants. Information transferred to Israel reportedly has not produced evidence that crew members knowingly participated in the alleged plot, although Israeli investigators have not been permitted to question them directly.

What began as questions about what happened inside the cockpit is now developing into a much wider investigation: Was Al Hammami a lone attacker seeking revenge for Gaza and hoping to die as a shahid, or was someone else behind him?

Abdullah Albadri, 34, was sentenced Monday by a London court to life in prison following his conviction in May for breaching the Israeli Embassy in London.

“A man has been found guilty of preparing terrorist acts,” the Metropolitan Police posted on X at the time. “Armed officers arrested him as he attempted to breach security at the Israeli Embassy in London, carrying two knives.”

The would-be terrorist, who had failed to seek asylum from Kuwait, tried to breach the embassy while armed with two knives and a “martyrdom note.” At his trial, prosecutors alleged that he was inspired by what he says is “the killing of children.”

Video footage captures the dramatic moment a would-be terrorist is tackled and apprehended in the act of scaling a fence around the Israeli Embassy in London. (Credit: The Metropolitan Police)

Albadri claimed innocence, saying he had knives on him because he was homeless — apparently he expected the jury to believe his attempt to enter the Israeli Embassy was just a coincidence. But the evidence said otherwise, and the jury convicted him anyway.

The welcome verdict follows a spate of antisemitic attacks, including a stabbing in Golders Green in April that injured two people. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI), a group with ties to Iran, has claimed responsibility for some of these attacks. The group had claimed to have sent a drone in April to drop dangerous chemical substances on the Israeli Embassy in London, but an investigation found nothing.

Albadri’s behavior was anything but innocent. He was arrested while trying to climb over the fence around the embassy, and he told police officers he wanted to send a message about the war, referring to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

A note and one of the two knives found on the suspect are pictured. (Credit: X)

“The prosecution says that Mr. Albadri’s intention was to use or threaten serious violence against the Israeli government, to exact revenge for its alleged murder of children,” Prosecutor Catherine Pattison told jurors at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.

She added that he had arrived at England’s shores twice, on a small boat, attempting to seek asylum because he claimed his life was threatened due to his civil rights activism.

His second attempt to enter the country occurred in April 2025, and after he was denied his request for asylum, he started seeking out the whereabouts of the Israeli Embassy, which has repeatedly faced threats in recent years.

A Russian lab tech at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute in Siberia died last week after contracting what might have been the most dangerous form of plague, pneumonic plague, after possible exposure to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the disease.

Conflicting reports in Russian media have only added to the fear and confusion. Alexey Tsydenov, head of the Buryatia region near Irkutsk, where Darya Shipilova contracted the infection, first said that she died of the plague before changing his post to say that she “possibly” died of it.

Rospotrebnadzor, Russia’s health watchdog, said the 28-year-old died from “pneumonia of unknown etiology.”

The lab where Shipilova worked was locked down, with people inside forced to sleep on chairs and the floor. Relatives are allowed to drop off food at a certain checkpoint. Several hospitals in the area are under similar quarantine. Testing has not revealed further cases of the infection, but 200 people remain under observation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is closely monitoring the situation, saying that travel is already limited between the two countries, but that nevertheless, once a pathogen like the plague escapes, it can travel quickly.

“There’s very limited travel between the U.S. and Russia, obviously, but like anything else, something like that gets out, it could quickly spread,” he said. “So we’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it. And we’re doing that.”

Pneumonic plague, unlike its more well-known cousin bubonic plague, is the most dangerous form of plague, affecting the lungs and traveling through respiratory droplets between people who are in close contact. It acts quickly, potentially killing its victims within 18 to 24 hours if not immediately treated with antibiotics. It takes four to seven days for symptoms to appear.

Passengers on the flydubai flight 1073 still believed they were being flown to Iran even after the terrorist co-pilot had been restrained and the craft stabilized.

The incident unfolded Wednesday as a fight broke out in the cockpit of the flydubai airplane carrying about 180 Israeli passengers. The alleged hijacker, Hamam al-Hammami, who was a co-pilot, tried to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX, managing to push the aircraft into a nosedive of 14,000 feet in just one minute. Passengers rushed the cockpit, which had been opened by Indian pilot Smit Machchhar just before he lost consciousness, and subdued the potential hijacker. The plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where both pilots, who sustained wounds in the cockpit fight, were taken to a hospital for treatment. Video footage shows that a passenger was wounded and bleeding as well.

The Mossad is taking the lead in the probe, and the transportation minister has requested a freeze on flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates while the investigation is ongoing.

Questions remain regarding how a pilot of Omani origin was going to land a plane in Israel. According to the bilateral agreements that Israel has with other countries, only pilots from states that have diplomatic ties with Israel can land planes in the Jewish state.

View from the flydubai airplane approaching Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. (Credit: Uri Pintov)

Meanwhile, it has been determined that the co-pilot had planned a terror attack on the scale of 9/11, intending to take over the aircraft and crash it into the heavily congested Ben Gurion airport, with the potential for thousands of fatalities.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, a passenger on the flight, Uri Pintov, described the experience as “10 minutes of horror.” He had boarded the flight with his wife Michelle and three children after a vacation in Thailand, but he said that the passengers “did not trust” the crew, including the pilots who took over the flight and locked themselves in the cockpit.

Doubts were running through his mind during the ordeal.

“What was the co-pilot’s plan? Was he planning to crash us into Ben-Gurion? Did he want to hijack the plane and bring us to Yemen or Iran? I felt like I was held hostage for an hour and a half,” he said.

“It was an hour and a half where we didn’t know where we were going, where they were taking us. We didn’t trust anyone, so we separated the crew and put them in different places on the plane,” he added, saying that it wasn’t until just 10 minutes before landing that the rescuers finally spoke to the passengers.

“It was so fast, and once they got into the cockpit, they locked the door, and no one could go in. It could have been that they had their hands full, but they said nothing to us,” Uri said.

“As we were landing, I forced the crew member sitting next to me to tell me where we were, and then I understood it was Saudi Arabia. But we still didn’t know what their intentions were … if we were going to be hostages or not once we landed. We were ready for whatever was coming.”

Pintov’s wife Michelle described the terror of those moments.

“I remember more screaming, and I was seeing my own death, our deaths. It wasn’t even a question. I remember looking at my son Daniel, who is only 10 years old, and he was in shock with his eyes closed. My daughter Emma was sitting near the window and looked at me, terrified. Mia was sitting next to the window, and I saw her sending a voice note to her boyfriend saying goodbye. I took my phone too and left a message for my mother that I loved her,” she said.

“I felt that I couldn’t say bye to my kids. I couldn’t say it out loud to the kids,” Michelle added.

Pintov said that the passengers feared getting on another flydubai airplane, blaming the Transportation Ministry for its failure to vet the Omani co-pilot.

“People were terrified of boarding the rescue plane,” Pintov said.

“It was surreal that we had to go on another flydubai plane,” he said. “How did they think we were going to board the flight?”

“I am still shocked that no one in Israel was able to check the crew of the rescue flight and let us know it was safe to board that plane.  Doing checks on pilots flying into Israel isn’t something new, but the Transportation Ministry did not do their job. This is a lawsuit,” he added.

The United Kingdom threatened to expel 27 Israeli diplomats along with their families if Israel closes Britain’s consulate in East Jerusalem and expels British diplomats, sources revealed to The Jerusalem Post Monday.

The shutdown of the British consulate is scheduled for Oct. 8, per the order of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, in retaliation for British sanctions on Judea and Samaria.

Multiple sources told Reuters that the U.K.’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, visited Israel last week to discuss a solution that would prevent the closure of its consulate, but the U.K. did not publicly disclose the visit. The talks ultimately failed to produce the desired result for Britain.

The spat between Jerusalem and London unfolded after Britain announced measures against Judea and Samaria in September to punish Israel for its proposed construction in Section E1 near Maale Adumim in Judea and for its alleged failure to crack down on settler violence.

The day after British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband announced the United Kingdom’s intent to sanction Judea and Samaria, the U.K., France, and Canada issued a joint statement about the ban, followed by another joint statement on the ban by Canada, France, the U.K., Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, in which they signaled that they had already implemented or were planning to implement measures against the region.

Eight Muslim countries praised the sweeping ban on all goods and services in Judea and Samaria.

Israel retaliated by giving the British government 30 days to close its consulate, ordering British officials at the U.S.-led International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat to cease operations, and canceling the British Support Team that trains Palestinian Authority police in Ramallah.

Britain’s Green Party’s resolution Saturday declaring that Zionism is racism and calling for one Palestinian state from the river to the sea with Jerusalem as its capital ignited intense backlash across the political spectrum, with Israel’s Foreign Ministry barring Zack Polanski, the Greens’ Jewish leader, from entry into Israel.

The Greens’ former deputy leader expressed his dismay over the vote, saying that the party has become openly antisemitic.

The Green Party has now become “the U.K.’s first openly antisemitic party,” he said, adding, “Make no mistake: This motion removes the right of the state of Israel to exist. It requires it.”

“This new party policy has made it impossible for the Greens to be an acceptable coalition partner in any future government make-up,” an Australian outlet called The Australian declared.

“I am deeply saddened the ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion has passed. It doesn’t reflect Green principles or my own view. The Green Party has long supported the principle of self-determination, and I stand by our 2024 manifesto commitment of equal rights of Israelis and Palestinians,” wrote Adrian Ramsey, one of the Green Party’s MPs, on X.

“Zionism isn’t racism — the Green Party is,” wrote The Jewish Chronicle, a British Jewish newspaper.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews posted, “The motion passed by the Green Party today is an attack on the Jewish community. It is an antisemitic platform, based on a grossly offensive distortion and erasure of Jewish experience and identity.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry blasted the Green Party’s resolution in a statement on X, accusing the political party of aligning itself with Hamas ideology.

“Today, the Green Party in Britain ceased to act as a political party and became a body that gives legitimacy to terrorism. The Greens have adopted not only the green of Hamas, but also its ideology: the elimination of the State of Israel through armed struggle,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“The shocking resolution adopted today legitimises armed struggle, calls for a Palestinian state ‘from the river to the sea’ — meaning the destruction of the State of Israel — and labels as ‘racist’ the aspiration of the Jewish people for self-determination,” the ministry added, saying, “This goes far beyond the boundaries of legitimate political debate. As long as this resolution remains in place, it will be a stain on the history of the United Kingdom.”

“Every political party in Britain, first and foremost the governing Labour Party, must unequivocally reject this twisted resolution,” it concluded.

In a second statement, the Foreign Ministry took aim again at the resolution, adding that Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar had banned Polanski from Israel.

“The resolution constitutes a clear antisemitic text according to the IHRA definition, as it denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination,” the ministry tweeted. “Therefore, as a first step, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has decided this evening to declare Green Party leader Zack Polanski barred from entering Israel. The decision has been coordinated with the relevant authorities.”

Britain’s Green Party voted Saturday to adopt a resolution equating Zionism with racism, while its leader, Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, was away on the campaign trail, though he endorsed the resolution.

The resolution, which passed by 1,022 votes to 813, says that “Zionism should be treated as any other form of racism” and calls for the “establishment of a single democratic Palestinian State in all of historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital,” which opponents see as a call to eradicate the only Jewish state in the world.

The resolution also supports the “right of the Palestinian people to resistance and liberation from Israeli occupation” and the right of “oppressed colonial peoples to defend themselves against foreign oppression.”

The resolution argues that Zionism is racism because it “privileges one ethnic group on the basis of the subjugation of others,” adding, “This motion is aimed at the political ideology and practice of Zionism, as defined, and not at the religious or ethnic background of those who may identify as Zionists. Not all Jews are Zionists and not all Zionists are Jews … Zionism, as defined above, will be treated as any other form of racism, and this motion will be implemented by the anti-racism policy working group as appropriate and in accordance with its ordinary practice.”

The vote raises concerns that the Green Party has moved away from its core focus on environmental issues (hence the name “Green”) to turn its attention obsessively to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The motion was put forward by anti-Israel activist Lubna Spetain, who had previously called for “Zionists to be hunted in the same way as the Nazi oppressors were.”

The resolution “was not a theoretical debate or distraction from the genocide of Palestinians,” she said. “We Palestinians were not the persecutors of Jews, yet we have been forced to pay a price for crimes we did not commit.”

Four of the party’s five MPs opposed the motion, with some saying that they would support Jewish members who believed they were targeted as a result of the resolution, since an amendment saying that the motion should not be used to “pressure, proscribe or discipline members based on affiliation with Jewish community institutions” was voted down.

The resolution is open to legal challenge, as it might violate the Equality Act, which was successfully used to prosecute Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party over antisemitism, according to the lawyer who led the case, Adam Wagner.

“I think there is a strong risk that the motion as passed contravenes the Equality Act 2010, which applies to political parties, as it will discriminate against and harass people who hold Zionist beliefs and Jewish people more generally,” he said.

Former Hamas hostage Emily Damari has released previously unseen photographs from Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, recounting the medical neglect and armed intimidation she endured after her abduction. Shared on Instagram on Saturday, the post marked three years since her kidnapping on the Hebrew calendar.

Damari described being brought into a blood-covered room with a body lying nearby. A man introduced himself as “Dr. Hamas,” she recalled, while roughly ten gunmen pointed Kalashnikov rifles at her head. She had suffered injuries to her hand and leg during the October 7 attack.

According to Damari, her leg continued bleeding for four months. Stitches in her hand that should have been removed after two weeks remained for an entire year. Two of her fingers were amputated.

Reflecting on the photographs and the condition of her wounds, she wrote that “the fact that I’m here today is a miracle.”

Damari was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and spent 471 days in captivity. She returned to Israel on January 19, 2025, alongside Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, during the first release under a ceasefire agreement.

After undergoing corrective surgery at Sheba Medical Center in March 2025, Damari said the treatment had significantly reduced the pain she had endured. In that earlier account, she said her captors had provided only expired iodine and bandages after the initial procedure, leaving her without basic care or clean water. Despite the lasting damage, she described her injured hand and scars as symbols of “freedom, hope, and strength.”

Israel’s Transportation Ministry is facing allegations that it failed to carry out required security oversight of foreign flights despite repeated warnings, intensifying scrutiny after the attack aboard an Israel-bound flydubai aircraft. The ministry disputes the allegations and says it lacks the intelligence capabilities to investigate foreign crews.

According to Army Radio, citing internal National Security Council documents, concerns stretch back to 2021. A classified state comptroller report reportedly identified shortcomings in 2024, and the National Security Council warned again in March 2025 that the ministry was not fulfilling its responsibilities. Discussions over how to address the problem exposed disagreements about which agency should perform the checks and who would provide the resources.

The report said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assigned responsibility for foreign-flight security to the Transportation Ministry in 2025 despite internal objections over inadequate staffing, funding and capabilities. Ministry security chief Avri Cohen reportedly warned that the assignment exceeded his division’s capacity. Nevertheless, the ministry allegedly made no requests for assistance checking individual passengers or crew members, while the Shin Bet and Mossad did not step in to cover the gap. Separately, regional officials told The Associated Press that Emirati authorities had provided Israel with the flight’s passenger and crew details, including nationalities, before departure. They said Israel raised no concerns. Emirati authorities say the Omani co-pilot attacked the captain with a cockpit emergency axe during Wednesday’s flight, before the captain opened the cockpit door and others intervened to subdue the attacker.

The Transportation Ministry rejected the reporting, saying it confused foreign airlines’ flights with flights chartered by Israeli carriers. It maintained that its responsibilities for foreign aviation date back decades, while the more recent changes concerned chartered flights. The ministry also said its procedures had been approved by security authorities and relied on screening in departure countries, additional Israeli requirements and airline commitments—not intelligence background investigations conducted by ministry staff.

Regarding flydubai, the ministry said the airline had committed in writing to conducting crew background checks and incorporating nationality restrictions into its scheduling system. It maintained that it never received the crew list for Flight FZ1073 and that its security division lacked access to flight lists. However, Israel’s Tax Authority confirmed receiving the information. Whether that information reached the Transportation Ministry remains unresolved.

A special Knesset intelligence subcommittee meeting is reportedly scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, with representatives of the Transportation Ministry, National Security Council, Shin Bet and Mossad expected to attend.

The co-pilot accused of attacking an Israel-bound flydubai flight allegedly planned to murder the captain and crash the aircraft into Tel Aviv’s skyscrapers, according to an Italian newspaper report citing Israeli intelligence.

Corriere della Sera reported Sunday that Hamam al-Hammami intended to kill Capt. Smit Machchhar without alerting anyone outside the cockpit, then continue along the scheduled route. The alleged plan was to reach his target before Israeli fighter jets could intervene.

The September 30 flight instead ended with an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after passengers and crew subdued the attacker. The UAE’s prosecutor general said Saturday that the co-pilot used an emergency crash axe in what authorities described as a terrorist attack. A reserve pilot aboard the aircraft brought it safely into Tabuk.

Machchhar described his desperate struggle during a Saturday conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The captain said he suffered repeated blows, his vision deteriorated and the aircraft pitched downward as his co-pilot repeatedly prevented others from entering the cockpit.

Hearing passengers scream, Machchhar managed to reach the door and open it, allowing those outside to intervene. “I had that one last fight left in me,” he told Netanyahu.

A source separately said that Israeli authorities currently believe al-Hammami acted independently, rather than under instructions from a terrorist organization. That remains an investigative assessment.

This picture shows a view the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on March 22, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel’s public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images) /

His employment history is also drawing scrutiny. The Guardian, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that Oman previously barred him from flying over concerns about extremist views.

Australian authorities have confirmed an investigation into his connections to the country. Reports said he studied there between 2015 and 2017, with investigators examining whether he became radicalized during that period.

As of Reuters’ Sunday report, al-Hammami remained in UAE custody, and authorities had not announced formal charges.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir convened Israel’s senior military leadership on Sunday for a conference examining the lessons of the October 7 massacre, three years after the Hamas-led attack.

During the conference, Zamir presented a certificate of appreciation to Chief Warrant Officer “Vav,” a member of the IDF’s elite Unit 8200 who warned ahead of October 7, 2023, that Hamas had developed a clear plan to attack Israel. Her warnings were dismissed by senior intelligence officials at the time.

Zamir said the IDF is now concluding its investigations into the failures surrounding October 7, stressing that the military must turn the findings into concrete changes.

“We understand the magnitude of the disaster,” Zamir said, adding that the IDF cannot remain consumed by the investigations and must instead “learn, draw lessons, implement them and move forward.”

Among the central lessons, Zamir said, is the need to significantly expand Israel’s security margin and build a larger military capable of confronting threats simultaneously across multiple fronts.

“The size of the IDF is our strategic depth,” he said.

Zamir said the military is also reshaping its strategy around preparedness for a surprise war, including identifying and neutralizing serious threats while they are still developing.

The conference, held at the Glilot Base in central Israel, brought together officers ranked brigadier general and above from across the IDF’s branches, commands and directorates.

According to the military, the findings of the October 7 investigations were summarized during the conference, with commanders presenting both the primary lessons and the steps being taken to implement and monitor the necessary changes.

The gathering also marked the beginning of a broader investigation into Israel’s entire multi-front war, including the recent war with Iran. Separate teams will examine different aspects of the conflict, with Zamir expected to hold additional review meetings in the coming months.

The IDF said the broader lessons of the war will focus on four areas: strategic preparedness for surprise attacks, operational readiness for updated threat scenarios, force buildup across the military, and intelligence.

Israel’s sixth submarine has arrived, but security officials are asking for more submarines, more ships and additional capabilities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the Ashdod naval base Sunday alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz.

“The maritime arena has effectively become an international battlefield,” Netanyahu said, pointing to the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb. He warned that Israel’s enemies want to threaten its Mediterranean waters, ports and shipping routes.

“Of course, we will not let that happen.”

Netanyahu and Katz received briefings on the navy’s southern operations and inspected weapons and equipment used for defense and attack. Netanyahu declined to elaborate on some of the additional capabilities security officials are requesting.

“In this area too, above and below the surface, I intend for Israel to be one of the world’s leaders in this field of warfare,” he said. “We will also defend Israel from the sea.”

The two additional pilots who helped bring flydubai Flight FZ1073 to safety were aboard because of concerns about possible regional diversions, not an advance security warning.

A person familiar with the arrangement said an unexpected rerouting could have added hours to the journey, leaving the original crew unable to operate the return flight within permitted duty limits. The airline therefore assigned four pilots rather than two.

The wounded pilot who helped save the souls on board.

That precaution became critical on September 30, when the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, Israeli officials said. Passengers and crew intervened, allowing the additional pilots to land the aircraft safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

An Israeli passenger interviewed said he focused on getting the additional pilots, seated farther back in the cabin, to the cockpit as others fought the attacker. “I had to shake them to get them to move to the front and take control of the plane,” he said.

According to his account, one pilot took control while the other initially appeared stunned. Passengers used charging cables to restrain the attacker, and an Israeli dentist treated the wounded captain. The Post noted that the detailed sequence described by the witness had not been independently verified.

Flydubai confirmed a cockpit altercation and the safe landing, but cautioned against speculation about the cause. The motive remained under investigation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News Thursday that the co-pilot of the flydubai flight who tried to hijack the plane “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination” without providing details. However, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the pilot’s social media accounts discussed killing Jews.

The official also said that, based on the co-pilot’s entreaties to Emirati crew members to kill him, the pilot had suicidal jihadi aspirations.

“This was a person who was willing to commit suicide,” said the official. “His social media accounts [say] clearly that he has been radicalized into jihadist ideology. He talks about killing Jews.”

“We can’t say for sure until the investigation’s over,” the official added, “but it certainly seems like he was a suicide actor who was probably going to try to down that plane.”

“The attacker, he calls out to the aircrew, ‘Kill me, kill me,'” Netanyahu told Fox News. “It’s clear he was suicidal.”

The Israeli premier added that it was too soon to know whether Iran was behind the incident but expected to find out shortly.

“It might be attempted again because we have indications that Iran and its proxies are trying to conduct attacks against Israel and Israelis right now in this election season,” Netanyahu warned.

Netanyahu said he expected Saudi Arabia to transfer the pilot to Dubai, where Israel would be able to join the interrogation. Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. In the meantime, according to the anonymous official, Israel is conducting its own probe to find out how a pilot of Omani origin was going to land a plane in Israel. According to the bilateral agreements that Israel has with other countries, only pilots from states that have diplomatic ties with Israel can land planes in the Jewish state.

“There was a loophole here, and we’re taking care of that,” Netanyahu said, referring to the pilot from Oman, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

The incident unfolded Wednesday as a fight broke out in the cockpit of the flydubai airplane carrying about 180 Israeli passengers. The alleged hijacker, who was a co-pilot, tried to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX, managing to push the aircraft into a nosedive of 14,000 feet in just one minute. Passengers rushed the cockpit and subdued the potential hijacker. The plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where both pilots, who sustained wounds in the cockpit fight, were taken to a hospital for treatment. Video footage shows that a passenger was wounded and bleeding as well.

Israel is coordinating with Saudi Arabia to send an Israeli Air Force plane to retrieve the stranded passengers and bring them to Israel, where they will be debriefed by the Shin Bet. The suspect’s motives are under investigation by both Saudi and Israeli intelligence.

The Mossad is taking the lead in the probe, and the transportation minister has requested a freeze on flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates while the investigation is ongoing.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says he will demand that Israel’s security cabinet push for the extradition of the Omani flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain and attempting to crash a Tel Aviv-bound passenger jet carrying roughly 170 people, most of them Israelis.

Ben-Gvir says he wants the suspect brought to Israel and prosecuted here.

“Someone who planned to crash a plane and murder 180 Israelis should be extradited to Israel and pay the heaviest price here,” Ben-Gvir said.

“Anyone who tries to murder or harm Israelis will be pursued by the State of Israel and held to account anywhere in the world.”

The suspect remains in Saudi Arabia following the extraordinary events aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

According to Israeli officials, the co-pilot attacked and stabbed Indian Captain Smit Machchhar before allegedly attempting to crash the aircraft. Despite being seriously wounded, Machchhar fought back and managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene and subdue the attacker.

The aircraft ultimately made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that information gathered by Israel indicates the co-pilot had undergone what he described as “Islamist radical indoctrination.” The UAE has launched an investigation into whether the attack was connected to terrorism and whether it was premeditated. The suspect’s motive has not yet been officially established.

Getting him to Israel could prove complicated.

Saudi Arabia, where he is currently being held, has no diplomatic relations with Israel. Neither does Oman, his home country. The UAE is reportedly expected to take custody of him following the Saudi investigation, but Israel and the UAE do not have a bilateral extradition treaty.

Ben-Gvir nevertheless says Israel should pursue every available avenue to bring the accused attacker to Israel to face justice.

The Israel Defense Forces dropped a bombshell report Thursday, releasing evidence that showed that a staggering 170 journalists who were killed in Gaza were in fact terrorists affiliated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other groups.

“Following extensive research, the IDF is now revealing that 170 Gazans killed during the war who were presented as journalists and media personnel were in fact serving as terrorists for terror organizations in the Strip, foremost among them Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” the military said.

The claim is based on “verified evidence, including visual material and documents produced by the terror organizations, some of which were found in the field, indicating the organizational affiliation of those terrorists and the roles they held within the terror organizations” that the IDF has released.

The Committee to Protect Journalists still lists Mohamed Thalathini as an innocent journalist targeted by Israel even after its investigation. (Credit: Salo Aizenberg)

The army slammed the international community for repeatedly accusing Israel of targeting journalists.

Media outlets “repeatedly accused Israel and the IDF, without presenting verified findings, of deliberately harming journalists,” the IDF said. “This was despite the fact that in some cases the terror organizations themselves presented those individuals as terrorists in their ranks and even claimed responsibility for them.”

“The information now being revealed illustrates the gap between the picture presented to the world and the reality on the ground, and presents additional and conclusive evidence that the IDF does not deliberately and systematically target journalists, but rather terror organizations and their terrorists, in accordance with international law,” the military added.

Some of the findings include the following:

• 118 “journalists” belonged to Hamas’ military wing, 49 to PIJ, two to the Popular Resistance Committees, and one to the Mujahideen Brigades.
• Seventeen of them participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
• Some of them worked for international media outlets such as Reuters, CNN, ABC Australia, BBC, AFP, AP, and Le Monde.

The Israel Defense Forces hit back at the anti-Israel documentary “NAZA” with a detailed, 10-page rebuttal Thursday, saying that it “presents a distorted, misleading and disingenuous picture of the IDF’s target planning and striking process.”

“The film’s narrative is based on substantial factual errors stemming from manipulative misrepresentations of reality,” the military said.

“Particularly troubling is the film’s further distortion of reality through manipulative editing of interviews, irresponsible allusions to historical atrocities, and its false and baseless attribution of malicious intentions to the IDF,” the military added.

The controversy over “NAZA,” which takes its name from the Hebrew acronym for “collateral damage,” broke out when the film, produced by Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham, debuted at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 10 to great acclaim, garnering nearly 25 minutes of applause and winning an award. By contrast, in Israel, the backlash to the film, which claimed that the IDF uses AI to plan airstrikes that maximize civilian casualties, was intense.

Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham directed the anti-Israel film “NAZA.” (Credit: Primo Barol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Culture Minister Miki Zohar moved to revoke the Israeli citizenship of producers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The IDF demanded the full release of the film to give the military a fair chance to rebut its claims. And IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered an investigation into possible leaks of classified material used in the film and also declared that legal action against Abraham and Szor was under consideration.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the proposal of two bills aimed at those who defame the IDF: stripping them of their citizenship and increasing the ability to be sued twentyfold.

In its rebuttal, the IDF said that no strike had ever been considered in which the estimated collateral damage reached 500 casualties or anywhere near that number and added that no reports corroborated such a high number of casualties in any strikes. The military said that it complies with international law and makes a clear distinction between military targets and civilians, never intentionally targeting civilians, while acknowledging that during complex operations, errors are made. However, contrary to the film’s claims, the IDF said that it has reviewed hundreds of strikes to assess the collateral damage to continuously improve its military performance.

The IDF denied that it uses AI, including the program known as Lavender, to identify targets.

The Israeli military pointed out that the film excluded interviews with people involved in the “full targeting process — those responsible for planning that mitigates civilian harm, legal advisers who review proposed strikes, and commanders responsible for approving or rejecting them. The result, as noted, is an incorrect and highly misleading portrayal of reality.”

It said that the film omits crucial context: the way in which Hamas embeds itself within civilian infrastructure to maximize civilian harm. The film ignored the IDF’s strategies to mitigate civilian harm with warnings and evacuations and left out the Oct. 7 attack — the reason for the war — altogether.

The military also argued that the film took the word “NAZA,” the Israeli acronym for collateral damage, and inverted it, portraying the act of making a collateral damage assessment as nefarious when in fact that shows compliance with international law. It is against international law to conduct a strike without making such an assessment.

The IDF also criticized the filmmakers for eschewing the appropriate channels for registering a complaint about military wrongdoing.

“Contrary to accepted practice, the filmmakers did not submit their allegations to the IDF for examination and response before publication, nor did they provide a copy of the film after its screening, although the IDF requested it,” the military said. “Therefore, in assessing the film’s contents, the IDF relied on a detailed account from a representative who attended a public screening, as well as other public accounts.”

You can find a summary of the report here and the full 10-page report here.

Iran supplied Hezbollah with an estimated $129 million in free weapons and military equipment in 2024, accounting for most of the roughly $157 million the terrorist group acquired that year.

The Center for Research of Terror Financing, known as CENTEF, estimates Hezbollah paid approximately $28 million from its own funds. The distinction matters: the larger figure represents the value of weapons acquired—not Hezbollah’s cash spending, its entire arsenal or its total military budget.

TOPSHOT – A Lebanese climbs a monument in the shape of a rocket erected by Hezbollah in the area of Qassimiya at the entrance of the southern city of Tyre, 18 February 2007. The monument was erected two days after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasarallah said he will not forgive Lebanese authorities for seizing weapons from his anti-Israeli Shiite guerrilla group. Last week, Lebanese authorities seized a truckful of weapons belonging to Hezbollah near Beirut. Last week, Lebanese authorities seized a truckful of weapons belonging to Hezbollah near Beirut. AFP PHOTO/MAHMOUD ZAYAT (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Researchers estimate the group acquired 4,500–6,500 rockets and missiles during 2024 despite disruptions to its supply lines. The analysis also covers anti-tank missiles, drones, air-defense systems and ammunition, including an estimated eight million rounds.

Anti-tank guided weapons were the largest category in CENTEF’s model, valued at approximately $55 million. Drones accounted for roughly $25 million, with launchers, vehicles and related platforms representing another $25 million.

The figures are modeled estimates, not audited records or verified shipment totals. Because Hezbollah’s procurement is clandestine, researchers relied on open-source information, replenishment patterns and assumptions about Iran’s production and delivery capacity. CENTEF cautions that its findings provide an approximate financial picture.

Researchers also estimate Hezbollah spent $26 million–$28 million on media in 2024. They say mapping these expenses and Iranian support could help identify financial dependencies and supply networks to disrupt.

Filmmaker Spike Lee erupted during a confrontation with a fan before the Yankees-Red Sox playoff game at Yankee Stadium.

Lee had reportedly been posing for photos when a fan approached him for a selfie and asked him to say, “F— Palestine.”

Lee jumped to his feet and shouted, “Why’d you come over to me?” as people nearby stepped in. Security then intervened, telling the fan, “You’ve gotta go,” and escorted him from the area.

The confrontation comes months after Lee drew attention at the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, where he wore a keffiyeh-patterned sweater along with Palestinian flag imagery on his bag strap and Palestine pins.

Spike Lee, wears Palestinian sweater to provoke Israeli playerr

The outfit attracted particular attention because Israeli star Deni Avdija was playing in the game, becoming the first Israeli selected as an NBA All-Star.

Deni Avdija

Lee later denied that his clothing was intended as a message against Avdija or Jews, saying the Palestinian imagery reflected his concern for Palestinian civilians.

One of the passengers on the flydubai flight that was nearly hijacked recounted that passengers tied up the suspect with cords from in-flight headphones.

Zvika Manes, CEO of Barak Capital Underwriting, who was one of the three passengers who restrained the rogue co-pilot, told Israeli broadcaster KAN News that they used the cords from the headphones that are supplied to passengers to tie him up. He said his wife was the one who initially discovered that something was wrong when she went to the restroom with their daughter and heard the sounds of a confrontation coming from the cockpit.

Prime Minister Netanyahu also added details about the incident and praised the passengers who rushed the cockpit.

“During the flight, as they approached Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone aboard,” Netanyahu said, adding that a passenger told him that the aircraft spun and then plummeted.

An airplane of budget airline flydubai lands at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Nov. 26, 2020. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

“He told me that, somehow, he managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they subdued the stabbing pilot while he was trying to sabotage the aircraft’s systems,” Netanyahu added.

Another member of the flight crew then entered the cockpit and righted the airplane, according to the premier.

“I salute these heroes, who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” he said. “They saved many lives. They prevented a major disaster.”

He also said that the alleged hijacker had been arrested.

“The stabbing pilot has been arrested and is currently being interrogated by the Saudi authorities,” Netanyahu said. “We are maintaining continuous contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the passengers remain safe and are returned home securely.”

The incident unfolded overnight as a fight broke out in the cockpit of the flydubai airplane carrying about 180 Israeli passengers. The alleged hijacker, who was a co-pilot, tried to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX, managing to push the aircraft into a nosedive of 14,000 feet in just one minute. Passengers rushed the cockpit and subdued the potential hijacker. The plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where both pilots, who sustained wounds in the cockpit fight, were taken to a hospital for treatment. Video footage shows that a passenger was wounded and bleeding as well.

Israel is coordinating with Saudi Arabia to send an Israeli Air Force plane to retrieve the stranded passengers and bring them to Israel, where they will be debriefed by the Shin Bet. The suspect’s motives are under investigation by both Saudi and Israeli intelligence.

The Mossad is taking the lead in the probe, and the transportation minister has requested a freeze on flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates while the investigation is ongoing.

Mosab Abdulkarim Al-Gassas, also known as Abu Wadee, cannot be deported back to Gaza despite entering Britain illegally and calling for the slaughter of Jewish people.

The 34-year-old TikTok influencer triggered a security alert after posting a video of himself at the forefront of migrants in a boat wearing orange life vests as he flashed a V for victory sign. He was arrested, pleaded guilty to entering the country illegally, and spent nine months in prison, after which he was allowed to stay and is now living in Corby in Northamptonshire.

Wadee has posted photos of himself with rifles and belonged to a Hamas unit called the Tire Burning Unit. In a video he posted before his arrival in Britain, he said, “Allah, deal with the Jews and those loyal to them. Allah, kill them one by one and leave none of them. Allah, destroy them completely, scatter them entirely and bring the ground down beneath their feet.”

The TikToker, who has a following of about 20,000 people, claimed that he no longer supports Hamas and now has Jewish friends.

“That was back when I lived in Gaza under Hamas rule. Everyone knows that Hamas is a terrorist organization that would kill us if we didn’t speak against the Jews while living there,” he told The Northamptonshire Telegraph. Nevertheless, he continues to post on TikTok and recruits young people to join his calls for a “free Palestine.”

The Home Office is seeking to deport him but cannot do so currently because of the dangers in Gaza, which include risks to life and lack of safe routes to Gaza.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, slammed the government’s policy on immigration, saying that Wadee should be sent back to Gaza, where “he’d fit right in.”

“This man – and all those entering illegally – should be deported,” he stated.

“The system is totally broken and is being exploited by dangerous thugs like this. That’s we need to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and ban asylum claims by illegal immigrants,” he added.

Abu Wadee poses with rifles. (Credit: X)

“If the Government hadn’t cancelled the Rwanda scheme before it started, then they could have sent Wadee there. Given he supports Hamas and Hamas runs Gaza, I see no reason why he can’t go back there. He’d fit right in,” he concluded.

Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British Jewish advocacy group, also lashed out at the government.

“There is a wider question of what this man is still doing in the UK, having been convicted of immigration offences. What is the point of imprisoning someone for being in the country illegally, and then when he completed his sentence allowing him to roam free? Our laws have become a laughing stock,” the group wrote in a social media statement.

“This is all the more significant in a week when the Home Secretary has announced that she will make it easier for Gazans to settle in the UK with no assurances being provided as to whether they may hold antisemitic views or have a history of terrorism,” the group said.

“Our country desperately needs to get a grip,” it added.

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev demanded a freeze on flydubai flights during a probe to discover how a pilot of suspected Omani origin came to be cleared to fly the route that nearly ended in a fatal hijacking. She has also asked the Israel Civil Aviation Authority to find out whether flydubai breached bilateral aviation agreements after the alleged altercation in the cockpit that ended with the suspected hijacker being subdued by passengers.

Under the current bilateral accords, only pilots from countries with diplomatic ties to Israel are allowed to land in the Jewish state. Israeli authorities are investigating whether the pilot held dual citizenship to bypass the restrictions on pilots from Gulf and Arab states. Her request triggered a dispute with Israel Security Agency head David Zini over halting air ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates while the investigation is pending.

The incident unfolded overnight as a fight broke out in the cockpit of the flydubai airplane carrying about 180 Israeli passengers. The alleged hijacker, who was a co-pilot, tried to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX, managing to push the aircraft into a nosedive of 14,000 feet in just one minute. Passengers rushed the cockpit and subdued the potential hijacker. The plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where both pilots, who sustained wounds in the cockpit fight, were taken to a hospital for treatment. Video footage shows that a passenger was wounded and bleeding as well.

Israel is coordinating with Saudi Arabia to send an Israeli Air Force plane to retrieve the stranded passengers and bring them to Israel, where they will be debriefed by the Shin Bet. The suspect’s motives are under investigation by both Saudi and Israeli intelligence.

Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad, is reportedly taking the lead in investigating the alleged plot to hijack and crash a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv overnight with about 180 Israeli passengers aboard.

A fight broke out in the cockpit as the alleged hijacker, who was a co-pilot, tried to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX, managing to push the aircraft into a nosedive of 14,000 feet in just one minute. Passengers rushed the cockpit and subdued the potential hijacker. The plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where both pilots, who sustained wounds in the cockpit fight, were taken to a hospital for treatment. Video footage shows that a passenger was wounded and bleeding as well.

Israel is coordinating with Saudi Arabia to send an Israeli Air Force plane to retrieve the stranded passengers and bring them to Israel, where they will be debriefed by the Shin Bet.

The suspect’s motives are under investigation by both Saudi and Israeli intelligence.

Israeli leaders weighed in on the incident.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the incident should be treated as premeditated murder and any terror organizations behind it should be brought to justice. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir lauded the courage of the passengers who intervened to save the aircraft from a fatal crash landing, calling it miraculous and arguing that the incident provides grounds for escalation of military operations against terror groups in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, and Judea and Samaria.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid dismissed rumors that the situation had been discussed during his security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it was not mentioned at all and accusing leakers of dangerous and reckless political manipulation.

Ofir Akunis, Israeli consul general in New York, lashed out at NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani after he unveiled his broad, wide-ranging $29 million plan to combat antisemitism in the most Jewish city in the Diaspora.

“Money can’t buy values. Until you recognize that your language against the Jewish state, which you don’t recognize as the homeland of the Jewish people, is the fundamental reason for the rise of antisemitism in New York City, it will continue to increase,” Akunis declared.

“Truly combating antisemitism requires readopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, which you overturned as the first decision of your administration on day one,” the diplomat said. “To truly fight antisemitism would be to call for your supporters to stop shouting ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘globalize the intifada,’ have them condemn the Oct. 7 massacre, and instead of supporting Hamas, declare that they are a terror organization.”

Mamdani unveiled his plan, billed as the largest municipal plan to combat antisemitism in the country, Tuesday, saying in a video statement, “The responsibility falls on us to care for and protect our Jewish neighbors, a responsibility that belongs to each and every one of us.” In his statement, he acknowledged the hate crime statistics regarding Jewish New Yorkers and said that “Jewish New Yorkers should feel cherished and celebrated in the most Jewish city in America.”

The $29 million secured for the plan, up from $3 million previously, will fund security for houses of worship, Holocaust education, and assistance to victims of hate crimes. Notably, the plan makes no mention of Israel or Gaza; nor does it show a correlation between anti-Israel activity such as protests and the sharp increase in anti-Jewish attacks. While Jews make up 12 percent of the city’s population, they are the target of more than half of the city’s hate crimes. Antisemitic incidents increased in the first eight months of this year by 9 percent over the same period last year.

The report also failed to adopt an official definition of antisemitism.

Jewish leaders criticized the omission of anti-Israel activity in the 35-page report. In an interaction with Phylisa Wisdom, head of the city’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, Republican Assemblyman Michael Novakhov said that “the primary source of antisemitism in the city right now is Mayor Mamdani.”

Amy Spitalnick, head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, who welcomed the plan, nevertheless criticized it for not linking protests against Israel to rising antisemitism.

Initial reports now indicate that the dramatic incident aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 may have been triggered by a fight between the pilots inside the cockpit.

The reported confrontation apparently led to the emergency aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, which earlier transmitted emergency code 7700 and then 7500 — the international code indicating a hijacking — prompting Israeli fighter jets to be scrambled.

The circumstances of the reported cockpit altercation, including why the hijacking code was transmitted, remain unclear.
The report has not yet been officially confirmed. This is a developing story.

A FlyDubai flight carrying more than 180 Israeli passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted Wednesday morning amid a suspected hijacking incident, according to initial reports approved for publication by Israel’s military censor.

Flight FZ1073 initially transmitted squawk code 7700, the international signal for a general emergency, before reportedly transmitting 7500, the code used to indicate an aircraft hijacking. The aircraft subsequently changed course while over Saudi Arabia. Flight-tracking data independently confirmed that the aircraft declared an emergency and turned around over Saudi Arabia.

Initial Israeli reports said the aircraft was being diverted to Saudi Arabia as authorities investigated a possible hijacking.

Israeli fighter jets were scrambled toward the aircraft as the incident unfolded. The flight also disappeared from public tracking on FlightRadar24.

The circumstances aboard the aircraft remain unclear, and there has been no official confirmation that a hijacking actually occurred.

This is a developing story.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani rolled into Crown Heights surrounded by black SUVs and a security detail.

But for some in the neighborhood, this wasn’t the welcome of an honored guest.

“You’re an antisemite,” a protester shouted, reflecting the deep anger and distrust Mamdani faces among parts of New York’s Jewish community over his rhetoric and positions on Israel.

And the setting carried extraordinary historical irony.

Mamdani visited the sukkah of Devorah Halberstam, one of New York’s best-known advocates against antisemitism and terrorism and the mother of Ari Halberstam.

Ari was just 16 years old when, on March 1, 1994, Rashid Baz opened fire on a van carrying Hasidic Jewish students across the Brooklyn Bridge. Ari died from his wounds days later. Baz later admitted that he targeted the students because they were Jewish, and the FBI ultimately classified the attack as terrorism.

Devorah turned the murder of her son into a decades-long fight against terrorism and antisemitism. She helped establish the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights in Ari’s memory and has repeatedly warned about the consequences of allowing hatred of Jews to spread unchecked.

That history makes Mamdani’s appearance there especially striking.

Some Jewish leaders have accused Mamdani’s rhetoric surrounding Israel of going beyond legitimate policy criticism and contributing to an atmosphere in which Jewish New Yorkers feel increasingly unsafe. Mamdani disputes that characterization and has said Jewish New Yorkers should feel “cherished and celebrated,” while announcing new measures aimed at combating antisemitism.

The image is difficult to ignore: a mayor facing accusations that his rhetoric has helped worsen the climate for Jews standing in the sukkah of a mother whose 16-year-old son was murdered in an antisemitic terrorist attack.

For Devorah Halberstam, the consequences of antisemitic hatred have never been theoretical.

More than two years after losing their son Almog Sarusi, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023 and later murdered in Hamas captivity, his parents, Nira and Yigal Sarusi, have welcomed a new son.

The baby, named Lavi, was born with the help of a surrogate using eggs the family had frozen approximately 25 years ago during a medical procedure.

Almog was killed in Hamas captivity alongside five other hostages, Hersh Goldberg Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov and Ori Danino. Their bodies were recovered by Israeli forces from a tunnel in Rafah in September 2024.

Ra’anana Mayor Chaim Broyde, who attended Lavi’s brit milah this week, shared the extraordinary story and described a ceremony filled with powerful and conflicting emotions.

There was deep longing for Almog, tears and pain, he wrote, but also enormous joy as a newborn brought new life into a family that has endured unimaginable loss.

According to Broyde, while mourning Almog about two years ago, Nira and Yigal remembered the eggs that had been preserved decades earlier. They located them, discussed the possibility of expanding their family with their surviving children and eventually found a surrogate.

After several attempts, the process succeeded. The family kept the pregnancy private until Lavi’s brit milah in Ra’anana.

Yuval Sarusi, father of the executed hostage Almog Sarusi, at his son’s funeral.

“A miracle happened to us,” the family wrote in the invitation to the ceremony, according to Broyde.

They said their son was born on Yom Kippur through a “wonderful surrogate,” bringing new hope into a home that will forever carry Almog’s memory.

The Sarusis said the pain of losing Almog will remain with them forever, but alongside that grief, they now have an extraordinary reason to celebrate life again.

Now in their 60s, Nira and Yigal are beginning parenthood all over again, welcoming baby Lavi into a family forever shaped by the son they lost and now strengthened by the new life they never imagined they would hold. 💙🇮🇱

At a Cornell University event in Ithaca, N.Y., earlier this week attended by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), keffiyeh-clad students led a chant of “from the river to the sea” and said “long live the student intifada.”

The students who led the chants at the event, described as a town hall and called “Students vs. Billionaires,” were Mina Petrova and Zoe Reisman.

The New York representative recently rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America after seven years of a lapsed membership and was introduced to the crowd by the Cornell Young Democratic Socialists, one of whom sported a keffiyeh.

“Cornell is fundamentally a capitalist institution that prioritizes billionaires and profit over students and community and is controlled by CEO trustees that are profiting off of genocide and war,” Petrova told the crowd of 2,000 at the standing-room-only event.

“We have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with oppressed peoples everywhere,” she added. “Student activism is not dead. Long live student resistance, and long live the student intifada. Thank you.”

Then Reisman took the microphone.

“Thank you and just for one second I’d like you guys to repeat after me: ‘From the river to the sea. Palestine will be free.’ Thank you!” she said.

In her speech, AOC did not push back, instead saying in her speech that it was wrong to discipline students who were suspended from Cornell University over the protests “for protesting the genocide in Palestine on campus.”

At a Labour Party conference Monday, British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband, who is Jewish, received a standing ovation from the attending delegates after a speech in which he said that the suffering Israel had inflicted on Gaza is “a stain on the conscience of the world.”

Miliband called the approach of Prime Minister Andy Burnham toward Israel and the Palestinians a “reset,” telling those in attendance who he said were “moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people”: “We hear you. You were right.”

“We call out ethnic cleansing by the settler terrorists in the West Bank,” he said. “We call out the evidence of war crimes in Gaza. We call out Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.”

“We will disrupt the supply lines of British finance, British construction, and British services for illegal settlements,” he declared, proudly adding that these actions “mobilized the international community” to follow suit “country after country.”

While Miliband acknowledged the Oct. 7 attack, he said that it did not justify Israel’s subsequent actions.

“Hamas’s murderous attack on October the seventh united the vast majority of the world in rightful condemnation,” he said. “But this, but this cannot justify the suffering the Netanyahu government has inflicted in Gaza and the West Bank.”

“This suffering, this suffering, is a stain on the conscience of the world, and I want to say to the millions of people in this country, and indeed elsewhere, who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people, we hear you. You were right. And under Andy’s leadership, we have reset our approach,” he explained.

Addressing the Israeli government about the purpose of Britain’s sanctions, he added, “When it comes to the attempt to destroy the two-state solution, this party, this movement, this government says we will not let you succeed.”

The foreign minister invoked his mother’s escape from the Nazis and her seeking shelter in Britain to say that “our argument is not with the people of Israel, but with the actions of its government.”

Miliband had announced the United Kingdom’s intent to sanction Judea and Samaria on Sept. 8, and the next day, the U.K., France, and Canada issued a joint statement about the ban, followed by another joint statement on the ban by Canada, France, the U.K., Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, in which they signaled that they had already implemented or were planning to implement measures against the region.

The catalyst for the ban was Israel’s planned construction of settlements in E1 in Judea, a section of land near Maale Adumim that is in Area C, which is under Israel’s total jurisdiction.

Israel retaliated by giving the British government 30 days to close its consulate in Israel, ordering British officials at the U.S.-led International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat to cease operations, and canceling the British Support Team that trains Palestinian Authority police in Ramallah.

In August 2024, Israel learned that a Hezbollah operative had begun to suspect the pagers that were eventually used in the infamous pager attack that killed or incapacitated thousands of Hezbollah terrorists and eliminated him in a strike that it designed to appear unrelated.

Details such as this one were revealed in an interview with former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant by Channel 12 News a year and a half ago but were not cleared by the military censor for publication until Monday evening.

Gallant also said that Iran sent scanning equipment to examine the pagers, which Israel also destroyed while making the incident appear unrelated. These two incidents threw Israel into a dilemma: detonate the pagers as soon as possible, or wait and risk discovery?

“In the first week of August it becomes clear to us that there is someone who suspects the pagers, [we] go to the elimination list and we eliminated him,” Gallant said in the interview. “Afterwards it becomes clear to us that testing devices are arriving that could examine these devices along with other things. And then during the process it becomes clear that somewhere there are pagers being tested.”

“The result is that you enter a situation, either you activate or it’s exposed within a short time,” Gallant added. “What is at stake is only one question, if you play it can you reach the full operation of walkie-talkies first. From constraint was born the strategic event.”

Gallant also revealed that the pagers bore the inscription “M-Tech” for “Mossad-Tech.”

Ultimately, Israel decided to detonate the pagers sooner rather than later. On Sept. 17, 2024, the pagers of Hezbollah terrorists exploded, followed the next day by their walkie-talkies, killing 59 people and wounding 4,500, many of them severely.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Tel Nof Airbase:

“We have indications that, ahead of the elections, our enemies may try to attack us. I have a message for them: Don’t mess with us. Our long arm will reach you anywhere, at any time.”

“I’m here at the Air Force base with our heroic pilots and our outstanding ground crews. We are operating constantly on every front.

The day before yesterday, we eliminated the despicable terrorist who abducted Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or. We brought them home, and we eliminated him. Last night, we eliminated the commander of Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade. He has now joined his predecessors, whom we also eliminated.

In total, over the past several weeks, we have eliminated more than 100 terrorists — and that’s in Gaza alone. Of course, we are also operating in Lebanon. You remember what we did at the Ali Taher Ridge.

We have achieved tremendous successes, but we are also facing tremendous pressure — pressure to withdraw and give up the major gains achieved through the bravery of our soldiers. I am not allowing that to happen, and I will not allow it to happen.

And one more thing: We have indications that, ahead of the elections, our enemies may try to attack us. So from here, from the Air Force base, from the long arm of the State of Israel, I have a message for them: Don’t mess with us — not now, and not ever. Our long arm will reach you anywhere, at any time.”

In addition to the 20,000 worshipers who gathered at Me’arat Hamchpela (Cave of the Patriarchs) in the Old City of Hebron Monday, another 10,000 gathered there Tuesday morning to pray, dance, and sing with their lulavim as they marked 60 years of the revival of the Jewish presence in the city.

Chief Rabbi of Safed Shmuel Eliyahu led shacharit, the morning service, at the compound outside, which was also attended by Chief Rabbi of Hebron Rabbi Yitzhak Schwartz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu.

The Jewish Community of Hebron posted video footage of the event, writing that it was “likely the closest experience to the joy of the pilgrimage to the Temple.”

After the War of Independence in 1948, Jordan captured Judea and Samaria, and Jews were barred from visiting the holy site. After the 1967 war, Israel took over the territory, giving Jews access to the city again. The burial ground is holy to both Jews and Muslims, with separate areas of prayer for people of both faiths.

Jewish actor Adam Brody joined the Jewish actors’ hall of shame, keeping company with such household names as Hannah Einbinder and Ilana Glazer, with his recent accusation against Israel of genocide.

Brody burst into public view with his role as Seth Cohen on the Fox television series “The O.C.” in the early 2000s. He also starred in the television hit series “The Gilmore Girls” as Dave Rygalski, but he has had a major resurgence as the “hot rabbi” Noah Roklov in the Netflix romantic comedy series “Nobody Wants This” (2024-present), for which he earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

In an interview with GQ, the actor, who had never spoken publicly before about the Israel-Gaza conflict, was asked about his “stance on Israel-Gaza.”

“Put me down as thinking it’s a genocide,” he said. “Put me down as wanting a free Palestine.”

“It’s awful that it’s taken so much death and misery, but it does feel like it’s reaching a breaking point that it should have a while ago,” he added. “I’m hopeful that another administration can really do some good and correct some of these policies that are helping that situation be as awful as it is.”

Jewish advocates lashed out at the Jewish actor, accusing him of monetizing his Jewishness and spreading blood libels.

“Adam Brody, an actor who has made a career monetizing his Jewishness for roles, has said he thinks Israel is committing a genocide: a lie and a slur,” wrote Michael Dickson, executive director of StandWithUs Israel, on X.

“Brody knows that to get along in Hollywood circles you had better keep quiet about the people that seek to wipe Jews off the planet and instead come out against the Jewish homeland,” he said.

“Adam Brody announced he thinks the war Hamas started is a genocide; his show premiers on Netflix next month,” Hen Mazzig, a Jewish activist, posted, along with a list of other actors who suddenly did extraordinarily well after throwing Israel under the bus.

Adam Brody’s comments stand in stark contrast with those of the creators of the show he stars in. Erin and Sara Foster, sisters who created the Netflix romance “Nobody Wants This,” have publicly expressed their support for Israel and Jewish communities there.

A Florida businessman who owns six beauty-supply stores has been indicted in an alleged Hamas financing scheme, with prosecutors citing messages in which he called for Jews to be beheaded and the killings publicized to frighten Israelis.

Raed Yousef, 56, of Lutz, faces 19 federal felony counts involving alleged terrorism financing, money laundering and passport fraud. His attorney entered not-guilty pleas at his September 18 arraignment in Tampa.

Investigators allege Yousef sent more than $45,000 to a French organization while knowing the money was intended for Hamas. The organization allegedly transferred more than $330,000 overall to cryptocurrency accounts controlled by the terrorist group. Prosecutors say the network also involved a Hamas member in Gaza and an associate in Louisiana.

TKUMA, ISRAEL – JANUARY 04: Over 800 Damaged cars from the October 7th Hamas attacks are collected at a site on November 5, 2023 in Tkuma, Israel. The location received hundreds of cars from the kibbutzes, the Nova music festival location, and other surrounding areas affected. Each car got inspected by Zaka, the police and various other teams to identify the cars and any remnants of bodies. According to Jewish law all parts of a human being, including blood or body parts must be buried, which Zaka volunteers are responsible for. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

The alleged operation began shortly after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, with the French organization presenting itself as a humanitarian initiative. Participants allegedly used “green” and “bread” as code words for Hamas and instructed one another to delete communications. In a January 2024 exchange about approaching donors, Yousef allegedly said: “Just tell them these are needy people in Gaza.”

Prosecutors also cited messages advocating violence against Jews. In one exchange, Yousef allegedly called for people “to behead them and display their heads.” Other messages urged posting beheadings on social media to terrorize Israelis into leaving, according to the government’s detention filing.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 26: An FBI logo is displayed on a bulletproof jacket at MCAS Miramar on September 26, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Authorities said a search of his home uncovered $75,000 in cash, six firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Investigators also alleged that he maintained a separate identity in Jordan, possessing a passport under another name.

His defense disputes that he knowingly financed Hamas. In a motion seeking his release, his lawyer argued that Yousef believed his donations supported humanitarian relief for civilians in Gaza and did not know money was being diverted. The defense characterized his inflammatory statements as protected political speech rather than evidence that he knowingly funded terrorism.

The defense also emphasized his longstanding community ties, noting that he became a naturalized American citizen in 1991 and operates six family-run beauty-supply stores in the Tampa Bay area.

A federal judge ordered Yousef detained pending trial on September 23, according to Court Watch.

Francesca Albanese, U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the disputed territories, apologized Monday for saying that antisemitism means hatred of all Semitic peoples.

“I sincerely apologize,” she wrote in a social media statement. “I misread the term ‘Muselmann’ (Muslim) used in Nazi camps for prisoners at the brink of death, wrongly inferring that the term antisemitism originally meant hatred of all Semitic peoples. In fact it was coined specifically to denote hatred of Jews.”

“Muselmann” in German does literally mean “Muslim,” but it became concentration camp slang for a prisoner who had been reduced to a skeleton through starvation and was, as Albanese correctly noted, on the brink of death. While the reason this term was adopted is uncertain, one theory proposes that the slumped, defeated posture of prisoners in concentration camps evoked the image of a Muslim prostrate in prayer.

The term “Semitic peoples” is a racist term, and there is no ethnic group today that identifies as a Semitic people. Linguists refer to a group of languages as Semitic languages, but using the term for people has been rejected as racist.

Albanese has repeatedly drawn fire for her antisemitic and anti-Israel comments, eliciting the criticism that, as a biased representative, she should not serve as U.N. rapporteur.

At a forum in Doha in February, Albanese gave a video speech wherein she identified Israel as the “common enemy” of humanity. In 2025, she made comments accusing American Jews of faking antisemitic incidents, accusing Israelis of using dogs to rape Arabs, and accusing the “Jewish lobby” of subjugating Americans.

In February 2024, she tweeted at French President Emmanuel Macron that Jews on Oct. 7 were “not killed because of their Jewishness, but as a reaction to Israel’s oppression.” In August of that year, she compared Israel’s campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust. And in July, she reposted a photo comparing Israel’s prime minister to Adolf Hitler.

Albanese’s comments sparked a furious backlash even among European countries, leading Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, and even her native country, Italy, to demand her resignation. The United States went further, sanctioning the U.N. official in July 2025.

In June, the mother of an Oct. 7 victim, in an interview with a German outlet, recounted feeling the hatred connected to Israel at a film premiere where she was invited as a guest of honor. Albanese posted the article with a two-word commentary: “Change medication.” Because of her reference to medication, she invited scrutiny due to her lawsuit claiming that sanctions imposed on her by the U.S. government had caused her and her husband health problems that required them to take medication. Albanese alleged that she had suffered from stomach ulcers and her husband had suffered from anxiety and insomnia.

Ultimately, the United States was forced to remove the sanctions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is forcefully denying reports that he received warnings from foreign intelligence officials ahead of the October 7 Hamas attack and says his legal team is preparing libel lawsuits over the allegations.

Netanyahu specifically rejected claims involving Abbas Kamel, who headed Egyptian intelligence at the time. He said he neither met nor spoke with Kamel during the months leading up to October 7 and maintains that Israeli intelligence officials never passed an Egyptian warning to him.

Netanyahu also shifted responsibility toward the security leadership operating on the night before the attack. He said then Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar was in contact with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva as warning signs were being discussed.

According to Netanyahu, despite those conversations, Bar did not personally alert him, mobilize the necessary forces and local security teams, or order the evacuation of the Nova festival. Netanyahu also pointed to the deployment of a small Shin Bet Tequila unit as evidence that security officials recognized a potentially serious threat.

Netanyahu then accused hostile foreign actors, including Arab states, of helping fuel what he described as a campaign of “false blood libels” designed to place responsibility for the October 7 failures on him and ultimately bring down his government.

He tied the controversy directly to Israel’s political battle, claiming his opponents would pursue withdrawals from territories where Israeli forces currently operate and advance the creation of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu ended with an election message of his own:

“It’s either right wing, or Palestine.”

Israel summoned the Spanish chargé d’affaires after Spain’s youth minister, Sira Rego, stated publicly that “the position of Spanish society is clear: for a free Palestine from the river to the sea.”

Gilad Cohen, head of the Political-Strategic Affairs Directorate, delivered the rebuke to the envoy, Francisca Pedrós.

The Israeli Embassy in Spain explained in an online statement that “‘From the river to the sea’ is a hate slogan that means a call for the destruction of the State of Israel and the expulsion of its Jewish population.”

“It is intolerable and illegitimate for a minister in Spain to deny the right of a sovereign state to exist,” the ministry added.

“She is unworthy of representing a democratic country,” the embassy declared.

In September 2025, Rego and Spain’s deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, were barred from entry into Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that Rego’s statement reflects the Spanish government’s “systematic anti-Israel policy” and criticized her for her silence on the Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis.

“The Spanish government has lost its moral compass,” the Foreign Ministry said, adding that Israel has been serving as “a punching bag for its foreign policy.”

Her most recent statements “reflect the direction of Spain’s current government: support for a vision that would mean the elimination of the State of Israel. This comes as the Spanish Prime Minister attacks Israel for exercising its fundamental right to defend itself, both against Iran and against Hamas,” the ministry said.

Rego’s Palestinian father lives in the Judea/Samaria region, and the minister has insisted that the “entire Israeli diplomatic delegation must be expelled from the Spanish State.” After Oct. 7, she said that Gazans have “the right to resist after decades of occupation.” She also called Israel “undemocratic and corrupt.”