Israel News

Thousands of Jewish worshipers ascended the Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av, turning the solemn fast over the destruction of the biblical Temples into a striking display of renewed Jewish prayer at the contested holy site. The scenes underscored a profound shift now unfolding in Jerusalem, where mourning over the Temples’ destruction is increasingly joined by open calls for restored Jewish worship—and, among a growing number of activists, the rebuilding of the Temple itself.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that a landmark civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia will move forward only if the kingdom joins the Abraham Accords and formally normalizes relations with Israel.

Israel’s newly appointed Mossad director, Roman Gofman, quietly traveled to Washington earlier this month for high-level talks with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House officials focused on Iran’s nuclear program and the continuing regional war, according to an Axios report published Wednesday.

The Netherlands will ban the import, purchase, sale, and intermediary trade of goods originating from Israeli settlements beginning September 22, becoming the latest European Union nation to adopt such restrictions.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun pledged Tuesday that his country would work to permanently end hostilities with Israel, appealing to President Donald Trump for political and military support as Beirut seeks to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization.

The Lebanese Armed Forces began operations Monday to assume security responsibility in three southern villages, marking the first on-the-ground test of a U.S.-brokered framework aimed at securing an eventual Israeli withdrawal and dismantling Hezbollah’s military presence in the region.

Archaeologists have uncovered massive wooden beams believed to have been burned during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem nearly 2,600 years ago, offering a rare and tangible connection to one of the most devastating events recorded in Biblical history.

Israel has begun preparations for the 2,000th anniversary of the baptism of Jesus Christ, a major Christian milestone expected to draw millions of pilgrims to the Holy Land in 2030.

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office sharply rebuked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday after he renewed his threat to seek the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a future visit to the city.

Malaysia’s prime minister has warned that his Islamic nation will immediately deport any Israeli citizens found in the country.

Israel and Lebanon concluded two days of U.S.-brokered negotiations in Rome on Wednesday, reporting progress toward establishing two pilot security zones in southern Lebanon as part of a broader ceasefire framework requiring the disarmament of Hezbollah.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) destroyed four Hamas weapons storage facilities in central Gaza overnight and eliminated a senior terrorist commander accused of directing attacks against Israeli troops, the Israeli military announced Thursday.

Germany’s Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, has approved legislation that would criminalize the public denial of Israel’s right to exist, amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Christian leaders and ministries are expressing cautious hope that the removal of Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip could eventually open a long-closed door for the Gospel, even as European and Palestinian officials begin laying plans for the territory’s physical reconstruction.

Israel’s High Court of Justice on Wednesday temporarily froze a newly enacted law shielding tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men from arrest and prosecution for avoiding military service.

The Israel Defense Forces announced Wednesday that it killed a Hamas terrorist who helped abduct the bodies of an Israeli brigade commander and two soldiers during the October 7, 2023, massacre.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a blunt warning to Iran on Tuesday, declaring that any renewed attack against Israel would be met with a response far more powerful than the military action Tehran has already witnessed.

The European Union and more than a dozen international partners have pledged approximately $1 billion to support the reconstruction and early recovery of the Gaza Strip, European officials announced Monday.

Israeli and Lebanese delegations began a new round of U.S.-mediated talks in Rome on Tuesday, seeking to implement a framework agreement that could lead to Hezbollah’s disarmament and a phased Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon.

The Knesset passed legislation Monday granting Torah study constitutional-level recognition as a fundamental value of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.