Israel News

Blue & White and Likud on Wednesday accused each other of stalling the negotiations to form a unity government and backing out of agreements.

A top Hezbollah commander close to Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in Lebanon Saturday night, following several months of seeming détente between the US and Iran.

The Sanhedrin is anxiously awaiting a response from the Israeli government about whether it will be able to perform the Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount for the first time since the second temple in the first century AD.

Rabbis in Israel are pointing to a portentous sign occurring on three major Jewish holidays this year as an indication that redemption and the construction of a third temple are imminent.

The country is in a near-total lockdown with residents forbidden from traveling more than 328 feet away from their homes. Health Ministry Deputy Director-General Itamar Grotto told Army Radio on Monday that Israel will probably enforce a full lockdown on Wednesday, the first night of Passover.

The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf on Tuesday uploaded pictures to its official Facebook page showing Waqf employees carrying out unauthorized digs on the Temple Mount.

The Israeli government is surrounding ultra-orthodox neighborhoods with police barricades as punishment for the unwillingness of the Haredi to abide by government regulations.

Many Jewish leaders are making surprising comments about the imminent arrival of the messiah, even suggesting that a savior figure could arrive as early as Passover.

All Israelis must wear face masks while in public as a precaution against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

Protestors in Jaffa, Israel joined with a young man Wednesday who was accosted by police for defying government orders to not depart more than 328 feet from his home.

Israel’s most senior Health Minister has tested positive for coronavirus, government officials confirmed Thursday. Yaakov Litzman has entered isolation together with his wife, who also tested positive. Litzman is part of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community which, according to unofficial figures cited by Israeli TV channels Sunday, make up half the country’s hospitalized coronavirus patients.

Around 1.5 million Israelis have downloaded a mobile app in the past week that alerts users who have crossed paths with a coronavirus patient, according to the Health Ministry, helping to improve tracking of the pandemic.

As Israelis scramble for ways to protect themselves from the deadly coronavirus, some doctors will begin testing a new method of defense against COVID-19.

Interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz were said in some reports to be inching closer to forming a unity coalition, with claims that the government could be sworn in as early as next Monday, but other sources said squabbles within the premier’s bloc were complicating the negotiations.

The messianic expectations of Muslim and Jewish leaders are dovetailing, with many scholars from each camp agreeing that coronavirus is the harbinger of a divine figure who will arrive as a king in the midst of pandemics and economic crises.

The Israeli and American militaries conducted a joint exercise with their F-35 stealth fighter jets over southern Israel on Sunday, simulating in-air combat and attacks from the ground, following a delay needed to sort out how to hold such a drill during the coronavirus pandemic.

Israel’s ultra-orthodox Haredi community is facing fines and arrests for resisting draconian government regulations that forbid prayer services and prevent a person from walking 328 feet outside their home except in emergencies.

More than 500 coronavirus patients have been identified in Israel so far by a controversial digital mass-surveillance program, the Shin Bet internal security service revealed on Thursday.

Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva is donating to US hospitals over 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate, a medicine that may cure patients of COVID-19. Already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating malaria, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, the drug raised hopes after a study in France found it had killed the virus in 26 patients.

The Israel Defense Forces said it shot down a drone that was flown by the Hezbollah terror group into Israeli airspace from Lebanon on Thursday morning.