Eli Cohen became the first Israeli foreign minister to step foot in Turkmenistan in nearly three decades after arriving in the Central Asian country’s capital Ashgabat on Wednesday night to open an embassy there.
The Israel Defense Forces dropped threatening pamphlets in southern Syria on Wednesday, warning Syrian soldiers to stop cooperating with Hezbollah, an opposition journalist reported, hours after Israel reportedly conducted artillery strikes on sites belonging to the Iran-backed group.
Iran’s president threatened on Tuesday to flatten Tel Aviv and Haifa, as Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, and a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Islamic Republic the modern-day equivalent of Nazi Germany.
Sirens wailed in Israel at 10:00 a.m. local time Tuesday to remember at least six million Jewish people who perished in the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah in Hebrew.
Ceremonies were underway in Israel on Tuesday to mark the National Holocaust Memorial Day after the nation’s President Isaac Herzog urged Israelis to unite followings weeks of violence and protests.
Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi on Monday became the most senior Iranian figure to ever make a public visit to Israel. Pahlavi is the oldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, who was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Two new polls by Israel’s Channel 12 and Channel 13, respectively, show that the centrist National Unity alliance led by former Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz would easily defeat the current far-right governing coalition in a new election, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports. The polls were taken amid massive nationwide protests over the government’s plans for judicial reform, which many see as a power grab that would weaken judicial authority to review and override bad laws created by politicians.
According to a trove of classified documents leaked from the Pentagon and published first by Ynet, the United States believes Israel has held large-scale drills simulating an attack on Iran’s nuclear program despite what it considered Israel’s “declining military capability.”
American officials are reaching out to their Israeli counterparts to “reassure” them after an explosive U.S. intelligence leak suggested that Washington spied on Israel, as well as researched how to pressure Jerusalem into abandoning its neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets throughout Israel on Saturday evening, with widespread protests scheduled nationwide. This is the 15th consecutive weekend of rallies around the country.
Israel has readied its air defenses amid fears of a security flare-up on Friday when Palestinian worshipers will throng the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Ramadan prayers and Iran will commemorate its annual “Quds Day” with anti-Israel activities.
Security forces are bracing for expected further escalation on the Temple Mount, with the IDF, Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency on high alert ahead of the last Friday of Ramadan this week, when the annual anti-Israel “Quds Day” is observed across the Arab world.
Israel’s embattled prime minister pledged on Monday evening to restore security after a turbulent few days saw violent clashes on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, deadly acts of terrorism, and cross-border rocket fire including the biggest barrage from Lebanon since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Jewish visitors will be barred from the Temple Mount from Wednesday until the end of Ramadan in ten days’ time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Tuesday, after a series of security consultations on the issue amid widespread violence linked to tensions at the holy site.
Following a barrage of rockets directed at Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the United States government said Thursday that Israel has a right to defend itself against sustained attacks from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah terror group, the Times of Israel reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, speaking at a press conference on Monday night, announced that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant would remain in his post, despite earlier announcements of his dismissal.
According to a New York Times report, a leaked Pentagon document revealed that Israel may supply Ukraine with lethal weapons in certain scenarios. The document assessed that Israel would only provide Ukraine with weapons if diplomatic ties with Russia were at a crisis point, either from Russia’s ties with Iran or if Israeli aircraft were to be damaged by Russian defense systems in Syria.
Pope Francis has appealed for peace “in the Holy City (of Jerusalem) and the entire region” as he presided over Easter Sunday Mass attended by an estimated 100,000 pilgrims.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah met with a delegation led by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Beirut on Sunday to discuss cooperation, amid spiking violence in Israel from rocket barrages and terror attacks.
Six rockets were launched from southern Syria at the Golan Heights on Saturday night and early Sunday in two separate barrages hours apart, with three landing in Israeli territory, the military said.