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Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the IDF not to call up Democrat Party Chairman Yair Golan for reserve duty again, following his accusations against IDF soldiers. Golan will also be banned from entering IDF bases. Katz stated, "In light of Yair Golan's behavior when he spun a blood libel against IDF soldiers with the reckless and false accusation that they 'kill Palestinian babies as a hobby' - I have decided to instruct the IDF not to call up Yair Golan for reserve duty any longer and to prohibit him from wearing the IDF uniform and entering IDF bases." Katz...

...The IDF asked the Defense Minister for instructions for handling the [expected] protest ships. In response, Katz instructed the IDF to allow the flotillas to arrive in Gaza, for the protesters to disembark in the strip, and then to seize the ships and take them to the port of Ashdod. According to him, the move will allow for the ships to be used to evacuate the residents of Gaza who wish to leave...

Israel will begin targeting leaders of Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday, vowing that Israel will not allow missile and drone fire on Israel to continue unchecked. Firing at Houthi leaders would seem to mark an escalation by Israel, which has so far targeted port infrastructure and military sites in a handful of sorties in response to repeated launches of drones and ballistic missiles from Yemen. A missile fired early Tuesday was shot down, but sirens in the Tel Aviv area caused widespread panic and a rush to shelter left one woman seriously injured. It was...

The threats to Israel from Syria remain despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday, amid military moves by his country to counter such threats. "The immediate risks to the country have not disappeared and the latest developments in Syria increase the strength of the threat - despite the moderate image that the rebel leaders claim to present," Katz told officials examining the country's defense budget, according to a statement. Syria's de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said on Saturday that Israel was using false pretexts...

Israel wasted no time after Bashar al-Assad’s fall to bomb all the Syrian military assets it wanted to keep out of the rebels’ hands – striking nearly 500 targets, destroying the navy, and taking out, it claims, 90% of Syria’s known surface-to-air missiles. But it is Israel’s capture of Syria’s highest peak, the Mount Hermon summit, that may prove among the most lasting prizes – though officials have insisted that its occupation is temporary. “This is the highest place in the region, looking upon Lebanon, upon Syria, Israel,” said Efraim Inbar, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security...

An official close to the Prime Minister tells The Time of Israel that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was fired for professional reasons, and not because of coalition politics. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that Gallant “functioned as a rubber stamp for the IDF and did not challenge it even once.” The defense minister, claims the official, advocated a diplomatic solution in Lebanon six months ago that would not have diminished Hezbollah’s capabilities, and opposed the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah until the IDF backed the move. On Gaza, claims the official, Gallant resisted the IDF going...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the prime minister’s office said Tuesday. Israel Katz, currently the foreign minister, will become defense minister and Gideon Sa’ar will replace Katz as foreign minister.

France and the United Kingdom must help Israel hit Iranian targets should the Islamic Republic make good on its threat to directly attack the Jewish state, Foreign Minister Israel Katz told his French and British counterparts on Friday. "If Iran attacks, Israel expects the international coalition led by the US, Britain, and France to join Israel not only in defense but also in attacking significant targets in Iran,” Katz said. He spoke after meeting with the foreign ministers of Great Britain David Lammy and of France Stéphane Séjourné in his office in Jerusalem. The two politicians made a lightning visit...

Canada is preparing a massive evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon should a full-scale war break out between Israel and Hezbollah, Channel 12 reports.The report quotes from a conversation held Friday between Foreign Minister Israel Katz and his Canadian counterpart Mélanie Joly.The report says the conversation was tense and that Joly told Katz that the Canadian military was drawing up plans to evacuate 45,000 people from Lebanon.Katz reportedly urged Ottawa to put pressure on Hezbollah’s Iranian backers to reign in the terror group.There was no official read out of the conversation.However, Katz later posted on X: "Israel cannot allow the...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shared drone footage Tuesday of terrorists in a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) compound in Rafah, near several United Nations (UN) vehicles, including gunfire by the terrorists.Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, said that the UN was working with the terrorists, and called on UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini to resign (as Katz has done in the past).The IDF released a statement:During IDF operational activity in eastern Rafah on Saturday, terrorists were identified in UNRWA's central logistics compound alongside UN vehicles.In the footage, a number of terrorists and gunfire can be seen near UN vehicles...

Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomes Argentinian President Javier Milei upon his arrival to Israel at Ben Gurion Airport. Milei, who assumed office in December, reiterates his pledge to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem. Katz thanks Milei, who made Israel his first bilateral overseas destination as president, for his support for Israel against Hamas and for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “You are a person of values ​​who is committed only to the truth,” Katz tells Milei, speaking through a translator, “and it is no wonder that you chose to come to Israel right away to support us in the just...

Israel pitched to India this weekend its idea of a new transportation corridor in the Middle East bypassing the most critical oil chokepoint in the world which is very close to Iran, the Strait of Hormuz. During the Mediterranean Dialogues conference in Rome on Saturday, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Intelligence, Israel Katz, met with India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, to discuss bilateral trade and presented Israel’s “Tracks for Regional Peace” initiative.

Good Morning. At the top of the Newsdump. The total number of US soldiers remaining in Syria was increased to 400 on Friday. After the initial announcement by the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders Thursday, the media was told 200. But on Friday the number was increased in the information parcelled out to the media..... Two were killed and other wounded Friday when forces loyal to Nicolas Maduro opened fire on civilians trying to keep the border with Brazil open after he ordered it shut down to prevent humanitarian aid coming across. Interim President Juan Guaido made it across...

The Israeli government is considering a proposal to build an artificial island off the Gaza Strip that a top official says would give Palestinians living in the besieged enclave their one and only seaport — and maybe a hotel and an international airport, too. The Israeli minister of intelligence who is promoting the plan, Israel Katz, said the Jewish state is actively seeking financial partners for the $5 billion project. Katz mentioned the Saudis and Chinese as possible builders of the port — or maybe a mysterious Israeli entrepreneur. He declined to name names. ... He said the plan is...

A major campaign rally for the right wing is planned for Sunday evening in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square. The “United for the Land of Israel” rally is being organized by Nachala, an organization run by former Kedumim mayor Daniella Weiss and United Headquarters for the Land of Israel. Like everything else to date in the run up to the Israeli elections, it too is fraught with internal conflict. Right wing leaders are opposed to the rally and Weiss has been trying for several weeks to convince them to attend the event. Many of the leaders on the right actually wanted...

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz called, Thursday, for Israeli construction in the E-1 corridor between Jerusalem and the eastern suburb of Ma'aleh Adumim. Addressing a rally following a march from Ma'aleh Adumim to Mevasseret Adumin in the E-1 corridor, the Likud lawmaker said, "Whoever opposes it opposes the Ma'aleh Adumim bloc being part of the state of Israel and shouldn't tell stories." Rejecting the threats of boycotts against Israel, Katz continued, "Once we all talked about the merits of the father. Then we talked about security. After that it was the demographic problem and today it's the boycotts. We're not afraid...