Israel news summary

Israel News for 1-26-2026

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News Update

The IDF announced today that the body of the last hostage held in Gaza, Ran Gvili, had been identified and returned.  Staff Sergeant Gvili, 24, a member of the Yassam anti-terrorist police unit, fell in battle fighting Hamas terrorists near Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023. His body was abducted to Gaza and eventually buried in a Moslem cemetery in northern Gaza, under a Moslem name. All hostages, living and dead, have now been returned to Israel.

Kicking off phase 2 of the ceasefire agreement, Israel is opening the Rafah Crossing to civilians. Egypt will run the crossing, a European Union mission will carry out inspections and identification, and Israel will oversee the process remotely through cameras and monitoring systems, without a physical presence on site. For more, click here. 

Now Hamas needs to be disarmed.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 1-22-2026

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President Trump launched his Board of Peace at the Davos economic forum today. About 35 countries have committed to join, according to U.S. officials. Countries represented at the launch included Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey, Belarus, Bahrain and Morocco, as well as Argentina, Indonesia, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Paraguay. Israel and Hungary have also said they will join. France, Great Britain aren’t joining and China and Russia are thinking about it, although Trump said that Putin had already agreed to join. Trump has said permanent members would be required to contribute $1 billion each to help fund the board.

The purpose of the Board of Peace is meant to oversee and reinforce the Gaza ceasefire, but Trump seems to have plans to make it into an alternate United Nations. He said, “Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do. And we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations.” He added that the U.N. had “tremendous potential” but had “not been fully utilized.”

Senior White House advisor Jared Kushner said the next phase of the Trump plan following the Gaza ceasefire would focus on governance, security and economic redevelopment, insisting there was “no plan B.” Under the plan, Gaza would be divided into zones, with reconstruction beginning only in areas where weapons are fully removed. According to slides presented by Kushner, Hamas’s heavy weapons would be decommissioned immediately, while small arms would be collected sector by sector by a newly formed Palestinian police force. Only once disarmament is verified would rebuilding begin in each zone and Gaza would, by 2035, become a safe and prosperous place with full employment, an airport and sea port. For more, click here.

Arab media is reporting that agreements have been reached between Hamas and the U.S. under which Hamas would hand over its weapons and provide maps of Gaza’s tunnel network in exchange for international acceptance of Hamas as a political party and amnesty for members of Hamas’ political and military leadership who wish to leave Gaza. Some Hamas police officers and civil officials could be integrated into the new Gaza government, after passing U.S. and Israeli vetting.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 1-13-2026

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News Update

Just a quick checkin to show we’re still here — but not much news to report. Thousands have been killed in Iran as the people attempt to topple the evil regime, and still no military response from the U.S. despite President Trump’s warning to hit Iran very hard if it kills protestors. The world is watching how this plays out.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon and the IDF is reportedly planning an operation for March to expand Israeli control to parts of Gaza City and put the pressure on Hamas to relinquish control over Gaza so that phase 2 of the peace deal can finally proceed.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is indicating that he wants to wean Israel off of American military aid — almost all of which goes back into the U.S. economy for weapons purchases. Netanyahu wants Israel to be a partner with the U.S. instead of a recipient of aid, and wants to fit into the “America First” vision espoused by much of the republican party and the MAGA movement.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 1-9-2026

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Anti-government protest heat up in Iran, and President Trump threatened to “hit Iran very hard” if the regime starts killing demonstrators, which they already are doing. Let’s hope and pray that the people of Iran can bring down this evil regime and win back their freedom.

Yesterday, a rocket was launched from northern Gaza and fell inside Gaza near IDF positions and a hospital. The IDF responded with strikes against the launch site. The IDF also struck terrorists in Gaza City after terrorists fired at troops on Wednesday.

The small Pacific island nation of Samoa will open an embassy in Jerusalem. It follows Fiji and Papua New Guinea, other Pacific countries that have done the same.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has started trading on Friday. The exchange will now be open Monday thru Friday instead of Sunday thru Thursday, to sync with other global exchanges.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 1-7-2026

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As mass protests and civil unrest continue in Iran, the Iranian government executed a man accused of spying for the Mossad and warned Israel not to interfere, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran sees this escalation in the enemy’s rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat, and we will not tolerate a situation in which it continues without a response.” Perhaps the Iranians are trying to rally their population against Israel to get their minds off their failing economy, but Israel seems like it would rather sit back and let the Iranian people take care of their own business. Israel reportedly told Russia to let Iran know that it wasn’t planning any attacks, at least for the time being.

Hamas today continued its search for the last Israeli hostage in the rubble of Gaza City, near the yellow line and IDF positions. His remains must be returned before Phase 2 of the ceasefire agreement can begin. Of course, Hamas also must disarm. How that’s going to happen remains an unknown.

A 14 year old Haredi boy, Yosef Eisental, was run over by a bus and killed during a large anti-draft Haredi protest in Jerusalem last night. A crowd of protestors surrounded the city bus and began shaking it, before the bus driver accelerated, hitting the boy and dragging him for some distance. The bus driver was arrested and is being held in detention while the incident is investigated. He was not charged with murder, based on the circumstances. For more, click here.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited Somaliland yesterday, in the country’s first official diplomatic, after Israel became the only country in the world to recognize the African state. The Israeli delegation discussed economic, diplomatic and military cooperation. There is speculation that Israel might use Somaliland’s Berbera Airport as a base, which would be conveniently located directly across the sea from Yemen.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 1-5-2026

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As we kick off 2026, all eyes are on Venezuela, and who might be next in line in President Trump’s new program to remove corrupt dictators and restore freedom to their oppressed people. Of course Venezuela’s Vice President blamed the Zionists for Maduro’s capture! The Iranian ayatollah’s are reportedly very nervous, and have reportedly planned their escape route…just in case. Meanwhile, demonstrations and protests continue in Iran, in which scores of protestors have been killed. Israel has decided to quietly sit by and observe how this plays out, instead of taking action against Iran’s ballistic missiles, which could rally Iranians behind their flag.

Negotiations on a security agreement between Israel and Syria, which were frozen 2 months ago, are set to resume  in Paris today. Israel’s delegation will include Netanyahu’s military secretary and nominee for Mossad chief Roman Gofman, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter, and Acting National Security Council head Gil Reich. Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani will participate, and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack will serve as mediator.

Israel is under immense pressure, from the U.S. and Arab countries, to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow around 65,000 Gazans who fled during the war to return. Saudi news outlet Al-Sharq reported Sunday that Egypt informed the Palestinian Authority (PA) that Israel would soon approve the reopening of Rafah in both directions.

Shas said that it will not vote on the 2026 state budget unless the controversial haredi conscription law is passed. Without the party’s support, the government could lack the votes to pass the budget. If the state budget is not approved by the end of March, at the close of the fiscal year, the Knesset will automatically dissolve, and new elections will be called. Elections are currently scheduled for October. For more, click here.