Israel News for 9-14-2020
News Update
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The Health Ministry reported 3,182 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. There are currently 40,561 active cases of which 529 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 135 on ventilators. There have been 1,126 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic. Cases in Gaza continue to rise, but there have been just a few pandemic related deaths reported.
On Sunday, PM Netanyahu announced that the government had approved a three-week lockdown to be imposed on the entire country beginning on Friday. The Jewish high holidays begin Friday night. Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman, of the ultra-orthodox UTJ party, announced his resignation, claiming that the lockdown is an affront to the religious public.
Finance Minister Israel Katz said he will introduce an aid package to businesses impacted by the lockdown and to people who stand to lose their jobs as a result.
Bahrain has become the second Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel. The peace deals with the UAE and Bahrain, brokered by US President Trump, will be signed at a White House ceremony on Tuesday. PM Netanyahu arrived in Washington today. Oman, another Gulf state, praised the agreements and Morocco is expected to begin allowing direct flights from Israel. [Times are changing, primarily thanks to the efforts of President Trump and the Iranian threat.]
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted ammunition depots and vehicles used by pro-Iranian militias near the city of Albu Kamal in eastern Syria this morning, killing at least 10 militants.
Satellite photos reveal extensive damage to a missile production facility used by Hezbollah in Syria, after an airstrike attributed to Israel on Friday. Another production facility nearby was destroyed in May.
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