Israel News

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet on Sunday unveiled what they say is a sophisticated, Iran-directed Hamas financial network operating from inside Turkey, funneling vast sums to the terrorist group as it seeks to rebuild and expand its capabilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on December 7 that the U.S.-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is close to completing its first stage and is expected to transition soon into a “more difficult” second phase centered on disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Saturday again called for Israel’s destruction, publicly rejecting U.S.- and U.N.-backed demands that the Iranian-supported terror group disarm and accept a demilitarized Gaza under the terms of President Donald Trump’s ceasefire and transition plan.

US President Donald Trump is preparing to unveil Gaza’s long-awaited “Board of Peace” and formally announce the transition to phase two of Washington’s Gaza stabilization plan within the next three weeks, Axios and additional US and regional officials said Thursday. The move would mark the most significant diplomatic step since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect nearly two months ago.

Newly released Hamas Interior Ministry documents—seized by the Israel Defense Forces and analyzed by NGO Monitor—reveal the extent to which Hamas infiltrated and controlled foreign aid organizations operating in Gaza. Spanning 2018–2022, these Arabic-language files describe an “institutionalized framework of coercion, intimidation, and surveillance” that allowed Hamas to shape humanitarian work, manipulate international NGOs, and exploit aid systems for intelligence and military gain. NGO Monitor president Gerald Steinberg said the level of penetration “was far beyond the scope of our expectations.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that phase two of his Gaza peace plan is “moving along well” and will begin “pretty soon,” even as Hamas breached the ceasefire hours earlier in Rafah, wounding six Israeli soldiers.

Israel formally delivered its Arrow-3 long-range missile defense system to the German Air Force on Wednesday, completing a landmark $4.6 billion deal — the largest defense export agreement in Israel’s history and the first time the cutting-edge system has ever been deployed by a nation outside Israel or the United States.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel is prepared to reach a diplomatic arrangement with Syria’s new regime, but only under conditions that firmly protect Israel’s security and prevent the rise of new threats along its northern border.

Israel’s Defense Ministry will deliver its first full Iron Beam high-energy laser battery to the IDF on December 30. The move marks the world’s first deployment of a high-power laser air-defense system into regular frontline service. Defense Ministry R&D chief Dani Gold confirmed the rollout date on Monday, calling it the system’s “first capability,” with more upgrades already in development.

Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the Vatican’s long-standing support for a two-state solution on Sunday, declaring it the “only solution” capable of resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The remarks, delivered during his first in-flight press conference as pontiff, marked his clearest public statement yet on the issue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon to President Isaac Herzog, a move unprecedented in modern Israeli politics and one that immediately triggered fierce national debate.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House meeting last week with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was “civil but difficult,” according to multiple U.S. officials cited by Channel 12 and Axios, with tensions flaring behind closed doors over the pace of Saudi–Israel normalization.

Israel announced a major expansion of its air-defense production last Thursday, accelerating manufacturing of Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the emerging Iron Beam laser system amid warnings that two years of nonstop conflict have strained the country’s defensive readiness.

Israel has approved a multi-year plan to bring roughly 5,800 members of India’s Bnei Menashe community to the country by 2030, the government announced Sunday, calling the move both strategic and demographic in significance.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the United States has reaffirmed its pledge to preserve Israel’s strategic edge in the Middle East, even as President Donald Trump advances a controversial sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.