Search focused on the Middle East

33+ min ago (61+ words) [Gideon Sa]The budget will be used for campaigns to raise awareness and promote Israel worldwide, with NIS 1 billion already authorized by the government. Smotrich, Sa'ar approve NIS 2.35 billion in hasbara budget for campaigns, influencers during 2026 The budget will be used for campaigns to raise awareness and promote Israel worldwide, with NIS 1 billion already authorized by the government....

36+ min ago (630+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 792 JTA " After parting ways with the first architect hired to carry out his vision for the White House's East Wing, US President Donald Trump has picked a replacement " turning to a firm run by prominent Jewish architect who once called on Trump to keep the country's doors open to refugees and immigrants. Shalom Baranes was born soon after his parents fled Libya amid antisemitic sentiment there, coming to the United States as a child with the help of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, now known as HIAS. He rose to prominence as an architect in Washington, DC, where he has designed and renovated both private and government buildings, including the post-9/11 Pentagon, that trend toward the modern. The White House confirmed on Friday that it had chosen his firm, Shalom Baranes Associates, to continue the East…...

2+ hour, 17+ min ago (476+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 792 His face and body full of bruises, a young Palestinian man in the West Bank said Friday that four settlers kidnapped him, punched him, and beat him with an M-16 rifle as they threatened to kill him a day earlier. Speaking to the Saudi-owned Asharq News from his hospital bed in Ramallah Governmental Hospital, Owais Hamam, 18, said he was leaving Khirbet Bani Hairth, west of Ramallah, toward nearby hills to pray the Maghrib, the fourth of Islam's five prayers, when the settlers came at him, surrounding him and firing shots in the air. He turned back but was unable to escape, he said. "They sat me down on thorns and started hitting my face and head with fists and an M-16," said Hamam. They then took him westward to the area of Bab a-Taqa, where the military arrived…...

3+ hour, 46+ min ago (1199+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 792 Frank Gehry, who designed some of the most imaginative buildings ever constructed and achieved a level of worldwide acclaim seldom afforded any architect, has died. He was 96. Gehry died Friday in his home in Santa Monica after a brief respiratory illness, said Meaghan Lloyd, chief of staff at Gehry Partners LLP. Gehry's fascination with modern pop art led to the creation of distinctive, striking buildings. Among his many masterpieces are the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Berlin's DZ Bank Building. He also designed an expansion of Facebook's Northern California headquarters at the insistence of the company's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Gehry was awarded every major prize architecture has to offer, including the field's top honor, the Pritzker Prize, for what has been described as "refreshingly original and totally…...

4+ hour, 26+ min ago (80+ words) [Daniel Gad in "Hamman." (photo credit: Boaz Yehonatan Yaacov/KAN 11, Dori Media, Sumayoko Productions, and Abbot Hameiri)]TV Time: Israeli viewers are flocking to new paranormal dramas, from cursed army bases to Druze reincarnation tales, as networks roll out ambitious supernatural series. Supernatural stories surge on Israeli TV as new hits draw big audiences TV Time: Israeli viewers are flocking to new paranormal dramas, from cursed army bases to Druze reincarnation tales, as networks roll out ambitious supernatural series....

4+ hour, 57+ min ago (87+ words) [Shira Gvili, sister to Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage held in Gaza, at Hostages Square, December 5, 2025. (photo credit: LIOR ROTSTEIN)]Ran's sister, Shira, asked that Phase 2 of the US-brokered hostage-ceasefire deal not be implemented until the return of her brother's remains. Ran Gvili's sister Shira asks Phase Two of deal not be implemented until brother's remains returns Ran's sister, Shira, asked that Phase 2 of the US-brokered hostage-ceasefire deal not be implemented until the return of her brother's remains....

5+ hour ago (792+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 792 The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday's events as they happen. US and Ukrainian officials will on Saturday continue discussions on a plan to end the war in Ukraine, the US State Department says at the end of the second day of meetings in Miami involving US Special Envoy Steven Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Ukraine's senior negotiator Rustem Umerov. "Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia's readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings," the State Department says in a statement. They "also agreed on the framework of security arrangements and discussed necessary deterrence capabilities to sustain a lasting peace," it adds. The Canadian government says that it has removed Syria from its list of foreign state supporters of terrorism and removed Hayat…...

5+ hour, 29+ min ago (83+ words) Pro-Palestinian hacktivists launched hundreds of cyberattacks on Israeli space sector. Hacktivists launched 237 cyber operations against space-related entities during the Israel-Hamas war, peaking during Operation Rising Lion against Iran. The post Pro-Palestinian hacktivists launched hundreds of cyberattacks on Israeli space sector appeared first on Jerusalem World News. Pro-Palestinian hacktivists launched hundreds of cyberattacks on Israeli space sector Hacktivists launched 237 cyber operations against space-related entities during the Israel-Hamas war, peaking during Operation Rising Lion against Iran....

5+ hour, 31+ min ago (70+ words) Israeli defense firm to help shield Czech skies from drones. The capabilities are intended to strengthen the Czech Republic's defenses against increasingly sophisticated aerial threats The post Israeli defense firm to help shield Czech skies from drones appeared first on Jerusalem World News. Israeli defense firm to help shield Czech skies from drones The capabilities are intended to strengthen the Czech Republic's defenses against increasingly sophisticated aerial threats...

5+ hour, 31+ min ago (591+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 792 Israel has told mediators that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad know how to reach the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, 24, the last hostage held in the Gaza Strip, Israeli television reported Friday. According to Channel 12 news, a delegation led by the government's hostage point man Gal Hirsch traveled to Cairo on Thursday and demanded action from mediators to ensure the terror groups retrieve Gvili's body and return it to Israel. An Israeli source cited by the network said the talks in the Egyptian capital also addressed the second phase of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, which his administration is seeking to declare a transition to in the coming weeks. Mediators reportedly indicated to the Israeli delegation that Hamas is "showing interest" in standing by the ceasefire-hostage deal, and wants to move to the…...