Soldiers attend a swearing-in ceremony for the Israeli military's ultra-Orthodox Hashmonaim Brigade at Jerusalem's Western Wall, 2025.Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
Soldiers attend a swearing-in ceremony for the Israeli military's ultra-Orthodox Hashmonaim Brigade at Jerusalem's Western Wall, 2025.Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
The Israeli military enlisted 433 ultra-Orthodox men into designated tracks in the April-May intake, an increase of about 24 percent compared with the same intake last year, according to data released Wednesday by the IDF.
A majority of the service members enlisted for combat roles, including 96 men who joined the Hashmonaim Brigade, which adheres to ultra-Orthodox rules, including complete gender segregation.
Brig. Gen. Shai Tayeb, the director of the IDF's Human Resources Planning and Management Division, said that despite the increase in ultra-Orthodox enrolment, "the IDF needs to expand the ranks of those enlisting and serving from across Israeli society."
On Monday, Haaretz reported that the IDF has avoided deploying a key combat support system at a southern Lebanon outpost manned by Hashmonaim Brigade soldiers because the unit operating the system includes female troops.
German police arrested a Syrian citizen on Wednesday suspected of aiding and abetting attempted murder and grievous bodily harm in an attack on a tourist at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin last year, prosecutors said.
Emergency services attend the scene at the Holocaust memorial after a man was attacked at the memorial site in Berlin, Germany, 2025.Credit: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Emergency services attend the scene at the Holocaust memorial after a man was attacked at the memorial site in Berlin, Germany, 2025.Credit: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
The arrest of the suspect, identified as Khalaf A. in line with German privacy laws, follows the sentencing of a Syrian refugee, Wassim Al M., in March to 13 years behind bars for attempted murder.
The court found that Wassim Al M. was a radical Islamist with antisemitic views who had used a knife to stab a Spanish tourist in the neck at the memorial in February 2025. The tourist sustained life-threatening injuries.
Prosecutors said they suspected that Khalaf A. had spent the afternoon before the attack with Wassim Al M. and encouraged him to go ahead with his plan.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact the suspect's lawyer.
The Holocaust memorial, a maze of concrete slabs in the heart of the German capital, commemorates the murder of 6 million Jews by Adolf Hitler's Nazis.
The entrance to Tabriz International Airport's Terminal 4 as seen in this file photo from 2010.Credit: Nshervsampad/Wikimedia The entrance to Tabriz International Airport's Terminal 4 as seen in this file photo from 2010.Credit: Nshervsampad/Wikimedia
Operations at Shahid Madani International Airport in Tabriz are set to resume Wednesday following "extensive repairs" due to damage sustained during the 2026 Iran war, Iran's West Asian News Agency reported, citing aviation officials.
According to the report, the airport was subject to "frequent targeting" during the war, with strikes causing "heavy damage" to the runway and air traffic control tower.
The airport is Iran's third-busiest international gateway, WANA said, and counts Istanbul, Dubai and Hamburg among its destinations.
The northwestern city is home to an underground missile complex, which was struck as part of the joint U.S. Israeli campaign.
Satellite imagery analyzed by Haaretz shows a series of strikes caused the collapse of part of the base, which is dug into the mountainous area and is used for storing missiles while allowing their launch from within the mountain.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs the charter of his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January.Credit: Markus Schreiber/APU.S. President Donald Trump signs the charter of his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January.Credit: Markus Schreiber/AP
The Board of Peace's official World Bank financial fund has not received any of the $17 billion pledged by the U.S. and member nations for Gaza reconstruction efforts, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing four people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the World Bank account has not received any money, four months after the board's formation. "Zero dollars have been deposited," one source told the FT.
The board has reportedly received funding directly to an account held by U.S. banking giant JPMorgan, the board's spokesperson and another person familiar with the arrangements told the newspaper.
Unlike the JPMorgan account, the World Bank fund is endorsed by the UN and must disclose its positions to donors and board members. A board member told the newspaper that several funding mechanisms were established, including the World Bank fund, but "at this point, contributors have opted to use other options."
Iranian hackers were responsible for a disruptive computer breach in March that forced Los Angeles' transit system to shut down parts of its network, Israeli researchers say.
The saboteurs stole at least 700 gigabytes of emails, backups, and other files from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), according to Gambit Security, a Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity firm that said it discovered the misappropriated data after it was inadvertently exposed online.
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham criticized Pakistan's efforts to mediate a U.S.-Iran cease-fire, citing Pakistan's refusal to join the Abraham Accords despite renewed U.S. pressure.
It has been apparent to me for quite a while that Pakistan as a mediator is more than problematic. Their animosity towards Israel is long standing.
It is undeniable that Iranian military aircraft are being housed on Pakistani air bases and past rhetoric from the highestShow more
Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif rejects joining any agreement involving Israel, saying it clashes with Pakistan’s “fundamental ideologies.”
“How can you sit with people whose word cannot be trusted for even a single day?” he said, adding that Pakistan’s passports do not
"It has been apparent to me for quite a while that Pakistan as a mediator is more than problematic," the senior GOP senator said. "Their animosity towards Israel is long-standing."
Graham described past statements regarding Israel made by senior Pakistani officials as "disturbing," and concluded it was "imperative that Pakistan give an answer now to President Trump's call to join the Abraham Accords."
On Monday, Trump said he asked countries mediating the cease-fire talks, including Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey to join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel.
Though Trump did not explicitly state this was an ultimatum for a deal with Iran, several of his allies – most notably Graham – said any potential deal must include mediators signing onto the Abraham Accords as a prerequisite should an agreement with Iran be reached.
Mohammed Odeh, head of Hamas' armed wing, was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Wednesday.
Hamas military chief Mohammed Odeh is seen in this cropped photo from September.Credit: IDF Spokesman's Unit via Wikimedia Hamas military chief Mohammed Odeh is seen in this cropped photo from September.Credit: IDF Spokesman's Unit via Wikimedia
Five Palestinians were killed in the strike, Palestinian sources said, including Odeh's wife and three children, as well as a bystander.
"The No. 4 commander of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza was eliminated and sent to meet his partners in the depths of hell," Katz said in a statement. The minister congratulated the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security service on their "brilliant operation."
Katz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Odeh, whom Israel considers one of the architects of the October 7 massacre, was targeted by an Israeli airstrike.
"We committed to eliminating everyone who led the October 7 massacre," Katz said Wednesday. "All of them are marked for death, wherever they may be."
Israel is committed to preventing Hamas from governing Gaza "either civilly or militarily." the defense minister said. "The plan for voluntary emigration from Gaza will also be implemented – everything at the proper time and in the proper manner."
Earlier in May, Odeh had been chosen to succeed Izz al-Din Haddad as leader of Hamas' military wing, the Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Al-Haddad was killed by Israel in an airstrike on May 16.
According to Hamas sources cited by the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Odeh joined Hamas during the first intifada in 1987 and later became one of the early members of the Qassam Brigades after the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000.
■ An IDF strike in Gaza targeted Mohammed Odeh, head of Hamas' armed wing and one of the "architects" of the October 7 massacre, a joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday. Neither the IDF nor Hamas has confirmed his death.
■ Progress has been made regarding the future of Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles, mediators in U.S.-Iran talks told the Wall Street Journal, who reported the possibility of diluting the material or transferring it to a third country, such as China or Russia, although the details of implementation remain under dispute between the parties.
■ U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the Cabinet trip scheduled for Wednesday at Camp David would be postponed due to "possible bad weather conditions."
■ Lebanon'sHealth Ministry said Israeli strikes overnight killed 31 people and wounded 40, state news agency NNA reported.
■ Settlers set cars on fire in Khirbet Masoud, in the Jenin area, according to a Palestinian report. The incident took place near the El Naveh agricultural outpost, which was approved to become a legalized settlement and horse ranch.
■ Over a thousand right-wing pro-Israel protesters gathered outside the residence of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, organized by the group End Jew Hatred, demonstrating against "Islamists and radical mobs."
■ New York's iconic Park Slope Food Co-op voted to implement a total boycott of Israeli goods; over 7000 thousand members attended Tuesday night's meeting, and 67 percent of voters voted to implement a ban "until Israel complies with international law, including by ceasing unlawful discriminatory practices, in its treatment of Palestinians."
Maureen Galindo, a Texas Democratic congressional candidate who has repeatedly made antisemitic remarks, is projected to lose her runoff election to opponent Johnny Garcia.
Galindo's repeated comments, which included various standard tropes about Jewish money and power but went as far as calling for American Zionists to be placed in internment camps, is projected to receive approximately 40 percent of the final vote after Democrats and Jewish organizations from across the country strenuously opposed her candidacy.
Democrats further accused Republicans of attempting to secretly elevate her candidacy despite her antisemitic record, in hopes of having a more vulnerable Democrat running in November's general election.
"Despite GOP funding for Galindo, Democrats rejected her antisemitic vitriol and unconscionable calls to send 'American Zionists' to detention centers. These views have no place in Texas, in the Democratic Party, or America in general," said the Jewish Democratic Council of America following Garcia's projected victory.
New York's iconic Park Slope Food Co-op voted to implement a total boycott of Israeli goods; over 7000 thousand members attended Tuesday night's meeting, and 67 percent of voters voted to implement a ban "until Israel complies with international law, including by ceasing unlawful discriminatory practices, in its treatment of Palestinians."
Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn. It is one of America's oldest and largest co-operatives.Credit: Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia CommonsPark Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn. It is one of America's oldest and largest co-operatives.Credit: Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia Commons
Only a small number of products sold at the co-op would be affected by the boycott, including Israeli-made Bamba peanut snacks, Ecolove brand cosmetics and Dorot Gardens frozen cubes. Also included in the list are products produced by Arab Israeli businesses and Jewish-Arab coexistence initiatives.
One is Equal Exchange Olive Oil, produced by a non-profit called Sindyanna, led by Arab and Jewish women in the Galilee. Also on the list is tahini produced by al-Arz, a company founded by Nazareth native Julia Zaher and her son Yousouf, which drew fire in the Arab community in 2020 for donating to an Arabic-language LGBTQ hotline.
