Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left his corruption trial hearing, explaining that he will have to leave again due to ongoing talks.
"We're in the middle of a diplomatic push," Netanyahu told the judges. "At 2 P.M., I'll need to step out for 15 minutes." Netanyahu added that "They asked me to do it from the Kirya," referring to the IDF and Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv, "but I'll do it from here."
He added, "At 3 P.M. there's a 10-minute call, and I absolutely have to leave at 2:45 P.M."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a sealed envelope, saying he will exit the Wednesday hearing of his ongoing corruption trial at 11:45 A.M. for a diplomatic call.
"I don't know how long it'll take," Netanyahu said, adding that "there are other developments."
Netanyahu briefly exited the hearing shortly after receiving the envelope.
Police officers are using stun grenades and batons against ultra-Orthodox protesters who blocked a major highway near Tel Aviv's Haredi suburb of Bnei Brak over the arrest of IDF draft evaders.
Hatzalah said its medics treated eight people wounded at the demonstration, with several of them evacuated and hospitalized. The Israel Police said its officers have so far arrested five protesters.
Footage from the crackdown shows that police began using stun grenades within minutes of the demonstration beginning. The police's use of batons against the protesters marks the first time the Tel Aviv District Police have used batons since 2020.
Footage also shows an officer ripping a protester's pants while dragging him across the road.
The protest began following recent arrests of Haredi men evading mandatory IDF conscription. "When they try to shut down the Torah and the faith – we will shut down the state," said the hardline Haredi movement associated with Rabbi Tzvi Friedman.
"The factories will be closed, the offices will be shut down – and all commerce will come to a standstill at a time when yeshiva students are being persecuted."
Arye Dery, head of the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party Shas, urged far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to "wake up," adding that it "cannot be" that police are treating Haredi protesters more brutally than "Kaplan Street anarchists who sought to destroy the country," referring to anti-government protesters.
Smoke billows over Nabatieh al-Fouqa in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike, Wednesday.Credit: Use under Section 27A of the Copyright LawSmoke billows over Nabatieh al-Fouqa in southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike, Wednesday.Credit: Use under Section 27A of the Copyright Law
Israel struck several areas in southern Lebanon, state media reported.
About an hour earlier, Israeli strikes were reported in the town of Nabatieh al-Fouqa in southern Lebanon, on the outskirts of the city of Nabatieh.
Israeli settlers vandalized a mosque and set it ablaze in the Palestinian village of Jaljilya in the West Bank, according to local reports and footage from the building.
One video from the incident shows Hebrew graffiti on the walls of the building and smoke billowing from its entrance. Another video shows the building's charred facade.
The graffiti seen on the building reads, "Guys, wake up," "revenge," "night of the mosques" and "detainee's regards," referring to arrested Israeli settlers.
Federal authorities alleged the plot to target Sunday's UFC cage-fighting show at the White House was at least partially intended to target pro-Israel lawmakers attending the event.
"Members of the group targeted some legislators based on the group's perceived belief that the legislators accepted money from pro-Israel lobbies," the Justice Department claimed Tuesday.
Five men were arrested in the plot and authorities say they "planned to deploy drones armed with explosives in and around the UFC Freedom 250 event in order to force an evacuation of the event and then planned to deploy snipers to fire upon high-value targets within the fleeing crowd."
Iran has launched drones toward commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz every night since Sunday's digital signing of a memorandum of understanding with the U.S., NBC reported, citing an official American source.
According to the source, the drones were launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and intercepted by the U.S. military before they could threaten commercial shipping, naval vessels or American forces in the region.
Australia on Wednesday relaxed its travel advice for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates after the U.S. and Iran reached an interim deal to end the war in the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the advisory moved to "reconsider your need to travel" from "do not travel," but added that Australians should continue to delay non-essential travel to the Gulf states.
"While the security situation across the Middle East could deteriorate rapidly with little warning, the (government) has assessed current conditions in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE as appropriate to move to (the lower level)," Wong said.
