News about Yair Lapid

The small group of children and adults clambered on top of the rocket in the Negev desert near Arad, in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel. Israel could unleash an attack on Iran 's nuclear, oil and military facilities in response to its ballistic missile onslaught, it was feared last night. The country's political leaders are thought to favour a significant and unambiguous retaliation, despite concerns it could incite a seismic wave of conflict across the Middle East.

This is the moment a 'Houthi' drone flew over a beach and the US embassy in Israel before causing an explosion that killed one person with the country now vowing to 'settle the score'. Footage uploaded to social media shows the aerial weapon skimming over the Tel Aviv beach and a nearby row of buildings before an orange flash erupts further inland within seconds. The terrifying video comes after an Israeli military official told a briefing that 'a very big drone that can travel long distances crashed into an apartment building' at 03.12am local time. The official, who remained anonymous, said the aim was 'terrorism', with the rebel group's 'main goal to kill civilians in Israel '. They added the drone had shockingly been detected by the military while airborne but the alarm was not immediately raised due to 'human error'.

One person has been killed in a 'Houthi rebel' drone strike on Tel Aviv after the Israeli military detected the aerial weapon but didn't shoot it down 'due to human error'. Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attack that caused an explosion at a building near the US embassy, which along with one dead, left at least a further 10 injured, according to reports. An Israeli military official told a briefing that 'a very big drone that can travel long distances crashed into an apartment building' at 03.12am local time. The official, who remained anonymous, said the aim was 'terrorism', with the rebel group's 'main goal to kill civilians in Israel'. The official added the drone was detected but the alarm was not immediately raised because of 'human error'.

Thousands of people flocked to the centre of London today to demand Hamas returns the 121 hostages who are still in Gaza, joining nearly two-dozen similar protests taking place across the world 240 days after Hamas' deadly incursion into Israel.  The march, organised by Human Chain Organisation and the Hostages' Families Forum, saw scores of people marching from Lincoln's Inn Field Park in Holborn to Richmond Terrace in Whitehall.  The procession was attended by family members of hostages, including Merav and Amir Daniel, the parents of Oz Daniel, an IDF soldier who was killed on October 7 and whose body was brought back to Gaza by Hamas. 

Two far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to resigned and collapse Benjamin Netanyahu's already-precarious government if he accepts the Gaza ceasefire deal proposal unveiled by Joe Biden on Friday.  National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich both said they did not want to see Israel take a deal before Hamas was totally destroyed.  But in a surprise twist, opposition leader Yair Lapid said he would back the government if Netanyahu wanted to go through with the plan. 

Major General Aharon Haliva's resignation sets the stage for more fallout for Israel's top security brass over Hamas' attack, when terrorists stormed through Israel's border and rampaged through kibbutzim unchallenged for hours. They killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostages into Gaza , and the attack prompted Israel to declare war on Hamas in Gaza, a campaign which is now in its seventh month and has seen more than 34,000 people killed, according to Hamas. 'The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the pain with me forever,' Haliva wrote in his resignation letter. In the wake of the attack, Haliva had publicly said that he shouldered blame for not preventing the assault as the head of the department responsible for providing the government and the military with intelligence warnings and daily alerts.

Families of the victims of Hamas' October 7 attack in southern Israel visited a memorial site on the six-month anniversary of the war. Since the site was planted with flowers and marked with pictures of those who died at the Nova festival, bereaved relatives were pictured at the memorial service. After Hamas launched a surprise incursion across the border in late last year, targeting civilian settlements and a peace festival near Re'im, some 1,170 people were killed in attacks.

According to the humanitarian aid charity's founder, 13,000 children have already been killed in Gaza's war, and that a famine is 'imminent.' Catherine Russell, UNICEF's executive director, made the remarks on social media today as she called for an immediate ceasefire in the war-torn world. "War in Gaza has killed over 13K children and injured countless others," she wrote. Homes, schools, and hospitals are in danger. Teachers, physicians, and human rights activists were all killed. It's likely that a famine will strike. The degree and rate of fire are alarming. To prevent violence, children are in danger.' This comes as Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid was scheduled to Washington on Saturday for talks with top officials as tensions between the two countries escalate over Israel's handling of the Gaza war.

The restaurant in Kerak, Jordania, has a large sign reading 'October 7' over the entrance, according to a video shared on social media. Staff members can be seen wearing the joint's name embossed on their uniforms. The video sparked uproar in Israel, where the restauranteur was chastised for ostensibly naming his kebab shop after the Hamas massacre, which saw the terrorists killing more than 1200 people. On X, the Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, posted a video of the eaterie on Twitter, adding: "The disgraceful glorification of October 7th must come to an end." The incitation and indignation against Israel contributed to the terrorism and violence that resulted in the horrific massacre on October 7th. "We want the Jordanian government to condemn this explicitly and unequivocally."

An ex-CIA official has said that the US shares the blame for failing to forecast the Hamas attack after 9/11, rather than focusing on al-Qaeda. According to Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA operations officer with extensive counterterrorism expertise, the United States was wrong to disclose Hamas to the Israelis. "I think we should also accept some blame for missing this conference because intelligence failures, which mostly fall on Israel," the narrator said. 'Ceding the Israelis' attack seems to have had ramifications,' says the author.'

Hundreds of people, including relatives of people who were suspected of kidnapped, gathered in Tel Aviv, which is home to the Israel Defence Forces' headquarters, to insist that the Israeli government withdraw a hostage agreement with Hamas. After carrying out sorties in Gazan border areas this week, Israel's military reported on Saturday that it had discovered the bodies of several hostages rescued by Hamas during last Saturday's attack on the nation. In remarks published by AFP, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told a media briefing, 'We have discovered and identified some bodies in the Gaza strip of Israelis that had been kidnapped.'

Thousands of protesters around the world staged a 'national disruption day,' the latest in a series of mass demonstrations against Netanyahu's drive to reform Israel's judiciary and weaken the country's Supreme Court, and the first to turn violent. Hundreds of protesters protested a crowd of protesters blocking a Tel Aviv highway, resulting in scores of arrests. But Sara Netanyahu (inset with husband and prime minister Benjamin) had nevertheless decided to get her haircut in a salon in the Israeli capital - something she quickly learned was a mistake as a crowd of protestors noticed her and surrounded the building, chanting: 'The country is burning and Sara is getting a haircut!'Videos showed a swarm of armed officers rushing the shocked woman to a waiting car (left) and whisking her away as the crowd chanted 'shame!'

Iran has been barred from the UN's human rights body as a result of the regime's crackdown on demonstrators.

Tiran Fero, a 17-year-old Israeli Druze, was in critical condition when he was kidnapped after a car struck him the day before, according to Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Tiran sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized in Jenin, Texas, where his father said the adolescent was kidnapped. Following a security check, two checkpoints leading to Jenin, including the one Fero passed through, were shut down on Wednesday.' The step came after explosions struck two bus stops frequented by ultra-Orthodox Jews at Jerusalem's western exit.

After the country's fifth election since 2019, outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned of the growing divides plaguing the country. Religious Zionism, an extremist party whose leaders had made repeated anti-Arab, anti-LGBTQ remarks, seemed to have targeted him. Religious Zionism emerged as the third largest party in Parliament, and is expected to play a key role in Netanyahu's government.

Benjamin Netanyahu (left) has returned to the premiership after a landslide last week to reclaim the country's firstship with a stable majority supported by far-right parties. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office (left) says he has conceded defeat to former Prime Minister Benjamin in this week's election. When Benjamin Netanyahu returns to office, it is likely in the coming weeks. According to a statement, Lapid congratulated Netanyahu and has directed his staff to arrange a supervised transition of power.

According to the Central Elections Committee, with more than 89 percent of votes counted, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc has a chance to march in the country's fifth election in four years. His Likud party, its ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies, and a burgeoning far-right alliance named Religious Zionism were expected to win a landslide in Israel's 120-seat legislature, marking the end of an unprecedented period of political uncertainty. Caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, a bitter Netanyahu rival, hasn't conceded defeat, reminding supporters of his centrist Yesh Atiya party that the country must wait until all votes are counted. The bloc that favors Netanyahu still had 65 seats as the remaining ballots were counted. The tiny left-wing Meretz party was hovering around the 3.5 percent threshold to guarantee at least four parliament seats.

Liz Truss has told Israel that she is 'positively considering' moving the UK Embassy to Jerusalem as part of the UK's foreign policy change. The Prime Minister told her Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, that she was investigating the British embassy's new Tel Aviv location. The British embassy in Jerusalem would be relocated as a result of Donald Trump's controversial move while he was president of the United Kingdom, which triggered violent protests. Countries have generally been reluctant to base their embassies in Jerusalem because the city is regarded as a capital by both Israel and the Palestinian leadership. The majority of international embassies in Israel are based in Tel Aviv, which is seen as a more neutral option. In 2017, Britain joined other members of the UN Security Council to deny that Jerusalem would be recognised as Israel's capital. Following Mr Trump's announcement that the US embassy would be relocated to the city, it came as a result.

A top military commander said on state television that Iran has developed an advanced long-range suicide drone capable of striking Israel's Tel Aviv and Haifa cities. Detailed information regarding the Shafaq missiles and the Arash 2 drone were given by General Heidari.

On Thursday, a bipartisan group of Congress expressed skepticism that a new nuclear deal with Iran would weaken sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and open the door to Russia participating in the country's nuclear program. In a letter to the White House, 50 Republicans and Democrats asked that President Joe Biden send Congress with the draft text of any new deal. Following months of talks, there are hopes that a new agreement is near.

In the coming days, the head of Israel's intelligence service will visit the US to try to prevent a deal between Iran and Iran over its nuclear program. The trip will be the first in Israel's attempt to convince Western powers not to restart the historic 2015 deal with Tehran, when US sanctions were lifted against Iran in exchange for substantial reductions on nuclear activities. According to Israel, a new agreement would facilitate the financing of Iran-backed terrorists like Hamas and would not prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the 2015 deal in 2018 and reinstated crippling penalties. Iran then ramped up its nuclear operations.

Mahmud Abbas (pictured) had accused Israel of perpetrating "50 Holocausts" against Palestinians since 1947 during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday. According to a police spokeswoman, investigators have received a lawsuit accusing Abbas of "relating the Holocaust" and are investigating "on suspicion of inciting bigotry." Any relevant findings will be submitted to Berlin prosecutors, who will then determine whether a criminal case has been committed. Downplaying the Holocaust is a criminal offence in Germany, but the launch of a preliminary inquiry does not necessarily entail a full investigation.

Among the American victims of a terrorist attack in Jerusalem on Saturday night was a 'beloved' cancer survivor, mother-to-be, and a 22-year-old who were on a birthright trip to Israel. In total, eight people were wounded in the shooting that occurred near David's Tomb on Mount Zion, just outside the Old City walls. Five of the victims are Americans. Around 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, the gunman, who was identified as Amir Sidawi of East Jerusalem, opened fire at two locations. He started a bus that was parked at a parking lot and then fired at a crowd near the bus. Following the shooting, a man who was wounded in the shooting, Menachem Palace, 22, of Crown Heights, spoke openly to the media. In the interview, Palace said he was in Israel with a group as part of a birthright trip to the Middle East. Young Jewish adults around the world are offered free trips to Israel. They are funded by charitable contributions. During his interview with Israeli outlet COLlive, Palace said he arrived in Israel on Friday night and did not intend to cancel his trip due to the incident. "The trip comes to an end on Thursday, and I want to stay," the interviewer said. This is our home - the world's safest place.'

In the early hours of this morning, a Palestinian gunman surrendered himself after firing at a bus carrying Jewish worshippers returning home from the end of Sabbath prayers at the Western Wall. As he approached the Western Wall, Judaism's busiest spot, bus driver Daniel Kanievsky said the unidentified assassinated assailant opened fire on the packed vehicle. 'I stopped at the Tomb of David station,' he told journalists outside the bullet-riddled bus: "I stopped at the Tomb of David station.' The gunman is on alert at this moment. Two people outside are unconscious, and two inside are bleeding. Everybody was alarmed.' According to Israeli police in the capital's Old City, the gunman, who hails from East Jerusalem, handed himself over to cops. Hamas, a terror group, praised the attack as a "natural reaction to Israel's annexation" of Gaza, but did not accept responsibility for the violence. 'Jerusalem is our capital city and a tourist center for all faiths,' Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a tweet, adding that Israeli security forces will'restore calm.'