Page 148 - Israel

Five dead as Israeli missile strikes residential area in Damascus

The strike, a rare one aimed at a residential area in the heart of the city, damaged several buildings in the densely populated district close to Omayyad square

Syrian Army says five killed in Damascus by Israeli missile attack

The Israeli attack was launched from the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several military sites in Damascus, including the residential neighborhood of Kafar Sousah

Israeli airstrikes reported in Damascus, 2 weeks after earthquake

Israeli airstrikes targeted a residential neighbourhood in central Damascus early Sunday, Syrian state news reported. Syrian state media agency SANA, citing a source in the Damascus police command, reported that an unspecified number of people had been killed and wounded. Loud explosions were heard over the capital around 12.30 am local time, and SANA reported that Syrian air defences were "confronting hostile targets in the sky around Damascus." There was no immediate statement from Israel on the attack. Israeli airstrikes frequently target sites in the vicinity of Damascus. The Saturday night strikes were the first since a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on February 6. The last reported attack on Damascus was on January 2, when the Syrian army reported that Israel's military fired missiles toward the international airport of Syria's capital early Monday, putting it out of service and killing two soldiers and wounding two others. Israel has carried out .

Israelis protest judicial overhaul plans for 7th week in several cities

Tens of thousands of Israelis marched Saturday in several cities against judicial overhaul plans proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The demonstration took place in the central city of Tel Aviv, part of a weekly protest campaign that has kicked off since Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced the proposed changes in early January. Netanyahu and his supporters, members of the most religious, right-wing government in the country's history, say the changes are needed to rein in a judiciary that wields too much power. But critics, who include large sectors of Israeli society, say the overhauls would weaken Israel's Supreme Court and damage the country's fragile system of democratic checks and balances. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, is motivated by a personal grudge against the legal system and has a deep conflict of interest. Netanyahu has said he is a victim of a witch hunt. In Tel Aviv, protesters raised large Israeli fl

Web development firm Wix lays off 370 workers in 2nd round of job cuts

Israeli cloud-based web development services company Wix has laid off 370 employees in a second round of job cuts, most of them in the customer service department in the US.

Palestinian teen killed in Israeli army raid in refugee camp in West Bank

A Palestinian teen was killed Tuesday during an Israeli army raid in a refugee camp in the northern West Bank, Palestinian officials said. The death was the latest in an almost year-long surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence that shows no signs of abating. The Israeli military said it carried out raids across the occupied West Bank overnight, and that during an operation in the Faraa refugee camp, a person approached troops with an explosive device. The army said that soldiers shot the person. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that local residents clashed with Israeli soldiers, who shot at them. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that Mahmoud Al-Aydi, 17, died from a bullet wound to the head. Tensions have mounted for months as Israel has conducted nightly arrest raids in the West Bank, which were prompted by a spate of Palestinian attacks on Israelis last spring. Some 30 people were killed in Israel by Palestinians in 2022, and at least 12 others died in atta

Israel PM Netanyahu launches contentious overhaul as thousands protest

Tens of thousands of Israelis on Monday protested outside the parliament building in a show of force against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government formally launched its contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system. The boisterous demonstration outside the Knesset, coupled with a stormy committee vote inside the building, appeared to deepen the divisions over Netanyahu's program. The plan has triggered weeks of mass protests, prompted condemnations from wide swaths of Israeli society and drawn a statement of concern from President Joe Biden. Netanyahu and his allies say the country's unelected judges have too much power and need to be reined in. His opponents say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a deep conflict of interest. They say his planned overhaul will destroy the country's democratic checks and balances and is a poorly disguised plot to make his criminal case go away. Monday's demonstration was the largest to take place in t

Thousands march in Israel as Netanyahu allies push judicial overhaul

Thousands of Israelis protested outside the country's parliament on Monday ahead of a preliminary vote on a bill that would give politicians greater power over appointing judges, part of a judicial overhaul proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The committee vote, expected to take place after a stormy session, marked the opening salvo by Netanyahu and his allies in a plan that has divided the country, triggered mass protests and even drawn concern from President Joe Biden. Trainloads of protesters arriving in Jerusalem streamed up escalators in the city's main train station chanting, democracy, cheering and whistling, and waving the national flag. A few hundred others gathered in protest at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray. In parliament, opposition lawmakers vocally protested the proposed reform to judge appointments ahead of a committee vote that would send the bill to the full parliament for a vote. During an unruly session, .

Israeli jets launched airstrikes at militant site in Gaza after attack

Residents of the Gaza Strip said Israeli aircraft launched a series of airstrikes at militant sites in the coastal Palestinian territory early Monday. The airstrikes appear to be a response to the firing of a rocket by Palestinian militants toward southern Israel Saturday evening. Israeli air defences intercepted the rocket. The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted an underground rocket manufacturing complex run by Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Gaza-Israel frontier had been largely quiet in recent months, but there have been intermittent rocket fire and airstrikes influenced by soaring violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Israel's president urges Netanyahu to delay legal overhaul, seek compromise

Israel's president on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a contentious plan to overhaul the country's judicial system and instead seek a compromise with his political opponents. President Isaac Herzog issued the appeal in a prime-time nationwide address a day before Netanyahu's coalition is to take its first steps toward implementing the plan in a parliamentary vote. The proposed reforms have triggered mass demonstrations, opposition from wide swaths of Israeli society and even drawn a veiled warning from President Joe Biden. I feel, we all feel, that we are in a moment before a collision, even a violent collision, a barrel of explosives before a blast, Herzog said. Herzog's job is largely ceremonial. But the president is meant to serve as a unifying force and moral compass for a country that is deeply divided. Netanyahu and his supporters say the changes are needed to rein in a judiciary that wields too much power. But his critics say the plan, which .

Israelis protest PM Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial overhaul plans

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday for a weekly demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government's proposed judicial overhauls, which opponents say threaten Israel's democratic values. The protesters marched at two locations in the central coastal city of Tel Aviv, waving flags and chanting slogans against the justice minister. Doctors fighting for the life of democracy, read a banner raised by a doctor at the Tel Aviv protest. The protest is the fifth against the new government, a coalition of ultra-Orthodox and far-right nationalist parties that took office in December. The government launched proposals to weaken the Supreme Court by giving parliament the power to overturn court decisions with a simple majority vote. It also wants to give parliament control over the appointment of judges and reduce the independence of legal advisers. Smaller protests were reported in several Israeli cities.

Rocket intercepted in south Israel, airstrikes staged in Gaza: Military

Militants fired a rocket into Israel's south Wednesday, the army said, setting off sirens and raising already heightened tensions under the country's new ultranationalist government. Early Thursday, the Israeli military said it started attacking targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rockets. According to local media, Israeli fighter jets struck a militant site in the central Gaza Strip. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The rocket from the Gaza Strip was intercepted, according to the military. Israel usually responds to rocket fire with airstrikes, raising the possibility of further escalation. Local residents reported hearing explosions. Israel's rescue service said it received no reports of injuries except for a 50-year-old woman who slipped and fell while running to a shelter. The action in Israel's skies Wednesday comes after Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group has threatened Israel over the combative stance of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has

Adani takes over Haifa Port for $1.15 bn, promises to invest more in Israel

Dwells on host of key partnerships in Jewish nation, such as Elbit Systems, Israel Weapon Systems, and Israel Innovation Authority; vows to change Haifa skyline with latest deal

Will keep investing in Israel: Gautam Adani after Haifa port takeover

Adani did not speak about his group's recent share sale or a scathing short-seller's report that has pummelled the Indian billionaire's stocks

PM Netanyahu to attend Adani grp's Haifa port acquisition ceremony

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend a ceremony here on Tuesday to celebrate the successful entry of the Adani Group in Israel through its acquisition of the Haifa port, which is being seen as a "strategic purchase" and probably the biggest foreign investment in this country in any sector. A consortium of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and Israel's Gadot Group won the tender in July last year to privatise the Port of Haifa in Israel for a staggering USD 1.18 billion. It completed the process of purchase on January 11 this year, following which upgradation work has been going on in full swing at the port. The Indian partner in the consortium holds 70 per cent of the stake while its local partner has 30 per cent. Gautam Adani, the Founder and Chairman of the Adani Group, will also attend the ceremony at Haifa Port Temporary Cruise Terminal in this northern coastal city of Israel on Tuesday. Prime Minister Netanyahu will also attend the ceremony here. The Isra

Palestine retaliation: Israeli forces on high alert around West Bank, Gaza

Netanyahu said in a statement that his country "is not interested in an escalation"

Israel's tech industry speaking out in criticism against govt policies

Israel's tech industry has long been the driving force behind the country's economy. Now, as Israel's new government pushes ahead with its far-right agenda, the industry is flexing its muscle and speaking out in unprecedented criticism against policies it fears will drive away investors and decimate the booming sector. The public outcry presents a pointed challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who champions Israeli technology on the international stage and has long boasted of his own economic prowess. It also highlights how deep and broad opposition to the government's policies runs, from political rivals, to top members of the justice system and military. Tech leaders say that since the government took power last month, a cloud has emerged over their industry, with foreign investors spooked at what some say is a country regressing rather than striving for innovation. They fear the government's plans to overhaul the judiciary and pledges by some top officials to advance .

Israeli tank crosses 'technical fence' along Lebanon border, prompts alert

An Israeli tank crossed the "technical fence" along the border with Lebanon, prompting high alertness from the latter nation's army

Netanyahu's India visit likely in 'first half of this year': Israeli envoy

PM Modi also congratulated Netanyahu for his appointment as the PM of Israel for the sixth time and wished him a very successful tenure

Israelis press on with protests against Netanyahu's new government

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the judicial system, measures that opponents say imperil the country's democratic fundamentals. Israeli media, citing police, said some 100,000 people were out protesting. The protest followed another demonstration last week that also drew tens of thousands in an early challenge to Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox government the most right-wing in Israeli history. The government says a power imbalance has given judges and government legal advisers too much sway over lawmaking and governance. Netanyahu has pledged to press on with the changes despite the opposition. Protesters filled central streets in the seaside metropolis, raising Israeli flags and banners that read The Supreme Court and Israel, We Have A Problem. All generations are concerned. This is not a joke, said Lior Student, a protester. "This is a .