The Israel Defense Forces executed a targeted strike earlier this week in the Khan Yunis area of the southern Gaza Strip, eliminating terrorist Ismail Ibrahim Darwish Kandil, a member of the elite Nukhba force of Hamas’s military wing. Kandil was among the terrorists who invaded sovereign Israeli territory during the October 7 massacre, directly taking part in the combat engagement that led to the death of the Commander of the Nahal Brigade, the late Col. Yonatan Steinberg.
In recent weeks, the terrorist was actively advancing fresh terror plots directed against IDF personnel and Israeli civilians, while working to reconstitute Hamas’s terror infrastructure on the ground in systematic violation of the ceasefire understandings. The IDF targeted and eliminated him to neutralize the persistent threat he posed. IDF units operating under Southern Command remain strategically deployed across the sector in accordance with established arrangements. They will continue to take resolute action to preempt and neutralize any imminent threat.
The chief economist at Israel’s Finance Ministry released the July 2026 real estate report on Thursday, showing weakness across most housing market indicators—both compared to July last year and June this year. According to the ministry, July was one of the weakest months in the housing market since the early 2000s, with transaction levels seen only twice before.
According to the report, 7,692 apartments were sold in July, down 12% from June and 4% from July last year. Excluding apartments sold through the government’s affordable housing program, 6,582 apartments were sold in the free market—down 13% from June and 9% from July last year.
The new apartment market saw a sharp decline. 1,858 new apartments were sold in the free market, down 22% from June and 5% from July last year. Meanwhile, 4,724 resale apartments were sold, down 9% from June and 11% from July 2025.
Construction site in Israel | Photo: Shutterstock
At the same time, unsold new-apartment inventory remains high. At the end of July, inventory stood at around 85,000 apartments, representing about 27 months of supply. In other words, at the current sales pace, it would take about 27 months to sell all the apartments remaining in inventory.
Investors continue to reduce their exposure to the market. In July, they purchased 1,146 apartments, down 18% from June and 4% from July last year. Meanwhile, investors sold 1,366 apartments, down 12% from July 2025. As a result, investor-owned inventory shrank by 220 apartments during the month, and by about 8,700 apartments since October 2021.
The South Looks Particularly Grim
One of the starkest examples of market weakness is in Be’er Sheva. From the start of the year through the end of July, only 170 new apartments were sold in the city’s free market, compared to 281 in the same period in 2025 and 666 in 2024. That’s a drop of about 74% in two years. Meanwhile, at the end of June, new apartment inventory in the city stood at around 1,100 units, and at the current sales pace it would take about 38 months to sell the inventory. The ministry also points to Netivot and Ofakim as particularly weak locations.
One of the main tools developers are using to deal with the weakness is financing incentives. In July, 27% of transactions in the free market that were examined included financing incentives, compared to 23% in June. However, this rate is still significantly lower than the level recorded in July last year.
Ashkelon | Photo: Shutterstock
The Broader View Is More Optimistic
That said, examining recent months presents a slightly more positive picture. According to Central Bureau of Statistics data, about 25,000 apartments were sold in the months of May through July, an increase of about 21% compared to the three months preceding them. New apartment sales also saw significant recovery, with an increase of about 30% during this period.
The bottom line: after signs of recovery in May and June, the housing market is showing weakness again in July. The drop in free market transactions, high inventory of new apartments, continued reduction in investor activity, and developers’ need to offer financing incentives all point to the fact that the path to stable recovery in the housing market is still far off.
Exclusive documentation obtained by Channel 14 News reveals an up-close view of a subterranean tunnel recently discovered in the village of Al-Jib, adjacent to the seam-line security barrier and the Jewish communities of Giv’on and Givat Ze’ev, along with its entrance shaft covertly concealed within an ancient water cistern.
Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson
The footage showcases the operational perimeter and the subterranean excavation route exposed by Israeli security personnel. The tunnel was discovered in an advanced stage of excavation, with its entry shaft deliberately masked inside the historic cistern structure to disguise digging operations from surrounding surveillance.
Israeli security personnel first identified the underground passageway on August 28. Following the discovery, Israeli operational and intelligence units conducted targeted sweeps throughout the sector. During the sweeps, security forces apprehended a suspect on site carrying excavation tools.
Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson
On Wednesday night, Border Police tactical fighters operating alongside IDF troops concluded engineering operations to seal and permanently neutralize the tunnel structurally. Defense officials reaffirmed that targeted operations to detect, intercept, and thwart unauthorized subterranean and logistical infrastructure along the seam-line barrier remain ongoing.
At the end of a four-day manhunt, Israeli fighters from the Duvdevan unit captured an armed Islamist today (Thursday) in the village of Bitunya in the Binyamin region, who was suspected of planning to carry out a serious attack in the immediate future.
Archive | Photo: IDF spokesperson
The arrest was made after an intelligence and operational effort that lasted several days, during which our forces worked to locate the Islamist and thwart the plan attributed to him. During the operation, he was captured armed and transferred to the security forces for further investigation.
The incident comes amid increasing tensions in Judea and Samaria and a series of foiling operations carried out by the security forces in recent days against wanted individuals and terror infrastructure. The security establishment identifies Judea and Samaria as a sensitive and pressured arena, where attempts to carry out attacks may develop in short periods of time.
Archive | Photo: IDF spokesperson
Israeli forces are continuing increased activity throughout the region, with an emphasis on thwarting attacks at an early stage, arresting wanted individuals, and locating weapons.
President Isaac Herzog landed in Cyprus on Thursday morning, September 10, commencing a diplomatic state visit to the island nation. Herzog was officially welcomed at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, where the two leaders held a private diplomatic consultation followed by an expanded bilateral meeting.
President Isaac Herzog in Cyprus | Photo: PIO
During the discussions, the heads of state explored avenues to broaden strategic bilateral cooperation and reinforce existing ties between Israel and Cyprus.During his remarks, Herzog shared an ambitious regional vision, expressing his wish for a day when the presidents of Israel, Cyprus, and Lebanon could convene together in Nicosia.
“I dream that one day we will be able to meet here—the President of Lebanon, the President of Cyprus, and the President of Israel,” Herzog said. “I hope we will be able to realize such a dream, because I believe we must advance toward peace in our region, while ensuring that terrorism is rejected and cast out, allowing the nations and peoples of this region to flourish together for the well-being of our area and the entire world.”
President Isaac Herzog in Cyprus | Photo: PIO
President Christodoulides emphasized that their discussions centered on reinforcing the strategic partnership across multiple sectors, reviewing shifting regional dynamics, and exploring joint initiatives with like-minded regional allies to build long-term stability and security.
The Cypriot president also highlighted the thriving travel and economic links between the two countries, noting that a record-breaking volume of commercial flights from Israel arrived in Cyprus over the summer—surpassing 200 flights weekly, compared to a historical average of approximately 140 per week. Upon concluding his official meetings at the Presidential Palace, President Herzog was scheduled to return directly to Israel.
It has been years since the public witnessed such a transparent PR stunt around a book launch. The sensational scoop published yesterday in Haaretz is rapidly unraveling into a manufactured flop—a promotional billboard for author Shlomi Eldar’s new book and an irresistible feeding frenzy for Israeli broadcast studios salivating at what they hoped would be the definitive scandal to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Shlomi Eldar, archive | Photo: Flash90
The orchestrated nature of the book rollout was on full display: the main anchor of Channel 12’s primetime news practically held the book up on air, prompting Eldar to thank him publicly in a tweet.
The underlying mechanics of Eldar’s narrative run as follows: Yahya Sinwar supposedly threatened a regional “earthquake,” Gazan interlocutors relayed the message to the UAE, which allegedly briefed Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, culminating in a direct call between Abu Dhabi’s ruler Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed and Prime Minister Netanyahu featuring an explicit warning.
Mohammad Dahlan, archive | Photo: Reuters
The Prime Minister issued a sweeping denial as soon as the article went live. On Wednesday morning, as the story continued to be amplified relentlessly across mainstream studios, Netanyahu issued a second categorical denial alongside a formal legal notice warning of a 2.5 million NIS defamation lawsuit against the authors and Haaretz.
In reality, high-level diplomatic phone calls between foreign heads of state and the Prime Minister of Israel are strictly documented, transcribed, logged, and attended by senior aides and note-takers. The purported conversation cited by Eldar leaves zero footprint in any official Prime Minister’s Office registry or official logs—an administrative fact trivially easy to verify.
Photo: Chaim Goldberg, Flash90
Furthermore, the UAE Foreign Ministry stated yesterday that it does not comment on media gossip or press speculation, emphasizing that all substantive security intelligence is handled exclusively via classified, official bilateral channels. The primary architect and catalyst driving this media storm is exiled Fatah powerbroker Mohammad Dahlan. By Tuesday evening, the operational picture became unmistakable: Dahlan and his inner circle were the primary sources feeding the narrative to Shlomi Eldar. Dahlan harbors obvious personal ambitions regarding the “day after” in Gaza, maneuvering aggressively to position himself as the indispensable kingmaker in any future governance arrangement.
In other words, Eldar and mainstream Israeli journalists chose to uncritically trust a Fatah political operative angling for power in Gaza over the Prime Minister of Israel. This follows a well-worn pattern across legacy media: the moment a narrative damages Netanyahu, basic journalistic vetting evaporates. Factual accuracy, documented records, or glaring narrative holes no longer matter—the sensational headline and political fallout take precedence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu | Photo: Chaim Goldberg, Flash90
Dahlan views Netanyahu as the primary obstacle to his regional ambitions, a stance he articulates openly across Arab media, where he routinely accuses the Israeli government of harboring a “criminal mindset” regarding Gaza. His overarching objective is to remove this government and displace Netanyahu.
Connecting the dots reveals the political timeline: Eldar reportedly held this material for over a year, yet chose to orchestrate its release precisely one month before Israeli elections. The result is a manufactured political hit job eagerly amplified by legacy studios. Fatah’s Dahlan leveraged the Israeli press corps, which willingly surrendered its scrutiny for a shared partisan interest: targeting Netanyahu and attempting to bring down the right-wing government.
Heading deep into Hebron, C14 got an inside look at the operations carried out by Border Police forces in Judea and Samaria to hunt down terrorists before they can strike. In the City of the Patriarchs, C14 joined soldiers operating on the ground to see firsthand how Israel’s security forces work to uncover threats and stop planned attacks against Jews.
Photo: Police spokeswoman
In Hebron, there is another kind of operation—one that begins long before the target realizes he has been marked. The unit makes sure that an armed terrorist with a clear intention of carrying out an attack against Jews has no idea that the people standing in front of him are undercover Israeli forces.
There are no flashing blue lights—just soldiers quietly closing in on their target, patiently waiting for the right moment. Then the signal comes, and within seconds, everything erupts. The undercover soldiers charge, struggle with the suspect, take control and arrest the terrorist. Without ever realizing what was happening around him, the attack he was planning ends before it can begin.
Photo: Police spokeswoman
And that may best capture the story of the Judea and Samaria Border Police as a whole: Behind the arrests are months of intelligence gathering, surveillance and planning, and soldiers repeatedly entering the places where threats are hiding. For months, C14 accompanied them and documented their operations up close—the arrests, the dramatic moments and those standing on the front lines, day and night, to stop terrorism before it ever reaches Israeli civilians.
A large-scale exercise preparing for an unconventional terror attack involving a biological agent was held Tuesday at Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center. The drill simulated a deliberate terror attack using an unconventional biological substance and was led by the Defense Ministry in cooperation with the Health Ministry and Israel’s emergency and rescue services.
Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital | Photo: Hadassah Medical Center Spokesperson
During the exercise, Hadassah teams practiced the procedures required from the moment such an incident is identified, including diagnosing victims, providing specialized lifesaving treatment and managing the process through their eventual discharge. Teams from across the hospital’s medical professions and departments participated in the drill.
The exercise at Hadassah Mount Scopus was led by Dr. Shaden Salameh-Youssef, director of the Emergency Medicine Department, and Tehila Oren, the hospital’s emergency preparedness coordinating nurse. At the conclusion of the exercise, evaluators said Hadassah teams demonstrated extensive knowledge and command across all areas of the drill. They added that procedures developed by the hospital for responding to such an extraordinary event will be incorporated as standards into protocols for hospitals throughout Israel.
Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital | Photo: Hadassah Medical Center Spokesperson
Prof. Yoram Weiss, director-general of Hadassah Medical Center, said: “Reality is the best teacher, and Hadassah teams are highly experienced in working during emergencies of various kinds, given their significant role in treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic, victims of terror attacks and those wounded in war. The intensive work and focused preparations by the Mount Scopus team ahead of the exercise proved themselves in the professional and decisive performance on the ground, which will also be incorporated into Israel’s official protocols. We hope for all of us that these exercises remain exercises alone, but in any case, we are prepared for any scenario in which we are required to save lives.”
Immediately following the publication of an investigative piece in Haaretz by journalist Shlomi Eldar—which alleged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu purportedly received a warning from UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed before the October 7 massacre—Eldar began collaborating with the left-wing organization “Darkenu” to promote the story across its institutional platforms, including an exclusive podcast and coordinated promotional video clips.
Shlomi Eldar, archive | Photo: Flash 90
Darkenu is closely affiliated with the Democrats” party (the merged Labor-Meretz faction). Notably, the promotional videos were prepared in advance—even before the article’s publication in the newspaper. Senior operatives within the “Democrats” party, including party activist Avishai Ben-Aharon, who manages key party figures like Yaya Fink and MK Naama Lazimi, currently direct Darkenu. Furthermore, members of the “HeChalutz” movement control the organization and are also affiliated with the “Democrats”.
The sequence of events points toward a coordinated political campaign in which journalist Shlomi Eldar actively participates. In light of this, a glaring journalistic question emerges: Did Eldar fully disclose to Haaretz editors that he was part of a political campaign apparatus run by “Democrats” activists before publishing his investigation just before elections?
Photo: Ishay Friedman’s X page
In response to an official inquiry, Shlomi Eldar confirmed that he received financial compensation from the left-wing NGO Darkenu for the podcast project, underscoring that the report and its distribution were directly tied to a partisan political election effort.
As reported, the Haaretz piece, which triggered widespread political and media turmoil, centered on Eldar’s investigation claiming that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed allegedly warned Netanyahu roughly a week and a half before October 7 that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a “significant event”—and that Netanyahu allegedly failed to relay the alert to defense chiefs.
Following the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched a formal pre-lawsuit warning letter alleging defamation against Haaretz and journalists Shlomi Eldar, Ruth Yuval, and Uri Misgav. Netanyahu demanded the immediate retraction of the article, a prominent public apology, and a settlement of 1 million NIS within 72 hours, warning that failure to comply would result in a comprehensive libel lawsuit exceeding 2.5 million NIS.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic fallout reached the United Arab Emirates, where officials issued a dismissive official response clarifying: “We are not part of this affair,” adding that they cannot continually swat away the ongoing waves of rumors circulating across the Israeli press.
