LiveLive Updates August 31, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeAugust 31, 2026UpdatesSara Netanyahu amplifies October 7 conspiracies, refuses to rule out 'betrayal from within'Sara Netanyahu during an interview aired on Monday night. Credit: Channel 14 / Screenshot Sara Netanyahu during an interview aired on Monday night. Credit: Channel 14 / Screenshot Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, refused to say there was no "betrayal from within" on October 7.In an interview aired Monday evening on the pro-government Channel 14, Netanyahu also peddled a conspiracy involving Democrats chairman Yair Golan, a former IDF deputy chief who drove to the Gaza border area on the morning of October 7 and helped rescue people from the massacre.The prime minister's wife said: "You're a military man of such a high rank, you claim you were fighting on October 7, and early in the morning you were already there, dressed and ready, at a very, very early hour, when others didn't know – including the prime minister."Asked directly whether there had been betrayal on October 7, Netanyahu said she "doesn't want to talk about it." She added that she was "not part of any theories" and "doesn't know," while calling for "a real commission of inquiry."Israeli curriculum to replace Palestinian program in all East Jerusalem schoolsAn East Jerusalem school. Credit: Noam Rivkin FentonAn East Jerusalem school. Credit: Noam Rivkin FentonFor the first time since Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967, all newly opened grades in public schools in the Palestinian-majority area will use the Israeli curriculum when the school year begins Tuesday.After East Jerusalem was annexed from Jordan, the education system in the Palestinian areas of the city remained part of the West Bank education system and taught the Jordanian curriculum, which was later replaced by the Palestinian curriculum.This year – after a long process that began at the initiative of parents, followed by Israeli government pressure on school principals in the city – all new first grade and seventh grade classes opening in the state education system in East Jerusalem will use the Israeli curriculum.More than 45,000 students of a total of roughly 120,000 Palestinian students in East Jerusalem (38 percent) will study the Israeli curriculum in the coming year. Until about 15 years ago, the percentage was in the single digits. Until even about six years ago, fewer than 13,000 students were taught using the Israeli curriculum.Read the full articleNetanyahu meets with Mossad chief Gofman, office saysPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Mossad Director Roman Gofman, Netanyahu's office said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Mossad Director Roman Gofman at an undisclosed location in a photo released Monday. Credit: Prime Minister's OfficePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Mossad Director Roman Gofman at an undisclosed location in a photo released Monday. Credit: Prime Minister's OfficeRECAP: Israel kills five in Gaza; Trump says U.S. will retaliate against IranHere are Monday's latest updates:■ Israeli airstrikes killed at ‌least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, health officials said.■ U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News that the United States will retaliate against Iranian strikes on U.S. bases in Jordan overnight.■ The Israel Police arrested two pharmacists employed at the IDF's Glilot intelligence base on suspicion of stealing tens of thousands of medications, including prescription drugs, and selling them on the black market, police and the Israeli military said.■ The Israel Police said two armed suspects rammed a police car in the central West Bank, lightly injuring a police officer and a soldier before fleeing down Highway 60, a key north-south road transversing the West Bank.■ Israeli authorities have increased security around Central Elections Committee chairman, Justice Noam Sohlberg.■ An inquiry committee established by the left-wing Hadash has informed party institutions that it had received sexual misconduct allegations from seven women against a candidate running second on the party's list, internal documents show.Documents contradict Arab election candidate's claim on sexual misconductHadash candidate Jafar Farah, in May. Credit: Daniel RolliderHadash candidate Jafar Farah, in May. Credit: Daniel RolliderAn inquiry committee established by the left-wing Hadash has informed party institutions that it had received sexual misconduct allegations from seven women against a candidate running second on the party's list, internal documents show.Minutes from a party meeting obtained by Haaretz on Monday show that the testimonies were read out to Jafar Farah, whom the party decided not to remove from its list on Sunday, contradicting his claim that he had not been presented with "specific complaints in a manner that would allow me to address them substantively."According to the committee appointed by the party to examine the complaints against Farah, six of the seven testimonies were submitted by women's rights organizations, while a seventh was sent directly to Hadash Secretary-General Amjad Shbita.The report states that the testimonies came from multiple women with no connection to one another and were submitted over an extended period of time. The women who testified against Farah include Palestinian and Jewish women, as well as foreign nationals, including at least one Hadash member.6 hours agoNationwide desalination facility shutdown not cyberattack, Israeli authorities sayIsrael's National Cyber Directorate said the nationwide desalination facility shutdown was not the result of a cyberattack, adding that it was the result of stormy weather in the eastern Mediterranean.Five of Israel's six desalination plants were shut down earlier on Monday, with Israel's Water Authority saying that weather "caused severe turbidity in the seawater, leading to the temporary shutdown." The only plant currently operating is the Hadera desalination facility.Tel Aviv's municipality announced that it would shut off water to showers at the city's beaches, later revising the announcement to apply only to irrigation of public gardens. Givatayim, a suburb on Tel Aviv's outskirts, urged residents to reduce their water consumption due to concerns about possible water supply disruptions in the coming hours.Two armed men flee after ramming police car in West Bank, manhunt ongoing, police sayThe Israel Police said two armed suspects rammed a police car in the central West Bank, lightly injuring a police officer and a soldier before fleeing down Highway 60, a key north-south road transversing the West Bank.Police said the officer and soldier spotted a vehicle that pulled over on the side of the road with two armed men standing beside it. According to the police, the suspects noticed the two men getting in their vehicle and fleeing toward the Palestinian village of al-Ram, north of Jerusalem.The officer and soldier fired at the car's wheels in an attempt to make it stop, police said, adding that the men continued driving, causing a collision on the road.Police said the Israeli military placed al-Ram on lockdown, sweeping the Palestinian Authority's Area B for the two suspects. Police added that they are looking into all possible motives, adding that security officials believe a "serious incident has been averted."Israeli strikes kill five people in Gaza, medics sayResidents extinguish a fire following an Israeli airstrike that hit a vehicle in Gaza City, Monday. Credit: Ebrahim Hajjaj/ReutersResidents extinguish a fire following an Israeli airstrike that hit a vehicle in Gaza City, Monday. Credit: Ebrahim Hajjaj/ReutersIsraeli airstrikes killed at ‌least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, health officials said.Medics said two people were killed and several others wounded when one strike hit a crowd near the municipal public park in Gaza City, an area packed with displaced families.Later on Monday, another Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood in western Gaza City, killing at least ⁠three people, medics added.The Israeli military said the two attacks targeted Hamas militants, without giving further information.Read the full article8 hours agoPolice arrest two pharmacists at IDF intelligence base, suspect drug theftA police officer inspects medication that pharmacists are suspected of stealing from an IDF base in a photo released on Monday. Credit: Israel PoliceA police officer inspects medication that pharmacists are suspected of stealing from an IDF base in a photo released on Monday. Credit: Israel PoliceThe Israel Police arrested two pharmacists employed at the IDF's Glilot intelligence base on suspicion of stealing tens of thousands of medications, including prescription drugs, and selling them on the black market, police and the Israeli military said.The IDF and the Israel Police said the arrests followed an undercover investigation, adding that the suspects were taken in for questioning on suspicion of theft by an authorized person and aggravated fraud.Police are expected to request that the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court extend their detention. According to the statement, other suspects, including soldiers, are being investigated by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division, with the military prosecution overseeing the investigation.In the NewsThere's No Point Warning Israel's Pyromaniac Gov't About the West Bank BlazeIDF Names New Central Command Chief Amid Ongoing Friction Over West Bank PolicyIsrael's Far-right Leaders Dodged the Draft but Now Preach War and ExpulsionU.S., Israel, Palestine: Three Dramatic Elections in One MonthEarth's Magnetic Field Can Help Archaeologists Sniff Out Forged AntiquitiesRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMI'Israel Is Sending Militias to Commit War Crimes – and I Have to Protect Them'Israeli Court Acquits Man of Assaulting Nun in Jerusalem's Old CityPoll: Likud Sinks to 19 Seats as New Right-wing Party Falls Below ThresholdParents to Suspend Classes at Tel Aviv School Over Admission of Migrant ChildrenJewish Space Lasers? 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