Live Updates September 03, 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 formatSubscribeSeptember 03, 2026RECAP: Israel kills two in Gaza, captures key Lebanon ridge after Iran threatens attackHere are Thursday's latest updates:■ The Israeli military said it killed two people in the northern Gaza Strip, saying they had crossed the Yellow Line, which separates the IDF-occupied parts of Gaza from the rest of the enclave.■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has released five Lebanese civilians whom it held and who weren't suspected of terrorist activity, saying the move was a show of goodwill in the talks with Lebanon.■ The Israeli military said it took over the strategic Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon, where Iranian military personnel were reportedly holed up alongside Hezbollah fighters in what the IDF says are large underground command-and-control centers. Iran has warned the United States that it would respond ‌forcefully to an Israeli offensive on the ridge.■ U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Washington has cut contact with Iran so long as it fires at vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz without its approval, adding that China is "willing to play ball" on economically isolating Tehran.■ The Israeli military set up a checkpoint in the Syrian village of Umm Batna, which lies outside the former UN buffer zone in Syria that the IDF captured after the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, Lebanon's Al Mayadeen channel reported.■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published his timeline for the morning of October 7, 2023, showing he spoke with the chief of the Israeli military more than three hours after the Hamas-led attack began.■ Israel's High Court of Justice unanimously struck down the law freezing arrests of ultra-Orthodox IDF draft evaders.■ The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for Ukraine ahead of the annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to the grave of Rebbe Nachman in the country's city of Uman.Christian Palestinian village to sue Israeli settlers over recent attacksThe municipality of the Christian-majority Palestinian village of Taybeh urged its residents who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents to document settler attacks as part of a class action lawsuit filed in the United States.The Taybeh Municipality's call for residents to join the class action lawsuit against Israeli settlers, posted on Thursday. Credit: Taybeh Municipality via FacebookThe Taybeh Municipality's call for residents to join the class action lawsuit against Israeli settlers, posted on Thursday. Credit: Taybeh Municipality via Facebook"If any of you have been subjected to personal attacks or attacks on your property, including being prevented by settlers from accessing it, please contact the municipality to register your names and the damage you have suffered," the village said in a statement posted on its social media.The municipality is filing the lawsuit "concerning these damages and the American organizations that support these attacks."Last year, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited Taybeh amid a wave of settler attacks, saying that those "who carry out acts of terror in Taybeh, or anywhere" must be "found and prosecuted," and not merely "reprimanded."Vance says China 'willing to play ball' on Iran embargoVice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday. Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/APVice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday. Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/APU.S. Vice President JD Vance said China is "willing to play ball" on economically isolating Iran, saying an embargo would deny it the resources to rebuild its nuclear program."So far, we haven't seen them try to do so," he said, "but part of what we're doing here is having destroyed their nuclear enrichment capacity, we're trying to ensure they don't rebuild it even if they try to do so in the future."According to Vance, "a lot of countries" – including Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar – are assisting the United States against Iran and "sometimes they're not willing to say so publicly."Vance says U.S. cut contact with Iran until Tehran stops firing at ships in HormuzVice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday. Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/APVice President JD Vance speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday. Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/APU.S. Vice President JD Vance said Washington has cut contact with Iran so long as it fires at vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz without its approval, adding that he is "skeptical" of recent reports that the U.S. military struck a wedding in southern Iran."My advice to the Iranians is stop acting like crazy people and stop shooting at commercial ships," Vance said."What we did just a couple of days ago is that we made it harder for the Iranians to shoot at commercial shipping again in order to stop the war," Vance said. "We're not talking to them. And we're not going to talk to them unless they stop shooting at commercial shipping."Asked about a recent U.S. strike that reportedly killed at least four people and wounded dozens, Vance said the Iranian state media "has not been a very good scribe about what's happened in the conflict thus far, so I'm extremely skeptical of this."He added that, "Unlike the IRGC, the United States never targets civilians in combat."U.S. issues travel warning ahead of Rosh Hashanah Ukraine pilgrimageThe U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for Ukraine ahead of the annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to the grave of Rebbe Nachman in the country's city of Uman."Since the war began, Russian airstrikes have struck civilian buildings and critical infrastructure across Ukraine – including in Uman – hitting homes and places of worship, often without warning," the State Department said, urging U.S. citizens not to go on the annual pilgrimage."Local authorities have advised that Uman does not have enough air raid shelters to accommodate all anticipated travelers to the pilgrimage," it added, saying Ukraine remains under martial law.Ukraine: The U.S. Department of State recommends U.S. citizens not travel to Uman, Ukraine, for the annual pilgrimage to the grave of Rebbe Nachman during Rosh Hashanah. This recommendation is consistent with the State Department’s current Travel Advisory for Ukraine whichShow moreIsraeli High Court strikes down law that froze arrests of Haredi IDF draft evadersIsrael's High Court of Justice unanimously struck down the law freezing arrests of ultra-Orthodox IDF draft evaders.Nine justices ruled that the legislative process for the amendment was flawed in a way that required its annulment. Eight of the nine justices also ruled that the amendment is "unconstitutional on its merits, as it severely infringes on the core of the constitutional right to equality."IDF says it took over strategic Lebanon base after Iran threatens strikesBrig. Gen. Yiftah Norkin, commander of the 36th Armored Division, in one of the underground facilities in Ali Taher Ridge, Thursday. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's UnitBrig. Gen. Yiftah Norkin, commander of the 36th Armored Division, in one of the underground facilities in Ali Taher Ridge, Thursday. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's UnitThe Israeli military said it took over the strategic Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon, where Iranian military personnel were reportedly holed up alongside Hezbollah fighters in what the IDF says are large underground command-and-control centers.Iran has warned the United States that it would respond ‌forcefully to an Israeli offensive on the ridge."The infrastructure is a strategic underground network that was built over two decades and funded and planned by the Iranian terror regime," the IDF said in its statement.The military said its 36th Armored Division has yet to "neutralize the underground infrastructure sites that were cleared of terrorists," saying it will "adjust its defensive posture" in southern Lebanon after dismantling the base.Military officials say Hezbollah used the underground compound during its war with Israel and during Israel's 2026 war with Iran.In the NewsJohn Malkovich Cancels Israel Performance Over Quotes Falsely Attributed to HimTrump: Iran War Will End 'Immediately' After the U.S. Midterm ElectionDenisovan Culture Revealed in Bat Cave in ChinaU.S. Jewish Umbrella Group Condemns Import Ban on Goods From Israeli SettlementsEarliest Known Drug Use and Its Consequences Discovered in IndonesiaRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMINetanyahu Got an Explicit Warning Before Oct. 7. He Didn't Brief Security ChiefsThink Bibi Is Bad? Meet Sara NetanyahuIMDb Replaces the Name Israel With 'The Occupied Palestinian Territories'Netanyahu Was Warned About October 7. Will Haaretz's Exposé Change Anything?Water Crisis Triggered by Gaza's Ruin: Israel Is Paying the Price of DestructionNetanyahu Says He Will Sue Haaretz Following Oct. 7 Exposé