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Jerusalem, 5 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Charlotte Niddam, a 15-year-old Israeli missing after the deadly New Year’s Eve fire at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, has been confirmed dead, her family said. Charlotte, who also had British and French citizenship, will likely be laid to rest in Paris, her mother announced on Facebook.

The blaze, which erupted shortly after midnight during a party, killed 40 people and injured over 100. Israel’s Foreign Ministry had previously reported one citizen among the missing.

Jerusalem, 12 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli security forces have arrested an 18-year-old from the Triangle region for planning an ISIS-inspired attack, authorities announced Wednesday.

According to the Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the suspect was arrested last month after spending months learning to make explosives. He was also in possession of weapons.

The Triangle region refers to an area south of Haifa with a concentration of Israeli-Arab municipalities.

Jerusalem, 30 July, 2025 (TPS-IL) — A 15-year-old Israeli teenager is in moderate condition after being shot in the back while the army was evacuating illegal buildings on a hilltop next to the Binyamin community of Givat Asaf. Locals blame the police, but a security source told The Press Service of Israel that authorities are investigating the possibility that the shot was fired from afar.

Jerusalem, 16 May, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli authorities arrested an underage teen on suspicion of carrying out various operations for Iranian elements for money. The teen’s identity, an Israeli citizen, is being withheld; however, it was revealed that he is a 16-year-old resident of the Shephelah (lowlands) region, southwest of Jerusalem.

His interrogation revealed that, for several months, the suspect had been in contact with Iranian terrorist elements online, and they asked him to purchase a new cell phone and install a dedicated application on it to communicate with them.

The investigation also revealed that, as part of the connection, the suspect, under the direction of his Iranian operators, carried out a large number of different tasks.

He was asked by his operator to carry out tasks that were clearly detrimental to state security, such as arson, printing incendiary leaflets and photographing various security sites in the country, while constantly amplifying his activities and carrying out various tasks.

By Pesach Benson • September 30, 2025

Jerusalem, 30 September, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Security forces thwarted a bombing attack targeting Israeli soldiers at a bus station in Akko, the Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced on Tuesday.

The suspect, 18-year-old Akko resident Issa Madi, was reportedly inspired by the terrorist organization ISIS and maintained contact with Islamic State operatives abroad.

Madi was arrested in recent weeks on suspicion of identifying with ISIS and taking steps to manufacture explosives.

During interrogation, Shin Bet investigators uncovered a detailed plan to carry out the attack at a bus station near Akko’s train station.

“This case underscores the persistent threat posed by ISIS sympathizers within Israeli territory,” the police and Shin Bet said. Since the Hamas attack of October 7, there has been “a notable rise in threats from the Islamic State and an increase in Israeli Arab involvement in terrorism,” the authorities added.

The Haifa District Attorney’s Office is due to file an indictment on Tuesday.

By Pesach Benson • August 4, 2025

Jerusalem, 4 August, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Nineteen-year-old Muhammad Hijab was shot dead in the Israeli-Arab village of Abu Snan on Sunday night, the Israel Police said on Monday morning as a wave of Arab sector homicides continued.

Hijab, from the nearby village of Sheikh Danun, was pronounced dead at Nahariya’s Galilee Medical Center after being rushed there by Magen David Adom paramedics around 10:30 p.m. “Police officers from the western galilee Station opened an investigation shortly after receiving a report from medical officials,” the Israel Police said in a statement. “The background to the incident is apparently criminal.”

Officers at the scene began collecting forensic evidence and launched a search for suspects, setting up checkpoints in the area. Hijab’s murder brings the number of people killed in Arab communities in Israel this year to 151, as violent crime continues to surge.

The killing occurred just hours after two separate shootings in the Negev. A 40-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were seriously wounded when gunmen opened fire on a vehicle near Umm Batin. Two other minors, ages nine and fourteen, were lightly hurt, apparently after the vehicle hit a fence in the chaos. Police said the incident stemmed from a blood feud between families and confirmed a criminal motive.

Also on Sunday, a man in his 50s was moderately injured by gunfire while driving on Highway 6 near the Sorek Interchange. Investigators began collecting evidence at the scene, and authorities indicated that this shooting, too, appeared to be criminal in nature.

The bloodshed follows a string of deadly incidents in recent days. On Thursday, 80-year-old Latifa Shahin was killed by a stray bullet in Araba, in the Lower Galilee. She was sitting in her yard with family members when gunmen opened fire at parked cars and a house nearby. Relatives said they fled when the shots rang out, but Shahin, who had difficulty walking, couldn’t escape in time and was struck in the chest.

Hours later, Ahmed Atamna, a bus driver from the northern town of Kafr Qara, was killed in a targeted attack. Married and the father of two young children, Atamna was returning home around midnight when he encountered a gunman on a bicycle. He attempted to ram the assailant with his vehicle, according to witnesses.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, the murder was the 149th violent deaths in the Arab community this year.

The spike is a continuation of the Arab sector’s 230 murders in 2024. In 2023, a record number of 244 Israeli-Arabs were murdered, more than double the 120 homicides in 2022.

The surge in violence is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and trying to eliminate rivals. arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in weapons, drugs and women.

Critics argue the crime wave has worsened since Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician, became National Security Minister in 2022.

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Continuing efforts to advance the agreement to develop the joint natural gas reservoir between Israel and Cyprus, a professional delegation from the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, in cooperation with representatives of the Ministry of Justice, departed Tuesday evening for Cyprus. The Ministry said the rip is intended to continue negotiations to implement the agreements in principle regarding the Aphrodite-Yishay natural gas reservoir, and to anchor them in an intergovernmental agreement.

Within the framework of these agreements, the development of the reservoir will be carried out by the rights holders on the Cypriot side, while the holders of the Yishai lease and the State of Israel will receive compensation for their share in the reservoir, which will be determined by an international expert.

The delegation’s departure is a continuation of the political and professional contacts between the countries, and follows the meeting between the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Eli Cohen, and his Cypriot counterpart, Michaelis Damianos, which took place in Jerusalem last month.

“The agreement is important for strengthening ties between the countries with a shared vision of developing shared natural resources,” said the Ministry. “Reaching agreements is expected to strengthen energy cooperation between the countries and Israel’s position in the regional space and even contribute to the ability to export gas from Cyprus to Egypt. In addition, reaching an agreement is expected to allow progress on other issues, such as the planned electricity cable between Israel and Cyprus.”

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) reported that during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip to clear the area its 188th Armored Brigade’s Combat Team located a shaft containing dozens of weapons used by terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including Kalashnikov-type weapons, RPGs, and cartridges..

Israeli forces continue to operate in the southern Gaza Strip to destroy terrorist infrastructure and clear the Yellow Line area.

Jerusalem, 20 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The High Court of Justice has accepted an appeal filed by ZAKA’s Legal Department, ruling that no autopsies will be conducted on the bodies of the two toddlers who died in a devastating Jerusalem daycare disaster. The appeal challenged an earlier decision by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court. The families of three-month-old Leah Tzipora Golovnetsitz and six-month-old Aharon (Ari) Katz had objected to the autopsies on religious grounds.

Doctors at Israel’s Institute of Forensic Medicine estimated the likely cause of death was heatstroke and dehydration, possibly linked to an air conditioner set to unusually high heat in a closed room, though they stressed that a final determination has not been made.