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The Ministry of Health warns the public about social media posts falsely claiming that weight loss capsules were developed or approved by Prof. Itamar Raz.

These products are not registered or approved in Israel and may contain harmful substances. Prof. Raz has no connection to them.

The ministry also warns against dietary supplements—pills, powders, teas, ointments, or tonics—promoted as cures or disease preventatives. Such claims can give a false sense of treatment and may lead people to skip necessary medical care, putting their health at risk.

Purchases should be made only through pharmacies or reputable retail chains. Avoid buying medications or supplements from social media or unknown websites.

For safe weight loss or supplement use, consult a licensed nutritionist, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy diet. Only approved medical products can be relied on for treatment or prevention.

For more information, contact our hotline at *5400 or visit the Ministry of Health Committee for Public Deception Review.

Jerusalem, 15 September, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir pledged on Monday to build a neighborhood in Gaza City for israeli police officers once Israel secures control of the area.

“We will complete the decision in Gaza City, and establish a magnificent police neighborhood there facing the sea view,” said Ben-Gvir said during a ceremony honoring distinguished officers. “Settlement brings security, and the time has come for Jewish settlement in Gaza.”

Ben-Gvir cited recent investments in police housing in Jerusalem, Beer-Sheva, Sderot, and Beit Shemesh.

By Pesach Benson • August 10, 2025

Jerusalem, 10 August, 2025 (TPS-IL) — National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Sunday vowed to push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take “immediate” action aimed at “toppling the Palestinian Authority” in response to a report that PA President Mahmoud Abbas is weighing a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood in September.

“I will appeal to the Prime Minister with a request to bring immediate operative measures to the next cabinet meeting to dismantle the Palestinian Authority,” Ben-Gvir tweeted. “This must be the response to the terrorist Abu Mazen’s fantasies of a ‘Palestinian state’ – crushing the terror authority he heads.”

According to the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed, Abbas may unilaterally declare statehood when world leaders gather in New York City for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23.

According to the report, Abbas also intends to hold elections for a new Palestinian National Council.

Palestinians have not held national elections since 2005 and Abbas is now in the 20th year of what was supposed to be a four-year term. Since then, Abbas has canceled several attempted elections amid Fatah-Hamas disagreements, most recently in 2021.

Meanwhile, several countries, including France, Canada, and Malta, have announced they intend to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN gathering.

Israel is also reportedly weighing the possibility of cutting security cooperation with Britain if Prime Minister Keir Starmer follows through on his own plan to recognize Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting.

On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told reporters that these countries’ announcements encouraged Hamas to dig in its heels.

“They gave Hamas free gifts and incentives to continue this war,” Sa’ar said. “They directly assassinated the hostage deal and ceasefire. Let me be clear: these countries prolonged the war.”

On Friday, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved plans to expand the war to Gaza City. It also adopted five principles for ending the war, namely, the disarming of Hamas, the return of living and dead hostages, Gaza’s demilitarization, Israeli security control over the Strip, and the establishment of “an alternative civilian government that is not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.”

Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 50 remaining hostages, around 30 are believed to be dead.

Jerusalem, 4 October, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security and leader of the right-wing Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength) Party in the Knesset, declared that his party would withdraw from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government should any Gaza peace deal allow the Hamas terrorist organization to continue to exist.

Netanyahu’s coalition would lose its majority in the Knesset without Otzma Yehudit.

“Alongside the goal of freeing the hostages, which is important in itself, the central goal of the war, which was determined by the massacre of the October 7 by the Hamas monsters, is that the Hamas terrorist organization cannot continue to exist,” he said, declaring that Hamas “must be destroyed.”

“Therefore, in light of recent developments, I and the Otzma Yehudit faction have clearly informed the Prime Minister: If, after the release of all the hostages, the terrorist organization Hamas remains in existence, Otzma Yehudit will no longer be part of the government,” added Ben-Gvir. “We will not be part of a national defeat that will be a global disgrace, and that will become a ticking bomb for the next massacre.”

Ben-Gvir went on to say that while “There is no doubt that we would be happy, like everyone else, to see all the abductees returned to us,” his party, however, cannot “in any way agree to a scenario in which the terrorist organization that inflicted the greatest disaster on the State of Israel would be reborn.”

“We will not be partners in this in any way,” he declared.

By Pesach Benson • September 3, 2025

Jerusalem, 3 September, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli security services foiled a Hamas plot to assassinate National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir using explosive-laden drones, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced on Wednesday.

The attempted attack occurred approximately two months ago when drones were spotted hovering over Ben-Gvir’s residence in Kiryat Arba, near Hebron, prompting his security detail to evacuate him and his family to a secure location.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the drones were equipped with explosives, and four members of a Hebron-based Hamas cell were arrested in connection with the plot.

“The investigation revealed that the suspects purchased several drones, loaded them with explosives, and intended to carry out the attack,” the Shin Bet said. “The drones were seized during the arrests, and the investigation is ongoing.” The agency added that it “will continue to act to thwart any attempt by Hamas elements to promote terrorist activity against the State of Israel and its citizens, and will work to bring to justice those involved in such activity.”

Following the announcement, Ben-Gvir expressed his gratitude to the security forces involved in preventing the attack.

“I am grateful to the deputy head of the Shin Bet, to the organization’s investigators and fighters, to the IPS [Israeli Prison Service] intelligence, to the members of the Magen unit, to the IDF soldiers, to the Israel Police officers, and to everyone who is working to protect my life. I will not be deterred or afraid!” he said. The Magen Unit a unit within the Shin Bet tasked with protecting high-profile individuals.

Ben-Gvir noted that Hamas has previously attempted to target him, saying, “Hamas has already tried to eliminate me five times, and each time they failed. This time too—praise be to God, and thanks to the efforts of the security forces.” He emphasized his commitment to a hardline policy against terrorism, declaring, “I will continue to lead a tough policy in Israeli prisons against terrorism, to demand a complete victory in Gaza and the erasure of Hamas from the map. The terrorists need to know: instead of them harming me, we will harm them, anywhere and at any time.”

Jerusalem, 10 June, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Following Britain’s announcement of personal sanctions against Israeli Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset MK Limor Son Har-Melech announced she will advance legislation protecting Israeli citizens from banking restrictions due to foreign sanctions.

British officials Smotrich and Ben-Gvir will have their UK assets frozen and face a travel ban over their “monstrous” comments about Gaza. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are expected to follow suit.

Son Har-Melech’s bill would prevent Israeli banks from denying services to citizens on foreign sanctions lists, provided they haven’t violated Israeli law. The Otzma Yehudit lawmaker criticized banks for “rushing to adopt sanctions regimes that are not valid in Israel, due to low risk appetite and a desire to please foreign elements.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is continuing to hold updates and assessments on the fire with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and all of the security and rescue services.

By Pesach Benson • December 21, 2025

Jerusalem, 21 December, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli security officials said three Gaza men recently detained in the southern city of Rahat were not involved in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, contradicting an earlier announcement by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

According to the officials, there is no evidence that the men crossed into Israel during the assault. Instead, they entered Israel legally before the war under valid work permits and stayed after hostilities began, even after israeli authorities revoked all entry permits for Gazan laborers.

Prior to the outbreak of fighting with Hamas, approximately 17,000 Gazans were authorized to work inside Israel. The three detainees are believed to have been among those already present in the country when the permits were canceled.

The arrests were part of a broader enforcement campaign launched about a month ago targeting violent crime and weapons offenses in the Bedouin sector. The operation involved multiple specialized police units and included dozens of raids on compounds linked to rival clans. Over the course of the campaign, more than 250 suspects were detained on suspicion of illegal possession, use, or theft of weapons, as well as involvement in violent disputes.

With a population of roughly 80,000–85,000 residents, Rahat is the world’s largest recognized Bedouin city.

Around 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The body of Israeli Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili is the last remaining in Gaza.

By Pesach Benson • August 3, 2025

Jerusalem, 3 August, 2025 (TPS-IL) — National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, where he called for sovereignty over the Gaza Strip.

“The horror videos released by Hamas are meant to pressure Israel,” Ben Gvir said, referring to new footage released by Hamas on Saturday showing hostage Evyatar David in a tunnel being forced to dig his grave.

“I say this precisely from here — from the Temple Mount, where we’ve proven sovereignty is possible — that a clear message must be sent: The entire Gaza Strip must be occupied, sovereignty declared, Hamas uprooted, and voluntary emigration promoted. Only then will we return the hostages and win the war.”

Ben-Gvir and hundreds of other Jews were visiting the Temple Mount o mark Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.

The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Jewish Temples were built, is the holiest site in Judaism. The status quo governing the holy site goes back to 1967 when Israel liberated the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six-Day War. Fearing a religious war, then-defense minister Moshe Dayan agreed to let the Islamic Waqf, a Muslim trusteeship, continue managing the holy site’s day-to-day affairs, while Israel would maintain overall sovereignty and be responsible for security. The Waqf is overseen by the Jordanian monarchy.

According to the status quo, while non-Muslims are allowed to visit the Temple Mount, they are not allowed to pray there.

Rabbis are divided over Jews ascending to the Temple Mount. For centuries, the widespread rabbinic consensus was that laws of ritual purity still apply to the site, restricting Jews from visiting. But in recent years, a growing number of rabbis have argued that ritual purity laws don’t apply to all sections of the holy site and encourage visits to permitted areas to maintain Jewish connections to the Mount Temple Mount.

Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 50 remaining hostages, around 30 are believed to be dead.