Jerusalem, 15 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israeli soldiers demolished the Hebron home of terrorist Imran al-Atrash overnight, the Israel Defense Forces said. Atrash was responsible for a November car-ramming and stabbing attack at the Gush Etzion Junction south of Jerusalem.

Seventy-one-year-old Aharon Cohen was killed in the attack and three others were injured.

Jerusalem, 15 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale was felt Thursday morning across the Dead Sea region, with tremors reported in numerous nearby communities. According to initial assessments, the quake struck at a depth of about 10 kilometers, approximately 19 kilometers northeast of Dimona. Residents in the city described feeling strong shaking, saying objects moved inside buildings and that the experience was frightening, noting they had not felt a similar event in years. Magen David Adom reported that it received no calls regarding injuries or damage.

Jerusalem, 15 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — More than a million Israelis switched from the national electricity company in 2025 to private energy companies.

In July of last year, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Noga and the Israel Electric Company launched the electricity reform. During the year, 279,500 customers joined the reform, switching from the Israel Electric Company to private suppliers, which is more than a million citizens who enjoy electricity at a discount of 7% – 20%.

Of the new entrants, 161,328 have basic home meters, 100,999 have smart home meters, and 17,173 have smart business meters. The total number of porters currently stands at 362,333.

Jerusalem, 15 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of Finance, the Histadrut (Israel’s national labor federation) and the workers’ representative body have signed a new collective agreement for employees of Noga – the electricity system management company.

At the center of the agreement, which will apply to approximately 500 employees of the government company, which manages the operation, planning and trade in the electricity sector in Israel, is a modern and attractive salary structure – something that will strengthen the company’s long-term employment stability and make it possible to attract additional quality employees to the ranks of “Naga.”

Main points of the agreement:
• A percentage increase to the base salary of 3% starting in January of this year (as part of the framework agreement).
• A new salary structure for new employees by clusters and levels, with minimum and maximum ranges, update mechanisms, and differential promotion increments over the years.
• A transition path for existing employees to the new salary structure.
• A signing bonus of NIS 20,000 for employees with one year or more of seniority (and for employees with shorter seniority – a proportional bonus).
• Annual performance bonuses (bonuses) for all employees, according to defined criteria determined by management in consultation with the workers’ committee; broad eligibility for most employees in the target groups.
• Regulation of personal contracts: reduction and association of most personal contract holders with the collective agreement; delimitation of positions where employment under personal contracts and special conditions in defined cases is possible.
• Restrictions on outsourcing and a commitment to the gradual absorption of existing contractor employees for direct employment, subject to a designated track and in defined areas.

The agreement, which also includes horizontal salary increases and performance bonuses, will be valid until 2030.

Jerusalem, 14 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — According to the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption, 541 Jewish doctors from around the world immigrated to Israel in the past year, and over 1,000 new immigrant doctors have joined the Israeli healthcare system in the past two years as part of a joint national program by the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Negev, the Galilee and National Resilience, the “Nefesh B’Nefesh” organization, and the Jewish Agency. According to forecasts, hundreds of additional doctors are expected to immigrate to Israel during 2026, strengthening public medical services throughout the country.

Of the doctors who came to Israel in the past year, 346 doctors were from the former Soviet Union, 93 from the US and Canada, 53 from France, 23 from South America, and the rest from other countries around the world. Many of the doctors have already been assigned to various medical positions in hospitals, health funds, and health organizations across the country, including Ichilov, Hadassah, Sheba, Shaare Zedek, Rambam, Soroka, Wolfson, HaEmek, Laniado, and Barzilai.

Jerusalem, 14 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The Natural Gas Authority at Israel’s Ministry of Energy and infrastructure reported a record year in natural gas connections in 2025, with 41 new consumers including large businesses connected to the distribution network. In total, approximately 220 consumers have been connected throughout the country to date.

“The achievement over the past year is based on a series of significant actions carried out by the Natural Gas Authority, including state-funded acceleration programs to remove barriers, shorten schedules, and complete infrastructure in the field; this is alongside close enforcement and monitoring to ensure that distribution companies comply with licensing obligations, maintain high standards in planning, operation, and safety, and promote connections within binding schedules,” said the Ministry.

Among the consumers connected this past year: three medical centers, industrial plants in the food, plastics, and construction sectors, infrastructure sites, agricultural farms, and businesses in regional industrial centers. A significant portion of the connections have already entered the stage of actual natural gas consumption.

Jerusalem, 14 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — A suspect in Bat Yam – south of Tel Aviv – was arrested with dozens of distribution bags containing dangerous drugs like cocaine and MDMA in his apartment.

During a search of his apartment, 21 distribution bags containing cocaine, 19 distribution bags containing MDMA, five distribution bags containing dosa, two ecstasy pills, 20 grams of marijuana, an electronic scale and a mobile phone were seized.

The Prime Minister’s Office, this evening:

Prime Minister netanyahu spoke this evening with Tali and Itzik Gvili, the parents of the fallen hostage Master-Sgt. Ran Gvili, of blessed memory.

The Prime Minister clarified that Ran’s return is a top priority and that the declaratory move regarding the establishment of a technocratic committee will not affect the efforts to return Ran for a Jewish burial.

Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized that the Government of Israel insists that information provided to the mediators by the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing and his team must immediately translate into effective actions on the ground.

Hamas is required to meet the terms of the agreement to exert 100% effort for the return of the fallen Hostages, down to the very last one, Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel.

The Accountant General and the Deputy Director General for Government and Society at the Prime Minister’s Office today laid the cornerstone for the Government Innovation Space – a first-of-its-kind space designed to serve as a platform for experimentation, streamlining, and improving core government processes. 
The Innovation Space is an initiative of the Accountant General and is being established as part of a broad process by the Government Innovation Team, led by the Prime Minister’s Office, which is laying out for the first time the strategic operational framework for innovation in government. The team’s work is driven by the understanding that innovation is not a privilege, but an applicable strategic tool that must be integrated into all governance mechanisms. 
The space will enable ministries to solve core professional challenges in an environment that supports innovative thinking and enables risk management. Within the space, an acceleration process will be conducted to formulate efficient work processes, which will conclude with an applicable solution and accompany the ministry in the implementation process in the field.
The space’s activity will focus on identifying systemic “bottlenecks” and will promote high-impact initiatives, using methodologies of open innovation, pilots, and sandbox. Additionally, a surrounding ecosystem will accompany the space, including, among other things, meetups – learning and knowledge-sharing sessions, hackathons, roundtables, and venture incubation. 
The space is being established for the use of the entire government – as a joint venture between the government and Joint Israel, under the joint leadership of the Accountant General and the Prime Minister’s Office, with the guidance of the Government Innovation Team. Its physical structure will be built on the Givat Ram campus in Jerusalem, as part of the connection to the innovation campus in the area.

Yahli Rotenberg, the Accountant General, said during the ceremony:
“The laying of the cornerstone today is not just a real estate event; it symbolizes a profound change in the culture of government management. The Innovation Center is not an isolated ‘island’ of technology; it is the place where innovative ideas meet the daily practice of work processes. We are adopting a two-way strategy here: operating efficiently under existing constraints to produce quick solutions, and simultaneously working to remove long-term regulatory barriers. Our goal is clear: to transform the government into a smart and flexible organization that uses data and technology to provide better service to the citizens of Israel and to streamline the work of civil servants.” 

Drorit Steinmetz, Acting Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office:
“The Innovation Space we are launching this evening is a significant step in increasing government effectiveness. The joint work of the staff units as part of the inter-ministerial team allows us to create a ‘safe space’ on the way to cracking the national challenges before us, out of a deep commitment to implementing groundbreaking innovation in public service. This space will serve as a tool for progress, effectiveness, and the development of innovative ideas to streamline government processes. 
This move joins many other initiatives in the fields of innovation, cyber, and artificial intelligence that place Israel at the forefront.” 

Liron Henetz, Deputy Director General for Government and Society at the Prime Minister’s Office:
“Innovation in government is not a luxury. This evening is a real opportunity to combine two efforts simultaneously – strategic and practical. We are publishing the government framework for innovation in government for the first time while developing the Innovation Space. 
In the spirit of the OECD’s international principles, we will take forward – islands of innovation towards a national movement that will leverage capabilities and represent a leap forward in the field.”

Avithar Peretz, Senior Deputy to the Accountant General for Innovation and Technology, said during the ceremony:
“We are realizing a dream that has been developing for several years: a home for innovation in government, a place that will disseminate the doctrine of innovation within the government and enable the government to think and act differently. The Innovation Space will allow for out-of-the-box thinking and a push for paradigm and perception shifts, with the goal of providing efficient, high-quality, and fast service to citizens and businesses. The space will enable a culture of failure on the path to success, because there is no success without failure, and no chance without taking risks. We at the Accountant General’s office support and accompany innovation initiatives in government procurement, service conditions, and other areas within the Accountant General’s purview, which have already led to the acceleration of government and economy activities in many fields. Through the space, we will be able to expand these activities to all areas within the government.”

Dr. Hadas Minka-Brand, CEO of Joint Israel:

“Since the establishment of the state, Joint Israel has been working to build Israel’s strong social infrastructure, and we see great privilege in our extensive partnership with the government to advance the public sector. The new space will allow us to harness Joint Israel’s social, digital, and process experience into the government’s content areas, thereby fulfilling our deep commitment to making public systems more efficient and beneficial for every citizen, a vital step towards ensuring the continued growth and resilience of Israeli society as a whole.”