Jerusalem, 27 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee on Tuesday approved for first reading a bill that would abolish the maximum age limit for foster parents, removing the current cap of 56. The legislation, sponsored by MKs Karin Elharer and Yinon Azoulay, aims to address a shortage of foster families, with officials noting that at least 70 children are waiting for placement at any given time.

Committee members and representatives from the ministry of Social Affairs backed the move, saying age alone should not disqualify suitable families. Data presented showed nearly 5,000 children in foster care nationwide, and growing interest from older prospective foster parents currently barred by the limit.

The IDF shares in the family’s sorrow. The IDF will continue to accompany the families and returnees and will act to strengthen the security of Israel’s citizens. In this way, all hostages from the Gaza Strip have been returned.

Throughout the war, the terrorist advanced many terror plots against the State of Israel and the IDF forces, and recently acted to restore the artillery capabilities of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The terrorist’s actions constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel.

Jerusalem, 27 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Health and Environmental Protection Ministries reported high levels of air pollution in the center of the country and the Negev on Tuesday. The pollution comes from dust carried by southwesterly winds from North Africa.

Northern regions are expected to be affected later.

The ministries warn that sensitive groups — including the elderly, pregnant women, children and cardiovascular patients — should avoid strenuous outdoor activity, while the general population is advised to limit intense physical exertion outdoors.

According to forecasts, high to very high pollution levels will continue nationwide on Wednesday before subsiding with the onset of rain.

Jerusalem, 27 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Defense Ministry signed a multi-year NIS 570 million ($183 million) agreement with Elbit Systems for air munitions, aiming to strengthen Israel’s defense industrial base and enhance the military’s operational capabilities.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the initiative “prioritizes growing our domestic defense sector, boosting Israeli manufacturing, and deepening partnerships with local industry,” emphasizing its role in ensuring reliable supply chains and national resilience.

Jerusalem, 27 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — AISAP, an Israeli leader in AI diagnostics, has published a peer-reviewed study in Frontiers in Digital Health demonstrating that its deep learning platform can accurately detect major heart conditions from a single echocardiographic view. Analyzing over 120,000 studies, the AI identified heart failure and valvular disease with an AUC of up to 0.97, even when images were captured by non-cardiologists using handheld devices.

“This approach removes technical barriers to cardiac imaging, enabling clinicians to identify life-threatening conditions at the bedside,” said Dr. Lior Fisher of sheba medical Center. AISAP’s FDA-cleared POCAD platform is already in clinical use, expanding access to specialist-level cardiac diagnostics across hospitals and rural clinics worldwide.

Jerusalem, 27 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Marking a milestone in remote fertility care, Pulsenmore Ltd. and Clalit Health Services have launched Israel’s first at-home follicular monitoring service for women undergoing IVF and fertility preservation.

The service will be operated through Beilinson NEXT, Beilinson Medical Center’s virtual hospital, allowing eligible patients to perform ultrasound scans from home with real-time guidance and specialist oversight. The commercial agreement follows an 18-month pilot and is potentially valued at about $4.5 million over five years.

Pulsenmore said clinical studies at Beilinson showed strong agreement between home-based and in-clinic measurements, supporting wider rollout in Israel in the coming weeks.

Jerusalem, 27 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Education Minister Yoav Kish announced today that Prof. Shulamit Michaeli is the recipient of the 2026 Israel Prize in the field of life sciences research.

The award committee noted in its reasoning that Prof. Michaeli is a world-class pioneer in RNA research in parasites and a pioneer in the study of RNA and the function of its various forms, focusing on disease-causing parasites that attack populations from large regions of the world. A local example of these diseases is the “Rose of Jericho” disease, which is common in Israel and is caused by a Leishmania parasite.

The committee also noted that Prof. Michaeli’s research has shed light and continues to advance our understanding of the processes of processing and editing of RNA types in parasites, and its function in controlling the life of each cell. These studies are pioneering and have opened up the understanding of the function of modifications on small, non-coding RNA molecules. Her activity continues today at an impressive pace, with her research being published in the world’s leading journals and leading to important improvements in the medical treatment of diseases caused by parasites.

Jerusalem, 27 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The public debt-to-GDP ratio in Israel for 2025 increased by 0.9% and amounted to 68.6%, compared to 67.7% in 2024. The government debt-to-GDP ratio increased by 1.0% and amounted to 67.3%, compared to 66.3% in 2024. This is according to a first estimate of the debt-to-GDP ratio for 2025 published by the Accountant General of the Ministry of Finance, Yahli Rotenberg.

The debt-to-GDP ratio is a key indicator of the financial strength of the State of Israel and is important in determining its credit rating. The final estimate of the debt-to-GDP ratio will be published in the annual report of the Debt Unit in the Accountant General’s Department.

In 2025, total gross debt raising was approximately 207 billion Shekels ($66 billion), and was carried out through the three debt raising channels: tradable domestic debt (85% of raising), non-tradable domestic debt (3% of raising), and external debt (12% of raising). The tradable domestic channel presented high and stable demand throughout the year, and the average coverage ratio was 4.5, compared to 4.2 last year.