Reports in Gaza: Four killed, including two children, in drone strike on Khan Yunis tent
Live Updates
January 08, 2026
January 08, 2026
9 hours ago
Pro-Palestinian activists chant for 'Intifada, Revolution' at protest near New York synagogue
Pal-Awda activists protest near a New York synagogue on Thursday evening. Credit: Etan Nehcin
Pal-Awda activists protest near a New York synagogue on Thursday evening. Credit: Etan Nehcin
Pro-Palestine activists demonstrated Thursday night near a New York synagogue, protesting what they refer to as a real estate event selling "stolen land" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Supporters of Israel – some holding flag of the far-right Kach movement – held a counter-protest on the other side of the street, while the New York Police Department created a safe perimeter keeping both sets of protesters apart.
Videos posted on social media show the pro-Palestinian demonstrators near the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills synagogue in Queens chanting, "There is only one solution: Intifada, Revolution!"
Palestinians slam Israel-Syria security agreement as an attempt to rebrand 'normalization'
A Syrian man rides his horse and waves his country flag during celebrations marking the first anniversary of the ousting of former President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, December. Credit: Hussein Malla/AP
A Syrian man rides his horse and waves his country flag during celebrations marking the first anniversary of the ousting of former President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, December. Credit: Hussein Malla/AP
The announcement of a U.S.-supervised "joint fusion mechanism" between Israel and Syria on Tuesday has provoked sharp criticism from Palestinians, who called the deal an attempt to impose Israeli security priorities and rebrand normalization.
The mechanism, announced following U.S.-mediated talks in France, is intended to create a dedicated communication channel for intelligence sharing, military de-escalation, diplomatic engagement and commercial coordination, according to a joint statement
The announcement comes as the Trump administration says it seeks to stabilize tensions along the Israel-Syria border and prevent further escalation that could complicate Syria's political transition.
Utah man sentenced to six months prison over threats against employees of a Palestinian rights organization
A 64-year-old man from Utah was sentenced to six months of prisoon in the District of Columbia, in connection with threatening violence against employees of a D.C.-based Palestinian rights organization.
The U.S. Department of Justice said the man, Kevin Brent Buchanan was charged with "transmitting a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another," to the Palestinian rights organization.
The U.S. attorney said that between Oct. 31, 2023, and Nov. 2, 2023, Buchanan called and left five voice mail messages for members of the organization.
According to court documents, Buchanan wrote messages including: "Your families are going to be followed and watched;" "You don't even belong in America;" "I hope every Muslim in the United States [expletive] croaks;" and "You are all going to [expletive] die, you pieces of [expletive] traitors."
Attorney General blames far-right minister Ben-Gvir of 'abusing' appointment authority over Israel Police
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in a letter addressed to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Thursday said his conduct constitutes an "abuse of authority."
In the letter, the Attorney General, referring to Ben-Gvir's involvement in appointments within the police's Investigations and Intelligence Division and his refusal to approve the appointments of officers, said that the conduct of the minister raises "serious concerns" over his misuse of his power to appointment senior officials in the Israel Police, "as a means of improper political influence."
According to Baharav-Miara, Ben-Gvir's conduct harms the "independence of the Israel Police as a nonpartisan, non-political body."
Trump: U.S. will hit Islamic regime 'very hard' if Iranian forces 'start killing people' in protests
U.S. President Donald Trump called on Thursday into the Hugh Hewitt radio show regarding the protests in Iran, saying that he let Iranian forces know that "if they start killing people, which they tend to do during riots, we'll hit them very hard."
"They've been told very strongly that if they do that, they're gonna have to pay hell," he added. Trump said that the people of Iran "should feel strongly about freedom, there's nothing like freedom, you're brave people."
"It's a shame what has happened to your country," he added.
According to Trump, some of the protesters, which Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said 45 of them were killed on Thursday, "were killed by problems of crowd control and other things," and that stampedes killed several people. "I'm not sure I can necessarily hold someone responsible for that," he said.
IDF says strike on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon earlier Thursday killed drone operator
The IDF said that a strike carried out in southern Lebanon's Zaita in response to alleged cease-fire violations by the organization killed Alaa Hussein Hawrani, a drone operator for Hezbollah.
According to the military's statement, Hawrani was "involved in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, force activation, and attempts to gather intelligence on IDF troops in the area," during Israel's war with Hezbollah last year, and later took part in efforts to rebuild the organization's military infrastructure in the area.
17 hours ago
Iran blacks out internet access nationwide, monitors say, as protest death toll reportedly rises to 45
Tehran and several other parts of Iran experienced a digital blackout on Thursday as internet connectivity dropped across multiple service providers, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said.
Iranian security forces have killed at least 45 protesters, including eight minors, in a crackdown on demonstrations that began in late December, the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said on Thursday.
The restrictions were widely seen as linked to renewed calls for protests on Thursday and Friday issued by Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Israel's foreign minister met with China's special Middle East envoy
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar met with China's special envoy to the Middle East Zhai Jun on Thursday.
According to a post on X by Sa'ar, he discussed "our need to enhance our dialogue and to improve relations."
Sa'ar also said he urged China to "pay attention to Iran's attempts to rearm and regroup its web of proxies," as "Iran is still the main source of instability in the Middle East."
The Israeli minister also said that "a reliable peace process requires Palestinian society to undergo a process of deradicalization and to disconnect from the ethos of terror
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