HEADLINES
Bahrain Kuwait Secretly Strike Iran
IDF Eliminates Havat Gilad Attacker
US Travel Warnings Amid Middle East Tensions

The time is now 2:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

In Regional Impacts, Bahrain, Kuwait secretly sent fighter jets to strike Iran earlier this month - report. The Wall Street Journal reported that Bahrain and Kuwait carried out airstrikes on Iranian drone and missile sites earlier this month, marking their first direct retaliation against Tehran. The strikes targeted drone and missile storage facilities and other military sites, according to people familiar with the details. Officials noted the two Gulf states have relatively small air forces equipped with American and European aircraft, but wanted to deter Tehran from continuing attacks. The report also said Oman and Qatar have long pursued a balanced policy toward Iran and the West and showed little willingness to confront Tehran directly. It added that Saudi Arabia joined the United Arab Emirates in strikes against Iran at an earlier stage of the war but is now reassessing its position; the United Arab Emirates, which attacked Iran in the early rounds of the conflict, provided intelligence on the targets and defensive air cover for the strikes, a sign of growing Arab cooperation against Iran.

Overnight, Israeli forces carried out strikes across Gaza targeting Hamas weapons storage sites, a weapons manufacturing facility, and underground terror infrastructure, according to footage released by the IDF and ISA. The reported targets included weapons storage sites, a facility used for manufacturing weapons, and subterranean infrastructure intended for attacks on Israeli troops and civilians. The IDF said the sites contained rifles, RPGs, mortar shells, explosives, and other weapons, and that secondary explosions indicated additional weapons were stored at the sites.

In US Policy Concerning Israel, the US Embassy in Jerusalem warned that, due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, US citizens should be prepared for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures, and other travel disruptions. Travelers planning to depart from Ben-Gurion or Haifa airports were urged to check flight status with their airline and airport. Ben-Gurion Airport temporarily suspended takeoffs, with operations set to resume at 11:00 p.m., a disruption attributed to a routine maintenance closure of the runway. The alert comes as the United States has resumed strikes on Iran, Iran has resumed strikes on US assets in Gulf states, and long-range tensions have spilled over into the region, including incidents in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait as well as Iran’s actions in the area. Officials also noted that sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Jordanian forces intercepted missiles and drones, while Kuwait reported intercepting multiple hostile targets from Iran, with the broader context including Iran’s overnight strikes against Kuwait and US facilities in Jordan.

A dramatic post from the US Embassy in Israel warned that travelers should be prepared for potential flight cancellations from Israel as tensions rise, underscoring the unsettled security situation in the region.

In addition, President Trump thanked Bulgaria’s prime minister for allowing the United States to use air bases on Bulgarian soil despite Iranian threats, a show of cooperation in the face of regional pressure.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington next Monday at the invitation of President Trump, meeting the president at the White House on Tuesday and attending the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, described as a friend of Israel. Journalists will not be permitted to accompany the prime minister on El Al’s flight to Washington, though independent journalists may travel if they register.

PM Netanyahu’s Office also announced that Netanyahu would convene the Minister of Defense and the IDF Chief of the General Staff soon for a discussion on possible responses to this morning’s deadly terrorist attack at Havat Gilad, stating that Israel will act with full force against terrorists and those who dispatch them and will not allow terrorism in Judea and Samaria to rise again.

BREAKING: The IDF said troops have eliminated the terrorist responsible for Friday’s shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria after he opened fire on Israeli civilians hiking near the Tell. The attack killed Benyahu Malt, 32, a member of the Havat Gilad community’s civilian security squad and its head of agriculture. The terrorist allegedly stole the weapon of a responding security coordinator before carrying out the shooting; the weapon was recovered after the terrorist’s elimination, and security operations in the area continued with a joint assessment by the IDF Central Command, the Judea and Samaria Division, Israel Police, and the ISA.

HEARTBREAKING: The IDF identified Major Yuval Ezra, 27, of Herzliya, as the second Israeli killed in the morning’s deadly attack near Tell in Samaria. Ezra served as a battery commander in the 411th Battalion of the 282nd Artillery Regiment, and the incident followed a terrorist seizure of an assault rifle from a civilian security officer before opening fire.

In Israeli Domestic Politics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Washington on Monday at the invitation of President Trump, where he will meet the president at the White House on Tuesday and attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham. Journalists accompanying the prime minister on the flight will not be permitted; others traveling independently must register through a PMO link.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office also confirmed that Netanyahu will travel to Washington next Monday, meet President Trump at the White House on Tuesday, and attend Senator Graham’s funeral, with journalists not allowed on the El Al flight but able to travel independently.

PM Netanyahu’s Office said the prime minister will convene the Minister of Defense and the IDF Chief of the General Staff soon for a discussion on how to respond to this morning’s murderous terrorist attack at Havat Gilad, adding that Netanyahu stressed Israel will act with full force against terrorists and those who dispatch them, and that terrorism in Judea and Samaria must not be allowed to rear its head.

BREAKING: The IDF says troops have eliminated the terrorist responsible for Friday’s shooting near Havat Gilad in Samaria after he opened fire on Israeli civilians hiking near the village of Tell. The attack claimed the life of Benyahu Malt, a 32-year-old member of the Havat Gilad community’s civilian security squad and its head of agriculture. Malt was killed after the terrorist allegedly seized the security coordinator’s weapon; the weapon was recovered after the assault. Security operations continued in the area with a joint security assessment underway involving the IDF Central Command, the Judea and Samaria Division, Israel Police, and the ISA.

Going forward, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have directed the IDF to implement a broad set of measures in the wake of the past 24 hours of attacks, including demolishing the home of the terrorist behind the deadly strike near Tell, expanding operations in communities identified as terrorist hubs, confiscating illegal weapons, revoking work permits, reinforcing forces across Judea and Samaria, and tightening traffic routes and checkpoints while accelerating the legalization of farm outposts and the establishment of new ones. The prime minister and defense minister extended condolences to Malt’s family, wished the wounded a full recovery, reaffirmed support for security forces, and stressed the need for the freedom to act against terrorism without interference.

In Antisemitism and Anti-Jewish Hate, at a news conference Friday morning attended by New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and other elected officials, Jewish community leaders called for hate crime charges after a man allegedly stabbed two people on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, including an Orthodox Jewish man wearing a yarmulke, and criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his rhetoric. Police said the suspect Raul Morales shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attacks Thursday near Central Park. The victims were identified as an Asian man and the Orthodox Jewish man.

In Uplifting News, From soldiering to start-ups: Israel’s Druze community is building its own start-up ecosystem. Druze hi-tech entrepreneur Koftan Halabi, founder of the Druze tech center in Isfiya, says that the community’s future lies in empowering young people through higher education and technology. Most Druze enlist in the IDF or enter security work, and the program now includes a fund to help discharge soldiers pursue technology and entrepreneurship in the hi‑tech sector, expanding options for IDF veterans after service. The effort began in 2009 with the Druze Veteran Association.

BDE: Dovid Einhorn, a Holocaust survivor who spent decades sharing his experiences with students, community groups, and elected officials to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, died Friday, just days after hundreds gathered in Brooklyn to celebrate his 100th birthday. Einhorn, a longtime resident of Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood, survived the Auschwitz concentration camp and was the sole survivor in his immediate family. He became a prominent Holocaust educator, recounting his experiences and urging younger generations to remember the victims and combat antisemitism.

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