Likud party

A far-right Israeli minister drew condemnation from Türkiye and the global community on Tuesday by praying with thousands of Jews at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem, defying a ban on Jewish prayer at the flashpoint site.

The storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of radical Israelis, including ministers, will "further escalate tensions" in the region, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Israel's military cabinet convened to deliberate on a response following Iran's recent drone and missile onslaught, marking a historic escalation in tensions. While Israel remains tight-lipped on its decision, global allies implore caution in Benjamin Netanyahu's administration's next move.

Israeli officials believe that the armed forces have killed or seriously wounded half of the fighters of the Islamist group Hamas, which the Jewish state has been at war with since the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people.

The leadership's current assessment is that the end of the months-long offensive in the Gaza Strip will take months, not years, The Times of Israel reports.

Israel on Monday said it was "intensifying the fighting" against Hamas in Gaza, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted peace can only be achieved in Gaza if Hamas is destroyed, the territory demilitarised and Palestinian society "deradicalised", after warning the war is set to intensify.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial resumed on Monday, despite the country's continuing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The trial was suspended two months ago due to the Palestinian militant group Hamas's bloody Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 more kidnapped, according to Israeli officials.

Israel's weakened coalition government announced Monday that it would dissolve parliament and call new elections, setting the stage for the possible return to power of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or another period of prolonged political gridlock.

A former ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 30 said he would seek to form a coalition government with the Israeli leader's opponents, taking a major step toward ending the rule of the longtime premier.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prospects for retaining power were uncertain on Wednesday after exit polls in Israel's fourth national election in two years projected yet another stalemate.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prospects for retaining power were uncertain on March 24 after exit polls in Israel's fourth national election in two years projected yet another stalemate.