08.19.2026 After 44 Years: Remains of Yehuda Katz, Last Missing Soldier from Battle of Sultan Yacoub, Returned to Israel The remains of Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, were located overnight in a special operation carried out by the Mossad and IDF, decades after the battle in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Katz was a tank gunner whose tank was left behind, alongside Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel and Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman, whose remains were returned to Israel in recent years. By Or Guetta
08.19.2026 Likud Primaries Vote Count Complete: Eli Cohen, Amir Ohana and Yariv Levin Lead The rest of the top 10 are: Miri Regev, Ofir Katz, Yoav Kisch, Miki Zohar, Almog Cohen, Amichai Chikli and Dudi Amsalem. Ministers Avi Dichter, May Golan and Idit Silman were pushed into non-realistic positions. By Or Guetta
08.19.2026 Six Foreign Workers Injured, Two Seriously, in Explosion Near Metula Police are investigating the circumstances of the explosion in an orchard near the town. The six injured workers were evacuated to Ziv Medical Center in Safed. By Davar
08.17.2026 Weizmann Institute and Hebrew University Among the World’s Top 100 Universities The 2026 Shanghai Ranking places the Weizmann Institute of Science 71st and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem 89th in the world. The Technion dropped out of the top 100 and is ranked in the 101–150 range, while Tel Aviv University is ranked in the 151–200 range. Harvard University took the top spot. By Michal Marantz
08.17.2026 Likud Primaries: 116 Candidates to Vie for Spots on the Knesset List After months of internal battles within Likud over district allocations and the number of reserved slots, around 140,000 party members will vote to determine the party’s Knesset slate. The eight reserved slots available to Netanyahu reduce the number of realistic positions on the list. One district candidate said: “They’ve killed democracy in Likud.” By Or Guetta
08.17.2026 U.S. Envoy Kushner Meets with Senior Hamas Officials in Cairo, Expected to Meet Netanyahu U.S. envoy Jared Kushner met with senior Hamas officials in Cairo, including political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya and other senior figures. Nicholas Mladenov, chairman of the Board of Peace for Gaza, also attended the meeting and is expected to join Kushner’s meeting with Netanyahu. Eight Muslim countries issued a joint statement condemning Netanyahu’s announcement that he opposes the “road map.” They said the move “threatens Trump’s intensified efforts to end the war in Gaza.” By Davar
