Israeli couple killed by Iranian cluster bomb as Israel continues assassinating Iranian officials
(JTA) — A couple in their 70s were killed overnight Mar. 17 by an Iranian missile, apparently as they tried to reach a bomb shelter, amid an especially intense barrage of missiles aimed at the Tel Aviv area.
Yaron and Ilana Moshe were killed near their home in Ramat Gan, an upscale suburb of Tel Aviv; a walker found near their bodies suggested that they were on their way to shelter but could not move quickly, officials said. Damage from the cluster munitions, which shed smaller bombs as they land, was also reported at other sites including a main train station in Tel Aviv.
The barrage, Iran said, was retaliation for the killing the day before of Ali Larijani, the country’s security minister and a close ally of its assassinated supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Shortly afterwards, Israel announced that it had assassinated another top official, intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib. The Israeli military said in a statement, “Khatib played a significant role during the recent protests throughout Iran, including the arrest & killing of protestors and led terrorist activities against Israelis & Americans around the world.”
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, warned that “significant surprises” would be ahead as Israel continued to pummel targets in Iran.
Huckabee slams reports on Christian, Muslim holy sites closures
(JNS) — U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demonstrated on Mar. 18 that reports about Israel’s closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem amid the ongoing war are misleading and taken out of context.
These reports omit the “important fact [that] the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site is also closed,” Huckabee posted.
He noted that a large piece of an Iranian missile had landed recently in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. “If not closed, mass casualties [would have ensued],” the ambassador added.
On March 16, an Iranian ballistic missile exploded over Israel’s capital, with debris falling on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter and the Temple Mount near al-Aqsa mosque.
Last week, a media watchdog reported that official Palestinian Authority TV is “libeling” Israel by falsely claiming that Israeli wartime restrictions at Al-Aqsa mosque are intended to facilitate an extremist Jewish Passover sacrifice.
Israel’s across-the-board ban on public gatherings of more than 50 people out of security concerns went into effect following the outbreak of war in Iran on Feb. 28. But a report on Mar. 16 on official P.A. TV said that the limitations were geared to enable Jews to carry out a Passover sacrifice at the Jerusalem holy site.
Report: Israeli group quietly organized charter flights evacuating Palestinians from Gaza
(JTA) — An Israeli organization headed by a right-wing activist quietly arranged a series of charter flights that evacuated Palestinians from Gaza last year, according to an Associated Press investigation.
The organization, Ad Kan, a right-wing Israeli organization founded by Gilad Ach, an Israeli combat reservist and West Bank settler activist, coordinated the flights via another company called Al-Majd, which describes itself on its website as a humanitarian organization “supporting Palestinian lives.”
Among the evacuations facilitated by Ad Kan was a flight in May that transported nearly 60 Palestinians to Indonesia and other locations, as well as two flights in October and November that transported over 300 Palestinians to South Africa.
It was not clear who had planned or paid for the flights. South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola decried the evacuations as representing “a broader agenda to remove Palestinians from Palestine,” and an investigation was launched into one of the flight’s origins.
At the time, President Donald Trump had walked back his proposal to relocate the population in Gaza to other countries amid criticism, despite getting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s endorsement.
The AP investigation found that Ach had stuck with Trump’s plan after the U.S. president dumped it, publishing a report detailing how he would implement the “voluntary exit.”
Tesla offers free charging for Israel, Mideast customers
(JNS) — Elon Musk’s Tesla firm has enabled free charging to its entire customer-base in Israel starting Mar. 18, the company announced on social media.
Customers can temporarily juice up their electric vehicles free of charge at the company’s 25 Supercharger stations across Israel.
The same measure was extended a day earlier to Tesla’s customers in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Iran’s neighboring countries, as well as Israel, have been facing barrages of missiles launched by the Islamic Republic since war broke out in the Middle East on Feb. 28.
The company did not specify how long the policy will remain in place.
This was not the first time that Tesla has offered this service. The firm triggered the same policy for its Israeli customers after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel’s northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023. The company also enabled free Supercharging at its stations in Mississippi and Tennessee in early February, in light of the power outages caused by a severe winter storm.
Tesla Superchargers offer fast-charging services in more than 75,000 stations worldwide. These can provide up to 200 miles of range driving in 15 minutes.
According to financial outlet Calcalist, Tesla normaly charges between $0.21 per kilowatt-hour during off-peak hours and $0.43 during peak hours.
Israel ranks eighth in World Happiness Report, despite ongoing war
(JNS) — Israel has once again ranked among the world’s happiest countries, placing eighth in the 2026 World Happiness Report, even as the country continues to grapple with war, instability and national trauma.
The data, published on March 19, highlight a striking paradox: While Israelis face ongoing emotional strain, trauma and uncertainty, overall life satisfaction remains among the highest globally.
One of the most notable findings is the strong showing among young Israelis. Those under 25 rank as the happiest age group within the country and place third worldwide, far ahead of their peers in many Western nations. In the United States, for example, young people rank around 60th.
According to Anat Fanti, a happiness policy researcher at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, the findings reflect the enduring strength of Israeli society’s underlying social fabric.
“These figures suggest that even under the strain of prolonged war, deeper sources of resilience — family ties, community, faith and a strong sense of belonging—are helping large parts of Israeli society remain well above the global average,” she said.
At the same time, Fanti cautioned that the report does not capture the full emotional reality on the ground.
“Israel’s result in this year’s World Happiness Report does not erase the psychological and social cost of the war,” Fanti said. “On the contrary, it highlights the gap between the resilience of Israeli society and the difficult emotional reality of daily life.”
