
Israel evacuates diplomatic staff in the UAE, Israeli media say
The UAE's Israeli and Jewish community has grown more visible since 2020, when the UAE became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered agreement dubbed the Abraham Accords.
"We are emphasizing this travel warning given our understanding that terrorist organizations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad) are increasing their efforts to harm Israel", the NSC said in a statement.
The NSC warned of possible attempts to target Israeli and Jewish individuals in the UAE, especially around Jewish holidays and Shabbat.
The Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There was no immediate comment from the UAE's foreign ministry.
Israel is concerned about retaliatory attacks following its recent military operation against Iran and as it faces mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
In March, the UAE sentenced three people to death for the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who was killed in November in the Gulf country. Such crimes are rare in the UAE, which is largely viewed as one of the safest places in the Middle East.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Israeli minister prays at sensitive Jerusalem holy site
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has visited the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and prayed there, violating a decades-old arrangement covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle and videos of his visit show Ben-Gvir leading Jewish prayers at the compound, which is known by Jews as the Temple Mount, in occupied East at the site breaks a long-time arrangement that allows Jews to visit the site but not Israeli prime minister's office released a statement saying there had been no change to Israel's policy of maintaining the status quo agreement that allows only Muslim worship there. Jordan, custodian of the site, called Ben-Gvir's latest visit "an unacceptable provocation".Hamas called it "a deepening of the ongoing aggressions against our Palestinian people", while a spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the visit "crossed all red lines".The site is the holiest place for Jews because it was the site of two Biblical temples. It is the third holiest place for Muslims, who believe it was where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war. Under the status quo, Jordan was allowed to continue its historical role as custodian of the site, while Israel assumed control of security and accuse Israel of taking steps to undermine the arrangements and complain that in recent years Jewish visitors have often been seen praying without being stopped by Israeli the Islamic endowment which runs the site, said Ben-Gvir was among 1,250 Jews who ascended the compound on Sunday an ultra-nationalist who as national security minister oversees the police, has visited the site before, but the Times of Israel reported this was the first time that he openly prayed at the was flanked by police officers while entering and touring the a statement at the site, Ben-Gvir said "horror" video of hostages recently released by Hamas, in which they appear emaciated, were aimed at putting pressure on Israel, and called for the hostages' minister also repeated his call for Israel to occupy the whole of the Gaza Strip and to encourage what he described as "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians from the say this would amount to the forced displacement of civilians, and a possible war crime. He has been sanctioned by the UK for "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities" in the occupied West Bank.


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Saudi Arabia executes eight people in one day
Saudi Arabia has executed eight people in a single day amid a surge in the use of the death penalty for drug-related convictions. Four Somalis and three Ethiopians were executed on Saturday in the southern region of Najran 'for smuggling hashish into the kingdom', the Saudi Press Agency said. One Saudi man was executed for the murder of his mother. Since the beginning of 2025, Saudi Arabia has executed 230 people, according to an AFP tally of official reports. Most of those executions, 154 people, were on drug-related charges. The pace of executions puts the kingdom on track to surpass last year's record of 338 instances of capital punishment. 'War on drugs' Analysts link the spike to the kingdom's 'war on drugs' launched in 2023, with many of those first arrested only now being executed following their legal proceedings and convictions. Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offences at the end of 2022, after suspending the use of the death penalty in narcotics cases for around three years. It executed 19 people in 2022, two in 2023, and 117 in 2024 for narcotics-related crimes, according to the AFP tally. Saudi authorities say the death penalty is necessary to maintain public order and is only used after all avenues for appeal have been exhausted. However, activists say the kingdom's continued embrace of capital punishment undermines the image of a more open, tolerant society that is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman 's Vision 2030 reform agenda. 'Disregard for human life' Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, has called the trend of executions 'truly horrifying'.


The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Family condemns Hamas video showing emaciated Israeli hostage inside Gaza
The family of Israeli hostage Evyatar David, held by Hamas in Gaza since their bloody attack in Israel on 7 October 2023, has accused the group of deliberately starving him as part of a "propaganda campaign". The family statement came after Hamas released a video showing an emaciated Mr David in a narrow concrete tunnel. "We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas's tunnels in Gaza – a living skeleton, buried alive," the family statement said. The hostage's family also urged the Israeli government and the world community to do "everything possible to save Evyatar". Hamas released its second video in two days of Mr David over the weekend. In it, Mr David, who is very thin, is shown digging a hole, which, he says in the video, is for his own grave. Mr David is heard saying: "I haven't eaten for days... I barely got drinking water" "They are on the absolute brink of death," David's brother Ilay said at a rally in support of the hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday, where thousands gathered holding posters of those in captivity and chanted for their immediate release. "In the current unimaginable condition, they may have only days left to live." Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar said the "world cannot remain silent in the face of the difficult images that are the result of deliberate sadistic abuse of the hostages, which also includes starvation". Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has told families of hostages that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. Trump has made ending the conflict a major priority of his administration, though negotiations have faltered. Mr Witkoff is visiting Israel as its government faces mounting pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the enclave. In a recording of the meeting, reviewed by Reuters, Mr Witkoff is heard saying: "We have a very, very good plan that we're working on collectively with the Israeli government, with Prime Minister Netanyahu ... for the reconstruction of Gaza. That effectively means the end of the war." Mr Witkoff also said that Hamas was prepared to disarm in order to end the war, though the group has repeatedly said it will not lay down its weapons. In response, Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since 2007, said it would not relinquish "armed resistance" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" was established. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and deal for the release of half the hostages ended last week in deadlock. Mr Witkoff, who arrived in Israel with Benjamin Netanyahu's government facing a global outcry over the devastation in Gaza and the starvation growing among its 2.2 million people, met the prime minister on Thursday. Afterwards, a senior Israeli official said an understanding between Israel and Washington was emerging that there was a need to move from a plan to release some of the hostages to a plan to release all the hostages, disarm Hamas and demilitarise the Gaza Strip, echoing Israel's key demands for ending the war. On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of it, they said Hamas must hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. The crisis in Gaza has also prompted a string of Western powers to announce they may recognise a Palestinian state. On Friday, Witkoff visited a U.S.-backed aid operation in southern Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Dozens have died of malnutrition in recent weeks after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May, according to Gaza's health ministry. It said on Saturday that it had recorded seven more fatalities, including a child, since Friday. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. UN agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease the access to it. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on 7 October 7, 2023. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.