The IDF continued to jockey with Lebanese civilians about trying to prevent them from returning to southern Lebanon until a broader deal is reached regarding Hezbollah disarming.
Malespin honored Israel’s 170 fallen soldiers over the past year, including Staff Sergeant Daniel Hamo, a fighter and paratrooper from Tiberias who fell in Gaza.
Officials said the decision to pre-record the event was made in light of the ongoing ceasefire and the broader security situation, with attendance limited to the soldiers’ families.
"It’s about reclaiming our right to exist in the world despite everything that they tried to take from us. Dancing becomes an act of defiance, a way of refusing to let the darkness win."
Several incidents across central Israel, including stabbings and a residential fire, left multiple people wounded, some critically, during Independence Day celebrations.
Skirmishes broke out during a speech by MK Ofir Sofer when attendees attempted to snatch signs held up by by protesters that read “Government of death."
The case involved the theft of weapons from the IDF by an active-duty soldier, who allegedly transferred them to a civilian who sold them to criminal elements.
In April 2024, Israel’s State Comptroller, Matanyahu Englman, criticized the IDF for reportedly ordering female Cadets in the Officers' Course to guard Nukhba terrorists.
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett told The Jerusalem Post that while Israel remembers those who were lost, it also embraces the families who sacrificed “what was most precious to them."
Gadi Eisenkot gathered 27% of the votes in the latest Maariv survey over who should lead the opposition, while Naftali Bennett received 16%, and Yair Lapid ended last with 6%.
There is an almost symbolic connection between what this sport represents and what Israeli society needs today," said Ludmila Yasinskaya-Demari, team manager and founder of the Israel Cheer Union.
