Defense minister, vaccinated 4 times, says he is feeling 'good,' urges all to get the shots, will continue to work from home; opposition MK Meir Porush also catches virus

Madrid says governments should start tackling disease as any other endemic respiratory virus, but WHO warns such an attitude is premature

But authors of paper warn against depending on infection, given the higher risks of hospitalization, long-term impacts and death

Finance minister says situation is 'as good as we could have dreamed,' expresses doubt that Omicron wave has collapsed businesses 'within 20 days'

Health Ministry-led research also shows teens who got booster shot over four months ago only slightly better off than unvaccinated; hospitalizations among kids reportedly on rise

7-day average of new daily cases peaked at around 890,000 on January 13, with drops most pronounced in states hit first by the wave

‘It’s not bringing down the hospital to point we can’t function but it does make it very hard,’ says director-general; nationally 7,716 health employees in isolation

Serious cases still rising but expert says Israel may be at wave's peak with tens of thousands of undetected daily infections; finance, culture ministers announce aid for art world

Jewish state among 22 countries newly added to CDC's 'high risk' category, taking total up to around 100

Finance minister calls for end to Green Pass; Health Ministry to continue administering 4th vaccine dose, despite new evidence that it is not very effective against Omicron