Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down on a “temporary basis” as an investigation into rape allegations against him take place, the court announced on Friday. Khan was also accused of harassing staff who supported his accuser, including demoting several people Women’s rights groups, who called for Khan to step down last year, after his aide accused him of severe abuse, welcome the announcement. “In any other professional setting, someone facing such serious allegations would have been expected to step down months ago,” Eimear Shine, a spokesperson for The Hague-based Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, said. Meanwhile, Khan’s bank accounts in his home country of the UK are frozen in the wake of U.S.

Fifteen Israeli fighter jets carried out massive airstrikes on the Al-Salif and Hodeidah ports in Yemen on Friday afternoon, dropping over 30 bombs. The attack came after Israel last week twice issued warnings for Yemenis to evacuate the ports. Following the attack, the IDF issued a statement saying that the ports that were attacked were used to transfer weapons to the Houthis to attack Israel. It was Israel’s eighth attack on the Houthis in Yemen in less than a year. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz on Friday threatened to assassinate Houthi leaders just like the “Sinwars” in Gaza.   (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

A terrorist stabbed a police officer at Chain Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday night. The terrorist arrived at the area shortly after 9 p.m. and charged at the police officer, stabbing him in the back with a knife Another police officer and a nearby Border Police officer quickly opened fire, neutralizing the terrorist. His death was later pronounced at the scene. The wounded police officer was evacuated to Shaare Tzedek Hospital in moderate condition. The terrorist was later identified as an Israeli-Arab from East Jerusalem. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz appeared to confirm today the assassination of Mohammed Sinwar, the de facto leader of Hamas in Gaza, marking a huge blow to the terrorist group’s leadership. Katz also issued a stark threat to the Iran-backed Houthi leaders in Yemen, vowing to obliterate them, just hours after Israeli jets launched a series of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen. Mohammed Sinwar was killed three days ago during a precision airstrike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. The IDF said the hospital housed a Hamas command-and-control hub. Sinwar, who had taken over as a key figure in Hamas’s military wing following the assassination of his brother Yahya Sinwar in October 2024, was a high-priority target for Israel.

A political firestorm erupted Thursday when former FBI Director James Comey posted a cryptic Instagram photo of seashells arranged to form the numbers “8647,” which many in conservative circles interpret as a coded call to assassinate President Donald Trump. The post, deleted after sparking outrage, has prompted investigations by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Secret Service, with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard leading calls for Comey’s arrest. The controversy stems from the phrase “86 47,” where “86” is slang for “to get rid of” or, more recently, “to kill,” and “47” refers to Trump’s status as the 47th President of the United States.

Israeli authorities announced Friday that they have arrested a 16-year-old boy accused of collaborating with Iranian intelligence operatives in a covert campaign targeting Israel’s national security. The teenager, a resident of the Judean foothills region, allegedly carried out a series of tasks for Iranian handlers in exchange for money, according to a joint statement issued by the Israel Police and the Shin Bet. The activities included photographing sensitive locations, hiding cash, distributing incendiary political flyers, and burning papers bearing condemnations of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Officials say the teen was instructed to purchase a new mobile phone and install an encrypted messaging application through which he could receive assignments.

New Jersey Transit train engineers went on strike Friday, leaving an estimated 350,000 commuters in New Jersey and New York City to seek other means to reach their destinations or consider staying home. Groups of picketers gathered in front of transit headquarters in Newark and at the Hoboken Terminal, carrying signs that said “Locomotive Engineers on Strike” and “NJ Transit: Millions for Penthouse Views Nothing for Train Crews.” Friday’s rail commute into New York from New Jersey is typically the lightest of the week. In New York, some commuters from New Jersey said they could not work remotely and had to come in, taking busses to the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan. David Milosevich, a fashion and advertising casting director, was on his way to a photo shoot in Brooklyn.

Syria’s new government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa is reportedly considering the return of the remains of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen — a potential diplomatic gesture that could mark a striking departure from decades of hostile silence between the two countries. According to Arab diplomats cited by Al-Akhbar, a pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper known for its deep connections in the region, Syrian officials have not ruled out the possibility of transferring Cohen’s remains to Israel, nearly 60 years after he was hanged in a Damascus public square in 1965. The report, authored by Al-Akhbar editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin, claims that covert security talks between Israel and Syria have intensified in recent weeks, with a particular focus on confidence-building measures.

The United Arab Emirates’ top diplomat told Fox News that the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas is a prerequisite for any meaningful progress toward stability in the region. “First, getting the hostages out,” said Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “We need calm in Gaza, and we need an authority that’s not Hamas that controls Gaza.” His remarks — a rare and pointed public articulation of the U.A.E.’s position on the conflict — place the Gulf nation squarely in alignment with a growing international chorus calling for Hamas to relinquish control of the besieged enclave as a condition for rebuilding and long-term peace. Since the outbreak of the war following Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel, the U.A.E.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran should make a quick decision on an American proposal for a nuclear deal or “something bad will happen.” Speaking in Abu Dhabi as he capped a Gulf tour, Trump said his administration had handed Iran a proposal for an agreement, adding that “they know they have to move quickly or something bad is going to happen.” The Trump administration presented Iran with a written proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of negotiations held in Oman on Sunday, according to a U.S. official and two sources with direct knowledge of the talks cited by Axios. This marks the first time since negotiations began in early April that the U.S.