Today's briefing covers renewed budget negotiations between the government and opposition over defence funding, escalating regional tensions as Houthi rebels expand their reach in the Red Sea, and continued fallout from the 'Naza' documentary that has prompted urgent discussions within Israel's military and diplomatic establishment.

Politics

During a security update meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked opposition leader Yair Lapid to support reopening the budget law in order to channel additional funds to the defence establishment. Lapid's office said he backed the principle but insisted the funding source must not come through tax rises on the middle class or army reservists, instead demanding cuts to coalition funds earmarked for ultra-Orthodox parties. Separately, speculation continues over future coalition arrangements, with a senior figure in Avigdor Liberman's party not ruling out cooperation with Ofer Winter's new 'Amach Yisrael' movement, though colleagues pushed back against any alliance combining right-wing policy with Yair Golan and Arab parties. Culture Minister Miki Zohar meanwhile intensified his attack on the makers of the 'Naza' documentary, calling for an investigation into how they obtained sensitive material and reiterating his intention to pursue revocation of their citizenship over allegations of treason.

Security

The IDF has rejected claims made in the documentary 'Naza', which won a prize at the Venice Film Festival, that Israel used AI-assisted targeting to kill Palestinians in Gaza. Military and foreign ministry officials are holding intensive discussions on how to respond, with a national campaign reportedly being planned as diplomats abroad report the controversy has reached foreign governments, including friendly ones now facing pressure over the allegations. Officials describe some claims in the film as blatantly false. Elsewhere, Houthi rebels have seized further key islands in the Red Sea and launched dozens of projectiles into Saudi Arabia, with the rebel advance meeting little resistance. Saudi Arabia's crown prince met the head of US Central Command in an effort to secure American support amid the escalating attacks, as Gulf states voice growing alarm. Separately, a US weapons-systems officer shot down over Iran in April has described the extraordinary circumstances of his survival on the ground, calling the moment his rescuers arrived one of the greatest of his life.

International

Syria has been rocked by its largest protests since the fall of the Assad regime, triggered by a surge in fuel prices; the UN Development Programme estimates 90% of Syrians now live below the poverty line, up from roughly a third before the civil war began in 2011. Analysts note Israel would benefit from a stable Syria, but warn that growing Turkish influence and the presence of Turkish forces there pose a significant risk. Questions are also being raised over whether Iraq will face consequences for militia attacks on a Saudi pipeline, with Baghdad appearing reluctant to act. In London, three Jewish schoolboys aged 14 were subjected to a suspected antisemitic hate crime on a bus, with police hunting a white British man after the boys were verbally abused and two reportedly assaulted. In Turkey, dozens were detained in raids on LGBT venues after President Erdogan used derogatory language to describe the community. In a separate development, an Argentine court has ordered the return of a Nazi-looted painting, 'Portrait of a Lady', to the sole heir of Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, after the artwork was traced through a real estate advertisement.

Other Developments

Yehuda Widawski, believed to be Israel's oldest Holocaust survivor, has died at the age of 107. The Auschwitz survivor was noted for identifying thousands of lost Jewish graves and helping restore the historic Jewish cemetery in Łódź. In Beit Shemesh, a man has been formally charged with murdering seven-year-old Hillel Mordechai Dadon, who was stabbed while playing in a yard last month, and with attempting to kill a second child; the victim's mother has rejected reports that the suspect's mental state should be considered a mitigating factor. Separately, prosecutors have charged a man with poisoning five toddlers, including an infant under one year old, after dangerous levels of medication were found in their systems; the motive remains unclear.

Sources: Ynet, Walla, www.israelhayom.co.il, Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post