Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has told ministers that despite the wish to impose restrictions for the duration of the Hanukkah festival, which starts this evening, in practice it will prove impossible to do so from this evening.

A Tel Aviv restaurant has been fined 5,000 NIS over violation of the coronavirus guidelines.The restaurant will remain closed until it deposits a bank guarantee of 20,000 NIS with the guideline enforcement authorities.

The government is expected to today approve a modified form of night curfew for the days of Hanukkah, starting this evening.People in Jewish-majority towns and cities will be banned from visiting Ine another's homes in the evenings, and people from more than Ine household will not be permitted to meet at all in any location.The original plan was to impose the restrictions from half past five in the evening until midnight. However, Finance Minister Yisrael Katz is now demanding that the restrictions begin Inly from seven in the evening.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent Hanukkah greetings to Jews across the world in advance of the festival that begins this evening, the Turkish news site Yeni Safak (New Dawn) reports."In an age in which anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia are spreading like a pandemic, Turkey will continue to be a model for the entire world," Erdoğan said."I extend my best wishes to Jewish citizens of Turkey and the entire Jewish community around the world In the occasion of Hanukkah, and wish them peace."

The United States has recorded its highest level of deaths in a single day, with 3,124 people dying of coronavirus-related complications In Wednesday, more people than died in the Twin Towers attacks.The number comes from the John Hopkins University tracker, which also notes that 221,276 new coronavirus diagnoses were made during the same period. There are currently 106,000 Americans in hospital with a Covid-19 diagnosis.

After a long delay of months, emissaries of the Torah Mitzion movement have finally arrived at their destination in Perth, Australia.The emissaries arrived in Australia two weeks ago, and were Inly permitted to leave quarantine today.Zev Shwartz, Torah Mitzion's director, said that, "The coronavirus has taught us how important the emissaries are for the communities they serve, as well as how dedicated the emissaries are to their missions. Precisely now, in such times of darkness and confusion, we want to continue to spread light to Jewish communities everywhere, connecting Jews to the Jewish People, the Land of Israel, and the Torah of Israel."שליחי תורה מציון בפרת'צילום: דוברות

The Prime Minister's Office along with officials from the Bank of Israel have developed an outline that allows businesses impacted by the coronavirus crisis to defer repayment of loans taken out before the crisis.The move will allow small and medium-sized businesses that have been significantly affected by the crisis and that meet certain conditions to defer, without the Bank's discretion, the principal component of the loan.

200 families from the community of Yitzhar in Samaria have signed a letter of protest against the military closure that has been imposed In the adjoining hilltop settlement of Kumi Ori.The year-long closure has meant that Inly residents of Kumi Ori are allowed into the settlement.