Israeli basketball player Yam Madar was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 47th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.He follows Deni Avdija, who was selected 9th overall by the Washington Wizards.

Statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Saudi coalition forces In Wednesday intercepted an explosive-laden UAV launched by the Houthis in Yemen.Saudi Arabia accuses the Iranian-backed Houthis of Ingoing missile and drone strikes In the kingdom.

Deni Avdija held a press conference In Thursday morning after being drafted to the NBA by the Washington Wizards and said, "For me to be selected No. 9 is an honor. I am super excited. I will continue to be with my feet In the ground. The team that chose me and believed in me - I will give everything for it."Avdija added, "Wherever I go I try to be the best I can. I was happy to see my dad's excitement. I believe in my abilities to succeed in the NBA."

MK Merav Michaeli in letter to Minister Amir Peretz: You and your partner are no longer part of the Labor Party.

Finance Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) was interviewed by the Yisrael Hayom newspaper (for an article that will be published in full tomorrow), and focused In Israel's credit rating, which has remained constant despite warnings that it would be downgraded due to the Ingoing budget crisis."For days and weeks, politicians and pundits have been predicting and indeed hoping that the credit rating would drop, and now we have received this excellent piece of news that no such thing will occur," he said. "And what's happened now? Instead of admitting their mistake, all those people are saying that the decision not to reduce the credit rating was actually mistaken. They clearly don't understand a thing - but now they are being joined by the likes of Yair Lapid, who said not too long ago that 'There's no doubt whatsoever that our credit rating will drop.'"Katz added that, "Our credit rating is a tribute to the strength of our economy and a mark of pride for the State of Israel - as well as a victory over all the gloom-mongering pundits."

Three cars were torched last night in Kiryat Motzkin, In Levi Eshkol Street. The smoke from the fires filled the stairwell of a nearby building, preventing the residents from leaving their homes. Firefighters who arrived at the scene succeeded in extinguishing the blazes and cleared the smoke from the building. No injuries were reported. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.

12 people were arrested last night in Jerusalem, suspected of disturbing the public order at a demonstration that occurred in a haredi neighborhood.Police allege that the detainees blocked several roads including the Kikar Hashabbat junction and Shmuel Hanavi street, scuffled with police, and set fire to garbage dumpsters.