The city of Betar Ilit, situated south of Jerusalem, will be placed under a full lockdown for a week following the high numbers of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in the city.

The Ministerial Committee on Declaring Restricted Zones decided Tuesday night to authorize the military commander of Judea and Samaria to declare the municipal area of Betar Ilit as a restricted zone for seven days, from 13:00 on Wednesday and until next Wednesday.

Accordingly, entry into, and exit from, Betar Ilit will be restricted, as will be movement and businesses within the city itself.

Betar Ilit, an ultra-Orthodox city, has at least 268 active patients, 169 of which were diagnosed in the past week.

This measure was the latest to be implemented by the government which has been scrambling to stem the spread of the virus in the country and reintroduced several of the COVID-19 related restrictions Israel emerged from only weeks ago.

The number of COVID-19 infections in Israel continued to rise sharply, and the Ministry of Health updated Tuesday night that at least 1,052 new infections were registered in the past day, bringing the total number of active cases in Israel to 13,653.

Some 85 of the patients are in serious condition, of whom 34 are on life support.

Of the total 32,222 cases documented since the outbreak in the country, 18,227 have recovered and 342 have died of the virus, five of them in the past day.

President Reuven Rivlin announced Monday that he has decided to award a special commendation to Michael Ben Zikri as “an example of civic action.”

Ben Zikri, 45, lost his life over the weekend when he saved the lives of a woman and three children at a lake at the edge of Nachal Shikma, near Ashkelon.

The four people he saved are of the al-Karem family from the Bedouin town of Hura.

Rivlin invited Michael’s wife Cheli and their three children, the al-Karem family to Beit HaNasi in Jerusalem at the end of the Shiva mourning period for Michael and will launch the Civil Medal of Distinguished Service, awarded to civilians to commend exemplary behavior in Israeli society.

This is the first time Rivlin in awarding an Israeli with the medal.

Jonathan Gonen, director of digital media in Arabic at Israeli Foreign Ministry, said that Ben Zikri’s story generated a buzz in the Muslim world.

“It is a human story that could not have left followers in Arab countries indifferent, including those hostiles to Israel,” he said. “Surfers from Morocco to Iraq, from Oman to Syria, identified with the story and unanimously, and to a large extent, voted on Michael’s heroism, with some also emphasizing coexistence and the shared life in Israel as a role model.”

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Sunday night bombed several Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks on Israel earlier in the evening.

Gaza-based terrorists launched three rockets at Israeli communities in the Strip’s vicinity. One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome defensive system and another two exploded in open areas, causing no injuries or damage.

The IDF stated that helicopters and fighter jets attacked Hamas targets in the northern Gaza Strip, including underground infrastructure.

The IDF “views all terrorist activities against Israeli territory with severity and will continue to act as necessary against attempts to harm Israeli civilians,” it stated.

“The Hamas terror organization bears responsibility for what is happening in and out of the Gaza Strip, and it will bear the consequences for terrorist operations against Israeli citizens,” the military added.

The last rocket attack from Gaza occurred last weekend.

Group 42, a technology company based in Abu Dhabi, announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries to explore collaborations in the research and development of effective solutions to combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Executives from each company took part in a signing ceremony held via video conference between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel on Thursday.

Peng Xiao, CEO of Group 42, said that “at G42, we embrace international cooperation as a way to develop new and innovative technological solutions for the public good.”

“The UAE has led by example in the global collaborative effort to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic, and our company is privileged to follow the lead and share resources and expertise with Rafael and IAI for such a significant cause,” he added.

“Extremely proud of the cooperation between leading Israeli and UAE companies in combating COVID-19,” tweeted Lior Haiat, spokesperson of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ariel Karo, Rafael EVP for Marketing and Business Development lauded the ” historic collaboration that was born out of a global crisis. As a technological leader, particularly in the field of AI, we are proud to offer our range of capabilities and knowhow to help in the fight against the COVID-19.”

“This joint initiative brings together some of the most active players in the Covid-19 response in the region and aims to leverage their combined knowledge, human and technological assets, and other resources to accelerate the delivery of breakthrough solutions to safeguard the public health and support the global fight against the pandemic,” the companies said in a joint statement.

In the UAE, G42 is also trialing the world’s first phase III clinical trial of a COVID-19 inactivated vaccine, under the supervision of the Department of Health of Abu Dhabi.

Israel is willing to share its “extensive research and findings on various aspects of dealing with the Coronavirus challenges” with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Minister of Science and Technology Izhar Shai said as he invited the Arab country to join forces in combating the pandemic.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash, in a historic appearance by a senior Arab official before a Jewish organization, addressed the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Virtual Global Forum on Tuesday and said that while “the pandemic will not change the fundamentals of regional politics,” the experience of cooperation among nations dealing with the pandemic opens opportunities to de-escalate tensions and resolve conflicts through diplomacy.

The Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology “will be happy to share its extensive research and findings on various aspects of dealing with the Coronavirus challenges,” Izhar wrote.

Israel and the UAE do not have formal diplomatic relations.

The Ministerial Committee on Declaring Restricted Zones convened on Wednesday evening and decided to declare several areas within cities across the country as “restricted zones,” as the number of documented Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients in Israel continued to climb.

The Committee announced that in the city of Ashdod, the neighborhoods of Gimmel, Zayin and Chet were declared Restricted Zones, as well the Rechevet, Snir and Neveh Shalom neighborhoods in Lod.

The declaration of these neighborhoods as “restricted zones” is in effect for seven days.

Entry and exit to and from the restricted zones are limited, as will be traffic and businesses within these areas.

In addition, Health Ministry Director-General Hezi Levy will sign an order limiting the activity of educational institutions and gatherings in the city of Beitar Ilit.

The number of documented COVID-19 patients in Israel continued to rise at an alarming pace with 967 new cases in the past 24 hours, the highest number recorded in a day since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The Ministry of Health updated Wednesday evening that there are 8,483 active patients in Israel, including 57 in serious condition, of them 24 are on life support.

Since the beginning of the outbreak in the country, 26,257 people have been diagnosed with the virus and 17,452 people have recovered. 322 have died.

19,896 tests were conducted on Tuesday, with 4.86% of them returning positive.

Since the beginning of the week, 2,774 new patients have been diagnosed, twice as many as in all of May.