Negev Desert

View of the David Ben-Gurion walking trail, Sde Boker, February 2023. (Courtesy/Dead Sea Preservation Government Company)

IDF chief Herzi Halevi walks with other military and police officials near the site where an Egyptian policeman infiltrated into Israel, June 3, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

June 4, 2023, 4:23 pm

IDF chief taps general to probe ‘systemic’ failures in deadly Egypt border attack

Maj. Gen. Nimrod Aloni to investigate theory, practice of ‘defending peaceful borders’ after Egyptian policeman sneaks through border gate that was merely held shut with zip ties

By Emanuel Fabian

This image taken from video shows an IDF post that was attacked by an Egyptian policeman on the border, June 3, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

June 3, 2023, 10:05 pm

IDF: Troops killed at border post didn’t return fire after Egyptian officer attacked

Initial probe into killing of 3 soldiers indicates policeman entered Israel through emergency gate, acted alone; Gallant speaks with Egyptian counterpart, stresses bilateral ties

By Emanuel Fabian

Staff Sgt. Ohad Dahan, 20 (left), Sgt. Lia Ben Nun, 19 (center) and Staff Sgt. Ori Yitzhak Iluz, 20, combat soldiers in the IDF's Bardelas and Caracal battalions who were shot dead on the Egyptian border on June 3, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

June 3, 2023, 5:00 pm

Troops killed along Egypt border named: Ohad Dahan, Lia Ben Nun, Ori Yitzhak Iluz

Senior officer says nothing to stay ‘unsolved’ in probe of attack by Egyptian policeman who infiltrated into Israel, remained undetected for hours before and after initial shooting

By Emanuel Fabian

An ambulance rushes out of a military base following a deadly shootout in southern Israel along the Egyptian border, June 3, 2023. (AP/Tsafrir Abayov)

June 3, 2023, 10:29 am

Egyptian policeman kills 3 IDF soldiers in border shootings; is shot dead

Army probing how attacker infiltrated into country, motivation; 2 troops were killed in border guard post before second deadly exchange of fire hours later in Israeli territory

By Emanuel Fabian

Flowers bloom along the Cedar Trail in the Jerusalem Forest. (Shmuel Bar-Am)

April 16, 2023, 5:49 pm

Israel’s total rainfall normal, despite dry start; cold promises late floral show

Ecologist recommends hitting southern deserts for a colorful display in mid-May, with rainfall there three times last year’s quantity

By Sue Surkes

March 11, 2023, 6:45 am

New desert promenade will take visitors on Ben-Gurion’s favorite Negev walk

Sde Boker, where the first prime minister lived after retiring, gets an upgrade that aims to draw tourists while keeping their footprint small

By Danielle Nagler

Police officers at the scene of a car chase with kidnappers in the south on December 12, 2022. (Israel Police)

December 12, 2022, 9:34 pm

Police rescue kidnapping victim after car chase through south

East Jerusalem man, 22, located bound and beaten, after being held as part of apparent ransom plot, authorities say; 5 arrested

By ToI Staff

Troops stand next to drugs seized during a smuggling attempt on the Egypt border, on May 25, 2022. (Israel Defense Forces)

November 27, 2022, 7:17 pm

IDF outreach in south aims to steer young Bedouin away from crime

With Operation Negev Shield, army ramps up efforts against smuggling and growing drugs, while sending officers to local schools to help kids learn Hebrew and potentially enlist

By Emanuel Fabian

From left: Sinai Gohar Barak, International Ecosystem Development, DeserTech, M.Toumany Diallo, Director of Mali's Great Green Wall agency, Tal Biran Ben Gal of the DeserTech Innovation Leaders Program, M. Modibo Kone, Mali's Environment and Sustainable Development Minister, Nicole Hod Stroh, Executive Director of the Merage Foundation Israel, Andrea Meza, UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary, and Sarah Toumi of the Great Green Wall Accelerator. (Courtesy, Desertech Community)

November 12, 2022, 8:34 am

Israel’s DeserTech partners with UN to help African nations build ‘Great Green Wall’

Launching program at COP27 climate confab, DeserTech says goal is to develop technologies that can address global challenges, turn Negev into global desert tech hub

By Sue Surkes

Pouring a Nana Estate Winery rose while looking out toward the unlikely desert terroir of this Negev vineyard. (Courtesy: Nana Winery)

September 25, 2022, 12:14 pm

Daily Briefing September 25: For Rosh Hashanah, Negev Desert wine and ancient opium

The two podcast hosts swap favorite Times Will Tell episodes and update listeners on a recently discovered 3,300-year-old untouched cave at their favorite beach

By ToI Staff

A desert view of the Ashalim power station, a solar power station, in the Negev desert. August 21, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

July 19, 2022, 6:18 pm

First map of Israeli desert tech identifies over 300 companies

Report aims to expose country’s strength and potential for tackling desert challenges worldwide

By Sue Surkes

View of highway 10, on the southern Israeli border with Egypt. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)

June 1, 2022, 6:48 pm

IDF: Fighter jets downed Egyptian military drone that entered Israeli skies

Incident occurred Monday in the southern Negev desert; defense source says UAV was unarmed, interception coordinated with Egypt

By Emanuel Fabian

May 21, 2022, 10:29 am

In the Negev, a new breed of vintners are making the desert bloom

With the arid terroir producing a wine that’s ‘fruity but not jammy,’ the vineyards of the Negev are banding together in hopes of being recognized as a formal appellation

By Jessica Steinberg

The Zin stream in southern Israel at sunset, on June 23, 2017. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

April 26, 2022, 4:47 pm

State-owned pipeline fined NIS 1.6 million over 2011 spills in Zin stream

Several former senior officials at Europe Asia Pipeline Company also hit with fines over pair of incidents that badly polluted seasonal river in southern Israel

By ToI Staff and Sue Surkes

A view of a suite at Six Senses Shaharut, which opened in August 2021 in Israel's Negev Desert (Courtesy Assaf Pinchuk)

April 23, 2022, 3:29 pm

Luxury resort Six Senses Shaharut offers Negev oasis with unlikely neighbors

It took 10 years to carve the desert resort from a hillside, built sustainably for wellness travelers and with prices to match the other-worldly design

By Jessica Steinberg