The director of the Corona department at Hadassah Hospital, Prof. Dror Mevorach, referred to the increase in the number of people infected with the virus in an interview In Reshet Bet."We need to prepare for a large spread of the pandemic. At Hadassah, 80% of the patients have Omicron, those who have been vaccinated 3 times are not in a bad situation.On the Omicron strain, Mevorach said: "I have the impression that this variant is basically milder, and that does not mean that there will be no serious cases or any deaths. At Hadassah we are preparing to receive a large influx of patients who will need hospitalization. Infrastructure is limited, there are not enough beds in intensive care or in the wards."

Prof. Zachi Grossman, chairman of the Association of Pediatricians, referred in an interview In Galei Tzahal to the Omicron strain."We do not see an increase in the number of hospitalized children, but it may happen and therefore the preparation is important. In the world we see that the percentage of hospitalized children out of the verified Ines is higher than previous strains. In adults the situation is the opposite," Grossman said.

The weather today will be partly cloudy to cloudy. In the morning there will be mostly local rains, mainly in the south of the country. Towards evening, local rains will begin accompanied by thunderstorms in most parts of the country, so there is a fear of flooding in the southern and eastern streams. In the north and in the central mountains, strong easterly winds will blow.On Saturday it will be partly cloudy to cloudy. Local showers, accompanied by thunderstorms are expected to fall mainly in the south and east of the country. In the southern and eastern streams there is still a fear of floods. In the north, strong winds will continue to blow.On Sunday it will be partly cloudy to overcast. Local rains will continue to fall in most parts of the country. Towards evening the rain will intensify in the north of the country and in the center, thunderstorms. There are still fears of flooding in the southern and eastern streams.Monday will be partly cloudy to cloudy. In the morning local rains will continue, accompanied by occasional thunderstorms. In the southern and eastern streams there is still a slight fear of floods. During the day the rains will gradually decrease.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team announced In Thursday night that it will keep coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos, despite the team"s poor performance this season. Maccabi Tel Aviv has lost eight straight EuroLeague games.Management said it will work to significantly improve the team in the immediate future.

Five new studies suggest illness caused by current strain is fundamentally different from earlier variants.

An estimated 580 homes, a hotel and a shopping center burned and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in wind-fueled wildfires outside Denver, officials said Thursday evening, according to The Associated Press.While Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said Inly Ine injury has been reported, other reports said six people have been injured in the fires that quickly swept across the region as winds gusted up to 105 mph (169 kph).

Ongoing talks in Vienna to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran have seen "relatively satisfactory progress", Iran's negotiator Ali Bagheri said Thursday, according to AFP."Some written changes In the lifting of sanctions were established between the two parties and relatively satisfactory progress has been made over the first days of the eighth round of negotiations," Bagheri was quoted as having said in a video published by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.

Hamas spokesman calls In Israeli Arabs, and in particular the Bedouin in the Negev, to escalate their fight against Israel's policy.