PHOTO ESSAY: Inside an elite ultra-Orthodox school as Israel's draft dispute looms over election

BNEI BRAK, Israel (AP) — In Israel’s recent years of war, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population has become a central point of friction. A deal made at the country’s creation between political and religious leaders exempted what was then a small number of ultra-Orthodox men from compulsory military service. The act was meant to help Jewish scholars recover from the devastation of the Holocaust.

Since then, the ultra-Orthodox population has become the country’s fastest-growing group. The military exemption has grated on many Israelis who send their young men and women off to fight and have seen hundreds killed. The issue could be decisive in Tuesday's close election in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu relies on the ultra-Orthodox vote.

For months, Associated Press photographer Ohad Zwigenberg has documented the lives of ultra-Orthodox students at one of Israel’s most prominent yeshivas, Ponevezh, for a look inside the highly conservative community. As the young men enter the elite seminary, the skyline of Tel Aviv, the symbol of Israeli secular life, spreads out behind them.

The students spend long days and nights studying the Torah and Jewish law and commentary, sharing simple apartments nearby to maintain focus and decompress like anyone else: snacking from vending machines, sometimes smoking, spending summer breaks at the Dead Sea.

It's a world they entered as children and one that trains them for a more complex world ahead, which many hope will lead to a respected position as a rabbi. They fear that leaving for nearly three years of military service would change them.

The students said their studies play an essential role in protecting the Jewish people spiritually and in sustaining the world at large. They say there is no higher duty. That belief is at the heart of a question facing Israel about the responsibilities of its people in service of a nation under threat.

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish worshippers pray beside a soldier from the Haredi Hashmonaim Brigade at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students read and discuss Torah texts at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men cover themselves with mud in the Dead Sea, in the West Bank, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students celebrate during the wedding of a fellow student at a wedding hall in Jerusalem, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students listen to their rabbi at Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Jewish seminary students read a newspaper in their room at Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men play the piano before boarding a train in Jerusalem following a rally protesting plans to require them to serve in the Israeli military, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students listen to their rabbi during a Torah lesson at Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students from Slabodka Yeshiva spend time at Yarkon Park during their term break, known as bein hazmanim, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary student plays an electronic keyboard in his room at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Soldiers from the ultra-Orthodox Hashmonaim Brigade march through Jerusalem's Old City at the conclusion of initial training before receiving their unit berets, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Police use a water cannon to disperse ultra-Orthodox Jewish men blocking a street to protest the army draft in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man wears a yellow Star of David, reminiscent of those Jews were forced to wear during World War II, bearing Hebrew text reading "Deserter," as others block a main road as they protest military conscription near Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students bathe in a pool during their bein hazmanim term break at Hamat Gader hot springs in northern Israel, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students read and discuss Torah texts at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary student rests in his room at midday at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students perform evening prayers at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students hang their hats and jackets before having lunch in the dining hall at at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students read Torah texts at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students celebrate the engagement of their friend Eliezer Shetzigal inside Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students eat lunch in the dining hall at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students get ready for bed in their room at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary student hangs his jacket before having lunch in the dining hall at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students read and discuss Torah texts at Ponevezh, Israel’s most prominent yeshiva, or seminary, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Iran's state television reported that seven oil tankers were either struck by attacks or hit naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz overnight Thursday, possibly the largest single-day number of vessels damaged in the waterway since the Iran war started on Feb. 28.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East. Read our full coverage here.

Iran’s state television reported that seven oil tankers caught fire and were damaged overnight Thursday after being targeted or striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

If verified, it would be the largest single-day number of vessels damaged in the waterway since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran.

Quoting a statement by the Revolutionary Guard's navy, the Iranian report said that four of the tankers were transferring oil when they were targeted and caught fire. Another three were damaged and immobilized when they hit naval mines.

The report didn't provide details about possible casualties or the flags of the tankers.

The report also warned that the Revolutionary Guard may target U.S. bases in the region if the U.S. tried to allow oil tankers to transit through other parts of the strait.

The Revolutionary Guard had routinely targeted U.S. bases in Gulf countries during the war.

Yemen’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that Houthi rallies and mobilization programs will be considered legitimate military targets and warned residents in Houthi-held areas against taking part.

The announcement was shared in a social media post and is considered a major escalation against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels as well as civilians living in areas under their control.

Deliberate attacks on civilians could amount to a war crime.

Rallies and what Houthis call “cultural courses” are one of the Iranian-backed group’s main tools for mobilization of supporters and fighters.

The Defense Ministry statement said such assemblies are used by the Houthis to mobilize children for combat.

Saudi Arabia's Civil Aviation Authority said Thursday that the number of people killed in an attack on the King Fahd International Airport has risen to two.

The dead are a Saudi citizen and an Indian national who was living in the kingdom, according to a statement. Another eight people suffered injuries in the attack that occurred late Wednesday.

Saudi authorities didn't say who was responsible for the attack or provide any details about the attack reported earlier Thursday. The Houthi rebels issued no statement.

King Fahd Airport on the country's east near Bahrain and Qatar has been attacked previously amid a wider wave of Houthi missile and projectile strikes targeting major airports in Saudi Arabia.

A civilian with special needs was killed during an Israeli forces raid Thursday on the village of Jamla in southern Syria’s Daraa province, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

It did not give more details about how the disabled man was killed. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024, Israel seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and has occupied it since.

Jamla isn't inside the Israeli occupied zone but Israeli forces often make incursions into areas outside the zone.

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

A displaced Yemeni girl walks at Al-Firdaws 2 camp in Ras Imran, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen, Yemen, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

Residents walk on their home debris at Seina district in Taiz, Yemen, after a missile strike, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Marzouq Al Jabri)

Residents walk amid debris from their homes after a missile strike in Seina, Taiz, Yemen, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Marzouq Al Jabri)