April 3: Nova festival organizers say IDF probe shows ‘the magnitude of the failure’

Trump says Netanyahu may visit US next week

US President Donald Trump says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may visit the United States next week.

“I think he’s going to be coming to the country some time in the not-so-distant future. Maybe next week,” Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One, confirming that he spoke to the Israeli premier earlier today.

Netanyahu just visited the US in early February, becoming the first foreign leader to meet with Trump. His office had not mentioned an imminent visit to the US.

Netanyahu’s office said earlier today that he spoke with Trump alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss Budapest’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.

Netanyahu is not slated to return to Israel from Hungary until Sunday morning. The weeklong Passover holiday begins next weekend.

The Axios news site cites an Israeli official who says Trump invited Netanyahu to the White House but that no date has been set for such a meeting.

US Senate overwhelmingly votes down Sanders motions to block weapons transfers to Israel

The US Senate overwhelmingly rejects a pair of motions by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders aimed at blocking the transfer of weapons to Israel, with the number of Democrats voting in favor slightly shrinking since the last time such an initiative was advanced several months ago.

Sanders’s motions were virtually guaranteed to fail given the Republican majority in Senate and the still small minority of Democrats willing to vote against Israel. However, such votes are often framed as a litmus test to how much the Democratic Party is shifting in its support of Israel, and in particular, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Donald Trump’s replacement of Joe Biden in the White House does not appear to have significantly affected today’s votes.

Fifteen Democrats voted in favor of two resolutions blocking the sale of $8.8 billion in bombs and munitions to Israel. When Sanders brought similar resolutions before the Senate in November 2024, 19 Democrats voted in favor.

One of the Democrats who flipped their vote was Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is likely to face an intense reelection challenge from Republicans in 2026.

A notable vote in favor of the legislation came from freshman New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, who has been cast as a more moderate Democrat. He visited Israel earlier this year and has advocated for the release of the hostages.

The other 14 Democrats who voted in favor of blocking weapons to Israel were Sanders, Mazie Hirono, Ben Ray Luján, Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey, Tim Kaine, Elizabeth Warren, Martin Heinrich, Brian Schatz, Tina Smith, Dick Durbin, Peter Welch and Chris Murphy.

The first resolution was blocked by a vote of 82-15, and the second resolution was blocked by a vote of 83-15.

Explaining his “yes” vote, Schatz said in a statement: “I have always supported Israel’s right to defend itself from serious and enduring threats in the region, and support American security assistance for that purpose, and will continue to do so.”

“While I was encouraged by the ceasefire earlier this year, its breakdown and the Netanyahu government’s devastating actions in Gaza warrant questions around the timing of a sale of large-scale bombs and the current conduct of the war,” Schatz says.

Report: Iran pulling forces out of Yemen amid intensive US airstrikes on Houthis

Iran has reportedly ordered its military personnel to leave Yemen and is pulling back its support for the Houthis amid extensive US airstrikes on the rebel group.

The British Telegraph newspaper cites a “senior Iranian official” saying that Tehran is scaling back its support of its regional proxies to focus on the direct threats emanating from the Trump administration.

The official also says that the pullback from Yemen is designed to avoid the possibility of escalation if an Iranian soldier is killed in US airstrikes there.

Tehran is focusing its efforts instead on how to respond to US President Donald Trump and his litany of threats, and “none of the regional groups we previously supported are being discussed,” the official is quoted as saying.

Turkey accuses Israel of destabilizing Syria, demands end to airstrikes

Turkey demands Israel withdraw from Syria and says it must stop harming stabilization efforts there, after Israel stepped up airstrikes in the neighboring country and accused Turkey of trying to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate.

“Israel has become the greatest threat to regional security” and is a “strategic destabilizer, causing chaos and feeding terrorism,” the foreign ministry in Ankara says.

“Therefore, in order to establish security throughout the region, Israel must first abandon its expansionist policies, withdraw from the territories it occupies, and stop undermining efforts to establish stability in Syria,” it adds.

Earlier today, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Ankara of playing a “negative role” in Syria, saying that “they are doing their utmost to have Syria as a Turkish protectorate. It’s clear that is their intention.”

Labor MK to be questioned on charges of leaking classified info

Police are reportedly set to question Labor MK Gilad Kariv on allegations that he leaked classified information from a closed-door hearing of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

According to Channel 12 news, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of Likud requested that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara open an investigation into Kariv. The Labor MK is expected to be questioned under caution next week.

In response, Kariv says in a statement that he “never harmed the security of the state,” and that unlike some of his colleagues in the coalition, he fully intends to cooperation with the police summons.

He accuses the Likud party of using its “poison machine” to “incite against the Israeli opposition” and says that throughout the ongoing war, there have been numerous leaks from the security cabinet, “and an investigation was not opened into a single one of them.”

Pentagon to review Hegseth’s use of Signal app to convey plans for Houthi strike

The Pentagon’s acting inspector general announces that he will review US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to convey plans for a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen.

The review will also look at other defense officials’ use of the publicly available encrypted app, which is not able to handle classified material and is not part of the Defense Department’s secure communications network.

Hegseth’s use of the app came to light when a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, was added to a Signal text chain by national security adviser Mike Waltz. The chain included Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and others, brought together to discuss military operations against the Iran-backed Houthis.

“The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business. Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements,” the acting inspector general, Steven Stebbins, says in a notification letter to Hegseth.

IDF issues evacuation order for parts of Gaza City after rocket fired at Israel

Following rocket fire from the central Gaza Strip on Nahal Oz this evening, the IDF issues an evacuation warning for Palestinians in the south Gaza City area.

In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, publishes a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying this is a “final warning” before the IDF carries out strikes there.

The warning includes the Gaza City neighborhoods of Zeitoun, Tel al-Hawa and Sabra. Adraee calls on Palestinians to leave the area and head to the Mawasi area on the coast of the Strip’s south.

The rocket launched at Nahal Oz was intercepted by air defenses, and there were no reports of injuries. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

#عاجل ‼️ إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في مناطق بلدة غزة القديمة والصبرة وتل الهوى والزيتون الغربي
????هذا انذار مسبق وأخير قبل الهجوم!????
⭕️تعود المنظمات الإرهابية وتطلق قذائفها الصاروخية من داخل المدنيين.
⭕️لقد حذرنا هذه المنطقة مرات عديدة.
⭕️من أجل سلامتكم عليكم الانتقال… pic.twitter.com/5rZtJAf7Og

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) April 3, 2025

Netanyahu files defamation lawsuit against Democrats party chair Yair Golan

Yair Golan says he is “happy for the opportunity” to put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “on the witness stand and question him about the Qatari money that flowed into his office,” after the premier filed a defamation lawsuit against the leader of The Democrats party.

According to the Ynet news site, Netanyahu filed a defamation suit against Golan on Tuesday, citing messages he sent to supporters accusing the prime minister of “selling Israel’s security for money” in the so-called Qatargate scandal.

“Not only does the message contain false and ugly content” as well as “fake news, wild incitement, and slander” but it also attempts to use such messaging to solicit donations, Ynet reports the suit as claiming.

In a lengthy statement to the press this evening, Golan lists a number of questions he plans on asking the premier should his legal team have the opportunity to question Netanyahu as part of the suit.

These include why Netanyahu approached Qatar in 2018 “with a request to fund Hamas, in complete contradiction to the position of the defense establishment” and why he continued “to demand the transfer of the suitcases of dollars to Hamas even after being warned that this was direct funding for terrorism.”

“Why did you prevent the elimination of [Yahya] Sinwar at least six times and is this related to your or your associates’ ties with Qatar?” Golan continues.

In addition, Golan questions why Netanyahu allowed Qatar to act as a mediator rather than Egypt, and why he did not fire aide Jonatan Urich, a key suspect in the ongoing Qatargate probe, after his alleged role in the scandal came to light.

“And finally, the question that looms over everything: Did you, or any of your family members, receive, directly or indirectly, money, favors or financing from the state that financed the massacre? Netanyahu, the court is the place to reveal the truth. We are ready. The public is ready,” Golan states.

IDF names 4 Hamas operatives it says were killed in Gaza strike on UNRWA clinic yesterday

The IDF and Shin Bet announce that a strike yesterday against a Hamas command center in northern Gaza’s Jabalia killed at least four operatives, including a terrorist who participated in the October 7 onslaught.

The strike, according to Palestinian media, hit a UNRWA clinic and killed at least eight people.

According to the military, among those killed in the strike was Shadi Diab Abd al-Hamid Falouji, a member of Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion, who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and participated in the onslaught.

Additionally, the IDF says the strike killed Mohammed Sharif, a member of Hamas’s general security mechanism, who was involved in the release ceremony of hostage soldier Agam Berger; Mohammed Hani Atiya Daour, a Hamas operative who headed a rocket and mortar squad; and Mohammed Issa Mahmoud Askari, member of a rocket unit in Hamas’s Northern Brigade and a member of the general security mechanism.

The military says it was able to confirm their deaths “following an intelligence review.”

JPost editor: Everything ‘turned upside down’ in questioning; I received ‘nothing’ for Qatar coverage

In his first public comments since he was named as a suspect in Qatargate, Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Zvika Klein says he could not have imagined “in my worst nightmares” his arrest this week and asserts that he received absolutely no benefit from his coverage of Qatar.

“This week, I was arrested,” he writes in a column in The Jerusalem Post. “I was placed under house arrest. In an instant, I went from a public servant to a suspect. Not even in my worst nightmares could I have imagined this.”

Klein says that his interview last year with the prime minister of Qatar was “proudly published in this paper. Nothing was hidden. Everything was done with full transparency and at the highest journalistic standards.”

The editor writes that he “received nothing in return. No benefits, no payment, no promises. I came back to Israel, and apparently one fact puzzled the police: I got nothing in return.”

Klein says that he agreed to speak to the police about his experience, “but then everything turned upside down,” saying his phone was seized, he was blocked from being able to contact his family and he was prohibited from being able to speak publicly and clear his name.

“My good name was damaged, even before the truth could come out,” he writes. “The time will come when the full story can be told. But it was important for me to speak to you – the readers – now, and say: I am here. We are here.”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad takes responsibility for rocket fire from Gaza

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for launching a rocket at the Gaza envelope earlier this evening, setting off sirens in Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

The rocket was intercepted by the IDF, and no injuries or damages were reported.

Orban hosts Netanyahu at state dinner in Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara at a state dinner. Senior Hungarian government officials and local Jewish leaders participate as well.

Tomorrow, Netanyahu will meet Jewish communal representatives, then will visit The Shoes on the Danube Bank Holocaust memorial with Orban.

Netanyahu will then travel to Ludovika University of Public Service, where he will receive an honorary doctorate.

Qatar denies paying to spread media narrative undermining Egypt’s role in hostage talks

Qatar denies that it made payments to spread a media narrative undermining the role of fellow hostage negotiation mediator Egypt after an Israeli judge revealed that two of Netanyahu’s aides are suspected of having been paid by Doha to do so.

“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the statements published by some journalists and media outlets alleging that Qatar has made financial payments to undermine the efforts of Egypt or any of the mediators involved in the ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel,” Qatar’s International Media Office says in a statement.

The statement blames “journalists and media outlets,” but news outlets have just been reporting what Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court Judge Menachem Mizrahi ruled in his decision this week when he extended the remand of Jonatan Urich, who has been a senior aide to the prime minister for many years, and Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for Netanyahu.

“The State of Qatar affirms that these allegations are baseless and serve only the agendas of those who seek to sabotage the mediation efforts and undermine relations between nations,” the Qatari statement claims.

Mizrahi’s ruling stated that Urich and Feldstein are suspected of having accepted payments from a Qatari lobbyist in order to spread a media narrative boosting Doha’s role in the Israel-Hamas hostage talks at Egypt’s expense — all while they were still working for Netanyahu.

Notably, the Qatari statement does not deny or comment on its lobbyist’s alleged payments to Netanyahu’s aides or Doha’s alleged effort to boost its image. Instead, the statement focuses on the accusation pertaining to Egypt.

Qatar says the false allegation “represent[s] a new development in the ongoing misinformation campaign that is attempting to divert attention away from the humanitarian suffering and perpetuate the politicization of the war.”

The statement stresses that Qatar remains committed to its mediating role and touts its cooperation with Egypt in that effort.

Israel reportedly carries out strikes south of Damascus

Israeli strikes hit Kiswah, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, the state news agency reports.

Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria overnight, declaring the attacks a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus as it accused their ally Turkey of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.

Macron to visit Egypt next week, travel near border with Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron will use an Egypt visit next week to travel near the Gaza Strip, going to the Egyptian town of Arish, the Elysee Palace says.

The Elysee Palace says that on this coming Tuesday, Macron will meet humanitarian and security workers there to stress his “constant mobilization in favor of a ceasefire.”

Trump said to fire several National Security Council officials

Several high-ranking White House National Security Council officials have been fired, according to three people familiar with the matter, in what appears to be the first significant purge of Donald Trump’s second presidency.

It was not clear exactly why the officials were let go or if their firing is permanent. But three of the sources say that several were told there were issues with their background vetting.

One of the sources says there were also concerns about leaks to the media, while two other sources suggest the ouster was aimed broadly at officials who held views that were seen as too interventionist for the liking of Trump’s allies.

Among the several NSC officials who were fired were David Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security, Brian Walsh, a senior director overseeing intelligence matters and Thomas Boodry, who oversees legislative affairs, the sources tell Reuters.

The news of the firings comes a day after an Oval Office meeting between Trump and right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who privately called on the president to fire some NSC staffers. Any connection between Loomer’s private suggestions and the firings was not immediately clear, and two sources said some dismissals came before Loomer met with Trump.

Netanyahu, Orban talk Hungary’s ICC withdrawal with Trump

During their meeting in Budapest, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban spoke to US President Donald Trump by phone, Netanyahu’s office says.

The conversation focused on Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court today, and “the next steps that can be taken on this topic,” says the Prime Minister’s Office.

Orban and Netanyahu are two of Trump’s closest allies in the Western world.

Nova festival organizers say IDF probe shows ‘the magnitude of the failure’

The production company behind the Nova music festival responds to the publication of the IDF’s investigation into the massacre on October 7, saying that it is grateful that the military has taken responsibility for its failures.

“The investigation revealed and verified the extent of the neglect we felt, and the magnitude of the failure that emerges from it is multi-systemic, shocking and incomprehensible,” it says in a statement.

“We appreciate the fact that for the first time since that damned and unbearable day, an official is finally standing up to us, taking responsibility, admitting to the failures and dealing with the anger, pain and difficult questions,” it says.

The company notes that the investigation revealed that the festival received all the proper authorization from the army and police, and that the partygoers were abandoned for many hours amid the onslaught.

“The producers of the Nova and many of the staff members remained at the scene, evacuating participants, providing medical aid, saving lives, and fighting while rescuing hundreds of wounded,” it says.

“We will continue to build and restore our community, this is our life’s mission and we hope that this time, we will not be left alone in the battle,” the company adds.

Rocket fired from Gaza sets off sirens in Nahal Oz, says IDF

A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip a short while ago was intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

Sirens had sounded in the border community of Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

There are no reports of injuries or damage.

Report: JPost editor passed message to PM aide about payment from Qatari lobbyist

Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Zvika Klein — who was released from house arrest earlier today in connection with Qatargate — reportedly passed a message between former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Yisrael Einhorn and Qatari lobbyist Jay Footlik.

According to the Ynet news site, after Klein returned from a trip to Qatar in 2024 arranged by Einhorn and Footlik, he was encouraged to speak about the trip with Israeli media outlets.

Klein reportedly told police investigators that Einhorn told him that “a spokesman would call me,” said to be Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein, “and that I would tell him that his payment would come from the American,” namely Footlik.

The newspaper editor testified that he spoke to Feldstein and passed along the message, according to Ynet.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman said earlier today that Klein was questioned under caution in the Qatargate scandal due to comments he made which, they said, ostensibly linked him to efforts to promote Qatar’s image in Israel in return for “benefit.”

Sources close to Klein told media outlets that he “never received benefits or anything else from Qatar or any of its representatives” and that he visited Qatar solely as a journalist.

IDF says knife-wielding Palestinian suspect shot in northern West Bank

A Palestinian suspect brandishing a knife was shot after he approached the IDF’s Gilboa post in the northern West Bank, the military says.

No troops were hurt in the incident.

Katz appoints new IDF chief censor

Defense Minister Israel Katz has nominated Col. Netanel Kula to serve as the next military censor.

Kula, who currently serves as the Central Command’s intelligence officer, will replace Brig. Gen. Kobi Mandelblit who has served in the position since 2022.

Israel is something of a rarity among democratic countries in its use of a military censor to prevent the publication of classified material. Under Israeli law, all news articles — in both traditional media and social media — dealing with national security and related issues must be approved by the censor before publication.

Kula has served in a variety of military positions over the past 25 years, most of them related to intelligence.

He will be promoted to the rank of brigadier general before entering the position of military censor.

Nicaragua walks back request to join ICJ genocide case against Israel

Nicaragua told the International Court of Justice on Tuesday that it was withdrawing its request to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, says The Hague court in a press release.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar praises the move, adding that “other countries that have lost their way are invited to follow in their footsteps.”

PRESS RELEASE: on 1 April 2025, Nicaragua informed the #ICJ that it had decided to withdraw the its Application for permission to intervene submitted in the case #SouthAfrica v. #Israel. https://t.co/c1sGSUgvE4 pic.twitter.com/xj5Xv8kXln

— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) April 3, 2025

Barkat calls Qatar the ‘the biggest terror financier in the world’

Economy Minister Nir Barkat says he strongly discourages cooperation with both the Palestinian Authority and Qatar, both of which he says help fund terrorist activity.

Barkat says he opposes the possibility of the PA ruling post-war Gaza, and rejects bringing in Palestinian workers to Israel from the West Bank due to the PA’s controversial “pay for slay” policy.

“The Palestinian Authority is just like Hamas… They have no intention of living with us,” Barkat tells a Channel 14 conference regarding the PA potentially ruling Gaza. “I don’t see the Palestinian Authority as the least-worst option — they don’t meet even the bare minimum threshold. We need to find mechanisms to replace them — ones that are willing to work with Israel.”

Barkat also speaks out against allowing foreign workers into Israel from the West Bank, saying “the rule is… if you pay to murder us, there will be no entrance.”

PA President Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree in February canceling legislation that conditioned payments to Palestinian security prisoners, including those who committed acts of terrorism, on the length of their sentence. However, the old system has remained in place in the two rounds of payments since the decree was signed, but a Palestinian official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel last month that this is because those stipends were for months that preceded the decree.

Barkat also calls Qatar “the biggest terror financier in the world — funding the Taliban, ISIS, Hamas and Hezbollah,” and says Israel must “keep them far away… by any means necessary.”

His comments come amid an unfolding scandal in which senior aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been accused of taking money to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters.

The minister also addresses the rehabilitation of Israel’s north, saying that his ministry has “finalized a plan that includes not just rehabilitation, but economic growth in the north — a plan focused on industry, commerce and workers who want to return.”

New IDF spokesman says Israel has entered ‘new stage’ of fighting Hamas

In his first press statement as IDF spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says the military has entered “a new stage” of the fighting against Hamas.

“The plan serves the goals of the war, returning the hostages and destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities,” he says.

Defrin says the IDF is maintaining “operational ambiguity, so we can surprise the enemy and bring about significant achievements. Our actions will speak.”

Since the resumption of fighting in Gaza on March 18, Defrin says the IDF has struck more than 600 targets in the Strip and killed over 250 terror operatives, including 12 senior officials in Hamas’s military wing and politburo.

“They are all terrorists and participated in the October 7 massacre,” he says, regarding the senior officials killed.

ICC says it ‘regrets’ Hungary’s withdrawal from court

The governing body of the International Criminal Court voices regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it is leaving the court, saying any departure harms a “shared quest for justice.”

“When a State Party withdraws from the Rome Statute (that established the ICC), it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity,” the presidency of the Assembly of State Parties says in a statement.

Budapest announced earlier today that it is withdrawing from the ICC, just as it welcomed visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the subject of an ICC arrest warrant that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed not to enforce.

UN envoy slams Israel’s ‘repeated and intensifying’ attacks in Syria

The United Nations envoy for Syria condemns what he calls Israel’s intensifying attacks in the country, warning they are destabilizing Syria at a sensitive time.

Geir Pedersen decries in a statement “the repeated and intensifying military escalations by Israel in Syria, including airstrikes that have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.”

“Such actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region, and destabilize Syria at a sensitive time,” he adds.

Israel said it responded to fire from gunmen during an operation in southern Syria and warned interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa that he would face severe consequences if its security was threatened.

The IDF says it is targeting Syrian military assets to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands, while ensuring the safety of the border between the two countries.

UN probing claims ICC chief prosecutor retaliated against those who reported sexual misconduct

UN investigators examining allegations of sexual misconduct by International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan are also looking into alleged retaliation for the accusations, five sources briefed on the matter tell Reuters.

The allegations being examined are that Khan retaliated against staff who reported allegations of sexual misconduct towards a female lawyer reporting to him or were critical of his handling of the matter, say three sources with direct knowledge of the UN investigation.

The five sources, all of whom asked not to be named due to concerns of reprisals, say Khan, who is British, had demoted at least four staff members in his office.

In a written statement, Khan’s attorneys reject all allegations of wrongdoing and said he “looks forward to cooperating fully and transparently with the external investigation.”

Khan has vowed to continue working while cooperating with the inquiry, and said that the original allegations, made last October, coincided with a campaign of misinformation against his office.

ICC prosecutors are investigating several high-profile figures, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin on suspicion of deporting children from Ukraine, and for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Neither country is a member of the court and both deny the accusations and reject ICC jurisdiction.

The ICC’s investigation into Israel’s conduct led the US to impose sanctions on Khan, which the ICC president says have put the court itself at risk.

Airstrike in Gaza City targeted ‘key Hamas terrorists,’ says IDF

The IDF and Shin Bet announce that several “key Hamas terrorists” were targeted in an airstrike in Gaza City a short while ago.

The operatives were at a command center that was used by Hamas to plan and carry out attacks on Israel and troops, the military says.

The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike. According to Palestinian media, the strike hit a former school in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City.

IDF says it struck Hezbollah operative in south Lebanon

The IDF says it carried out a drone strike on a Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon’s Aalma ash-Shaab a short while ago.

Lebanon’s health ministry reported one wounded in the strike.

Katz claims settler rampage through Palestinian village is not terrorism

Defense Minister Israel Katz says he doesn’t consider this week’s latest settler rampage of a Palestinian village to be terror and defends his decision to end the policy of administrative detentions against Jewish Israelis while leaving them in place against Arab Israelis and Palestinians.

“I don’t consider this terror,” Katz tells Army Radio when asked about the Tuesday incident in Duma where some 50 Israelis attacked homes, with three Palestinians reportedly injured as the settlers torched property and assaulted residents.

Katz says those who violated the law and should be prosecuted, but not through the use of “draconian” administrative detentions.

Family to air footage tonight of captive soldier’s kidnapping to Gaza

The mother of hostage Matan Angrest announces that footage from a video of her son’s kidnapping to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, will air on Channel 12’s “Uvda” television program tonight.

Anat Angrest says the footage shows her IDF soldier son “beaten by a mob” during the moments of his abduction, according to a statement released to media outlets.

“I avoided watching this video, which only my husband Hagai saw a short time ago, but I understood that we have no choice,” she says, noting the urgent need to spread awareness about those being held hostage to secure their release.

“My Matan’s injuries speak for themselves. There’s no time. We have medical reports from analyses of the videos that speak of long-term disabilities, abuse, facial fractures — serious injuries that get worse every day,” she adds. “My son is in a cage, in starving conditions, and without daylight.”

Last month, Matan Angrest’s family approved the publication of a propaganda clip of the hostage begging to be set free, days after the family published the first photo of Matan from captivity, from a previous video received from Hamas.

Palestinian Authority demands Hungary arrest visiting Netanyahu

The Palestinian Authority urges Hungary to arrest visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in accordance with an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

“The ministry calls on the Hungarian government… to comply with the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant by immediately handing Netanyahu over to bring him to justice,” the PA’s foreign affairs ministry says in a statement, hours after Hungary announced it would withdraw from the ICC.

Vance says Elon Musk will continue as adviser even after leaving government role

Billionaire Elon Musk will remain a friend and adviser to US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, even after he leaves his role with the Department of Government Efficiency, Vance says in an interview with Fox News.

Politico and ABC reported yesterday that Trump had told members of his cabinet that Musk will soon depart and return to the private sector, although it was not clear if Musk would leave before his 130-day mandate as a special government employee expires around late May.

“DOGE has got a lot of work to do, and yeah, that work is going to continue after Elon leaves. But fundamentally, Elon is going to remain a friend and an adviser of both me and the president,” he said.

Herzog calls for Saudi normalization, backs demand for Oct. 7 state commission

President Isaac Herzog encourages normalization with Saudi Arabia and broader regional cooperation in a video message to a Channel 14 conference.

Speaking to the channel’s annual Israel Security Conference, the president says Israel should not only “completely push back the threats from Iran and its proxies, but also [should] develop treaties and agreements in the entire region, especially to move toward normalization with Saudi Arabia.”

Turning to internal affairs, Herzog says “the day after [the war] won’t be simple” for Israel, and conveys the desire of more than 1,000 bereaved families that he has met with since October 7 to establish a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led massacre.

He also stresses the need for Israelis “to listen to various opinions, to be respectful, and not to go to extremes and burn the bridges between us,” and says he will do his best to prevent such internal strife “especially in such a difficult time for our country and our nation.”

Energy Mininster Eli Cohen says he was approached by pro-Qatar lobbyist Footlik, refused to meet with him

Amid the emerging probe into the so-called Qatargate scandal, Energy Minister Eli Cohen confirms a report that pro-Qatar US lobbyist Jay Footlik approached him to ask that he promote a Qatari proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

According to the i24 News report, Footlik’s efforts were stopped in their tracks after Cohen discovered that he had ties to Qatar beyond supporting its attempt to broker a deal.

Confirming the report, Cohen says he was introduced to Footlik several months ago by Ariel Shapir, an employee of Perception Media. He says he refused to meet with him after discovering his connection to Qatar.

Perception is a public relations firm owned by Qatargate suspects Jonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn. Eli Feldstein, a key suspect along with Urich, is also reported to have worked for the firm in the past.

In joint interrogation, Feldstein said to accuse Urich of lying to police, prompting tears

Eli Feldstein and Jonatan Urich, the two aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who are key suspects in the ongoing Qatargate probe, got into a heated argument during a joint interrogation yesterday, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The two men are suspected of having taken money to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters while in the prime minister’s employ.

They were initially interrogated separately but were brought in for a joint interrogation yesterday after police realized that they were giving contradicting testimonies regarding their ties to Qatar.

According to Kan, during the joint interrogation, Urich burst into tears at one point after Feldstein accused him of lying to the police.

It says that the outburst was prompted by Urich telling police he was not involved in any payments that were allegedly transferred to Feldstein by Qatar-based US lobbyist Jay Footlik in exchange for putting a positive spin on Doha’s role as a facilitator in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

The report adds that Feldstein also accused Urich of making him the fall guy in a separate case in which Feldstein is suspected of leaking stolen classified information to be published in the foreign press.

Israel is ‘anchor in the Middle East’ Orban tells Netanyahu, noting Hungary’s support throughout war

After meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban says that the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, “undermined the security of the entire world.”

Orban says that he hopes that “you and your government can guarantee the security of Israel and your right to self-defense.” He notes that Hungary has stood beside Israel throughout the entire war.

It is important to Hungary that Israel remain strong and stable, he says, calling it “an anchor in the Middle East.”

He notes that he signed off on Hungary’s entrance into the ICC, but that it has become a “political court.”

“If courts are driven by political considerations, then democracies cannot take part in them,” says Orban.

Orban laments the rise of antisemitism in Europe, while stressing that “in Hungary, Hamas flags were not waved.”

“We are showing zero tolerance, and Jews in Hungary can feel safe,” he says.

Orban says that illegal immigration into Europe is a driver of antisemitism, and the “elites in Brussels are not dealing with it.” Orban stresses that Budapest will not accept any EU migration agreement to allow asylum seekers in.

The two leaders appear to have accidentally swapped positions during their remarks, with Netanyahu speaking from a podium with Hungarian flags behind him, and Orban with Israeli flags behind him.

In Budapest, PM praises Orban’s ‘bold, principled’ decision to withdraw from ICC

Standing alongside Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises Hungary’s “bold and principled position” in withdrawing from the International Criminal Court earlier today.

It is “important to stand up to this corrupt organization,” says Netanyahu.

“This is important for all of civilization as we fight this battle against barbarism,” he continues, adding that he doesn’t think Hungary will be the last state to leave the ICC.

Netanyahu also praises Orban, who has been accused of using antisemitic messages in political campaigns, for his “very bold stance against antisemitism.”

He also says that Orban provides the local Jewish community not only with security but also with the ability to conduct Jewish life.

“We are fighting a similar fight for the future of our common civilization,” says Netanyahu, echoing Orban’s oft-stated position on the importance of defending the values of Christian Europe.

That civilization, says Netanyahu, is “under assault from radical Islam,” spearheaded by Iran.

At the beginning of his remarks, Netanyahu speaks about the Holocaust as part of their common history but doesn’t mention Hungary’s collaborationist government in World War II.

German FM says Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary is ‘bad day’ for international law

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock decries the visit by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hungary despite an ICC arrest warrant.

“This is a bad day for international criminal law,” Baerbock says at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

WATCH: Netanyahu, Orban issue statements

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is issuing a statement to the press in Budapest, along with his Hungarian host, Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

IDF says Palestinian suspect killed after hurling explosives at troops near Jenin, in the West Bank

The IDF says that troops of the Nahal Brigade killed a Palestinian suspect overnight after he hurled explosives at troops operating in the village of Silat al-Harithiya, near Jenin.

Two other suspects were injured in the exchange of fire, the IDF says, adding that no injuries were sustained by Israeli troops.

The military says that the incident occurred amid a counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank in cooperation with the Shin Bet and Israel Police.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, security forces say they arrested eight wanted individuals and seized two Carlo submachine guns. The detainees and weapons have been handed over to the Shin Bet and Israeli police for further investigation, according to the statement.

The IDF says that it will continue its counterterrorism operations in order to ensure the security of Israeli citizens.

Taking military action against Iran’s nuclear program would be ‘illegal, unacceptable,’ Russia says

Russia believes any use of military force against Iran would be “illegal and unacceptable”, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says on Thursday, commenting on US President Donald Trump’s threats to bomb the country unless it reaches an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

Bombing nuclear infrastructure would have catastrophic consequences for the entire world, Zakharova says, adding that Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy.

Iran claims that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and denies seeking a nuclear weapon, but has ramped up its enrichment of uranium up to 60 percent purity, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.

Sa’ar tells French counterpart Israel could end Gaza war ‘tomorrow,’ if Hamas frees hostages, exits Strip

Israel is ready to end the war in Gaza “tomorrow,” says Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar after meeting his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot in Paris.

“The way is very simple,” says Sa’ar, “hostages back, Hamas out.”

“We are still giving a chance to negotiations to extend the ceasefire and release our hostages on the basis of [US special envoy Steve] Witkoff’s proposal, but it is not open-ended,” he warns.

Both countries, Sa’ar says, are “interested in the stability of Lebanon, the continuation of the ceasefire, and the release of Lebanon from Iranian occupation.”

France is a “friendly country,” Sa’ar stresses, adding that he invited Barrot to visit Israel.

Finance Min. chief economist says Israel seeking to negotiate with US to cancel or reduce new tariffs

Finance Ministry chief economist Shmuel Abramzon says Israel will seek to negotiate with the US administration for a cancellation or softening of the announced US import duty on Israeli goods.

“We knew that this was going to happen, but we are surprised about the details of the decision and are still learning the implications,” says Abramzon, speaking at a conference at Herzliya’s Reichman University. “We have a good channel with the US administration, and I believe that through dialogue and negotiations, we will succeed in making a change to this evil.”

Commenting on the impact of the US tariffs on Israel, Abramzon says, “Of course, if the global economy is weakened, our economy will also be affected.”

“However, since we understand that the new tariff applies mainly to exports of goods and not exports of services, our economy will be impacted more moderately, as more than 50 percent of our exports are services,” Abramzon adds.

“This also means that especially the local high-tech industry, which exports services, will be less affected, but in the end Israel’s attractiveness will be measured vis-à-vis other countries,” he says.

Two Bedouin teens arrested on suspicion of planning to steal weapons from IDF bases for terror purposes

Police and Shin Bet agents arrested two Bedouin Israeli teenagers from the Negev on suspicion of plotting to steal weapons from IDF bases to carry out a terror attack, spokespeople for the agencies say in a joint statement.

The two suspects, aged 17 and 18, planned to sell some of the stolen weapons to “terrorist operatives” in the West Bank, and use what remained to “carry out security offenses against Israeli targets,” the statement reads. They are also suspected of attempting to recruit a minor into their plot.

The Southern District Attorney’s Office filed a “very serious” indictment against the pair today in the Beersheba District Juvenile Court, after a joint investigation by the Shin Bet and the police’s investigations and intelligence unit.

Sa’ar applauds Hungary’s withdrawal from ICC

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomes Hungary’s announcement this morning that the country is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court.

“I commend Hungary’s important decision to withdraw from the ICC,” writes Sa’ar on X, saying that he and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó “dealt with this matter extensively.”

In January, Sa’ar met with Szijjártó on a diplomatic visit to Budapest, during which he praised Hungary for its choice not to enforce the ICC arrest warrant issued last year against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The so-called ‘International Criminal Court’ lost its moral authority after trampling the fundamental principles of international law in its zest for harming Israel’s right to self-defense,” continues Sa’ar.

The foreign minister thanks Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the people of Hungary for taking a “clear and strong moral stance alongside Israel and the principles of justice and sovereignty!”

Orban announced the decision earlier this morning, minutes before receiving Netanyahu for a meeting during the Israeli premier’s visit in Budapest.

“The withdrawal process will begin on Thursday, in line with Hungary’s constitutional and international legal obligations,” said Orban’s spokesman Zoltan Kovacs.

I commend Hungary's important decision to withdraw from the ICC. FM Péter Szijjártó and I dealt with this matter extensively. The so-called "International Criminal Court" lost its moral authority after trampling the fundamental principles of international law in its zest for…

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) April 3, 2025

PM’s office says Netanyahu spoke to families of hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Evyatar David

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the parents of hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David last night, ahead of his departure for Hungary, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

It says that Netanyahu “expressed the government’s commitment and his personal commitment to returning Evyatar, Guy, and all the hostages home to their families.”

Gilboa-Dalal and David were taken hostage from the Nova music festival and were spotted tied up in a tunnel in footage that emerged from Gaza later that day.

According to information received by their families and shared with Hebrew media over the weekend, the two men are being starved and kept in chains with bags over their heads.

IDF further investigating claims that troops in Gaza killed 15 medics, buried them in mass grave

The military says it is further investigating claims made by the UN that 15 medics allegedly killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza’s Rafah last week were buried in a mass grave.

In a post on X, the IDF’s international media spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani says the incident “in which IDF forces opened fire targeting terrorists advancing in ambulances” on March 23 has been handed over to the military’s high-level General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism for investigation.

The mechanism is an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents amid the war.

“The IDF places the utmost importance on maintaining communication with international organizations operating in Gaza and engages with them regularly,” Shoshani adds.

Lebanese media reports two injured in Israeli strike targeting car near Bint Jbeil

Media outlets in Lebanon report an Israeli airstrike on a car near Bint Jbeil, in southern Lebanon, a short while ago.

According to the Lebanese health ministry, two people were injured in the strike.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Qatargate: Third journalist summoned to give open testimony to police

After Israeli journalists Nir Dvori and Suleiman Maswadeh were summoned by police this morning to give open testimony in the ongoing Qatargate probe, Channel 13 reports that a third journalist, Israel Hayom’s political commentator Shirit Avitan Cohen, has also been summoned.

The three are not suspects in the case, and were instead summoned as individuals with knowledge of the events.

While taking testimony from journalists is a highly unusual move, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman have said that it is unavoidable due to the nature of the case, which is centered on close aides to the prime minister, who, among other things, are suspected of pushing pro-Qatar messaging to journalists.

UK police arrest two men over alleged ties to Hezbollah

British counter-terrorism police say they have arrested two men accused of being linked to the banned terror group Hezbollah, saying their investigation involved alleged activity both overseas and in Britain.

Detectives from London’s Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) arrested a 39-year-old man in north London on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed group, preparing acts of terrorism and being involved in funding for the purpose of terrorism.

A second man, 35, was arrested in west London on suspicion of being a member of a banned organisation.

“Our investigation remains ongoing, but I hope that these arrests show we will take robust action against anyone here whom we suspect as being involved in terrorist activity, regardless of whether their activity is focused here in the UK or elsewhere,” says commander Dominic Murphy, head of the CTC.

Police say the investigation relates to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which Britain outlawed in 2019 when it classified it as a terrorist group. There is no immediate threat to the public, they say.

The two men have been released on police bail until mid-July.

Detention of PM’s aides extended by 24 hours; Jerusalem Post editor released from house arrest; people close to him say he never received benefits from Qatar

The Rishon LeZion Magistrate’s Court agrees to extend the remand of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein by an additional 24 hours, rejecting a police request to extend it by seven days.

Police detained Urich and Feldstein for questioning on Monday. They suspect both of having taken money to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters, to boost the Gulf state’s image as a mediator in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, while in the prime minister’s employ.

At the same time, Hebrew media outlets report that Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein has been released from house arrest without any further restrictions imposed on him at this time.

After the attorney general and the state attorney issued a statement saying Klein was questioned under caution due to comments he made ostensibly linking him to efforts to promote Qatar’s image in Israel in return for “benefit,” people close to Klein are quoted in Hebrew media saying he “never received benefits or anything else from Qatar or any of its representatives” and that he visited Qatar solely as a journalist. “That’s what he was questioned over, in contrast to the illegal leaks from the investigation rooms.”

Rejecting the attorney general’s statement, those close to Klein say, “He was not part of any mechanism,” and stress his professionalism, the esteem in which he is held, and the awards he has won, especially for Diaspora coverage. “All his activities were solely within the framework of the law and journalistic confidentiality, as anchored in definitive Supreme Court rulings over many years.”

Jerusalem Post editor suspected of receiving ‘benefit’ from Qatar in exchange for positive coverage, AG and state attorney say

Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman state that Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein was questioned under caution in the Qatargate scandal, meaning as a suspect, due to comments he made in open testimony which, they say, ostensibly linked him to efforts to promote Qatar’s image in Israel in return for “benefit.”

“The journalist who was questioned under caution in the framework of the [Qatargate] affair was originally summoned to give open testimony and not as a suspect,” the two senior law enforcement officials say in a statement to the press.

Klein is the only journalist to be questioned under caution regarding the Qatargate scandal so far.

“In the framework of his testimony, a significant suspicion was formed that the journalist was, together with the prime minister’s aides, part of the mechanism of receiving benefits from Qatar in exchange for advancing Qatar’s interests,” they add.

As a result, the police investigators switched the open testimony to questioning under caution about receiving remuneration from Doha.

According to Channel 12, Klein has denied the allegations against him. Channel 12 last night reported that Klein told investigators his ties to Qatari officials were forged through his work at the Jerusalem Post. The newspaper hosted a conference to which a Qatari diplomat was invited. Subsequently, he flew to Qatar in order to interview Qatari officials as part of his journalistic work, Klein reportedly told interrogators.

Baharav-Miara and Aisman say that the law enforcement system “sees great importance in guaranteeing freedom of the press, and that in any situation when journalists were questioned by law enforcement, it is done “with great caution to preserve freedom of the press.”

Two senior Israeli journalists were summoned to give open testimony today in the Qatargate affair, meaning not as suspects but as individuals with knowledge of the events.

The scandal centers around close aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who are suspected of having worked for a lobbying firm, contracted by Doha, to improve Qatar’s image in Israel about its role as mediator in the hostage release negotiations with the Hamas terror organization by pushing pro-Qatar messaging to journalists.

Baharav-Miara and Aisman add that getting to the bottom of the Qatargate affair necessitated taking testimony from journalists because of the very nature of the case, and insist that the law enforcement agencies have not changed their policies of avoiding taking testimony from journalists as far as possible.

Netanyahu received by military honor guard as he meets Hungary’s Orban in Budapest

A military honor guard receives Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he meets his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban at the Buda Castle.

Mounted troops draped in green, gold, and red hold Hungarian and Israeli flags as they ride in on brown and white horses. A military band plays as Netanyahu and his wife Sara step out of their vehicle in the castle’s cobblestone courtyard.

Orban and Netanyahu review rows of troops, then stand in front of massive flags as the national anthems of the two countries are played.

Netanyahu and Orban speak at some length as the troops march out, then head to their bilateral meeting.

Hospital officials in Gaza say more than 50 people, including children, killed in overnight strikes

Health officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip say at least 55 people, including more than a dozen children, were killed in Israeli strikes across the enclave overnight.

In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, officials say the bodies of 14 people were taken to Nasser Hospital — nine of them from the same family. They say the dead include five children and four women.

The bodies of another 19 people, including five children aged between 1 and 7 years and a pregnant woman, were taken to the European hospital near Khan Younis, hospital officials say.

In Gaza City, 21 bodies are said to have been taken to Ahli hospital, including those of seven children.

The figures could not be verified, and don’t differentiate between combatants and civilians.

Since resuming operations in the Gaza Strip on March 18, the IDF has said it is targeting senior Hamas political officials and mid-level military commanders. Members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terror groups have also been targeted.

The IDF has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and accuses Hamas of embedding itself in civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.

Hungary announces it is withdrawing from ICC as Netanyahu arrives for state visit

Minutes before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is received by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Budapest announces that it is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court.

“The withdrawal process will begin on Thursday, in line with Hungary’s constitutional and international legal obligations,” says Orban’s spokesman Zoltan Kovacs.

Katz says strikes on Syrian airbases were ‘warning for the future’

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israeli strikes on Syrian military airports and infrastructure yesterday were intended to serve as “a warning for the future.”

“Israel will not allow Syria to become a threat to its communities and security interests,” says Katz.

“If you allow forces hostile to Israel to enter  Syria and endanger Israel’s security interests, you will pay a heavy price,” Katz says, addressing Syria’s interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Joulani.

“The Air Force’s operations yesterday against the T-4 and Hama airports and in the Damascus area are a clear message and a warning for the future: We will not allow the State of Israel’s security to be harmed,” he finishes.

The IAF said yesterday evening that it had struck “remaining military capabilities” at the Hama military airport and T-4 airbase, as well as “military infrastructure” near the Syrian capital.

According to Syrian media, the Barzeh scientific research center, just outside Damascus, was hit.

Israel issues evacuation warning for Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, nearby areas

The IDF issues an evacuation warning for Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya neighborhood and nearby areas.

In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, publishes a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying that the military will soon operate “with great force” there to “destroy terror infrastructure.”

Civilians are called to head for shelters in western Gaza City.

#عاجل ‼️ انذار خطير وعاجل الى سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في منطقة الشجاعية وأحياء الجديدة، التركمان، توسعة نفوذ والزيتون الشرقي

⭕️جيش الدفاع بصدد العمل بقوة شديدة في مناطقكم لتدمير البنية التحتية الإرهابية.

⭕️من أجل سلامتكم عليكم اخلاء هذه المناطق فوراً والانتقال الى مراكز… pic.twitter.com/mIsd6v65Gf

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) April 3, 2025

Footage shows dozens of Gazans fleeing Shejaiya following the evacuation order.

النزوح موت بصمت
صور من نزوح أهالي حي الشجاعية شرق مدينة غزة بعد الغارات الإسرائيلية العنيفة وتهديدات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي للسكان pic.twitter.com/oABbtq7hIo

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) April 3, 2025

Smotrich speaking to industry leaders about Israel’s next steps in light of Trump’s tariffs

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that he is “holding a dialogue with industry and heads of the economy,” after US President Donald Trump announced a 17 percent duty on Israeli products imported to the US.

Earlier this morning, the Finance Ministry said it was studying Trump’s decision to levy global tariffs and its implications for the State of Israel.

“I spoke with some of them personally,” he says of the economic leaders, “and in about an hour I will bring the Finance Ministry management into the first discussion to analyze opportunities and risks and formulate courses of action, both vis-à-vis President Trump and his team and regarding the steps required to strengthen Israeli industry.”

The tariffs on Israeli products are part of a sweeping series of duties imposed on countries around the world. They were imposed despite efforts by Jerusalem to win a reprieve from the Trump administration on Tuesday through the scrapping of all remaining tariffs on imports from the US with immediate effect.

17 settlers arrested for attacking cops near illegal outpost, setting fire to police car

Dozens of Israeli settlers from the illegal Givat Habaladim outpost attacked police officers and set fire to a cop car last night.

Police say they arrested 17 wedding attendees near the outpost, located near Kochav Hashachar in the northern West Bank, after they assaulted a cop who was called to deal with a noise complaint from the event.

“When the patrol car arrived to handle the noise nuisance, dozens of rioters began throwing stones at it,” a spokesman says. Settlers punctured its tires before setting the vehicle on fire.

In response, an officer fired several bullets into the air and called additional forces to the area, who later arrested the 17 suspects.

Settler leader Yisrael Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council whose jurisdiction includes the illegal outpost, denounces the attack on police and alleges the assailants hail from outside the region.

“Such crime and violence should be met with an iron fist. It seems that the drunken young men came from outside Binyamin, and I expect and ask the police to get their hands on everyone who was involved,” he says to Israel Hayom.

Following the incident, a joint investigation was opened by the Shin Bet and the West Bank District’s investigations and intelligence unit.

Finance Ministry says it is studying likely impact of Trump’s tariffs on Israel

Israel is studying US President Donald Trump’s decision to levy global tariffs and its implications for the State of Israel, the Finance Ministry says.

The ministry will be convening its management and officials this morning to discuss the implications of the decision for Israel and examine the necessary follow-up steps.

The ministry also says it is working in collaboration with representatives in the business sector, including the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel and the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC).

Poll: Two-thirds of British Jews experience antisemitism at work

Nearly two-thirds of Jewish employees in the UK have encountered antisemitism in the workplace, according to a new survey published jointly by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Jewish Leadership Council, and Work Avenue.

The survey of 427 Jewish employees, conducted at the end of 2024, found that 64 percent of respondents reported that they had experienced antisemitism at least occasionally.

Healthcare was the most frequently reported sector for antisemitism, followed by education and publishing. While 45% of respondents said they had received some level of support following the incidents, this was often limited to personal expressions of empathy rather than tangible change in the organization, the report says.

Jewish workers described trade unions as spaces where antisemitism was not only present but institutionalized, with several reporting that their unions disproportionately focused on anti-Israel activism, the report notes.

Antisemitism in the UK has spiked since Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023. A recent survey published by the Campaign Against Antisemitism found that only one-third of British Jews believe that Jews have a long-term future in the United Kingdom, and half have considered leaving Britain in the past two years due to rising anti-Jewish tensions.

CENTCOM chief Kurilla holds assessment with IDF chief during visit to Israel

United States CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Kurilla, who arrived in Israel earlier this week, held an assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military says.

The IDF says the meeting focused on “strategic security issues across the region.”

מפקד פיקוד המרכז בצבא ארה"ב (CENTCOM), גנרל (****) מייקל אריק קורילה נחת השבוע (ג׳) בישראל כאורחו הרשמי של ראש המטה הכללי, רב-אלוף אייל זמיר.

מפקד סנטקום והרמטכ"ל קיימו פאנל משותף עם מפקדים בכירים בצה"ל בו דנו בסוגיות מבצעיות ואסטרטגיות איזוריות.

מפגש זה מהווה חיזוק נוסף לקשר… pic.twitter.com/XrRqwxpVbU

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 3, 2025

Police seeking to extend remand of PM aides Urich and Feldstein by another 7 days

Police have asked to extend the detention of Netanyahu aides Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein by an additional seven days, amid the ongoing probe into the so-called Qatargate scandal, in which they are central suspects.

Police will present the request in a hearing at the Rishon LeZion Magistrate’s Court this morning.

Police detained Urich and Feldstein for questioning on Monday. They suspect both of having taken money to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters, with the goal of boosting the Gulf state’s image as a mediator in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, while in the prime minister’s employ.

Two more senior journalists said summoned by police to testify in ongoing Qatargate probe

Police have summoned two senior journalists to give testimony in the ongoing Qatargate probe concerning illicit ties between the Gulf state and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior aides, Channel 13 reports.

The report identifies them as Suleiman Maswadeh, a diplomatic correspondent for the Kan public broadcaster, and Channel 12’s military correspondent Nir Dvori.

The two are said to be giving open testimony, meaning they are not currently being treated as suspects in the case.

Earlier this week, Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein was summoned to give testimony and subsequently questioned under caution. He has since been released to house arrest.

Syrian local government says 9 killed in Israeli bombardment overnight

The provincial government in southern Syria’s Daraa says nine civilians were killed and several were injured in Israeli bombardment following an “Israeli incursion.”

It says in a statement posted to Telegram that the shelling near the Syrian city of Nawa came after “an Israeli incursion” in the area. It says that this was the deepest into Syria that Israeli forces have advanced thus far.

Nawa is located some 9 kilometers from Tasil, where the IDF says Israeli troops operated overnight.

The military said a short while ago that while in the southern Syrian town, located beyond the demilitarized buffer zone along the border, troops came under fire from several gunmen, and retaliated with both ground and aerial strikes.

IDF says Metula siren was false alarm

The IDF says the siren that sounded in Metula a short while ago was a false alarm.

Rocket sirens sound in northern town of Metula, IDF checking cause

Rocket sirens sound in the northern border community of Metula.

The IDF is investigating the cause.

IDF says several gunmen ‘eliminated’ after firing on troops in southern Syria overnight

The IDF says several gunmen opened fire on Israeli troops operating in the southern Syrian town of Tasil overnight, as they were working to “confiscate weapons and destroy terror infrastructure.”

The military says the troops, of the 474th Golan Regional Brigade, returned fire and “eliminated” several gunmen “on the ground and from the air.”

No soldiers were injured in the exchange, and the operation in the area was completed, the IDF adds.

Tasil is located some 13 kilometers from Israel’s border, outside of a demilitarized buffer zone along the Israel-Syrian border which the Israeli military moved into last December following the fall of the Assad regime.

It marks only the second incident in which IDF troops operating in southern Syria have come under fire since deploying to the buffer zone.

The IDF has described its presence in southern Syria’s buffer zone as a temporary and defensive measure, though Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that troops will remain deployed to nine army posts in the area “indefinitely.”

US tariffs are ‘major blow to world economy,’ EU chief warns

US trade partners are urging US President Donald Trump to rethink the sweeping new tariffs he has imposed on dozens of countries, with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen calling them a “major blow to the world economy.”

She vows that Brussels is “prepared to respond,” saying that the European Union is “now preparing for further countermeasures, to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail.”

But, von der Leyen adds, “it is not too late to address concerns through negotiations.”

Japan similarly slams the tariffs as “extremely regrettable” and suggests that they may break World Trade Organization rules, as well as a US-Japan trade agreement.

Japanese firms are the biggest investors into the United States but Tokyo has failed to secure an exemption, with Trump announcing a hefty 24-percent levy on Japanese imports.

Netanyahu and wife received by military honor guard at Budapest airport

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara land in Budapest.

Hungary is a member of the International Criminal Court and is required to carry out the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Netanyahu for alleged war crimes.

However, as expected, the premier is received by a military honor guard and is ushered by a convoy to his hotel without incident.

Syria condemns Israeli strikes as ‘a deliberate attempt to destabilize’ the country

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria condemns deadly Israeli strikes across the country as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, after Israel said it struck “military capabilities.”

“In a blatant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on five locations across the country,” the Syrian foreign ministry says in a statement on Telegram.

“This unjustified escalation is a deliberate attempt to destabilize Syria and exacerbate the suffering of its people.”

It says the strikes resulted in the “near-total destruction” of a military airport in central Syrian province Hama, injuring dozens of civilians and soldiers.

The Syrian ministry says the strikes came as the country is trying to rebuild after 14 years of war, calling it a strategy to “normalize violence within the country.”

US Treasury chief warns ‘there will be escalation’ if countries respond to tariffs

WASHINGTON — US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warns trading partners that any retaliation to the barrage of new tariffs from the White House will only result in further escalation.

“My advice to every country right now is, do not retaliate,” Bessent tells Fox News. “Sit back, take it in, let’s see how it goes. Because if you retaliate, there will be escalation. If you don’t retaliate, this is the high watermark.”

Hamas officials say terror group rejects Israeli proposal for Gaza truce, hostage release

Hamas has rejected the latest Israeli proposal for the release of hostages and a truce in, two officials from the Palestinian terror movement tell AFP.

“Hamas has decided not to follow up on the latest Israeli proposal presented through the mediators” says one of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, and accusing Israel of “blocking a proposal from Egypt and Qatar and trying to derail any agreement.”

Trump unveils sweeping global tariffs, including 17% US import duty on Israeli goods

US President Donald Trump has unveiled a raft of punishing tariffs targeting countries around the world including some of its closest trading partners, in a move that risks sparking a ruinous trade war.

The tariffs include a 17 percent duty on Israeli products imported to the United States. Israel sought to prevent the move with the directive that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed Tuesday to immediately scrap all remaining tariffs on American imports.

“Israel steals a lot of intellectual property from, for example, the pharmaceutical manufacturers in this country,” an administration official told reporters ahead of Trump’s speech.

Speaking in the White House Rose Garden against a backdrop of US flags, Trump slaps the most stinging tariffs on China and the European Union on what he calls “Liberation Day.”

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump says.

Trump reserves some of the heaviest blows for what he called the “nations that treat us badly,” including 34 percent on goods from superpower rival China, 20 percent on key ally the European Union and 24 percent on Japan.

But the 78-year-old Republican — who holds up a chart with a list of levies — says that he is “very kind” and so is only imposing half the amount that those countries tax US exports.

For the rest, Trump says he will impose a “baseline” tariff of 10 percent, including Britain.

An audience of cabinet members, as well as workers in hard hats from industries including steel, oil and gas, whoop and cheer as Trump says the tariffs will “make America wealthy again.”

“This is Liberation Day,” Trump says, adding that it would “forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed.”

FULL LIST: Liberation Day pic.twitter.com/ZBiRuJBCAr

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 2, 2025

PM tells mother of Maxim Herkin of his ‘personal commitment’ to bringing the hostages back

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks by phone this evening with Talia Herkin, the mother of hostage Maxim Herkin, expressing his commitment to returning her son and the 58 other captives still held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

Netanyahu “expressed the commitment of Israel—and his personal commitment—to bringing Maxim Herkin and all the hostages home, back into the arms of their families,” says the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement following the phone call.

During the conversation, Netanyahu congratulates Pete, Maxim’s younger brother, who was called up for a traditional Torah reading this week in honor of his Bar Mitzvah, the premier’s office adds.

Pete was 11 years old when Maxim was taken captive by Hamas terrorists from the Nova desert rave on October 7, 2023.