April 13: Rally for hostage deal held near top negotiator’s home: ‘These could be their last moments’

Police arrest man for arson attack on Pennsylvania governor’s residence

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro delivers his budget address for the 2025-26 fiscal year to a joint session of the state House and Senate at the Capitol on Feb. 4, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (AP/Matt Rourke, File)

A 38-year-old man named Cody Balmer is in custody for the arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence in Harrisburg late Saturday night, Pennsylvania state authorities say at a press conference.

Balmer had homemade incendiary devices in his possession and made it inside the residence before leaving, according to the state police commissioner. He was apprehended on Sunday in the Harrisburg area.

Extensive fire damage inside Pennsylvania Governor’s residence after arson attack overnight, seen here in a series of photos provided by @GovernorShapiro officers. pic.twitter.com/06CxpY3d79

— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) April 13, 2025

Greek extremist group dedicates bombing to ‘the Palestinian people and their heroic resistance’

A municipal worker cleans the area outside Hellenic Train headquarters, Greece's main railway company, following a bomb explosion Friday night causing causing limited damage but no injuries, in Athens, Greece, on April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

ATHENS, Greece — A new extremist group claims responsibility for a bomb that exploded near the offices of Hellenic Train, Greece’s main railway services operator, and the planting of another near the Labor Ministry in early February.

The explosion Friday evening resulted in limited damage and no injuries. The perpetrators had forewarned of the explosion by calling two media organizations about 40 minutes before it happened.

In a lengthy posting on the website Athens.indymedia.org on Sunday, the perpetrators, who style themselves the Revolutionary Class Struggle, explain the reasons for their action, which they say is part of an armed struggle against the state.

Revolutionary Class Struggle dedicates the bombings to “the Palestinian people and their heroic resistance” and pays tribute to Kyriakos Xymitiris, a man who was killed last year when the explosive device he was assembling exploded in a central Athens apartment.

The explosion also came during widespread public anger over a 2023 railway disaster, Greece’s worst, in which 57 people were killed and dozens more injured when a freight train and a passenger train heading in opposite directions were accidentally put on the same track.

The deadly accident exposed severe deficiencies in Greece’s railway system, including in safety systems, and has triggered mass protests led by relatives of the victims against the country’s conservative government on the occasion of the accident’s second anniversary.

In its statement, which serves as a sort of manifesto, Revolutionary Class Struggle connects the accident with what it calls the “murders” of the proletariat in the form of workplace accidents, by capitalists.

Greece has a long history of politically motivated violence dating back to the 1970s, with domestic extremist groups carrying out small-scale bombings that usually cause damage but rarely lead to injuries.

While the groups most active in the 1980s and 1990s have been dismantled, new smaller groups have emerged. Authorities are calling them a new generation of domestic extremists.

Houthis report 5 killed, dozens injured in US strikes on Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say that a US strike in Sanaa province killed five people and injured more than a dozen others.

“The death toll from the US aggression on the Al-Sawari factory in the Matna area of Bani Matar has risen to 18, including five martyrs and 13 wounded, in a preliminary toll,” the Iran-backed group says in a statement.

PM tells hostage’s family that efforts to free captives continuing ‘at this very moment’

Eitan Mor, was serving as an unarmed security guard at the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked (Courtesy)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the family of hostage Eitan Mor, according to his office, which says the premier stressed that efforts to free those held captive by Hamas are continuing “at this very moment.”

IDF chief speaks with Edan Alexander’s parents after release of Hamas propaganda clip

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke this evening with the parents of hostage soldier Edan Alexander, after Hamas over the weekend published a new propaganda video of him.

During the conversation with Yael and Adi Alexander, Zamir “emphasized that at every moment and in every action the IDF takes, the hostages are before the eyes of IDF commanders and all its soldiers,” the military says.

“We are doing everything possible to return them. I see this as my and the IDF’s highest [priority] mission. I am the commander of the soldiers and this is before my eyes in every decision,” Zamir is quoted as saying.

The IDF says the Alexander family “thanked the chief of staff for the conversation, and for reiterating the IDF’s deep commitment to the return of the hostages.”

White House trade adviser says US in active tariff negotiations with Israel

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro is pictured before participating in an interview outside the White House, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro names the United Kingdom, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Israel as among the nations in active tariff negotiations with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials.

Greer says on CBS that his goal is “to get meaningful deals before 90 days” –- the duration of Trump’s pause -– “and I think we’re going to be there with several countries in the next few weeks.”

Over 250 ex-Mossad members, including 3 former chiefs, urge return of hostages even at cost of ending war

A group of over 250 former Mossad members sign onto a statement backing a letter signed by Israeli Air Force veterans that calls for the government to prioritize the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, even at the cost of ending the ongoing war against the terror group.

The signatories to the letter, which was organized by former top hostage negotiator David Meidan, include ex-Mossad chiefs Danny Yatom, Efraim Halevy and Tamir Pardo.

“We believe the continuation of the fighting endangers the lives of the hostages and our soldiers, and that all possibilities to reach a deal that will bring an to the suffering must be exhausted,” the letter states. “We call on the government to make brave decisions and act responsibly for the security of the country and its citizens.”

A group of some 200 reservist doctors signs onto a similar letter, which like the statements from the ex-Mossad operatives and air force veterans does not include a call to halt reserve service in protests.

The new letters join several other statements that followed the pilots’ letter, which prompted the military to dismiss those still actively serving for using the “Israeli Air Force brand” in a political protest.

Dermer’s neighbor says he ‘doesn’t have the right to sacrifice other people’s children’

A neighbor of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer speaks at the Jerusalem hostage rally, saying the Florida-raised Netanyahu adviser understands English better than Hebrew.

“You don’t have the right to sacrifice other people’s children,” she says in English. “Ron Dermer, stop dillydallying, get out of the way of President Trump and Steve Witkoff.

“Fifty-nine or resign!” she adds in reference to the number of hostages still in Gaza.

Hostage Nimrod Cohen’s brother says he spent Passover ‘in a cage without food or air’

Yotam Cohen, the brother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, says his brother was in a cage without food or air during the first night of Passover while Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was able to attend his Seder in Jerusalem.

“Your job is to torpedo the negotiations, Minister Dermer,” Cohen says during a demonstration near Dermer’s home. “You torpedo the negotiations and you refuse to meet with us.“

Members of the crowd yell out, “For shame!”

“So I came here,” continues Cohen. “I spent the Seder at Hostages Square, Ron Dermer. I don’t know what you tell yourself but you’re on the wrong side of history.”

Gil Dickmann, cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, says all Israelis — both on the political right and left — want the hostages freed.

Speaking to Dermer, he says, “I write you a message every day at 6:29 a.m. and you don’t respond, not to even one. You are not in touch with any family. For 555 days you choose every day to be somebody who will be remembered as the one who abandoned the hostages.”

Dickmann says that the blood of 41 hostages has been spilled, but it’s not too late for the remaining 59.

Drawing from the Passover Haggadah, Dickmann says, “Free my nation!”

Aunt of Edan Alexander says ‘government has other considerations’ than bringing hostages home

Iris Schwartz (foreground) and other relatives of Edan Alexander, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, address protesters outside the Jerusalem home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, head of Israel's negotiating team, demanding the government secure the release from Hamas captivity of all hostages, April 13, 2025. (Yair Palti, Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

The aunt of hostage soldier Edan Alexander says their family couldn’t celebrate the Seder last night after Hamas published a video of her nephew begging for his life. “There was no celebration. There was only his wail… We saw him underground, scared, injured, desperate, but sharp and clear in his message. He called out to us, to our people, to our leaders, to the American administration. He pleaded: Release me.”

“What is freedom when he is kept underground? Edan and the others can be brought home, but our government has other considerations. Everyone knows they can be brought home, but anyone who says so is quieted and distanced,” Iris Schwartz says at a Jerusalem rally near the home of Ron Dermer, the strategic affairs minister heading the hostage-ceasefire negotiations.

Iris Schwartz (foreground) and other relatives of Edan Alexander, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, address protesters outside the Jerusalem home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, head of Israel’s negotiating team, demanding the government secure the release from Hamas captivity of all hostages, April 13, 2025. (Ran Melamed, Hostages and Families Forum)

She says the family has only met once with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and has not received a response to requests for a meeting with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a top confidant of the premier who is heading the hostage negotiating team.

She calls on Dermer to stop playing politics and to do his job, while saying the government is trying to scare the public that October 7 could happen again.

“We are living October 7 every day and every night, so stop trying to scare us and using that threat to quiet us,” she says.

Houthis take responsibility for ballistic missile attack targeting Israel

Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for today’s ballistic missile attack on Israel.

The Houthis claim they fired two missiles in the attack, one targeting the Sdot Micha Airbase — where according to foreign reports Israel holds nuclear-capable Jericho missiles — and the other aimed at Ben Gurion Airport.

The IDF reported that only one missile reached Israel, and it was successfully intercepted by air defenses. The second likely fell short, similar to numerous other recent Houthi attacks.

The Houthis further claim to have targeted a “vital Israeli enemy target” in the Ashkelon area with a drone. There have been no reports of drones reaching Israel from Yemen in the past day.

Hundreds protest in favor of hostage deal near Dermer’s home: ‘These could be their last moments’

Protesters march toward the Jerusalem home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, head of Israel's negotiating team, demanding the government secure the release from Hamas captivity of all hostages, April 13, 2025. (Yair Palti, Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Hundreds gather near Jerusalem’s Emek Refaim Street for a protest close to the home of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the top confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is heading the negotiating team.

Relatives of hostage Edan Alexander address the protest. Hamas published a video clip of Alexander on Friday night pleading for the government to secure his freedom from captivity.

Addressing Dermer, the mother of hostage Einav Zangauker accuses him of working to thwart a ceasefire deal for the release of the captives.

“You were appointed to head the negotiation team for the return of all the hostages. But we know, Minister Dermer, that that’s not the truth. You came in to run the negotiation in order to derail it. Your mission is to distance my son Matan from me,” Einav Zangauker says at the protest.

Einav Zagauker (center), whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, among protesters demanding the government secure the release from Hamas captivity of all hostages, Jerusalem, April 13, 2025. (Tanya Zion-Waldoks / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Zangauker says the time for the hostages is running out, adding that they have no food and drink water from the toilet.

“These could be their last moments; you want to bury the hostages under warfare!” she adds.

In response, the crowd shouts: “Shame!”

Zangauker then declares, “You should quit!” drawing a supportive response from the crowd.

Bangladesh restores ‘except Israel’ inscription on passports

DKAHA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh has restored an “except Israel” inscription on passports, local media reports, effectively barring its citizens from traveling to that country.

Israel is a flashpoint issue in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, which does not recognize it.

The phrase “valid for all countries except Israel,” which was printed on Bangladeshi passports for decades, was removed during the later years of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure.

Nilima Afroze, a deputy secretary at the home ministry, tells Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency that authorities “issued a directive last week” to restore the inscription.

“The director general of the department of immigration and passport was asked to take necessary measures to implement this change,” local newspaper The Daily Star quotes Afroze as saying.

Netanyahu hits out at Macron while critiquing ‘unacceptable style’ of his son Yair’s ‘screw you’ tweet

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) greets French President Emmanuel Macron before a meeting in Jerusalem on October 24, 2023. (Christophe Ena/Pool/AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to distance himself from his son Yair’s tweet saying “screw you” to French President Emmanuel Macron after the latter said Paris could recognize a Palestinian state in the coming months. The prime minister rejects his son’s choice of language, but broadly endorses Yair’s critique.

“I love my son Yair, a true Zionist worried for the future of the country. Like every citizen, he is also entitled to his personal opinion, though the style of his response to President Macron’s tweets calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state is unacceptable to me,” Netanyahu writes in Hebrew on X.

The premier says Macron is making “a terrible mistake” by “continuing to advance the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our land whose ambition is the destruction of the State of Israel,” noting neither Hamas nor the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority have condemned the October 7, 2023, terror atrocities.

“We will not risk our existence because of illusions detached from reality and we will not accept moral preaching about establishing a Palestinian state that will endanger Israel’s existence from those who are opposed to giving independence to Corsica, New Caledonia, French Guyana and additional territories,” Netanyahu adds in an echo of his son’s remarks.

Zamir tells troops that returning all the hostages is ‘supreme task’ of IDF

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meets with (L-R) former hostage soldier Naama Levy, her brother Amit, and May Mayer, the cousin of hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, April 11, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spent his Passover Seder with the Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance unit at the Mevo Dotan post in the West Bank, where he told troops that returning all the hostages is the military’s “supreme task.”

“We remember our hostages well, 59 hostages, who are still in Gaza. Bringing them back is our supreme task, and everything we are doing in Gaza is to release the hostages and defeat Hamas,” Zamir says, according to remarks published by the IDF.

Zamir brought along with him the “Freedom Haggadah” — produced by the Hostage Families Forum — presented to him by former hostage soldier Naama Levy on Friday.

Northern Command chief, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin spent his Seder night with the Kfir Brigade’s Duchifat Battalion at the Dovev post in northern Israel and with residents of Kibbutz Sasa; Southern Command chief, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor was with the Givati Brigade in Rafah; and Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth was with the Nahal Brigade’s 50th Battalion in the Hebron area.

Edan Alexander’s parents: ‘He moved alone to Israel to enlist and now Israel is leaving him alone’

Yael and Adi Alexander, the parents of hostage soldier Edan Alexander, outside the White House on July 25, 2024, in Washington. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP)

Yael and Adi Alexander, the parents of hostage Edan Alexander, put out a statement after permitting the publication of a Hamas propaganda video.

“Our son Idan left everything, his friends, the [university] studies he could have started, the comfortable life he had in the US, and us — his nuclear family, to moved alone to the Land of Israel to enlist in Golani in order to defend the country he loves and its residents,” they say.

“This was also the case on October 7 when he was left alone one base and tried to defend the communities of [the Gaza] envelope from Hamas terrorists,” Alexander’s parents continue. “Now the State of Israel is leaving him and all the hostages alone, alone in the tunnels, alone in the hands of the enemy.”

They say the video shows the hardship their son is going through, as well as “the fear, the despair.”

“Five hundred and fifty five days, already more than a year and a half, and the State of Israel and its leaders could celebrate Passover, the holiday of freedom and exodus from Egypt, and our son is still there,” they say. “It’s inconceivable that our country is not doing everything to return our Idan, a young man with ethics and love for the country and people.”

They also appeal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chief hostage negotiator Ron Dermer and IDF chief Eyal Zamir: “You are responsible for Idan’s security and its your responsibility to bring him back. Idan did everything for Israel, now Israel needs to everything for him.”

Hostage Edan Alexander’s family okays publication of Hamas propaganda video. ‘Time is really running out,’ he says

Hostage soldier Edan Alexander is seen in a propaganda video released by the Hamas terror group on April 12, 2025. (Courtesy)

The family of Edan Alexander permits the publication of a Hamas propaganda video showing signs of life from the hostage soldier who has been held by the terror group since the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

The video was released by Hamas yesterday evening.

The three-minute-long video is not dated, though Alexander states that he has been held for 551 days, indicating it was filmed very recently.

Alexander, a US citizen, is a soldier who was stationed near the Gaza Strip on the morning of October 7 when he was taken captive by Hamas terrorists.

In a statement almost certainly dictated by his captors in the Gaza Strip, Alexander says he has heard that Hamas was ready to release him three weeks ago and “you refused and left me here,” slamming the government and the prime minister.

“Tell me why, why am I not home with my friends, with my family?” Alexander asks.

Everyone has lied to me, he says. “President Trump, I really believed you would succeed in getting me out of here alive. Why did you fall for Netanyahu’s lies.”

“Why am I still here?” he screams.

משפחתו של החטוף עידן אלכסנדר מאשרת לפרסם את אות החיים מהשבי https://t.co/0X8Zoao2N1 pic.twitter.com/AdALnEmWgn

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) April 13, 2025

Alexander hails Israeli citizens’ protests for his release, and asks of Israel’s leaders: “Why don’t you stop the war?”

He adds: “I really want to believe that this clip won’t be the last time that you see me alive. I really want to get back to the people of Israel healthy and intact. Please continue to demonstrate,” he urges. “Continue to do everything in your power. … Time is running out. Friends, time is really running out.”

“Every day, we hear the bombs coming closer to our heads. It’s really hard,” he says. “We really think we’re going to come home dead. … We’re losing hope.”

It is the second video of Alexander published by Hamas. In November, Hamas released the first video of the hostage soldier.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with his parents yesterday.

Hamas has previously issued similar videos of hostages it is holding, in what Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare.

Katz: IDF will intensify Gaza ops if Hamas refuses ‘to return to framework of a hostage release’

Defense Minister Israel Katz is seen in the Morag Corridor area of the southern Gaza Strip, between Rafah and Khan Younis, April 9, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Defense Minister Israel Katz again warns Hamas that if it refuses to agree to a hostage deal, the IDF’s offensive in Gaza will intensify.

“Hundreds of thousands of [Palestinian] residents have already evacuated and tens of percent of Gaza’s territory has become part of Israel’s security areas,” Katz says in a statement, referring to the IDF’s buffer zone on the Gaza border.

“The main goal is to exert heavy pressure on Hamas for it to return to the framework of a hostage release. As long as Hamas persists in its refusal, the IDF activity will intensify,” he adds.

IDF says strike on car in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah targeted Hamas sniper

Earlier today, the IDF says it carried out an airstrike on a car in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, killing a Hamas operative.

The strike had targeted Ubayd Allah Na’im al-Hadhud Musa, who the military identifies as the deputy commander of a Hamas sniper cell.

According to Palestinian media, seven people were killed in the strike.

The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using “precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.”

Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro’s residence targeted in arson attack on first night of Passover

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro attends a meeting of governors at the White House on February 21, 2025 in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — US police say that officers evacuated Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family from the official governor’s residence after someone set fire to the building.

No one was injured and the fire was extinguished, according to authorities.

The fire broke out overnight on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which Shapiro and his family had celebrated at the governor’s official residence in the state capital of Harrisburg. State Police says in a statement that, while the investigation was ongoing, they were “prepared to say at this time that this was an act of arson.”

Police give no other details about the cause.

In a statement, Shapiro, viewed as a potential White House contender for the Democratic Party in 2028, says he and his family woke up at about 2 a.m. to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after the fire broke out.

The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was called to the residence and, while they worked to put out the fire, police evacuated Shapiro and his family from the residence safely, Shapiro says.

“Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished,” Shapiro says in a statement.

The fire caused a “significant amount of damage” to a portion of the residence, state police say. Shapiro and his family had been in a different part of the residence, police say.

State Police say they are leading a multiagency investigation into the fire.

IDF says Houthi missile was ‘apparently’ intercepted; shrapnel falls in West Bank

The IDF, in an update, says just one missile was launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen at Israel this afternoon.

The missile was “apparently” successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military adds.

There are no reports of injuries or major damage. Shrapnel reportedly fell in the Hebron area in the West Bank.

ترجمة قدس| صور جديدة.. العثور على شظايا صـــاروخية في دورا جنوب الخليل، بعد إطلاق صــــاروخين من اليمن. pic.twitter.com/6tXYA1yYXD

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) April 13, 2025

2 Houthi ballistic missiles fired from Yemen; IDF checking if interceptors downed them

Interceptor trails are seen in the sky above southern Israel as a Houthi missile is fired at Israel, April 13, 2025. (Social media / used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched two ballistic missiles at Israel a short while ago, according to the Israeli military.

The IDF says air defenses launched interceptor missiles at the incoming projectiles, but the results of the interceptions are still under investigation.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the attack.

Sirens had sounded across central Israel, Jerusalem, and in some West Bank settlements.

Minutes after the sirens wailed, Israelis were back outside in the early evening, as this social media post from a yoga class on Tel Aviv beach showed:

מדינת ישראל היא המקום היחידי בעולם שבו הפער בין אזעקה בשל טיל בליסטי המכוון לאזור תל אביב לבין המשך תרגול יוגה מול השקיעה – הוא 10 דקות.

נמל תל אביב.
מתרכזים בכאן ובעכשיו 🧘🏽 pic.twitter.com/ttCJrKQrzO

— צדיק בסדום (@SdomsRighteous) April 13, 2025

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched more than 20 ballistic missiles and several drones at Israel. Only half of the missiles set off sirens in Israel and were intercepted, while the others fell short.

Powerful armed faction in southern Syria to integrate into government forces

DAMASCUS, Syria — A powerful armed faction in southern Syria led by defected military officer Ahmed al-Awda announces that it is dissolving itself and integrating into the government’s armed forces.

“We, members, soldiers and officers of what was previously known as the Eighth Brigade, officially announce the dissolution of this formation and handing over all its military and human capacities to the defense ministry,” says Colonel Mohamed al-Hourani in a statement.

Ballistic missile launch from Yemen triggers sirens across central Israel

Sirens are sounding across central Israel following a ballistic missile launch from Yemen.

The IDF says it is looking into the details.

IDF says troops destroyed 1.2 kilometer tunnel in northern Gaza

The entrance to a Hamas tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo published on April 13, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

A 1.2-kilometer-long tunnel was recently destroyed by IDF troops during operations in the northern Gaza Strip, the military says.

The tunnel was located by the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade, which is operating under the 252nd Division in north Gaza.

Soldiers of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit demolished the tunnel, which reached depths of some 20 meters below the ground, according to the IDF.

Footage shows the inside of a Hamas tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip and its demolition by the IDF, in a video published on April 13, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says the Northern Brigade troops also located a nearby weapons depot where some 20 explosive devices, an anti-tank launcher, and other weapons were stored.

Also, during operations in the area, the military says troops using a drone spotted a cell of terror operatives trying to plant a bomb in the ground near the forces. An Israeli Air Force drone struck and killed the operatives a short while later.

Footage released by the IDF on April 13, 2025, shows a group of terror operatives planting a bomb in the ground in northern Gaza. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israeli Air Force chief recently visited the US, his American counterpart reveals

Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar recently visited the United States to meet his American counterpart, Gen. David Allvin.

The visit is revealed by Allvin on his X account.

“Honored to welcome my Israeli counterpart, Maj Gen Tomer Bar, to the Pentagon recently. The U.S.-Israel alliance and the bond between our Air Forces is a pillar of regional security. Our shared commitment to peace through strength will remain unshakable!” Allvin says on X.

The IDF did not comment on the visit. Bar returned to Israel last week.

Honored to welcome my Israeli counterpart, Maj Gen Tomer Bar, to the Pentagon recently. The U.S.-Israel alliance and the bond between our Air Forces is a pillar of regional security. Our shared commitment to peace through strength will remain unshakable! pic.twitter.com/PA9rfqc4Ad

— General David Allvin (@OfficialCSAF) April 12, 2025

Red Crescent says missing Gaza medic is being held by Israel

The Palestine Red Crescent Society says that a medic who had been missing since Israeli forces fired on ambulances in Gaza last month is currently being held by Israeli authorities.

“Asaad al-Nsasrah is being held by the Israeli occupation authorities. His fate had remained unknown since he was targeted along with other PRCS medics in Rafah,” PRCS said in a statement, referring to the attack that left 15 medics and rescuers dead.

There is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces, which has previously said that at least six of those killed were Hamas terror operatives.

IDF says more than 90 targets struck in Gaza over past two days

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip in a handout photo issued on April 13, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Over 90 targets were struck in the Gaza Strip in the past 48 hours, the military says.

Among the targets was a Hamas command center in the area of the Gaza City neighborhoods of Daraj and Tuffah. The IDF says the site included a weapons depot used to store explosives that Hamas operatives used in attacks on troops.

The other targets included a rocket launching site used to fire a projectile at southern Israel last night, weapon depots, cells of operatives, and other Hamas infrastructure, the military says.

Footage released by the IDF on April 13, 2025, shows airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)

The strikes come as troops continue ground operations in Gaza.

The 36th Division destroyed weapons and other Hamas infrastructure and directed strikes on Hamas operatives in the Morag Corridor area, the IDF says.

The IDF says the Gaza Division located additional weapons and infrastructure and killed operatives in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood.

In northern Gaza, the military says the 252nd Division destroyed additional Hamas infrastructure, including tunnel shafts and buildings used by the terror group, and killed several operatives trying to plant a bomb.

IDF issues evacuation warning for Khan Younis area after latest Gaza rocket fire

Following rocket fire from the southern Gaza Strip at the Re’im area near the border, the IDF issues an evacuation warning for Palestinians in the Khan Younis 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 that it is a “final warning” before the IDF carries out strikes there.

One rocket fired at Re’im was intercepted, according to the military. Over the past day, five rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israel.

#عاجل ‼️ إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في مناطق خان يونس وفي الأحياء: قيزان النجار، قيزان ابو رشوان، السلام، المنارة، القرين، معن، البطن السمين، جورت اللوت، الفخاري وأحياء بني سهيلا الجنوبية
🔴هذا انذار مسبق وأخير قبل الهجوم!🔴
⭕️سنهاجم بقوة شديدة كل منطقة يتم إطلاق قذائف… pic.twitter.com/ycLm7H8svE

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) April 13, 2025

IDF says rocket launched from Gaza was intercepted by air defenses

One rocket launched from the Gaza Strip was intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

Sirens had sounded in the border community of Re’im.

There are no reports of injuries in the attack.

13-year-old killed after ATV flips over in Hula Valley

Paramedics pronounce the death of a 13-year-old after the ATV he was riding on flipped over in northern Israel’s Hula Valley.

Syrian leader makes first visit to UAE, which has been wary of his Islamist ties

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s interim President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose war-devastated country seeks Gulf financial support, travels to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for his first visit since Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow, state media says.

Nearly a week after rebels toppled Assad in December, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said his government found the Islamist affiliation of Syria’s new rulers “quite worrying.”

But in mid-January Sharaa spoke by phone with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emirati president, about ways to reinforce ties and “ensure the stability and development of the region,” Syria’s state news agency SANA said at the time.

On its Telegram channel, SANA says Sharaa is traveling with Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to the Gulf country to hold talks on “numerous common issues.”

Analysts have said the UAE is deeply suspicious of Syria’s new leaders, reflecting its distrust for political Islam and fear of outsized Turkish influence in the war-scarred country.

Shaibani visited Abu Dhabi in January.

After more than 13 years of conflict, Syria’s new rulers are seeking international support for reconstruction and reviving the sanctions-hit economy.

Rocket sirens activated in Gaza border kibbutz

Incoming rocket sirens are activated in Kibbutz Re’im, which is near the Gaza Strip.

The military says it’s looking into the matter.

US says it will sign nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudis, no mention of tying deal to Israel normalization

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, speaks during the 67th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference, an annual meeting of all the IAEA member states, at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on September 25, 2023. (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP)

The United States and Saudi Arabia will sign a preliminary agreement to cooperate over the kingdom’s ambitions to develop a civil nuclear industry, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright tells reporters in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Wright, who had met with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman earlier in the day, says Riyadh and Washington were on “a pathway” to reaching an agreement to work together to develop a Saudi civil nuclear program.

Wright did not mention a wider arrangement with the kingdom, which the previous administration of US president Joe Biden had been seeking, and included a civil nuclear agreement and security guarantees in the hopes it would lead to normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Wright, on his first visit to the kingdom as secretary as part of tour of energy-producing Gulf states, says further details over a memorandum detailing the energy cooperation between Riyadh and Washington would come later this year.

“For a US partnership and involvement in nuclear here, there will definitely be a 123 agreement … there’s lots of ways to structure a deal that will accomplish both the Saudi objectives and the American objectives,” he says.

The so-called 123 agreement with Riyadh refers to Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and is required to permit the US government and American companies to work with entities in the kingdom to develop a civil nuclear industry.

Saudi authorities have not agreed to the requirements under the act, Wright says. It specifies nine non-proliferation criteria a state must meet to keep it from using the technology to develop nuclear arms or transfer sensitive materials to others.

Progress on the discussions had previously been difficult because Saudi Arabia did not want to sign a deal that would rule out the possibility of enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel – both potential paths to a bomb.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has long said that if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would follow suit, a stance that has fueled deep concern among arms control advocates and some US lawmakers over a possible US-Saudi civil nuclear deal.

IDF says it hit Hamas command center in Deir al-Balah strike

A Hamas command center in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah was targeted in an airstrike a short while ago, the IDF and Shin Bet say.

Palestinian media report that the strike hit the Deir al-Balah municipality building and that at least three people were killed.

According to the military, numerous Hamas operatives were at the site when it was struck.

The IDF and Shin Bet say Hamas operatives used the compound to carry out attacks against troops and Israel and were planning additional attacks.

صور من استهداف الاحتلال لجنة الزكاة بدير البلح وسط القطاع pic.twitter.com/NMPTA3T0rI

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) April 13, 2025

Iran says talks with US to remain ‘indirect’ with Omani mediation, to focus only on nuclear issues, sanctions

This handout picture provided by Khabar Online on April 12, 2025, shows Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (2nd-L) speaking with members of the Iranian delegation after a meeting in Muscat during nuclear talks with the US. (Photo by KhabarOnline / AFP)

Iran’s foreign ministry says that upcoming talks with the United States, slated for next weekend, will remain “indirect” with Omani mediation and focus solely on the nuclear issue and lifting sanctions.

“Negotiations will continue to be indirect. Oman will remain the mediator, but we are discussing the location of future negotiations,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says in an interview with state TV, adding that the talks would only focus on “the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.”

Mayor says ‘many dead’ after Russian strike on Ukrainian city

Ukrainian officials say there are “many dead” after a Russian missile strike on the northeastern city of Sumy, which has come under intense attack from Moscow’s forces in recent weeks.

Sumy lies close to the Russian border and has been under increasing pressure since Moscow pushed back much of Ukraine’s troops from its Kursk region across the border.

“Many dead today as a result of a missile strike,” the acting mayor of Sumy, Artem Kobzar, says on social media, adding that “the enemy has struck civilians again”.

Unverified images on social media showed burnt-out cars and plumes of smoke rising into the air.

Sumy lies some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border.

Kyiv has warned for weeks that Moscow could mount an offensive on Sumy.

Sunday. Christian holiday before Easter. Barbaric brutal murder of civilians in Sumy.
Russians did it intentionally.

But never mind, @SteveWitkoff will thank Putin again and lick his bloody hands. pic.twitter.com/XpIZh8407e

— Serhii Sternenko ✙ (@sternenko) April 13, 2025

IDF says it hit a Hamas command center housed in Gaza hospital

People check the destruction in the aftermath of an alleged Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli hospital, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab hospital, in Gaza City on April 13, 2025. Israel said it hit a Hamas command center in the complex. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The IDF says that an overnight strike targeted a Hamas command center that was housed in a Gaza hospital.

“The IDF and Shin Bet attacked a command and control complex in the northern Gaza Strip inside the Al-Ahli hospital that was used by the Hamas terrorist organization,” the military says.

“The complex was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against IDF forces and citizens of the State of Israel,” it adds.

The army says that prior to the strike, it took steps to reduce civilian casualties, including providing early warning in the area, using precision weapons, and aerial surveillance.

“The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law, while brutally exploiting civilian buildings and the civilian population as human shields for terrorist operations,” the army says, calling on the terror group to cease using medical facilities as cover.

Two killed in fresh overnight violence in Arab community

Two men from the Arab community are shot and killed in separate incidents overnight, police say, bringing to 10 the number of Arab citizens killed in violent circumstances over the past several days.

Local media identified the first victim as Mohammed Abd Tarabieh, 28, who was shot while in his car in the northern city of Sakhnin. Medics took him to  Nahariya’s Galilee Medical Center where he was declared dead.

The second victim is 31-year-old Elias Matran who was shot and killed in Nazareth.

Police say they are investigating both incidents.

The vast majority of Arab sector murder cases are unsolved by law enforcement, with many community leaders criticizing police for not doing enough to deter violent crime in Arab locales.

Since the start of the year, 74 Arab Israelis have been killed in violent criminal incidents.

Harvey Weinstein sex crimes retrial to begin Tuesday in NY

Harvey Weinstein, center, appears in criminal court in New York, September 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

The retrial of Harvey Weinstein, whose prosecution and conviction for rape and sex assault ignited the “MeToo” movement, kicks off in New York on Tuesday.

The disgraced movie mogul’s 2017 conviction by a jury was overturned seven years later by an appeals court that ruled the way witnesses were handled in the original trial was unlawful.

Former Miramax studio boss Weinstein will be in the dock for the sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006, the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, and a new count for an alleged sexual assault in 2006 at a hotel in Manhattan.

The trial, expected to last up to six weeks in a Manhattan criminal court, begins Tuesday with jury selection, which could take five days, according to Judge Curtis Farber.

Weinstein, 73, hopes the case will be judged with “fresh eyes,” more than seven years after investigations by the New York Times and the New Yorker led to his spectacular downfall and a global backlash against predatory abusers.

US in hurry for nuclear deal, Iran says after high-stakes talks

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a meeting with his Armenian counterpart in Yerevan on March 25, 2025. (KAREN MINASYAN / AFP)

The United States wants a nuclear agreement “as soon as possible,” Iran says after rare talks on Saturday, as US President Donald Trump threatens military action if they fail to reach a deal.

The long-term adversaries, who have not had diplomatic relations for more than 40 years, are seeking a new nuclear deal after Trump pulled out of an earlier agreement during his first term in 2018.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a seasoned diplomat and key architect of the 2015 deal, and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, led the delegations in the highest-level Iran-US nuclear talks since the previous accord’s collapse.

Araghchi, who briefly spoke face-to-face with Witkoff, a real estate magnate, during the otherwise indirect meeting in Oman, says the talks will resume next Saturday.

“The American side also said that a positive agreement was one that can be reached as soon as possible but that will not be easy and will require a willingness on both sides,” Araghchi tells Iranian state television.

“I think we came very close to a basis for negotiation… Neither we nor the other party want fruitless negotiations, discussions for discussions’ sake, time wasting or talks that drag on forever,” he adds.

Israeli strikes reported in central Gaza; hospital building said hit after warning to leave

Palestinians in Gaza reported multiple IDF strikes in the enclave’s center overnight.

Earlier, the military had warned several neighborhoods in the Nuseirat area to evacuate after a rocket was launched at Israel from the area.

Medics said two Israeli missiles hit a building inside a hospital, destroying the emergency and reception department and damaging other structures.

Health officials at the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital evacuated the patients from the building after one person said he received a call from someone who identified himself with the Israeli security forces shortly before the attack took place.

No casualties were reported, according to the civil emergency service.

Israel has made no comment on the strike as of yet. It has repeatedly accused terror groups of using various civilian sites including hospitals as bases of operation.

كأن القيامة قامت

لحظة حرق وقصف مستشفى المعمداني وخروج المرضى والجرحى بمعجزة من المكان#غزة_تباد#غزة_تباد_وتحرق pic.twitter.com/K7hig39AKF

— علي محسن وشاح (@alwshh201) April 13, 2025