April 13: IDF eases wartime limits in parts of north but tightens rules elsewhere amid fragile Iran truce

Some 50 people detained at New York rally against military aid for Israel

Illustrative. Protesters take part in a sit-in on Third Avenue in New York City on April 13, 2025. (Charly Triballeau/ AFP/ File)

New York police detained around 50 people taking part in a rally Monday by a Jewish pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel organization, an AFP correspondent saw.

Gathering under the banner of the group, Jewish Voice for Peace, the detainees are part of a group of about 200 protesters who blocked a major avenue in Manhattan for just under an hour to protest US military support for Israel.

They had gathered near the offices of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and his colleague Kirsten Gillibrand, whom they accuse of voting against a measure aimed at blocking US arms sales to Israel.

Spanish PM’s wife charged with corruption after criminal probe

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, has been formally charged with corruption after a criminal investigation, according to a newly-published court ruling.

A judge has charged Gomez with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings, and misappropriation of funds, according to a ruling dated April 11, seen today by AFP.

Home Front Command again adjusts wartime restrictions during Iran ceasefire

The IDF Home Front Command says it is adjusting its wartime guidelines amid the ongoing fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the ceasefire in Iran.

In communities on the Lebanon border, educational activities will be permitted only inside bomb shelters, and in the northern Golan Heights and Upper Galilee, educational activities will be permitted, provided an adequate bomb shelter can be reached in time.

Meanwhile, gatherings are now restricted to 5,000 people in the southern Golan, Beit She’an Valley, Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Judea (southern West Bank), Judean Foothills, Lachish, Gaza border communities, the Negev, Arava, and Eilat. The limit on restrictions in these areas had previously been lifted.

In the rest of the country, no changes are made to the guidelines, the military says.

The guidelines remain in effect until Tuesday at 8 p.m. By then, the Home Front Command will have conducted a fresh assessment.

A full list of guidelines per locale can be found on the Home Front Command’s website.

Hezbollah chief demands Lebanon cancel tomorrow’s talks with Israel in Washington

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem calls on the Lebanese government to cancel tomorrow’s meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington, describing the talks as pointless.

In a televised speech, Qassem says his terror group will continue to confront Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Lebanon’s foreign minister has said Beirut will use Tuesday’s face-to-face negotiations to press for a ceasefire in the war.

Jerusalem lights up the Old City walls for Holocaust Remembrance Day

The walls of Jerusalem's Old City are lit up for Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 13, 2026. (Jerusalem Municipality)

In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Jerusalem Municipality is illuminating the Old City walls with images of the yellow badge, alongside memorial candles and the words “Remember” and “Never Forget.”

The capital is home to approximately 6,900 Holocaust survivors, who receive social services throughout the year, according to the municipality.

Netanyahu: Europe ‘has forgotten so much since the Holocaust’; it’s losing control of its identity and values

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at Israel's pre-recorded state Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, April 13, 2026. (Yad Vashem Screenshot)

Europe today is “afflicted by deep moral weakness,” says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his address at Israel’s official Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony, which this year is pre-recorded due to the security situation.

“Europe is losing control of its identity, of its values, of its responsibility to defend civilization against barbarism,” he says.

He says that Israel is defending Europe, “which has forgotten so much since the Holocaust.”

“It has much to learn from us,” he continues, “especially the essential lesson of the clear moral distinction between good and evil, which in moments of truth demands that we go to war for the sake of what’s good, for the sake of life.”

“Israel, on the other hand, doesn’t forget that eternal responsibility,” Netanyahu says.

“Along with the US, and along with other countries with which we are creating alliances that will be spoken about in the future, we are defending ourselves, we are defending the entire world,” he says, adding that “Israel stands with the United States at the forefront of the free world.”

He says that the two countries “have dealt a crushing blow to the evil regime in Iran” in their two joint operations in the past year.

“If we hadn’t acted [against Iran’s nuclear, missile and other military targets],” says Netanyahu, “the names Natanz, Fordow, Isfahan and Parchin would likely have been remembered with eternal dread, precisely like Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, and Sobibor.”

Netanyahu continues: “But we did act, and how, with the historically unprecedented partnership with President Trump and the United States. On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, we will remember that.”

“We are acting so that future generations will not ask with regret, ‘What if?'” he says.

Herzog: Israel did not rise from the ashes of the Holocaust to be consumed by infighting

President Isaac Herzog speaks in a recorded address at the official state ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day, aired on April 13, 2026.(Yad Vashem Screenshot)

Israel did not rise from the ashes of the Holocaust only to be consumed by the fire of discord, President Isaac Herzog says in his address at the official state ceremony at Yad Vashem for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Issuing a call for unity and warning against internal divisions and rising global antisemitism, Herzog weaves his address around the story of Holocaust survivor Magda Baratz and her great-grandson, soldier Staff Sgt. Assaf Kafri.

Kafri was killed in combat in Gaza last year, and Baratz received news of her great-grandson’s death while at the site of the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she had once suffered during the Holocaust. She died shortly afterward.

“Exactly 70 years separated them,” Herzog says, “but one spirit bound the generations — a spirit of heroism, of dedication, of determination; a spirit of fighting for the only home of our people — the State of Israel. ”

Highlighting Israel’s ongoing military operations, Herzog warns of continued threats from Iran and allied groups targeting civilians. He calls on world leaders to move beyond rhetoric to take decisive action against antisemitism.

Israel will continue preserving Holocaust memory for future generations, even after the last survivors are gone, he concludes.

IEA chief says ready to act if Iran war creates need for another oil stockpile release

The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, says he hopes another oil stockpile release is not needed but “we stand ready to act” if the energy shock resulting from the war with Iran requires it.

The 32-member IEA agreed last month to release 400 million barrels of oil from reserves, the largest coordinated release ever, in a bid to calm oil markets. The US, the world’s largest oil and gas producer, agreed to release 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

“I hope, very much hope, we don’t need to do it but if it is needed we are ready to act,” Birol says.

Birol reiterates at an Atlantic Council event that the war has resulted in the worst global energy disruption ever and said that more than 80 oil and gas facilities including production, terminals and refineries across the Middle East have been damaged by war with Iran. Benchmark oil prices are trading near $100 a barrel.

Due to the vast extent of the production shut-ins and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the oil releases are “not a solution,” Birol says. “It’s just reducing the pain.”

Trump claims Iran has reached out to express interest in a deal after failed Pakistan talks

US President Donald Trump speaks to Sharon Simmons, a DoorDash driver from Arkansas, who delivered him two bags of McDonald's food outside the Oval Office of the White House, April 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump claims Iran has reached out to express interest in making a deal after Washington walked out of negotiations with Tehran in Pakistan over the weekend.

“We have been called this morning by the right people in Iran…and they want to make a deal,” Trump tells reporters, while standing next to a DoorDash delivery driver outside the Oval Office.

Trump says he wants to make a deal with Iran but will not allow the regime to obtain a nuclear weapon and that the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is going ahead in the meantime.

The president also reiterates his claim that Pope Leo is “very weak on crime.”

He asks the DoorDash driver if she supports “men playing in women’s sports,” but she responds that she is just there to thank the president for his no-tax-on-tips policy.

Report: Russia warned Israel its air strikes near Bushehr nuclear power plant risked ‘major nuclear disaster’

This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies and taken on February 14, 2025, shows new nucleaar reactors under construction at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Tehran. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/AFP)

Russia repeatedly warned Israel in recent weeks that it was risking a “major nuclear disaster” with its ongoing air strikes in close proximity to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, Israel’s Channel 12 reports.

Moscow officials also told Israel that its attacks were endangering Russian experts and civilians at the civilian power plant, which Russia partly constructed and helps operate, and said the attacks were threatening bilateral relations.

Heeding the warnings, the IDF changed its operating procedures in that area, clarified that it was unaware of the dangers, and said it had no intention of harming any Russian personnel, the report says.

The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian embassy in Israel repeatedly warned Israeli officials of the dangers of the strikes, the report says. One strike in particular reportedly hit “very close” to Russian personnel.

“You are placing our people in danger,” a Kremlin official stressed in a message sent to an Israeli official, the report says. “This is a dangerous game that is likely to cause a major nuclear disaster, with grave implications for the Middle East. We call on you to stop.”

Israel reportedly responded that it was unaware of the dangers, and that it had changed its procedures.

Israel and the US have both reportedly carried out airstrikes on Iranian targets in the area.

An April 4 strike near the plant reportedly killed an Iranian guard. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, wrote on X that no increase in radiation levels had been reported at the site, but voiced “deep concern” at the strike, which he said was the fourth such incident in recent weeks.

Earlier today, the chief of Russia’s state nuclear corporation said it was pulling nearly all of its personnel from Bushehr, which is situated some 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) south of Tehran.

Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev said only 20 workers would stay behind to keep watch on the equipment at the plant, where Russia is building two more nuclear reactors.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Russia has repeatedly voiced concern about projectiles hitting the territory of the plant, some of them landing near the nuclear reactor.

Russia had planned the near-complete evacuation long before the ceasefire, removing about 600 personnel in several waves in March and earlier this month.

Mediators said to keep pushing US-Iran deal, Tehran surprised by American exit from talks

Mediators from Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey are working to bridge gaps between the United States and Iran in an effort to reach a deal to end the conflict or extend the current ceasefire, Channel 12 reports, citing American and mediation sources.

A senior US official tells the news outlet that contacts between Washington and Tehran are still ongoing and that some progress has been made in recent talks.

According to the report, the US softened its position during negotiations, proposing that Iran freeze uranium enrichment for 20 years instead of halting it completely. Iran, in turn, agreed in principle to a freeze, but only for a shorter number of years – reportedly less than 10.

The US is also said to have demanded that Iran export its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but Tehran rejected the proposal, instead agreeing to dilute the material inside Iran under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Despite the lack of a final agreement, Iranian officials reportedly believed the sides were nearing a deal and were caught off guard when US Vice President JD Vance announced the talks were being abandoned.

Meanwhile, the report also notes that Turkey is pushing to extend the current two-week ceasefire by an additional 45 to 60 days to allow more time to reach an agreement, with officials stressing that compromise will be required from both sides on key issues.

WATCH: Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with pre-recorded ceremony

As Holocaust Remembrance Day begins in Israel, the annual state ceremony at Yad Vashem is replaced with a pre-recorded broadcast due to the heightened security situation.

The broadcast is available to watch live:

The program includes addresses by President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The memorial torch will be lit by former Ashkenazi chief rabbi Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, himself a Holocaust survivor and chairman of the Yad Vashem Council.

The central theme for this year’s state commemorations is “The Jewish Family during the Holocaust.”

During the ceremony, six Holocaust survivors will light torches: Saadia Bahat, Michael Sidko, Miriam “Daisy” Bar Lev, Moshe Harari, Ilana Fallach and Avigdor Neumann.

Survivors’ remarks will be made by Haviva Burst. Holocaust survivor Menachem Neeman will recite El Maleh Rahamim, a prayer for the souls of the martyrs.

Knesset panel says northern communities have received only 20% of funds earmarked for bomb shelters

A Knesset panel says that only 20 percent of the funds allocated to build bomb shelters for 21 communities within 1–5 kilometers of the northern border have been disbursed, leaving the majority of eligible residents without shelter, amid the ongoing war with Hezbollah in Lebanon which has battered northern communities.

During a discussion held by the Special Committee for Strengthening and Developing the Negev and Galilee on protection gaps in the north, Committee Chair MK Oded Forer from the right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beytenu says that data from the defense ministry shows that NIS 900 million ($295 million) earmarked to help residents build protected spaces in Israel’s north have not been transferred.

“The government of Israel is consciously forsaking the residents of northern Israel completely,” Forer says.

“We feel that the distance from [Kibbutz] Dan and Dafna to Jerusalem is greater than the distance between Israel and Australia. Forty percent of the houses along the fence are not fortified, and I ask, when will every resident of the confrontation line have a wall that will separate them from death?” says Mateh Asher Regional Council Chair Moshe Davidovich, who also heads the Confrontation Line Forum.

A defense ministry official tells lawmakers that the government transferred NIS 868 million ($285 million) in 2024 to help communities within 1–5 kilometers of the border build 10,000 safe rooms, but only 278 have been completed.

This is in part because the program requires residents to manage construction themselves, in contrast to communities living less than one kilometer from the border, where shelters are built and provided by the state.

What is more, Forer says the funds fall well short of actual costs, with the state providing about NIS 130,000 ($42,600) toward a safe room estimated by the Housing Ministry to cost roughly NIS 220,000 ($72,000), forcing residents to pay the difference.

“The method by which people think that we will build 10,000 protected spaces but only provide the citizens with 60% of the budget does not work,” he says, demanding that the government shift construction to state contractors, as it does for communities closest to the border.

Netanyahu congratulates Hungary’s Magyar for his electoral win, heaps praise on outgoing Orban

A day after his victory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally congratulates Hungary’s Peter Magyar for his election win over the premier’s personal friend and Israel-backer Viktor Orban.

Netanyahu calls Orban, “a true friend of Israel, who stood firmly by Israel’s side in the face of unjust international vilification and who supported Israel’s soldiers in our just war of self-defense against brutal terrorists. The people of Israel will forever remember this.”

“I congratulate Peter Magyar on his election victory” he continues on X. “I wish him success in leading Hungary forward, while strengthening the strong ties between our nations.”

“I look forward to continuing our cooperation for the benefit of both our peoples.”

Trump claims 34 ships transited Strait of Hormuz on Sunday

US President Donald Trump claims that 34 ships went through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

Trump says in a Truth Social post that the figure “is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began.”

IDF says around 150 Hezbollah targets hit in southern Lebanon in the past day

First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Roummane, on April 13, 2026. (Abbas Fakih/AFP)

The Israeli Air Force struck some 150 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past day, the military says

The IDF says the targets included rocket launchers, drones, buildings used by the terror group, anti-tank launch sites, and headquarters.

The military says it also struck Hezbollah cells that planned attacks on troops.

חיל האוויר תקף ביממה האחרונה כ-150 מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה

חיל האוויר ממשיך לתקוף תשתיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה ולסייע לפעילות הכוחות הקרקעיים הפועלים בדרום לבנון.

ביממה האחרונה הותקפו כ-150 מטרות במספר מרחבים בדרום לבנון.

הותקפו משגרי רקטות וכלי טיס בלתי מאוישים.… pic.twitter.com/EXlMd63rkI

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 13, 2026

Notably, the IDF has not conducted any strikes against Hezbollah in Beirut since Wednesday night.

This comes amid US pressure on Israel to limit attacks on the terror group as it attempts to advance negotiations with Tehran, as well as ahead of the first in-person meeting in expected negotiations between Israel and Lebanon on Tuesday in Washington.

Israel said to summon Italian ambassador over comments on civilian deaths in Lebanon

Israel summoned Italy’s ambassador Monday in rebuke, after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemned Israel’s “unacceptable attacks” on civilians in Lebanon during a visit to Beirut, an Italian diplomatic source says.

Tajani, a senior member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, visited Beirut today for talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi.

Tajani wrote on X earlier that he was there to “convey Italy’s solidarity, following Israel’s unacceptable attacks against the civilian population.”

He called for dialogue between Lebanon and Israel and a “necessary and lasting ceasefire” adding: “Another escalation like in Gaza must be avoided at all costs.”

Israel launched a new offensive against the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon after it waded into the US-Israeli war with Iran by firing hundreds of rockets per day at Israeli targets.

Italy’s government summoned Israel’s ambassador last week after saying Israeli forces fired warning shots at a convoy of Italian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, damaging at least one vehicle but causing no injuries.

Prolonged Hormuz crisis could trigger global agrifood catastrophe, UN warns

A prolonged crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a global agrifood catastrophe by disrupting fertilizer and energy exports, driving up food prices and squeezing crop yields, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says

FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero says poorer countries are most exposed due to their planting calendars, as delays in access to key inputs could quickly translate into lower output, higher inflation, and slower global growth.

High Court orders IDF to begin pilot for female tank troops by November 2026

Female soldiers operate a tank in the Negev Desert, in an undated photograph. (Israel Defense Forces)

The High Court of Justice says the IDF must begin a trial for female soldiers to serve in the Armored Corps by November, following repeated delays by the military.

Currently, female soldiers can serve in tanks in the IDF’s Border Defense Corps as part of an all-female tank company in the Caracal mixed-gender light infantry battalion, which operates along the Egyptian border — not in fighting deep behind enemy lines.

The tentative pilot program in the Armored Corps, which the IDF had previously seen as impractical, was originally meant to start in 2024.

Its opening was delayed twice amid the war, and the IDF last said it was expected to begin in November 2026.

In a ruling today — following a petition filed in 2020 demanding that the IDF open additional combat roles to female recruits — the High Court says that “the IDF has a legal obligation to uphold, to the extent possible, equal opportunities between men and women in assignments to combat roles.”

The court says that the IDF must open the Armored Corps trial for women in November 2026, and not delay it further.

Two men stabbed during brawl in Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of East Jerusalem

Two men were stabbed and wounded during a brawl in Wadi al-Joz, a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem, first responders say.

One of the stab victims, a 24-year-old, was seriously injured and taken to the hospital in unstable condition, says the Magen David Adom emergency service.

The other man, who suffered moderate injuries, was also taken to the hospital for further treatment.

Police arrested two individuals suspected of involvement in the stabbing, which they believe is linked to a conflict between two families in the neighborhood.

IDF says Hamas operative behind Gaza war’s deadliest attack on troops killed in strike

A Hamas operative who participated in the deadliest attack on Israeli troops during the IDF’s ground offensive in the Gaza Strip was killed in a strike last week, the military announces.

The strike last Monday had targeted several armed Hamas members who the military says approached the Yellow Line and planned an “imminent” attack on troops stationed in central Gaza.

“The terrorists posed a real threat to IDF troops and were therefore targeted in precise strikes,” the military says.

The IDF says it can now confirm that among those killed was Yousef Ibrahim Mahmoud Beshiti, a Hamas operative part of a cell that launched an attack on troops on January 22, 2024, in an incident that left 21 soldiers dead.

The Hamas operatives fired RPGs at the troops, hitting a tank and setting off mines that were rigged to demolish two buildings. It was the deadliest incident during the IDF’s ground offensive in Gaza.

In addition, the IDF says the strike killed at least six other Hamas operatives, including a member of the terror group’s elite Nukhba Force, a cell commander, and a Hamas police officer.

Five rockets launched by Hezbollah at Karmiel area; four intercepted, one hits open area

A barrage of five rockets was launched by Hezbollah at the Karmiel area in northern Israel a short while ago.

According to the IDF, four rockets fired from Lebanon were intercepted, and one was allowed to hit an open area.

There are no reports of injuries.

Trump threatens to destroy Iranian ships that try to cross Hormuz amid US navy blockade

US President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival at the White House, April 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US President Donald Trump threatens to destroy Iranian ships that try to cross the Strait of Hormuz as Washington’s blockade of the channel comes into effect.

Trump first claims in a Truth Social post that Iran’s navy has been “obliterated” before saying that the US has not hit Tehran’s “fast attack ships” because it did not deem them a threat.

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at sea,” Trump writes.

Vatican responds to Israeli rabbi who criticized pope’s comments on war with Iran

A Vatican official responsible for interfaith dialogue tells a member of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate that the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Chief Rabbinate will “develop among many challenges and matters” after the rabbi criticized the language used by the pope in the context of the US-Israel war against Iran, the Times of Israel has learned.

On Sunday, Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz, a member of the Interreligious Committee for Relations with the Vatican, addressed a letter to Pope Leo, expressing his concern over what he described as the pope’s neutrality and moral equivalence between Israel and its aggressors.

“You stated that God ‘does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’ By applying these verses broadly, you created a moral equivalence between those who initiate slaughter and those who are religiously compelled to defend the sanctity of life,” Weisz wrote. “On Easter Sunday […] you specifically characterized the defense of our people against existential threats as a ‘delusion of omnipotence.’ To speak of ‘omnipotence’ today is to forget the catastrophe of our powerlessness only eighty years ago.”

Today, Archbishop Flavio Pace, who serves as Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and Vice President of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, responded to the letter (the text of his response was shared with The Times of Israel by a Rabbinate spokesperson).

“Toda Raba [thank you very much in Hebrew] dear Rabbi,” Pace writes. “Today is the 40th anniversary of the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Great Synagogue of Rome. I am sure that our relation[ship] will develop among many challenges and matters to be discussed.”

It is not immediately clear whether the message was sent on behalf of the pope or as a personal response.

Two IDF soldiers moderately hurt, six lightly wounded in Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon

Two soldiers were moderately hurt and six others were lightly injured in a Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon earlier today, the military says.

The IDF says the explosive-laden drone struck next to the troops during operations in southern Lebanon. They were taken to a hospital and their families were notified.

Palestinian man arrested on suspicion of stabbing, lightly wounding teen in the West Bank

Police say they arrested a Palestinian man earlier today on suspicion of stabbing and lightly injuring a 17-year-old in the West Bank.

Officers nabbed the suspect after reaching the site of the stabbing in Mishor Adumim, an industrial area east of Jerusalem. The alleged assailant is from al-Eizariya, a West Bank Palestinian village just a few miles away from the scene.

The circumstances of the incident remain unclear and the investigation is ongoing, police say.

According to the ultra-Orthodox Kikar HaShabbat news site, the teen is a shepherd who had been herding his flock in the area when attacked by three Palestinians.

A police spokesperson confirms that searches are ongoing for additional suspects.

Pakistan PM says efforts ongoing to reach US-Iran ceasefire agreement after failed weekend talks

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says that the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is “holding” and that efforts are underway to reach an agreement after weekend talks failed to do so.

“The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues,” Sharif tells a cabinet meeting in brief televised remarks.

US naval blockade of Iran takes effect as Trump’s deadline passes

A vendor pushes his cart past a giant billboard reading "The Strait of Hormuz remains closed" at the Revolution Square in Tehran, Iran, on April 12, 2026. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

The American military naval blockade of Iran has taken effect after the deadline set by US President Donald Trump passed.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announces that it has been informed that “maritime access restrictions are being enforced affecting Iranian ports and coastal areas, including locations along the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea east of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Yesterday, the US Central Command said its forces “will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the President’s proclamation.”

“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” CENTCOM said.

CENTCOM added that its forces “will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”

IDF: More than 10 Hezbollah drones launched at northern Israel have been intercepted since this morning

More than 10 Hezbollah drones launched from Lebanon at northern Israel and at troops in southern Lebanon since this morning were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force, the military says.

The IDF publishes footage showing one of the interceptions.

משעות הבוקר, חיל האוויר יירט יותר מ-10 כלי טיס עוינים ששוגרו מלבנון לעבר שטח מדינת ישראל וכוחותינו הפועלים בדרום לבנון.

חיל האוויר ממשיך להסיר איומים על אזרחי מדינת ישראל במקביל להעמקת הפגיעה בארגון הטרור חיזבאללה pic.twitter.com/KORq9OU6g3

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 13, 2026

France ‘irrelevant’ to Israel-Lebanon talks, not involved – Israeli officials

France is not playing any role in the expected ceasefire talks between Israel and Lebanon, as Jerusalem views their participation as “irrelevant,” an Israeli government official and a second Israeli official tell The Times of Israel.

“There is no French involvement whatsoever,” the official says. Asked about the reason for their exclusion, the official replies that “they are unnecessary.”

A second Israeli official says that while there had been “some discussion” regarding French involvement, Israel “from the outset saw the French as not relevant” to reaching an agreement on halting the fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Responding to the officials’ remarks, a French diplomat tells The Times of Israel that “what we are hoping for is not a ticket to the meeting, but that Israel stops its offensive on Lebanon.”

All three officials decline to comment on whether France formally requested to participate in the talks, the first round of which is set to take place in Washington tomorrow.

France has condemned the scale of Israeli strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon during the US-Israeli war with Tehran, and offered earlier this month to facilitate direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut. While France played a significant role in previous ceasefire talks between the sides, it has no formal position in the current talks and has been at increasingly visible odds with Jerusalem during the Iran conflict.

Four men charged in Haifa District Court with making explosives at behest of Iranian agent

Police arrest a Haifa resident for allegedly working for an Iranian agent, in an image published on April 9, 2026. (Israel Police)

Four men are accused in the Haifa District Court of creating explosive material intended for terror bombings on the orders of an Iranian agent, marking one of the most severe Iran-linked security cases uncovered so far by authorities.

Only the central suspect, 22-year-old Ami Gaydarov, is alleged to have been in direct contact with the agent. The Haifa resident was arrested in March on suspicion of producing at least 10 kilograms (22 lbs) of TATP, an easy-to-make powder often used in terror bombings.

Prosecutors in the State Attorney’s Office write that the young man even volunteered to build an improvised explosive device (IED) with the powder and carry out a suicide bombing, but his handler rejected the suggestion.

The three other men are charged in a separate indictment with assisting in the purchase, production and testing of the volatile material.

According to the indictment, Gaydarov agreed to create the explosive material while aware that it “was intended for use against a public figure, whose identity is unknown, and for the purpose of an explosion at a bus stop or another place where people were liable to be hurt.”

Hebrew media reported last week that the public figure in question is former prime minister Naftali Bennett, but an official in the State Attorney’s Office was not able to confirm, saying this did “not emerge in the investigation material.”

Though the TATP was never used, Gaydarov buried approximately 2 kilograms of the powder in a hole which he then covered up, and sent the location of the material to his handler, presumably for later use by another Iranian agent.

On top of manufacturing explosives, Gaydarov is also accused of passing information to his handler that served Iran’s war aims. He allegedly took photos of the Haifa Port and naval base in an effort to locate the American aircraft carrier that docked there, and sent live updates to his handler about missile impacts in his area.

According to police, Gaydarov received a total of NIS 70,000 ($23,000) in exchange for the tasks he carried out, most of it in the form of cryptocurrency.

IDF assesses over 250 Hezbollah operatives were killed in last week’s deadly strikes across Lebanon

First responders rush to the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on April 8, 2026. (KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)

The IDF says over 250 Hezbollah operatives were killed in last week’s major wave of strikes against the terror group across Lebanon, including several top commanders.

“Following continuous intelligence monitoring by the Military Intelligence Directorate” since the wide-scale airstrikes on April 8, the IDF says it can now confirm “that the number of terrorists eliminated in the strike in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon has surpassed 250.”

The IDF says it is continuing to verify additional deaths, meaning the true number may be higher.

Lebanon’s health ministry reported that the strikes killed more than 350. It did not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

According to the military, among the Hezbollah commanders killed in the strikes were Hassan Mustafa Nasser, head of Hezbollah’s logistics headquarters; Ali Qassem, Abu Ali Abbas, and Ali Hijazi, top commanders in Hezbollah’s intelligence unit; and Abu Muhammad Habib, the deputy chief of Hezbollah’s missile unit.

A senior Israeli intelligence officer says that these Hezbollah commanders had “extensive experience and knowledge that has now been cut short.”

“Within one minute, we struck dozens of Hezbollah command centers and eliminated hundreds of terrorists. The elimination of the commanders led to a strategic and broad impact that affected all dimensions of the organization’s capabilities,” the officer says.

“We have not yet finished assessing the impact of the blow, and we are discovering additional eliminated terrorists every day,” he adds.

Footage from fatal shooting of Palestinian by reservist shows he was shot in the back while trying to flee

Footage released by left-wing Israeli NGO B’Tselem captures the incident in which 23-year-old Palestinian Ali Hamadneh was shot dead in the Ramallah area on Saturday by a reservist soldier in an “area defense force” unit known by its Hebrew acronym Hagmar — made up of local settlers in reserve duty

The footage shows the soldier opening fire as Palestinians flee the scene. One of them, said to be Hamadneh, can be seen collapsing to the ground.

According to B’Tselem, Hamadneh was shot in the back, with the bullet passing through his body and exiting the other side.

B’Tselem also claims that, contrary to the IDF’s statement, the reservist was alone, rather than accompanied by other troops. No additional soldiers are visible in the video released by the organization.

The IDF alleged on Saturday that the reservist had opened fire on Palestinians who had been hurling stones at an Israeli civilian in the West Bank. It has said that the incident is under investigation.

Footage published by B’Tselem shows the fatal shooting of a Palestinian by a reservist soldier in the Ramallah area on Saturday, April 11, 2026. (B’Tselem)

Woman lightly hurt in Hezbollah rocket strike in Nahariya, northern Israel

First responders arrive at the scene of a Hezbollah rocket strike in Nahariya, northern Israel, on April 13, 2026. (Magen David Adom)

A woman in her 60s is lightly hurt after a Hezbollah rocket struck the northern city of Nahariya a short while ago, medics say.

Magen David Adom says the woman was hit by the blast of the rocket impact, as well as by glass shards.

Damage was also caused in the area.

According to the IDF, fewer than 10 rockets were launched from Lebanon in the attack, most of which were intercepted.

Russia evacuates nearly all personnel from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant

The chief of Russia’s state nuclear corporation says it is pulling nearly all of its personnel from Iran’s Russia-built nuclear power plant.

Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev says 108 workers are leaving the power plant in Bushehr, and only 20 will stay behind to keep watch on the equipment at the plant, where Russia is building two more nuclear reactors.

Likhachev says that Russia has coordinated the workers’ evacuation with the Iranian authorities.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Russia has repeatedly voiced concern about projectiles hitting the territory of the plant, some of them landing near its nuclear reactor.

Russia had planned the near-complete evacuation long before the ceasefire, removing about 600 personnel in several waves in March and earlier this month.

Rescuers responding to reports of Hezbollah rocket impact in Nahariya after latest barrage

Medics and rescue forces are responding to reports of a rocket impact in Nahariya, following a barrage launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon.

According to the IDF, fewer than 10 rockets were launched from Lebanon in the attack, most of which were intercepted.

Wall Street set for subdued open after US-Iran talks in Pakistan failed to bear fruit

Wall Street’s main indexes are set to open lower after weekend talks between the US and Iran failed to deliver a deal to end the war, threatening a nascent recovery in equities and risking a renewed bout of volatility.

The declines indicate that any relief from the ceasefire reached last week could be fleeting, underscoring the risks of leaning too heavily into bullish bets when the geopolitical environment remains uncertain.

The main US stock indexes had logged their second consecutive week of gains on Friday on hopes that the peace talks in Pakistan would bear fruit.

Now, however, Dow E-minis YMcv1 has fallen 509 points, or 1.06%, as of 08:32 a.m. ET. S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 have dropped 43.25 points, or 0.63%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 have dropped 157.5 points, or 0.62%.

Adding to the unease, the US military is hours away from beginning a blockade of all maritime traffic entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, in a move aimed at ramping up pressure on Tehran.

In Beirut, Italian FM hails upcoming Israel-Lebanon talks, says Rome ‘ready to host negotiations’

After meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani hails the expected ceasefire talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington tomorrow, saying that Italy is ready to host negotiations between the two countries to resolve the fighting with Hezbollah.

“It is extremely important that the meetings beginning tomorrow in Washington lead to a ceasefire, and Italy is ready to host negotiations between Lebanon and Israel to reach a state of stability,” Tajani says in remarks shared by the Lebanese presidency in an Arabic-language post on X.

Tajani says that he and Aoun agreed “on many points,” adding that he condemns Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel as well as the scale of Israeli retaliatory strikes.

In a phone call with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar ahead of his Beirut visit, Tajani “condemned Hezbollah’s attacks against Israel and [had] called for preserving the safety of the Lebanese civilian population and the Italian military personnel” in the UNIFIL mission, according to a post on his X account.

In his own statement on the call, Sa’ar says that he stressed the scale of Hezbollah’s attacks on Israeli civilians in the north and told Tajani that Israel and Lebanon share an interest in dismantling the Iran-backed terror group.

IDF footage shows Hezbollah operative being targeted with first-person view drone in Bint Jbeil

The IDF publishes footage showing the targeting of a Hezbollah operative in the southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil using a first-person view (FPV) drone.

According to the military, during the incident yesterday, troops of the Egoz commando unit identified and killed a cell of Hezbollah operatives who had been planning to carry out drone attacks on the troops in Bint Jbeil.

A short while later, another operative from the cell was identified, and he was targeted and killed using an FPV drone, the IDF says.

The IDF publishes footage showing the killing of a Hezbollah operative in the southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil using an FPV drone. pic.twitter.com/d07dzHsdWH

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 13, 2026

Hezbollah operatives have also been using FPV drones in attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

In another incident yesterday, the IDF says three more Hezbollah operatives were identified by the Maglan commando unit in Bint Jbeil. Within a short while, the operatives were targeted and killed in an airstrike, the military says.

IDF on heightened alert as US naval blockade of Iran set to start

As the American military is set to begin a naval blockade on Iran in two hours, the IDF says it remains on “heightened alert” for any development.

The Israeli military says there are no changes in the Home Front Command’s guidelines for civilians as of yet, and it remains ready to return to fighting in Iran if necessary.

Netanyahu: Ceasefire could end at any moment, we back Trump’s blockade of Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a cabinet meeting, April 13, 2026 (Screenshot/GPO)

The ceasefire between Iran and the US “could turn on a dime,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at the start of today’s cabinet meeting, according to multiple Hebrew media reports.

Netanyahu says Vice President JD Vance briefed him on his way back from talks with Iran in Pakistan. The premier says the Americans “could not tolerate Iran’s blatant violation of the agreement to enter negotiations. The agreement was that they would stop the fire, and the Iranians would immediately open the Strait [of Hormuz] — they did not do so. The Americans could not accept this.”

Additionally, according to the premier, Vance told Netanyahu that the central issue from the US perspective was “removing all enriched material and ensuring that there will be no enrichment in the coming years — possibly for decades — no enrichment inside Iran. This is their focus, and of course it is also important to us.”

Israel supports US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports, says Netanyahu, adding that the two sides “are in constant coordination.”

“The claims that there is a rift between us are completely false,” says Netanyahu. “The exact opposite is true. Anyone who was present in these conversations, and in the daily discussions we hold with the president and his team, can attest to that.”

“This level of coordination has never existed before — not in the history of Israel, and not in the history of the Jewish people,” Netanyahu says.

Democrats MK Rayten urges Knesset legal adviser to intervene in media bill panel over chair Distel-Atbaryan’s conduct

Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik speaks during a Knesset House Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 24, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Democrats MK Efrat Rayten urges the Knesset’s legal adviser to intervene in the management of the special Knesset committee advancing Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s controversial media overhaul legislation, following a session earlier today in which the panel’s legal advisers walked out in protest, after committee chair Likud MK Gilit Distel-Atbaryan refused to allow them to speak.

In the letter sent to Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik, Rayten says that deliberations on the controversial communications bill are continuing without the committee’s legal advisers, “creating a situation in which legislation is advanced without the professional legal oversight required to ensure the integrity of the legislative process.

“The committee is being conducted in a manner that deliberately ignores professional legal guidance and prevents the raising of substantive legal concerns or the presentation of alternative positions,” she says, arguing that the committee has turned into a “rubber stamp” for the government.

In addition to the chair ignoring legal advice, Rayten says lawmakers are routinely prevented from participating in the legislative process, including asking questions or expressing criticism of the bill.

“The discussions are losing all semblance of parliamentary independence,” she writes, adding that the committee is run directly by Karhi and his staff, and that the committee chair operates as “an extension of the government rather than as an impartial mediator between the branches of government.”

The legislation would give the government significant control over broadcast media, news sites, and other media by establishing a new regulatory council, with a majority of members chosen by the communications minister, that would have an array of authorities over broadcast media, including the ability to issue hefty fines.

It has drawn sharp opposition from both the committee’s professional legal staff and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who have warned that the current draft undermines press freedom and allows for political interference in media.

Germany says US blockade of Hormuz is pressure tactic, not end of talks

The German government expects negotiations over a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to continue, a spokesperson says.

“The supposed blockade … does not mark the end of this diplomatic process,” the spokesperson says, referring to an announcement by US President Donald Trump. “We see it as a move to ramp up the pressure.”

The spokesperson also cites a statement from US Central Command, which he says “does not mention a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, but rather a blockade of Iranian ports — that is a different approach.”

Lebanese FM: Talks with Israel show Lebanon ceasefire not part of US-Iran negotiations

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi in Beirut on January 7, 2026 (Anwar AMRO / AFP)

Upcoming direct talks with Israel underscore Lebanon’s independence from US-Iran talks, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi tells his German counterpart Johann Wadephul.

“Lebanon is seeking, through direct negotiations with Israel, to reach a ceasefire,” writes Raggi on X after the call. “I stressed that this track has in practice reinforced the separation between the Lebanese file and the Iranian track.”

In talks in Pakistan over the weekend, Iran demanded that a halt on Israeli attacks on Hezbollah be included as part of an agreement with the US.

In a swipe at Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, Raggi says he also stressed “that the Lebanese state alone holds the authority to negotiate on behalf of Lebanon, in a clear message that reestablishes the principle of national sovereignty at the heart of Lebanese diplomacy.”

Hezbollah fires four rockets at Karmiel area; 2 intercepted

Hezbollah fired a salvo of four rockets at the Karmiel area in northern Israel a short while ago.

According to the IDF, two rockets fired from Lebanon were intercepted while the other two were allowed to hit open areas.

There are no immediate reports of injuries.

Additionally, several drones launched by Hezbollah at the Galilee earlier were intercepted, the IDF says. The military lost contact with some drones, indicating they crashed somewhere. There were no reports of impacts in populated areas.

Legal advisers walk out of Knesset media bill panel after chair bars them from speaking

MK Galit Distel Atbaryan leads the Special Committee for the Communications Law at the Knesset, December 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A shouting match broke out in the Knesset’s special committee to advance the government’s controversial media overhaul bill earlier, when committee chair Likud MK Galit Distel-Atbaryan refused to allow the panel’s legal advisers to speak, prompting them to walk out and leading her to eject opposition lawmakers who protested her behavior.

After Distel-Atbaryan announced that she would not allow a debate scheduled this week to be dragged out or “filibustered,” she swiftly silenced the committee’s legal advisers when they attempted to speak.

“I have answered these questions again and again. From the moment we didn’t accept comments on the draft — which completely ignore our agenda, our worldview, and the position of the minister that was democratically elected — the committee’s legal advisers placed the council under the wing of the attorney general,” she said, accusing the legal advisers of effectively siding with the attorney general and purposely delaying proceedings because she refused to accept their recommendations.

The legislation would give the government significant control over broadcast media, news sites and other media by establishing a new regulatory council, with a majority of members chosen by the communications minister, that would have an array of authorities over broadcast media, including the ability to issue hefty fines.

It has drawn sharp opposition from both the committee’s professional legal staff and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who have warned that the current draft undermines press freedom and allows for political interference in media.

“Your opinions aren’t relevant here,” she said to the legal staff, accusing them of “acting against me and delaying the discussions.”

After being repeatedly silenced, a member of the committee’s legal advisory team said, “We see that there is no need for legal advisers here. We’re leaving,” and the team exited amid shouts from lawmakers.

Lawmakers demanded that the legal advisers be allowed to speak, prompting Distel-Atbaryan to eject nearly all opposition MKs, including Yesh Atid’s Shelly Tal Meron and Yorai Lahav-Hertzano, and Democrats MK Efrat Rayten.

“There is no need for [the legal advisors] to be here. Go ahead and convene a committee with yourselves,” Tal Meron said sarcastically.

Two Iranian-linked tankers exit Gulf via Hormuz ahead of US blockade, data shows

Two oil tankers linked to Iran exit the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz ahead of a planned US blockade on Iranian ports and coastal areas, shipping data from Kpler and LSEG shows.

The tanker Auroura is laden with Iranian oil products while the New Future tanker is carrying diesel loaded from the Hamriyah port in the United Arab Emirates, Kpler data shows.

Drone warning sirens sound in the Galilee

Sirens sound across the Galilee, warning of a Hezbollah drone attack from Lebanon.

The alerts are now activated in Acre.

Earlier, the IDF said it shot down several drones launched from Lebanon.

Iranian, Saudi FMs discuss Iran-US talks in Islamabad

The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia discussed Iran-US talks in Islamabad during a phone call, Iran’s foreign ministry says.

The phone call comes after weekend talks failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing ‌a fragile two-week ceasefire.

After Trump attack, pope says he will continue to speak out against war

Pope Leo XIV waves before boarding a flight to Algiers at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino International Airport, Monday, April 13, 2026, marking the start of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo says he plans to continue speaking out against war after US President Donald Trump’s direct attack on the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.

In comments aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where the first US-born pope is starting a 10-day tour to four African countries, the pontiff also says the Christian message is being “abused.”

“I don’t want to get into a debate with him,” Leo tells Reuters. “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.”

“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” he says.

“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” says Leo. “Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”

Macron confirms conference with UK to examine possible defensive naval mission for Hormuz

France and the United Kingdom will organize a conference in the coming days for countries seeking to establish a “strictly defensive” and “peaceful” mission aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran’s efforts to block it, French President Emmanuel Macron says in a post on X.

No effort must be spared to swiftly reach, through diplomatic means, a strong and lasting settlement to the conflict in the Middle East.

Such a settlement must provide the region with a robust framework enabling all to live in peace and security.…

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) April 13, 2026

“As regards the Strait of Hormuz, in the coming days, together with the United Kingdom, we will organize a conference with those countries prepared to contribute alongside us to a peaceful multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait,” writes Macron.

“This strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict, is intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit,” Macron adds.

Macron’s statement comes shortly after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain will not join the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz announced yesterday by US President Donald Trump.

The UK led a similar conference earlier this month, and British officials told news outlets in recent days that another round of talks would soon follow.

Facing criticism, Lapid says his party is only one that didn’t ‘abandon’ opposition

Yair Lapid talking on Zoom with members of his Yesh Atid party on April 12, 2026. (X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has called out opposition heads Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan, accusing them of abandoning the Knesset and leaving his party to fight against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition alone.

Speaking in a Zoom call with leaders of his Yesh Atid party last night, Lapid responded to internal criticism that the opposition he leads has been weak.

“Our answer is: Where is the opposition indeed? Why are we the only ones who didn’t flee?” Lapid said.

Naming them one by one, he said that Bennett, his former partner in their short-lived government, left before the previous elections and isn’t currently a member of the Knesset. Eisenkot, he noted, joined Netanyahu’s emergency wartime coalition at the start of the war in Gaza and then resigned from the Knesset over the Haredi draft evasion law “because he didn’t get along with Benny Gantz.” And Golan isn’t a member of the Knesset either.

“They are actually angry at those who stayed and fought instead of being angry at those who fled and disappeared,” he said.

“So with all due respect, we were there in all the struggles — on the regime coup, on finance matters, on the evasion law, in the committees, in the plenum. And if anyone has any complaints, they should direct them to those who abandoned the campaign,” Lapid added.

IDF destroys, captures Bint Jbeil stadium, site of Nasrallah’s infamous ‘spider web’ speech

Bint Jbeil stadium in southern Lebanon is seen in a drone image released by the IDF on April 13, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli military has captured Bint Jbeil’s ruined stadium, where in 2000, then-Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivered a victory speech following the IDF’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, during which he infamously described Israel as “weaker than a spider web.”

“Bint Jbeil 2000: Someone here spoke and boasted about webs and spiders,” says 98th Division commander Brig. Gen. Guy Levy in a missive to troops. “Today, that man no longer exists, the stadium is gone, and his words are worth nothing.

“Bint Jbeil 2026: Our forces control the area, destroying terror infrastructure and dozens of terrorists,” he says.

Berlin’s Merz says Iran war ‘is root cause’ of Germany’s current economic problems

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks to the media at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Germany will slash fuel taxes as households struggle with the energy shock from the Middle East war, while warning the conflict will have long-lasting economic consequences.

The announcement comes after oil prices surged again following the collapse of US-Iran peace talks and US President Donald Trump’s decision to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

Merz says the war “is the root cause of the problems we face in our own country,” and stresses Berlin is doing all it can to try to bring the conflict to an end.

Following talks between his CDU party and its coalition partners, Merz says his government has decided to cut the tax on petrol and diesel by around 17 euro cents ($0.19) for two months.

“This will very quickly improve the situation for drivers and businesses in the country, and above all for those who, mainly for professional reasons, spend a great deal of time on the road,” he tells a news conference in Berlin.

Fuel prices in Germany, like elsewhere, have jumped sharply since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran at the end of February.

“At the same time, we cannot offset every single outcome on the market with government funds… The state cannot absorb all uncertainties, not all risks, not all disruptions in global politics,” he says.

Merz warns the war’s effects were likely to be long-lasting. “The German economy will face a significant burden over an extended period,” he says.

Iran, US ‘sincere’ about ceasefire, Turkey’s foreign minister says

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Turkey’s top diplomat says he believes both Iran and the United States remain “sincere” about reaching a ceasefire despite the failure of Pakistan-mediated talks on the weekend.

“Both sides are sincere about the ceasefire,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says in an interview with the official Anadolu news agency. Fidan says he has been in contact with the parties involved in the negotiations.

Herzog, Sa’ar congratulate Hungary’s Magyar on victory; Netanyahu still silent

Peter Magyar, leader of the opposition Tisza party, waves the Hungarian flag following the announcement of the partial results of the parliamentary election, in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar congratulate Peter Magyar on his electoral victory in Hungary yesterday.

“We look forward with great confidence to deepening the friendship and historic relations between Israel and Hungary,” writes Herzog on X, “with the vibrant Hungarian Jewish community continuing to serve as a strong bridge between our two peoples.”

Herzog thanks outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban “for his friendship and longstanding support for Israel.”

“We look forward to continuing working together on further strengthening the good relations between our two countries and expanding our cooperation in different fields of mutual interests,” Sa’ar says, while also thanking Orban for his “steady support of Israel and Jewish life in challenging times.”

Orban, a close ally of both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, was defeated soundly in parliamentary elections by Magyar’s center-right party after 16 years in power.

Neither Netanyahu nor Trump has yet congratulated the victor.

Starmer says UK ‘not supporting’ US blockade of Hormuz strait

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says that Britain will not join the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz announced by US President Donald Trump.

“We are not supporting the blockade,” Starmer tells BBC radio, adding the UK “is not getting dragged in” to the war with Iran.

IDF says troops close to capturing Hezbollah stronghold Bint Jbeil; over 100 gunmen killed

Soldiers of the 98th Division operate in the southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil, in a handout photo issued by the military on April 13, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli military has nearly completed capturing the Hezbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, killing more than 100 members of the terror group in the area in the process, according to the IDF.

The operation in Bint Jbeil is being led by the 98th Division with its Paratroopers and Commando brigades, along with the Givati Infantry Brigade.

The IDF says it initially isolated and encircled the town to prevent Hezbollah from bringing in reinforcements or escaping.

At least 150 Hezbollah operatives, including members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, were estimated by the IDF to have been in the Bint Jbeil area ahead of the operation.

The 98th Division also carried out several commando operations as it worked to secure the town, a military official says.

“Over the past week, the forces completed the encirclement and launched an offensive in the town of Bint Jbeil,” the IDF says in a statement. “The troops eliminated more than 100 terrorists from the Hezbollah terror organization in close-quarters combat and from the air, destroyed dozens of terrorist infrastructures, and located hundreds of weapons in the area.”

Since the IDF began its offensive in Bint Jbeil, the military has not detected any attacks from the town on Israel. IDF troops have come under fire by Hezbollah from Bint Jbeil, though a military official says the rate is slowing.

The official says he estimates that it will likely take a few more days to complete the operations in Bint Jbeil, during which the division aims to kill the remaining few dozen operatives there and locate the terror group’s infrastructure.

Bint Jbeil is considered a Hezbollah symbol. In May 2000, after the IDF withdrew from southern Lebanon following an 18-year occupation, then-Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivered a victory speech in Bint Jbeil, where he infamously described Israel as “weaker than a spider web.”

During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, the IDF battled Hezbollah in the town but failed to capture it fully. 

After UNIFIL complaint, IDF says force in Lebanon did not coordinate activity

French UN peacekeepers patrol the Lebanese-Israeli border in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The IDF responds to claims made by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that the military harmed its “freedom of movement” in southern Lebanon and damaged its vehicles yesterday, saying that the observers arrived in an area unannounced.

“Yesterday, a UNIFIL convoy arrived without coordination in an area where IDF troops are operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon. After the convoy entered the area, IDF troops allowed it to pass,” the military says in response to a query.

The observer force said that Israeli troops “rammed UNIFIL vehicles with a Merkava tank, in one case causing significant damage.”

The IDF says that it is aware of the claim that “during the convoy’s passage, a minor collision occurred between one of the convoy’s vehicles and an IDF vehicle.”

“The IDF is operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, and not against UNIFIL forces or Lebanese civilians. The IDF calls on UNIFIL forces to avoid movement in the active combat zone and to continue coordinating movements in advance as customary, for their safety,” the military adds.

Iran’s armed forces say US restrictions on vessels in Hormuz ‘amounts to piracy’

An Iranian Armed Forces spokesperson says that a US restriction on vessels in international waters is illegal and “amounts to piracy,” and says Iran will decisively implement a “permanent mechanism” to control the Strait of Hormuz following US threats to blockade it.

He adds that Gulf ports must be accessible to all or none, adding that no port in the Gulf or Gulf of Oman would remain secure if Iranian ports were endangered.

Reports: Army fires tear gas at Palestinian students on their way to school

Palestinian media reports that soldiers fired tear gas at Palestinian students attempting to reach a school in Umm al-Kheir, in the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank.

According to the reports, settlers set up a roadblock in the area last night to prevent Palestinians from passing.

Preventing education in the village of Umm al-Khair: Last night, settlers accompanied by the security coordinator of the Carmel settlement blocked the road leading from the village to the school where all the village’s children study pic.twitter.com/eJSW7NJvTB

— מחוץ לעדר/ kivsa shchora (@masafering) April 13, 2026

The IDF says in response to a query from The Times of Israel that forces used crowd dispersal measures following a gathering of several Palestinians in the area; no injuries were reported. It does not comment on the allegations troops had attacked students trying to reach their school.

IDF footage shows demolition of Hezbollah tunnel in south Lebanon

The inside of a Hezbollah tunnel located by the IDF in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo published April 13, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF publishes footage showing the demolition of a Hezbollah tunnel in southern Lebanon.

Soldiers of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit scanned the underground passage before blowing it up, the military says.

The tunnel did not cross into Israeli territory.

צפו בתיעוד: לוחמי יחידת יהל"ם וחטיבה 7 השמידו תוואי תת-קרקעי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון

כוחות גדוד 13 בפיקוד צוות הקרב של חטיבה 7 ממשיכים לפעול בדרום לבנון.

במסגרת פעילות במרחב, כוחות הגדוד בשיתוף יחידת יהל"ם, השמידו תוואי תת-קרקעי ששימש את מחבלי ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה… pic.twitter.com/DvmFO4HaaY

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 13, 2026

Health Ministry: 104 people still hospitalized as result of Iran war

The Health Ministry says that since the beginning of the war on February 28, 7,693 people have been admitted to hospitals.

Of them, 104 are currently hospitalized. Two are in critical condition, 13 are in serious condition, 31 are in moderate condition, and 58 are in good condition. The casualty figures include soldiers and civilians.

The ministry does not give a breakdown of the causes of injuries. Some were indirect, such as people injured while trying to reach shelters, rather than as a direct result of missile fire.

US military set to begin blockade of Iranian ports today

The US military says it will begin a blockade of all Iranian ports today, after talks between the warring sides in Pakistan collapsed, with President Donald Trump blaming the Islamic Republic’s refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” US Central Command says in a statement, adding it will begin at 1400 GMT (5 p.m. in Israel).

US forces will not impede vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, it adds.

Trump, on his Truth Social platform, confirms the US military’s statement, a more limited operation than envisaged in an earlier post in which he asserted all ships trying to enter or exit the strait would be blocked.

Drone alert sirens sound in Metula area; IDF says incident over

Sirens sounded in the Metula area on the border with Lebanon a short time ago, amid concerns of a Hezbollah drone infiltration.

The IDF now says the incident has come to an end.

Iran executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, most since 1989 — NGOs

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest number since 1989, two NGOs say, warning it may use capital punishment even more extensively after protests in January and the war against Israel and the US.

The number of executions represented an increase of 68 percent on the 975 people Iran put to death in 2024, and also included 48 women who were hanged, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) say in their joint annual report.

If the Islamic Republic “survives the current crisis, there is a serious risk that executions will be used even more extensively as a tool of oppression and repression,” the report says.

IHR — which requires two sources to confirm an execution, the majority of which are not reported in Iranian official media — says that the figure represents an “absolute minimum” for the number of hangings in 2025.

The figure amounts to an average of more than four executions per day.

The report says the number of executions is by far the highest since IHR began tracking it in 2008, and is the most reported since 1989, in the earlier years of the Islamic Revolution.

The NGOs also warn that “hundreds of detained protesters remain at risk of death sentences and execution” after being charged with capital crimes over January 2026 protests against the authorities — quashed by a crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead and tens of thousands arrested.

Trump says he doesn’t care if Iran returns to talks: ‘If they don’t come back, I’m fine’

US President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival at the White House, April 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, United States — US President Donald Trump says he does not care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the United States after talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal.

“I don’t care if they come back or not. If they don’t come back, I’m fine,” Trump tells reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, upon his return from Florida.

The US military is set to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports on Monday at 10 a.m. ET.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Trump rails against ‘weak’ Pope Leo, claims pontiff ‘thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon’

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump issues a scathing attack on Pope Leo, calling him “weak” on crime and “terrible” for foreign policy after the religious leader criticized Trump’s foreign and immigration policies.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump writes in a lengthy post on Truth Social, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

He repeats that sentiment in comments to reporters, saying, “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”

Australian PM says he has not been asked by US to help with Hormuz blockade

US President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on October 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

SYDNEY, Australia — Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia had not received any request from the United States to help with its planned blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

“They have done that in a unilateral way, and we haven’t been asked to participate. We’ve received no requests that we haven’t agreed to,” Albanese tells Channel Nine.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday the US Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz from Monday, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war.

With majority of votes counted, Hungarian opposition wins 138 seats at election

Peter Magyar, the leader of the opposition Tisza party addresses supporters after claiming victory in a parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

BUDAPEST, Hungary — The party of conservative Peter Magyar won a two-thirds parliamentary majority in Sunday’s Hungarian elections in a clear defeat for nationalist long-time Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to near-complete results.

With 97.35 percent of precincts counted, Magyar’s Tisza party secured 138 seats in the 199-seat parliament on 53.6 percent of the vote, according to official election results.

Fidesz took 55 seats on 37.8 percent of the vote.

Trump weighing limited strikes on Iran after failed peace talks — WSJ

US President Donald Trump talks to the media on the South Lawn before departing on Marine One at the White House, April 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)

US President Donald Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a way to break a stalemate in peace talks, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing officials and people familiar with the matter.

Reuters cannot immediately verify the report.

Oil prices rise after US announcement it would blockade Iran’s ports

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rise in early market trading on Sunday after the US said it would blockade Iranian ports beginning on Monday.

The price of US crude oil rose 8 percent to $104.24 a barrel, and Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 7% to $102.29.

Brent crude has swung dramatically during the Iran war, rising from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times. On Friday, ahead of the peace talks, Brent for June delivery fell 0.8% to $95.20 per barrel.

Iran’s FM says Tehran approached talks with US in ‘good faith’ but was met with ‘maximalism’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran came to talks with the US “in good faith” but encountered maximalist demands that prevented a memorandum of understanding between the two sides.

“In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with U.S in good faith to end war,” he wrote on X.

“But when just inches away from “Islamabad MoU”, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade. Zero lessons earned Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.”

In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with U.S in good faith to end war.

But when just inches away from "Islamabad MoU", we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade.

Zero lessons earned

Good will begets good will.
Enmity begets enmity.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 12, 2026

Two soldiers moderately hurt by Hezbollah rocket fire in southern Lebanon on Sunday — IDF

Two soldiers of the 98th Division were moderately injured in a Hezbollah rocket attack in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the military says.

According to the IDF, the soldiers were injured by the shockwave from the rocket impact. Both were taken to a hospital and their families were notified, the military adds.