Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Monday’s events as they unfolded.
Netanyahu said looking into visiting Kibbutz Nir Oz after criticism for not coming
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking into the possibility of visiting Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza, which saw one in four members murdered or abducted on October 7, Channel 13 reports.
Netanyahu has been heavily criticized for failing to visit the kibbutz after members repeatedly urged him to come.
Lebanon’s PM visits Syrian president to discuss border demarcation and security
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, left, shakes hands with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria, April 14, 2025. (Lebanese Government press office via AP)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria today for talks with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.
“My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness,” Salam said in a statement on X.
At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.
The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.
During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.
Thousands of educators call to return hostages even at cost of ending war
Over 6,000 academics and education officials have signed petitions calling for returning hostages from Gaza even if it means an immediate end to the war, Haaretz reports.
Some 1,500 former armored corps soldiers have also signed a petition to that effect.
The latest petitions come after some 1,000 veterans of the Israeli Air Force published a letter last week demanding the return of the hostages in Gaza, even if it comes at the cost of ending the war against Hamas entirely. The military has moved to dismiss every active duty reservist who signed it, saying soldiers cannot use the “Israeli Air Force brand” to protest political matters.
Police find another trafficked monkey during raid in Kafr Qasim
A trafficked Guenon monkey found by police during a raid in Kafr Qasim on April 14, 2025. (Israel Police)
Police found another trafficked Guenon monkey during a raid on an office in Kafr Qasim earlier today.
Detectives and Border Police officers found the monkey locked in a cage, apparently abandoned, and handed it over to the Nature and Parks Authority for further treatment.
Police have been trying to track down members of a wildlife trafficking ring responsible for smuggling monkeys and lion cubs into Israel via Jordan and Egypt for over a month now.
Officers rescued the first trafficked monkey on March 5, and since then have tracked down a total of 32 monkeys in Israel. Last week, police found four monkeys within a 24-hour window.
A spokesperson for the Nature and Parks Authority calls the recent monkey findings the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the phenomenon of wildlife smuggling.
US immigration enforcement reportedly arrests another Columbia University protest leader
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement have reportedly arrested Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader.
Mahdawi was arrested after arriving at a citizenship center in Vermont, The Intercept reports.
ICE’s database appears to confirm Mahdawi’s detention.
The database says Mahdawi is in ICE custody, listing his birthplace as Jordan. Mahdawi was born in the West Bank, but the ICE database does not have a category for the Palestinian territories.
Several Columbia University anti-Israel activists have been targeted by the Trump administration, starting last month with protest leader Mahmoud Khalil.
Hamas rejected Egyptian proposal to disarm, under deal to end war — Al Jazeera
Hamas terrorists stand in formation ahead of a ceremony to hand over Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025. (AP Photo/ Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
Qatar’s Al Jazeera network reports, citing a senior Hamas official, that Egypt presented a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza to a Hamas delegation in recent days. The proposal included the release of half of the 59 hostages still in Gaza during the first week of a ceasefire, which would last a total of 45 days, with the remaining hostages — both living and dead — to be handed over on the 45th day.
It was further reported that the Egyptians told Hamas there would be no agreement to end the war without negotiations on disarming Hamas, and that this point was clearly included in the proposal. According to the source, Hamas responded that the issue of disarmament is not up for discussion at all, and that they would only enter into any agreement on the basis of ending the war, not on disarmament.
In recent hours, Arabic media outlets reported that the Hamas delegation, which had been in Cairo since Friday as part of the ceasefire negotiations, has left Egypt.
Trump: ‘I’ll solve the Iran problem. If we have to do something very harsh, we’ll do it’
US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025 (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
US President Donald Trump declares, “We’ve got a problem with Iran. I’ll solve that problem.”
“It’s almost an easy one,” he tells reporters in the Oval Office.
“Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump says.
“I want them to be a rich, great nation. The only thing is, one thing, simple, it’s really simple: They can’t have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve gotta go fast. Because they’re fairly close to having one. And they’re not going to have one.”
“And if we have to do something very harsh, we’ll do it,” he adds. “And I’m not doing it for us. I’m doing it for the world. These are radicalized people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
He is asked, regarding his reference to something harsh, “Does that include a potential strike on Iranian nuclear facilities?” And he answers: “Of course it does.”
Trump also says of Iran: “I think they’re tapping us along because they were so used to dealing with stupid people in this country.”
It appears Trump means that Tehran is stringing the US along.
.@POTUS: "Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon… I think they're tapping us along because they were so used to dealing with stupid people in this country." pic.twitter.com/tfMQXo1GGu
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 14, 2025
Shin Bet, Justice Ministry said probing new affair related to national security
The Shin Bet and the Justice Ministry’s Department of Internal Police Investigations are looking into a new affair related to national security, according to multiple reports in Hebrew media.
A sweeping gag order has been placed on details of the case, which according to Ynet, Channel 12, and others is related to an event that took place during the war.
IDF denies army chief told politicians military can’t carry out their ‘ambitions’ in Gaza
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meets with troops in the southern Gaza Strip on April 8, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF denies a report by the Ynet news site claiming that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir recently told political officials that the military does not have enough forces to carry out the government’s “ambitions” in the Gaza Strip.
“The report on the chief of staff’s supposed position presented to the political echelon, referring to what was said in a closed operational discussion, is distorted and does not reflect the facts as they are,” the military says.
In the report, a senior defense official is quoted by Ynet as saying, “Zamir is not sugarcoating the facts. He’s telling the leadership to abandon some of their fantasies.”
Hostage’s mother: PM told me Israel knows where captives are, is keeping distance
Ruhama Bohbot, mother of hostage Elkana Bohbot, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told her “with full confidence” that Israel knows where the hostages are located.
Bohbot tells Army Radio that the premier stated Israeli forces are staying away from those areas, so as not to endanger the captives.
IDF says it’s probing troops’ entry into Jenin hospital without proper approval
IDF troops entered a hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin without proper approval earlier today, the military says.
The incident began after troops of the Kfir Brigade chased after a Palestinian teenager who allegedly filmed them in the Jenin refugee camp.
The suspect ran to the Jenin Government Hospital, where the soldiers detained him. He was freed a short while later.
The IDF says it has launched an investigation into the incident.
Operating at sensitive sites, such as hospitals, typically requires the approval of senior officers.
قوات الاحتلال تنسحب من داخل مستشفى جنين الحكومي وتعتقل فتى بعد ان قام بتصوير الموجودين pic.twitter.com/Rj88EX1suM
— خبرني – khaberni (@khaberni) April 14, 2025
Suspect in arson at Pennsylvania gov’s home says he planned to attack Shapiro with hammer
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pauses during a news conference at the governor's official residence discussing the alleged arson that forced him, his family and guests to flee in the middle of the night on the Jewish holiday of Passover, Sunday, Apr. 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)
A man who authorities say scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police, and broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion where he set a fire told police he planned to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he found him, according to court documents.
Cody Balmer is in police custody at a hospital after an unrelated medical event, state police say.
The fire left significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests to evacuate the building early Sunday. Balmer, who was arrested later in the day, faces charges including attempted homicide, terrorism, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault, authorities say.
Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover at the residence on Saturday and were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors at about 2 a.m. Sunday. They fled, and firefighters extinguished the fire, officials said. No one was injured.
Macron urges ‘reform’ of Palestinian Authority for post-war Gaza plan
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech in front of humanitarian aid destined to Gaza, at the Egyptian Red Crescent warehouse in el-Arish in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, on April 8, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP)
France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Monday calls for “reform” of the Palestinian Authority as part of a plan that would see the West Bank-based body govern a post-war Gaza without Hamas.
“It is essential to set a framework for the day after: disarm and sideline Hamas, define credible governance, and reform the Palestinian Authority,” Macron says on X, following a phone call with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel has right to self-defense but current actions not proportionate — EU top diplomat
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas holds a press conference during the EU's foreign affairs council at the EU headquarters in Brussels on February 24, 2025. (JOHN THYS / AFP)
Israel has the right to defend itself, but its current actions go beyond proportionate self-defense, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, tells reporters.
Earlier today, Kallas said Europe was stepping up its support for the Palestinians, with a plan to provide €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) until 2027 to “help stabilize the West Bank and Gaza.”
“The EU will invest in essential infrastructure while delivering humanitarian aid and support for refugees, she said on X.
Stocks rally worldwide after Trump eases some tariffs on electronics, for now
File: The New York Stock Exchange is seen in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Stocks are rallying worldwide after US President Donald Trump relaxed some of his tariffs, for now at least.
The S&P 500 is 1.5% higher in early trading. It’s coming off a chaotic week where it careened through historic swings as financial markets struggled to catch up with Trump’s moves on tariffs, which investors fear could lead to a recession if not reduced.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 441 points, or 1.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite is 2% higher.
Apple, Nvidia and other big technology companies lead the way on Wall Street after Trump said he was exempting smartphones, computers and some other electronics from some of his stiff tariffs, which could ultimately more than double prices for US customers of many goods coming from China. Such an exemption should help US importers, which would not have to choose between passing on the higher costs to their customers or taking a hit to their own profits.
Apple climbs 5.3%, Nvidia rises 2.3%, and Dell Technologies jumps 5.9%.
Stock markets in other countries likewise bounce following the cooldown in Trump’s trade war with China, the world’s second-largest economy. Indexes climb 2.4% in France, 2.7% in Germany, 1.2% in Japan and 1% in South Korea.
But the relief may prove fleeting. Trump’s tariff rollout broadly has been full of fits and starts, and officials in his administration said this most recent exemption on electronics is only temporary.
Macron, PA president agree on ‘urgent’ need for Gaza truce
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron call for an “urgent” ceasefire in Gaza during a phone conversation, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
“They emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire, the acceleration of humanitarian aid delivery, the rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land and the Palestinian Authority assuming responsibility in the Gaza Strip,” the agency reports.
Einav Zangauker says if Edan Alexander goes free, her son Matan must go free, too
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on January 25, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
In a video addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, says, “My son Matan has been held in a tunnel together with the soldier who holds American citizenship, Edan Alexander, who is expected to be released first in any deal. According to medical information in my possession, Matan was kidnapped while likely suffering from a form of muscular dystrophy that affects most of our family members. Due to the harsh conditions of captivity and the stress he is under, we know his condition has deteriorated.”
She says Matan is “shackled in heavy chains, unable even to stand up in the tunnel that is lower than his height. He is going through a holocaust. There is serious concern for Matan’s well-being if he remains alone in the tunnel. The isolation will lead to further deterioration and will be a death sentence for Matan.”
Zangauker demands that “if there is a deal in which Edan is released, then Matan — who is held with him — must also be released. Matan will not survive alone, and he must be brought out. He is the most humanitarian case among the hostages. If Matan is abandoned to die alone in the tunnel, all of Israel will know that the prime minister deliberately chose to hand down a death sentence on a citizen who was kidnapped from his home in his pajamas — purely out of personal vengeance against his family.”
A year later, USAF video shows pilots who helped fight off Iran’s assault on Israel
On the first anniversary of Iran’s first missile and drone attack on Israel on April 13-14, 2024, the US Air Force shares a video of its pilots’ actions that day as they assisted Israel in fighting off the massive assault, with snippets of interviews with airmen on their experiences.
“One year ago today, Iran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel, USAF Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin says. “Our aviators risked everything to stop it. These heroes will never know how many innocent lives they saved that night. Hear the story from those who lived it. Damn proud of these patriots!”
One year ago today, Iran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel. Our aviators risked everything to stop it. These heroes will never know how many innocent lives they saved that night. Hear the story from those who lived it. Damn proud of these patriots! pic.twitter.com/ekiXHhRmAS
— General David Allvin (@OfficialCSAF) April 13, 2025
Suspect in arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence planned to beat him with hammer
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pauses during a news conference at the governor's official residence discussing the alleged arson that forced him, his family and guests to flee in the middle of the night on Passover, Apr. 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (AP/Marc Levy)
A man who authorities said scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion where he set a fire had planned to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a hammer if he found him, according to court documents released today.
The fire left significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests to evacuate the building early Sunday. The man, arrested later in the day, faces charges including attempted homicide, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault, authorities say.
In court documents, authorities say Cody Balmer told them after he was taken into custody that he would have beaten Shapiro with a hammer if he had found him. Balmer had walked an hour from his home to the governor’s residence, documents say.
Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover at the residence on Saturday and were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors at about 2 a.m. Sunday. They fled, and firefighters extinguished the fire, officials said. No one was injured.
At a Sunday evening news conference in front of the badly damaged south wing of the governor’s residence, Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris identified the man in custody as Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg.
Authorities did not say whether Balmer has a lawyer or where he was being held, and calls to people believed to be relatives went unanswered or unreturned. One recently listed residence in Harrisburg was condemned in 2022.
Hamas asks for more time to respond to latest truce proposal
Hamas's Khalil al-Hayya during an interview in Istanbul, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
Hamas has asked for more time to respond to the latest hostage-truce proposal, an Egyptian source tells Reuters.
Sources say a Hamas delegation led by the group’s Gaza Chief Khalil Al-Hayya has rejected an effort to restore the previous ceasefire agreement, saying that any agreement must lead to an end to the war in Gaza.
However, Hamas has shown some flexibility over how many hostages it could free in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel should a truce be extended, but asked for more time to consider the offer.
“Hamas has no problem, but it wants guarantees Israel agrees to begin the talks on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement” leading to an end to the war, the Egyptian source said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told hostage families that Israel was working on a deal to have 10 hostages freed in exchange for extending a truce.
Italy confirms it will host next round of US-Iran nuclear talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, pictured in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025; Steve Witkoff, right, White House special envoy, pictured in Washington, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photos Stringer, Mark Schiefelbein)
A second round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran will be held in Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is quoted as saying by the country’s main news agency ANSA.
Iran and the US said they held “positive” and “constructive” talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene this week.
“We received a request from the interested parties and from Oman, which is playing the role of mediator, and we have given a positive response,” Tajani is quoted by ANSA as saying at the World Expo exhibition in the Japanese city of Osaka.
Rome has often hosted these type of talks, Tajani says, and is “prepared to do everything it takes to support all negotiations that can lead to a resolution of the nuclear issue, and to building peace.”
Earlier, the US news agency Axios, citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, reported that the second round of the US-Iranian talks would be held in Rome on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump, who has threatened military action if no deal is reached on halting Iran’s nuclear program, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he met with advisers on Iran and expected a quick decision. He gave no further details.
The previous day, he had told reporters that the Iran situation was “going pretty good, I think.”
Hamas says will free all hostages if end to Gaza war guaranteed
Hamas terrorists stand in formation ahead of a ceremony to hand over Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025. (AP Photo/ Abdel Kareem Hana, File)
A senior Hamas official says that the Palestinian terror group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a “serious prisoner swap” and guarantees that Israel will end the war in Gaza.
Hamas is engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar — two nations working alongside the United States to broker a ceasefire.
“We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, tells AFP.
However, he accuses Israel of obstructing progress toward a ceasefire.
“The issue is not the number of captives,” Nunu says, “but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war.”
“Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation [Israel] to uphold the agreement,” he adds.
Reports today say that a new proposal had been put to Hamas.
Under the deal, the group would release 10 living hostages in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Grossi due in Tehran on Wednesday
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi during a meeting with the Japanese government in Tokyo, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)
United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will visit Tehran on Wednesday, deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Hostages and Missing Families Forum urges PM to reach deal for all hostages, not just 10
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza and supporters protest for the release of hostages, outside the home of Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, in Jerusalem, on April 13, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Responding to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling the parents of a hostage that he is working on a deal that would see 10 live hostages freed, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urges him to reach an agreement that would see all the remaining hostages freed.
“While the families wait hopefully and would welcome the release of any hostage from Hamas captivity, we continue to call for a comprehensive deal that will return ALL hostages immediately,” the Forum says in a statement.
“Every additional day in captivity endangers the lives of those still being held by Hamas terrorists, who are subjecting them to horrific conditions including starvation, physical abuse, and confinement in darkness,” the Forum says.
“We urge the obvious, possible, and appropriate solution: end the war and return all the hostages, the living and the dead, immediately,” it says.
Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, only 24 of whom are still believed to be alive.
Police say officer was lightly wounded in West Bank car-ramming incident
Police say an officer was lightly wounded in this morning’s car-ramming incident in the southern West Bank.
Members of the Yasam patrol unit were carrying out an operation “against criminals and terrorists” in ad-Dhahiriya when they spotted a suspected stolen car.
The officers called on the suspect to stop, and he refused. The driver fled, during which he hit one of the Yasam officers, lightly wounding him, police say.
The IDF and police have encircled ad-Dhahiriya during a pursuit after the suspect.
Police do not describe the incident as a terror attack.
Military says it hit over 35 targets in Gaza strikes
Palestinians gather around a large crater following an Israeli strike in the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City on April 13, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Over 35 targets were struck by the Israeli Air Force across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military says.
The IDF says the targets included a weapons manufacturing site in central Gaza and a primed rocket launching site.
In northern Gaza, troops of the 252nd Division directed an airstrike on a cell of operatives planning to ambush the forces, the IDF says.
Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, troops of the Gaza Division located and demolished a Hamas tunnel. The IDF says the tunnel, in Rafah’s Shaboura camp, was hundreds of meters long and some 20 meters deep. It was used as a meeting point for Hamas operatives and connected to other underground passages, the military adds.
Nearby, the IDF says the Gaza Division troops located a cache of weapons Hamas had hidden in a former school.
In the Morag Corridor area, between Rafah and Khan Younis, the military says the 36th Division found a cache of weapons and several tunnel shafts.
Demonstrators spark outrage with pita bread protest outside home of minister on Passover
A protest made out of pita bread outside the house of Environment Minister Idit Silman on the festival of Passover on April 14, 2025 (Idit Silman/X)
Anti-government demonstrators spark outrage when they form a sign made of pita bread outside the home of Environment Minister Idit Silman. The incident comes on the festival of Passover, when it is forbidden for observant Jews to eat leavened bread.
The demonstrators spell out the word “one pita a day,” with the pitas, a reference to the meagre rations that hostages reported receiving in Gaza.
Silman helped bring down the government of former prime minister Naftali Bennett, when she resigned as an MK, citing in part the issue of leavened goods, or hametz, in public spaces during the Passover holiday.
She later joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party where she was rewarded with a post of minister.
Silman slams the demonstrators, calling them scum.
“Passover. A street where most people are religious and traditional. These scum come to scatter pitas on the street,” she posts on X with a picture of the offending protest.
“It’s not for the sake of the hostages. It’s not for democracy. It’s not even for politics,” she says. “It’s just because they are disgusting types, who have no basic human values. No concern for others, no respect for Judaism, and no civility. Absolute nothings.”
Other ministers also condemn the incident.
“The despicable display by provocateurs the home of Minister Idit Silman deserves to be denounced and and condemned by all national leaders,” says Interior Minister Moshe Arbel of the Shas party.
“It does not represent the families of the hostages. It is a provocation that wastes food, desecrates the sanctity of Passover, and does not inspire any solidarity. The entire nation despises you,” he says.
Aliza Magen, first female deputy director of the Mossad spy agency, dies at 88
Aliza Magen, the first and only female deputy director of the Mossad spy agency, has died at age 88, the Prime Minister’s Office announces on behalf of the intelligence agency.
Magen, a Jerusalem native, joined the Mossad in her twenties and became one of its most influential figures. She served in numerous senior roles in Israel and abroad, and her final post was deputy to three different Mossad chiefs.
Described in the statement as a respected and dedicated trailblazer of the organization, Magen was involved in hundreds of intelligence operations over the course of her career.
In the statement, Mossad director David Barnea, along with Mossad staff and retirees, expresses deep sorrow over her passing and salutes her lifelong dedication to Israel’s security.
“Aliza Magen was one of the pillars of the Mossad, leaving a lasting mark on generations of Mossad employees who were trained according to her legacy and values,” the statement reads.
עליזה מגן, האישה שהגיעה לדרגה הכי גבוהה במוסד, הלכה לעולמה: "מפקדת מוערכת ופורצת דרך"https://t.co/MkB9w39tzv pic.twitter.com/VHX8ZMM7Fe
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) April 14, 2025
Suspect in West Bank car-ramming said to be car thief fleeing police; IDF carrying out searches
A Palestinian who is suspected of carrying out a car-ramming attack in the southern West Bank was apparently driving a stolen vehicle, according to Hebrew-language media.
The suspect was trying to flee from police near ad-Dhahiriya and hit one person, lightly wounding them.
The suspect fled toward the Palestinian town, and the IDF is now searching for him.
Two suspects to be charged with leaving gift-wrapped grenade at door of local politician
A gift-wrapped hand grenade that was placed at the doorstep of Merom HaGalil Regional Council chairman Amit Sofer on March 4, 2025. (Israel Police)
Prosecutors in the State Attorney’s Office will file an indictment against two people suspected of leaving a gift-wrapped hand grenade on the doorstep of a local politician in northern Israel.
The son of Merom HaGalil Regional Council chairman Amit Sofer found the explosive, accompanied by a threatening note, upon returning home from school last month in the northern town of Bar Yohai.
The note read: “Congratulations, we will visit your office as soon as possible.”
Police arrested two suspects earlier this month, a 24-year-old Nof HaGalil resident and a 16-year-old.
The two apparently drove to Nazareth by motorbike after dropping off the explosive.
One of them was apprehended in Eilat while crossing the border into Egypt, a law enforcement spokesman says.
Police claim the threat was an attempt to influence Sofer’s decision-making as head of Merom HaGalil’s planning and building council.
Sofer was reelected to serve a second term as regional council head in February.
Police intend to request that the suspects remain in custody until the end of proceedings in the Nazareth District Court.
One person said lightly wounded in suspected West Bank car-ramming attack
The IDF says it has received reports of a car-ramming attack at the ad-Dhahiriya Junction in the southern West Bank.
“The details are under review,” the army adds.
The Rescuers Without Borders emergency service says one person is very slightly wounded in the incident and is being treated at the scene.
Iran foreign minister travelling to Moscow for discussions on US nuclear talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, meets his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi prior to negotiations with US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat, Oman, April 12, 2025. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to visit Moscow this week to discuss recent nuclear negotiations with the United States held in Oman, the foreign ministry spokesman says.
“Dr Araghchi will travel to Moscow at the end of the week,” says spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, adding that the trip was “pre-planned” and would be “an opportunity to discuss the latest developments related to the Muscat talks.”
EU ministers adopt Iran sanctions over state-sponsored hostage-taking
European Union foreign ministers adopt sanctions against seven Iranian individuals and two organizations over the detention of EU citizens, which the bloc calls a policy of state-sponsored hostage-taking, diplomats said.
A list of those sanctioned, seen by Reuters, included the director of Tehran’s Evin prison and several judges and other judicial officials. The main prison in the city of Shiraz was among the organizations sanctioned.
Lapid says Israel must insist that US nuclear deal with Saudis not allow enrichment in kingdom
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on March 31, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Opposition leader Yair Lapid says that Israel must demand from the US that any nuclear deal signed with Saudi Arabia bar them from enriching uranium on Saudi soil.
“Israel must demand from the US, our closest friend, that any nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia explicitly prohibits uranium enrichment on Saudi soil,” Lapid writes in a post on X.
Lapid says that was the stance Israel took when he was in government. “I expressed to the US administration our firm opposition to any attempt to allow uranium enrichment in the Middle East. This is how it should be done now.”
His comments come a day after US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters in the Saudi capital Riyadh that the US and Saudi Arabia will sign a preliminary agreement to cooperate over the kingdom’s ambitions to develop a civil nuclear industry.
Netanyahu tells parents of hostage that Israel is working on deal to free 10 captives
Tzvika Mor in an undated photo with his son Eitan, who is being held captive by Hamas in Gaza. (Courtesy)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the parents of hostage Eitan Mor that the government is working on a deal that would see 10 of the remaining captives released, according to the Tikva Forum.
Netanyahu called Mor’s parents last night to update them on efforts to secure a deal to release the hostages.
Mor’s father Zvika is a co-founder of the Tikva Forum, a right-wing alternative to the main hostage advocacy group.
Talks have reportedly been deadlocked over Israel’s demand that the terror group free 11 of the hostages in exchange for an extended ceasefire, while Hamas has offered to release five. According to reports over the weekend, in its latest proposal, Israel has expressed readiness to lower the number of hostages released.
The Tikva Forum statement indicates that Israel is now demanding 10 hostages. A Hamas official quoted by Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen also said the group was looking at an Israeli proposal for a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for 10 hostages.
“Tzvika and Efrat Mor emphasized to the prime minister the position of the Tikva Forum that all the hostages need to be released in one phase on the same bus, without selection between them,” the forum says.
Eitan Mor, 23, was a security guard at the Nova rave music festival when he was captured.
Hamas continues to hold 59 hostages, only 24 of whom are still believed to be alive.
Graduates of elite IDF academy latest to sign letter calling for end to war
Graduates of the IDF’s prestigious Talpiot program are adding their voices to growing calls for the immediate return of Israeli hostages, even if it requires halting the war in Gaza.
In a newly published letter, Talpiot graduates say they support the recent protest by Israeli Air Force reservists and denounce the government’s war policy as serving “political and personal interests” rather than security needs.
“The continuation of the war does not contribute to any of its stated goals,” the letter states, warning it will only lead to more deaths — including hostages, IDF soldiers, and innocent civilians — and the erosion of Israel’s reserve forces. The signatories urge the public to demand action and condemn efforts to silence dissenting voices.
This is not the first time Talpiot graduates have taken a public stance. In July 2023, hundreds signed a letter refusing voluntary reserve duty in protest of the government’s proposed judicial overhaul.
Talpiot is an elite IDF training program for soldiers who have demonstrated academic excellence in the sciences. The soldiers pursue academic degrees in physics, math, or computer science while serving in the IDF.
US-Iran nuclear talks must conform with European security interests, says French foreign minister
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the annual conference of French ambassadors at the International Conference Centre of the French Foreign Affairs ministry in Paris on January 6, 2025. (Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
France, Britain and Germany will be vigilant regarding nuclear discussions between the United States and Iran to ensure they conform with European interests, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot says.
“We will be vigilant, along with our British and German friends and partners, to ensure that any (US-Iran) negotiations that may take place comply with our security interests with regard to Iran’s nuclear program,” Barrot says as he arrived for an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg.
1,600 ex-paratroopers, infantry said to sign latest letter calling to bring back hostages, end war
Paratroopers make their way down to earth during a parachuting exercise in central Israel on February 19, 2014. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit/Flickr)
Over 1,600 former IDF paratroopers and infantry soldiers have signed a letter demanding the government reach a deal to bring the hostages home, even if it means ending the war, according to a Ynet report.
The letter states: “We, the fighters and commanders of the paratroopers and infantry units, whose flag bears the words: ‘We do not leave wounded behind on the battlefield,’ call for the return of the hostages, even at the cost of halting the fighting. This is a call to save lives.”
This latest appeal adds to a growing wave of public pressure to end the ongoing war, following similar letters from IDF reservist doctors, former 8200 intelligence unit members, ex-Mossad members, navy reservists, and reservist air force personnel.
Report: Hamas said willing to free a larger number of hostages under emerging deal
Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza and supporters protest for the release of hostages, outside the home of Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, in Jerusalem, on April 13, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The Saudi Al-Arabiya channel reports that Hamas is willing to release a greater number of hostages under a new truce proposal.
Talks have reportedly been deadlocked over Israel’s demand that the terror group free 11 of the hostages in exchange for an extended ceasefire after Hamas offered to release five.
The Al-Arabiya report, citing unnamed sources, says that the drafting of the new deal is in its final stages and that Hamas has given an initial agreement to raise the number of hostages to be freed.
The report also says that the US has told Hamas it will pressure Israel into entering talks to end the war.
EU to boost financial support for Palestinian Authority
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a conference at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
The European Union will increase its financial support for the Palestinian Authority with a three-year package worth around 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion), the European Commissioner responsible for the Middle East tells Reuters in an interview.
Dubravka Suica, the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, says the financial support would go hand in hand with reforms of the Palestinian Authority, which has been accused by critics of corruption and bad governance.
Shin Bet chief Bar said planning to resign in next few weeks
Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, attends a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel's wars and victims of attacks, at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery, May 13, 2024. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/ Pool via REUTERS/ File)
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar intends to resign in the next few weeks, Channel 12 reports, citing several conversations Bar has had with associates in recent days.
The report comes after the High Court of Justice last week issued an interim injunction stating that Bar must remain in office until further notice and giving the government and the attorney general until April 20 to reach a compromise over the legal dispute surrounding the unprecedented vote initiated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month to fire him.
However, Channel 12 reports that Bar intends to resign, believing that the ongoing struggles are causing great damage to the Shin Bet.
Bar is set to submit a brief to the court next week, and it is expected that he will detail his intentions and the date of his resignation in the letter, the report says.
Netanyahu moved to fire Bar in March, saying that he had lost faith in him.
The move marked the first time in Israeli history that the government has fired the head of the domestic security agency.
However, opponents of the move charge that Netanyahu had a clear conflict of interest in removing Bar from office, given the Shin Bet’s ongoing investigation into close aides to the premier who are alleged to have conducted PR work for Qatar while working for him.
Critics more broadly accuse Netanyahu of seeking to scapegoat Bar for the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel while shirking responsibility himself.
Trump says he expects to make a decision on Iran ‘very quickly’
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One, during the flight from Palm Beach to Joint Base Andrews, as he returns to the White House in Washington, DC, April 13, 2025. (Mandel NGAN / AFP)
Asked about direct US talks with Iran on its nuclear program, US President Donald Trump tells reporters that he expects a decision to be made soon.
“We’ll be making a decision on Iran very quickly,” Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One on his way from Florida back to the White House.
His comments came a day after talks were held in Oman which included a conversation between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the highest-level Iran-US nuclear negotiations since the collapse of a 2015 accord.
Suspected US airstrikes kill at least 6 people in Yemen, Houthi rebels say
Suspected US airstrikes around Yemen’s rebel-held capital killed at least six people and wounded 30 overnight, the Houthis say.
Footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel shows firefighters spraying water on a raging fire they described as being sparked by the airstrikes. Rubble littered a street as rescuers carried one person away from the site, which the rebels claim was a ceramics factory in the Bani Matar neighborhood of Sanaa, the capital.
The US military’s Central Command, which oversees American military operations, did not acknowledge the strikes. That follows a pattern for the command, which now has authorization from the White House to conduct strikes at will in the campaign that began March 15.
The American military also hasn’t been providing any information on targets hit. The White House has said over 200 strikes have been conducted so far.
Next round of US-Iran nuclear talks slated to be held in Rome — report
A view of the St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican and Rome's skyline, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP/Andrew Medichini)
A second round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran is expected to take place on Saturday in Rome, the Axios news site reports, citing two sources with knowledge of the issue.
An Israeli official told the news site that US envoy Steve Witkoff briefed Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on the talks, which Israel is wary of supporting.
According to the report, the Trump administration emerged satisfied from the first round of talks in Oman this weekend, which marked the highest-level dialogue between US and Iranian officials in eight years.
The Iranian foreign ministry said earlier today that the next round of talks will remain “indirect,” although Axios reported that Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke Saturday for around 45 minutes, much longer than publicly revealed, and that the White House wants to continue such direct dialogue.
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