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The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they unfolded.
Lebanese president outlines plan to disarm Hezbollah, says IDF harming process
Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (Lebanese Parliament/AFP)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says all weapons in Lebanon must come under exclusive state control in 2025, and describes his plan to do so through direct coordination with Hezbollah in an interview with the Qatari-backed New Arab outlet.
“The decision has been made to place all weapons under the state,” says Aoun, adding, “The execution will happen through dialogue, which I believe must be bilateral between the presidency and Hezbollah.”
Aoun is committed to avoiding internal conflict while pursuing the agenda, which could greatly weaken Hezbollah’s longstanding military and political power in the country, saying he recently told US deputy Mideast envoy Morgan Ortagus, “We want to remove Hezbollah’s weapons, but we will not ignite a civil war in Lebanon.”
The president addresses growing success in asserting the authority of the Lebanese military over the Iran-backed Shiite militia, saying “We have reached the point where the [Lebanese] army is carrying out its missions—south of the Litani, north of the Litani, and even in the Bekaa—without any obstruction from Hezbollah.”
Aoun suggests Hezbollah members could be integrated into the Lebanese army, while also pushing back against US pressure on Lebanon to suppress Hezbollah, urging Washington to shift their focus onto Israel.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace Morgan Ortagus, center, and US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. Johnson at the presidential palace in Baabda, in east of Beirut, Lebanon, April 5, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
“I told Ortagus that Israel’s presence in the five disputed points gives Hezbollah a pretext to keep its weapons,” says Aoun, referring to five strategic points where IDF troops have remained in Lebanon since a November ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Israel says these positions are crucial for protecting Israel’s northern residents amid ongoing conflict with the terror group.
Auon rejects the possibility for normalization with Israel in the near future, saying “The Americans know there can be no negotiations with Israel at this stage.”
According to The New Arab, Auon also says that French President Emmanuel Macron has offered to assist Lebanon and Syria in efforts to demarcate their land border, including the Shebaa Farms area, a major flashpoint of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
While the disputed area, a key strategic vantage point for military forces, has been under Israeli control since the IDF captured it from Syria in the Six Day War, Macron offered to assist negotiations “by providing French archival records that affirm Shebaa Farms’s Lebanese identity.”
In lesser known intel leak, Shin Bet agent said on trial for almost scuttling hostage rescue op
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan raises his hands in celebration as he is escorted from an IDF helicopter on arrival at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Against the backdrop of the investigation into a Shin Bet agent who leaked classified intelligence, Channel 12 reports on another such incident that took place in the agency, which led to the arrest of a different employee.
The latter employee is suspected of having shared with two of her relatives the details of the IDF’s planned operation to rescue four Israeli hostages from Gaza in June of last year.
That information made its way onto a small Telegram channel several hours before the operation to rescue Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41 was carried out.
The group was small, so the information did not reach Hamas or the wider Israeli public before the operation went ahead.
After the security establishment got wind of the leak, the Shin Bet worker was arrested and barred from meeting with a lawyer for four days. She was indicted and remains under house arrest, as her trial is ongoing.
Report: Autopsies reveal some of medics killed by IDF in ambulance incident were shot in the head
Paramedics transport out of an ambulance some of the bodies of Palestinian first responders, who were killed a week before in Israeli military fire on ambulances, into Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 30, 2025. (AFP)
Some of the Gaza medics killed by Israeli troops last month in an incident now being probed by the IDF were shot in the head and chest, autopsy reports obtained by The New York Times reveal.
The autopsies were performed earlier this month by the head of the forensic medicine unit in the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, and they were reviewed by a forensic pathologist in Norway, NYT said.
The autopsies said that the slain 14 men were all wearing their Palestine Red Crescent or civil defense uniforms in part or in whole at the time of the incident.
Eleven of the men had gunshot wounds, including six who were shot in their chests or backs and four who were shot in the head, according to The Times, which said that most of the victims were shot multiple times.
One man had several shrapnel wounds and two others had injuries potentially related to an explosion, the autopsies said, adding that several bodies were missing limbs or body parts, with one man’s body severed from the pelvis down.
The bodies had decomposed after being buried by Israeli troops, so pathologists were unable to definitively determine whether they were shot at close range or whether their hands had been tied beforehand, as a Red Crescent spokesperson has asserted.
The IDF acknowledged earlier this month that it had initially given a false account of the incident in southern Gaza’s Rafah.
The army still asserted that at least six of those killed had been posthumously identified as Hamas operatives, denied that any of those killed had been executed, and said troops had not attempted to hide the incident but rather had informed the UN of the location of the grave they had buried the medics in.
After the incident came to light, the military had initially said the vehicles were without headlights or emergency lights, were uncoordinated, and arrived on the scene shortly after a group of terror operatives. As such, the IDF said soldiers deemed them “suspicious” and opened fire.
The New York Times subsequently published a video that appeared to show the emergency vehicles were clearly marked and had their emergency lights on when the IDF opened fire.
Palestinians have accused Israeli forces of attempting to cover up the incident by burying the bodies in a mass grave.
Rubio discusses situation in West Bank and Gaza with visiting Jordanian PM
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met earlier today with Jordanian Prime Minister and Defense Minister Jafar Hassan.
The pair “discussed opportunities to expand economic cooperation and increase investments between the United States and Jordan,” a US readout with little substantive information says.
“They also discussed the situation in Gaza and the West Bank,” the State Department adds, noting that Rubio thanked Hassan for “Jordan’s cooperation with the US in advancing regional security.”
Highly appreciative of the commitment and support of @SecRubio and the United States of America for Jordan’s security, economic modernization vision and development programs.
The friendship between our two countries is based on our long-shared principles and common interests in… pic.twitter.com/Tu0UYI8Lhq
— جعفر حسّان (@JafarHassan) April 15, 2025
UK maritime agency reports incident east of Yemen’s Aden for first time in months
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says that it has received a report of an incident 100 nautical miles east of Yemen’s Aden, the first report by the agency in the area in months.
Labor MK pens letter to Pennsylvania governor to express solidarity after Passover arson attack
Labor MK Gilad Kariv leads an Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem on March 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Labor MK Gilad Kariv pens a letter to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to express his solidarity with the fellow Jewish lawmaker after his residence was targeted in an arson attack on the first night of Passover.
“Passover, which commemorates the Jewish people’s liberation and the triumph of spirit over oppression, serves as a powerful reminder of our mutual responsibility to stand firm against any attempt to harm Jewish life — whether on an individual or communal level,” writes Kariv, who serves as chairman of the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee.
“The attack on your home, which could have ended in tragedy, was not only an assault on a public servant — it was an assault on the values of freedom, tolerance, and religious faith,” Kariv adds.
Edan Alexander’s father to PM: How do you plan on freeing hostages without ending war?
Adi Alexander, father of Hamas hostage Edan Alexander, speaks at a hostage deal rally in New York, December 1, 2024. (Hostages Families Forum)
Asked for his message to Israeli and American leaders amid the latest standstill in hostage negotiations, The father of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander tells NewsNation’s Morning in America, “I wonder when President Trump will lose patience with the situation.”
“He gave a lot of credit to Prime Minister Netanyahu to restart this war. And to Prime Minister, the question still remains, the same one: How do you plan to get hostages out without ending this war and without committing to the second phase of this deal?” Alexander says.
3-year-old spaniel abducted on Oct. 7 found in Gaza, to be returned to family
Billy the spaniel is held by an Israeli soldier in Gaza, April 2025 (Social media)
A dog abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack was found in southern Gaza in recent days by Israeli ground forces.
Billy belongs to Rachel Dancyg, the divorcee of Alex Dancyg who was taken hostage and murdered in captivity.
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is three and a half years old.
Forces who encountered Billy in Rafah brought her back to Israel with them, where she was identified thanks to her microchip implant.
אחרי שנה וחצי בילי חוזרת הביתה! איזה סיפור מטורף ואיזה לוחמים יש לנו.
הכלבה בילי נחטפה מביתה שבקיבוץ ניר עוז בשבעה באוקטובר. מאז, בני משפחתה, לא ידעו מה עלה בגורלה. עד היום.
עכשיו מתברר שכוח של גולני שפעל בימים האחרונים ברפיח מצא את הכלבה, הביא אותה לארץ ולקח אותה לטיפול.
אז… pic.twitter.com/bvoHwD6ofY— almog boker (@bokeralmog) April 15, 2025
She is expected to be reunited with Rachel and the rest of the family tomorrow.
Yaron Maor, Rachel’s son-in-law, tells Ynet: “We are in complete shock and overwhelmed with emotion to see her tomorrow. We didn’t believe she had survived. We got the kids another dog of the same breed. Now they’ll live together with us. It’s a miracle from heaven.”
IDF captures assault rifles during attempt to smuggle them from Egypt using drone
Weapons seized from a drone during an attempted smuggling over the Egyptian border, April 15, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it foiled an attempt to smuggle four assault rifles into Israel from Egypt earlier today using a drone.
The drone was identified crossing the border from Egypt into Israel before it was downed by troops.
The drone and guns were handed over to the police for further investigation.
In recent months, there have been frequent attempts to bring weapons and drugs over the Egyptian border using drones. There have also been attempts to smuggle similar contraband from Israel into Gaza using drones.
IAF fighter jet accidentally drops munition near Israeli border community; none hurt
An Israeli Air Force fighter jet dropped a munition in an open area near the Gaza border community of Nir Yitzhak during an attempted airstrike in the Strip a short while ago, the military says.
The IDF says the incident occurred as a result of a technical malfunction, and further details are under investigation.
There are no injuries.
Minister calls on state comptroller to provide defense to Shin Bet suspect as whistleblower
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli addresses the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, December 19, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli has sent a letter to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, calling on him to provide legal defense to the Shin Bet official suspected of leaking classified information to journalists and to Chikli himself.
Chikli argues that the man, whose identity is withheld, should be recognized as a corruption whistleblower for airing information on a Shin Bet probe into suspected extremist Kahanist ideology taking root in the police force under far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The suspect has claimed that the probe was intended to justify the investigation of political leaders.
Outraged coalition members have claimed the investigation was further proof that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar must not remain in his post, with some ministers claiming it was more evidence of an alleged “deep state” working to oust the government.
Sa’ar, British FM meet in London, discuss Iran and Gaza
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets his British counterpart David Lammy in London.
The two focus their discussion on Iran’s nuclear program, according to the Israeli readout, as well as negotiations to free hostages from Gaza. They also discuss bilateral ties.
The two diplomats last met during Lammy’s visit to Israel in January.
Sa’ar is in London on a private visit.
Facing growing protests from reservists, IDF said moving to reduce reliance on them
Troops of the 188th Armored Brigade operate in southern Gaza's Rafah in a handout photo issued on April 13, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
Facing growing protests from reservists calling for an end to the war, the military is quietly reducing its reliance on reserve forces in Gaza, Haaretz reports.
The newspaper cites unnamed military sources, who say the IDF has begun limiting the number of call-up orders issued as well as withdrawing some reservists from active combat zones.
It says senior officers are warning that morale issues and a lack of faith in the mission among reservists could jeopardize key military operations.
Haaretz says the army’s decision to remove Air Force reservists who signed a protest letter demanding an end to the war was meant to deter further such cases but seems to have had the opposite effect, with a growing number of reservists throughout the military joining similar protests.
The report says there is mounting pressure within the military to brief the security cabinet on the full scope of the crisis. Sources say the decision to discipline the airmen came under political pressure and that the situation is more serious than what has been publicly acknowledged.
Report: In first, police allowed group of 180 Jews to ascend Temple Mount
Jewish visitors on the Temple Mount, May 18, 2023. (Courtesy Beyadenu)
Police today allowed a group of some 180 Jews to ascend the Temple Mount, a first, Haaretz reports. Groups are usually smaller, around 30 at a time.
The newspaper notes that the move joins a broader departure from the traditional status quo at the Temple Mount in recent years, which has seen authorities allow previously forbidden Jewish worship at the site.
Police tell Haaretz that they “secured visits to the Temple Mount as usual, in accordance with visitation rules and the number of visitors. The number of people allowed in each group is determined based on various circumstances, including the overall number of visitors at the site and, in particular, police’s ability to secure and maintain public order for the group.”
PM during visit to Gaza: Hamas will suffer ‘more and more blows’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits troops in Gaza, April 15, 2025 (Haim Zach/GPO)
Hamas will suffer “more and more blows” in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier today during a visit to the northern Strip with IDF troops.
“We insist that it release our hostages, and we insist on achieving all our war aims,” Netanyahu told assembled soldiers as drones flew overhead.
Holding a printout of a post by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Netanyahu said that he was again calling for Israel’s destruction.
“He is doing this during negotiations with the Americans,” Netanyahu said.
The first round of nuclear talks between the US and Iran began last weekend in Oman, a process of which Israel is extremely wary.
Standing alongside Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will never allow Hamas “to threaten our communities and our citizens, and therefore, the operation that is currently taking place is pressuring Hamas to first release the hostages.”
“The more it persists in its refusal,” Katz continued, “the more we will intensify the blows it will suffer until it is defeated and all the hostages are returned.”
The two were joined by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, IDF Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and other senior aides.
US hostage envoy ‘very disappointed’ in Iraqi PM for failure to free Israeli Elizabeth Tsurkov
Elizabeth Tsurkov in an undated photo (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
US President Donald Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler says he is “very disappointed” in Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani for failing to advance the release of Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Iraq two years ago.
“Iraq is a tough country to run,” he writes on X. “That said, I am very disappointed in the Prime Minister who, so far, seems more interested in words than actions. I hope this changes IMMEDIATELY and we can bring Princeton Student Elizabeth Tsurkov home from the hands of Kata’ib Hezbollah.”
Last month, three sources familiar with the matter said Boehler had traveled to Iraq to push for Tsurkov’s release.
“The Trump Administration has done more in just a few weeks than the previous administration did in almost two years,” Emma Tsurkov, Elizabeth’s sister, told Reuters in March.
Leading US Jewish groups denounce federal crackdown under ‘guise of fighting antisemitism’
Ten US Jewish groups denounce the Trump administration’s crackdown on universities and non-citizen activists.
The organizations say federal actions threaten Jews’ safety, despite the administration’s claim that the effort is in response to antisemitism.
“These actions do not make Jews — or any community — safer. Rather, they only make us less safe,” the statement says. “We reject any policies or actions that foment or take advantage of antisemitism and pit communities against one another.”
Signatories include the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the National Council of Jewish Women, the American Conference of Cantors, HIAS, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.
A swath of American Jewry, including leaders of the Reform community, is alarmed about the Trump administration’s crackdown due to perceived threats to due process and free speech while acknowledging that action is needed to combat rampant antisemitism. The statement released today is another expression of those concerns.
“There should be no doubt that antisemitism is rising — visible, chilling, and increasingly normalized in our public discourse, politics, and institutions. It requires urgent and consistent action by our nation’s political, academic, religious, and civic leaders,” the statement says. “At the same time, we firmly reject the false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy. Our safety as Jews has always been tied to the rule of law, to the safety of others, to the strength of civil society, and to the protection of rights and liberties for all.
“It is both possible and necessary to fight antisemitism—on campus, in our communities, and across the country—without abandoning the democratic values that have allowed Jews, and so many other vulnerable minorities, to thrive,” the statement says.
Consumer prices increased 0.5% in March, data shows
The Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan during the Passover holiday, April 14, 2025 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Consumer prices increased in March, with Israelis facing higher costs for a range of goods and services, led by a rise in clothing, entertainment, travel, and housing costs, data by the Central Bureau of Statistics shows.
On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI) — a measure of inflation that tracks the average cost of household goods — rose by 0.5 percent, after remaining unchanged in February, and rising 0.6% in January mainly due to tax increases.
The March reading takes annual inflation over the past 12 months to 3.3% from 3.4% in February and 3.8% in January. The government’s target range for annual inflation is between 1% to 3%.
In March, increases were seen in the costs of clothing and footwear, which rose 2.2%; culture and entertainment added 1.5%; and fresh fruit prices were up 1.3%. Travel costs, including flights within Israel and abroad, rose 1.7%; and prices of hotel stays jumped 6.5%, according to the statistics bureau.
These were offset by price declines in the costs of furniture and home equipment and communication services, which declined 0.4% each.
In the real estate market, rents on renewal of contracts rose 2.8% and rents on contracts for new tenants jumped 3.7%.
Netanyahu visits troops in northern Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement.
The battlefield visit comes as IDF troops continue to expand their control of territory in northern and southern Gaza in an attempt to pressure Hamas to accept Israeli demands for the release of more living hostages.
Hamas rejects Israeli proposal to disarm for 6-week ceasefire — BBC
Gazans, including young children, and Hamas gunmen gather shortly before the release of three Israeli hostages in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on February 22, 2025. (Eyad Baba/AFP)
Hamas has turned down an Israeli offer for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza, which demanded the group to disarm, the BBC reports, citing a senior Palestinian official.
The official says the offer did not include a promise to end the conflict or withdraw Israeli forces, key demands by Hamas.
“The Israeli proposal relayed to the movement through Egypt explicitly called for the disarmament of Hamas without any Israeli commitment to end the war or withdraw from Gaza. Hamas therefore rejected the offer in its entirety,” the official says.
Report: US tells Israel it will begin withdrawal from Syria within 2 months
Illustrative: American soldiers drive a Bradley fighting vehicle during a joint exercise with Syrian Democratic Forces at the countryside of Deir Ezzor in northeastern Syria, December 8, 2021. (Baderkhan Ahmad/AP)
The Trump administration has informed Israel that it will begin a phased withdrawal of US troops from Syria within two months, the Ynet news outlet reports.
A senior Israeli official tells the outlet that Jerusalem believes the move will result only in a partial withdrawal but is still working with American counterparts to convince them to keep troops in Syria.
Israel predicts that a US withdrawal will increase Turkey’s “appetite” to control Syria, and as such tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara would increase if America leaves, says the official.
The US has kept Israel up-to-date on its plans, Ynet says.
There are about 2,000 troops in Syria, the US said in December. Trump’s team talked openly about withdrawing them before the president returned to office.
Hamas claims it lost contact with captors of Edan Alexander after Israeli strike
Hostage soldier Edan Alexander is seen in a propaganda video released by the Hamas terror group on April 12, 2025. (Courtesy)
The Hamas terror group claims to have lost contact with the terrorists holding hostage soldier Edan Alexander in the Gaza Strip.
“We announce that we have lost contact with the team guarding soldier Edan Alexander following a direct Israeli bombardment targeting their location. We are still trying to reach them,” says Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
“It seems that the occupation army is deliberately trying to kill him and hence relieve themselves from the pressure caused by the dual-citizen prisoners in order to continue its genocide against our people,” Abu Obeida adds.
Alexander, a dual US-Israeli citizen, is a soldier who was stationed near the Gaza Strip on the morning of October 7 when he was taken captive by Hamas terrorists. Hamas has published two propaganda videos of Alexander, the latest on Saturday.
The IDF says it does not carry out strikes in areas where it suspects hostages may be held by Hamas. Military officials have repeatedly said that every strike and ground operation in Gaza is carefully planned out in order not to endanger Israeli hostages.
Harvey Weinstein New York retrial for sex crimes begins
Harvey Weinstein attends his retrial on rape and sex assault charges at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, April 15, 2025 (ANGELA WEISS / POOL / AFP)
Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s retrial on rape and sex assault charges starts today, forcing survivors who helped fire up the “#MeToo” movement to prepare to testify against him once more.
Weinstein’s 2020 conviction by a jury was overturned last year by an appeals court that ruled the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.
Weinstein was wheeled in to court, and wore a dark blue suit and adjusted his tie as he took his seat at the defense table while the trial lawyers spoke to the judge.
The onetime Miramax studio boss was charged with the sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006, the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, and a new count for an alleged sexual assault in 2006 at a hotel in Manhattan.
Haleyi and Mann testified in the earlier trial, sharing graphic testimony of their interactions with Weinstein.
Lindsay Goldbrum, a lawyer for the unnamed woman who brought the new complaint, told reporters outside court that she has “the honor of representing an incredible woman.”
“They are going to ensure Weinstein is held accountable for his heinous crimes against women,” she said. “The fact they are going to testify again is testimony to their bravery.”
Trump threatens to strip defiant Harvard of tax-exempt status
Hundreds of demonstrators gather on Cambridge Common in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 12, 2025, calling on Harvard University to resist the US administration's pressure to overhaul policies in the name of combating antisemitism or else lose billions of dollars in funding. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via AP)
US President Donald Trump threatens to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status after the elite US university refused to accept far-reaching policy changes ordered by the White House.
Trump already moved to freeze $2.2 billion of federal funds on Monday in retaliation for the top university’s defiance of the administration’s push to bring campuses to heel.
Trump says Harvard “should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity” if it does not submit to his demands for the college to change the way it runs itself, including in the selection of students and authority for professors.
Tax-exempt status is “totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST,” he adds in a post on his Truth Social network.
In a letter to students and faculty, Harvard president Alan Garber vowed to defy the government, insisting that the school would not “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.” Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism responded Monday with a statement announcing the $2.2 billion hold in multi-year grants, plus a freeze on $60 million in government contracts.
IDF chief tells soldiers in Gaza political arguments have no place in the military
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (right) and Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor are seen in Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood, April 15, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met with troops in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood earlier today, telling them that the military will not allow political arguments within its ranks, amid mounting letters signed by reservists and veterans calling for a hostage deal with Hamas even if such a deal comes at the cost of ending the war.
“The IDF will continue to operate in a dignified manner and will not allow disputes to penetrate its ranks. Reserve soldiers have a right to express opinions when not in active reserve service, as civilians, on any subject, and in a democratic manner,” Zamir says to reservists of the Jerusalem Brigade.
“There are enough methods and places for civilian protests. Attempting to drag in the IDF, including speaking as a group in the name of a military unit, is unacceptable, and we will not allow it,” he says.
“The IDF appreciates the reserve personnel. The IDF is made up of a variety of people and opinions that work together to achieve the mission and security. The mission is carried out together,” Zamir continues.
“The goal of the fighting in Gaza is first and foremost the defense of the country, returning the hostages, and defeating Hamas,” Zamir adds.
During an assessment with Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor and the commander of the 252nd Division, Brig. Gen. Yehuda Vach, in Shejaiya, Zamir approved operational plans, the military says.
Witkoff: Any nuclear deal must see Iran ‘stop and eliminate’ enrichment and weaponization program
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC on March 6, 2025 (Mandel NGAN / AFP)
Apparently toughening the US position in nuclear negotiations with Iran, US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff says any agreement with Tehran must see the Islamic Republic “stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.”
Witkoff issues the statement after indicating yesterday that the US was looking to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment rather than dismantle its nuclear program altogether.
“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal,” he says today. “Any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East — meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program. It is imperative for the world that we create a tough, fair deal that will endure, and that is what President Trump has asked me to do.”
Jordan says it foiled plot linked to Hamas involving rockets and drones
Jordan says it arrested 16 people, thwarting a plot that threatened national security, involving rockets, explosives and a factory to make drones.
A security source says the suspects are connected to Hamas. The terror group, which has been at war with neighboring Israel since October 2023, has been accused of instigating anti-government street protests in Jordan, which has a large Palestinian population.
The authorities say at least one rocket was ready to be launched in the case, which had been under surveillance by security forces since 2021. A drone factory was also found, according to a statement by the General Intelligence Department released on state media.
“The plot aimed at harming national security, sowing chaos and causing material destruction inside the kingdom,” the statement says.
Over the past year, Jordan has said it has foiled attempts to smuggle weapons by infiltrators linked to pro-Iranian militias in Syria.
Tens of thousands gather for traditional priestly blessing in Jerusalem
Covered in prayer shawls, Jewish men of the Cohanim priestly caste participate in a blessing during the holiday of Passover, at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Tens of thousands of people gathered at Judaism’s holiest site in Jerusalem today during Passover for a mass version of the traditional priestly blessing prayer.
The “Birkat Cohanim” is a ritual dating back over 2,500 years to when King Solomon’s Temple stood on the same site. The blessing is performed by male Jews who can trace their lineage back to the priestly caste.
The prayer was led by many of the country’s top rabbis as well as Eliya Cohen, a former hostage who was released from Gaza in February, and relatives of other hostages still being held in Gaza. After the traditional blessing, the rabbis recited a prayer for the 59 hostages still held in captivity in Gaza.
Many worshipers said the mass prayer had special meaning this year, given the ongoing war, which has stretched on for more than 18 months. “It’s hard for us to believe that we still have hostages that are not able to come home and come and be here and join us with this,” said Shandey Fuchs, who said she tries to attend the ceremony every year. She added that she hopes the prayer brings unity and lasting peace across Israel.
The blessing is recited in Hebrew while religious men cover their heads with prayer shawls, creating a sea of white at the Western Wall Plaza. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which runs the site, said more than 200,000 people have visited during the Passover holiday.
Artists, architects and others sign petitions demanding return of hostages
One thousand seven hundred artists and cultural figures have signed a statement calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the return of the hostages. The signatories included Keren Mor, Rivka Michaeli, Rona Kenan, Achinoam Nini, Dana Berger, Assaf Amdursky and others.
The petition states that the war serves a political interest and is not contributing to any of its stated goals, while and endangering soldiers and the hostages, with ongoing daily loss of human life, thousands of victims, months of upheaval and human suffering on both sides of the border.
“We, as creators who act, study, and explore the human soul, look on with pain and concern at the severe erosion of people and values, and cry out, for the sake of Israeli society and in the name of the human spirit, to break the cycle of horror, to immediately return the hostages, and to stop the war.”
In addition, 600 architects, engineers and urban planners signed another petition, demanding the return of the hostages without delay, even at the cost of an immediate cessation of hostilities.
IDF says it killed Hezbollah special operations commander
The IDF says it killed a Hezbollah commander in a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Aitaroun earlier today.
According to the IDF, the strike killed a team commander in Hezbollah’s special operations unit.
The IDF does not name the operative, but Lebanese media identify him as Ali Najib Baydoun.
Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed in the strike and three others were wounded, including a child.
IDF strike kills newest commander of Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion, 5th to be eliminated since start of war
Hamas Shejaiya Battalion commanders killed throughout the war in Gaza. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF and Shin Bet announce that an airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday killed the latest commander of Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion.
Muhammad al-Ajlah is now the fifth commander of the Shejaiya Battalion to be killed by the IDF amid the war.
According to the IDF, during the war, Ajlah headed the Shejaiya Battalion’s combat support company, where he was responsible for “arming the battalion’s terrorists with weapons used to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”
Ajlah had replaced Haitham Khalil as head of the Shejaiya Battalion after the latter was killed in an Israeli airstrike on April 9.
Khalil’s predecessor, Jamil Omar Jamil Wadiya, was killed in March. Wadiya had taken over the battalion after his predecessors were killed in December 2023. On December 2, 2023, the IDF killed Shejaiya Battalion commander Wissam Farhat and, a week later, killed his replacement Emad Qariqa.
In the strike on Sunday in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya that killed Ajlah, the IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm.
Shin Bet: Staffer suspected of leaks that ‘endanger security’; probe was obligatory; no journalists questioned or bugged
The Shin Bet security service comments on an investigation into an agency official who allegedly leaked classified information to journalists and politicians.
In its first statement on the matter since elements of the case were cleared for publication this morning, the Shin Bet says an investigation was launched after the official allegedly leaked information that “endangers security.”
“Within the framework of the probe, the Shin Bet staffer was suspected of abusing his security role and his direct access to the Shin Bet’s information systems in order to take classified material and transfer it to unauthorized people, several times and in a suspicious manner,” it says.
“In light of the grave suspicion that classified material was extracted by the Shin Bet staffer in a way that endangers security, an internal, obligatory investigation was initiated into the staffer’s actions,” it goes on.
“Due to the findings of the probe, suspicions against him were established that he actively worked to remove classified materials, in a prejudiced manner, from the service’s information systems, in violation of the law and the rules to which the organization’s employees are bound,” the Shin Bet adds.
“This is a grave and unusual matter, in which the scale of the material that was taken and transferred to unauthorized people was not clear from the start. It was accordingly necessary to stop the leak of the information.”
While several coalition lawmakers have slammed the investigation as threatening journalistic freedoms, the Shin Bet says no journalist has been questioned or asked to give testimony over the affair and that “no journalists’ phones have been bugged.”
The Shin Bet also says that over the past year, there has been a significant increase in the number of leaks of classified information by employees of the security establishment.
It reveals that over 20 probes of classified leaks have been carried out, seeking to dry up the spillage.
Macron says he told Netanyahu suffering in Gaza ‘must end,’ only a ceasefire can free hostages
PARIS, France — France’s President Emmanuel Macron says that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that the suffering of Gazan civilians “must end” and that only a ceasefire in Gaza could free remaining Israeli hostages.
“The ordeal the civilian populations of Gaza are going through must end,” Macron posted on X after the talk with Netanyahu, calling for “the opening of all humanitarian aid crossings” into the besieged Palestinian territory.
Court extends detention of Shin Bet official involved in alleged classified leak
The Lod District Court extends the detention of a Shin Bet official held for leaking allegedly classified information to journalists and politicians about an investigation into “Kahanism” taking root among the police and an investigation into the October 7, 2023, massacre.
The official, named in Hebrew media only as “Aleph” as his name is barred from publication, will remain in custody until 2 p.m. tomorrow.
Aleph’s attorney maintains that his client believed it was in the public’s interest to know the information he is accused of leaking, and that the leak did not endanger Israel’s security.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, the official who received the information, is present for Aleph’s hearing.
Netanyahu shares Likud party’s post saying Shin Bet became deep state ‘private militia’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares a post by his Likud party that accused Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of turning the security service into a “private militia of the deep state that undermines the rule of law and the foundations of democracy.”
The post calls for the investigation launched into a Shin Bet official’s alleged leak of classified information to a journalist and a government minister to end immediately.
Hostage’s mother says Netanyahu ‘isn’t fighting’ for permanently wounded son
Anat Angrest, center, wearing her son Matan's IDF uniform, next to Idit Ohel, mother of hostage Alon Ohel, at a Shift 101 sit-in in Kiryat Bialik on April 15, 2025 (Shani Tamim/Shift 101)
Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest, an IDF soldier taken captive on October 7, 2023, and still held in Hamas captivity, speaks at a Shift 101 sit-in in the northern town of Kiryat Bialik, alongside Idit Ohel, the mother of hostage Alon Ohel.
Angrest, wearing her son Matan’s army uniform and with her husband holding a blown-up version of his ID card, says the information they’ve received about Matan points to wounds that can’t be reversed.
“Despite that, the prime minister of Israel isn’t fighting for him,” charges Angrest.
“I’m wearing his uniform to call attention to the fact that the soldiers haven’t been included in any deal, neither the wounded soldiers nor the bodies of soldiers, including Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held there for 10 and a half years,” she says. “We demand from the Israeli government that in the next release of hostages, the soldiers will be returned — not because of US citizenship,” referring to soldier hostage Edan Alexander, who is a dual Israeli-American citizen, “but because of their blue-and-white citizenship. They belong to Israel and need to be returned here.”
Netanyahu says Palestinian state would be ‘huge prize for terror’ in call with Macron
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron (L), as they hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem on October 24, 2023. (Christophe Ena/Pool/AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
According to the PMO, Netanyahu told Macron that a Palestinian state would be a “huge prize for terror,” noting that no Palestinian official, including from the Palestinian Authority, has condemned the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
“The prime minister told the French president that a Palestinian state that is established a few minutes from Israeli cities will be a stronghold for Iranian terror and that a large majority of the Israeli public firmly opposes this – and this is also his consistent and long-standing policy.”
Last week, Macron said Paris could recognize a Palestinian state in the coming months.
Netanyahu’s son, Yair, posted a tweet saying “screw you” to Macron after his announcement. While critiquing his son’s language, Netanyahu endorsed Yair’s sentiment.
Khamenei says he’s confident in Iran’s stance, but pessimistic about US intentions in nuclear talks
A handout picture released by the official website of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him giving an annual address to the nation on the occasion of Nowruz in Tehran on March 20, 2025. (Photo by IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER'S WEBSITE / AFP)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voices satisfaction with recent talks with the United States, expressing confidence in the Islamic Republic’s position but casting doubt on US intentions.
The talks were “well carried out in the first steps. Of course, we are very pessimistic about the other side, but we are optimistic about our own capabilities,” state TV quotes Khamenei as saying.
He was shown on state TV saying that neither “exaggerated optimism” nor “extreme pessimism” were appropriate.
“The red lines are clear — to us and to the other side,” he said. “If we stick to them, the talks may bear fruit, or they may not.”
Netanyahu said to cancel security meeting scheduled for today at Gaza division
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a vote in the Knesset plenum, Jerusalem, December 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancels a security forum scheduled for today after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced his intention to boycott such meetings if Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar attends, the Walla news site reports, citing government sources.
The meeting was meant to be held at the IDF’s Gaza Division headquarters with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, a small group of ministers, and Bar.
Kremlin declines to say if Russia would store Iran’s enriched uranium as part of nuclear deal
MOSCOW, Russia — The Kremlin declines to comment when asked if Russia is ready to take Iran’s stocks of enriched uranium as part of a possible future nuclear deal with the United States.
The Guardian reported earlier in the day that Tehran is expected to reject a US proposal to transfer its stockpile of enriched uranium to a third country such as Russia as part of a future accord with Washington to scale back Iran’s nuclear program.
Moscow, a party to Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact, which US President Donald Trump scrapped during his first term in office, has supported Tehran’s right to have a civilian nuclear program.
The US and others say Tehran, which is committed to the destruction of Israel, is building a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Levin charges Shin Bet chief running ‘private intelligence organization’
Justice Minister Yariv Levin addresses the Knesset plenum during a debate over legislation to overhaul Israel's judicial appointments process, March 26, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)
Justice Minister Yariv Levin accuses Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of running a “private intelligence organization that can conduct a political hunting campaign,” in response to the arrest of a Shin Bet official in the classified leak affair.
In a post on Facebook, Levin says the left wing uses “selective enforcement and criminal use of law enforcement agencies” to harm its opponents or anyone who tries to reform the justice system.
“Whoever supports the dictatorship of the High Court of Justice receives immunity and those who ask for democracy receive the misuse of the powerful tools of the enforcement systems against them,” he writes.
Levin says the morning’s revelations “are terrible, but not new,” and vows to push ahead with reforms to the justice system.
Syrian president making first official visit to Qatar
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s new president was traveling to Qatar today for his first official visit to the Gulf state, a key backer of the new administration after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, a minister says.
“Today we are accompanying President Ahmed al-Sharaa on his first presidential visit to the country that has stood by Syrians from day one and has never abandoned them,” Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani says in a statement on social network X. He accompanies the post with a photo of the Syrian and Qatari flags.
Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the rebel alliance that ousted Assad from power on December 8. His new administration has received support from several countries including key backers Turkey and Qatar, as well as several Arab states.
Qatar was one of the first Arab countries to back the armed rebellion that erupted after Assad’s government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011. Unlike other Arab nations, Doha did not restore diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad.
نرافق اليوم فخامة الرئيس أحمد الشرع في الزيارة الرئاسية الأولى إلى الدولة التي وقفت إلى جانب السوريين منذ اليوم الأول ولم تتخل عنهم pic.twitter.com/fSA70NqgHM
— أسعد حسن الشيباني (@AssadAlshaibani) April 15, 2025
Maldives bans entry of Israelis in ‘resolute solidarity’ with Palestinians
Illustrative: Tourists sunbathe in Paradise Island Resort in Male Atoll, Maldives, Feb. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe)
MALE, Maldives — The Maldives announces it is banning the entry of Israelis to the luxury tourist archipelago in “resolute solidarity” with the Palestinian people.
President Mohamed Muizzu ratifies the legislation shortly after it is approved by parliament today.
“The ratification reflects the government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people,” his office says in a statement.
“The Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause.”
The ban will be implemented with immediate effect, a spokesman for Muizzu’s office tells AFP.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry urged citizens last year to avoid traveling to the Maldives.
UN rights office raises alarm over harm to civilians caused by Israeli strikes in Lebanon
People inspect the damage at a site targeted by an Israeli air strike near Baalbek in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley on April 9, 2025. (AFP)
GENEVA, Switzerland — The United Nations human rights office is concerned about the protection of civilians in Lebanon as civilians have continued to be killed in Israeli military operations since the ceasefire.
“Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians,” the spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights, Thameen Al-Kheetan, tells reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
Israel says strikes in Lebanon since the November ceasefire target Hezbollah and other terror operatives violating the agreement, and aim to prevent the terror group from rebuilding its infrastructure in the country.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Hamas official says terror group likely to respond to hostage deal proposal within 48 hours
A senior Hamas official tells AFP that the terror group will “most likely” respond to an Israeli ceasefire-hostage release proposal it received through mediators within 48 hours.
“Hamas will most likely send its response to the mediators within the next 48 hours, as the movement is still conducting in-depth consultations… within its leadership framework, as well as with resistance factions, in order to formulate a unified position,” the official tells AFP.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Israeli drone strike reportedly hits car in southern Lebanon
Lebanese media reports an Israeli drone strike on a car in the southern town of Aitaroun.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
Key Knesset panel to hold hearing on ‘selective enforcement’ of leaks
Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman leads a vote during a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset, on March 26, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash900)
The Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee says it will hold a discussion Sunday on “selective enforcement” regarding “leaks, harm to journalistic freedom, and the right of investigators and Shin Bet officials to consult with a lawyer.”
Committee chairman Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman has invited Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, State Prosecutor Amit Aisman, Israel Police Commissioner David Levy, and Deputy Commissioner Boaz Balat, who heads the police’s Investigations and Intelligence Department, to the hearing.
The discussion appears to be in response to this morning’s publication of details of on ongoing classified leaks affair in which a Shin Bet official was arrested.
Lapid: ‘Government of criminals’ attacking Shin Bet to divert attention from Qatargate
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 weighs in on the Shin Bet classified leaks affair, saying that attacks by the “government of criminals” on investigators are an attempt to distract attention from the investigation into the Qatargate affair.
“The State of Israel has only one army, one police, one Shin Bet, and one Mossad. They have a chain of command and rules that manage them,” he writes on X.
Lapid praises Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar as someone who has dedicated his life to the country’s security, decrying threats against him as endangering Israel’s security.
Golan: Netanyahu doesn’t want Shin Bet to protect Israel, he wants it to protect him
The Democrats party leader Yair Golan speaks to the media outside the Knesset, March 24, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Weighing in on the arrest and investigation into a Shin Bet official, Democrats chief Yair Golan says it is Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s duty to investigate the leak of classified information.
He says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “doesn’t want the Shin Bet to protect Israel, he wants the Shin Bet to protect him.”
“When Netanyahu gets in trouble with Qatar he tries to fire the investigator. He will do everything to save himself. Himself and his mouthpieces. Netanyahu is dangerous to Israel.”
350 authors call on Netanyahu to end war, reach deal to return all hostages
Three hundred and fifty Israeli authors call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war and bring the 59 remaining hostages home.
The signatories include David Grossman, Shifra Horn, Fania Oz-Salzberger, Yehoshua Sobol, Ilan Sheinfeld, Zeruya Shalev, and other authors, poets, editors, translators, illustrators and literary professionals.
“Hamas has offered a deal for returning hostages, prisoner release, and a ceasefire. The prime minister outlined a phased deal but has done everything possible for the past seventeen months to thwart the agreement, fearing the war’s end would mean the end of his rule—and his freedom as a criminal defendant,” states the letter.
“For the sake of his liberty, fearful of incarceration for his pending indictments, the prime minister continues to rob the hostages of their freedom, endanger IDF soldiers, and inflict disproportionate harm on Gaza’s civilian population — all while escalating a constitutional coup within Israel,” they write.
“In doing so, the prime minister is violating the most fundamental values of a just society and democratic nation, as well as the founding principles of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. He is eroding mutual responsibility, equality, and justice, and turning us from equal citizens in a functioning democracy into subjects of an authoritarian theocracy — where we are obligated to serve in the army, sacrifice our children to the ruling idol, but are denied equal rights, mutual responsibility, and the justice and security a democratic state owes its citizens.”
The signatories also mention that the prime minister has railed against the supposed refusal of certain reservists to serve, but he and his ministers are legally and financially enabling sweeping exemption from service for the ultra-Orthodox, allowing them to shirk responsibility for Israel’s security and future.
“This war endangers the lives of IDF soldiers, of the hostages, and causes horrific suffering for helpless civilians in Gaza,” write the authors. “The acts being committed in Gaza and the occupied territories are not done in our name, but they will be on our account. We call on you to immediately stop the war, to return all the hostages home, and to chart a future international and agreed-upon path for Gaza.”
The letter states that most of the signatories have served in the IDF and contributed to building the State of Israel, its culture, and its literature.
Smotrich says he will boycott security cabinet if Shin Bet chief invited
Finance Minister, and head of the Religious Zionist Party, Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, March 17, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has notified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he will not participate in today’s security cabinet discussion if Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar is invited, a statement by his office says.
Smotrich calls Bar a “dangerous man” who uses Shin Bet tools for “personal needs” and to “take revenge on politicians and journalists.”
Shayetet 13 commandos publish letter, joining wave of calls for hostage deal
Illustrative: Israeli naval commandos from the Shayetet 13 unit. (screen capture: YouTube)
Dozens of veterans and reservists from the Israeli Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit issue a statement calling for the release of the remaining hostages, even at the cost of ending the war, according to a Haaretz report.
“Stop the fighting and bring all the hostages home — every passing day puts their lives at risk,” the letter reads.
According to the letter’s organizers, 69 of the 254 signatories currently serve in active reserve duty within the unit.
The letter comes a week after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar dismissed reservists who signed a similar petition from the air force. In recent days, similar calls to end the war for the sake of the hostages have emerged from the IDF’s elite 8200 intelligence unit, graduates of the IDF’s prestigious Talpiot program, and navy veterans.
Additionally, Haaretz reports that around 3,000 members of Israel’s healthcare system — including Nobel Prize laureates — publish a letter urging a deal to end the war and return the hostages. Over the past week, additional public statements have come from academics, educators, and writers.
Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard amid antisemitism crackdown
Graduating students chant as they depart commencement in protest for the 13 graduating seniors who were not allowed to participate due to protest activities, in Harvard Yard during commencement at Harvard University, May 23, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
BOSTON — The federal government says it’s freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University after the institution said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands to limit activism on campus.
The hold on Harvard’s funding marks the seventh time US President Donald Trump’s administration has taken the step at one of the nation’s most elite colleges, in an attempt to force compliance with Trump’s political agenda. Six of the seven schools are in the Ivy League.
In a letter to Harvard Friday, Trump’s administration called for broad government and leadership reforms at the university, as well as changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded that the university audit views of diversity on campus, and stop recognizing some student clubs.
The federal government said almost $9 billion in grants and contracts were at risk if Harvard did not comply.
On Monday, Harvard President Alan Garber said the university would not bend to the government’s demands.
“The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Garber said in a letter to the Harvard community. “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
The first university targeted by the Trump administration was Columbia, which acquiesced to the government’s demands under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts. The administration has also paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton, Cornell, and Northwestern.
Trump’s administration has normalized the extraordinary step of withholding federal money to pressure major academic institutions to comply with the president’s political agenda and to influence campus policy. The administration has argued that universities allowed antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Likud: Shin Bet chief, AG turned security service into ‘private militia of the deep state’
Commenting on the classified leak affair, the ruling Likud party says Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara have turned the security service into a “private militia of the deep state that undermines the rule of law and the foundations of democracy.”
In a statement, the Likud says that under Bar and Baharav-Miara, the Shin Bet “arrests and interrogates journalists, blackmails a police officer with threats, and launches futile political investigations against ministers and Knesset members from the coalition — all intending to prevent Bar’s dismissal.”
“The political investigation must end immediately,” the Likud says, demanding that Bar leave his post, and adding that Shin Bet members who do their job “deserve” a different boss.
IDF strike hits Gaza field hospital, spokesman for facility says
An Israeli airstrike hits the northern gate of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip, wounding several medics, a spokesman for the hospital says.
The strike hit the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands of people have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. Saber Mohammed, a spokesman for the hospital, confirms the injuries but did not immediately have further details.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
The military has struck hospitals on several occasions during the 18-month war, accusing Hamas terrorists of hiding in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering civilians.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Police nab suspect linked to West Bank car-ramming that injured police officer
Police officers operate in the West Bank town of ad-Dhahiriya, April 14, 2025. (Israel Police)
Police arrested a suspect in connection with yesterday’s car-ramming incident in the southern West Bank.
On Monday morning, a Palestinian man driving a suspected stolen vehicle lightly wounded an Israeli police officer at the ad-Dhahiriya Junction, while trying to flee from law enforcement during a police operation in the area.
Believing the car to be stolen, police in the Yasam patrol unit reportedly signaled for the driver to stop, but he refused and fled the scene. During his escape, the suspect struck one of the officers.
Police have not classified the incident as a terror attack.
Aided by Shin Bet intelligence, West Bank police arrested the suspect later that day after launching a large-scale manhunt in the area.
Officers detained him for questioning at the Hebron police station and confiscated the stolen vehicle, a police spokesman says.
Top Egyptian official notes ‘positive turn’ in talks for ceasefire-hostage release deal
Diaa Rashwan, chair of Egypt’s State Information Service, says there has been a “positive turn” in mediated talks between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire-hostage release deal, speaking to state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV.
Rashwan says efforts by Egypt and Qatar have resulted in the progress, and that Hamas’s response to a proposal it received from mediators will come quickly.
Iran Guards say Tehran’s military capabilities ‘red line’ in talks with US
A missile is launched from the Persian Gulf during a drill of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a photo provided by the IRGC's Sepahnews on January 24, 2025. (Sepahnews via AP)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says the country’s military capabilities were off limits, ahead of a second round of indirect talks with the United States on its nuclear program.
“National security and defense and military power are among the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which cannot be discussed or negotiated under any circumstances,” Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini says, as quoted by state broadcaster IRIB.
UN chief ‘deeply alarmed’ by IDF strike on Gaza hospital on Sunday
The outpatient and laboratory wards of the Al-Ahli Hospital in the aftermath of a strike that Israel says targeted a Hamas command center at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, in the Strip's north, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
GENEVA, Switzerland — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply alarmed” at Sunday’s strike by Israeli forces on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, his spokesperson says.
“Under international humanitarian law, wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected,” the UN chief’s spokesperson says.
He says the attack dealt “a severe blow to an already devastated healthcare system in the Strip,” adding there was strong concern that medical supplies are running low as well as food and water.
The IDF said the strike targeted a Hamas command center housed inside the hospital used by terrorists to plan and carry out terror attacks.
Chikli: Arrested Shin Bet official ‘Israeli hero’ who fought against ‘political Stasi’
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli addresses the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, December 19, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli calls the Shin Bet official arrested for leaking classified information to him an “Israeli hero” for revealing corruption in the security service.
Chikli says the arrested official revealed information showing the Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar carried out “obsessive spying of a serving minister,” and that the security service’s investigation into the beginning of the war with Hamas portrayed “a false and distorted picture.”
“Bar wanted to tell us that the political echelon was responsible for strengthening Hamas but forgot to say that he himself had made the reconstruction of Gaza and strengthening its economy a central goal,” Chikli writes.
Chikli vows to fight on behalf of the official, saying he is fighting for Israel against “a political Stasi” attached to Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Chikli asserts that the information leaked by the official does not harm the state’s security; rather, “not revealing the materials to the political echelon and public is what harms the security of the country.”
Chikli blasts Bar and Baharav-Miara, comparing them to France’s powerful King Louis XIV, who declared, “I am the state.”
“Bar doesn’t see himself as subject to the government, and the meaning of this is that he doesn’t see himself as subject to the laws of the country that sharply and clearly define his subordination to the government and its head,” Chikli says.
Smotrich on classified leak case: ‘This is what a real coup looks like’
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich comments on the classified leak affair, charging, “This is what a real coup looks like.”
“When a secret intelligence organization uses the draconian powers granted to it specifically for security purposes against elected officials and journalists, while completely losing its brakes and controls. When an elected government seeks to remove from office a failed Shin Bet chief who has betrayed and undermined it, and the attorney general and the court violently prevent this,” he writes on X.
Smotrich says that Israel is on a “slippery and dangerous slope,” charging that the actions of law enforcement agencies threaten democracy. He says the Shin Bet official who leaked classified information to journalists and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli should be the next head of the security service.
Channel 12’s Amit Segal says his report embarrassed Shin Bet chief, AG, so they chose ‘to hunt’ his source
Journalist Amit Segal at a Conference of the "Besheva" group in Jerusalem, on February 24, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal says his report last month on the Shin Bet security service’s covert investigation into the possible infiltration of Kahanist elements into the Israel Police embarrassed Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
After their probes into the police didn’t reveal anything, they decided to use the tools at their disposal “to hunt the person who exposed them, and so they threw him into custody without a lawyer,” Segal writes on X.
“Why? What is the disturbance? How is it possible to disrupt an investigation that ended with nothing? Did it reveal Shin Bet sources? When there are no sources, it is difficult to locate them,” Segal writes.
“In a climate where appearances and press freedom are cared about, even if only barely, one does not hunt sources for personal reasons,” he writes.
Health Ministry, MDA urge public to donate blood, noting shortage
Illustrative. A young girl gives blood at a Magen David Adom mobile blood donation center. (Daniel Dreifuss/Flash90)
Due to a shortage of blood units for “routine times as well as in emergencies,” the Health Ministry and Magen David Adom urge the public to donate blood at donation stations across the country.
Netanyahu to hostage’s mother: Only Hamas decides which hostages will be on list of those to be released
Avinatan Or, a Nvidia employee, taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from the Supernova desert rave. (Courtesy)
The mother of hostage Avinatan Or told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that her son would be abandoned if he signed an agreement to only bring back a limited number of hostages, the hawkish Tikva Forum says in a Facebook post.
Netanyahu asserted that he was working to bring back all 59 hostages remaining in captivity during a meeting with Ditza Or yesterday, the forum says.
Ditza Or told the premier that the release of hostages in multiple stages causes tension among hostage families, and asked him how the lists of those meant to be released are determined.
Netanyahu replied: “Only Hamas determines who will be on the list.”
Some 200 relatives of hostages, 23 freed hostages urge ending war for hostage deal
Around 200 relatives of hostages and 23 freed hostages sign a letter backing reservists who have called for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas, even if it means ending the war in Gaza, the Life Forum says.
The letter calls for all hostages to be returned in exchange for an end to the war, stating that ongoing fighting “endangers the lives of hostages,” and stressing that it is “not an assessment, it is a fact.”
Ben Gvir: Top officials probing classified leak are ‘three people of the deep state that are crossing every line’
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir lashes out at top law enforcement officials for their ongoing investigation into a classified leak by a Shin Bet official.
Ben Gvir calls Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and Department of Internal Police Investigations head Keren Ben Menachem “three people of the deep state that are crossing every line.”
After the report aired that the Shin Bet has conducted a covert probe into the possible infiltration of extreme-right elements into the Israel Police following suspected political meddling in the force by the office of the national security minister, Ben Gvir called the development an “earthquake” that he said justified the government’s move to dismiss Bar.
Chikli named as politician involved in classified leak under investigation
Amichai Chikli, Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism attends a conference organized by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on March 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli is named in Hebrew media reports as the elected official involved in the latest national security affair.
According to information cleared for publication, a Shin Bet official leaked classified information to Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal and Chikli, on an investigation into “Kahanism” taking root among the police.
Shin Bet official being probed for leaking classified info to journalist, politician
The judge overseeing the case partially lifts the gag order on details of an investigation being carried out by the Shin Bet and the Justice Ministry’s Department of Internal Police Investigations.
A reservist Shin Bet official is being investigated for leaks of classified information to journalists and politicians about an investigation into “Kahanism” taking root among the police, according to Army Radio.
The court doesn’t allow the media to report on the names of the Shin Bet official or those who received the leaks.
The official served in the organization for over 25 years, says Channel 12, and returned to serve after the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught.
The court says it lifted the gag order due to false rumors that were circulating.
The official was arrested and kept from seeing a lawyer, an order that has since been lifted.
The broad contours of the case were announced yesterday, but details were restricted under a sweeping gag order.
IDF strike kills Hamas terrorist who took part in Oct. 7, hostage release ceremony
Hamas terrorists flank hostages (L-R) Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy on a stage before handing them over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (Bashar Taleb / AFP)
A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught, and was involved in one of the terror group’s hostage release ceremonies, was killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip some two weeks ago, the IDF and Shin Bet announced.
Hamza Wael Muhammad Asafah was the commander of a cell in Hamas’s Nukhba force in the terror group’s Deir al-Balah Battalion, and he participated in the October 7 attack, according to the military.
The IDF says that Asafah also participated in the “cynical” release ceremony for hostages Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami, and Or Levy in February.
In the strike in central Gaza some two weeks ago, the IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm.
‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Inifada now’ graffitied on Northwestern campus walls over Passover
CHICAGO — The phrases “Death to Israel” and “Inifada [sic] now!” were found graffitied onto a pair of walls on Northwestern University’s campus early Monday morning.
University police have launched an investigation into the incident and university president Michael Schill wrote in an email to students that the school is working to identify those responsible.
“If these individuals are current Northwestern students, they will be immediately suspended and face full disciplinary proceedings under University policies, as well as criminal charges under the law,” Schill wrote.
While Jews around the world celebrated Passover – a holiday that symbolizes our freedom and the birth of our nation – some chose to spread hate at Northwestern University. Overnight, anti-Semitic graffiti appeared on campus, calling for the death of Jews (Intifada now) and the… pic.twitter.com/gaZYutI17i
— ינעם כהן Yinam Cohen (@YinamCohen) April 15, 2025
Witkoff indicates US seeks to cap Iran uranium enrichment, not dismantle nuclear program altogether
US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, left, and US National Security Adviser Michael Walz, walk after speaking to the media outside the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, February 4, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)
US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff appears to use a key component of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal signed during the Obama administration as a reference point for the current talks he’s holding with Tehran.
That deal, which US President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018 and has long criticized, barred Iran from enriching its uranium beyond 3.67%.
Iran “do[es] not need to enrich past 3.67%. In some circumstances. They’re at 60%, in other circumstances 20%. That cannot be,” Witkoff tells Fox News. “You do not need to run — as they claim — a civil nuclear program where you’re enriching past 3.67%.”
The comments indicate that the US is looking to limit Iran’s uranium enrichment rather than dismantle its nuclear program altogether as Israel has demanded.
Witkoff says the next round of talks with Iran will focus on “verification on the enrichment program and then ultimately verification on weaponization.”
“That includes missiles — the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there. And it includes the trigger for a bomb,” he adds.
“We’re here to see if we can solve this situation diplomatically and with dialogue. The first meeting was positive, constructive, compelling,” Witkoff says.
Pressed on whether US inspectors — rather than ones from the UN — would be the one to verify that Iran is adhering to any deal that is reached, Witkoff declines to answer directly.
???????? ???????? WITKOFF: TRUMP’S PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH MESSAGE IS CLEAR—IRAN CANNOT HAVE A BOMB
"The President means what he says: they cannot have a bomb. Talks with Iran will focus on two points—enrichment and weaponization.
They don’t need to enrich beyond 3.67%.
This is about… https://t.co/2EDMldwvrX pic.twitter.com/qsrILQIVUg
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 15, 2025
Top US and Turkish diplomats speak about dangers posed by Iran, State Department says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan earlier Monday about the dangers posed to regional security by Iran and its proxies, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says.
“They agreed on the importance of counterterrorism cooperation and strengthening NATO,” the statement says.
Iran says 2nd round of nuclear talks will be held in Oman after sides seemed to agree on Rome
The next round of talks between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program will be held in Oman on Saturday, the official IRNA news agency reports.
Following indirect negotiations in Muscat last weekend, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says the next talks would take place in Oman’s capital on April 19, IRNA reports. The Dutch and Italian foreign ministers had earlier said that the talks would be held in Rome.
Hamas says it is studying proposal for Gaza ceasefire, to respond soon
Hamas says it is studying the proposal it received from mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza, adding it will submit its response “as soon as possible.”
Egypt earlier received an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in the enclave, the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV cited sources as saying earlier today after talks ended in Cairo without a breakthrough.
PM tells hostage families ‘intensive’ ceasefire talks underway
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court before the start of his testimony in his corruption trial, on April 2, 2025.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spokes this evening with the mothers of hostages Tamir Nimrodi, Avinatan Or, and Eitan Horn about current negotiations for a hostage-ceasefire deal, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu described to the parents ongoing efforts to secure the hostages’ return and provided “updates on the existence of intensive negotiations currently underway,” the PMO says in a statement about the conversations.
The premier reiterated his “commitment to the return of all the hostages — both the living and the fallen,” the PMO adds.
During a phone call yesterday evening, 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 by Gaza terror groups, the Tikva Forum said today.
Hamas official: We refuse disarmament as part of negotiations for Gaza ceasefire
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri says in a live interview with Al-Jazeera that “the draft that we received as part of the negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza is an Israeli draft, and it includes, for the first time, the disarmament of Hamas as part of the negotiations of the second phase of the ceasefire.”
Abu Zuhri says that “this is a million times a red line,” and that Hamas rejects it.
He also says Hamas is prepared to release all hostages in one go, in return for ending the war and the retreat of the IDF forces from the Strip.
Harvard defies Trump demands for antisemitism policy changes, risking funding
Illustrative: Students protesting against the war in Gaza, and passersby walking through Harvard Yard, are seen next to the statue of John Harvard, the first major benefactor of Harvard College, draped in the Palestinian flag, at an encampment at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Elite US university Harvard is risking billions of dollars in federal funding as it rejects a list of sweeping demands that the Trump administration said are intended to crack down on campus antisemitism.
The call for changes to its governance, hiring practices, and admissions procedures expands on a list Harvard received on April 3, which ordered officials to shut diversity offices and cooperate with immigration authorities for screenings of international students.
Harvard president Alan Garber vows in a letter to students and faculty to defy the government, insisting that the school will not “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.”
Campuses across the country were rocked last year by student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, with some resulting in violent clashes involving police and pro-Israel counter-protesters.
Trump and other Republicans have broadly accused the activists of supporting Hamas.
“Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” Garber, who is Jewish, writes in the letter.
Garber’s letter comes after the administration placed $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard and its affiliates under review.
Egypt receives Israeli proposal for temporary Gaza ceasefire
Egypt has received an Israeli proposal for a temporary ceasefire in war-torn Gaza that would pave the way for negotiations towards a permanent cessation of hostilities, state-linked media says.
“Egypt has passed on the Israeli proposal to Hamas and is awaiting its response as soon as possible,” sources tell Egypt’s Al-Qahera News, without giving further details about the proposal.
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