April 18: Trump meets with top aides on Iran’s renewed closure of Strait of Hormuz
Amid truce, IDF reservist killed and 3 other soldiers hurt in southern Lebanon by Hezbollah explosive * Bennett, Eisenkot and Lapid reportedly holding contacts on forming joint ‘New Israel’ party
The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they unfolded.
Settlers reportedly attack West Bank village of Turmus Ayya for second time today
Roughly 20 masked settlers raided the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, torching at least one building and vandalizing property.
The words “revenge” and “Regards from Abu Falah” were found spray-painted in Hebrew on the wall of a building, an apparent reference to a nearby Palestinian village that has been targeted by several settler terror attacks in recent weeks.
No injuries were reported in the latest attack.
No arrests have been made either, though detentions are highly rare, even as instances of settler violence take place on a daily basis.
Saturdays are known to be particularly violent days and Turmus Ayya was already targeted earlier in the day by settlers.
الضفة: المستوطنون يحرقون مركبة أثناء هجومهم على بلدة ترمسعيا pic.twitter.com/WNv3ivOc0X
— موقع عرب 48 (@arab48website) April 18, 2026
ריססו כתובות והציתו מכונית: כ-20 יהודים רעולי פנים הגיעו לכפר הפלסטיני תורמוסעיא, וריססו על קיר במבנה: "נקמה, ד"ש אבו פלאח", בכך כיוונו לכפר הסמוך שהיו באזורו מספר אירועי טרור יהודי בשבועות האחרונים, לא דווח על נפגעים ואין עצורים @Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/3Z7y9BbVN5
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) April 18, 2026
Ethics complaint filed against Independence Day torchlighter over his ‘illegally built’ West Bank home
The Kerem Navot organization, which monitors Israel’s land policies in the West Bank, has filed an ethics complaint against Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv, a rabbinical court judge selected as an honorary torchlighter at the Independence Day ceremony this year, alleging his home in the West Bank settlement of Beit El was built illegally.
According to Kerem Navot, a demolition order has been in effect against Zarbiv’s home since the year 2000 because it’s built on privately-owned Palestinian land, but has never been enforced.
The organization says it discovered the existence of the demolition order against Zarbiv’s home based on public statements he made about his house, as well as information it obtained from the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration agency in a freedom of information request.
Zarbiv has become a controversial figure due to comments he has made celebrating demolitions that his IDF reserve bulldozing unit carried out in the Gaza Strip during the war there.
He has also called to “flatten Gaza,” establish settlements there, drive out Palestinians from the Strip’s north and “destroy” anyone who stays behind.
“Avraham Zarbiv chose a public career. In his position as a rabbinical judge, he decides [people’s] destinies and profoundly influences the lives of people who stand before him in court. It is appropriate that, like any person holding a judicial position, he be careful not to grossly violate the laws of the state, the laws of the Torah, and not to mention elementary moral principles,” Kerem Navot says after filing its ethics complaint to the state ombudsman for judges, who has authority over rabbinical as well as civil judges.
In February this year, State Ombudsman for Judges Asher Kula upheld another ethics complaint against Zarbiv, finding that he violated ethics rules incumbent on rabbinical judges by publicly expressing his views on controversial issues.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threaten to target any ship approaching Strait of Hormuz
The navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warns that any ship approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be treated as a target.
“We warn that no ship, of any kind, should leave its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted,” says the statement published on the IRGC’s official Sepah News website.
Netanyahu offers condolences to family of reservist killed in southern Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offers his “heartfelt condolences” to the family of IDF reservist Barak Kalfon, 48, of the 226th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade’s 7056th Battalion.
“We embrace the family and loved ones of Barak, of blessed memory, in their difficult time, and wish a speedy recovery to our soldiers who were injured,” Netanyahu says in a statement.
“Our forces will continue to operate in the security zone to thwart threats directed against them and our communities, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.”
‘We won’t let them forget’: Tel Aviv protesters slam state failures and forever wars ahead of Memorial Day
Speakers at the “Forgetting Day” protest memorial ceremony at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square rail against the government’s failure to hold itself accountable for the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, and accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of leading a directionless forever war at the expense of their slain loved ones so he can remain in power.
The speakers, who all end their speeches with the words “we won’t let you forget,” represent six groups that they accuse the government of abandoning: Members of the armed forces killed defending southern Israel during the October 7 attack; civilians killed by Hezbollah rockets in northern Israel; hostages killed in captivity in Gaza; civilians killed in the Gaza border communities during the October 7 attack; civilians killed in the massacre that day at the Re’im-area rave; and reservists killed in combat.
Each group of representatives lays a laurel on the stage, with a seventh laurel laid for everyone killed in the nearly 1,000 days of conflict since the Hamas onslaught, including reservists who died by suicide.
Laying a laurel for the slain hostages, Ofri Bibas, whose sister-in-law Shiri and young nephews Ariel and Kfir were killed in captivity, addresses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: “Prime Minister, a second Holocaust happened to my family. It happened to us.”
“After two-and-a-half years of war, the country is not grand,” she tells the roughly 1,000 people in attendance. “It’s crumbling, and that’s on you.”
“You won’t evade accountability,” she says. “I won’t forget all those responsible for the massacre and the myriad failures — they’ll be held.to account.”
“Shiri, Ariel and Kfir — We won’t forgive and won’t forget,” says Bibas.
Shai Fisher, whose grandmother and uncle were killed in a 2024 Hezbollah rocket strike on their home in northern Israel, says she is speaking “for an entire region” as she assails the ceasefire that US President Donald Trump announced this week in Lebanon.
“We, the people of the north, are strong, faithful and self-sacrificing, but are also abandoned far too often,” she says. “The country that promised us sovereignty and security can’t let its citizens submit to the whims of others and of governments across the border.”
The ceremony ends with “Hatikva,” the national anthem. A few dozen members of the crowd then converge on the square’s southern edge to demand that authorities do more to find Haymanut Kasau, a girl from an immigrant Ethiopian Jewish family who went missing from an absorption center in Safed two years ago.
The rally is being held today to mark the girl’s 11th birthday. Attendees hoist her picture and signs asking top law enforcement officials “Where is Haymanut,” along with yellow balloons emblazoned with smiles.
Hezbollah chief claims truce ‘means nothing at the practical level, is an insult’ to Lebanon
Naim Qassem, head of the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, in a statement read on the group’s al-Manar TV says a paper published by the US State Department that it describes as the text of a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel “means nothing at the practical level, but it is an insult to our country.”
“Everyone knows that the government of Lebanon has not met or approved this statement,” he says.
The text published by the US describes the 10-day truce as a gesture by Israel “to enable good-faith negotiations” toward a permanent peace agreement with Lebanon. The text gives Israel the “right to take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”
Qassem says the truce should entail “a complete cessation of all hostilities” and that Hezbollah “will respond to enemy violations.”
London cops say nothing suspicious found near Israeli embassy after pro-Iran group claimed drone attack
British police say they found no hazardous substances in items discovered near London’s Israeli embassy and have reopened Kensington Gardens, after investigating an online claim that the site had been targeted by drones.
The pro-Iranian group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, or Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand of Islam, had posted a video that included footage of drones along with two figures dressed in protective clothing and a message that the Israeli embassy in London was being targeted.
“While the Embassy of Israel was not attacked, we continue to work closely with the Embassy and its security team to keep the site safe and secure,” a commander of counterterrorism policing in London says.
Due to the incident, the police presence was stepped up and cordons were put in place, closing public access to the nearby Kensington Gardens and the surrounding area.
Amid truce, IDF reservist killed and 3 other soldiers hurt in south Lebanon by Hezbollah explosive
An IDF reservist was killed, and three other soldiers were wounded after being hit by an explosive device in southern Lebanon after the ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect on Friday, the military announces.
The slain soldier is named as Warrant Officer (res.) Barak Kalfon, 48, of the 226th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade’s 7056th Battalion, from Adi.
The reservists were scanning a building in the southern Lebanon village of Jebbayn for weapons.
During the scans, a Hezbollah explosive device detonated, killing Kalfon and wounding three other troops, including two moderately and one lightly.
According to an initial IDF probe, the bomb was not remotely detonated.
Further details are under investigation by the military.
The wounded troops were airlifted to a hospital in northern Israel, and their families were notified, the IDF adds.
Iranian official: We are giving ‘priority’ to ships that pay Hormuz fee
Iran will “give priority” to vessels paying a toll to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian official tells CNN.
“Given the limitation on the number of vessels that will be allowed to pass,” the official tells the US outlet, “Iran has decided to give priority to those vessels that respond more quickly to the new Strait of Hormuz protocols and pay the costs of security and safety services.”
Those who do not pay will have their transit “postponed,” says the official.
Iran reimposed restrictions on passage through the strait on Saturday.
Reports: Settlers near Hebron beat Palestinian woman, whose sons were later detained by IDF
The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency WAFA reports that a Palestinian woman was injured after being beaten by settlers in the village of Sa’ir, south of Hebron. According to the report, as she was evacuated for medical treatment, Israeli forces detained three of her sons.
The IDF has not yet issued a response.
HORRIFIC: Israeli settlers attacked the town of Sair in the West Bank, beating an elderly Palestinian woman who has been hospitalized.
The Israeli army arrived later and arrested three of her sons instead of arresting the settlers who attacked her. pic.twitter.com/XmPDAZ8QLa
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) April 18, 2026
Man who confessed last year to killing his 5-year-old son decades ago found dead outside Eilat
Asher Goldstein, an 89-year-old man who confessed last year to drowning his young son to death decades after the fact, was found lifeless in his car yesterday near Eilat.
The man’s body was found in a mountainous area south of the city, near a camel ranch, Channel 12 reports. Police have launched an investigation.
The man also served 11 years in prison for killing his wife with an iron bar in 1974. He attempted to erase any suspicion of foul play by paying his friend to drive her body out of the city and set fire to the vehicle with her remains inside, according to a Davar newspaper report from the time.
Last summer, Goldstein contacted police to confess that two years before killing his spouse, he drowned his five-year-old son to death, then staged it as an accident.
Goldstein, a resident of Eilat, reportedly suffered from a terminal illness during the last stretch of his life. The circumstances of his death remain unclear.
Trump meeting with top aides on Iran’s renewed closure of Hormuz — report
US President Donald Trump is meeting with his top advisers right now to discuss Iran’s renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Channel 12 news reports.
Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the strait earlier today, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.
Trump spoke by phone in recent days with Pakistan’s chief of staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Iranian officials, according to the report.
The outlet also reports that Iran threatened to resume firing missiles at Israel if there is no ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A 10-day truce between the sides took effect early Friday morning.
IDF says troops killed 2 terror operatives who crossed Gaza truce line in separate incidents
In separate incidents today, Israeli troops killed two Palestinian terror operatives who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line, the military says.
The IDF says that reservists of the 205th “Iron Fist” Armored Brigade, operating in the Strip’s north, and Negev Brigade, stationed in southern Gaza, “identified two terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.”
In both cases, the troops “eliminated the terrorists to remove the threat,” the IDF says.
בשני אירועים מוקדם יותר היום, כוחות צוות הקרב של חטיבת 'אגרוף הברזל' (205) הפועלים בצפון רצועת עזה וכוחות צוות הקרב של חטיבת 'הנגב' (12) הפועלים בדרום רצועת עזה, זיהו שני מחבלים שחצו את הקו הצהוב והתקרבו לכוחות באופן שהיווה איום מיידי.
מיד לאחר הזיהוי, הכוחות חיסלו את המחבלים… pic.twitter.com/9NT5VazwyI
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 18, 2026
Hundreds gather for Tel Aviv protest memorial ceremony demanding state Oct. 7 probe
Hundreds of people gather at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square for a protest memorial ceremony organized by the October Council, a group of relatives of October 7 victims, who demand a state commission of inquiry into the security debacle leading to the Hamas-led onslaught in 2023.
The ceremony is set to feature speeches from relatives of some of the Israelis who were abducted to Gaza that day and later killed in captivity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected such a commission — Israel’s highest investigative authority — because it is led by the judiciary, which he claims would be biased against him because of his government’s controversial bid to weaken the courts.
The ceremony at Habima Square comes ahead of Israel’s official Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, which will begin Monday night.
The ceremony is taking place under the title Yishkach (“forget”), a play on the Yizkor (“remember”) adjuration that is typically read at Memorial Day ceremonies.
On one side of the square, the names of dozens of soldiers killed since the October 7 attack are displayed on a small stage, with candles assembled in the shape of the numbers 7.10, the date of the attack.
Signs on the stage read: “We painfully and sorrowfully say goodbye to the holy, heroic IDF soldiers who fell in vain in the war to lengthen the time in office of the defendant,” referring to Netanyahu, who is standing trial on graft charges.
Bennett, Eisenkot and Lapid reportedly holding contacts on forming joint ‘New Israel’ party
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, ex-chief of the military Gadi Eisenkot and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid are holding “contacts” to form a new joint party called “New Israel,” Channel 12 news reports.
According to the report, representatives for the three men are “discussing” a merger ahead of the upcoming elections, set for October.
One idea being discussed, the report says, is to hold “primaries” in 15 locations nationwide to ascertain who should lead the merged list in the general elections to be held later this year.
Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar! party, was first reported to have proposed a merger in January with Bennett and Lapid, both of whom have courted the former IDF commander for their own parties.
Yashar! and Bennett 2026 have consistently polled in recent months as the strongest parties in the opposition bloc, with surveys showing they would be the largest factions after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. Each would secure 16 seats if elections were held today, according to a recent survey by Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site.
In contrast, Lapid’s Yesh Atid — currently the largest opposition party and the second-largest Knesset faction with 24 seats — would drop to just five seats, according to the survey, just one above the minimum that parties must pick up in elections to enter parliament.
However, if Eisenkot, Lapid and Bennett ran together, their combined list would receive 38 seats, making it the largest faction in the Knesset, though it would not significantly change the size of the rival blocs, the poll found.
Sam Sokol and Tal Schneider contributed to this report.
Zelensky says at least 5 killed by gunman who took hostages at Kyiv supermarket
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that at least five people have been killed in a shooting in a Kyiv residential district after a gunman opened fire and took hostages in a supermarket.
“At present, five people have been confirmed killed. My condolences to the families and loved ones. Ten people are currently hospitalized with injuries and trauma,” Zelensky says on X, adding that “four hostages have been rescued.”
“All the circumstances are being established,” Zelensky says, urging “a swift investigation” into the shooting.
Injuries reported as settlers raid several Palestinian villages in West Bank
Israeli settlers have raided several Palestinian villages on Saturday, hurling stones at residents that caused injuries before managing to flee without anyone being arrested, footage from the scenes and Palestinian media report.
In Ein Siniya, north of Ramallah, a group of settlers is filmed hurling stones at homes. The Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news site says one resident was assaulted by residents and needed to be hospitalized afterward because his injuries were so severe.
#متابعة| مستوطنون يهاجمون منازل الأهالي في بلدة عين سينيا شمال رام الله وسط الضفة الغربية pic.twitter.com/6LDt3Uxos8
— قبس – Qabas (@ShehabPalestine) April 18, 2026
Additional settler raids reportedly unfolded in the nearby central West Bank villages of Turmus Ayya and Abu Falah.
Residents of the latter town posted messages on social media pleading for assistance from their neighbors as the attack unfolded, with Palestinians having little means of protection against such attacks.
The Israeli army eventually arrived at Abu Falah, but as is often the case in such instances, proceeded to arrest residents of the town, rather than the assailants, who already managed to return to neighboring illegal outposts.
🚨UPDATE: Following the settler attack on the village, the Israeli army raided it and arrested Palestinians who had been under attack, instead of arresting the settlers. https://t.co/A9AXFYKq0H pic.twitter.com/kR6sJNcjCu
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) April 18, 2026
The IDF says it is looking into the matter, but doesn’t provide further information.
Such attacks take place on a daily basis throughout the West Bank with near complete impunity, but there is typically a particular uptick on Shabbat, even though the attackers are usually Orthodox Jews and various aspects of such actions violate Jewish law.
US readying to start boarding Iran-linked ships in the coming days — WSJ
The US military is preparing in coming days to board Iran‑linked oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials.
According to the report, the US is expanding its campaign to the entire globe and will target ships ferrying Iranian oil outside the Persian Gulf as well as vessels transporting weapons that could support the Islamic Republic.
IDF says it killed several Hezbollah operatives who ‘violated ceasefire understandings’
The IDF says it killed several Hezbollah operatives who “violated the ceasefire understandings” and posed a threat to troops stationed in southern Lebanon earlier today.
The military says troops of the 401st Armored Brigade identified “a cell of terrorists that violated the ceasefire understandings and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat, during their activity in southern Lebanon, south of the forward defense line area used to prevent a direct threat to northern communities.”
To “remove the threat,” the Israeli Air Force struck and “eliminated the terrorists,” the IDF says.
In another incident south of the “forward defense line,” also dubbed the Yellow Line, the army says it struck a Hezbollah tunnel shaft after identifying members of the terror group entering it.
Two Indian-flagged ships attacked while crossing Hormuz, New Delhi confirms
Two Indian-flagged vessels carrying crude oil were attacked while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirms in a statement.
Tehran’s ambassador to New Delhi, Mohammad Fathali, was called in for a meeting with India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during which Misri conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Misri urged the ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait.
After being blamed, Hezbollah claims it wasn’t behind deadly attack on French UN observer
Hezbollah says it denies any involvement in the deadly attack on United Nations observers in southern Lebanon this morning, after the terror group was blamed for the incident.
UNIFIL said that a patrol clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the village of Ghanduriyah came under “small-arms fire from non-state actors,” resulting in one observer killed and three others wounded, including two seriously.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the attack killed a French soldier and that it was apparently carried out by Hezbollah. UNIFIL said that an “initial assessment indicates the fire came from non-state actors (allegedly Hizbullah).”
The terror group in a statement says it “calls for caution in issuing judgments and responsibilities regarding the incident,” and that it “expresses surprise at the [parties] that rushed to throw accusations arbitrarily.”
Iran threatens Hormuz to remain closed until ‘the war fully ends and lasting peace is achieved’
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says in a statement that Pakistan’s army chief, serving as an intermediary, presented new US proposals to Iran when he recently visited Tehran, and they are still under review.
It’s not revealed what was in the proposals.
The council says Iran has yet to respond, but further talks would require the US to abandon “excessive demands and adjust its requests to the realities on the ground.”
It also says that Iran will maintain full control over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz until “the war fully ends and lasting peace is achieved in the region,” adding that it would collect detailed information on passing vessels, issue transit certificates and impose tolls.
The council adds that it considers the US naval blockade a violation of the ceasefire, and there will be no reopening of the Strait of Hormuz until that was lifted.
Trump: ‘Iran got a little cute’ by closing Hormuz again; ‘they can’t blackmail us’; talks ‘working out really well’
US President Donald Trump says Iran “got a little cute” by reimposing its closure on the Strait of Hormuz today but that Washington is in talks with them, and he will have information on the matter by the end of the day.
Briefing reporters in the White House, Trump says dialogue with Iran is “working out really well” despite today’s closure of the strait.
“We’re talking to them,” he insists. “We’ll have some information by the end of the day.”
Trump says Iran “got a little cute” in its decision to close the key waterway.
“They wanted to close up the strait again,” he says, insisting that “they can’t blackmail us.”
WATCH: Trump briefs reporters on issues including Iran war
US President Donald Trump is briefing reporters in the Oval Office on issues including the Iran war.
Lebanon’s president and PM discuss plans for historic direct talks with Israel
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s president and prime minister discuss preparations for the first direct negotiations with Israel in decades.
In a statement, the office of President Joseph Aoun says he and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam conducted “an assessment of the post-ceasefire phase and the ongoing efforts to consolidate it,” and discussed “Lebanese readiness for the anticipated negotiations” with Israel.
Their meeting came a day after a strongly-worded speech to the nation from Aoun stating that the country was entering a new phase to work on “permanent agreements” with Israel and insisting that direct talks were not a “concession” — an apparent rebuttal of Hezbollah criticism.
The 10-day ceasefire seeking to end more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel has been in place since midnight on Thursday after being announced by US President Donald Trump.
استقبل رئيس الجمهورية العماد جوزاف عون قبل ظهر اليوم في قصر بعبدا رئيس مجلس الوزراء الدكتور نواف سلام وأجرى معه جولة أفق تناولت التطورات الأخيرة على الصعيدين الأمني والدبلوماسي . كما اجرى الرئيسان تقييماً لمرحلة ما بعد وقف إطلاق النار والمساعي الجارية لتثبيته ومنها الاتصالات… pic.twitter.com/dyftZsksvj
— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) April 18, 2026
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Berri decries attack on French UNIFIL troops
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese Parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri condemns the deadly attack on French UN peacekeepers, which Paris accused the Iran-backed terror group of committing.
In a statement shared by his office, Berri “condemned the attack on a patrol belonging to the French contingent serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon.”
The speaker “praised the sacrifices made by UNIFIL forces over the decades, particularly the French contingent,” and contacted UNIFIL Force Commander General Diodato Abagnara to offer his condolences.
At least 3 attacks target ships in Hormuz since Iran reimposed blockade — report
At least three attacks have targeted commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz since Iran reimposed its blockade today, a US official tells the Axios news outlet.
At least one ship suffered damage, but there are no reports of injuries, the report says.
Lebanon’s Aoun vows to prosecute those who killed UNIFIL soldier
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun vows to prosecute those who targeted French UN peacekeepers, killing one and wounding three.
In a statement shared by the presidency, Aoun expresses his condolences to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in a phone call, condemning the incident and vowing that Beirut “will not hesitate to pursue those involved and bring them to justice.”
Senior Hezbollah official says terror group ‘not concerned’ by Israel-Lebanon talks, labels them ‘a failure’
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati says that his terror group was not concerned by Lebanon’s planned direct talks with Israel, labeling them a failure.
In a press conference in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Qamati says his terror group was “not concerned with the negotiations being conducted by the state,” saying they were “a failure, weak, defeated… and submissive negotiations.”
“The resistance is the one that imposes. We are the land… and we are the ones who draw up the decisions, not those who have an official status,” he says, adding that while his group did not mind Beirut “coordinating with us… not in this way that leads to surrender.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
UNIFIL blames ‘non-state actors,’ code for Hezbollah, over attack that killed French soldier
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon blames “non-state actors,” code for the Iran-backed Hezbollah, for a deadly attack on its observers in southern Lebanon today.
“This morning, a UNIFIL patrol clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the village of Ghanduriyah to re-establish links with isolated UNIFIL positions came under small-arms fire from non-state actors. Tragically, one peacekeeper succumbed to his injuries and three others were injured, two of them seriously,” the observer force says in a statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the attack killed a French soldier, and that it was apparently carried out by Hezbollah.
UNIFIL says it “condemns this deliberate attack on peacekeepers engaged in their mandated tasks. The work of explosive ordnance disposal teams is vital in the mission’s area of operations especially in the wake of the recent hostilities.”
The observer force says it has launched an investigation “to determine the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.”
It adds that an “initial assessment indicates the fire came from non-state actors (allegedly Hizbullah).”
This morning, a UNIFIL patrol clearing explosive ordnance along a road in the village of Ghanduriyah to re-establish links with isolated UNIFIL positions came under small-arms fire from non-state-actors.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) April 18, 2026
Counterterror police probing arson attack on London shop in Jewish area
LONDON — UK counterterror officers are investigating an arson attack on a shop in an area of London with a large Jewish population, police say, following similar incidents in recent weeks.
No one was injured in the fire late yesterday in Hendon, in the northwest of Britain’s capital, London’s Metropolitan Police say in a statement, without specifying the business targeted.
It comes after police arrested two people over a separate arson attack on a synagogue in nearby Finchley on Wednesday, amid an upsurge in antisemitic incidents in Britain.
In late March, four Jewish community ambulances were torched in Golders Green, also in north London.
“At this stage last night’s arson is not being linked to other incidents in the north-west London area over the last week or last month’s arson in Golders Green, but counter-terrorism officers are leading due to the similarities of each attack,” Helen Flanagan of the Met’s counter terrorism unit says in a statement.
Police were called to the scene shortly after 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) yesterday after a man was spotted approaching a row of shops carrying a plastic bag later found to contain three bottles containing “fluid,” the Met said.
He placed the bag by a building before lighting the items inside, it adds.
When they failed to fully ignite, the man fled the scene. The shopfront sustained minor damage, and no arrests have been made, the force adds.
Macron says Hezbollah responsible for attack killing French UNIFIL soldier in Lebanon
PARIS, France — A French soldier was killed and three others wounded in an attack today on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon that appeared to have been carried out by Hezbollah, French President Emmanuel Macron says.
“Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack,” he says on X, urging Lebanese authorities to arrest the perpetrators.
CENTCOM says US forces have turned back 23 ships to Iranian ports
Since the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and coastal areas, 23 ships have complied with US forces orders to turn back toward Iran, the US military says.
Littoral combat ship USS Canberra (LCS 30) patrols the Arabian Sea during the U.S. blockade. Since commencement of the blockade, 23 ships have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around. American forces are enforcing a maritime blockade against ships entering or… pic.twitter.com/PMIBOoeJXS
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 18, 2026
Lebanese PM says French UNIFIL troops attacked, orders probe
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemns an attack on members of the French contingent of the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL today and orders an immediate investigation into the incident, according to a post on X.
Iran deputy FM says no date has been set for next round of talks with US
ANTALYA, Turkey — No date has been set for the next round of Iran-US peace talks brokered by Pakistan following the failure of the first one, Iran’s deputy foreign minister says.
“Until we agree on the framework, we cannot set the date,” Saeed Khatibzadeh tells journalists on the sidelines of an annual Turkish diplomatic forum in the southern province of Antalya.
“Now we are focusing on finalizing the framework of understanding between two sides. We don’t want to enter into any negotiation or meeting which is due to failure which can be pretext for another round of escalation,” he says.
Mojtaba Khamenei warns Iran’s navy ready to defeat US forces
TEHRAN, Iran — A statement said to have been issued by Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warns that Tehran’s navy was ready to defeat US forces, as the foes sparred over the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement carried on his Telegram channel, Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since before the start of the war, says Iran’s “brave navy stands ready to make the enemies taste the bitterness of new defeats.”
IDF confirms it carried out first strikes against Hezbollah since ceasefire, says operatives violated truce
The IDF confirms carrying out several strikes in southern Lebanon in the past day against Hezbollah operatives who “violated the ceasefire understandings,” in the first such actions since the truce took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday.
Troops operating south of the “Yellow Line” in southern Lebanon “identified terrorists who violated the ceasefire understandings and approached the forces from north of the Yellow Line in a manner that posed an immediate threat,” the military says.
The IDF says the Israeli Air Force and ground troops “struck the terrorists in several areas in southern Lebanon” to “remove the threat.”
The Yellow Line in southern Lebanon refers to the military’s line of deployment as the ceasefire took effect on Thursday night.
In addition, the military says it carried out artillery shelling in support of ground troops operating in southern Lebanon, “and terror infrastructure was destroyed in response to threats.”
The IDF says it is acting “in accordance with the directives of the political echelon.”
“Accordingly, the IDF is authorized to take the necessary measures for self-defense against threats, while safeguarding the security of Israeli civilians and the troops deployed on the ground,” the military says in a statement.
“Actions of self-defense and the removal of threats are not limited by the ceasefire,” the IDF says, adding that it will “not allow harm to the citizens of Israel and its soldiers, and will take all necessary actions to ensure their security.”
The military says that it will continue to clear the area currently under its control of Hezbollah infrastructure, operatives, and any other threats.
IRGC gunboats open fire on tanker off Oman’s coast, UK maritime agency says
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says it received a report of a tanker being fired upon by what it said were “two gunboats linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)” 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman.
The captain of the tanker said the two gunboats opened fire without issuing a radio challenge, UKMTO says in its advisory note, adding that the vessel and its crew were reported safe.
US ‘cannot impose their will’ and block Hormuz, Iran’s deputy FM says
ANTALYA, Turkey — The United States “cannot impose their will” and block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s deputy foreign minister says, after Iran’s military declared the waterway closed again.
“Americans cannot impose their will to do a siege over Iran while Iran, with good intention, is trying to facilitate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Saeed Khatibzadeh tells journalists on the sidelines of an annual Turkish diplomatic forum in the southern province of Antalya.
Iranian media says Tehran has not agreed to 2nd round of talks with US
Iran has not agreed to another round of talks with the United States in Islamabad, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports, citing “relevant authorities.”
The report comes shortly after Tehran announces it was reasserting control over the Strait of Hormuz, after briefly opening it, citing the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports.
IDF says it raided home of terrorist who infiltrated West Bank settlement, detained brother
The IDF says it raided the home of the Palestinian terrorist who infiltrated the West Bank settlement of Negohot this morning.
Troops operated in the village of Fuqeiqis, where Muhammad al-Suweiti lived. Suweiti was shot dead after infiltrating Negohot while armed with a knife.
According to the military, at the home of the terrorist, troops located a makeshift firearm and other military equipment, with which he “planned to carry out acts of terror against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”
The IDF says that “in light of the findings,” Suweiti’s brother was detained at the scene and handed over to the Shin Bet security agency for interrogation.
US extends sanctions waiver on sale of Russian oil aimed at easing energy prices
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s administration issues a month-long sanctions waiver allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products that are at sea, extending an earlier move to soften surging energy prices.
The license, issued by the Treasury Department, comes two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would not renew the waiver.
The latest move allows for the purchase of oil and petroleum products that have been loaded onto any vessel as of Friday, through 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on May 16.
It prolongs an earlier easing of sanctions that expired on April 11.
On Wednesday, however, Bessent had told reporters that the United States would not make such an extension for Russian oil — or Iranian oil.
Both measures aimed to ease global supply shocks from the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Tehran retaliated by effectively closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy shipments.
Oil prices have since surged, squeezing countries and especially those dependent on energy exports from the region.
Egyptian FM says Cairo working with Pakistan on US-Iran peace framework
ANTALYA, Turkey — Egypt is working closely with Pakistan on a framework aimed at securing a lasting peace between the US and Iran, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says.
He says Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were coordinating a broader regional effort focused on preventing renewed escalation and laying the groundwork for a post-war security arrangement, stressing the importance of protecting Gulf states and stabilising energy markets, supply chains and food security.
2nd round of US-Iran peace talks set for Monday in Islamabad, CNN reports
A second round of US-Iranian peace negotiations is expected to be held in Islamabad on Monday, Iranian sources tell CNN.
While Washington has not confirmed the talks, US President Donald Trump has claimed that Tehran has agreed to give up its highly enriched uranium and has expressed confidence that an agreement can be reached.
Iran says it has reasserted control over Hormuz after US refuses to end blockade
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Iran swiftly reverses course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway after the US says the move would not end its blockade.
The country’s joint military command says that the “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces.”
It warns that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
The announcement comes the morning after US President Donald Trump said the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear program.
British FM says Hormuz passage not at normal levels, Iran truce needs to become lasting peace
ANTALYA, Turkey — British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says the Strait of Hormuz had yet to return to normal operations despite a ceasefire in the Iran war, and urged Tehran to allow global shipping to resume fully.
“We are at a critical diplomatic moment with a ceasefire now in place … but we don’t yet have normal passage through the strait,” Cooper tells Reuters on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in Antalya.
She says the truce needed to develop into a lasting peace, adding that restoring shipping through the waterway was urgent for the global economy.
Turkish FM accuses Israel of using security ‘as an excuse to occupy more land’
ANTALYA, Turkey — Turkey’s foreign minister accuses Israel of using security as a pretext to acquire “more land.”
“Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land. Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land,” Hakan Fidan tells the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iran partially reopens airspace to flights in eastern part of country
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran partially reopened its airspace today to international flights crossing the eastern part of its territory, the country’s Civil Aviation Authority says.
“Air routes in the eastern section of the country’s airspace are open for international flights transiting through Iran,” it said, adding that some airports had also reopened at 7 a.m. (0330 GMT).
More than three hours later, however, flight tracker websites still showed no international flights crossing Iran, and several avoiding its airspace by making long detours.
Pakistan’s army chief rounds up 3-day Tehran trip aiming to reach deal to end war
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s powerful army chief completed a three-day visit to Tehran, the country’s military says, having met top Iranian leaders and negotiators as part of efforts to end the Middle East war.
Field Marshal Asim Munir met several top Iranian leaders during the trip, which shows Pakistan’s “unwavering resolve to facilitate a negotiated settlement… and to promote peace, stability, and prosperity,” the military says in a statement ahead of expected peace talks in Islamabad in the coming days.
Convoy of tankers transit Hormuz in first major movement of ships since war began
A convoy of oil tankers was observed crossing the Strait of Hormuz today, the first major movement of ships in the crucial waterway since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran seven weeks ago.
The convoy of tankers was seen departing the Gulf and transiting the waterway, vessel-tracking data shows.
The group comprised four liquefied petroleum gas carriers and several oil product and chemical tankers, with more tankers following from the Gulf, according to MarineTraffic data.
US says it has turned 21 ships back to Iranian ports since start of blockade
The US military says it has turned 21 ships around back to Iran since the beginning of its blockade of the Islamic Republic’s ports.
“Since commencement of the blockade, 21 ships have complied with direction from US forces to turn around and return to Iran,” CENTCOM writes on X.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) patrols the Arabian Sea, April 17, as U.S. forces enforce the naval blockade on ships attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports. Since commencement of the blockade, 21 ships have complied with direction from U.S. forces to… pic.twitter.com/2Ro1lq6ORq
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 18, 2026
All-clear given in Negohot after armed suspect neutralized inside West Bank settlement
The all-clear is given in Negohot after an armed suspect was neutralized inside the West Bank settlement.
An alert warning of the infiltration had sounded in the South Hebron Hills community, warning residents to stay in their homes.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces said the suspect was armed with a knife.
There were no reports of other injuries.
Trump rejects idea that Iran could charge tolls on Strait of Hormuz: ‘Nope. No way. No.’
US President Donald Trump flatly rejects the idea when a reporter asks about the prospect of restrictions or tolls managed by Iran on the Strait of Hormuz.
“Nope. No way. No. Nope,” Trump says.
He says there can’t be tolls along with restrictions.
“No, they’re not going to be tolls,” he says, on board Air Force Once.
REPORTER: "On the Strait — are there going to be restrictions and tolls managed by Iran for ships and vessels passing through?"@POTUS: "Nope. No way… The restriction is you can't do the tolls. No, there's not gonna be tolls." pic.twitter.com/PaTpnFPOr2
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 18, 2026
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Trump’s White House ballroom construction allowed for now, says US appeals court
A US appeals court allows US President Donald Trump’s administration to continue construction of a $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, setting a June hearing to review a Washington judge’s order halting the project.
An order by a three‑judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit puts the lower court’s preliminary injunction on hold for now, giving the panel time to consider the US Justice Department’s request for a longer pause while the appeal is pending.
The appeals court says it will hear arguments on June 5 on whether construction should be stopped during the appeal. The order does not address the merits of the underlying lawsuit, which challenges the Trump administration’s authority to build the ballroom.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed the lawsuit last year, and the White House do not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours.
The ruling temporarily blocks a decision issued a day earlier by US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, who said the ballroom project was unlawful without approval from the US Congress.
The National Trust sued Trump and several federal agencies in December after the administration demolished the East Wing to make way for the ballroom, arguing the president and the National Park Service lacked authority to tear down the historic structure.
Trump has championed the ballroom as a defining addition to the White House and part of his broader push to reshape Washington. The administration has said the project will modernize infrastructure and bolster security. Trump has emphasized the project is funded entirely by private donors.
Armed terrorist neutralized inside West Bank settlement of Negohot, IDF says
An armed terrorist was neutralized inside the West Bank settlement of Negohot, the Israel Defense Forces says.
Sirens warning of the infiltration sounded in the South Hebron Hills community during the incident.
The suspect was armed with a knife, the military says.
There are no reports of other injuries.
The condition of the suspect is unclear and the military does not say if he was neutralized by troops or civilians.
The IDF says troops are continuing to search the area.
IDF court martials soldiers who showed up to procedural final day of service in tank-top
The mother of a recently discharged soldier reveals that her daughter was court martialed and fined for showing up to her last day of service in the military in a tank-top.
The last day of one’s service largely entails filling out forms and handing over equipment, so discharging soldiers typically show up to their base in civilian clothes and take a photo of themselves cutting up their military IDs.
While male soldiers regularly arrive to their final day in tank tops, Shira Kuperman says her daughter Alma was cited for doing the same, with her commanding officers concluding that she was not modestly dressed.
Alma and two of her friends were immediately court martialed and fined NIS 1,200 ($405), the equivalent of her final month’s military salary, which she was planning to use on her post-army trip abroad.
סיפור הזוי ומרתיח מבית היוצר של צה"ל: מ"כיות הגיעו לבסיס ביומן האחרון לשירות בלבוש אזרחי, הזדכו על המדים וגזרו את החוגר, ואל"מ מזי סוויסה ראש מערך מג"ל העלתה אותם למשפט על לבוש לא "צנוע" (גופיה, חולצת בטן וחצאית, כן?) וקנסה אותן בשליש מהמשכורת pic.twitter.com/TPkX5lkJ06
— לי נעים Lee Naim (@naimleee) April 17, 2026
After the trial ended, Alma and her friends were immediately discharged, but a bad taste was left in their mouths, Kuperman writes in a social media post detailing the humiliating experience.
Kuperman noted how the incident unfolded against the backdrop of the government’s efforts to pass legislation granting blanket exemptions to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.
After her post went viral, the IDF issued a statement apparently attempting to engage in damage control.
“The incident constitutes a deviation from orders and is therefore being handled by the deputy commander of the unit in accordance with IDF procedures and disciplinary law. We would like to emphasize that the option of filing an appeal remains on the table and will be reviewed on its merits if it is filed,” the army said.
The incident comes days after four Border Police officers were sentenced to two weeks in military prison for “harming religion and Judaism” by barbecuing on base during Shabbat, sparking renewed allegations of religious coercion in the army.
US again allows temporary sale of Russian oil at sea, Treasury says
The US Treasury Department issues another Russia-related general license, allowing the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of April 17.
The authorization will last through May 16, the department says in a statement issued late Friday night.
Trump claims China’s Xi is ‘very happy’ about Strait of Hormuz reopening
US President Donald Trump claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping is “very happy” about the status of the Strait of Hormuz, and that he looks forward to their meeting in China.
“President Xi is very happy that the Strait of Hormuz is open and/or rapidly opening,” Trump says on Truth Social.
“Our meeting in China will be a special one and, potentially, Historic. I look forward to being with President Xi — Much will be accomplished!” he adds.
Iran’s top negotiator threatens to close Strait of Hormuz if US blockade continues
Iran will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz again if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says.
“With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,” Ghalibaf writes on X, adding that passage through the waterway would depend on authorization from Iran.
Ghalibaf says Trump made seven different claims about the war within an hour, all of which were false.
The US “did not win the war with these lies, and they certainly will not get them anywhere in negotiations either,” Ghalibaf says.
The parliament speaker cites a statement from Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson who disputes each of Trump’s claims in more detail.
While Trump claimed there are no sticking points with Iran regarding a deal and that Tehran has agreed to give of its stockpiles of enriched uranium, the foreign ministry spokesperson says in a statement, “Iran’s enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere under any circumstances.”
Expert identifies major holes in UN report claiming 38,000 women and girls were killed in Gaza war
An American policy analyst identifies what he says are major holes in a report published Friday by the UN Women’s agency, which claimed that 38,000 women and girls were killed in Gaza by the end of 2025 and that a projected 120,000 were killed in total.
These projected figures are far above the death toll currently reported by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, which stands at 72,345 as of April 16.
Israel Policy Forum senior policy associate Gabriel Epstein tells The Times of Israel that the UN agency’s 38,000 figure was derived by blindly applying projections regarding both an overall claimed undercount and the gender and age breakdown from studies conducted earlier in the war, rather than using actual and current Health Ministry data.
Both the 41% undercount that UN Women assumed and the proportions the agency used to pull out girls from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry’s child category and for adult women from the elderly category are inexplicably from a study relying on a much less complete June 2024 dataset, not current figures published in November 2025, Epstein points out.
Moreover, the UN agency then took those old figures and applied them to the more up-to-date statistics.
The Gaza health ministry’s own breakdown from November 2025 says 40.8% of the children killed were girls, while the UN agency report claims it is 44.6%.
For elderly women, too, the UN report’s percentage was higher than the more updated information provided by the Gaza health ministry — 39.9% compared to 37.2%.
“The current proportions were easily accessible from the November 2025 dataset, so this is a serious error,” Epstein says.
November 2025 Gaza health ministry data says 8,423 girls between the ages of 0 and 17 have been killed; 10,620 women between the ages of 18 and 59; and 1,820 elderly women above the age of 60, totaling 20,863 female deaths.
This would make up 30.32 percent of the 68,420 deaths on the health ministry’s unique death list.
The projections pushed by UN Women would then imply 18,000 uncounted deaths of women and girls alone. However, local Hamas-run agencies in Gaza currently estimate roughly 3,500 missing persons and some 8,000 unrecovered bodies, or 11,500 total, including men and boys. These estimations are irreconcilable with UN Women’s assumptions about the overall death toll or for women and girls specifically, Epstein says.
“Basically, this is a projection on top of a projection that mixes data and assumptions from different time periods and relies on a number of unsupported assumptions to arrive at a result that is not matched either by the existing ground data or plausible assessments of uncounted deaths in Gaza,” Epstein says.
Despite Iranian denials, Trump insists Iran’s uranium to be taken ‘back home to the USA very soon’
US President Donald Trump says Iran’s uranium will be transferred to the United States under any peace deal, adding that Washington will help Tehran dig it out from nuclear facilities hit in US strikes last year, despite the Islamic Republic’s strenuous denials that it will hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium.
“We’re going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators,” Trump says in a speech to the conservative Turning Point USA movement in Phoenix, Arizona. “We’re going to take it back home to the USA very soon.”
Trump also insists that no money will change hands as part of the deal being negotiated to end the Iran war.
USS Gerald Ford returns to Mideast as 3rd American aircraft carrier heads to region
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has again entered the waters of the Middle East, two defense officials tell the Associated Press.
The Ford, which until recently was operating in the Eastern Mediterranean, transited the Suez Canal, along with a pair of destroyers, the USS Mahan and the USS Winston S. Churchill, and is now operating in the Red Sea, one official says.
Both speak on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
The Ford is returning to the Red Sea after more than a month in the Mediterranean following a major fire in a laundry space that forced the ship back to port for repairs. The carrier also broke the record for the longest aircraft carrier deployment since the Vietnam war this week.
The Ford’s arrival makes it the second aircraft carrier in the region in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. The USS George H. W. Bush is also heading toward the region and is currently off the coast of South Africa, according to one defense official.