The Times of Israel liveblogged Wednesday’s events as they unfolded.
WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicates that talks with Iran are focused strictly on the nuclear file, rather than Tehran’s rights record.
Against the backdrop of what US President Donald Trump said earlier Wednesday was a decision by Iran to cancel planned executions of eight women, Fox News asks White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt whether humanitarian issues will also be part of the ongoing, but stalled, Iran talks.
“Humanitarian issues are of a great concern to this president, but with respect to the negotiations that are ongoing, he has made his red lines very clear: Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb to threaten the United States and our allies, and they must turn over the enriched uranium that’s in their possession,” Leavitt says.
“While it is very far into the ground thanks to the success of Operation Midnight Hammer, it’s important to the president that they hand that enriched uranium over,” she says, referring to the June 2025 US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran has indicated willingness to negotiate over the latter issue, but has reportedly offered to down-blend the highly enriched uranium, rather than have it transferred out of the country.
Leavitt notably makes no mention of Iran’s missile program and support for proxies, which Israel has insisted must also be part of any deal reached with Tehran.
WASHINGTON — The White House denies reporting claiming that it has given Iran three to five days to submit a response to the latest proposal for a permanent ceasefire with the US.
“The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting we’ve seen today,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt tells reporters outside the White House.
In extending the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump offered “a bit of flexibility” to a regime suffering from “a lot of internal division” as a result of the US-Israeli war, Leavitt says.
“This is a battle between the pragmatists and the hardliners in Iran right now, and the president wants a unified response,” she adds.
In the meantime, “Operation Economic Fury” will continue, Leavitt says, offering a new term for the sanctions and blockade measures that Washington has taken against Iran.
The US blockade of Iranian ports is costing Tehran $500 million daily, and Kharg Island is “completely full” of oil as the country is unable to move fuel in or out of the country, Leavitt claims.
But the blockade has also led Iran to hold off on submitting its response in the stalled nuclear talks in addition to re-blocking the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has impacted the entire global economy.
Iran’s judiciary describes as “false news” remarks by US President Donald Trump that the Islamic Republic had reversed a decision to execute eight women, saying they had never faced the death penalty.
“Despite the claim from last night being exposed as a lie, Trump, just minutes ago in another post, claimed that the death sentences of eight protesting women who were supposed to be executed tonight in Iran have been cancelled, and thanked Iran!” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website posts on X.
“Trump’s empty hand in the field has led him to fabricate achievements from false news,” it says, in response to the US president’s remarks that Iran had halted alleged plans to execute eight women arrested over anti-government protests, after he urged Tehran to release them to help peace negotiations.
Hezbollah claims to have shot down four Israeli surveillance drones over the southern town of Mansouri this afternoon.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
The IDF confirms that Israeli settlers raided a Palestinian village earlier today, during which a resident of the central West Bank community was shot dead.
In a statement on the incident in Deir Dibwan, the IDF says that its forces were dispatched to the area following reports that settlers had entered the village.
Upon arriving at the scene, the army says its troops acted to break up a clash that had broken out, though Palestinian says riot dispersal measures were only deployed against the villagers and not the trespassing settlers.
The IDF claims troops managed to extract the settlers from the village and transferred them to the nearest Israel Police station.
The army says that the Israel Police have launched an investigation into the incident; however, arrests in such cases of settler violence are rare, and convictions are even less common, even though these attacks take place on a daily basis.
Police in a separate statement say officers detained several Israeli suspects for questioning, but don’t specify whether they were actually booked afterward.
The army confirms that troops also arrested a number of Palestinians suspected of stone throwing and says that they were later released.
Footage showed the IDF marching roughly 30 Palestinians out of the village after the deadly incident. It’s unclear what evidence the army on all of them to justify such a wide scale arrest, and their subsequent release indicates that such proof was insufficient to hold them.
The IDF says it is aware of a report of a Palestinian killed by gunfire, but a military official clarifies that the troops did not fire any shots at the locals, effectively acknowledging that a civilian settler was behind the latest killing.
Critics accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the phenomenon or even of actively supporting those behind such attacks, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years.
The IDF, in its statement, does caution Israeli civilians against entering Palestinian villages without first coordinating with authorities.
Hezbollah claims to have carried out another attack against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, saying they come in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
The terror group says it used attack drones to target an IDF Humvee and Israeli troops in the town of Qantara, located within the Israeli-held security zone.
The IDF has not yet commented on the claims.
The US breach of commitments and its blockade of Iranian ports and threats are the main obstacles to “genuine negotiations,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says.
“[The] world sees your endless hypocritical rhetoric and contradiction between claims and actions,” he says, one day after US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire extension.
The military says it is investigating after two journalists were reportedly wounded by an Israeli strike in the IDF-held security zone in southern Lebanon earlier today.
According to the IDF, the incident began when troops identified two vehicles setting out from a building known to be used by Hezbollah in the at-Tiri area.
“The terrorists crossed the forward defense line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat,” the military says.
The IDF says the Israeli Air Force struck one of the vehicles and then a building “to which the terrorists fled.”
The military says it then received reports that two female journalists were injured as a result of the strike.
“The IDF is not preventing rescue forces from reaching the area at this stage,” the military says, after Reuters reported that an Israeli drone dropped a grenade on rescuers trying to lift one wounded journalist from rubble.
The IDF says that the “details of the incident are under review.”
The military also says that it “does not target journalists and acts to mitigate harm to them while maintaining the safety and security of its troops,” while adding that “the map of the forward defense line has been published and the area has been evacuated.”
An internal IDF intelligence document circulated to political leadership in recent days warns that Hamas is steadily rebuilding its capabilities in Gaza, according to a Channel 12 report.
The document reportedly states that Hamas is “buying time” while working to restore and strengthen its military wing, accelerating the recruitment of operatives, seizing control of goods, and reasserting civil and governmental authority in areas under its control.
While the assessment notes that Hamas has not yet achieved the significant leap in capabilities it seeks, it is gradually rehabilitating its strength, the report says.
Security officials cited in the report argue that developments on other fronts – particularly the conflict with Iran and fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon – are effectively benefiting Hamas, as both US and Israeli attention is diverted elsewhere.
As a result, Hamas is exploiting the situation, failing to meet commitments outlined in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, the report adds.
Senior defense officials familiar with the document warn that without a process of disarmament and dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities, “we will return to square one.”
The United States is giving Iran a window of three to five days to respond to a proposed deal and return to negotiations, or risk the collapse of the current ceasefire, Channel 12 reports, citing three American officials.
A separate Channel 12 report, citing political sources in Jerusalem, says the effective deadline set by US President Donald Trump falls on Sunday – generally matching the reported three-to-five-day timeframe.
The reporting contrasts with an earlier Reuters report, which cited a source saying Trump had not formally set a deadline for extending the ceasefire.
Yesterday, Trump announced an extension to the two-week ceasefire with Iran, hours before its deadline, without specifying a timeline.
Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says that a complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Ghalibaf says in a post on X that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a “flagrant breach of the ceasefire.”
The US and Israel “did not achieve their goals through military aggression, and they will not achieve them through bullying,” he warns. “The only way is to accept the rights of the Iranian people.”
US President Donald Trump thanks Iran for purportedly scrapping the executions of eight female citizens at his request.
Trump claimed yesterday that Iran was planning to hang eight women, citing an unverified post by a pro-Israel activist.
A rights group later said that at least two of the eight women had already been released when Trump issued the plea to Iran’s leadership yesterday.
“Very good news! I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed,” Trump says in his latest Truth Social post. “Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison.”
“I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution,” Trump adds.
Several settler activists crossed the border into Lebanon today, in addition to those who crossed into Syria, before returning to Israel after a few minutes.
According to the IDF, some 10 Israelis gathered near the Lebanon border.
“Three Israeli citizens crossed the fence and walked tens of meters into Lebanese territory, until they returned after a few minutes,” the military says.
Troops stationed in the area detained the suspects and handed them over to the police, the army says.
“The IDF strongly condemns the incident and emphasizes that this is a severe event constituting a criminal offense that endangers civilians and IDF forces,” the military adds.
A 35-year-old man has been shot dead in his car this evening in the Druze village of Ein al-Asad in northern Israel.
Paramedics say they found the victim, a resident of the northern town, unconscious in the vehicle and declared his death on the spot.
At the scene of the crime, the victim’s windshield is seen riddled with bullet holes.
Police have launched an investigation into the killing and are searching for suspects. No arrests have been reported.
US President Donald Trump is awarded the Israel Prize, the country’s highest honor, in absentia, at the annual Independence Day ceremony in Jerusalem.
Trump was informed in December by Education Minister Yoav Kisch that he would be awarded the Israel Prize in the category of “special contribution to the Jewish people.”
Kisch signed an Israel Prize certificate in honor of the US president yesterday, declaring in a video sent to the press that he didn’t think there was “any other person who can mark such amazing achievements and a wonderful connection to the Jewish people except for Trump at this time.”
A highlight reel of Trump’s pro-Israel actions during both terms of his presidency is played at the ceremony, including footage from the announcement of the Abraham Accords in 2020, his speech in the Knesset in October last year, and his many meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the past decade.
The president is expected to visit Israel in the coming months and will be formally presented with the award at an in-person ceremony then.
Sam Sokol contributed to this report.
A 29-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead in the latest settler raid of a Palestinian village in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news site reports.
The victim has been identified as Odeh Awawdeh.
Wafa says settlers arrived at the outskirts of the village of Deir Dibwan near Ramallah, leading to a confrontation with locals who came to fend off the attackers.
At least one of the settlers began opening fire on the Palestinians, striking Awawdeh in the back. He was rushed to the hospital, but doctors were forced to declare his death shortly after his arrival.
Shortly thereafter, the IDF was filmed carrying out a mass arrest of men from the village, with Wafa reporting that 30 were detained.
Following the Israeli settler pogrom in the village of Deir Dibwan — in which a 29-year-old Palestinian man was murdered — the Israeli army arrived and, instead of arresting the settlers, carried out a mass detention of Palestinian men from the village. pic.twitter.com/Nkk2pV8KTZ
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) April 22, 2026
Other local reports say the victim was actually shot dead by the IDF, which arrived at the scene after settlers raided the village. Those reports say the Israeli troops then used riot dispersal measures to break up a clash between the settlers and the Palestinians.
However, as is typical in such cases, the riot dispersal measures only targeted the Palestinians and also included the use of live fire, something that is rarely used by the IDF against settlers.
The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment.
IDF arrests of Palestinians following attacks by settlers are relatively common, with Palestinians claiming that Israeli authorities treat them as suspects, even when they are victims who are given no state protection.
The deadly incident in Deir Dibwan comes a day after a settler reservist shot dead two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old boy, in nearby al-Mughayyir. The reservist has been suspended from duty, and an investigation has been opened, but he has not been placed under arrest.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that he has extended sanctions relief on Russian seaborne oil for 30 days because of requests from countries that are the most vulnerable to oil shortages from the closed Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent tells a US Senate Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing that the requests came from finance leaders of about 10 countries during last week’s International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings. The action reverses his earlier comments last week that he would not renew expiring sanctions waivers.
Bessent says estimates that Iran has gained more than $14 billion from the relief are “a myth,” but he does not provide an alternate figure.
US President Donald Trump has not set a timeline for the extension of a ceasefire with Iran, a source briefed on the matter says.
One of the three French soldiers wounded in a Hezbollah attack against peacekeepers in Lebanon last week has died in France, where he had been evacuated to, French President Emmanuel Macron says in a post on X.
Another French soldier was killed in the attack on April 18, which occurred when the UNIFIL peacekeepers were clearing unexploded ordnance in a village in southern Lebanon.
Immigration to Israel from the United Kingdom is currently at the highest level it has been in 40 years, a new study from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research has found.
In total, 742 people moved from the UK to Israel in 2025, the highest number since the mid-1980s, the JPR study finds.
Although a higher number than previous years, it is not a drastic increase, as the study notes that over the past two decades, between 400 and 740 people have immigrated to Israel annually. This amounts to around 2 Jews per 1,000 members of the UK’s Jewish community moving to Israel each year.
Still, the number has been increasing slightly year-on-year, the study notes, since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza, which led to increased rates of antisemitism in the US and Europe.
The study also finds that the rate of immigration to Israel is higher among ultra-Orthodox Jews in the UK, and it is also higher among Jews who feel “strongly attached” to a local Jewish community compared to those who do not interact much with the wider Jewish community.
Despite the higher rates of immigration, a survey conducted as part of the study finds that most British Jews still feel at ease in the UK even amid rising antisemitism.
According to the survey, 85% of British Jews either “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that they can practice Judaism without restriction, despite 82% of correspondents also saying they believe antisemitism to be a “very big” or “fairly big” problem.
JPR notes that the survey was conducted between June 8 and July 21, 2025, months before the deadly Yom Kippur terror attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester in October, meaning the responses may no longer accurately reflect the sentiment among UK Jewry.
A fresh round of negotiations between the US and Iran could take place in Pakistan as soon as Friday, the New York Post reports, citing US President Donald Trump and unnamed Pakistani sources.
According to the Post, the sources informed the outlet that following “positive mediation efforts with Tehran,” both sides could return to the negotiating table within the next “36 to 72 hours.”
Trump, contacted by the Post for comment, replies that “it’s possible” that the sides could gather in Islamabad within that time frame.
Before the ceasefire took effect in Lebanon, the IDF says, troops raided the village of Dibbine, during which some 70 Hezbollah sites were struck, and over 20 terror operatives were killed.
Dibbine is located nearly 12 kilometers north of Israel’s border.
The military says troops of the 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade raided a Hezbollah compound in the village, following intelligence of plans by the terror group to carry out attacks from the area.
“Within a few hours, more than 70 targets were struck, and more than 20 terrorists were eliminated in close-quarters combat and from the air,” the IDF says.
Hezbollah takes responsibility for the drone attack on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
The terror group says it targeted an Israeli artillery site in the Ras al-Bayada headland south of Tyre, in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
According to the IDF, the drone was intercepted.
A semiofficial news agency close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard raised the idea again today that Gulf Arab states remain vulnerable to having their undersea data cables being cut in the Strait of Hormuz.
The report by the Tasnim news agency suggests that “simultaneous damage to several major cables — whether through accidents or deliberate action — could trigger severe outages across the Persian Gulf.”
Multiple cables run through the strait. Already, the region has faced outages after undersea cables were cut multiple times in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels has threatened cables in the past.
Hezbollah launched a drone at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon a short while ago, the military says.
According to the IDF, the drone was intercepted by air defenses. No injuries are reported.
The IDF says the attack is a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Yesterday, Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets at troops in southern Lebanon and a drone at Israel.
Israel has not responded to the attacks beyond striking a rocket launcher used in the barrage yesterday.
Dozens of Israeli settler activists breached the border into Syria a short while ago, before being escorted out by the army.
The activists, who called themselves the Bashan Pioneers, say they barricaded themselves in a building on the outskirts of the Syrian town of Hader, saying they would stay there until the Israeli government approves settlements in Syria.
According to the IDF, some 40 activists traveled about half a kilometer inside Syria. Troops then took the activists back to Israel and handed them over to the police.
The IDF says it “strongly condemns this incident and emphasizes its severity, which constitutes a criminal offense that endangers civilians and IDF troops.”
עשרות פעילי תנועת "חלוצי הבשן" הדורשים ליישב את המרחב הסורי הכבוש, מתבצרים כעת על גג בפאתי הכפר הדרוזי ח'דר למרגלות החרמון.
הם מכריזים כי ישארו במקום "עד שהמדינה תאשר לגרעין המשפחות של התנועה לבוא ולהתיישב בחבל הבשן שלנו". כוחות צה"ל במרחב פועלים להחזיר אותם לשטח ישראל. pic.twitter.com/o44n3ecQ9n— יאיר קראוס (@yair_kraus) April 22, 2026
Lebanon will request a one-month extension of the ceasefire during its meeting with Israel in Washington tomorrow, a Lebanese official tells AFP.
The official, who speaks on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the topic, says “Lebanon will request an extension of the truce for one month, an end of Israel’s bombing and destruction in the areas where it is present, and a commitment to the ceasefire.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said today that “contacts are underway to extend the ceasefire period,” which began last week and is set to expire on Sunday.
The US military has introduced Ukrainian counter-drone technology in recent weeks at a key US air base in Saudi Arabia, according to five people with knowledge of the matter, as it seeks to stem attacks that have destroyed aircraft and buildings, and killed at least one service member.
The deployment of a Ukrainian command-and-control platform called Sky Map at Prince Sultan Air Base, which has not previously been reported, is a sign of how Ukraine’s military has surged ahead in drone and counter-drone technologies that have been battle-hardened in its four-year war with Russia.
Ukrainian military officials arrived at the base in recent weeks to train US warfighters with Sky Map, which is used widely by the Ukrainian military to detect incoming drone threats — including Iranian-developed Shahed drones — and launch counter-attacks with interceptor drones.
As cheap, mass-produced drones play a large role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Pentagon has ramped up investments in counter-drone technology. But the use of Ukrainian technology at Prince Sultan, which is about 400 miles (640 kilometers) from Iran and has endured waves of drones and missiles since the war began, highlights vulnerabilities in US air and missile defense, analysts say.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei acknowledges the ceasefire extension in comments reported today by Iranian state television.
Baghaei does not specifically say Tehran is ready to attend a new round of talks with the United States in Islamabad.
“Diplomacy is a tool for securing national interests and security, and whenever we reach the conclusion that the necessary and reasonable conditions exist to use this tool to achieve national interests and to consolidate the achievements of the Iranian nation in thwarting the enemies’ malicious objectives, we will take action,” he reportedly says.
Oil prices edge higher while Europe’s main stock markets ease on uncertainty surrounding the prospect of resumed Mideast peace talks following an extension to the US-Iran ceasefire.
Asian equities had a mixed trading day as investors wait for clarity but broadly expect that both US President Donald Trump and the authorities in Iran want to end a war that has sent oil and gas prices soaring.
“The ceasefire extension hasn’t done much to calm nerves given that worries remain about the impact of the energy squeeze on the global economy,” says Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club. “Shipments from the Middle East are in limbo and a resolution to the conflict remains elusive, and the price of Brent crude, the benchmark, reflects this.”
Brent North Sea was once more closing in on $100 a barrel while main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, traded back above $90.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights says that two of the women that US President Donald Trump called yesterday to have their executions canceled were out on bail before his post.
According to the organization, an emergency doctor, Golnar Naraqi, and an Iranian citizen of the Bahai faith, Venus Hossein Nejad, have been out on bail since late March.
The two women were arrested separately during the January anti-government protests. The protests across Iran were met with a bloody crackdown that left thousands killed and arrested.
In a social media post yesterday, Trump reposted a photo of six women and two teen girls that a conservative activist said are facing prosecution by the Iranian government.
Iran’s judiciary swiftly responded, saying some of the women have already been released without naming them. It said none of them face the death sentence. Internet restrictions have limited the flow of information out of Iran.
Rights groups say at least two of the other women still in detention are facing charges that carry the death sentence. There have been multiple executions during the war of alleged spies and protesters, mostly accused of links to Israel.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has attacked a third ship today in the Strait of Hormuz, semiofficial Iranian news agencies report.
Nour News, Fars and Mehr all report the attack by the Guard on a vessel called the Euphoria.
They say the vessel had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, without elaborating.
The Guard has seized the other two ships that were attacked, Iranian state television separately reported.
President Isaac Herzog tells foreign diplomats that he dreams of the day when Israelis can freely visit Beirut after making peace with its northern neighbor.
“Israel is eager to work with all of you to help shape a Middle East in which all of our sons and daughters can inherit opportunity instead of fear,” Herzog tells the gathering, which includes the envoys from the UAE and Bahrain. “That they inherit the promises of tomorrow, and not the conflicts of yesterday.”
Herzog says he recently told “Israeli schoolchildren that my dream is to get into a car and drive straight to Beirut, to visit that beautiful city, to befriend the good people of Lebanon, those who share a prayer with us for a better future.”
He says he salutes “the teams who will hopefully gather tomorrow in Washington, DC, and wish them great success in pursuing peace between Israel and Lebanon. But in order to reach that point, Israel must ensure the safety of its borders.”
Israel is set to hold a second round of historic direct talks with Lebanon in DC tomorrow, this time also attended by Israeli Ambassador to the US Mike Huckabee.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy seized two vessels for what it described as maritime violations and transferred them to Iranian shores, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.
In a statement, the Guards says the ships, which they identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminodes, were detained for “operating without the required authorization and for manipulating navigation systems,” adding that this endangered maritime safety.
Pakistan’s top political and military leadership has worked to prevent talks from collapsing and to persuade the US to extend the ceasefire over the past 24 hours, officials say.
Two Pakistani officials tell The Associated Press that authorities will keep security arrangements in place in Islamabad in case US and Iranian delegations ultimately arrive.
Pakistan is also still waiting to hear from Tehran on when it will send a delegation for a second round, the officials say, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
In Islamabad, police and troops remain on alert along key roads, manning checkpoints. Residents are forced to take longer routes as authorities restrict access to parts of the city.
“We have not received any instructions to remove these barricades,” says police officer Mohammad Aslam as he directed commuters to turn back and use alternative routes.
Drone strikes in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region today wound three Iranian Kurdish rebels, an exiled opposition group says, blaming the attack on Tehran.
“Tehran launched an attack with four drones on bases” belonging to the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), wounding three fighters, the exiled group says in a statement.
Its spokesperson Kalel Kani Sanani tells AFP that the fighters sustained minor injuries, adding that the attack occurred in the Khabat district of Erbil province.
Iranian Kurdish rebels have been struck several times during a fragile ceasefire that took effect on April 8 in the US-Israeli war against Iran, which US President Donald Trump extended indefinitely yesterday.
The PAK says in its statement that it falls on Trump “to protect the Kurdistan region” during the truce.
A Palestinian terrorist who participated in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed after approaching Israeli forces in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, the military and Shin Bet announce.
According to the IDF, a terrorist who was identified operating near the Yellow Line and approaching forces of the Gaza Division “in a manner that posed an immediate threat” was targeted and killed in a strike.
Following an intelligence review, the IDF and Shin Bet say that the terrorist was identified as Khamis Muhammad Khamis Qassas, who invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 onslaught.
The military says that Qassas recently “led additional terrorists to the Yellow Line area to advance plans to attack IDF troops,” and during the war, he led other attacks on soldiers and Israeli civilians.
צה"ל חיסל מחבל בסמוך לקו הצהוב שהיווה איום על כוחות צה״ל הפועלים בדרום רצועת עזה
המחבל שחוסל פשט לקיבוץ ניר עוז בטבח הרצחני ב-7 באוקטובר
כוחות אוגדת עזה (143) בפיקוד הדרום חיסלו אתמול (ג׳), מחבל שפעל בסמוך לקו הצהוב והתקרב למרחב בו פועלים כוחות צה״ל בדרום הרצועה, באופן שהיווה… pic.twitter.com/wSh4n9GjV2
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 22, 2026
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says Israel has no “serious disagreements” with Lebanon, ahead of the next round of talks between Beirut and Jerusalem slated to be held tomorrow in Washington.
“We made a historic decision to negotiate directly with Lebanon after more than 40 years,” says Sa’ar at an Independence Day reception for the foreign diplomatic corps in Jerusalem.
“Unfortunately, Lebanon is a failed state. A state that is de facto under Iranian occupation through Hezbollah. But this also leads to a conclusion: Hezbollah is a common enemy of Israel and Lebanon,” says Sa’ar. “Just as it threatens Israel’s security, it harms Lebanon’s sovereignty and threatens its future.”
Sa’ar says that Israel doesn’t “have any serious disagreements with Lebanon. There are a few minor border disputes, which can be solved. The obstacle to peace and normalization between the countries is one: Hezbollah.”
Ahead of tomorrow’s direct talks, Sa’ar calls on the government of Lebanon to “work together against the terror state that Hezbollah built in your territory. This cooperation is needed by you even more than by us. It requires moral clarity and the courage to take risks. But there is no real alternative for ensuring a future of peace for you and for us. And for you, for Lebanon — a future of sovereignty, independence and freedom from the Iranian occupation.”
Britain and France are gathering military planners from about 30 countries to flesh out details of a mission to provide security in the Strait of Hormuz — if and when the key shipping route reopens.
Britain’s Defense Ministry says the two-day meeting at a UK command-and-control center in London aims to “turn diplomatic consensus into a detailed military plan.”
The plan is for an international mission to protect merchant vessels, clear mines and provide reassurance, and is dependent on a “sustainable” ceasefire being reached in the US-Israel war with Iran.
Countries, including France and the UK, have pledged to send ships and mine-clearing drones.
Despite skepticism that the plan will ever be put into action, British Defense Secretary John Healey says he is “confident that, over the next two days, real progress can be made.”
The police have launched an investigation into an arson attack carried out by Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank village of Beit Imrin last night.
The IDF says troops were dispatched to the Palestinian village “following a report of a house and vehicles being set on fire in the area.”
The soldiers scanned the area but did not locate any suspects, the military says in response to a query.
The Israel Police’s West Bank district has launched an investigation, the IDF says, adding that it “strongly condemns events of this type and will continue to work to enforce law and order in the area.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said that seven Palestinians, including an infant, were treated for smoke inhalation, and one person was also treated for burn wounds.
Another HORRIFIC night in the West Bank.
Dozens of Israeli settlers set a Palestinian home on fire in the village of Beit Imrin, surrounding the house to prevent the family from escaping, then hurling rocks as it burned.
8 people were injured, including a one-year-old baby. pic.twitter.com/7yDG5Ch9U9
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) April 21, 2026
A cargo ship leaving Iran was fired upon today and was stopped in the water, a British maritime agency reports, as the United States continued its blockade of Iranian ports.
“A master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center says.
It says the incident took place eight nautical miles west of Iran.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military remains on high alert and is ready to return to fighting on all fronts, amid the fragile truces in Iran and Lebanon.
“Since the inferno of October 7, we have been working to reestablish our military strength through continuous fighting,” he says while addressing 120 outstanding soldiers honored at an Independence Day ceremony at the President’s Residence.
He says that in Gaza, the IDF “prevailed in the fight against Hamas — and upheld the command: ‘We leave no one behind.'”
“At this very moment, we are conducting intense fighting in Lebanon to strengthen the defense of the northern communities,” Zamir says.
“So too in the fighting against Iran in Rising Lion and Roaring Lion,” he says, referring to the June 2025 war with Iran and the latest 40-day conflict with the Islamic Republic.
“At this time, the IDF maintains high alertness and readiness, prepared to return immediately and forcefully to combat in all sectors,” Zamir adds.
The IDF denies carrying out a strike in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley this morning.
Lebanon’s state media reported earlier that one person was killed and two others wounded in an Israeli drone strike overnight on the outskirts of al-Jabbour.
In response to a query, the military tells The Times of Israel that it is unaware of any strikes being conducted in that area.
China warns that the situation in the Middle East is at a “critical juncture” after US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire to allow Iran more time to negotiate.
“The current regional situation stands at a critical juncture transitioning between war to peace; the paramount priority remains to make every effort to prevent a resumption of hostilities,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun tells a news briefing.
Freed hostage Alon Ohel and wounded IDF soldier Dvir Bublil perform a song together at the President’s Residence during the annual Independence Day ceremony for outstanding soldiers.
“I was there 50 meters underground, my legs tied up, looking literally like a corpse — and I could only dream about moments like these, sitting here on Independence Day and playing in front of you,” Ohel tells the crowd. “To pass the time, I would imagine myself sitting on a stage exactly like this one and singing… and here it’s happening, I’m here on this stage.”
The freed hostage says that while in captivity, he had no idea what was going on in Israel, “and to come back and discover that they never stopped fighting for me — it’s just insane… so now to sit here and play — this is closure for me.”
Bublil, who was seriously wounded while fighting in southern Israel on October 7, says when he woke up from his injury, he learned that nine of his friends had been killed and that 251 hostages had been taken, “and it was so disappointing. You’re not responsible, but you feel like you’ve failed. You didn’t protect the country and the people that you don’t even know but you love because you’re part of the nation.”
The pair sing “Shir Lelo Shem” by Yehudit Ravitz.
The Israeli Air Force struck and killed two Hezbollah operatives who crossed the ceasefire line in southern Lebanon yesterday, the military says.
The two operatives were spotted by troops of the 7th Armored Brigade near the Wadi Saluki stream. The IDF says the operatives “crossed the forward defense line and approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat.”
The Israeli Air Force then struck and “eliminated the terrorists to remove the threat,” the military says.
A 10-day ceasefire, announced by US President Donald Trump, took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday, largely stopping six weeks of war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that spiraled out of the conflict between the United States and Iran.
Still, the IDF has continued to respond to what it says are violations of the ceasefire.
Iran’s agriculture minister claims that a US naval blockade has had little impact on the country’s ability to supply basic goods and food, citing strong domestic production and alternative import routes.
“Despite the US naval blockade, we have no problem in supplying basic goods and food because, due to the size of the country, it is possible to import from different borders,” Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri said yesterday.
“About 85 percent of agricultural products and basic goods are produced domestically, so the country’s food security is established,” he added, according to the official IRNA news agency.
The United States imposed a naval blockade on Iran’s ports and coasts on April 13, days after a ceasefire was announced that paused its war with Iran.
Iran has strongly criticized the blockade, describing it as a violation of the ceasefire.
President Isaac Herzog pays tribute to outstanding members of the Israel Defense Forces at the annual Independence Day ceremony at the President’s Residence.
“Outstanding soldiers in a normal year study the battles of the past — but you are fighting the battles that future generations will study,” Herzog says in his address to the gathering. “It is simply unbelievable what you have gone through in the past two and a half years. We all grew up on stories of heroism — but this generation surpasses them all.”
The president also notes that “even at these very moments, alongside the outstanding soldiers, there are tens of thousands of our finest sons and daughters on many fronts, defending us all.”
Alongside the soldiers being honored, freed hostages Alon Ohel, Gadi Mozes, Fernando Marman, Margalit Mozes and Gabriella and Mia Leimberg attend the event in Jerusalem.
“A year ago we prayed and hoped, and thank God we have no more hostages anywhere,” Herzog says.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issues a statement amid the extension of the current ceasefire vowing to remain vigilant amid sky-high tensions in the region.
The IRGC vows to “deliver crushing blows beyond the enemy’s imagination to its remaining assets in the region.”
The Guard “remains at peak readiness and determination to continue the fight, prepared for a decisive, certain and immediate response to any threat or renewed aggression,” the statement adds.
The IRGC fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman today, claiming that it had ignored warnings.
Nour News, a website long affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, says that the IRGC opened fire on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz after it had “ignored the warnings of the Iranian armed forces.”
Nour News adds that the ship sustained “extensive damage” in the attack.
Although the US focused much of its fire in the war on Iran’s navy, sinking and heavily damaging dozens of vessels, the Guard operates a fleet of small attack boats, some of which apparently survived the war.
Those vessels typically carry mounted machine guns, and can be used for mining operations.
US President Donald Trump asserts that Iran is “collapsing financially” over the closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately,” he writes on Truth Social, adding that the Islamic Republic is “starving for cash.”
Trump posted earlier that Tehran said it supported the closure of the strait to “save face” under the US blockade of Iranian ports.
One person was killed and two others wounded in an Israeli drone strike overnight on the outskirts of al-Jbour in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley, Lebanese state news agency reports.
Yesterday the IDF said Hezbollah broke the current ceasefire by firing rockets at Israeli troops stationed in the south of the country, as well as launching a drone at Israel.
Hezbollah has also accused Israel of violating the ceasefire. The IDF struck the launcher used in yesterday’s attack within a few minutes, and has separately struck operatives from the targets in southern Lebanon who it said posed an immediate threat to troops.
This appears to be the first such strike since the ceasefire in northern Lebanon.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says that it has received a report of an incident 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, where the master of a container ship reported being approached by an IRGC gunboat.
The vessel was subsequently fired upon, sustaining heavy damage to its bridge, though no fires or environmental impact were reported and all crew members were safe.
Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence service and passing sensitive information, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reports.
Mizan identifies the man as Mehdi Farid, saying he had held a position in a civil defense unit within a sensitive organization and had used his access to gather and transmit information to Israel’s Mossad.
His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out after legal procedures were completed, Mizan says.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has halted US dollar shipments to Iraq and frozen security cooperation programs with its military, as it presses Baghdad to dismantle Iranian-backed militias operating in the country, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing Iraqi and US officials.
US Treasury Department officials recently blocked a delivery of nearly $500 million in US banknotes — the proceeds of Iraqi oil sales — from accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Journal says.
Washington has also informed Baghdad it is suspending funding for some counterterrorism and military training programs until militia attacks end and Iraqi authorities take steps to dismantle armed groups, the report adds.
In a post on X, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the blockade of Iranian ports “directly targets the regime’s primary revenue lifelines” by constraining maritime trade.
“Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in,” Bessent says.
Kharg Island is considered the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass.
In line with previous statements about economic pressure efforts, Bessent also says Iranian funds will remain frozen and any person or vessel facilitating the flow of funds to Iran will risk US sanctions.
SAN ANTONIO — Scoot Henderson scored 31 points and the Portland Trail Blazers took advantage of an injury to Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, rallying for a 106-103 victory over San Antonio to even their Western Conference playoff series at one game apiece.
Wembanyama tumbled face-first when he was fouled by Jrue Holiday in the second quarter and his jaw slammed into the floor. He entered the NBA’s concussion protocol, which raises the possibility the versatile 7-foot-4 center could miss multiple games.
The second-seeded Spurs looked like they could win without Wemby, building a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter before their offense stagnated.
Portland held San Antonio without a field goal for the final 3:37 as they closed the game on an 11-2 run. Robert Williams III converted an alley-oop dunk with 12 seconds left for a 104-101 lead after Deni Avdija muscled through the paint and fed him the ball.
Holiday had 16 points and nine assists, Avdija scored 14 and Williams finished with 11.
Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 18 points, De’Aaron Fox scored 17 and Devin Vassell had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Game 3 is Friday at Portland.
US President Donald Trump is considering extending the Jones Act waiver, which allows foreign-flagged cargo ships to move fuel and other goods between domestic ports, Axios reports, citing US officials.
Trump waived Jones Act limitations for 60 days starting March 17, hoping the move would help tame the surge in fuel prices caused by the Iran war by increasing shipments from the US Gulf Coast to other coastal markets in the country.
The State Department says US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is returning to Washington to participate in the second round of ambassador-level talks that the administration is brokering between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday.
Other than Huckabee, the list of those attending Thursday’s meeting at the State Department will be largely the same as last week, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the US side, which will also include his top aide Mike Needham, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Huckabee. Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter will represent Jerusalem and Lebanese Ambassador to to the US Nada Hamadeh will represent Beirut.
“While in Washington, Ambassador Huckabee will conduct routine consultations with State Department leadership and interagency partners, including discussions on regional issues,” a State Department spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.
US President Donald Trump says he wants to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed so Iran cannot tax those sailing through the channel.
“They want it open so they can make $500 Million a day,” Trump writes in his latest Truth Social post.
“They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!). They merely want to save face,” he adds.
Trump doesn’t address the economic ramifications for the US and the rest of the world by Washington keeping Hormuz closed.
He appears to be departing from the Pentagon’s original framing of the US blockade as only being targeted at Iran-linked ships, rather than the entire strait.
Trump claims that if he agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “There can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their country, their leaders included!”
Seven Palestinians, including an infant, were treated for smoke inhalation after settlers torched a home in the northern West Bank village of Beit Imrin, the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service says.
One of the Palestinians was also treated for burn wounds, the Red Crescent adds.
Residents managed to put out the fire before it engulfed the entire home, but two vehicles were also torched in the settler attack, the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news site says.
No settlers were arrested for the attack, with the prosecution of Israelis rare in such cases, which take place on a daily basis.
Another HORRIFIC night in the West Bank.
Dozens of Israeli settlers set a Palestinian home on fire in the village of Beit Imrin, surrounding the house to prevent the family from escaping, then hurling rocks as it burned.
8 people were injured, including a one-year-old baby. pic.twitter.com/7yDG5Ch9U9
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) April 21, 2026
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, tells reporters that the effort to end the war between Tehran and Washington is a “complex process” and that it’s important to allow “continuity” for that process to play out, as he welcomes the ceasefire extension announced by US President Donald Trump.
“I think it’s very important that an opportunity for peace is given,” Grossi says.
Grossi, who is currently running to become the next UN secretary-general, also warns both sides that any peace deal must include the IAEA from the start to enforce oversight over Iran’s nuclear program.
Otherwise, he adds, “you will have an illusion of an agreement.”
Incumbent UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres meanwhile says the US announcement will create “critical space for diplomacy and confidence-building between Iran and the United States,” according to his spokesman.
“We encourage all parties to build on this momentum, refrain from actions that could undermine the cease-fire, and engage constructively in negotiations to reach a sustainable and lasting resolution,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says.
The secretary-general “fully supports” Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate US-Iran talks and hopes its efforts “will contribute to creating conditions conducive to a comprehensive and durable resolution to the conflict,” Dujarric says.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul marks Israel’s Independence Day with a statement of solidarity.
“New York is proud to be home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel,” Hochul says in a statement.
“As we recognize Yom Ha’atzmaut and celebrate Israel’s Independence Day, we’re reminded of the strong bond that New York and Israel share,” she says. “We’re proud to stand in solidarity with the Israeli people.”
The statement of unequivocal support stands out because Hochul is a Democrat running for reelection against pro-Israel Jewish Republican Bruce Blakeman, as the Democratic party grows increasingly hostile to Israel, according to polls.
There are more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans in the state.
The election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an anti-Zionist, was seen as evidence that anti-Israel politics could be a boon in New York.
Hochul has close ties with New York Jewish communities and is generally supportive of Israel, although she has voiced criticism of the Gaza war and taken some fire for her cordial relationship with Mamdani.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanks US President Donald Trump for accepting his request to extend the two-week ceasefire with Iran, which was supposed to expire in the coming hours.
Sharif expresses his hope in a statement on X that the sides will respect the ceasefire and reach a comprehensive “peace deal” during a second round of talks in Islamabad, without specifying when those negotiations will be held.
The talks were first planned for Tuesday and then pushed to Wednesday before being delayed indefinitely, as the US and Pakistan await Iran’s response to the latest American proposal.
US President Donald Trump wraps up his remarks at a White House event for college athletes without mentioning the stalled Iran talks.
Trump has weighed in on the Iran war in just about every public appearance he has made since the US began the conflict on February 28.
On Monday, several of Trump’s aides told CNN that the US president’s constant public remarks were harming efforts to secure a deal with Iran.
Moments before appearing at the White House event, Trump announced he was extending a two-week ceasefire with Iran to give more time for what he called a fractured Iranian leadership to respond to the latest proposal for a deal to end the war.
The move amounted to a major about-face for Trump, who repeatedly insisted — as recently as as earlier Tuesday — that he would not issue an extension of the ceasefire, which was supposed to expire at around 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1:30 a.m. Israel time).
Several Palestinian homes have been torched amid a reported Israeli settler raid in the northern West Bank village of Beit Imrin.
There are no immediate reports of injuries, but residents of the village have taken to social media to plead for help.
Earlier Tuesday, a settler reservist reportedly shot dead a 14-year-old Palestinian boy and a 32-year-old young man in the central West Bank village of al-Mughayyir. The reservist has been suspended from duty but not arrested — a step that is highly rare in cases of settler violence, which take place with near impunity on a daily basis.
مستوطنون يضرمون النيران بعدد من المنازل في بلدة بيت امرين شمال غرب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/ex5skDI6t8
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) April 21, 2026
