April 25: WHO chief insists Israel’s aid blockade of Gaza ‘must end’

Ex-US Rep. George Santos sentenced to over 7 years in prison for fraud, identity theft

Former US Rep. George Santos arrives at federal court for sentencing, Friday, April 25, 2025, in Central Islip, NY (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Disgraced former US Rep. George Santos was sentenced today to over seven years in prison, sobbing as he learned his punishment for the crimes that led to his expulsion from Congress.

Santos, who pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, appealed for mercy. In a federal court a short drive from his old congressional district, he said through tears that he was “humbled” and “chastised” and realized he had betrayed his constituents’ trust.

“I offer my deepest apologies,” he said, adding: “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.”

US District Court Judge Joanna Seybert evidently wasn’t convinced.

“Where is your remorse? Where do I see it?” she asked as she sentenced him to 87 months behind bars. “It’s always someone else’s fault.”

The New York Republican served in Congress barely a year before becoming just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues.

He admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his family members, to fund his winning campaign. His plea deal included agreeing to pay roughly $580,000 in penalties.

“From the moment he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit,” US Attorney John Durham, whose office prosecuted the case, said outside court.

WHO chief insists Israel’s aid blockade of Gaza ‘must end’

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus looks on during a press conference at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, December 10, 2024. (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP)

The World Health Organization chief warns that medical supplies are running out in Gaza, insisting that Israel’s aid blockade of the war-torn Palestinian territory “must end.”

After the World Food Programme said that its stocks had depleted in Gaza, where Israel has blocked all aid for more than seven weeks, WHO chief Tedros Adhonom Ghebreyesus warns on X that “the situation is the same with medical supplies. They are running out.”

“This aid blockade must end. Lives depend on it.”

Man dies after tree collapses on family in nature reserve

A man has died hours after a tree collapsed on a family in northern Israel during an outing.

The family was visiting the HaShofet Stream park when the tree collapsed on them, injuring two adults and an infant.

A 71-year-old man was critically injured and later died of his injuries. The two others were lightly hurt.

The park was recently renovated. The cause of the collapse is not immediately clear.

‘We’ve got to be good to Gaza’: Trump says he pressed Netanyahu on aid

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he participates in the swearing-in ceremony for Paul Atkins, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in the Oval Office of the White House on Washington, April 22, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

US President Donald Trump tells reporters that he pushed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow aid into Gaza as the Israeli ban on humanitarian assistance nears the two-month mark.

Trump is asked aboard Air Force One about whether the issue came up during his call with Netanyahu earlier this week.

“Gaza came up and I said, ‘We’ve got to be good to Gaza,'” Trump says.

“Those people are suffering. We’ve got to be good to Gaza. We’re going to take care of them,” he adds.

“There’s a very big need for… food and medicine. We’re taking care of it,” Trump says.

Pressed on whether he’s pushing Israel to allow aid into Gaza, Trump responds. “We are,” adding that he wants “to get food and medicine into Gaza.”

Asked how Netanyahu responded to the request, Trump says, “Well. He felt well about it.”

This is the first time Trump has weighed in on the issue of humanitarian aid in Gaza, which was a repeated point of conflict with the Biden administration.

The previous US leadership repeatedly pressed Israel to allow more assistance in, as international organizations warned about the ever-expanding humanitarian crisis throughout the war-ravaged Strip.

Vatican says 250,000 people viewed Pope Francis’s body

A Swiss guard stands next to the coffin of late Pope Francis as he lies in state at the St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, on April 25, 2025 (MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP)

The Vatican says about 250,000 people paid respects to Pope Francis during a three-day lying in state at St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of his funeral.

The number of people who filed past Francis’s coffin between 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Wednesday and 7 p.m. on Friday, when the public viewing ended, was higher than the estimated 195,000 that the lying in state of Benedict XVI drew in 2023.

Poll: 61% of Israelis fear for democracy, 66% say internal rift is greatest threat

A poll aired by Channel 12 ahead of Independence Day shows 61% of the public fear for the future of Israeli democracy, compared to 34% who do not.

Asked what the greatest threat to Israel is, 66% say it is the internal rift in society, while 28% say it is security threats.

The poll was conducted by the Midgam and iPanel research companies. The data and methodology behind the poll are not immediately available.

IDF issues evacuation warning to Palestinians in Gaza City’s Zeitoun

The IDF issues an evacuation warning to Palestinians residing in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City ahead of Israeli strikes on the area.

In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee publishes a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying the warning comes in light of attacks by terror groups in the area against Israeli forces.

Palestinians are called to head for western Gaza City.

#عاجل ‼️ إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في منطقة التركمان, اجديدة، وشمال شرق الزيتون
🔴هذا انذار مسبق وأخير قبل الهجوم!🔴
⭕️في ضوء تنفيذ عمليات إرهابية انطلاقًا من المنطقة المذكورة ضد قواتنا سيهاجم جيش الدفاع بقوة شديدة كل منطقة يتم استخدامها لتنفيذ تلك العمليات الارهابية.… pic.twitter.com/SSNk40Qb92

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) April 25, 2025

Milwaukee judge arrested over claim she helped man evade immigration agents

Hannah Dugan pictured when seeking election to Milwaukee County Circuit Court during a forum at the Milwaukee Bar Association in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, March 15, 2016. (Mike De Sisti / USA Today Network via Imagn Images via Reuters)

The FBI arrests a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, escalating a clash between the Trump administration and the judiciary over the Republican president’s sweeping immigration crackdown.

FBI Director Kash Patel announces on social media the arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who he says “intentionally misdirected” federal agents away from a man they were trying to take into custody at her courthouse last week.

“Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Patel writes.

Dugan was taken into custody by the FBI this morning on the courthouse grounds, according to US Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron. She appeared briefly in federal court in Milwaukee later Friday before being released from custody. Her next court appearance is May 15.

Traffic passes the Federal courthouse in Milwaukee on Friday, April 25, 2025 (AP Photo/Devi Shastri)

“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said during the hearing.

Dugan is accused of escorting the man, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, and his lawyer out of the courtroom through the jury door on April 18 as a way to help avert his arrest, according to an FBI affidavit filed in court.

Syria calls on UN Security Council to push for Israel’s withdrawal from territory

Israeli soldiers on the border between Syria and northern Israel, March 14, 2025. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Syria’s foreign minister calls on the UN Security Council to “pressure” Israel to withdraw from its territory following the toppling of strongman Bashar al-Assad.

“We have repeatedly announced our commitment that Syria will not constitute any threat to any of the neighboring countries or any country around the world, including to Israel,” Assaad al-Chaibani says in his first address at UN headquarters in New York.

Israel has launched airstrikes and ground incursions to keep Syrian forces away from its border since Assad’s ouster in December. Officials deeply mistrust the nation’s new Islamist regime, led by former jihadis.

IDF reservist seriously wounded during fighting in southern Gaza

An IDF reservist was seriously wounded during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip this afternoon, the military announces.

According to an initial IDF probe, the soldier, of the 205th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 5250th Battalion, was hit by RPG fire in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood.

The terror operatives fired the RPG at an army Humvee, and possibly also opened fire with light arms.

Another two soldiers were lightly hurt in the incident.

Israeli fighter jets carried out several strikes in the area following the incident, in an attempt to eliminate the operatives behind the attack.

Intense fighting reported in Gaza, as Katz says combat has ‘heavy prices’

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo published on April 18, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Amid intense fighting in the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Israel Katz in a post on X says, “the achievements are great, but still, the dangers are great and the prices are heavy.”

In recent hours, there have been reports of major strikes in both northern and southern Gaza.

“Thousands of IDF soldiers in the standing army and reserves are now heroically fighting in Gaza for the release of hostages and to destroy Hamas terrorists,” he says.

Katz says the IDF is operating with “intensity” to ensure ground troops are protected.

“All Israeli citizens must embrace and strengthen IDF commanders and soldiers and pray for their safety and success,” he adds.

FM speaks to Pennsylvania’s Shapiro, says arson at his home ‘an attack on every Jew’

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pauses during a news conference at the governor's official residence discussing the alleged arson that forced him, his family and guests to flee in the middle of the night on the Jewish holiday of Passover, Sunday, Apr. 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s office says he spoke with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro a short time ago, following the arson attack on his official residence on Passover Eve.

Sa’ar told Governor Shapiro that “the vile attack on him and his family, who were at home at the time of the arson, is an attack on every Jew everywhere” and “expressed Israel’s solidarity with him and his family.”

Sa’ar also “conveyed his appreciation for Shapiro’s steadfast stance against antisemitism and invited the governor to visit Israel soon.”

Syrian foreign minister raises new flag at UN headquarters

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raises the new Syrian flag during a flag raising ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 25, 2025. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raises his country’s new flag at the United Nations headquarters in New York, in what he calls a “historic” moment.

Shaibani “raises the new Syrian flag in front of the United Nations building in New York,” Syrian state news agency SANA reports.

Images show Shaibani raising the three-starred flag officially adopted after the December ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The flag has become a symbol of the revolt against Assad’s repressive rule.

In an interview with Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, Shaibani says raising the new flag is a step “Syrians had been waiting for, for 14 years” since Assad repressed peaceful protesters, igniting a civil war.

The move is “not just a symbolic step” but “salutes the memory of the Syrian people and it crowns their victory,” he adds.

IDF video shows airstrike on Hamas cell in Gaza

The IDF releases footage showing an airstrike on a cell of Hamas operatives who fired an RPG at troops of the 401st Armored Brigade in Gaza City.

The 401st Brigade has been operating in Gaza City’s eastern neighborhoods of Daraj and Tuffah in recent weeks.

During one of their recent operations, a cell of operatives fired an anti-tank projectile from the window of a building. The IDF says a drone then struck the building, killing the cell.

No troops were wounded in the attack, according to the military.

The IDF says the troops also located and destroyed several rocket launchers in the area.

Iran’s FM Araghchi arrives in Oman ahead of nuclear talks with US

Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Oman ahead of fresh nuclear talks with the United States, after both sides said progress had been made in previous rounds.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei posts on X that “Araghchi and his accompanying delegation arrived in Muscat for the third round of Iran-US talks.”

The Mehr news agency of Iran earlier released a brief video showing the foreign minister disembarking from an Iranian government plane in Muscat.

‘Trump 2028’ merch for sale on US president’s store

This photo illustration, taken on April 24, 2025, in Washington, DC, shows an image of US President Donald Trump alongside a smartphone displaying a red 'Trump 2028' cap on the Trump Store website (Oliver Contreras / AFP)

Donald Trump’s online store is selling merchandise emblazoned with “Trump 2028,” the year of the next US presidential election, in which the Republican is constitutionally banned from running.

The 78-year-old, who has seen his approval rating sink to new lows in recent opinion polls, has not ruled out serving a third term — even though it would require amending the Constitution.

Most political experts, including his own attorney general, say that would be tough to pull off.

Yet, a social media account linked to Trump shared a photo Thursday of his son Eric sporting one of the new red caps, which is priced at $50.

“Make a statement with this Made in America Trump 2028 hat,” a product description on the Trump Store website says.

The shop is also selling T-shirts in navy and red, priced at $36, which read “Trump 2028 (Rewrite the Rules),” with matching beer can coolers for $18.

The 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

Trump, who also served as president from 2017 to 2021, has insisted he is “not joking” about a third term, saying last month there are “methods” that would allow it to happen.

Any serious effort to amend the founding document would send the United States into uncharted territory.

Changing the US Constitution to allow a third presidential term would require a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. An amendment would also need ratification by at least 38 of the 50 US state legislatures, another slim possibility.

Anti-Israel protest against Ben Gvir outside NY synagogue provokes outrage

Anti-Israel demonstrators in New York have sparked outrage by protesting against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the world headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.

The far-right Ben Gvir made an unannounced visit to the synagogue late last night during a weeklong tour of the US. The headquarters, at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is located in the heart of the Chabad community and is a revered symbol for the movement.

At the start of the protest, Nerdeen Kiswani, the leading anti-Israel protest organizer in New York, targeted the synagogue and assailed Chabad.

“He’s being hosted at 770 Eastern Parkway by the racist Zionist Lubavitch sect — yes, the same place where tunnels were uncovered,” Kiswani wrote on X. A rogue group of students dug out a space near the synagogue last year, part of an unauthorized attempt to expand the synagogue. The incident gave rise to a wave of antisemitic conspiracies.

Anti-Israel activists in New York often berate “Zionists,” but rarely attack Jewish movements or protest against synagogues.

Kiswani later said that demonstrators “are being attacked by racist Lubavitchers.”

“This is a pogrom,” she said, referring to the historical deadly persecution of Jews in Europe. The charge is sensitive in Crown Heights, where violent riots against Jews in 1991 were widely described as a pogrom.

Videos from the scene showed the two sides shouting at each other, with police in the middle. The NYPD says six people were detained at the “unscheduled demonstration,” and a man from New Jersey was charged with assault, harassment and criminal mischief.

The protest drew outrage.

Yaacov Behrman, a Chabad community leader, said on X that the protesters gathered at “the very heart of this heavily populated Jewish neighborhood — spewing hateful, inflammatory rhetoric at innocent passersby.”

Behrman said the chants included: “We don’t want no Zionists here,” “We don’t want no two states, we want all of it,” and “Resistance is justified.”

BREAKING: Clashes and Confrontations outside of Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn.

770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.

Pro Palestine protesters gathered outside of Synagogue for an emergency protest against Ben Gvir.

Around 11:15pm a person was stabbed nearby on Kingston… pic.twitter.com/j4nuRHlKPk

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) April 25, 2025

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York said, “The heinous violence last night outside the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn is horrifying and unacceptable.”

“I am calling for an immediate federal investigation into these dangerous organizations and their funding networks. Jewish Americans must never feel unsafe in their own communities,” she said.

Anti-Israel protesters have rarely held demonstrations in Orthodox neighborhoods in New York. A demonstration in February in Boro Park was also vitriolic and provoked widespread condemnation from city leaders.

Ben Gvir has also drawn protests from Jewish activists and Israeli expats during his visit to the US.

Report: Dermer urged US to consider use of ‘bunker busters’ on Iran nuclear sites

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer attends a Knesset plenum session in Jerusalem on January 22, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In recent talks in Washington, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer pressed top American officials to consider deploying powerful “bunker buster” bombs against Iran’s fortified nuclear sites, The Washingon Post reports, citing former Israeli and American intelligence officials familiar with the discussions.

The Dermer profile piece also notes that after Trump’s election win last November, Dermer met with him at Mar-a-Lago in a lengthy session that also included Jared Kushner and businessman Steve Witkoff, now involved Trump’s Middle East envoy. The meeting, initiated by Dermer, aimed to lay the groundwork for a renewed US-Israeli regional agenda, according to several Israeli officials.

The report also says that despite growing internal criticism of the government’s handling of the war and hostages, Dermer’s allies maintain that his broader strategy remains on course. They dismiss Saudi calls for a Palestinian state as a condition to normalization as posturing, and express confidence that Dermer’s close ties with Gulf leaders and with Trump will soon lead to a diplomatic breakthrough with Riyadh.

World Food Programme says it has run out of food stocks in Gaza

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid line up at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)

The World Food Programme says it has run out of food stocks in Gaza due to the sustained closure of crossings into the enclave.

“No humanitarian or commercial supplies have entered Gaza for more than seven weeks as all main border crossing points remain closed. This is the longest closure the Gaza Strip has ever faced, exacerbating already fragile markets and food systems,” the WFP says in a statement to journalists.

France announces arrival of Gazan evacuees, asserts their right to return to enclave

More than 100 Palestinians evacuated from the war-torn Gaza Strip by France on Wednesday have arrived in France, the French Foreign Ministry announces in a press briefing.

“For the past 18 months, France has been working to ensure the safety of its nationals and their dependents, the staff of the French Institute in Gaza and their families, as well as Palestinian figures with ties to our country,” the spokesperson says.

“Among those evacuated are many children who can finally reunite with their families residing in France,” the spokesperson goes on, adding that this evacuation follows a previous one of 59 people on April 16.

“This operation reflects our commitment to protecting our nationals and their dependents; all the evacuees were selected based on their connection to France,” says the official.

A French official told The Times of Israel on Wednesday that the Gazans were evacuated for health and humanitarian reasons.

“France reaffirms its commitment to the right of Gazans to return to the enclave,” the statement continues, saying that France “reiterates its opposition to any forced displacement of the Palestinian population from Gaza, which would constitute a serious violation of international law and a major destabilizing factor for our close partners, Egypt and Jordan, as well as for the entire region.”

It adds that “such actions would also undermine diplomatic prospects for resolving the conflict, which must involve the implementation of the two-state solution.”

The statement says France will advocate for this at the upcoming June conference on the establishment of a Palestinian state, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“France reiterates its call for full and unhindered humanitarian access to allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip for the benefit of the civilian population, as well as for the resumption of negotiations toward a ceasefire,” the statement concludes.

Israel has made approval of evacuations from Gaza easier in recent weeks, The Times of Israel has learned.

69-year-old man shot dead in violent incident in I’billin, northern Israel

Paramedics arrive to the scene of a shooting that killed a 69-year-old man in I'billin, an Arab town in Israel's north, on April 25, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

A 69-year-old man was shot dead in the northern Arab town of I’billin this afternoon, say paramedics.

Medics with the Magen David Adom emergency service pronounced the unnamed victim dead after failing to resuscitate him. He is the third Arab Israeli to be killed in a violent criminal incident today.

Police say they are investigating the incident. They have not yet apprehended any suspects.

This morning, two men were killed and another was injured in a shooting in Tira when unknown assailants opened fire on their vehicle.

Trump says he’s willing to meet with Iran’s supreme leader, president amid nuclear talks

US President Donald Trump says he is open to meeting Iran’s supreme leader or president as the two countries began talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

Following a meeting last week to outline a framework for a potential nuclear deal, which a US official describes as yielding “very good progress,” Trump tells Time magazine, in an April 22 interview published today: “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran.”

Asked whether he is open to meeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian, Trump replies: “Sure.”

Trump, who in 2018 pulled the US out of a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers, has warned of military action against Iran unless a new deal is swiftly reached to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.

Trump predicts Saudi-Israel normalization ahead of Riyadh visit

US President Donald Trump, left, speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a family photo session at G-20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool Photo via AP)

US President Donald Trump says he believes that Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords— the series of normalization agreements that his previous administration brokered between Israel and several Arab states—in an interview with Time Magazine published Friday.

“I think Saudi Arabia will go into the Abraham Accords,” Trump tells political correspondent Eric Cortellessa when asked about his planned visit to Riyadh next month, which marks the second foreign trip of his second term — the first being today’s last-minute trip to the Vatican for Pope Francis’s funeral.

“I think it will be full very quickly,” Trump adds, referring to the normalization agreements.

Trump expresses his liking for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi people, adding that “Saudi Arabia…agreed to invest a trillion dollars in our economy.”

“I’m then going to Qatar, and I’m then going to the United Arab Emirates,” he continues.

Trump blames President Joe Biden’s administration for halting the “tremendous success” of the Abraham Accords.

“They did nothing with the Abraham Accords. We had four countries in there, it was all set. We would have had it packed. Now we’re going to start it again,” he says.

Trump: Israel won’t drag us into war with Iran, but we’ll lead the pack if no deal made

US President Donald Trump says that the US would “willingly” join Israel in launching a military attack on Iran should new nuclear deal negotiations fail, but reiterates his hope that the issue of Iran’s nuclear program can be solved through diplomacy.

He discusses his hopes for Iran and the Middle East in a wider interview with Time Magazine, looking back at the first 100 days of his second term in office.

Asked about reports that he recently quashed Israeli proposals for a series of joint strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump acknowledges that while he didn’t block Israel’s plans outright, he “didn’t make it comfortable” for them to proceed.

“I think we can make a deal without the attack. I hope we can,” he tells Time, although he acknowledges, as he has throughout the process of bringing Iran to the table for nuclear talks, that military action may be required down the line.

“I didn’t make it comfortable for them, but I didn’t say no,” Trump repeats. “Ultimately, I was going to leave that choice to them, but I said I would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped.”

Asked if he is worried about being “dragged in” to a war with Iran by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump says the Israeli leader “may go into a war. But we’re not getting dragged in.”

But he stresses that this doesn’t mean US military action isn’t a possibility.

“You asked if he’d drag me in, like I’d go in unwillingly. No, I may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack.”

Katz, Zamir meet with US CENTCOM chief Kurilla

Defense Minister Israel Katz, US CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Kurilla, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meet at the Defense Ministry, April 25, 2025. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met this morning with United States CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Kurilla.

Katz’s office says the meeting focused on “several security and regional issues.”

Kurilla landed in Israel yesterday.

High-ranking Russian officer killed in car blast near Moscow

A senior Russian military officer was killed when a car exploded a short while ago in the town of Balashikha just east of Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee says.

It names the officer as Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and says it has opened a criminal case into the incident.

“According to available data, the explosion occurred as a result of the detonation of a homemade explosive device filled with destructive elements,” the Investigative Committee says in a statement.

The statement does not say who might be behind the incident. Several high-ranking Russian military figures have been assassinated since the start of the war in Ukraine in operations blamed by Moscow on Kyiv.

Russian media outlet Baza, which has sources in Russia’s law enforcement agencies, says a bomb in a parked car had been detonated remotely when the officer — who lived locally — walked past.

The Izvestia newspaper publishes video footage showing a person approaching a line of parked cars outside an apartment complex and an explosion that sent parts of a vehicle flying metres into the air.

Kommersant newspaper says a second person was also killed.

Moskalik, who held the rank of major general, had participated in several high-level Russian delegations, according to defense ministry bulletins and media reports.

He joined the Russian contingent in a meeting in October 2015 of the Normandy Format, a group made up of teams from Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France who oversaw the Minsk agreements designed to end the war between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatist forces that broke out in 2014.

Moskalik represented the army’s General Staff at the negotiations alongside Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, according to the Kremlin website.

Russia’s RBC newspaper lists Moskalik as a participant in the security subgroup in the Minsk talks.

Police return 36 stolen parrots to Jerusalem Biblical Zoo after late night break-in

Parrots found by police after they were stolen from the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo by animal traffickers on April 24, 2025. (Israel Police)

Border Police detectives return 36 parrots, among them several rare breeds, to Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo after they were stolen and carried off to a village in the West Bank last night.

Three burglars are said to have carried out last night’s zoo break-in. Police arrested one suspect, a resident of southern Israel, for questioning, a spokesman says.

The birds are worth some NIS 1.2 million ($331,000) in total. Among the birds are six macaws, a Southern red-billed hornbill and 20 lorikeets.

Parrots from the macaw family are particularly sought after by bird traffickers and are considered an endangered species, with several breeds already extinct. The burglars stole macaws of the Hyacinth and blue-throated breeds.

Lorikeets, though targeted in illegal trafficking attempts, are less rare.

Police believe that the zoo burglary was one of several incidents perpetrated by the same gang of smugglers of late. Investigators are still trying to solve two recent break-ins at Gan-Garoo Zoo and a petting zoo in Kibbutz Beit Zera.

“The suspects, members of the group that stole the parrots, fled by travelling to the West Bank to the village of Hableh, next to Qalqilya,” a police spokesman says.

Though they have since been returned to the zoo, several of the birds are in poor health due to the difficult conditions the thieves transported and held them in, police say.

Hundreds of Syrian Druze clerics to visit Israel today for pilgrimage to sacred shrine

Hundreds of clerics from Syria’s Druze minority are heading to Israel where they will conduct a pilgrimage to a sacred shrine, the second such visit since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad’s ouster last December.

The clerics from the esoteric, monotheistic faith, are to cross the border on foot, according to a Syrian official and a local news organisation, despite Israel and Syria being technically at war.

The delegation will visit the Nabi Shuaib shrine in northern Israel’s Galilee region, where an annual pilgrimage is held from April 25-28 each year.

Abu Yazan, the official from Hader on the Syrian Golan Heights, says that 400 clerics from his town and from the Damascus suburb of Jaramana will head to Israel after the Israeli authorities gave their approval.

Asking not to be identified by his full name, he says the trip is “purely religious” in nature.

Suwayda24, a news organisation from nearby Sweida province, says some 150 Druze clerics from that area would also participate.

The group notified the Syrian government of its plan to go to Israel, though it received no response, the website adds.

Unlike during a smaller visit to the shrine last month, the clerics will spend the night in Israel this time.

Abu Yazan, who is one of the participants, says that “we requested to stay for a week to visit the shrine” and other members of the religious community “but the Israeli side only authorised one night.”

The Druze are mainly divided between Syria, Israel and Lebanon.

They account for about three percent of Syria’s population and are heavily concentrated in the south.

Israel seized much of the strategic Golan Heights from Syria in a war in 1967, later annexing the area in 1981 in a move recognized by the US but not by most of the international community.

Following the ouster of Assad, Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syria and sent troops into the demilitarized buffer zone of the Golan in southwest Syria.

Israeli authorities have since voiced support for Syria’s Druze, amid mistrust of the country’s new Islamist leaders.

Great-grandmother of slain IDF soldier was at Bergen Belsen, which she survived in her youth, for Remembrance Day ceremony at time of his death

Master Sgt. Asaf Cafri (Israel Defense Forces)

The great-grandmother of slain IDF reservist Master Sgt. (res.) Asaf Cafri, who was killed in fighting in northern Gaza yesterday, was attending a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany at the time of her great-grandson’s death, Cafri’s aunt, Hadas, tells Ynet.

Cafri’s grandmother, 96-year-old Holocaust survivor Magda Baratz, was visiting the site of the infamous concentration camp, which she survived in her youth, as a guest of honor. She traveled there with her grandson Hagai, Cafri’s father.

Asaf Cafri (left), an IDF reservist who was killed in Gaza on April 25, 2025 and his great-grandmother, Holocuast survivor Magda Baratz, pictured in a billboard set up in Rishon LeZion in honor of Holocaust Remembrace Day, the day before his death. (Oren Dai/Rishon LeZion Municipality)

According to Ynet, Hagai only learned of his son’s death upon his return to Israel.

Speaking to the news outlet, Hadas says that Baratz viewed her return to Bergen Belsen, this time as a guest of honor at a remembrance event, as a “victory.”

“Asaf fell when his great-grandmother and family flew to the ceremony,” says Hadas. “She said that visiting the camp where she almost died was her victory. She managed to survive, came to Israel, and started a family and legacy.”

Cafri, 26, was killed by sniper fire in the Beit Hanoun area of Gaza, according to an initial IDF probe. Three other soldiers were injured in the same incident.

Three new F-35I fighter jets land at Nevatim Airbase, bringing IAF F-35 fleet to 45

Three new F-35I fighter jets landed last night at the Nevatim Airbase, the military says.

They will join the 140th Squadron and bring the Israeli Air Force’s F-35 fleet to 45.

The three jets are part of Israel’s initial order of 50 F-35 jets. Another 25 were ordered last year.

Trump envoy Witkoff arrives in Moscow for Ukraine ceasefire talks with Putin

The Interfax news agency says that US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow, where he is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Witkoff, who serves as Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, has emerged as Washington’s key interlocutor with Putin as Trump pushes for a deal to end the war in Ukraine, and has already held three long meetings with the Kremlin leader.

His latest visit to Moscow comes a day after Trump criticised a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv that killed at least 12 people, and posted on social media: “Vladimir, STOP!”

But Trump also said there has been significant progress in peace talks, telling reporters yesterday that the coming days will be “very important.”

“Meetings are taking place right now,” he said. “I think we’re going to make a deal … I think we’re getting very close.”

Iranian foreign minister set to depart for Oman for third round of nuclear talks with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to leave for Oman today for nuclear talks with the United States, after both sides reported progress in the first two rounds.

Araghchi will be leading what foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei describes as a diplomatic and technical-expert delegation for indirect discussions with the US side.

President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will represent the United States in the talks scheduled for tomorrow.

The meeting follows two earlier rounds of Omani-mediated talks in Muscat and Rome starting on April 12.

The third round will include expert-level technical talks over Iran’s nuclear program, with Michael Anton, who serves as the State Department’s director of policy planning, leading technical talks on the US side.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency meanwhile reports that deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead the technical talks on the Iranian side.

Speaking ahead of Araghchi’s departure, Baqaei says, “Progress in the negotiations requires the demonstration of goodwill, seriousness, and realism by the other side.”

Report: 4 Palestinians released in recent hostage deal rearrested in Qalqilya overnight

Palestinian media reports that Israeli troops arrested four Palestinians last night in the West Bank city of Qalqilya who were released as part of the recent ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

The detainees — three men and one woman — are identified as Abdallah Al-Walwil, Sameh Shubaki, Maysara Afaneh, and Margaret Al-Ra’i.

There has been no official response from Israel regarding the reports.

This is the first reported instance of Israel rearresting individuals released in the recent deal.

Israel released close to 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners during a ceasefire between January and March, in exchange for the release from Gaza of 30 hostages and the bodies of eight slain captives.

Police say armed terror operative apprehended in Qalqilya, in the West Bank

The Israel Police says that an armed terror operative affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been arrested in Qalqilya, in the West Bank, during a joint operation with the IDF, Shin Bet, and the police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit.

In a statement, the police say that the detained terror suspect had been en route to carry out “operational activities” at the time of his arrest.

During the joint raid on the terror cell, police say that troops seized several M16 rifles.

In addition to his affiliation with the Islamic Jihad, police say that the detained terror operative has also cooperated with Hamas in the West Bank.

תיעוד: סוכל תכנון פיגוע – לוחמי יחידת הגדעונים של להב 433 בהכוונת שב״כ עצרו מחבל חמוש בקלקיליה

בפעילות מבצעית משולבת, עצרו לוחמי יחידת הגדעונים (33) בשיתוף עם כוחות צה״ל ושב״כ, מחבל חמוש, פעיל צבאי מקלקיליה, המזוהה עם ארגון הג'יאהד האסלאמי שפעל עם פעילי חמאס נוספים מהעיר. המחבל… pic.twitter.com/1ob3AMYX0K

— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) April 25, 2025

US Justice Dept. says UNRWA not immune from lawsuits in US courts, in reversal of Biden-era stance

A UN employee stands at a UNRWA school in the Jalazone camp north of Ramallah in the West Bank, on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

In a reversal of a previous opinion, the US Department of Justice says that the contentious UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is not entitled to immunity from lawsuits in the US, according to a court document circulated online by lawyers, and subsequently, pro-Israel activists.

The Justice Department’s opinion was submitted as part of an ongoing lawsuit in which the families of more than 100 victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror assault are claiming $1 billion in damages from UNRWA, asserting that the UN agency aided and abetted the terror group’s attack.

The lawsuit was filed last June in the Southern District of New York.

In September, the US Department of Justice, then under the administration of former president Joe Biden, asserted that the UN had not waived its immunity in US courts, and as such UNRWA was exempt from prosecution and the lawsuit could not proceed.

Now, in the latest court filing, the DoJ acknowledges that “previously, the Government expressed the view that certain immunities shielded UNRWA from having to answer” to allegations regarding its role in the “heinous offenses” of October 7, but says it has “since reevaluated that position, and now concludes UNRWA is not immune from this litigation.”

DOJ tells SDNY that Biden administration was wrong to argue that UNRWA was immune to Alien Tort Claims Act suit in the USA over UNRWA role in October 7 massacre. (Simon Tov v UNRWA, No. 1:24-cv-04765.) pic.twitter.com/u6JwmqHgJQ

— tedfrank (@tedfrank) April 25, 2025

Presenting its position, the DoJ states that while the UN in and of itself enjoys immunity in US courts, its “subsidiary organs,” such as UNRWA, do not.

“The UN Charter provides that the UN ‘shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members such privileges and immunities as necessary for the fulfillment of its purposes,'” the document states. “But the Charter does not specify whether ‘The Organization’ that ‘shall enjoy’ immunity includes the system’s principal bodies, its subsidiary bodies, its specialized agencies, or all three.”

As such, it says the Charter “does not create any binding obligations under federal law.”

Furthermore, the document argues that UNRWA cannot even be considered a “subsidiary organ” of the UN, as it was not designated under the International Organizations Immunities Act.

“It is the present view of the United States that UNRWA is not” part of the United Nations, and “instead, it is a mere ‘affiliate or instrumentality’ of the UN, analogous to the specialized agencies referenced in the UN Charter.”

“As a result, UNRWA is not subject to the General Convention, and is not immune from suit and that treaty or current US law,” the court filing states.

Two men killed, one seriously injured in shooting in Tira

Two men were killed and another was injured in a shooting in the central Israeli town of Tira earlier this morning, when unknown assailants opened fire on their vehicle, police and medics say, in what appears to be the latest incident in a wave of violent crime in Arab society.

Paramedics from the Magen David Adom emergency service were called to the scene of a violent altercation shortly after 5 a.m., where they discovered the three men inside the vehicle, two of whom were unresponsive and were pronounced dead at the scene.

The third man, suffering from serious injuries, was transferred to Meir Medical Center for treatment, Ynet reports.

Police have opened an investigation into the incident, which they suspect was part of a criminal dispute, and are on site collecting evidence, but have yet to detain any suspects.

The incident comes just days after 24-year-old Sabri Mazen Mardi was shot and killed in Tira.

Congress Republicans to include $27 billion boost to Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ in tax bill

Republicans in the US Congress plan to introduce a sweeping $150 billion defense package that will give an initial $27 billion boost to US President Donald Trump’s controversial Israel-inspired Golden Dome missile defense shield, according to a document and a congressional aide.

The measure, which will be part of Trump’s sweeping tax cuts bill, comes in addition to the approved $886 billion national security budget for 2025 and will also fund the building of 14 warships and lift homeland security spending.

The measure, details of which have not been previously reported, was designed to address the military’s most pressing needs, Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tells Reuters in an interview.

He says it is focused on supercharging key areas such as naval shipbuilding, missile defense, and space sensing as well as strengthening the country’s military presence, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, part of a broader strategy to prevent conflict.

“Strength, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, will make China less eager to break the status quo, which has led to a vast global prosperity among people who’ve never had it before. This is part of a plan to prevent war,” Wicker says.

Republican leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees hammered out the legislation that will be unveiled as soon as Friday evening.

The $27 billion investment in Golden Dome will fund the building of more missile interceptors and the purchase of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) antiballistic missile batteries, according to the congressional aide. THAAD is made by Lockheed Martin.

Trump repeatedly floated the idea of building a version of Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defense system for the US during his 2024 election campaign, and in January of this year, he signed an executive order to start building it.

While promoting the idea, however, he appeared to ignore the fact that the Iron Dome is designed for short-range threats, making it ill-suited to defending against intercontinental missiles that are the main danger to the United States.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to win a crucial part of the Golden Dome program that would track incoming missiles, Reuters reported last week.

Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says in a statement that the bill will be moved through the House Armed Services Committee next week and he wants it to get to the president’s desk as soon as possible.

“We’re revitalizing our defense industrial base, strengthening our ability to deter adversaries like China, and giving our service members the support they deserve,” the statement says.

Amsterdam mayor apologizes for Dutch capital’s role in the Holocaust

AMSTERDAM — The mayor of Amsterdam apologizes for the role the Dutch capital played in the persecution of its Jewish citizens during World War II, saying the government at the time “let its Jewish residents down terribly.”

Speaking at an event marking Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, Mayor Femke Halsema says that civil servants in Amsterdam played an active role in the murder of some thousands of Jewish citizens of the city.

Of the estimated 80,000 Jews who lived in Amsterdam at the outbreak of World War II, only some 20,000 survived. Among those deported was teenage diarist Anne Frank and her family. Only her father, Otto, survived.

“The Amsterdam government, when it came down to it, was not heroic, not determined and not merciful. And it let its Jewish residents down terribly,” Halsema says.

“On behalf of the city government, I offer my apologies for this,” she adds. Halsema is speaking at Hollandsche Schouwburg, a theater which operated as a collection point for Jews who were deported to extermination camps.

She recalls how the municipality helped with the registration of Jewish citizens and the drawing up of cards to indicate where Jews lived.

“Services were prepared to help enact one after the other of anti-Jewish measures,” she says. “Step by step, the municipal machine became part of the machinery of evil.”

Halsema’s apology comes six months after what she described as “an eruption of antisemitism” in which Israeli fans were assaulted after a soccer game in the Netherlands. The attacks garnered headlines worldwide and more than sixty suspects were arrested.

IDF tank driver killed in Gaza named as Master Sgt. Asaf Cafri

Master Sgt. Asaf Cafri (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF names the soldier killed yesterday during fighting in northern Gaza as Master Sgt. Asaf Cafri, 26, a tank driver in the 14th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 79th Battalion, from Beit Hashmonai.

US says blast near UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen was caused by Houthi missile

WASHINGTON — The US military says a blast on Sunday near a UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa was caused by a Houthi missile and not an American airstrike.

The Houthi-run health ministry said a dozen people were killed in the US strike in a neighborhood of Sanaa. The Old City of Sanaa is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site.

President Donald Trump ordered the intensification of US strikes on Yemen last month, with his administration saying they will continue assaulting Iran-backed Houthi rebels until they stop attacking Red Sea shipping.

A US Central Command spokesperson says the damage and casualties described by Yemen’s Houthi officials “likely did occur” but they were not caused by a U.S. attack. The closest US strike that night was more than three miles (5 kilometers) away, the spokesperson says.

The US military assessed that the damage was caused by a “Houthi air defense missile” based on a review of “local reporting, including videos documenting Arabic writing on the missile’s fragments at the market,” the spokesperson says, adding the Houthis subsequently arrested Yemenis. He does not provide evidence.

US feds ‘encouraged’ by Yale’s handling of anti-Israel protest encampment

Netanel Crispe, a Hasidic student and activist at Yale University, confronts pro-Palestinian protesters attempting to start a new encampment at the university in New Haven, Connecticut, April 22, 2025. (Screenshot via X/Courtesy of Netanel Crispe)

The US federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism backs Yale University’s response to anti-Israel protesters this week.

The statement is a rare instance of praise from the Trump administration for an Ivy League university’s handling of anti-Israel protesters.

Yale students on Tuesday briefly set up a protest encampment to demonstrate against a visit to the area by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

The university warned the demonstrators of consequences and the following day stripped the campus anti-Israel protest group of its recognized status.

“Yale University appears to have enforced its time, place, and manner policies, cleared the area, de-registered a student organization involved in the incident, and started an investigation into individual discipline for students who crossed the line from speech into unlawful conduct,” the task force says in a statement.

“This Task Force is committed to stopping unlawful antisemitic harassment on campus. We are cautiously encouraged by Yale’s actions and will be keeping an eye on the situation and aftermath,” the statement says.

China, Russia and Iran hold joint talks on Iranian nuclear program with with IAEA head — Xinhua

BEIJING — China, Russia and Iran jointly met with the International Atomic Energy Agency to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, Chinese state news agency Xinhua says Friday.

The joint meeting on Thursday between the IAEA representatives and the nuclear agency’s director general came after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Beijing this week.

The meeting had in-depth communication on the IAEA’s role in the political and diplomatic settlement process of the Iranian nuclear program, with China expressing support for Iran’s dialogue with all parties including with the US, Xinhua says.

Trump poised to offer Saudis over $100 billion weapons package, sources tell Reuters

The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion, six sources with direct knowledge of the issue tell Reuters, saying the proposal is being lined up for announcement during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May.

The offered package comes after the administration of former president Joe Biden unsuccessfully tried to finalize a defense pact with Riyadh as part of a broad deal that envisioned Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.

The Biden proposal offered access to more advanced US weaponry in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing’s investment in the country. Reuters cannot establish if the Trump administration’s proposal includes similar requirements.

The White House, Pentagon and Saudi government communications office do not immediately respond to requests for comment. In his first term, Trump celebrated weapons sales to Saudi Arabia as good for US jobs.

Lockheed Martin could supply a range of advanced weapons systems, including C-130 transport aircraft, two of the sources say. One source says Lockheed would also supply missiles and radars.

RTX Corp, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, is also expected to play a significant role in the package, which will include supplies from other major US defense contractors such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman Corp and General Atomics, say four of the sources.

All the sources decline to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop and General Atomics decline to comment. Boeing doesn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters cannot immediately establish how many of the deals on offer were new. Many have been in the works for some time, two of the sources say. For example, the kingdom first requested information about General Atomics’ drones in 2018, they say. Over the past 12 months, a deal for $20 billion of General Atomics’ MQ-9B SeaGuardian-style drones and other aircraft came into focus, according to one of the sources.

Several executives from defense companies are considering traveling to the region as a part of the delegation, three of the sources say.

Democratic lawmaker to introduce bill codifying Biden’s sanction regime against violent settlers

Illustrative: Footage posted to social media shows Israeli settlers raiding the northern West Bank Palestinian village of Hajja, in apparent retaliation for a deadly terror shooting attack nearby earlier in the day, January 6, 2025. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A Democratic lawmaker announces that he will be introducing Congressional legislation next week that would codify former US president Joe Biden’s sanctions regime against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

The sanctions were reversed by US President Donald Trump on his first day in office.

Settler attacks on Palestinians have continued unabated since, including in the past day when groups of Israelis hurled stones and set fire to property in several Palestinian villages throughout the West Bank. As is often the case in such incidents, no suspects have been arrested.

The lack of accountability is what spurred Biden’s decision to sign an executive order last year that instituted the sanctions regime on the ground that such attacks were destabilizing the West Bank and a threat to US national security interests in the region.

US Representative Jerry Nadler announces the planned legislation during a rally in New York organized by left-leaning Israeli and Jewish activists against the visit of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Nadler cites figures from the settlement watchdog Peace Now that settlers have seized 14% of West Bank territory through “violent tactics such as harassing, intimidating and targeting Palestinian communities.”

“These settlers seized large areas of land from over 60 displaced Palestinian communities and have set up new Israeli outlooks current Israeli government,” Nadler says.

FILE – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 9, 2021. Nadler is Democrat candidate for New York’s 12th Congressional District. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

He laments the backing that such violent settlers have been receiving from the current Israeli government. The top police commander in charge of the West Bank is currently under investigation for ignoring settler attacks to curry favor in the eyes of Ben Gvir, whose ministry oversees the police.

“When I return to Washington on Monday, I will be introducing the West Bank Violence Prevention Act, which would codify and enshrine President Biden’s executive order into law,” Nadler declares to cheers from the crowd.

The legislation is almost certain to fail, given the Republican majority in Congress.

US: Ben Gvir call to bomb Gaza food warehouses ‘completely contradicts’ our effort to get aid into Strip

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce speaks during a briefing at the State Department, April 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce appears to criticize National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s call for the IDF to bomb food storage facilities in Gaza in order to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages.

Asked during a press briefing whether the Trump administration backs the idea, which Ben Gvir said is supported by senior Republicans he met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort this week, Bruce initially says that she won’t comment on the matter as the far-right Israeli leader’s claim is unconfirmed.

But then she says that the proposal is “in complete contradiction to the nature of our commitment to getting food aid and assistance” into Gaza.

“My goodness, the work over these 100 days to get that first ceasefire to get that aid into that area, it’s difficult,” she adds.

It was unclear whether the rare public criticism of an Israeli official by the Trump administration was intentional, as Bruce subsequently stressed that she would not further comment on Ben Gvir’s remarks.

“What I will do is reiterate, certainly, our commitment to Israel, our commitment to creating a better framework in Gaza, stopping the slaughter, getting aid and food in — that has been a north star for this administration,” Bruce continues.

Asked whether that means the US is adopting the Israeli position that aid will only be allowed to resume if a new hostage release and ceasefire deal is reached, Bruce declines to answer.

She then reads what appears to be a prepared and vetted statement from the administration.

“The United States supports the flow of humanitarian aid with safeguards to ensure assistance is not diverted, looted or misused by terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” Bruce states.

The talking point notably avoids directly criticizing Israel on the matter.

IDF soldier killed, three wounded in fighting in northern Gaza

An Israeli soldier was killed and three others were wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.

The IDF says the name of the soldier, who served as a tank driver in the 14th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 79th Battalion, will be released for publication later. His family was notified.

In the same incident, a reservist in the 79th Battalion and an officer in the elite Yahalom combat engineering were seriously wounded. Another reservist, in the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade’s 8239th Battalion, was moderately hurt.

According to an initial IDF probe, the slain soldier was hit by sniper fire in the Beit Hanoun area, close to one of the military’s posts in the Israeli-held buffer zone.

The other troops were hit by anti-tank fire, according to the initial investigation.

The cell behind the attack apparently managed to flee.

The deadly incident took place not far from an attack on Saturday, in which Hamas operatives opened fire on an unarmored army vehicle, seriously wounding three soldiers, before planting a bomb in the area, which killed a soldier and seriously injured another.