April 30: Columbia threatens to expel students occupying campus building

Palestinians want UN General Assembly to seek reconsideration of full membership

The Palestinians are seeking approval of a resolution in the General Assembly asking the UN Security Council to reconsider “favorably” Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations, which the United States recently vetoed.

A draft Palestinian resolution obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press would also decide to give Palestine “the rights and privileges” to ensure its full and effective participation in the work of the General Assembly and other UN organs, “on equal footing with member nations.”

General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding — as Security Council resolutions are — but they are a reflection of global opinion.

The United States is scheduled to defend its veto of the widely backed Security Council resolution Wednesday morning in the General Assembly. It would have paved the way for Palestine to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

US military says it destroyed Houthi uncrewed surface vessel in Yemen

The US military says it destroyedan uncrewed surface vessel in an area of Yemen controlled by the Houthis.

Israeli ground operation in Rafah would be ‘tragedy beyond words’ — UN

Martin Griffiths, the UN's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, meets with the Syrian foreign minister in Damascus on June 26, 2023. (Louai Beshara/AFP)

A ground operation by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah would be a “tragedy beyond words,” the UN’s humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths says in a statement.

“The simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words. No humanitarian plan can counter that,” Griffiths says.

Israel has vowed to move forward with an operation against Hamas’s last major bastion in Gaza, saying the terror group cannot be defeated without it. The city has become a refuge to some 1.5 million Palestinians amid the war.

“The world has been appealing to the Israeli authorities for weeks to spare Rafah, but a ground operation there is on the immediate horizon,” says Griffiths.

“For the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled to Gaza’s southernmost point to escape disease, famine, mass graves and direct fighting, a ground invasion would spell even more trauma and death.

“For agencies struggling to provide humanitarian aid despite the active hostilities, impassable roads, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages, delays at checkpoints, and Israeli restrictions, a ground invasion would strike a disastrous blow.”

Biden condemns use of term ‘intifada’ during anti-Israel protests on college campuses – White House

A person prepares a sign reading 'Intifada Revolution' at an anti-Israel encampment at the University of Washington campus, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

US President Joe Biden condemns anti-Israel protesters’ use of the term “intifada” during the latest spate of demonstrations on American college campuses, the White House says.

For Israelis, the Arabic word “intifada,” literally “uprising,” conjures traumatic memories of mass waves of deadly terror attacks in 1987-1993 and again in the early 2000s.

Extremist protesters have regularly called for a renewed intifada against Israel and for “globalizing the intifada” in protests that have wreaked havoc across campuses in recent weeks.

Biden “condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates says in a statement.

“President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful.”

“Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful – it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America,” Bates adds.

Ministers call for Oct. 7 footage to be made public in hope it quells US campus protests – report

Several government ministers are pushing for Israel to publish graphic footage of the October 7 Hamas massacre, believing that doing so will shift the public narrative in Israel’s favor and quell the protests on US college campuses, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, the push for the footage to be published, after it was decided early on in the war that it would not be made available to the public, comes in response to the explosion of anti-Israel protests on campuses across the US.

Among those in favor of publishing the footage is Diaspora Affairs Minister Amihai Chikli, who reportedly said in a cabinet meeting earlier today that Israel needs to publish the footage “to explain to the world what we are fighting for.”

Economy Minister Nir Barkat is also reported to favor publishing the footage, telling the cabinet meeting that “while showing dead children from Gaza all day long, we hide the images of the horrors of October 7.”

“Why don’t we use the weapons that we have? There are thousands of horrifying videos that the cabinet decided to hide,” he is said to have added. “Instead of showing the world that Hamas are monsters, we’re hiding the evidence that gives us justification.”

Following the October 7 terror assault, in which thousands of invading terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 people and seized 253 hostages, mostly civilians, Israel organized showings of a compilation of raw footage for international media outlets.

The harrowing 44-minute montage was also aired for Israeli and US officials, as well as at the United Nations.

Houthis claim attack on Portuguese-flagged ship in Arabian Sea, raising concerns over group’s capabilities

This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sana'a. (AP Photo)

A Portuguese-flagged container ship came under attack by a drone in the far reaches of the Arabian Sea, corresponding with a claim by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that they assaulted the ship there, authorities say.

The attack on the MSC Orion, occurring some 600 kilometers (373 miles) off the coast of Yemen, appears to be the first confirmed deep-sea assault claimed by the Iran-backed Houthis since they began targeting ships in November.

The attack happened last Friday, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, which operates as part of the US-led Combined Maritime Forces in the Mideast.

The ship “sustained only minor damage and all crew on board are safe,” the center says.

The MSC Orion has been associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime, which is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, and the Joint Maritime Information Center assesses “that MSC Orion was likely targeted due to [its] perceived Israeli affiliation,” the center says in a report.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, claimed the attack on the Orion early Tuesday. He did not explain why it took the rebels days to acknowledge the attack.

The attack immediately raises questions about how the Houthis could have carried out an assault hundreds of kilometers from the shores of Yemen on a moving target.

The Houthis are not known to operate an expeditionary naval fleet, nor do they have access to satellites or other sophisticated means of controlling long-distance drones.

Iran, which has been supplying the Shiite rebels in their yearslong war in Yemen, has been assessed by the West and experts to have been behind at least one complex attack claimed by the Houthis — the 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields that temporarily halved the kingdom’s energy production.

Iran also routinely operates military vessels in the Arabian Sea and just seized the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries and its crew just before its unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel on April 13.

Rocket sirens sound in Rosh HaNikra, Shlomi in northern Israel

Sirens are activated in the northern Israel communities of Rosh HaNikra and Shlomi, warning of incoming rockets.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces in Lebanon have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war raging there since Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

TV survey: Pro-Netanyahu bloc rises but still totals only 50 seats; far-right back to 2022 strength

A Channel 12 survey finds a slight improvement in the fortunes of the so-called Netanyahu bloc of parties were elections to be held today. However, it shows that anti-Netanyahu parties would still win a clear majority. And it finds that 58 percent of voters surveyed think the prime minister should resign.

The survey gives Netanyahu’s Likud, the two far-right parties Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism, and the two ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, a total of 50 seats in the 120-member Knesset.

This is the highest number in a series of surveys conducted by the TV channel since October 7, but still far short of a Knesset majority. In its last survey, three weeks ago, the Netanyahu bloc scored 47 seats. These parties combined won the November 2022 elections with 64 seats.

If elections were held today, the survey finds, the parties would score as follows: Benny Gantz’s National Unity, 31; Likud, 18; Yesh Atid, 15; Shas, 10; Yisrael Beiteinu, 10; Otzma Yehudit, 10; United Torah Judaism, 8; Hadash-Ta’al, 5; Ra’am, 5; Religious Zionism, 4; and Meretz 4.

The anti-Netanyahu bloc would win 65 seats, with the non-aligned Hadash-Ta’al holding the other five.

Parties failing to clear the Knesset threshold would include Balad, Gideon Sa’ar’s New Right, and Labor.

The figures show a rise in support for the two far-right parties, as compared to previous post-October 7 surveys, with Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit on 10 seats and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism on 4. That marks the same total the two parties won when running together in the 2022 elections. Smotrich’s party has failed to clear the threshold in many recent surveys.

Were a new right-wing alliance led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and Sa’ar to run, the parties would score as follows: National Unity, 22; Bennett-Cohen-Sa’ar party, 18; Likud, 16; Yesh Atid, 11, and Labor (if led by former deputy IDF chief Yair Golan), 6.

The TV report does not give the numbers for other parties in this scenario, and says working out the balance of power between the blocs is “very unclear.”

When asked whether Gantz’s National Unity should leave the coalition, 42% said it should stay, and 37% said it should leave. Among National Unity’s own voters, 61% said it should stay, and 28% said it should leave.

Asked whether elections should be advanced from the scheduled October 2026 date, 54% said yes, and 37% said no.

Asked whether Netanyahu should resign, 58% said yes, and 33% said no. (A survey by the Kan TV channel three weeks ago found 71% thought Netanyahu should resign immediately or after the war.)

Asked whether Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should resign, 48% said yes, and 39% said no. For IDF chief Herzi Halevi, 50% said yes, and 36% said no. As for Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, 56% said yes, and 26% said no.

The survey was carried out by Midgam, conducted by phone and internet, with a representative sample of 500 voters, and a 4% margin of error.

Columbia threatens to expel students occupying campus building

Demonstrators from the pro-Palestinian encampment on Columbia's campus show a banner as they barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, an academic building which has been occupied in past student movements, and name it after a Palestinian child allegedly killed in Gaza, April 30, 2024 in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP)

Columbia University says that students occupying the campus’s prestigious Hamilton Hall as part of anti-Israel protests face being expelled from their academic programs, the latest move in a standoff with school officials.

“Students occupying the building face expulsion,” Columbia’s office of public affairs says in a statement, adding that the protesters were provided “the opportunity to leave peacefully,” but instead declined and escalated the situation.

Iranian authorities question actors, crew of film due to be shown at Cannes Film Festival, ban them from leaving country

Iran’s authorities summoned for questioning crew members and actors of an Iranian film due to be shown in the main competition at next month’s Cannes Film Festival, their lawyer says on Tuesday.

The people working on “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” by acclaimed director Mohammad Rasoulof, were pressured to have it withdrawn from the festival, while the actors were banned from leaving the country, lawyer Babak Paknia posts on social media site X, formerly Twitter.

Rasoulof, who won the Golden Bear, the Berlin Film Festival’s top prize, in 2020 with his anti-capital punishment film “There Is No Evil”, had himself been detained in July 2022.

He was released in late 2023 after anti-government protests that began in September 2022 subsided.

Paknia writes on X that some crew members had been “interrogated” this week and last week, while actors on the film had also been questioned and barred from leaving the country.

“After several hours of interrogation, they were asked to tell the director to remove the film from the Cannes Festival,” he says.

He adds it was not clear if Rasoulof would be allowed to leave Iran to attend the festival.

The subject matter of the film and its cast remain under wraps, according to film industry media. It is not immediately clear how many people working on it were interrogated.

Appearances at the Cannes Festival have in recent years been increasingly contentious for Iranian directors and actors. Prominent director Saeed Roustaee was sentenced to six months in prison for the screening of his film “Leila’s Brothers” at the 2022 festival.

Blinken lands in Israel for seventh time since start of Gaza war

US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken disembarks after landing in Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, April 30, 2024. (David Azagury/US Embassy Jerusalem)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lands in Israel for the seventh time since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Blinken’s visit comes amid a broader trip to the Middle East during which he has visited Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

He will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi tomorrow. He will also visit the Kerem Shalom Crossing and Ashdod Port tomorrow afternoon, and will meet with families of American hostages in Tel Aviv.

Hostages forum demands meeting with Netanyahu to discuss efforts to free Gaza captives

Following the release of a Hamas propagnda video last week showing hostages Keith Siegel and Omri Miran, the two families hold a press conference at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on April 29, 2024, calling on all governments involved to work to finalize a deal to release all the hostages. (Paulina Patimer/via Hostages Families Forum)

Following a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the hawkish Gvura and Tikva forums, which represent families of some slain soldiers and some hostages respectively, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum demands he hold a similar meeting with the families it represents as soon as possible.

“The Forum demands an urgent meeting between representatives of the hostages’ families and the Prime Minister, to be held as early as tomorrow,” a statement from the organization reads. “Their demand is to advance the proposed deal expected to secure the return of all hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial,” the statement adds.

“We did not celebrate Passover. Our loved ones remained captives of Hamas. We ourselves are held captive by Hamas and the Israeli government,” the family members of hostages state. “In less than two weeks, we are supposed to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day – the independence of the state, its revival and the citizens’ faith in it – all of which are dependent on your decision.”

Blinken to meet with Gallant, families of US hostages in Tel Aviv Wednesday

In addition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

With war cabinet minister Benny Gantz dealing with a broken foot, a meeting with Blinken is still unconfirmed.

Blinken will also visit the Kerem Shalom Crossing and Ashdod Port tomorrow afternoon, and will meet with families of American hostages in Tel Aviv.

College Democrats commend pro-Palestinian protesters on US campuses

Anti-Israel protesters camp out in tents at Columbia University on Saturday, April 27, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo)

The College Democrats of America, the US Democratic Party’s student organization, releases a statement in support of the anti-Israel protests that have erupted on college campuses across the United States over the last week, calling the actions of the protesters “heroic.”

“There is nothing more American than the right to protest peacefully for what is right,” the statement reads, commending “the bravery of students across the country who have been willing to endure arrests, suspension and threats of expulsion to stand up for the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.”

Calling for a complete cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the release of the hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups, the College Democrats say that the end goal must be a “two-state solution where both Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peace.”

“Our position is clear: We stand with those protesting for peace and we find all calls for violence, such as those against Jewish and Muslim students, wrong,” the statement continues. “Those spreading hate have no place in the movement for peace.”

The statement avoids mentioning any specific circumstances in which Jewish students have faced antisemitism from anti-Israel protesters.

The College Democrats also urge US President Joe Biden and the Democrats to call on Israel to end the war against Hamas in Gaza, accusing the party of failing to represent youth voices.

“Each day that Democrats fail to stand united for a permanent ceasefire, two-state solution, and recognition of a Palestinian state, more and more youth find themselves disillusioned with the party,” the statement adds.

pic.twitter.com/ZbCQQZ0HEa

— College Democrats of America (@CollegeDems) April 30, 2024

UN chief says ‘incremental progress’ being made toward averting Gaza famine

File: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there has been incremental progress toward averting “an entirely preventable, human-made famine” in the northern Gaza Strip, but much more is urgently needed.

He specifically calls on Israel to follow through on its promise to open two crossings into northern Gaza so aid can be delivered directly from Israel’s Ashdod port and Jordan, and to allow safe, rapid and unimpeded aid access throughout Gaza.

“A major obstacle to distributing aid across Gaza is the lack of security for humanitarians and the people we serve. Humanitarian convoys, facilities and personnel, and the people in need, must not be targets,” he tells reporters at the UN in New York.

Israel pledged nearly a month ago to improve aid access after US President Joe Biden demanded steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying Washington could place conditions on support if Israel did not act.

“We must do everything possible to avert an entirely preventable, human-made famine,” Guterres says. “We have seen incremental progress recently, but much more is urgently needed.”

A UN-backed report published in March said famine was imminent and likely by May in northern Gaza, and could spread across the enclave of 2.3 million people by July.

“In northern Gaza, the most vulnerable – from sick children to people with disabilities – are already dying of hunger and disease,” Guterres says.

He also appeals for states with influence over Israel “to do everything in their power” to prevent an Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Gaza Palestinians are sheltering and where Hamas has four battalions deployed.

‘There’s an RPG, this is the enemy’: Leaked air force drone footage shows identification of terrorists on morning of Oct. 7

Screenshot of leaked Israeli Air Force drone footage from the morning of October 7, published by Channel 12 on April 30, 2024. (Screenshot, Channel 12: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Apparent Israeli Air Force drone footage leaked to Channel 12 news is aired tonight, showing the identification of terrorists on the morning of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

“Look, terrorists. There are people here with headbands on,” an officer is heard saying over the radio. “It looks like dozens of terrorists. Just verify that these aren’t our forces.”

“There’s an RPG, this is the enemy,” the officer is heard saying.

The Israeli military has not issued the footage, which Channel 12 says is exclusive to the network.

Two reservists who died in Gaza on Sunday were killed by mistaken IDF fire

This composite image shows Master Sgt. (res.) Ido Aviv (L) and Master Sgt. (res.) Kalkidan Meharim, who were killed during fighting in the central Gaza Strip on April 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

An IDF investigation into the deaths of two reservists in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday has found that the pair were killed by friendly fire.

Master Sgt. (res.) Ido Aviv, 28, of the Yiftah Brigade’s 9232nd Battalion, and Master Sgt. (res.) Kalkidan Meharim 37, of the Carmeli Brigade’s 223rd Battalion, were hit by shelling from a tank that had opened fire outside of its designated boundaries, according to the probe.

The probe found that the incident began as an IDF tank was hit by a roadside bomb near the Turkish Hospital in the Netzarim Corridor. Shortly after, mortars and anti-tank missiles were launched toward troops in the corridor area.

Amid an exchange of fire with the Hamas operatives, a tank of the Yiftah Brigade left an encampment and shelled a building in the area.

The building had been outside of the tank force’s designated boundaries, according to the probe. Several troops, including Aviv and Meharim, were in the building when it was hit.

The IDF is further investigating the conduct of the troops, which were deployed to Gaza just last week.

Sa’ar: Attack on German diplomat in Ramallah, US student protests are ‘two sides of the same terrorist coin’

Tuesday’s attack on German diplomat Oliver Owcza in the West Bank and student protests against Israel in the United States are both motivated by a desire “to make the Western world abandon Israel,” New Hope chairman Gideon Sa’ar says.

“The violent attacks by students on campuses across the US, and the violence against the European diplomats in Ramallah are two sides of the same terrorist coin,” he tweets in English.

“Their goal is the same: to make the Western world abandon Israel, which represents its values in the region. It is Western moral numbness after the barbarism of October 7 which allows for such outrageous and worrying spectacle.”

On Tuesday, Owcza, the German representative to the Palestinian Authority, was chased out of a Palestinian museum by a crowd of students over his country’s support for Israel.

Jewish students have increasingly said they feel unsafe on US campuses amidst an increase in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

The violent attacks by students on campuses across the US, and the violence against the European diplomats in Ramallah are two sides of the same terrorist coin. Their goal is the same: to make the Western world abandon Israel, which represents its values in the region. It is…

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) April 30, 2024

In Jerusalem, France’s top diplomat says Paris will push new sanctions on Iran next month

During his meeting with Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem, France’s top diplomat Stéphane Séjourné says that France will push new sanctions on Iran at the next IAEA Board of Governors meeting in May.

“We will work with all our power at the IAEA meeting next month to impose sanctions on Iran regarding its nuclear, missiles and UAVs to prove that the pressure is increasing,” says Séjourné, according to the Israeli readout. “The US may join as well.”

“All international crises now will once again lead to a run for nuclear weapons, including dictatorial or unstable countries,” the French foreign minister continues. “We need to stop this, we are all unanimous on the Iranian nuclear issue.”

Séjourné also agrees with Katz that Iran is behind attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, Shiite militias and Houthis in Yemen.

The two diplomats also discuss a possible diplomatic settlement to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran sanctions in the European Union and “efforts to prevent recognition of a Palestinian state,” according to the readout.

Netanyahu to meet with Blinken in Jerusalem tomorrow, PM’s office confirms

File: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem, February 7, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at 10:45 a.m. tomorrow in Jerusalem, the Prime Minister’s Office announces.

The meeting will come after Blinken’s meeting with President Isaac Herzog, and ahead of his anticipated visit to Ashdod to examine humanitarian aid flowing through the port.

Blinken says aid shipments to depart Jordan for northern Gaza’s Erez Crossing later today

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits a storage with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the first shipments of aid directly from Jordan to northern Gaza’s Erez Crossing will depart later today.

Erez Crossing sustained significant damage and many Israelis were killed and abducted there during the Hamas terror onslaught on October 7 and has remained closed since then.

Israel committed to reopening the crossing earlier this month amid increased international pressure and warnings of possible famine in the northern part of the Palestinian enclave.

Speaking to reporters at a warehouse of Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization where aid shipments from US-based charities are gathered, Blinken also says he will present Israel’s leaders with a list of measures they still need to take to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Blinken is expected to meet with Israel’s war leadership tomorrow, as well as with President Isaac Herzog.

Protesters call for a hostage deal, block road, outside IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv

Protesters block Begin Road in front of the Kirya IDF Military Headquarters in Tel Aviv, urging a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, April 30, 2024 (Danor Aharon / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Protesters assemble outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv to demand that the Israeli government agree to a deal for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing allies warn against accepting the deal currently being negotiated in Cairo.

The demonstrators count to 207 to mark the days that the hostages have been held in captivity following the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel.

Protesters block Begin Road in front of the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv in calls for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, April 30, 2024. (Danor Aharon/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

As the demonstration swells in size, protesters block Begin Road outside the Kirya.

The latest offer being negotiated in Cairo reportedly includes a 40-day pause in fighting and the release of almost a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for between 20-33 hostages.

Israel estimates that 129 of those hostages remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November.

Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

IDF says fighter jets hit Hezbollah buildings in Lebanon after anti-tank missiles fired at Metula area

Israeli fighter jets struck several buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where members of the terror group were gathered, the military says.

The strikes come as Hezbollah fired several anti-tank missiles at the Metula area, causing damage.

The IDF says there are no injuries in the attack, and troops shelled the launch sites with artillery.

Herzog to meet with Blinken in Tel Aviv Wednesday, President’s office announces

File: Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, February 7, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Pool)

President Isaac Herzog will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tomorrow morning at 8:15 a.m. in Tel Aviv, the President’s office announces.

After landing in Israel from Jordan tonight, Blinken is expected to meet Israel’s war leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tomorrow. Though the details of the visit are not finalized, he is slated to visit Ashdod Port, through which humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip has begun to flow.

Jewish student suing Columbia University for allowing protests to drive Jews off campus – report

The anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University on April 28, 2024, in New York City. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)

A Jewish student is suing Columbia University for failing to provide adequate protection for Jewish students amid the anti-Israel protests that have erupted on campus, The Washington Post reports.

According to the report, the lawsuit claims Columbia allowed the protests to drive Jewish students off campus rather than take steps to ensure their safety.

The decision by the faculty to offer remote learning for students who felt unsafe as a result of the protests created “two very different educational experiences for Jewish and non-Jewish students,” the report cites the lawsuit as stating.

While most students were able to continue to receive an in-person education, “Jewish students, on the other hand, get a second-class education where they are relegated to their homes,” it alleges.

The lawsuit also accuses the protesters of “openly inciting violence against Jewish students,” and says that as such, they are “not engaging in constitutionally protected free speech,” the report adds.

War cabinet observer Eisenkot accuses Smotrich, Ben Gvir of ‘blackmailing with political threats’

Minister Gadi Eisenkot, a war cabinet observer, attends a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya, February 6, 2024 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90).

Minister Gadi Eisenkot, an observer in the war cabinet and member of the National Unity party, implicitly slams Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for harming national security by issuing “political threats.”

“The cabinet defined the goals of the war six months ago. Over the last day, two cabinet members have been blackmailing with political threats,” he states, without naming the pair.

Both Ben Gvir and Smotrich have expressed opposition to a deal that would bring about the release of some of the 129 hostages abducted on October 7 and still held by Hamas in Gaza in return for Israel scaling back or temporarily halting the fighting, saying it would undermine the government’s right to exist and lead to its dissolution.

Describing their actions as “a grave phenomenon that harms Israel’s national security,” Eisenkot states that he “will only be a partner in a government that makes decisions based on the national interests of the State of Israel, and not on political considerations.”

White House: Biden condemns takeover of Columbia University building by anti-Israel protesters

Anti-Israel demonstrators at Columbia University Campus unfurl a banner as they barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, naming it after a Palestinian child allegedly killed by the Israel in Gaza amid the ongoing war with Hamas, April 30, 2024 in New York City. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)

US President Joe Biden opposes last night’s takeover of a building at Columbia University by anti-Israel protesters, the White House says.

“The president believes that forcibly taking over a building on campus is absolutely the wrong approach. That is not an example of peaceful protest,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says during a press briefing.

“Hate speech and hate symbols have no place in this country,” Kirby adds.

“A small percentage of students shouldn’t be able to disrupt the academic experience… for the rest of the student body,” he says.

“Students paying to go to school and want an education should be able to do that without disruption and they ought to be able to… feel safe doing it.”

“They certainly deserve to be able to graduate and participate in a graduation ceremony,” Kirby adds. Earlier this month, the University of Southern California decided to cancel its main graduation ceremony due to concerns over mass pro-Palestinian protests.

Netanyahu: ICC arrest warrants would be distortion of justice, stain on humanity, unprecedented hate crime

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a video address regarding reports that the ICC may issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, April 30, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses the International Criminal Court in The Hague of trying to prevent Israel from defending itself against terrorism amid reports that the UN court could issue arrest warrants for some of Israel’s top officials.

“Eighty years after the Holocaust, the international bodies that were established to prevent another Holocaust are considering denying the Jewish state the right to defend itself against those who came to commit genocide against us, and are still actively working to do so,” the prime minister says in a video statement. “What an absurdity, what a distortion of justice and history.”

Should the court issue arrest warrants for war crimes, it would be “a scandal on a historical scale,” he adds, calling such a move “an indelible stain on all of humanity” and an “unprecedented antisemitic hate crime.”

Accusing the ICC of intentionally trying to paralyze Israel’s political and military leadership, Netanyahu vows that “no decision, neither in The Hague or anywhere else, will harm our determination to achieve all the goals of the war,” which include bringing the hostages home to Israel, removing Hamas from power and ensuring no threat remains in Gaza, and stabilizing Israel’s northern borders.

He ends his statement with a call for world leaders to come out against the reported plan to issue arrest warrants, warning that such a move would harm not only Israel’s right to self-defense but that of “all democracies in the world.”

US Congress members from both parties have reportedly warned the ICC that Washington will retaliate if any arrest warrants are issued, and other allied nations are reported to have also expressed their opposition to such a move.

UN nuclear chief to visit Iran next week for nuclear conference, talks with officials

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on April 11, 2024. (Joe Klamar/AFP)

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi is scheduled to visit Iran to take part in a nuclear conference on May 6-8 and meet Iranian officials, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency says.

“Grossi will meet Iranian officials in Tehran before participating in the International Conference of Nuclear Sciences and Technologies held in Isfahan,” the agency reports.

The IAEA chief said in February that he was planning a visit to Tehran to tackle a “drifting apart” in relations between the agency and the Islamic Republic.

Grossi said the same month that while the pace of uranium enrichment by Iran had slowed slightly since the end of last year, Iran was still enriching at an elevated rate of around 7 kg of uranium per month to 60% purity.

Enrichment to 60% brings uranium close to weapons grade, and is not necessary for commercial use in nuclear power production. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons but no other state has enriched to that level without producing them.

Under a now-defunct 2015 agreement with world powers, Iran could enrich uranium only to 3.67%. After then-president Donald Trump pulled the United States out of that deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, Iran moved well beyond the deal’s nuclear restrictions.

The IAEA says the 2015 nuclear deal was “all but disintegrated.”

Smotrich says he’ll oppose ‘disastrous’ hostage deal being discussed in Cairo

Finance Minister and Head of the Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, April 30, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declares that he will oppose the hostage deal currently being negotiated in Egypt, stating that it would be “disastrous” for Israel.

Speaking with the press following a meeting of his Religious Zionism faction in the Knesset, the far-right cabinet member says that while he would have received kudos for coming out in favor of a deal, he believes that such a course of action would endanger Israeli civilians and is “ready to pay the political price” to prevent an “existential danger” to the State of Israel — even if it means going to the opposition.

Smotrich says that while his “heart is torn” by the suffering of the hostages and their families, his “head is thinking at the same time about the future of nine million Israeli citizens” and how they will be affected by a return of Hamas to northern Gaza and the release of terrorists with blood on their hands.

“In the end, my responsibility is to the public, to my conscience and to the truth. And the head and the truth say that such a deal must be opposed because its results will be disastrous,” he says.

“We have reached a crossroads where the State of Israel has to choose between decisive victory and defeat in war and humiliation,” he argues. “Acceptance of the deal that is on the table means unequivocally waving a white flag and granting victory to Hamas.”

If the current proposal is accepted, Hamas will be “alive, kicking, strengthening and preparing for the next terrible massacre,” he asserts, accusing the war cabinet of agreeing to “strategic concessions that endanger the State of Israel.”

“A government that submits to international pressure, stops the war in the middle, avoids immediate entry into Rafah and returns to Egyptian mediation proposals that leave Hamas existing in any configuration will instantly lose its right to exist,” he adds.

He urges Netanyahu to “finally give the command: ‘Rafah now.'”

Trump fined $9,000 for violating gag order in criminal hush money trial

Former US president Donald Trump speaks upon arriving at Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial fined the former US president $9,000 on Tuesday for statements that he found violated a gag order in the case.

Justice Juan Merchan’s order comes as Trump’s trial is due to resume in New York with testimony from a banker familiar with accounts involved in the former US president’s alleged scheme to influence the 2016 election by covering up a sex scandal.

Trump, the Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, is charged with falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied having sex with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

The historic criminal trial is the first of a former US president and began on April 22.

Banker Garry Farro, who is not accused of wrongdoing, testified on Friday about financial records filed by Trump’s onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who prosecutors say helped carry out the scheme.

Trump is required to attend the trial and has said he could instead be campaigning ahead of his rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election.

The criminal case is one of four pending against Trump, but could be the only one to go to trial and result in a verdict before the election.

Herzog: ICC action against Israel would harm democracies’ fight against terror

Amid growing concern among Israel’s leadership that the International Criminal Court in The Hague could soon issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and other top officials, President Isaac Herzog decries any potential attempts to “abuse international legal institutions – including the ICC – to deny the state of Israel its basic rights. ”

“As I have reiterated over the last months to leaders from around the world: Israel has the full right and duty to free our hostages and defend our citizens,” writes the president on X.

“The state of Israel, our military, and security forces are working tirelessly to achieve these goals, operating totally in accordance with international law,” he continues. “I unequivocally object to any attempt to abuse international legal institutions – including the ICC – to deny the state of Israel its basic rights. We have an independent and robust judicial system that knows how to investigate as needed.”

Herzog says that any such actions “will only serve to tie the hands of all free and democratic nations in the fight against terror.”

As I have reiterated over the last months to leaders from around the world: Israel has the full right and duty to free our hostages and defend our citizens.

The state of Israel, our military, and security forces are working tirelessly to achieve these goals, operating totally…

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) April 30, 2024

World Court won’t issue provisional measures against Germany over arms sales to Israel

FILE - Judge Nawaf Salam, third right, speaks at the start of a two-day hearing at the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands, in a case brought by Nicaragua accusing Germany of breaching the genocide convention by providing arms and support to Israel, April 8, 2024. (Patrick Post/AP)

The International Court of Justice decides not to issue provisional measures against Germany for its arms sales to Israel as demanded by Nicaragua against the background of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

The court rules, however, that it will not dismiss the case from its docket, saying it could only do so if there were a manifest lack of jurisdiction which it says is not the case in Nicaragua’s application.

Nicaragua filed an application to the ICJ against Germany in February accusing Berlin of violating the Genocide Convention for selling weapons to Israel and for its suspension of funds for the Palestinian humanitarian agency UNRWA over concerns of its involvement in terrorist activity against Israel.

“Based on the factual information and legal arguments presented by the parties the court concludes that at present the circumstances are not such as to require the exercise of its power under article 41 of the statue to indicate provisional measures,” ICJ court president Nawaf Salam reads from the order.

Salam says, however, that the court remains “deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza Strip, in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which they are being subjected.”

IDF carrying out intensive preparations for upcoming Rafah op, future Gaza offensives

Troops carry out maintenance on tanks in southern Israel, in a handout photo published April 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli military’s 98th and 162nd divisions have been carrying out intensive preparations in recent days for future offensives in the Gaza Strip, including the looming Rafah operation.

In a statement, the IDF says the two divisions are “working to strengthen readiness for the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip,” and that both had gone over plans for the upcoming operations.

The 162nd Division had operated in Gaza for six months until last week. It had most recently been tasked with the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza. The 98th Division had spent four months operating in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, until it was withdrawn earlier this month.

“The division commanders have completed the approval of plans for the next missions, and are now continuing to increase readiness,” the IDF says.

The commanders of the divisions and their brigades have also undergone learning sessions in preparation for future operations, the statement says.

The IDF says the divisions’ maintenance teams recently patched up all of their armored vehicles, to “increase their readiness for continuous combat.”

The announcement comes as the IDF is preparing to launch an offensive in Rafah, with Hebrew media reporting that if a hostage deal with Hamas is not reached within the next few days, the operation will commence.

Trump: Netanyahu deserves blame for Oct. 7; I had bad experiences with him; I’ll protect Israel

Then-US president Donald Trump (right) with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to Trump's departure to Rome at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, on May 23, 2017. (Kobi Gideon/GPO via Flash90)

In a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine, former US president and current GOP contender Donald Trump has harsh words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and for Israel’s war leadership, but pledges to “protect Israel” if re-elected in November.

October 7 “happened on his watch,” says Trump, adding that Netanyahu has rightfully been criticized for failing to prevent the Hamas attack.

“They have the most sophisticated equipment,” Trump says of Israel. “They had—everything was there to stop that. And a lot of people knew about it, you know, thousands and thousands of people knew about it, but Israel didn’t know about it, and I think he’s being blamed for that very strongly, being blamed.”

Trump also says that he had a “bad experience” with Netanyahu, accusing him of dropping out of the US operation to kill Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader Qassam Soleimani in January 2020.

“All of a sudden, we were told that Israel was not doing it. And I was not happy about that. That was something I never forgot. And it showed me something.”

Asked if he thinks Netanyahu should quiet and whether he could work better with war cabinet minister and presumptive Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz, Trump replies. “I think Benny Gantz is good, but I’m not prepared to say that… I haven’t spoken to him about it. But you have some very good people that I’ve gotten to know in Israel that could do a good job.”

October 7 wouldn’t have happened if he was in office, Trump argues. “It would have never happened,” he insists. “It would have never happened. You wouldn’t have had—Hamas had no money.”

“We had no terror… and we got rid of ISIS 100%. Now they’re starting to come back.”

Turning to the hostages, Trump surmises without offering evidence that “you have very few hostages left.”

“I don’t believe these people are able or even wanting to take care of people as negotiations,” he says, without explaining whether he is referring to Israeli or Hamas negotiators.

“I think the hostages are going to be far fewer than people think, which is a very sad thing.”

Trump also says that Israel has done public relations “very badly.”

“I don’t think that the Israel Defense Fund [sic] or any other group should be sending out pictures every night of buildings falling down and being bombed with possibly people in those buildings every single night, which is what they do,” says the 77-year-old business mogul.

Trump says that a two-state solution is now “much tougher to get,” and that fewer people back the idea.

He also cites the way Palestinian youth are educated: “Children grow up and they’re taught to hate Jewish people at a level that nobody thought was possible.”

Trump says that the Israeli public supports him overwhelmingly.

“There’s been no president that’s done what I’ve done in Israel,” Trump claims. “And it’s interesting. The people of Israel appreciate it. I have like a 98%—I have the highest approval numbers.”

“I have been very loyal to Israel, more loyal than any other president,” boasts the 45th US president. “I’ve done more for Israel than any other president. Yeah, I will protect Israel.”

Ben Gvir: ‘I warned Netanyahu’ and he promised not to agree to ‘reckless’ hostage deal

Illustrative: Likud leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu with head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir at a vote in the Knesset plenum, December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90/File)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised not to agree to a “reckless” hostage deal, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says in a statement, after a meeting between the two.

“I warned the prime minister [of the consequences] if, God forbid, Israel does not enter Rafah, if, God forbid, we end the war, if, God forbid, there will be a reckless deal,” Ben Gvir says in a video statement.

“The prime minister heard my words, promised that Israel would go into Rafah, promised that the war would not end, and promised that there would be no reckless deal. I welcome these things. I think the prime minister understands very well what it will mean if these things do not take place.”

Ben Gvir met with Netanyahu to discuss the deal and the IDF’s looming Rafah operation ahead of this afternoon’s general cabinet meeting. Earlier, the prime minister stated that Israel “will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there — whether or not there is a deal — in order to achieve total victory.”

IDF troops fire at drug smugglers damaging Egyptian border fence

File: Israeli soldiers and rescue forces seen at Mount Harif military base in the southern Negev desert, close to the border with Egypt, on June 3, 2023. (Dudu Greenspan/Flash90)

Israeli troops opened fire at drug smugglers on the Egyptian border earlier today, the military says.

The IDF says that soldiers operating surveillance cameras spotted a number of suspects on the border fence, in the Mount Harif region.

Troops of the Border Defense Corps’ Bardelas Battalion operating in the area opened fire at the suspects, hitting several of them, the IDF says.

A military source says the suspects were damaging the border fence amid the drug smuggling attempt.

Drug smuggling incidents on the Egyptian border are frequent, and at times include shooting by the smugglers at Israeli forces.

Northwestern University reaches agreement with anti-Israel protesters to dismantle encampment

People rally on the campus of Northwestern University demanding the school divest from Israel, on April 25, 2024, in Evanston, Illinois. (Scott Olson/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Northwestern University has reached an agreement with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrators that will see them take down their “Gaza solidarity encampment,” in one of the first such deals aimed at de-escalating protests that have rocked campuses across the US.

The students agreed to take down all but one of the nearly 100 tents erected on the school quad since Thursday.

In exchange, Northwestern has agreed to take several steps to expand student engagement in the school’s financial investments.

The protesters have demanded that the university divest from Israeli companies and cease partnerships with Israeli institutions.

Northwestern also agreed to fund the tuition of five Palestinian undergraduates and hire two visiting Palestinian faculty members in addition to providing a temporary space on campus for Middle Eastern and Muslim students until their existing house finishes renovation.

Jewish and pro-Israel groups slammed the agreement.

“Today, Northwestern University declared itself a safe space for antisemitism,” the Israeli Consulate in Chicago tweets. “We are appalled by Northwestern’s decision to turn its back on Jewish and Israeli students who have been targets of hateful harassment and intimidation. This decision rewards the pro-terror, anti-Israel, and anti-America aggressors on campus.”

The protesters had been heard chanting for an intifada and for Israel’s destruction. They also accused the university’s president of killing children in Gaza.

“You certainly heard and acted generously towards those with loud, at times hateful voices. The lack of any reassuring message to our community has also been heard loud and clear.”
⁦@NorthwesternU⁩ pic.twitter.com/RA2wHfjR5q

— ChicagoJCRC (@ChicagoJCRC) April 30, 2024

War cabinet cancels meeting amid disagreements over potential hostage deal, Rafah operation

This evening’s meeting of the war cabinet has been canceled, an Israeli official confirms to the Times of Israel.

The cancellation comes amid strong disagreements between members of the broader cabinet over a possible Egyptian-mediated hostage deal and its potential impact on Israel’s looming Rafah operation. Both National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have expressed opposition to a deal that would scale back or temporarily halt the fighting, while war cabinet minister Benny Gantz asserted earlier this week that if the government rejects a hostage deal that is backed by the security services, it will “have no right to continue to exist.”

The war cabinet has three voting members: Netanyahu, Gantz, and Gallant. National Unity’s Gadi Eisenkot is an observer, as are Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and ultra-Orthodox Shas party leader Aryeh Deri, both confidants of Netanyahu.

Ben Gvir met with Netanyahu to discuss the deal and operation ahead of this afternoon’s general cabinet meeting, which Smotrich skipped in favor of a faction meeting of his hard-right Religious Zionism party.

Netanyahu said today that Israel “will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there — whether or not there is a deal — in order to achieve total victory.”

World Court prosecutors questioning Gaza hospital staffers amid war crimes probes

Prosecutors from the International Criminal Court have interviewed staff from Gaza’s two biggest hospitals, two sources tell Reuters, the first confirmation that ICC investigators are speaking to medics about possible crimes in the Gaza Strip.

The sources, who ask not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, tell Reuters that ICC investigators have taken testimony from staff who had worked in the main hospital in Gaza City in the north of the enclave, Al Shifa, and the main hospital in Khan Younis in the south, Nasser.

The sources decline to provide more details, citing concerns about the safety of potential witnesses.

One of the sources says that events surrounding the hospitals could become part of the investigation by the ICC, which hears criminal cases against individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression.

The ICC’s office of the prosecutor declined to comment on operational matters in ongoing investigations, citing the need to ensure the safety of victims and witnesses.

The ICC has said it is investigating both sides in the conflict, including the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters on Israel and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Video shows Turkish tourist stabbing officer

Surveillance camera footage published by police shows the stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City earlier today during which one officer was moderately hurt.

The suspected stabber, identified by defense sources as Turkish national Hasan Saklanan, 34, attacked a Border Police cop near Herod’s Gate, before being shot dead by the victim and another officer.

The video shows Saklanan walking behind two police officers before pulling out a knife and trying to stab one of them in the head.

The stabber and the wounded cop are seen in a struggle, as the second officer works to pull the attacker away.

After the wounded officer manages to break free from the assailant, both he and the second cop open fire at Saklanan, killing him.

Warning: Graphic content

Defense sources say Saklanan entered Israel on a tourist visa Monday via the Jordan River Crossing with Jordan.

Gunshots ring out in central Beersheba, police say terror not suspected

Police say gunfire in Beersheba in broad daylight appears to be related to domestic criminal activity.

A video shows people in a central square near Beersheba’s Old City taking cover as multiple shots ring out.

אירוע ירי פלילי בבאר שבע: שני גברים נפצעו קל-בינוני | תיעוד רגעי הבהלה@Itsik_zuarets @yonatanraveh11 pic.twitter.com/1DLPLULkH9

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 30, 2024

“Police forces, include forensics officers, are on the scene collecting evidence to track down those involved,” police say in a statement.

The Kan broadcaster reports that two people suffered non life-threatening injuries.

Smotrich skips cabinet meeting to huddle with party instead

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes his cabinet for a weekly meeting that had been delayed by the end of the Passover holiday. Not in attendance is Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is instead holding a faction meeting of his far-right Religious Zionism party, amid ongoing political disagreement within the government over a proposed hostage deal with Hamas.

Smotrich is slated to issue a statement to the media following the meeting, which comes on the heels of a private powwow between Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir focused on the deal and the expected IDF ground operation in Rafah.

Both Ben Gvir and Smotrich have expressed opposition to a deal scaling back or temporarily halting the fighting, saying it would undermine the government’s right to exist and lead to its dissolution.

Anti-tank missiles fired at Metula, no injuries

Anti-tank guided missiles were launched from Lebanon at the Metula area, local authorities say.

The Upper Galilee Regional Council says that Route 90 between the Tel Hai junction and Metula has been closed following the attack.

Channel 12 news reports that three missiles were fired in the volley.

There are no reports of injuries.

French FM brings proposals to calm Lebanon tensions to Jerusalem

French officials are sharing proposals made to Lebanese authorities to defuse tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne says.

“A number of proposals that we made to the Lebanese side have been shared [with you],” Sejourne says ahead of a meeting with Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem.

“We have a relationship with Lebanon, 20,000 citizens there and the war in 2006 was particularly dramatic for them,” he says.

Sejourne was in Lebanon on Sunday where he met officials including politicians close to Hezbollah. French officials say they saw progress in the responses from Lebanese authorities.

Sejourne says the proposals are based on ensuring the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which requires Hezbollah to disarm south of the Litani River.

Katz thanks France for its help in intercepting Iranian missiles and drones in an attack on Israel in April.

“It was a message that regional states participated in that, because it was very important in regards to what we can expect in the future,” he said

Deal won’t change plans to invade Rafah, Netanyahu tells families of hostages and of slain troops

Netanyahu, right, meets with members of the Gvura Forum and Tikva Forum in Jerusalem on April 30, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Israel will go into Rafah regardless of truce talks, pledges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a conversation with bereaved families and relatives of hostages pushing against a deal with Hamas that ends the war in Gaza before the terror group has been toppled.

“The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its aims is not an option,” Netanyahu tells the hawkish Gvura and Tikva forums, who represent families of slain soldiers and families of hostages held in Gaza, respectively. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there — whether or not there is a deal — in order to achieve total victory.”

According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, the groups urged Netanyahu and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi to continue the war and to resist international pressure.

The meeting comes before Netanyahu is slated to talk with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is also opposed to stopping the war and making concessions to Hamas.

German envoy chased from West Bank museum by Palestinian student mob

The German representative to the Palestinian Authority was chased out of a Palestinian museum by a crowd of students over his country’s support for Israel.

During a visit to the West Bank’s Palestine Museum, which is located on the premises of Birzeit University, about 10 kilometers (six miles) north of Ramallah, Berlin’s diplomat Oliver Owcza is jeered by a group of students shouting “Get out!” and forced to return to his vehicle while a crowd runs after him.

Videos circulating on X show the students hurling objects at the car as it drives off the premises. Gunfire can also be heard.

Ramallah |

Birzeit University Students kick out the German ambassador who came to visit the Palestinian museum due to his country’s supportive positions of the Israeli war on Gaza https://t.co/R8FJYOpIT9

— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) April 30, 2024

Germany is considered to be one of Israel’s staunchest allies in Europe. Prime Minister Olaf Scholz was the first of a number of Western leaders who made solidarity visits in the days after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, and Berlin has intervened on behalf of Israel at the International Court of Justice to refute South Africa’s allegation of “genocide” in Gaza.

Old City knifing suspect identified as Turkish visitor

The assailant who stabbed a Border Police cop in Jerusalem’s Old City is a Turkish national, police say.

According to police, the 34-year-old rushed at the officer near Herod’s Gate and stabbed him in the upper body.

Shaare Zedek Medical Center says the victim is conscious and in moderate condition. He is undergoing imaging and other treatment.

The officer who was stabbed and another cop in the area returned fire at the assailant, killing him, police add.

Reports detail deep Israeli concessions in hostage talks, including possible yearlong truce

While Israel expects the specific terms of the potential hostage release agreement to change in the coming days if Hamas shows interest in reaching a deal, one of the timelines under discussion is a 10-week pause in the fighting in exchange for 33 living hostages, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

“Israel has gone above and beyond in showing flexibility to reach a deal,” says the official.

Israel is also open to the possibility of Palestinians moving back to northern Gaza without going through Israeli security checks. One of the possibilities under examination is Egypt being responsible for security checks, says the official, but nothing has been finalized.

Under no circumstances will Israel agree to declare an end to the war, the official stresses.

The Wall Street Journal, citing Egyptian officials, reports that a proposal that Israel helped draft, but has not yet endorsed, would include “the release of at least 20 hostages over three weeks for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.”

The truce could then be extended for one hostage release per day.

It says a second phase would include a 10-week truce during which Israel and Hamas would discuss releasing more hostages and a pause in fighting for up to a year. Hamas was initially positive about that proposal, but balked over the fact that it does not end the war permanently, the WSJ reports.

Channel 12 reports that Israel is willing to release 900 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for between 20 and 33 hostages, which would translate to 27 to 45 prisoners per hostage.

This is beyond what Israel has previously offered. In March, it was willing to release 950 prisoners for 40 hostages, and in November, at the height of the ground campaign in Gaza, 240 prisoners were ultimately released for 105 hostages, 81 of whom were Israeli.

The Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that Jerusalem is expecting to hear an answer from Hamas on the latest offer on Wednesday night.

On the possibility of arrest warrants for Israeli officials being issued by the International Criminal Court, the official says that Israel “wants clarity from the ICC.”

“If it’s going to happen, we’d like to know,” says the official, adding that the US, not Israel, has been in direct contact with the ICC.

Officer in moderate condition after stabbing; suspected assailant killed

The police officer wounded in the stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City is listed in moderate condition, medics say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is taking the 30-year-old officer to a hospital in the capital.

First responders say the alleged stabber, who was shot by other officers at the scene, was killed.

Police officer stabbed near Jerusalem Old City; suspect shot

This handout photo shows a knife used by an assailant in an attack in Jerusalem's Old City, April 30, 2024. (Israel Police)

A police officer was wounded in a suspected stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, near the Herod’s Gate entrance, authorities say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is treating a man in his 30s who was stabbed. The man is conscious, MDA says.

Police identify the victim as a police officer who was lightly wounded in the attack.

Other officers at the scene shot and “neutralized” the assailant, police add.

Columbia asks people to avoid campus due to anti-Israel protests

A demonstrator breaks the windows of the front door of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in order to secure a chain around it to prevent authorities from entering on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images/AFP)

Columbia University is asking staff and students to stay away from its main campus Tuesday after pro-Palestinian protesters took over a building and barricaded themselves inside to protest the school’s refusal to divest from Israel.

“In light of the protest activity on campus, members of the University community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus today should do so,” the school says in a statement, adding that essential staff should report to work.

It adds that access to the campus and some buildings may be restricted.

The Columbia Spectator student newspaper reports that police are gathered outside the campus, but do not plan to enter.

Protesters inside Hamilton Hall have hung banners out windows reading “Intifada,” “Student Intifada,” and one renaming the building “Hind’s Hall.”

Students and demonstrators lock arms to block access to Hamilton Hall on Columbia University’s campus on April 30, 2024 in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images/AFP)

“An autonomous group reclaimed Hind’s Hall, previously known as ‘Hamilton Hall,’ in honor of Hind Rajab, a martyr murdered at the hands of the genocidal Israeli state at the age of six years old,” CU Apartheid Divest posts on X.

The protestors say they plan to remain at the hall until the university concedes to the CUAD’s three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.

The New York Times reports that a crowd of hundreds outside the hall has thinned to about 20 people. It’s not clear how many people are inside the building.

MK claims cops beat her at hostage deal rally

Demonstrators clash with police during a protest calling for the release of Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, April 29, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)

Labor MK Naama Lazimi says she was manhandled and beaten by police during a demonstration calling for a hostage deal in Tel Aviv last night.

“The violence on the part of the cops was unrestrained; we all felt it was much much different from previous protests,” she tells Kan radio. “They grabbed me, they pushed me, threw me to the ground, hit me — it was all filmed.”

Videos taken during the protest show cops roughly grabbing and pushing Lazimi away from a building housing Likud’s headquarters, as she apparently attempted to check on a detained protester. The videos do not show cops throwing her to the ground or hitting her.

והנה סרטון נוסף שבו רואים את לזימי נדחפת פעם שניה בכניסה למצודת זאב על ידי שוטרים נוספים: pic.twitter.com/BDDokOreaW

— בר שם-אור Bar Shem-Ur (@Bar_ShemUr) April 29, 2024

ח״כ נעמה לזימי נזרקת באלימות על ידי שוטר בהפגנה הערב יחד עם משפחות החטופים בתל אביב pic.twitter.com/vQInHhP85G

— בר שם-אור Bar Shem-Ur (@Bar_ShemUr) April 29, 2024

מחאת משפחות החטופים בת"א: שימו לב, עוד אירוע שבו שוטרים דוחפים באלימות את ח"כ נעמה לזימי, שוטר אחד אף אוחז בזרועה בכוח, באיזה עולם משטרה מרביצה לחברי כנסת??!??
@naamalazimi pic.twitter.com/iFFxXNgdNu

— Or-ly Barlev ???? אור-לי ברלב (@orlybarlev) April 29, 2024

“To think that the police force, the body that is supposed to protect me, is something I should be afraid of, that protesters should be afraid of, is a reality that cannot be,” she adds.

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, speaks outside the military’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, April 6, 2024. (Screen capture: Ynet, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Lazimi claims police also mistreated the family of hostage Matan Zangauker at the protest, an allegation backed up by Zangauker’s mother Einav.

“Yesterday the violence crossed every line,” Einav Zangauker tells Army Radio. “I saw a cop grab a flyer of Matan out of my daughter’s hands and laugh.”

Five people were arrested at the protest. Police said “a small number of protesters started an illegal demonstration including disrupting order and violence toward cops,” adding that some protesters, “including a Knesset member,” were stopped as they tried to enter the Likud headquarters and scrawl graffiti writings.

Israel to mothball Patriot air defenses after decades of mostly gathering dust

An American Patriot missile defense system that was deployed in Israel in response to a series of Scud missile attacks by Iraq during the 1991 First Gulf War. (Noam Wind/Defense Ministry Archive)

The Israeli Air Force will bid farewell to its aging Patriot air defense systems in the coming months, replacing the batteries with more advanced air defenses, the military says.

In February, the IAF said it was in the process of closing several Patriot batteries, and its staff would be trained to operate on the Iron Dome instead.

According to an article published today on the Israeli military website, the Patriot array — known in the IAF as Yahalom, Hebrew for “diamond” — will be shuttered for good within two months.

“We are currently in the process of reducing the [number of] batteries until the entire system is closed,” says the head of the Aerial Defense Array’s 138th Battalion, which operates the Patriot.

US-operated Patriot missile batteries were deployed successfully against some Scud missiles fired from Iraq at Israel during the 1991 Gulf War.

The the US-made system officially entered Israeli service that same year, but only made its first interception in 2014, downing a drone launched from the Gaza Strip in 2014.

Over the following decade, the system, designed to shoot down aircraft, intercepted only some 10 targets, according to the military, including a Syrian fighter jet that breached Israeli airspace in 2018.

The trail left in the sky by a Patriot missile, as seen in the northern Israeli city of Safed, October 12, 2023. (David Cohen/Flash90)

It will now be replaced with more advanced air defense systems, the IAF says.

The lowest layer of Israel’s multi-tiered missile defense system is the Iron Dome. The middle tier is the David’s Sling system, which is designed to shoot down medium-range projectiles. The longest-range systems are the Arrows, designed to intercept large ballistic missiles.

The move comes weeks after Israel’s air defense array was put to its largest-ever test with the launch of hundreds of projectiles from Iran, almost all of which were downed with the help of the US, Jordan, the UK and France.

It is unclear what will happen with the Patriot batteries, which are highly sought by Ukraine as it seeks to defend its skies against Russian missiles.

Gas prices to spike to second-highest level in over a decade

Gasoline prices for Israeli consumers are set to rise again for the sixth month in a row, hitting NIS 7.90 per liter for 95 octane unleaded, or the equivalent of $7.98 a gallon. Full service will cost NIS 8.12/liter or $8.20 a gallon.

The price will mark an increase of NIS 0.18/liter over April, and nearly a full shekel over the price of NIS 6.94/liter enjoyed in December.

The planned increase marks only the second time since 2013 that prices will be 7.90/liter or higher, after prices briefly spiked to NIS 8.08 in July 2022, largely wrought by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Prices have only broken NIS 7.90/liter a handful of times since 2006, according to Energy Ministry data.

Fatah and Hamas both back talks to reach reconciliation, China says

Fatah and the Hamas terror group have expressed political will on realizing reconciliation through dialogue, China’s foreign ministry says as the country hosts Palestinian unity talks between the rivals.

Representatives of Fatah and Hamas recently came to Beijing to hold a dialogue on promoting Palestinian reconciliation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian says at a regular press briefing.

The sides agreed to continue talks and reached agreements on ideas for keeping the dialogue going, Beijing says.

Israel not sending delegation to Cairo talks until Hamas replies to deal offer

Israel has decided it will not be sending a delegation to Cairo for hostage talks yet, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

“We will wait for answers on Wednesday night and then decide,” says the official.

Israel is awaiting a Hamas reply to its latest truce offer, which includes a 40-day pause in fighting and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages, with Israel reportedly making “dramatic” concessions, including lowering the number of hostages it is seeking to see released in a first stage of the deal.

Hebrew media had reported on Monday evening that a delegation was expected to travel to Cairo on Tuesday for further talks, but an Israeli official told The Times of Israel last night that discussions in the Kirya were ongoing and no firm decision had been made.

A Hamas delegation had left Cairo with a promise to return with a written response to the Israeli proposal, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera TV reported late Monday.

Airstrikes target Gaza tunnels, launchpads after rocket fire on south, army says

Following rocket fire from Gaza at the southern cities of Sderot and Ashdod yesterday, the IDF says its fighter jets struck tunnel shafts, anti-tank missile launch posts, and additional infrastructure that were spotted in the area where the rocket fire originated in the northern part of the Strip.

Video released by the IDF shows the airstrikes.

אתמול זוהה שיגור אחד מצפון רצועת עזה לעבר העיר שדרות, אשר יורט בהצלחה על ידי לוחמי ההגנה האווירית. זמן קצר לאחר מכן מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו פירים מבצעיים, עמדת שיגור נ"ט ותשתית טרור במרחב ממנו זוהה השיגור בצפון הרצועה>> pic.twitter.com/VfExY3pm2L

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 30, 2024

One rocket fired at Sderot had been intercepted by the Iron Dome, and two projectiles launched toward Ashdod fell in the sea near the coastal city, according to the IDF.

Several more airstrikes were carried out over the past day in the Gaza Strip.

A cell of gunmen and a weapons depot in central Gaza were struck by fighter jets after being identified by troops operating in the area, the IDF says.

The IDF says another cell that had been launching rockets at troops inside Gaza was struck and killed after being spotted by reservists of the Carmeli Brigade.

In another incident, the IDF says reservists of the Yiftah Brigade spotted a “terrorist observing the troops from a military building,” before calling in a drone strike against him and the structure.

Two more operatives moving toward the troops were killed in a separate strike, the military adds.

Israel hits Hezbollah sites in Lebanon amid cross-border fire overnight –IDF

The military says Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon’s Kafr Kila and Khiam overnight.

Also overnight, two anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon at the Dovev area, striking open areas according to the IDF.

The IDF says no damage or injuries were caused, and troops shelled the launch sites with artillery.

מטוסי קרב תקפו במהלך הלילה מספר תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים כפר כילא ואל-חיאם שבדרום לבנון.

במהלך הלילה זוהו שני שיגורי נ״ט לעבר מרחב דובב שפגעו בשטחים פתוחים, אין נפגעים ולא נגרם נזק. צה״ל תקף את מקורות הירי pic.twitter.com/NFuQEMbOSQ

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 30, 2024

Columbia protesters unfurl ‘intifada’ banner at seized building

Anti-Israel demonstrators barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Alex Kent / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The Columbia Spectator student newspaper reports that New York City police officers in unmarked cars have arrived outside a building taken over by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University’s campus.

It is unclear if police were invited onto the campus or plan to take action against demonstrators barricading themselves inside Hamilton Hall or hundreds now gathered outside to rally in support of the occupation of the building.

The paper reports that banners unfurled from the building’s windows include ones reading “intifada” and “Gaza Calls Columbia Falls.”

There is no statement from city or school officials.

Demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Alex Kent / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Eurovision hopeful Golan arrives in Malmo with mission to ‘show world Israel is here’

Eden Golan at Ben Gurion airport ahead of her departure to Malmo for the Eurovision on April 29, 2024. (Alon Talmor/Kan)

Eden Golan and the rest of Israel’s Eurovision delegation have arrived in Malmo, Sweden, to begin preparations and rehearsals for the upcoming song contest.

“I’m on my way to represent my country on the biggest music stage in the world,” Golan says just before departing, in a statement from the Kan public broadcaster, which organizes Israel’s participation.

“This year more than ever we have an important job to show the world that Israel is here and we’re not going anywhere,” she adds. “I feel pride and a sense of responsibility and I want to thank everyone for the months of love, backing and support, which remind me every day who I am representing.”

Amid high security due to threats against Golan and the Israeli delegation, the crew flew on a special El Al flight direct from Tel Aviv to Malmo, which arrived early this morning. Activists have been calling for months to bar Israel from the contest over its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, and many large demonstrations against Israel are planned in Malmo during the competition, which begins next week.

Police in Sweden announce that they will use drone-mounted cameras to monitor the Malmo region and the area around Malmo Arena from May 4 to May 13 as part of upped security efforts for the song contest.

Golan’s first rehearsal on the Eurovision stage in Malmo with her song, “Hurricane,” is slated for this afternoon. Israel is currently ranked in 7th place in the odds betting charts out of 37 competing countries. She will compete in the second semi-final on May 9.

Columbia protesters occupy building, smashing windows; worker: ‘They held me hostage’

Protesters at Columbia University have barricaded themselves inside an academic building on the upper Manhattan school’s campus, breaking windows and allegedly holding workers there hostage before releasing them, the Columbia Spectator student newspaper reports.

Doors to Hamilton Hall are shut and blocked with tables, chairs, metal barricades and other objects or are shuttered with locks, zip ties or ropes by dozens of protesters who broke into the building, the paper reports. Dozens more protesters rally outside, forming a human chain to block the doors and chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Palestine will live forever.”

Students at Columbia University have occupied Hamilton hall. Today the university president explicitly said to students the school would not be divesting and threatened to suspend students protesting. The last time this building was taken over by student protesters was in 1968 pic.twitter.com/IhoWVYlocB

— Lama Al-Arian (@lalarian) April 30, 2024

Videos from the scene show also show a person in a black hoodie smashing several windows, and then padlocking a door after several people exit, including a person wearing keffiyeh and someone with a placard identifying them as a journalist.

Holy…. pic.twitter.com/42Lw4kaRHY

— Jessica Schwalb (@jessicaschwalb7) April 30, 2024

The Spectator reports that one facilities worker left the building at 12:40 a.m. after yelling to be released, telling the crowd that he was “held hostage” as he leaves. Three other workers leave some 30 minutes later after the barricades blocking one door are removed.

A Palestinian Flag and a banner reading Hind’s Hall, referring to slain 6-year-old Gazan girl Hind Rajab, are unfurled out of windows of the building.

April 30, 1968
Police arrest 86 students occupying Hamilton Hall—out of 700 arrests made as negotiations broke down. Faculty linked arms to protect students

April 30, 2024
As negotiations break down & faculty link arms again, students occupy Hamilton Hallpic.twitter.com/iuvlKojmp1

— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) April 30, 2024

Hamilton Hall was occupied by students protesting the Vietnam War in 1968 and again by anti-apartheid activists in 1985, according to Wikipedia.

Report: IDF finalizes Rafah plans, invasion possible if no deal in 72 hours

The Ynet news site reports that Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi approved final plans on Monday for military action in southern Gaza’s Rafah, along with refugee camps in the center of the Strip.

According to the site, which does not cite a source, Israeli tanks are lined up on the Gaza border and ready for the green light to begin the contentious offensive, considered by Israel to be the final necessary push to uproot Hamas’s fighting forces from the Strip, despite warnings of a humanitarian disaster if civilians are not moved out of harm’s way.

The tactical plans getting into the nitty-gritty of the fighting were completed over the last few days, Ynet reports. They include a phased invasion that can be halted or delayed in case of progress in hostage talks.

The report claims that the next 48 to 72 hours will see either a hostage deal or the commencement of the invasion.

Over 100 reported arrested at UT Austin pro-Palestinian protest

Officers take a protester into custody at the University of Texas during a demonstration over the Israel-Hamas war, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP/Jim Vertuno)

At least 100 pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested at the University of Texas in Austin, according to a local report, with demonstrators rallying for their release outside Travis County jail.

The Austin American-Statesman cites three county officials saying at least 100 protesters are expected to be booked and charged, though only 25 have been processed thus far, a local lawyer says.

Charges may include evading arrest and assault, according to the report, though those booked so far have only been charged with criminal trespassing — the same charge leveled against 57 protesters last week ,which the county attorney’s office dropped due to lack of probable cause.

Police have 24 hours to submit probable cause affidavits for those arrested Monday, the newspaper reports.

A Palestine Solidarity Committee member tells the paper that dozens of protesters gathered outside the Travis County jail plan to continue rallying there until all those arrested have been released.

Gov. Greg Abbott earlier touted the arrests, tweeting that “no encampments will be allowed.”

No encampments will be allowed.

Instead, arrests are being made. https://t.co/GlmMXxAuqY

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 29, 2024

US says Houthi missiles fired at Greek ship, UAV shot down in Red Sea

The US military confirms that Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired three ballistic missiles at a merchant vessel in the Red Sea and at least one drone at American warships patrolling the crucial waterway yesterday.

Central Command says in a tweet that the Greek-owned MV Cyclades, flying a Malta flag, was able to continue on its way after being targeted by the three anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Marine tracking data shows the bulk carrier was headed from Saleef, Yemen toward the Suez Canal.

CentCom also says it “successfully engaged and destroyed” a Houthi UAV headed toward the USS Philippine Sea and USS Laboon in the Red Sea.

No injuries or damage are reported in either incident.

US lawmakers said threatening ICC over Israel arrest warrants; speaker: Move would be ‘lawless’

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press after the House passed a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and also voted to ban TikTok at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 20, 2024. (Drew Angerer/AFP)

US Congress members from both parties have warned the International Criminal Court that Washington will retaliate against the court if it issues arrest warrants against top Israeli officials, Axios reports.

The report says legislation on the matter is already being worked on, citing House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, as expecting a bill to sanction ICC officials but adding: “We hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Meanwhile, US House Speaker Mike Johnson slams the reported intention to issue arrest warrants over the Gaza war.

“It is disgraceful that the International Criminal Court is reportedly planning to issue baseless and illegitimate arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials,” Johnson says in a statement.

“Such a lawless action by the ICC would directly undermine US national security interests. If unchallenged by the Biden administration, the ICC could create and assume unprecedented power to issue arrest warrants against American political leaders, American diplomats, and American military personnel, thereby endangering our country’s sovereign authority,” Johnson adds.

Columbia starts suspending students who defied deadline to leave anti-Israel encampment

Columbia University faculty and staff gather on the campus in solidarity with student protesters who are demonstrating against the university's investments in Israel, April 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Student demonstrators at Columbia University, the epicenter of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests that have erupted at US colleges, have begun to be suspended after defying an ultimatum to disperse.

Authorities at the prestigious university in New York demanded that the protest encampment be cleared by 2:00 p.m. local time, or students would face disciplinary action.

“These repulsive scare tactics mean nothing compared to the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians,” said a statement, read out by a student — who would not give his name — at a press conference after the deadline, quoting an unverified Hamas-issued toll. “We will not move until Columbia meets our demands or… are moved by force.”

A few hours later, Columbia vice president of communications Ben Chang says the university has “begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus.”

He says the students have been warned they will be “placed on suspension, ineligible to complete the semester or graduate, and will be restricted from all academic, residential and recreational spaces.”

Biden: US, Egypt, Qatar to ‘work to ensure full implementation’ of any Israel-Hamas deal

US President Joe Biden holds phone calls with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, confirming that the three countries would “work to ensure the full implementation” of the terms of a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza, if one is reached between Israel and Hamas.

In near-identical readouts from the two calls, the White House says Biden told both leaders that the issue of the hostages still held by the terror group “is now the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire and relief for civilians in Gaza.”

The leaders discussed the hostage deal currently being negotiated, as well as efforts to increase aid to the Strip, the White House adds.

Yemen’s Houthis say they attacked two vessels, two US destroyers

Yemen’s Houthis have targeted two US destroyers and the vessel CYCLADES in the Red Sea as well as the MSC Orion in the Indian Ocean, the Iran-aligned group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree says in a televised speech.

Houthi forces have staged attacks on shipping lanes for months in solidarity with Palestinian terror group Hamas fighting Israel in the Gaza war.