July 28: Ukraine tells Iran to stop supporting Russia’s war; Iranian FM demands restitution for weekend strike
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted drones launched from Iraq targeting oil facilities * Iran proposes temporary Hormuz plan giving itself greater control over transit lines
The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they unfolded.
Hadash MK shoved by police officer at memorial for slain Palestinian activist
Hadash MK Ofer Cassif physically clashes with a Border Police officer during a memorial ceremony in the West Bank for Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist who was shot dead last year in the West Bank, allegedly by an extremist Jewish settler.
At the event in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir, marking one year since the alleged lethal shooting of Hathaleen at the hands of extremist settler Yinon Levi, Cassif is seen quarreling with officers present before one shoves him.
“Don’t raise your voice at me,” the officer is heard saying as he pushes the lawmaker, then grabs his arm and appears to force him to the ground amid a crowd of people.
In a statement, Cassif, the only Jewish member of the Arab-majority Hadash Party, says the exchange and subsequent scuffle came after officers declared the area a closed military zone, allowing them to shut the event down.
“A quiet and respectful event in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir in remembrance of Awdah Hadaleen, a peace-loving activist who was murdered a year ago by a settler who continues to roam free and armed, was disrupted by dozens of Border Police officers,” Cassif writes on X. “They declared the area a closed military zone, and during the memorial event even assailed me with physical violence.”
תקיפתו של ח”כ עופר כסיף בידי שוטרי מג”ב היום בכפר אום אל־ח’יר, במהלך אירוע לציון יום השנה לרצח הפעיל והמחנך עודה הד’אלין, חמורה מאוד ומבטאת בצורה ברורה את ההידרדרות הטוטאלית של כוחות הכיבוש אל הפשיזם.
אך היא גם חלק ממציאות רחבה יותר, שבה מיליוני פלסטינים חיים תחת דיכוי, גירוש… pic.twitter.com/jkvoVzJ5dd
— חד״ש Hadash (@Hadash_org) July 28, 2026
He adds that he “doesn’t expect a thing” from the Department of Internal Police Investigations, a State Attorney’s Office agency that probes police on criminal suspicions.
Neither the Israel Police nor the DIPI commented on the incident.
אירוע שקט ומכובד בכפר הפלסטיני אום אלח׳יר לזכרו של עודה הד׳אלין, פעיל שוחר שלום שנרצח לפני שנה בידי מתנחל שממשיך להסתובב חופשי וחמוש, הופרע בידי עשרות שוטרי מג״ב. הם הכריזו על המקום כשטח צבאי סגור, ובמהלך אירוע האזכרה אף תקפו אותי באלימות פיזית.
ממח״ש כבר איני מצפה לדבר. לאחר… pic.twitter.com/JGM1YQlbrZ
— Ofer Cassif עופר כסיף عوفر كسيف (@ofercass) July 28, 2026
“After they closed the case of my assault in Sheikh Jarrah, despite clear footage and after coordination of testimony by the police, it is hard to believe that this time they’ll render justice, even though this assault is filmed clearly,” Cassif adds.
He links the incident to the sharp uptick in settler violence seen in recent years in the West Bank, implicating Israel’s security establishment in the phenomenon.
“But I’m not the point, the point is the cruel reality of the occupation, the ethnic cleansing and murder that Palestinians endure on a daily basis. Settlers carry out pogroms, while the occupation forces enable them, protect them and sometimes even take an active part in them,” he charges.
Ukrainian FM tells Iranian counterpart country must stop supporting Russia’s war; Araghchi demands restitution for weekend strike
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha says he had a “frank conversation” with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi about a Ukrainian strike on an Iranian ship over the weekend.
Iran says the Caspian Sea attack killed an Iranian sailor, and has threatened revenge.
“I stressed that our goal is to avoid unnecessary escalation,” writes Sybiha on X. “I reiterated that all of Ukraine’s actions are aimed solely at defending our country from Russian aggression and never intended to target civilian vessels or people.”
Ukraine says the ship was carrying weapons to Russia.
“Our goal is to counter Russian aggression, which is the root cause of all incidents, and it is Russia who bears full responsibility for all provocations and casualties,” Sybiha continues, saying that he told Araghchi “to refrain from any escalatory steps, as well as to end any support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
“Our position remains unchanged: Europe and the Middle East deserve stability, security, and peace,” he says, subtly stressing the danger Iran poses not only to its own region, but also well beyond.
Araghchi offers a somewhat different account of the conversation, saying that Sybiha assured him that the attack “was unintentional.”
“Iran does not seek escalation either,” says Araghchi, “but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable. There must be restitution for losses.”
Lebanon arrests man suspected of transferring money to ISIS in Syria
Lebanese security forces have arrested a man accused of transferring nearly half a million dollars to the Islamic State group in neighboring Syria, a judicial official tells AFP.
Forces “arrested a man who had stolen $400,000 from his father’s safe, and investigations showed that he had transferred the money to Syria” for ISIS, the official says on condition of anonymity.
The inquiry also showed that the individual was “part of a cell active between Lebanon and Syria” that included three members who are in prison in the Lebanese city of Tripoli and “handled coordination with ISIS in Syria,” the official adds.
Two other suspected cell members are believed to have crossed Lebanon’s porous border into Syria after the matter was uncovered.
The group “was responsible for funding ISIS with the aim of carrying out terror acts, whether inside Syrian territory or in Lebanon,” the official adds.
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted drones launched from Iraq targeting oil facilities
Saudi Arabia says that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed several drones that attempted to target oil facilities in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.
Saudi defense ministry spokesperson Turki al-Maliki says on X that the drones were launched from Iraqi territory by what he describes as Iran-backed terrorist militias.
Saudi Arabia reserves the legitimate right to defend itself and its national capabilities and retains the right to respond “at the appropriate time and place,” al-Maliki adds.
Netanyahu, Zelensky speak in person in DC for first time in 3 years
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks and shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral service.
The conversation looked to be quite serious but cordial, and the two leaders smiled during their handshake.
They haven’t spoken since January 2025, and haven’t met in person since September 2023. The two explored arranging a formal meeting in Washington today, but ultimately didn’t move ahead with the idea.
Earlier today, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha and invited him to visit Israel.
“We discussed the challenges facing our nations, including the threat posed by Iran,” says Sa’ar.
“Israel and Ukraine are friends, and I look forward to further deepening our cooperation, including through the establishment of new education centers in Ukrainian hospitals,” writes Sa’ar on X.
UNIFIL troops neutralize 4 tons of explosives likely left by Israel in south Lebanon village
UN peacekeepers say they found around four tons of mainly ammonium nitrate explosives this month in a south Lebanon border village under Israeli occupation.
On July 2, during a “routine route check” near Hula, “peacekeepers found 385 containers abandoned inside a building, containing approximately 4,000 kilograms of explosive material, consisting mainly of ammonium nitrate compounds,” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says in a statement.
UNIFIL specialists “later carried out on-site procedures to render the material inert, making it safe and removing the risk it posed.”
A source with knowledge of the matter tells AFP on condition of anonymity that the containers had Hebrew writing on them and were “likely used for demolitions.”
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency has reported Israeli detonations in Hula on four occasions this month.
On July 8, the Hula municipality condemned “in the strongest terms the crimes the Israeli enemy is carrying out of burning, blowing up and destroying homes, public buildings and private property.”
Rocket warning siren sounds in Kibbutz Nahal Oz; IDF: False alarm
Sirens warning of rocket fire sound in the Gaza border community of Nahal Oz.
The military later says that the siren was a false alarm.
Eulogizing Lindsey Graham, Trump notes early enmity before becoming ‘great friends’
WASHINGTON — Eulogizing the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham during a memorial service at Washington’s National Cathedral, US President Donald Trump recalls how the pair didn’t get off on the right foot.
“Back in 2016, Lindsey said something rather nasty on his flight [campaign] to become the next president of the United States,” Trump recalls.
President Trump eulogized the late Sen. Lindsey Graham at a funeral service at Washington National Cathedral Tuesday, recalling a viral moment during the 2016 presidential campaign when Trump publicly shared Graham's cell phone number.
Trump acknowledged that he and Graham "did… pic.twitter.com/Ec946ypIMJ
— Mosheh Oinounou (@Mosheh) July 28, 2026
“So naturally, I did something that I shouldn’t have done. I shared his personal cell phone number with the millions of people that happened to be watching that particular day,” he quips.
“And I remember the number. It was 202-228-0292 — if anybody wants to give it a shot,” says Trump, as laughs fill the entire church.
“But it was Lindsey who had the last laugh because while I blew up his phone for one day, we became great friends, and Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years,” Trump adds.
Netanyahu attends memorial service for senator Lindsey Graham in DC
WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attending a memorial service for the late, pro-Israel Republican senator Lindsey Graham.
He and his wife Sara are seated behind four rows of US officials, including US President Donald Trump himself.
Netanyahu: Trump meeting was ‘one of the best we’ve ever had’
Before heading to the memorial service for the late senator Lindsey Graham, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his “excellent” meeting with US President Donald Trump was one of the best sit-downs the two leaders have ever had.
“It was a meeting with full cooperation,” he says in a video, “with mutual support, with understanding on the joint goal that Iran won’t have nuclear weapons, and also other goals.”
“It was one of the best conversations I’ve had with our friend, US President Trump,” Netanyahu insists.
The meeting, he says, was “an opportunity to exchange ideas, and also to coordinate on things that are important for the security and for the future of Israel.”