Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Monday’s events as they happened.
Katz: Thunberg and the other detained flotilla activists refused to watch film of Hamas atrocities on Oct. 7
Activists from the Madleen boat are seen after being detained by Israel on June 9, 2025. (screen capture: Foreign Ministry/X)
Defense Minister Israel Katz says the detained activists from the boat that intended to break Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip refused to view a video showing atrocities committed by the Hamas terror group on October 7, 2023.
“Greta [Thunberg] and her flotilla companions were taken into a room upon their arrival for a screening of the horror film of the October 7 massacre, and when they saw what it was about, they refused to continue watching,” Katz says in a statement.
“The antisemitic flotilla members are turning a blind eye to the truth and have proven once again that they prefer the murderers to the murdered and continue to ignore the atrocities committed by Hamas against Jewish and Israeli women, adults, and children,” he adds.
The detained activists are set to be deported, and the small amount of aid they brought will be sent into Gaza, Israeli officials have said.
Trump told Netanyahu that US and Iran will hold 6th round of talks this weekend — PM’s office
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the premier’s phone call with US President Donald Trump this evening discussed Washington’s ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, in a sparse readout of the 40 minute conversation.
“President Trump told the Prime Minister that the United States has presented a reasonable proposal to Iran and is expected to receive its response in the coming days,” reads the PMO statement.
“The American president informed the Prime Minister that he plans to hold another round of talks with Iran over the weekend,” adds the PMO.
Trump had told reporters at the White House earlier today that the US has a meeting with Iran on Thursday, without specifying whether this would constitute a sixth round of talks.
Police arrest suspect in Jerusalem synagogue arson attack
Police announced that in a joint operation with the Shin Bet security service, officers arrested the suspect allegedly behind an arson and vandalism attack at a Jerusalem synagogue frequented by former Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who is also the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.
The suspect is in his 20s and has been transferred for questioning, police say
IDF issues evacuation warnings for three Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen
The IDF has issued an “urgent” evacuation warning for three Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen, ahead of possible airstrikes.
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee warns those at the Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and Salif ports on the western coast to evacuate.
“Due to the Houthi terror regime’s use of ports for its terror activities, we urge all those present at these ports to evacuate and stay away from them for your own safety until further notice,” he says.
The IDF has issued similar warnings for the ports in the past, and carried out strikes against them several days later.
Since the last Israeli airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen, the Iran-backed group has fired seven ballistic missiles and at least one drone at Israel. A missile fired earlier this evening fell short before reaching Israel.
#عاجل تحذير لكل المتواجدين في الموانئ البحرية التي يسيطر عليها النظام الحوثي الإرهابي
⭕️ميناء رأس عيسى
⭕️ميناء الحديدة
⭕️ميناء الصليف🔴أمامكم تحذير هام وعاجل🔴
نظرًا لقيام النظام الحوثي الإرهابي باستخدام الموانئ البحرية لصالح أنشطته الإرهابية نحث جميع المتواجدين في هذه الموانئ… pic.twitter.com/8Yjo0HA4Dt
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) June 9, 2025
Trump says call with Netanyahu went ‘very well,’ adds ‘Iran actually is involved’ in Gaza talks
US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House,May 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
US President Donald Trump says his conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today went “very well” and covered a variety of issues, including the ongoing Iran nuclear talks.
He reveals that the US has a “meeting with Iran on Thursday,” without specifying whether that is another round of nuclear talks.
“We’re trying to make a deal [with Iran] so that there’s no destruction and death,” Trump says, adding that the Iranians are “tough negotiators.”
Asked what the main impediment is to a deal, Trump tells reporters during a White House event, “They’re just asking for things that you can’t do.”
He says Iran doesn’t want to give up its ability to enrich uranium, which Trump says the US won’t allow, even though Washington’s proposal for a nuclear deal reportedly allows Tehran to enrich at low levels on its soil for a temporary period of time.
“They have given us their thoughts on the deal, and I said it’s just not acceptable,” he adds, without specifying whether Iran has submitted its response to the US nuclear deal proposal.
Asked about the still-stuck hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, Trump says they are ongoing “and Iran actually is involved.” He does not elaborate as to what he means. Iran to date has not been involved in the Gaza ceasefire talks.
“We’ll see what’s going to happen with Gaza. We want to get the hostages back,” Trump adds.
He is also asked about the IDF’s seizure of the ship ferrying climate activist Greta Thunberg, which sought to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
Trump calls Thunberg a “strange” and “angry person,” recommending that she undergo an “anger management class.”
Trump: We’re doing a lot of work on Iran; they’re very tough negotiators
US President Donald Trump says, “We are doing a lot of work on Iran,” as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to its nuclear deal proposal.
“They are good and very tough negotiators,” Trump says during an event at the White House.
Israel publishes photos of activists in Israeli territory after their boat intercepted en route to Gaza
Israel’s Foreign Ministry publishes photos of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila as they disembark from the Madleen boat that had attempted to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The boat was intercepted by the Israeli Navy overnight and towed to Ashdod Port, where the 12 activists are to be handed over to police to be deported.
“The ‘Selfie Yacht’ docked at Ashdod Port a short while ago. The passengers are currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health,” the Foreign Ministry says.
The ‘Selfie Yacht’ docked at Ashdod Port a short while ago. The passengers are currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health. pic.twitter.com/dGOhPxQnYI
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war
Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of war under the age of 25 today in emotional homecoming scenes, the first step in a series of planned prisoner swaps that could become the biggest of the war so far.
The exchange was the result of direct talks between the two sides in Istanbul on June 2 that resulted in an agreement to exchange at least 1,200 POWs on each side and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The return of POWs and the repatriation of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have managed to agree on as broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year.
Fighting has raged on, with Russia saying on Monday its forces had taken control of more territory in Ukraine’s east-central region of Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv saying Moscow had launched its largest drone attack of the war.
Officials in Kyiv say some of the Ukrainian prisoners who came home had been in Russian captivity since the beginning of the war.
At a rendezvous point for the returning Ukrainian prisoners, soon after they crossed back into northern Ukraine, an official handed one of the freed men a cellphone so that he could call his mother, a video released by Ukrainian authorities shows.
“Hi, Mom, I’ve arrived, I’m home!” the soldier shouts into the receiver, struggling to catch his breath because he was overcome by emotion.
The released Ukrainian men were later taken by bus to a hospital in northern Ukraine where they were to have medical checks and be given showers, food and care packages including mobile phones and shoes.
Jubilation was tinged with sadness because outside the hospital were crowds of people, mostly women, looking for relatives who had gone missing while fighting for Ukraine.
The women held up pictures of the missing men in the hope that one of the returning POWs would recognize them and share details about what happened to them. Some hoped their loved ones would be among those released.
Oksana Kupriyenko, 52, was holding up an image of her son, Denys, who went missing in September 2024.
“Tomorrow is my birthday and I was hoping God will give me a gift and return my son to me,” she said, through tears.
IDF probe finds troops carried out numerous steps to rule out threats before deadly blast in Khan Younis
Clockwise from top left: IDF soldiers Staff Sgt. Yoav Raver, Staff Sgt. Uri Yhonatan Cohen, Sgt. First Class Tom Rotstein, and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Chen Gross, who were killed in Gaza on June 6, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases its initial investigation into the deaths of four troops in an explosion at a booby-trapped building in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis last week.
The explosion and subsequent building collapse on Friday morning killed Sgt. Maj. (res.) Chen Gross, Staff Sgt. Yoav Raver, Sgt. First Class Tom Rotstein, and Staff Sgt. Uri Yhonatan Cohen, and wounding five other soldiers.
According to the IDF’s investigation, several days before the incident, troops operating in the area used “a variety of intelligence means to scan the buildings ahead of future activity.”
After the examination, the military suspected that several buildings were booby-trapped.
Still, an IDF assessment before the incident decided that some of the buildings in the area would need to be used for the army’s planned activity. The IDF often uses buildings in Gaza as makeshift command centers during its operations against Hamas.
Two of the buildings were defined as likely booby-trapped, and their “benefit” for the activity was low, and the risk was unnecessary; therefore, they were bombed from the air and destroyed, the probe finds.
Next to a third building, the IDF located findings it suspected was an explosive device, but due to the “operational need and the building being essential” for the army operations in the area, it was decided to try and disarm the suspected bomb.
The IDF began a series of actions to rule out or neutralize the suspected explosive device before sending troops into the area. The actions involved sending a drone into the building and scanning for the suspected explosive.
The drone footage was reviewed by the commander of the force operating in the area, and the military came to the conclusion that it was not an explosive device, and there were no suspicious indications that the building was booby-trapped.
The troops also opened fire on the building’s two floors before approaching the area. Gunfire was also directed against the building a day prior by combat engineers.
Right before the troops entered the building, the soldiers hurled an explosive device into the first floor, in a last attempt to try and set off any possible booby traps.
The first floor of the two-story building was scanned by the forces and found to be clear of any possible explosives.
The troops then reached the second floor and spotted suspicious findings. The troops called for the bomb disposal squad, and the commander of the force made the rest of the troops step back, while staying with his signals soldier on the staircase.
Moments later, the explosive device was detonated on the forces, killing four soldiers and wounding five.
The IDF investigation has so far been unable to determine how the explosive was activated or what type of bomb was used.
The military says that the troops “acted in a professional way in a high-risk combat zone, and did the best they could to rule out all threats.”
The publication of the investigation comes after the far-right Channel 14 news claimed that the building was not targeted in an airstrike because of an order given by the Military Advocate General.
IAEA chief says Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities may cause Tehran to pursue nuclear weapons
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to journalists attending a weeklong seminar at the agency in Vienna, Austria, on May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
Iran told the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, that an Israeli strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities may cause Iran to pursue nuclear weapons or abandon the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Grossi tells i24News in an interview with the network aired this evening.
Grossi says that such a strike by Israel “might have an amalgamating effect which would make a determination in the part of Iran to go to a nuclear weapon or to abandon the treaty on non-proliferation. I’m telling you this because they have told me.”
The IAEA chief comments on the challenges he believes Israel would face in striking the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites: “Certainly this program runs wide and deep. And when I say deep, I know what I’m saying. So many of these facilities are extremely well protected. This would require a very, very devastating force to affect it.”
He says he believes there is a chance for the United States and Iran to reach an agreement on the issue of uranium enrichment during their ongoing nuclear talks, which have reached a critical point recently as Washington awaits a counterproposal from Tehran.
Grossi explains that Iran possesses enough enriched uranium to produce several nuclear bombs, that a much stricter oversight mandate is needed, and asserts that his agency is not naive on this matter.
“We know exactly what we are doing. We are not in the business of, you know, putting things under the rug. For us, it is very important that the transparency is made and that we get to the bottom of things,” he says.
Grossi adds that “There is an international consensus” that Iran can not obtain nuclear weapons, and that he believes “the Iranians themselves are aware of this because we know the domino effect that having nuclear weapons in Iran would have in the region in a wider sense.”
‘Israel is not a protectorate’: Lapid says he hopes report of Huckabee interfering in coalition crisis on PM’s behalf not true
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee meets with Jerusalem Affairs Minister Meir Porush on June 5, 2025. (Courtesy)
Following a Channel 13 report revealing that US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is meeting with Haredi lawmakers to convince them not to break up the government, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says he hopes it is not correct.
“Since I have no doubt that Ambassador Huckabee respects Israel’s independence and its democracy, I hope and believe that the report that he is interfering in Israel’s internal politics and trying to help Netanyahu [deal with] the ultra-Orthodox in the military draft law crisis are not true. Israel is not a protectorate,” Lapid tweets.
GHF says it handed out over 23,000 boxes of food at two sites today
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it distributed over 23,000 boxes of food at two distribution sites today in Rafah and central Gaza.
This brings the total boxes delivered since a May 26 launch to 192,480, according to GHF.
The US- and Israeli-backed foundation says each box contains meals for 5.5 people for 3.5 days.
However, its contents are largely dry food products that require community kitchens or cooking equipment to prepare, which are very scarce in war-ravaged Gaza.
Activist boat that tried to break blockade of Gaza reaches Ashdod Port after Israeli interception
The boat Madleen, on which pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists attempted to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, seen under escort of Israeli naval forces as it enter Ashdod Port in southern Israel after being intercepted by Israeli forces, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The activist boat that tried to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and was intercepted by the Israeli Navy overnight has reached Ashdod Port.
Photos taken by the Associated Press show the Madleen being escorted into the port by an Israeli Navy vessel.
The detained activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, will be handed over to the police to be deported, Israeli officials have said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier that he instructed the military to screen a video showing atrocities committed on October 7, 2023, to the detained activists once they had safely arrived at the port.
PM, Huckabee said meeting with Haredi MKs, urging them not to collapse coalition as Iran talks near tipping point
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Janet Huckabee, Sara Netanyahu and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on April 18, 2025. (Mike Huckabee/X)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met in recent days with Haredi members of his Knesset coalition, who have threatened to dissolve the government over the failure to pass the draft exemption law, and other senior coalition figures, during which he linked current “opportunities and challenges” in Israel’s security situation with the intense political turmoil the premier currently faces, reports Channel 12.
These meetings happen as the United States and Iran reach a critical point in nuclear talks, and as Israel reportedly considers striking Tehran’s nuclear facilities — issues which Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump discussed over the phone this afternoon.
“We are in a dramatic period. There are extraordinary challenges on the table. This is a historic window of opportunity that will not return, and therefore, under no circumstances should the foundations of the government be shaken,” the network quotes the premier as telling some of the Knesset Members in the meetings.
Channel 12 adds that the Opposition is aware of the conversations, saying Opposition Leader Yair Lapid heard about them from MKs he met with to discuss the draft exemption law, and that other MKs reported hearing similar messages.
The Prime Minister’s Office chose not to respond to the report, says Channel 12.
In a separate report, Channel 13 says that United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is working to help resolve the coalition crisis, citing multiple diplomatic and political sources.
The report says that in recent conversations the envoy held with Haredi politicians, he addressed the need to stabilize the government, and noted that “government stability is important for addressing the Iranian issue.”
Netanyahu’s circle is aware of Huckabee’s involvement, says Channel 13.
Huckabee’s office stated that “He is holding meetings with various figures — the content of those conversations remains private,” adds the network.
Police chief reinstates senior officer suspected of ignoring settler violence to appease Ben Gvir
Head of the Judea and Samaria Police District's investigations and intelligence department Commander Avishai Muallem arrives at the Department for Internal Police Investigations in Jerusalem, February 4, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Israel Police chief Danny Levy decided to allow Cdr. Avishai Muallem, a police officer currently under criminal probe, to return to the force after a six-month suspension from his post, Hebrew outlets report.
Muallem formerly led the police investigations and intelligence unit in the West Bank. He is suspected of papering over Jewish nationalist crimes to win the favor of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, in hopes of a promotion.
Ben Gvir commends Levy’s decision, calling Muallem “a respected, highly experienced officer” who suffered “persecution from the Shin Bet.”
“I believe in his innocence and am sure that he will yet be promoted in rank — as befits a man who acted with integrity and dedication,” he continues in a post on X.
The far-right leader lambasts the Shin Bet, saying that it is the agents who demanded Muallem “break the law and harm settlers who should be removed from their positions, not the officer who refused to do so.”
He refers to a phone call leaked by Muallem in which he and a high-ranking official in the agency’s Jewish Division are heard arguing over how to deal with settler violence, with the latter enjoining him to crack down on Jewish nationalist crime.
Smotrich and Ben Gvir to join Iran consult with Netanyahu and security chiefs after PM’s call with Trump
Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich (right) and Otzma Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben Gvir at the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/ Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security consultation tonight focused on Iran following his call earlier today with US President Donald Trump.
Joining the meeting with security chiefs are National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Shas chair Aryeh Deri and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the Kan public broadcaster reports. The far-right ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich aren’t typically included in such high-level meetings.
Channel 12 says Netanyahu’s conversation with Trump lasted 40 minutes and that the premier paused his interrogation during his criminal trial in order to take the call.
The call comes ahead of Iran’s anticipated response to the US proposal for a nuclear deal. The Iranian response is expected to come in the form of a counter-offer to the US proposal in which it will refuse to give up enriching uranium on its territory, Channel 12 says.
The US proposal reportedly proposed allowing Iran to enrich at low levels for a limited period of time before a Mideast consortium is created for Iran and other countries to enrich at low levels outside of the Islamic Republic.
Neither Netanyahu nor Trump’s office has issued a readout on the call yet.
When the two spoke last month, Netanyahu’s office had claimed the conversation had gone well only for reports to later reveal that it had not been the case. Trump later confirmed that he had told Netanyahu not to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities due to fear that it would blow up the ongoing nuclear talks.
Hostage Matan Angrest’s family publishes full video of his Oct. 7 abduction from tank during battle at Nahal Oz base
IDF soldier Matan Angrest seen being kidnapped by Hamas from an IDF tank on October 7, 2023. (Screenshot/Channel 12)
The family of hostage soldier Matan Angrest allows media outlets to air a full video of his abduction by Hamas terrorists during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.
The 21-year-old was taken from a tank at the Nahal Oz military base during the battle there.
In the kidnapping video, apparently taken on a cellphone by one of the terrorists, Angrest can be seen wounded and shirtless, being manhandled by several Hamas gunmen on top of the tank.
In April, Channel 12 news published a shorter version of the same clip and several still images from the video.
משפחתו של מתן אנגרסט פרסמה תיעוד מהלינץ' שעבר כשנחטף ב-7.10@yaelsharet_ pic.twitter.com/785Af65uKE
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) June 9, 2025
Italy and Israeli spyware maker Paragon part ways
Italy and Israeli spyware maker Paragon say they have ended contracts following allegations that the Italian government used the company’s technology to hack the phones of critics, according to a parliamentary report and the company.
Both sides say they have severed ties, giving conflicting accounts that triggered widespread criticism from opposition parties in Italy, while the journalists’ federation FNSI called on prosecutors to investigate to ascertain the facts.
An official with Meta’s WhatsApp chat service said in January that the spyware had targeted scores of users, including, in Italy, a journalist and members of the Mediterranea migrant sea rescue charity critical of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The government said in February that seven Italian mobile phone users had been targeted by the spyware. At that time, the government denied any involvement in illicit activities and said it had asked the National Cybersecurity Agency to look into the affair.
A report from the parliamentary committee on security, COPASIR, says that Italian intelligence services had initially put on hold and then ended their contract with Paragon following a media outcry.
It was unclear when the contract ended. However, COPASIR recalls that, addressing parliament on February 12, the government had said that it was still in place.
The committee also adds that it found no evidence that Francesco Cancellato, a reported target and editor of investigative website Fanpage, had been put under surveillance using Paragon’s spyware, as he had alleged to Reuters and other media outlets.
In a statement quoted by Fanpage, Paragon says it stopped providing spyware to Italy when Cancellato’s alleged involvement became public, and said the government declined an offer to jointly investigate whether and how he was spied upon.
‘Please remove the enlightened Reform man. The Jews here want to continue’: Likud MK disparagingly kicks Reform rabbi out of Knesset hearing
Galit Distel Atbaryan, then minister of public diplomacy speaks during a rally in support of the government's judicial overhaul outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, on September 7, 2023. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan kicks out Labor MK Gilad Kariv, who is also a Reform rabbi, from her parliamentary subcommittee session earlier today.
“Please remove the enlightened Reform man. The Jews here want to continue,” she declares.
Responding to the incident, Kariv says in a statement, “The onslaught of hatred and loss of temper testifies like a thousand witnesses to the Jewish worldview that stands behind her and her partners’ efforts – a fanatical, misogynistic, separatist and vigilante Judaism. We will not allow this kind of Judaism to settle in our children’s schools.”
The Knesset panel had been discussing Education Minister Yoav Kisch’s plan to boost Bible study in secular schools, sparking pushback from opposition lawmakers who argue that the policy amounts to religious coercion.
Netanyahu said to wrap up phone call with Trump
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wrapped up his call with US President Donald Trump, Channel 12 reports.
Vance: Israel not committing genocide, but heart breaks for children suffering in Gaza
JD Vance speaks on the 'This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von' podcast on June 7, 2024. (Screen capture/X)
US Vice President JD Vance rebuffed an accusation that Israel is perpetrating a genocide in Gaza, but lamented the lack of humanity from some on his side of the aisle who don’t recognize the ongoing suffering of Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.
“I see these videos, I see the pictures, and it’s very heartbreaking,” Vance says after comedian Theo Von raises what he describes as “horrific” footage coming out of Gaza while interviewing the vice president for his podcast last week.
“What we’re trying to do here is try to solve two problems. On the one hand, you’ve got innocent Palestinians — and innocent Israeli hostages, by the way, — who are caught up in this terrible violence that’s happening as we speak,” Vance continues. “We’re trying to get as much aid to the people as possible.
“On the other side, Israel is attacked by this terrible terrorist organization. People sometimes forget that the thing that kicked this off is that we had this terrible terrorist attack, and you had a lot of innocent Israeli civilians dying in that terrorist attack,” he says.
“What we’re trying to do in the Trump administration with that situation is to get to a peaceful resolution [that] give[s] Israel confidence that Hamas is never going to attack them and kill a bunch of civilians. And then you’ve got to get as much aid and support in for these Palestinians as possible because they’re caught in the middle of this thing too,” Vance says, stopping short of mentioning any sort of political resolution to the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“One thing that I don’t love, about the whole Israel-Palestinian debate, is I think it degrades our humanity a little bit, because I’ve seen people mostly on the left who will completely ignore that all of these innocent Israelis were killed in this terrorist attack. And you have some people, usually on the right, who completely ignore that there are kids who are caught up in this violence,” Vance laments.
Palestinians wait for food at a distribution point in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, June 2, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)
He says the Trump administration is committed to securing a resolution to the conflict and fumes at those within pro-Israel and Republican spaces who have been criticizing US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff for allegedly not being “pro-Israel enough.”
Von, the interviewer, argues that what’s taking place in Gaza is a “genocide” and says the US is complicit by sending weapons to Israel.
Vance politely pushes back: “Here’s the reason why I don’t think it’s a genocide. I don’t think that the Israelis are purposely trying to go in and murder every Palestinian.
“I think they got hit hard, and I think they’re trying to destroy this terrorist organization. And war is hell.”
J.D. Vance defends Israel from accusations of supposed "genocide" in Gaza during his interview with comedian Theo Von. pic.twitter.com/U5fGQMN49M
— Corey Walker (@CoreyWriting) June 7, 2025
“On the other hand, I’ve seen people on my side of the political aisle… who will see these videos of these innocent Palestinian kids and say, ‘They had it coming to them.’ No, no, no. If you have a soul, your heart should break when you see a little kid who’s suffering,” Vance asserts, adding that this is what has led the Trump administration to try to end the conflict.
“We’re trying to stop, eliminate the conflict, eliminate the source of conflict, so that we can actually bring some peace and some, some humanitarian assistance in to people,” Vance says.
The US has stood by Israel’s refusal to accept a permanent ceasefire, instead seeking to broker a temporary truce, which Hamas has deemed insufficient, leading to the ongoing standstill in hostage talks.
“What people should demand is that if our tax dollars are going to something, we should be actively trying to fix it,” says the vice president, calling out the Biden administration for sending billions in weapons to Ukraine without trying to also seek a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
IDF drone strike targets car 20 km north of Israel’s border with Lebanon — report
Lebanese media reports an Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Nmairiyeh, located some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli border.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
🚨🚨الغارة الاسرائيلية استهدفت سيارة في بلدة النميرية pic.twitter.com/9qrlqk6B4I
— bintjbeil.org (@bintjbeilnews) June 9, 2025
Activist boat intercepted by navy last night set to reach Ashdod Port within hours — source
Activists aboard the Madleen holding their hands up in a screenshot from video taken on June 9, 2025. (screen capture: Al Jazeera/YouTube)
The activist boat that was intercepted by the Israeli Navy overnight is set to reach Ashdod Port in the coming hours, a military source tells The Times of Israel.
The detained activists, who had attempted to reach the Gaza Strip, will then be handed over to the police to be deported.
The Foreign Ministry in an update on X says that “the ‘selfie yacht’ carrying Greta Thunberg and the other so-called ‘celebrities’ is continuing its journey toward an Israeli port.”
“Upon arrival, arrangements will be made for their return to their respective home countries,” the ministry says.
Netanyahu to reportedly speak to Trump as Iran, hostage talks come to a head
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs a guest book at the White House as US President Donald Trump looks on, in Washington DC, April 7, 2025 (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a phone call later today with US President Donald Trump, the Axios news site reports, citing a Netanyahu aide and a source familiar with the matter.
The call has not yet been confirmed by either the White House or the premier’s office.
It will take place as the US awaits Iran’s response to its proposal for a nuclear deal and as Washington hopes to soon receive a softened Hamas response to its proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Tunisia activists launch Gaza-bound bus convoy in ‘symbolic act’
Hundreds of people, mainly Tunisians, have launched a land convoy bound for Gaza, seeking to “break the siege” on the Palestinian territory, activists say.
Organizers say the nine-bus convoy was not bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aimed at carrying out a “symbolic act” by breaking the blockade on the territory described by the United Nations as “the hungriest place on Earth.”
The “Soumoud” convoy, meaning “steadfastness” in Arabic, includes doctors and aims to arrive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, “by the end of the week,” activist Jawaher Channa told AFP.
It is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits, she adds.
“We are about a thousand people, and we will have more join us along the way,” says Channa, spokeswoman of the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, the group organizing the caravan.
On June 1, the Madleen aid boat, carrying activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and European parliament member Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan, set sail for Gaza from Italy. But this morning Israel intercepted it, preventing it from reaching the Palestinian territory.
Smotrich urges Haredi parties to back down from threats to topple government
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies to back down from their threats to dissolve the Knesset and trigger new elections, arguing that the State of Israel is in the midst of a war “for our very existence as a free people in our own land.”
Addressing reporters in the Knesset ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting, Smotrich asserts that “this is not an ordinary time, and this is certainly not a time for elections.”
“I call on all my partners in the coalition: Put your differences aside. Show responsibility. History will not forgive anyone who dissolves a government and drags the country into elections in the midst of a war — before the hostages have returned and before our goals against Gaza and Iran have been fully achieved.”
Golan: Netanyahu endangering lives of hostages, soldiers and civilians to remain in power
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “endangering the lives” of Israeli soldiers, civilians and hostages in order to hold on to power, The Democrats chief Yair Golan declares, calling the premier’s call for “complete victory” in Gaza a “lie” and warning that the government will use “violence, hatred” and “bribery” to maintain its rule.
Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Golan says that complete victory “is a term that has no real military or political meaning” — describing it as “propaganda” and asserting that the occupation of the Gaza Strip “is not a security objective” but rather “a political move that weakens Israel’s security, endangers the hostages and IDF soldiers.”
“I want to be clear: an Israeli takeover of the Gaza Strip is not a complete victory, it is a complete surrender to the extreme messianic line led by Ben Gvir and Smotrich,” he says, referring to two far-right members of the coalition.
“Real security for Israel will be achieved in only one way: a broad regional arrangement, with the support of the United States and the inclusion of the moderate Sunni axis countries. A move that will topple the Hamas regime, isolate Iran, and return Israel to the path of legitimacy and strategic alliances.”
Citing a Sunday evening Channel 12 report that documents seized in Gaza quoted then-Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh as saying that Qatari funding was “Hamas’s main artery,” Golan says that this money transfer, facilitated by Netanyahu, “financed the rockets, the anti-tank missiles, the explosives and the weapons with which Israeli citizens were massacred” on October 7.
Under Netanyahu, prior to October 7, Israel allowed suitcases with millions in Qatari cash to enter Gaza through its crossings in order to maintain its fragile ceasefire with the Hamas rulers of the Strip.
Turning to the next elections, Golan says that “this will be the most violent, ugly, and dangerous election campaign the State of Israel has ever known.”
“The Netanyahu government will do everything to preserve its rule: violence, hatred, criminality, bribery, incitement, intimidation, and physical bullying. We will not descend into violence because that is not our path and never will be,” Golan declares.
Gantz says his centrist party will open its ranks in order to ‘expand’
National Unity has spent the past two years establishing “a field system with hundreds of activists and municipal representatives,” and now it is time to open up the party’s ranks, chairman Benny Gantz states, less than a day after it was announced that the centrist party would hold a leadership contest in the coming months.
Addressing reporters ahead of the centrist party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Gantz says that “we have built foundations and now it is time to expand and consolidate on the institutional level as well.”
“[MK] Gadi [Eisenkot], I and other members sat for hours to formulate the next steps in full partnership, and we reached agreement on the principles that were presented yesterday to the faction,” he says, adding that this includes “a significant expansion of the general assembly and the transfer of powers to it, including the election of the party chairman.”
“This is just the beginning,” he asserts, stating that the goal is to “strengthen the party” for the long term.
In a statement on Sunday, the party said that as part of the process of opening its ranks, the “party assembly will be renewed and significantly enlarged” and “elections for the party leadership will be held.”
Asked by reporters if he would run for the party chairmanship, party number two Eisenkot welcomes the move and says that he “will do whatever it takes so that we win the next elections” but declines to answer definitively.
A Channel 12 survey aired earlier this year found mounting support for Eisenkot to replace Gantz at the head of National Unity. The poll found that following former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s return to politics, the party would win several more seats with Eisenkot in charge than with Gantz.
Iran obtaining IAEA documents is ‘bad,’ shows poor cooperation, Grossi says
Iran’s acquisition of confidential UN nuclear watchdog documents is a “bad” step that goes against the spirit of cooperation that should exist between the agency and Tehran, its chief Rafael Grossi says.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says in a confidential report on Iran to member states on May 31 seen by Reuters that it had “conclusive evidence of highly confidential documents belonging to the Agency having been actively collected and analyzed by Iran.”
The report said that “raises serious concerns regarding Iran’s spirit of collaboration” and could undermine the IAEA’s work in Iran, but Tehran said in a statement to member states last week that the accusation in the report was “slanderous” and had been made “without presenting any substantiated proof or document.”
The IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors is holding a quarterly meeting this week. The United States, Britain, France and Germany plan to propose a resolution for the board to adopt that would declare Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations over other failings outlined in the report.
“Here, unfortunately, and this dates to a few years ago… we could determine with all clarity that documents that belong to the agency were in the hands of Iranian authorities, which is bad,” Grossi tells a press conference. “We believe that an action like this is not compatible with the spirit of cooperation.”
Asked about the nature of the documents and whether they were originally Iranian ones that had been seized by Israel and supplied to the agency, Grossi says: “No. We received documents from member states, and also we have our own assessments on documents, on equipment, etc.”
Zohran Mamdani: Even if I wanted to go to Israel as NYC mayor, Israel probably wouldn’t let me
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura/Pool)
Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist mounting a strong campaign in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, has consistently declined to say he would visit Israel if elected, setting the stage for a 75-year-old tradition to potentially come to an end.
On Sunday night, at a mayoral forum organized by an array of progressive Jewish groups held at an Upper West Side synagogue, Mamdani added a new detail to his demurrals.
Responding to a question about whether he would visit Israel, he said he thought his past support for boycotting Israel would render him inadmissible. The Israeli parliament approved a travel ban on non-citizens who support the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement in 2017 and strengthened that ban in February, subsequently barring elected officials from France and the European Parliament under the statute.
“I’m not even sure if I would be allowed to enter into Israel, because I think that there’s legislation that prohibits the entry of anyone who supports that legislation,” Mamdani said. “So it is both a question for me, but also were the answer to be different, I think the result would be the same.”
Mamdani has previously called for boycotting Israel but has been evasive on the campaign trail when asked whether he would seek to have the city join the boycott. During the forum Sunday, he explained his past support for BDS but did not clearly answer a direct question about whether he would continue to support the boycott if he were elected mayor.
“I am someone for whom at the core of my politics is the belief in nonviolence, and having seen the efficacy of nonviolent movements in creating compliance with international law, specifically with South Africa, that’s what brought me to support BDS,” he said.
The candidate Mamdani is trailing, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, issued an executive order in 2016 barring New York state agencies and departments from investing in organizations that boycott Israel.
Every mayor elected since Israel’s founding in 1948 has visited, in a nod to New York’s major Jewish community, the largest outside of Israel. The current mayor, Eric Adams, visited shortly before Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack and met with both government officials and anti-government protesters. Adams is running for reelection as an independent.
Other candidates at the Sunday night forum, organized by the New York Jewish Agenda and held at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, said they would aim to visit Israel if they are elected.
Mamdani said, as he has before, that he does not believe visiting Israel is crucial to being able to represent the roughly 1 million Jews who would be his constituents if he is elected. His positions on Israel have earned him vociferous opposition from some in the Jewish community, even as his progressive policy platform has also generated support from other Jewish New Yorkers.
“And what I’ve said is that one need not visit Israel to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers,” Mamdani said. “I believe that to stand up for Jewish New Yorkers means that you actually meet Jewish New Yorkers wherever they may be, be it at their synagogues and temples or their homes or on the subway platform or at a park, wherever it may be.”
Lapid: PM working with Haredi parties so that ultra-Orthodox can continue dodging draft
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu working with the ultra-Orthodox parties to weaken sanctions on draft dodgers included in the government’s Haredi enlistment bill, arguing that by doing so the government is enabling wartime evasion.
“Over the past two days, the Prime Minister’s Office, together with the Haredim, have been focusing their efforts on only one thing: postponing the sanctions in the evasion law. Making sure they are postponed for at least six months,” Lapid tells reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.
The only explanation for such behavior is that Netanyahu and the Haredi parties want to enable evasion of military service, he says.
“If the government agrees to postpone the sanctions even for one day, then it has decided to cooperate with the fraudsters, and this law is a fraud,” he continues.
“A law without immediate sanctions is not a law. It’s another lie by Netanyahu, who is selling out our fighters, our security, just to keep his crumbling coalition alive for a few more weeks. Yuli Edelstein, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the Israeli Knesset, cannot agree to this.”
Asked about Netanyahu’s decision to arm a criminal gang in the Gaza Strip as part of an effort to strengthen opposition to Hamas in the enclave, Lapid responds, “I don’t mind that the militias in Gaza have weapons and will kill each other,” wishing success to “both sides.”
Gantz tries to dispel claims his centrist party willing to compromise with Haredi parties on conscription
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz pushes back hard against criticism that his centrist party may be willing to compromise on the ultra-Orthodox enlistment issue in order to broker better ties with the Haredi parties.
During his time in the coalition, Gantz and his party pushed for an outline of legislation that would bring the Haredim into the military and impose individual sanctions on those who do not serve.
“Where are the MKs of the party that claims to represent Religious Zionism? I am saying it clearly, we will support both today and in the future only an outline [of legislation] that will promote service for all, bring soldiers to the IDF and maintain Israel’s security,” he tells reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.
“It doesn’t matter if we are in the coalition or in the opposition. This is a fundamental act that is above all political considerations. We will not sell values and security for seats, as is unfortunately the practice in the Likud and Religious Zionism parties.”
Last week, Gantz met with Motti Babchik, a senior adviser to Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, the head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party — whose party is threatening to bring down the government because it has failed to pass legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service.
Addressing his own Yisrael Beytenu party’s faction meeting on Monday, Avigdor Liberman, without naming Gantz, slammed “some of my friends in the opposition who are already building a bypass road for the Haredim and promising all sorts of things.”
Spain summons Israeli envoy over interception of Gaza-bound activist boat
Spain summons Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Madrid, Dan Poraz, over the interception of the Madleen ship overnight as it made its way toward Gaza.
The reprimand will take place in the early afternoon, says an Israeli official.
One Spanish citizen, Sergio Toribio, was on the boat, among a group of 12 activists.
The activist mission organized by the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel Freedom Flotilla Coalition had sought to challenge Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis created by the 20-month-old war between Israel and the Hamas terror group.
It had planned to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to the war-torn enclave.
Liberman says Netanyahu will face justice for putting politics over security
Yisrael Beytenu party chairman MK Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on June 9, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will eventually face justice for placing political considerations over the needs of Israel’s security, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman declares, slamming the premier over his failure to conscript the ultra-Orthodox and his government’s provision of weapons to a Gaza militia opposed to Hamas.
Addressing reporters in the Knesset ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting, Liberman says that he was “amazed” to hear Netanyahu admit that he fired two senior security officials because “not because of their terrible failure on October 7, but because of the draft evasion law.”
Netanyahu was recently caught on tape telling a senior rabbi that he ousted former defense minister Yoav Gallant and former IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen Herzi Halevi to enable his coalition to advance a law exempting ultra-Orthodox men from military service.
“The prime minister prefers political and coalition considerations over security considerations,” Liberman charges, expressing the wish that Netanyahu would spend as much time dealing with crime and security issues as he does with “the draft evasion law.”
“When we establish a state commission of investigation, all those responsible for the October 7 massacre, with Netanyahu at the head, will eventually face justice. And the first law the next government passes will be a conscription law for everyone,” he says.
Turning to Gaza, Liberman calls Netanyahu’s decision to arm some Palestinians “the Oslo government model 2025.”
“Netanyahu is giving them guns. It’s only a matter of time before these weapons are turned against us,” he says, calling the policy “a direct continuation of the same concept of Netanyahu that brought us to October 7. Then Netanyahu pumped Qatari money into Hamas and now he is pumping weapons into gangs affiliated with ISIS.”
Liberman told the Kan public broadcaster last week that Netanyahu had unilaterally approved the transfer of weapons to the Abu Shabab clan, an armed gang or militia that is opposed to Hamas’s rule in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu later confirmed the report, saying the move helped save Israeli soldiers’ lives.
Asked about calls to investigate him for leaking the information about Abu Shabab, Liberman tells reporters that he “would be very happy for there to be an investigation and we will really look into all the leaks.”
“I would really expect Netanyahu to file a personal complaint against me on the subject, so in the cross-examination I would ask him some interesting questions, even fascinating questions about leaks and state secrets,” he says. He adds that he will provide further details about the issue this afternoon in the Knesset plenum.
Liberman also slams what he describes as “some of my friends in the opposition who are already building a bypass road for the Haredim and promising all sorts of things.” This is a likely reference to National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, who has been in contact with the ultra-Orthodox UTJ party in recent days.
Firefighters say they have stemmed advance of Jerusalem blaze, stopped it reaching homes
A firefighting plane drops flame retardant on a brushfire that broke out near Jerusalem's Ein Karem neighborhood on June 9, 2025. (Fire and Rescue Service)
Firefighters have managed to stop the spread of a brushfire that broke out in a forest near Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood.
They are now working to contain the fire, which they prevented from reaching residents’ homes nearby.
A spokeswoman says that dozens of firefighting squads and planes are still operating at the scene.
Hostages’ families ask supporters to participate in day of good deeds to mark 613 days of captivity in Gaza
Families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip attend a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on June 09, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The families of the hostages are seeking participants in a day of good deeds tomorrow, marking 613 days that the remaining 55 hostages have been held in Gaza
The number 613 corresponds in Jewish tradition to the number of mitzvahs, or commandments and precepts given in the Torah.
Simultaneously, the Knesset is holding a day of discussions about the hostages in six committees.
Meetings will be held about economic assistance for the families of the hostages; aid systems in local authorities for returned hostages and their families; issues relating to female hostages; online violence on social media against the families of the hostages; the public health issues of hostage families; and educational programs relating to the hostages and their families.
Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in captivity in August 2024, write on social media, asking for the public to join them in “flooding the world with goodness and light in merit of all the cherished hostages coming home.”
The initiative includes suggestions of good deeds, including helping someone in need, smiling at others, making a donation, visiting an elderly person or engaging in any deed that brings light to the world.
The Polin-Goldbergs initiated a similar event for a week in July 2024, promoting kindness and good deeds in the world to bring about the redemption of the remaining hostages.
Idit Ohel, the mother of hostage Alon Ohel who is still held in captivity in Gaza, posts on social media, asking supporters to listen to the song “Song without a Name,” one of Alon’s favorite songs, which he hums when possible in captivity, according to those who were held with him.
Ohel asks the public to listen to the song at full volume or with headphones on June 10 at 9 p.m., and posts a link to the version of the song sung by Israeli songwriter Yehudit Ravitz.
“We’re sending energy of love, optimism and strength to Alon,” says Idit Ohel in an Instagram reel. “Alon, you’re not alone.”
IDF says troops killed 15 terror operatives in clashes in Gaza
IDF troops operating in Gaza in a picture released on June 9, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
During operations of the 98th Division in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis in the past day, the IDF says troops eliminated at least 10 terror operatives who were identified near the forces.
The troops killed the operatives with sniper fire and tank shelling, the military says.
In northern Gaza, the IDF says the 252nd Division directed an airstrike against a cell of five operatives spotted near the forces.
Dozens more targets, including tunnels and operatives, were hit in airstrikes in the past day across Gaza, the military adds.
Musk’s father says Trump row triggered by intense stress, has to end
US President Donald Trump (seated) speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, May 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The row between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was triggered by months of intense stress on both sides, and the public battle between the US president and the billionaire donor needs to stop, Musk’s father tells Reuters.
Trump and Musk began exchanging insults last week on social media, with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO describing the president’s sweeping tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination.”
Asked whether he thought his son had made a mistake by engaging in a public row with the president, Errol Musk says people are sometimes unable to think as clearly as they should “in the heat of the moment.”
“They’ve had five months of intense stress,” Musk tells Reuters at a conference in Moscow organized by conservative Russian tycoons.
“With all the opposition cleared and two people left in the arena, all they have ever done is get rid of everything and now they are trying to get rid of each other – well that has to stop.”
Asked how it would end, he said: “Oh, it will end on a good note – very soon.”
Brush fire rages near Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem; police evacuating residents of special needs home
A brushfire spreads in a forest adjacent to Jerusalem's Ein Karem neighborhood on June 9, 2025. (Adi Shitrit/Fire and Rescue Service)
Firefighters are working to extinguish a quickly spreading brushfire that broke out in a forest near Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood this afternoon.
Police are evacuating the residents of a nearby special needs home and are preparing to evacuate additional areas, a law enforcement spokesman says. Authorities have also closed a nearby road to traffic.
A Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman says some 35 squads of firefighters are operating at the scene alongside eight firefighting planes as they attempt to contain the blaze.
Attorney General Baharav-Miara summoned to a hearing by new ministerial committee pending her dismissal
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amihai Chikli, who is head of the newly established ministerial committee for firing the attorney general, summons Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara for a hearing pending dismissal on June 17.
Chikli tells the attorney general that she will be given the opportunity to “lay out the arguments you might have” against the government’s intention to fire her due its claims against her of “unfitting behavior” and “substantive and ongoing difference of opinion between the government and the attorney general creating a situation that prevents effective cooperation.”
The government yesterday approved a cabinet resolution bypassing the existing procedure for firing an attorney general, which had required the government to seek the recommendation of a professional statutory committee headed by former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis before firing Baharav-Miara.
Instead a five-member ministerial committee will hold a hearing for the attorney general and recommend to the government whether or not to fire her.
Following the approval of the resolution yesterday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is a member of the new ministerial committee, called on Chikli to hold the hearing this week, saying that “we will of course hear all the claims of the attorney general,” but adding that “a decision needs to be made as soon as possible.”
The Attorney General’s Office said yesterday that the resolution was unlawful, and that it changed the rules of the dismissal process after the government had already embarked on the original process.
The Israel Democracy Guard organization immediately filed a petition to the High Court of Justice asking the court to annul the resolution, and the court is expected to respond to that petition soon.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev (Likud) indicated earlier today that the government would not obey the High Court should it choose to intervene.
“I suggest that the High Court not pull too hard on the rope… Because if they say no, we will say that’s enough,” Regev told a conference on women hosted by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
According to a report by Kan news, three other ministers along with Regev said during Sunday’s cabinet meeting that the government should not obey the High Court if it intervenes.
Border Police officer arrested for selling drugs
Investigators arrested an officer in the Border Police’s elite undercover Yamas unit today on suspicion of “trading dangerous drugs” alongside a soldier and civilian, via a Telegram group chat.
The three suspects, all residents of Beersheba, were arrested after a joint, covert investigation by the police, military police and Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI).
The suspects will be brought before a judge today for an extension on their remand. The investigation is still underway, says a DIPI spokesperson.
Netanyahu heckled as a ‘loser’ in court; lawyer says PM will leave if security can’t prevent outbursts
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court on June 9, 2025. (Yariv Katz/POOL)
A member of the public shouts at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Tel Aviv District Court room during a recess in the prime minister’s testimony in his criminal trial, calling him a “loser” and telling him to bring back the hostages being held in Gaza.
“Why are you smiling, loser? Bring back the hostages. You are a disgrace to the country. How dare you smile here, like a circus? Take that smile off your face,” the man shouts.
The incident lasts for around half a minute, before the man is escorted out.
Netanyahu’s attorney Amit Hadad strongly protests the incident, accusing the court security of failing to intervene soon enough, and tells the judges that if it happens again Netanyahu and the defense team “will simply leave.”
Rothman walks out of Knesset committee meeting after being chided by wife of hostage
MK Simcha Rothman leads a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset on June 9, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
MK Simcha Rothman adjourns a meeting of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and walks out after being accused by the wife of a hostage of helping perpetuate his captivity.
Lishay Miran-Lavie, the wife of Hamas-held hostage Omri Miran, displays a picture of her two young daughters holding a poster of their captive father before the committee.
“This is how the girls are taking a picture with their dad,” says Miran-Lavie. “Until when will they wait for their father, when will their father return from Gaza?”
She also chides Rothman, the committee chairman, for checking his phone in the middle of her speech. “This discussion is very deep and interesting, but it really should not be held during wartime,” she says bitterly.
She accuses Rothman of keeping her husband hostage in Gaza, prompting the right-wing lawmaker to call a recess and leave the room.
The committee was convened to discuss a bill that aims to bring the Department of Internal Police Investigations, which probes police officers suspected of committing crimes, under the direct control of Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
Critics have called the bill the latest step in a coalition-led campaign to wrest power from professional legal bodies and subjugate them to political interests.
France says it told citizens not to sail on boat that tried to breach Gaza blockade, asks Israel to allow them consular access
An Israeli soldier hands food to detained activists from the Madleen boat after they were stopped on June 9, 2025. (screen capture: Foreign Ministry/X)
France warned the six French citizens who were on the Madleen of the risks of trying to sail to Gaza, says French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
Paris has also been in touch with Israel about the flotilla in order to “prevent any incident” since learning of activists’ plans to sail to Gaza during the ongoing war, he continues.
Once the activists on board were intercepted by Israeli forces early this morning, France asked Israel to grant them consular protection. “Our consulate requested to visit them as soon as they arrived in Israeli territory, in order to verify their well-being and facilitate their rapid return to France,” says Barrot.
The ship is currently being taken to Ashdod port.
“France calls on the Israeli government to allow immediate, widespread and unhindered access to humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he concludes.
Regev indicates government won’t obey High Court if it vetoes firing of AG
Transportation Minister Miri Regev in the Tel Aviv District Court ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony in his trial, December 10, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)
Transportation Minister Miri Regev (Likud) indicates that the government will not obey the High Court should it choose to intervene and overturn efforts by the government to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
“I suggest that the High Court not pull too hard on the rope,” Regev says addressing a conference on women hosted by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. “Because if they say no, we will say that’s enough.”
Her comments come a day after the cabinet approved a government resolution allowing a new ministerial committee to approve the dismissal of the attorney general.
The controversial move ignored the Attorney General’s Office warning earlier in the day that the step is illegal. The cabinet approval circumvents the previous procedure, which required a professional, statutory committee to be consulted before such a decision could be made.
The government and the attorney general have been in conflict since the government was sworn in at the end of 2022, with the government accusing her of serially thwarting its policies and actions, and Baharav-Miara accusing the government of acting unlawfully and advancing unconstitutional legislation.
Gantz’s party withdraws all legislation in bid to clear path for bill to dissolve Knesset
National Unity party leader Benny Gantz attends a Knesset plenum session in Jerusalem, June 4, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz orders his party to withdraw all its legislation from the plenum agenda on Wednesday, save for a bill to dissolve the Knesset.
The move is a response to “the coalition’s decision to introduce dozens of laws to overload the agenda and try to avoid a vote on dissolving the Knesset,” the opposition party says in a statement.
The bill to dissolve the Knesset comes amid threats by the ultra-Orthodox parties to break up the government over its failure to pass a law that would exempt the youths of their community from the military draft.
Netanyahu mocks prosecutor as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘provincial’ during cross-examination
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court on June 9, 2025. (Yariv Katz/POOL)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mocks prosecutor Yonatan Tadmor of the State Attorney’s Office as “ridiculous” and “provincial” as Tadmor repeatedly tries to assert that Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan was only interested in being friends with Netanyahu for the personal benefit that would accrue to him.
Netanyahu vehemently rejects this suggestion, saying, “We had a very personal, intimate relationship, a close family connection,” adding that this relationship had persisted after he became “a political corpse” following his election defeat in 1999 when he was at a “political nadir.”
Tadmor persists, saying that Milchan got benefit from being seen as close to Netanyahu, especially during a visit by the prime minister to Hollywood in 2014 and events Milchan hosted with Hollywood celebrities and Netanyahu.
“He was showing that he was connected to all points of power in Israel, and this was good for his business,” asserts Tadmor, adding that Milchan had made similar arrangements at different times with then-foreign minister Silvan Shalom.
“That’s ridiculous. If you think that bringing a foreign minister from Israel or Austria will make an impression on Hollywood, that’s ridiculous. It’s so provincial,” scoffs Netanyahu. “Milchan has the strongest base in Hollywood, he’s the wealthiest producer in the world. He needs to bring some government clerk to increase his power? It’s such a provincial attitude.”
He insists instead that Milchan’s motive was to boost Israel’s image.
In Case 1000, Netanyahu is accused of fraud and breach of trust for allegedly having provided Milchan with various favors, while Milchan gave Netanyahu luxury goods worth hundreds of thousands of shekels.
Iran to present counterproposal to US in nuclear talks
Iran will soon hand a counterproposal in nuclear talks to the United States via Oman, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says, in response to a US offer that Tehran deems “unacceptable.”
IDF: Troops in Gaza destroyed mile-long tunnel, dozens of booby-trapped buildings
Weapons found by troops in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, in a handout photo published June 9, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
During recent operations of the Paratroopers Brigade and Yahalom combat engineering unit in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the military says it located and demolished a kilometer-and-a-half-long tunnel (1 mile).
The tunnel was used by Hamas operatives as a hideout, and dozens of weapons were found inside, the IDF says.
Additionally, the troops, with support from the Israeli Air Force, destroyed dozens of buildings that had been booby-trapped by Hamas, and a weapons depot, the army says.
“The buildings were rigged with numerous explosives weighing some five tons,” the IDF says.
Iran condemns Israel interception of Gaza-bound aid boat as ‘piracy’
Iran condemns Israel’s interception of a Gaza-bound aid vessel carrying international activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, describing it as an act of piracy.
“The assault on this flotilla — since it happened in international waters — is considered a form of piracy under international law,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei tells a press briefing in Tehran.
Israel says the boat was trying to enter a closed military area and ignored several warnings to turn around.
Greta Thunberg is currently on her way to Israel, safe and in good spirits. pic.twitter.com/pjWSr0lOsE
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
Two teens charged with assault, arson in attack on Palestinian man’s home during Jerusalem Day march
Jewish men celebrate Jerusalem Day and clash with police at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, May 26, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
State prosecutors this morning indicted two 16-year-olds after they allegedly broke into a Palestinian man’s home in the Old City, beat him and set fire to the entrance ahead of this year’s nationalist Flag March on Jerusalem Day.
The annual parade through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter often sees attacks by marchers on Palestinian residents and shop owners in the area, who are forced to close their places of business and shut themselves inside their homes to make way for the march.
The two defendants and several other youths had been roving around the Muslim Quarter in the morning, before the Flag March began. They approached the Palestinian man as he was in his home and shouted curses at him, calling him a “dirty Arab” and calling for “death to Arabs,” according to the indictment.
The teenagers then climbed over the gate into the Arab homeowner’s yard and tried to set his house on fire. One of the defendants broke his window with a stick, while the other took a towel from the laundry and set it alight, throwing it toward the entrance of his house.
When the Palestinian resident tried to stop the two teenagers from setting the entrance to his house on fire, one attacked him with a wooden stick, causing minor injuries.
The house suffered significant damage including a shattered window, scorched wall and damage to electrical cables, the indictment reads.
Officers were initially probing three teenagers in connection to the attack; however, indictments were only filed against two of them. One suspect was arrested on the spot the morning of the attack on May 26. Police arrested the other two a few days later, after identifying them through security camera footage of the incident, Haaretz reports.
The defendants face charges of arson, aggravated assault motivated by racism, willful damage motivated by racism and trespassing with the intent to commit a crime, among other charges.
Netanyahu asks to end cross-examination early due to ‘important diplomatic call’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters the Tel Aviv District Court before the start of his cross-examination in the criminal trial against him, June 4, 2025 (Moti Milrod/POOL)
A lawyer for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks the court if he can end his cross-examination early today due to “an important diplomatic call,” Ynet reports.
Lawyer Amit Hadad tells the judges that Netanyahu has the call scheduled for 2:30 p.m., without giving further details.
Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman, who presides over the three-judge panel adjudicating the case, asks if Netanyahu can take a break for the call instead of ending the day early, to which Hadad replies no.
Netanyahu’s cross-examination in his criminal corruption trial began last week.
Whale shark, world’s largest fish, spotted off Eilat coast
A rare whale shark, the world’s largest fish, was spotted yesterday swimming amid the coral reefs of the Red Sea, off the coast of the southern Israeli city of Eilat.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime feeling, crazy adrenaline and great joy,” tourist Ruslan Ravi, who filmed the shark while snorkeling, tells the Kan public broadcaster.
Whale sharks, which can reach 15 meters (50 feet) in length, weigh up to 34 tons (68,000 pounds) and live for 80 years, are not dangerous to humans. They are found in tropical seas all over the world.
הדג בעולם נצפה אתמול באילת ממש במקרה ע"י רוסלן רבין שיצא לשנרקל ונתקל בכריש לוויתני. "זו הרגשה של פעם בחיים, אדרנלין מטורף ואושר גדול" סיפר רוסלן. הכריש הלוויתני הוא זן בסכנת הכחדה, שיכול להגיע לאורך של 12 מ' ולמשקל של 20 טון! ניזון מפלנקטון ואינו מסוכן לאדם. @SPNI pic.twitter.com/qm0NOlRdaf
— שרון וכסלר (@WexlerSharon) June 9, 2025
Shas vows to support dissolving Knesset in upcoming vote: ‘We are disappointed with Netanyahu’
Shas party leader MK Aryeh Deri, right, speaks with United Torah Judaism No. 2 MK Moshe Gafni during a Knesset plenum session in Jerusalem, February 10, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
A spokesman for the ultra-Orthodox Shas party says it will vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset on Wednesday.
“As things stand, we will vote on Wednesday in favor of dissolving the Knesset, Shas spokesman Asher Medina says in an interview with the Kol Beramah radio station.
“We are disappointed with [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. We expected him to take action previously and not just in the past few days,” he says.
Netanyahu’s ruling coalition entered a crisis last week, when ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas began issuing threats of leaving the coalition and dissolving the Knesset if the government does not pass a bill exempting yeshiva students from military service.
On Friday, Netanyahu’s office reported “significant progress” in his negotiations with the ultra-Orthodox parties regarding the draft exemption bill.
However, the ultra-Orthodox parties are keeping up threats to bring down the government.
Trump’s new travel ban takes effect
A man rides a bike past shops in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood, June 6, 2025. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP)
US President Donald Trump’s new ban on travel to the US by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries takes effect.
Trump had tied the move to the firebomb attack on a Colorado rally for the hostages held in Gaza despite the attacker, an Egyptian, not coming from a listed nation.
The new proclamation, which Trump signed on Wednesday, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the US and don’t hold a valid visa.
The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all US diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting today. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the US even after the ban takes effect.
Two reportedly killed overnight, including woman stabbed to death; son arrested
Two people were killed overnight in suspected murders, according to Hebrew media reports.
In Umm al-Fahm, a woman in her 50s was found in her home stabbed to death.
Reports indicate that police arrested the woman’s adult son in connection with the killing. A second woman in the home, reportedly the man’s wife, was also injured.
A man, 27, was also shot to death in the Lower Galilee town of Daburiyya, according to reports. Police are searching for suspects.
Katz says detained activists to be forced to watch video of Hamas atrocities
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and X CEO Elon Musk watch footage from Hamas atrocities on October 7, during a meeting on November 27, 2023. (Courtesy)
Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the military to screen a video showing atrocities committed on October 7, 2023, to detained activists who had attempted to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza, his office says in a statement.
The harrowing 43-minute video produced by the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson’s office shows shows uncensored, difficult-to-watch footage of people being massacred and bodies mutilated during the onslaught, much of it taken from terrorists’ bodycams.
“It’s appropriate that Greta the antisemite and her Hamas-supporting friends should see exactly who is the terror group Hamas that they support and act on behalf of, what atrocious acts they carried out on women, the elderly and kids, and who Israel is fighting for its defense against,” Katz says in the statement, referring to Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, the most famous of the 12 activists aboard the boat.
He orders that the video be screened for the group once they arrive at Ashdod, where their boat is being towed to after soldiers took control of the ship as it neared the Gaza coast overnight.
Katz praises the soldiers for their swift takeover of the ship. Footage from before soldiers boarded shows that the activists planned to make a show of not putting up resistance.
Israel has shown the atrocities video, titled “Bearing Witness,” to journalists and public figures in limited screenings around the world as part of its efforts to rally support for its war on Hamas, though its use of the footage has occasionally garnered controversy.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry posts a picture of Thunberg, in a signature frog hat, smiling as she is offered a sandwich from a soldier.
Greta Thunberg is currently on her way to Israel, safe and in good spirits. pic.twitter.com/pjWSr0lOsE
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
It says the activist is “safe and in good spirits.”
Hundreds turn out for hostage walk in Boulder week after attack
Jeff Burak marches in Boulder, Colo., on Sunday, June 8, 2025, to call for the release of Israeli hostages. (AP/Thomas Peipert)
Several hundred people turn out in Boulder, Colorado, for a weekly walk in support of hostages held in Gaza that typically draws only a couple dozen. Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper and other dignitaries are among the participants.
Demonstrators hold signs that read “End Jew Hatred” and hand out stickers stamped with “611,” representing the 611 days since the first Israeli hostages were taken by Hamas.
On a stage near the site of the attack, hundreds gather to listen to speakers and songs. Vendors sell traditional Jewish and Israeli cuisine. In tents marked “Hostage Square,” rows of chairs sit empty save for photos of the hostages and the exhortation “Bring them home now!”
Moshe Lavi, whose brother-in-law Omri Miran is among the hostages, thanks local demonstrators for their bravery in advocating for his family. He describes Miran as a gentle and loving gardener, husband and father to two young children.
The event takes place as part of a Jewish cultural festival, which was reimagined this year to highlight the stories of Israeli hostages after a man who yelled “Free Palestine” threw Molotov cocktails at marchers a week ago, injuring 15 people.
In pre-recorded videos, hostages’ families thank festivalgoers. One of Miran’s children says in Hebrew, “When daddy comes back from Gaza, he’ll take me to kindergarten.”
“Just seeing them speaking to us, here, with all they’re going through, their supporting us is kind of mind blowing,” says Merav Tsubely, an Israeli-American who came to the festival from a city north of Boulder. “It just reminds us how connected we all are.”
Former Colorado State Sen. Steve Fenberg marches with his daughter Isa in Boulder, Colo., on Sunday, June 8, 2025, to call for the release of Israeli hostages. (AP/Thomas Peipert)
The Boulder Police Department and the FBI coordinated to provide increased security at the festival as well as local synagogues and the Boulder Jewish Community Center. Officers guard the event’s entrances, and police Chief Stephen Redfearn said some plainclothes officers would be present in the crowd. On a rooftop near the stage, three hold rifles and use binoculars to monitor the crowd as drones buzzed overhead.
Matan Gold-Edelstein’s father was present last weekend and helped douse the fire that burned an older woman. Gold-Edelstein, a 19-year-old college student, says the well-attended festival was a great show of humanity, regardless of religion or politics.
“We’re not here to be in support of a war,” he says. “We’re here in support of our religion, in support of our people and in support of the innocent people who are still being held hostage.”
Israel publishes video showing detained activists from Madleen ‘safe and unharmed’
Israel’s Foreign Ministry publishes a video showing detained activists from a boat bound for Gaza being escorted by the Israeli Navy to the Ashdod Port.
“All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over,” the ministry says on X.
Earlier, the ministry said that the boat, Madleen, was being towed to Israeli shores, that the activists would be deported, and the “tiny amount of aid” it was carrying would be sent to Gaza.
All the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed. They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over. pic.twitter.com/tLZZYcspJO
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
Israel confirms it took control of Gaza-bound boat, activists to be sent home
Climate activist Greta Thunberg, center, waits to board the Madleen boat, before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
The activist boat headed for Gaza, Madleen, is being towed by the Israeli Navy to Israel after troops boarded the vessel a short while ago, Israel confirms.
“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry says in a statement.
There are no reports of injuries after soldiers boarded the boat carrying 12 pro-Palestinian activists, who said they were sailing for Gaza to raise awareness and deliver aid. It is unclear where they are being held.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the boat, says contact has been lost. On Telegram, it publishes a series of pre-recorded videos of those aboard asking for help from their home countries.
The ministry says Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and the others aboard Madleen “attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity.”
The boat was carrying “less than a single truckload of aid,” it says, noting that “more than 1,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza from Israel within the past two weeks, and in addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed close to 11 million meals directly to civilians in Gaza.”
“There are ways to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip — they do not involve Instagram selfies. The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,” the ministry adds.
The Israeli military has not commented on the incident, instead referring reporters to the ministry’s announcement.
The “selfie yacht” of the “celebrities” is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries.
While Greta and others attempted to stage a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity — and which included… pic.twitter.com/eEZSJJHVfd
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 9, 2025
Flotilla Coalition says soldiers board Gaza-bound activist ship
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition says on Telegram that soldiers have boarded the activist ship headed for Gaza and that its connection with the ship has been lost.
“Connection has been lost on the ‘Madleen’. Israeli army have boarded the vessel,” it says.
A picture published by the group shows the ship’s passengers wearing lifejackets with their hands in the air. No soldiers can be seen in the picture.
Connection has now been lost with the Freedom Flotilla. The Israeli occupation army have now boarded the Madleen. pic.twitter.com/E2OrJGcoOM
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) June 9, 2025
Another video posted online shows an activist with her hands in the air as bright lights strobe in the background.
🚨URGENT | The Israeli army has boarded the Freedom Flotilla Madleen, taken control, and cut off communications!!! pic.twitter.com/GphcXGN8C5
— Martyrs of Gaza (@GazaMartyrs) June 9, 2025
There is no immediate comment from Israeli authorities.
Navy tells activist ship headed to Gaza to change course
A video shows the Israeli Navy communicating with the Madleen activist boat nearing the Gaza Strip over a loudspeaker.
“The maritime zone near the coast of Gaza is closed to naval traffic as part of a legal naval blockade,” a soldier is seen saying in English. She adds that humanitarian aid can be delivered to Gaza via Ashdod.
The Foreign Ministry says the navy “has instructed the ‘selfie yacht’ to change its course due to its approach toward a restricted area.”
The Israeli Navy is currently communicating with the “selfie yacht”. Using an international civilian communication system, the Israeli Navy has instructed the “selfie yacht” to change its course due to its approach toward a restricted area. pic.twitter.com/KnSqWrsXU2
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 8, 2025
Activists on board the ship post a video showing them hunkering down as a drone hovers overhead.
“We are right here surrounded by Israeli drones. Please sound the alarm,” an activist is heard saying. “Please take cover everyone. Assume positions.”
Je suis journaliste et après avoir couvert pendant une semaine le convoi de la Feeedom Flotilla mon arrestation par l'armée israélienne est imminente. Des humanitaires et des journalistes n'ont pas être arrêté J'appelle tous mes confrères à se mobiliser. @blast_france pic.twitter.com/T1hiNZXLQf
— Yanis Mhamdi (@yanmdi) June 8, 2025
Foreign Ministry says activist boat ‘a media gimmick,’ warns against sailing into ‘conflict area’ off Gaza
Climate activist Greta Thunberg stands near a Palestinian flag after boarding the Madleen boat and before setting sail for Gaza along with activists of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, departing from the Sicilian port of Catania, Italy on June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
In a lengthy post on X, the Foreign Ministry says an activist ship seeking to challenge the blockade on Gaza is “a media gimmick,” as an Israeli interception of the ship and its high-profile crew looms.
“The yacht is claiming that it is delivering humanitarian aid. In fact, it is a media gimmick for publicity (which includes less than a single truckload of aid) – a ‘selfie yacht,’” the ministry says of the “celebrities yacht,” which is carrying Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, and Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian European Parliament member.
The boat is being closely tracked by international media, and the statement is likely intended to head off the expected outcry, including from European governments, should Israel move to block the boat.
Activists say they are aiming to deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis 20 months into the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group.
The Foreign Ministry statement says aid is being delivered “regularly and effectively via different channels and routes, and is transferred through established distribution mechanisms,” citing claims from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation of nearly 11 million meals handed out via boxes of dry goods.
“The Gaza maritime zone remains an active conflict area, and Hamas has previously exploited sea routes for terrorist attacks, including the October 7th massacre. Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts,” the ministry says. “We call on all actors to act responsibly and to channel humanitarian aid through legitimate, coordinated mechanisms, not through provocation.”
Gaza-bound boat says vessel that triggered alarm has turned back
A vessel that was approaching Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s Gaza-bound ship the Madleen has left, the coalition says, after an alarm was sounded on the ship warning of a possible interception.
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who says she is in contact with activists aboard the vessel, reports that the activist boat — which is attempting to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza — is continuing on its journey.
“All looks calm and safe now. Speedboats watching; but the flotilla continues its sailing. It will be a long night,” she writes on X.
Israeli ships said to surround Gaza-bound boat as activists sound alarm
Members of a high-profile marine mission attempting to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza claim that they are being surrounded by Israeli forces.
A video shared by activist Thiago Avilo shows him wearing a lifejacket as an alarm sounds behind him.
“We are being surrounded by their boats. Yes, this is an interception,” he says.
https://t.co/uORYQ5lZN6 pic.twitter.com/XTn1V8EiCv
— Yassine Benzadi (ياسين بن زادي ) (@BenzBe68064) June 8, 2025
Special UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese writes on X that members of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition tell her they are being surrounded by five Israeli military boats.
“The captain is instructing the team to stay calm and seated, with their passports and life jackets on,” she writes.
French parliamentarian Rema Hassan, who is on board the boat, posts that “our life jackets are on, we’re waiting.”
There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Mayor orders New York City to use IHRA definition of antisemitism
This image provided by Office of the New York Mayor shows New York Mayor Eric Adams as he speaks during an address from City Hall, February 11, 2025. (Ed Reed/Office of the New York Mayor via AP)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announces an executive order to recognize the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.
The order directs city agencies to use the IHRA definition to identify and address incidents of antisemitism, the mayor’s office says.
Adams’s office also says he is introducing legislation to the city council, calling on the council to codify the IHRA definition.
The IHRA definition of antisemitism has been adopted by groups and governments worldwide, but is contested because it covers some examples of anti-Israel rhetoric, such as denying the Jewish people the right to self determination.
Last month, Adams announced a new task force under his purview aimed at combating antisemitism, responding to major spikes in antisemitic hate crimes in New York City in recent years. The Office to Combat Antisemitism is the first of its kind in a major US city.
The mayor is seeking re-election in November, and has petitioned to run on an “EndAntisemitism” ballot line.
Israel and Jewish issues are prominent topics in the high-profile race for the city’s Democratic party mayoral primary later this month. Adams is running as an independent.
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