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Trump voices anger at Putin for comments about Ukraine’s Zelensky, threatens sanctions
US President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 28, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Florida (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
US President Donald Trump has voiced anger at Russian President Vladimir Putin for comments he made about Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky.
In an early Sunday morning phone interview with NBC News, Trump was referencing comments Putin made Friday about temporarily putting Ukraine under external governance. Trump said he was “angry, pissed off” when Putin “started getting into Zelensky’s credibility.”
Putin repeated his claim that Zelensky, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. Under Ukraine’s constitution, it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while it’s under martial law.
“If a deal isn’t made, and if I think it was Russia’s fault, I’m going to put secondary sanctions on Russia,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker, adding that there would be “a 25 to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
“Anybody buying oil from Russia will not be able to sell their product, any product, not just oil, into the United States,” he said.
Nonetheless, Trump reiterated that he and Putin have a “very good relationship.”
The US has been pushing for a comprehensive ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine to peacefully end their 3-year-old war.
PM speaks with parents of hostage Yosef-Haim Ohana
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks by phone with Miri Ben Ami and Avi Ohana, whose son Yosef-Haim Ohana is being held by Hamas in Gaza.
“The conversation was long and emotional,” says Netanyahu’s office.
Last week, Hamas published a propaganda video showing Elkana Bohbot and Ohana, who were both kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.
Lebanese authorities arrest suspects over recent rocket fire on northern Israel
Lebanese authorities say several suspects have been arrested after rockets were fired at neighboring Israel earlier this month, testing a fragile November ceasefire.
Lebanon’s General Security agency says it has “arrested several suspects, and the relevant authorities have begun investigations with them to determine responsibility and take the appropriate legal measures.”
The Hezbollah terror group has denied involvement in the rocket fire that took place on March 22 and 28.
It nevertheless prompted an Israeli strike on Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold on Friday for the first time since the truce went into effect in November.
‘Do you know who I am?’: Ex-police chief pulled over for speeding but gets out of being ticketed
Police chief Kobi Shabtai at the scene of a stabbing attack outside a police station near Jerusalem's Old City, November 6, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Former Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai was recently pulled over for speeding in southern Israel, but was let off without a ticket after asking the police officer if she knew who he was.
Shabtai was pulled over while driving at a speed of 84 mph (136 kph) in a zone close to Ashdod where the speed limit is 55 mph (90 kph), Channel 12 says.
Despite driving some 30 mph over the speed limit, Shabtai was never issued a fine or given any points on his license, as Channel 12 says he asked the police officer who pulled him over if she knew who he was.
After she confirmed that she knew he was the former chief of police, the officer let him go without any further action.
Speaking to Channel 12, Shabtai defends his actions, claiming that he was only speeding momentarily and that it was a “one-second distraction.”
“I drove at the legal limit for almost two hours,” he says. “It can happen to anyone.”
He claims that he asked the officer who pulled him over if she knew who he was, not because he wanted to avoid being given a ticket, but because she was “hesitating” about what to do.
“When a civilian is caught [speeding] for the first time, you tell them ‘no, no’ and release them,” he says. “I have never taken advantage of my position.”
Likud minister seeks government approval to shutter Army Radio, charging it damages ‘wartime unity’
Illustrative: The entrance to Army Radio's headquarters in Tel Aviv, June 2, 2023. (Omer Fichman/Flash90)
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says he is working together with Defense Minister Israel Katz to shutter Israel’s Army Radio, which he says has become “detached from its original mission,” and publishes a copy of a letter he sent to Katz earlier today on the matter.
The move comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu questioned the point of Army Radio and instructed Karhi and Katz to look into it during a cabinet meeting this morning.
In a letter to fellow Likud ally Katz, Karhi says that Army Radio, “which was originally set up as a military station to support and connect with IDF soldiers, has long since become a political stronghold, detached from its original purpose.”
“Criticism of soldiers and continuous damage to the values of national unity during wartime have become routine,” he adds.
“It is unreasonable for a democratic country would operate a military radio station, let alone a political one, that, instead of being ‘the soldiers’ home,’ depresses them.”
“Our soldiers return from the battlefield and are forced to listen to content that is not only unsupportive but sometimes harshly critical of their work,” says Karhi.
He tells Katz that he has drafted a joint Defense Ministry and Communications Ministry decision to shutter the radio station, and requests that he bring it for government approval “as soon as possible,” once the necessary preparations for the station’s closure have been made.
Army Radio has long been in the crosshairs of defense and military officials, who have proposed over the years to reform it, shrink it, or shutter it entirely.
Former defense minister Yoav Gallant and former IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi disagreed on what its future should look like, with the former suggesting major changes to its programming, and the latter hoping to see it removed from the military’s purview entirely.
While not a defense official, Karhi has long held that the radio station is superfluous, and has vowed to shutter it along with the Kan public broadcaster.
Economic situation has worsened for 34% of salaried reservists, 72% of self-employed reservists
IDF troops of the 5th Reserve Brigade operate in southern Gaza’s Khuza'a, in this undated photo published by the military on December 29, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Statistics from the Reservists’ Wives Forum show that 34% of salaried reservists have been “hurt economically because of their service” in the current war against Hamas in Gaza.
The statistics, cited by Channel 12, show that 56% of the wives of salaried reservists say they had to reduce work hours and take salary cuts.
Of the 34% of salaried reservists cited above, a quarter were fired and another quarter had to quit their jobs, the report says.
Among reservists who are self-employed, 72% said their economic situation has worsened. And 54% of self-employed reservists said their income had fallen by over 50%.
The TV report also quoted from a separate survey, by the government’s Israeli Employment Service, in which 75% of reservists who responded said they have been hurt economically, and 41% of respondents said they were fired or had to quit their jobs or close their businesses. The service noted, however, that these figures did not constitute a representative sample of the 1,000 reservists who were surveyed.
Ben Gvir mocked by colleagues for overzealous demands in Gaza
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reacts during a 40 signatures debate in the Knesset plenum, on March 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
In a security cabinet meeting last night on Israel’s next steps in Gaza, ministers pushed to impose harsher measures on the Palestinian enclave while taunting National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for his unrealistic demands, Channel 12 reports.
The far-right minister called for all electricity to Gaza to be cut off, reportedly telling the cabinet, “We must black out all the electric lines in Gaza.”
According to the report, Major General Ghassan Alian, the head of COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), informed him that Israel is no longer giving any electricity to Gaza, and residents are using generators.
Ben Gvir then called for Israel to take out Gaza’s generators and internal electric wires in order to “turn their lights out.”
National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi mocked Ben Gvir, according to Channel 12, telling Alian that he should “turn off the sun.”
“He wants to give them the plague of darkness before Passover,” added Transportation Minister Miri Regev.
On March 9, Energy Minister Eli Cohen instructed the Israel Electric Corporation to immediately cut off the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, in an apparent bid to pile pressure on Hamas.
Macron calls on Netanyahu to end Gaza war, agrees to work together on Lebanon
French President Emmanuel Macron tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone conversation that Israel must end its renewed military campaign in Gaza and resume the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory, the president says on X.
“The release of all hostages and Israel’s security are a priority for France,” writes Macron, saying he called on Netanyahu “to end the strikes on Gaza and to return to the ceasefire,” and told him that “humanitarian aid must resume immediately.”
Macron says that France “will continue working on the Arab reconstruction plan” for Gaza, and that “any forced displacement or annexation” in Gaza “would go against” the chance for a two-state solution, which Macron calls “the only path to peace and security for both peoples.”
During the phone call, Macron also called on Israel to “strictly respect the ceasefire it had committed to in Lebanon,” after Israel carried out strikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon, which Jerusalem said were a response to ceasefire violations by Hezbollah.
I just spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin @Netanyahu.
The release of all hostages and Israel’s security are a priority for France.
I called on the Israeli Prime Minister to end the strikes on Gaza and to return to the ceasefire, which Hamas must accept.…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 30, 2025
The two leaders “have decided to work together” to achieve stability between Israel and Lebanon, writes Macron, who adds that “the monitoring mechanism must be strengthened to fully restore Lebanon’s sovereignty,” which includes “a complete withdrawal of Israel from Lebanese territory and support in order to restore the state’s monopoly on arms.”
The two also discussed “the stabilization of Syria and the restoration of its full sovereignty.”
France will continue to coordinate closely with Israel, concludes Macron.
Trump says he is ‘not joking’ about seeking third presidential term
US President Donald Trump says he is not joking about seeking a third presidential term, which is barred by the US Constitution, but that it is too early to think about doing so.
Trump, who took office on January 20 for his second, non-consecutive White House term, has made vague allusions to seeking a third one but addressed it directly earlier today in a telephone interview with NBC News.
“No, I’m not joking. I’m not joking,” Trump say, but “it is far too early to think about it.”
“There are, there are methods which you could do it, as you know,” he says. He declines to elaborate on any specific methods.
US presidents are limited to two four-year terms, consecutive or not, according to the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution.
Report: PM to name new Shin Bet chief in coming days, before High Court hears petitions against Bar’s dismissal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a statement on his intention to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar (Screenshot/Prime Minister’s Office Spokesman)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce in the coming days his candidate to replace Ronen Bar as the head of the Shin Bet security agency, despite a temporary injunction imposed on Bar’s dismissal by the High Court of Justice.
Netanyahu interviewed four contenders to replace Bar last week, after the High Court scrapped a prohibition on the premier talking to candidates for the agency’s leadership, even as it extended a freeze on his ouster, which will remain in place at least until it hears petitions against the move.
According to Hebrew media reports, Netanyahu does not intend to wait until the court hears petitions on April 8 to announce Bar’s successor, and will instead do so in the coming days.
Contenders for the role include two former deputy Shin Bet heads — one identified only as “Mem,” and the other as Yair (Rolly) Sagi — as well as former top Shin Bet official Shalom Ben Hanan, and former division head in the Mossad, Eyal Tsir Cohen.
Yarden Bibas appeals to Trump: Stop the war, bring back all the hostages; I’m only here because of you
Yarden Bibas is interviewed on CBS's 60 Minutes, March 30, 2025 (CBS 60 Minutes)
Yarden Bibas calls on US President Donald Trump to stop the war in Gaza and bring the hostages back, in his first interview since his release from Hamas captivity and the return of his murdered wife and two young children earlier this year.
Asked on CBS’s ’60 Minutes’ if he has a message for Trump, Bibas responds, “Please stop this war and help bring all of the hostages back.”
Pressed on whether he really believes that Trump can help, Bibas replies, “I know he can help. I’m here because of Trump. I’m here only because of him.”
Bibas’s remarks appear to reflect the feeling of many of the hostage families who have focused efforts to release their loved ones on the administration in Washington, believing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government needs to be pressured by the US into agreeing to a deal.
Bibas’s response also highlights hostage families’ opposition to Netanyahu’s decision to resume the war earlier this month amid an impasse in negotiations with Hamas. They have expressed fear that the resumed Israeli strikes endanger the remaining hostages. Roughly 24 of the 59 captives still in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
It’s not just hostage families who are opposed. A poll aired over the weekend on Channel 12 showed that 69 percent of Israelis support ending the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages — something that Netanyahu has opposed, arguing that it would leave Hamas in power.
Bibas conducts the interview while wearing a t-shirt with the pictures of hostage brothers David and Ariel Cunio — his neighbors in Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was the hardest hit border town during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
Bibas is one of several released hostages interviewed for the ’60 Minutes’ segment, which will air in full tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Also taking part is recently released American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel.
Netanyahu, Greek PM to discuss shared challenges in region
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Jerusalem, on March 30, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Welcoming Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before their meeting in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the two will discuss “security challenges, economic opportunities and the ways we can create the chances for a lasting peace in our region.”
“We are two ancient peoples,” says Netanyahu. “Our free civilization started in Athens and Jerusalem. We have common values, and we share common interests today and also common challenges.”
“From one democracy in the eastern Mediterranean to another democracy in the eastern Mediterranean, welcome, friend,” he says.
Mitsotakis adds that defense cooperation is “critically important to us in Greece.”
Athens is in talks with Israel to buy advanced artillery systems and to purchase an Iron Dome-like missile defense system.
Israeli delegation gets to work in Thailand search and rescue efforts after major quake
Israeli search and rescue experts are seen in Thailand on March 30, 2025, to assist following a major earthquake. (Israel Defense Forces)
An Israeli delegation of experts landed in Thailand this morning to assist in search and rescue efforts following a major earthquake in the region, the military says.
The joint military and Defense Ministry team is being led by Col. (res.) Yossi Pinto, the commander of the IDF’s reserve national search-and-rescue unit.
The IDF says the team landed in Bangkok this morning and began to “build an intelligence picture” and give relevant information to Thai authorities.
Hostage families demand meeting with Dermer, accuse him of leaving them ‘in complete darkness’
Relatives of the hostages held in Gaza tell Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who is leading the ceasefire negotiations, that they feel as though their loved ones have been placed last on the government’s list of priorities.
In a letter penned to Dermer and published by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the relatives of more than a dozen hostages accuse him of leaving them “in complete darkness” and failing to update them about any progress — or lack thereof — during ceasefire negotiations.
“Minister Dermer, when you were appointed as head of the negotiating team, we were promised that this would help reach a breakthrough on a new agreement,” they write. “In reality, more than a month has passed and there is no progress in sight.”
“The hostages are in immediate danger — the living are in danger of death and the dead are in danger of vanishing,” they warn.
“Minister Dermer, the responsibility and authority is in your hands. Do not leave the negotiating room until you achieve a comprehensive agreement,” they write, calling for the remaining 59 hostages, living and dead, to be returned in one fell swoop rather than a lengthy deal.
Appealing for Dermer to meet with them, the families say they feel as though they “have been forgotten in the dark.”
“When you’re not in the negotiating room — we are coming to you again with a demand — meet with us, all the families of the hostages, immediately. Pay attention to us,” they urge. “Our loved ones have no time. We have no time.”
Channel 12 reported last week that Dermer has yet to meet with a single hostage family or present his own initiative for a deal since taking over the negotiating team last month.
His office has denied the report and said he met with four families in the last two weeks, but declined to reveal their names.
The letter is signed by dozens of relatives of 21 hostages, both living and dead.
Among the signatories are the children of Manny Godard, who said yesterday that the military had tried and failed to recover their father’s body from Gaza.
It is also signed by freed hostage Iair Horn, who was forced to leave his brother Eitan behind in Gaza when he was released from Hamas captivity on February 15.
Fighting in Gaza aims to free hostages, Herzog tells Greek PM
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signs President Isaac Herzog’s guestbook ahead of a meeting at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, March 30, 2025. (Nava Freiberg/Times of Israel)
Speaking to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President Isaac Herzog says that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is intended to secure the return of remaining Israeli hostages.
“We are now pursuing military operations in order to get back our hostages,” Herzog tells the Greek leader during a meeting at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, adding that Israel is receiving “very disturbing reports about the medical situation” of hostages and that their swift return is “the highest priority of our nation.”
“It has to be clear in the family of nations that this is something that is totally unacceptable,” says the president regarding the 59 hostages still held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
The president addresses the need to confront rampant terrorist activity in Israel and the region, highlighting an attack in Jaffa last October in which 16 people were injured and seven people were killed, including Greek citizen Jonas Chrosis.
Hamas later claimed responsibility for the murders, saying the gunmen were members of the terrorist organization.
Mitsotakis, who also visited Israel in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion, similarly calls for the “immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages,” while also adding his “voice to those who express a sincere hope…for a new ceasefire in Gaza.”
The prime minister expresses his condolences to the parents of Chrosis, whom he says he met with in Athens, and announces a soon-to-be-opened “scholarship program honoring Jonas,” who was studying abroad at Tel Aviv University before his murder.
Signing the president’s guest book, the Greek premier writes a note expressing his desire “to underline the strategic partnership and strong ties of friendship between our people, in good times and in bad.”
Palestinian Red Crescent says 14 bodies recovered from ambulances hit by Israeli fire in Gaza last week
The Palestinian Red Crescent says that it has recovered bodies of 14 rescuers killed in Israeli military fire on ambulances in the Gaza Strip one week ago.
“The number of recovered bodies has risen to 14 so far, including eight EMTs from the Palestine Red Crescent teams, five civil defense personnel and an employee from the United Nations agency,” the group says in a statement.
The IDF acknowledged yesterday that it had fired on ambulances and fire engines in southern Gaza last week, saying it had mistakenly identified them as “suspicious vehicles.”
Shin Bet, Mossad chiefs were absent from key cabinet meeting yesterday
Ronen Bar (left), head of the Shin Bet security services, speaks with Mossad chief David Barnea during the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Embattled Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar did not attend last night’s security cabinet meeting during which efforts to free hostages from Gaza were discussed, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
The full cabinet voted to fire Bar earlier this month, but he remains in his post for the time being.
Mossad director David Barnea was not there either, according to the official.
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer told the ministers that “we are seeing changes in Hamas’s stance [on a hostage release deal] because of the military pressure,” according to the Kan public broadcaster.
“Hamas blinked,” said Dermer, according to the report.
Katz appoints Col. (res.) Yaakov Blitstein as head of Gaza voluntary relocation directorate
Deputy Director General of the Defense Ministry, Col. (res.) Yaakov Blitstein. (Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Israel Katz appoints the deputy director-general of the Defense Ministry, Col. (res.) Yaakov Blitstein, as head of the Gaza voluntary relocation directorate, according to a statement put out by Katz’s office.
The announcement comes a week after Israel’s security cabinet approved a suggestion by Katz to establish a new administration in the Defense Ministry tasked with enabling Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave the Gaza Strip.
The Defense Minister’s office says that Blitstein brings extensive managerial experience from senior positions in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Energy, and Transportation.
According to the statement, his role will involve coordinating the safe and controlled relocation of Gaza residents who wish to emigrate to third-party countries, including securing their movement, setting up crossing routes, and establishing necessary infrastructure for land, sea, and air travel.
“We are determined to realize US President Donald Trump’s vision of enabling voluntary emigration for Gaza residents who wish to move to various places around the world,” Katz says, adding, “Our findings indicate that at least 40% of Gaza residents are interested in emigrating.”
Syria’s Kurds reject legitimacy of new government
The Kurdish-led administration in northwestern Syria rejects the legitimacy of the new national government formed by the Islamist coalition that toppled longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad in December.
“Any government that does not reflect the country’s diversity and plurality cannot ensure proper governance of Syria,” it says in a statement a day after the announcement of the government’s formation, adding that “as a result, we do not consider ourselves bound by the implementation or enforcement of decisions made by this government.”
Iran rejects direct talks with US; Trump threatens military action ‘the likes of which they have never seen before’
Iran’s president says that the Islamic Republic rejects direct negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, offering Tehran’s first response to a letter US President Donald Trump sent to the country’s supreme leader.
President Masoud Pezeshkian says Iran’s response, delivered via the sultanate of Oman, left open the possibility of indirect negotiations with Washington. However, such talks have made no progress since Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew the US from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.
“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Pezeshkian says in televised remarks during a cabinet meeting. “They must prove that they can build trust.”
In comments aired just ahead of Pezeshkian’s response, Trump tells NBC News that if Iran doesn’t make a deal, “there will be bombing and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”
New roads approved to separate Israeli and Palestinian traffic in the West Bank
Aerial view of Ma'ale Adumim, a West Bank settlement outside of Jerusalem, February 25, 2025. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)
The security cabinet approved overnight a plan to construct roads that will redirect and separate Israeli and Palestinian traffic in the West Bank, in a move that critics say will further isolate Palestinians in the area.
Hailing the move, the Prime Minister’s Office says that it will reduce congestion and enable continued Israeli development in the E1 area of the West Bank between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement.
“We continue to strengthen the security of Israel’s citizens and to develop our settlements,” says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the so-called “Fabric of Life” road. He says it “will benefit all residents of the region by easing and improving traffic flow, enhancing both security and the sense of safety for residents, and providing a strategic transportation corridor connecting Jerusalem, Ma’ale Adumim and the Jordan Valley.”
The roads will link Jerusalem with Ma’ale Adumim while providing an alternative route for Palestinian traffic to bypass Israeli checkpoints, creating two separate lanes for vehicles from the Israeli and Palestinian security envelopes, which currently use a single lane.
The new route, however, will directly connect the villages of az-Za’ayyem and al-Eizariya, diverting Palestinian traffic away from Route 1 and the Ma’ale Adumim area.
Another bypass road called “Route 80” will run east of Ma’ale Adumim, connecting al-Eizariya to the Good Samaritan Interchange, creating a direct route between Bethlehem and Jericho in a move that Israel says will further ease traffic levels.
As well as reducing congestion, the Prime Minister’s Office says that plans will bolster Israel’s security amid increased security concerns over terrorist attacks along the current route.
Just over a year ago, three Palestinian terrorists carried out a shooting attack near the az-Za’ayyem checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, in which an Israeli man was killed and 11 others were wounded, including a pregnant woman.
While championed by Israel as a way to reduce congestion and tighten security, the plan, which has awaited approval for years, will divert Palestinian drivers from the controversial E1 area, where Israel is moving forward with settlement construction in steps toward annexing Ma’ale Adumim. The area is viewed by Palestinians as strategically significant for maintaining territorial continuity for a future Palestinian state.
Anti-settlements watchdog Peace Now denounces the plan, which it warns will be a “fatal blow” to Palestinian communities in the Ma’ale Adumim area.
“These communities will be cut off from the rest of the West Bank, and will have virtually no access by car,” it warns. “This could mean the de facto expulsion of all Palestinian communities from the area.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz, who led the initiative, hails the “historic decision” which he says will “reinforce the settlements, boost security, enhance the welfare of all residents in the area, and strengthen our hold on Judea and Samaria.”
Netanyahu, Orban to discuss Trump’s Gaza plan in Hungary this week — source
During his meeting with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss potential Hungarian support for US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, an Israeli source tells The Times of Israel.
“Netanyahu is trying to build a coalition of as many countries as possible backing Trump’s plan for Gaza,” says the source.
In February, Trump announced his vision for Gaza, which would see its population relocated abroad and the US lead reconstruction efforts to turn the war-torn Strip into a Mediterranean resort.
New website encourages Canadians in Israel to vote in upcoming elections
A new website hopes to encourage more Canadian citizens living in Israel to vote in Canada’s upcoming election.
The new site, IsraelVotes.ca, aims to eliminate barriers that complicate voter registration for Canadians living abroad. It was created by 23-year-old Elliott Gluck, a Vancouver resident currently studying in Israel on a five-month educational program.
The election will be held April 28, and the deadline to apply is April 22. However, since ballots must be physically mailed to and from Ottawa, Gluck recommends that voters register within the next two weeks.
Last week, newly appointed Prime Minister Mark Carney called a snap election, just days after he took the position following Justin Trudeau’s resignation. Canada’s Jewish community is skeptical of his ability to rein in antisemitism and hate-motivated violence that has risen significantly since Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023.
There are 35,000 Canadians currently living in Israel, Gluck says.
Poll: Two-thirds of US Jews worry that Trump could turn on Israel as he has Ukraine
About two-thirds of American Jews worry that US President Donald Trump’s policy towards Ukraine could portend a future policy shift toward Israel, according to a new survey.
The Jewish People Policy Institute’s monthly report on Diaspora Jewry, published Sunday, finds that 63% of American Jews say that after a tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House last month, Trump’s handling of relations with Ukraine, makes them “more concerned” about Trump’s future policies with Israel.
Some 74% of respondents say they do not support Trump’s policies regarding Ukraine and the war with Russia, the report says.
Overall, 27% of respondents say they have a lot of confidence that Trump will do the right thing when it comes to US-Israel relations, 32% say they have low confidence, and 38% say they have no confidence in Trump’s handling of US-Israel relations.
Religious Zionism director-general says government ‘delusional’ if it thinks it can appoint more ministers
Yehuda Wald, the Religious Zionism party’s director-general, condemns reported government efforts to appoint two new cabinet ministers as “delusional,” tweeting that such a course of action is “neither necessary nor correct.”
In the middle of a war, “it is appropriate to close certain ministries and not open new ones,” he writes, arguing that “anyone who resigns from the government,” issues threats against it and votes against the coalition “should not receive any reward for his irresponsible conduct.”
He appears to be referring to far-right MK Avi Maoz — the sole lawmaker representing the anti-LGBTQ, anti-feminist and anti-pluralist Noam party — who resigned from the government last week.
Wald’s comments come after the Kan public broadcaster reported earlier today that the coalition is considering appointing two more ministers in a bid to further stabilize the government.
According to the outlet, Maoz, who as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office oversaw educational vendors supplementing curricula in public schools by way of his Jewish National Identity Office, will become a minister with those same powers and a larger budget.
Additionally, the report says that under the plan, far-right Otzma Yehudit MK Zvika Fogel will become intelligence minister — the intelligence ministry was closed last year and would therefore be reestablished.
The report says that if Otzma Yehudit gains another ministry, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will be granted additional powers. No further details were given.
In 2023, the Finance Ministry recommended closing 10 superfluous government ministries to cover the wartime budget shortfall, but only one ministry on the list was ever shuttered.
UTJ’s Goldknopf accuses Diaspora Minister Chikli of fueling antisemitism, anti-Haredi sentiment for political gain
Minister of Housing and Construction Yitzhak Goldknopf attends Education, Culture, and Sports Committee meeting at the Knesset, June 19, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, chairman of the United Torah Judaism party, accuses Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli of antisemitism and engaging in Haredi bashing for political advantage.
According to Radio Kol Hai, the Haredi politician slammed his fellow minister during this morning’s cabinet meeting, and accused him of deciding to attack the ultra-Orthodox community “ahead of the primaries without understanding that his public is averse to this.”
“Your ministry is supposed to fight antisemitism, but unfortunately, it is not doing so with great success,” Goldknopf snipes. “A personal piece of friendly advice from me to you: start by fighting antisemitism within Israel, and after that, it will be easier for you to succeed in the Diaspora. The change starts with you.”
Last week, Chikli demanded Goldknopf’s dismissal, accusing him of harming the general public to benefit Haredi Jews.
Chikli said that Goldknopf’s admission during a conference in Beit Shemesh the previous week that he was steering resources toward the ultra-Orthodox community at the expense of the general public constituted “malicious discrimination against the general public” for which he should be ousted.
Chikli has also publicly backed Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud)’s push for a strong ultra-Orthodox conscription law, which Goldknopf and his party are firmly opposed to.
Myanmar quake toll reaches around 1,700 as junta chief warns fatalities could rise
A woman reacts after being informed that her husband had died at the site of a collapsed under construction high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
The toll from Myanmar’s earthquake continues to rise, as foreign rescue teams and aid rushed into the impoverished country, where hospitals were overwhelmed and some communities scrambled to mount rescue efforts with limited resources.
The 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar’s strongest in a century, jolted the war-torn Southeast Asian nation on Friday, leaving around 1,700 people dead, 3,400 injured and over 300 missing, the military government says.
The junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, warned that the number of fatalities could go up and his administration faced a challenging situation, state media reports, three days after he made a rare call for international assistance.
The quake also shook parts of neighboring Thailand, bringing down an under-construction skyscraper and killing 18 people across the capital, according to Thai authorities.
At least 76 people remained trapped under the debris of the collapsed building, where rescue operations continued for a third day, using drones and sniffer dogs to hunt for survivors.
Boy, 7, killed by freight train after he apparently rode bike onto tracks
A 7-year-old boy was killed in southern Israel when he was hit by a freight train in the south, medics say.
The child apparently rode onto the tracks near Nevatim on his bicycle.
The boy was declared dead on the scene by medical personnel, who say they found the bike a long distance away from the child’s body, apparently due to the force of the impact.
Bennett and Gantz swipe at government on Houthi policy, say Iran must pay the price
(L) Former prime minister Naftali Bennett at a memorial at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, December 25, 2024 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90) and R National Unity Party MK Benny Gantz leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on March 24, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and National Unity leader Benny Gantz both attack the government for its policy on missile fire by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, saying that Tehran should pay the price.
“When the Houthis, Iran’s terrorist arm, fire on Israel, Israel needs to respond to Tehran,” Bennett writes on X. “It is Iran that finances, arms, trains, and operates the Houthis. Iran has a lot to lose; the Houthis have much less.”
“Therefore, Israel must exact a price from Iran. Only in this way will Iran understand that they should not fire at the Jewish state,” Bennett writes.
Gantz sends a similar message when he retweets his statement from December in which he said, “The solution for Yemen is in Iran. We must not be satisfied with retaliatory actions against the Houthis – it is time to take care of the head.”
“Still correct this morning,” Gantz writes.
The statements come after the Houthis fired another ballistic missile at Israel this morning, in what marked at least the eighth attack by the group since the Gaza ceasefire collapsed.
The IDF said the missile was shot down before it crossed the country’s borders.
Reports: UAE sentences 3 Uzbek nationals to death over killing of Chabad rabbi last year
Zvi Kogan, a Chabad rabbi who was murdered in the UAE in November 2024. (Screenshot: @DUDIKEPLER via Reuters)
Three men accused of killing Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the United Arab Emirates last year have been sentenced to death, Israeli sources in the Gulf state tell Hebrew-language media.
There is no official confirmation from the UAE.
Kogan’s friend Tzvi Grinhaim tells Channel 12 that the decision is “historic.”
Kogan, a 28-year-old UAE-based rabbi, went missing in Dubai in November 2024, and his body was found a few days later in the Emirati city of Al Ain, which borders Oman.
The UAE is holding three suspects over the murder — all of them Uzbek nationals who were arrested in Turkey.
In December, The Wall Street Journal reported that the killers had kidnapped Kogan and planned to take him to neighboring Oman. The report said the three suspects were driving the Israeli-Moldovan national toward the border until their plan was somehow disrupted.
According to Kan, Israeli officials believe that Kogan’s killing was not necessarily carried out on behalf of Iran but that it was a terror attack.
In attacks on media, PM asks why public broadcaster should be funded, Chikli accuses liberal newspaper of ‘incitement’
Workers from the Kan public broadcaster and supporters protest against the government's apparent intention to close the network, in Tel Aviv, January 25, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli slam the Israeli media, accusing outlets of incitement and questioning why the government needs to fund public broadcasting that it cannot control, according to leaked statements made during Sunday’s cabinet meeting.
“Why should it be funded,” Netanyahu asks, referring to the Kan public broadcaster. “There is enormous waste there without any control. Almost a billion shekels. Let the market decide! Give the citizens of Israel the choice,” he continues, according to the Walla news site.
“The Communications Committee will reach a decision in the coming days,” he adds.
In February, Knesset Economic Affairs Committee chairman David Bitan (Likud) rejected Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s plan to establish a new “media committee,” in order to bypass his opposition to a coalition bill aimed at shutting down the Kan public broadcaster.
The proposed legislation, part of a larger media overhaul package advocated by Karhi, stipulates that if a buyer cannot be found in two years, the broadcaster will be shuttered completely, and its intellectual property will revert to the government. It passed a preliminary reading in the Knesset plenum in November 2024, but when it came up for discussion in Bitan’s committee, Bitan said that he “can’t advance this bill for a simple reason — public broadcasting is necessary.”
Netanyahu is reported to be in favor of Karhi’s efforts to circumvent Bitan’s committee to advance the controversial legislation.
Turning to Army Radio, Netanyahu asks why the station is needed, stating that Karhi and Defense Minister Israel Katz should look into the matter, Ynet reports.
Netanyahu’s Likud party is also pushing another bill to privatize the Army Radio. The bill would require the Second Authority for Television and Radio to carry out a tender for the sale of the network — along with affiliated network Galgalatz — to a private buyer.
According to Ynet, Chikli also attacks the liberal Haaretz daily, accusing it of engaging in “incitement” and doing “enormous damage to the country” through its critical reporting.
Last November, the cabinet announced that it was severing all ties with Haaretz.
Netanyahu and Chikli’s comments come two days after the Likud party issued a statement calling Kan “illegitimate,” accusing it of making fun of the prime minister’s late brother Yoni Netanyahu, a fallen IDF serviceman during a comedy sketch. Kan denied that it had been making fun of, or had mentioned, Yoni Netanyahu, but rather had lampooned the premier himself.
Responding to criticism in the cabinet on Sunday, Kan says in a statement that its establishment was “one of the most successful public reforms carried out by the Likud itself, and the Israeli public does indeed choose Kan every day – with two billion digital views per year, with more than a million listeners on Kan’s radio networks, with hundreds of thousands of viewers of television content every day.”
Judges accept PM’s request to cancel a day of testimony in trial this week
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Tel Aviv District Court for the 17th day of his testimony in his corruption trial, March 12, 2025. (Yair Sagi/POOL)
Judges in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing criminal trial accept the premier’s request to cancel a scheduled hearing this week due to a discussion in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The request filed to the Jerusalem District Court had said the testimony would come at the expense of the prime minister appearing at “an important security discussion that cannot be changed or moved,” and asked that the hearing be canceled on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Additionally, Netanyahu will fly to Hungary on Wednesday for a meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He will remain there until Sunday morning with his entourage and security detail at taxpayer expense.
Last month, judges granted Netanyahu’s request to hear his testimony twice a week instead of three times a week as originally planned, however he has been expected to testify three days this week after asking that a hearing be canceled last week.
PM says cabinet voted to increase pressure on Hamas, terror leaders ‘will be allowed to leave’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the weekly cabinet meeting, March 30, 2025 (screenshot/GPO)
As massive protests continue against his government’s policies on Hamas hostages in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells his cabinet that “military pressure is working.”
“It works because it acts simultaneously,” he says at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. “On the one hand, it crushes Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, and on the other hand, it creates the conditions for the release of our hostages.”
The security cabinet last night voted to increase pressure on Hamas, says the premier.
Turning to three Hamas claims against Israel’s negotiating posture, Netanyahu says Israel is continuing to negotiate, but that it is being done “under fire,” which he says makes it effective. “We see that there are suddenly cracks,” he says, though Hamas has yet to agree to Israel’s demands for a new extended ceasefire.
Israel is also willing to talk about “the final stage” of a hostage release-ceasefire deal with Hamas, insists Netanyahu.
“We are ready,” Netanyahu says. “Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to leave. We will ensure general security in the Gaza Strip and enable the implementation of the Trump plan, the voluntary immigration plan.”
Israel “is ready to discuss it at any time,” he says.
The third Hamas lie, according to Netanyahu, is that he doesn’t care about the hostages. “This is what Hamas puts in its propaganda films in order to create division within us,” he argues.
He says that Israel is “committed to bringing back the hostages,” and claims that the combination of military and diplomatic pressure is the only thing that has worked, and “not all the empty claims and slogans that I hear in the [television] studios from the experts.”
Addressing stepped-up attacks in Lebanon, Netanyahu says that Israel “respects” Lebanon and its armed forces, “therefore we demand from them things that you demand from someone you respect.”
“Lebanon is responsible for what comes out of its territory, and it must ensure that… no attacks against Israel come out of its territory,” Netanyahu says, apparently referring to recent rocket fire.
He also thanks the US for carrying out strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, calling it “a big change.”
“We always value alliances,” he says. “We have an alliance with the greatest power in the world, and it stands behind us there and in other arenas without reservation, and with the full appreciation of the citizens and the government of Israel.”
Nigerian army blames pro-Palestinian protesters for deadly clashes in Abuja
The Nigerian military blames “violent” demonstrators who opened fire at security forces for clashes at a pro-Palestinian protest in the capital that killed 12 on Friday.
The protest, held in Abuja by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), saw supporters of the banned Shiite movement gather for Quds Day, which is marked around the world with pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrations.
Eleven protesters and one soldier were killed, according to a government intelligence report seen by AFP.
Amnesty International’s Nigeria branch says soldiers fired live rounds at protesters as a form of crowd control — events the military disputed.
After the protest, the IMN said on social media that the Nigerian Army “attacked the procession and several people sustained gunshot injuries.”
Inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the late 1970s, the IMN still maintains close ties with Tehran.
Cabinet appoints Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Karadi as head of National Cyber Directorate
Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Karadi (IDF Spokesperson's Office)
The cabinet unanimously voted to appoint Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Karadi as the head of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, says the Prime Minister’s Office.
From 2021-2024, Karadi, 49, served as the IDF’s Chief Signals Officer in charge of the C4I Corps.
The Cyber Directorate is in charge of cyber defense in Israel’s civilian sphere, including critical national infrastructure.
Woman moderately injured in fall as she sought shelter on highway during Houthi missile attack
Medics say a woman was moderately injured when she fell from a significant height into a ditch at the side of a highway as she sought shelter during a ballistic missile attack from Yemen.
The Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic missile earlier today, triggering sirens across central Israel.
The 42-year-old woman was injured on Route 1, the main highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
She was taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv with injuries to her limbs and back, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.
Teen arrested on suspicion of planning terror attack after swearing allegiance to ISIS
Police and Shin Bet agents say they arrested a 17-year-old from the coastal Arab town of Jisr az-Zarqa earlier this month on suspicion he had been planning a terror attack on behalf of ISIS.
The agencies say in a joint statement that the youth had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State terror group several times in recent months and had been plotting an attack in north-central Israel.
Security forces also discovered documents related to manufacturing explosives in his possession, the statement continues.
The Haifa District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment against the suspect after police completed their investigation, and requested the extension of his detention until the end of court proceedings.
Hostage families hold prayer service near home of chief negotiator Dermer: ‘The responsibility is in your hands’
Ilay David, center, brother of hostage Evyatar David, with members of Edan Alexander’s family in Jerusalem on March 30, 2025 (Jessica Steinberg/ Times of Israel)
Bereaved father Elhanan Danino, whose son Ori was murdered in Gaza, and the family of hostage Edan Alexander, including his grandparents and uncle, gather to pray together and mark the new Jewish month of Nissan, in a park near the home of chief hostage negotiator, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
The gathering of more than 100 people, including teenagers from a local high school, pray with fervor for the return of the hostages.
“Please God, save us, relieve us!” calls Levi Ben Baruch, Alexander’s uncle, as he leads the prayers.
Attached to the chain link fence surrounding the park are signs of hostages still in Gaza, asking Dermer for his aid in saving Alon Ohel, Matan Zangauker, Omri Miran, Nimrod Cohen, Alexander and others.
The month of Nissan is a new beginning, says Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, who joins the gathering.
“We remind Ron Dermer that the responsibility is in your hands, you’re the key person chosen by the prime minister, no more selection process of who gets freed first.”
Ben Baruch speaks about the Biblical tabernacle, the center for the ancient Jews, as read about in the weekly Torah portion.
“In these moments, the tabernacle is the heart of the Jewish people,” he says.
“Put your heart in the right place like the ancient priests did and carry out the acts that need to be completed.”
“When we read on Seder night about letting no one go hungry, do you want the hostages to still be eating a moldy piece of pita? You can return the happiness of an entire nation,” he says, referring to the upcoming Passover holiday.
Their words were echoed by bereaved father Tzvi Zussman, whose son Ben was killed fighting in Gaza.
“I won’t see my son again,” says Zussman. “But these families, with the help of the government and Dermer, can change the reality. Complete the deal, do it and bring them all home now.”
Netanyahu to fly Wednesday to meet Hungary’s Orban, will remain there until Sunday morning
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on July 19, 2018. (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Hungary on Wednesday evening, according to a schedule released by his office.
Netanyahu will meet with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who in November rejected the ICC decision to seek Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes in Gaza and invited him to make an official visit.
As he almost always does, Netanyahu will remain abroad over the Jewish Sabbath with his entourage and security detail at taxpayer expense.
Hungary is a close Israeli ally in the European Union and NATO.
IDF: Ballistic missile fired from Yemen at Israel successfully intercepted by air defenses
A large piece of a missile that fell in central Israel as the result of the interception of a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthis on March 30, 2025 (Israel Police)
A ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military says.
The IDF says the missile was shot down before crossing the country’s borders.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the attack.
Sirens had sounded across central Israel, in several towns near Jerusalem, and in some West Bank settlements.
It marks at least the eighth Houthi attack on Israel since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Sirens sound in central Israel after missile fired from Yemen
Sirens are sounding across central Israel following a ballistic missile launch from Yemen.
The IDF says it is looking into the details.
Jon Polin asks coalition members to stop wearing yellow ribbon hostage pins: ‘It adds to the pain’
Jon Polin, father of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, speaks at a religious Zionist rally in Jerusalem calling on the government to a promote a deal to free all the hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, December 22, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The father of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin says that coalition members should stop wearing the yellow pins that signify support for those held in Gaza.
“A personal request to all 68 members of the coalition in Israel from the father of a hostage who was murdered in captivity in Gaza:
Please stop wearing the yellow pin for the hostages. Every time I see one of you with the pin, it adds to the pain,” Jon Polin writes on social media.
Goldberg-Polin was abducted to Gaza during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught while hiding in a bomb shelter after running from terrorists who raided the Nova rave near Kibbutz Re’im.
He and five other hostages were executed by their Hamas captors in August. Their bodies were recovered and brought back to Israel by the IDF.
Polin last week expressed his gratitude to Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar after ministers voted to fire him, saying that the security chief was one of the individuals who pushed to widen the mandate of Israel’s hostage negotiating team amid pushback from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
This undated photo provided by Rachel Goldberg shows her son Hersh Goldberg-Polin. (Courtesy of Rachel Goldberg via AP)
PM requests cancellation of a day of testimony in court this week during his ongoing trial
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a hearing in his corruption trial at the Tel Aviv District Court, March 24, 2025. (Reuven Kastro/Pool)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks to cancel a scheduled hearing this week in his ongoing criminal trial due to a discussion in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The request filed to the Jerusalem District Court says the testimony would come at the expense of the prime minister appearing at “an important security discussion that cannot be changed or moved.”
The premier’s lawyers ask that the testimony be cancelled on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Last month, judges granted Netanyahu’s request to hear his testimony twice a week instead of three times a week as originally planned, however he has been expected to testify on three days this week after asking that a hearing be canceled last week.
Report: Israeli officials say ‘large gaps’ remain with Hamas, but willing to continue negotiations
Demonstrators raise placards and Israeli flags during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on March 29, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
Israeli officials tell the Haaretz daily that while large gaps remain between Israel and Hamas on the resumption of the hostage-ceasefire deal, there is a willingness to continue negotiations.
Yesterday, an Israeli source told the outlet that mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US are expected to exert heavy pressure on the sides in an attempt to achieve a breakthrough, but “it’s too early to know what the chances are.”
With the resumption of strikes in Gaza earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that hostage talks would only take place “under fire.”
Israel confirmed yesterday that it had received a new ceasefire-hostage release proposal from mediating countries, and said it had made a counteroffer.
The Israeli statement came after media reports said Hamas had agreed to an Egyptian proposal to release five living hostages in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire in Gaza. According to multiple media reports, this does not meet Jerusalem’s demands, with Israel insisting on the return of 10 or 11 living hostages to resume the truce.
All the reported iterations of the truce would apparently see US-Israeli national Edan Alexander freed.
According to Haaretz, a senior Israeli official recently told the outlet that securing the release of Alexander “will take American pressure off Netanyahu’s back in everything related to the release of the hostages or progress to the day after [the war in Gaza],” adding that it would also lead to US President Donald Trump losing interest in the issue.
Troops arrest West Bank man wanted for attacks on security forces; armed suspect shot while fleeing, police say
Police say that officers, alongside Israel Defense Forces soldiers, arrested a wanted man suspected of involvement in attacks on security forces.
According to the statement, the man was arrested in the West Bank village of Tamun on the basis of intelligence from the Shin Bet security agency.
“As the suspect attempted to flee the area while armed with an M-16 rifle, the forces responded with precise fire, neutralizing him,” police say.
Saudi Arabia to mark Eid al-Fitr on Sunday, other Middle East states on Monday
Palestinians buy food and presents in preparation for Eid al-Fitr celebrations at Al-Zawiya market in Gaza City, March 28, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf Arab states are to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday from today but other Middle Eastern countries will not do so until tomorrow.
“The Supreme Court has decided that… Sunday, March 30, 2025, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr,” the Saudi Royal Court says in a statement carried by official media.
The timing of the holiday, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announce today will be the first day of the holiday.
But neighboring Oman and Jordan, as well as Shiite-majority Iran, say that Eid al-Fitr will not begin until tomorrow because the crescent moon had yet to be sighted. Egypt and other North African countries followed suit.
During Ramadan, observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.
Report: Coalition mulling appointment of two more ministers to further stabilize government
Noam party chairman Avi Maoz speaks during a function at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, March 20, 2023. (Erik Marmor/ Flash90/ File)
The coalition is considering appointing two more ministers in a bid to further stabilize the government, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
According to the outlet, far-right MK Avi Maoz — the sole lawmaker representing the anti-LGBTQ, anti-feminist and anti-pluralist Noam party — who as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office oversaw educational vendors who supplement curricula in public schools by way of his Jewish National Identity Office until he resigned last week, will become a minister with those same powers and a larger budget.
Additionally, the report says that under the plan, far-right Otzma Yehudit MK Zvika Fogel will become intelligence minister — the intelligence ministry was closed last year and would therefore be reestablished.
The elevation of Fogel would allow him to resign his Knesset seat, thus permitting Zvi Sukkot of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party to return to the Knesset.
When Amichai Eliyahu became heritage minister in 2023, Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer became an MK under the so-called Norwegian Law, which allows ministers and deputy ministers from large factions to resign from the Knesset, with their seats filled by members of their parties.
However, Eliyahu’s resignation from the cabinet earlier this year did not push Kroizer out of the Knesset. Instead, it forced the resignation of Sukkot, who held a lower spot on the two parties’ joint electoral list in the 2022 legislative election.
According to Kan, no members of Otzma Yehudit have agreed to resign to let Sukkot return.
The report says that if Otzma Yehudit gains another ministry, Smotrich will be granted additional powers. No further details were given.
In 2023, the Finance Ministry reportedly recommended closing 10 superfluous government ministries to cover the wartime budget shortfall.
Otzma Yehudit MK Zvika Fogel leads the Knesset’s National Security Committee meeting, in Jerusalem, February 27, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Then-Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot protests against the detention of Israeli reserve soldiers suspected of assaulting a Hamas terrorist, at the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba, July 29, 2024. (Dudu Greenspan/Flash90)
Trump says military force not off the table for Greenland
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One before arriving at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 28, 2025 (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
US President Donald Trump maintains an aggressive tone over Greenland, telling NBC News that “I never take military force off the table” in regards to acquiring the Danish territory.
Trump tells NBC News in an interview that he would “never take military force off the table” to accomplish his goal, but says he believe there is “a good possibility” it could be done without resorting to force.
“This is world peace, this is international security,” he says, but adds: “I don’t take anything off the table.”
“We’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%,” Trump says.
Asked what message acquiring Greenland would send to Russia and the rest of the world, Trump says, “I don’t really think about that. I don’t really care.”
The comments came after the Danish foreign minister scolded the Trump administration for its “tone” in criticizing Denmark and Greenland, saying his country is already investing more into Arctic security and remains open to more cooperation with the US.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen made the remarks in a video posted to social media after US Vice President JD Vance’s tense visit to the strategic island.
“Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And of course we are open to criticism,” Rasmussen says speaking in English. “But let me be completely honest: we do not appreciate the tone in which it is being delivered. This is not how you speak to your close allies. And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.”
During his visit last week, Vance said: “Our message to Denmark is very simple — you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland.”
Greenland is a territory of Denmark, which is a NATO ally of the United States. Trump wants to annex the territory, claiming it’s needed for national security purposes.
Houthis report new round of suspected US airstrikes in rebel strongholds across Yemen
Houthi media in Yemen reports that new US airstrikes have hit the rebel-held capital Sanaa overnight.
Strikes are also reported in the Saada region, a known stronghold of the Iran-backed Houthis.
The Houthi-owned Al-Masirah network says three strikes hit the city of Saada, and another four targeted the nearby Al-Salem district in the northwest of Yemen.
Police extend detention of anti-government protester said to have pressed up against female cop
Police have extended the detention of an anti-government protester who allegedly pressed up against a female Border Police officer at a mass demonstration in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Footage of the incident, posted to Instagram late last week by rapper and right-wing activist Yoav Eliasi, shows the man, named as Eyal Yaffe, appearing to cling to the officer from behind as she and other cops bent down to try to disperse demonstrators who were blocking the road. The officer and another female colleague pushed the man away. Police accuse the man of committing an indecent act.
In a statement published late Saturday, police say that during a raid of Yaffe’s home, several illegally-acquired weapons dating back to the 1973 Yom Kippur War were found.
Yaffe, 72, has requested to be released to house arrest, citing PTSD from years of military service as the reason for doing so.
“I know that I made mistakes and I need to answer for them, and I will,” he says, in remarks quoted by Hebrew media outlets. “I will be available for any questioning immediately.”
A collection of ammunition and military supplies police say they found on March 29, 2025, in the home of an anti-government protester arrested for allegedly pressing up against a female officer at a protest. (Israel Police)
22-year-old Palestinian tortured, killed by Hamas after joining Gaza protests against terror group
Hamas operatives kidnapped, tortured and executed a 22-year-old Palestinian who participated in last week’s protests wave of protests against the terror group, according to his family.
Oday Nasser Al Rabay’s body was left in front of his family’s home over the weekend.
Many dozens were filmed participating in Rabay’s funeral procession earlier today, shouting “Hamas out!”
Hamas has reportedly been threatening Palestinians who participate in the protests against the terror group, but this appears to be the first time that anyone has been killed in connection with them.
The protests were held for three straight days last week, but none were held over the weekend.
The family of 22-year-old Odai Nasser Saadi Al-Rubai, who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by Hamas militias, opened fire during his funeral and vowed to avenge his death.
Mourners turned the funeral into a protest against Hamas, chanting: "Hamas out, out!" pic.twitter.com/snKhFh6ZVH
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 29, 2025
عدي ناصر سعدي الربعي، عمره 22 عام … شهيد الغدر والخيانة
30 جبانًا من كتا.ئب القسا.م اختطفوه، وعذبوه بأبشع الطرق لأربع ساعات متواصلة، فقط لأنه قال الحقيقة، لأنه رفض الصمت على الظلم، لأنه لم يركع لهم. وعندما انتهوا من جريمتهم، لم يكتفوا، بل جروه بحبل من رقبته حتى باب منزله،… pic.twitter.com/lM7BHRs0Kf
— Basem pal #Gaza (@Basem_gaza1988) March 29, 2025
Hind Kabawat, a Christian, becomes first woman named to new Syria government
Hind Kabawat (File photo: CHRIS J RATCLIFFE / AFP)
Veteran opposition figure Hind Kabawat was named social affairs and labor minister in Syria’s new government on Saturday, the first woman to be appointed by Islamist interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Kabawat, a member of Syria’s Christian minority and longtime opponent of ousted strongman Bashar al-Assad, was a member of the preparatory committee for the national dialogue conference held in February.
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