May 11: Trump holds high-level security meeting on Iran, with renewed fighting reportedly on the table

Several UK cabinet ministers said urging Starmer to step down over local election losses

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer enters his car to leave after delivering a speech at the Coin Street Neighborhood Center in Waterloo, London, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Several British cabinet ministers are reportedly urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down as Labour lawmakers went public to express their dissatisfaction over one of the worst defeats for Labour in last week’s local elections.

The Times newspaper reports that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and other cabinet ministers had told the prime minister to consider setting out a timeline for his departure

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Starmer that he should oversee an orderly transition of power, according to the Guardian.

ITV News reports that Starmer’s deputy, David Lammy, was also urging his boss to set out a departure timetable.

Four ministerial aides said they were resigning, believing that Starmer, 63, was not the man to lead Labour into the next national election, due in 2029, and hoping to trigger a leadership contest that could last weeks, if not months.

Starmer swiftly announced new appointments to fill a number of vacant positions.

Knesset advances controversial West Bank antiquity bill in first reading

Illustrative: View of the ancient archaeological site of Sebastia, near the West Bank city of Nablus, May 12, 2025. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

A controversial bill creating a new civilian authority that will be in charge of antiquities in the West Bank is approved by the Knesset plenum in the first reading.

Lawmakers vote 23-14 in favor of the bill, which aims to establish the direct responsibility of the State of Israel for antiquities, heritage sites, and archaeology in the West Bank.

Supporters of the bill claim the measure is necessary to preserve archaeological sites and artifacts in the area that are languishing due to decades of neglect, damage, and looting.

Its critics maintain that the move would amount to de facto annexation in the field of antiquities without improving the situation for archaeological and ancient sites and artifacts.

The bill will need to return to the Education, Culture and Sports committee for further deliberations before being brought back to the plenum for its second and third readings, which are generally held on the same day.

UAE secretly carried out strikes on Iran, including on oil refinery — report

The United Arab Emirates has carried out military strikes on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

The strikes, which the UAE has not publicly acknowledged, included an attack on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, WSJ says, adding that the attack took place in early April.

Reuters cannot immediately verify the report.

Lebanon urges US ambassador to push Israel to halt strikes

Lebanese leaders have urged the US ambassador to Beirut to pressure Israel to halt its attacks, as the Jewish state continues to strike Hezbollah targets in the country.

Hezbollah and Israel have continued to strike each other despite the ceasefire, claiming violations of the truce.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met separately with US Ambassador Michel Issa, in preparation for a third meeting between Lebanese and Israeli representatives set to take place in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

Salam says he asked Issa to “exert pressure on Israel to stop the ongoing attacks and violations, in order to consolidate the ceasefire.”
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Today, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes on more than 30 locations in the south and east.

It reported casualties in several areas, including south Lebanon’s Zebdine, where it said an Israeli drone struck two people “while they were distributing bread” in a municipality vehicle to residents who had refused to leave the town.

Under the terms of the ceasefire published by Washington, Israel reserves the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.” It says it only targets terror operatives.

Knesset approves forming military tribunal to try Oct. 7 perpetrators, ‘deliver justice’

A general view of a plenum session at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 11, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset votes to pass a law to establish a special military tribunal to try Palestinian terrorists accused of committing atrocities during the October 7, 2023, invasion, with 93 votes in favor and none opposed.

The uniquely bipartisan legislation would see the establishment of a special court within the military justice system to try the roughly 300 attackers captured by security forces inside Israel during the invasion and held in detention since.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin calls the passage of the legislation “one of the most important moments of the current Knesset. One can feel that we are doing the right thing by finding a way to unite at this moment, even though we are on the eve of elections and despite all the disagreements that exist.”

“This is a historic framework intended to deliver justice and bring to trial the terrorists who carried out the worst massacre in the state’s history,” says Religious Zionism MK Rothman of the coalition, who co-sponsored the legislation.

The second sponsor of the bill, opposition MK Yulia Malinovsky of the secular right-wing Yisrael Beytenu party, proclaims that “these will be the trials of the modern-day Nazis, and they will go down in the history books.

“I dedicate this law to all the murdered victims, the hostages, and their families. In the end, our spirit and our ability to cope with and stand in the face of immense pain — that is what makes us great,” she adds.

Under the legislation, the tribunal will be able to charge the assailants with all relevant crimes, including genocide under the terms of Israel’s 1950 Law for the Prevention of Genocide, harming Israeli sovereignty, causing war, assisting an enemy during a time of war, and terror charges under Israel’s 2016 law for combating terrorism.

Those convicted of genocide charges would be liable for the death penalty.

The legislation also stipulates that anyone who is suspected, charged, or convicted of October 7 crimes cannot be freed through prisoner release agreements.

CBS News: Pakistan providing refuge to Iranian military planes as it mediates between sides

US officials tell CBS News that Pakistan has been providing a safe haven for Iranian military aircraft, even as it acted as a mediator between Iran and the United States in an attempt to reach a permanent ceasefire.

The report says that shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in early April, Islamabad allowed Iranian military aircraft to seek refuge at its airbases, seemingly to prevent them from being struck by the US military.

Netanyahu blasts EU sanctions on violent settlers

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns the European Union after the bloc decided to impose sanctions on some Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians.

“As Israel and the US are ‘doing Europe’s dirty work’ by fighting for civilization against jihadist lunatics in Iran and elsewhere, the European Union exposed its moral bankruptcy by drawing a false symmetry between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists,” Netanyahu’s office says on its official X account.

Far-right minister says EU ‘antisemitic’ after it sanctions violent settlers

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, sporting a noose pin, attends a Knesset National Security Committee meeting discussing his 'death penalty for terrorists' bill in Jerusalem, March 24, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounces the European Union as “antisemitic” after the bloc voted to impose sanctions on certain Israeli settlers over their violence against Palestinians.

“To expect the antisemitic union to make a moral decision is like expecting the sun to rise in the west. While our enemies perpetrate attacks and murder Jews, the European Union is trying to tie the hands of those who defend themselves,” Ben Gvir posts on X.

“The settlement enterprise will not be deterred. We will continue to build, to plant, to defend, and to settle throughout the entire land of Israel.”

Top Iranian official: Our military is ready to respond to any aggression

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 11, 2026. (Pakistan Prime Minister Office via AP)

Iran’s military is “ready to deliver a well-deserved response to any aggression,” says Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has been serving as the Islamic Republic’s top negotiator in talks with the US.

“Mistaken strategy and mistaken decisions will always lead to mistaken results,” he writes on X. “The whole world has already figured this out.”

“We are prepared for all options; they will be surprised.”

Ukrainian envoy laments lack of Israeli ‘interest or appetite’ for country’s drone expertise

Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk speaks during a conference in Jaffa, June 7, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni‎‏/ Flash90)

Speaking to the Ynet outlet, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk wonders at what he says is Jerusalem’s failure to enlist Kyiv’s help in tackling the threat of Hezbollah attack drones, which has been growing in recent weeks, with multiple attacks leading to injuries and deaths of soldiers.

Ukraine has become highly adept at drone warfare in recent years during its war with Russia’s invading forces.

“We don’t see much interest or appetite from the Israeli leadership in this area. I don’t want to speculate about the reasons for that. I often hear frustration about the fact that Israel is missing an opportunity to save more lives of its soldiers,” Korniychuk says.

He adds: “Most Israelis support Ukraine and do not understand why the Ukrainians are able to deal with drones while Israel is not.”

Two New York City parks plastered with swastikas

Two parks in New York City have been vandalized with at least 11 swastikas, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin says.

The graffiti was found in Highland Park and Forest Park in Queens. Images show red swastikas scrawled on a park sign and on walls.

The incident comes a week after vandals sprayed swastikas and other pro-Nazi graffiti on two synagogues and Jewish homes, also in Queens.

Swastika graffiti regularly appears around the city.

“This is yet another hateful incident meant to intimidate Jewish New Yorkers and divide our city. And we want to be clear: We cannot and will not accept this as normal,” Menin says, adding that the NYPD is investigating.

My statement with @Lynn4NYC and @JoannAriola32:

Highland Park and Forest Park in Queens were vandalized with at least 11 swastikas.

Just a week ago today, similar antisemitic graffiti was found at two synagogues and two private homes in the borough.

This is yet another hateful… pic.twitter.com/7MbpvRzTk3

— Speaker Julie Menin (@SpeakerMenin) May 11, 2026

Jews in New York are also on edge ahead of an anti-Zionist protest planned for tonight in a Jewish area of Brooklyn.

Organizers say they are targeting an event providing information about real estate in Israel and West Bank settlements.

The protesters targeted a similar event last week at a synagogue in Manhattan.

Trump holds high-level security meeting on Iran, with renewed fighting said on the table

US President Donald Trump is holding a high-level security meeting in the White House Situation Room to discuss next steps on Iran, a US official tells The Times of Israel.

Negotiations with Iran again reached a dead end over the weekend after Tehran refused to make significant concessions on its nuclear program.

Trump said yesterday that Iran’s response was “totally unacceptable.”

Participants in the meeting include Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Channel 12 reports, citing two senior US officials, that Trump is considering renewed military action to increase pressure on Iran, with one official quoted as saying: “Trump is going to hit them a bit.”

Zamir tells defense officials to spare no expense in combating Hezbollah drone threat – report

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir convened a high-level discussion yesterday with defense and intelligence officials on the growing threat posed by Hezbollah first-person view (FPV) drones, with no complete operational solution to the threat having been found yet, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, Zamir told representatives from the Defense Ministry, the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (MAFAT), the Military Intelligence Directorate, IDF Ground Forces Command, and other technological units that there were no budgetary limitations on efforts to find solutions.

In recent weeks, troops operating near the Lebanese border have come under near-daily attacks from Hezbollah’s explosive drones that have killed and wounded soldiers. Yesterday, IDF reservist Warrant Officer (res.) Alexander Glovanyov, 47, was killed in a Hezbollah drone attack in northern Israel.

A separate Channel 12 report notes that concerns over the drone threat were already being raised years ago. In March 2018, a discussion in a Knesset subcommittee for examining and regulating drone activity warned that commercially available drones could eventually fall into the hands of terror groups and be used against Israel.

“We are in an era where drones have become accessible, cheap, and easy to operate,” then-subcommittee chairman Haim Jelin reportedly said during the discussion.

“In Israel, we only deal with things after a disaster occurs,” Jelin warned then.

Israeli para-athlete takes gold at European Taekwondo Championships

Israeli para-athlete Asaf Yasur at the European Taekwondo Championships in Munich, Germany, May 11, 2026. (Israel Taekwondo Association)

Israeli para-athlete Asaf Yasur wins a gold medal in the European Taekwondo Championships in Munich, Germany.

Yasur, competing in the men’s under-58kg weight category, beats Azerbaijan’s Sabir Zeynalov 2-1 in the last seconds of the gold-medal match.

Earlier, he beat Turkey’s Hamza Tehrani 2-1 in the semifinal.

Yasur, 24, also won gold at the European Championships in 2024, at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, and at the World Para Taekwondo Championships in 2023.

The Jerusalem native lost both of his hands in an electrocution accident when he was 13.

Netanyahu: Gofman will lead Mossad, it’s my decision to make

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a video statement, May 11, 2026. (Screenshot/GPO)

Insinuating that bigotry and elitism are behind opposition to Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman’s appointment as the next Mossad chief, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stresses that the decision is his to make.

“Only the prime minister appoints the head of the Mossad,” says Netanyahu in a video statement.

“The Mossad and the Shin Bet are directly subordinate to the prime minister by law,” he continues. “Not the attorney general, not the Supreme Court, and not the media.”

His comments come a day after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara told the High Court of Justice that she opposed the appointment of Gofman, Netanyahu’s military secretary, as the next director of the vaunted intelligence agency. Gofman’s character has come under scrutiny for his conduct in approving an unauthorized “influence operation” that led to the interrogation and lengthy incarceration of the minor his unit employed in the matter, with Gofman accused of abandoning the teen once he was arrested.

Gofman, says Netanyahu, “is a heroic fighter. He is courageous and one of the most highly regarded operational commanders in the IDF.”

He says that Gofman has demonstrated “exceptional leadership” and “out-of-the-box thinking” in Israel’s recent wars.

“He has courage, initiative, determination, and cunning,” says Netanyahu. “But above all, he has independent thinking and supreme responsibility for Israel’s security.”

“Why are they trying to disqualify him?” asks Netanyahu. “Because he’s not part of the clique? Because Roman immigrated from the Soviet Union? Because of political considerations? Because he is my military secretary?”

Gofman, emphasizes Netanyahu, will lead the spy organization.

MDA and Health Ministry launch dedicated mental health emergency unit

A new MDA mental health service vehicle. (Courtesy)

Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency service, has partnered with the Health Ministry to establish a dedicated mental health emergency response unit in central Israel for mental health-related emergencies received through MDA’s hotline, a spokesperson says.

In the past year, there has been a 45 percent rise in mental health calls, many linked to the continued strain of war, including acute anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Before the program, mental health emergencies were handled only by EMS dispatchers, standard medical teams, and the police. Now, when someone calls MDA’s hotline with a mental health emergency, the call is transferred to a specially trained mental health dispatcher. When warranted, the dispatcher deploys a mental health crisis intervention unit, including a specially trained paramedic and a mental health nurse with access to a psychiatrist for consultation.

The new unit builds on a successful pilot program that ran from August to December 2025, and introduced two specialized mental health crisis intervention units operating in Holon and Tel Aviv.

Cases treated by the unit saw measurable improvements, including a 3-to-5% reduction in the use of forced sedation or restraint and fewer people sent to psychiatric hospitals unnecessarily.

“Mental health emergencies are some of the most complex and emotionally charged situations our teams face,” says Dr. Raphael Strugo, MDA’s deputy director-general of medicine and blood services at Magen David Adom. “By embedding mental health professionals directly into our emergency response, we’re giving our teams the tools to provide the highest quality care.”

IDF eliminates Hezbollah launch cell after rocket attack on troops

Troops identified and struck a Hezbollah launch cell in southern Lebanon after it fired rockets at forces operating in the area, the IDF says.

According to the military, the cell was attempting to transport a launcher on a truck following the rocket attack when it was identified by soldiers in the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division.

The Israeli Air Force then carried out a strike directed by ground troops, killing the operatives and destroying the launcher, the IDF says.

The military adds that no troops were injured in the incident.

תיעוד: כוחות אוגדה 91 חיסלו חוליית שיגור שפעלה להעביר משגר טילים על גבי משאית לאחר שביצעה ירי לעבר כוחותינו

חטיבת האש של אוגדה 91 זיהתה חוליית שיגור שפעלה להעביר משגר טילים על גבי משאית, זאת לאחר ששיגר רקטות לעבר כוחות צה"ל הפועלים בדרום לבנון.

לאחר הזיהוי, חיל האוויר בהכוונת… pic.twitter.com/jOMdJJmnfd

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 11, 2026

Netanyahu said to reprimand Mossad chief for letter against PM’s choice of successor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Mossad director David Barnea at the Prime Minister's Award ceremony in Jerusalem, September 17, 2025. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a heated conversation yesterday with Mossad chief David Barnea over a letter Barnea sent to the attorney general expressing opposition to the appointment of the premier’s military secretary as the next spy agency head, Channel 13 reports.

Netanyahu demanded to receive a copy of the letter opposing the appointment of Maj. Gen Roman Gofman, according to the report, and was sent one.

The Israel Hayom newspaper says Netanyahu told Barnea he felt the outgoing Mossad director had acted behind his back.

Barnea’s opposition, shared by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, centers on Gofman’s use of Ori Elmakayes, a minor, for a so-called influence operation. While commanding the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Regional Division in the Golan Heights, Gofman in 2022 authorized using Elmakayes, then aged 17, in an Arabic-language influence campaign.

As a result of Gofman’s actions, Elmakayes was detained and interrogated by the Shin Bet domestic security agency, held in isolation for two months, charged with espionage offenses, and jailed for 18 months before the charges were dropped.

Gofman has claimed he did not know how old Elmakayes was, and that he had ordered that only non-classified information be given to him for publication on social media.

“When a commander decides to violate the army’s procedures, and decides to do something he is not supposed to do, it has many implications,” Barnea told the committee, according to Channel 13.

“Any official reprimand disqualifies a promotion, certainly a promotion for the head of the Mossad,” said Barnea.

Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is on ‘life support’

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is on “life support.”

“It’s unbelievably weak,” Trump says of the truce while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, a day after he rejected the proposal submitted by Iran over the weekend for a permanent ceasefire.

Trump claims that Iranian negotiators told their American counterparts that they were prepared for the US to retrieve Tehran’s stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium, but then refrained from putting that concession in the response paper submitted over the weekend.

Iran has shown no public indication that it is prepared to make such a concession.

“Two days ago, they said, ‘You’re going to have to take it.’ We were going to go with them. But they changed their mind because they didn’t put it in the paper,” Trump tells reporters.

Trump claims Iran’s negotiators said that the uranium stockpiles are difficult to retrieve due to Washington’s strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites last year, and that only the US or China have the tools capable of pulling it out from underground.

He also claims that Iranian negotiators had also “guarantee[d that they wouldn’t obtain] nuclear weapons for a very long period of time,” only to leave that out of Tehran’s official proposal as well.

The fact that Trump indicates he would have accepted such a guarantee, even though it was not indefinite, appears to be out of step with his longstanding insistence that he intends to ensure Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon.

Asked whether he still thinks he can make a deal with the current regime, he responds in the affirmative, while adding that it is comprised of moderates who desperately want to reach an agreement and “lunatics” who want to keep fighting.

Addressing criticism that he has no coherent plan in dealing with Iran, Trump insists, “I do have a plan. The plan is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

He then goes on to repeat his unproven claim that the US sent Kurdish militants guns for use against the Iranian regime but that the Kurds decided to keep them.

Prison Service: NYT article alleging widespread rape of Palestinian prisoners ‘entirely unfounded’

The Israel Prison Service firmly denies allegations in a New York Times article of “a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence” against Palestinian prisoners by soldiers, settlers, and prison guards.

“The allegations raised are false and entirely unfounded,” the IPS tells The Times of Israel. “The Israel Prison Service is a security organization that operates in accordance with the law and under the strict oversight of numerous official inspectors.

“All prisoners are held in accordance with the law, while safeguarding their basic rights and under the supervision of a professional and skilled prison staff,” says the prison service.

The NYT article, headlined “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” cites and links to a report alleging “systemic sexual violence” used by Israel, produced by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, a fiercely anti-Israel NGO whose leaders have spoken in defense of Hamas, and who Israel says are operatives for Hamas front groups in Europe.

One Palestinian woman in the NYT piece says she was arrested shortly after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. Over the course of several days, she says, she was repeatedly stripped and abused by Israeli guards.

“I’d be stripped and beaten several times a day,” she tells the paper. “It was as if they were introducing me to everyone who worked there. At the beginning of each shift, they would bring the guys to strip me.”

“They threatened that if I spoke up, they would rape me, kill me, and kill my father,” says the Palestinian woman, who asked not to be named.

Another prisoner says he was raped by a trained prison dog. The unsubstantiated claim that Israel trains dogs to assault prisoners has circulated widely in recent weeks among some pro-Palestinian activists.

Trump says he’s weighing renewal of effort to push ships through Hormuz, in expanded capacity

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says he’s considering renewing the operation to assist stuck ships out of the Iran-blocked Strait of Hormuz after he called it off about a day after it began on May 4.

Trump tells Fox News that if he decides to renew Project Freedom, it would “only be a piece” of a larger military operation.

Trump claims the Iranian regime is “going to fold” in talks with the US — something Tehran has showed no sign it will do, despite Trump’s repeated predictions to that effect.

Asked if he’ll need to take out another layer of Iran’s leaders, Trump responds, “I will deal with them until they make a deal.”

IDF says Hezbollah launched rockets and explosive drones at troops in south Lebanon

Hezbollah launched several rockets and explosive drones at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon in the past few hours, the military says.

The IDF says two of the explosive drones struck unmanned engineering vehicles, causing damage to them. No injuries were reported.

Separately, the military says that yesterday the Israeli Air Force carried out a strike on a building in southern Lebanon where two Hezbollah operatives were identified.

The building was located near Israeli forces, and had been used by Hezbollah to advance attacks, the military says.

The two operatives were killed in the strike, the IDF adds.

כוחות אוגדה 146 תקפו מחסן אמצעי לחימה וחיסלו מחבלי חיזבאללה שהיוו איום על כוחותינו

צה"ל ממשיך לפעול להסרת איומים על אזרחי מדינת ישראל וכוחות צה"ל בדרום לבנון.

כוחות אוגדה 146 זיהו אתמול, שני מחבלים מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה שנכנסו למבנה בסמוך לכוחותינו בדרום לבנון. מתוך מבנה זה,… pic.twitter.com/dcR5jSN2EX

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 11, 2026

Mansour Abbas says Bennett, Eisenkot and Liberman each fit to be PM, predicts coalition deal

Ra'am MK Mansour Abbas speaks during a 40 signatures debate at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 19, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Ra’am chairman MK Mansour Abbas says opposition leaders Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot and Avigdor Liberman are all fit to serve as prime minister and voices confidence that he will eventually reach agreements with them on joining a future coalition.

“I think they are all worthy and have the experience to lead the next government,” he says to the press ahead of a faction meeting, but declines to endorse a specific candidate.

“I worked with the leaders of the opposition parties. They are responsible and statesmanlike and know how to work together,” Abbas says, adding that “in the end, we will reach agreements.”

His comments come despite all three opposition figures distancing themselves from cooperation with Abbas’s Arab-majority Islamist party, with Bennett and Liberman ruling out sitting with Ra’am, and Eisenkot also indicating he does not view the faction as a viable coalition partner.

At the same time, opinion polls have consistently shown that the Zionist opposition bloc — including Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Together slate, Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu, and Eisenkot’s Yashar party — would likely struggle to form a coalition without Ra’am.

Ra’am became the first Arab-majority party in decades to join a governing coalition when it entered the Bennett-Lapid government in 2021, a move that Abbas praises as “a model that can be developed, improved, and upgraded.”

Addressing ongoing efforts to unite the four Arab-majority parties ahead of the next election, Abbas says negotiations are continuing but acknowledges there are still “a variety of issues on which we have no agreement.”

The Islamist Ra’am, communist-majority Hadash, secularist Ta’al and nationalist Balad signed an agreement in January to explore running together, amid public pressure to reunite the fractured Arab political bloc and strengthen its influence. But more than four months later, little tangible progress has been made.

Abbas says the main sticking point remains his insistence that any joint slate function only as a technical alliance that would dissolve after the election, preserving the party’s ability to independently join a future coalition.

“We want to bring practical solutions to Arab citizens, and therefore we cannot commit to a policy of excluding ourselves from [sitting with] Zionist parties,” he says.

Military court convicts Palestinian in 2020 killing of IDF soldier Amit Ben-Ygal

A military court convicts the Palestinian man accused of killing Staff Sgt. Amit Ben-Ygal during an IDF arrest raid in the northern West Bank village of Yabed, west of Jenin, in 2020.

According to the IDF, Nadmi Abu Bakr was found guilty of intentional homicide – the equivalent of murder in the West Bank – as well as obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors say Abu Bakr threw a roughly 9-to-11 kilogram brick from a rooftop at troops operating in the village on May 12, 2020, striking and killing Ben-Ygal. They say he then attempted to evade capture by fleeing to his apartment and pretending to be asleep, before later returning to the scene to dispose of the brick fragments.

The military prosecution says it “will continue to pursue justice against anyone who harms IDF service members and citizens of the State of Israel.”

Soldiers given jail time for photo of cigarette in mouth of Virgin Mary statue

A soldier places a cigarette into the mouth of a Virgin Mary statue in Debel, southern Lebanon, in a photo circulated online on May 6, 2026. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

An IDF soldier who was seen in a photo placing a cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary, in a Christian village in southern Lebanon, has been sentenced to 21 days in jail.

The IDF says the incident in the village of Debel was investigated by the commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Sagiv Dahan — the officer in charge of the relevant area of southern Lebanon at the time — and he decided to sentence the soldier to three weeks in military prison.

The soldier who took the photograph was sentenced to two weeks, the IDF says.

The military says it views the incident “gravely, and respects freedom of religion and worship, as well as holy sites and religious symbols of all religions and communities.”

“Procedures regarding conduct toward religious institutions and religious symbols are routinely clarified to forces before entering the relevant areas,” the military adds.

Reservist who was seriously injured in Lebanon is released from hospital

Sgt. First Class Eitan Hod, who was seriously wounded fighting in Lebanon in April, was released today from Haifa’s Rambam Health Care Campus, the hospital says.

Hod, a reserve soldier in the paratroopers, was injured in an incident in the area of Naquora in southern Lebanon. He was evacuated to the medical center with his life in danger and his left leg badly hurt.

The doctors fought for the injured leg for three weeks but were unable to save it.

“I suffer from pain, but I feel great,” says Hod upon leaving Rambam, “In a week, I will celebrate my 27th birthday.”

He now begins rehabilitation at Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Center.

So far, 127 soldiers have been taken to Rambam from various combat events in Lebanon, with 97 of them requiring hospitalization. Currently, 17 soldiers are being treated at Rambam.

EU foreign ministers approve sanctions on violent Israeli settlers, Hamas leaders

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/ Anthony Pizzoferrato)

The 27 European Union foreign ministers have approved sanctions against violent Israeli settlers and organizations supporting them, says EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

The diplomats approved new sanctions on Hamas leaders as well.

“It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery,” says Kallas. “Extremisms [sic] and violence carry consequences.”

“It’s done. The European Union is sanctioning today the main Israeli organizations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonization of the West Bank, as well as their leaders,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot writes on social media. “These most serious and intolerable acts must cease without delay.”

The move in response to rising violence and settlement expansion in the West Bank had been stalled by former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban. But the ouster of the nationalist leader and Israel ally, by rival Peter Magyar, now appears to have paved the way for the veto to be lifted.

EU officials say seven settlers and settler organizations will be blacklisted.

There is still technical and legal work that must be done in the EU before the sanctions are officially imposed. They will include the freezing of assets and entry bans.

Israel “firmly rejects” the decision, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says on X, saying that the EU imposed sanctions “in an arbitrary and political manner… because of their political views and without any basis.”

“Equally outrageous is the unacceptable comparison the European Union has chosen to make between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists,” Sa’ar continues. “This is a completely distorted moral equivalence.”

An EU official told The Times of Israel that the Hamas sanctions on the same day were not an attempt to draw any sort of comparison, but was a condition from some member states for their support for sanctions on settlers.

“Israel has stood, stands, and will continue to stand for the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland,” Sa’ar says. “No other people in the world has such a documented and longstanding right to its land as the Jewish people have to the Land of Israel. This is a moral and historical right that has also been recognized by the law of nations, and no actor can take it away from the Jewish people.”

The sanctions are not targeting settlements in general, but rather specific settlers and entities accused of perpetrating violence against Palestinians.

Lapid calls for early Knesset dissolution and election

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (right) and former prime minister Naftali Bennett at a press conference announcing their joint run in the coming elections, in Herzliya, central Israel, April 26, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid calls to dissolve the Knesset next week, which would mean early elections, instead of waiting until the end of October to go to the polls.

Addressing reporters at the Knesset ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting, Lapid says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and its associates have “placed on the Knesset table a series of anti-democratic laws, some of which are a blatant attempt to steal the elections.”

He proposes: “Let’s not drag out another whole summer of corruption and fratricidal hatred. Let’s end this before more irreversible damage is caused to the state. Let’s dissolve the Knesset as early as next week.”

The election is currently slated to be held on October 27. If the Knesset were dissolved next week, it could be held as early as mid-August.

Standing in front of a sign bearing the logo of his “Together” party, a union with former prime minister Naftali Bennett, Lapid argues that their new joint slate “will replace the government and bring correction, unity, change, and healing to the country.”

“In every possible poll, Together is the largest party in the camp,” he says.

Asked about Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot’s statement that uniting without him was “not how you build partnerships,” Lapid replies, “Gadi should join this union; we would be happy to have him and will work with him.”

According to Channel 12, last night, Eisenkot told attendees of a private conference that he is “a very big believer in the duty to form mergers, so that there will be a party significantly larger than Likud.”

“The challenge is to create a connection that will bring 35 and 40 seats. I am committed to this and will do everything to make it happen,” the network cited Eisenkot as saying.

Energy Ministry chief says Haifa refineries must close by decade’s end

View of the water cooling tower at the Haifa oil refinery in Haifa, July 31, 2022. (Shir Torem/Flash90)

Haifa’s Bazan oil refineries must close by the end of the decade as planned, the Energy Ministry’s Director General Yossi Dayan tells a conference in the southern city of Eilat.

Dayan says the multifront war sparked by the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, underlined the importance of energy diversity — particularly the need to strengthen renewable energy — and of not relying on the import of refined oil products known as distillates.

The government decided in 2022 to close the Haifa refinery by the end of this decade, after years of pressure from city residents and environmental activists.

Dayan says there are two options, both involving the closure of Bazan: relying on Israel’s smaller, second refinery in the southern city of Ashdod, or building a new facility in southern Israel with the latest technology to minimize environmental damage.

Plans are currently underway to build massive storage facilities for imported distillates.

“I don’t think we should condition the closure of Bazan on completing its relocation to the south,” Dayan says. “We must act on two parallel paths: building distillate storage capabilities for national resilience, and promoting the relocation alternative.”

Knesset panel extends call-up of up to 400,000 reservists

IDF reservists of the 226th Paratroopers Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on April 29, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approves the extension of the call-up of up to 400,000 reservists until May 31, first authorized by the government in March.

The previous cap was 280,000, approved in December. Since the outbreak of the war with Hamas in October 2023, the government has renewed emergency call-up authorizations every few months, enabling the IDF to mobilize reservists quickly and keep them in service longer than permitted in non-emergency times.

Siren at kibbutz caused by interceptor missile, IDF says

The siren that sounded in the northern coastal kibbutz of Neve Yam a short while ago was triggered by an interceptor missile, the military says.

According to the IDF, the interceptor was launched toward a surface-to-air missile fired by Hezbollah at an Israeli Air Force drone that was operating over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are deployed.

No damage or injuries were caused in the incident, the military says.

Classified document details Hamas’s military recovery in Gaza — report

Palestinians gather as they inspect the remains of a vehicle destroyed in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 10, 2026 ( Bashar Taleb / AFP)

Israel’s leadership received a highly classified document last week with details on Hamas’s military rehabilitation in the part of the Gaza Strip that the terror group controls, Channel 13 reports.

The document indicates that Hamas is adding dozens of fighters to each of its battalions, and is manufacturing hundreds of mortar shells, IEDs, and anti-tank missiles every month.

It also says that Hamas has conducted dozens of training exercises recently, and while it is not digging new tunnels, it is doing maintenance work on existing ones.

According to the document, Hamas rehabilitation could over time result in a “significant leap” in its military capabilities, reports Channel 13.

Gantz says rest of opposition harming chance of replacing government

Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz slams his fellow opposition party leaders for declining to sit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and instead looking to establish “a narrow government” that “frightens” undecided voters.

“Anybody who thinks they can put up a sign calling for Likudniks to vote for them while simultaneously disqualifying the Likud party is harming the chance to replace the worst government in Israel’s history,” Gantz tells reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, referring to recent campaign messaging by Together chairman Naftali Bennett insisting that “real Likudniks vote Bennett.”

“There are many voters, some of whom voted Likud in the past, who are undecided, who look at what is happening here and want to see a broad, Zionist government after the elections that will fix things — not a narrow government that frightens them, and rightfully so,” he continues.

“Anyone who… claims they will pass [universal conscription] in a minority government relying on Arab parties is not telling the truth,” Gantz says. “Those competing over the leadership of the ‘bloc’ rather than the nature of the government that will be formed here are not offering an alternative.”

“The solution is not to establish a different extremist coalition,” he says.

Rocket sirens sound in Kibbutz Neve Yam south of Haifa

Sirens warning of rocket fire sound in the coastal kibbutz of Neve Yam, in the Carmel region south of Haifa.

The IDF says it is investigating.

90% of Israelis criticize IDF soldier who smashed Jesus statue in Lebanon – poll

An IDF soldier smashes a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon, in an image uploaded to social media on April 19, 2026. (X/used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Nine out of ten Israelis believe that the Israel Defense Forces soldier who smashed a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon was wrong, according to a new survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI).

Asked for their opinion on the incident, 90% of respondents said the soldier made a mistake, 6% said he did the right thing, and 4% did not know.

The data was collected between April 30 and May 4, 2026, for the JPPI’s monthly Israeli Society Index.

Respondents included 547 Jewish respondents and 202 Arab respondents. The data was analyzed and weighted by voting and religiosity to represent the makeup of the adult population in Israel. No margin of error was provided.

Asked why they believed the soldier was wrong, 65% of Israelis said that symbols of other religions should not be destroyed, 13% that it caused reputational damage to Israel, and 12% opposed it because it was a violation of army protocol.

The survey also explored whether the Israeli public supports the introduction of civil marriage in Israel. Currently, the only Jewish weddings in Israel that are recognized by the government are conducted via the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate.

Overall, 55% of respondents said they were strongly or moderately in favor of civil marriage, and 39% were strongly or moderately opposed.

However, when asked whether they would support civil marriage if it allowed Jews and non-Jews to get married, 44% said they were in favor, and 50% said they were against.

Concerning civil marriage for same-sex couples, 49% were in favor and 45% were against.

Liberman: No immediate plans for Yisrael Beytenu to merge with Eisenkot’s Yashar party

Avigdor Liberman speaks at a press conference, May 11, 2026. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Avigdor Liberman says that there are no immediate plans for his Yisrael Beytenu party to merge with Gadi Eisenkot’s new Yashar party, despite ongoing contacts between them.

Asked at a press conference ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset if he would be willing to take second place to Eisenkot should the two leaders enter a political union, given that Eisenkot is polling ahead of him, Liberman replies, “At the moment there is no point in any move toward a merger. These things are done at the last minute.”

“We sat, we talked at length, we sit all the time, and we said that for now, everyone is trying to maximize their own strength… Right before the elections we will sit down and decide: Is there a point in a merger?”

While the two politicians have not confirmed any plans to run on a unified slate, they did announce in a joint statement on Thursday that they were working to expand cooperation ahead of the election.

Liberman declares that he intends to be the next prime minister of Israel, claiming to reporters that he believes he is “capable of achieving a decisive victory on all… fronts” and that, unlike Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “with me, the October 7 massacre would never have happened.”

“What we are also seeing clearly is a government that for two and a half years hasn’t known how to reach a decisive victory on any front, not against Hezbollah, not against Hamas, not against the Houthis, not against the Iranians, and not against crime. It won’t know how to reach a decisive victory five years from now, either,” he says.

Iran took steps to mitigate US blockade’s effect on oil sector, minister says

Iran’s oil sector has faced some issues since the start of a US blockade of Iranian ports, but the oil ministry has taken countermeasures, Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad tells state TV, without specifying the measures.

“During the 40 days of war, our production didn’t decrease and the export process was favorable,” Paknejad says. “Naturally, in the days following the (US) blockade, we have faced challenges but measures were taken and this process continues” adding “the enemy is full of delusions.”

‘Get out’: Ex-hostage tells all Knesset members to resign, but first set up state commission of inquiry

Former hostage Rom Braslavski speaks at an October Council press conference on May 11, 2026. (Courtesy)

Former hostage Rom Braslavski calls on all members of the Knesset, from the “extreme left to the extreme right” to resign, after first approving the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in which he was taken captive.

“Take responsibility and get out of our lives,” he says at a press conference at the Knesset organized by the October Council of bereaved families, former hostages, residents of the Gaza envelope and the north. The Knesset resumes activity today following a recess.

“The blood of everyone murdered on October 7 is on your hands,” he says. “And just before you go, establish the state commission of inquiry that will investigate what exactly happened here, so it never happens again.”

Holding up photos of his emaciated body while held captive in Gaza, Braslavski describes being surrounded by corpses at the Nova music festival on October 7, then being malnourished and tortured by his Hamas captors.

Braslavki, who was one of the final 20 captives released on October 13, 2025, asks why none of the Knesset members or ministers welcomed him home.

“None of you miserable people came to welcome me home, to apologize for what happened to me, and say: ‘I’m sorry this happened. I’m sorry it took us two years to bring you back. Here’s my aide’s phone number — we’ll help you with anything you need.’ Why did none of you do that?” says Braslavki, adding that he has to fight over whether he is considered 50 percent or 100% disabled as a wounded IDF veteran.

Braslavski was serving in the army during the October 7 attack, and was off duty that weekend.

“Shame on you,” adds Braslavski. “The people of Israel stopped truly living a long time ago, because you killed them.”

Other speakers at the press conference include Eyal Eshel, whose daughter Roni Eshel, a surveillance soldier, was killed on October 7, and Michel Illouz, whose son Guy Illouz was killed in captivity.

The council members say their mission for the coming months is to ensure that the October 7 massacre and politicians’ evasion of responsibility for the debacle become the main issue for voters in the upcoming elections.

“We, the families, will pursue this truth until our final day, for Guy, for all those murdered, for the hostages, and for the country that can no longer breathe under this government,” says Illouz. “This is the final session of the current Knesset. May we soon be able to say: good riddance.”

EU official: Bloc weighing ‘separate sanctions packages’ against violent settlers, 10 Hamas members

This photograph shows an outside view of the Berlaymont building, the European Union Commission headquarters, in Brussels on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

If the European Union’s 27 foreign ministers vote for sanctions on violent Israeli settlers, there will also be sanctions imposed on 10 Hamas members, a European Union official tells The Times of Israel.

There would be absolutely no equivalency drawn between the two groups, stresses the official. “They are not the same. They are separate sanctions packages.”

They would be announced on the same day because there are countries in Europe insisting that new sanctions be imposed on Hamas members if they are to support, or at least not oppose, sanctions on the Israelis.

Today, the EU foreign ministers are discussing sanctions on three to four Israeli entities and a similar number of individuals.

The sanctions would include the freezing of assets, and an entry ban on the individuals.

However, even if all foreign ministers back the sanctions, they wouldn’t begin today. The bloc would be making a political decision that would be followed by technical and legal work, before sanctions are officially imposed.

Netanyahu holding security meeting in his office

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening a security discussion in his office in Jerusalem right now, the office of one of the attendees tells The Times of Israel.

The meeting comes after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to his ceasefire proposal, and ahead of direct Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington later this week.

Israel not short of missile interceptors, says chair of Rafael defense firm

Yuval Steinitz speaks to Channel 12 news in an interview that aired July 8, 2022. (Video screenshot)

Yuval Steinitz, chair of Israel’s state-owned defense firm Rafael, says the country is not facing a shortage of missile interceptors, amid reports that air defense stockpiles – particularly of long-range Arrow interceptors – have been strained by the fighting with Iran.

Israel has consistently denied claims that it is running low on interceptors.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is the primary manufacturer of the Iron Dome missile defense system and produces some components for the Arrow system, though the Arrow interceptors themselves are manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries.

Last month, Israel approved plans to dramatically accelerate production of Arrow interceptor missiles, days before a ceasefire with Iran was announced.

Speaking today at a Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs conference, Steinitz says the Iron Dome system has been 99% effective against rockets fired by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Iron Dome intercepted most of them with success rates that [are] not 100% but close to 100%. It’s around 98%, even 99% — so it’s not perfect, but almost,” Steinitz says.

Steinitz also says that since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, which sparked a multifront war, the two terror groups have launched some 40,000 rockets at Israel.

Iran, he says, has fired about 1,500 ballistic missiles at Israel in two rounds of fighting since 2024 and “only several dozens” were not intercepted.

During the latest war, 21 Israeli civilians and foreign nationals were killed in Israel in Iranian ballistic missile attacks, along with four Palestinians in the West Bank. Iranian fire during the 2024 conflict killed 32 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.

‘Nothing Jewish about them’: Liberman slams Haredi leaders over low employment rate, IDF exemption

Avigdor Liberman speaks at a conference hosted by the Shalom Hartman Institute. (Courtesy of the Shalom Hartman Institute)

Yisrael Beytenu party chairman Avigdor Liberman accuses Israel’s Haredi leadership of being “anti-Jewish” over its refusal to integrate more ultra-Orthodox men into the workforce and its ongoing efforts to exempt the community’s youth from military service.

“The ultra-Orthodox establishment today is first and foremost anti-Jewish. There is nothing Jewish about them. None of them truly cares about the world of Torah study or the yeshiva world, only about power, money, and status. There is nothing Jewish about demanding that a yeshiva student not work,” Liberman says, speaking at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Center for Judaism and State in Jerusalem.

Haredi participation in higher education and the workforce, particularly among ultra-Orthodox men, remains significantly lower than among the broader Jewish population, while there has been a 55% increase in state financial support for Haredi yeshivas since the current coalition took office in 2022.

The leader of the hawkish secular opposition party, who has long been a harsh critic of Haredi leaders, adds that “there is no conflict between Judaism and the state. There is an attempt to take over Judaism by anti-Zionist elements.”

Liberman has opposed both government subsidies for yeshivas and efforts to legislate military exemptions for yeshiva students for many years. Around 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18-24 are believed eligible for military service but have not enlisted, while the IDF says it urgently needs 12,000 additional soldiers amid ongoing strain from the multifront war.

Lapid: ‘I believe there will be more mergers’ of parties ahead of the election

Yair Lapid speaks at the Shalom Hartman Institute on May 11, 2026. (Courtesy of the Shalom Hartman Institute)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says he expects additional mergers of political parties ahead of this fall’s elections, contending that politicians who disagree can still unite around a shared goal.

“I believe there will be more mergers,” Lapid says, speaking at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Judaism and State Policy Center in Jerusalem, two weeks after his Yesh Atid party and Naftali Bennett’s eponymous party announced the establishment of a joint slate called Together, which Bennett will lead.

“I felt it was important to make the first move, so that the country would remember that people who disagree with one another know how to work together for a goal bigger than themselves,” Lapid says.

Bennett and Lapid have called on fellow anti-Netanyahu candidate Gadi Eisenkot to join their slate in the number-two spot, which Lapid referenced in his speech. He said he “cannot unite with Itamar Ben Gvir because the disagreement is too deep” between him and the far-right leader, but added, “I can unite with people like Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot when there is a foundation of shared values.”

Eisenkot has indicated he does not intend to accept that offer, and there has been speculation that he may pursue a merger with Avigdor Liberman’s hawkish opposition party, Yisrael Beytenu, amid reports that the two are working to expand cooperation ahead of elections.

EU agrees to restore fuller trade ties with Syria

Syria's President Ahmad al-Sharaa, left, receives European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, center, and European Council President António Costa, right, upon their arrival at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, January 9, 2026. (European Commission via AP)

The European Council says it adopted a decision terminating the partial suspension of the cooperation agreement between the European Economic Community and Syria, thereby restoring fuller trade ties with Damascus.

It says the move marks an important step toward strengthening bilateral relations between the European Union and Syria.

The decision “sends a clear political signal of the EU’s commitment to re-engage with Syria and support its economic recovery,” the European Council adds in a statement.

Turkish foreign minister said expected to visit Qatar tomorrow for talks on Iran war

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during the opening ceremony of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to visit Qatar tomorrow for talks on the Iran war, a Turkish diplomatic source tells Reuters.

The discussions will focus on the war’s impact ​on the Gulf and efforts to ensure navigational ‌safety in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the source.

Turkey, a NATO member bordering Iran, has been actively engaging the US, Iran, and mediator Pakistan since the war’s start, calling for an end to the fighting while condemning attacks on Iran as well as Iranian attacks on the Gulf.

IDF says helicopter got stuck in Lebanon, was fixed on site and returned to Israel

Illustrative: A UH-60 Black Hawk holding a 669 Search & Rescue crewman in 2013 (Ofer Zidon/Flash90)

An Israeli Air Force helicopter that was dispatched to evacuate troops wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon earlier today got stuck due to a technical malfunction, the military says.

The IDF says the chopper landed in southern Lebanon but was unable to take off again. Another helicopter was then dispatched to take the three wounded soldiers to a hospital.

The military says the helicopter was not hit by enemy fire, and the malfunction was technical.

IAF technicians managed to fix the issue and the helicopter later took off safely from the area, the military adds.

Starmer vows to prove ‘doubters’ wrong, fight leadership challenge

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a meeting with leaders from across society to discuss tackling antisemitism, at Downing Street in London, May 5, 2026. (Hannah McKay/Pool Photo via AP)

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, facing growing criticism after his Labour Party received a drubbing in local elections last week, vows in a speech to prove his “doubters” wrong and says he will fight any leadership challenge within his party.

“I know that people are frustrated by the state of Britain, frustrated by politics and some people frustrated with me,” he says. “I know I have my doubters, and I know I need to prove them wrong, and I will.”

In addition, a rally yesterday near Starmer’s residence decried rising antisemitism in the UK following a string of attacks targeting Jews.

Employee who said Sara Netanyahu hurled food at her is paid compensation in settlement

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arrives for a court hearing at the Magistrate Court in Jerusalem on March 25, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

An employment agency paid tens of thousands of shekels in compensation to an employee of the Prime Minister’s Office who claimed that Sara Netanyahu threw tomatoes and olives at her, according to reports.

The compensation payout was made after the employee filed suit in the Jerusalem labor court against the state and the employment agency, claiming that the premier’s wife humiliated and disparaged her on several occasions during her two years working in the Prime Minister’s Office, Kan News reports.

According to the employee, referred to only by the Hebrew letter Shin, on one occasion, she served breakfast to Sara Netanyahu and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but Sara was not satisfied with the salad Shin had prepared and threw pieces of tomatoes and olives at the employee.

Shin also alleged that on another occasion, Sara Netanyahu shouted at her with the prime minister present and accused the employee of disliking the premier and seeking to harm the couple.

A confidential agreement was reportedly signed last week over the affair, with Shin receiving compensation amounting to tens of thousands of shekels in return for retracting the suit.

Dancing Haredi men said to prevent military police from arresting draft evader

A crowd of ultra-Orthodox men prevented military police from arresting a member of the Gur Hasidic sect for draft evasion overnight in the southern city of Dimona, reportedly by dancing outside the suspect’s home in order to impede entry.

“Local residents, who were alert and prepared for the arrival of the Military Police following a previous visit to the home of a community member last week, arrived in large numbers within minutes,” the hardline Jerusalem Faction’s anti-conscription Tzeva Shachor hotline reports in an email to supporters. The name of the hotline, which translates roughly to “Black Alert,” appears to be a play on “tzeva adom,” or red alert, a term used for warning sirens ahead of missile attacks.

“They began dancing spontaneously near the family’s home and in the adjacent street,” the email adds. “Upon the arrival of the crowds, the Military Police officers left the scene, while the dancing and songs of thanksgiving to God continued for a long while afterward.”

Tzeva Shachor regularly mobilizes protesters outside the homes of draft evaders in order to prevent arrests by civil and military police.

Liberman names 2 female business executives to Yisrael Beytenu slate

The hawkish opposition Yisrael Beytenu party announces that business executives Dr. Yael Benvenisti and Shelly Shamir Keinan are joining the party ahead of this fall’s elections and will endorse party leader Avigdor Liberman for prime minister.

The party says in a statement that Benvenisti, vice president of InsurTech Israel, is a public policy expert with a focus on social policy and aging and will lead the party’s policy on senior citizens.

Shamir Keinan previously served as CEO of Coca-Cola Israel’s beverage division and of BBR Saatchi & Saatchi, part of the Publicis Group, and has also worked to promote “gender equality and women’s representation” in leadership positions, according to Yisrael Beytenu.

Benvenisti says she sees the party as “a political home that connects economics, society, security, and foreign relations into one clear and Zionist policy,” and describes Liberman as “a highly experienced leader” who “knows how to make responsible decisions.”

Shamir Kinan says she believes in “Liberman’s way,” describing the hawkish party chief as a “leader with a backbone,” and says she is joining the party to contribute her management experience “on behalf of the state.”

The additions come as Liberman and Gadi Eisenkot, head of the new Yashar party, are reportedly discussing a merger.

16-year-old shot in Lod, is hospitalized in serious condition

Paramedics arrive at the scene of a shooting that injured a 16-year-old boy in Lod on May 11, 2026. (Magen David Adom)

A 16-year-old boy is in serious condition after being shot in Lod, Magen David Adom says.

According to the emergency medical service, the victim was found conscious but suffering from several bullet wounds on a street near the train station in the central city.

Paramedics are rushing the victim to Shamir Medical Center for further treatment.

The shooting occurs hours after a woman was killed and several injured in a shooting in the central city of Ramle, and after a teen was stabbed overnight in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan.

Netanyahu trial hearing shortened ahead of security discussion

Today’s hearing in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial has been shortened by three-and-a-half hours at his request, Hebrew media outlets report.

The premier is set to convene a meeting with security brass this afternoon amid ongoing tensions over the ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran.

3 soldiers lightly injured in Hezbollah drone attack in Lebanon

Three IDF soldiers were lightly injured in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack in southern Lebanon this morning, the military says.

The troops were taken to a hospital and their families were notified, the army adds.

Jewish couples wed in mass ceremony in Kyiv during recent Ukraine-Russia ceasefire

A Jewish couple is wed in a mass wedding ceremony in Kyiv, May 2026. (Courtesy of JCC Kiev)

Dozens of Jewish couples were married in a mass wedding ceremony in Kyiv during the recent three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Young and old couples, including a pair of 92-year-olds, came together in a ceremony at the Beit Menachem Jewish Community Center in a celebration that would have been impossible during the months of intense fighting, the JCC says in a statement.

The event followed a holiday weekend ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine that provided respite for the city and allowed families from across the community to gather for the ceremony.

Several couples had lived together for years but delayed marrying according to Jewish law because of the war, now in its fifth year, the representative says. The temporary calm enabled them to formalize their unions surrounded by family.

Kyiv Chief Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch says the event was one of the most moving moments the community has experienced in recent years.

“To witness a couple aged 92 entering the chuppah is not something ordinary,” Markovitch says. “We have been living for a long time under the shadow of war, with uncertainty and daily challenges becoming part of normal life. And specifically within that reality, people are choosing to pause and declare: we are continuing the chain of generations, preserving our tradition, and building a Jewish home.”

China opposes US sanctions over Iran, pledges to protect firms

US President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose ahead of their summit talk at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

China voices strong opposition to US sanctions for three China-based companies that Washington has claimed enabled Iran’s military operations, with Beijing calling the curbs illegal and unilateral.

“We have always required Chinese enterprises to conduct business in accordance with laws and regulations, and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun tells a regular press briefing.

“The pressing priority is to prevent by all means a relapse in fighting, rather than using the war to maliciously associate and smear other countries.”

US President Donald Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, are set to meet this week.

Iran calls US greatest threat to international peace, says its demands are unreasonable

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei holds a weekly press conference in Tehran on October 28, 2024. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

The US is “the greatest threat to international peace and security,” says Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei in a press conference a day after US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s response to the latest ceasefire proposal.

“The very presence of the United States in the region, the US military bases in the region,” says Baghaei, “are an example of creating a cycle of violence and bullying in the region.”

He accuses the US of having “unreasonable demands” for a ceasefire, while calling Iran’s eminently reasonable.

Baghaei lists Iran’s demands as “an end to the war, lifting the [US] blockade and piracy, and ⁠releasing Iranian assets that have ⁠been unjustly frozen in banks.”

The demands also include “safe passage through the Strait ⁠of Hormuz, ⁠and establishing security in the region and Lebanon,” he says, calling Iran’s proposal “a generous and responsible ‌offer.”

The US has been blockading Iran’s ports as Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of the talks as well; while there is technically a truce in place there, it has largely unraveled.

“Iran has shown that it is a responsible power in the region, and at the same time, we are not bullying,” Baghaei says. “We are against bullying.”

Baghaei calls on European countries not to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz.

“They should refrain from any move that would undermine their interests,” he says. “This war is not only unethical but also illegal. The US and Israel started their aggression against Iran. European countries shouldn’t be fooled.”

Man killed after opening fire on troops in Qalandiya, police say; no soldiers injured

Border Police forces stopped an attack by a West Bank Palestinian who opened fire on them in Qalandiya refugee camp, police announce.

Police say their forces had been operating in the camp when a man got out of his car and shot at them with an assault rifle. Border Police responded in kind, opening fire on the man.

There were no injuries to Israeli forces.

According to the Maariv outlet, the assailant was killed.

דיווח ראשוני על ניסיון פיגוע במעבר קלנדיה: לוחמי מג"ב איו"ש נטרלו מחבל שירד מרכב וביצע ירי לעבר הכוחות בנשק ארוך pic.twitter.com/McA2gd2ZI6

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) May 11, 2026

Netanyahu begins final day of one phase of his corruption trial

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to testify at the District Court in Tel Aviv in his corruption trial on September 16, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins what is expected to be the last day of his testimony in Case 4000 of his criminal trial.

In Case 4000, Netanyahu is charged with accepting bribes in the form of positive media coverage from the Walla News website in return for providing regulatory benefits in the telecommunications field to Shaul Elovitch, who owned both Walla and the Bezeq telecommunications company. He also faces a charge of fraud and breach of trust in the same case.

The hearing taking place in the Tel Aviv District Court has once again started as a closed-door session since it is dealing with media reports about members of his family.

Once cross examination of Netanyahu in Case 4000 is completed, the prosecution will move to Case 2000, where the prime minister is also charged with fraud and breach of trust over allegations that he planned an arrangement with Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon Mozes in which he would receive favorable media coverage. In return, Netanyahu allegedly was to advance legislation to weaken Yediot’s rival Israel Hayom.

Lebanese PM: We ‘support peace’ with Israel, but only after our demands are met

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks at a joint declaration press event with France's President Emmanuel Macron following their meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France, April 21, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam says in an interview with the Saudi publication Al Arabiya, when asked whether the negotiations with Israel were aimed at a ceasefire or a peace agreement, that “we support peace, but this peace has conditions. This is an issue we will reach at a later stage.”

He stressed that currently, Lebanon is engaged in what he described as preliminary talks with Israel in Washington, DC, in preparation for entering more substantive negotiations.

According to Salam, Lebanon’s demands are a ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli prisons who were detained during the fighting in Lebanon.

“After the Lebanese demands are implemented, we are open to discussing conditions for peace within a broader Arab framework, because this has implications for Arab states,” Salam says.

Salam acknowledges that the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group opposes negotiations with Israel. But he notes that Lebanon had previously entered negotiations with Israel in 1983. Those talks proved unsuccessful.

Hezbollah began fighting Israel on March 2, days after the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran, drawing heavy Israeli airstrikes and an expanded IDF ground presence in Lebanon. A ceasefire in that conflict that began in mid-April has largely unraveled.

South Korea condemns attack on cargo ship, vows to respond

South Korea’s presidential Blue House condemns in the strongest terms an attack against a cargo ship operated by a Korean shipper this month in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is blocking, and says it plans to respond once the source of the attack is identified.

South Korean experts have conducted an initial forensics investigation of the damage to the left rear of the ship, a senior Blue House official tells reporters. The attack had led to a fire in the vessel’s engine room.

Police arrest suspect in Ramle shooting that killed 1, injured 4

Police operate at the scene of a shooting that killed one woman and injured four others in Ramle, central Israel, on May 11, 2026. (Israel Police)

Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting in Ramle that killed one woman and injured four others.

The suspect is a relative of some of the victims, police say. Officers have also seized a gun they believe was used to carry out the attack.

Five people were hit in the shooting this morning, including one woman in her 30s who was taken to the hospital in critical condition and has since died of her wounds. The four other injured women are being treated at the hospital, police say.

The ongoing investigation into the shooting has been assigned to the Central District investigations and intelligence unit.

IDF issues evacuation warnings for south Lebanon towns ahead of strikes targeting Hezbollah

The IDF issues evacuation warnings for nine villages in southern Lebanon ahead of airstrikes targeting the Hezbollah terror group.

Residents of Rihan, Jarjouaa, Kfar Roummane, Nmairiyeh, Arab Salim, Jmaijmeh, Mashgharah, Qellaya, and Harouf are instructed to evacuate to at least a kilometer away.

“In light of the Hezbollah terror organization’s violations of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is forced to act against it with force and does not intend to harm you,” warns army spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.

The ceasefire that has been in place since mid-April has largely unraveled, though fighting remains at a lower level than before the truce was announced.

Nazi-looted portrait found in home of Dutch SS leader’s family, art sleuth says

This handout photograph taken in an undisclosed area and released by Arthur Brand on May 11, 2026, shows the painting "Portrait of a Young Girl" by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, an art piece stolen from the world-famous Goudstikker collection by the Nazis, discovered in the house of the descendants of a notorious Dutch SS collaborator. (Handout and Arthur BRAND / AFP)

An artwork plundered by the Nazis from the world-famous Goudstikker collection has surfaced in the family of a notorious SS collaborator in the Netherlands, Dutch art detective Arthur Brand tells AFP.

“Portrait of a Young Girl,” by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, had likely been hanging for decades in the home of descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt, Brand said, describing it as “the most bizarre case of my entire career.”

The case has drawn parallels to a find that made global headlines in 2025, when an 18th-century Nazi-looted painting — also from the collection of late Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker — featured in a property ad in Argentina.

In the Dutch case, Brand says he was approached by a man who recently uncovered two horrifying secrets: he is a descendant of Seyffardt, and his family has displayed the looted art for years.

This family member, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Brand he saw the painting hanging in the hallway of the granddaughter of Seyffardt, who was assassinated by Dutch resistance fighters in 1943.

The family member tells the De Telegraaf daily: “I feel ashamed. The painting should be returned to the heirs of Goudstikker.”

Seyffardt, one of the highest-ranking Dutch collaborators with the Nazis, commanded a Waffen-SS unit of Dutch volunteers on the Eastern Front.

According to Brand, Seyffardt’s granddaughter told the family member the painting was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don’t tell anyone.”

The granddaughter, quoted by the Dutch daily, says the family is discussing whether the painting should be returned to the Goudstikker heirs, and denies knowing it was looted.

“I received it from my mother. Now that you confront me like this, I understand that Goudstikker’s heirs want the painting back. I didn’t know that,” she is quoted as saying.

Top Nazi official Hermann Goering plundered Goudstikker’s entire collection when the art dealer fled to England in 1940.

Lawyers for the Goudstikker heirs confirmed to Brand that this painting was looted and are calling for its return.

The family member who contacted Brand also wants the painting returned to the Goudstikker heirs, but the police are powerless as the theft has passed the statute of limitations. The Dutch Restitution Committee, which advises on looted Nazi art, is also hamstrung as it cannot compel private individuals to return artworks.

Woman injured in Ramle shooting dies of wounds

A woman who was critically injured in a shooting in Ramle has died after being taken to the hospital, Hebrew outlets report.

The woman, in her 30s, was one of three wounded this morning in a shooting in the central city. A woman in her 50s was seriously injured, while another woman in her 30s was moderately to seriously injured by the gunfire.

The shooter was masked and fled the scene after opening fire, according to Channel 12.

Police Chief Danny Levy has come to the scene of the shooting this morning. Police have launched an investigation and say they are searching for suspects.

Large tanker left Strait of Hormuz on Iran’s designated route — Iranian report

Agios Fanourios I, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) tanker loaded with Iraqi crude oil and bound to Vietnam crossed the Strait of Hormuz through Iran’s designated route yesterday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency says, after it was reported that the ship crossed by switching off trackers to avoid Iranian attacks.

IDF says it razed 4 Hamas tunnels in Gaza, including one that held hostages

The IDF says it recently razed four Hamas tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip, including one that had been previously used by the terror group to hold hostages.

The tunnels, with a total length of around four kilometers (2.5 miles), were located on the Israeli side of the Gaza ceasefire line.

According to the military, one of the tunnel routes was part of a larger underground network that had been used to hold hostages. The tunnel featured several rooms that had also been used by senior commanders in Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, the IDF adds.

הושמד תוואי תת-קרקעי ששימש להחזקת חטופים: כוחות חטיבה 188 ויחידת יהל״ם השמידו ארבעה תוואים תת-קרקעיים ברצועת עזה

לכל הפרטים:https://t.co/amiKRu8ATj pic.twitter.com/8D4jaQkvfy

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 11, 2026

EU’s top diplomat ‘hopeful’ that bloc will sanction violent West Bank settlers today

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas addresses the media in Brussels on March 16, 2026. (NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP)

EU countries can reach an agreement on sanctions against violent settlers in the West Bank today, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says before a meeting of the bloc’s ministers of foreign affairs.

“I expect political agreement on the sanctions on violent settlers, hopefully we will get there,” Kallas says, adding that it is still not entirely clear the required unanimity will be found for the proposals. Hungary’s recent change of government may allow the measure to move forward.

Her statement comes amid a monthslong rise in extremist settler attacks in the territory.

In recent months, some EU members have pushed the bloc to suspend its association agreement with Israel or to sanction far-right cabinet ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

IDF attempts interception of apparent Hezbollah drone in south Lebanon

An interceptor missile was launched at an apparent Hezbollah drone identified over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are deployed a short while ago, the military says.

The results of the interception are under review, the IDF adds.

Iran said to execute man convicted of spying for CIA and Mossad after allegedly forced confession

Iran executed a man convicted of spying for the Mossad intelligence agency as well as US intelligence, the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news outlet reports.

Mizan identifies the man as Erfan Shakourzadeh, saying he had worked at a scientific organization involved in satellite activities and had shared classified scientific information with foreign intelligence services.

According to rights group Iran Human Rights Society, Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old graduate of aerospace engineering, was arrested last year and forced into his confession.

IDF says it intercepted apparent Hezbollah drone in south Lebanon

The IDF says that a short while ago, it intercepted an apparent Hezbollah drone over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are deployed.

No sirens sounded in Israeli towns “according to protocol,” the army says.

3 women shot in Ramle, including one critically hurt; teen stabbed in Ramat Gan

The scene of a shooting in the central city of Ramle, May 11, 2026. (Magen David Adom)

Three women were shot in the central city of Ramle and have been taken to the hospital for treatment, Magen David Adom says.

One victim in her 30s is critically injured and undergoing resuscitation efforts. Another, in her 50s, is seriously injured, while the third, in her 30s, is moderately to seriously hurt. A fourth woman was lightly injured by shrapnel.

The shooter, who was masked, fled the scene after opening fire, according to Channel 12.

In addition, 15-year-old was stabbed overnight in the central city of Ramat Gan, according to the emergency medical service.

Medics gave the victim treatment at the scene of the attack, and he was hospitalized in moderate condition with penetrating stab wounds.

The attacks are the latest in a string of recent incidents that have raised fears of a violent crime wave in Israel.

One evacuated passenger tests positive for hantavirus, another develops symptoms on flight

A Spanish passenger is sprayed with disinfectant by Spanish government officials before boarding a plane after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands, Spain,, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)

Passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship began flying home aboard military and government planes yesterday after the vessel anchored in the Canary Islands, with one American testing positive and a French traveler developing symptoms for the pathogen aboard their separate aircraft.

One the 17 American passengers evacuated from the MV Hondius tested positive for the hantavirus but is not showing any symptoms, US health officials said late Sunday.

Earlier, one of the five French passengers developed symptoms on their flight home, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu says in a statement, and all were put into strict isolation with plans to be tested.

Earlier, officials from the Spanish Health Ministry, the World Health Organization and the cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions had said none of the more than 140 people who were then on the Hondius had shown symptoms of the virus.

The aircraft carrying the Americans is due to arrive in Omaha, Nebraska, early today.

The Americans will first be taken to the University of Nebraska, which has a federally funded quarantine facility, to assess whether they have been in close contact with any symptomatic people and their risk levels for spreading the virus.

Three people have died since the outbreak began, and five people who left the ship earlier are infected with hantavirus.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterates that the general public should not be worried about the outbreak.

“We have been repeating the same answer many times,” he says. “This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn’t be scared, and they shouldn’t panic.”

IDF says reservist Alexander Glovanyov killed in Hezbollah drone attack in northern Israel

Warrant Officer (res.) Alexander Glovanyov (Courtesy)

An IDF reservist was killed in a Hezbollah drone attack in northern Israel yesterday, the military announces.

The slain soldier is named as Warrant Officer (res.) Alexander Glovanyov, 47, a driver in the Transport Center’s 6924th Battalion, from Petah Tikva.

During the attack, several explosive drones launched by Hezbollah struck in Israeli territory, close to the border with Lebanon. One of the drones killed Glovanyov, according to an IDF probe.

Netanyahu blasts claim Israel is hostile to Christians as ‘incredible fabrication’

An IDF soldier smashes a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon, in an image uploaded to social media on April 19, 2026. (X/used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplays a series of recent documented anti-Christian incidents as isolated “aberrations” whose perpetrators have been punished, or in which the error has been rectified, touting Israel’s shared values and history with Christians and Christianity.

During an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” the premier is asked about a series of recent incidents that damaged Israel’s relations with Christians — including Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem being denied access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Easter, an IDF soldier smashing a Jesus statue in Lebanon, and an attack on a nun in Jerusalem’s Old City — and that some see as a “trend line of hostility to Christians.”

Netanyahu replies by calling that “one of those incredible fabrications,” saying Israel is the only place in the region where Christians have “thrived,” while in neighboring Arab countries “they’ve been squished, squashed, sometimes massacred.” He claims that while the West Bank Palestinian city of Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace, was 80% Christian when Israel controlled it, since it has been controlled by the Palestinian Authority, it has become “20% Christian, 80% Muslim.”

Asked if the series of incidents is all anomalies, the prime minister says: “These are not only anomalies. These are things that go contrary to our ethos, to our respect for Christianity.”

“But when that happens, okay, that guy, that soldier who did that, who, you know, violated — not violated but tore down a crucifix, he’s in jail. That guy who attacked a nun, he’s on trial,” he explains.

Regarding Pizzaballa, who was denied entry amid sweeping closures of Jerusalem’s holy sites due to gathering limits during the war with Iran, Netanyahu claims he “intervened immediately and opened the doors,” even though it took four days from the time the cardinal was blocked from reaching the church for Palm Sunday Mass until he was allowed to hold a limited prayer there.

“Israel is the one country in the Middle East that protects Christians, that values Christians, that embraces Christianity. We have common roots. We appreciate them. There’s an attempt not only to falsify our common history but also to falsify current events, to seize on these, you know, these aberrations, and pretend that this is Israeli policy. That’s ridiculous,” he concludes.

The remarks appear in an off-mic section of the interview that wasn’t aired and only appears in CBS’s full transcript.

Netanyahu concedes he bears some responsibility for Oct. 7, but says ‘everyone’ shares it

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to CBS News' '60 Minutes' in an intrerview aired May 10, 2026. (Screenshot/60 Minutes)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to acknowledge he has some responsibility for the failures that enabled Hamas’s cross-border invasion and onslaught of October 7, 2023, but claims that “everyone” from the top to the bottom bears responsibility as well, and the “real issue” is what has happened since that attack and not what preceded it.

Asked during an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” how it is that all those who were in charge of security during the attack have quit or been fired except him, Netanyahu claims some departed because their terms were up, and only one or two “claimed they took responsibility, but it’s not clear what– what does that mean, you know? What is their responsibility?”

The remarks appear in an off-mic section of the interview that wasn’t aired and only appears in CBS’s full transcript.

“Let’s look at the political echelon, military echelon, the security echelon. Let’s look down at everyone, and everybody bears some responsibility. Yeah, from the top, from the prime minister down,” he says, going on to repeat his proposal for a politically appointed commission of inquiry instead of a state commission of inquiry, the country’s highest form of inquiry, which he has refused to form.

Polls have consistently indicated a clear majority of Israelis support a state commission, and Netanyahu himself backed such an inquiry into the conduct of the previous government in 2022. But the government has steadfastly refused to consider this, and has yet to okay any inquiry, over 2.5 years after the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

“But I think the real issue is, okay, that’s up to October 7th. What about since October 7th?” he continues. “[It] was clearly my responsibility to get Israel out of this horrible noose of death that the Iranians put on us. And we did, systematically, very resolutely, go [to] each one of these seven fronts, one after the other, and roll back the tide of terror.”

‘We’ve not done well on the propaganda war’: PM attributes drop in support from Israel in US to social media disinformation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asked about polls showing rapidly collapsing support for Israel among Americans, particularly the younger generations, since the war in Gaza began, and attributes it to social media and to effective disinformation campaigns waged by states he does not name.

Speaking to CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” the premier touts the many steps Israel has taken to get civilians in Gaza and Lebanon out of harm’s way amid the war, but says campaigns against the Jewish state on social media have been very effective.

According to a Pew survey published last month, 60% of U.S. adults viewed Israel unfavorably, up nearly 20 points in four years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the rise of social media is a major reason for this decline. https://t.co/QP4ESNtjGq pic.twitter.com/miCEwFYLX3

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

Sixty percent of US adults have an unfavorable view of Israel, and 59% have little or no confidence in Netanyahu to do the right thing regarding world affairs, according to a Pew survey conducted in March. Both percentages were up seven percentage points from a year earlier.

Netanyahu says deteriorating support for Israel in the United States “correlates almost 100% with the geometric rise of social media.”

He says several countries, which he does not identify, have “basically manipulated” social media in a way that “hurt us badly,” though he personally does not believe in censorship of social networks.

“Israel is besieged on the media front, on the propaganda front, and we’ve not done well on the propaganda war,” he concedes. “We have to fight back against these lies, this propaganda, with the only weapon we have. It’s the truth. I’m trying to do that now and will try to do that in a much greater effort because we’ve left the battlefield to our enemies.”

Netanyahu says he believes Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, wields less authority than predecessor

A woman holds up a picture of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a state-organized rally, in Tehran, Iran, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he believes Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, despite the fact that he has not been seen or heard since he was appointed to succeed his slain father in early March.

Asked for his opinion about the physical condition and operational influence of the younger Khamenei during an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Netanyahu says: “I think he is alive. What his condition is, it’s hard to say, you know? He’s holed up in some bunker or in some secret place.”

The premier says Mojtaba is “trying to exert his authority,” but assesses this authority to be lesser compared to that which had been wielded by predecessor Ali Khamenei.

Netanyahu says that before Oct. 7, he was seen as ‘perhaps the most restrained PM in Israel’s history’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to CBS News' '60 Minutes' in an intrerview aired May 10, 2026. (Screenshot/60 Minutes)

Asked about a growing perception of him as hungry for conflict, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that until the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, he was considered “perhaps the most restrained prime minister in Israel’s history,” and that this changed afterward.

“I was conceived as being politically tough, but militarily very restrained,” he says of his more than a decade in power in which he had bucked frequent right-wing demands to declare full-on war on Hamas, and had cast such a war as unnecessary.

“[This] obviously changed on October the 7th because they were gonna annihilate us. I didn’t think it was just an attack by Hamas. I saw it, as it was, an attack by the Iran axis to try to annihilate us, through a noose of death,” he says, recounting how he vowed at the outset of the resulting war that Israel was going to “change this condition in which they are ganging up on us.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he was once viewed as being "militarily very restrained," but that changed after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack. https://t.co/zrpTgpK8qB pic.twitter.com/bRIM7nxWie

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

Netanyahu says fall of Iran’s regime not assured, appears to acknowledge failure to foresee Hormuz standoff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to admit neither Israel nor the US foresaw the effective use Iran would make of its control of the Hormuz Strait before the recent war began.

“I don’t claim perfect foresight, and nobody had perfect foresight. Neither did the Iranians,” Netanyahu tells CBS’s “60 Minutes,” after being asked about a New York Times report that he had predicted that Tehran would be too weakened by the US-Israeli airstrikes to choke off the strategic waterway.

“I don't claim perfect foresight, and nobody had perfect foresight. Neither did the Iranians,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says of the war with Iran. https://t.co/lJij1qmTwz pic.twitter.com/lbyZ6BAAmM

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

Netanyahu is also asked about a New York Times report that he had told a situation room on February 11 that a joint Israeli-American operation could collapse the Islamic Republic.

The premier calls that “false” but goes on to note that he merely didn’t note that outcome as definitive. “We both agreed that there was uncertainty and risk involved,” Netanyahu says, quoting US President Donald Trump as having said that there is danger in action but bigger danger in not acting.

Asked if it is possible to topple the Iranian regime, Netanyahu says: “I think that you can’t predict when that happens. Is it possible? Yes. Is it guaranteed? No. But I can tell you it’s like bankruptcy, you know? It… proceeds gradually and then it falls.”

The premier says he doesn’t know when or if the Iranian regime will fall, but says that if that happens, it would mean the end of its network of proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, since it is the “scaffolding” keeping them afloat.

“If this [Iranian] regime is indeed weakened or possibly toppled, I think it's the end of Hezbollah, it's the end of Hamas, it's probably the end of the Houthis,” says Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. He says it's possible to topple the Iranian regime, but it's not guaranteed.… pic.twitter.com/sIT3jWFMKg

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

In the interview, Netanyahu also says he intends to wean Israel off all US military aid within a decade, repeating remarks he told The Economist earlier this year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells 60 Minutes he wants Israel to eventually stop relying on U.S. military aid: “It's time that we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support.” https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/LIwJKrfMOQ

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 10, 2026

Settlers prevent Palestinian children from using soccer pitch that Israel seeks to raze

Two boys play on a newly-made soccer pitch in the Palestinian hamlet of Umm al-Khair in the West Bank, February 2, 2026 (Jeremy Sharon/Times of Israel)

Settlers planted themselves on a disputed pitch in the southern West Bank Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair on Sunday, preventing local children from holding a soccer practice, according to local media.

Footage published by Palestinian outlets shows at least a dozen Orthodox Jewish men and boys, clad in white, sitting and standing on the turf. One of them leads the rest in a chant of Deuteronomy 33:4 (“When Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob”) as children in jerseys sit and watch in silence.

According to Palestinian media, the soccer pitch was built with foreign funding some two years ago to give children a place to play in the 200-strong village, which forms part of the embattled Masafer Yatta area near Hebron.

مستوطنون يمنعون أطفال قرية أم الخير بمسافر يطا جنوب الخليل من ممارسة اللعب بالكرة في ملعب مهدد بالهدم ويستفزونهم بالأغاني العبرية .. pic.twitter.com/oQTKqezNMB

— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) May 10, 2026

The pitch was built on private Palestinian land, and the village is located in the West Bank’s Area C, where Israel wields both military and civil authority — meaning Palestinian construction is subject to Israeli approval, which is almost never granted, forcing villagers to build illegally.

In February, Israel issued a demolition order for the soccer pitch after Regavim, a settler organization opposed to Palestinian construction in Area C, complained that the synthetic grass installed in the pitch “threatened” the settlement of Carmel, which lies several dozen meters away.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.

Costa Rica’s new president told Herzog she wants to open embassy in Jerusalem, his office says

President Isaac Herzog and his team (right) meet with Costa Rica’s President Laura Fernández Delgado (second from left) and her team in Costa Rica, May 10, 2026. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Costa Rica’s President Laura Fernández Delgado told President Isaac Herzog on Friday that she wants to upgrade her country’s mission in Jerusalem to an embassy, says Herzog’s office.

The two met shortly after Delgado’s inauguration ceremony for her first official meeting as president.

Herzog met with six heads of state on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, including King Felipe VI of Spain, President Jose Antonio Kast of Chile, President Nasry Asfura of Honduras, President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala, and President Rodolfo Abinadar Corona of the Dominican Republic.

“I was moved to see the depth of appreciation for Israel, the great interest in its capabilities, and the recognition of its unique contribution to humanity,” says Herzog before flying back to Israel.

“In contrast to many voices on the international stage, a positive trend of change, tightening of ties, and deepening of cooperation with Israel is evident in Latin America,” he says.

Herzog attended Shabbat morning prayers yesterday at the Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica in San Jose, where he read the Haftarah and addressed the congregation, says his office.