May 12: Coalition lawmakers urge Haredi parties not to topple government over draft exemption bill

4.6 magnitude earthquake felt in Tehran, Iranian media reports

An earthquake of 4.6 magnitude is felt in the Iranian capital of Tehran, Iranian media reports, without providing further details.

Israel’s Noam Bettan performs at Eurovision over anti-Israel chanting

Noam Bettan from Israel performs the song 'Michelle' during the first semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, May 12, 2026. (AP/Martin Meissner)

Israel’s Noam Bettan performs “Michelle” at the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria.

Bettan and dancer Lihi Freud begin the song inside an enormous diamond-shaped stage prop, which opens up, allowing them to emerge and join four other backup dancers on stage for the rest of the song.

Some chanting of “Stop the genocide” can be heard on the live broadcast at the start of the song. Austrian public broadcaster ORF said it would not use anti-booing technology in the arena.

Bettan told The Times of Israel in an interview last month that he had been practicing to the sounds of booing to prepare.

“Thank you so much, toda raba,” he says after completing the song. “Thank you Europe, I love you.”

Voters in the countries competing tonight as well as those from all non-competing countries can cast their votes at esc.vote.

A combination of public voting and a panel of juries from each country will decide which of the 10 entries from tonight’s 15 contestants will advance to Saturday’s grand final.

יש מי שישמע 💎🇮🇱
נועם בתן בביצוע המלא של #Michelle מחצי גמר אירוויזיון 2026 בוינה 💃🏻 pic.twitter.com/Kvfhdk8fHN

— כאן (@kann) May 12, 2026

Netanyahu’s lawyer a candidate for State Comptroller — report

Attorney Michael Rabello at a hearing of the High Court of Justice for petitions against the coalition's prime minister recusal law, August 3, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Michael Rabello, an attorney who has represented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the High Court of Justice on several occasions, is a candidate for the position of State Comptroller, Hebrew media reports.

Netanyahu himself is pushing Rabello’s candidacy, Kan reports, and has held several meetings with coalition party heads in an effort to persuade them to support him.

Rabello has represented Netanyahu in High Court petitions when the attorney general has opposed the government’s position, including the petitions demanding a state commission of inquiry be established into the catastrophic October 7, 2023, invasion and atrocities, and the petitions against the government’s reasonableness law.

Another candidate for the position is retired Supreme Court judge Yosef Elron, Kan reports.

The State Comptroller has the authority to audit and review the functioning of government ministries and agencies and examine whether they are acting legally, efficiently, and properly.

The position is elected by secret ballot of all Knesset members and must secure a majority to be elected.

IDF: Hezbollah fired several rockets at troops in southern Lebanon

Hezbollah fired several rockets at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon today.

According to the IDF, some of the rockets were intercepted and others hit open areas, without causing any injuries.

Trump: US will ‘finish the job’ against Iran, I don’t care about rising prices

US President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One with Air Force Col. Christopher M. Robinson, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for a trip to China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

If Iran doesn’t accept US terms for a deal to end the war and address its nuclear program, the US will “finish the job,” says US President Donald Trump.

“They’ll either do the right thing, or we’ll finish the job,” he says before taking off for a high-stakes trip to China.

He rejects the idea that rising prices in the US pushed him to seek an end to the war.

“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations,” he says. “I don’t think about anybody.”

“I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

“The most important thing by far is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump continues. “Every American understands it. If the stock market goes up or down a little bit, the American people understand it.”

Trump says that the US will “win it one way or the other. We’ll win it peacefully or otherwise.”

“No matter how you cut it, we win.”

Trump claims that Iran agreed that they will never have nuclear weapons “and then that’s not what they sent to me. We don’t play games.”

“We have Iran very much under control,” Trump insists. “We are either gonna make a deal or they will be decimated.”

After reports that Pakistan allowed Iran to stash fighter jets on its territory during the war, Trump says that the Pakistanis “have been great” mediators.

Bennett accuses former ally Silman of stigmatizing mental illness even as PTSD is on the rise among public

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett accuses Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman and Religious Zionism MK Ohad Tal of increasing the stigma around mental illness, after the two spread claims that he was mentally unfit for office during his time in the Prime Minister’s office.

The two lawmakers “should be ashamed,” he declares at a campaign rally in Tel Aviv, not the Israeli troops returning from war suffering from mental trauma.

Bennett has filed a libel suit against the pair, as well as the pro-government Channel 14, over a recording of Silman, formerly a member of his now-defunct Yamina party, who served as coalition whip during his 2021-2022 government, in which she claims that Bennett was mentally unstable and heavily medicated while serving as prime minister.

The recording was aired by Channel 14, and then circulated further by Tal, who sent mocking well-wishes to Bennett on X and claimed that his decision to bring the Islamist Ra’am party into his coalition was clearly the result of a mental illness.

Heritage Minister taps new Antiquities Authority head with no archaeological experience

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, taps Esther Shreiber, a Jewish professional with no archaeological experience, as the new head of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

“The Israel Antiquities Authority safeguards within it the physical evidence of our existence as the biblical people who returned to their land. When we embarked on this path, I was guided by a vision that demands we move from managing antiquities lying in storage rooms to creating a living, breathing mechanism of heritage stories,” Eliyahu says in a statement. “Esti Shreiber is the right person to lead this vision.”

According to the statement, the appointment will soon be brought before the Israel Antiquities Authority Council and the government for approval.

The ministry statement says that Shreiber holds a bachelor’s degree in Jewish history and cognitive science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master’s degree with honors in public administration and policy from the University of Haifa.

In her more recent position, she was the CEO of the INEXTG group, managing “an annual budget of approximately 100 million shekels” and overseeing “an organizational structure comprising around 700 employees.”

A website for “Israel’s Next Generation: INEXTG” for an organization that promoted Jewish identity among Israeli teens, soldiers, and students appears to be no longer active. Asked whether the statement refers to the same organization, a ministry’s spokesperson responds that he does not know.

A report by Haaretz states that Shreiber heads the Israeli branch of the organization, with a budget of approximately NIS 20 million. The Israeli branch also does not appear to have an active internet presence.

No other former professional positions held by Shreiber are mentioned in the statement.

The IAA has an annual budget of hundreds of millions of shekels and employs around 800 people.

According to the ministry, Shreiber was selected by a search committee chaired by Heritage Ministry Director-General Itai Granek, and also included Prof. Joshua Schwartz, Emeritus Professor of Historical Geography of Ancient Israel at Bar-Ilan University, former Wix EMEA General Manager Batsheva Moshe, former Rehovot Municipality Director-General Moshiko Erez, and IAA senior archaeologist Avi Salomon.

A source familiar with the process tells The Times of Israel that she was chosen over candidates with an archaeological background and more substantial managerial experience.

The current IAA head Eli Escozido also does not have a background in archaeology, nor did his predecessor, former Shin Bet deputy director Israel Hasson, who served in the position between 2014 and 2021.

Bennett vows to pass ‘one constitution for one people’ if elected

Addressing supporters in Tel Aviv, former prime minister Naftali Bennett promises to pass “one constitution for the state,” lower the cost of living and bring back governance to the entire country, stating that after the elections, his new government will help “our ultra-Orthodox brothers” to integrate into the military and workforce “with love.”

There will national standards for education in Israel, he continues, insisting that everything starts with education and that everybody needs to learn math, English and Jewish heritage.

“This will return us from tribes to a people,” he says. “One people – one constitution. One people – one education. One people – one state.”

“We will unite the people, this is my life’s mission,” Bennett declares.

Standing ovation for Bennett in Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/gYXwPhAuJe

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) May 12, 2026

Saudi Arabia carried out multiple retaliatory strikes on Iran during war, sources say

Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials say.

The Saudi attacks, not previously reported, mark the first time that the kingdom is known to have directly carried out military action on Iranian soil and show it is becoming much bolder in defending itself against its main regional rival.

The attacks, launched by the Saudi Air Force, were assessed to have been carried out in late March, the two Western officials say. One said only that they were “tit-for-tat strikes in retaliation for when Saudi (Arabia) was hit.”

Reuters is unable to confirm what the specific targets were.

In response to a request for comment, a senior Saudi foreign ministry official does not address directly whether strikes had been carried out.

The Iranian foreign ministry does not respond to a request for comment.

Bennett: Jabotinsky, Begin, Shamir ‘are rolling in their graves’ over what Likud has become

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett addresses a campaign rally in Tel Aviv, on May 12, 2026. (Sam Sokol/The Times of Israel)

Addressing supporters at a rally in Tel Aviv, former prime minister Naftali Bennett declares that Haredi threats to dissolve the Knesset prove that “the alliance of draft-dodgers is crashing” and accuses premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party of acting as an agent of the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism factions.

“An alliance based on harming IDF soldiers is destined to collapse, that is what you are seeing right now,” he states, arguing that “dissolving the Knesset early will be the only good thing this government has done for the people of Israel” because it “weakened the IDF and failed to wake up after October 7.”

“Netanyahu and his troupe are launching a swarm of ‘poison machine’ UAVs against anyone who expresses an opinion that does not serve his survival,” Bennett says, calling such behavior “exactly how we got October 7” and a “recipe for another disaster.”

“Just as there was a historic upheaval after the failure of ’73, we will bring a historic upheaval after the failure of ’23. A revolution of hope,” he promises, referring to the political fallout of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

“Do you know why so many good Likudniks are flocking to us now? Because the party that was once their home has become an empty shell without a soul. The name ‘Likud’ remains, but the values have vanished,” Bennett continues — asserting that “Jabotinsky, Begin, and Shamir are rolling in their graves seeing the cocktail of Kahanists, draft-dodgers, and the corrupt who have taken over their party.”

“Likud voters are fed up with it and are finding a home with us. That is why Netanyahu is in hysterics. He is hysterical over the hope that was born here. And his hysteria is justified! Because this hope will replace the government in Israel.”

IDF NCO, reservist wounded in Hezbollah drone attack on Israeli territory

A non-commissioned officer was moderately wounded, and a reservist was lightly hurt in a Hezbollah drone attack earlier today, the military announces.

The drone struck Israeli territory, close to the border with Lebanon, according to the IDF.

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

Belgium refuses to renew passport of Israeli citizen who lives over Green Line; MFA says measures taken against ‘disgraceful’ move

View of a newly constructed Jewish residential area in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev, with the West Bank security barrier in the background, on November 19, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90 )

An Israeli citizen says the Belgian consulate denied her request to renew her long-held Belgian passport because she lives in the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood of Jerusalem, located beyond the Green Line.

Annabelle Herciger-Tenzer tells Channel 12 that after submitting the request, she received the following response from the consulate: “After reviewing our population registry records, we found that you reside in a settlement that is not recognized under international law, to which Belgium is committed. Therefore, it was not possible to register you at this address in the population registry of the Belgian consulate in Jerusalem. Accordingly, we hereby inform you that you are no longer registered with this mission.”

“The feeling was simply like being slapped in the face,” Herciger-Tenzer, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, who immigrated to Israel from Belgium in 1980, tells the Hebrew network.

“I’ve been living in Pisgat Ze’ev for more than 20 years…suddenly, this emotional homeland is rejecting me. And for what? Not because, God forbid, I committed a crime, but because I live in Jerusalem,” she adds.

Pisgat Ze’ev  — Jerusalem’s largest residential neighborhood, home to some 50,000 people – falls within the municipal borders of Jerusalem but is across the 1949 armistice line known as the Green Line and is therefore considered an illegal Israeli settlement by the majority of the international community.

Brussels has taken an increasingly negative stance against Israel in the wake of the war against Hamas in Gaza and, along with many other European states, recognized a Palestinian state at the UN last year.

Responding to the allegations in a Hebrew-language message to The Times of Israel, the Foreign Ministry says it views the denial of services “with great severity,” calling it “a step that does not contribute to relations of trust between the countries.”

“The decision by the Belgian government is disgraceful and hypocritical, and in practice discriminates between citizens on the basis of their place of residence. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and the Foreign Ministry conveyed their protest to the Belgian authorities, and reciprocal consular measures have also been taken,” the ministry says.

Israel’s ambassador to Belgium “lodged a formal and strongly worded protest with the authorities in Brussels,” the ministry adds, saying “it is important to note that a petition filed by Belgian-Israeli citizens against the Belgian authorities is currently pending before an administrative court, arguing that the measure is unconstitutional, and we are awaiting a ruling.”

Lapid: Political merger with Bennett is about ‘restoring hope to the country’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid addresses a campaign rally in Tel Aviv, on May 12, 2026. (Sam Sokol/The Times of Israel)

Addressing his and former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s Together party’s first campaign rally in Tel Aviv, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares that his Yesh Atid faction will bring a motion to dissolve the Knesset next week, generating intense applause from thousands of supporters at the Tel Aviv expo.

“After four years in which each of us felt alone, after four years of rifts and division and disunity [we are] restoring hope to the country,” Lapid says, declaring that his and Bennett’s decision to merge their lists was “not about politics” but rather “about our soldiers in Lebanon and Gaza who expect more from us. About the next generation of young Israelis, who will be poorer than their parents. About the fact that it’s always darkest before dawn.”

“Bennett and I don’t pretend to agree on everything. He’s a right-winger, I’m a centrist, we have disagreements, and that’s good. With that, we’re coming before and saying to Israeli society: Look, here are people who don’t agree on everything and know how to work together. Who know how to build trust and friendship for a cause greater than themselves. For too long we’ve let our differences define us. This time, we decided to start with what unites us. Before all our disagreements, we are patriots, we are Zionists, we believe in a Jewish and democratic state, and we believe in each other,” Lapid tells the crowd.

Bennett, he continues, “was an excellent prime minister” and will be able to “lead a group of strong and good people who will bring the change that is as necessary as the air we breathe.”

“The current government tells you that what runs this country is ‘power, money, and status.’ We offer a different formula. What built our connection is trust, friendship, and values,” he declares. “I want to tell all those who complimented me for putting my ego aside, you are wrong, I did not put my ego aside– I put my heart in the right place. Behind our soldiers, behind our children, behind people who work hard and can’t make ends meet, behind a friend whom I believe that together with – we can bring change.”

Bennett, “the former and next prime minister of Israel,” is “someone who gives me hope,” Lapid adds.

UK to send warship, drones, and jets to join defensive mission securing Strait of Hormuz

HMS Dragon, a Royal Navy Type 45 Daring-class air-defence destroyer warship, departs from HM Naval Base Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, on March 10, 2026. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

Britain says it will contribute autonomous mine-hunting equipment, Typhoon fighter jets and the warship HMS Dragon to a multinational defensive mission aimed at securing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Defense Minister John Healey announces the commitment during a virtual summit with more than 40 of his counterparts from other nations involved in the mission, which he says will become operational when conditions allow.

“With our allies, this multinational mission will be defensive, independent, and credible,” he says in a statement.

The Iran war has sharply curtailed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting oil exports and sending energy prices higher. About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait.

Britain’s contribution will be backed by 115 million GBP ($155.53 million) of new funding for mine-hunting drones and counter-drone systems, as London seeks to reassure commercial shipping of its commitment to freedom of navigation amid heightened regional tensions.

The package will include autonomous systems to detect and clear naval mines, high‑speed drone boats, Typhoon jets for air patrols and HMS Dragon, an air defense destroyer that is already on its way to the Middle East.

Britain already has more than 1,000 personnel deployed in the region as part of existing defensive operations, including counter-drone teams and fast jet squadrons.

Thousands turn out for Bennett and Lapid’s first campaign rally

Thousands of supporters of former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s new united Together slate gather at the Tel Aviv Expo for the new party’s first campaign rally.

Organizers estimate 3,500 people are in attendance.

Launching their joint campaign in Herzliya late last month, the pair stated that they were uniting “to win the elections and to establish a Zionist government.”

If elections were held today, Bennett and Lapid’s Together party would win 26 seats, the same as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, according to a poll conducted last week by Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site.

Packed house at the inaugural Bennett/Lapid rally in Tel Aviv. And free hats pic.twitter.com/iZrDKBIq8l

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) May 12, 2026

UAE coordinated attacks on Iran with Israel — reports

Footage shows the aftermath of an IDF strike on the South Pars gas field on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf, in Asaluyeh, Iran, on March 18, 2026. (Social media, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The United Arab Emirates has attacked Iran more than once since the US-Israeli campaign against Tehran began in February, Bloomberg reports.

The UAE carried out strikes before and after the April 8 ceasefire, says the US outlet, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

One of the strikes — a response to the April 5 Iran attack on the Emirati Borouge petrochemicals site — was “coordinated” with Israel, says Bloomberg.

According to one source, the two cooperated on Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars petrochemical complex the next day.

Throughout the war, cooperation between the two countries included the sharing of intelligence, detection and interception of Iranian missiles and drones, and selecting Iranian targets, said the sources.

The UAE was targeted by Tehran more than any other country, and has not acknowledged any offensive strikes, but has repeatedly stressed it right to defend itself.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the UAE had carried out an attack on Iran’s Lavan Island.

Israel sent an Iron Dome battery and soldiers to operate it to the UAE, American officials said this week.

IDF says some 15 Hezbollah operatives killed in southern Lebanon in past day

The IDF says it killed some 15 Hezbollah operatives who posed a threat to troops stationed in southern Lebanon in the past day.

Additionally, the military says it struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers that were aimed at Israel and at troops in southern Lebanon.

The IDF says it killed some 15 Hezbollah operatives who posed a threat to troops stationed in southern Lebanon in the past day.

Additionally, the military says it struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers that were aimed at Israel and at troops in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/IuoLjB5s9j

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 12, 2026

Small anti-Israel protest held in Vienna ahead of Eurovision semifinal

An activist holds a Palestinian flag to protest against the participation of Israel ahead the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest, Vienna, Austria, on May 12, 2026. (Radek MICA / AFP)

A small anti-Israel protest is being held in central Vienna, Austria, ahead of the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Only around a dozen people appear to be in attendance at the event, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Austria group. The protesters chant “No stage for genocide” and hold up signs calling for Israel to be barred from the competition.

The activists have arranged a number of small fake coffins with photos of children on them to represent those killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

Larger anti-Israel protests are slated for both Friday and Saturday in Vienna, with at least hundreds of participants expected. A small pro-Israel protest is also expected in the city on Thursday.

Israel’s Noam Bettan will hit the stage tonight in the first semifinal with his song “Michelle,” aiming to advance to Saturday night’s grand final.

Several more drones explode in Israeli territory, setting off sirens in Lebanon border communities

Several more Hezbollah drones exploded in Israeli territory, close to the border with Lebanon, a short while ago, the IDF says.

The drones triggered sirens in the border communities of Margaliot and Manara.

No injuries were caused in the latest attack.

Another Hezbollah drone explodes in Israeli territory, IDF says

Another Hezbollah drone exploded in Israeli territory, close to the border with Lebanon, a short while ago, the IDF says.

The drone had triggered sirens in the border communities of Manara and Margaliot in the Galilee Panhandle.

Earlier, several drones launched by Hezbollah at the Upper Galilee, triggering sirens in several towns, were shot down by air defenses, the military says.

The IDF says it lost contact with several more drones launched in the attack, indicating they crashed somewhere.

The military says no injuries were caused in the two incidents.

European aviation regulator softens recommendation to avoid Israeli airspace

Illustrative: Passengers at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, April 9, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) softens a recommendation against operating in Israeli airspace, instead warning airlines to have strict risk monitoring procedures for flights over the country.

The European safety agency recommends airlines “exercise caution and take potential risks into account when operating within the airspace of Israel. ”

“A temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran, announced on 8 April 2026 and subsequently extended on 21 April 2026, is currently holding,” the EASA says. “While the overall level of risk has decreased in the region, the sustainability of the ceasefire remains uncertain in the longer term.”

“Therefore, close monitoring and up-to-date risk assessments remain essential to ensure safety of flights,” the EASA adds.

Despite the US brokered ceasefire, the EASA has continued to extend an advisory urging avoidance of Israeli airspace, prompting major European airlines, including the Lufthansa Group, to continue suspending flights to and from Israel through May, while US carriers have pushed back their return to as far as September.

IDF: Explosive drones launched at troops in southern Lebanon; one hit Israeli territory

Hezbollah launched several explosive drones at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon a short while ago, the IDF says.

According to the military, one of the drones was intercepted by air defenses, while another struck Israeli territory, close to the border with Lebanon. The drone that hit Israeli territory did not cause any injuries.

No further information is immediately available on the other drones launched in the attack.

The drones triggered sirens in the border communities of Margaliot and Manara in the Galilee Panhandle.

Coalition lawmakers urge Haredi parties not to topple government over draft exemption bill

Coalition lawmakers urge their ultra-Orthodox allies not to bring down the government after the Degel HaTorah faction announced earlier today that it would push to dissolve the Knesset, sending Israel to early elections, over the coalition’s failure to pass legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service.

“Don’t dismantle the bloc! I worked side by side with the Haredim. I see them as partners on the path,” Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman and Likud MK Boaz Bismuth says in a post on X, urging them “not to throw the baby out with the bathwater” and “not to give a gift” to the opposition or Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

“The law is ready and can already be advanced tomorrow,” he says, referring to the draft exemption bill for yeshiva students that has been deliberated by his committee.

Degel HaTorah, one of the two factions making up the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, announced earlier today that it would push to dissolve the Knesset following instructions from the faction’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Dov Lando.

“We have one leader steering the ship. The authority, decision-making power, and final word belong solely to Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Bismuth adds.

Lando’s decision came in response to Netanyahu telling Haredi MKs last week that the coalition currently doesn’t have the votes to pass the controversial legislation.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right coalition party Otzma Yehudit says in a statement that while the party “is strong,” going to early elections would be a mistake.

“We call on the parties of the national camp to act responsibly and not bring down the government. This government still has several tasks left to complete,” the party says in a statement.

Man used for IDF influence campaign and charged with espionage accuses incoming Mossad chief of abandoning him

Ori Elmakayes attends a hearing on a petition against the appointment of Roman Gofman as the next Mossad director, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, May 12, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Ori Elmakayes, a blogger who was used by the IDF in an online influence operation and then indicted on espionage charges as a teenager, accuses incoming Mossad chief Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman — who headed the division that enlisted Elmakeyes’ assistance — of abandoning him during his legal ordeal.

“The [IDF’s] use of me under Gofman was for the security of the state, and my struggle today is also for the sake of the country and Mossad agents,” Elmakayes tells the High Court of Justice at the end of a six-hour hearing on petitions against Gofman’s appointment.

“Gofman abandoned me and did not cut short the ongoing nightmare I experienced,” Elamakayes continues. Elmakayes was arrested and interrogated by the Shin Bet, and claims that he was tortured during his interrogation. He was kept in solitary confinement for two months and under different forms of detention for some 18 months before the charges were eventually dropped.

Although the IDF division commanded by Gofman did use Elmakayes in its influence operation, Gofman did not intervene in the criminal proceedings on behalf of the then-17-year-old.

Gofman’s attorney argued in court earlier in the hearing that the commander did not know the full details of the situation or even Elmakayes’ identity, and therefore had been unable to intervene.

“This cannot even be compared to the [possible] abandonment of an agent in an enemy country,” Elmakayes says.

“The danger that a Mossad agent is in is many times greater than what I went through. Prolonged detention and ruining [my] life. My fight is for the Mossad agents, who, if abandoned, face death, and for the security of the entire country.”

‘I told you so’: Ousted defense committee chair responds to Haredi push to dissolve Knesset

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein attends a march in support of the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the IDF, from the entrance of Jerusalem to the Knesset, January 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

MK Yuli Edelstein, the ousted former chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, responds to Degel HaTorah’s announcement that it will push to dissolve the Knesset with a pointed “I told you so” on X, apparently aimed at his own Likud party.

“To my great regret, I am forced to say today [that] I told you so,” writes Edelstein, who was removed as committee chair last August over his push to pass legislation to conscript Haredi men into the IDF. He notes that at the time, he warned that replacing him  would “change nothing” and “would only bury the conscription law once and for all.”

“And that is exactly what happened,” Edelstein writes.

“Since the outbreak of the war, I have fought for a real conscription law, but the Haredi leadership never wanted enlistment, even at the cost of toppling the right-wing government,” he continues. “Today, the Israeli public understands who spoke the truth and who played politics on the backs of the reservists and the serving public. I am proud that I prevented an evasion law and I will continue to fight for a real and fair conscription law in the State of Israel.”

Edelstein was ousted from his post amid growing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from within Likud after the two Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, bolted the government, blaming the lawmaker for his attempts to advance a version of the conscription bill that would guarantee significant draft quotas and sanctions for evaders.

His successor, Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, instead introduced a bill that would have provided a blanket exemption from service to almost all yeshiva students. The draft legislation was panned by critics as ineffective and full of loopholes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Haredi MKs last week that the bill did not have enough parliamentary support to pass before the elections.

Air Force still probing whether ‘suspicious target’ shot down over Red Sea earlier was a drone

The Israeli Air Force is still probing whether a “suspicious aerial target” shot down over the Red Sea earlier was a drone.

It is possible that the target was a “false identification,” oftentimes triggered by flocks of birds. As such, the IDF does not yet know the origin of the target.

Earlier, the IDF claimed it shot down a “drone launched from the east,” although there is no confirmation yet of this.

Yesh Atid calls on Knesset speaker to advance bill to dissolve Knesset tomorrow

Opposition party Yesh Atid says it has petitioned Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to convene a special Knesset presidium meeting today to fast-track a bill to vote on dissolving the Knesset tomorrow.

Opposition coordinator MK Meirav Ben Ari appealed to Ohana after the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party’s Degel HaTorah faction announced it would push to dissolve the Knesset and send Israel to early elections.

In a letter to Ohana, Ben Ari writes that “due to the change in circumstances and the support of Degel HaTorah members for dissolving the Knesset, I request that a Knesset presidium meeting be held by telephone already today to advance the bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset tomorrow in the plenum.”

Multiple opposition lawmakers submitted bills earlier today to dissolve the Knesset, including from Yair Golan’s Democrats party and Mansour Abbas’ Islamist party Ra’am.

Hezbollah chief: Iran-US deal best chance to end Israeli operations; no one outside of Lebanon can make us disarm

An agreement between the US and Iran is the best chance to end Israel’s “aggression” against Lebanon, says Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem in a letter to the Shiite group’s operatives.

Qassem rejects any deal reached with Israel that includes Hezbollah’s disarmament.

“No one outside Lebanon has any say in the weapons, the resistance, or the organization of Lebanon’s internal affairs,” he says. “This is an internal Lebanese matter and not part of negotiations with the enemy.”

Qassem says that the terror group is willing to cooperate with the Lebanese government to achieve five points – an end to Israeli operations, the withdrawal of the IDF, the release of Lebanese prisoners, the return of civilians to southern Lebanon, and reconstruction.

He also says that Hezbollah supports the deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River.

If fighting continues, he threatens to turn Lebanon into “hell” for Israel.

“We will respond to the aggression and violations, and we will not return to the pre-March 2nd status quo.”

Kan CEO says coalition attacks echo BDS as Knesset debates control of state broadcaster’s budget

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi attends a Knesset Finance Committee meeting, in Jerusalem, May 12, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The first Knesset Finance Committee debate on a bill that would put the Kan public broadcaster’s budget under direct government control erupts into a shouting match after Kan CEO Golan Yochpaz accuses coalition MK’s of echoing efforts by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the broadcaster.

“We are dealing on one hand with your attacks, and on the other with criticism from the BDS movement and antisemitic actors trying to suffocate Israeli culture. In effect, you are doing the same thing,” Yochpaz tells lawmakers during a stormy Knesset Finance Committee hearing.

His comments draw jeers from coalition lawmakers, including committee chairman and Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky, who, without evidence, accuses Kan itself of producing content used by BDS activists.

Anti-Israel activists have been calling for years to bar Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest, currently taking place in Vienna, which may be realized if this legislation passes, as it could render Israel ineligible to participate in the competition, which requires participating countries to maintain an independent public broadcaster.

The legislation would allow the government to determine Kan’s budget annually through the state budget, ending legislative protections designed to shield the broadcaster from political interference.

Part of a broader two-year campaign led by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to dismantle Kan, the bill was transferred in March from the Economics Committee, chaired by Likud MK David Bitan, who opposes the measure, to Netanyahu loyalist Milwidsky’s Finance Committee, where it is expected to advance.

Opposition lawmakers and legal experts warn the proposal would harm press freedom ahead of upcoming elections and argue it should not advance until after the vote, with Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar calling the bill “populism aimed at eliminating the corporation’s independence” and Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak explicitly says to coalition lawmakers that “through the attack on the media you want to harm the integrity of the elections.”

Amy Spiro contributed to this report.

Civil Administration says Palestinians vandalized Jewish-linked tomb in the West Bank

The Civil Administration says that it received reports earlier this week of vandalism at tombs believed to be the burial site of the sons of Aaron the Priest, in the Palestinian village of Awarta in the northern West Bank.

The Civil Administration is the Israeli military body responsible for civilian affairs and coordination in Area C of the West Bank.

Footage from the scene showed a flag of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine flying above the compound, alongside graffiti sprayed on the dome of one of the structures and inside the buildings. The graffiti included the phrases “Al-Qassam,” referring to Hamas’s military wing, and “the glorious October,” an apparent reference to the October 7 massacre.

The Civil Administration adds that it had repaired and restored the site, and that security forces have opened an investigation into the incident.

מספר פלסטינים ריססו כתובות אנטישמיות על קבר 'שבעים הזקנים' שנחשב לאתר מורשת יהודי בכפר עוורתא שבשומרון.
בין הכתובות – שבחים לגדודי אלקאסם, והמשפט "7.10 האגדי",
בנוסף הם תלו דגל של ארגון "החזית העממית לשחרור פלסטין".
גורמי ביטחון וחטיבת שומרון פתחו בחקירת המקרה@GLZRadio pic.twitter.com/5bCXKTiti0

— עיינה בן אדרת (@Ayanabenaderet_) May 12, 2026

IDF: Interceptor launched at apparent Hezbollah drone over troops in southern Lebanon

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

The IDF says it lost contact with the “suspicious aerial target,” indicating it crashed somewhere.

No injuries are reported.

Funeral begins for longtime ADL director Abe Foxman

The funeral of longtime Anti-Defamation League director Abraham Foxman is taking place at New York City’s Park Avenue Synagogue.

The service can also be viewed live.

Haredi Agudat Yisrael faction indicates it will vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset

The three-MK Agudat Yisrael faction of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party indicates that it will support the dissolution of the Knesset should it come to a vote, after the spiritual leader of the party’s other faction, the four-MK Degel HaTorah, tells lawmakers to act bring down the government.

“We’ve been waiting a long time to disperse,” an Agudat Yisrael source tells The Times of Israel.

It is not immediately clear whether this means the Knesset will vote to disperse in the next few days, and, if so, when elections might be held. As things stand, elections must be held no later than October 27, 2026.

War with Iran has cost the US $29 billion, Pentagon says

The US-Israeli war in Iran has ​cost the United States $29 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official says, an increase of $4 billion from an estimate provided late last month.

Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the ​comptroller, tells lawmakers that the cost includes updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.

French police arrest illegal immigrant for planning attack on Jewish community, museum

French authorities have charged a 27-year-old Tunisian man suspected of plotting a jihadist-inspired attack targeting a Paris museum and members of the Jewish community, French media reported yesterday.

The suspect, an illegal immigrant to the country, was planning a violent attack inspired by the Islamic State group, and was considering traveling to join the terror organization in Syria or Mozambique, investigators said.

The investigation began after police stopped the man in central Paris on April 28 while he was allegedly driving with a fake license. A search of his phone uncovered Islamic State propaganda videos, hundreds of images of weapons, internet searches related to bomb-making and explosives, and a video of the suspect pledging allegiance to jihadist ideology, reports said.

The suspect had mentioned the Louvre as a possible target, as well as the Jewish community of Paris’s 16th arrondissement, according to French media.

Antisemitism in the city of more than 300,000 Jews — the sixth-largest Jewish community in the world and the largest in Europe — has reached historic highs since Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the ongoing war in Gaza.

Degel HaTorah spiritual leader calls to dissolve Knesset: ‘We no longer have any trust in Netanyahu’

Degel HaTorah MKs meet with the spiritual leader of the Knesset faction, Rabbi Dov Lando, in his home in the central Israel city of Bnei Brak, May 12, 2026. (Courtesy Rabbi Dov Lando)

Following a meeting with MKs at his Bnei Brak home, Rabbi Dov Lando, the senior spiritual leader of the United Torah Judaism’s four-MK Degel HaTorah faction, calls for quickly dissolving the Knesset and bringing forward this year’s Knesset election over the coalition’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service.

It is not immediately clear whether this means the Knesset will vote to disperse in the next few days, and, if so, when elections might actually be held. As things stand, elections must be held no later than October 27, 2026.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely believed to want to avoid an election date close to the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and slaughter in southern Israel. An earlier dissolution of the Knesset could mean elections in late August or September.

Lando’s decision comes in response to Netanyahu telling Haredi MKs last week that the coalition currently doesn’t have the votes to pass the controversial legislation.

“We no longer have any trust in Netanyahu. From this point forward, we will do only what is best for Haredi Judaism and the yeshiva world. We must act to dissolve the Knesset as soon as possible. The concept of a [right-wing] bloc [including the Haredim] no longer exists as far as we are concerned,” the rabbi says in a statement.

Degel HaTorah, which represents members of the non-Hasidic “Lithuanian” Haredi community, is one of two factions comprising the seven-strong United Torah Judaism party, the other being the three-MK Agudat Yisrael.

Asked if his faction is also threatening to dissolve the Knesset, a source from Agudat Yisrael replies, “Always.

Degel HaTorah alone would not be able to ensure the success of a vote to dissolve the Knesset, and would require the backing of fellow ultra-Orthodox party Shas, which has 11 MKs, and which has not made similar threats.

On Monday, the Israel Hayom daily reported that Shas chairman Aryeh Deri opposes passing the military exemption bill before the elections, and had asked Netanyahu to delay it, although Deri denied this report.

A spokesman for Shas did not respond to an inquiry sent by The Times of Israel this morning.

Still, a spokesman for Lando insists that “contrary to various reports, there is complete and absolute consensus and cooperation between Degel HaTorah and Shas regarding the course of action concerning the status of yeshiva students.”

In a separate statement, Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni cites Lando’s statement as a binding instruction that will guide the faction’s actions going forward.

Following Lando’s decision, a spokesman for Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party says that it will place a bill to dissolve the Knesset on the agenda next week.

Yair Golan’s Democrats party also states that party MK Efrat Rayten “has submitted a bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset,” and Hebrew media reports that Yisrael Beytenu has put forward a bill, as well.

Ultra-Orthodox faction MKs summoned to meeting with spiritual leader as they mull trying to force early elections

Degel HaTorah MK's meet with spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Landau on May 12, 2026 (Courtesy: Office of Rabbi Dov Lando)

Following reports that the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah faction has threatened to dissolve the Knesset unless the coalition commits to advancing a law exempting yeshiva students from IDF service before the upcoming elections, its lawmakers are summoned for a meeting with party spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando.

“At this time, the Knesset members of Degel HaTorah were summoned to the residence of the leader of the generation, Rabbi Dov Lando,” a spokesman for the rabbi announces.

Prior to the announcement, a spokesman for Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni told The Times of Israel that lawmakers were “waiting for the rabbi’s decision.”

Netanyahu said blocking bill that would undo Oslo Accords, allow settlements in entire West Bank

Then-US President Bill Clinton looks on as the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat shake hands during the signing of the Oslo Accords, September 13, 1993. (GPO)

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday chose not to back a proposed bill to repeal the Oslo Accords on the instructions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel, adding that Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs told ministers that “this bill requires coordination and cooperation with the Americans.”

“The Government of Israel decided on Sunday not to move forward with the bill proposed by Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech, which sought to cancel the Oslo Agreements in order to allow the establishment of settlements in Areas A and B in Judea and Samaria,” the source states, adding that this was “done under the instruction of the PM.”

The Oslo Accords were the US-brokered agreements signed in the 1990s between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) that created the Palestinian Authority and gave it control over parts of the West Bank.

Neither Har-Melech nor a spokesman for her far-right Otzma Yehudit party respond to requests for comment.

An official summary of Sunday’s committee votes shared with reporters stated that further ministerial deliberations on the matter had been “postponed until the prime minister approves bringing the proposal for discussion.”

Ministers did, however, back a pair of coalition bills creating “a relatively fast planning track” for new settlements and allowing the government to sidestep the need for permits in establishing such settlements “when there is a national strategic need.”

LGBT+ Jews set to march in Belgium Pride Parade after organizers reverse ban on Jewish symbols

Illustrative: A paradegoer carries a Pride flag with the Jewish Star of David symbol during the NYC Pride March on Sunday, June 30, 2024, in New York. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Mazal Pride, a group representing LGBT+ Jews in Belgium, is set to take part in the Belgian Pride parade this Saturday after organizers reversed a previous decision calling to ban Jewish symbols.

Reports in the local press said that the parade’s organizers had previously told the group that it could only participate if it avoided displaying Jewish symbols like Stars of David and Israeli flags. That decision sparked outrage from Jewish and LGBT+ activists, who argued that the whole point of the parade was accepting people as they are.

Organizers have now rescinded that condition, Mazal Pride says.

“Solutions were found together with the organizers, in a spirit of dialogue, in order to balance security concerns with Jewish LGBTQ+ visibility within the Pride,” the organization writes on its Instagram page.

The parade, now marking its 30th year, is expected to draw thousands of participants under this year’s theme, “When times get darker, we shine brighter.”

Two soldiers indicted for smuggling contraband into Gaza

Four hundred and twenty shekels and four cigarettes in Gaza City on August 19, 2024. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Two noncommissioned officers in the IDF have been indicted for smuggling contraband into the Gaza Strip, the military announces.

The pair, both with the rank of sergeant first class, are charged with aiding the enemy, accepting bribes, smuggling under aggravated circumstances, tax offenses, money laundering, and additional offenses.

According to an indictment, between February 2024 and January of this year, one of the NCOs was involved in an “extensive smuggling network” that brought cigarettes and other banned goods into the Gaza Strip. The NCOs father and other soldiers in his unit were also involved.

Military prosecutors say that the smuggling netted the NCO approximately 13 million shekels.

Additionally, the NCO stole hundreds of rounds of ammunition and magazines from the military and sold them to civilians for thousands of shekels, the indictment says.

According to a second indictment, at the end of 2024 the first NCO contacted the second and asked him to smuggle cigarettes into Gaza.

Prosecutors say that over the course of several months, the two smuggled approximately 50 containers of cigarettes, which netted the second NCO some NIS 750,000.

There have been several cases of Israelis charged with smuggling into Gaza. The military says it views cases of smuggling into Gaza “gravely,” as it “poses a risk to state security in general, and especially in cases involving IDF personnel in mandatory or reserve service.”

Ultra-Orthodox faction said pushing to dissolve Knesset over Haredi draft law

MK Moshe Gafni attends Finance committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 29, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party has threatened to dissolve the Knesset over the coalition’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service, potentially moving up the 2026 parliamentary elections by months, Hebrew media reports.

Degel HaTorah, which represents members of the non-Hasidic “Lithuanian” Haredi community, is one of two factions comprising the larger United Torah Judaism party.

The threat comes in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling Haredi MKs last week that the coalition doesn’t have enough votes to pass the controversial legislation.

According to the Kan public broadcaster as well as Haredi media outlets, Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni is now refusing to take the premier’s calls.

A spokesman for Gafni tells the Times of Israel they are “waiting for the rabbi’s decision.”

The Behadrei Haredim news site quotes senior Degel HaTorah officials as stating that they “intend to disrupt the legislative procedures in the Knesset in order to immediately dissolve the Knesset and go to elections.”

Degel HaTorah’s support would not be enough to ensure the success of a vote to dissolve the Knesset, which would also require the backing the Shas party, which has not made such threats.

Elections must be held by October, regardless.

The site further reports that Gafni refused to meet with Netanyahu yesterday. During a subsequent meeting with MK Uri Maklev, the prime minister was said to have reiterated that, in his view, the bill should be postponed.

The bill was taken off the table in March with the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

According to Israel Hayom, internal polling conducted within the Haredi community indicates that passage of the legislation as currently written could lower support for UTJ at the polls.

High Court challenges petitioners over claims against designated new Mossad chief

Supreme Court Justice Daphne Barak-Erez arrives for a hearing on a petition against the appointment of Roman Gofman as the next head of the Mossad at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, May 12, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Judges of the High Court of Justice press the petitioners against the appointment of Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman as the new Mossad chief on the issue of whether Gofman knew that Ori Elmakayes, whom his division used in an online influence operation, was a minor at the time.

Justice Alex Stein repeatedly insists that there is no solid evidence that Gofman knew at the time in 2022 that Elmakayes was a minor.

Stein asserts that the senior appointments committee, which voted three to one to appoint Gofman, was not presented with such evidence, and that it would be difficult for the petitioners to therefore demonstrate that the committee’s decision was totally unreasonable and should be reversed.

An attorney for Elmakayes, who was indicted for publishing classified information before the charges were eventually dropped, argues that the committee members did not ask the relevant questions of an IDF official who appeared before them during the appointments process.

And the attorney says that Gofman knew in real time that Elmakayes was in the IDF recruitment process, implying that he would have known he was below the age of enlistment and a minor, a line of argument that Stein says is reasonable.

During the hearing, Stein has repeatedly threatened to eject anyone who interrupts the proceedings and even sanction them, although he is yet to do so.

Likud MK Tali Gotliv who frequently attends High Court hearings and interrupts them, interjects on several occasions, leading Justice Daphne Barak-Erez to threaten her with being removed from the courtroom, although the MK has yet to be ejected.

IDF intercepts apparent Houthi drone near Eilat in first attack on city since Iran ceasefire

An Israeli Sa'ar 6-class corvette war ship with an Iron Dome missile battery patrols off the shore of Eilat, February 10, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The IDF says a drone “launched from the east” was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force near the southernmost city of Eilat a short while ago.

The drone is suspected to have been launched from Yemen, although the IDF is still probing its origin.

No sirens sounded, “according to protocol,” the military says.

צה"ל יירט כטב"ם שהגיע ממזרח מעל אילת pic.twitter.com/k71gCDBFye

— איתי בלומנטל 🇮🇱 Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) May 12, 2026

It marks the first drone attack on Eilat since the ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon took effect last month.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired several missiles and drones at Israel during the war.

Kuwait says four people affiliated with Iran’s IRGC arrested trying to enter by sea

Kuwait’s interior ministry says it has arrested four infiltrators affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards after they attempted to enter the Gulf state by sea, according to the state news agency KUNA.

The ministry adds that one member of Kuwait’s armed forces was injured in clashes with the infiltrators.

IDF says Hezbollah fired surface-to-air missile at an Israeli drone

Hezbollah fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli drone operating over southern Lebanon a short while ago.

The military says the terror group’s anti-aircraft missile launch “failed,” and no damage or injuries were caused in the incident.

A short while later, the Israeli Air Force struck a suspect who fled from the area of the missile launch on a motorcycle, the IDF adds.

לפני זמן קצר, כחלק מפעילות סיוע של חיל האוויר לכוחות הלוחמים בדרום לבנון, בוצע ניסיון שיגור כושל של טיל זעיר קרקע-אוויר לעבר כלי טיס. אין נזק ואין נפגעים לכוחותינו.

בסגירת מעגל מהירה, חיל האוויר תקף חשוד שנמלט מיד לאחר מכן ממרחב השיגור על גבי אופנוע.

בנוסף, חיל האוויר יירט… pic.twitter.com/YPvOBs0xOr

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 12, 2026

In a separate incident earlier, the IDF says that Hezbollah launched several explosive drones at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. No injuries were caused.

The Air Force also shot down several apparent Hezbollah drones over areas of southern Lebanon where troops are operating, the military adds.

IDF says it killed four terror operatives in Gaza

The military says it killed at least four Palestinian terror operatives who posed a threat to troops stationed in the Gaza Strip yesterday.

In three separate incidents in northern Gaza, troops of the 252nd Division identified “five terrorists who carried out suspicious activity on the ground and a terrorist who monitored IDF troops, in a manner that posed an immediate threat to them,” the military says.

In two incidents in the Strip’s south, troops of the Gaza Division spotted “three terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat to them,” the IDF says.

In all of the incidents, the Israeli Air Force struck the operatives, killing four of them, the military says, adding that the others were also hit.

Hezbollah leader says terror group’s weapons not a subject of Israel-Lebanon talks: ‘We will not surrender’

Displaced residents wave a flag with the image of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem as they return to their villages following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Zefta, southern Lebanon, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem says that his Iran-backed group’s weapons were not part of upcoming negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, and vowed his fighters would turn the battlefield into “hell” for Israeli forces.

“Nobody outside Lebanon has anything to do with the weapons, the resistance… this is an internal Lebanese matter and not part of negotiations with the enemy,” Qassem says in a written statement ahead of a third round of talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli representatives this Thursday and Friday.

“We will not surrender and we will continue to defend Lebanon and its people, however long it takes and however great the sacrifices… we will not abandon the battlefield and we will turn it into hell for Israel,” he adds in the statement, which was addressed to the terror group’s fighters and broadcast on its Al-Manar television channel, as fighting continues in Lebanon despite a ceasefire.

Iran official warns country could start enriching uranium to 90% if attacked again

Centrifuges line a hall at the Uranium Enrichment Facility in Natanz, Iran, in a still image from a video aired by the Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting company on April 17, 2021, six days after the hall had been damaged in a mysterious attack. (IRIB via AP)

If the US or Israel attack Iran again, Tehran could produce weapons-grade uranium, says the spokesman for Iran’s parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.

“One of Iran’s options in the event of another attack could be 90 percent enrichment,” writes Ebrahim Rezaei in a Persian-language post on X. “We will review it in the parliament.”

Iran has enriched uranium to 60%, and could quickly make the leap to 90%.

Huckabee: ‘I don’t know’ who will disarm Hamas, but it won’t be international force

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee speaks at the Tel Aviv Conference on May 12, 2026 (Tel Aviv University)

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee says that he doesn’t know who is going to disarm Hamas in Gaza, but promises it will happen.

“It’s a matter of when, and who will do it,” he says at the Tel Aviv Conference.

“Who’s going to do the actual disarming? I don’t know,” he admits.

Huckabee also says that the International Stabilization Force is not going to disarm Hamas: “That is not so much a military force as it is a monitoring-the-border force. Who is actually going to do the disarming? I don’t know. It could end up that the only entity willing to do it is the IDF.”

Huckabee also confirms what US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said yesterday, that Israel sent an Iron Dome battery and soldiers to the UAE to defend the country during the war against Iran.

“I’d like to say a word of appreciation for United Arab Emirates, the first Abraham accord member,” Huckabee says. “Just look at the benefits. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them.”

“The Gulf states now understood they will have to make a choice — is it more likely they will be attacked by Iran or Israel?” Huckabee asks. “They see that Israel helped us and Iran attacked us. Israel is not trying to take over your land, and is not sending missiles to you.”

The envoy says at the conference that Trump’s demands on Iran have not changed. “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and they’re not going to be able to have enriched uranium,” he says.

He also calls for a crackdown on Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

“The consequence for an Israeli attacking a Palestinian should be the same as a Palestinian attacking an Israeli,” he says.

UN says 70 children killed by Israeli forces in West Bank since start of 2025

Young Palestinians prepare to throw stones at Israeli forces following a military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

The United Nations decries the toll on children from “escalating” Israel military operations in the West Bank, saying 70 Palestinian children have been killed since the start of 2025.

“Children are paying an intolerable price for escalating military operations and attacks across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” UN children’s agency spokesman James Elder tells reporters, noting that “between January 2025 and today, at least one Palestinian child has been killed on average every single week” there.

Israel carries out frequent anti-terror raids across the West Bank and also targets stone-thowers, many of them teens, who the military says pose a danger to Israeli motorists.

UK PM Starmer tells cabinet he’s not quitting; junior minister resigns

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer tells a meeting of his cabinet that he is not quitting, Starmer’s office says.

“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered,” the statement says.

“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet.

“The past 48 hours have been destabilising for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families.”

However, Starmer loses the first member of his government as he faced pressure to step down following losses in local elections.

Housing, communities and local government minister Miatta Fahnbulleh steps down and urges Starmer “to do the right thing for the country” and set a timetable to step aside.

This morning I sent my letter of resignation to the Prime Minister.

I urge the Prime Minister to do the right thing for the country and the Party and set a timetable for an orderly transition. pic.twitter.com/u5UArjv7uR

— Miatta Fahnbulleh (@Miatsf) May 12, 2026

Fahnbulleh, a junior minister who is considered to be on the left of the party, says she was proud of her service but the government had not acted with the vision, pace and mandate for change it had been given by voters.

“Nor have we governed as a Labour Party clear about our values and strong in our convictions,” she says.

Six members of UK PM Starmer’s cabinet expected to tell him to quit, Telegraph says

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

Six members of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet are expected to tell him to quit, the Telegraph newspaper reports ahead of a cabinet meeting.

The Telegraph, citing cabinet sources, says the six are interior minister Shabana Mahmood, defense minister John Healey, energy minister Ed Miliband, culture minister Lisa Nandy, foreign minister Yvette Cooper, and health minister Wes Streeting.

Starmer is facing a battle for his job after his Labour Party suffered a calamitous set of results in local elections last week that if repeated at a general election would see it comprehensively ejected from power.

Despite winning a landslide election victory in July 2024, Labour’s popularity has sunk and Starmer is getting much of the blame.

The reasons why are varied, including a series of policy missteps, a perceived lack of vision, a struggling British economy and questions over his judgment — especially his appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington despite the envoy’s ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

High Court hearing request to nix appointment of new Mossad chief

Incoming Mossad director Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman at the Knesset in Jerusalem on February 5, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

The High Court of Justice begins a hearing on a petition asking the court to cancel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment of his military secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman as the next head of the Mossad spy agency.

The petition filed by Ori Elmakayes and Telem–the Movement for Integrity in Government, focuses on alleged misconduct by Gofman in using Elmakayes for a so-called influence operation while he was a minor, and then failing to speak up for him when he was arrested, detained, and charged with severe espionage offenses.

The petitioners allege that Gofman lied about his involvement in approving the operation and his knowledge of the details, noting that chair of the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, retired Supreme Court president Asher Grunis, voted against the appointment and strongly implied that Gofman had not told the truth about the incident.

Netanyahu has hit back against the petition as well as the attorney general’s opposition to Gofman’s appointment, insisting that only he has the authority under the law to make the appointment and rejecting the High Court’s power of judicial review over the appointment.

Earlier this week, Channel 13 News reported that outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea also opposes Gofman’s appointment, and wrote a strongly worded letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on the issue.

Justice Daphne Barak-Erez is heading the judicial panel for the hearing, along with Justices Alex Stein and Ofer Grosskopf.

IDF: Troops carried out weeklong raid beyond Lebanon’s Litani River to destroy Hezbollah positions

IDF troops operate at the Litani River in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo published by the military on May 12, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israeli troops crossed the Litani River on the outskirts of the southern Lebanon town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, around 10 kilometers from the border with Israel, during a recent operation against Hezbollah, the military announces.

The weeklong raid was led by the Golani Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit and included other forces. The IDF says the troops achieved “operational control” over the area and worked to clear it of Hezbollah infrastructure.

The soldiers did not cross the line demarcating the IDF’s new security zone in southern Lebanon, referred to by some in the army as the “Yellow Line.”

During the raid, the military says, troops encountered numerous Hezbollah operatives and killed dozens of them in close-quarters combat and by directing airstrikes.

Several soldiers were lightly injured during the fighting.

In one incident, troops encountered several Hezbollah operatives who emerged from a tunnel north of the river and exchanged fire with them. During the clash, a dog of the Oketz canine unit was killed.

The troops also located numerous Hezbollah positions, including tunnels, weapon depots, and rocket launchers, the IDF says.

Inside a Hezbollah tunnel found by IDF troops near the Litani River in southern Lebanon, in a video published by the IDF on May 12, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Officers involved in the operation describe the terrain as “very complex,” as the river in the area is situated in a forested valley. Despite this, the troops managed to cross the river with armored vehicles.

The army carried out engineering activity in the area to enable easier crossing of the river by troops in the future, if required.

The Israeli Air Force struck over 100 targets in the area, in support of the ground troops, the military adds.

UK police charge man with arson at former London synagogue

The scene of an apparent arson attack targeting a former synagogue on London's Nelson Street, May 5, 2026. (Shomrim.)

British police said they charged a 45-year-old man with arson with intent to endanger life after an attack at a former synagogue in east London last week.

Minor damage was caused to the gates of the building, formerly the East London Central Synagogue, located on Nelson Street in the Tower Hamlets borough of the capital.

It came amid a surge of attacks against British Jews in recent weeks.

Health Ministry says no Israelis affected by cruise ship hantavirus outbreak

Passengers are 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, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Arturo Rodriguez)

The Health Ministry says it is continuing to monitor developments of the Andes strain hantavirus infection among passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship in collaboration with international health authorities.

As of today, nine passengers have been reported to have developed symptoms, seven of which have been laboratory-confirmed. Three of the patients have died since the outbreak in late April.

The ministry says there were no Israelis on the ship, and so far, no Israelis have been identified among the patients’ contacts.

Hantavirus is a rare virus transmitted mainly by rodents, including mice and rats.

Transmission from person to person is extremely rare and has only been found in cases of close and prolonged contact with a patient or their secretions.

The risk of the disease spreading worldwide and arriving in Israel is assessed as extremely low.

IDF: Hezbollah fired rockets at troops in southern Lebanon overnight, no injuries

Hezbollah fired several rockets at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon overnight.

The military says the rockets struck open areas, and did not cause any injuries.

Meanwhile, the IDF says that it struck some 45 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past day, including command centers, surveillance posts, staging grounds, buildings used by the terror group, and some 10 weapon depots.

The Air Force also struck Hezbollah missile launchers and several operatives who posed a threat to IDF troops in the area, the military adds.

Senior officer censured for allowing unauthorized visit to Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil

Col. Netanel Shamaka, the commander of the Givati Brigade, speaks to reporters in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, July 30, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The commander of the Givati Brigade, Col. Netanel Shamaka, has received a formal censure for allowing four soldiers to enter the southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil for “non-operational purposes” last month.

The military says the incident was investigated and presented to the relevant commanders, and it was decided by the chief of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, to mark Shamaka’s permanent record over the unauthorized visit.

The four troops — three reservists and one soldier from the standing army — are bereaved family members whose relatives were killed in Bint Jbeil in previous wars.

During the ceasefire in Lebanon, Shamaka allowed the four to enter Bint Jbeil to recite Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, even though Hezbollah operatives were still holed up in the town.

Cyber ​​Directorate warns public being targeted by ‘fear messages’ from Iran

The National Cyber ​​Directorate says that over the past few hours, the public has been receiving “fear messages” designed to “create panic and undermine the sense of security.”

“This is a familiar influence attempt in the digital space: threatening, dramatic or stressful messages that are sent directly to citizens and try to make them act out of fear,” the directorate says.

Police later release images of the messages, which call on Israelis to contact an Iranian embassy in order to “cooperate.”

The public are warned not to click on any links, forward the messages or reply to them.

Iran executes man linked to Baloch group

Iran executes a member of the Sunni group Ansar al-Furqan active in the country’s southeastern province of Sistan Baluchestan, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.

The defendant, named Abdoljalil Shahbakhsh, was convicted on charges including armed rebellion against security forces and membership in a terrorist group, with the death sentence upheld by the Supreme Court.

Iran has stepped up a wave of executions in recent weeks.

Israeli strike said to kill 6 in Lebanon

Israeli strikes on a town in southern Lebanon killed six people and wounded seven others, state media reports.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports that Israeli strikes Monday night hit a house in Kfar Dounine, a town about 95 kilometers (59 miles) from Beirut.

NNA reports the wounded were transported to hospitals in the coastal city of Tyre.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Deported Gaza flotilla activist arrives home in Brazil, alleges abuse in Israeli custody

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, of the Global Sumud Flotilla, arrives at the Sao Paulo International airport, after being released from detention in Israel, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila returns to Sao Paulo following his detention and deportation from Israel, where he alleged he faced abuse during 10 days in custody.

Avila and Spanish national Abu Keshek were part of the second Global Sumud Flotilla that launched from Spain on April 12, attempting to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza with a symbolic aid delivery.  The two men were arrested and taken to Israel after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla, while more than 100 other pro-Palestinian activists were taken to Crete.

Avila and Abu Keshek were held under suspicion of offences including aiding the enemy and contact with a terrorist group. Both denied the allegations. They were released on Saturday and handed to immigration authorities for deportation.

“My return was simply a correction of a serious violation. I was kidnapped by Israel, I wasn’t imprisoned,” Avila tells reporters after his arrival at Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport.

Avila claims that he and Abu Keshek suffered “all kinds of violations” during their detention, adding that Palestinian prisoners in nearby cells experienced worse treatment.

The Israel Police, Israel Prison Service and Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment.

Israel dismissed claims by human rights group Adalah, which represented the men in a court hearing in Israel, that the men had been tortured in custody, and said all measures taken were in accordance with the law.

The governments of Spain and Brazil have said the detention was unlawful.

“We need to defeat (Prime Minister) Netanyahu and (US President) Donald Trump, we need to defeat the war criminals,” Avila says as supporters held signs calling for Brazil to cut ties with Israel.

Iran’s Ghalibaf: ‘No alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people’ as laid out in ceasefire proposal

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says that “there is no alternative” except for the United States to accept Tehran’s demands in its ceasefire proposal.

“There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal,” he writes on X in an English-language post.

“Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another. The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it,” he adds.

There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal.
Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another.
The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) May 11, 2026

Protesters waving Hezbollah flag chant for intifada in NYC Jewish neighborhood

Anti-Zionist protesters march through Midwood, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Orthodox population.

The protesters say they are targeting an Israel real estate marketing event that also has information about real estate in settlements.

The protesters wave a Hezbollah flag overhead and chant, “Globalize the intifada.”

They chant, “Brick by brick, wall by wall, Israel will fall,” “Baby killers,” and, “Death to the IDF.” They hold an orange banner that reads, “Israel is killing children.”

Jewish counter-demonstrators respond with pro-IDF chants. A handful sing, “May your village burn,” in Hebrew.

Crowds of neighborhood residents hound the protesters as they march, with lines of police keeping the two sides separate. Police drones and a helicopter hover overhead.

The two sides trade insults and several scuffles break out. The counter-demonstrators mock the protesters for wearing masks and call them “terrorists.” The protesters say, “Thank you.”

Police separate protesters from counter demonstrators pic.twitter.com/dhIggLoAoc

— Luke Tress (@luketress) May 11, 2026

“Where’s Sinwar? Where’s Nasrallah?” The counter-protesters shout, referring to the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed by Israel.

The protesters shout, “Fuck Israel,” at residents who open their doors to watch.

An elderly man grabs at a protester’s face mask and is shoved to the ground, knocking his head on a tree.

“It’s a free country. He has the right to protest but not to hide himself,” the elderly man says. “I survived Vietnam. What’s a little prick like that?”

A handful of eggs land in the anti-Zionist crowd and splatter on the ground. An adolescent Jewish boy is led away by police.

The protest follows a similar demonstration last week against a real estate event at a Manhattan synagogue.

That protest took place in a neighborhood with a less dense Jewish population, though, and fewer counter-protesters turned out. There appears to be a roughly equal number of protesters and counter-demonstrators at tonight’s event.

US envoy becomes 1st official to publicly confirm Israel supplied UAE with Iron Dome during Iran war

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz speaks after the United Nations Security Council voted on a resolution calling for the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz, during a UN Security Council meeting on Iran and the Middle East at UN headquarters in New York on April 7, 2026. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz becomes the first government official to publicly confirm that Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system has been used to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting the United Arab Emirates.

Waltz makes the comments in remarks at an Independence Day event hosted by the Israeli Mission to the UN in New York.

“We saw the UAE make use of the Iron Dome provided to it by Israel,” the Israel Hayom daily quotes Waltz as having said.

Waltz’s remarks are confirmed to The Times of Israel by a source present at the event.

Israel’s provision of an Iron Dome battery and soldiers to operate it was first reported last month by the Axios news site and later confirmed to The Times of Israel by two Arab diplomats familiar with the matter.

Knesset approves bill barring police from spraying ‘Skunk’ liquid on protesters

Police fire skunk liquid at protesters during demonstrations against the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, in Jerusalem, March 20, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset approves legislation barring police use of “Skunk,” a foul-smelling liquid, on protesters, in a rare display of cooperation between coalition and opposition lawmakers.

Sprayed out of a high-pressure water cannon truck, the putrid liquid is often used on Haredi anti-draft demonstrators and Palestinians in the West Bank, but has also been rolled out against anti-government protesters in recent years.

The bill, submitted by United Torah Judaism MKs Moshe Gafni and Yaakov Asher, was supported by opposition MKs, including Yesh Atid’s Merav Ben-Ari and Labor’s Gilad Kariv. The bill’s third reading passed 11-0.

The makeup of the substance is shrouded in mystery, and relevant authorities have declined to disclose its exact ingredients. Some of those who have been sprayed with the substance reported skin irritation, shortness of breath, and headaches.

Skunk is produced by one supplier, the private Israeli firm Odortec, which invented the liquid.

Charlie Summers contributed to this report.

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.