May 13: IDF airs clip purporting to show tunnel exposed by strike targeting Hamas leader

Israeli strikes reported in Gaza’s Jabalia after IDF warning

Palestinian media reports Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza Strip.

The reports come after the IDF issued evacuation warnings for the Jabalia area, after three rockets were launched at Israel.

PM said to assure Haredi ally that no yeshiva students will be arrested in crackdown on draft evasion

Left: Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, leader of the United Torah Judaism party, June 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); Right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, September 9, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90)

Amid a boycott of coalition legislation by the United Torah Judaism party and threats by the Haredi party to topple the government if Haredi yeshiva students are arrested as part of a nationwide crackdown on draft evasion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly assured the key ally that no such arrests are expected.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, Netanyahu told UTJ head Yitzhak Goldknopf in a phone call today that no yeshiva students have been apprehended and that this isn’t expected to change.

However, UTJ is continuing its legislation boycott, and the coalition will be forced to continue pulling its law bills from the Knesset agenda tomorrow to avoid losing votes, the report adds.

IDF airs clip purporting to show tunnel exposed by strike on Gaza hospital that targeted Hamas leader

The IDF releases footage showing the aftermath of its strike on a Hamas subterranean command center below the European Hospital in southern Gaza, a strike that defense sources said targeted Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar.

The video purports to show that the IDF strike uncovered the tunnel under the hospital.

The military has not yet confirmed if Sinwar was killed in the attack.

צה"ל ושב"כ השמידו תשתית טרור תת-קרקעית של ארגון הטרור חמאס מתחת לבית החולים האירופאי שבחאן יונס שבדרום רצועת עזה

מתחילת המלחמה, צה"ל ושב"כ פועלים להשמדה ונטרול של תשתיות תת-קרקע של ארגון הטרור חמאס ברצועת עזה.

מוקדם יותר היום, צה"ל ושב"כ תקפו באופן ממוקד מחבלים בארגון הטרור… pic.twitter.com/gdLAJOpWJ4

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 13, 2025

Macron says Netanyahu’s Gaza policy ‘shameful,’ says EU may revisit cooperation agreements with Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) greets French President Emmanuel Macron before a meeting in Jerusalem on October 24, 2023. (Christophe Ena/Pool/AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy regarding humanitarian aid to Gaza is shameful, and that Europeans should consider increasing sanctions.

“What he’s doing is shameful,” Macron says during an interview on TF1 television.

“My job is to do everything I can to make it stop,” he says, adding that the possibility of revisiting the European Union’s cooperation agreements with Israel is on the table.

These pacts include terms that include the absence of customs duties on certain products.

Israel has sealed off the Gaza Strip since early March, when it resumed its military campaign against terror group Hamas following the collapse of a ceasefire deal, during which thousands of aid trucks entered the enclave.

IDF issues evacuation order for Gaza’s Jabalia ahead of strikes following rocket attack

Following rocket fire from the northern Gaza Strip at Sderot and Ashkelon this evening, the IDF issues an evacuation warning for Palestinians in the Jabalia area.

In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, publishes a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying that it is a “final warning” before the IDF carries out strikes there.

Three rockets were launched in the attack claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The IDF said two rockets were intercepted and one hit an open area.

#عاجل ‼️ إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في بلدية جباليا، معسكر جباليا وأحياء تل الزعتر، الشيخ زايد، النور، السلام والروضة
????هذا انذار مسبق وأخير قبل الهجوم!????
⭕️سيهاجم جيش الدفاع بقوة شديدة كل منطقة يتم إطلاق قذائف صاروخية منها.
⭕️تتحمل المنظمات الارهابية وفي مقدمتها حماس… pic.twitter.com/ZPlJg1kZ8L

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) May 13, 2025

Netanyahu to hold Jerusalem Day cabinet meeting at City of David, denies report of Shin Bet safety concerns

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the premier plans to hold a cabinet meeting in the City of David this upcoming Jerusalem Day on May 26, confirming earlier reports.

“The Israeli government is proud to hold its special cabinet meeting marking Jerusalem Day in the City of David – the cradle of our national heritage and the very heart of our united and eternal capital,” writes the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement.

The PMO also rejects a Walla report that the Shin Bet security agency is concerned about the meeting taking place amid the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, where the City of David is located.

“Contrary to the false [Walla] report, the Shin Bet raised no objections to holding the event in the City of David. On the contrary, preliminary checks and coordination were conducted with Shin Bet security officials, who approved the event at this location,” the PMO says.

Earlier, Walla reported that the Shin Bet had expressed concern over its ability to secure a cabinet meeting at the archaeological site and national park, as well as provide the necessary protection for the prime minister and other ministers to reach the location.

The Shin Bet recommended finding an alternate spot, but officials in the PMO nevertheless instructed the security services to prepare a plan for securing the cabinet meeting in the City of David, the report said.

Jerusalem Day, which celebrates Israel’s capture of the Old City and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War, starts this year on May 25 in the evening and continues until May 26 in the evening.

UN aid chief slams Israeli-American Gaza aid plan as ‘cynical sideshow’

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher slams a plan by Israel and the United States for the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip as a “cynical sideshow, a deliberate distraction, a fig leaf for further violence and displacement.”

He tells the UN Security Council that no food, medicine, water or tents have entered the war-torn enclave for more than 10 weeks.

“We can save hundreds of thousands of survivors. We have rigorous mechanisms to ensure our aid gets to civilians and not to Hamas, but Israel denies us access, placing the objective of depopulating Gaza before the lives of civilians,” claims Fletcher.

IDF, Shin Bet confirm killing of ‘journalist’ who invaded Israel with Hamas on Oct. 7

Freelance journalist Hassan Eslaiah, whom the IDF has indentifed as a member of the Hamas terror group's Khan Younis Brigade, is seen in front of a burning IDF tank during the October 7, 2023, onslaught. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The IDF and Shin Bet confirm killing Hassan Eslaiah in a strike on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza overnight, saying he was a Hamas operative “operating under the guise of a journalist.”

On October 7, 2023, Eslaiah, who was freelancing for the Associated Press, took photos of a burning tank on the Gaza border after it was attacked by Hamas operatives. He also invaded Israel with the terrorists and photographed them entering Kibbutz Nir Oz, where dozens of civilians were massacred.

The IDF has said he was a member of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade.

3 Palestinians injured in 2 settler attacks today in southern West Bank, source tells ToI

A Palestinian man was struck in the head this evening by settlers while in Khirbet a-Dab’a in the South Hebron Hills region of the West Bank, an eyewitness tells The Times of Israel.

He was evacuated to a hospital with a head injury.

According to the eyewitness, who speaks on condition of anonymity, around 7 p.m., around 10 masked settlers arrived at the scene and attacked Palestinians. It is unclear whether the Palestinian was injured by stones or by clubs carried by the settlers.

In addition, according to the same eyewitness, earlier today, around 10 masked settlers also arrived near the village of a-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills and attempted to attack Palestinians.

In footage obtained by The Times of Israel, a masked individual can be seen throwing stones while an IDF soldier beside him fires into the air. According to the witness, several soldiers were present during the incident, and two Palestinians were injured by stones and evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.

The IDF has not yet issued a response.

בינתיים בדרום הר חברון רעולי פנים מיידים אבנים לעבר א-תוואני. שני פלסטינים נפצעו. מאוחר יותר הגיעה קבוצה דומה לחילת א-דבע ופלסטיני נפצע קשה בראשו, לא ברור אם מאבן או מאלה. כאן בתיעוד מא-תוואני חיילים ליד רעולי הפנים יורים באוויר ואז מרחיקים אותם מהמקום. מצה"ל טרם נמסרה תגובה. pic.twitter.com/AwI7ZDEzyy

— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) May 13, 2025

إصابتان برصاص مستوطنين في خلة الضبع شرق مدينة يطا جنوب الخليل pic.twitter.com/gNHx2UKa5q

— خبرني – khaberni (@khaberni) May 13, 2025

Islamic Jihad claims rocket attack from Gaza, says it’s a response to ‘Zionist massacres’

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group claims responsibility for the rockets fired from Gaza toward Ashkelon and Sderot.

A statement from the organization says it launched rockets in response to “Zionist massacres.”

The attack came shortly after a series of IDF airstrikes that sources say targeted Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar.

Netanyahu meets German president, who also gets Presidential Medal of Honor from Herzog

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the premier’s office in Jerusalem, May 13, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met this evening with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the premier’s office in Jerusalem, the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement, without detailing the meeting’s content.

Following his state visit to Berlin, President Isaac Herzog arrived in Israel with Steinmeier this morning, kicking off a reciprocal visit by the German head of state.

Steinmeier received the Presidential Medal of Honor from Herzog at a ceremony held this evening.

PA chief Abbas’s deputy meets with UAE foreign minister

Hussein al-Sheikh, who was recently named by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as the Palestine Liberation Organization’s deputy head, meets with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in the United Arab Emirates.

According to a statement by the UAE foreign ministry, the two discussed developments in the region, including the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

Following the Abraham Accords four years ago, the Palestinian Authority boycotted the UAE, which led to a crisis between the sides. Even after the return of the PA’s representative to the Emirates, relations remained tense, and according to reports, the UAE has expressed opposition to the immediate return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza.

عبدالله بن زايد يستقبل معالي حسين الشيخ، نائب رئيس اللجنة التنفيذية لمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية ونائب رئيس دولة فلسطين، حيث تم بحث مجمل التطورات الراهنة في المنطقة وتداعياتها المختلفة، لا سيما الأزمة الانسانية المتفاقمة في قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/J2VWcEjJzh

— OFM (@OFMUAE) May 13, 2025

Witkoff: Edan Alexander told me Hamas started treating him well after Trump’s election. Hamas is afraid of Trump, and should be

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (right) and US hostages envoy Adam Boehler meet with relatives of hostages held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025. (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told the families of hostages held in Gaza earlier today that Hamas is “afraid of Donald Trump” and “should be.”

In brief footage from the lengthy meeting he and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler held with the families in Tel Aviv, broadcast on Kan TV, Witkoff relates that newly released hostage Edan Alexander is “doing better than I would have thought. They actually treated him better. So for those who have relatives who are alive, I think that’s an important data point.”

Witkoff elaborates: “Edan told me that when the president was elected, he began to get treated well. And that’s a really interesting data point — that people evidently are being treated better there, because Hamas is afraid of Donald Trump. And the truth is, they should be.”

In a separate audio clip broadcast on Channel 12, Witkoff is heard telling the families that if a diplomatic deal cannot be reached to solve the hostage crisis, it will be one of the worst failures of his life.

US Special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, and freed hostage Edan Alexander, second right, speak by phone to US President Donald Trump, alongside Alexander’s family from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center on May 13, 2025. (Office of the Special Envoy to the Middle East/X)

“The last thing I wanted to do was to call the Alexander family and give them notice of this thing,” Witkoff says, referring to Edan’s release, “because we thought six weeks ago we were getting him out, by the way, and he was going to be part of a larger release. And we were close. And, like that, it didn’t happen.”

Now, says Witkoff, “everything is moving in the direction of: create a deal to diplomatically solve it. And if we can’t diplomatically solve it, it’s going to be, in my view — I’m not going to speak for Adam, okay — but to me, it will be one of the worst failures that I can ever endure in my life.”

תיעוד בלעדי מתוך דברי ויטקוף למשפחות החטופים: "חמאס התייחס לעידן טוב יותר מאז בחירת טראמפ" | @SuleimanMas1 עם המסר המעודד#מהדורתכאןחדשות pic.twitter.com/X7RUOFyHdH

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 13, 2025

Channel 12 also reports that Alexander, on his release yesterday, immediately told Israeli officials and Witkoff that Matan Zangauker must be urgently returned. He was held with Zangauker for the past eight months, the report says.

Zangauker’s mother, Einav, has said they were held together in the same tunnel, with no other hostages.

Edan’s report on Matan was conveyed to Einav, the TV report says, leaving her in tears and more worried than ever for her son, who has medical issues.

IDF says 3 rockets fired from Gaza; 2 intercepted, 1 falls in open area

Three rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel a short while ago, the military says.

Two of the projectiles were intercepted by air defenses, while the third hit an open area, the IDF adds.

There are no injuries.

Another missile is launched from Yemen, falls short

A ballistic missile launched from Yemen a short while ago, apparently aimed at Israel, fell short far from the country, according to an Israeli defense source.

The military identified the launch, but no sirens sounded in Israel because the missile did not pose a threat.

It is the second missile launch from Yemen this evening, with the first triggering sirens in central Israel and Jerusalem before being intercepted.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have launched some 32 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones at Israel. Many of the missiles have fallen short.

Edan Alexander said to tell family he survived tunnel collapse, was tied up during captivity

Released hostage Edan Alexander reunites with his grandmother Varda Ben Baruch at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, May 12, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Edan Alexander has told his family that he endured torture and was bound some of the time he was held in captivity in Gaza, with his head covered so he couldn’t see, the Ynet news site reports.

The hostage has reportedly said his first days of captivity were “hell,” with Israeli strikes making him fear for his life. On one occasion, a tunnel where he was being held collapsed, but he managed to escape unscathed.

Alexander was held by senior Hamas officials and was regarded as an “asset” due to his American citizenship, the report says, adding that he was periodically updated about developments in the war and watched many interviews his parents gave on TV.

Most of the time, he ate rice, pita bread and beans, but the menu also included meat during ceasefires, Ynet reports, saying Alexander returned with bruises and many flea bites.

Rocket sirens sound in Ashkelon, Sderot, other Gaza border towns

Rocket sirens are sounding in Ashkelon, Sderot and other nearby communities close to the border with the Gaza Strip.

The IDF says it is looking into the details.

Witkoff gifts Edan Alexander his late son’s Star of David necklace

Released hostage Edan Alexander wears a Star of David necklace given him by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which had belonged to Witkoff's late son Andrew, May 13, 2025. (Screen capture: Channel 12)

While visiting former American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Hospital this morning, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff gifted the 21-year-old a necklace that had belonged to Witkoff’s son, Andrew, who died in 2011, Channel 12 reports.

In a gesture that “moved Edan’s family to tears,” Witkoff handed over the keepsake — which the envoy had worn himself  — to Alexander, a day after helping secure his freedom from Hamas, the network says.

US Special envoy Steve Witkoff, left, greets freed hostage Edan Alexander at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center on May 13, 2025. (Office of the Special Envoy to the Middle East/X)

“You would be doing a great honor to my son if you keep wearing this,” Witkoff reportedly told Alexander, as he placed the necklace around the dual national’s neck.

UN welcomes lifting of US sanctions on Syria

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric tells reporters that the easing of US sanctions on Syria — as announced today by US President Donald Trump — “is a positive development, inviting a broader investment” in the country.

The lifting of sanctions will help the reconstruction of Syria and “help the Syrian people recover from more than a decade of conflict, a decade of underinvestment,” Dujarric says. It will put more of a focus “on economic development, on private businesses and investment.”

The United Nations will continue to support Syria’s reconstruction, whether it’s physical or psychological, “for it to be a country where all Syrians of all faiths, of all ethnicities and minorities feel safe and represented.” Dujarric says.

Trump said to tell Edan Alexander he ‘can’t wait’ to meet ex-hostage at White House

Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump poses for photos with the family of Edan Alexander at Ohel Chabad Lubavitch on October 7, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images via AFP)

US President Donald Trump told freed American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander that the American public “can’t wait” to see him return to the country, during a 10-minute phone call with the ex-captive and with US special envoy Steve Witkoff this morning, Channel 12 reports.

“Your mother kept pushing me the whole time — but that’s okay. I can’t wait to see you in the White House. The whole nation wants to see you. You’re a bigger celebrity than me right now. Enjoy it while you can, stay strong. Take it easy,” Trump said to Alexander, according to the network, which reports in Hebrew on the English-language conversation.

“Steve [Witkoff ] did a great job. Honestly, it was me, but I’ll give Steve the credit,” Trump continued.

When asked by the president how his captors treated him, Edan Alexander says: “Since you got elected, my conditions improved dramatically. There are tons of cameras and people around me right now — I can’t share much at the moment. We’ll talk in private.”

‘A disgrace they’re still there’: Dad of hostage Rom Braslavski says he’s stopped believing Netanyahu

Ofir Braslavski, center back, father of Gaza hostage Rom Braslavski, at a Shift 101 sit-in in Jerusalem on May 13, 2025 (Reuven Lahav/Shift 101)

Ofir Braslavski, father of hostage Rom Braslavski, who was taken hostage from the Nova desert rave on October 7, 2023, and is still held in Gaza by Palestinian terrorists, joins a protest sit-in organized by the Shift 101 group, near the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem.

“Three weeks ago, a video of Rom was released, and he spoke about how a selekzia is made among the hostages, and why one is worth more and another less,” says Braslavski, referring to the Nazi process of separating family members during the Holocaust and deciding who would be murdered and who would be taken for forced labor.

“We, the state, are to blame. For a year and seven months, he has been buried there; we failed to identify him. Until now, I avoided speaking about politics and the prime minister, but this is it — it’s a disgrace that they are still there. The prime minister now says he will negotiate under fire — I’ve stopped believing him,” he says of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I keep praying, and with God’s help, he will come back.”

Twenty minutes later, sirens ring throughout central Israel and Jerusalem, warning of a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis from Yemen, and the Shift 101 participants keep sitting on the ground, some lying down, without cover from the rocket attack.

Edan Alexander’s parents say he endured ‘terrible fears’ in captivity, including of IDF strikes; they thank Trump, not Netanyahu

Yael Alexander gives a statement a day after her son Edan was released from 584 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, as other members of the family listen, at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025 (Alon Gilboa / Hostages' Families Forum)

Yael and Adi Alexander, parents of released hostage Edan Alexander, give a statement to reporters at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Hospital, a day after he was released home after 584 days in Hamas captivity.

They are surrounded by their other two children and other family members, all holding signs of other hostages still held in captivity.

Yael Alexander, speaking in Hebrew, and Adi Alexander, speaking in English, thank US President Donald Trump and his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and hostage envoy Adam Boehler, for their work in bringing their son home.

“President Trump, Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler worked day and night to bring back my son,” says Yael Alexander.

“We’ll never be able to express what that means to us, but we’ll never forget the tireless effort on Edan’s behalf; we are in their debt,” says Adi Alexander.

Yael Alexander thanks the Israeli public for supporting her and her family in their effort to bring Edan home. She does not thank the Israeli government, and they notably avoid thanking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has argued that Israeli military pressure contributed to the release.

“Most of the public believes that bringing back the hostages is the most important goal, a national and Jewish goal,” she says. “It’s not about right or left, but about the human heart.”

She calls on the Netanyahu government to heed that call.

“I say that the return of Edan should be only the beginning of bringing back the rest of the hostages,” she says. “We have no time to wait. The time is running out and the world is watching us.”

Yael Alexander describes what her son has told them so far, about the terrible fears in captivity, the lack of water, the lack of food and aid, and the terror experienced when the IDF would strike Gaza, destroying buildings and bringing the fear of death to the captives.

“The strikes and bombs made him think that every moment was about to be his last one,” she says.

“Edan, my hero, you returned from the disaster. But other hostages are still living through that threat, they are still living in that hell. My heart has resumed beating, but they still need to return home.”

Adi Alexander emphasizes in English what his wife says in Hebrew.

He mentions that his son, a dual American-Israeli citizen who was serving in the IDF as a lone soldier, will soon return home to the US, to New Jersey, to his life, family and friends.

Yael Alexander gives a statement a day after her son Edan was released from 584 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, as other members of the family listen, at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025 (Alon Gilboa/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

“This isn’t just about our family,” says Adi Alexander. “Tomorrow, a new set of negotiations will begin that could lead to more hostages coming home and eventually the end of this war.”

“For me and my family, the effort to bring home all 58 hostages will continue until they’re all at home. Hopefully, these negotiations will lead to that moment.”

Another airstrike reported near Khan Younis hospital, 2 hours after strikes targeting Hamas leader

Palestinian media reports another airstrike in the area of the European Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, some two hours after the wave of airstrikes that Israeli military sources say was meant to assassinate Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry raises the toll of the previous strikes to 16 killed and 70 injured.

Hamas authorities say 6 killed in IDF strike, don’t name Muhammad Sinwar among the dead

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says six people have been killed and over 40 injured in the Israeli airstrike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis.

A list of names of the people killed has been published, and it doesn’t contain Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar, who Israeli military sources say was the target of the strike. However, in the past, Hamas initially denied the deaths of its senior officials killed by Israel.

Trump slams ‘neocons’ and ‘interventionists’ during Riyadh speech

US President Donald Trump takes a shot at “neocons” and “interventionists” during his foreign policy speech in Riyadh.

“It’s crucial for the wider world to know this great transformation [in the Middle East] has not come from Western interventionists, or flying people in beautiful planes giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs,” Trump says.

“In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built and the interventionalists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves,” he continues.

“No, the gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called ‘nation builders,’ neocons, or liberal non-profits, like those who spent trillions and trillions of dollars failing to develop Baghdad and so many other cities,” Trump says.

“Instead, the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought by the people of the region themselves — the people that are right here, the people [who] have lived here all their lives, developing your own sovereign countries, pursuing your own unique visions and charting your own destinies in your own way.”

“You achieved a modern miracle the Arabian way,” he adds.

Trump says he wants Iran deal, but Tehran must act fast or face crippling sanctions

US President Donald Trump speaks during the Saudi-US investment forum at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

US President Donald Trump says he wants to strike a deal with Iran amid ongoing nuclear talks, but will cripple Iran’s economy if the Islamic Republic “rejects this olive branch.”

“I want to make a deal with Iran. If I can make a deal with Iran, I’ll be very happy if we’re going to make your region and the world a safer place,” Trump says during a foreign policy speech in Riyadh.

“But if Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure [and] drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before,” he says.

“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. But with that said, Iran can have a much brighter future,” he adds.

“This is an offer that will not last forever. The time is right now for them to choose… Things are happening at a very fast pace,” Trump says.

He calls Iran the “most destructive force” in the Middle East, and blames the regime for instability across the region.

Offering what he describes as both a final warning and a potential opening for diplomacy, he says Iran has a choice between continuing its “chaos and terror” or embracing a path toward peace.

Trump: We’re working to end the Gaza war ‘as quickly as possible,’ bring back ‘all hostages’

US President Donald Trump speaks during the Saudi-US investment forum at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

US President Donald Trump says his administration is working to release the remaining hostages and to end the war in Gaza.

“We’ve been working tirelessly to bring back all hostages held by Hamas,” Trump says, highlighting yesterday’s release of American-Israeli Edan Alexander.

“We continue to work to get that war ended as quickly as possible. It’s a horrible thing that’s taking place,” Trump says, again appearing to break with Israel, which has pushed back against calls to end the war, arguing that it would leave Hamas in power.

Trump adds that “all civilized people must condemn the October 7 atrocities against Israel.”

“The people of Gaza deserve a much better future, but that will or cannot occur as long as their leaders choose to kidnap, torture and target innocent men, women and children for political ends,” Trump says.

Trump says he’s lifting US sanctions on Syria ‘to give them a chance at greatness’

Left to right: US President Donald Trump takes questions outside the West Wing of White House in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2025. (Jim WATSON / AFP); Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa listens during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, May 7, 2025. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via AP)

In a major development for the region, US President Donald Trump announces that he will be lifting Washington’s sanctions on Syria.

He says he made the decision after being pressed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling them people whom he has “a lot of respect for.”

“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump announces during a speech at a Riyadh investment conference on the first day of his Midddle East trip.

The policy would appear to put him at odds with Israel, which has urged a much more cautious approach to the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa.

“The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served a really important function at the time, but now it’s [the new Syrian government’s] time to shine,” Trump continues. “So I say, ‘Good luck Syria.'”

Wizz Air says it expected to resume Israel flights on Thursday

A Wizz Air flight takes off from Ben Gurion International Airport, July 22, 2019. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Hungary-based low-cost airline Wizz Air says it expects to resume flight services to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on May 15.

On May 5, Wizz Air halted all flights to Tel Aviv after a ballistic missile from Yemen struck an area of Israel’s main international airport.

IDF says it intercepted ballistic missile fired by Houthis from Yemen; no injuries reported

A ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was successfully intercepted by air defenses a short while ago, the military says.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the attack.

Sirens had sounded across central Israel and the Jerusalem area. Preceding the sirens by around a minute, an early warning was issued to residents, alerting civilians of the long-range missile attack via a push notification on their phones.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 31 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.

Sirens sound in Jerusalem, central Israel following missile from Yemen

Sirens are sounding across central Israel and the Jerusalem area following the launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen.

The IDF says it is working to shoot down the projectile.

Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar was the target of IDF strike at Gaza hospital — sources

A screenshot of an undated video released by the Israel Defense Forces on December 17, 2023, shows Hamas commander Muhammad Sinwar, right, riding in a car traveling through a tunnel under the Gaza Strip. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

The target of the Israeli airstrike at the European Hospital in southern Gaza a short while ago is Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar, defense sources say.

The IDF says it targeted Hamas operatives at an underground command center below the medical center in Khan Younis.

Palestinian media reports four people killed, so far without mentioning Sinwar.

Sinwar, a senior Hamas military commander, is the younger brother of the former Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

Following the killing of Hamas’s top military commander, Muhammed Deif, Muhammed Sinwar took charge of the terror group’s military wing. Later, after his older brother was killed by IDF troops, he became the de facto leader of the terror group in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials have described Muhammed Sinwar as stubborn with regards to negotiations with the terror group for the release of hostages.

Trump in Riyadh: It’s my ‘dream’ for Saudi Arabia to enter Abraham Accords, but they’ll do it at their own time

US President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a bilateral meeting in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

US President Donald Trump says it’s his “dream” for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, but acknowledges that Riyadh will do it at its own time.

“It’s my fervent hope, wish and even my dream that Saudi Arabia… will soon be joining the Abraham Accords,” Trump says in a foreign policy speech at an investment summit in Riyadh on the first day of his Middle East visit.

“But you’ll do it in your own time,” Trump later adds in an apparent acknowledgement that Riyadh is not currently prepared to normalize relations with Israel, given the ongoing war in Gaza and the current government’s refusal to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state.

Ministers threaten to revoke funding for universities where students hold ‘Nakba’ memorials

Arab and left-wing activist students attend a rally marking the Palestinian 'Nakba' anniversary at the Tel Aviv University on May 15, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Education Minister Yoav Kisch threatens to revoke funding for universities holding events to commemorate the Palestinian “Nakba,” or catastrophe, after student groups begin their annual demonstrations.

“Academia is not a platform for incitement under the guise of freedom of expression,” Kisch writes in a post on X.

He says he has appealed to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to revoke funding for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University following events that took place on their campuses with their support.

Smotrich later says in a statement that he supports the move and will “instruct the professional authorities to immediately act on revoking the funding.”

Tension around marking the Nakba, which refers to the flight or displacement of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians around when Israel was created in 1948, are nothing new. Many Israelis view the commemorations as a veiled attempt to undermine the state’s existence.

Arab student groups at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem said yesterday that commemorating Nakba Day, traditionally marked on May 15, is even more essential this year “as the genocide against our people in Gaza continues.”

“Let us raise our voices against this genocide and displacement,” a statement from the groups said, adding that they would pass the day reading letters and poems from people in the war-torn territory.

Both Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University say in statements that they support their students’ rights to mark the day and call the minister’s threats illegal.

“Tel Aviv University categorically rejects the education minister’s appalling threats to take illegal action and withhold funding from the university,” Tel Aviv University says in a statement, adding that under Israeli law, “demonstrations initiated by students on Nakba Day, which is held at most Israeli universities, are protected by the freedom of expression and protest.”

The Hebrew University responds similarly, saying that Kisch’s “directive is without any legal foundation or statutory support.”

“The Hebrew University is committed to fostering coexistence across all sectors of Israeli society,” the statement says. “As part of its dedication to freedom of expression, the university ensures that diverse voices can be heard — embracing complexity in dialogue and encouraging mutual respect.”

Kisch responds on X that embracing such events “prevents academic freedom,” and that “any students who think that Nakba Day is a national day of mourning are invited to study at Birzeit University and not at the university of the first Zionist city in Israel.” Birzeit is a university in the West Bank.

Kisch says that under the law, institutions supporting Nakba Day activities should expect to have their budgets denied.

IDF says it struck Hamas operatives in underground command center below Gaza hospital

The IDF confirms launching strikes at the European Hospital in southern Gaza, saying it targeted Hamas operatives at an underground command center below the medical center.

The military says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

“The Hamas terror organization continues to use hospitals in the Gaza Strip for terror purposes, cynically and cruelly exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital,” the military adds.

#شاهد| الاحتلال يشن حزامًا ناريًا بالقرب من مستشفى الأوروبي شرق مدينة خانيونس pic.twitter.com/1gqgBcqVTm

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) May 13, 2025

#عاجل استهداف المستشفى الأوروبي جنوب خان يونس بحرام ناري pic.twitter.com/vCHHtNFlB5

— Khaled Safi ???????? خالد صافي (@KhaledSafi) May 13, 2025

Palestinian media reports series of airstrikes near southern Gaza hospital

Palestinian media reports a large wave of airstrikes near the European Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

Several casualties are reported in the strikes.

#شاهد| الاحتلال يشن حزامًا ناريًا بالقرب من مستشفى الأوروبي شرق مدينة خانيونس pic.twitter.com/1gqgBcqVTm

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) May 13, 2025

Trump to say hello to Syrian President Sharaa tomorrow, White House official confirms

Left to right: US President Donald Trump takes questions outside the West Wing of White House in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2025. (Jim WATSON / AFP); Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa listens during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, May 7, 2025. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via AP)

US President Donald Trump has agreed to say hello to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia tomorrow, a White House official says.

The comment comes shortly after Trump himself indicated that he will meet with Sharaa. Leaving the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center, he stopped to a shouted question from a reporter, who asked if he was meeting the Syrian president.

Nodding, Trump said, “I think so,” before entering a limousine.

According to the London Times, citing unnamed security sources, Sharaa may use the meeting to offer talks on normalizing relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

‘Home sweet home’: Edan Alexander publishes first social media post since his release

Former hostage Edan Alexander, left, in a photo uploaded by him a day after his release from captivity in Gaza, May 13, 2025. (Insragram/@edan_alexander1)

A day after his release from captivity in Gaza, Edan Alexander posts his first Instagram Story.

“Home sweet home,” he writes alongside a photo of him wearing sunglasses and holding a beer bottle.

AG calls for conscription of all draft-age Haredi men starting this summer

Ultra-Orthodox soldiers are drafted into the military at an induction center, April 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Calling the enlistment of yeshiva students “an essential security need,” Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara urges the IDF to begin sending conscription orders to all draft-age ultra-Orthodox men at the start of the next recruitment cycle in July.

The High Court’s provisional order from April demanding to know why the government has failed to enforce enlistment orders constitutes a “red flag,” the Attorney General’s Office declares, arguing that the current scope of Haredi recruitment is “far from meeting the needs of the army.”

In a document summarizing a recent meeting with senior military and civilian officials, the Attorney General’s Office insists that as long as a new law regulating the status of yeshiva students is not enacted, “from a legal perspective, the state is legally obligated to act according to existing law, and to implement the general conscription obligation in an equal and uniform manner in relation to the entire population.”

As such, Baharav-Miara welcomes IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir’s recent instructions to the IDF Personnel Directorate “to significantly increase the scope of conscription orders for members of the ultra-Orthodox public and to increase enforcement against evaders generally.”

Out of 18,915 Haredim who received initial draft orders since July 2024, around 319 have enlisted, while 2,521 who have ignored multiple draft orders have been sent immediate call-up orders requiring them to show up at an induction center within 48 hours or be declared a draft evader.

Of these, 964 have been declared draft evaders, a number expected to rise significantly in the coming weeks, the Attorney General’s Office states.

The consequences of being declared a draft evader include receiving a “no exit order” — being barred from leaving the country. In addition, during any encounter with the police, the draft dodger can be arrested.

Macron hails release of ex-captive Alexander, urges ceasefire in Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron expresses “relief” following the return of former hostage Edan Alexander to Israel yesterday, and says that with US President Donald Trump’s Middle East visit, he is hoping for a ceasefire to be reached in Gaza.

“Relief after the release of Edan Alexander. Every life returned to freedom is a victory and a step toward peace,” the French leader writes on X.

“We do not forget the hostages still held by Hamas — they must be released without delay,” he says.

“I am counting on [Trump] and his crucial visit to the region. Full support for a ceasefire in Gaza!” Macron adds.

Sources: US discusses selling F-35 jets to Saudis, despite concerns it will harm Israeli military edge

A Royal Air Force F-35 lands at the Farnborough International Air Show in Farnborough, England, on July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

The United States and Saudi Arabia have discussed Riyadh’s potential purchase of Lockheed’s F-35 jets, two sources briefed on discussions tell Reuters, referring to a military aircraft that the kingdom has reportedly been interested in for years.

However, it is not clear if Washington would permit the kingdom to move forward with a purchase that would give Saudi Arabia an advanced weapon used by close US ally Israel, one of the sources says.

“[Qualitative Military Edge] with Israel has come up,” the second source says, referring to US guarantees that Israel receives more advanced American weapons than Arab states.

The sources spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Israel has owned F-35s for nine years, building multiple squadrons.

Governments in the Gulf have long sought the most advanced fighter jet, built with stealth technology allowing it to evade enemy detection. If the US is to approve the transfer, Saudi Arabia would be only the second Middle East state after Israel to operate F-35 fighters.

Trump signs deal with Saudi Arabia that includes biggest-ever $142 billion arms agreement

US President Donald Trump, left, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman talk before a coffee ceremony at the Royal Court in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

US President Donald Trump signs a strategic economic agreement with Saudi Arabia as the oil power rolls out the red carpet for him at the start of a tour of Gulf states aimed at drumming up trillions of dollars in investments.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signs an agreement with the US president, which Saudi state television says covers energy, defense, mining and other areas.

The White House says Saudi Arabia is set to invest $600 billion in the United States, including a mammoth arms deal described as the largest “in history” between the allies, worth nearly $142 billion.

“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump says during a meeting in Riyadh with the crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.

Trump, who is accompanied by a host of US business leaders, including billionaire Elon Musk, will go on from Riyadh to Qatar tomorrow and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

He has not scheduled a stop in Israel, a decision that has raised questions about where the close ally stands in Washington’s priorities, and the focus of the trip is on investment rather than security matters in the Middle East.

US federal antisemitism task force says it’s cutting another $450 million in grants to Harvard

The Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism says the US government is cutting $450 million in grants to Harvard University, in addition to the $2.2 billion the government has already withdrawn.

“Harvard University has repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus,” says a joint statement from the US Department of Education, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration.

The statement cites recent reporting that said the Harvard Law Review considered race as a factor in its article application process, and awarded a $65,000 fellowship to a protester who allegedly assaulted a Jewish student. The story was first reported by The Washington Free Beacon.

“Harvard’s campus, once a symbol of academic prestige, has become a breeding ground for virtue signaling and discrimination. This is not leadership; it is cowardice,” the statement says.

In rarity, PA forces reportedly shoot 2 Palestinians in West Bank within hours

Palestinian media reports that within the span of a few hours, Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces have shot and killed two Palestinians in the northern West Bank.

One incident occurred in the Far’a refugee camp near Tubas, and the other in the city of Jenin. In both cases, the individuals were shot while inside their vehicles.

Regarding the first incident, PA security forces spokesperson Anwar Rajab states that a PA force returned fire after being shot at during an arrest operation in the Tubas area. He adds that the slain man was “one of the symbols of the security chaos in the area.”

In the second incident in Jenin, a video circulates showing an elderly man shot dead in his car, but the PA security forces have not yet issued an official response.

It is rare for PA security forces to shoot and kill Palestinians. About six months ago, they launched an unusual operation in the Jenin refugee camp aimed at combating terror operatives involved in attacks. That operation ended after about two months, following the launch of a large-scale IDF operation in the camp.

IDF says it targeted Hezbollah members in 2 drone strikes in southern Lebanon

The IDF confirms carrying out two drone strikes in southern Lebanon today, targeting Hezbollah operatives.

According to the IDF, one of the Hezbollah members was operating at a site belonging to the terror group near  Beaufort Castle, a site that was targeted in a major airstrike last week.

The IDF says the restoration of the site and activity there by Hezbollah “constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

The second Hezbollah operative was targeted near the southern Lebanese town of Houla, the army adds.

כלי טיס תקף היום מחבל מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, במרחב רכס הבופור שבדרום לבנון.

המחבל פעל באתר שצה״ל תקף בשבוע שעבר, וממנו נוהל מערך האש וההגנה של חיזבאללה.

שיקום האתר והפעילות בו מהווים הפרה בוטה של ההבנות בין ישראל ללבנון.

בנוסף, תקף כלי טיס מחבל חיזבאללה נוסף, במרחב חולא… pic.twitter.com/fE5WmKOBpA

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 13, 2025

Trump signals he’ll meet Syrian leader, who may reportedly raise normalization with Israel

Left to right: US President Donald Trump takes questions outside the West Wing of White House in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2025. (Jim WATSON / AFP); Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa listens during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, May 7, 2025. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via AP)

US President Donald Trump appears to confirm that he will meet with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during his swing through Saudi Arabia.

Leaving the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center, Trump stops for a moment before getting into his limousine to answer a shouted question from a reporter, who asks if he is meeting the Syrian president.

Nodding, Trump says, “I think so,” before climbing in the vehicle.

According to the London Times, citing unnamed security sources, Sharaa may use the meeting to offer talks on normalizing relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

Syrian activists and Gulf Arab states have been trying to arrange a landmark meeting between the two leaders this week on the sidelines of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Sharaa spoke with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday, according to the Syrian presidency.

President Isaac Herzog plans to attend Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration

President Isaac Herzog meets with Mike Huckabee (unseen) at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on April 21, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog plans to attend Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration, his spokesperson confirms to The Times of Israel. The ceremony is set to take place in Rome on May 18.

At Pope Francis’s funeral last month, Israel was represented only by its Ambassador to the Holy See Yaron Sideman, a choice seen by many as a sign of the tensions between Jerusalem and the Vatican in the shadow of the latter’s criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza during the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Yemen’s Sanaa airport to resume operations tomorrow, general director says

Sanaa International Airport on May 7, 2025, a day after Israel's military warplanes struck Yemen's Houthi rebel-held capital Sanaa. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport will resume operations starting tomorrow, the airport’s general director says.

Operations have been suspended since May 7 due to damage from an Israeli strike as the Iran-backed Houthis, who control Sanaa, continue to launch ballistic missiles toward the Jewish state.

PM: War may be paused, but won’t end until Hamas eliminated; over half of Gazans will want to leave

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets wounded IDF reservists from the 'Wounded Soldiers for Victory' forum, at his office in Jerusalem, May 12, 2025. Netanyahu is holding up a photo of Ari Spitz, an IDF soldier who lost three limbs while fighting in Gaza. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a meeting with wounded IDF reservists last night that Israel may agree to a short-term ceasefire for the release of hostages, but will not end the war under any circumstances until Hamas is defeated, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“The situation has changed. In the coming days, we will go in [to Gaza] with full force to complete the operation. Completing the operation means subduing Hamas. It means destroying Hamas,” the premier tells the reservists, in a video shared by the PMO.

“Eliminating Hamas and freeing all our hostages — these go hand in hand. That’s how we’re doing this,” continues Netanyahu.

As Israel sends a delegation to Doha for final efforts at reaching a ceasefire-hostage deal before US President Donald Trump concludes his Middle East visit, Netanyahu says: “Maybe Hamas will say, ‘Wait — we want to release 10 more [hostages].’ Fine, bring them. We’ll take them. And then we’ll go in. But there will be no situation where we stop the war.”

“A temporary ceasefire — fine. But we’re going all the way,” the premier says.

“We’ve already set up a governing body that will allow [civilians] to exit, but the main issue is this — we need host countries willing to absorb them. That’s what we’re working on right now,” he adds.

“If we give them a way out, I’m telling you — more than 50% will leave. In my opinion, many more. But Hamas will not remain there,” he says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, meets wounded IDF reservists from the “Wounded Soldiers for Victory” forum, at his office in Jerusalem, May 12, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

The reservists, who are members of the “Wounded Soldiers for Victory” forum, “expressed support for Netanyahu’s leadership in pursuing victory and achieving all the war’s objectives, and urged him to decisively defeat the terrorist organization Hamas,” the PMO says.

“You are an example and an inspiration, and with your spirit, we are heading toward total victory,” he tells the group.

Herzog returns to Israel, phones Edan Alexander: ‘Every house in Israel is excited’

Just after arriving back in Israel from a state visit to Germany, President Isaac Herzog calls released hostage Edan Alexander to welcome him home.

“Welcome home, beloved son of the State of Israel,” Herzog tells him in a phone call from his car on the way home from the airport. “We’re so excited — it’s not just in Tenafly, everyone is excited, every house in Israel is excited.”

Alexander tries to thank the president, who replies: “Listen, we’re saying thank you to you, you were there for so long.” The freed captive adds: “I can’t believe how all this happened.”

Yesterday, Herzog watched Alexander’s release during his meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Report: With Qatar help, US agreed to push Israel for 3-month truce-hostage deal to secure captive’s release

The United States, in coordination with Qatar, agreed to push Israel to accept a months-long ceasefire and hostage exchange deal in return for the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, Axios reports.

During Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani’s visit to the White House last month, the Gulf state leader met with US President Donald Trump and US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and suggested that they support a Hamas-approved proposal for a deal to release all hostages and end the war, but Washington said a temporary, phased deal was the only viable option, according to the outlet.

Upon returning to Doha, al-Thani encouraged Hamas to make a gesture to Trump in order to change the president’s position, shortly after which Hamas reached out to Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American businessman and Trump supporter, to mediate talks with the US on the proposal, officials said in the report. The existence of this backchannel was first reported by The Times of Israel.

The White House subsequently told the terror group that if Alexander were released, the US would pressure Israel to implement a 70- to 90-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 hostages, during which negotiations for a final deal would be held, according to a Palestinian official quoted in the report.

The US, Qatar and Egypt would ensure that the war wouldn’t resume throughout the talks, the official adds, though the US did not confirm this to Axios.

Al-Thani played a critical role in persuading Hamas to agree to a deal, while Netanyahu was highly involved and the IDF’s campaign in Gaza was “instrumental,” a senior US official says.

For his part, Trump did not pressure Netanyahu during their phone call yesterday to roll back his plans for an expanded ground campaign in Gaza set to begin after Trump’s Middle East visit, Israeli officials tell Axios.

Axios echoes other reports that Witkoff and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler will be traveling to Doha with Israeli negotiators today, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a request from the Trump administration to send a negotiating team to jumpstart the stalled hostage-ceasefire talks with Hamas.

Netanyahu has stressed that negotiations would be conducted with Gaza “under fire” and that the military’s planned offensive to achieve control of the entire Strip will still go ahead if Hamas does not release more captives first.

Iran says it may be open to temporary enrichment limit

Iran is open to accepting temporary limits on its uranium enrichment, its deputy foreign minister says, adding that talks with the United States have yet to address such specifics.

“For a limited period of time, we can accept a series of restrictions on the level and volume of enrichment,” Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi says.

“We have not yet gone into details about the level and volume of enrichment,” he adds in quotes carried by the Tasnim news agency.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the latest round of nuclear talks that the right to enrich uranium was “nonnegotiable,” while US chief negotiator Steve Witkoff called it a “red line.”

Israel has demanded that any agreement prohibit any enrichment, though the US has at times indicated it could agree to a deal that caps enrichment.

Report: Hostages’ relatives headed to Doha to meet Trump, al-Thani

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and US hostages envoy Adam Boehler (center left and right) meet with relatives of hostages held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025. (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

A delegation of relatives of hostages are heading to Qatar to meet with US President Donald Trump and Qatari premier Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, Channel 12 news reports.

The channel describes the delegation as “small.” The exact makeup of the reported delegation is not specified.

According to the channel, the group is being led by Eytan Stibbe, a former fighter pilot, arms dealer and businessman who was part of a private trip to space in 2022.

Trump is expected in Doha on Wednesday, while an Israeli team is expected to fly there today for talks on a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler told hostages’ families they would also travel to Doha for the talks.

Knesset panel okays reservist call-up after Haredi MKs join fight

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approves the government’s emergency call-up of tens of thousands of additional reservists, a day after the measure failed to muster enough support in the same committee.

The approval is good for one week, with another vote scheduled next week.

Yesterday’s vote was deadlocked 2-2, forcing the coalition to call for ultra-Orthodox members of the committee — who oppose sending their own children to the army — to enlist in the effort to approve the call-up.

Following the vote, Yesh Atid MK Yorai Lahav Hertzanu of the opposition complains on social media that the measure passed because a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party voted in favor, even as his party is threatening to bring down the coalition over the IDF’s decision to enforce enlistment orders.

German leader touches down in Israel for second leg of home-and-home with Herzog

President Isaac Herzog (left) greets German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Ben Gurion Airport on May 13, 2025. (Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)

Capping off his state visit to Berlin, President Isaac Herzog arrives back in Israel, welcoming his German counterpart for a reciprocal visit.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier touches down in Israel about half an hour after Herzog’s return, and is welcomed at the airport in a brief ceremony.

The two leaders will head straight to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, and later this evening Steinmeier will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Herzog.

Tomorrow, they will tour Kibbutz Be’eri, which was devastated by Hamas’s October 7 attack, and will present plans to rebuild a new art gallery there. They will also plant a tree together.

Steinmeier’s visit comes after Herzog’s whirlwind one-day trip to Berlin yesterday to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties with Germany, including a meeting with the newly sworn in Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

In Tokyo, Sa’ar sells ‘US aid plan’ to bypass Hamas in Gaza

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, left, meets with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar in Tokyo on May 13, 2025. (Shlomi Amselam/GPO)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar calls on the international community to support what he describes as “an American initiative” to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, during opening remarks at a Tokyo meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Sa’ar’s office says in a statement.

“Israel supports the American initiative to allocate humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza and not to Hamas. We call on the international community to support it,” says Sa’ar.

On Sunday, Sa’ar announced in a joint press conference with his German counterpart that Israel “fully endorses” what he called an American plan for providing aid to the Gaza Strip, though officials familiar with the mechanism have told The Times of Israel that the Israeli government and military have been heavily involved in putting the scheme together.

“We hope our objectives are achieved and that this war ends soon. We want to return to the path of expanding the circle of peace and normalization in the Middle East,” says Sa’ar in Japan, where he arrived this morning for the first official visit to the G7 country by an Israeli foreign minister since 2010.

“Hamas started this war on October 7 and is responsible for its continuation by refusing to release our hostages and refusing to disarm…The October 7 attack caused a regional war. And this fundamental thing must be changed,” says Sa’ar, adding that, “with a terrorist state like Hamas — we will not be able to ensure regional stability.”

“We are truly grateful for Japan’s steadfast support for Israel after Hamas’s horrific attack on October 7. You clearly condemned Hamas and recognized Israel’s right to self-defense,” Sa’ar tells Iwaya, adding that Japan was swift to impose sanctions on three Hamas leaders and call for the immediate release of the hostages in Gaza.

“This visit is a special opportunity to strengthen our bilateral relations. We would like to do it in economy, defense, innovation, science, technology and people to people,” continues the foreign minister.

Sa’ar thanks his counterpart for his hospitality and invites him to visit Israel soon.

US envoys tell hostages families of ‘genuine chance for progress’ in Doha

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff meets with relatives of hostages held in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025. (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler told the families of hostages still in Gaza that they think there is a chance to make progress on freeing their loved ones as they head to Qatar for indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum says.

Witkoff “assured the families that if he and Boehler didn’t believe there was a genuine chance for progress in negotiations, they wouldn’t be making the trip to Doha,” the Forum says, noting that the meeting lasted nearly two hours.

“Both officials emphasized their personal commitment to bringing back all 58 remaining hostages – both the living and the deceased,” the statement says. “Witkoff emphasized that they will accept nothing less than the return of everyone, as this is the President’s mission.

Witkoff also told the families that “everyone would prefer to see a diplomatic solution,” the Forum says.

Army says it launched ‘routine’ raids on draft dodgers from all walks of life

In an official statement, the IDF says it has launched a “routine” Military Police campaign to detain those who ignored enlistment orders following the latest round of call-ups.

“Last night, there was an [arrest] operation close to the draft period as has been carried out previously, in an equal manner across all sects of society and against anyone who did not show up as required,” the IDF says.

The comment comes after a report that the army would launch large-scale arrest raids tomorrow targeting Haredi draft dodgers, which ignited a firestorm of protest among ultra-Orthodox politicians.

The army says the campaign last night was aimed at a total of 36 people evading conscription, and not just ultra-Orthodox men. The IDF first made contact with those not showing up at induction centers, in an attempt to sort the matter out voluntarily, and would only afterward carry out arrests.

It is unclear how many arrests actually took place.

The detainees will either face disciplinary measures or a criminal trial, depending on how long they have ignored draft orders.

In general, the Military Police’s arrest campaigns are aimed at those who have ignored draft orders recently, and therefore will only face disciplinary measures.

It marks the third arrest campaign against draft dodgers since the beginning of the war, with the previous ones taking place in November 2024 and March 2025, according to the army.

The Military Police have been occupied with war-related tasks, therefore only three such operations have been carried out.

The military notes that last week, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed the Personnel Directorate to bring forward an immediate plan to “expand and maximize” the sending out of draft orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community

“The plan is currently being prepared,” the IDF says.

Israel said to hit motorcycle in southern Lebanon

Lebanese media report on an alleged Israeli drone strike on a motorcycle in southern Lebanon’s Houla.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

تصحيح | مراسل #الجديد: الغارة الإسرائيلية في حولا إستهدفت دراجة نارية @farhat_muhamad1 pic.twitter.com/MHmmEKi6Eb

— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) May 13, 2025

I’m weak, but getting better,’ freed hostage tells Netanyahu in phone call

In a call with Edan Alexander and Steve Witkoff, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hails the captive’s return and praises IDF readiness if no Hamas deal is reached.

Freed hostage Edan Alexander said he is weak but slowly recovering, in the phone call with Netanyahu earlier in the day, in a video of the call shared by the premier’s office.

“Craziness, craziness, it’s unbelievable,” Alexander says at the top of the call. Asked how he is feeling, the soldier replies haltingly, “I’m okay. Weak, but little by little, I’ll get back to what was before. It’s all a matter of time.”

Netanyahu praises Israel’s medical teams for helping the ex-captive recover, and tells him, “You really sound like you’re on the right track,” ordering the 21-year-old to listen to their medical advice.

The premier also says Israel is “rejoiced” following his return and that the country is ready to fight Hamas if no wider hostage deal is reached.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff also participated in the call held during the envoy’s visit to the hospital where the dual national is recovering this morning.

“You have one brave Israeli soldier there — who is also a champion of America and Israel together, and we’re very very happy and very grateful to the help you and President Trump gave us,” Netanyahu tells Witkoff in English.

“And we of course value his [Alexander’s] comrades, the Israeli soldiers who are ready to take whatever action if our other friends, our other hostages, are not released, so it’s a great moment,” continues the premier.

Witkoff responds by saying, “Mr. Prime Minister, I told Edan and his family everything you have done to make this possible over the last several days. It was a tense negotiation, and it was critical how you were, how you allowed the negotiations to operate, and that’s in large part the reason that Edan is home with his family today.”

Hunger-stricken Gazan kids could be permanently affected, WHO warns

Malnutrition rates are rising in Gaza and hunger could have lasting impacts on “an entire generation,” the World Health Organization’s representative for the Palestinian Territories says.

Rik Peeperkorn said he had seen children in clinics who looked years younger than their age.

“Without enough nutritious food, clean water and access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected,” Peeperkorn tells a press briefing by video link from Deir al-Balah inside the Strip, warning of poor health, stunting and impaired cognitive development.

Hamas says dialogue, not bombs, led to release of Alexander

Hamas is rejecting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that military pressure helped secure the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.

“The return of Edan Alexander is the result of serious communications with the US administration and the efforts of mediators, not a consequence of Israeli aggression or the illusion of military pressure,” the Palestinian terror group says in a statement.

“Netanyahu is misleading his people and has failed to bring back his prisoners through aggression,” Hamas adds.

“The return of Edan Alexander confirms that serious negotiations and a prisoner exchange deal are the way to bring back the prisoners and end the war,” the Hamas statement adds.

Hostage envoy Boehler says ‘better chance’ now for wider deal with Hamas

US President Donald Trump's special envoy on hostages Adam Boehler, center, visits Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy on hostages, Adam Boehler, tells a group of Israeli reporters in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square that following the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, there is a “better chance” to reach a deal with Hamas that sees the remaining 58 hostages in Gaza go free.

“I think there’s a better chance now than before,” Boehler says when asked about the likelihood of a larger deal.

“I think Hamas knows that they can pull a deal any day that they want. They need to approach Trump, they need to approach [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], and they need to set this up the right way,” the envoy adds.

Asked what Israel will decide to do about the war in Gaza after Trump’s visit to the region this week, Boehler replies, “I think that that is up to Israel and they’ll consult with the president, I can’t say.”

“Here’s the one thing I will say: this is a moment for Israelis. It’s extremely important for Edan Alexander to be put forward, to be released, and I think there is hope of change now,” he says.

Red Sea swimmer who wound up in Israel from Egypt questioned

The Israeli Navy detained an unarmed suspect who swam from Egypt into Israeli territory near the southernmost city of Eilat a short while ago, the military says.

The suspect was handed over to police for further questioning.

Lapid backs planned draft dodger arrest campaign

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and other opposition figures express approval of the upcoming military operation to arrest draft dodgers.

“The military police are not ‘arresting Haredim,’ they are arresting young Israelis who received a draft order during the war and did not show up at the military induction base to enlist in the defense of the state,” Lapid tweets.

The Democrats chairman Yair Golan tweets, “The law is the law. Recruitment is recruitment and equality is equality. Don’t stop, recruit everyone.”

In the wake of the latest coalition crisis, in which the Haredi parties threatened to bring down the coalition if even one yeshiva student is arrested, a Likud source tells the Maariv daily that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will pass an enlistment bill no matter what, even if he has to replace Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein.

Witkoff appears to praise Netanyahu pressure as factor in hostage talks

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff visits Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Speaking to the parents of slain American-Israeli hostage Itay Chen at Hostages’ Square, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says the release of Edan Alexander was a “stepping stone,” while appearing to praise the efforts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of those in Gaza.

“Everyone is still focused on dialogue, diplomacy and bringing them home,” Witkoff says in a Reuters video showing them speaking on a crowded sidewalk.

Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff visits Hostages Square in Tel Aviv https://t.co/37dKSwluKv

— Reuters (@Reuters) May 13, 2025

In answer to an inaudible comment from Hagit Chen, Witkoff replies, “But he did a lot. Without his help, it didn’t happen,” presumably referring to Netanyahu and yesterday’s release of Edan Alexander.

“The prime minister was strong. He was totally strong for the deal, Ron Dermer was for the deal,” he says.

“I’m telling you, the pressure Bibi put on after the second phase achieved [inaudible], that’s a fact,” he adds.

IDF downplays plans to arrest draft dodgers

Military officials tell reporters that the upcoming arrest campaign against suspects who ignored enlistment orders is a routine operation that takes place several times a year, after each drafting period.

The officials say that the Military Police will work to detain draft dodgers from all parts of society, and not just ultra-Orthodox men.

The clarification comes after the news that they would launch the raid sparked a political firestorm, with ultra-Orthodox politicians threatening to bring down the government over the move.

At Hostages Square, Witkoff calls hostage release a ‘beacon of hope’ for rest

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff visits Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff says he wants the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander to be a “beacon of hope” for the hostage families, as he makes his way through Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

After visiting Alexander at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center this morning, Witkoff is asked by Israeli journalist Amichai Stein what message he has for the families of the remaining 58 hostages in Gaza today. “I hope this is a beacon of hope for everybody else,” he says.

President Trump envoy tells me: the release of Edan Alexander is a beacon of Hope pic.twitter.com/qGuIldwQto

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) May 13, 2025

The envoy also praises Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani for their help in the release process, despite Israel apparently being bypassed in the negotiations that led to Alexander being set free.

“Thank God for President Trump. And, by the way, the prime minister [Netanyahu] did an exceptional job here, as did the Qatari PM,” says Witkoff before walking through a scrum of journalists, well-wishers and security guards.

He tells reporters his meeting with Alexander in the hospital was “inspirational for all of us.”

Noting that Alexander spoke by phone with Netanyahu, Witkoff says “the prime minister was incredible in this effort” to secure Alexander’s release. “It wouldn’t have happened without him.”

Alexander also spoke to Trump, and “it was Donald Trump who guided this,” Witkoff says.

After body of soldier missing since 1982 recovered, Netanyahu says he’ll bring back all hostages

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is working “day and night” to return all hostages remaining in Gaza, after the brother of a soldier who went missing 43 years ago and was brought back to Israel this week thanked him for not giving up.

“I was deeply moved to hear the words of Itzik Feldman at the funeral of his brother,” writes Netanyahu on X.

On Sunday, Israel announced that it had recovered the remains of Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman, who went missing along with two other troops during the battle of Sultan Yacoub during the First Lebanon War in 1982.

התרגשתי עד עומק הלב לשמוע את דבריו של איציק פלדמן בהלוויה של אחיו, סמ”ר צבי פלדמן ז”ל, שנפל בלבנון.

המילים שלו ביטאו כאב גדול – אבל גם תקווה ואמונה.

אנחנו לא עוצרים לרגע. פועלים יומם וליל כדי להחזיר את כל הבנים והבנות שלנו – את כל חטופינו. pic.twitter.com/IMfpmSOzbY

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 13, 2025

A video attached to the prime minister’s post shows Feldman speaking at his brother’s funeral yesterday, recalling a protest families held some 30 years ago demanding the return of Feldman and other presumed captives. Netanyahu spoke to the families and promised to bring them home, he says.

“His words expressed immense pain — but also hope and faith. We’re not stopping for a moment. We’re working day and night to bring back all our sons and daughters — all our hostages,” says the premier.

Ultra-Orthodox parties threaten to bolt coalition if IDF cracks down on draft evaders

Senior ultra-Orthodox political officials have informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the launch of a large-scale enforcement operation against Haredi draft dodgers could bring about the Haredi parties’ “immediate resignation from the government,” public broadcaster Kan reports.

Speaking with the Ynet news site, an unnamed senior Haredi party official says that “if dozens and hundreds of yeshiva students are indeed arrested, as we currently seeing, these will be the government’s last days.”

Both the Shas and UTJ parties would need to leave to bring down Netanyahu’s coalition.

Military Police reportedly set to step up raids on Haredi draft dodgers

Ultra-Orthodox activists clash with police during a protest against the drafting of Haredi Jews to the IDF, in Jerusalem, May 23, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Military Police are set to begin a large-scale arrest operation tomorrow against ultra-Orthodox men who ignored enlistment orders, Channel 13 news reports.

The network reports that dozens of Israel Defense Forces draft evaders are expected to be arrested in the operation.

The IDF in the coming weeks will complete sending out draft orders to 24,000 Haredi men, wrapping up an effort that began last summer but has seen only a handful enlist.

Earlier this week, a military official acknowledged that in practice, the IDF had not been enforcing the draft orders it was sending out to the ultra-Orthodox, who have traditionally been granted exemptions from military service. Haredi politicians are attempting to legislate new rules aimed at reinstating those exemptions after courts found them to be unconstitutional.

“We don’t enforce the draft orders for the ultra-Orthodox enough,” the official said. “There is almost no enforcement of them.”

Previous attempts to enforce draft orders have been met with large-scale protests from the community, including demonstrations that have turned violent.

Freed hostage Alexander speaks to Trump by phone as Witkoff visits hospital

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, right, and freed hostage Edan Alexander, second right, speak by phone to US President Donald Trump, alongside Alexander's family from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center on May 13, 2025. (Office of the Special Envoy to the Middle East/X)

Special US envoy Steve Witkoff and freed American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander spoke to US President Donald Trump over the phone from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center this morning, the envoy says.

Witkoff and Alexander “had the opportunity to speak with [US President Donald Trump], whose leadership made this possible. We remain committed to bringing every last hostage home,” says the envoy in a post from his office on X.

I was honored to meet Edan Alexander today and welcome him home. After months in captivity, the world is inspired by his courage and resilience. His return gives hope to so many. We also had the opportunity to speak with @POTUS, whose leadership made this possible. We remain… pic.twitter.com/9rninnXSJy

— Office of the Special Envoy to the Middle East (@SE_MiddleEast) May 13, 2025

“I was honored to meet Edan Alexander today and welcome him home. After months in captivity, the world is inspired by his courage and resilience. His return gives hope to so many,” adds Witkoff.

Witkoff also mediated the earlier phone call between Alexander and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a Ynet report. The Prime Minister’s Office has not immediately responded to a request for confirmation on this detail.

Bin Salman greets Trump at airport to begin Saudi leg of Mideast trip

US President Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an arrival ceremony at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump begins his Mideast tour with a rare tarmac welcome from Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who warmly greets Trump as he steps off Air Force One.

The pomp began before Trump even landed. Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s provided an honorary escort for Air Force One as it approached the kingdom’s capital.

The two leaders retreat to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides are served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun-belts.

Saudi Air Force F-15 warplanes escort Air Force One carrying US President Donald Trump as it arrives in Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)

The crown prince’s airport greeting underscores the close relationship the de facto ruler of the kingdom wants to have with the American leader.

Typically, a provincial governor or another official will greet a foreign leader on arrival. King Salman once greeted US president Barack Obama at the airport on a trip to the kingdom, but then lower-ranking officials did as the kingdom grew angry over his stance on the 2011 Arab Spring and the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

US president Joe Biden also was greeted by a provincial governor on his 2022 trip to the kingdom, before having an awkward fist-bump with Prince Mohammed, whom he had derided as a “pariah” during his election campaign after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Likud minister blasts Trump as ‘unpredictable,’ unreliable

Minister for Regional Cooperation Dudi Amsalem in the Knesset, Jerusalem on January 29, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem lashes out at Donald Trump, saying he expects more in the way of cooperation from the US president.

“Trump until now has acted in Israel’s interest, but it turns out that this guy is unpredictable,” he tells Kan radio of the famously mercurial president. “Every day he is on a different side.”

Praising former US president Joe Biden as someone “who really loved Israel,” Amsalem says Trump can’t be relied upon, specifically mentioning his agreement to stop attacking Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

“We are dealing with a president that gets up in the morning with A, at night decides B and afterward C and does D,” says the Likud minister, who is considered a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It confuses the whole world on every subject. When you are leading the world, there is a way of doing things, there is a method, consistency.”

He describes the lack of coordination between Washington and Jerusalem on regional issues, including negotiating the release of hostage Edan Alexander, as “a serious thing. It’s breaking every norm there ever was between Israel and the US.”

Netanyahu phones ex-hostage Alexander; US envoy Witkoff said to visit him in hospital

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is speaking by phone with freed American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

Alexander was released yesterday from Hamas captivity after the US Trump administration bilaterally negotiated his release, and is now hospitalized at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff is currently visiting the dual national at the hospital, according to Hebrew media reports. There is no immediate confirmation from US officials.

Hostage families group confirms no Qatar trip for Alexander

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum confirms that newly freed hostage Edan Alexander will not meet US President Donald Trump in Qatar.

“The Alexander family confirms that as of now, Edan will not fly to Qatar,” a statement reads. “The family remains in continuous contact with the Trump administration.”

According to Channel 12 news, Alexander is expected to spend at least four days in the hospital, by which time Trump will have departed the region.

Trump arrives in Riyadh to kick off Gulf tour

Air Force One, carrying US President Donald Trump, has landed in Riyadh, kicking off a four-day regional tour by the president, who is making his first major foreign trip since reentering office in January.

A purple set of stairs leads from the plane to a purple carpet on the tarmac lined by Saudi officials and a royal honor guard, who await the president’s appearance under the sweltering Saudi sun.

Newly freed Alexander won’t meet Trump in Qatar, needs rest, family says

Staff Sgt. Edan Alexander is airlifted along with his family from the Re'im base in southern Israel to Sourasky Hospital in Tel Aviv, May 12, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The family of Edan Alexander says the newly freed former hostage will not travel to Qatar to meet US President Donald Trump, but will eventually visit the president in the US.

“His medical condition requires that he rest,” the family says in a statement carried by Channel 12 news. “He will meet with Trump in the US at a later date.”

The channel reports that Alexander will speak with Trump by phone later in the day, according to the family.

Reports yesterday indicated that plans were in the works to have Alexander, a dual Israeli-American citizen, fly to Qatar at the request of Trump, where he would personally thank the president and the Qatari emir for moves that saw Hamas free him from captivity as an apparent goodwill gesture.

Trump, whose plane is about to land in Saudi Arabia, is expected in Qatar on Wednesday.

British woman facing deportation over anti-Israel posts online

A British activist is facing deportation from Israel over social media posts criticizing Israeli cops and soldiers and supporting an organization urging a boycott against the country, police say.

The 35-year-old woman, who is not named, was arrested Monday after entering a closed military zone in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills, according to authorities, who accuse her of refusing orders to identify herself and threatening a settlement security coordinator who arrived on the scene.

A British activist being questioned by police in a photo released on May 13, 2025. (Police spokesperson)

“During questioning, it was discovered that the suspect had uploaded social media posts against police and IDF soldiers, and was part of an organization calling to boycott the State of Israel,” police say in a statement. “In the wake of what arose during the investigation, [the Population and Immigration Authority] decided to deport her.”

The woman is being held in jail pending her departure, police add.

Sa’ar lands in Tokyo for first visit by Israeli foreign minister in 15 years

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has arrived in Japan for the first official visit to the G7 country by an Israeli foreign minister in 15 years, the Foreign Ministry announces.

During his three-day visit, Sa’ar will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, members of the Japan-Israel Parliamentary friendship group, and other top Japanese officials, the ministry says in a statement.

In October, Iwaya “unequivocally condemned” the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel but said he was “gravely concerned” by the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip one year into the ongoing conflict.

While in Japan, Sa’ar will give interviews to local media and hold a press conference aimed at “strengthening Israel’s narrative in the Japanese press,” Sa’ar’s office says.

The foreign minister is expected to return to Israel on Thursday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Tokyo on May 12, 2014, marking the last major diplomatic visit to Japan by an Israeli official.

Saudis embrace Trump, fete shared interests ahead of arrival

Saudi and US flags flutter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 12, 2025. (Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

American and Saudi flags are lining the streets in Saudi Arabia’s capital ahead of US President Donald Trump’s arrival, along with a noticeable security presence in Riyadh of all American-made police cars.

At a “Media Oasis” set up for journalists, giant video screens show off Saudi construction projects like its futuristic NEOM city and its hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup. A mobile McDonald’s sits in the parking lot, still shuttered.

Saudi Arabia’s tightly controlled media is joining in the charm offensive, describing the visit as part of a strategic reset in American-Saudi relations, which date back to when then-President Franklin Roosevelt met King Saud aboard the USS Quincy in 1945.

“Many countries around the world, including in Europe, are following Saudi Arabia’s lead in managing their affairs with Trump,” writes Abdulrahman al-Rashed in Asharq Al-Awsat. “The era of relying solely on political and military alliances with Washington is over; the focus now is on forging shared interests.”

Faisal J. Abbas writes in the English-language Arab News newspaper that “the significance of the visit cannot be overstated — nor could its timing be more crucial,” given Saudi Arabia’s mediation in the Russia-Ukraine war and the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.

He also acknowledges business deals that will be a centerpiece of the trip.

“Putting America first does not mean ignoring opportunities abroad; it means seizing them,” Abbas writes.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, who led Saudi intelligence for more than two decades and served as ambassador to the US and Britain, addresses Trump in the same paper, writing that “our doors and hearts are open to you.”

Report says Trump wanted out of Houthi campaign as costs mounted with few results

Members of Houthi-affiliated security forces stand guard during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and in condemnation of US strikes, in Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on April 11, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

US President Donald Trump ordered an end to a military campaign against Yemen’s Houthis after being frustrated by a lack of progress against the Iran-backed group and the mounting costs of the campaign, the New York Times reports.

The Trump administration has portrayed the ceasefire, which included no guarantees regarding continued attacks against Israel or other non-US assets, as a victory, claiming the Houthis sued for peace after being degraded by two months of intense strikes.

But according to the report, Trump had sought an off-ramp from the campaign after the Houthis continued to successfully resist US forces, who lost a number of Reaper drones and two F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets, giving the Pentagon 30 days to show results rather than pressing ahead with the original proposed plan for an eight- to 10-month engagement aimed at disabling the group. The paper, relying on unnamed former and current officials, reports that the campaign cost the US over $1 billion in its first month alone, and sparked fears that the US would be short munitions it could need to defend Taiwan against China, leading Trump to seek a way out.

The initial proposal had called for air strikes to take out Houthi air defenses followed by a campaign of assassinations, largely modeled on Israel’s successful war against Hezbollah. Trump had only partially approved the plan, the paper reports.

Sanaa International Airport on May 7, 2025, a day after Israel’s military warplanes struck Yemen’s Houthi rebel-held capital Sanaa. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

The idea for a truce was advanced by the Omanis via US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff as they brokered nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, according to the Times.

Israel was caught off guard by the US agreement to stop bombing the Houthis, which was announced days after a missile hit Ben Gurion airport, injuring several people and sparking heavy Israeli strikes on Houthi infrastructure, including Sana’a’s main airport. The Houthis have since continued to fire missiles at Israel, though only a single one since the ceasefire was announced has managed to trigger warning sirens, with the rest falling outside of Israeli territory.

Israel normalization won’t be on table as Trump visits Saudis, sources say

As US President Donald Trump makes his way to Riyadh, sources tell Reuters that both the Americans and Saudis will likely avoid the topic of normalization with Israel during talks, which are expected to focus on economic deals rather than diplomacy or statecraft.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said last week that he imminently expected progress on expanding the Abraham Accords, a set of deals brokered by Trump in his first term under which Arab states including the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco recognized Israel.

But opposition by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a permanent stop to the war in Gaza or to the creation of a Palestinian state makes progress on similar talks with Riyadh unlikely, sources tell Reuters.

Trump is expected to land at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport at 9:45 a.m. He is slated to hold meetings with Saudi leaders starting at noon, according to the White House.

Trump’s second and third stops – in Qatar on Wednesday and the UAE on Thursday – are similarly expected to focus on economic issues.

Gaza health ministry says two killed in hospital attack

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip says an Israeli attack on Khan Younis’s Nasser Hospital killed two people and injured an unspecified number of others, including patients receiving treatment and medical staff. It does not immediately name the casualties.

Reports earlier indicated that among those killed was Hassan Eslaiah, whom the Israel Defense Forces said last month was a member of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade.

On October 7, Eslaiah, who was freelancing for the Associated Press, took photos of a burning tank on the Gaza border which had been attacked by Hamas operatives. He also invaded Israel with the terrorists and photographed them entering Kibbutz Nir Oz, where dozens of civilians were massacred. “During the massacre, he documented and uploaded footage of looting, arson, and murder to social media,” the IDF said last month.

The IDF announced in early April that it had targeted Eslaiah in an airstrike, but he managed to survive.

The IDF said overnight it carried out a “targeted strike” on “key” Hamas operatives inside the hospital compound, but did not say if any were killed in the strike.

The Gaza toll cannot be verified. Gazan health authorities in general do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

IDF says it hit Khan Younis hospital compound used by Hamas operatives

Dr. Marwan al-Hams, director of the Field Hospitals Department in Gaza, surveys the destruction inside the surgical building of Nasser Hospital, a day after it was struck by an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, March 24, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The IDF says that its forces carried out a “targeted attack” on “key” Hamas operatives who were operating a command center in the Nasser Hospital compound in Khan Younis.

Palestinian media reported multiple casualties in the strike.

Among those reported killed is Hassan Eslaiah, whom the IDF and Shin Bet have previously said was a member of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade.

On October 7, Eslaiah, who was freelancing for the Associated Press, took photos of a burning tank on the Gaza border which had been attacked by Hamas operatives. He also invaded Israel with the terrorists and photographed them entering Kibbutz Nir Oz, where dozens of civilians were massacred. “During the massacre, he documented and uploaded footage of looting, arson, and murder to social media,” the IDF said last month.

The IDF announced in early April that it had targeted Eslaiah in an airstrike, but he managed to survive.

תקיפת צה"ל בח'אן יונס: על פי דיוחים בעזה, בין ההרוגים ה"עיתונאי" העזתי חסן אצליח שצילם את עצמו ב- 7 באוקטובר | תיעוד @ItayBlumental https://t.co/RCejA4XaEn pic.twitter.com/dEYXaTNm3d

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 13, 2025

The army asserts in a statement that the Nasser compound continues to be used by Hamas operatives to plan attacks against Israel.

The IDF notes that Ismail Barhoum, a senior Hamas official, was killed in a strike on the same hospital in March.

Barhoum was a member of Hamas’s political bureau, chief of the terror group’s finances and the successor to Issam Da’alis, the de-facto prime minister of Gaza, who was also killed in March.

“Senior Hamas terrorist organization officials continue to use the hospital for terror purposes, cynically and cruelly exploiting the civilian population in and around the hospital,” the IDF statement says.

PM said to tell MKs: Israel destroying homes in Gaza, so Palestinians have nowhere else to go but outside the Strip

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers during closed-door testimony before the the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday that Israel is “destroying more and more houses [in Gaza and Palestinians accordingly] have nowhere to return,” according to quotes from the session leaked to the media.

“The only obvious result will be Gazans choosing to emigrate outside of the Strip,” Netanyahu continued. “But our main problem is finding countries to take them in.”

Netanyahu told the lawmakers that he has discussed Donald Trump’s plan for the US to take over Gaza with the president in recent days but acknowledged that there have been difficulties in implementing it.

While Trump initially called on Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians, both countries quickly pushed back against the idea, insisting that Palestinians should be allowed to remain on their land.

Israel has also refrained from publicly assuring Gazans that those who leave will be allowed to return, further reducing the incentive for countries to take in Gazans, given the perception that they’d be interfering in a decades-old conflict over land.

Dozens who have left Gaza a pilot program for work abroad have reportedly been required to sign documents acknowledging that there is no timeline for when they can come back due to the security situation. Children who have been evacuated for medical treatment abroad have also been prevented from reuniting with their families back in Gaza after the completion of their hospital stay.

Palestinians sift through debris following an Israeli strike in the Bureij refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, May 7, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

During Sunday’s Knesset committee meeting, Netanyahu claimed that despite the lack of success in finding countries to take in Gazans, the US is still interested in taking over Gaza.

Sources familiar with the matter have told The Times of Israel, however, that the Trump administration has put minimal effort into actually advancing Trump’s Gaza takeover plan since it was announced in early February following the massive pushback it received from Arab allies.

Still, Netanyahu told the lawmakers. “I know I will disappoint some people here, but we are not talking about Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip right now.”

MK Limor Son Har-Melech replied, “Bring the Jews of the United States (to settle Gaza). That way, we can kill two birds with one stone,” according to partial transcripts from the meeting leaked to the Maariv daily.

Palestinians try to receive a hot meal prepared by volunteers, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 6, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Netanyahu also briefed the committee on Israel’s plan to soon resume the distribution of aid in Gaza through a new system that aims to prevent assistance from being diverted by Hamas.

Netanyahu said that those who pick up aid from newly established distribution hubs in southern Gaza will be barred from returning to places in Gaza outside of the new humanitarian zone being set up in southern Gaza. Israel’s aid plan envisions squeezing Gaza’s entire population of 2 million people into an area in and surrounding Rafah that makes up between 10 and 25 percent of the Strip. Those entering will be vetted by the IDF, according to officials briefed on the plan.

A new organization called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was established in order to manage the new aid program. GHF was supposed to announce its rollout last week but has faced major setbacks after the UAE, the UN and other international bodies refused to cooperate or fund the initiative due to concerns that it doesn’t adequately address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where aid has been banned by Israel since March 2.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

WATCH: Edan Alexander reunites with grandmother, says he saw her on TV

Released hostage Edan Alexander embraces his grandmother at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, May 12, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Israel’s Government Press Office releases additional footage and pictures from former American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander reuniting with his grandmother Varda Ben Baruch and other family members at Sourasky Hospital in Tel Aviv.

Alexander can be heard telling Ben Baruch that he saw her on the news. It is not immediately clear if he meant that he saw her while he was in captivity or since his release earlier today.

Released hostage Edan Alexander reunites with his grandmother Varda Ben Baruch at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, May 12, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Released hostage Edan Alexander reunites with his grandmother Varda Ben Baruch at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, May 12, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Syria’s Sharaa skips Iraq summit after firestorm over invitation to Gaza-focused gathering

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will not attend the Arab League Summit in Baghdad this weekend, Syrian state media says, after Iraq’s invitation spurred controversy over the rebel-turned-leader’s potential return to a country where he fought and was jailed.

Syria’s delegation to Saturday’s summit will be headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, state-owned Ekhbariya TV reports, without providing a reason for Sharaa’s absence. The summit is expected to focus on Gaza reconstruction and the Palestinian issue.

Sharaa’s decision highlights Syria’s mixed results establishing ties across the region after former President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster last year. Sharaa has made rapid inroads with Sunni-majority Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but has tread more carefully with others where Iran has had strong influence, like Shi’ite-majority Iraq.

Sharaa fought with Al Qaeda in Iraq after the U.S-led invasion in 2003. He was imprisoned there for more than five years, then released for lack of evidence in 2011, according to a senior Iraqi security official.

He then opened Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, breaking away in 2016 to form what became Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that ousted Assad.

Iraq’s prime minister invited Sharaa last month to the summit, prompting criticism from mainly Shi’ite Muslim factions who accuse Sharaa of orchestrating attacks against Shi’ites during his years in Iraq.

US military replaces B-2 bombers that were sent amid Middle East tensions

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows six B-2 stealth bombers parked at Camp Thunder Cove in Diego Garcia on April 2, 2025 (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The US military is replacing its B-2 bombers with another type of bomber at a base in the Indo-Pacific that was seen as being in an ideal location to operate in the Middle East, US officials tell Reuters.

The Pentagon deployed as many as six B-2 bombers in March to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, amid a US bombing campaign in Yemen and mounting tensions with Iran.

Experts say that this had put the B-2s, which have stealth technology and are equipped to carry the heaviest US bombs and nuclear weapons, in a position to operate in the Middle East.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say the B-2 bombers were being replaced by B-52 bombers.

The Pentagon says it does not comment on force posture adjustments as a matter of policy.

Fresh talks between Iranian and US negotiators to resolve disputes over Tehran’s nuclear program ended in Oman on Sunday, with further negotiations planned.

The fourth round of talks took place ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to the Middle East. Trump, who has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails, has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since returning to the White House in January.

Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among what the officials have called “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.

Additionally, Trump announced last week that a deal had been reached to stop bombing Yemen’s Houthi group. The B-2 bombers had been used to carry out strikes against the Iran-backed group.