May 17: IDF intercepts Houthi ballistic missile after sirens activated across central Israel

US embassy in Tripoli denies report of plans to relocate Gazans to Libya

The US embassy in Libya denies a report that the US government is working on a plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.

On Thursday, NBC News said the Trump administration was working on a plan to permanently relocate as many as one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya.

NBC News cited five people with knowledge of the matter, including two people with direct knowledge and a former US official.

“The report of alleged plans to relocate Gazans to Libya is untrue,” the US embassy said on the X platform.

Unverified report claims Hamas has agreed to release half of the living hostages in exchange for 2-month truce

An unnamed source alleges to Sky News Arabia that Hamas has agreed to release half of the living hostages and return the remains of an unspecified number of dead hostages, in exchange for a two-month ceasefire.

According to the unverified report, Hamas is demanding guarantees from the US that during the two-month ceasefire, talks would be held on reaching a permanent end to the war.

The veracity of the report cannot be confirmed.

IDF says it successfully intercepted Houthi ballistic missile

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. Preceding the sirens by some five minutes, 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 35 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.

Israel’s Yuval Raphael comes 2nd at Eurovision 2025, as Austria wins

Israeli singer Yuval Raphael parades during the flag ceremony at the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel on May 17, 2025. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Israel’s Yuval Raphael finishes in 2nd place at the Eurovision 2025 grand final, and first in the televote, as Austria takes the overall win at the annual song contest.

Israel came 14th out of the 26 finalists in the jury vote, but wins the public vote. Israel received 12 jury points — the highest possible — from only one country, Azerbaijan.

The 24-year-old from Ra’anana, a survivor of the October 7 Nova music festival massacre, completed her performance of the emotional ballad, “New Day Will Rise,” in front of the crowd in Basel, Switzerland, with the cry: “Thank you, Europe, Am Yisrael Chai.”

עם ישראל חי, יובל: צפו בהופעה המושלמת של יובל רפאל בגמר האירוויזיון pic.twitter.com/SftWXRoAxm

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 17, 2025

Israel awarded its 12 jury points to neighboring Greece, and 10 points to Germany.

According to Israeli reporters in Basel, security thwarted two separate attempts by protesters to rush the stage during Raphael’s performance. The incidents were not seen on the live TV broadcast, and the Israeli singer did not appear to be aware of them in real time.

Related interview: After surviving Nova, Israel’s Eurovision hopeful is ready to ‘give my dreams a chance’

The contest’s final result is announced as sirens sound across central Israel, after the launch of a missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen.

Sirens sound across central Israel after missile launch from Yemen; IDF working to down projectile

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

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

IDF says ballistic missile launched from Yemen, sirens expected in central Israel

A ballistic missile has been launched from Yemen at Israel, the military says.

Sirens are expected to sound in central Israel in the coming minutes.

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

Bomb explodes near reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, killing one

A bomb exploded near a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, resulting in the death of one person, Mayor Ron DeHarte tells Reuters.

ABC News, citing law enforcement sources and the facility, said at least five people were injured in the explosion.

The Palm Springs City government said in a Facebook post that an explosion occurred before 11 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (8 p.m. Israel time).

“It has been identified as a bomb that was either in or near the car,” DeHarte says.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Los Angeles says in a social media post that it is investigating the explosion with bomb technicians deployed to the scene.

Palm Springs is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his office says.

The Associated Press reports that the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic was damaged, but that the staff was safe. The AP attributes the information to Dr. Maher Abdallah.

Police say 8 arrested over brawls with cops, counterprotesters at rallies this evening

Assailants physically attack protesters demanding a hostage deal, in the central city of Rehovot, May 17, 2025. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Police say they arrested three teenagers for attacking cops and demonstrators at an anti-government and pro-hostage deal protest in Kiryat Ono this evening.

In footage uploaded to social media of the incident, a large group of pro-Netanyahu counterprotesters can be seen brawling with police as they try to carry out arrests and cursing protesters in the surrounding area.

תומכי ממשלה תוקפים שוטרים

17.05.2025 קרית אונו pic.twitter.com/B7RPy8svvf

— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) May 17, 2025

Officers also detained five people involved in a brawl between protesters and right-wing counter-demonstrators in Rehovot at a similar rally earlier that evening.

Four men arrived at the roadside protest in their car, and were seen filming protesters while shouting pro-Netanyahu slogans. He and another then began to scuffle with demonstrators, slapping them and trying to tear away their protest gear, including an Israeli flag.

רכב מאזדה ובו חבורת בריונים תומכי נתניהו עצר בסמוך למפגינים ברחובות – יושבי הרכב יצאו ממנו ותקפו את המפגינים.

17/05/2025 ????הילי ברוק pic.twitter.com/ddtxUDjuOs

— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) May 17, 2025

“A vehicle arrived [to the protest], and its occupants began exchanging words with the protesters. The incident escalated into violence between the parties, and the police detained five suspects,” a police spokesman says.

Police detained some pro-hostage deal demonstrators alongside the counter protesters, including an elderly woman, according to a lawyers’ network that represents detained anti-government protesters.

A spokeswoman for the network adds that one of the counterprotesters has since been released from custody at the Rehovot police station.

Five violent attacks against anti-government protesters have occurred over the course of tonight’s demonstrations, according to Alimut Israel, a watchdog group tracking violence against protesters. The attacks took place in Rehovot, Kiryat Ono, Modiin, Tel Aviv, and Gome Junction in northern Israel.

Two attempts to storm Eurovision stage during Israeli performance said blocked

Israeli singer Yuval Raphael parades during the flag ceremony at the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel on May 17, 2025. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

During Yuval Raphael’s Eurovision performance, security halted two attempts by protesters to rush the stage, according to Hebrew media reports.

In purported video of one incident, a man can be heard yelling, “Free Palestine.”

A protestor tried to get on the stage during Israel’s perormance in the Eurovision final. Security stopped him. pic.twitter.com/lZbv3aPEPt

— Amit Harari | עמית הררי????️ (@AmitHarari2) May 17, 2025

None of the incidents could be seen on the live TV show, and it is not clear if Raphael herself was aware.

In a statement, the Kan public broadcaster, which organizes Israel’s participation in the contest, says it “will not address security issues at the event. We are very proud of Yuval Raphael’s perfect performance on the stage.”

Video of Raphael from right after her performance shows her beaming and embracing the rest of the delegation.

Main obstacle in hostage talks said to be issue of Israeli guarantee not to resume war

A Palestinian source cited by the Kan public broadcaster asserts that the main obstacle to a hostage deal with Hamas is whether Israel will agree to give assurances that it won’t resume the war in Gaza after all the hostages return.

Hamas is demanding such international guarantees, including from the United States, in the current negotiations, the source says, adding that there isn’t a breakthrough in the talks due to this issue.

As ceasefire talks resume, Ben Gvir pledges to oppose ‘surrender to Satan’

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 12, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Hamas’s willingness to discuss another hostage deal is the direct result of heavy Israeli military pressure, declares National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, calling on Israel to continue fighting.

“Hamas’s sudden ‘flexibility’ in the negotiations is not because it suddenly craved peace, but because the IDF increased its pressure. Precisely for this reason, this is not the time to retreat and let Hamas breathe and recover again, but to put the pedal to the metal — until Hamas surrenders,” the far-right politician says in a statement.

“We must now enter Gaza with all our might and finish the job — occupying, seizing the territory, crushing the enemy, and freeing our hostages by force,” he says.

Adding that he has conveyed this view to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben Gvir pledges to “continue to fight against all agreements of surrender to Satan.”

A new round of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas and Israel began in Qatar today after the Israeli military launched its new expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to both Israeli and Hamas officials.

In January, Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party quit the coalition over the previous Gaza ceasefire. The party returned in March as Israel resumed fighting.

Troops kill Palestinian who threw stones at Israeli cars, IDF says

IDF troops have killed a Palestinian allegedly hurling stones at Israeli motorists near the West Bank town of Burqa, the military says.

The IDF says troops of the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit identified three suspects hurling stones at a main road and opened fire on them, killing one and wounding the other two.

Netanyahu orders negotiations team to stay in Qatar, as talks with Hamas ongoing

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the negotiating team for a hostage deal with Hamas to remain in Qatar for the time being, an Israeli official says in a statement sent out to reporters.

The premier remained in continuous contact throughout the day with the delegation, with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and with US envoy Steve Witkoff, “in an effort to dissuade Hamas from its refusal and to advance a deal for the release of our hostages,” the official says.

Communication with the negotiating team “is ongoing even at this hour,” the official adds.

Netanyahu speaks to Rubio for second time in 3 days

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seen at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just held his second phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in three days.

The State Department says they discussed the ongoing hostage talks and the war in Gaza.

‘Am Yisrael Chai’: Yuval Raphael performs ‘New Day Will Rise’ in Eurovision final

Yuval Raphael from Israel performs the song "New Day Will Rise" during the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Israel’s Yuval Raphael performs her song “New Day Will Rise” at the grand final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland.

“Thank you, Europe, Am Yisrael Chai,” she shouts after completing her song.

עם ישראל חי, יובל: צפו בהופעה המושלמת של יובל רפאל בגמר האירוויזיון pic.twitter.com/SftWXRoAxm

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 17, 2025

Raphael takes the stage, fourth in the lineup of the 26 final acts, vying for both votes from the public and from professional juries from each participating country.

Voters from around the world can cast their votes at www.esc.vote.

Only a handful of Palestinian flags can be seen in the audience, despite Israeli fears that they would be a dominant presence after Swiss organizers relaxed flag rules for this year.

Outside the arena, a few hundred anti-Israel protesters gathered, waving Palestinian flags and burning Israeli and American flags and firing smoke bombs, with police working to block their path.

Eisenkot: Establishment of Palestinian state ‘irrelevant’ in post-Oct. 7 reality

National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot attends a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on March 10, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The establishment of a Palestinian state is “irrelevant after October 7,” National Unity party MK Gadi Eisenkot, who is seen as possibly a major force in the next election, tells Channel 12.

In an interview with “Meet the Press,” the former IDF chief of staff and current centrist politician says that going forward, Israel must “certainly not talk after this murderous event about a state and a prize, but rather make our considerations from a position of strength and take our time” on the issue.

Turning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Eisenkot claims that the premier has taken a war of national consensus and turned it into a divisive conflict “that is greatly influenced by the political reality within the cabinet” — primarily because of the demands of far-right politicians like National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Netanyahu is not doing “everything necessary” to free the hostages, he claims, while also failing to secure an appropriate postwar settlement or to properly leverage Jerusalem’s relationship with Washington.

“I am very disturbed by the fact that the Americans are holding direct talks with Hamas… over our heads,” withdrawing from Syria and ending their campaign in Yemen, he says, adding that “part of the American ability to drive these moves stems from the use of Israeli force, and we should have been an asset and also been given status and power.”

Asked if he would agree to join with former prime ministers Naftali Bennett or Yair Lapid for a political run in the next elections, Eisenkot indicates that he doesn’t care who the candidate to replace Netanyahu is as long as he is replaced — adding that he “will do whatever is necessary to achieve the goal.”

Morocco to reopen its embassy in Syria after 13 years

King Mohammed VI says Morocco will reopen its embassy in Damascus, which has been closed since 2012.

Morocco backs Syria’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, he tells an Arab League summit in a speech read on his behalf.

European Council president ‘shocked’ at Israel’s Gaza offensive

European Council President Antonio Costa says he is “shocked” at the situation in Gaza, where Israel has launched an expanded offensive.

“Shocked by the news from Gaza: starving civilians, hospitals hit again by strikes. The violence must stop!” Costa says in a statement online.

He calls on the Israeli government to immediately end the aid blockade — which Israel says is needed to pressure Hamas to release the hostages it is holding, and to prevent Hamas from stealing the aid — and ensure safe, swift and unhindered access to humanitarian aid.

Israel launched an intensified offensive in Gaza on Saturday aimed at the defeat of Hamas, with rescuers in the Hamas-run territory reporting at least 32 killed by new Israeli strikes against the terror group.

“What is happening in Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy. A whole people are subjected to overwhelming and disproportionate military force,” Costa says.

He adds that a lasting ceasefire and the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas are more urgent than ever.

Hostage’s mom, ex-general slam PM’s refusal to compromise in Gaza, accuse him of giving in to far right’s ‘messianic delusions’

Protesters for a hostage deal light a bonfire on the road at the end of a rally at Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, May 17, 2025. (Gilad Furst/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, and Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of kowtowing to his far-right coalition partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oppose a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal.

Referring to current negotiations in Qatar, Einav Zangauker tells some 1,500 anti-government protesters on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road that Netanyahu must now choose whether “to bring redemption to the nation of Israel, or continue fighting for the messianic delusions of Smotrich and Ben Gvir.”

“I’ve already told Netanyahu, ‘You and the negotiating team have a single mandate — to reach a comprehensive deal and end this war,'” she says. “Netanyahu has deliberately and repeatedly sabotaged our loved ones’ chance to come home.”

“Shame!” she yells, and is echoed by the audience.

“My Matan is fighting for his life like a newborn baby who fights for air after the umbilical cord is cut,” says Zangauker, who received a sign of life from her son this week following the release of his former cellmate, American-Israeli captive soldier Edan Alexander.

Tibon, who rushed to Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, to save his son, Haaretz journalist Amir Tibon, says “Israelis don’t abandon their wounded” and should not “abandon hostages in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza.”

“That’s what I was taught in the Sayeret Matkal commando unit and the Paratroopers Brigade,” says the retired general, adding that in Nahal Oz he had “saved and rescued whomever I came across, because I’m an Israeli.”

“The reason the hostages aren’t home is the government of failure and destruction, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who has thwarted all the agreements,” he contends, adding that the premier has done so as recently as this week.

“Netanyahu, the coward, has surrendered to Smotrich and Ben Gvir and said no to a hostage deal,” says Tibon.

He says all the remaining living hostages could have been home by Passover, last month, had Netanyahu not refused to proceed to the second phase of the last Gaza ceasefire, which would have required Israel to withdraw from the Strip — a red line for Ben Gvir and Smotrich.

Once a deal is made to get the hostages out, Tibon says, “we can deal with Hamas, with international support and a full consensus in Israeli society.”

Protesters light a bonfire on the street. Police quickly put it out. Protesters continue chanting: “The hostages are in Gaza for too many days, the blood is on the hands of the government of horrors.”

Anti-government protesters say they were attacked outside event with FM Sa’ar

Following this evening’s assault on anti-government protesters in Rehovot by supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a second group of protesters in Kiryat Ono say they were assaulted while taking part in a demonstration outside an event featuring Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in the central town of Kiryat Ono.

Videos posted by anti-government activists to social media appear to show a violent scuffle outside the event, as well as people identified as government supporters clashing with police. One social media post by an account that tracks violence against protesters also claims that an egg was thrown at demonstrators.

https://x.com/lirishavit/status/1923789431225348492

https://x.com/GONENB1/status/1923809615793270924

https://x.com/Alimut_Israel/status/1923797691982610458

‘Political terrorism’: Opposition blasts Netanyahu after attack on anti-government protesters

Assailants physically attack protesters demanding a hostage deal, in the central city of Rehovot, May 17, 2025. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Leaders of the Knesset opposition blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the physical attack on protesters demanding a hostage deal in the central city of Rehovot this evening.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the attack is the result of the “violent poison machine leading the government.”

“We won’t stop and won’t abandon the hostages until everyone returns home,” he writes on X.

The “poison machine” is the name some avowed critics of Netanyahu use for what they say is a network of pundits, journalists, influencers and activists dedicated to besmirching the premier’s political rivals.

“Tonight’s violence against protesters is not an accident, it is a direct result of the incitement led by Netanyahu and his partners. It is political terrorism aimed at silencing and deterring,” The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan claims, vowing to “not give up” until the hostages are freed, the war is ended and Israel is saved from “corruption, incitement and fear.”

During the incident, the attackers yelled, “King Bibi,” referring to Netanyahu, while another ripped an Israeli flag carried by one of the protesters.

Attacking protesters and desecrating flags “is neither right nor left — but simply a criminal act of a small, incited and extremist handful motivated by hatred,” weighs in National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz.

Calling on the police to bring the perpetrators to justice, Gantz says that the Israeli people “are fed up with extremists who are doing everything they can to divide us.”

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman issues a call for wartime unity, declaring that such incidents are unacceptable and that Israelis must not let toxicity “disintegrate Israeli society.”

‘That’s no way to become a celebrity’: Watch Edan Alexander’s phone call with Trump

A video of Edan Alexander’s phone call with US President Donald Trump is published by Channel 12 news.

בלעדי לחדשות 12: הערב בחדשות סוף השבוע הבאנו את השיחה המלאה בין עידן אלכסנדר לנשיא טראמפ @danhek | @danawt pic.twitter.com/hHQfRPEnf7

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) May 17, 2025

Ex-hostage Mia Schem: Flashbacks from captivity, fact that captives are still in Gaza make it harder to heal

Former hostage Mia Schem speaks during a rally calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv, May 17, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Mia Schem, who was released from Hamas captivity in November 2023 after 55 days in Gaza, says she cried this week as she watched American-Israeli captive soldier Edan Alexander come home on Monday.

“Edan returned to his mom, but he doesn’t know what I already do: that chapter two begins now,” she tells the 1,500-odd crowd at Hostages Square in the weekly demonstration.

“The recovery won’t be complete until the return of all the hostages,” she says, adding that the return “will be full of physical and emotional triggers, greetings from the hell we’ve been through, which will come without warning, again and again.”

Schem recalls how, when she was kidnapped from the Reim-area Nova music festival, “I was snatched to Gaza by seven Hamas monsters who pulled me by the hair into a car.

“I was afraid my scalp would be torn off,” she says. “My hair became a mass of dried-up blood and mud.”

When her captors filmed a ransom video of her, Schem says, “they were ordered to make me look good, so the world wouldn’t suspect how demonic they are.”

“But my hair was a knotted blob, so one of the captors approached me with scissors to cut my hair,” she says, adding that she had struggled against the forced haircut “with all my dwindled might” until her captors relented.

“I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my hair,” she says, likening herself to the Biblical Samson.

“Since then, whenever I see scissors, whenever I take care of my hair, that moment comes back,” she says. “My body shakes uncontrollably and I have trouble breathing.”

Schem, who recently revealed that she is the complainant who accused a well-known Tel Aviv trainer of rape, says she “recently had a terrible experience [and] was asked to cut a curl of my long hair for the [police] investigation.”

“My body reacted again with horror,” she says. “In a moment, I was thrown back to my days in captivity, to the human monsters who sought to cut my hair.”

“Anxiety attacks are a part of the returnees’ lives as a result of the hell we’ve been through,” she says. “They’re part of us and take a very heavy toll.”

“Every additional day in which our brothers and sisters experience emotional and physical torture by Hamas monsters makes it harder to recuperate and pick up the pieces,” she says.

Ahead of Eurovision final, hundreds in Basel protest Israel’s participation

A protester holds a sign during a demonstration against Israel's candidate prior to the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel on May 17, 2025. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

A few hundred people stage an anti-Israel protest in Basel, Switzerland, ahead of the Eurovision grand final tonight.

The protesters wave Palestinian flags and signs accusing Israel of genocide and calling on the country to be banned from the annual song contest. The protest is not approved by Basel police, who are working to redirect the demonstrators. A small number of pro-Israel counter-demonstrators are also present, waving Israeli flags.

A few hundred anti-Israel activists also marched in a protest on Wednesday in the Swiss city against Israel’s participation in the Eurovision. The rallies have paled in comparison to last year, when thousands of people marched several times in Malmo, Sweden, in protest of Israel’s inclusion.

Israel’s Yuval Raphael, who survived the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, is slated to perform fourth in the running order tonight.

Hundreds hold weekly silent vigil outside IDF headquarters for slain Gaza children

Left-wing protesters hold up candles and pictures of Gazan children said to have been killed by Israel, Tel Aviv, May 17, 2025. (Noam Lehmann/Times of Israel)

About 300 left-wing protesters hold up candles and pictures of Gazan children said to have been killed by Israel since it resumed hostilities in the Strip on March 18.

The now-weekly silent protest outside the southern entrance to the IDF headquarters on Kaplan Street is on the way from Habima Square to Begin Road, the site of successive anti-government rallies regularly held on Saturday nights. The somber silence of the left-wing protest is usually upended for some 20 minutes as anti-government protesters march from Habima to Begin Road, beating on drums and shouting slogans.

As the anti-government crowd approaches, an organizer of the left-wing protest reminds the activists that this is a silent demonstration.

Some of the protesters walking from Habima to Begin Road quiet down and look closely at the pictures. Others are more skeptical. One woman, speaking to her friend, recounts telling a left-wing activist that Hamas had “murdered [people] like you as well” during the onslaught of October 7, 2023.

After the louder protesters pass, the silent protesters prepare to also march down to Begin Road.

Hundreds of left-wing protesters march outside the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv hoisting candles and pictures of Gazan children killed by Israel pic.twitter.com/huEj75GWK9

— Noam Lehmann (@noamlehmann) May 17, 2025

TV report: Release of 10 living hostages, for a one-and-a-half-to-two-month-long ceasefire under discussion in Doha

A deal being discussed in Doha would lead to the release of 10 living captives for a one-and-a-half-to-two-month-long ceasefire in Gaza, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Around 200-250 Palestinian prisoners would be released by Israel as part of such a deal, the report says, adding that the specific number remains a point of contention in the talks.

Hamas would also hand over a list detailing the status of all remaining living and dead hostages on the tenth day of the ceasefire, the report says.

Channel 12 news reports, without citing a source, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized Israel’s delegation to Doha to stay in the Qatari capital for now, and says this constitutes a reason for cautious optimism.

It also quotes Egyptian sources saying that Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya is meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani tonight.

Ex-PM Ehud Barak calls for ‘civic revolt’ against Netanyahu, who is ‘acting like a caged animal’

Anti-government protesters attend a weekly demonstration at Habima Square, Tel Aviv, May 17, 2025. (Zohar Bar-Yehuda/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Former prime minister Ehud Barak calls for “civic revolt” to bring down the government of incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he says is “acting impulsively like a caged animal.”

“A black flag of illegitimacy flies over every one of its actions, and it’s our civic duty to act in every way possible toward its downfall, before it marches us into the abyss,” says Barak, speaking before some 1,000 anti-government protesters at Habima Square.

To applause, Barak calls on National Unity chief Benny Gantz not to be tempted once more to join the government should Netanyahu urge him to do so “when he feels his seat teetering.”

He expresses support for a plan reminiscent of the Egyptian framework for Gaza’s construction: “A technocratic government alongside a Palestinian bureaucracy, with Saudi and Emirati funding and Egyptian oversight… no Hamas member could take part in the arrangement.”

Barak says the framework could have led to Israeli-Saudi normalization and “intimate Israeli involvement in shaping the future of the region.”

“Instead, Netanyahu announced today that he was beginning a foolish war,” says Barak.

The former premier, who in 2000 offered a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, makes no mention of Saudi Arabia’s conditioning of normalization on there being a viable pathway to Palestinian statehood.

Assailants yell ‘King Bibi,’ attack protesters demanding hostage deal in Rehovot

Assailants physically attack protesters demanding a hostage deal, in the central city of Rehovot, May 17, 2025. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Footage shows two assailants physically attacking protesters demanding a hostage deal in the central city of Rehovot this evening.

The attackers yell, “King Bibi,” referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while another rips an Israeli flag carried by one of the protesters.

Police say in a statement that they are questioning suspects over the incident and will decide at the end of the probe if an extension of their custody is necessary.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the attack is the result of the “violent poison machine leading the government.”

“We won’t stop and won’t abandon the hostages until everyone returns home,” he writes on X.

The “poison machine” is the name some avowed critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu use for what they say is a network of pundits, journalists, influencers, and activists dedicated to besmirching the premier’s political rivals.

ההתקפות האלימות נגד ציבור שרק קורא להחזרת חטופים הן תוצר ההסתה של מכונת רעל אלימה שמובילה הממשלה. לא נעצור ולא ננטוש את החטופים עד שכולם יחזרו הביתה pic.twitter.com/I3b84wx7Lc

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) May 17, 2025

Firefighters battling blaze near northern kibbutz; JNF orders evacuation of nearby river and park

Firefighters are battling a blaze next to Kibbutz Ramat Hashofet in the north, Israel Fire and Rescue Services say, urging residents to remain indoors due to heavy smoke.

The Jewish National Fund tells people visiting the nearby Nahal Hashofet river and Ramat Menashe Park to evacuate.

שריפה בשטח פתוח באיזור רמת השופט, היום
(צילום: דוברות מועצה אזורית מגידו) pic.twitter.com/tFhVCCEajx

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) May 17, 2025

Germany says it fears Israeli offensive could endanger lives of hostages in Gaza

IDF troops operate in northern Gaza, in a handout photo issued on May 17, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

BERLIN, Germany — Germany is “deeply concerned” about the situation in Gaza, where it said an intensified Israeli offensive could endanger the lives of hostages, including Germans, their Foreign Ministry says.

The offensive “could put the lives of the remaining hostages, including those of German hostages, in danger,” a ministry statement says.

“A broad military offensive also risks worsening further the catastrophic humanitarian situation for Gaza’s population and the remaining hostages,” it adds.

Report: Two-month truce during which talks to be held on end to war being discussed in Doha

Negotiators in Doha are discussing a two-month truce deal, during which talks will be held on ending the war, a senior Hamas source tells the Qatari al-Araby al-Jadeed news site.

According to the source, there will be clear involvement from Washington that the agreement will be implemented.

An Israeli official tells Channel 12 news that the talks in Doha are “serious,” but that “Hamas needs to understand that they must agree to the Witkoff framework, and if not, the ground offensive will begin soon” in Gaza.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff proposed in March a temporary ceasefire of some 40 days, in exchange for the release of about half of the remaining living hostages, and Israel has hoped to advance such an agreement.

Hamas has so far rejected partial deals, instead insisting on an agreement that would permanently end the war.

Einav Zangauker: Netanyahu is ‘angel of death’ dragging Israel to ‘political war’ that will kill hostages and soldiers

Einav Zangauker (speaking) and other families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza hold a press conference in Tel Aviv on May 17, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

At a weekly press conference in Tel Aviv, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, denounces Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “the angel of death” for captives.

Zanguaker says, “Netanyahu is dragging us to a political war that will lead to the death of hostages and soldiers,” as the military initiates a new operation in the Gaza Strip aimed at defeating Hamas.

She says that ceasefire-hostage release deal negotiators, currently in Doha, have a duty to reach a deal to bring back all the hostages.

Zangauker expresses concern for those held in Gaza, surrounded by “explosions that will lead only to the death of hostages.”

Calling out to her son, Zangauker says, “I know you are alone now, we both know that the prime minister is doing everything so that you won’t return alive. But I want you to know, your mother is fighting for you! The people of Israel are fighting for you!”

“Also, President [Donald] Trump and his envoy [Steve] Witkoff are fighting for you and all the hostages, fighting the prime minister who has turned into the angel of death for hostages,” she says.

Arab leaders call for more pressure to ‘end the bloodshed’ in Gaza, ensure entry of aid

Arab leaders attend the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025. (Thaier Al-Sudani/Pool via AP)

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Arab leaders urge the international community to apply pressure for a Gaza ceasefire and humanitarian aid access to the besieged Palestinian territory.

“We call on the international community… to exert pressure to end the bloodshed and ensure that urgent humanitarian aid can enter without obstacles all areas in need in Gaza,” the leaders say in a joint final statement at a summit in Baghdad.

Arab leaders praise US decision to lift sanctions on Syria

US President Donald Trump, center, looks on as Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, shakes hands with Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 14, 2025. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP)

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Arab leaders say they welcome a US decision to lift sanctions on war-ravaged Syria, in a joint final statement at a summit in Baghdad.

“The reconstruction of Syria is impacted by economic and financial sanctions,” the statement from the Arab League summit says. “We welcome the US President Donald Trump’s announcement to lift the sanctions imposed” on Syria.

Arab leaders call on international community to fund their Gaza reconstruction plan

Arab leaders attend the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, May 17, 2025. (Thaier Al-Sudani/Pool via AP)

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Arab leaders urge the international community to fund their plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip after US President Donald Trump reiterated a proposal to take over the Palestinian territory.

An Arab League summit in Baghdad says in its final statement that it urges “countries and international and regional financial institutions to provide prompt financial support” to back its Gaza reconstruction plan.

IDF probing if Palestinian suspect killed by troops carried out West Bank terror attack

IDF troops at the scene of a terror shooting attack on Route 446 between the Bruchin and Pedu'el settlements on May 14, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF is investigating whether a Palestinian suspect killed by troops in the West Bank town of Bruqin today was the gunman who carried out Wednesday’s deadly terror shooting in the area.

The suspect ran toward the forces operating in Bruqin, while allegedly shouting “allahu akbar” (God is great). He was shot dead.

In the attack on Wednesday near Bruqin and the settlement of Bruchin, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire from the side of a road on Israeli motorists, killing Tzeela Gez, 30, and wounding her husband. Gez had been heading to a hospital to give birth.

Syrian security forces assault ISIS hideouts in Aleppo

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian security forces raid Islamic State hideouts in Aleppo, killing at least one militant and arresting others, the Interior Ministry says, the first time such an operation has been announced under the country’s new Islamist rulers.

A member of the security forces was also killed, the statement issued by Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesperson says. The security forces seized weapons, bombs, and uniforms with the security forces’ insignia.

A security source says the raids had targeted sleeper cells in four locations. One Islamic State militant had blown himself up, and another had been killed in clashes, the source says.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who once led a branch of al Qaeda, has long been an adversary of the Islamic State and battled the group’s self-declared caliphate during the Syrian war.

Chicago theater to screen documentary on campus antisemitism after canceling earlier this week

The rapper Kosha Dillz performs for Holocaust survivors in the Catskills in New York, July 13, 2022. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

A Chicago theater will hold a screening of “Bring the Family Home,” a documentary about campus antisemitism, days after canceling an advance screening of the film.

Rami Even-Esh, an Israeli-American Jewish rapper who uses the stage name Kosha Dillz, created the still-unfinished documentary about his music and life on college campuses after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel in which invaders killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages to Gaza.

He tells The Hollywood Reporter that the theater, Facets, changed its position Friday after media attention and outcry by Jewish groups. The theater will play the film in the coming weeks.

“This is incredible. I was practically crying on the Zoom [when informed of the decision],” Kosha Dillz tells The Hollywood Reporter, adding he will not shoot the ending of the movie when the screening is held.

Tuesday’s screening was also to feature a panel discussion with Kosha Dillz and Michael Kaminsky, a Jewish student who was assaulted last November in an alleged hate crime at the nearby DePaul University.

Before Tuesday’s screening could take place, Facets, an independent cinema in Chicago, canceled it. The theater announced the decision in a since-deleted post on Instagram that night that began with the sentence, “We are firmly not an antisemitic organization.”

It cited statements by the filmmaker, though it did not detail what he said.

JTA contributed to this report.

Trump says he’s not frustrated with Netanyahu: ‘Bibi, he’s an angry man, and he should be because of Oct. 7’

US President Donald Trump speaks to Fox News, May 17, 2025 (Screenshot)

US President Donald Trump says he is not frustrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid reports of a rift between the two leaders.

Trump visited the Middle East this week, skipping Israel but stopping in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, leading government critics to warn Israel was being left out of Washington’s regional diplomatic initiatives as it continues the war in Gaza.

Asked by Fox News if he was frustrated by the prime minister, Trump responds, “No, look, he’s got a tough situation. You have to remember, there was October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world, not the Middle East, the world, when you look at the tapes.”

Trump says that the massacre in southern Israel by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023, would have never happened under his watch, arguing that Iran was broke under his first administration and would not have been able to fund the terror group’s activities.

“Bibi, he’s an angry man, and he should be because of October 7, and he’s been hurt badly by that, but in another way, he’s been sort of helped because I think he’s fought hard and bravely,” he adds, using Netanyahu’s nickname.

Fox News: Are you frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu?

Trump: No. You have to remember there was an October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world. Not the Middle East – the world. pic.twitter.com/6BD0bql6EI

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) May 17, 2025

IDF says it demolished 2 km ‘strategic’ Hamas tunnel in Gaza

The entrance to a Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza, in a handout photo issued on May 17, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it demolished a 2-kilometer-long Hamas tunnel during recent operations in the northern Gaza Strip.

The military describes the tunnel as “strategic.” It was located and destroyed by troops of the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade and Yahalom combat engineering unit.

A Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza is demolished, in a video issued on May 17, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hamas confirms it is participating in ceasefire-hostage talks in Doha

CAIRO, Egypt — Hamas confirmed a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel was underway in Qatar’s Doha, group official Taher al-Nono tells Reuters.

He said both sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”

Italian FM calls for ceasefire-hostage release deal: ‘Enough with the attacks’

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani talks to the press as he arrives for an informal meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers ahead of potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey, in Antalya, on May 15, 2025. (OZAN KOSE / AFP)

ROME, Italy — Italy’s government ups its exhortations to Israel to stop deadly military strikes in Gaza, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying: “Enough with the attacks.”

“We no longer want to see the Palestinian people suffer,” Tajani says during a trip to Sicily, in remarks relayed by his spokesman.

“Let’s come to a ceasefire, let’s free the hostages, but let’s leave people who are victims of Hamas alone,” he is cited as saying.

PA’s Abbas calls on Hamas to abandon Gaza rule, relinquish arms

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas calls on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and, along with other terror groups, to hand over weapons to the PA, in an address at the Arab League summit in Baghdad.

As quoted by the Iraqi News Agency, Abbas says, “The Palestinian cause is facing existential dangers and the genocidal crimes it is facing today in Gaza are part of a colonialist project that undermines the project of an independent Palestinian state.”

“The Palestinian vision supports the adoption of an Arab plan that supports stopping Zionist attacks and achieving peace in the region,” he says.

“The Palestinian Authority is proceeding with a comprehensive reform process that includes all its institutions,” Abbas adds.

Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from Abbas’s Western-backed PA in 2007, and reconciliation attempts between the rivals have repeatedly failed.

Katz claims Hamas has returned to hostage talks after start of fresh IDF offensive

This picture taken from a position in southern Israel shows Israeli tanks deployed on the border with the Gaza Strip on May 17, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Defense Minister Israel Katz claims Hamas has returned to the hostage negotiation table after the IDF began its new offensive in the Gaza Strip.

There has been no Hamas announcement that they have either left or returned to talks. A senior Israeli official told Channel 13 earlier today that indirect talks in Doha had resumed, and that Hamas was attending.

“With the launch of Operation Gideon’s Chariots in Gaza, led with great force by the IDF command, the Hamas delegation in Doha announced a return to negotiations on a hostage deal, contrary to the refusal stance they had taken up until that moment,” he says in a statement.

Katz says Hamas returned to the talks without Israel resuming humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, “which are not required,” and without a ceasefire.

“The heroism of IDF soldiers, the unity of the people, and the determination of the political leadership increase the chances of bringing back the hostages,” he adds.

21 suspects held by Lebanon for spying on Hezbollah, in what has become ‘nightmare’ for terror group — report

Pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain former leader of Hezbollah, and other killed fighters are displayed as people arrive for and prepare a mass fast-breaking iftar meal amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Lebanon's southern village of Khiam near the border with Israel on March 15, 2025 during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Lebanese authorities are holding 21 people accused of spying on Hezbollah for Israel, with many of them managing to get close to the Iran-backed terror group’s leadership, the London-based Arabic Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reports.

According to the report, Israeli espionage activities have become a “nightmare” for Hezbollah, whose leadership was eliminated throughout the course of an over-year-long conflict that the terror group instigated in support of Hamas in Gaza, a day after the October 7, 2023, massacre.

The report says that out of the 21 suspects, 13 are Lebanese citizens, six are Syrian, and two are Palestinians, and were recruited by the Mossad before and after the beginning of the war, a source in Lebanon’s Justice Ministry says.

One of the most dangerous alleged spies arrested was Mohammed Salah, the son of an elite Radwan Force commander, the source says, adding he was critical in the elimination of some of the terror group’s key figures, including Hassan Bdair in March.

Spanish PM says Madrid plans UN resolution demanding ICJ rule on Israeli war tactics in Gaza

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq ahead of the 34th Arab League summit, on May 16, 2025. (Murtada AL-SUDANI / POOL / AFP)

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez calls for “pressure on Israel to halt the massacre in Gaza” and says Madrid plans a UN resolution demanding an International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s war methods.

Sanchez told an Arab League summit in Baghdad that world leaders should “intensify our pressure on Israel to halt the massacre in Gaza, particularly through the channels afforded to us by international law,” adding that the “unacceptable number” of victims of the Israel-Hamas war violates the “principle of humanity.”

Egypt’s Sissi calls on Trump to apply pressure for ceasefire in Gaza

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) welcomes Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi upon his arrival in Baghdad ahead of the 34th Arab League summit on May 17, 2025. (Murtadha AL-SUDANI / POOL / AFP)

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi urges his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to apply pressure for a Gaza ceasefire.

“I call on President Trump, as a leader who wants to consolidate peace, to apply all necessary efforts and pressure for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” which would pave the way “for a serious political process in which he would be a mediator and a sponsor,” Sissi says in an address to an Arab League summit in Baghdad.

UN chief calls for Gaza ceasefire, says he’s ‘alarmed’ by IDF plans

BAGHDAD, Iraq — United Nations chief Antonio Guterres calls for a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza after Israel announced early stages of an intensified operation on the besieged Palestinian territory.

“We need a permanent ceasefire, now,” Guterres told leaders gathered in Baghdad for an Arab League summit. “I am alarmed by reported plans by Israel to expand ground operations and more.”

Arab League summit host Iraq promises $40 million for Lebanon, Gaza reconstruction

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad on May 16, 2025. (Thaer GHANAIM / PPO / AFP)

BAGHDAD, Iran — Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, whose country is hosting an Arab League summit, says it would provide $40 million for the reconstruction of Lebanon and Gaza after wars with Israel.

Iraq backs the creation of an “Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts” after crises in the region, Sudani told Arab leaders in Baghdad. Iraq will contribute “$20 million to the reconstruction of Gaza and $20 million for the reconstruction of Lebanon,” he adds.

Khamenei: Trump lied when he said he wants peace; Israel ‘cancerous tumor’ in region

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses members of the Hajj pilgrimage committee in Tehran on May 4, 2025. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that US President Donald Trump’s comments on his country during his Gulf visit were “not worth responding to.”

Khamenei says that Trump was lying when he said he wants peace, citing statements by the US president during his trip to the Gulf that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”

Khamenei also says that Israel is “a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor in the region” that must be uprooted.

“Undoubtedly, in this region, the source of corruption, war, and conflict is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor in the region — and it must be uprooted and it will be uprooted,” he says, according to state media.

Bild report seriously distorted Hamas document, left out information showing Hamas wanted truce — German TV

A crowd greets Islamic Jihad and Hamas terror operatives as they arrive for the handover of hostages to the Red Cross in the south Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The German current affairs show Panorama says it acquired the full, highly classified document reported by German tabloid Bild in September, claiming that the publication seriously distorted the file.

While Bild presented the document as evidence that Hamas was not interested in reaching a serious ceasefire-hostage deal with Israel, Panorama says the full document shows Hamas was ready to be flexible in arrangements and sought a truce for 84 days with a pathway to ending the war.

The Bild report excluded this information and presents Hamas as indifferent to whether the ongoing war ends quickly. It reported that it instead prioritized maintaining the terror group’s military capabilities, “exhausting” Israel’s military and political apparatuses, and increasing international pressure on Israel.

Bild reported that the document was found on a computer in Gaza that belonged to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. It later became apparent that the document was written by lower-level officials in the terror group and did not necessarily reflect the leadership’s position.

The document was allegedly unlawfully removed from the IDF’s military intelligence database by the reservist — a non-commissioned officer (NCO) — who gave it to Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who saw to it that it was transferred to Bild, though he was aware that it was obtained illicitly and that the military censorship had barred the information from publication.

Hezbollah commander killed in IDF drone strike in southern Lebanon

The IDF says it killed a Hezbollah commander in a drone strike in Lebanon this morning.

The operative, who was targeted on a road near Mazraat Jemjim — some 30 kilometers from the Israeli border — in the Tyre District, was the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the Beaufort Castle area, the military says. Lebanon’s health ministry says one person was killed in the strike.

According to the IDF, the commander was involved in restoring Hezbollah’s capabilities in the area.

Earlier this month, the IDF struck a major Hezbollah facility near Beaufort Castle.

“Restoring terror infrastructure and the activity there constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military adds.

מוקדם יותר היום, צה"ל תקף באמצעות כלי טיס וחיסל במרחב בלטת אל-גמגים שבלבנון, מפקד בגזרת שקיף בארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, אשר עסק בנסיונות שיקום של תשתיות טרור של הארגון במרחב.

שיקום תשתיות טרור והפעילות בהן מהווים הפרה של ההבנות בין ישראל ללבנון pic.twitter.com/2xb7xksyFJ

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 17, 2025

First flight lands in Sanaa Airport, 11 days after Israeli bombing

Just 11 days after the Israeli Air Force bombed Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport, a first flight has landed, according to plane tracking sites.

The Yemenia Airways flight from Amman was carrying 136 passengers, local media reports.

During the strike on May 6, the IAF damaged the airport’s runways and destroyed the terminal buildings and six planes.

⭕️ بعد إعادة تأهيله.. مصادر إعلامية يمنية: وصول أول رحلة للخطوط الجوية اليمنية إلى مطار #صنعاء الدولي على متنها 136 راكباً pic.twitter.com/3U4UcIG0yZ

— قناة العالم (@v_alalamnews) May 17, 2025

Hamas-run civil defense agency says 10 killed in Gaza strikes

A Palestinian woman sits atop her family belongings as people flee Gaza City on May 16, 2025. (Bashar TALEB / AFP)

The Hamas-run Gaza civil defense agency says Israeli strikes killed 10 people today, after the Israeli military announced the early stages of an intensified operation aimed at defeating Hamas.

Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal tells AFP 10 bodies had been brought to Gaza hospitals after strikes this morning.

Three people were killed and four wounded in drone strikes east of the southern city of Khan Younis, he says, while three others were killed and several wounded in the bombing of a house in Jabalia, in the north.

An attack on an apartment northwest of Khan Younis killed three people, he adds, while one person was killed and five wounded, “including a girl, a young woman and a pregnant woman,” in a strike on a tent west of the same city.

The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.

British police say three Iranians charged with suspected espionage for Tehran

LONDON, United Kingdom — Three Iranian nationals have been charged with suspected espionage for Iran’s intelligence services, UK police say.

The three were all arrested on May 3 in what the capital’s Metropolitan police called “a very complex and fast-moving investigation” and are due to appear in a London court later today.

IDF said advancing toward Deir al-Balah, heavy strikes across Gaza amid new offensive

Israeli tanks parked in a staging area in southern Israel, near the border with Gaza, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Palestinian media reports that IDF ground troops advanced toward central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah overnight.

According to the reports, heavy artillery fire and airstrikes were carried out in the eastern Deir al-Balah area as the forces advanced.

Deir al-Balah is one of the few areas of Gaza where ground troops have not operated in yet during the war. Forces have operated on the outskirts previously, but not deep within the town.

The IDF said last night that it had begun the first stages of a new Gaza offensive, during which it was carrying out intensive strikes and seizing strategic territory.

Palestinian media reports heavy strikes across all of Gaza overnight.

Iran’s President Pezeshkian says Trump speaks of peace and threatens at same time

A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency shows Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian (2nd R) and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) chief Mohammad Eslami (R) during the 'National Day of Nuclear Technology,' in Tehran, on April 9, 2025 (Iranian Presidency / AFP)

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says that US President Donald Trump speaks simultaneously about peace and threat.

“Which should we believe?

“On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing,” Pezeshkian says.

He said Tehran will continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” he says.

Man detained after crossing border from Jordan

The IDF says it has detained a man who crossed the border from Jordan.

The military says that after receiving reports that a suspect had infiltrated Israel in the Jordan Valley, troops were sent to the area and detained him.

The IDF says the man was a migrant looking for work and the incident is being investigated.

Arab League summit kicks off in Baghdad with Gaza at the top of the agenda

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, right, welcomes Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport ahead of the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday May 16, 2025. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Pool Photo via AP)

Regional leaders are to meet in Baghdad at the annual summit of the Arab League, with the war in Gaza expected to once again loom large.

In March, at an emergency summit in Cairo, Arab leaders endorsed a proposed plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without displacing its roughly 2 million residents.

Saturday’s summit comes two months after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas terror group in January. In recent days, Israel has launched a new offensive in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation of force to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.

The Baghdad meeting was upstaged by US President Donald Trump’s tour in the region earlier in the week. Trump’s visit did not usher in a deal for a new ceasefire in Gaza as many had hoped, but he grabbed headlines by meeting with new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa — who had once fought against US forces in Iraq — and promising to remove US sanctions imposed on Syria.

Al-Sharaa was not attending the summit in Baghdad, where Syria’s delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. Iraqi Shiite militias and political factions are wary of al-Sharaa’s past as a Sunni militant and had pushed back against his invitation to the summit.

Elizabeth Tsurkov’s sister meets US hostage envoy: Kataeb Hezbollah, Iraqi PM ‘should consider what became of Hamas’

Elizabeth Tsurkov in an undated photo (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The sister of Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Iraq two years ago, meets with US President Donald Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler.

“Her captors, Kataeb Hezbollah, must be held accountable by Al Sudani,” Emma Tsurkov writes in a post on X, referring respectively to an Iran-backed Iraqi militia and the prime minister of Iraq. “They should consider what became of Hamas.”

Discussing my sister (and Princeton student) @elizrael —held hostage in Iraq for over 2 years. Her captors, Kataib Hezbollah, must be held accountable by Al Sudani @mohamedshia. They should consider what became of Hamas. @aboehler #FreeElizabethTsurkov pic.twitter.com/vnASpu4khs

— Emma Tsurkov #FreeElizabeth (@emma_tsurkov) May 16, 2025

Trump questions why Iran needs nuclear program ‘when you have unlimited amounts of oil and gas’

US President Donald Trump again says Iran’s nuclear program will be addressed in a manner that is either “violent or not violent.”

“I prefer non-violent,” he tells Fox News. “I don’t want it to be a violent thing, but they are not going to have a nuclear weapon.”

He also notes Iran “has a lot of oil,” questioning why “when you have unlimited amounts of oil and gas, why do you need civil nuclear? I just don’t see it.”

“I think nuclear is fine for civil, if you have a country with no oil.”

IDF says it intercepted drone ‘from the east’

The Israel Defense Forces announces that it intercepted a drone “from the east,” in apparent reference to the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

“Alerts were activated in accordance with policy,” says a statement from the military.

UN humanitarian chief dismisses US-backed aid plan for Gaza: ‘Let’s not waste time’

UNITED NATIONS — United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher says time should not be wasted on an alternative US-backed proposal to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the UN has a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now.

“To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, let’s not waste time. We already have a plan,” he says in a statement as Israel blocks the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the 75th day in a row.

Israeli envoy slams UN humanitarian chief who called ‘to prevent genocide’ in Gaza: ‘Desecration’ of the term

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon says he is “shocked” by comments made earlier this week by the world body’s humanitarian chief about the situation in Gaza, calling them “deeply irresponsible.”

On Tuesday, before the UN Security Council, Tom Fletcher said Israel was “deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

“For those killed and those whose voices are silenced: what more evidence do you need now?” asked Fletcher, the under-secretary for humanitarian affairs.

“Will you act — decisively — to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?”

In a letter to Fletcher, made public by the Israeli mission, a furious Danon says he is “deeply shocked and disturbed” by the speech.

“You had the audacity, in your capacity as a senior UN official, to stand before the Security Council and invoke the charge of genocide without evidence, mandate, or restraint,” Danon writes.

“It was an utterly inappropriate and deeply irresponsible statement that shattered any notion of neutrality.”

He accuses Fletcher of offering the council a “political sermon,” not a briefing.

“To weaponize the word ‘genocide’ against Israel is not just distortion — it is the desecration and subversion of a term with unique force and weight,” Danon writes, charging that those who use the term sought to “demonize” their targets.

IDF says it is ‘seizing strategic areas’ as it launches first stages of major new Gaza offensive dubbed ‘Gideon’s Chariots’

Reservists of the Jerusalem Brigade operate in the northern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the IDF on May 15, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it has launched the first stages of its major offensive in the Gaza Strip, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots.”

“Over the past day, the IDF launched extensive attacks and mobilized forces to seize strategic areas in the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening moves of Operation Gideon’s Chariots and the expansion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve all the goals of the war in Gaza, including the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” the military says in a statement.

“IDF troops in the Southern Command will continue to operate to protect Israeli citizens and realize the goals of the war,” the military adds.

According to Israeli officials, the Gideon’s Chariots offensive would see the IDF “conquering” Gaza and retaining the territory; moving the Palestinian civilian population toward the south of the Strip; attacking Hamas; and preventing the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies.

במהלך היממה האחרונה צה"ל החל בתקיפות נרחבות והניע כוחות לתפיסת שטחים שולטים בשטח רצועת עזה, זאת כחלק ממהלכי הפתיחה למבצע "מרכבות גדעון" והרחבת המערכה בעזה, להשגת כל מטרות המלחמה בעזה, לרבות שחרור החטופים והכרעת החמאס.

כוחות צה"ל בפיקוד הדרום ימשיכו לפעול בכדי להגן על אזרחי ישראל… pic.twitter.com/WtK8Iy6XyG

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 16, 2025