Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they happened.
Protesters briefly march in Jerusalem, hold PM responsible for hostages’ return
Protesters outside the Knesset march in the direction of the center of Jerusalem, toward police barricades that are currently blocking the street.
Protesters’ chants have focused on holding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for bringing home hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
They chant: “Netanyahu is responsible for the lives of the hostages!”, “Netanyahu is responsible for bringing them home!” and “The one who abandoned [them] must return [them]!”
After hanging out at the barricades for several minutes, the protesters turn back in the direction of the Knesset.
אחרון ללילה זה.
ירושלים בצעדה הגדולה ביותר שלה מאז השבעה באוקטובר.קרדיט: מחאת שומרים על הבית המשותף בירושלים
>>>>> לעוד עדכונים בקבוצות נהון https://t.co/uSpNU8of8s pic.twitter.com/iMpp26eESr
— Rivka Gelber (@RivkaGelber) May 18, 2024
Protesters holding anti-war banners gather outside PM’s office
Protesters hold a banner reading "starvation is a war crime" outside the Knesset, in Jerusalem, May 18, 2024. (Leon Kraiem/The Times of Israel)
Some 200 protesters have arrived at another demonstration in Jerusalem, being held near the Knesset at the Prime Minister’s Office, as the war cabinet is believed to be meeting inside.
Some activists are holding two large banners, one of which reads “End the war,” and the other “Starvation is a war crime.”
The demonstration is smaller than the one near Paris Square.
The tone is sharper at this demonstration, but the crowd does not march and the atmosphere remains peaceful. The crowd chants “We won’t stop until they’re all home!” accompanied by a few drummers.
Police arrest suspect for disturbances at Tel Aviv protest, use water cannon to disperse crowd
Police say they arrested a suspect for disturbing order at anti-government protests in Tel Aviv.
After protesters refused to disperse following the approved rally, police declared it an illegal protest and began using crowd-dispersal methods to clear Azrieli Junction, where the activists had blocked roads.
Footage shows police using a water cannon to clear the area.
המשטרה החלה להפעיל מכתזית בצומת עזריאלי גם כלפי מפגינים במדרכה. במקביל משפחות חטופים חוסמים את איילון דרום pic.twitter.com/aaMsj32zmk
— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) May 18, 2024
Gantz claps back at PM for dawdling: Rafah op would’ve happened months ago if you listened to me
The war of words between Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues, with Gantz issuing a response to the premier’s reaction to his war cabinet minister’s speech earlier in the night.
“If the prime minister had listened to Gantz,” says the former defense ministers and chief of staff’s office, “we would have gone into Rafah months ago and finished the mission. We must finish it and create the necessary conditions for that.”
Gantz was responding to three questions Netanyahu issued after a blistering speech in which Gantz called for a drastic shift in the direction of the war by June 8.
Gantz says that the Palestinian Authority should not rule Gaza, but other Palestinians can, with the backing of Arab states and the US. “The prime minister should deal with this and not torpedo these efforts,” he says.
Responding to Netanyahu’s question about whether he would support the creation of a Palestinian state as part of a normalization deal with the Saudis, Gantz says that it is not even a Saudi demand, and he doesn’t intend to back such a state. Gantz also attacks Netanyahu for supporting a Palestinian state in the past.
If Netanyahu values the unity government, says Gantz’s office, he must take the necessary decisions, “and not drag his feet out of fear of the extremists in his government.”
Hostage’s mother says she feels she ‘failed in her role’
Yael Alexander, the mother of hostage Edan Alexander, a lone soldier from New Jersey who holds both American and Israeli citizenship, speaks at the rally for a hostage deal in Tel Aviv, May 18, 2024. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum/Adar Eyal)
Two American-Israeli mothers of hostages, Yael Alexander and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, are speaking to a Tel Aviv rally for the return of the Hamas captives.
Yael Alexander, the mother of Edan Alexander, a lone soldier from New Jersey who holds both American and Israeli citizenship, tells the audience that she feels she “failed in her role as a mother.”
“If I could magically turn the big clock behind me — that counts their days in Gaza — back to before your enlistment, I would have said: ‘Idan, go to college, don’t enlist because everything we told you about this state sadly belongs to the past,'” she says.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, thanks the foreign ambassadors who spoke earlier tonight for “not only standing up for their own citizens, but standing up for other citizens of the world who are still being held hostage in Gaza after 225 days.”
Goldberg-Polin tells an anecdote from earlier this week about a visit to the eye doctor where she found out that her “tear quality is very poor.
“I found [that] so intriguing since I thought all I have done over these past seven months is to perfect the art of crying, and now I come to find out that even my tears are broken,” she says.
Rocket falls into sea near Ashkelon after triggering sirens in city
One rocket was launched from the central Gaza Strip at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon a short while ago, the IDF says.
According to the military, the rocket fell into the sea near Ashkelon, causing no damage or injuries. Sirens had sounded in the city.
Ayala Metzger, daughter-in-law of hostage: ‘Time is our enemy, and theirs’
Ayala Metzger, whose father-in-law, the elderly Yoram Metzger, is currently captive to Hamas in Gaza also speaks to protesters at Paris Square in Jerusalem, naming other hostages to whom she is connected.
“You are their voice, and they need us,” she says. “Time is our enemy, and theirs. And everyone who wastes time,” she continues, “is also our enemy.”
Orly Erez-Luhovsky, of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, addresses protesters as well.
She quotes both the Israeli Declaration of Independence as well as standard religious sources about the value of life and about the redemption of hostages, and this week’s Torah portion.
She denounces National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, far-right members of the government.
Netanyahu: Gantz’s ultimatum abandons hostages, leaves Hamas in power, leads to Palestinian state
File: War cabinet minister Benny Gantz (right) with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference at the Defense Ministry, in Tel Aviv. December 16, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
After war cabinet minister Benny Gantz issues a blistering criticism of his war leadership, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounces his coalition partner and political rival for “issuing an ultimatum to the prime minister instead of issuing an ultimatum to Hamas.”
Netanyahu’s office says in a statement that Gantz’s demands would mean “an end to the war and defeat for Israel, abandoning the majority of the hostages, leaving Hamas in power, and creating a Palestinian state.”
If Gantz truly prioritizes the national interest and not the toppling of the government, continues the Prime Minister’s Office, he must answer three questions:
- Does Gantz want to see the operation in Rafah through to its end, and if so, why is he threatening to topple the unity government during the IDF operation?
- Does he oppose Palestinian Authority rule in Gaza, even if Mahmoud Abbas is not involved?
- Would he support a Palestinian state as part of a normalization process with Saudi Arabia?
“Prime Minister Netanyahu is determined to eliminate the Hamas battalions,” says the PMO, “he opposes bringing the Palestinian Authority into Gaza, and establishing a Palestinian state that will inevitably be a terror state.”
Netanyahu, continues the statement, believes that the unity government is key to achieving the war aims, “and expects Gantz to make clear to the public his positions on these issues.”
Demonstrators demanding hostage deal block Ayalon Highway
Demonstrators calling for a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip blocking the Ayalon Highway, Tel Aviv, May 18, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Rony Shapiro)
Demonstrators demanding a deal to release hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip are blocking the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.
Images show protesters lighting a bonfire in the middle of the road
איילון.
תעצרו את העולם – האחים שלנו שם!
עסקה – עכשיו!
????️ pic.twitter.com/Qr4nzKSdHQ— Yoav Groweiss ????️يوآف غروفايس (@yoav_gro) May 18, 2024
American officials urge hostages’ release at thousands-strong rally
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is addressing a crowd of thousands in a pre-recorded video at an international rally in Hostages Square for the release of the Hamas captives.
“They are our fellow men and women and yes, children, and they should be freed immediately,” says the former diplomat. “Actions should be taken immediately to bring them home.”
Jack Lew, the US ambassador to Israel, speaks live onstage to the crowd and adds that this is not his first time in Hostages Square, having spoken onstage to mark 100 days since October 7 on January 13.
“Today marks 225 days since innocents were ripped from their loved ones — children from their parents, parents from their children,” he says.
“To the family members of those held hostage, we hear you, we stand with you, we will not stop working until you are reunited with your loved ones … The United States continues to press ahead with negotiations to bring the hostages home,” Lew continues.
"These hostages represent so much more than just who they are. They are citizens of 17 countries, they practice five religions, they are our fellow men and women and yes children."
Hillary Clinton recorded this message to the families of hostages:
"To all who are gathered, let… pic.twitter.com/zDvYEHD0n6
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) May 18, 2024
Eden Golan sings ‘October Rain,’ her disqualified Eurovision song at Tel Aviv hostage rally
Eden Golan, who represented Israel and came fifth in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, sings at the rally to return hostages held in Gaza, May 18, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Erez Volach)
Eden Golan, who represented Israel in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, sings her song “October Rain” at the Tel Aviv rally for a deal to release hostages held in Gaza.
“October Rain” was originally meant to be performed at the contest, but the European Broadcasting Union disqualified the song for having political messaging.
The song includes lyrics such as “writers of the history/stand with me”; “I’m still wet from the October rain/October rain”; and a final section in Hebrew translated to: “There is no air left to breathe/No place, no me from day to day/They were all good kids, every one of them” — believed to be a reference to those murdered by Hamas on October 7.
Golan qualified for the contest and came fifth place with a reworded version, titled “Hurricane.”
מלחמת גשמי אוקטובר? pic.twitter.com/9pVKMRQF8p
— bar_gelbart (@decideNprovide) May 18, 2024
Gantz to Netanyahu: Don’t choose the path of the zealots and lead Israel into the abyss
Minister Benny Gantz promises to give the people of Israel “a horizon of hope” and to restore Israel’s strength.”
He warns of the possibility of “long and harsh existential war — even harder than we have known to date.”
Gantz now challenges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly: “I am looking in your eyes tonight, and I say to you – the choice is in your hands.”
“After I spoke with you repeatedly, the moment of truth has arrived. The hour of decision has arrived.”
Gantz says he has known Netanyahu for years as “a leader and an Israeli patriot, who knows well what must be done.”
“The Netanyahu of a decade ago would have done it,” he says. “Can you do the right and patriotic thing today?”
Netanyahu, Gantz charges, must choose “between Zionism and cynicism, between unity and divisiveness, between responsibility and neglect, and between victory and disaster.”
Gantz says his party will be partners if Netanyahu chooses “the national interest over the personal” in the footsteps of Herzl, Ben-Gurion, Begin and Rabin.
“But if you choose the path of the zealots and lead the whole state into the abyss, we will be forced to leave the government,” he warns. “We will turn to the people and form a government that will win the trust of the people.”
Turning to the public, he implores them not to lose hope, though hard days are ahead. “We face challenges that we have not known since the War of Independence.”
“We are a strong nation,” he says. “The ones who survived Pharoah, Titus, and Hitler will survive Sinwar, Nasrallah, and Khamenei.”
And on Israel’s 100th anniversary of independence, he says, the story that will be told will be one of national revival.
Answering a question from a reporter after his prepared remarks, Gantz says he still supports advancing elections, currently due in 2026, to an agreed earlier date, in order to restore public trust in Israel’s leadership.
Incoming rocket sirens blare in Ashkelon, for 2nd time today
Incoming rocket alert sirens sound in Ashkelon, for the second time today.
The warning is activated in the southern area of the city.
Red Alert [21:40:38] – 1 Alert:
• Western Lakhish — Ashkelon – South#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/Sj8pTyqTpz
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 18, 2024
Coalition members assail Gantz, claim he’s led ‘leftist’ policies in cabinet, is free to quit
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi arrives at a Likud faction meeting in the Knesset, January 8, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Following his ultimatum to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Benny Gantz is under attack by members of the coalition, who denounce him as weak-willed and assert he is the reason for plodding progress in Gaza in recent months.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud) laments that “there is no limit to the hypocrisy.”
“For long months we’ve suffered the obsequious attitude of Gantz and his friends, the incessant march leftward,” he says. “The war cabinet, which was formed for the sake of unity, has long since turned into a left-wing government and a means by which to weaken the prime minister and the elected right-wing government.”
He suggests that Gantz move up his ultimatum “to tomorrow” and leave.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) calls Gantz “a smalltime leader and a bigtime deceiver, who has from the first moment of joining the government occupied himself chiefly with trying to break it apart.
“He is the last person who can suggest security alternatives,” says Ben Gvir. “It’s time to break up the cabinet of [pre-war] concepts and to change course to a resolute, powerful and decisive policy.”
MK Ariel Kellner (Likud) accuses Gantz of “always undermining government policy to advance the same failed and defeatist policies you pushed for your entire life… You are welcome to leave the government and free us of your presence… We’ll go on without you.”
Gantz sets out the 6 strategic goals the coalition must adopt, or his party will bolt
Minister Benny Gantz declares that “unity has to be genuine, and not “a figleaf” covering up deadlock in the leadership of the war. “The stalling has to end,” he says.
He calls for a drastic strategic change — a move away from “running in place, to brave decisions and decisive processes.”
At this critical junction, “the leadership must see the big picture, to find dangers, to identify opportunities, and to create an updated national strategy.”
Now he issues an ultimatum:
Gantz says that the war cabinet must “formulate and approve a plan of action” by June 8 to achieve “six strategic goals”:
1. “To bring the hostages home;”
2. “To topple Hamas rule, demilitarize the Gaza Strip and gain Israeli security control [of Gaza];”
3. Alongside that Israeli security control, “to create an international civilian governance mechanism for Gaza, including American, European, Arab and Palestinian elements — which will also serve as a basis for a future alternative that is not Hamas and is not [Palestinian Authority President] Abbas;”
4. “To return residents of the north to their homes by September 1, and to rehabilitate the western Negev (adjacent to Gaza, targeted by Hamas on October 7);”
5. “To advance normalization with Saudi Arabia as part of a comprehensive process to create an alliance with the free world and the West against Iran and its allies;” and
6. “To adopt a framework for [military/national] service under which all Israelis will serve the state and contribute to the national effort.”
“It will not be easy,” he says, “but only when we define the goals in a clear and bold fashion will we be able to choose the long path that leads to the summit.”
From his talks with world and Arab leaders, Gantz says, “I know the strategic goal is attainable.”
He adds: To be clear — we will go after Hamas and all our enemies in every situation and everywhere and at all times.”
Gantz stresses that Israel will retain sole responsibility for its own security.
And he adds: “We will not allow any outside power, friendly or hostile, to impose a Palestinian state on us.”
Hundreds of protesters march in Jerusalem: ‘We won’t stop until they’re all home’
Protesters march for a deal to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, May 18, 2024. (The Times of Israel/Leon Kraiem)
The protesters, numbering in the hundreds, have begun to march, chanting, “We won’t stop until they’re all home!” above a steady drumbeat.
Israeli flags are interspersed between signs reading “Mom here” and “Who are we if they’re still there?”
The protesters are on their way to Paris Square, where they will be addressed by several speakers, in the first of two rallies that are not formally affiliated, but have significant overlap among attendees.
A swathe of Jerusalem’s King George Street is closed off as protesters make their way to the square.
The second demonstration, which will take place shortly after this one concludes, will be led by the organization Safeguarding Our Shared Home, which organized the protests against the judicial overhaul in Jerusalem last year.
Hostages’ families after Gantz’s speech: ‘The time for talk is over’
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum puts out a short statement saying “the time for talk is over,” in response to War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz’s ultimatum this evening.
“The only relevant ultimatum this evening is that time is running out for the hostages. The time has come for action — to renew negotiations for their immediate return,” the forum adds.
Diplomats address protesters at ‘international rally’ for hostages in Tel Aviv
Protesters calling for immediate elections and a deal to return hostages held in Gaza rally in Tel Aviv, May 18, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Aviv Atlas)
Thousands of protesters are gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square for a massive “international rally” aimed at capturing the attention of the global community and garnering support for the plight of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Emceeing tonight’s event is former Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy, who is addressing the crowd before an array of flags representing the countries to which the 132 hostages hold citizenship.
Many attendees hold signs of the captives, American and Israeli flags and yellow flags representing the hostage families’ cause.
Nikolaus Lutterotti, the Austrian ambassador to Israel, speaks with the flag of Austria at his side, greeting the crowd in Hebrew then switching to English to give his remarks.
He invokes the name of Tal Shoham, a Hamas-held hostage who holds Austrian and Israeli citizenship.
The Austrian government is doing everything in its power to support the efforts to get him, and all hostages back home, he says. “It is a despicable crime that has been being committed on a daily basis for 225 days now.”
Dr. Phil recorded this message for tonight's gathering in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square:
"It's been seven months since October 7 and Hamas still holds 132 hostages from 20 different countries.
Hostages being subjected to physical, sexual, and psychological torture.This is not an… pic.twitter.com/zAfX3xlnLE
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) May 18, 2024
Famed American TV doctor Dr. Phil stresses American support for Israel in a pre-recorded address to the crowd.
“You need to know that all of us here in America have this uppermost in our minds, this isn’t just something happening halfway across the world,” he says.
Ayala Yahalomi, the mother of Ohad Yahalomi, addresses the crowd next and notes that her son is a French citizen as well as Israeli.
“They [the hostages] are not war prisoners,” she says, adding that “their only crime was riding a bike, dancing at a festival.”
Protesters rally in Jerusalem, demanding elections, hostage deal
Protesters rally for a deal to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, May 18, 2024. (The Times of Israel/Leon Kraiem)
Demonstrators are gathering in central Jerusalem for a procession toward the city’s Paris Square, rallying for the release of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas.
An enormous banner reads “Elections now!” as protesters are drumming, preparing the crowd to march.
Many are holding signs with messages such as, “There is no greater mitzvah [commandment] than the redemption of hostages”— a rabbinic statement that has become a calling card of protests for a hostage deal. Other signs say “Their time is running out!” and “Hostages home!”
The protest, which kicked off with a havdalah ceremony marking the end of Shabbat, comes following a dramatic week, in which Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dithering on a “day after” plan for Gaza.
It also comes shortly after a speech by Minister Benny Gantz, who gave Netanyahu a June 8 deadline to formulate a plan for post-Hamas Gaza, saying he will leave the coalition if the prime minister fails to do so.
“A lot of people understand now is the time to put a lot of pressure,” Orly Erez-Luhovsky, Executive Director of the Reform Movement’s Religious Action Center, tells The Times of Israel.
Luhovsky will speak later tonight when the demonstrators arrive at Paris Square.
“We will not give up until things are better here!” the protesters are singing, a familiar refrain from the protests last year against Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reforms.
Gantz: Israel must change course; ‘change is needed here and now’
In his statement, Minister Benny Gantz calls for an urgent change in the direction of the war, which he says has been drifting off course because of the cowardice of some of Israel’s leaders.
“While Israeli soldiers are displaying incredible bravery on the front, some of the people who sent them to battle are acting with cowardice and a lack of responsibility,” he says, without specifying to whom he is referring.
“While in the dark tunnels of Gaza, the hostages are undergoing the agonies of hell, there are some who are involved in nonsense,” says Gantz, stressing the word “some.”
“While the Israeli public is outdoing itself,” he charges, “some of the politicians are thinking of themselves.”
“Within the holy of holies of Israeli security, personal and political considerations have begun to penetrate,” laments Gantz.
“A war is only won with a clear and realistic strategic compass,” he says, seemingly taking a shot at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unwillingness to lay out a plan for a post-Hamas Gaza Strip and the slow pace of military operations in recent months.
“A war is only won when all Israelis do their part, and take part in the war effort,” he adds, amid fights over a new law determining how many Haredi youths will be drafted each year.
Wars cannot be won amid infighting, Gantz argues.
He says he and his colleagues have done “everything we can in closed rooms” to highlight the dangers and demand the necessary changes.
“Change is needed here and now,” he says, pledging that his National Unity party “will do everything possible to change course, to prevent a crash into the rocks, and to ensure that Israel will sail safely toward real victory. ”
The statement comes days after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned the prime minister that he must set out a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip, in a speech where he said the gains of the war were being eroded by the lack of planning, with Israel’s long-term security at stake.
In ultimatum to Netanyahu, Gantz demands post-war plan by June 8 or he’ll quit coalition
Benny Gantz demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commit to an agreed vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory after the war with Hamas.
Gantz says he wants the war cabinet to form a six-point plan by June 8 for Gaza, the return of hostages, northern Israel, efforts toward normalization with Arab states, and more.
If his expectations are not met, Gantz says, he will withdraw his centrist party from the premier’s emergency government.
‘Something went wrong’: Gantz slams lack of key decision making; says minority sailing Israel into the rocks
There is something deeply broken in the way Israel’s leaders are managing the war, cabinet minister Benny Gantz says in a televised statement.
He says that when his National Party joined the emergency coalition, days after the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel, initially there was coherent leadership and mistakes were avoided.
But “recently, something went wrong,” he says, after praising the unity that allowed the IDF to achieve successes on the battlefield and to bring more than 100 hostages home. “Crucial decisions were not made. The acts of leadership needed to guarantee victory were not made.”
“A small minority took over the bridge of the Israeli ship, and is sailing it toward a wall of rocks,” Gantz charges.
Gantz’s National Unity party joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition days after the October 7 attack, and has been under pressure to bolt the government.
IDF footage shows troops killing 2 Palestinian gunmen in Gaza’s Jabaliya
Drone footage released by the Israeli military shows soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade killing two Palestinian gunmen on a rooftop in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya.
According to the IDF, the paratroopers have killed dozens of terror operatives during fierce clashes in the “heart of Jabaliya,” in neighborhoods that the military did not operate in previously.
The IDF says the two gunmen seen in the clip had first engaged in a gun battle with troops inside the building, before fleeing to the rooftop. The paratroopers encircled the building and killed the pair.
The clip shows one gunman opening fire from the rooftop, before being hit by the paratroopers’ fire. The second operative then takes the assault rifle from the first gunman and opens fire, before also being hit.
No soldiers were hurt in the incident, according to the military.
Warning: Graphic
The fighting in Jabaliya has been described by officers as some of the most intense amid the ongoing war.
IDF: Body of hostage Ron Benjamin recovered from Gaza, in addition to three others announced Friday
Ron Benjamin was killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza. On May 18, 2024, the IDF announced it had recovered his remains in an overnight operation. (Courtesy)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference says the military recovered the body of an additional hostage from the Gaza Strip, after announcing yesterday that three slain captives were returned in a special mission.
The hostage is named as 53-year-old Ron Benjamin, who was abducted by Hamas on the morning of October 7.
Hagari says Benjamin was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 near Mefalsim, and his body was taken hostage to Gaza.
His body was recovered alongside those of Itzhak Gelerenter, Amit Buskila, and Shani Louk in the Thursday night operation, Hagari says.
Benjamin was last heard from at 7:30 a.m. on October 7, when he left a voice message for one of his two daughters, then traveling abroad, telling her he was heading home to Rehovot from a planned group bike ride near the Gaza border, given the cascade of rockets.
That morning, Benjamin had set out at 6:30 a.m. to meet up with friends for a bike ride near Kibbutz Be’eri. When he heard the sirens, he decided to turn around and head home. He spoke with his wife, Ayelet, and left a message for his daughter.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Liberman: ‘Three losers’ Netanyahu, Gallant, Halevi should quit
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman tells Channel 12 that “the three losers” should resign — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
Liberman calls for their resignation over the failures of the government on October 7 when Hamas launched its devastating onslaught and what he sees as a failure to bring about victory in the war against Hamas.
Liberman adds that he would only join the emergency wartime cabinet if Netanyahu resigns.
IDF calls on Palestinians in coastal neighborhoods in north Gaza to evacuate
The Israeli military is calling on Palestinians in additional neighborhoods of northern Gaza to evacuate the area, as it presses on with its operation against Hamas in Jabaliya.
Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes a list of the new zones that need to be evacuated alongside the announcement.
Last weekend, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for Jabaliya, before it pushed into the area. It has since twice expanded the evacuation zone, and the latest announcement includes the al-Atatra and al-Karama areas on the coast.
Palestinian civilians are told to move to shelters west of Gaza City.
The IDF operation against Hamas in Jabaliya was launched after it identified terror operatives regrouping there.
#عاجل ???? تحذير عاجل الى السكان المتواجدين في أحياء الكرامة، مشروع عامر، العطاطرة والسلاطين – بلوكات 973, 974, 978, 979, 1738-1745
????تقوم عناصر حماس والمنظمات الارهابية بأنشطة إرهابية وبإطلاق قذائف صاروخية الى البلدات الاسرائيلية من المناطق التي تتواجدون فيها حيث سيعمل جيش الدفاع… pic.twitter.com/MUL0vtI62H
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) May 18, 2024
Hostage families unite with top diplomats and pop stars in bid for global support
Relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza hold a press conference in Tel Aviv on May 18, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Family members of the hostages are leading a large rally this evening in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, urging the international community to support and work for the release of the 125 captives held by Hamas in Gaza.
As stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas dampen hopes for a deal in the near future, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is organizing the rally to reach out to those across the globe, emphasizing that the hostages who remain in the Strip are not just from Israel, but hold citizenship of 24 different countries.
Speeches from hostage families will feature those who hold foreign citizenship, including US citizen Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui Dekel-Chen is a hostage; Argentine-Israeli Itzik Horn, whose sons Eitan and Yair Horn are held captive; Ayala Yahalomi, sister of French-Israeli hostage Ohad Yahalomi and Russian-Israeli Evgeny Kozlov, whose son Andrey Kozlov is a hostage.
Top American, British and German diplomats will also address the crowd.
Speakers will include US Ambassador Jack Lew, UK Ambassador Simon Walters, German Ambassador Steffen Seibert, and Austrian Ambassador Nikolaus Lutterotti.
The screen on stage will display pre-recorded video messages from former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and talk show host Dr. Phil, who recently interviewed hostage families in Israel, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Live music performances will also spotlight at this rally, with a star-studded lineup including former Eurovision stars Netta Barzilai, who won the song contest in 2018, and Eden Golan, who will perform “October Rain,” the original version of the official Eurovision entry “Hurricane,” which had several verses removed by organizers because they referred to the October 7 massacre by Hamas. Israeli singer-songwriter Noga Erez and American singer Montana Tucker will also perform for the crowd.
Earlier this week on Thursday, the UN Security Council held its first meeting solely addressing the hostages issue, hearing the testimonies of hostages’ families and calling for the release of those who remain captive in Gaza with three successive resolutions.
IDF jets strike Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon; drone, rocket attacks in north throughout day cause no injuries
Israeli fighter jets struck additional Hezbollah buildings and infrastructure in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab, Odaisseh, Aitaroun, and Ramyeh earlier today, the military says.
The IDF also says that one explosive-laden drone launched from Lebanon earlier struck an area near the border community of Yiftah, causing no injuries.
Other incidents of sirens warning of incoming drones have ended without damage or injuries, the IDF adds.
Several rockets were also fired from Lebanon at northern Israel today, causing no injuries, according to the military.
Hezbollah has claimed 10 rocket, missile and drone attacks on the border today.
מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום תשתיות טרור ומבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים עייתא א-שעב, אל עדייסא, עיתרון ורמיה שבדרום לבנון.
בהמשך להתרעות על חדירת כלי טיס עוין בצפון הארץ, האירועים הסתיימו, לא דווח על נפגעים או נזק >> pic.twitter.com/z1WwV1Pv8r
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 18, 2024
40-year-old business owner shot to death in north
A 40-year-old man was shot to death while driving in the northern Arab town of Ilut, police and medics say.
The Nazareth resident, who owned a business selling luxury vehicles, was declared dead by medics on the scene, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
Witnesses tell the Ynet news site that the assailants sprayed the victim’s vehicle and then fled.
Police say that it is believed that the motive for the killing was a criminal dispute.
Group of hostages’ families: Blood of captives is on Netanyahu’s hands
A group of relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza give a public statement demanding an immediate deal to release those who remain alive after the bodies of three captives were brought back from Gaza by soldiers yesterday.
“We are saying to the war cabinet: we need to immediately save all the hostages who are still alive, to bring the dead back to be buried in Israel. The way to do this is through a deal,” says Yehudit Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held hostage in Gaza.
Einav Moses, daughter-in-law of hostage Gadi Moses says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has purposely sabotaged talks for a deal to free the hostages, and that his government “gave up on the hostages.”
“The blood of those kidnapped is on Netanyahu’s hands and those who cooperate with him,” she says.
The families say that the ongoing operation in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah means that the government has abandoned the hostages who remain alive.
Drone alerts activated again in northern communities
Incoming drone alert sirens sound again in northern communities, for the second time within half an hour.
The sirens are activated in Baram, Yir’on, and Avivim.
Red Alert [17:47:47] – 3 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Baram, Yir'on, Avivim#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/br3OEdynPN
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 18, 2024
Protesters in Rehovot call for government to quit, hostage deal
Protesters call for the government to quit, and an immediate deal to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in Rehovot, May 18, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Meir Conforti)
Protesters gather outside the Weizman Institute in Rehovot, calling for the government to resign and an immediate deal for the return of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
The families of hostages held in Gaza will gather for the main demonstration in Tel Aviv later at night, with a high-profile lineup of international speakers and musicians to demand the release of the 125 hostages still held by Hamas since October 7, who hold citizenship from 24 countries.
Drone infiltration alerts activated in northern communities
Drone infiltration alert sirens are sounding in Upper Galilee communities.
The sirens are sounding in Kiryat Shmona, Kfar Yuval, Misgav Am, Ma’ayan Baruch, Manara, Metula, Kfar Giladi, Beit Hillel, Tel Hai, and Margaliot.
???? Large Red Alert [17:28:11] – 10 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Kfar Yuval, Misgav Am, Ma'ayan Baruch, Metulla, Kiryat Shmona, Manara, Kfar Giladi, Beit Hillel, Tel Hai, Margaliot#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 18, 2024
IDF: Tank forces demolish 100 Hamas terror sites, finds 10 tunnel shafts in Rafah
Troops of the 401st Armored Brigade operate in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in a handout image published May 18, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The military provides updates on the fighting against Hamas in southern Gaza’s Rafah, where the 162nd Division is operating.
The division’s 401st Armored Brigade has been raiding sites in the area, where Hamas gunmen opened fire, the military says.
The tank forces have killed more than 50 terror operatives in the area, and demolished some 100 sites, including rocket launchers, according to the IDF. The troops also located more than 10 tunnel shafts, it adds.
Meanwhile, the Givati Infantry Brigade, operating in the same area, has killed more than 80 terror operatives, the IDF says. The Givati troops also located tunnel networks in eastern Rafah, the military adds.
Lapid calls on Gantz to resign in lead up to evening presser
Opposition leader Yair Lapid calls on War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz to leave the government, in the lead-up to Gantz’s press conference this evening.
“He must announce that he is no longer able to give a hand to the abandonment of hostages, abandonment of the north, and crushing the economy and the middle class,” Lapid writes on X.
“He needs to say he will no longer assist [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to stay in power and he is leaving the government immediately and calling for elections now,” he adds.
בני גנץ צריך להודיע הערב שהוא פורש מהממשלה האיומה בתולדות המדינה.
עליו להודיע שהוא לא מוכן יותר לתת ידו להפקרת החטופים, לנטישת הצפון, לריסוק הכלכלה ומעמד הביניים.
הוא צריך להגיד שהוא לא יסייע עוד לנתניהו להשאר בשלטון והוא עוזב לאלתר את הממשלה וקורא לבחירות עכשיו.
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) May 18, 2024
Panamanian-flagged oil tanker hit by missile in Red Sea
Yemenis deploy a giant Palestinian flag as they march in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa in solidarity with the people of Gaza on May 17, 2024. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)
CAIRO, Egypt — A Panamanian-flagged crude oil tanker was attacked near Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Mocha, British security firm Ambrey says, in the latest incident in waters where Houthi rebels have targeted ships in solidarity with Palestinians.
Ambrey says a radio communication indicated the ship was hit by a missile and that there was a fire onboard about 10 nautical miles southwest of Mokha. It had received assistance and one of its steering units was functional, Ambrey adds, citing information it had received but without giving more details.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have been staging attacks on the commercially important waterway for months in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Other vessels in the vicinity are advised to exercise caution, Ambrey adds in an advisory note.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says that a vessel in the Red Sea was struck by an unknown object and sustained slight damage.
“The vessel and crew are safe and continuing to its next port of call,” UKMTO says in an advisory note on the incident 98 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Hodeidah port.
10 rockets fired from northern Gaza; five intercepted, others strike open areas
A barrage of some 10 rockets were launched from the northern Gaza Strip at the Ashkelon area, according to the IDF.
The military says five rockets were intercepted, and the others struck open areas.
There are no reports of injuries or damage.
הירי לאשקלון:
10 רקטות שוגרו לעיר, 5 יורטו ו-5 נוספות נפלו בשטחים פתוחיםכך זה נראה מחוף הים בעיר pic.twitter.com/wtC6vdmmpC
— Itsik Zuarets איציק זוארץ (@Itsik_zuarets) May 18, 2024
Gantz to hold press conference at 8:30 p.m.
National Unity party head and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz holds a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, April 21, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz is set to give a public statement at 8:30 p.m. from the Kfar Maccabiah Hotel in Ramat Gan, he says.
The National Unity chair will accept questions from the press.
Incoming rocket sirens sound in Ashkelon, Zikim
Incoming rocket alerts are activated in the southern city of Ashkelon and surrounding areas.
The alerts sound in the Ashkelon Southern Industrial Zone and the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Zikim.
Red Alert [16:02:11] – 2 Alerts:
• Western Lakhish — Ashkelon Southern Industrial Zone
• Gaza Envelope — Zikim#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/zsG5tZkyQn— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 18, 2024
Drone infiltration alerts blare in northern communities
Sirens warning of a hostile drone infiltration have been activated in Upper Galilee communities along the northern border with Lebanon.
The sirens go off in the communities of Malkiya, Yiftach, Ramot Naftali, Dishon, and the Mevuot Hermon Regional Council.
Red Alert [15:54:43] – 5 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Malkia, Mevuot Hermon Regional Council, Dishon, Ramot Naftali, Iftach#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/95tiZzesGC
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 18, 2024
Lebanese reports say Israeli strike hit a vehicle near Syrian border
Lebanese media report an alleged Israeli strike on a vehicle near the eastern town of Masnaa, close to the Syrian border.
No further details are immediately available.
السيارة المستهدفة عند نقطة المصنع على الحدود مع سوريا#ملحق pic.twitter.com/xbrDUAepbt
— Mulhak – ملحق (@Mulhak) May 18, 2024
Former Labor MK Yael Dayan dies at 85
Labor MK Yael Dayan delivers a speech to the Knesset plenum to mark International Women's Day on March 7, 2000. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
Former Labor Party MK Yael Dayan dies at the age of 85 after a prolonged battle with lung disease, Hebrew media report.
Dayan, daughter of famed former defense minister and IDF chief of staff Moshe Dayan, served as a Labor MK from 1993 until 2003.
She was later a representative of the dovish Meretz party on the Tel Aviv city council.
Former Meretz MK Mossi Raz hailed Dayan as a pioneer in the fight for LGBTQ rights and feminism in Israel, noting her legislation outlawing sexual harassment, and her work as a peace activist.
“We lost an important partner,” he tweeted.
Dayan had for decades suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by prolonged smoking.
In a 2022 interview, Dayan described her poor health and said: “There are days and hours where I cannot speak in a coherent way at all, but really I suffer mostly from boredom because most of the time I’m alone.”
Drone infiltration alerts sound in northern Israel
Drone infiltration warnings are sounding in northern Israel.
The sirens go off in the communities of Malkiya, Yiftach, Ramot Naftali, Dishon and the Mevuot Hermon Regional Council.
Red Alert [13:57:41] – 5 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Malkia, Dishon, Mevuot Hermon Regional Council, Ramot Naftali, Iftach#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/5EYI06GlgM
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 18, 2024
Iran hangs seven people, including two women, as surge in executions intensifies
Portraits are exhibited behind a noose as a placard reads 'Executions pro day' in front of the Brandenburg Gate during a demonstration by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Berlin, Germany on February 10, 2024. (Stefanie Loos/AFP)
Iran today hanged at least seven people, including two women as the Islamic Republic further intensified its use of capital punishment, an NGO says.
Parvin Mousavi, 53, a mother of two grown-up children, was hanged in Urmia prison in northwestern Iran along with five men convicted in various drug-related cases, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) says.
In Nishapur, in eastern Iran, a 27-year-old woman named Fatemeh Abdullahi was hanged on charges of murdering her husband, who was also her cousin, it says.
IHR says it has tallied at least 223 executions this year, with at least 50 so far in May alone. A new surge began following the end of the Persian New Year and Ramadan holidays in April, with 115 people including six women hanged since then, it says.
Iran carries out more recorded executions of women than any other country. Activists say many such convicts are victims of forced or abusive marriages.
Iran last year carried out more hangings than in any year since 2015, according to NGOs, which accuse the Islamic Republic of using capital punishment as a means to instill fear in the wake of protests that erupted in autumn 2022.
“The silence of the international community is unacceptable,” IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam tells AFP.
“Those executed belong to the poor and marginalized groups of Iranian society and didn’t have fair trials with due process.”
Austria to unblock UNRWA funds
Activists protest against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) outside its offices in Jerusalem, March 27, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Austria will release funds to the UN’s Palestinian relief organisation UNRWA that were blocked after allegations agency staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel.
Vienna’s decision comes after UNRWA set out an action plan to better ensure its impartiality, strengthen internal reviews and improve how its staff are monitored.
“After a thorough analysis of the action plan, we will release funds to UNRWA again,” the Austrian foreign ministry says.
Funds totaling 3.4 million euros ($3.70 million) have been budgeted for 2024, with the first payment due to be made in the summer, it adds.
Austria was one of the donor states to freeze some $450 million in funds after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of participating in the Hamas-led attack, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 252 hostages, an event that triggered the Gaza war.
Several UNRWA employees were documented taking part in the massacres and kidnapping Israelis.
Israel has also repeatedly shown terrorists using UNRWA facilities in Gaza.
Video showing a UNRWA worker driving a white UN jeep, and abducting the body of Jonathan Samerano, who was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7. (Screenshot)
Germany said last month it would resume cooperation with UNRWA following a report led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna into UNRWA’s procedures for ensuring adherence to principles of neutrality.
Warplanes hit Hezbollah sites after rocket fire on northern Israel
Israeli fighter jets struck a rocket launcher and buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Kounine and Khiam overnight, the military says.
The IDF says it also shelled areas near Hanine with artillery to “remove threats.”
This morning, two projectiles were fired toward the Biranit army base on the Lebanon border. The IDF says no injuries or damage were caused in the attack.
מטוסי קרב תקפו במהלך הלילה משגר ומבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים כונין ואל-חיאם שבדרום לבנון.
צה״ל תקף מוקדם יותר היום בירי ארטילרי להסרת איום במרחב ח׳נין שבדרום לבנון.
כמו כן, זוהו הבוקר שני שיגורים לעבר מרחב בירנית, אין נפגעים ולא נגרם נזק pic.twitter.com/y0obqjtjLT
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 18, 2024
Hamas says Gaza death toll at 35,386
Medical personnel walk at the European hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 17, 2024. (AFP)
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says the death toll of Palestinians in the Strip has reached 35,386 since October 7.
These figures cannot be verified and only some 24,000 fatalities have been identified at hospitals. The tolls include some 15,000 terror operatives Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Troops locate, destroy long-range rocket manufacturing site in northern Gaza
Troops of the 460th Armored Brigade operate on the outskirts of northern Gaza's Jabaliya, in a handout image published May 18, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Troops of the 460th Armored Brigade operating in the outskirts of northern Gaza’s Jabaliya located and destroyed a weapons and long-range rocket manufacturing site, along with other military equipment, the IDF says.
The military publishes images from the site and some of the equipment that was seized by the troops.
These images released by the IDF on May 18, 2024, show equipment and long-range rockets found at a weapons manufacturing plant on the outskirts of northern Gaza’s Jabaliya. (Israel Defense Forces)
Rights group says Jewish Iranian set to be executed on Monday
Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, 20, an Iranian Jew set to be executed in May 2024 (Iran Human Rights)
A Jewish Iranian man is set to be executed on Monday for killing a man in a brawl two years ago when he was 18, an Iranian human rights group says.
According to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, 20, from the southwestern city of Kermanshah was set to be executed on Saturday, but his family was informed the execution will now take place on Monday.
Ghahremani was convicted of “intentional murder” for his role in the fight two years ago.
The opposition linked Iran International news website says that Ghahremani was defending himself after being attacked with a knife.
The reports say that his only hope of being spared under Iran’s Islamic code is if the family of the dead man agree, something they have so far refused to do.
IHR carries a voice recording from from Ghahremani’s mother pleading for people to pray for her son’s rescue.
Prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979, there were some 100,000 Jews in Iran; by 2016, according to an Iranian census, that number had fallen to below 10,000.
Amnesty International says Iran executed 853 people in 2023, the highest total since 2015.
IDF kills top Islamic Jihad commander in Rafah amid wave of Gaza airstrikes, battles
IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip in an image published on May 18, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israeli Air Force struck more than 70 targets across the Gaza Strip in the past day, the military says, as ground forces operate in Rafah, Jabaliya, and the Netzarim Corridor.
According to the IDF, the targets included weapon depots, infrastructure, and buildings belonging to terror groups, as well as operatives.
One of the airstrikes in Rafah hit a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative, who the IDF says was head of logistics for the terror group in the city in southern Gaza. “As part of his role, he was responsible for preparing the enemy for the IDF maneuver in Rafah,” the military says.
In eastern Rafah, the military says troops of the Givati Brigade spotted and killed an RPG-wielding operative in a building near them. Givati troops raided several sites in the area, locating weapons, the IDF adds.
Also in eastern Rafah, the Egoz commando unit located a rocket launcher at a building used by terror groups, the IDF says.
Meanwhile in Jabaliya in the Strip’s north, the IDF says the Paratroopers Brigade killed several gunmen during several engagements; the 7th Armored Brigade located a primed rocket launcher and killed several more gunmen in battles; and the 460th Armored Brigade located several tunnel shafts and killed an RPG-wielding operative.
In the Strip’s center, the 99th Division continued to battle gunmen in the Netzarim Corridor area, including by calling in airstrikes, the IDF says.
In one incident in central Gaza, troops of the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit spotted a cell that had fired RPGs at troops and directed a drone to strike and kill the operatives, the army adds.
Oil tanker reported hit by missile in Red Sea in suspected Houthi attack
Yemenis brandish their rifles as they march in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa in solidarity with the people of Gaza on May 17, 2024 (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP)
British security firm Ambrey says it has received information that a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker was reportedly “attacked” approximately 10 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Mocha.
It adds that the communication indicated vessel was hit by a missile.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been attacking shipping in the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Munich airport closed as climate activists are on runway
Munich’s airport is closed because climate activists are on the runway, Die Welt reports.
A series of posts on X by the climate activists Last Generation show members on what appears to be a runway or tarmac with protest signs.
???? Judith: "Die Regierung [verharmlost] die Situation und subventioniert sogar diesen ganzen Wahnsinn noch weiter. Die Frage darf doch nicht sein: 'Fliege ich heute ich in den Urlaub?', die Frage muss doch lauten: 'Wollen wir überleben?', denn um nichts Geringeres geht es!"
2/3 pic.twitter.com/LCCE626gt1
— Letzte Generation (@AufstandLastGen) May 18, 2024
Drone infiltration alerts sounding across northern Israel
A series of drone infiltration alerts are sounding across communities in the Galilee panhandle and northern Israel.
The repeated warning sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona, Metualla and dozens of of surrounding communities.
???? Large Red Alert [07:22:23] – 10 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Kfar Yuval, Misgav Am, Manara, Ma'ayan Baruch, Kiryat Shmona, Metulla, Kfar Giladi, Beit Hillel, Tel Hai, Margaliot#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/WtVtOxepUl
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 18, 2024
US issues worldwide alert amid threat of violence against LGBTQ+ community ahead of Pride Month
File - People gather during the Queer Liberation March in the West Village, June 27, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)
WASHINGTON – The US State Department issues a worldwide caution security alert, saying it is aware of increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQ+ people and events.
“Due to the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against US citizens and interests, the Department of State advises US citizens overseas to exercise increased caution,” the department says in a statement.
The alert comes two weeks before the start of LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the United States.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a statement people in the LGBTQ+ community “continue to face insidious forms of stigma and discrimination.”
In Israel, the Jerusalem’s Pride and Tolerance March will gather under the slogan “Born to be Free,” combining a call for the release of 132 hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip to its customary rally in support of LGBTQ rights. Tel Aviv has canceled its flagship annual pride parade in the shadow of the war.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Trump campaigns on day off from hush money trial, calls Biden ‘a horrible president’
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the Minnesota Republican Lincoln Reagan Dinner, May 17, 2024, at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
ST. PAUL — Former US president Donald Trump uses a day off from his hush money trial to headline a Republican fundraiser in Minnesota, a traditionally Democratic state that he boasts he can carry in November.
Trump takes the stage late last night as he headlines the state GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan dinner in St. Paul after attending his son Barron’s high school graduation in Florida.
“This November the people of Minnesota are going to tell Crooked Joe Biden — right? ‘The Apprentice’? ‘You’re fired!'” Trump says, referencing his former reality television show and the catchphrase he used on it.
He also makes a profane attack on US President Joe Biden, calling him “a horrible president” who is “destroying our country” and then adding, “He’s a horrible human being too.”
Trump then shifts to calling the president a “non-athlete” and attacks his golf game, accusing him of inflating his golfing abilities and making other misrepresentations before using an expletive that drew loud laughs and sustained applause.
Trump was using part of the day granted by the trial judge for the graduation to campaign in Minnesota, a state he argues he can win in the November rematch with Biden. No Republican presidential candidate has won Minnesota since Richard Nixon in 1972, but Trump came close to flipping the state in 2016, when he fell 1.5 percentage points short of Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump returned to Minnesota several times in 2020, when Biden beat him by more than 7 percentage points.
Experts are split on whether Minnesota really will be competitive this time, given its history and the strong Democratic Party ground game in the state. But David Hann, the chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, says there’s “great dissatisfaction with President Biden” in the state, noting that nearly 19% of Democratic voters in its Super Tuesday primary marked their ballots for “uncommitted.” That was at least partly due to a protest-vote movement over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war that has spread to several states.
Ship lightly damaged in strike by ‘unknown object’ in Red Sea near Yemen; crew safe — UK maritime body
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says that it received a report of an incident on a vessel in the Red Sea, 76 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah.
The captain confirms that the ship sustained slight damage after it was “struck by an unknown object,” UKMTO says in a statement.
The crew is safe and the vessel is continuing to its next port of call, the statement says, adding that authorities are investigating.
The Iran-backed Houthis, a US-designated terror organization that controls the most populous parts of Yemen, has staged attacks on ships in the waters off the country for months in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing war.
The repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November have forced shippers to re-route cargo on longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and stoked fears the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilize the Middle East.
Poll: Netanyahu’s job approval rating at 32%, Gantz only slightly higher at 35%
Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Benny Gantz. (Yonatan Sindel, David Cohen/Flash90)
Over seven months into the war with Hamas in Gaza, a new poll puts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s job approval rating at only 32 percent.
Among Likud voters only, that number rises to 35%, according to the Channel 12 poll.
Netanyahu’s main opponent, National Unity chair Benny Gantz, is only slightly more popular, with a 35% overall job approval rating. That number goes up to 42% among center-left voters, according to Channel 12.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who spoke out against Netanyahu in a televised address this week, gets good grades from 43% of Israelis, the poll finds.
Other ministers in Netanyahu’s government also fare poorly in the poll, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s approval rating put at 21%, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at 28% and Transportation Minister Miri Regev at 27%.
Opinions on IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi amid the ongoing war are more divided, according to the poll, with 46% of respondents rating him favorably and 46% negatively.
The Channel 12 poll was conducted by Midgam/Mano Geva in collaboration with iPanel.
IDF: Palestinian terrorist behind May 2023 murder of Israeli man is killed in West Bank airstrike
The Israeli airstrike in the West Bank city of Jenin a short while ago targeted a command room belonging to a local terror network and killed a terrorist behind the murder of an Israeli in May 2023, the military and Shin Bet say.
According to a joint IDF and Shin Bet statement, fighter jets and attack helicopters targeted a building used as an “operational war room” by Jenin’s terror network.
Several gunmen were gathered at the command room when it was struck, including those involved in several shooting attacks in the Jenin area, the IDF says.
It says that members of the network planned additional attacks in the near future.
Among those killed is Islam Khamayseh, who the IDF says was wanted over his involvement in a series of terror attacks, including a shooting near the settlement of Hermesh in May 2023, killing Meir Tamari, and another attack in the area in June 2023 that wounded four soldiers and one civilian.
The military says the targeted site was “a dangerous terrorist infrastructure,” and the airstrike “was carried out to remove an imminent threat posed by the terrorists who were involved in advancing terror attacks in the area of Jenin and Israeli territory.”
It publishes footage of the strike.
מטוס קרב ומסוק קרב של חיל-האוויר, בהכוונה מודיעינית של שב״כ תקפו מבנה אשר שימש כחמ״ל מבצעים של תשתית הטרור בג׳נין.
במבנה הסתתרו מספר מחבלים מרכזיים, ביניהם מחבלים אשר היו מעורבים בביצוע פיגועי ירי בגזרת ג'נין וכן תכננו לממש פיגועים נוספים בתקופה הקרובה.בתקיפה חוסל אסלאם… pic.twitter.com/gmKNg9rXPC
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) May 17, 2024
Report: Senior US officials held indirect talks with Iran in Oman this week to avoid Mideast escalation
Two senior American officials held indirect meeting with Iranian officials in Oman this week in an effort to avoid a regional escalation, according to the Axios news site.
The talks focused on “clarifying the consequences of actions by Iran and its proxies in the region and to discuss US concerns regarding the status of Iran’s nuclear program,” according to two sources quoted in the report.
A government official confirms to the Times of Israel that White House Middle East czar Brett McGurk and special envoy on Iran Abram Paley were in Oman this week for the talks.
McGurk was also in Saudi Arabia this week, according to the same official.
Axios says it was unclear who represented Iran at the Oman talks and there was no official statement from either country.
The talks come after Iranian threats in recent weeks that Tehran will change its doctrine on nuclear weapons — currently banned under a fatwa by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — if its existence is threatened by Israel.
Similar talks were held between the United States and Iran in Oman January, when reportedly Tehran asked the Biden administration to secure a ceasefire in ongoing Gaza war while Washington pressed the Islamic Republic to curb attacks by its proxies.
Palestinian reports: One dead, 8 wounded in IDF airstrikes on Jenin
At least one person has been killed and eight wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, according to Palestinian reports.
The Palestinian health ministry says the eight wounded people are in stable condition and receiving treatment at hospitals.
Reuters can not immediately confirm their identities.
A short while ago, the Israel Defense Forces said a fighter jet conducted the strike, a rarity in the West Bank, where violence had been surging long before war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Residents of the refugee camp say a house was targeted.
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