Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they happened.
Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer, office says
US President Joe Biden speaks at the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, January 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Former US president Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office says.
Biden was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” his office says. “The president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Israeli official says aid deliveries under old mechanism will be ‘temporary,’ until new distribution centers up and running
An unnamed “senior official” says in a statement sent out to reporters that the resumption of aid deliveries to Gaza via the previously used mechanisms is a “temporary measure.”
The official says that this will only last for around a week, until the new aid distribution centers in Gaza are up and running.
Most of these centers will be located in the southern Gaza Strip under IDF security control and operated by private US companies, the official says.
Netanyahu approves immediate resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza
Humanitarian supplies earmarked for Gaza are stored at Egyptian Red Crescent warehouses in the Egyptian border town of El-Arish during an Israeli blockade on aid deliveries to Gaza, on April 8, 2025. (Benoit Tessier /POOL/AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the immediate resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza during a security cabinet meeting earlier this evening.
In a statement confirming the decision, the Prime Minister’s Office says that it is being done “at the recommendation of the IDF and due to the operational need to enable the expansion of intense fighting to defeat Hamas.”
He says Israel “will allow the entry of a basic quantity of food for the population in order to prevent the development of a hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip,” as such a crisis “would endanger the continued operation to defeat Hamas.”
“Israel will act to deny Hamas the ability to seize control of the distribution of humanitarian aid in order to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas terrorists,” he concludes.
The move comes amid increasing international pressure for Israel to end its months-long blockade on aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip and thus prevent a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Israel has thus far refused to do so, saying Hamas has been stealing the aid to benefit its own members, and that it won’t resume deliveries until a new mechanism has been put in place to circumvent Hamas
However, according to the Walla news site, the resumed transfer of aid will be facilitated through several international organizations, including the UN World Food Programme and the World Central Kitchen, until the new US and Israel-backed mechanism begins operating later this month.
According to Ynet, Netanyahu informed the security cabinet that it was necessary to resume the deliveries at once due to growing pressure from the US.
He did not hold a formal vote on the issue, as would generally be expected, and instead informed the cabinet that this was what had been decided.
PM says Gaza offensive will aid hostages’ release, warns Israel keeping ‘eye on Iran’
In a video statement posted on his X account, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauds the IDF’s new, major ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying that it aims to simultaneously defeat Hamas and ensure the release of the hostages.
“We’ve launched a massive campaign against Hamas…IDF forces are pushing powerfully into the Gaza Strip with a dual objective: the defeat of Hamas and the release of our hostages — two goals that are intertwined, and we will achieve both,” says the premier.
“I’ve also heard the media still repeating their old line — ‘You can’t win’,” continues Netanyahu, without specifying which “media” he is referring to.
“They need to stop with that. Have we achieved no victory against Hezbollah? No victory over [former Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad? Did we not [achieve battlefield victory] in other places?”
“Of course, we still face major challenges — we have Iran, we still have Hamas,” he says. “We understand this, but we will complete the victory we set as our goal in the Gaza Strip. It will be fully achieved, including the release of all our hostages.
עדכון ממני אליכם >> pic.twitter.com/YMn35SILlc
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 18, 2025
Turning to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Netanyahu boasts that Israel is striking them “with tremendous force.” He acknowledges that it will be an “exchange of blows,” with Israel taking some of the brunt of it, but says that the Yemeni group is “feeling it, and they’ll feel it even more.”
He says that Israel hasn’t forgotten that the group is backed by Iran.
“We know who stands behind them, who supports them, who enables their actions, and who pushes them to act — it’s Iran. And our eyes are open in that direction too,” he says.
Looking closer to home, Netanyahu also commends the security cabinet’s “historic” decision earlier today to construct a high-tech security barrier along the eastern border with Jordan to strengthen Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley.
“Today in the cabinet we made a decision, a historic one,” says the premier about the planned project.
He says the barrier will “prevent lone terrorists or small cells” from entering Israel.
It’s something critical for securing the borders of the country. We’re also adding other measures to prevent mass entry. I won’t go into details, but many, many things [are being done],” he vows.
Senior Hamas official denies CNN report that group will release 7-9 hostages for 60-day truce
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri tells the Qatari Al Jazeera channel that a CNN report claiming Hamas is willing to release nine hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire is false.
The report had cited an unnamed Hamas official.
Abu Zuhri further claims that Hamas is prepared to release all the hostages in one phase, on the condition that Israel agrees to end the war with international guarantees.
He accuses Israel of trying to “confuse the public” with false reports in order to pressure Hamas.
Pro-EU centrist on course to win Romania presidential elections, exit polls show
Two exit polls put pro-EU centrist Nicusor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, ahead of nationalist George Simion in Romania’s presidential election.
The election is seen as crucial for the direction of the EU and NATO member bordering war-torn Ukraine.
A vote last year was annulled over allegations of Russian interference and a massive social media promotion of the far-right frontrunner, since barred.
Dan has won more than 54 percent of the vote, while Simion stands at just over 45 percent, according to the surveys released shortly after polling stations closed.
Both candidates claim victory, however.
Dan tells supporters gathered in a Bucharest park that Romania’s “reconstruction” will begin on Monday, calling it “a moment of hope”.
“In today’s elections, a community of Romanians who want a profound change in Romania won,” Dan says.
Far-right leader Simion, a fan of US President Donald Trump, calls on followers at polling stations “not to allow any electoral fraud.”
“I am the new president of Romania,” Simion tells cheering supporters in front of parliament. “We are the clear winners of this election, and we claim victory in the name of the Romanian people!”
Turnout today was close to 65 percent, compared to 53 percent for the May 4 first round, in which Simion was the leading candidate.
Simion and Dan both campaigned on a platform of change amid anger over politicians deemed corrupt who have ruled one of the EU’s poorest countries since the end of communism 35 years ago.
Huckabee: Trump will not let Iran get a nuclear weapon
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (right) shakes hands with WJC Israel Region Chair Sylvan Adams at the opening event of the World Jewish Congress plenary assembly in Jerusalem, May 18, 2025. (Shauli Lendner)
Iran will not get a nuclear weapon, US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee tells members of the World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem.
“The president is very clear: They are not going to have a nuclear weapon, they are not going to enrich, they are going to have total dismantlement, and those are the words that he has put,” Huckabee says at the opening gala event of the WJC’s plenary assembly, held at the Museum of Tolerance.
“So whatever they are discussing, those are the criteria that the president has set forth. Even if they said they agree to it – do we believe them? That becomes the next big question. Do we believe them? They haven’t kept anything they’ve said for 46 years.”
More than 300 Jewish leaders and delegates from more than 70 countries are attending the three-day assembly, at which WJC delegates will elect the organization’s leadership and vote on policy resolutions for the next four years.
Philanthropist and newly appointed WJC Israel Region Chair Sylvan Adams announced that the organization would launch an initiative to try to encourage one million Jews to immigrate to Israel, without providing further details.
During the event, Adams and Huckabee presented a special award to freed hostages Tal Shoham, his wife Adi, and children Yahel and Naveh.
Palestinian who spat on female IDF soldier in central Israel turns himself in to Palestinian Authority
A Palestinian man spits on a female IDF soldier on a bus in Bat Yam, May 18, 2025 (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
A Palestinian man who spat on a female IDF soldier earlier today has turned himself in to the Palestinian Authority, Hebrew outlets report.
Israeli police are currently trying to extradite him to Israel, the reports say.
West Bank District commander Moshe Pinchi warns that police will reach the suspect themselves should he decline to turn himself in to Israeli authorities.
“It would be better for the suspect who spat on an IDF officer in the incident that occurred in Bat Yam to turn himself in to the Judea and Samaria District… before district forces reach him,” Pinchi says in a statement.
A young man spits on an Israeli female soldier before getting off the bus. #Israel #IDF #WestBank #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/XO4zC7urya
— Ali Shunnaq (@schunnaq) May 18, 2025
The soldier had been on the way to her IDF base on a bus from Tel Aviv to Ramat Gan when she moved away from a young man listening to videos in Arabic.
“At some point, I moved to another seat because I was uncomfortable hearing that music,” she recounted to the Walla news outlet.
“Then, when he got up to get off at a stop — I believe on Herzl Street in Ramat Gan — he stood next to me, spat in my face, and got off the bus,” she said.
Tens of thousands march through The Hague, demanding Dutch government seek an end to Israel’s war in Gaza
Tens of thousands of red-clad protesters march through the Dutch administrative capital of The Hague earlier today to demand their government do more to halt Israel’s offensive in Gaza, in what organizers called the country’s biggest demonstration in two decades.
Human rights groups and aid agencies — including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders — estimate the peaceful crowd at more than 100,000 people, and the streets of The Hague were packed with the old, young and even some babies on their first protest.
“We hope this is a wake-up call for the government,” says teacher Roos Lingbeek, attending the march with her husband and their 12-week-old daughter, Dido, who sleeps in a carrier as her parents brandish a sign simply reading: “STOP.”
The march takes the young family past the Peace Palace, headquarters of the United Nations’ International Court of Justice, where last year judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza.
Israel has denied any accusations of genocide amid the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
At NY Israel Day parade, father of hostage soldier says US cares more about their plight than Israel
Released hostages and relatives of the Gaza hostages ride on a Hostages and Missing Families Forum float at the May 18, 2024, Israel Day parade in New York City (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)
Chanting, “We will never stop, you are not alone,” hundreds of people from the New York branch of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum march together on Fifth Avenue in the Israel Day Parade.
Released hostage Ilana Gritzewsky and the family members of other hostages including Hagai Angrest, father of hostage Matan Angrest, and Yehuda and Yotam Cohen, father and brother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, are part of the delegation.
Nimrod Cohen and Matan Angrest are two of the remaining soldiers held hostage in Gaza.
Gritzewsky, who recently received signs of life from her hostage partner Matan Zangauker, is at the front of the hostage forum block.
Standing next to her, Yehuda Cohen says that last week’s release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, which was negotiated solely by the US, proves that the Israeli government does not care about the hostages, and is only interested in occupying Gaza.
“We hoped that Trump’s visit to Qatar this week would yield something else, an end to the war and the return home of the hostages,” he says.
“It’s more important to be here than to be in Israel,” says Yotam Cohen. “There are more people paying attention here than Jerusalem.”
Leat Corinne Unger, the cousin of freed hostage Omer Shem Tov, and a resident of Alexander’s hometown of Tenafly, New Jersey, says she can’t believe they are still protesting for the release of 58 more hostages.
The hostage delegation at the parade is led by a float carrying released hostages Keith and Aviva Seigel, rescued captive Andrey Kozlov, and the family members of other hostages.
The procession marches in the heat of the sunny afternoon, behind students of dozens of Jewish day schools, Chinatown dancers and other marching bands. Elsewhere, Israeli rapper Jimbo J is performing on a float for the 92nd Street Y.
Many Israeli New Yorkers are part of the Hostage Forum delegation, and can be seen wearing black Bring Them Home Now T-shirts, many with a yellow piece of tape reading “590” on them, to represent the days since October 7.
There are repeated calls of “Bring them home” and “seal the deal” in English for the duration of the parade.
An additional Hostages Forum float in back of the marchers blasts the song, “Am Yisrael Chai,” and last year’s Eurovision song, “Hurricane,” as onlookers standing several rows deep echo the call to bring them home.
In leaked remarks, Lapid calls Democrats party ‘radical leftists,’ insults Na’ama Lazimi
In leaked remarks from a meeting with senior Yesh Atid officials, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accuses the center-left The Democrats party, headed by Yair Golan, of being “radical leftists” who go about protesting the government in the wrong way.
Both Yesh Atid and The Democrats are members of the opposition, although Golan is not a sitting MK, as he took over the party leadership mid-term.
According to the leaked remarks, Lapid tells his fellow Yesh Atid members that Golan, a former IDF deputy chief of staff, is doing well in the polls now because he is presenting himself as a moderate army “general.”
“But as soon as the primaries are over, everyone will discover what a radical leftist party he has,” asserts Lapid.
Lapid says that Yesh Atid maintains a regular presence at anti-government protests, “because we believe that the government is endangering the State of Israel,” but that unlike The Democrats, “we don’t think that jumping on water cannons like Na’ama Lazimi is what will save the State of Israel.”
Lazimi, a Democrats MK, is a frequent and vocal presence at protests. In an incident earlier this year, police were filmed manhandling her as they grabbed and pushed her across a road.
Golan responds to Lapid’s remarks on X, writing: “The era of the old politics is over. The future of Israel hangs in the balance.”
“I call on all my allies to rise to the occasion. Let us work together to overthrow Netanyahu’s rule and save Israel,” he adds.
9 arrested at hundreds-strong anti-war protest along the Gaza border
Police and border cops arrested nine protesters this evening during a hundreds-strong march along the Gaza border calling for an end to the war, as Israel ramps up its offensive in the Strip.
The protest, a march from the Sderot train station to the border with Gaza, was planned and approved in advance with police and the army on short notice, in light of yesterday’s announcement of a major new offensive dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots.”
Officers declared the anti-war demonstration illegal when protesters tried to burst onto Route 34 near the border. Organizers call the move a “non-violent act of civil disobedience, confronting police brutality, to block the roads leading the army into Gaza.”
Footage from the march shows several protesters attempting to disrupt traffic on the road while calling for an end to the war in Hebrew and Arabic, as police rush to shove demonstrators away from the highway guardrail. They later carry away several protesters to police vehicles, detaining them for questioning.
Among those arrested is prominent left-wing activist Alon Lee Green, who co-founded the Standing Together movement.
HAPPENING NOW NEAR THE GAZA BORDER: responding to the call initiated by Standing Together @omdimbeyachad, hundreds of anti-war activists from Israel arrive for a NON-VIOLENT ACT OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, confronting police brutality, to block the roads leading the army into Gaza. 🟣 pic.twitter.com/bkltS4cSkP
— 🟣Uri Weltmann אורי וולטמן أوري فلطمان (@uriweltmann) May 18, 2025
Israel said to present new deal in Doha to free half of the living hostages in exchange for extended truce, prisoner release
Protesters calling for a hostage deal to free the remaining Gaza captives gather in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv ahead of the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, on May 12, 2025. (Alon Gilboa/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Israel has presented a new proposal to Hamas during the hostage negotiations in Doha, offering an extended ceasefire under which half of the remaining living hostages would be released in exchange for more than 100 terrorists serving life sentences, Channel 12 reports.
Under the deal, Hamas would also return half of the deceased hostages, in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees arrested following the October 7, 2023, massacre.
The proposal has been delivered to US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and the Qatari mediators, says the network.
Meanwhile, Axios reports that Witkoff, who has been in Doha for several days to participate in the negotiations, has also given Hamas and Israel a new proposal and is pressuring the two sides to accept it.
The updated framework includes a 40-60 day ceasefire and the release of an unspecified number Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 10 living hostages, and a mutual understanding that the deal would be the start of a wider agreement to end the war entirely, says Axios, citing an Israeli official and a source with direct knowledge.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded positively to the proposal, while Hamas is still seeking guarantees that a temporary ceasefire could lead to the war’s end, the report says.
Earlier today, Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s hostage negotiation team in Doha is exhausting “every possibility” for a deal, including a potential agreement that would see the end of fighting, in an apparent shift in approach.
There has been further frustration on Hamas’s part about its negotiations with Washington, Axios says, following Israel’s targeted strike against the head of Hamas’ military wing, Muhammed Sinwar, whose death has yet to be confirmed by the IDF.
On this issue, Witkoff told families of the hostages over the last day that he will not allow the results of the strike on Sinwar to harm progress in negotiations, according to Channel 12.
“We know how to get an answer from Hamas in Gaza at any given moment, including after the elimination of Muhammed Sinwar. We have our ways. Nothing has been stalled because of the assassination. I don’t intend to give up, until we achieve the desired result. If needed – I’m a lawyer, and I will draft the agreement,” the network quotes Witkoff as saying, reporting in Hebrew on the English conversation.
Yuval Raphael back in Israel after winning 2nd place at Eurovision: Greatest victory will be ‘when hostages return’
Israeli singer Yuval Raphael arrives back in Israel after competing in the Eurovision Song Contest, where she finished in second place, at Ben Gurion Airport on May 18, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Israel’s Yuval Raphael touches down in Israel after her second-place finish at the Eurovision grand final in Basel, Switzerland, last night.
“Thank you so much for granting me the privilege of being your voice, that you trusted me to share our message,” she tells reporters at Ben Gurion Airport following her arrival.
“I really hope I brought you a lot of pride because that’s all I wanted,” she continues. “I feel like we had a huge, huge victory, but we will never have a victory until all of our hostages return home.”
Raphael and her song, “New Day Will Rise,” brought Israel to an impressive second-place finish at the annual competition, coming first overall in the public vote but just 14th in the jury vote, which are combined for the final results.
Hamas official tells CNN that group will agree to release 7-9 hostages in exchange for two-month truce
A senior Hamas official tells CNN that the terror group has agreed to release between seven to nine Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and the release of 300 Palestinian security prisoners.
The unnamed Hamas official says that this deal would also be contingent on the IDF agreeing to withdraw “east of the Salah al-Din Corridor,” meaning, to the outskirts of the Gaza Strip.
The report does not indicate whether this has been put forward as a formal proposal during the ongoing negotiations in Qatar.
IDF spokesman says military doing ‘everything’ to ensure hostages aren’t harmed in new Gaza op
IDF spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, in his press conference, says the IDF is doing “everything” to prevent harm to the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza during the new offensive against the terror group.
“The fighting is being conducted in full coordination with the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters. We are doing everything to prevent harm to the hostages. They are before our eyes at all times,” he says.
“We are moving forward, and the only thing that can stop us is the return of our hostages home,” Defrin says.
He also justifies the IDF’s vague statements on its operations in Gaza, saying, “Ambiguity is a tool. We won’t share our plans with Hamas. They will see actions on the ground.”
IDF spokesman says 5 divisions now operating in Gaza as Israel moves to ‘new stage’ of war
IDF spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin delivers a press statement from the Gaza border, May 18, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, in a press statement from the Gaza border, says five divisions are now operating inside the Strip in the new offensive aimed at defeating Hamas.
“We are moving to a new stage in the fighting. During the operation, we will increase and expand our operational control in the Gaza Strip, while bisecting the Strip and moving the population for its safety, in all the areas where we will operate,” he says.
Defrin says the IDF has implemented lessons learned from the fighting in Gaza thus far.
“Unlike previously, we are now concentrating on offensive effort in the Gaza Strip, and carrying out an offensive until the defeat [of Hamas] in the areas we will operate,” he says.
Herzog to stop in Paris for brief meeting on hostages on way back from the Vatican
President Isaac Herzog will be stopping in Paris on his way back to Israel after he attended Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration at the Vatican earlier today, for “a brief meeting regarding the hostages,” Herzog’s spokesperson says, without providing details on the meeting.
He is expected to return later this evening, the spokesperson adds.
IDF issues evacuation warning for Khan Younis suburb, south Deir al-Balah after rocket fire at Kissufim
Following rocket fire from the central Gaza Strip at the Kissufim area near the border, the IDF issues an evacuation warning for Palestinians in the Khan Younis suburb of Al-Qarara and the south Deir al-Balah area.
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, publishes a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying that it is a “final warning” before the IDF carries out strikes there.
Two rockets were fired at Kissufim, one of which was intercepted, and the second struck an open area, according to the military.
#عاجل ‼️ إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في منطقة القرارة، بلدية السلقا وجنوب دير البلح وأحياء الجعفراوي، السوار، ابو هداب والسطر
🔴هذا انذار مسبق وأخير قبل الهجوم!🔴
⭕️سنهاجم بقوة شديدة كل منطقة يتم استخدامها لاإطلاق قذائف صاروخية
⭕️تتحمل المنظمات الارهابية وفي مقدمتها حماس… pic.twitter.com/qaCBehOA6j— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) May 18, 2025
IDF chief condemns assault of female officer who was spat on while in uniform
A Palestinian man spits on a female IDF soldier on a bus in Bat Yam, May 18, 2025 (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir condemns the assault of a female IDF officer who was spat on earlier today while in uniform on a public bus, calling the incident “a serious offense” and a “red line.”
Zamir personally spoke with the officer, offering his support and expressing appreciation for her “long and dedicated reserve service.”
“The assault of an officer in uniform is a red line that must be addressed and constitutes an attack on the entire IDF. I expect the law enforcement system to bring the assailant to justice,” he says.
Security cabinet approves plan to construct high-tech security barrier along Jordanian border
The border between Israel and Jordan on the Route 90 highway in the Jordan Valley, July 6, 2017. (Hadas Parush/ Flash90/ File)
Israel’s security cabinet announces its approval of Defense Minister Israel Katz’s plan to construct a high-tech security barrier along the eastern border with Jordan, alongside a broad initiative to strengthen Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley.
The project — slated to begin in June — will include a 425 kilometer (264 mile) multi-layered defense system from Hamat Gader in Israel’s north to the Samar Sands, north of Eilat. The NIS 5.2 billion ($1.4 billion) initiative is expected to take three years and will combine a physical barrier with advanced sensors, mobile military units, and command infrastructure.
The plan also calls for bolstering Israeli presence in the area by establishing “national mission centers,” including pre-military academies and national service frameworks — a move officials say will deter Iranian efforts to smuggle weapons into Israel and create a new terror front via Jordan.
“The establishment of a security fence along the Israel-Jordan border…is a critical strategic step against Iran’s attempts to turn the eastern border into another terror front,” says Katz.
“This is a strategic move that will bolster national security, reinforce our hold on the Jordan Valley, ensure Israel’s sovereignty for years to come – and deal a blow to Iran’s efforts to turn the eastern border into a terror front,” he adds.
Work will begin on two priority segments totaling 80 kilometers (50 miles), while planning continues for the remainder of the fence. The project is being coordinated by an inter-ministerial team led by the Defense Ministry’s director general Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram.
IDF chief says military will give leaders ‘flexibility’ to advance hostage deal amid new Gaza offensive
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (left) and Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor in the northern Gaza Strip on May 18, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, during a visit to Gaza today, says the military will give Israel’s political leadership “flexibility” to advance a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, as it begins a new offensive in the Strip.
“We have launched a ground operation as part of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots.’ The directive is clear: defeat the enemy and destroy its infrastructure wherever we operate. The IDF will allow flexibility for the political echelon to advance any hostage deal,” Zamir says in remarks published by the IDF.
“A hostage deal. This is not a halt; it is an achievement. We are working toward it,” he adds.
Released hostages join annual Israel Day parade in New York City
Dani Miran, the father of hostage Omri Miran, and released hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel at the New York City Israel Day Parade, May 18, 2025. (Jessica Steinberg/ Times of Israel)
New York’s Israel Day on Fifth, the annual Israel Day parade, kicks off Sunday morning with statements from released hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Jewish community leaders.
Keith Siegel, who was freed in February 2025, says he cannot stress enough the horrendous conditions of captivity in Gaza, and notes that he personally knows four people still held in Gaza, mentioning brothers Ziv and Gali Berman, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, by name.
“Aviva and I are on a mission,” he says. “We’re grateful for your support, it’s urgent.”
Aviva Siegel, who was released from captivity in the November 2023 truce, thanks the crowd multiple times.
“Keith is home,” she says. “I am the lucky one. I know what it feels like being held hostage in Gaza, touching death and being treated in such a brutal way.”
Parade organizers also introduce Dani Miran, whose son Omri is still held hostage in Gaza.
The overall mood of the parade is upbeat and cheerful on Fifth Avenue, with Israeli music playing in the background. There is a heavy police presence outside the barriers and on the sidewalks.
Hochul quotes President John F. Kennedy, who once called Israel a resilient people, a statement that she says has been tested over and over again.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think there would still be [58] hostages,” says Hochul. “My God, we will not rest until ‘bring them home is a reality.”
Schumer calls to the crowd, “Am Yisrael Chai! (The people of Israel live).”
He recalls that the remains of four American-Israeli dual citizens are still held in Gaza.
“I know how Ruby Chen is suffering,” he says, referring to the father of slain hostage Itay Chen.
New York Attorney General Leticia James is greeted by quiet boos from the crowd. She says that Israel and New York share the same values, and New York will celebrate Israel forever.
IDF publishes documents it says proves Palestinian ‘journalist’ Hassan Eslaiah was Hamas member
Freelance journalist Hassan Eslaiah, whom the IDF has indentifed as a member of the Hamas terror group's Khan Younis Brigade, is seen in front of a burning IDF tank during the October 7, 2023, onslaught. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The IDF publishes documents purporting to prove that Palestinian journalist Hassan Eslaiah, who was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in Gaza last week, was a member of the Hamas terror group’s military wing.
Eslaiah was targeted twice in recent weeks, with the IDF accusing him of being a member of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade and operating “under the guise of a journalist and owner of a press company.” He was killed in a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza on May 13, after being wounded on April 7.
IDF international media spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani posts on X that documents recovered by the IDF from Gaza “reveal a list of operatives” in the 3rd Battalion of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade. “Among them, Hassan [Eslaiah], listed by name, military number and unit: the so-called ‘Media Platoon,'” he says.
On October 7, 2023, Eslaiah, who was freelancing for The Associated Press, took photos of a burning tank on the Gaza border, which had been attacked by Hamas operatives. He also invaded Israel with the terrorists and photographed them entering Kibbutz Nir Oz, where dozens of civilians were massacred.
🔎EXCLUSIVE INTELLIGENCE UNCOVERED : Documents recovered by the IDF from inside Gaza reveal a list of operatives in Hamas’ Khan Yunis 3rd Battalion. Among them, Hassan Aslih, listed by name, military number, and unit: the so-called “Media Platoon”.
Aslih was a Hamas operative… pic.twitter.com/BJHTZ9jfTu
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) May 18, 2025
Witkoff: US ‘red line’ in Iran talks is any ability for enrichment
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff says the Trump administration’s “red line” in nuclear talks with Iran is that Iran cannot maintain any ability to enrich uranium.
“We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” Witkoff tells ABC’s “This Week.”
“Everything begins… with a deal that does not include enrichment… because enrichment enables weaponization, and we will not allow a bomb to get here,” he adds.
Earlier this year, Witkoff had indicated that the US would accept Iran maintaining a limited enrichment capability, but the Trump administration has since hardened its public stance.
“We’ve delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them,” Witkoff says. “We want to get to a solution here, and and we think that we will be able to.”
Witkoff says negotiators will likely be meeting this week in Europe for another round of talks. “We hope that it will lead to some real positivity.”
Witkoff: Israel ‘indicated’ that it will start allowing aid into Gaza
Palestinians react after food runs out at a charity kitchen providing hot meals in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 17, 2025. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff says Israel has “indicated” that it will begin allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza after blocking its entry for over two and a half months.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was established in close coordination with Israel to manage aid distribution in a manner that prevents its diversion by Hamas, said last week that it would plan to begin operating in Gaza by the end of the month, but Israel has still yet to confirm this.
Witkoff tells ABC’s “This Week” that “everyone is concerned about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza” and insists that “there is no daylight” between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the issue.
The Trump envoy argues that getting aid into Gaza is “logistically complicated.”
“The issue now is how do we logistically get all of those trucks into Gaza? How do we set up the aid stations?” Witkoff says. There are many initiatives that we’re working on to address this.”
“There are going to be mobile kitchens that are going to be sent in. We have trucks with flour waiting at the border,” he continues.
“We do not want to see a humanitarian crisis, and we will not allow it to occur on President Trump’s watch,” Witkoff asserts.
Humanitarian organizations have said for weeks that the crisis is already underway.
IDF says two rockets launched from central Gaza at Kissufim; one was intercepted, other fell in open area
Two rockets were launched from the central Gaza Strip at the Kissufim area a short while ago, the military says.
The IDF says one of the rockets was intercepted while the second struck an open area, causing no injuries.
Coalition backs bill to label Qatar ‘terror-supporting state,’ possibly affecting its role in hostage talks
Amid the ongoing “Qatargate” scandal in the Prime Minister’s Office and the hostage negotiations in Doha, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approves a bill seeking to designate Qatar a “terror-supporting state.”
The bill, proposed by Likud MKs Moshe Saada and Dan Illouz, Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer, and Religious Zionism MK Michal Woldiger, would for the first time establish a legal category for such states, with the legislation’s preamble explicitly naming Qatar as the world’s leading financier of terrorism, citing its support for Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, and the Taliban.
The bill would subject any nation given this status to restrictions similar to those imposed on enemy states, including bans on donations, trade, and diplomatic processes with Israel.
The bill would also prevent Israel from allowing a terror-supporting state to be involved in any negotiations between Israel and a third party — though this would not necessarily prevent Qatar from mediating on the issue of the Gaza hostages, as a subsection of the bill determines that “the Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs may determine that a specific terror-supporting state shall be exempt from this restriction.”
Qatar is one of the states mediating the talks, though Israeli officials have publicly blamed Doha for Hamas not accepting recent compromise proposals.
The bill has reached the Ministerial Committee for Legislation two separate times — once at the end of 2024, and once in January — but according to a Channel 12 report citing minutes from the meetings, the National Security Council blocked it at the request of Prime Minister’s Office officials, while citing opposition from the security establishment.
The National Security Council said at the time that it did not oppose the legislation, and that, on the contrary, it supported it. The PMO called the Channel 12 report “fake news,” and said the bill was being “seriously considered.”
Italian parliamentarians stage anti-war protest on Egyptian side of Rafah Crossing
Italian and European parliament members hold placards during a protest in front of the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing, calling for an end to the war in Gaza and for aid to be allowed into the Palestinian enclave, on May 18, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Italian parliamentarians are protesting in front of Egypt’s Rafah Crossing with Gaza, calling for aid access and an end to the war in the devastated Palestinian enclave.
“Europe is not doing enough, nothing to stop the massacre,” Cecilia Strada, an Italian member of the European parliament, tells AFP.
The group — including 11 members of the Italian parliament, three MEPs and representatives of NGOs — held signs reading “Stop genocide now,” “End illegal occupation,” and “Stop arming Israel.”
The protesters lay toys on the ground in solidarity with Gaza’s children, who the UN warns face “a growing risk of starvation, illness and death” more than two months into a total Israeli aid blockade.
Aid hasn’t entered Gaza since March 1, with Israel arguing that sufficient humanitarian assistance entered the Strip during a six-week ceasefire and that Hamas has been stealing much of that aid. In recent weeks, though, some officials in the Israel Defense Forces have begun warning the political echelon that the enclave is on the brink of starvation.
The protest comes as Israel begins the first stages of its new, major offensive in the Gaza Strip, dubbed Operation Gideon’s Chariots.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Sirens activated in Gaza border community of Kissufim; IDF investigating cause
Rocket sirens are sounding in the Gaza border community of Kissufim.
The IDF says it is investigating the cause.
US hostage envoy Boehler: Release of Edan Alexander shows Hamas knows it needs to free hostages to ‘stop barrage of attacks’
US hostage envoy Adam Boehler says Hamas’s release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander last week is a “sign” that the terror group “understands” that it needs to release hostages “if they want this barrage of attacks to stop.”
Boehler tells “Fox News Sunday” that hostage negotiations in Doha are very “fluid,” denying reports that they aren’t going well.
Patients seen being evacuated from northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital after IDF reportedly surrounds it, opens fire
Media outlets in Gaza publish footage of patients being evacuated on hospital beds and in wheelchairs from the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip.
According to reports from Gaza, the patients were transferred to the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital after Israeli forces surrounded the Indonesian Hospital and opened fire.
The IDF has not yet responded to the reports.
إخلاء عدد من المصابين من المستشفى الإندونيسي إلى مستشفى كمال عدوان بعد محاصرة الجيش الإسرائيلي له من خلال مسيرات الكواد كابتر#غزة#الحدث pic.twitter.com/BUQ96AfRlo
— ا لـحـدث (@AlHadath) May 18, 2025
2,500 items belonging to executed spy Eli Cohen recovered from Syria in covert Mossad operation
A document belonging to Israeli spy Eli Cohen that was recovered from Syria along with some 2,500 other items in a covert Mossad operation made public on May 18, 2025. (Prime Minister's Office)
Some 2,500 documents and personal items belonging to legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen have been returned to Israel from Syria in a covert operation carried out by the Mossad, the Prime Minister’s Office announces.
The announcement comes on the 60th anniversary of Cohen’s execution in Damascus, on May 18, 1965.
The thousands of items collectively make up the entirety of the Syrian archive on Eli Cohen, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
Among the items recovered are handwritten letters from Cohen to his family, proof of communications between the Israeli spy and senior Syrian officials, and photos taken during his years spent undercover in Syria.
The collection also features a host of Cohen’s personal belongings, including the keys to his Damascus apartment, which were confiscated by Syrian intelligence upon his arrest.
Cohen’s original will, drafted just hours before he was hanged, was also recovered, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
The original will of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, written hours before his execution in Damascus, Syria, on May 18, 1965. The will was recovered from Syria in a covert Mossad operation, along with some 2,500 other items and documents belonging to the Israeli spy. (Prime Minister’s Office)
It says that the success of the operation is attributed to the decades-long efforts by the Mossad “to locate every piece of information about Eli Cohen in an attempt to shed light on his fate and burial place.”
Mossad chief David Barnea says that the recovery of the archive is “another step in advancing the investigation to locate the burial place of our man in Damscus.”
“We will continue to work to locate and return all the missing, the fallen, and the kidnapped,” he adds.
Netanyahu, in a statement of his own, says that the recovered archive “will educate generations, and expresses our tireless commitment to returning all of our missing persons, prisoners of war, and hostages.”
Cohen infiltrated the top levels of Syria’s political leadership in the years before the 1967 Six Day War, and the information he obtained is credited with playing a key role in Israel’s stunning success in that war.
He was put on trial and executed by the Syrian government for espionage on May 18, 1965, after he successfully breached the Syrian government under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet for four years.
His body has never been recovered.
IDF says it has begun ‘broad’ ground operations in several areas of Gaza amid widened offensive
The IDF announces that it has begun “broad” ground operations in several areas of the Gaza Strip, as part of the opening phase of a new major offensive against Hamas.
“Over the past day, IDF troops in the Southern Command, both the standing army and reserves, began a broad ground operation throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip, as part of the start of Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” the military says in a statement.
The IDF days that over the past week, the Israeli Air Force struck over 670 Hamas targets in Gaza “in order to disrupt the enemy’s preparations and assist the ground operation.”
The targets included weapons depots, cells of terror operatives, tunnels and anti-tank launch sites, the army says.
So far, the IDF says troops have killed “dozens of terrorists,” and destroyed terrorist infrastructure above and below ground, “and are now holding strategic areas in the Strip.”
Knesset committee again fails to pass measure to extend emergency reservist call-up period
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee fails to pass a measure to extend the government’s ability to issue emergency call-up orders for IDF reservists, after Likud MK Amit Halevi unexpectedly voted against the measure.
Halevi joined six other lawmakers in opposing the motion, while only four MKs voted for.
“If soldiers die, I cannot vote in favor,” Halevi tells Channel 12, signaling frustration with the government’s military strategy.
The vote came at the end of a closed-door Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting chaired by Likud MK Yuli Edelstein and attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, who presented a wide-ranging security briefing.
In the classified session, Katz outlined the military’s continued strategy in Gaza, plans for northern border deterrence, and a renewed push to enforce conscription among ultra-Orthodox men.
He also stated that no humanitarian aid is currently entering Gaza and emphasized that any future aid would undergo strict scrutiny to prevent it from reaching Hamas.
Today’s vote marks the second time in recent days that the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has failed to garner enough support to approve the government’s emergency call-up of tens of thousands of additional reservists for the war in Gaza.
After the measure initially fell in a committee vote last week, it was then voted on for a second time and passed, but with the extension limited to just seven days. Therefore, the measure must be approved by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday in order to take effect.
Sam Sokol contributed to this report
Israeli teen arrested on suspicion of gathering intel for Iran on former PM Bennett during recent hospitalization
Police and Shin Bet agents have arrested yet another Israeli citizen suspected of spying for Iran, after he allegedly gathered intelligence on former prime minister Naftali Bennett when he was hospitalized last month.
Eighteen-year-old Yavne resident Moshe Attias, who was arrested in April, is one of many Israelis who have been arrested in recent months on charges of espionage on Iran’s behalf, in return for small sums of money.
The detainee is suspected of “gathering intelligence in the cardiology department of a hospital in central Israel,” where Bennett was being treated. He allegedly filmed in Kfar Saba’s Meir Medical Center, documenting the floor and room where the ex-premier was located.
Police say that Attias carried out other missions for his Iranian handlers, but do not elaborate on the additional suspicions.
In a statement regarding the espionage, Bennett’s office says that Iranian attempts on world leaders’ lives “have failed and will fail here too, and will certainly not deter Bennett from continuing to work for the sake of Israeli security.”
He calls on Israel to take a more aggressive position towards Iran, insisting that “Tehran, not Tel Aviv, should be on the defensive.”
Coalition backs bill giving government control over broadcast media regulation; AG: Endangers free press
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi attends a National Security Committee meeting at the Knesset, January 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Controversial legislation that would give the government control over broadcast media regulation is approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, meaning it will be backed by the coalition when it comes for its preliminary hearing in the Knesset plenum.
The legislation, advanced by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, would see the establishment of a new regulatory council controlled by the communications minister that would have the power to revoke the registration of broadcast media channels and news stations, impose heavy fines on content providers, and have an array of other authorities over broadcast media.
Karhi, one of the most far-right members of the Likud party, has claimed that the law would increase competition in the media market and reduce costs for content consumers.
“The monopolies and advocates of centralization did everything they could to stop this process. They wanted to preserve the existing situation, where the public pays more, receives less, and is controlled by powerful media outlets with regulatory immunity,” says Karhi following approval of his bill by the ministerial committee.
The bill can now be brought for its preliminary hearing in the Knesset as early as this Wednesday, although the current refusal of the ultra-Orthodox parties to back coalition legislation may delay its progress.
Shortly before its approval, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara stated in a legal position paper on the bill that it would enable “political interference in the work of broadcast bodies and endanger free press in Israel.”
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a meeting of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, April 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
At Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration, Herzog urges new pontiff to work for release of hostages
President Isaac Herzog (L) meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 18, 2025 (Maayan Toaf / GPO)
While attending today’s inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, President Isaac Herzog shakes the new pope’s hand and encourages him to work for the release of all the remaining hostages in Gaza.
“During the ceremony… the president thanked [Pope Leo XIV] for choosing to begin his papacy with a call for the immediate return of all hostages held in Gaza,” and “used the occasion to urge the pope to continue working for their release and to promote the renewal of interfaith dialogue,” says Herzog’s spokesperson in a statement.
Herzog also invited the pope to visit Israel, the spokesperson adds.
Herzog, who spoke with various world leaders at the ceremony, was sporting a yellow ribbon pin and a sticker marking the 590 days that Israeli hostages have been held by Hamas in Gaza. The two items served as “a gesture of solidarity with the families and a cry for their immediate release, urging the global community to take action for their return,” his spokesperson says.
Among those Herzog spoke with are US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Spain’s King Felipe VI, Dutch President Dick Schoof, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, says the statement.
Pope Leo XIV to meet delegation of Jewish leaders
Pope Leo XIV holds Mass during the formal inauguration of his pontificate in St. Peter's Square attended by heads of state, royalty and ordinary faithful, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV will meet a delegation of Jewish leaders tomorrow morning.
The meeting, announced by the American Jewish Committee in a statement, is confirmed to The Times of Israel by David Michaels, director of UN and Intercommunal Affairs at B’nai B’rith International.
Both Michaels and AJC’s director of interreligious affairs Rabbi Noam Marans attended the pontiff’s inauguration this morning, with several other representatives of Jewish organizations, including Riccardo Di Segni, chief rabbi of Rome.
“This is going to be one of the first meetings after the inauguration,” Michaels tells The Times of Israel. “We already know that institutionally the church is deeply committed to the relationship and the friendship [with the Jewish community], and the pope has also expressed his personal commitment to the relationship.”
“Tomorrow, and in subsequent meetings, we will have a much better idea of his philosophy, of his plans and intentions,” he adds.
President Isaac Herzog also attended the inauguration.
Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, drew criticism from Jewish and Israeli leaders following his response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and the subsequent war.
Harish mayor charged with indecent acts; prosecutors said to back down from rape charges due to his skillful answers prepped with ChatGPT
Screen capture from video of Harish Mayor Yitzhak Keshet, 2024. (YouTube)
State prosecutors indict Harish Mayor Yitzhak Keshet for indecent acts but refrain from charging him with rape despite accusations of serious sexual assault.
Police arrested Keshet last month after receiving complaints from seven women, including some who had been working for the mayor at the time they were allegedly harassed.
The indictment, filed in the Hadera Magistrate’s Court, accuses the mayor of leveraging his high-ranking position to sexually exploit employees and others dependent on his municipality’s services.
Prosecutors say the mayor committed indecent acts, including “touching their bodies without their consent, hugging, kissing and, in some cases, pressing his body and genitals against theirs so they could feel his erection.”
In an interview with Channel 12 news, one of the women, a former municipal employee, detailed the mayor forcing himself on her. In his room, the mayor allegedly began to undress the victim and do “all sorts of intimate and sexual things.”
“I was in shock, he laid me on his bed and then laid on top of me, he’s strong. I couldn’t push him,” recounted the municipal worker. “He asked me to perform a sexual act on him. It was disgusting and repulsive. Afterwards, I left and threw up.”
Despite the woman’s account, prosecutors decided to charge the mayor with the less serious offense of indecent acts, rather than rape. He is also accused of fraud and breach of trust.
Prosecutors backed down on rape charges in part due to Keshet’s skillful performance in police interrogation, which he prepared for by consulting with the AI tool ChatGPT, says the Walla news site.
The tool helped him formulate answers to investigators’ anticipated questions and cast doubt on the victims’ more serious allegations.
Many women had already been reluctant to testify against the mayor, in part due to his efforts to stifle testimony by sending messengers to offer favors in return for their silence, the report says.
The Israel Police recently used AI, albeit with less success, when preparing its argument for a criminal case and accidentally cited nonexistent legislation, Hebrew outlets reported last week.
Several Hebrew outlets report that the police investigation against Keshet revealed he assaulted several other women, who never filed complaints.
Man spits in face of soldier on bus: ‘Just because I was in uniform’
A Palestinian man spits on a female IDF soldier on a bus in Bat Yam, May 18, 2025 (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
A young man spat in the face of an IDF officer in uniform this morning on a bus traveling from Tel Aviv to to Ramat Gan, Hebrew-language media reports.
The soldier, referred to as Cpt. Tamar, was reportedly on her way to base. “Someone was sitting next to me listening to videos in Arabic. At some point, I moved to another seat because I was uncomfortable hearing that music,”she says.
“Then, when he got up to get off at a stop — I believe on Herzl Street in Ramat Gan — he stood next to me, spat in my face, and got off the bus.”
Despite Tamar shouting after the attack, the driver and passengers did not intervene. “You can’t just let something like this happen and move on,” Tamar tells Walla, adding, “I feel like he spat on me just because I was in uniform. I’m disturbed by the audacity — that this can happen in the heart of the city, in broad daylight, on the way to base.”
Walla says that police have opened an investigation following her complaint.
A young man spits on an Israeli female soldier before getting off the bus. #Israel #IDF #WestBank #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/XO4zC7urya
— Ali Shunnaq (@schunnaq) May 18, 2025
Hamas-run health ministry says all public hospitals in northern Gaza ‘out of service’
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says all public hospitals in the north of the Strip are now “out of service” amid Israeli military action near the Indonesian Hospital.
“The Israeli occupation has intensified its siege with heavy fire around the Indonesian hospital and its surroundings, preventing the arrival of patients, medical staff, and supplies — effectively forcing the hospital out of service,” the ministry says.
“All public hospitals in the North Gaza governorate are now out of service,” it adds.
There is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
Israel has repeatedly pointed to the Hamas’s activities in and around medical facilities. Hamas has fought from within hospitals throughout the war and even periodically hid some of the Israeli hostages inside.
Human rights group have accused Israel of systematically destroying Gaza’s health care system.
International law prohibits targeting hospitals during wartime, but hospitals can lose this protection if they are being used for military purposes.
Report: IDF plan sees Gazan civilians moved into 3 areas of Strip separated by military-controlled zones
Palestinians move with their belongings as they flee the northern cities of Jabalia and Beit Lahia Gaza Strip towards Gaza City amid continuous Israeli strikes in the Palestinian territory on May 17, 2025. (Bashar TALEB / AFP)
The Israel Defense Forces plans to move civilians in Gaza into three strips of land separated and bookended by four zones controlled by the military if a ceasefire is not reached in the coming days, London’s Sunday Times reports.
The British news outlet says it has seen a map that was leaked by diplomats who were briefed on the proposal.
According to the report, the map shows military areas in the north, center and south of the Palestinian enclave, with civilian zones sandwiched in between.
The veracity of the map is not confirmed nor denied by the IDF to the newspaper.
The report says foreign companies assigned to distribute and manage humanitarian support, which were also briefed on the plan, say that if implemented, it would prevent the free movement of Palestinians between different areas of Gaza.
The map also shows up to 12 locations that appear to be distribution points for humanitarian aid.
In an attempt to get around the Hamas terror group, which Israel says has been seizing humanitarian aid meant for civilians, Israeli officials have been closely involved in the establishment of a new organization called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), advancing a new initiative where aid will only be distributed from a small number of sites in southern Gaza that are secured by American contractors.
Aid organizations currently operating in Gaza have come out strongly against the GHF plan, arguing that it violates humanitarian principles, forces mass displacement of Palestinians who aren’t currently living near the humanitarian zone, ignores vulnerable populations, and doesn’t adequately address the humanitarian crisis.
Aid hasn’t entered Gaza since March 1, with Israel arguing that sufficient humanitarian assistance entered the Strip during a six-week ceasefire and that Hamas has been stealing much of that aid. In recent weeks, though, some officials in the Israel Defense Forces have begun warning the political echelon that the enclave is on the brink of starvation.
At least 100 killed in widespread Gaza strikes over past day, Hamas-run authorities say
Palestinians at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, May 18, 2025 (Ali Hassan/Flash90)
Gaza’s Hamas-run authorities says widespread Israeli airstrikes overnight and into this morning killed at least 100 people, as the death toll continues to rise.
The figures cannot be independently verified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
The strikes come at the start of a widened Israeli offensive in Gaza.
According to Israeli officials, the operation will see the IDF “conquer” Gaza and retain the territory, attack Hamas, prevent the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies, and move Palestinians from Gaza’s north to its south.
PM’s office: Doha team examining potential deal to end war, release all hostages, disarm and exile Hamas
A rally calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, May 17, 2025 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Israel’s hostage negotiation team in Doha is exhausting “every possibility” for a deal, including a potential agreement that would see the end of fighting, in an apparent shift in approach.
The PMO says that the team is working toward the possibility of either US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal for a short-term ceasefire and limited hostage exchange, or an agreement to end the war through a comprehensive release of all hostages in Gaza and the complete surrender and exile of Hamas.
“Under the prime minister’s direction, even at this hour, the negotiating team in Doha is working to exhaust every possibility for a deal — whether according to the Witkoff outline or within the framework of ending the war, which would include the release of all hostages, the exile of Hamas terrorists, and the disarmament of the Gaza Strip,” writes the PMO in a statement.
“Thanks to [Netanyahu’s] policy of exerting military and diplomatic pressure, the government has so far succeeded in bringing home 197 hostages, and is doing everything possible to return the 58 remaining captives,” the PMO says.
Israel has consistently said that the war will not end without the destruction of Hamas as a military and governing power. Netanyahu has previously insisted on only agreeing to a temporary ceasefire of roughly 45 days, which would begin with Hamas releasing about 10 hostages.
Before addressing the negotiations in Qatar, the PMO statement begins by criticizing former Israeli hostage negotiator, Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Setter, who resigned from the team in October and said in a February interview that Netanyahu had missed two opportunities last year for a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas.
In a Hebrew interview with the Kan public broadcaster this morning, Setter said that he sees an opportunity, under the current combined military and diplomatic pressure, to reach a comprehensive deal for the return of all hostages, but is “concerned it’s going to be missed — that once again, we’ll end up with a partial agreement.”
Setter “undermined government policy through deliberate leaks and biased briefings from within the Cabinet that harmed the negotiations, endangered our hostages, and echoed Hamas’s false propaganda,” writes the PMO, echoing its initial response in February denying his statements.
“His claims that an agreement could have been reached earlier are completely baseless. As senior American officials have repeatedly testified, Hamas refused for many months to enter negotiations and was the sole obstacle to a deal,” the statement reads.
Lebanon media reports: Lebanese soldier wounded in Israeli strike near Beit Yahoun
Lebanese media reports that Israel carried out a strike on a vehicle near the village of Beit Yahoun in the south of the country.
Several people were wounded in the strike, Lebanese media reports. The Lebanese army says one of the wounded is a soldier.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
White House denies reports Vance to visit Israel this week
Vice President JD Vance, right, and his wife Usha attend Pope Leo XIV's formal inauguration of his pontificate in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, May 18, 2025. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)
A White House official says US Vice President JD Vance will not be visiting Israel on Tuesday following his trip to the Vatican, after Hebrew-language media outlets reported that Jerusalem is preparing for a potential meeting with Washington’s second-in-command.
“Media reports that the vice president will visit Israel are false,” says the official, adding that Vance will return to Washington on Monday.
“While the Secret Service has engaged in contingency planning for the addition of several potential countries, no additional visits were at any point decided upon, and logistical constraints have precluded an extension of his travel beyond Rome,” the official says.
Image shows Lebanon president shaking hands with spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community at Vatican
An image published by the Kan public broadcaster shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun shaking hands with Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, on the sidelines of Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration mass at the Vatican.
The photo shows a rare public meeting between an Israeli and Lebanese official.
Following the photo’s publication, the Lebanese Presidential Office released a statement denying Aoun knew who he was shaking hands with.
“While on his way to the mass of Pope Leo, a Druze cleric approached the President of Lebanon and shook his hand. The president did not recognize him and had never met him before. It later became clear that the man was Sheikh Muafak Tarif, the representative of the Druze community in Israel. The Israeli Broadcasting Authority distributed the photo and a caption contradicting the truth.”
Rare sight: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun shakes hands with Israeli Druze leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif at the Vatican during the new pope’s inauguration. @kaisos1987 pic.twitter.com/EVsoRyq9y8
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 18, 2025
The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel.
Attending Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration, Herzog calls for renewed interfaith bond and return of hostages
Pope Leo XIV holds Mass during the formal inauguration of his pontificate in St. Peter's Square attended by heads of state, royalty and ordinary faithful, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
President Isaac Herzog joins numerous world leaders in attending today’s inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, where he says he hopes ties between Israel and the Holy See will “deepen.”
“Today I have the privilege of representing Israel at the historic inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican,” writes Herzog in English on X.
“I hope his papacy will usher in a new era of cooperation between all faiths and further strengthen the friendship between Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land,” Herzog continues.
“I am grateful for the fact that one of the pope’s first acts was to call for the immediate return of all our sisters and brothers who have now been held hostage in Gaza for 590 agonizing days,” he emphasizes, adding that today, as “in all my meetings with world leaders, I carry with me the urgent call to bring all our hostages home, immediately!”
The president says he seeks to “deepen the historic ties between Israel and the Holy See,” and to soon greet the new pope in Israel.
Israel was represented only by its ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, at Pope Francis’s funeral last month, in what many saw as a low point in the relationship between the Vatican and Jerusalem in recent years. Last week, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said that he hoped Herzog’s presence at the inauguration would mark a turning point that would decrease tensions and improve relations.
Palestinian reports: Brother of Yahya and Muhammad Sinwar killed in Gaza airstrike
Media outlets in Gaza report that Zakaria Sinwar, the brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and of de facto Hamas leader in Gaza Muhammad Sinwar, was killed last night in an airstrike in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip.
According to the reports, he was killed along with three of his children in a strike on the tent where they were residing.
Sinwar had worked as a lecturer at the Islamic University in Gaza.
The reports come shortly after a Saudi outlet said that Muhammad Sinwar’s body has been found in a Khan Yonis tunnel targeted by Israeli airstrikes last week.
Katz reportedly says he believes Muhammad Sinwar was killed in Israeli strike last week
Defense Minister Israel Katz attends a state ceremony for fallen soldiers whose burial place is unknown at Mount Herzl Military cemetery in Jerusalem on March 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly tells the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he believes Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar was killed in an Israeli strike last week.
“There’s no official confirmation, but according to all the indications Muhammad Sinwar was eliminated,” Ynet cites Katz as saying.
A screenshot of an undated video released by the Israel Defense Forces on December 17, 2023, shows Hamas commander Muhammad Sinwar, right, riding in a car traveling through a tunnel under the Gaza Strip. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)
Report: In days prior to Oct. 7, Yahya Sinwar said ‘extraordinary act’ needed to derail Saudi normalization
Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar gestures on stage after greeting supporters at a rally in Gaza City, May 24, 2021. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)
Then-Hamas chief in Gaza Yahya Sinwar told associates in the days prior to October 7, 2023, that an “extraordinary act” would be required to derail normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to a document found by the IDF in Gaza and seen by the Wall Street Journal.
Arab intelligence officials familiar with Hamas tell the Journal that the document appears to be genuine.
It is not the first time that documents ostensibly found in Gaza have been leaked to the international press.
The Journal does not publish any images of the documents. There is no official Israeli comment.
The minutes of a meeting of Hamas’s political bureau in the Strip on October 2, 2023, cite Sinwar saying, “There is no doubt that the Saudi-Zionist normalization agreement is progressing significantly.” He warned a deal would “open the door for the majority of Arab and Islamic countries to follow the same path.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Sinwar said that it was time to activate the plan for an attack that the terror group had been planning for some two years “to bring about a major move or a strategic shift in the paths and balances of the region with regard to the Palestinian cause.”
Without directly quoting the document, the Journal says Sinwar expected other Iran-backed terror and proxy groups to join the fighting.
Other documents apparently seized by the IDF and reviewed by the newspaper include one from September 2023 that recommended escalating the violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem to decrease the chances of normalization between Jerusalem and Riyadh.
The report also says that Saudi pledges to uphold the interests of Palestinians are “weak and limited steps to neutralize” Hamas and stop it working against normalization.
An internal briefing marked “secret” from August 2022, apparently written by Hamas’s military leadership, says: “It has become the duty of the movement to reposition itself to… preserve the survival of the Palestinian cause in the face of the broad wave of normalization by Arab countries, which aims primarily to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”
The documents also apparently include an October 2022 advertisement for a vacancy for a position for an individual to lead diplomatic efforts to derail the normalization.
Last year, German tabloid Bild published content from an ostensible document apparently found by the IDF in Gaza. That report on the document is a key element of a leaked intel scandal at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The document reported on by Bild was allegedly unlawfully removed from the IDF’s military intelligence database by a reservist — a noncommissioned 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.
The German current affairs show “Panorama” said yesterday it had acquired the full, highly classified document reported by 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” said the full document showed 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 presented Hamas as indifferent to whether the ongoing war ended 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.
Iran sentences 3 to death over Islamic State-claimed attacks on Shiite shrine in Shiraz
Workers clean up the scene following an armed attack at the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in the Iranian city of Shiraz, in which 15 people were killed, on October 26, 2022. (ISNA NEWS AGENCY/AFP)
Iran has sentenced three people to death and jailed several others convicted over their roles in deadly attacks on a Shiite shrine in the southern city of Shiraz, the judiciary says.
The verdicts stem from two shootings — in October 2022 and August 2023 — that killed 15 people at the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in the capital of Fars province. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.
“Three of these defendants were sentenced to death for aiding and abetting in ‘corruption on earth’ following proceedings” at Shiraz Revolutionary Court, Fars chief justice Sadrollah Rajaei-Nasab says, quoted by the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.
They were also sentenced to 25 years in prison for “aiding and abetting in moharebehm,” he adds, referring to the capital offense of enmity against God.
Two other alleged members of the jihadist IS were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years in prison “based on their level of cooperation and influence in the Shah Cheragh terrorist events.”
Two women were each sentenced to five years, but “their sentences will be served under Islamic leniency, monitored by electronic ankle bracelets, and within a one-kilometer radius of their homes.”
Rajaei-Nasab says other parts of the case, including charges related to weapons trafficking, remain under review, and that some verdicts had been appealed to Iran’s Supreme Court.
In July 2023, Iran executed two men in public over the first attack on the shrine.
Following the second attack, the judiciary said in August 2023 that security forces had arrested nine people — all foreigners — and later sentenced a Tajik IS member to death the following month.
Pope Leo XIV makes 1st tour of St Peter’s Square in his popemobile
Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd from the popemobile before a Holy mass for the beginning of his pontificate, in St Peter's square in The Vatican on May 18, 2025. (Tiziana FABI / AFP)
Pope Leo XIV makes his first tour of St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile, smiling and waving to the crowds gathered for his inauguration mass 10 days after his election.
The Catholic Church’s first US-born pontiff, 69, stands in the white vehicle as it drives among tens of thousands of flag-waving and cheering pilgrims at the Vatican.
Gaza strikes kill at least 66 people, Hamas-run authorities say
This picture taken from a position in southern Israel on the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke in Gaza during Israeli strikes on May 18, 2025
Gaza’s Hamas-run authorities says widespread Israeli airstrikes this morning killed at least 66 people, a steep rise over an earlier reported death toll.
The figures cannot be independently verified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
The strikes come at the start of a widened Israeli offensive in Gaza.
According to Israeli officials, the operation will see the IDF “conquer” Gaza and retain the territory, attack Hamas, prevent the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies, and move Palestinians from Gaza’s north to its south.
IDF says 2 migrants seeking work detained after infiltrating into Israel from Jordan
Two migrants seeking work infiltrated into Israel from Jordan a short while ago and reached the community of Yardena, north of Beit She’an, the military says.
The pair apparently managed to reach Yardena undetected until residents of the community encountered them and called the army.
IDF troops were dispatched to the scene and detained them.
The military says there is “no fear of a security incident” and nobody was harmed.
A similar incident occurred on Saturday, with one suspect crossing the border from Jordan and reaching the moshav, also undetected.
Report: Body of Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar found in Gaza tunnel struck by IDF
A screenshot of an undated video released by the Israel Defense Forces on December 17, 2023, shows Hamas commander Muhammad Sinwar, right, riding in a car traveling through a tunnel under the Gaza Strip. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)
The Saudi channel Al-Hadath reports that the body of Muhammad Sinwar, the de facto commander of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, was found in a tunnel in Khan Younis where the terror leader was targeted by the Israel Defense Forces last week.
According to the report, the bodies of 10 of Sinwar’s aides were found with him.
It is also reported that there is evidence that the commander of the Rafah Brigade in Hamas’s military wing, Mohammad Shabana, was also killed in the strike.
Israel has not confirmed the deaths of either Sinwar or Shabana.
The strikes on Tuesday targeted an underground command compound below the European Hospital where Sinwar was believed to be sheltering. The IDF later bombed the area several more times, in an apparent attempt to prevent anyone from approaching the tunnel.
Sinwar, a senior Hamas military commander, is the younger brother of the former Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the IDF in southern Gaza last October.
Following the killing of Hamas’s top military commander, Muhammad Deif, last July, Muhammad Sinwar took charge of the terror group’s military wing. Later, after Sinwar’s older brother was killed by IDF troops, he became the de facto leader of the terror group in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials have described Muhammad Sinwar as obstinate with regard to negotiations with Hamas for the release of hostages, and an obstacle to reaching a ceasefire deal.
The younger Sinwar is also wanted for terrorist actions against Israel and has been active in Hamas for decades.
He was jailed by Israel in the 1990s for nine months and spent an additional three years in a Palestinian Authority prison in Ramallah, from which he escaped in 2000. In 2006, Sinwar was part of a Hamas cell that abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. He also previously commanded Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade.
Most of Hamas’s leadership has been eliminated by Israel during the ongoing war, which was sparked when the terror group stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
Widespread Gaza strikes kill at least 33 people, Hamas-run authorities say
This picture taken from a position in southern Israel on the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke in Gaza during Israeli strikes on May 18, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency says widespread Israeli airstrikes this morning killed at least 33 people, more than half of them children, amid the IDF’s expanded military campaign.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal says 22 were killed in a strike on several tents where displaced Palestinians were living in Al-Mawasi, in the territory’s south.
The figures cannot be independently verified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
According to Israeli officials, the operation will see the IDF “conquer” Gaza and retain the territory, attack Hamas, prevent the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies, and move Palestinians from Gaza’s north to its south.
Houthis say they fired 2 ballistic missiles at Ben Gurion Airport in overnight attack
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis say they fired two ballistic missiles at Ben Gurion Airport overnight.
The IDF said a ballistic missile fired at Israel was successfully intercepted by air defenses at around 2 a.m. The reason for the discrepancy in figures was unclear, but suggested that one had fallen short.
Sirens had sounded across central Israel, sending hundreds of thousands to seek shelter in the middle of the night.
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.
Report: US VP Vance expected to visit Israel this week
US Vice President JD Vance speaks during a discussion at the Munich Leaders meeting hosted by the Munich Security Conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, May 7, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)
US Vice President JD Vance is expected to visit Israel on Tuesday, days after US President Donald Trump skipped the country during his Middle East trip last week, Channel 12 news reports.
Vance will attend the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican later today.
The report of the expected visit comes as a new round of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas and Israel began in Qatar yesterday after the Israeli military launched its new expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Iranian president says Tehran will continue nuclear talks with the US
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to navy officials, in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
Iran’s president says his country will continue talks with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program but will not withdraw from its rights because of US threats.
“We are negotiating, and we will negotiate. We are not after war but we do not fear any threat,” President Masoud Pezeshkian says during a speech to navy officials broadcast by state television.
“It is not like if they threaten us we will give up our human right and definite rights,” Pezeshkian says. “We will not withdraw, we will not easily lose honorable achievements in military, scientific and nuclear” fields and other areas.
Mexican Navy training ship slams into New York’s Brooklyn Bridge; 22 injured, 3 critically
People watch as a Mexican Navy training ship is pulled away after it slammed into the nearby Brooklyn Bridge in New York on May 17, 2025 (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
A Mexican Navy training ship slams into the Brooklyn Bridge, snapping all three of its masts as it collided with the iconic New York City landmark, injuring at least 22 people.
Onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror as the ship, its sails furled and festive lights draped in its rigging, tried to pass beneath the bridge, which sheared off the masts and sent them crashing into the East River.
The Mexican Navy says in a statement that 22 people on board the training ship were injured, three of them critically.
Some US media reports suggest that sailors had been in the rigging as the ship slammed into the bridge. The Navy says in its statement that no one had fallen into the water, and that no rescue operation had been launched.
Victims were rushed to local hospitals, The New York Post reports.
According to multiple US media reports, around 200 people were on the Cuauhtemoc, a barque built in 1982 which had a mast height of 48.2 meters (158 feet), at the time.
The Cuauhtemoc had been on a training maneuver at the time and was damaged in the “mishap,” the Mexican Navy says in a separate statement on X.
“The Ministry of the Navy reaffirms its commitment to the safety of its personnel, transparency in its operations and excellence in the training of future officers of the Mexican Navy,” it says.
BREAKING: A Mexican Navy sailboat crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday evening, according to the New York Police Department and the Mexican Navy.
The crash resulted in multiple injuries being reported, the NYPD said. https://t.co/eWusWKXA4g pic.twitter.com/4d21FrYfVl
— ABC News (@ABC) May 18, 2025
FBI says it’s treating a bombing outside a California fertility clinic as a terror attack
The FBI says that it considers an earlier bomb explosion outside a California fertility clinic, in which one person was killed, to have been a terror attack.
The blast tore through downtown Palm Springs, ripping a hole in the clinic and blowing out the windows and doors of nearby buildings, an AFP journalist on the scene reports.
“Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism,” Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office tells reporters near the site of the fatal explosion.
“This is probably one of the largest bombing investigations that we’ve had in southern California,” he adds.
He confirms that one person near the clinic at the time of blast had been killed and that four others were wounded. Work was ongoing to identify the deceased, he adds.
Asked whether the clinic was deliberately targeted, Davis answers: “We believe so, yes.”
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.
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.
read more: