May 19: Iran’s neighbors offer to help find crash site as world waits for word on Raisi’s fate

3 Eritrean migrants moderately injured in brawl in south Tel Aviv

Three Eritrean migrants were moderately injured overnight in a brawl in south Tel Aviv.

Rioters attacked each other with rocks, bats and shivs, police said.

Police dispersed the rioters and arrested two suspects. A policeman was lightly injured after being hit by a rock.

Eritrean migrants have intermittently fought each other in Tel Aviv over political disagreements, with some supporting and others opposing that country’s regime.

Anti-Israel protesters set up encampment at Drexel University, reports of antisemitism

Anti-Israel protesters set up a new encampment at Drexel University in Philadelphia over the weekend, prompting a lockdown of school buildings, a day after authorities thwarted an attempted occupation of a school building at the neighboring University of Pennsylvania campus.

Up to 60 protesters were at the encampment on the campus’ Korman Quad Sunday, Drexel President John Fry says, adding that the university is speaking with demonstrators — most of whom he says are not affiliated with the school —in an effort to end the protest.

“This demonstration already has proved intolerably disruptive to normal University operations and has raised serious concerns about the conduct of some participants, including distressing reports and images of protesters subjecting passersby to antisemitic speech, signs and chants,” Fry says, declaring that “this encampment must end.”

Drexel encampment up last night! pic.twitter.com/P8273pCvQY

— Escalate Network (@readytoescalate) May 19, 2024

Iranian official says rescuers searching area where ‘smell of fuel’ detected

Iran’s Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand tells state TV the area of the accident of President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter “has yet to be identified” and that the situation remains “difficult.”

He says rescuers are moving toward one location where the “smell of fuel” was detected.

Sullivan discusses IDF’s Rafah operations with Israeli leaders

Egyptian army soldiers man an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) deployed near the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on March 23, 2024 (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

Sullivan also convened a modified meeting of the US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group, which met several times virtually to discuss Israel’s potential offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

In today’s in-person meeting with top Israeli security officials, Sullivan was briefed on the IDF’s latest operations in Gaza. “The two sides discussed methods to ensure the defeat of Hamas while minimizing harm to civilians,” the US readout says, highlighting a sticking point in ties, as Washington feels Israel has not done nearly enough on this issue.

During this meeting, Sullivan reiterated the US position against a major military offensive in Rafah due to fears that it’ll cause further harm to the civilians sheltering there, while risking irreparable damage to ties with fellow ally Egypt, which shares a border with Rafah.

“Sullivan proposed a series of concrete measures to ensure more aid surges into Gaza, including through all available crossings, and through the multinational humanitarian maritime corridor,” the US readout says.

“Sullivan briefed on US support for Israeli efforts to find and bring to justice Hamas’s leaders in Gaza,” the readout adds, highlighting that Washington still supports targeted operations against Hamas’s leaders, including in Rafah.

The top Biden aide briefed Israeli counterparts on talks the US has held with Egypt “to fully secure its border with Rafah and to secure the continued flow of humanitarian assistance through Kerem Shalom, even as talks proceed on reopening the Rafah Crossing.”

US officials have said that an expanded Israeli operation in Rafah risks harming Egypt’s willingness to cooperate on these efforts, as Cairo doesn’t want to be seen as collaborating with Israel against the interests of Palestinians, who are being forced to relocate again in Gaza due to the offensive.

Kerem Shalom has become the main entry point for aid, with Rafah being shut down after Israeli forces took over the area earlier this month. Egypt has indicated it will not coordinate on bringing aid through Rafah until the troops depart.

Sullivan also stressed steps Israel can take to improve existing deconfliction mechanisms so that aid workers are protected, days after another pair of humanitarian staff were killed in Gaza.

Sullivan highlighted the need for Israel to “establish fixed corridors inside Gaza to ensure aid is able to reach all those in need throughout Gaza.”

The US national security adviser “reaffirmed the need for Israel to connect its military operations to a political strategy that can ensure the lasting defeat of Hamas, the release of all the hostages and a better future for Gaza,” the readout says, pointing out a major criticism the US has had of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arguing that his refusal to plan for who will replace Hamas in Gaza has led to the stagnation of Israel’s military gains.

Israel-Saudi ties in reach but hinge on path to Palestinian state, Sullivan tells reluctant PM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meets with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (R) in Jerusalem, May 19, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Visiting US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan laid out to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the opportunity currently available for Israel to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia if Jerusalem agrees to a pathway to a future Palestinian state.

Sullivan arrived in Israel Sunday after holding “constructive” talks on the Biden administration’s “comprehensive vision for an integrated Middle East region” with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, the White House says.

The effort appears to be a non-starter in Israel, with Netanyahu reiterating again yesterday that he would not accept a Palestinian state, even if it meant a Saudi normalization deal. Riyadh and Washington have been clear that they won’t sign onto a series of bilateral agreements without significant movement toward a two-state solution.

This did not stop Sullivan from again pitching the idea to Netanyahu, as he briefed him on his meetings in Saudi Arabia and on “the potential that may now be available for Israel, as well as the Palestinian people,” says the White House readout.

Sullivan also met with President Isaac Herzog, National Security Council chair Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, also discussing with them the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the hostages and “the enduring defeat of Hamas,” according to the White House.

The two goals appear at odds, given that the US is aiming to turn the hostage deal it is currently brokering into a permanent ceasefire that would likely leave Hamas in Gaza in some form.

But US officials told The Times of Israel last week that the diplomatic initiative it is advancing with international partners will marginalize the terror group and that it is the only alternative Israel has to permanently occupying Gaza without assistance from its Arab allies in stabilizing the enclave.

IDF: Sirens in northern town of Metula were false alarms

Sirens that sounded a short while ago in the northern border community of Metula were false alarms, the military says.

A number of drone and missile alert sirens sounded in northern towns and cities throughout the day.

Thousands of Iranians pray for Raisi’s safe return after crash, others set off fireworks

Iranians pray for President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Valiasr Square in central Tehran on May 19, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP)

Iranians are glued to TV screens and their smartphones for updates on the fate of President Ebrahim Raisi after state media reported that his helicopter had crashed on the way to Tehran from Azerbaijan earlier today.

As thousands of Muslim faithful pray for his safe return in mosques nationwide — including amid the minarets of 63-year-old Raisi’s hometown, the shrine city of Mashhad — posts on social media say opponents of the Iranian regime are celebrating.

Posts on social media purport to show fireworks being set off after the news of the crash.

People in Iran are setting off fireworks after hearing that the helicopter of the President of the Islamic Regime in Iran has crashed pic.twitter.com/1LxgDMAzR0

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 19, 2024

The national broadcaster stops all its regular programming to show prayers being held for Raisi across the country and, in a corner of the screen, plays live coverage of rescue teams deployed on foot in the mountainous area in heavy fog, using dogs and drones to try to locate the crash site.

Missile alert sirens sounding in northern border town

Rocket alert sirens are sounding in the largely evacuated northern town of Metula, warning of incoming rocket fire.

The alert follows multiple drone and rocket alerts throughout the day in cities and towns near the northern border with Lebanon.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.

Red Alert [23:28:03] – 1 Alert:

• Confrontation Line — Metulla#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/KyGTAyyv7i

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 19, 2024

Netanyahu, Sullivan discuss Rafah operation, ongoing efforts to free Gaza hostages

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meets with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (R) in Jerusalem, May 19, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem to discuss the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, with an emphasis on the operation in Rafah, according to a PMO statement.

Netanyahu and Sullivan also discuss ongoing efforts to see the return of hostages in Gaza, the statement adds.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi take part in the meeting, along with White House Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, the statement adds.

Reports: Settlers block aid truck in West Bank, set fire to cars in nearby Palestinian village

Extremist settlers in the West Bank blocked a truck that was taking humanitarian aid to Gaza and unloaded the supplies onto the road near the Avatar outpost, Hebrew media reports.

The settlers then set fire to cars in the nearby Palestinian village of Yatma, near Nablus, Haaretz reports, quoting security sources who say the assailants also threw stones at passing vehicles.

אחרי שחסמו משאיות ופרקו את המשלוחים שלהן על הכביש באזור אביתר ולכיש, מתנחלים נכסו לכפר יתמא והציתו שם רכבים. לפני כן לפי מקורות בטחוניים עשרות זרקו אבנים על רכבים באזור צומת תפוח. בכל הרשת קריאות רבות לצאת ולחסום משאיות פלסטיניות בצמתים בגדה pic.twitter.com/ktuzku9OWn

— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) May 19, 2024

Earlier the Kan broadcaster posted footage of right-wing activists removing food packages from a truck on the mistaken belief that it was destined for Gaza.

פעילי ימין חסמו משאית פלסטינית בכניסה למאחז אביתר שבשומרון, ופירקו את שקיות המזון שעליה – בטענה שמדובר במשאית סיוע שמיועדת לעזה. בצה"ל אומרים: "ככל הידוע לנו, לא מדובר במשאית סיוע – משום שלא תואמה העברה בשעה הזאת ובכביש הזה"@carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/6xT5ZpMdPJ

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 19, 2024

The reports follow a series of attempts by right-wing activists to block humanitarian aid headed for Gaza, in protest of the transfer of supplies to Palestinians in the Strip while over 100 Israeli hostages are still held there by terror groups.

At least seven aid trucks from Jordan were stopped and ransacked last week by right-wing activists, prompting a police investigation and outcry from the United States.

Today’s aid convoy was comprised of about 30 trucks, and one was attacked, AFP reports.

An AFP correspondent reports that some 30 Israeli peace activists from Standing Together, a grassroots group, travelled with the Gaza-bound convoy in an effort to protect it from far-right activists.

“The settlers managed to knock some of the aid off the truck, but because we got here quickly and because the police did their job, very little food was lost or damaged, and we can continue forward until the aid reaches Gaza,” says activist Suf Patishi, 32.

Thousands protest against Morocco-Israel ties in Casablanca: ‘No to normalization’

Thousands of Moroccans demonstrate in Casablanca in support of the Palestinian people and against ties with Israel, an AFP journalist reports, more than seven months into the Gaza war.

Protesters in Morocco’s commercial capital chant “Freedom for Palestine,” “If we don’t speak out, who will?” and “No to normalization,” with many wearing keffiyeh scarves and waving Palestinian flags.

A large protest in Casablanca in support to Gaza and against normalization with Israel pic.twitter.com/TvExOoZG56

— Hassan Hamed (@DrHassanHamed) May 19, 2024

The North African kingdom established diplomatic ties with Israel in late 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords which saw similar moves by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Under the deal, the United States recognized Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip began on October 7, large-scale demonstrations in Morocco have called for the abrogation of the normalization accord.

Rabat has officially denounced what it says are “flagrant violations of the provisions of international law” by Israel in its war against Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s October 7 massacre, but has not given any indication that normalization with Israel would be undone.

Netanyahu trades barbs with Gantz, Eisenkot over proposal to renew hostage talks — report

File - Members of the war cabinet meet at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on January 10, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

The war cabinet last night reviewed a proposal to renew negotiations to secure a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza that includes an “extended ceasefire” as part of the second phase, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, the proposal was put forward by IDF hostage point man Nitzan Alon, a central member of the Israeli negotiating team, and supported by Defense Minster Yoav Gallant and war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot.

During the meeting, Gantz is quoted as saying to Netanyahu, “I’m looking at you while the negotiating team is talking. I see your facial expressions and your body language, and it’s clear that you’re not satisfied with their work. If that’s the case, replace them. Bring in someone you trust.”

According to the report, the prime minister replied that he is “not willing to take any proposal that would lead to ending the war.”

Eisenkot reportedly retorted, “No one here wants to stop the war, but your position doesn’t allow for the return of hostages. You’re leaving the team no room to reach a deal.”

The most recent round of hostage talks disbanded earlier this month and negotiations have yet to reconvene, with the sides unable to bridge the gap on the fundamental issue in the talks: Hamas is looking for a hostage deal that permanently ends the war triggered by its October 7 onslaught, while Israel is only willing to agree to a temporary ceasefire, as it aims to finish dismantling the terror group.

The report comes after Gantz last night issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu, demanding that he commit to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory after Hamas’s defeat, and warning that he would bolt the coalition should this not happen.

In ‘stormy’ meeting with municipal heads, Netanyahu vows to restore security to the north

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with municipal heads from cities and towns on Israel's northern border, May 19, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

In a meeting with municipal heads from cities and towns on Israel’s northern border described as “stormy” by Hebrew media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises to restore security to the area, most of which has been evacuated since October.

Hebrew media sites report that the northern leaders pushed the prime minister during the meeting to give them a date for residents to return to their homes.

“I am not going to tell Hezbollah what we are going to do,” says Netanyahu. “I am not going to share with our sworn enemy the dates and how we are going to do it.”

“We are committed to restoring security, and we will do it,” he vows.

Ynet quotes the head of the Shlomi local council, Gabi Naaman, as saying that it was a “stormy discussion” and that the prime minister had “heard their complaints.”

The forum discussed details of the plan Netanyahu is advancing to fund the reconstruction of the northern border area, which is slated to be brought to the government for approval this week.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.

Saudi, Qatar offer Iran assistance in Raisi helicopter search and rescue

In this photo provided by MojNews on May 19, 2024, rescuers gather before heading towards the site of the "accident" involving a helicopter in the convoy of Iran's President Ebhraim Raisi in the Jolfa region of the western province of East Azerbaijan. (Photo by Azin Haghighi/MojNews/AFP)

Saudi Arabia voices “great concern” after Iranian state media reported that a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has gone missing and offers to help with the response.

“We affirm that the Kingdom stands by the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran in these difficult circumstances and its readiness to provide any assistance that the Iranian agencies need,” the foreign ministry of the Gulf kingdom, a longtime rival of Iran, says in a statement.

Iranian search and rescue teams are scouring a fog-shrouded mountainside as Iranian state media says “an accident happened to the helicopter” transporting Raisi, a 63-year-old ultraconservative.

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Qatar expresses its “deep concern” over the helicopter carrying Iran’s president and foreign minister and offered “to provide all forms of support in the search.”

The Gulf state’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari gives “Qatar’s wishes for the safety of the president, the foreign minister, and their companions,” the statement adds.

Iran state TV: Search teams locate Raisi’s helicopter, at least 2 survivors found

A helicopter that crashed while it was carrying Iran’s president and foreign minister has been located, Iranian state media reports.

State TV also quotes an official as saying that at least one passenger and one crew member had been in contact with rescuers.

There is no immediate report on the condition of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi or Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Iran’s Red Crescent, however, denies the reports that the helicopter has been found.

Rescue teams had been struggling to reach the crash site amid difficult terrain and bad weather.

BREAKING:The search for the helicopter carrying the Iranian President which has crashed is ongoing.

The weather conditions are very bad. pic.twitter.com/vEhwXk6elY

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) May 19, 2024

Smotrich: Gantz stabbing troops in the back by publicly feuding with Netanyahu

Religious Zionism party leader Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting in northern Israel, May 19, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accuses National Unity leader Benny Gantz of stabbing the troops in the back by publicly feuding with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alleging that the war cabinet minister sought to weaken the premier ahead of his meeting with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

“What Benny Gantz did yesterday is far beyond irresponsible, it really borders on crime,” posts the far-right minister on Facebook.

“When our best warriors and commanders sacrifice themselves and some are killed in the war, he stabs them in the back, weakens them and the war, and basically tells them that they are dying for nothing because the war has been lost. And all this to weaken the prime minister just before the US national security advisor lands here in an attempt to resolve or at least reduce our differences of opinion.”

Sullivan met with Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon.

During a televised press conference on Saturday evening, Gantz issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu, demanding that he commit to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory after Hamas’s defeat, and warning that he would bolt the coalition should this not happen.

Taking issue with Gantz’s statement that “a small minority took over the bridge of the Israeli ship, and is sailing it toward a wall of rocks,” Smotrich asserts that Gantz has sought to “deny the legitimacy of those who think differently than him” by defining them as “bigots.”

“For seven months I bit my lips in the face of Gantz’s illegitimate demand and accepted my exclusion” from the war cabinet in order “to maintain the unity that is so important,” he says — alleging that Gantz had turned on Netanyahu “because of how many mandates he lost in the polls.”

Turkey’s Erdogan says deeply saddened by Iranian president’s helicopter crash

File - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) during a welcoming ceremony in Ankara, on January 24, 2024. (Adem Altan/AFP)

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says he is saddened by the accident involving the helicopter of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, and that Turkey is in full contact with the Iranian authorities, ready to provide any necessary support.

“I convey my best wishes to our neighbor, friend and brother Iranian people and government, and I hope to receive good news from Mr. Raisi and his delegation as soon as possible,” Erdogan says in a post on social media platform X.

Rocket alert sirens sounding in communities near Gaza border

Rocket alert sirens are sounding in communities near the border with the Gaza Strip, warning of incoming missile fire.

The sirens are sounding in Sa’ad, Zimrat, Shuva and Nahal Oz.

Red Alert [21:02:52] – 4 Alerts:

• זמרת, שובה
• Gaza Envelope — Sa'ad, Nachal Oz#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/BIJ6B0opDv

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 19, 2024

IDF releases video recovered from Gaza of 8-year-old former hostage being filmed by Hamas terrorists

Ela (L) and Dafna Elyakim are seen in a photo released by the IDF on May 19, 2024, which was taken while the two sisters were held captive by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip last year. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases footage recovered from the Gaza Strip, showing former hostages Ela and Dafna Elyakim being filmed by Hamas terrorists.

In a short propaganda clip filmed by the terrorists but never released, Ela introduces herself and asks that the government to free her and her fellow hostages, noting that she was held by Hamas.

Channel 12 reports that the family, along with the military, approved the publication of the video.

The report adds that Ela has said that she was told what to say when the Hamas terrorists filmed the video and that there were multiple takes.

Sisters Ela and Dafna, 8 and 15, were released on November 26 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.

Maayan Zin embraces her daughters, Dafna Elyakim, 15, and Ela Elyakim, 8, after they were released from Gaza captivity on November 26, 2023. (Courtesy)

They were taken captive from their father’s house in Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7,  when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.

Labor to mark Knesset’s new legislative session with vote of no-confidence against Netanyahu

File - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset on March 13, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Labor will mark the first day of the Knesset’s new legislative session on Monday by submitting a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the left-wing party says in a statement accusing it of having “failed miserably in managing the state in all its aspects.”

The current government is “a government that does not provide security as required for the citizens of Israel, neither personal nor national security; a government that has failed to respond to the residents displaced from their homes for over seven months in the north and in the south; and above all, a government that is unable to bring home all 128 hostages from Hamas captivity,” Labor alleges.

“This is a government motivated by political considerations, which has violated the basic contract between the leadership and its citizens. Every day it remains in power, it is a danger to the State of Israel.”

European Commission activates satellite mapping service to help with search for Iran’s Raisi

PARIS — The European Commission is activating a satellite mapping service to aid search efforts after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crashed, following a request for assistance from Iran, the European commissioner for crisis management announces.

The European Commission’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service provides mapping products based on satellite imagery.

Crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic says on X that the service was activating its “rapid response mapping service in view of the helicopter accident.”

Iran’s supreme leader prays for president’s safety, vows ‘no disruption to state affairs’

File - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of school teachers in Tehran, May 1, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vows that there will be “no disruption to state affairs,” Iranian state media reports, amid fears for the lives of the country’s president and foreign minister after their helicopter crashed a few hours ago.

The state-run IRNA news agency reports that Khamenei is praying for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s safety.

Search and rescue efforts are underway after one in three helicopters in an official Iranian convoy crashed in mountainous terrain during bad weather.

IDF: Drone heading toward Israel from Lebanon shot down by fighter jets

A drone heading toward Israel from Lebanon was shot down by fighter jets a short while ago, the military says.

Amid the incident, sirens sounded in several communities in northern Israel, close to the Lebanon border.

Iraq offers neighboring Iran help in search and rescue efforts for Raisi helicopter

In this photo provided by Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA on May 19, 2024, shows the helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi taking off at the Iranian border with Azerbaijan after the inauguration of the dam of Qiz Qalasi, in Aras. (Ali Hamed Haghdoust/IRNA/AFP)

BAGHDAD — Iraq offers neighboring Iran help in search and rescue efforts after Iranian state media said President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter was involved in “an accident” in poor weather conditions.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani “instructed the interior ministry, the Iraqi Red Crescent and other relevant authorities to offer the Islamic Republic of Iran the available resources to aid in the search for the Iranian president’s aircraft,” government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi says in a statement.

Iranian state television announced that “an accident happened to the helicopter carrying the president” in the Jofa region of the western province of East Azerbaijan.

Search and rescue team were headed to the remote mountain area, Iranian state media says, adding that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also aboard the aircraft.

State TV broadcast footage of an Iranian Red Crescent team walking up a slope in thick fog, as well as live footage of crowds of worshippers reciting prayers in the holy Shrine of Imam Reza in the city Mashhad, Raisi’s hometown.

Drone sirens sounding again in northern towns; Home Front Command gives all clear for previous alerts

Drone sirens are sounding again in northern communities near the Lebanon border.

The sirens, which follow multiple alerts in the area throughout the day, can be heard in towns including Snir, Shear Yeshuv, Dan, Ghajar, HaGoshrim and Dafna.

The Home Front Command gives the all-clear for the earlier drone warnings.

Red Alert [20:05:46] – 6 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Ghajar, Kibutz Dan, Snir, HaGoshrim, Shear Yeshuv, Dafna#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/GQikUH54aQ

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 19, 2024

Gallant: Israel beginning to ‘see the effects of the operation in Rafah’ on Hamas

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with soldiers of Unit 8200, at one of the unit's bases, May 19, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking to soldiers of the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200, says Israel is beginning to “see the effects of the operation in Rafah” on Hamas.

“We must continue to attack where the enemy does not defend, and defend where it plans to attack,” he adds, in remarks provided by his office.

Foreign minister thanks Republican lawmaker Stefanik for her efforts to combat antisemitism

Foreign Minister Israel Katz thanks senior Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for her support for Israel and efforts to combat antisemitism, asking her to rally bipartisan support for sanctions against Iran.

“Excellent meeting with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, one of Israel’s best friends. I thanked her for her persistent fight against antisemitism, including the historic hearing of university presidents in Congress, her support for the aid package, and Israel’s right to continue the fight until all hostages are returned and the Hamas terror organization is destroyed,” Katz tweets, calling her a “true friend in Congress.”

“I asked her to work towards achieving bipartisan support for imposing crippling sanctions on Iran to stop its nuclear program and its support for terrorism,” Katz writes.

Addressing lawmakers in Jerusalem during a session of the ‘Knesset Caucus for Jewish and pro-Israel Students on Campuses around the World’ earlier on Sunday, Stefanik slammed US President Joe Biden’s decision to pause a shipment of thousands of bombs, warning that unless Israel is supplied with the weapons necessary to “achieve total victory,” America could face its own October 7.

Excellent meeting with Congresswoman @EliseStefanik, one of Israel’s best friends. I thanked her for her persistent fight against anti-Semitism, including the historic hearing of university presidents in Congress, her support for the aid package, and Israel’s right to continue… pic.twitter.com/6Oyc6ezt8H

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 19, 2024

Students interrupt GWU commencement in Washington DC with anti-Israel chants

Graduating students protest against Israel during George Washington University's graduation ceremony on the National Mall on May 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Thomas/AFP)

Students interrupt the George Washington University graduation ceremony at the National Mall in Washington DC with anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian chants.

Some of the protesters walk out of the main commencement ceremony while wearing keffiyah scarves and holding signs calling on the university to divest from Israel.

Today, graduating students protested and walked out of George Washington University's commencement on the national mall #OnlyAtGW #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/wH6FalEzVH

— a = another world is possible (@scott_a_ross) May 19, 2024

Video posted on social media shows a side protest outside the ceremony with students chanting and holding anti-Israel signs.

Happening now. Walk out and side protests at The George Washington University’s graduation on the national mall. I am proud of the students standing up for their convictions. #StudentProtests pic.twitter.com/h0w5goID8V

— Reza H. Akbari (@rezahakbari) May 19, 2024

Drone sirens sounding for second time in an hour in northern communities

Drone sirens are sounding for the second time in an hour in northern cities and towns near the border with Lebanon.

Sirens are sounding in largely evacuated communities including Tel Hai, Kiryat Shmona, Misgav Am, Margaliot, Ma’ayan Baruch, Manara, Metula, Kfar Yuval, Kfar Giladi and Beit Hillel.

🚨 Unrecognized Aircraft [19:52:39] – 10 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Kfar Yuval, Misgav Am, Manara, Metulla, Kiryat Shmona, Ma'ayan Baruch, Kfar Giladi, Beit Hillel, Tel Hai, Margaliot pic.twitter.com/miZ615YUqK

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 19, 2024

Drone alert sires sounding in northern towns and cities near Lebanon border

Drone alert sirens are sounding in northern communities near the border with Lebanon for the fourth time today.

Sirens can be heard in towns and cities including Tel Hai, Kiryat Shmona, Misgav Am, Margaliot, Ma’ayan Baruch, Manara, Metula, Kfar Yuval , Kfar Giladi and Beit Hillel.

🚨 Hostile Aircraft Intrusion [19:26:32] – 20 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Kfar Yuval, Misgav Am, Metulla, Manara, Kiryat Shmona, Ma'ayan Baruch, Kfar Giladi, Beit Hillel, Tel Hai, Margaliot pic.twitter.com/fN0gXH5U6C

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 19, 2024

US State Department closely watching reports on Raisi helicopter crash — spokesperson

The US State Department is closely watching reports of the crash of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister, according to a US State Department spokesperson.

The statement comes after an Iranian official told Reuters that a helicopter carrying Raisi and his foreign minister crashed earlier today as it was crossing mountain terrain in heavy fog.

Rescuers were making their way to the site of the incident, with bad weather reportedly complicating search efforts.

Hamas hostage Amit Buskila laid to rest in Kiryat Gat: ‘You were killed for being Jewish’

Family and friends attend the funeral of Amit Buskila in Kiryat Gat, on May 19, 2024. Buskila was murdered on October 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists and her body was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)

Amit Buskila, whose body was recovered by Israel Defense Force soldiers in the Gaza Strip over the weekend after she was murdered during Hamas’s October 7 massacre, is laid to rest in Kiryat Gat.

Amit’s mother, Ilana Buskila, cries at the funeral, “I prayed for a different ending to the torment I’ve been through.”

“I was lucky to have you for 28 years,” she says, adding, “You wrapped me in love, you were my inspiration… you entered the hearts of the people of Israel people. We will not give in… I will take care of flattening Gaza myself.”

The military announced Friday that soldiers recovered the bodies of three hostages from the Gaza Strip, as intensive fighting raged there between Israeli forces and Hamas.

Buskila’s body was returned to Israel overnight Friday along with the bodies of two other hostages, Itzhak Gelerenter and Shani Louk.

The three were at the Supernova music festival near Re’im on the morning of the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught, where they then fled to the Mefalsim area. There they were killed by Hamas terrorists, and their bodies were then kidnapped to Gaza.

Until recently, Buskila and Gelerenter were presumed to be alive.

Amit Buskila was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 at the Supernova desert rave and her body was taken to Gaza. Her remains were recovered by the IDF and returned to Israel on May 17, 2024. (Courtesy)

Her brother Shiel Buskila says at the funeral, “You dreamed of conquering the world, but now your bed is made up and empty. The mirror in your room will not see your face. The pots in the kitchen will not feel the warmth of your hands. You were killed for being Jewish.”

“Your last words were ‘Shema Israel’. Saba and Safta [grandmother and grandfather] will watch over you We will remember you,” he adds.

Biden says he’s working for 2-state solution hours after PM rejected Palestinian state for Saudi normalization

US President Joe Biden delivers a commencement address during Morehouse College's graduation ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia on May 19, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

US President Joe Biden says he is “working to make sure we finally get a two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during a much-anticipated address at the graduation ceremony of Morehouse College in Atlanta.

The Biden administration has moved to actualize the framework on its agenda since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war after spending nearly three years stressing that a two-state solution was far off and prioritizing more incremental progress towards its realization.

The president stresses a newer message coming from his administration in recent weeks — that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to plan for who will govern Gaza after the war has allowed Hamas to fill the vacuum the IDF had briefly created on the battlefield against the terror group.

“I’ve also been working around the clock for more than just [a] ceasefire. I’m working to bring the region together, working to build a lasting, durable peace,” Biden says, referring to the normalization agreement he is trying to broker between Israel and Saudi Arabia. But the deal is conditioned on Israel agreeing to a pathway to a future Palestinian state — a condition that Netanyahu again rejected on Saturday.

“Because the question is — as you see what’s going on in Israel today — What after? What after Hamas? What happens then? What happens in Gaza?”

He appears to be referring to speeches Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz made last week, demanding the prime minister present his plans for the post-war management of Gaza.

The Israeli premier has rebuffed the calls, saying they are largely irrelevant until Israel finishes removing Hamas from power. He has also rejected Gallant’s suggestion that the Palestinian Authority be allowed to take part in the post-war governance of Gaza — a plan backed by the US and much of the international community.

“I’m working to make sure we finally get a two-state solution — the only solution for the two people to live in peace, enjoy their dignity,” he adds.

Sullivan meets with Herzog in Jerusalem to discuss ongoing efforts to free hostages

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, left, meets with President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, May 19, 2024.(David Azagury/US Embassy Jerusalem)

President Isaac Herzog and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discuss ongoing efforts to see the return of hostages in Gaza, a source close to the president tells The Times of Israel.

Herzog stresses the importance of the issue during their Jerusalem meeting, says the source.

He also underscores “the importance of the contribution of the UAE and Cyprus to the maritime channel delivering civilian aid to the population of Gaza,” according to the source.

The meeting lasted a half hour.

The source declines to comment on whether the two discussed Rafah or Saudi-Israel normalization.

Herzog’s office will not be issuing a readout of the meeting.

Despite concerns ahead of time, Biden graduation speech uninterrupted by anti-Israel protesters

US President Joe Biden delivers a commencement address during Morehouse College's graduation ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia on May 19, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

US President Joe Biden’s much-anticipated address at the graduation ceremony of Morehouse College in Atlanta concludes without any interruptions from pro-Palestinian protesters after concerns that far-left activists would mar the speech.

The pro-Palestinian protesters have shaken up campuses across the country with anti-Israel encampments and other demonstrations, including at graduation ceremonies.

Biden made a point of addressing the issue in his address.

“Some of you have asked, ‘What is democracy? If we can’t stop wars that break our hearts?’ But in a democracy, we debate and dissent about America’s role in the world. I want to say this very clearly. I support peaceful, non-violent protests. Your voices should be heard, and I promise you I hear them,” Biden says, noting that he has appointed more Black Americans to senior positions than any other US president.

In the past, Biden has spoken more critically of the anti-Israel protests, highlighting their sometimes antisemitic motivations and tactics and their ignoring of Hamas’s crimes.

While there are no interruptions to the address, a few graduates and faculty staff wear Keffiyeh scarves and a lone graduate continues to stand with his back turned to Biden and his right fist raised.

Turning to the Israel-Hamas war more directly, Biden says, “What’s happening in Gaza and in Israel is heartbreaking. Hamas’s vicious attack on Israel, killing innocent lives and holding people hostage. I was there nine days after and saw pictures of them tying a mother and daughter in a rope, pouring kerosene on them, burning them and watching as they died.”

Biden’s voice then elevates. “Innocent Palestinians caught in the middle of all of this — men, women and children, killed or displaced, in desperate need of food, water and medicine.

“There’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That’s why I call for an immediate ceasefire to stop the fighting [and to] bring the hostages home,” he says, reiterating his long-held stance to applause from the crowd.

“I’ve been working on a deal as we speak, working around the clock… to get more aid into Gaza.”

“This is one of the hardest, most complicated problems in the world. There’s nothing easy about it.”

“I know it is angering and frustrates many of you, including my family,” Biden says. Last month, The New York Times reported that First Lady Jill Biden has been pushing the president hard to bring an end to the war.

“But most of all, I know it breaks your heart. It breaks mine as well.”

“Leadership is about fighting through the most intractable problems. It’s about channeling anger, frustration, and heartbreak to find a solution. It’s about doing what you believe is right, even when it’s hard and lonely,” he says, apparently referring to his policies on the war that have exposed him to harsh criticism from the far-left flank of his party over his support for Israel but also Republicans who have increasingly turned on him as he has intensified his criticism of Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Report: Netanyahu blocked Israeli intel chiefs from meeting US officials multiple times since Oct. 7

File - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with Mossad chief David Barnea, April 18, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blocked Israeli intelligence and security chiefs from meeting with US officials multiple times amid the ongoing war in Gaza, according to officials quoted by the Axios news site.

Most recently, Netanyahu banned Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head from meeting with Senator Marco Rubio while he was in Israel, according to US officials quoted in the report.

Instead, the prime minister met with the senator himself, the report adds, while noting that the officials said the move was not a shot at Rubio.

Officials quoted in the report believe Netanyahu is trying to control what US politicians and lawmakers hear from Israel amid deep divides in his cabinet about the handling of the war raging in Gaza.

Axios notes that US officials routinely meet with Israeli military and security chiefs, who are seen as “credible, professional and apolitical.”

According to the report, Netanyahu’s office blocked several meetings between Shin Bet leaders and US State Department officials since October 7 and also tried to prevent a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

IDF: Soldier dies of wounds sustained fighting in northern Gaza earlier this week

IDF Maj. Gal Shabbat, 24, succumbed to wounds sustained fighting in Gaza on May 19, 2024. (Courtesy)

An IDF officer seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on May 15 succumbed to his wounds, the military announces.

He is named as Maj. Gal Shabbat, 24, a company commander in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion, from Katzir.

His death brings the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas and in operations along the border to 283.

Hundreds attend funeral of Shani Louk, 22, whose body was held in Gaza since October 7

Nissim Louk eulogizes his daughter Shani at the cemetery of Moshav Srigim-LiOn in central Israel as the family (left) looks on, May 19, 2024. (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel)

Hundreds of people attend the funeral for 22-year-old Shani Louk, whose body was recovered Friday in Gaza by Israeli commandos, seven months after she was killed by terrorists on October 7.

Her father Nissim had called on the public to attend the funeral at Moshav Srigim-LiOn, south of Beit Shemesh, in central Israel.

Shani Louk became an icon of the Hamas massacre after a video, broadcast on October 7 and attributed to the terror group, showed her body on the back of a white pickup truck, her hair matted with blood. She was surrounded by gunmen and paraded through Gaza.

In a message, President Isaac Herzog apologizes for not being at the funeral and notes Louk’s talents in art and music and how the latter took her from one festival to another around the world, always drawing new friends.

Her father Nissim weeps that he was unable to protect and save her.

“Our leadership makes the same mistakes again and again, “ he says, quoting Albert Einstein who said only fools repeat their mistakes and expect different results each time.

“If they continue making the same mistakes of the last few decades, we are likely to lose our country, “ he says.

Shani Louk was killed on October 7 by Hamas terrorists near the Supernova rave and her body was recovered in an IDF operation and returned to Israel on May 17, 2024. (Courtesy)

Louk’s mother Ricarda talks about her daughter’s independent spirit and love of travel, while friends and relatives repeat how she brought smiles and light wherever she went.

The eulogies end with a song Louk wrote with the words, “I don’t want any more war.”

The tattoo artist and free spirit, who held Israeli and German citizenship, was celebrating with friends at the Nova music festival before it was attacked by gunmen, who massacred some 360 party-goers, while committing rapes and other atrocities.

Louk’s body, as well as those of Itzhak Gelerenter and Amit Buskila, was recovered on Thursday night and announced Friday in an operation carried out by the military and Shin Bet.

The return of the body of a fourth victim, Ron Benjamin, was announced on Saturday.

The four were at the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7, when some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.

Iranian official: We’re still hopeful but details from Raisi’s helicopter crash site ‘very concerning’

An Iranian official tells Reuters that while authorities are “still hopeful,” the information coming from the site where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed is “very concerning.”

The lives of Raisi, along with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, are “at risk” following the helicopter, the official adds.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reports that bad weather is complicating rescue efforts.

The semi-official Fars news agency urged Iranians to pray for Raisi and state TV carries prayers for his safety.

Iranian media publishes footage of rescue teams speeding through forest in search of Raisi’s helicopter

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency publishes footage purporting to show rescue crews speeding through a misty, rural forest to reach the site where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is believed to have crashed.

اولین تصاویر از امدادرسانی در محل سانحه برای #بالگرد حامل #رئیس‌جمهور pic.twitter.com/gFtMZ8oRHY

— خبرگزاری ایسنا (@isna_farsi) May 19, 2024

Iranian state media reports that the helicopter suffered a “hard landing.”

Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV says the incident happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Later, the TV put it farther east near the village of Uzi, but details remain contradictory.

Traveling with Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reports.

One local government official uses the word “crash” to describe the incident, but he acknowledges to an Iranian newspaper that he had yet to reach the site himself.

Neither IRNA nor state TV offer any information on Raisi’s condition.

“The esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi says in comments aired on state TV. “Various rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter.”

He adds: “The region is a bit (rugged) and it’s difficult to make contact. We are waiting for rescue teams to reach the landing site and give us more information.”

Rescuers are attempting to reach the site, state TV says, but have been hampered by poor weather conditions. There has been heavy rain and fog reported with some wind.

IRNA calls the area a “forest” and the region is known to be mountainous as well.

Iran flies a variety of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain parts for them. Its military air fleet also largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF: Fighter jets hit south Lebanon building used by Hezbollah operatives

Israeli fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Maroun al-Ras where Hezbollah operatives were identified, the military says.

The IDF says the operatives were spotted near the building, known to be used by the terror group, by soldiers of the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit.

Earlier, some 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Malkia and Mount Dov areas on the border.

The IDF says there are no injuries and that it shelled the launch sites with artillery.

מטוסי קרב של חיל-האוויר תקפו מחבלים שזוהו נעים בסמוך למבנה צבאי במרחב מרון א-ראס, שבדרום לבנון, ותקפו את המבנה. pic.twitter.com/xxOstQfG2b

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) May 19, 2024

Former Labor MK Yael Dayan laid to rest in Tel Aviv

File - Yael Dayan, the daughter of late military leader and politician Moshe Dayan, at her home in Tel Aviv on February 2, 2019. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Former Labor Party MK Yael Dayan is laid to rest at the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv.

She died yesterday at the age of 85 after a prolonged battle with lung disease.

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.

Dayan had for decades suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Drone alert sirens sounding in northern border towns

Drone alert sirens are sounding in northern communities near the border with Lebanon.

Sirens can be heard in largely evacuated towns including Rehaniya, Alma, Kerem Ben Zimra, Yir’on, Dalton, Baram, Ramat Dalton Industrial Zone and Avivim.

🚨 Large Red Alert [16:44:45] – 9 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Rehaniya, Dalton, Kerem Ben Zimra, Jish (Gush Halav), Avivim, Ramat Dalton Industrial Zone, Baram, Yir'on, Alma#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/82QUvxCFjk

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 19, 2024

Authorities lost contact with Raisi’s helicopter; rescue teams still en route to site — Iranian reports

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends the inauguration ceremony of dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, May 19, 2024. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Authorities have lost contact with the helicopter in which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was traveling, according to the Iranian Fars news agency.

Initial reports indicate that a helicopter carrying the Iranian president crash-landed.

The two other helicopters in the convoy, which were carrying ministers and officials, arrived at their destination safely, Tansim reports.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Seyyed Mohammad-Ali Al-Hashem, the Friday prayer imam of Tabriz, were said to have been on the helicopter with Raisi, the report adds.

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi says authorities are awaiting further details on the search and rescue operation, adding that teams are still on the way to the apparent crash site due to difficult weather conditions.

Fars calls on Iranians to pray for Raisi following the reports.

Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV says the incident happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with with Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of Tehran.

Ben Gvir: The cabinet should be stopping Gaza aid trucks — not protesters

File - People holding Israeli flags stand in front of trucks carrying humanitarian aid as they try to stop them from entering the Gaza Strip near the Kerem Shalom border crossing, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticizes violent attacks by settler extremists on trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, though he indicates that he agrees with their demand that supplies not be transferred to Palestinians in the Strip while terror groups there are still holding Israeli hostages.

“We are in a democratic country and I am in favor of freedom of protest.. They are allowed to demonstrate,” he says during an interview with Army Radio.

“I am against them attacking and burning trucks,” he says, noting that he thinks “it’s the cabinet that should be stopping the trucks.”

The far-right minister’s comments come after activists attacked a truck in the central West Bank and assaulted its driver over the weekend in the mistaken belief that it was delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Such attacks in the West Bank largely started last month when Israel agreed to expand the aid route from Jordan to ensure that more assistance gets into Gaza.

The far-right group Tzav 9 has led many similar protests in both the West Bank and within Israel proper, aiming to block aid trucks from reaching Gaza.

Two US officials told The Times of Israel Thursday night that the Biden administration is looking into sanctioning extremist Israelis involved in the recent spate of attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.

Iranian president’s helicopter crashes in possible hard landing incident; rescue operation ongoing

Rescuers in Iran are trying to reach a helicopter involved in “an incident” with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on board, according to Iranian state television.

Initial reports indicate a hard landing incident, without elaborating on who else was on board.

Semiofficial news agencies offer varying explanations for what was happening.

Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. A rescue operation is ongoing.

Man whose family was killed on Oct. 7 questioned under caution after allegedly being beaten by right-wing activist

Gadi Kedem, who lost several of his family members during the October 7 massacre, arrives to file a complaint at a police station along with his wife, after being attacked the previous day during a demonstration, in Tel Aviv, May 19, 2024 (Flash90)

Gadi Kedem, who lost six of his family members on October 7 and was apparently beaten yesterday by right-wing activists who were carrying a sign reading “leftist traitors,” was questioned by police under caution on suspicion of assault when he went to lodge a complaint, Channel 12 news reports.

The incident took place yesterday at a demonstration by anti-government protesters, including bereaved and hostage families.

Kedem’s wife Reuma said activist supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government told her she was “a degenerate, a stinking leftist, it’s a good thing your children died.”

Kedem said the man carrying the “leftist traitor” sign then attacked his wife.

Kedem was then seen briefly pushing the man, before he was apparently beaten.

Video circulating on social media apparently included audio of one of the suspects boasting about “the kick I gave [Kedem] in the head.”

גדי קדם בעלה של ראומה ש-6 מקרובי משפחתם נרצחו קיבל בעיטה בראש

"איזו בעיטה הבאתי לו לראש"

הצלם והדובר בסרטון הוא אורי הרוש (א.ה.). https://t.co/znZVxaPIEe pic.twitter.com/DBL7jhU8E2

— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) May 18, 2024

That suspect has apparently not been arrested, Channel 13 reported.

Police said they detained two people suspected of the assault on Kedem. However, Channel 12 said that at least one of them was immediately released at the scene.

אז מה רואים כאן: מפגין ימין מקלל את ראומה קדם. מפגינים אחרים קוראים לו ״איך אתה מדבר כל המשפחה שלה נספתה״, ראומה קדם מנסה לקחת שלט שמאלנים בוגדים, המפגין שאחז בו מכה אותה. אחר כך, בתיעודים נוספים, רואים את גדי קופץ לעברו. במקביל מפגין שהתגרה לאורך הערב בועט בגדי על הרצפה. הוא לא… https://t.co/l9yHrfeFin

— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) May 19, 2024

Kedem was taken to the hospital by medics.

The Kedems lost their daughter Tamar Kedem Siman Tov, son-in-law Yonatan (Johnny) Siman Tov, their six-year-old twins Arbel and Shachar and two-year-old Omer when terrorists attacked Kibbutz Nir Oz on Octobor 7.

The family was murdered in their home’s safe room, along with Jonathan’s mother, Carol Siman Tov. The house was then set on fire.

IDF: Senior Hamas operative in terror group’s supply unit killed in Gaza airstrike

A senior Hamas operative in the terror group’s supply unit was killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the military says.

According to the IDF, Azmi Abu Daqqa was involved in smuggling weapons and funds for Hamas in Gaza.

The airstrike was carried out following intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate, the IDF says.

It releases footage of the strike.

כלי-טיס של חיל-האוויר תקפו וחיסלו אתמול את המחבל עזמי אבו-דקה, פעיל בארגון הטרור חמאס אשר שימש כגורם מוביל במחלקת האספקה של ארגון הטרור חמאס וקידם העברת אמצעי לחימה וכספים שמיועדים לטרור ברצועה.

בנוסף, במהלך היממה האחרונה, חיל-האוויר תקף עשרות מטרות טרור.
באחת התקיפות כלי-טיס… pic.twitter.com/dFujyLNCqe

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) May 19, 2024

Dozens more Hamas targets were hit across Gaza over the past day, including two “tactical-level” commanders, who were preparing to attack Israeli forces in the Rafah area, the military adds.

Jordan demands international investigation into ‘war crimes’ in Gaza

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi briefs the media in Berlin, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says that the kingdom demands an international investigation into what it says were many war crimes committed during Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

In remarks made during a press conference with the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, Safadi says those responsible for documented crimes should be brought to justice.

Israel strenuously denies that its troops have committed war crimes.

IDF: Troops found weapons caches including drone, rocket launchers in north Gaza’s Jabaliya

Weapons and military equipment seized by IDF troops in northern Gaza's Jabaliya, in a handout image released May 19, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops operating in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya have discovered several caches of weapons, including assault rifles, mortars, and drones, the military says.

The IDF says troops also discovered rocket launchers and a weapons manufacturing site in the area.

Also in Jabaliya, the military says, troops of the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit spotted a cell armed with RPGs, and directed an airstrike against them.

The fighting in “the heart of Jabaliya” is being led by the 7th Armored Brigade, with the IDF saying the tank forces are engaged in “intense” battles with Hamas in the area.

US Republican lawmaker at Knesset: ‘No excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel’

US Rep. Elise Stefanik speaks at a Knesset caucus meeting on May 19, 2024 (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

US Rep. Elise Stefanik slams US President Joe Biden during a meeting of the Knesset Caucus for Jewish and Pro-Israel Students on Campuses Around the World.

“I have been clear at home and I will be clear here: There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel — aid that was duly passed by the Congress — or to ease sanctions on Iran, paying a $6 billion ransom to the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, or to dither and hide while our friends fight for their lives,” she says. “No excuse. Full stop.”

In contrast with her criticism of Biden, Stefanik, one of the highest-ranking Republicans in the House, praises former US president Donald Trump, whom she lauds for his “historic support for Israeli independence and security.”

“The majority of Americans support you and we always will – since president Truman’s recognition of Israel 11 minutes after David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence 76 years and 5 days ago, America stands with Israel,” she says.

Sullivan begins meeting with Netanyahu, will also hold talks with Herzog

The meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has begun, the Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel.

President Isaac Herzog is slated to meet with Sullivan at 5:30 p.m., the President’s Office announces.

Smotrich: If Hezbollah doesn’t withdraw from border, IDF must take over southern Lebanon

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at the Maariv economic conference in Tel Aviv, March 26, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls for Israel to issue an ultimatum to Hezbollah and says that if the terror group does not stop attacking Israel and pull its fighters back from the border, a ground operation should be launched to establish a military takeover in southern Lebanon.

At a faction meeting of his Religious Zionism party held in the north, Smotrich demands Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make a clear announcement on a plan to deal with Hezbollah, saying that if necessary, there must be military action on the matter.

“A public ultimatum must be issued to Hezbollah that they completely stop firing and withdraw all forces to beyond the Litani River,” says Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry.

“If the ultimatum is not fully met, the IDF will launch an assault deep in Lebanese territory to defend the northern communities, including ground entry and Israeli military takeover of the southern Lebanese area,” he says, promoting a plan reminiscent of Israel’s security zone in south Lebanon in the years following the First Lebanon War.

“The way to bring the [evacuated] residents home in the north is through a military decision with a devastating assault on Hezbollah, its infrastructure and the destruction of its power,” he says.

Israel has threatened to go to war to force Hezbollah away from the border if the terror group does not retreat and continues to threaten northern communities, from where some 70,000 people have been evacuated to avoid the fighting.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war against Hamas there.

Smotrich also says Netanyahu must state that there will be a permanent Israeli military presence in the Gaza Strip, including at Rafah Border Crossing and in the city of Rafah to prevent smuggling from Egypt.

The minister says he is making the demands in light of the ultimatum and deadline issued by war cabinet minister Benny Gantz yesterday.

Iran confirms it held indirect talks with US in Oman: ‘Negotiations were not the first, will not be the last’

Iran confirms it held indirect talks with the United States in Oman despite the two countries having no diplomatic relations.

Washington and Tehran have long been sharply at odds with tensions centered on Iran’s contested nuclear program and heightened by the Gaza war between their respective allies Israel and Hamas.

On Friday, American news website Axios reported that US and Iranian officials held indirect talks in Oman “on how to avoid escalating regional attacks.”

The official IRNA news agency says that “the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations confirmed indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States in Oman.”

It quoted the representative as saying that “these negotiations were not the first and will not be the last,” without giving the time and place of the talks.

Police: Palestinian who tried to carry out stabbing attack was armed with screwdriver, shouted ‘Allahu akbar’

The scene of an attempted stabbing attack at a checkpoint near Abu Dis on May 19, 2024 (Israel Police)

Police update and say the Palestinian suspect who attempted to carry out a stabbing attack at a checkpoint near Abu Dis was armed with a “sharp object,” apparently a screwdriver.

The suspect drew the object and ran toward the officers while shouting “Allahu akbar” (God is great), before being shot, police say.

Sirens sound in northern border towns warning of suspected drone infiltration

Sirens warning of a suspected drone attack sound in multiple communities close to the northern border.

The communities have been largely evacuated of civilians since Hezbollah began launching attacks at communities and military positions on October 8.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has ‘high temperature,’ will undergo tests

In this photo released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, speaks to his father, King Salman, right, at a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 9, 2018. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman is suffering from “high temperature” and joint pain and will undergo his second round of medical tests in less than a month, state media reports.

The tests will take place at a clinic at the Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, the Royal Court says in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

King Salman “suffers from a high temperature and pain in the joints,” the statement says. “The treating medical team decided to conduct some tests to diagnose the health condition and to ensure his health.”

King Salman, 88, has been on the throne since 2015, though his son, Mohammed bin Salman, 38, was named crown prince in 2017 and acts as day-to-day ruler.

The monarch’s health is rarely discussed, but the Royal Court disclosed in April that he had been admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital for “routine examinations.” He left the hospital later that day.

Prior to that, his most recent hospitalization had been in May 2022, when he went in for a colonoscopy and stayed for just over a week for other tests and “some time to rest,” SPA reported at the time.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, has for years sought to quell speculation over King Salman’s health.

Police say Palestinian tried to carry out stabbing attack at checkpoint, is shot

Border Police officers shoot a Palestinian who allegedly attempted to carry out a stabbing attack at a checkpoint near the West Bank town of Abu Dis, on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

According to police, the suspect arrived at the so-called Kiosk Checkpoint near Abu Dis, drew a knife, and tried to stab officers there.

Border Police officers operating at the checkpoint returned fire, “neutralizing” the suspect, police say.

There are no other injuries in the incident.

National Unity MKs: Gantz’s June 8 deadline may be moved up if no change in PM’s policy

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz holds a press conference in Ramat Gan, May 18, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

National Unity MKs Matan Kahana and Pnina Tamano-Shata say party leader Benny Gantz’s June 8 deadline in his ultimatum for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lay out an agreed-upon vision for a postwar Gaza is not a date that is set in stone.

“If we understand even before [June 8] that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined, as usual, to not make decisions on critical issues, we will not wait until then,” Kahana tells the Ynet news site

“The prime minister has refrained from making decisions for reasons of political survival. This must stop,” he says.

Tamano-Shata tells the outlet: “If we do not see significant moves by the prime minister for an in-depth discussion of a strategic plan, as Gantz demanded, and there is no seriousness in changing the policy, the date he stated is not set in stone.”

Last night, Gantz demanded Netanyahu present his plan for Gaza, including stipulating who might rule the territory after Hamas’s defeat, warning that he would bolt the coalition should this not happen. The war cabinet minister said he believed that the war triggered by the Hamas-led October 7 massacre had been drifting off course in recent months due to the cowardice of some of Israel’s leaders.

US lawmaker Stefanik will deliver ‘forceful rebuke’ of Biden’s policies on Israel in Knesset speech – report

Rep. Elise Stefanik speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill, Dec. 5, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

US Rep. Elise Stefanik is set to address the Knesset today and according to The New York Times, is expected to deliver a “forceful rebuke of President Biden and his fellow Democrats while presenting her party as the true allies of the Jewish state.”

Stefanik will be the highest-ranking House Republican to speak at the Knesset since October 7.

“I have been clear at home, and I will be clear here,” Stefanik will say, according to a version of her speech seen by the newspaper. “There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel.”

“We must not let the extremism in elite corners conceal the deep, abiding love for Israel among the American people,” she will reportedly say. “Americans feel a strong connection to your people. They have opened their hearts to you in this dark hour.”

Since US President Joe Biden paused an arms shipment to Israel, the administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel.

Stefanik, who has been named as a potential running mate for former US president Donald Trump, rose to prominence in December during a congressional hearing in which she asked the presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania if “calling for the genocide of Jews” is against the universities’ codes of conduct. All three, weighing campus conduct codes against free speech imperatives, said the answer depended on the context.

Stefanik has been accused of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories in the past. In 2022, after a mass shooting in Buffalo inspired by the “great replacement” theory, the Anti-Defamation League criticized Stefanik as one of its propagators, saying her campaign’s posts “strategically play on extremist rhetoric to stoke growing fears that white Americans are under attack and minorities seek to eject them.”

Top Biden aide Sullivan to meet Netanyahu, Hanegbi

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on May 13, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi at 12 p.m., followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 1 p.m.

He is slated to participate in a two-hour meeting with the National Security Agency and other agencies at 3 p.m.

Sirens sound in northern towns warning of incoming rockets, drones

Sirens are sounding in a number of communities in northern Israel, warning of incoming rocket fire and suspected drone launches.

Police investigators appeal acquittal of officer in killing of Ethiopian-Israeli teen

Worka and Wbjig Tekah hold a picture of their son Solomon Tekah, 19, who was killed by an off duty police officer, at their home in the Israeli city of Haifa, on July 3, 2019. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

The Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) files an appeal to the Haifa District Court against a lower court ruling that found an off-duty police officer not guilty of reckless manslaughter over the death of 18-year old Solomon Tekah in 2019.

Teka’s death sparked outrage in the Ethiopian community, which has long complained of over-policing, but the Haifa Magistrate’s Court acquitted the police officer on the grounds that his life and that of his family had been at risk when Teka and other youths attacked them, and that the warning shot he fired was a reasonable decision despite it ultimately killing Teka.

DIPI argues in its appeal that the police officer’s life had not been in immediate and actual danger, and that his warning shot had therefore not been warranted.

The department also contends that even though the police officer had been in a certain amount of danger due to the fact that Teka and the group of youths were throwing rocks at him, he should have fired in the air in accordance with police protocols and not at the ground.

Fragments of the bullet that the officer fired at the ground next to Teka ricocheted back up at the youth and ultimately killed him.

“The warning shot done by the police officer at the asphalt, which is a firm surface which would not absorb a bullet, close to the feet of the deceased, Solomon Teka, and the youths, was done in violation of regulations and therefore was negligent and caused the death of the deceased, Solomon Teka,” DIPI says in a statement to the press.

IDF says rocket fired from Gaza at Sderot intercepted by Iron Dome

One rocket launched from the northern Gaza Strip at the southern city of Sderot a short while ago was intercepted by the Iron Dome, the military says.

There are no reports of damage or injuries.

Sderot has come under repeated rocket attacks over the past week, as the IDF operates against Hamas in the Jabaliya area in northern Gaza.

Daughter of hostage whose body was retrieved from Gaza: ‘We are grateful we can say goodbye properly’

Itzik Gelernter was killed and his body was taken captive by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

The daughter of Itzik Gelernter, whose body was retrieved from Gaza last week in a military operation, says on the morning of his funeral that she is grateful for the opportunity to say goodbye.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to say goodbye properly. There is comfort in that,” Yarden Pivko tells Radio 103FM, according to the Walla news site. “This is the first time I have said ‘good morning’ since October 7, specifically on the day of my father’s funeral, because the lack of knowledge [about him] has been too heavy a weight to walk around with and live with.”

“We pray that that [he was killed] on October 7 and that he did not suffer [in Gaza] in the way that we thought he might since he was kidnapped. What will bring peace to my father’s soul and our souls is to pray that this is what happened, and hope that he did not suffer much,” she says.

On Friday, the military announced that it had recovered the bodies of Gelerenter, Amit Buskila, and Shani Louk.

The three were at the Supernova music festival near Re’im on the morning of the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught, where they then fled to the Mefalsim area. IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari said they were killed there by Hamas terrorists, and their bodies were then kidnapped to Gaza.

A day later, the Israel Defense Forces said it had returned the body of Ron Benjamin to Israel in the same operation. He was killed near Kibbutz Mefalsim on the day of the attack. The Rehovot resident had been in the south for a bike ride.

Sirens in southern communities warn of incoming rocket fire from Gaza

Sirens sound in Sderot, Ibim and Nir Am warning of incoming rocket fire.

It is the second round of rocket fire from Gaza at southern border towns this morning.

Netanyahu to meet northern mayors for first time in four months

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Memorial Day ceremony for Israel's fallen soldiers and victims of terror, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 12, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet municipal leaders from the north for the first time in almost four months, Hebrew-language media reports.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza during the war against Hamas.

As a result, some 60,000 Israelis from northern communities have lived since then as internally displaced persons in government-funded accommodations across the country. Thousands more temporarily evacuated but have since begun to return home.

Opposition politicians have called on Netanyahu to declare that the northern residents will be back in their homes by September 1 for the start of the school year – war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said yesterday it was one of his key demands if he is to remain in the government.

UN says 800,000 Gazans have evacuated from Rafah

Displaced Palestinians queue to buy water from a truck next to their temporary camp in Rafah on May 17, 2024 (AFP)

The United Nations says 800,000 Palestinians have been “forced to flee” Rafah amid Israel’s military operation in the southern Gaza city.

“800,000 people are on the road having been forced to flee since the Israeli forces started the military operation in the area on 6 May,” the UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini says on X.

“Every time, they are forced to leave behind the few belongings they have: mattresses, tents, cooking utensils and basic supplies that they cannot carry or pay to transport,” he writes. “Every time, they have to start from scratch, all over again.”

He says people are fleeing to areas without water supplies or adequate sanitation.

Israel has said Rafah, where Hamas’s four intact battalions are deployed, remains a major stronghold for the terror group. It also believes that many of the remaining 124 hostages kidnapped in the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities are being held in Rafah.

Saudi crown prince, US national security advisor discuss Gaza, ‘semi-final version’ of bilateral deal

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed a broad bilateral agreement and Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, the Saudi state news agency reports.

The meeting in the Saudi city of Dhahran reviewed “the semi-final version of the draft strategic agreements between the two countries, which are almost being finalized,” a statement reads.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on May 13, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

The US has said in the past that the deal hinges on a normalization component that would require Israel to agree to create a pathway for a future Palestinian state.

In response to an ultimatum yesterday from war cabinet minister Benny Gantz on a number of topics including Saudi normalization, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes “establishing a Palestinian state that will inevitably be a terror state.”

After his visit to Saudi Arabia, Sullivan is due to visit Israel where he will meet with Netanyahu to update him on his talks in Riyadh and also discuss Israel’s planned expanded military operation in Rafah, a US official told The Times of Israel.

Rocket warning sirens activated in kibbutz near Gaza

Rocket warning sirens sound in Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza Strip.

IDF says 2 soldiers killed, 4 seriously wounded during fighting in southern Gaza

Staff Sgt. Noam Bittan (left) and Staff Sgt. Nachman Meir Haim Vaknin of the Givati Brigade's reconnaissance unit, who were killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on May 18, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces the deaths of two soldiers killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday.

The slain troops are named as Staff Sgt. Nachman Meir Haim Vaknin, 20, from Eilat and Staff Sgt. Noam Bittan, 20, from Yad Rambam.

The pair served in the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit.

Vaknin and Bittan were killed and another two soldiers and an officer of the Givati reconnaissance unit were seriously wounded as a result of a blast in a booby-trapped tunnel shaft in the Rafah area.

Their deaths bring the toll of slain troops in the IDF’s ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in operations on the border to 282.

In a separate incident, a reservist of the 5832nd Combat Engineering Battalion was seriously wounded in Rafah after his D9 armored bulldozer was hit by an RPG.

Top Biden aide arrives in Saudi Arabia, meets with crown prince ahead of Israel visit

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on May 13, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in the Saudi city of Dhahran, the Saudi state news agency reports.

Sullivan is due to travel to Israel after his visit to Saudi Arabia, where a senior US official told The Times of Israel he and the crown prince will discuss the long-shot US effort to broker a normalization agreement between Jerusalem and Riyadh. In Israel, Sullivan will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to update him on his talks in Riyadh and also discuss Israel’s planned military operation in Rafah, the US official said.

Hundreds protest against Israel at ‘Nakba’ rally in Washington

A man wearing a keffiyeh looks at the US Capitol during a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel rally on May 18, 2024, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Hundreds of protesters rally within sight of the US Capitol in Washington to demonstrate against Israel and mark the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, of Israel’s founding and the accompanying exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the War of Independence in 1948.

There are calls in support of the Palestinians and an immediate end to Israeli military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, which was launched following the terror group’s devastating October 7 onslaught. “No peace on stolen land” and “End the killings, stop the crime/Israel out of Palestine,” echo through the crowd.

Protesters also focus their anger on US President Joe Biden for his support of Israel.

“Biden Biden, you will see/genocide’s your legacy,” they say. The Democratic president is in Atlanta on Saturday.

Penn students among 19 anti-Israel protesters arrested during attempt to occupy building

Pro-Palestinian protesters against Israel gather outside the gates to the courtyard at the University of Pennsylvania Museum on May 17, 2024 in Philadelphia. (Charles Fox/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

PHILADELPHIA — A half-dozen University of Pennsylvania students were among 19 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested during an attempt to occupy a school building, university police say.

Their arrests come a week after authorities broke up an anti-Israel protest encampment on campus and arrested nine students — and as other colleges across the country, anxious to prepare for commencement season, have either negotiated agreements with students or called in police to dismantle protest camps.

Members of Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine announced the action Friday at the school’s Fisher-Bennett Hall, urging supporters to bring “flags, pots, pans, noise-makers, megaphones” and other items, the University of Pennsylvania Division of Public Safety said in a news release.

Officers could be seen closing in “within the hour,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. University police supported by city police then escorted the protesters out and secured the building, news outlets report.

Police say after clearing the building that they recovered “lock-picking tools and homemade metal shields fashioned from oil drums.”

Exit doors had been secured with zip ties and barbed wire and barricaded with metal chairs and desks, while windows were covered by newspaper and cardboard, and bike racks and metal chairs blocked entrances, police said.

Seven of the students arrested remain in custody awaiting felony charges, including one person who assaulted an officer, campus police say. A dozen were issued citations for failing to disperse and follow police commands. They have been released from custody.

The attempted occupation of Fisher-Bennett Hall comes a week after city and campus police broke up a two-week encampment on the campus, arresting 33 people, nine of whom were students and two dozen of whom had “no Penn affiliation,” according to university officials.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Lapid urges police action after hostage families, relatives of Oct. 7 victims face violence at protest

Opposition leader Yair Lapid pans images of violence against relatives of hostages held by Hamas terrorists and those wounded and killed in the October 7 massacre.

“There’s nothing to expect from the police minister [Itamar Ben Gvir], but the police commissioner [Kobi Shabtai] needs to stop it immediately — where is he?” Lapid writes on X.

In one incident tonight at the Tel Aviv anti-government protest, Gadi Kedem, who lost six of his family members on October 7, was allegedly beaten by a right-wing activist carrying a sign reading “leftist traitors.”

Police arrested two suspected of the attack, and medics took Kedem to hospital.

גדי קדם בעלה של ראומה ש-6 מקרובי משפחתם נרצחו הוכה לפי עדויות על ידי אדם עם שלט שמאלנים בוגדים ונפצע בראשו. הוא פונה לבית חולים. ״ביביסט קילל אותנו אמר לנו טוב שהילדים מתו…יא מנוולת יא שמאלנית מסריחה והשוטרים עומדים…. והביביסט ברח. הוא עמד איתם… היה לו שלט שמאלנים בוגדים"… pic.twitter.com/3KjdXvmrkQ

— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) May 18, 2024