May 19: PM says UK, France, Canada rewarding terror amid threats over Israel’s conduct in Gaza

PM says UK, France and Canada rewarding terror amid threats over Israel’s conduct in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) speaks in a video statement on November 12, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO); Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street, London, November 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada are “offering a huge prize” for the October 7, 2023 attack by calling on Israel in a joint statement earlier this evening threatening “concrete actions” is Israel didn’t halt its military campaign in Gaza and allow aid into the Strip.

“By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities,” writes the Prime Minister’s office in a statement.

The war in Gaza was started by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists when they invaded Israel on October 7, murdering 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages to Gaza, asserts the PMO, adding that “The war can end tomorrow if the remaining hostages are released, Hamas lays down its arms, its murderous leaders are exiled and Gaza is demilitarized.”

“No nation can be expected to accept anything less and Israel certainly won’t,” the statement says.

“Israel accepts [US] President [Donald] Trump’s vision and urges all European leaders to do the same,” says the PMO, apparently offering support for the American president’s plan to take over Gaza and clear it of its Palestinians, as opposed to the two-state solution path that the three leaders argued is the best way to end the conflict.

“This is a war of civilization over barbarism. Israel will continue to defend itself by just means until total victory is achieved,” the statement concludes.

91 Gazans killed in Israeli strikes Monday — official from Hamas-linked civil defense agency

An official from the Hamas-run Gaza civil defense says that 91 people were killed in strikes and attacks throughout Monday as Israel steps up an offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The deaths had been recorded since since the early hours of Monday, according to Mohammed al-Mughayyir. His office had earlier given a toll of 52 dead.

Schumer introduces bill banning foreign Air Force One planes amid Qatari donation

US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has introduced a bill that would prevent any foreign aircraft from being used as Air Force One, the aircraft that transports the US president.

Schumer introduced the “Presidential Airlift Security Act” after news last week that President Donald Trump planned to accept a $400 million airplane from Qatar, which legal experts said raised a raft of questions about the scope of laws that relate to gifts from foreign governments and are intended to thwart corruption and improper influence.

Retrofitting the luxury plane offered by Qatar’s royal family would require security upgrades, communications improvements to prevent spies from listening in and equipment to fend off incoming missiles, experts say.

The costs were not known, but could be significant given that Boeing’s current effort to build two new Air Force One planes exceeds $5 billion.

The bill introduced by the New York Democrat would prohibit the Department of Defense from using any funds to procure or modify foreign aircraft in order to serve as the president’s air transportation.

The measure is unlikely to become law, given that Trump’s Republicans hold majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives, which would both have to approve it and override a veto if Trump objected.

But it marks another effort by Democrats to oppose the plan. Schumer last week vowed to block all of Trump’s nominees to the Justice Department until the agency reports what it knows about Qatar’s offer.

Multiple congressional Republicans also raised concerns about Qatar’s offer.

Trump said it would be “stupid” for him to refuse the offer.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Elise Stefanik to feature at Yeshiva University commencement

Rachel Goldberg-Polin eulogizes her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, at his funeral in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of slain Hamas hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and US Rep. Elise Stefanik will both be honored at the commencement ceremony for New York’s Yeshiva University on Thursday.

Goldberg-Polin will deliver the commencement address to the expected 5,000 students, faculty, alumni, and families at the event, the university says.

“Throughout our personal quest to save our beloved Hersh and all the cherished hostages, the valiant Yeshiva University community was by our side holding us up,” Goldberg-Polin says in a statement. “After suffering our crushing blow, YU has remained with us as we navigate through our valley of pain, while we all continue fighting for the remaining 58 treasured hostages’ freedom.”

Yeshiva University, the flagship Modern Orthodox institution of higher learning in the US, will present Stefanik with its highest honorific, the Presidential Medallion.

Last year, the university presented the award to Sen. John Fetterman.

Stefanik, a New York Republican, and Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, are among Israel’s most prominent defenders in Congress.

The ceremony, the university’s 94th commencement, will take place at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens.

IDF soldier killed fighting in northern Gaza, says military

Sgt. Yosef Yehuda Chirak (IDF)

An Israeli soldier was killed in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.

The soldier is named as Sgt. Yosef Yehuda Chirak, 22, of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion, from Harasha.

The military is investigating the cause of Chirak’s death, including the possibility of so-called friendly fire.

Yemen’s Houthis vow ‘naval blockade’ of Haifa port

A general view shows the Israeli port of Haifa on August 13, 2024. (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim they will enforce a “naval blockade” of Haifa port, warning that ships heading there are now “targets.”

The Houthis will “begin working to enforce a naval blockade of the port of Haifa,” says military spokesman Yehya Saree. “All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the target bank.”

The Houthis have claimed a similar blocked of Ben Gurion Airport, but have not come close to such a goal, even in light of a recent missile attack on the airport that caused a slew of foreign carriers to cancel their routes.

Bill to allow gender segregation in advanced degrees passes 1st Knesset vote

Students at the Hebrew University campus in Jerusalem, on May 28, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset passes in a 48-40 vote the first reading of bill establishing the legality of gender-segregated study tracks on religious grounds for those studying for their for masters and doctoral degrees at Israeli universities.

According to the bill’s explanatory notes, the maintenance of such tracks is currently permitted for undergraduate degrees only and the legislation stipulates that creating separate tracks for men and women studying for more advanced degrees will not be considered discriminatory.

“This is to allow even those who, due to their religious beliefs, are prevented from participating in mixed academic studies, to study for advanced degrees in a wider variety of fields,” it adds.

Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, welcomes the vote, calling it a “revolution in academia.”

“I ask that institutions be allowed, at their discretion, to reach out to a large public — a public that wants to learn, contribute, and advance — but not at the expense of its values. True equality, for everyone,” she tweets.

Labor MK Merav Michaeli slams the law as discriminatory.

“Gender segregation for men in academia, gender segregation for men at springs, gender segregation for men in the military, blocking Haredi women from representation in the Knesset for the men in the Knesset and in the government,” Michaeli tweets. “There is no such thing as separate but equal. Segregation is discrimination and racism against women. [This is] a government of segregation and neglect.”

In 2021, the High Court upheld the Council for Higher Education’s policy of offering gender-segregated college courses in order to encourage the integration of ultra-Orthodox students but prohibited the practice of barring female lecturers from teaching male-only courses.

The court also ruled that a prohibition on segregation between men and women in public spaces on campuses must be enforced immediately.

Argentine president to visit Israel in June, focus on strengthening ties, release of hostages

Argentina's President Javier Milei waves as he arrives for his speech at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 23, 2025. (AP Photo/ Markus Schreiber)

Argentinian President Javier Milei is expected to arrive for a diplomatic visit to Israel in early June, both countries have confirmed.

The trip will be centered on the joint signing of a memorandum of understanding between Jerusalem and Buenos Aires, “reaffirming the values of freedom, democracy and the fight against discrimination and antisemitism,” says a source in the Argentine embassy.

The South American president also plans to emphasize his country’s call for the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, three of whom are dual Argentine-Israeli nationals, adds the source.

During his visit, Milei — who visited Israel in February 2024 — is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, deliver an address before the Knesset plenum, and discuss establishing direct flights between Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv.

Milei and Netanyahu’s signing of the memorandum aims to secure Argentina’s ties to Israel, and came at the initiative of Argentine Ambassador to Israel Shimon Axel Wahnish, who is also the philosemitic president’s personal rabbi.

Wahnish works continuously to strengthen Israel-Argentina relations, as well as Israel’s status in Latin America at large, adds the source.

Milei was set to speak before the Knesset in March, after accepting an invitation from Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, but had to postpone the visit due to internal priorities in Argentina.

“Milei is considered one of the most pro-Israel leaders in the world,” has “instructed his country’s representatives in international institutions to vote in favor of Israel, and has been one of the world’s most vocal supporters of Israel since the beginning of the war,” said Ohana’s office in a statement about the visit.

Likud MK booted from Knesset committee after voting against extending reservist call-ups

Likud MK Amit Halevi attends a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting in Jerusalem on July 18, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Likud lawmaker Amit Halevi is removed from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after voting against a measure to extend the government’s ability to issue emergency call-up orders for IDF reservists on Sunday, causing it to fail.

“If soldiers die, I cannot vote in favor,” Halevi told Channel 12 at the time, signaling frustration with the government’s military strategy.

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.

According to Hebrew media reports, Halevi will be replaced on the committee by coalition whip and fellow Likud MK Ofir Katz.

In a statement, Halevi says that it was not he who was dismissed, but rather “the voice of thousands of officers and soldiers who are willing to sacrifice, who are dedicated to the war but only for the sake of a complete victory.”

“Unfortunately, the new ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ plan may extract a terrible price from us, but according to this plan, aid will continue to reach Hamas, it will continue to control a large area and population, and thus the enemy will not be defeated,” he says.

“After 20 months of operational failure at a huge bloody cost, it is my responsibility and that of every Knesset member to ensure that the IDF has learned its lessons before voting in favor of sending soldiers into battle,” Halevi insists — pledging that as long as he remains in the Knesset, “I will fulfill my duties without fear.”

Halevi is not the first Likud MK to be removed from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for opposing the coalition on an enlistment-related issue.

Last November, Ofir Katz announced MK Dan Illouz’s replacement due to his “statements regarding coalition discipline and his conduct in recent days” — a reference to his public opposition to the coalition-supported Daycare Bill, which aimed to guarantee that the children of ultra-Orthodox men who are obligated to perform military service, but have not done so, would continue to be eligible for state-funded daycare subsidies.

IDF says it killed Hezbollah operative in south Lebanon drone strike

The IDF says it killed a Hezbollah operative in a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Houla earlier today.

The operative was a member of the terror group’s elite Radwan force, the military adds.

The Lebanese health ministry said earlier today that an Israeli drone strike on Houla killed one person.

Putin welcomes progress in US-Iran talks during Trump phone call

US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. (AP/Evan Vucci, File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed progress in talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program during a conversation with US President Donald Trump today, and offered Russia’s help, says Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.

Ushakov says Putin also welcomed the results of Trump’s visit to the Middle East last week.

The two leaders held a two-hour phone call, largely focused on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

Trump said following the call that Russia and Ukraine would begin negotiations towards a ceasefire “immediately.”

“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump posts on his Truth Social platform after the call, adding that the “tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent.”

South Korean Christian Zionists open country’s first Holocaust museum

Israel's ambassador to South Korea Rafi Harpaz examines an exhibit at the new Holocaust museum in Paju, South Korea, May 19, 2025. (KIBI)

South Korea has opened the country’s first Holocaust museum, marking its commitment to remember the Nazi murder of six million Jews and to fight against hatred.

The museum, established by the Christian Zionist group Korea Israel Bible Institute (KIBI) in the city of Paju, opened its doors today in a ceremony attended by public figures and diplomats, including Israel’s ambassador to Korea Rafi Harpaz.

Built after years of work and research, the museum includes a unique exhibition on the Holocaust, the Jewish people, and the State of Israel, KIBI says.

“After October 7, we witnessed a shocking rise in hatred toward Israel and the Jewish people — even here in Korea,” says Professor Song Man Seok, a leader in the KIBI community and the driving force behind the museum. “It was a wake-up call for us: we must educate the public about the Jewish people, about the Holocaust, and about the real meaning of genocide. At the same time, we wanted to send a clear message of solidarity and support to the Jewish people.”

Israel has had diplomatic ties with South Korea since 1962 and has developed strong trade relations. The country’s citizens have publicly admired Jewish academic and entrepreneurial success, with Jewish history and culture even taught in some schools.

US official denies threat to ‘abandon’ Israel if it doesn’t end war in Gaza

US President Donald Trump (left) welcomes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House in Washington on April 7, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

A US official denies a Washington Post report citing an unnamed source who claimed the Trump administration would abandon Israel if it kept the war going in Gaza.

The US official says that there may be disagreements, but “the idea that we would abandon Israel is preposterous.”

The newspaper quotes an anonymous individual “familiar with the discussions,” who says Trump’s representatives have informed Israel that Washington will “abandon” the country if it does not end the war.

“Trump’s people are letting Israel know, ‘We will abandon you if you do not end this war,'” the source is quoted as saying. “Politically, as in the past, Netanyahu has a way to do that, with a huge majority in the Knesset and in Israel, but he does not have the political will.”

Netanyahu holds a narrow 67-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset, with several of the parties in his coalition routinely threatening to pull out.

UK, France, Canada threaten ‘concrete actions’ if Israel does not halt fighting, boost aid

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the military on May 19, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada issue a joint statement condemning Israel’s handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and calling on the Israeli government to immediately halt military action in the enclave and allow in aid, threatening “further concrete actions in response” if Israel refuses.

The three leaders — the UK’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Mark Carney — call Israel’s announcement yesterday to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza “wholly inadequate” and say the country’s failure to assist the Gazan civilian population “is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law.”

Israel must engage with the United Nations “to ensure a return to delivery of aid in line with humanitarian principles,” says the statement.

The countries also reject the prospect of “permanent forced displacement” of Gazan civilians, and rebuke members of the Israeli government for using “abhorrent language… threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate.”

“We call on Hamas to release immediately the remaining hostages they have so cruelly held since 7 October 2023,” the statement adds.

“Israel suffered a heinous attack on October 7. We have always supported Israel’s right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate,” says the statement.

The nations also oppose the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, which would “undermine the viability of a Palestinian state,” and say they “will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions,” if the settlements are not halted.

The countries praise the efforts of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, saying a ceasefire and hostage release deal, together with “a long-term political solution” offer the best solution for resolving the conflict, as well as “ending Hamas’s control of Gaza and achieving a pathway to a two-state solution, consistent with the goals of the 18 June conference in New York co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.”

“We will continue to work with the Palestinian Authority, regional partners, Israel, and the United States to finalize consensus on arrangements for Gaza’s future, building on the Arab plan,” continues the statement, saying the upcoming June conference will aim to build international cooperation on this matter.

Report: Arbel Yehoud’s captor killed in IDF operation in Khan Younis

A wagon reportedly used by Israeli troops in a special forces operation in southern Gaza's Khan Younis (left) and Ahmad Sarhan, a top member of the Popular Resistance Committees who was killed in the operation, May 19, 2025. (Social media: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports that Ahmad Sarhan, a senior member of the terror organization the Popular Resistance Committees, who was reportedly killed this morning in a raid in Khan Younis in Gaza, was responsible for the abduction of Arbel Yehoud and for holding her captive in Gaza.

It was also reported that the IDF troops involved in the raid attempted to arrest Sarhan, but he confronted the soldiers, and was shot and killed. According to the report, the forces arrested his wife and 12-year-old son.

There is no comment from the IDF.

No connection between release of Edan Alexander and entry of Gaza aid, say officials

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

A senior US official and a Palestinian official familiar with the hostage negotiations flatly deny reports that Hamas’s release of Edan Alexander last week was tied to Israel’s acquiescence to allow aid into Gaza.

“This was a goodwill gesture. The release was unconditional,” the US official says.

Hamas did hope that the move would lead to the US coaxing Israel to end the war and allow aid into Gaza, but that was not a condition of his release, the Palestinian official says.

Israeli hostage point man updates families from Doha talks

Gal Hirsch, the government's point man on missing and kidnapped citizens, arrives for a meeting with families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas, in Herzliya, December 5, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Throughout today, the government’s hostage point man, Gal Hirsch, has been holding phone calls from Doha with the families of hostages, updating them on the developing situation regarding the release of their loved ones, The Times of Israel has learned.

Hirsch is currently in Qatar with the Israeli negotiating team for ongoing hostage and ceasefire negotiations with Hamas.

According to reports, the talks remain at an impasse, with insurmountable gaps between the sides.

Petition to High Court demands ‘consistent, extensive supply of humanitarian aid’ to Gaza

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid seen on the Israeli side of the border of the Gaza Strip, before entering the territory, May 19, 2025. (Flash90)

The Gisha human rights organization, together with three other NGOs, files a petition to the High Court of Justice requesting it issue a court order against the government instructing it to facilitate a permanent and ongoing supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last night that “a basic quantity of food” would be allowed into Gaza to “prevent the development of a hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip,” although sources in the Prime Minister’s Office were later quoted as saying that the time period for the entry of such goods would be limited, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the aid would be limited to the “minimum necessary.”

The Gisha petition however requests the court order the government to “ensure consistent and extensive supply of urgent humanitarian aid to Palestinian residents of Gaza.”

The petitioning organizations argue that the blockade on entry of all aid into Gaza imposed by Israel since March 2 violates the prohibition on using starvation as a weapon of war which, it says, “could amount to a war crime and even the crime of genocide,” and also constitutes collective punishment.

In March this year, the High Court rejected a previous similar petition by Gisha, asserting that Israel had taken numerous steps to facilitate the entry of sufficient aid into Gaza. That ruling stated explicitly however that it was not dealing with blockade imposed on March 2, and also determined that Israel had an obligation to “allow and facilitate” the entry of aid into the territory as a party to the hostilities.

22 countries demand full resumption of aid into Gaza immediately

Palestinians line up for donated food at a community kitchen in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 19, 2025. (AP/ Jehad Alshrafi)

Twenty-two donor countries issue a joint statement urging Israel to “allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza immediately,” after the partial lifting of its blockade on the territory.

The foreign ministers of the countries, including France and Germany, say that “whilst we acknowledge indications of a limited restart of aid,” the population of the war-ravaged territory “faces starvation” and “must receive the aid they desperately need.”

The statement was also signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.

IDF releases footage of start of new Gaza offensive

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the military on May 19, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases footage from the opening strikes of its new offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots.”

Hundreds of targets were hit since Friday, including tunnels, weapon depots, anti-tank missile launch posts, terror operatives, and other infrastructure, the military says.

Yair Golan: Witkoff, not Netanyahu, is working to bring home the hostages

The Democrats chairman Yair Golan leads his party's weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, May 12, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned “a just campaign” against Hamas in Gaza “into a continuous and pointless political war of survival,” alleges The Democrats chairman Yair Golan.

Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Golan declares that the recently launched IDF Operation Gideon’s Chariots does not represent “military pressure to release the hostages, because it was possible to release all the hostages in one comprehensive deal long ago and return them home to their families.”

“It is also not an operation to collapse Hamas because in order to collapse Hamas, it was possible to close the deal long ago, to end the war, and, in an American and regional arrangement, to build a governing alternative to Hamas and collapse it once and for all. What we are seeing in Gaza is a Netanyahu-Smotrich operation to manipulate public consciousness in Israel in order to survive another [legislative] session in the Knesset,” he says.

“These days, we see how the Trump administration is fighting and struggling with Netanyahu to bring an end to the war and the release of the hostages. Trump’s people are the ones doing everything to return the hostages. Not Netanyahu, but [US special envoy to the Middle East Steve] Witkoff.”

“All the hostages can be released. The one who is preventing this is Netanyahu. Hamas can be collapsed in a regional political arrangement. The one who is thwarting it is Netanyahu,” who is acting out of “anti-Zionist considerations,” Golan adds.

Likud MK says every freed hostage is ‘brainwashed by Hamas’

Likud MK Tally Gotliv speaks during a Knesset committee meeting in Jerusalem on March 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Firebrand Likud MK Tally Gotliv says that every hostage who has returned from captivity in Gaza is “brainwashed by Hamas.”

“I don’t care what the hostage [Eden Alexander] does, I don’t judge him, every hostage is brainwashed by Hamas,” says Gotliv in an interview of the Knesset TV channel. “Every hostage says what Hamas forces them to hear.”

Questioned by the interviewer on her comments, Gotliv then contradicts herself, saying “I won’t say a word about any hostage who left Gaza.”

In the Vatican, Vance discusses efforts to ‘stop the killing’ in the Middle East

US Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha exchanging gifts during a private audience with Pope Leo XIV in The Vatican, on May 19, 2025. (Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP)

During a meeting in Vatican City earlier today, US Vice President JD Vance discussed with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher their joint commitment “to stop the killing in Ukraine and the Middle East,” the White House readout says.

The statement comes after reports that Vance decided against traveling to Israel tomorrow, in order not to signal approval for Jerusalem’s expanded military operations in Gaza. Vance himself said he did not visit Israel for logistical reasons.

Earlier today, the White House reiterated US President Donald Trump’s desire to end the war in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said publicly for the first time yesterday that he has mandated his negotiators to discuss ending the war, but only if Hamas agrees to disarm and its leaders go into exile — conditions that the terror group has said it will not accept.

Talks in Doha accordingly remain at an impasse.

UN aid chief says aid allowed to enter Gaza is ‘a drop in the ocean’

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip are seen at the Kerem Shalom Crossing in southern Israel, May 19, 2025. (AP/ Ohad Zwigenberg)

United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher says Israel cleared nine trucks of aid today to enter Gaza through the Keren Shalom crossing, following 11 weeks of a complete blockade.

“But it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed, and significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza, starting tomorrow morning,” Fletcher says in a statement.

“To reduce looting, there must be a regular flow of aid, and humanitarians must be permitted to use multiple routes. Commercial goods should complement the humanitarian response,” he says.

Report: Pro-Qatar influence campaign at heart of Qatargate affair continued after Oct. 7

Aides Yisrael Einhorn (left) and Jonatan Urich (center) with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019. (Courtesy)

An online influence campaign to improve Qatar’s image in Israel and abroad that was produced and advanced by key suspects in the Qatargate affair continued even after the October 7 Hamas atrocities in 2023, Haaretz reports.

The campaign was allegedly run by Perception, a company owned by former Likud adviser Israel Einhorn, who brought in Jonatan Urich, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a central suspect in the Qatargate investigation.

The campaign used fake news websites and apparently fake social media accounts to spread curated messages about Qatar’s positive role in the Middle East, including following the October 7 invasion and massacres, when such items denied Doha’s close ties to Hamas and its funding for the terror group, the Haaretz report says.

Dozens of pro-Qatar articles and social media entries were posted on two fake news websites and social media platforms as part of this campaign, which is now the focus of the criminal investigation into the connection of Netanyahu’s aides with Doha.

Five trucks of humanitarian aid enter Gaza, says Israel, ending two-month blockade

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip, May 19, 2025. (Flash90)

Five trucks of humanitarian aid, including baby food, entered the Gaza Strip today via the Kerem Shalom Crossing, the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announces, marking the first such delivery since March 2.

COGAT says the aid delivery comes “following the recommendation of professional IDF officials and in accordance with the directive of the political echelon.”

“All aid was transferred following a thorough security inspection by personnel from the Ministry of Defense’s Crossing Points Authority,” it says.

IDF says strike on shelter in central Gaza targeted Hamas command center

Smoke rises from an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, May 19, 2025. (Flash90)

The IDF says it carried out an airstrike on Hamas operatives at a command center in central Gaza’s Nuseirat earlier today.

According to Palestinian media, the strike hit a school currently being used as shelter for displaced Gazans, killing at least nine.

According to the IDF, the site was being used by Hamas operatives to plan and carry out attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.

The military says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

#محدث | مستشفى العودة النصيرات:

وصل المشفى 5 شهداء بينهم سيدة وفتاة بالإضافة إلى 18 إصابة غالبيتهم من الأطفال جراء قصف طائرات الاحتلال "الإسرائيلي" مدرسة تؤوي نازحين في منطقة الحساينة بمخيم النصيرات وسط قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/F6UUWW83Zz

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) May 19, 2025

Hundreds seen protesting in Khan Younis against Hamas and the ongoing war

Palestinians with their belongings flee their homes after the Israeli military issued orders for evacuation from eastern Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 19, 2025. (REUTERS/ Hatem Khaled)

Media outlets in Gaza publish footage showing hundreds of protesters in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Strip, demonstrating against Hamas and calling for an end to the war.

Protesters chant: “Stop the war and the displacement! Hamas out!”

This marks the first anti-Hamas protest in Khan Younis in several weeks. Sporadic demonstrations have occurred in the Strip’s northern parts in recent weeks.

Earlier today, the IDF issued a wide evacuation order for all of Khan Younis, saying the entire area is now a “combat zone.”

مسيرات ضخمة تخرج الان في كافة مناطق وشوارع خانيونس جنوب قطاع غزة تطالب بايقاف الحرب بشكل فوري وباي ثمن #اوقفوا_الحرب pic.twitter.com/sWWCuXWh9l

— زاهر ابو حسين (@ZAHERABUHUSIEN) May 19, 2025

German tourist arrested for spitting at US Embassy guards in Tel Aviv, leaving flammable material

Israeli mothers call to end the war in Gaza and for the release of hostages outside the US Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, May 15, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Police arrested a German tourist after he left a bag of flammable material near the US Embassy branch in Tel Aviv this morning.

Police say the 27-year-old tourist confronted embassy guards, spat at them and then fled, leaving a “suspicious bag” near the compound.

The bag contained flammable substances and glass bottles, leading cops to suspect its contents were meant for the assembly of Molotov cocktails.

He was later arrested by Tel Aviv police and admitted to his actions, says a law enforcement spokesman.

The investigation is underway and police are still ascertaining the tourist’s motives.

Denmark detains man suspected of seeking drones for Hamas terror attack

A 28-year-old man was remanded in custody in Denmark today on suspicions of purchasing drones to be used in a Hamas “terrorist attack,” Danish intelligence says.

Flemming Drejer, head of operations at Denmark’s PET intelligence service, says in a statement it believed that “this individual purchased drones intended for use by Hamas in a terrorist attack at an unknown location in Denmark or abroad.”

Appearing before a court today, the man was remanded in custody until June 11.

PET says the case has links to both Hamas and criminal gangs in Denmark, and is related to a number of arrests made in December 2023 as part of an operation to prevent a suspected planned “terrorist attack.”

Six people were ordered detained at the time, four in absentia, among them the 28-year-old man, who Danish media reports said was a prominent figure in organized crime in Copenhagen. According to public broadcaster DR, the suspect had been extradited from Lebanon over a separate double murder case.

3 Israelis indicted for smuggling drugs into Gaza via drones

State prosecutors file an indictment against three Arab Israelis after they were arrested by security forces on suspicion of smuggling drugs into the Gaza Strip via drone.

Police officers, Shin Bet agents and IDF soldiers arrested the three Negev residents — Muhammad Sarahin, Sharif Abu-Gardud and Younes Abu-Gardud — in April.

They are accused of carrying out multiple drug and cigarette smuggling operations from Israel to Gaza, leaving the drones in the enclave.

Police say the smuggling posed a “direct threat to national security” given the worry that the drones, which can carry loads of dozens of kilograms, could fall into the hands of Hamas.

Officers are requesting to extend their detention until the end of legal proceedings.

The three defendants “were involved in exporting dangerous drugs by drone to the Gaza Strip during wartime, while fully aware that the entity controlling Gaza is the Hamas terror group, which would be able to use the drones that the defendants brought to Gaza for terrorist activities,” says state prosecutor Assaf Bar Yosef.

Israeli official says flour, baby food, medical supplies to enter Gaza

Trucks with loaded with humanitarian aid seen before entering the Gaza Strip, on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, May 19, 2025. (Flash90)

An Israeli official says a shipment of flour, baby food and medical supplies will be allowed into Gaza.

Eden Bar Tal, the Foreign Ministry’s director general, says the baby food has started entering, but there was no sign of any aid on the Gaza side of the border. He does not say how much aid will enter, where it will enter or when.

“Today, Israel is facilitating the entry of trucks with baby food into Gaza,” Bar Tal tells reporters, adding that “in the coming days, Israel will facilitate the entry of dozens of aid trucks.”

Ben Gvir says resumption of aid to Gaza is a ‘serious and grave mistake’

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

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemns Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to resume the provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, arguing that supplies will make their way into the hands of Hamas.

“The decision, made last night in a hurry, to resume aid to all parts of the Gaza Strip, is a serious and grave mistake. The truth must be told to the public in the State of Israel: This aid, which is reaching all parts of the Gaza Strip, will also reach the hands of Hamas,” Ben Gvir says in a video statement taped at the beginning of his far-right Otzma Yehudit party’s weekly faction meeting.

“This is why they refused my request for a vote. They knew I had a majority to overturn this vote. For the past few months, I have strongly opposed bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. It must be explained to President Trump that this humanitarian aid is endangering the lives of our soldiers. We must not give oxygen to our enemies,” he says.

Jerusalemite indicted for racist attack on picnicking Arab family

State prosecutors indict a 20-year-old in the Nazareth District Court for aggravated assault, after he attacked an Arab Israeli family picnicking on the Jordan River earlier this month.

On May 3, Jerusalem resident Akiva Cohen approached and began to harass the family, who had come from the nearby town Tuba-Zangariyye for a family outing. He heaped racist expressions on the family members, telling them to “go back to Syria” and threatening to spray them with bullets if they didn’t leave the area, the indictment says.

The frightened family soon moved away from Cohen, but were eventually followed by the assailant, this time armed with an M16 assault rifle and accompanied by his friend who carried a pistol.

"תחזרו לסוריה": כתב אישום הוגש נגד עקיבא כהן מירושלים, בגין חבלה חמורה בנסיבות מחמירות ממניע גזעני. כהן תקף משפחה מטובא זנגריה אשר בילתה בנהר הירדן | הידיעה המלאה >>> https://t.co/sdPwCtDSS5@CBeyar pic.twitter.com/VbHqP0AyjD

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 19, 2025

He again ordered them to leave their new location. After a brief verbal exchange, Cohen is caught on video attacking one of the men in the family, appearing to headbutt him. The victim was knocked unconscious to the ground with a broken nose and taken to Safed’s Ziv Medical Center.

The defendant fled from Kiryat Shmona police who arrived at the scene, but was soon arrested. His custody was extended until the end of legal proceedings against him.

He is indicted on charges of aggravated assault with a racist motive, racially motivated threats, weapons offenses and obstructing a police officer from performing his duties. It is unclear whether legal action has been taken against Cohen’s acquaintance.

Liberman claims most of the aid entering Gaza ‘will go to Hamas’

Yisrael Beytenu chief MK Avigdor Liberman leads a party faction meeting at the Knesset, May 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman slams the government over the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, specifically criticizing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s assertion that none of the aid will reach Hamas.

“The government’s decision to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza proves once again that the October 7 government is still stuck in the October 6 conception, with zero resistance to international pressure,” Liberman tells reporters during his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

“To say that ‘aid is being brought in on the recommendation of the IDF’ is a cynical use of the IDF and our soldiers,” he says, taking aim at Smotrich’s claim that there is a “mechanism” in place to prevent Hamas from hijacking civilian aid.

“Most of the aid will go to Hamas, and the only mechanism that exists here is the mechanism of lying to the public,” Liberman asserts.

Herzog expresses support for Biden after cancer diagnosis; PM mum

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with President Isaac Herzog, left, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, November 12, 2024. (AP/Ben Curtis)

“My dear friend Joe, with love from Israel, we pray for your full and fast recovery,” President Isaac Herzog tweets amid news that former US president Joe Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer yesterday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment.

My dear friend Joe, with love from Israel, we pray for your full and fast recovery. https://t.co/hLnrmUvM8P

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) May 19, 2025

Vance says he couldn’t visit Israel this week for logistical reasons, ‘I’m sure we’ll visit in the future’

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 appears to deny a report that he had decided against visiting Israel this week in order to not signal Washington’s support for Israel’s expanded military operations in Gaza.

Vance tells reporters that while he thought about making the trip after attending the new pope’s confirmation ceremony, he decided against it for logistical reasons.

“Logistically, it was just a little bit too hard on basic things like, who the hell is going to take care of our kids if we take another couple of days overseas?” he quips, before noting that there were other logistical concerns.

“I’m sure we’ll visit Israel sometime in the future, but not today,” Vance says.

Trump has ‘made it very clear’ he wants end to Gaza war, says White House

US President Donald Trump waves after arriving on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2025, following a trip to the Middle East. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

US President Trump “has made it very clear he wants to see this conflict in the region end,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says in response to a question about whether Washington supports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments from earlier today that Israel will take over all of Gaza as it massively expands its military campaign in the Strip.

“The president is moving as quickly as he possibly can and working overtime to end these conflicts in both Israel and Gaza and also the Russia-Ukraine war,” Leavitt adds.

“The president made it very clear to Hamas that he wanted to see all hostages released,” she says.

Lapid says alternative to Hamas rule is needed, proposes Egypt take control of Gaza

Yesh Atid party chief Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams the government for leading Israel into a quagmire in Gaza, calling for Egypt to rule the coastal Palestinian territory.

“We all support eliminating Hamas, but Hamas will not disappear if an alternative to its rule is not presented. What is the Israeli government’s plan? Who is supposed to replace Hamas and rule Gaza?” Lapid asks reporters during his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

“If our fighters, our heroes, are now going to be killed and wounded in Gaza every day for three or four or five years, then let the government stop hiding and say it out loud,” he continues, asserting that causing the IDF to “sink in the Gaza mud for years is a strategic mistake, an economic disaster, and a political tragedy that will not allow us to be part of the historic change in the Middle East that we saw during President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia.”

“I presented a completely different plan. The one who should manage Gaza in the coming years is Egypt. Israel should make a coordinated effort with the Americans, and transfer Gaza to Egyptian control for the next 15 years,” he says, adding that it is “not a perfect solution, but it is the best solution of all those on the table. The Americans know this too.”

Lapid also denies attacking Yair Golan’s The Democrats party, following a news report that he dismissed the left-wing faction as part of the “radical left.”

“There are people from the more radical left in there. I don’t think Golan would think otherwise. It’s not an attack to say that the left is left, just as it’s not an attack if they say about us that we are centrist and we accept that with love,” Lapid tells reporters.

“I assume they are proud of what they are, just as we are proud of being the party of the Israeli middle class, which works, pays taxes [and] serves in the reserves.”

Liberman calls on opposition heads to formulate alternate Haredi enlistment bill

Yisrael Beytenu chief MK Avigdor Liberman leads a party faction meeting at the Knesset, May 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman appeals to the heads of the opposition to come together and formulate a joint universal conscription bill to serve as an alternative to the ultra-Orthodox enlistment legislation currently making its way through the Knesset.

Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Liberman complains that the government is engaged in the widespread mobilization of “PTSD-suffering” reservists who have already served hundreds of days since October 7 while “at the same time trying to exempt an entire population [the ultra-Orthodox] from military or civilian service with the help of the evasion law.”

“It is important that all Zionist parties formulate a single conscription law for everyone — not just the ultra-Orthodox, but for all citizens of Israel,” Liberman states, calling for the formulation of a bill “that will result in conscription for everyone – without targets, without quotas, and without exemptions.”

If the other opposition party leaders sign on, “within a week, we can finish a bill and submit it,” Liberman asserts.

Asked for comment, a spokesman for The Democrats party chief Yair Golan says that it will “appoint one or more MKs as a representative on the proposed committee.”

Liberman also declares that he has submitted an official complaint to the Justice Ministry and police regarding ultra-Orthodox leaders and organizations encouraging draft evasion.

Asked by The Times of Israel if he had followed up on his criticism of Haredi leaders, Liberman declares that he has already sent two letters but has not yet received any response.

“If there is no response to the second letter, then we will turn to the High Court of Justice,” he says.

Asked who he specifically named in his complaint, Liberman demurs, merely stating that his letters contained “all the details of all the cases.”

Asserting that “the proof here is very simple,” Liberman says that he is “surprised that the Justice Ministry, the Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces are not acting in accordance with the law.”

He adds, “You cannot say that you are lacking 10,000 soldiers and not exercise any enforcement on the issue of deserters and evaders.”

Footage from Gaza shows residents fleeing Khan Younis after IDF evacuation order

Palestinians with their belongings flee their homes after the Israeli military issued orders for evacuation from eastern Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 19, 2025. (REUTERS/ Hatem Khaled)

Media outlets in Gaza publish footage showing large numbers of residents leaving the Khan Younis area on foot.

Earlier today, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson issued a wide-scale evacuation order instructing residents to move to the al-Mawasi area in advance of what was described as an “unprecedented offensive” in Khan Younis.

نزوح بعض الأهالي من شارع الجلاء في خانيونس
مع نزوح مستمر حتى بدون خريطة إخلائات في مخيم جباليا يحدث على مدار الساعة pic.twitter.com/m45OJlv70Y

— م.ي.بن رجب (@YahyaBenrjab1) May 19, 2025

According to Al Arabiya, thousands of residents have already begun evacuating.

In recent weeks, there has been relatively low compliance with IDF evacuation orders in Gaza, according to both residents’ testimonies and UNRWA data on the number of evacuees.

#صور | نزوح فلسطينيين إلى وسط وغرب مدينة خانيونس بعد أن أجبرهم جيش الاحتلال على إخلاء مناطق بني سهيلا وعبسان بخانيونس جنوبي قطاع غزة ظهر اليوم pic.twitter.com/ryr4lWDohz

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) May 19, 2025

UK’s Starmer says Gaza situation ‘intolerable’; EU chief: ‘Aid must reach civilians’

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (right) poses with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the UK-EU Summit at Lancaster House in London on May 19, 2025. (HENRY NICHOLLS / POOL / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer calls the situation in Gaza “intolerable,” saying the government is working with allies to coordinate a response to the conflict.

“It’s a really serious, unacceptable, intolerable situation, and that’s why we are working intensely to coordinate with other leaders on how we respond to this,” Starmer tells reporters.

Speaking alongside him, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, says the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “unacceptable” and calls for aid to reach civilians in the Palestinian territory immediately.

“For two months now, no humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza. Aid must reach civilians in need immediately and the blockade on Gaza must be lifted now,” she tells reporters during her visit to London.

Over 50 killed in intensified Gaza campaign Monday, Palestinians say

Palestinians line up for donated food at a community kitchen in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 19, 2025. (AP/ Jehad Alshrafi)

Hamas-run authorities in Gaza say Israeli attacks on Monday have killed at least 52 people, as the military presses a newly intensified campaign in the war-ravaged territory.

“The Israeli bombardment on Gaza has continued since midnight and throughout the early morning hours, resulting in 52 martyrs,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal tells AFP, adding that the bombing is ongoing in the afternoon and that Israeli forces had “expanded their ground operation.”

The Gazan health ministry says 136 bodies were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past 24 hours, along with 364 wounded.

The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war is now at 53,486, says the ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The tolls cannot be verified independently.

Israel says it has killed around 20,000 Gazan fighters and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because it operates in densely populated areas.

Breaking with countrymen, Spanish leader pushes to boot Israel from future Eurovisions

The Eurovision song contest should exclude Israel, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says, expressing solidarity with “the people of Palestine who are experiencing the injustice of war and bombardment.”

Russia did not participate in last weekend’s Eurovision after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, “therefore Israel shouldn’t either, because what we cannot allow is double standards in culture,” says Sanchez.

Spaniards may feel differently. The country’s televoters gave Israel the maximum of 12 points during Saturday night’s song contest.

Israel, Azerbaijan promise to boost defense ties, tout Eurovision love

Defense Minister Israel Katz met in Tel Aviv today with Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov to strengthen bilateral security cooperation, the Defense Ministry says in a statement.

During the meeting, Katz praised the deep strategic alliance between the two countries, citing shared interests and mutual trust. He thanked Hasanov for Azerbaijan’s support following Hamas’s October 7 massacre and its efforts to mediate between Israel and Turkey.

Katz also highlights Azerbaijan’s Eurovision votes, which awarded Israel the maximum number of points, calling it a true sign of friendship between the two governments and peoples.

According to the statement, the two sides agree to expand defense cooperation.

Security ties with Azerbaijan are considered a key strategic interest for Israel given the Caspian nation’s proximity to Iran.

16-year-old accused of spying for Iran

State attorneys have filed an indictment against a 16-year-old suspected of spying on Iran’s behalf, after he was arrested Friday by police.

The defendant is thought to have carried out missions for his handler, who he contacted over Telegram, over the course of several months. They began corresponding a few months after October 7.

According to the indictment filed this morning, the suspect received NIS 1,600 from the agent for printing incendiary posters and taking pictures with it near public buildings. He is said to have taken photos and videos of eight public buildings in Rehovot, including the Magistrate’s Court, Tax Authority office, police station and others.

Prosecutors add that the agent asked the teenage defendant, a resident of the Judean foothills area, to set fire to a forested area near Rehovot during large wildfires that broke out west of Jerusalem earlier in May. He never carried out the act, however, due to a dispute over the amount he was to be paid.

He is charged in the Lod District Juvenile Court with contacting a foreign agent and providing information to the enemy.

Over the past two years, Iranian intelligence operatives have ramped up their efforts to recruit ordinary Israelis as spies or saboteurs in exchange for money, according to Israeli law enforcement.

Just yesterday, police officers and Shin Bet agents arrested 18-year-old Yavne resident Moshe Attias on suspicion of contact with “Iranian terror elements” and carrying out several missions on their behalf, including spying on former prime minister Naftali Bennett when he was hospitalized.

Hamas official says hostage talks in Qatar at loggerheads

A senior Hamas official says there’s been no progress in ceasefire talks hosted by Qatar.

According to the official, Israel insists on a partial deal to release some hostages without committing to ending the war.

Hamas will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, says the official, who was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Palestinian spitting suspect ordered kept in custody until Thursday; says he wasn’t in Israel at the time

A Palestinian man suspected of spitting at an Israeli soldier on a bus arrives for a hearing at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on May 19, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s court has extended the detention of a Palestinian man who allegedly spat on a female IDF soldier and ordered him held until Thursday, a law enforcement spokesman says.

Ahmad Muhammad, a resident of the northern West Bank town of Huwara, is accused of spitting in the face of a soldier yesterday morning while on a bus to Ramat Gan, then quickly alighting.

He turned himself in to West Bank District police later last night.

Police say that Muhammad was in Israel illegally.

He denies responsibility and says he is a victim of mistaken identity.

The suspect claims to have been in Palestinian Authority-administered territory at the time the incident occurred, Ynet reports, and insists there is “forensic evidence” backing him up.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir touted his arrest on social media, tweeting a photo of the detainee and writing: “Zero tolerance toward those who harm IDF soldiers.”

Ryanair says it’s sick of Tel Aviv disruptions, could take off for other destinations

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary says his airline is “losing patience” with security disruptions at Ben Gurion Airport and may consider moving aircraft to service alternative destinations.

“I think we’re running out of patience too with Israel… flights to and from Tel Aviv,” O’Leary tells analysts following the release of full-year results.

“If they’re going to keep being disrupted by these security disruptions, frankly, we’d be better off sending those aircraft somewhere else in Europe,” he says.

The low-cost carrier resumed flights to Israel in March after an extended hiatus, but suspended them again this month following a Houthi missile attack on the airport. It is set to resume flying in early June.

Sa’ar says aid resumption ensures Israel can pursue war with support from ‘friends’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar defends the renewed entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, saying it was a necessary step to preserve international legitimacy and ensure continued support for Israel’s war effort.

Speaking during a meeting with the pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, Sa’ar emphasizes that Israel remains committed to its core war goals — dismantling Hamas and securing the release of all hostages — but says the aid, which includes baby formula, flour, and medical supplies, is aimed solely at helping civilians, not the terror group.

Warning that — according to IDF assessments — Israel is nearing a red line in terms of humanitarian conditions, he says that Israel “must be sure that we are conducting this war in a way that can be supported by our friends.”

“Hamas is totally responsible,” Sa’ar says, emphasizing that the terror group not only initiated the attack on October 7, 2023, but also that it continues to refuse to release the hostages.

Soccer presenter Lineker leaving BBC after outcry over reposting of Zionism post with rat

Gary Lineker (left) and the post he shared, May 12, 2025. (Combo photo via UK Jewish News)

Gary Lineker, a former England soccer player and now a media celebrity, will step down from his role as a presenter for the BBC after facing criticism for reposting an Instagram story criticizing Zionism that featured a picture of a rat.

The BBC says in a statement that Lineker will “leave his presenting role following the conclusion of Match of the Day for the 2024/25 season.”

The 64-year-old, who is the BBC’s highest-paid presenter at about 1.3 million pounds ($1.7 million) a year, was set to leave the flagship soccer highlights show at the end of this season but remain with the corporation to front other soccer coverage, including next year’s men’s World Cup.

However, he says now he will leave the BBC after the final “Match of the Day” next weekend in the wake of his decision to share the post. The post from the group Palestine Lobby was titled “Zionism explained in two minutes” and illustrated with a picture of a rat.

Rats, linked to disease and dirt, have been used to represent Jews in antisemitic propaganda throughout history, including by the Nazis in 1930s Germany.

In a statement, Linekar says he removed the post almost immediately and apologized.

“I recognize the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action,” he says. “I’ve stood up for minorities and humanitarian issues and against all forms of racism all of my life including of course anti-Semitism which I absolutely abhor. There’s no place for it and never should be.”

State regulator calls for more competition as large banks cash in on high loan fees

Banking supervisor Daniel Hahiashvili speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv on May 19, 2025. (Sharon Wrobel/Times of Israel)

Banking supervisor Daniel Hahiashvili says more competition is needed between banks as lenders rake in massive profits fueled by high interest rates and costly fees levied on an increasingly debt-burdened public during war.

“The high interest rate environment continues to have an impact on the profitability of the country’s banks this year…they have been enjoying high profitability over the past three years, which raises questions about competition,” the regulator says at a press conference in Tel Aviv. “For profitability to moderate, competition and the entry of new players is the key.”

The country’s banking system is largely controlled by five large banks, which have been accused of profiteering from the fruits of high interest rates on loans and mortgages, while households and businesses have been struggling to make repayments, the cost of living continues to rise, and the economy takes a toll during the war period.

Hahiashvili says the Bank of Israel is constantly seeking to improve the level of fairness and trust in the banking system by increasing data transparency on banking services, to provide comparison tools for example on bank fees.

“In the coming year, we will continue to examine bank fees, and consider additional steps to increase the level of fairness,” says Hahiashvili. “We are working on a licensing framework to remove barriers to allow the entry of new players within and outside the banking system.”

“The emerging framework is expected to increase the number of players and increase competition, which in turn will force current players to improve the level of services and to lower prices,” he adds.

UN says it is in talks on aid deliveries in Gaza as WHO warns millions ‘starving’

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it is in talks with Israeli authorities about how to resume aid deliveries into Gaza, following the announcement that Israel would permit the entry of assistance into Gaza by humanitarian organizations, most of which operate under the UN.

“We have been approached by Israeli authorities to resume limited aid delivery, and we are in discussions with them now on how this would take place given the conditions on the ground,” a statement reads.

The head of the World Health Organization, meanwhile, says his group and other UN agencies are ready to deliver aid into the Strip, warning that millions are “starving.”

“Two months into the latest blockade, two million people are starving,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says, while 160,000 metric tons of food “is blocked at the border just minutes away.”

“The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid, including food, in the ongoing blockade,” he adds.

Army says it blew up Rafah tunnel used by Hamas in deadly May 3 attack

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the military on May 19, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The military says it demolished a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip used by Hamas operatives in an attack that killed two soldiers earlier this month.

In the attack on May 3, Hamas operatives set off a bomb in a tunnel shaft in Rafah, killing Cpt. Noam Ravid and and Staff Sgt. Yaly Seror, who served in the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.

After setting off the explosion, the operatives fled through the tunnel, which was some 200 meters long, the army says. Troops mapped out the tunnel in recent days and demolished it.

The IDF says that during the demolition of the tunnel, troops killed another cell of Hamas operatives which was hiding inside the underground passage.

Video released by the IDF on May 19, 2025, showing the demolition of a Hamas tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)

Vance swing to Israel scotched as he didn’t want to be seen endorsing expanded Gaza op — report

US Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha exchanging gifts during a private audience with Pope Leo XIV in The Vatican, on May 19, 2025. (Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP)

Following reports that US Vice President JD Vance was considering a trip to Israel, a senior US official tells Axios the visit was ultimately scrapped due to the escalation of Israel’s military operation in Gaza.

The potential stop would have followed Vance’s appearance at the Vatican on Sunday for the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV.

Vance decided not to come, says Axios, citing the US official, “because he didn’t want his trip to suggest the Trump administration endorsed the Israeli decision to launch a massive operation at a time when the US is pushing for a ceasefire and hostage deal.”

Hebrew media reported yesterday that talks were underway to coordinate a visit, with Channel 12 suggesting Tuesday as the likely date. However, a White House official denied those reports, saying that “logistical constraints have precluded an extension of his travel beyond Rome.”

“Media reports that the Vice President will visit Israel are false,” the official said, clarifying that while contingency plans had been discussed, “no additional visits were at any point decided upon.”

The timing of the possible visit coincided with a new phase in Israel’s Gaza campaign — dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots” — and renewed, yet faltering, ceasefire and hostage negotiations in Doha.

A visit to Israel would have been Vance’s first, and may have softened concerns from Israeli officials that Washington is sidelining Jerusalem in its regional diplomacy.

Herzog praises resumption of Gaza aid: ‘Can’t let enemies dehumanize us’

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip, May 19, 2025. (Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog expresses support for the cabinet’s decision to allow the resumption of humanitarian aid transfers to Gaza, calling it “critical for maintaining basic human conditions” in the Strip.

Speaking at the World Jewish Congress plenary assembly in Jerusalem, Herzog frames the move as a moral and strategic necessity.

“This step is vital in order for Israel to maintain its military capabilities, to operate in accordance with international humanitarian law, and most importantly, in order for us to maintain our humanity within this tragedy,” he says.

Acknowledging the brutality of the war, Herzog condemns Hamas as a “cruel, sinister enemy” responsible for “torturing innocent lives” and committing numerous atrocities.

Still, he says, “We are better. We will not allow our enemy to dehumanize us. We must be better. We will always lead with our humanity.”

Netanyahu tells court security matters preclude full day of testimony, says enemies unconcerned with trial schedule

Taking the stand in Tel Aviv for his ongoing criminal trial, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells the court he will need to leave early to deal with an unspecified matter of state, according to Hebrew media reports.

Netanyahu also tells the court that he will need to cut his testimony short tomorrow as well to deal with “security matters.”

Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman asks the premier to try and coordinate his various responsibilities with the court “as much as possible.”

Netanyahu replies by quipping “our enemies don’t really cooperate with that.”

IDF declares all of Khan Younis a combat zone, tells Gazans to leave

Displaced Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip arrive in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

The IDF says Palestinians living in and around the large southern Gaza city of Khan Younis must leave their homes as it prepares to launch an “unprecedented attack” on the area.

The evacuation order, covering all of Khan Younis as well as the suburbs of Bani Suheila and Abasan, marks the first major evacuation order since the IDF launched an expanded offensive in the Strip, with Israeli leaders warning they intend to conquer the whole territory to smash the Hamas terror group.

#عاجل ‼️ الى سكان محافظة خان يونس، بني سهيلا وعبسان
⭕️جيش الدفاع الإسرائيلي سوف يشن هجوماً غير مسبوق لتدمير قدرات المنظمات الإرهابية في هذه المنطقة
⭕️عليكم الأخلاء فوراً غرباً الى منطقة المواصي⭕️
⭕️من هذه اللحظة، ستعتبر محافظة خانيونس منطقة قتال خطيرة
⭕️المنظمات الإرهابية جلبت… pic.twitter.com/1yqOLDVTKK

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) May 19, 2025

“The IDF will launch an unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terror organizations in this area,” says the military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee.

The entire Khan Younis area is now considered “a dangerous combat zone,” he says.

Civilians, who likely number in the tens of thousands, are advised to move west toward the Mawasi area on the coast.

Report claims Doha ceasefire talks at impasse

Negotiations in Doha over a potential ceasefire and hostage release have reached a standstill, an Israeli official tells Channel 12 news.

According to the report, the official says the talks have “reached a dead end,” emphasizing that Israel will not provide Hamas any guarantees for an end to the war as part of the current mediation efforts.

The statement comes amid ongoing international pressure to broker a deal, as well as growing concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

UN says 20 trucks of aid to enter Gaza Monday

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip are seen at the Kerem Shalom Crossing in southern Israel, May 19, 2025. (AP/ Ohad Zwigenberg)

A UN official says 20 aid trucks carrying mostly food are expected to go into the Gaza Strip today.

There is no immediate comment from Israeli authorities. The official is not authorized to brief reporters and speaks on condition of anonymity.

An Associated Press photographer reports seeing at least three trucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.

Leo tells Jewish leaders ‘dialogue must continue’ amid interreligious conflict

Pope Leo XIV meets with religious leaders, including a Jewish delegation, in the Vatican on May 19, 2025. (Courtesy: Rabbi Noam Marans/American Jewish Committee)

Meeting with religious leaders in a special audience in the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV says that Jewish-Christian dialogue must continue even in times of conflicts and misunderstandings.

“Because of the Jewish roots of Christianity, all Christians have a special relationship with Judaism,” says the newly installed pontiff. “The theological dialogue between Christians and Jews remains ever important and close to my heart. Even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue the momentum of this precious dialogue of ours.”

Among the Jewish leaders who meet with the pope are representatives of the American Jewish Committee, B’nai B’rith International, the Conference of European Rabbis, and the Jewish Community of Rome.

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.

Leo also explicitly addresses Christian-Muslim dialogue in his remarks.

“Relations between the Catholic Church and Muslims have been marked by a growing commitment to dialogue and fraternity, fostered by esteem for these our brothers and sisters who ‘worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to humanity,'” he says, quoting Francis’ 2019 Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.

“This approach, based on mutual respect and freedom of conscience, is a solid foundation for building bridges between our communities,” he adds.

Following his predecessor’s footsteps, Leo has been putting peace at the center of his public messaging, a theme he reiterates with the religious leaders.

“In a world wounded by violence and conflict, each of the communities represented here brings its own contribution of wisdom, compassion, and commitment to the good of humanity and the preservation of our common home,” he says.

“I am convinced that if we are in agreement, and free from ideological and political conditioning, we can be effective in saying ‘no’ to war and ‘yes’ to peace, ‘no’ to the arms race and ‘yes’ to disarmament, ‘no’ to an economy that impoverishes peoples and the Earth and ‘yes’ to integral development,” he adds.

IDF says over 160 targets in Gaza hit over past 24 hours

Smoke rises following an Israeli army bombardment in Khan Younis, Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli warplanes struck over 160 targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military says.

According to the IDF, the targets included cells of operatives, anti-tank missile launch sites, tunnels, a weapons depot, buildings used by terror groups, booby-trapped structures and a command center.

Dozens of Palestinians were reportedly killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza on Sunday and this morning.

Terror group confirms senior member killed in Khan Younis raid

The military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, a small terrorist organization operating in the Gaza Strip, officially announces the death of Ahmad Sarhan, following reports that the senior figure was killed in an Israeli commando raid this morning.

The organization says Sarhan was responsible for the group’s “special operations.” It claims that Israeli commandos killed Sarhan after failing in an attempt to arrest him.

Earlier today, media outlets in Gaza reported that an Israeli special forces unit entered Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip as part of a covert operation, killing Sarhan and arresting his wife and children.

The Popular Resistance Committees is the third-largest terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip and in recent years has operated under the authority of Hamas.

Backing off threat to quit coalition, Smotrich says entry of ‘minimum’ aid in Gaza won’t reach Hamas

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says assistance going into Gaza — now that Israel has okayed the resumption of aid — will not reach Hamas, defending his decision to remain in the government despite previous threats to bolt over the issue.

“This is not surrendering to pressure; it is doing the right thing to continue to focus primarily on destroying Hamas,” he declares in a televised statement, adding that “no aid is going to Hamas, period.”

The far-right Religious Zionism party leader stresses that he was the minister who insisted on halting the flow of “thousands of trucks of aid that Hamas was seizing [and selling], and from which it profited by over a billion dollars.”

However, while stopping aid for two and a half months “created very great pressure on Hamas and this is good,” such pressure “needs to be moderated so that it does not explode in our faces,” Smotrich explains, arguing that doing so is necessary “to dispel the lies of starvation.”

Under new arrangements that he insisted upon, he says, an alternate private mechanism will oversee the entry of the “minimum necessary… supply of food and medicines” for the Gaza populace, which will ensure “that the world does not stop us and accuse us of war crimes.” His comments run counter to officials who say the aid will be distributed by mechanisms previously in place until the new system is up and running.

“It will allow civilians to eat, for our friends in the world to continue to provide us with an international umbrella of protection against the Security Council and The Hague Tribunal, and for us to continue to fight, God willing, until victory,” Smotrich states.

“What will come in the coming days is a little bit to the bakeries that distribute pitas to people and public kitchens that provide a daily ration of cooked food. Civilians in Gaza will receive a pita and a plate of food and that is it.”

He hails the newly expanded IDF campaign in Gaza, saying that the army is now operating “with unprecedented power… not with intermittent raids, but capturing, cleaning out and retaining [areas] until Hamas is destroyed.”

“Along the way, they are destroying what is left of the Strip simply because everything there is one big city of terror. This is a tremendous change from what has been so far and, God willing, will lead to victory, the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages,” he says — adding that after the population of Gaza is relocated to the south of the Strip, it will be relocated abroad “as part of President Trump’s plan.”

Smotrich uses the pulpit to slam unnamed rivals who he says are trying to outflank him from the right, leaking material from cabinet meetings and briefing against him. He also denounces “the media and the left” who he says are seeking “to end the war, capitulate to Hamas and bring down the government,” echoing comments from Religious Zionism MK Zvi Succot earlier in the day.

It would have been more politically profitable to “have a competition about who is more right-wing” but “from the first day of the war I put all politics aside,” he claims.

Speaking some 20 minutes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video defending the resumption of aid and explaining its necessity to continuing the military offensive, Smotrich nonetheless calls on the premier to “take responsibility” and “show leadership” by explaining the necessity of the renewed aid to the public and “not let rumors, leaks and irresponsible spin lead the agenda and sow confusion and fears in the public and among the fighters.”

Israel had to resume Gaza aid before famine concerns hit ‘red line,’ Netanyahu says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says pressure on Israel was “approaching a red line” necessitating the resumption of aid into Gaza in order to press ahead with its military offensive, despite the fact that IDF-secured distribution centers designed to keep the assistance out of the hands of Hamas are not yet ready.

“Senators I know as supporters of Israel… come to me and say, ‘We’ll give you all the help you need to win the war… but we can’t be receiving pictures of famine [in Gaza],” Netanyahu says in a video released on his personal Telegram channel.

Until the distribution centers are established, the premier states that Israel must provide minimal aid to the Strip in order to prevent mass starvation among the civilian population.

“In order to complete our victory, to defeat Hamas and free the hostages, we cannot reach a point of famine,” he says, addressing a tide of criticism over his decision to resume the humanitarian aid, which has been cut off since early March. “They won’t support us.”

Netanyahu explains that Israel initially permitted minimal aid into Gaza during the war but halted deliveries after discovering that Hamas was diverting supplies. In coordination with the United States, Israel has now adopted a new distribution method involving IDF-secured aid centers, intended to prevent Hamas from accessing the supplies while allowing American contractors to oversee distribution, he says.

“This takes time,” Netanyahu acknowledges, noting that the first centers will be operational in the coming days, with the broader goal of establishing a humanitarian zone within Gaza under Israeli control where civilians can receive aid.

He adds that Israel “is going to take over all of Gaza, that’s what we are going to do.”

Report claims US pressure to resume aid part of deal for Edan Alexander

A report in Israel Hayom claims that the US agreed to pressure Israel into resuming humanitarian aid to Gaza as part of an indirect arrangement for the release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander last week, despite American claims that he was freed as a goodwill gesture.

According to the report, the deal — coordinated through contacts between American officials and senior Hamas figures — led Israel to renew aid deliveries into Hamas-controlled areas before new distribution centers designed to keep the aid away from Hamas were ready.

The IDF has since expedited preparations for its revised distribution system, but in the meantime, supplies such as baby formula, medical equipment, fuel, and basic foodstuffs are being delivered using the same methods as in the past.

While international aid organizations are tasked with overseeing the distribution, Israeli officials acknowledge that Hamas is likely to divert a significant portion of the supplies.

Sources in Washington reportedly said the arrangement is intended as a temporary measure that secures continued US support for Israel’s military operation and will help facilitate progress in ceasefire and hostage release negotiations.

Former hostage tells MKs to stop war, bring back captives: ‘Blood will be on your hands’

Former hostage Arbel Yehud attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset on May 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Former hostage Arbel Yehoud tells a Knesset Committee that she was tortured and starved in response to Israeli military action in Gaza, speaking out against the government’s plan for a renewed offensive and demanding that Israelis call a general strike and take to the streets until the 58 remaining hostages return home.

“You should know that when Gazans who were related to those who were holding me were injured by IDF actions, I would be badly beaten and sent to solitary confinement for long days with no food fit for human consumption and with a hygiene level comparable to concentration camps in the Holocaust,” she tells the Knesset’s Constitution Committee.

Yehoud, 29, was freed in Khan Younis along with Gadi Mozes, 80, on January 30. Her partner Ariel Cunio remains captive along with Cunio’s brother David.

“Does it seem logical that I’m the one who needs to be here to shout for the freedom of my beloved Ariel, his brother David or the rest of the hostages,” she says.

Yehoud urges the politicians to take steps to stop the war, hoping they recognize the human cost of their decision to press ahead and expand the offensive rather than agree to a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal.

“As someone who was there, I know negotiations are the only way,” she says, adding that she and other former hostages cannot recover until everyone is brought back.

“Ministers and MKs, look at me and see who you are abandoning and who you have chosen to sacrifice as a solution to the Gaza problem. There are 58 Israeli citizens like me who are not just suffering but are also dying,” she says. “Your hands will be covered in their blood and the blood of the soldiers if you do not stop this war.”

“And to you, citizens of the nation, I call on each and every one of you to take to the streets and stop normal life in the country until all the captives are returned,” she adds.

Loan fees fuel wartime windfall for Hapoalim as bank profits jump 25%

A homeless man walks by Israelis in line to take out money at an ATM in Tel Aviv on September 30, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel’s two largest lenders, saw its net profit jump 25% to NIS 2.42 billion ($682 million) in the first three months of the year, propelled by income from net interest and fees from raised borrowing costs for mortgage and loan holders, the bank says.

Net profit in the first quarter of 2025 increased from about NIS 1.94 billion ($547 million) during the same period in 2024. Net interest income in the first three months of the year rose 12% to about NIS 4.28 billion ($1.21 billion) year-over-year. Fee income amounted to NIS 1.06 billion ($299 million) in the first quarter, a 9% increase compared with the same quarter last year. Hapoalim attributes the increase mainly to “growth in credit processing fees, credit card fees, and securities fees.”

The country’s banks have been accused of wartime profiteering on high interest rates for loans and mortgages squeezed out of increasingly debt-ridden Israelis, posting record profits as much of the rest of the country struggles to make ends meet amid the rising cost of living expenses and an economy battered by war.

Public borrowing in the first quarter of 2025 totaled NIS 455.6 billion ($128 billion), up 10.8% from the NIS 411.3 billion ($116 billion) recorded in the first quarter of 2024. Corporate credit increased by 17.6% year-on-year.

Total income rose to NIS 5.69 billion ($1.6 billion) in the first three months of 2025 from NIS 5.09 billion ($1.4 billion) a year earlier. Operating and other expenses dropped by 29.1% in the first quarter compared to the previous three months, when the bank carried a NIS 597 million ($169 million) expense for an early retirement plan on its books.

Smotrich mum as Religious Zionism MK defends allowing aid into Gaza

Religious Zionist MK Zvi Succot attends a party meeting at the Knesset, January 23, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Despite threatening to leave the government “if a speck” of aid entered Gaza and reached the Hamas terror group, Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party may be making its peace with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to allow assistance into the enclave.

Breaking with other hardliners raging against the move, Religious Zionism MK Zvi Succot defends the entry of aid in a post on X, while speaking out against coalition figures airing their disapproval.

“Unlike what we had over the war until now, the massive pressure from the US and the world to allow assistance into Gaza will not translate anymore into a supply of oxygen to Hamas but rather [will take the form of] distribution to individuals via foreign companies secured by the IDF,” he writes. “That’s very very different.”

“If we thought we were giving up on total victory in the war including migration [of Gazans outside the Strip], we would not be in the government. The situation is the opposite for now,” he writes.

To his fellow coalition members, he adds: “It’s absolutely forbidden to join the leftist efforts to sow despair and despondency even if there are disagreements along the way.”

Succot also tells Army Radio that the cabinet adopted a plan put forward by Smotrich to create a mechanism making sure the aid does not reach Hamas.

Nonetheless, fellow party MK Michal Woldiger isn’t quite as on board with the plan.

“Allowing aid into Gaza while our soldiers are fighting there and hostages are being held starving and counting 600 days, harms security, damages national resilience, and sends a dangerous message of moral confusion,” she writes on X.

Smotrich himself has yet to speak publicly on the matter.

Tel Aviv police question Palestinian suspected in spitting attack

Police in Tel Aviv say they are questioning a Palestinian man suspected of spitting on a female military officer on a bus in Ramat Gan, in a case that has drawn widespread attention in Israel.

According to police, the 24-year-old man from the West Bank city of Huwara had been in Israel illegally when the incident occurred.

“The suspect was questioned under caution by the Dan District over illegally entering or residing in Israel, simple assault and assault of a public servant,” police say in a statement.

He is expected to be arranged at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court following questioning, police say.

Police said earlier that the man turned himself in to Israeli authorities in the West Bank overnight after a senior cop publicly threatened to send forces on a manhunt for him.

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

Two workers reported trapped in sand pit at construction site in Bnei Brak

Rescuers attempt to dig out workers trapped in a sand pit in Bnei Brak on May 19, 2025. (United Hatzalah)

Rescuers in Bnei Brak say two workers were seriously injured at a construction site after becoming trapped beneath a sand pit.

The Magen David Adom emergency service says a mound of sand collapsed on the workers; according to United Hatzalah, the accident occurred when a concrete sewer pipe fell on them.

One of the workers is said to be unresponsive, while the second is reported to be in moderate condition.

Pictures show crews attempting to dig them out of a pit where large sewer pipes are being installed, including one piece still attached to a crane.

Photos purport to show wagon with secret compartment used in special forces raid

Palestinian media publishes images purportedly showing a wagon used by Israeli special forces in a reported operation in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis this morning.

The photos show what appears from the outside to be a wagon, usually pulled by a mule or motorcycle, used by displaced Gazans to move their belongings. Inside, though, is a secret hollow section where Israeli troops or equipment were possibly hidden.

عاجل| مصادر محلية: قوة خاصة اسرائيلية تسللت بلباس مدني إلى موقع وسط خانيونس واغتالت شخصا واعتقلت زوجته وأطفاله..

صورة لحقيبة مموهة تركتها القوات الخاصة كانت تحتوي على أسلحة مموهة بأغراض نزوح pic.twitter.com/RpYbvgimxs

— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) May 19, 2025

There have been conflicting reports as to the goal of the operation. A Saudi outlet claimed troops were in the area as part of a hostage rescue operation, while Gazan media has reported special forces entered the city in a raid against a senior terror operative, who was killed during the operation.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reports that special forces who entered the city were able to make their way out without suffering any casualties.

The IDF has been mostly mum on the swirling reports, only issuing a statement saying “there is no change to the situational assessment,” which has been widely interpreted as a denial of the claimed hostage rescue attempt.

Israeli rookie shocks racing world with pole win at Indy 500 qualifiers

Robert Shwartzman celebrates after winning the pole position during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP/Michael Conroy)

An Israeli driver will have pole position at the Indianapolis 500 next week after 25-year-old Robert Shwartzman wins qualifiers at the premier IndyCar race, marking the first time an Israeli driver will run circles at “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Shwartzman, who was born in Tel Aviv and raised in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is mobbed by fans as his pole-winning run becomes official. The dual citizen initially raced under the Russian flag until the start of the war with Ukraine and now races under the Israeli flag.

One of the biggest upsets in Motorsports history just happen in Indianapolis!!! Rookie Robert Schwartzman, who had never made a single oval race start at any level, just qualified on pole for the #Indy500 with first year team Prema Racing!!!!! pic.twitter.com/s1NBvfOZIR

— TDT Media (@ThirdDownThurs) May 18, 2025

“I just want peace in the world,” Shwartzman says. “I want people to be good, and I don’t want the separation of countries, saying, ‘This is bad country. This is good country.’ There is no bad or good. We’re all human beings, and we just have to support each other. We need to find ways to, let’s say, negotiate things. Find ways to agree on things, you know? Because from my experience, there is always, you know, a gold medal, I’m calling it — like, there’s always the right path.”

He’d never raced on an oval before arriving at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where speeds can reach up to 240 mph on the straightaways, and he was considered an afterthought to qualify anywhere near the front of the prestigious Indy 500. Instead, his four-lap average of 232.790 mph beats out a host of open-wheel racing’s biggest stars to earn the first spot on the starting grid for the May 25 race.

Robert Shwartzman! What a run by the rookie. #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/WY1hysycns

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 18, 2025

Schwartzman says he was surprised by the raucous cheer he received upon winning the pole — and really, the reception he has had among American racing fans throughout the month — noting that Europeans had no love for his Israeli roots.

“Here, I feel really good with the fans. In my couple years in Europe, it was a bit more tense for me, I have to admit,” Shwartzman says. “Some fans supported me but some were against me. There were very tough moments in my life where I didn’t do anything bad. I didn’t support anything. I generally support people from my country, but all people with respect, and some people were saying bad things just because of where I was born.”

Perhaps those experiences were one of the reasons why Shwartzman was so vocal in asking for peace on Sunday.

“I really hope that at the end of the day, everything’s going to be good in the world. It’s going to be all calm,” he says. “From my side, I try to just, you know, represent my country and do my best, let people know that I’m here and that I’m giving it all.”

Gazan media claims covert special forces team killed senior terrorist in Khan Younis raid

Media outlets in Gaza report that Israeli special forces entered Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip earlier this morning and killed a senior member of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, Ahmad Sarhan.

According to the reports, the force entered into the heart of the Palestinian city in disguise, including some troops dressed as women.

During the operation, Sarhan’s wife and children were apprehended, the reports claim.

There is no confirmation from the Israeli military or other official sources.

The Popular Resistance Committees is considered the third largest terrorist organization operating in the Gaza Strip, alongside Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In recent years, the group has operated under Hamas’s directives.

Iran says it summoned top British diplomat over arrests in UK

Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the British charge d’affaires in Tehran over the arrest of Iranian nationals and what it says are “false claims” leveled by Britain against the Islamic Republic, Iranian state media reports.

Earlier this month, British police arrested 7 Iranian nationals in two separate operations, with three men charged last week with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service, in this case Iran.

“The responsibility for the inappropriate effects of such actions, which appear to be motivated by political motives to exert pressure on Iran, will lie with the British government,” state media quotes a foreign ministry official as saying.

The charge d’affaires was summoned on Sunday and requested to provide an official explanation regarding the reasons and legal bases for the arrests.

IDF pushes back on hostage rescue operation claim

Following an unconfirmed report of a hostage rescue operation in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis this morning, the military issues a vague statement hinting that no such operation took place.

“The IDF is in the midst of Operation Gideon’s Chariots and is operating in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” the military says, referring to its intensified offensive launched late last week.

“Following the reports, there is no change to the situational assessment,” the statement adds.

Gazans report 17 killed across Strip in last hours

Gazan media sources linked to the Strip’s Hamas rulers claim 17 people have been killed across the Strip since early Monday morning, citing health authorities in the enclave.

Six of the fatalities are in Khan Younis, where heavy fighting has been reported, the reports say.

Gazan health authorities do not generally differentiate between civilians and combatants. Their figures cannot be verified.

Israeli report refutes claim of hostage rescue attempt

Israel’s Channel 12 news reports that a Saudi claim of a hostage rescue attempt in Khan Younis is incorrect.

The channel, which is generally fed information from official Israeli sources, says special forces indeed entered Khan Younis, but indicates the rest of the al-Arabiya report on a purported hostage rescue operation is mistaken.

According to the channel, the special force has since exited the city without taking on any casualties.

Saudi report says troops also hunting senior Hamas official in Khan Younis

Saudi news outlet al-Arabiya reports that troops who entered Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip are also there to apprehend a senior Hamas terror official, quoting an unnamed Israeli source.

The outlet earlier reported that troops were carrying out an attempt to rescue hostages in the heart of the Palestinian city, where heavy fighting is being reported.

There is no confirmation of either report.

Heavy strikes reported in Khan Younis amid report of hostage rescue attempt

A wave of heavy airstrikes is reported around the Khan Younis area, including Nasser Hospital, as dawn breaks over the enclave.

A report from Saudi news channel al-Arabiya, picked up by Hebrew-language media, claims that Israeli forces entered the area as part of an attempted hostage rescue operation.

الغارات الإسرائيلية صباح هذا اليوم على مدينة خانيونس جنوب قطاع غزة pic.twitter.com/PORzLC14aw

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) May 19, 2025

Video from the Strip shows large airstrikes in quick succession in the area, followed by the sounds of helicopter gunships, shelling, small arms fire and other explosions.

Very intense morning in Khan Younis now. pic.twitter.com/DF3ps2RAvu

— Mosab Abu Toha (@MosabAbuToha) May 19, 2025

According to the reports, there are already dozens of dead and wounded.

There is no immediate word from the military on the strikes or reported rescue attempt.

Canadian PM talks to Herzog at pope’s inauguration, urges aid to Gaza

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to President Isaac Herzog on the margins of Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration in the Vatican, according to a Canadian readout.

Carney “reiterated the need for Hamas to release all hostages and stressed the imperative of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” according to the statement.

The Canadian leader “called for urgent, life-saving humanitarian aid to reach civilians and affirmed Canada’s support for a two-state solution,” it adds.

The pair “agreed that Hamas must lay down its weapons and have no future role in the governance of Gaza.”

Dozens of IDF strikes across Gaza Strip reported overnight

Palestinian media outlets report dozens of aerial bombardments across the Gaza Strip overnight.

Strikes are reported in and near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, in Gaza City in the north, and in the area of Deir al-Balah in the central Strip, where at least three are reportedly killed.

There is no immediate confirmation or comment from the IDF, which yesterday launched an expanded offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

BBC’s main soccer presenter Gary Lineker set to leave broadcaster over antisemitic post

Gary Lineker (left) and the post he shared, May 12, 2025. (Combo photo via UK Jewish News)

Gary Lineker, the former England soccer star who became a leading sports broadcaster on the BBC, is set to announce his departure from the British broadcaster on Monday due to a controversy surrounding an antisemitic post he published on social media, UK media outlets report.

Lineker is leaving the BBC by “mutual agreement” after 26 years, The Sun reports, with other outlets — including the BBC itself — reporting similar details.

The 64-year-old came under criticism on Tuesday after he shared a post from the Palestine Lobby group, illustrated with a picture of a rat, titled: “Zionism explained in two minutes.”

Rats, linked to disease and dirt, have been used to represent Jews in antisemitic propaganda throughout history, including by the Nazis in 1930s Germany.

Lineker apologized on Wednesday, saying he had reposted material which he had subsequently learned contained “offensive references,” adding that he withdrew the post as soon as he became aware of the issue.

“I take full responsibility for this mistake,” said Lineker. “I would never knowingly share anything antisemitic. It goes against everything I believe in.”

Israel Police say Palestinian who spat on IDF soldier in central Israel is in its custody

An Israel Police officer, left, arrests a West Bank Palestinian man who spat on an IDF soldier in central Israel and later turned himself in, on May 18, 2025. (Israel Police)

A Palestinian man who spat on an IDF soldier and then reportedly turned himself in to the Palestinian Authority is now in the hands of the Israel Police, the force says in a statement.

Police say the man, a resident of the northern West Bank town of Huwara, turned himself in to Civil Administration military and police forces, adding that he’s been taken for questioning.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir touts the arrest on social media, tweeting a photo of the arrest and writing: “Zero tolerance toward those who harm IDF soldiers.”

אפס סובלנות במי שיפגע בחיילי צה"ל pic.twitter.com/u1BhfTCXIa

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) 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.

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

“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.

Charlie Summers contributed to this report.

Trump says he’s ‘saddened’ by Biden’s cancer diagnosis

US President Joe Biden, right, meets with US President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

US President Donald Trump says he is “saddened” by the news that his predecessor and political rival Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,” Trump, who has repeatedly derided Biden for his cognitive abilities and aged demeanor, says on his Truth Social platform.

France urges Israel to allow ‘massive and unhampered’ aid to Gaza

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot calls on Israel to allow the “immediate, massive and unhampered” resumption of aid to Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would allow a “basic amount” in.

“After three months of diplomatic efforts, the Israeli government finally announces the reopening of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Barrot posts on X. “It must be immediate, massive and unhampered. It must put an end to the catastrophic humanitarian situation and definitively end the famine.”

Head of nascent Gaza aid org welcomes Israeli aid resumption as ‘important interim step’

The head of a new body created under an Israeli-American plan to change the way humanitarian aid is distributed in Gaza welcomes the Israeli announcement that it will allow the immediate resumption of aid into the territory.

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) Executive Director Jake Wood says in a statement that the decision is “consistent with the commitment made to us to serve as a bridging mechanism until the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is fully operational. Swift implementation is essential — needs on the ground are urgent, and there is no time to lose. We are also grateful to the Trump Administration for its support in advancing this effort.”

“Today’s announcement marks an important interim step. We expect GHF’s new aid mechanism — including the establishment of four initial Secure Distribution Sites — to be up and running before the end of the month,” Wood adds. “We have secured, and will continue to mobilize, funding from the international community to support GHF’s operations.

“We are actively coordinating with international partners and humanitarian organizations. Now is the time for all participants in the aid community to step forward and collaborate on this effort. We cannot allow fragmentation or hesitation to delay life-saving assistance,” he says.

“Through the GHF, we are building a secure, transparent system to deliver aid directly and effectively — without diversion or delay and in strict adherence to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.”

‘Insanity’: Netanyahu blasted by hawkish politicians, groups for resuming Gaza aid

Illustrative: Likud leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir at a vote in the Knesset plenum, December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90/File)

Right-wing politicians and groups assail Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s abrupt decision to resume humanitarian aid to all parts of the Gaza Strip.

“Every humanitarian aid that enters the Strip, and definitely all parts of it, will fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages languish in tunnels,” laments National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who earlier this year bolted the government over the announcement of a ceasefire-hostage deal, and then returned when fighting resumed.

“The prime minister is making a grave mistake with this move, which doesn’t even have a majority,” Ben Gvir argues in a statement. “We must crush Hamas and not simultaneously give it oxygen.”

In a separate post on X, Ben Gvir says: “Mr. Prime Minister, our hostages have no humanitarian [aid]!”

Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, of Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party, says: “This is our tragedy with Netanyahu’s approach. A leader who could have led to a clear victory and been remembered as the one who defeated radical Islam, but who time after time lets this historic opportunity slip away. Letting humanitarian aid in now directly harms the war effort to achieve victory and another obstacle to the release of the hostages.”

The Tikva Forum, which represents a hawkish group of families of hostages held in Gaza, says it is “shocked” by the decision “to give Hamas a gift without getting anything back, while our loved ones have been starved for almost 600 days.”

The forum urges Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to work against the step, adding: “If a drop of supplies gets to the enemy, this isn’t only a betrayal of the hostages, but also a stab in the back of the IDF fighters who are currently risking their lives in the war.”

Criticism also comes from the ranks of Netanyahu’s own Likud party.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” says MK Avichai Boaron. “We mustn’t hand humanitarian aid to the enemy, we mustn’t hesitate.”

MK Moshe Saada said that calling up five IDF divisions while also allowing aid in that will help Hamas “is an incorrect and immoral decision.” He calls for “totally eradicating Hamas and not helping it survive.”

Centrist leader Benny Gantz of the opposition accuses Netanyahu of “hiding behind the IDF and the security establishment when making decisions that destabilize his coalition.”

“When it’s uncomfortable — ‘The IDF recommended.’ In successes — ‘I gave the order.’ This is a frightened leadership that is incapable of standing behind its own decisions, and national irresponsibility during wartime. Israeli citizens deserve a different leadership that knows how to stand before the public and speak the truth, even when it’s difficult,” Gantz adds.

The Tzav 9 group, which previously blocked aid trucks en route to Gaza, calls on its activists to resume these actions.

“Netanyahu, this is on you. Hamas can’t be pampered and given aid until the last hostage is back here,” says the right-wing organization, which was sanctioned last year by the Biden administration before this was reversed by the Trump administration.