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The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they unfolded.
IDF confirms airstrike on Rafah, says it targeted Hamas compound used by senior officials
The Israeli military confirms carrying out an airstrike in southern Gaza’s Rafah earlier this evening, targeting what it says was a Hamas compound where senior officials in the terror group were gathered.
“The attack was carried out against terrorists who are a target for attack, in accordance with international law, using precision munitions, and based on intelligence indicating the use of the area by Hamas terrorists,” the IDF says in a statement.
The military says it is aware of reports that the strike and a fire that spread into a camp for displaced Palestinians caused casualties among civilians.
It says the incident is under further investigation.
Children orphaned on Oct 7 stranded at airport; were traveling to retreat after Hamas fired at Tel Aviv
A group of children orphaned by the October 7 Hamas massacre have been stranded at Ben Gurion Airport after a flight they were supposed to be on was canceled due to the rocket strikes on central Israel earlier today, the One Family organization says.
The group of 33 passengers, comprised of children and their guardians, was supposed to be traveling to Mexico as part of a therapeutic program to help them process their grief, the organization says. However, after the Hamas rocket attacks on central Israel — the first in four months — Iberia Airlines canceled the flight, and no alternative solution or compensation was offered to the group.
“The group has been stuck at Ben Gurion Airport without any answers from officials or alternative solutions,” One Family says in a statement to the press.
“We are in a very frustrating situation,” One Family CEO Chantal Belzberg says. “These orphans lost both their parents in the October 7 attack and have been waiting for many weeks to go on this One Family trip, which is part of our therapeutic program to help them process their grief and bereavement.
“This is a part of the people of Israel that currently needs all the stability and security as humanly possible. We wanted to provide them with that, and they are experiencing upheaval,” Belzeberg adds.
“I call on Iberia Airlines and the Israel Airports Authority to find a solution for the participants so that they can begin this important journey.”
Palestinians report dozens killed, wounded in strike on displaced persons’ tents near Rafah
Palestinian sources report that dozens of people have been killed and wounded in reported Israeli strikes on an area near Rafah designated for displaced people who have evacuated from across the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Red Crescent says the strikes were carried out over “displaced persons’ tents near the United Nations headquarters northwest of Rafah,” and adds that the location was designated as a a humanitarian zone by Israel.
The IDF has said it is looking into the reports.
תיעודים רבים (חלקם קשים, פה חסכתי) מעזה בשעה האחרונה על שריפה שפרצה באזור אוהלי עקורים ברפיח, לפי כלי התקשורת שם כתוצאה מתקיפת צה"ל. דווח על עשרות נפגעים, בהם כ-30 הרוגים. הכול לפי מקורות עזתיים כרגע. pic.twitter.com/23D3ekNJu7
— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) May 26, 2024
IDF says no truth to rumors that bodies of hostages have been recovered from Gaza
The military in a short statement says it “clarifies that there is no truth to the rumors about the return of hostages in recent hours.”
Rumors had circulated on social media today claiming that the bodies of hostages had been recovered from the Gaza Strip.
US forces destroy unmanned aerial system launched by Houthis over the Red Sea
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) says that US forces destroyed one unmanned aerial system (UAS) that was launched over the Red Sea from an Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.
Police clash with Haredi Jews on Mt. Meron after attempts to breach closed military zone
Police push back Jews who tried to enter the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer, in Meron, on May 26, 2024. (David Cohen/ Flash90)
Israel Police forces clashed violently with crowds of ultra-Orthodox Jews on Mount Meron earlier today, after hundreds of pilgrims tried to reach the presumed gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai to mark the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer, despite the area having been declared a closed military zone, due to Hezbollah rocket fire.
After would-be-revelers were told that they could not enter the compound, Hebrew media outlets report that they attempted to break through police barricades, with some reportedly vandalizing the surrounding area.
In video footage circulating online, a member of the Border Police forces can be seen responding to the crowds with force. In one instance, a police officer slaps a man across the face before pulling out his gun and firing in the air.
האלימות הקשה מירון: שוטר מכה באלימות אזרח ולאחר מכן לכאורה יורה באוויר. איזו הזיה. pic.twitter.com/l6hKAxMPLJ
— אבי מוסקוב Avi moskoff (@AviMoskov) May 26, 2024
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees Israel’s police forces, writes in a post on X that he has demanded a detailed account of all the instances of police violence that occurred at the religious site.
“I strongly condemn cases of police violence against citizens,” he writes, adding that those who acted violently will be held accountable.
In response to accusations of violence, the Israel Police say in a statement that 19 officers required medical treatment as a result of the clashes.
“Starting this morning, thousands of people came to the tomb compound while violating the orders from the Home Front Command and the law,” the police statement reads.
“Nineteen police officers were taken for medical treatment after iron rods, glass, and various objects were thrown at them,” the statement continues, adding that, “so far, over 1,000 unauthorized people have been removed from the site and thousands more have been blocked on the roads leading to it.”
The police add that a Border Police officer who was seen attacking an elderly man in a video has been removed from duty until the end of an investigation.
Defense Ministry delegation to visit Washington for talks on strengthening defense cooperation with US
Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir speaks at the 2023 Herzliya Conference, May 22, 2023. (Gilad Kavalerchik)
A delegation led by Director General of the Defense Ministry Eyal Zamir will travel to Washington, DC, this week to discuss “the strengthening of defense-strategic cooperation [with the United States], with an emphasis on the procurement processes, to preserve Israel’s qualitative edge in the region,” the ministry says.
The ministry says Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the visit.
Zamir will meet with officials at the US Department of Defense and Department of State, according to the ministry.
He will be joined by the head of the ministry’s Political-Military Bureau, Dror Shalom, the head of the ministry’s Directorate of Defense R&D, Danny Gold, Israel’s defense attaché to the US, Maj. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, and the ministry’s representative in Washington, Omer Haim, among other officials.
Hezbollah announces deaths of six members killed in Israeli strikes over last day
The Hezbollah terror group has announced today the deaths of six members killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives slain in Israeli strikes.
The announcements come after several IDF strikes on Hezbollah positions and operatives in southern Lebanon today and last night.
Their deaths bring the terror group’s toll since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip to 322.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference says the military has killed at least seven Hezbollah operatives in strikes today.
IDF confirms troops in West Bank killed Palestinian suspect who allegedly tried to stab soldiers
The IDF confirms that troops of the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion killed a Palestinian suspect who allegedly attempted to stab troops near the Beit Einun junction in the West Bank.
The troops were carrying out routine operations at the junction, when they identified a suspect who “tried to carry out a stabbing attack.”
The troops then opened fire, killing the suspect.
No soldiers were hurt.
Netanyahu’s office blasts leaks from hostage negotiator: ‘They only harden Hamas’s position’
As the war cabinet prepares to meet in order to prepare for a resumption of talks for a hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasts leaks from his negotiators, saying they “only harden Hamas’s position, harm families, and delay the release of our abductees.”
The statement comes after Channel 12 published bitter criticism of the government made by reservist general Nitzan Alon, the IDF point man for hostages, last week in a closed meeting. Alon reportedly said that the current government will not allow for a hostage deal.
“While Prime Minister Netanyahu time and again gave the negotiating team an extensive mandate to release our abductees,” says the statement from Netanyahu’s office, “Sinwar continues to demand the end of the war, the withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip, and leaving Hamas intact so that it can carry out the atrocities of October 7th over and over again.”
“Prime Minister Netanyahu strongly opposes this,” the PMO stressed.
In past rounds of talks, there has been suspicion from Netanyahu’s inner circle that Alon was leaking details of the talks to Israeli journalists.
WATCH: IDF destroys Rafah rocket launcher used by Hamas to fire at central Israel
A map published by the IDF shows the location of a rocket launcher used by Hamas in Rafah to fire at central Israel on May 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it destroyed a rocket launcher in southern Gaza’s Rafah used by Hamas to fire a barrage of eight long-range projectiles at central Israel earlier today
A fighter jet hit the site, which the IDF says is located near two mosques.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference says the site was some 800 meters from where Israeli troops were operating.
“As the IDF forces approached [the area of the launch], Hamas fired the rockets from within the [civilian] population. We see this pattern in many places where we operate. Hamas fears [losing] these munitions and rockets, and it fires them when it sees IDF troops approaching,” Hagari says.
“This is further proof that the Hamas terror organization places its assets near civilian facilities and infrastructure while using the Gaza population as a human shield,” the military adds.
The IDF publishes footage of the strike.
In leaked conversation, ‘desperate’ IDF negotiator says there’ll be no hostage deal with the current government – report
Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon speaks at the Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv on January 28, 2019. (INSS)
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Alon, who is a member of Israel’s negotiating team in the hostage deal talks, told IDF officials who oversee issues relating to the hostages and their families that the current Israeli government will not allow for any deal to come to fruition, Channel 12 reports.
The report quotes Alon as saying that negotiators “are desperate,” as the coalition in its current constellation will not allow for a hostage deal, due to Hamas’s demand for a complete ceasefire: “We are desperate. With this government formation, there will be no deal.”
“The deal I’m pushing for would provide for the return of all the hostages, while Hamas insists that it must provide for an end to the war,” Alon is further quoted as having said.”
“I told the prime minister that it will be possible to return to fighting at any given moment,” Alon is said to have told the military officials, apparently indicating that he believes Israel can afford to agree to the Hamas demand to “end the war” in return for the release of all the hostages, because Hamas is bound to take subsequent violent action against Israel and thus justify a resumption of the war.
Following the report, the IDF says Alon is working in coordination with the government to facilitate the return of the hostages, and asserts that “the things that were said were taken out of context.”
IDF announces death of soldier killed in northern Gaza, bringing ground op toll to 288
Staff Sgt. Sahar Sudaei. (Israel Defense Forces)
The military announces the death of a soldier killed during fighting against terror operatives in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today.
The slain soldier is named as Staff Sgt. Sahar Sudaei, 20 of the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion, from Tel Aviv
His death brings the toll of slain troops in the IDF’s ground offensive against Hamas and during operations on the border to 288.
In a separate incident, a reservist of the LOTAR Eilat unit was seriously wounded in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF adds.
Gallant accuses Gantz of playing political games with Haredi conscription law, says he expected more from him
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accuses war cabinet minister Benny Gantz of playing political games with the debate surrounding ultra-Orthodox conscription to the IDF and says he expected better of him.
Speaking to the press, Gallant says he believes a compromise can be found for the controversial draft legislation and reiterates that he will not sign off on any law that is not agreed upon by all members of the governing coalition, including Gantz’s National Unity party.
As a result of extensive efforts, Gallant says he believes it is possible for all sides to come to an agreement.
“The differences are small,” he says, “but it requires all parties — Benny Gantz and others who hold similar positions, as well as representatives of the ultra-Orthodox parties and…Likud and the right-wing parties. They need to transcend narrow political considerations and show leadership.”
Warning against engaging in “petty politics on the backs of soldiers,” Gallant says, “History and the public will not forget those who put political considerations before the essential considerations in a time of war.”
Directing his criticism at Gantz, the defense minister says he had expected him “to show the necessary leadership in wartime,” in conversations around the conscription law but that, “despite the opportunity he was given, he did not do so.”
He also criticizes the ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas for not being more willing to compromise on the matter.
In a response to Gallant, Gantz’s office refutes charges of him having acted on political considerations, saying, “It should be stressed that neither Gantz nor any of his people who conducted dialogue with Gallant’s office and with the Haredi parties ever agreed to conscription legislation in exchange for agreeing on a date for elections.”
Gantz’s office praises Gallant for taking a firm stance on the conscription law and says that the war cabinet minister will continue to stand together with him “against those who seek to harm the people’s army at this time.”
Medics say suspect shot dead after allegedly trying to stab troops north of Hebron in the West Bank
A suspect who allegedly attempted to stab troops near the West Bank village of Beit Einun, north of Hebron, was shot dead, Israeli medics say.
The Rescuers Without Borders emergency service says there are no other injuries.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
IDF reservist who called for mutiny dismissed from duty after interrogation
An IDF reservist who called for mutiny in a video shared on social media over the weekend was interrogated today by the Military Police on suspicion of mutiny, incitement to mutiny, not following orders, and other offenses, the military says.
At the end of the interrogation, it was decided to dismiss the soldier from reserve duty.
The Military Police investigation is ongoing, the findings of which will be presented to the Military Advocate General for review, the IDF adds.
One year on, US and French diplomats commemorate deadly Tunisia synagogue attack
French Ambassador to Tunisia Anne Gueguen (Centre-L) and US Deputy Chief of Mission Natasha Franceschi (C) carry flowers in memory of those killed in a mass shooting last year at the Ghriba synagogue in the resort island of Djerba on May 26, 2024. (Fethi Belaid / AFP)
Diplomats from the United States and France visit the Ghriba synagogue on Tunisia’s Djerba island to commemorate a deadly attack there last year, during a Jewish pilgrimage hampered by security fears.
French ambassador Anne Gueguen and Natasha Franceschi, the US deputy chief of mission in Tunisia, lit candles and placed flowers inside Africa’s oldest synagogue.
They both decline to be interviewed by AFP, and members of their teams say the event was too emotional for them to speak.
On May 9, 2023, a Tunisian policeman shot dead a colleague and took his ammunition before heading to the synagogue, where hundreds of people were taking part in the annual pilgrimage. The assailant killed two more officers as well as two worshipers there.
After rumors that this year’s pilgrimage would be canceled altogether due to security concerns and as tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, organizers had said the three-day event “will be limited.”
As the diplomats visited Djerba, only about a dozen Jewish pilgrims attended the festival, which started on Friday.
“When I see it empty like this, it hurts,” pilgrim Hayim Haddad told AFP in tears on the first day of the pilgrimage.
The religious event is at the heart of Jewish tradition in Tunisia, where only about 1,500 Jews still live — mainly on Djerba.
Organizers said that more than 5,000 people, mostly from abroad, attended last year’s pilgrimage, whereas up to 8,000 pilgrims had attended in previous years.
Man lightly injured in strike on Kiryat Shmona after 10+ rockets launched from Lebanon
A man in his 40s is slightly injured in a rocket strike in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, medics say.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the man is being taken to Ziv Hospital in Safed after sustaining light injuries from a rocket blast.
According to the IDF, more than 10 rockets were launched from Lebanon in the attack.
Hezbollah took responsibility for several attacks on the area in the past hour.
IDF says troops in Gaza’s Jabaliya demolished Hamas general security HQ, raided home of top PIJ commander
Soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade operate in northern Gaza's Jabaliya, in an image cleared for publication on May 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Among recent IDF operations in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya, troops demolished Hamas’s general security headquarters, raided the home of a top Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander, and battled dozens of gunmen, the military says.
The IDF says soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade led an assault in the Jabaliya market area in recent days, killing some 100 gunmen in dozens of close-quarters encounters in the area’s narrow alleys, and by directing airstrikes and tank shelling.
It describes the fighting in Jabaliya as “high intensity.”
Several booby-trapped buildings were also neutralized by troops in the area, the IDF says. In a video released by the military, an explosive device is seen planted in a store in the market area.
Troops raided and later demolished Hamas’s general security headquarters during the recent operations, the military says. The headquarters had already been raided by the IDF in December, although it was not completely demolished at the time.
In the latest raid, the army says the paratroopers discovered documents and Hamas infrastructure at the headquarters.
The IDF also says troops raided the home of the commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s northern Gaza Brigade, where the forces located a cache of weapons and “many intelligence documents.”
Several more caches of weapons were located in the Jabaliya market area, the military adds.
The military releases footage from the fighting in Jabaliya, some of the captured weapons, the bomb found in the market, and the demolition of the Hamas headquarters.
Rocket warning sirens sound in northern Israel
Rocket warning sirens sound in northern Israel communities close to the Lebanon border.
The sirens can be heard in multiple locations including Kiryat Shmona, Tel Hai, and Misgav Am.
🚨 Large Red Alert [18:30:24] – 9 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Misgav Am, Kiryat Shmona, Kfar Giladi, Tel Hai, Margaliot#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/NuDWpv3oO2
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 26, 2024
Thousands join funeral march for killed hostage Hanan Yablonka as family calls for return of all those still captive
Thousands march in the funeral procession for Hanan Yablonka in Tel Aviv, on May 26, 2024, after the IDF recovered his body from Gaza two days prior. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)
Thousands of people join a funeral procession to the cemetery where Hanan Yablonka, 42, will be buried after the IDF recovered his body from Gaza on Friday.
Yablonka was murdered on October 7 and his body was abducted to Gaza.
Yablonka’s family asked the Israeli public to turn the funeral procession into a march in a solemn call for the government to make a deal for the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
In interviews with Hebrew media outlets, Yablonka’s parents, Reuven and Vered, and his sisters Orit and Avivit, stressed that they wanted to hold a nonpolitical march that called for putting the lives of the hostages above all other goals of the war in Gaza.
Participants brought Israeli flags to the march and wore shirts with slogans calling for the Israeli government to do more for the release of the hostages.
Quiet applause was heard as the car transporting Yablonka’s body to its final resting place passed through the crowd, with participants showing respect for teh family and their decision to dedicate his final journey to those who are still alive and can still be rescued.
The Yablonka family led the one-mile walk, through the streets of north Tel Aviv and Ramat Hasharon, starting at the family home and ending at the Kiryat Shaul cemetery.
Among those participating in the march were family members of hostages still held in Gaza.
Eyal, who lives in the area that the procession passed through, tells The Times of Israel that while he did not know Hanan Yablonka, he felt the urge to support the family during this time, and to support the cause of bringing the hostages home as soon as possible.
“Showing up here and supporting the families is the least that we could do,” he says.
Yablonka was divorced and leaves behind two children, ages 12 and 9.
Government designates NIS 700 million for returning academics
The government has allocated some NIS 700 million to a new seven-year program aimed at bringing Israeli academics back to Israel, the Finance Ministry announces.
The program is aimed at returning “the best researchers in the world” to Israel and preserving “Israel’s position as a leader in global innovation, against the backdrop of rising antisemitism on university campuses worldwide,” the statement says.
The program will fund postdoctoral students, research grants and advanced research laboratories, among other initiatives, the ministry says.
The project is a joint program of the Finance Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Absorption Ministry and the Innovation, Science and Technology Ministry.
“This is a groundbreaking program that will allow us to strengthen Israel’s connections and bring home researchers who are dealing with an unprecedented wave of antisemitism. I want to thank all the partners who joined the move,” says Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Citing nepotism concerns, High Court of Justice halts rabbinical court appointments
The High Court of Justice issues an injunction halting the appointment of rabbinical judges following allegations of nepotism.
The ruling relates to the work of the appointments committee to the Great Court in Jerusalem and 12 regional rabbinical courts in a petition by Batya Kahana-Dror, a lawyer and fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.
The petition notes that the appointments committee — part of the Chief Rabbinate, which is co-headed by Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau — is reviewing the nomination of two candidates related to Lau: Rabbi Mordechai Ralbag to the Jerusalem rabbinical court and Yehuda Mann to head another rabbinical court.
Lau is a member of the appointments committee, presenting a potential conflict of interest, the court says.
The Chief Rabbinate, represented by the state, has one month to reply to the allegations.
Another candidate is Avraham Deri, a nephew of Shas leader Aryeh Deri and the son of the chief rabbi of Beersheba, Yehuda Deri.
Neither Aryeh Deri nor Yehuda Deri is a member of the appointments committee but they enjoy considerable influence on its members, Haaretz notes.
The Lau, Deri, Ralbag and Yosef families “behave as though the rabbinical courts are their own fiefdom, to the detriment of citizens of Israel who require the services of the rabbinical court by law,” writes Kahana-Dror in her petition.
The Chief Rabbinate does not immediately reply to a request for comment.
IDF says troops found underground weapons depot during raid in Rafah
Weapons found in an underground weapons depot in southern Gaza's Rafah, in an image released May 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Troops of the Givati Brigade operating in southern Gaza’s Rafah located an underground weapons depot last week, the military says.
The site was found during a raid on a building suspected of being used by Hamas as a meeting point. The IDF says the troops killed several gunmen near the building and then located the weapon depot inside.
In recent days, some 30 gunmen were killed by Givati troops in Rafah, the IDF adds.
Troops of the Givati Brigade operate in southern Gaza’s Rafah, in an image cleared for publication on May 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF: Soldier dies of wounds sustained fighting in northern Gaza last week
Staff Sgt. Betzalel Zvi Kovach. (Israel Defense Forces)
An Israeli soldier seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip last week has succumbed to his wounds, the military announces.
The slain soldier is named as Staff Sgt. Betzalel Zvi Kovach, 20, of the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion, from Jerusalem.
Kovach was seriously wounded in Beit Hanoun on May 22, the IDF says. Another three soldiers were killed that day in the town in northern Gaza, two in a Hamas sniper attack and one by an explosive device in a building.
His death brings the toll of slain troops in the IDF’s ground offensive against Hamas and amid operations on the border to 287.
London police working to identify man seen wearing soccer shirt with ‘Hamas 7’ on back
London’s Metropolitan Police is attempting to identify a man seen walking through the capital city wearing a Manchester United soccer shirt with the word “Hamas” and a large 7 emblazoned on the back, seemingly in reference to the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in southern Israel.
Speaking to the Daily Mail on the condition of anonymity, a Jewish man says he circulated the photograph of the shirt online after spotting it while walking in the center of London on Friday.
“Wearing the name of a terrorist organization is really shocking,” he says, adding that even in the unlikely case that the man’s last name was Hamas, “surely he would have been aware of the association.”
The Metropolitan Police has said it is aware of the “football shirt with an offensive message on it,” and adds that “inquiries are underway to try and identify the man.”
Pic taken by a Jewish man on London’s Oxford Street on Friday afternoon. The man does not want to be identified, but believes the number 7 on the back of a @ManUtd shirt with the name Hamas above it, is a reference to Oct 7.
Police are looking for him. https://t.co/pGAnD2NDKr
— James J. Marlow (@James_J_Marlow) May 26, 2024
Gallant: Israel working to return hostages via both military action and negotiations
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with IDF officers in southern Gaza's Rafah, May 26, 2024 (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking to troops in southern Gaza’s Rafah, says Israel is actively working to return the hostages held by the Hamas terror group, both “physically and also by reaching deals.”
“Our goal[s] in the Gaza Strip have become much clearer here in Rafah — to eliminate Hamas, bring back the hostages and maintain freedom of action,” he says.
On the hostages, Gallant says Israel is “making tremendous efforts… in every possible way, both physically and by reaching deals.”
Gallant also comments on a viral video in which a masked ostensible reservist calls for mutiny, saying, “In the IDF there is only one authority, it is the authority of the commander. Each person has their commander: the company commander, the battalion commander, the brigade commander, the division commander, the general [at the head of the regional command], and finally the chief of staff, he is the one who gives instructions in the army.”
“There are no third parties… this is the law and that’s how it works and that’s how it will work,” he adds.
Gallant’s office says the minister was briefed in Rafah on the IDF’s fighting effort against Hamas above and below ground in the area of southern Gaza.
Gantz: Rocket barrage from Rafah proves need for Israel’s military operation there
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz visits the Urim IDF base near the Gaza border, May 26, 2024. (Courtesy/Office of Benny Gantz
This afternoon’s rocket barrage from the southern Gaza city of Rafah shows why Israel needs to continue its military operation there, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz says during a tour of Gaza border communities.
“The rockets shot from Rafah today prove that the IDF must operate in every place Hamas still operates from, and as such, the IDF will continue to operate wherever necessary,” Gantz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, declares at the Urim IDF base.
“The world must know: Those who still hold our hostages captive, shoot at our cities and continue to propagate terror are responsible for the situation,” he adds. “Terrorist Hamas are war criminals, and we intend on making them pay for their crimes – whether sooner or later.”
Multiple interceptions by the Iron Dome air defense system were seen over central Israel following a rocket barrage launched from the Gaza Strip, with sirens sounding in Herzliya, Kfar Shmaryahu, Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, and several smaller communities.
The rocket barrage fired by the Hamas terror group at central Israel was apparently launched from the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, images posted to social media showed.
In a significant but somewhat ambiguous sharpening of its treatment of genocide claims against Israel, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel on Friday to halt military operations in Rafah that would risk the destruction of the civilian population sheltering there.
Rocket fired from Gaza hit car in Kibbutz Sa’ad close to the border, no injuries reported
Following rocket fire at communities close to the Gaza border this afternoon, Hebrew media reports that a rocket hit a vehicle on Kibbutz Sa’ad.
The vehicle was driving to a school in the area when the rocket warning sirens were activated, the Kan public broadcaster adds. No injuries were reported in the attack.
Kibbutz Sa’ad was evacuated following the October 7 Hamas massacre, but many of the residents have since returned.
הירי לעוטף עזה: רקטה נפלה בקיבוץ סעד ופגעה ברכב סומך לבית ספר. לא היו נפגעים@Itsik_zuarets pic.twitter.com/aqsaJMsLJS
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 26, 2024
Hamas denies receiving new proposal from mediators, repeats demand for permanent ceasefire
Hamas says it has not received any new proposal from negotiators ahead of renewed talks for a hostage release and temporary truce deal, and says it remains steadfast in its position demanding a “permanent and complete halt” to Israeli military operations “in all of the Gaza Strip, not just in Rafah,” according to a statement issued by the terror group’s official Izzat al-Rishq.
Rishq further accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of stalling for time to continue the war, adding that “time is running out.”
The statement comes after Mossad chief David Barnea returned to Israel on Saturday following a meeting in Paris with top US and Qatari mediators, at which Barnea agreed to restart negotiations and presented Israel’s latest proposal.
Israel’s war cabinet is expected to meet this evening to discuss a hostage release deal.
Regev threatens to sue Channel 13 after damning report on Transportation Ministry corruption
Transportation Minister Miri Regev holds a press conference ahead of Israel's 76th Independence Day Ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, on May 2, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Transportation Minister Miri Regev is threatening to sue Channel 13 reporter Raviv Drucker, as well as the news outlet itself, after it aired an investigation into her work practices last week that alleged that her office systematically gives preferential treatment to local officials who are also Likud power players.
In a warning letter to Channel 13 submitted by her lawyer, Regev claims that Yonatan Yehosef — the former Transportation Ministry employee who supplied Channel 13 with documents from her office — suffers from mental illness and is not of sound mind.
Further, she alleges that Yehosef falsified or even entirely created the documents he shared with Channel 13, and that she didn’t even know that some of them existed.
One of the documents she claims she had no knowledge of was the spreadsheet wherein towns and cities were sorted by color, with “green” cities” receiving favorable treatment, and “red” cities being actively ignored by the Transportation Ministry.
The second part of Channel 13’s investigation is set to air today.
IDF confirms drone strike against Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon
The military confirms carrying out a drone strike earlier today against a Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon’s Naqoura.
According to the IDF, the operative was identified leaving a building previously known to be used by the terror group. A short while later he was targeted and killed.
A separate strike targeted two more Hezbollah operatives in Ayta ash-Shab, the IDF adds.
מוקדם יותר היום כלי טיס של חיל האוויר ומרכז האש של אוגדה 146 זיהו מחבל חיזבאללה יוצא מתוך מבנה צבאי של הארגון במרחב א-נקורה.
זמן קצר לאחר מכן בוצעה סגירת מעגל מהירה, במסגרתה כלי הטיס תקף וחיסל את המחבל>> pic.twitter.com/VUMViWPSND— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 26, 2024
Home in northern Israel’s Avivim struck by anti-tank guided missile from Lebanon
An anti-tank guided missile launched from Lebanon struck a home in the northern community of Avivim, local authorities say.
The Marom Hagalil Regional Council says a man was rescued from the damaged house by Avivim’s local security team.
Norway hands papers recognizing Palestinian statehood to PA prime minister
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, left, after receiving a document handed over by Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, right, prior to a meeting for talks on the Middle East in Brussels, May 26, 2024.(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Norway has handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian Authority prime minister in the latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move that has infuriated Israel.
The handover of papers by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to the PA prime minister was made in Brussels, where Mohammad Mustafa is also meeting with foreign ministers of European Union nations and high-level EU officials on Monday to drum up support for the Palestinians. Norway itself is not part of the EU.
The diplomatic move by the three nations was a welcome boost of support for Palestinian officials who have sought for decades to establish statehood in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
“Recognition means a lot for us. It is the most important thing that anybody can do for the Palestinian people,” says Mustafa. “It is a great deal for us.”
The formal recognition by Norway, Spain and Ireland — which all have a record of friendly ties with both the Israelis and the Palestinians, while long advocating for a Palestinian state alongside Israel — is planned for Tuesday.
Some 140 countries — more than two-thirds of the United Nations — recognize a Palestinian state but a majority of the 27 EU nations still do not. Several have said they would recognize it when the conditions are right.
IDF altering Rafah operation in light of hostage talks, pressure from The Hague – source
With hostage talks potentially restarting this week, and with pressure on Israel coming from The Hague, the IDF is altering its operation in Rafah for the near future, an Israeli source tells The Times of Israel.
It is continuing to operate, but will do so in a relatively restrained fashion for now.
Spanish minister says ‘river to the sea’ slogan endorses 2-state solution
A Spanish cabinet minister who ended a speech with the slogan “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” says it was an endorsement of the two-state solution.
Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz, who is also a deputy prime minister of Spain, tells the EFE news agency that her call during a speech last week urging the European Union to break ties with Israel was not a call for ethnically cleansing it of Jews, as her critics charge, but an endorsement of how “Israel and Palestine must share a future of peace and prosperity,” Díaz tell EFE.
“I’m not antisemitic,” she adds, responding to criticism to that effect by multiple Jewish groups in Spain and beyond. The slogan refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
European Jewish groups are not convinced by her defense.
“She must resign,” the European Jewish Association says in a statement after Díaz’s clarification. The use of the slogan by Díaz, who ended a filmed speech with it on Wednesday, “carries with it echoes of the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Spain in 1492.” Her statement “is also an endorsement of Hamas’ ideology,” EJA writes.
ACOM, a pro-Israel lobby group based in Madrid, calls Díaz — a communist and leader of the Sumar far-left party — a “miserable Nazi.”
These allegations on Saturday and Sunday follow a wave of condemnations last week, including by Israel and the European Jewish Congress, which accused Díaz of promoting “hatred and violence against Jews.”
Rocket sirens sound in Gaza border communities
Rocket sirens sound in a number of communities bordering the Gaza Strip.
The projectile fire comes an hour after central Israel was targeted by Hamas with a rocket barrage fired from Rafah.
Home in Herzliya damaged in rocket barrage fired from Rafah
A home in Herzliya was damaged in the barrage of rockets fired from Rafah toward central Israel.
Video shows damage to a bedroom after a large piece of shrapnel or interceptor crashed into the building.
הירי להרצליה: רסיס רקטה פגע בבית וגרם לו נזק@hadasgrinberg pic.twitter.com/2xbaT8L5U5
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 26, 2024
US expected to lift ban on sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, FT reports
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 20, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
The United States is expected to lift a ban on the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, potentially in the coming weeks, the Financial Times reports.
Washington has already signaled to Saudi Arabia that it was prepared to lift the ban, the newspaper reports, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Soon after taking office in 2021, Biden adopted a tougher stance over Saudi Arabia’s campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, which has inflicted heavy civilian casualties, and over Riyadh’s human rights record, in particular the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist and political opponent Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest US arms customer, has chafed under those restrictions, which froze the kind of weapons sales that previous US administrations had provided for decades.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the US and Saudi Arabia were very close to concluding a set of agreements on nuclear energy, security and defense cooperation, the bilateral component of a wider normalization deal with Riyadh and Israel.
However, lifting the ban on offensive weapons sales was not directly linked to these talks, FT says.
The White House and Saudi Arabia’s government communication office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Video shows apparent rocket impact crater near Kfar Saba
Video circulating on social media shows a crater from an apparent rocket impact near the central town Kfar Saba.
The rocket appears to have hit an open area, but there are buildings nearby.
מכתש בעקבות נפילה ליד כפר סבא pic.twitter.com/O1nQ5eWD2k
— ynet עדכוני (@ynetalerts) May 26, 2024
IDF says 8 rockets crossed border into Israel, several intercepted
Eight rockets were launched from the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip at central Israel, the military says.
The IDF says the eight rockets crossed the border, and several of them were downed by air defenses.
It earlier said that some 10 rockets were fired.
The attack caused no injuries.
תיעוד: רסיס שנפל בחצר בניין בהרצליה@galdjerassi pic.twitter.com/Aib0aSDbMp
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) May 26, 2024
Magen David Adom: Two lightly injured running for shelter during rocket barrage
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says that aside from two women who were slightly hurt after falling while running to bomb shelters, and several others treated for acute anxiety, there are no injuries in the rocket barrage on central Israel.
IDF says some 10 rockets fired from Rafah at central Israel
Iron Dome interceptor missiles are seen intercepting rockets over central Israel, May 26, 2024 (Screenshot: X)
Some 10 rockets were launched from Rafah in the barrage on central Israel, according to the IDF.
Rocket barrage apparently fired from Rafah area toward central Israel
The rocket barrage fired by the Hamas terror group at central Israel was apparently launched from the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, images posted to social media show.
Last week, The Times of Israel reported that the IDF believes Hamas has the capability to launch rocket attacks on central Israel from the Rafah area, and when troops advance further into the city, the terror group is likely to carry out such an attack.
An image shows that the Hamas rocket barrage on central Israel was launched from the Rafah area. pic.twitter.com/bxenRi1JJA
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 26, 2024
Rocket barrage fired at central Israel for 1st time in 4 months; Hamas claims responsibility
Multiple interceptions by the Iron Dome air defense system are seen over central Israel, following a rocket barrage launched from the Gaza Strip.
Sirens are sounding in Herzliya, Kfar Shmaryahu, Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, and several smaller communities.
Hamas in a statement claims responsibility for the barrage, the first at central Israel in some four months.
Iron Dome interceptions seen over central Israel. Hamas claim responsibility. pic.twitter.com/qpCb9ubzHE
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 26, 2024
Hostage, truce talks to resume in Cairo on Tuesday, Egyptian official tells CNN
Demonstrators set a fire during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, and calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terror group, in Tel Aviv, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Egyptian official with knowledge of the matter tells CNN that negotiations for a potential hostage and truce deal will resume in Cairo on Tuesday.
An unnamed Israeli official confirms to the outlet that the talks will resume, without specifying a day or location.
IDF says troops found dozens of rocket parts in weapons depot at north Gaza school
A cache of weapons found by troops in a school in northern Gaza's Jabaliya, in an image published May 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Troops of the 460th Armored Brigade operating in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya raided a weapons depot in a school, where they found dozens of rocket and missile parts and other weapons, the military says.
“This is further proof of the Hamas terror organization’s cynical use of civilian infrastructure for terror purposes, while using the civilian population as a human shield,” the IDF says.
Meanwhile, in southern Gaza’s Rafah, troops killed several gunmen and located tunnel shafts and weapons; and in the central Gaza Strip corridor, several more operatives were killed, according to the military.
Over the past day, the Air Force struck more than 50 targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, the targets included buildings used by terror groups, weapon depots, rocket launchers, observation posts, and other infrastructure, along with armed cells.
War cabinet set to meet on potential hostage, truce deal
Protesters call for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, outside the Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv, May 25, 2024. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
An Israeli senior official says the war cabinet is expected to meet this evening to discuss a hostage release deal as diplomatic efforts toward a Gaza truce have resumed.
“The war cabinet is expected to meet in Jerusalem tonight at 21:00 (1800 GMT) to discuss a hostage release deal,” the official tells AFP on condition of anonymity.
The scheduled meeting comes after reports Saturday said mediators and Israel had agreed to restart negotiations, for the first time since they collapsed last month.
ICC chief prosecutor dismisses accusations that he equates Israel with Hamas as ‘nonsense’
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan at the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais Royal in Paris on February 7, 2024. (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
In his first major interview since he announced he would request arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan dismisses as “nonsense” accusations that he was equating the actions of Israel and the terror group.
“I am not saying that Israel with its democracy and its supreme court is akin to Hamas, of course not. I couldn’t be clearer, Israel has every right to protect its population and to get the hostages back. But nobody has a license to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity. The means define us,” Khan tells the UK’s The Sunday Times.
Khan says that when an Israeli official asked him how they were supposed to locate the hostages, he gave the example of Britain and the IRA.
“There were attempts to kill Margaret Thatcher, Airey Neave was blown up, Lord Mountbatten was blown up, there was the Enniskillen attack, we had kneecappings… But the British didn’t decide to say, ‘Well, on the Falls Road [the heart of Catholic Belfast] there undoubtedly may be some IRA members and Republican sympathizers, so therefore let’s drop a 2,000 lb bomb on the Falls Road.’ You can’t do that,” Khan says.
The British outlet says Khan carries a blue wristband printed with “Bring Them Home,” calling for the return of the hostages, along with a dog tag dedicated to the youngest hostage, Kfir Bibas.
“This would break anyone’s heart,” he said. “Kfir was just nine months old. But there’s no monopoly on suffering. There are Palestinian babies dying and we cannot have double standards.”
Khan says that if the warrants are issued, the world has a responsibility to enforce them.
“If states don’t step up, it has massive implications,” Khan says. “The ICC is their child — I am just the nanny or hired help. They have a choice to look after this child or be responsible for its abandonment.”
Some 10 rockets fired at Lebanon border towns
A barrage of some 10 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Western Galilee about half an hour ago, according to the IDF.
Additional sirens have sounded in the same area since.
There are no reports of injuries.
Reports of drone strike on motorbike in south Lebanon; rocket sirens in northern border towns
Amid reports of a drone strike on a motorbike in south Lebanon, sirens warn of incoming rocket fire toward communities on the Lebanon border.
The Hezbollah-linked Al Mayadeen outlet says the motorbike was hit in the area of Naqoura.
Rocket sirens are heard in Hanita, Rosh Hanikra, Shlomi and Betzet, which are located just over the border in Israel.
Hostage Michel Nisenbaum buried in Ashkelon; daughter praises ‘heroic’ father who saved many
Michel Nisenbaum. (Courtesy)
The daughter of Michel Nisenbaum, 59, whose body was recovered from Gaza last week, eulogizes her “heroic” father at his funeral in Ashkelon.
“We did everything so that everyone would get to know you. Sorry we weren’t unable to bring you back,” says his daughter Chen, according to the Ynet news site.
“From the second the terrorists answered your cellphone, I knew that life would not be the same,” she says.
“The children will grow up and remember what a heroic grandfather you were, who was not afraid of the terrorists and saved people on the way. Thanks to you, they are here. I love and miss you. Now you are home,” she says.
On October 7, Nisenbaum left his Sderot home to collect his granddaughter who was with her officer father at the Re’im military base. The grandfather was killed and his body taken to Gaza before he reached them.
Nisenbaum’s body was brought back to Israel in a military operation, along with those of Hanan Yablonka, 42, and Orión Hernández Radoux, 30.
Gantz submits proposal for resolution on state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7, war
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz in a video message issued May 23, 2024, demanding the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry in the events leading up to October 7, 2023. (Screenshot)
National Unity leader and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz submits a proposal to the cabinet secretariat for a government resolution to establish a state commission of inquiry into the events surrounding the October 7 Hamas invasion and massacre and the subsequent, ongoing war in Gaza.
The commission, if approved, would examine political, military, and intelligence decision-making before, during and after the October 7 atrocities.
Critically, against the background of the intense scrutiny of Israel’s conduct of the war by the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, the commission would also examine whether Israel has met its obligations under international law in managing the war, which could head off the ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“All the event that preceded the war will be investigated within the framework of the state commission of inquiry — decision making in the political and military echelons, and actions during the time of war itself,” National Unity says in a statement to the press.
The commission would examine security and intelligence agencies as well as government ministries in terms of their policy and decision-making processes regarding protecting the border region with Gaza before the war, and how they responded to the events on October 7 and during the ensuing war.
The move comes amid high tensions between Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over management of the war and threats by Gantz to quit the government if Netanyahu does not set out a postwar plan for Gaza by June 8.
Rocket sirens sound in communities near Lebanon border
Sirens warn of incoming rocket fire in Avivim and Yir’on near the Lebanon border.
Hezbollah-led forces have been attacking Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis since October 8, a day after its ally, Palestinian terror group Hamas, launched its October 7 massacre.
Military Police interrogating reservist seen threatening mutiny in video
A screenshot of a video purporting to show an IDF reservist in Gaza threatening mutiny published on May 24, 2024. (Screencapture/X: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
A reservist who called for mutiny in a video circulated on social media is being interrogated by the Military Police, the IDF says.
The investigation is ongoing, the military adds.
The video published Friday showed an armed and masked infantryman vowing to refuse Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi’s orders and asserting that soldiers will only listen to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, if the government doesn’t pursue “complete victory” over Hamas.
IDF report highlights minimal use of US-built pier to bring aid into Gaza
Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from the United Arab Emirates and the United States Agency for International Development cross the Trident Pier before entering the beach in Gaza, May 17, 2024. (Staff Sgt. Malcolm Cohens-Ashley/US Army Central via AP)
The Israeli military publishes a weekly summary of its humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, which highlights the very minimal use of the US-built floating pier used to bring aid in via the sea.
According to the IDF, a total of 1,806 pallets of food were brought into Gaza via the pier this week, and were transferred in 127 trucks to logistics centers belonging to international aid organizations in the Strip.
The pier began operating last week for the first time. Over the weekend, two US vessels involved in the pier project ran aground near Ashdod.
In contrast, a total of 2,065 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were inspected by Israeli authorities and transferred to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and “Erez West” crossings this week, which the IDF says is “almost twice the number in the previous week.”
The IDF says the aid trucks included “232 trucks containing flour for the World Food Program (WFP) organization to supply bakeries in the Gaza Strip, 132 aid trucks from Jordan, and 352,000 liters of diesel and fuel to supply essential centers, hospitals and shelters run by the international community in Gaza.”
Egyptian Red Crescent says aid trucks starting to enter Gaza via Kerem Shalom
A truck carrying humanitarian aid arrives for processing at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza on April 15, 2024. (AFP)
About 200 aid trucks, including four fuel trucks, are expected to enter Gaza today, Khaled Zayed, the head of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society in North Sinai, tells Reuters.
The aid trucks are entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing after they were rerouted from the Rafah border following an agreement between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and US President Joe Biden.
Aid has been piling up in Egypt since Israel launched the operation to take over the Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing with Egypt on May 7.
Not wanting to be seen as complicit with Israel’s military operation to take over the crossing, Egypt has refused to reopen Rafah until Israeli troops have withdrawn from the other side.
Sissi and Biden agreed in a phone call on Friday to temporarily send humanitarian aid and fuel to the United Nations via Israel’s Kerem Shalom Crossing until legal mechanisms were in place to reopen the Rafah Border Crossing from the Palestinian side.
Motorcyclist killed in crash on Route 1 in Tel Aviv
A motorcyclist in his 30s was killed in a crash on Route 1 near the Kibbutz Galuyot interchange in Tel Aviv, emergency services say.
Paramedics declared the man’s death on the scene.
Family of killed hostage ask public to join funeral march in call for release of those still in Gaza
Hanan Yablonka was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)
The family of a man whose body was recovered from Gaza last week has asked the public to join a march to the cemetery for his funeral today in a call for the release of the remaining hostages.
The body of Hanan Yablonka, 42, was recovered along with those of Orión Hernández Radoux, 30, and Michel Nisenbaum, 59.
Reuven Yablonka tells Channel 12 that police have asked that marchers no longer gather at the family home in Tel Aviv as initially planned, and instead meet at the junction of Bnei Efraim and Hanna Rovina at 5:30 p.m.
From there they will walk to to the Kiryat Shaul Cemetery.
Nisenbaum will be buried in Ashkelon at 10:30 a.m. and Hernández Radoux will be laid to rest in his native Mexico.
IDF says jets carried out overnight strikes on Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets carried out a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon overnight, the military says.
The IDF says buildings used by the terror group and other infrastructure were struck in Khiam and Ayta ash-Shab.
The IDF also carried out artillery shelling at a number of other locations in south Lebanon.
מטוסי קרב תקפו במהלך הלילה תשתית טרור ומספר מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים אל-חיאם ועייתא א-שעב שבדרום לבנון.
בנוסף, צה"ל תקף בירי ארטילרי במרחבים אל-חיאם, חולא, מרכבא, וכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/sZ5v9g3MH6
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 26, 2024
Jewish Iranian sentenced to death at ‘imminent risk of execution,’ rights group says
Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, 20, an Iranian Jew set to be executed in May 2024 (Iran Human Rights)
A Jewish Iranian man who was set to be executed last week for killing a man in a brawl two years ago is again at “imminent risk of execution,” an Iranian rights group says.
Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, 20, was sentenced to death and was expected to be executed last week under the Iranian penal code for retributive justice — or “Qisas” in Arabic — after allegedly killing a man named as Amir Shokri in self-defense when attacked with a knife two years ago, the opposition-linked Iran International news website said. However he received a last-minute stay of execution.
The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) now says Ghahremani’s appeal was rejected by the Iranian Supreme Court.
According to the group, Ghahremani’s family says that “key errors in the case were intentionally ignored” and his actions to save the victim were not taken into account.
The man’s relatives also say that Ghahremani was not adequately represented by his defense lawyer in court.
Ben Gvir’s bodyguards say minister’s drivers still breaking traffic laws at his instruction – report
The car (left) of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir that was in an accident in Ramle. April 26, 2024. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
Security guards for National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir say that his drivers are breaking traffic laws under his instruction, even after a man was injured last month when the minister’s car ran a red light, Haaretz reports.
The guards reportedly said that even if there was no operational need to do so, the drivers drive at excessive speed, run red lights at intersections, and drive on the hard shoulder of the road.
The report says the bodyguards warned their superiors that the practice is dangerous for the minister, other road users and pedestrians.
The drivers answer to the minister, who is himself in charge of policing. The report says the far-right minister’s office did not respond when asked for comment.
Last week, the driver whose vehicle was hit by Ben Gvir’s car last month said that his life has been ruined by the accident, as he undergoes recovery.
Idan Domatov, who works as a barber, has been unable to work since the accident. He suffered a severe injury to his knee and is not yet mobile.
File – National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Israel Police Independence Day ceremony at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem, May 9, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The accident occurred in Ramle at the end of April after Ben Gvir had visited the scene of a terror attack in the city. As his car was leaving the scene, Ben Gvir’s driver ran a red light, hitting Domatov’s car which had entered the junction on a green light.
Speaking to Army Radio last week, Ben Gvir maintained that his driver was not responsible for the accident.
Ben Gvir has a long history of traffic offenses and has been repeatedly slammed for filming himself in transit as a minister while not wearing a seatbelt. Reports last year revealed that Ben Gvir has close to 80 traffic infractions on his record from being caught speeding, using his phone while driving, driving without a seatbelt and speeding, among a list of other infractions.
Low-key Lag B’Omer celebrations kick off at Mount Meron, under heavy shadow of war
A Jewish man blows the shofar near a bonfire during the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer in Meron, northern Israel, May 25, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)
The annual Lag B’Omer festivities have begun on Mount Meron in the north in a significantly scaled-down format, under the shadow of war and the threat of Hezbollah fire toward the area.
After police enforced a strict travel ban around the mountain’s holy sites, the Hillula of the 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai — typically attended by hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews — is underway with only 30 people allowed to enter at any given time.
According to Hebrew media, three traditional bonfire lightings are taking place — one by the leader of the Boyan Hasidic dynasty Nachum Dov Brayer, one by Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Shlomo Amar, and one by Chief Rabbi of Safed Shmuel Eliyahu.
In European 1st, French court sentences 3 Syrian officials to life in absentia for war crimes
A Paris court has sentenced three high-ranking Syrian officials in absentia to life in prison for complicity in war crimes, in a landmark case against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the first such case in Europe.
The trial focused on the officials’ role in the alleged 2013 arrest in Damascus of Mazen Dabbagh, a Franco-Syrian father, and his son Patrick, and their subsequent torture and killing. The four-day trial featured harrowing testimonies from survivors and searing accounts from Mazen’s brother.
Though Friday’s verdict is cathartic for plaintiffs, France and Syria do not have an extradition treaty, making the outcome largely symbolic. International arrest warrants for the three former Syrian intelligence officials — Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud — have been issued since 2018 to no avail.
They are the most senior Syrian officials to go on trial in a European court over crimes allegedly committed during the country’s civil war.
The court proceedings come as Assad has started to shed his longtime status as a pariah that stemmed from the violence unleashed on his opponents. Human rights groups involved in the case hope it will refocus attention on alleged atrocities.
Boy, 10, killed in apartment fire in Ashdod
A 10-year-old boy has been killed in an apartment fire in Ashdod.
Magen David Adom medics rescue the unconscious boy from the burnt home, pronouncing his death at the scene.
A woman around 40 years old has been taken to the city’s Assuta hospital in moderate condition following smoke inhalation.
IDF denies Hamas claim that it has abducted soldiers in Gaza fighting
The Israel Defense Forces quickly denies a Hamas claim that soldiers have been kidnapped in a new incident, saying in a statement on X that “the IDF clarifies that there is no incident of a soldier’s kidnapping.”
A spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing earlier claimed that the terror group has captured Israeli soldiers during fighting in Gaza’s Jabaliya.
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