The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they happened.
(JTA) — Kingsley Wilson, a Department of Defense official who has repeatedly echoed antisemitic rhetoric online, will serve as the Pentagon’s new press secretary, according to a recent announcement.
“Kingsley’s leadership has been integral to the DoD’s success & we look forward to her continued service to President Trump!” said Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman and a senior advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X Friday.
Wilson reposted the announcement to her X account, writing that she was “Honored to serve President Trump and our warfighters.”
A United Nations official in Gaza hits back at Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) after the latter claimed that the UN has failed to fulfill its role in collecting humanitarian aid from the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
“It is beyond cynical to blame humanitarian workers risking their lives in Gaza for not being able to do more,” the Gaza-based UN official tells The Times of Israel, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The reality is that Israel is failing to enable our work and people are dying as a result.”
“For eighty days, Israel blocked every effort to bring lifesaving supplies into Gaza. Now, a trickle of aid is allowed in. But it is insufficient to lessen the desperation of a population that has been starved.”
“This means our trucks face the risk of being looted.”
“We are only permitted to deliver flour to bakeries [that] are not able to manage the overwhelming crowds of desperate people,” the UN official continues. “We try to reach the only open crossing point daily and to transport the goods safely, but we face dysfunctional coordination with troops on the ground, leaving us waiting for hours in a militarized zone for the green light to move, while bombing goes on.”
“When we are permitted to move, the routes we are provided with by Israeli forces are inappropriate and unsafe.”
“Our ability to deliver is only as strong as the access we’re given. During the ceasefire, it worked. It no longer does,” the official says.
The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announces that 95 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip today.
Israel resumed aid deliveries to Gaza last week, after a pause since March 2. Since then, 755 trucks of aid have entered the Strip.
COGAT says the aid delivery comes “following the recommendation of professional IDF officials and in accordance with the directive of the political echelon.”
Today’s trucks include food, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs, COGAT says.
The aid underwent an inspection first by Israeli authorities before entering Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Earlier, COGAT said some 400 truckloads of aid were awaiting collection on the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom.
The United States describes the United Nations and non-governmental groups as hypocritical in criticizing a US and Israeli-backed aid effort in Gaza, saying food was successfully entering the Palestinian territory.
“It is unfortunate, because the issue here is giving aid to Gaza, and then suddenly it moves into complaints about style or the nature of who’s doing it,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce tells reporters, calling the criticism “the height of hypocrisy.”
“The real story here is that aid, and food, is moving into Gaza at a massive scale,” she said.
“When you’re looking at 8,000 food boxes, was this going to be like going to the mall or through a drive-through? No, it wasn’t,” she says. “This is a complicated environment, and the story is the fact that it’s working.”
Non-governmental groups say the new US-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation lacks the expertise to handle such a serious humanitarian situation, which requires more than just giving boxes of food, and that aid distribution needs to be strictly separate from belligerents.
Bruce asserts that the foundation is operating “under the humanitarian principles of independence and impartiality.”
WASHINGTON — US Vice President JD Vance visited the Israeli embassy in Washington earlier today to pay his respects after staffers Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were shot dead outside of an American Jewish Committee event in DC last week.
Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter thanks Vance for the visit.
“The care and compassion you and the Trump administration have shown in the wake of this murderous attack are testaments to the enduring friendship between our two countries and peoples, and our mutual battle against terrorism,” Leiter writes in a post on X.
Thank you @VP Vance for coming to the Embassy to honor our dear colleagues and friends, Sarah and Yaron. The care and compassion you and the Trump administration have shown in the wake of this murderous attack are testaments to the enduring friendship between our two countries… pic.twitter.com/4NNG3Yt7pr
— Ambassador Yechiel (Michael) Leiter (@yechielleiter) May 27, 2025
An IDF reservist officer was seriously wounded by sniper fire in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.
The reservist, who served as a technology and maintenance officer in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 924th Battalion, was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) accuses the United Nations of failing to fulfill its role and collect humanitarian aid from the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
According to COGAT, more than 400 truckloads of humanitarian aid, which were processed through Kerem Shalom, are awaiting collection and distribution.
UN officials and aid groups say they have faced significant challenges distributing the aid because of insecurity, the risk of looting, and coordination issues with Israeli authorities.
“With the renewed entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, we have reached out to all humanitarian aid organizations and the international community, and called for them to take part in the distribution of aid to Gazan civilians. However, in the past few days, the UN has avoided fulfilling its role and instead continues to spread false and incorrect information regarding civilian distress,” says COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian in a statement.
“Israel has expanded the routes and aid, and extended the times of collection. Now it’s the UN’s turn to act accordingly with its obligation. We call on the UN to fulfill their mission entrusted to it as a key humanitarian partner as demanded and without any further delays,” he adds.
Alongside the statement, COGAT publishes an image showing the apparent contents of the 400 trucks, which are waiting to be collected at Kerem Shalom.
Israel resumed aid deliveries to Gaza last week, after suspending them for more than two months since March 2. Since then, at least 665 trucks of aid have entered the Strip.
According to COGAT, the contents of 400 of those trucks have not been collected. “The contents, containing primarily food, have accumulated in the past several days and are waiting for collection and distribution by UN teams, which have yet to arrive, collect and distribute aid to the Gazan civilians in the past week,” COGAT says.
“Unfortunately, the UN teams failed to arrive to collect and distribute the aid to Gazan civilians, despite the logistical and security adjustments conducted by IDF troops to coordinate the distribution of aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip,” it adds.
Scenes from southern Gaza of thousands of people rushing a US-backed group’s aid distribution site are “heartbreaking,” UN chief Antonio Guterres’s spokesman says, insisting on an “operationally sound plan.”
“We have been watching the video coming out of Gaza around one of the distribution points set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. And frankly, these videos, these images, are heartbreaking to say the least,” spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, says.
“As the Secretary-General noted last week, we and our partners have a detailed, principled, operationally sound plan supported by Member States to get aid to the desperate population,” he adds.
He notes that Israel is still allowing the UN to deliver some aid, but with lots of obstacles.
World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres tears into the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation after footage of Palestinians overrunning the latter’s newly established aid distribution sites goes viral.
“The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has left Palestinians without food. The people that created it are selfish,” Andres writes on X, lamenting that the new initiative has left Palestinians “really hungry.”
GHF has agreed to work within strict Israeli restrictions in order to try and deliver aid in a way that doesn’t allow its diversion by Hamas.
The Emirati-backed WCK has refused to cooperate with GHF, whose own CEO resigned earlier this week after losing his patience with Israeli restrictions.
Israel has allowed GHF to run just four aid distribution sites for all of Gaza’s population of two million.
Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza for 78 days before allowing it start trickling in again last week.
Andres says WCK’s system of community kitchens are the way that aid should be distributed. “Palestinians feeding Palestinians.”
Citing unnamed US officials, the Walla news site reports that Mossad chief David Barnea and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer are in Washington for talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
The talks come after reports yesterday that a recent phone call between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was marked by a heated disagreement over how best to prevent Iran from reaching a nuclear weapon.
Washington has been engaged in negotiations with Tehran for a new nuclear deal, while Israel has reportedly been preparing for potential strikes on nuclear facilities, should those negotiations fail.
Trump announced earlier this week that the US had made “real progress” during the most recent round of talks, and suggested that an announcement on the matter could come in “the next two days.”
The IDF denies reports claiming it opened fire from a helicopter during today’s chaos at an aid distribution site in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, when thousands of Palestinians overran the site.
In a statement, the IDF says it did not carry out “any aerial fire toward the humanitarian aid distribution center.”
A military source says an Israeli Air Force helicopter was operating over the sea at the time of the incident, but not anywhere close to the distribution site.
The IDF does, however, confirm that troops fired warning shots outside the compound.
“Control over the situation was established, food distribution operations are expected to continue as planned, and the safety of IDF troops was not compromised,” the military adds.
Israel’s security cabinet held a vote in secret last week to approve the establishment of 22 new West Bank settlements, according to Hebrew media reports.
The motion was said to have been put forward by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The Israel Hayom news outlet reports that the government intends to use the new settlements to bolster Israel’s presence around Route 443, which connects Jerusalem and Tel Aviv via Modiin. A section of the route passes through the West Bank.
Yesha Council chair Israel Ganz declares the secret government decision to be “the most important decision since 1967,” when Israel gained control over large swaths of land in the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces that he intends to appoint the director general of the Chief Rabbinate, Yehuda Cohen, as acting Civil Service commissioner.
The announcement comes after the premier was forced to walk back his previous nomination for the role, Eden Bar Tal, following the Attorney General’s Office’s opposition to the appointment and Bar Tal’s subsequent request that it be annulled.
Netanyahu asks Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to issue a legal opinion on the appointment within 24 hours.
If approved, Cohen will serve in the role for an initial three-month period, with the option to extend, Hebrew media reports.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is asking federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University worth about $100 million, a senior administration official says, intensifying the president’s clash with the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university.
The government has already canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has pushed back on the administration’s demands for changes to several of its policies.
A draft letter from the General Services Administration directs agencies to review contracts with the university and seek alternate vendors. The administration plans to send a version of the letter later today, the official says. The official speaks on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.
The New York Times first reported on the letter.
US President Donald Trump has railed against Harvard, calling it a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. The school filed a lawsuit April 21 over the administration’s calls for changes to the university’s leadership, governance and admissions policies.
Since then, the administration has slashed the school’s federal funding, moved to cut off enrollment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status.
An anonymous Italian street artist is gaining international attention for a new mural painted overnight in Rome which depicts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kissing Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
The piece is titled “The Final Solution,” in reference to Hitler’s plan for the annihilation of the Jewish people. It is a criticism of Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the civilian death toll.
«La Soluzione Finale» il nuovo murale di Laika a Roma pic.twitter.com/BiEKHQV8gV
— Italia Mattanza (@IMattanza) May 26, 2025
The artist, known only as Laika, says that they “chose an extreme image to shake the press and public opinion,” according to Italian media.
“The Israeli government, with the support of the United States and the European Union, is carrying out a systematic operation to annihilate the Palestinian people,” they add.
In an Instagram post justifying the artwork further, the artist claims that the IDF’s major new Gaza offensive is “the final solution to this terrible ethnic cleansing, to this genocide.”
They call for Italy, and for the EU as a whole, to impose sanctions on Israel over the war, noting that “Europe sanctioned and isolated Russia for invading Ukraine, but adopted a soft stance” when it comes to alleged Israeli war crimes.
“Italy and Germany, more than anyone, have decided to be on the wrong side of history again,” Laika declares. “We have learned nothing from the past.”
After throngs of Palestinians overran one of its new aid distribution sites on its second day of operation, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says that its American security subcontractors fell back to allow “a small number” of people to take food.
“The needs on the ground are great. At one moment in the late afternoon, the volume of people at the SDS was such that the GHF team fell back to allow a small number of Gazans to take aid safely and dissipate,” GHF says in a statement that seems to try and downplay the incident that took place on just its second day of operations.
Israel has allowed aid to trickle into Gaza for the past week after blockading the Strip for 78 days.
Before the break-in, GHF says “approximately 8,000 food boxes have been distributed so far. Each box feeds 5.5 people for 3.5 days, totaling 462,000 meals.”
GHF claims its operations have returned to normal.
The IDF says it carried out a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Majdal Zoun yesterday, killing a member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force.
צה״ל תקף אתמול, באמצעות כלי טיס במרחב מג׳דל זון שבדרום לבנון וחיסל מחבל ב׳כוח רדואן׳ של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה pic.twitter.com/8RLPgKMvGp
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 27, 2025
Footage circulating online appears to show thousands of Palestinians overrunning one of the newly opened aid distribution sites in southern Gaza’s Rafah a short while ago.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the incident.
The aid sites are being operated by a private American security company, while the IDF secures the surrounding area.
مشاهد من فقدان السيطرة والفوضى بعد فشل آلية التوزيع التي تقوم عليها الشركة الأمريكية – الإسرائيلية في اليوم الأول لها pic.twitter.com/piS0CGMsYG
— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) May 27, 2025
Unconfirmed reports carried by Channel 12 say the American forces or the IDF opened fire in the general area to try and disperse the crowds. However, the TV report also quotes unnamed Israeli military sources saying the IDF did not fire. It also says there are no reports of injuries.
Reports also say the American security staffers withdrew from the area.
Footage purportedly shows thousands of Palestinians overrunning one of the aid distribution sites in southern Gaza's Rafah a short while ago.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the incident. pic.twitter.com/CvAsfyHLGz
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 27, 2025
Education Minister Yoav Kisch unveils a new plan to reform and expand Jewish education in schools across Israel, dubbed “Roots — The National Program for Jewish and Zionist Identities,” which is expected to be introduced gradually over the next two academic years.
Under the plan, all students from first grade to twelfth grade will be required to have an hour of mandatory Bible study each week, and fourth-grade students will be required to take a standardized Bible exam, which until now had been optional. The changes will be implemented both in regular state schools and religious state schools.
A number of new classes and school projects on Zionism and the State of Israel will also be introduced to the state curriculum, including a class about “Israel’s wars and rebirth.”
Schools will also be required to bring students on tours of Jerusalem and the West Bank as part of a “Bible paths” course.
As a result of the changes, the portion of the education budget allocated to Jewish studies will be raised from 1% to 4%, the Education Ministry says.
“We’re changing direction because Jewish identity cannot be left anymore as a matter of local decisions or private preference,” Kisch declares. “This is a large change, but it is also simple: To give back to our children what should be taken for granted. This is our commitment, to today’s students and to the future of the State of Israel.”
Two Palestinian terrorists have been sentenced to life plus 50 years in prison for carrying out a deadly shooting attack near the West Bank city of Hebron in August 2023.
Saqer and Mohammed a-Shanter, who are relatives, opened fire on a vehicle near the Beit Hagai Junction on August 21, 2023, killing Batsheva Nigri, 42, and seriously wounding a man.
The pair fled and were arrested a day later.
According to the indictment, Saqer and Mohammed were in contact with Hamas operatives in order to fund the payment for the weapon that would be used in the attack.
On August 21, the two arrived at Beit Hagai Junction with an assault rifle and three magazines, and upon spotting an Israeli car, they opened fire, shooting a total of 28 bullets.
A military court sentenced them today to life plus 50 years in prison, and also ordered them to pay the victims 3.4 million shekels.
Palestinian media outlets report that dozens of settlers attacked the village of Qaryut, near Nablus in the northern West Bank, in recent hours.
According to the reports, settlers set several vehicles on fire and threw stones, causing damage to homes and cars.
A local Palestinian tells The Times of Israel that around 60 settlers entered the village during the attack, and several Palestinians sustained minor injuries from stone-throwing but did not require hospitalization.
Footage shows IDF forces present at the scene, apparently arriving after the incident. The IDF has not yet issued a response.
#شاهد| مواطنون يحاولون إخماد النيران التي أشعلها المستوطنون في المركبات بقرية قريوت جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/gDBwsTfnEC
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) May 27, 2025
In recent weeks, the Israeli Navy has deployed for the first time unmanned vessels, also known as drone boats, in Israel’s exclusive economic zone, the military reveals.
“The vessels have the capability to construct a broad maritime picture and are engaged in monitoring and characterizing the movement of vessels within the exclusive economic zone,” the IDF says.
“The information derived from the vessels is collected, documented, and used by the IDF for threat analysis and force deployment in the maritime theater and in the mission of protecting the strategic assets of the State of Israel,” it adds.
The IDF announces that two of four recently established aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip began operations today, delivering food packages to thousands of Palestinian families.
The aid sites are being operated by a private American security company, while the IDF secures the surrounding area.
Three of the distribution sites are located in the Tel Sultan area of southern Gaza’s Rafah, while the fourth is in the Netzarim Corridor area, south of Gaza City. The two sites that began operations today are in Rafah.
“The establishment of the distribution centers took place over the last few months, facilitated by the Israeli political echelon and in coordination with the US government,” the IDF says in its first official comment on the aid sites.
“This process coincided with an ongoing dialogue and cooperation with the IDF, through the Southern Command and COGAT, as well as international aid organizations, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and the American civilian security company,” it says.
The IDF says it will “continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip, while making every possible effort to ensure that the aid does not reach the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization.”
Videos circulated on social media show Gazans heading to the newly established aid distribution center near Rafah, part of the controversial new aid mechanism backed by Israel and the US.
The footage shows people making their way to the center and exiting it with boxes of food. Media reports note a high turnout for the aid distribution.
The newly opened aid center is operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund. It said yesterday that by the end of the week, aid would reach at last a million Palestinians, or roughly half of the enclave’s population.
An image posted on X shows that the aid boxes include bags of rice and dried beans, as well as flour, oil, salt, and some canned vegetables.
توزيع المساعدات الشركة الامريكية،،نقطة تل السلطان غرب رفح.
كمان شوي بيجيك ابن النننرموتة خالد صافي يقولك فوتوشوووووب pic.twitter.com/FXB3A1b72Y
— Basem pal #Gaza (@Basem_gaza1988) May 27, 2025
الصحفي مهند قشطة:
بعض المواطنيين يقومون باستلام طرود غدائية من دوار العلم غرب رفح جنوبي قطاع غزة pic.twitter.com/rThblk6KdB— الحرب العالمية الثالثة (@WWIIIAR) May 27, 2025
Eight hundred transport planes and 140 ships have delivered more than 90,000 tons of armaments and military equipment from the United States to Israel since the start of the war, the Defense Ministry says.
This morning, the 800th plane landed, according to the ministry.
The military equipment delivered to Israel since the beginning of the war includes “armored vehicles, munitions, ammunition, personal protection gear, and medical equipment,” the ministry says.
It says the deliveries are “a significant component” in ensuring the IDF can continue operations, “both for achieving the war objectives and for improving readiness and stockpiles.”
The logistical effort has been carried out by the ministry’s Directorate of Production and Procurement, the ministry’s mission to the US, the IDF’s Planning Directorate, and the Israeli Air Force.
Israel and Syria are in direct contact and have in recent weeks held face-to-face meetings aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflict in the border region between the two longtime foes, five people familiar with the matter say.
The contacts build on back-channel talks via intermediaries since Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham toppled Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad in December, say two Syrian and two Western sources, as well as a regional intelligence source familiar with the matter.
The sources speak on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject for two nations with no official ties and a history of enmity. The direct talks and their scope have not been previously reported.
On the Syrian side, the sources say contacts have been led by senior security official Ahmad al-Dalati, who was appointed governor of the province of Quneitra, which borders the Golan Heights, after the fall of Assad. Earlier this week, Dalati was also put in charge of security in the southern province of Sweida, home to Syria’s Druze minority.
Reuters is unable to determine who participated on Israel’s side, though two of the sources say they were security officials.
Three of the sources say there had been several rounds of in-person meetings in the border region, including in territory controlled by Israel.
Israel’s foreign ministry and Syrian officials do not immediately respond to requests for comment.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen denounces as “abhorrent” Israel’s deadly wave of strikes on civilian facilities in Gaza, including a school-turned-shelter, during a call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
“The expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza targeting civilian infrastructure, among them a school that served as a shelter for displaced Palestinian families, killing civilians, including children, is abhorrent,” von der Leyen says, according to a European Commission readout of the call.
The Israel Defense Forces said its strike on the school targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists who had turned the facility into a command center.
German leaders are significantly ramping up criticism of Israel, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticizing massive airstrikes on Gaza as no longer justified by the need to fight Hamas and foreign minister Johann Wadephul warning Berlin will discuss what steps to take to deal with the “unbearable” situation.
“The massive military strikes by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip no longer reveal any logic to me. How they serve the goal of confronting terror. … In this respect, I view this very, very critically,” Merz says in Turku, Finland.
“I am also not among those who said it first … But it seemed and seems to me that the time has come when I must say publicly, (that) what is currently happening is no longer comprehensible.”
The chancellor plans to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week over Gaza. He does not reply to a question about German weapons exports to Israel, and a government official tells a briefing that this is a matter for a security council presided over by Merz.
Wadephul says he will speak to Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar later today, saying it is unacceptable that Gazans have no food or medicine.
“Our committed fight against antisemitism and our full support for the right to exist and the security of the state of Israel must not be instrumentalized for the conflict and the warfare currently being waged in the Gaza Strip,” Wadephul says in an interview with the WDR broadcaster.
“We are now at a point where we have to think very carefully about what further steps to take,” he adds, without giving further details.
Israel’s ambassador to Berlin, Ron Prosor, acknowledges German concerns but makes no commitments.
“When Friedrich Merz raises this criticism of Israel, we listen very carefully because he is a friend,” Prosor tells the ZDF broadcaster.
The work of a US-backed private humanitarian organization tasked with distributing aid in Gaza is a distraction from what is needed, such as the opening of crossing points, a UN spokesperson says.
“We do not participate in this modality for the reasons given. It is a distraction from what is actually needed,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), calling for the reopening of all crossings into Gaza and more Israeli approvals for emergency supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund, an Israeli-initiated plan, began distributing supplies in Gaza on Monday, it said.
The UN and most aid groups have refused to cooperate with the effort, which is aimed at keeping aid from being commandeered by Hamas. The terror group has demanded Gazans boycott the effort.
Juliette Touma, communications director of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, says the UN does not know what is being distributed.
“We don’t have any information,” she says. “We know what’s needed, we know what’s missing, and we are very, very far from that daily target.”
“The needs are 500-600 trucks at a minimum that should go into Gaza, loaded with supplies. Not only food but also medicine, medical supplies, vaccines for children, fuel, water and other basics for people’s survival,” Touma says. “We have over 3,000 trucks, not only of food, but also medicines that are lining up in places like Jordan, like Egypt, that are waiting for the green light to go in, and they’re carrying medicines and that is expiring soon.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets with Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi, who arrived in Israel for an international conference on combating antisemitism, Sa’ar’s office says in a statement.
This marks Popsoi’s first visit to the Jewish state, continues the statement, during which the Eastern European politician will participate in a summit on fighting global antisemitism, hosted by Sa’ar during Israel’s presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an intergovernmental organization for promoting Holocaust education and fighting antisemitism.
Several other foreign ministers of IHRA member states are expected to attend the conference, which will commence tonight and take place throughout tomorrow, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Honored to host in Jerusalem Moldova's Deputy PM and FM @MihaiPopsoi, on the sidelines of @TheIHRA conference chaired by Israel. We discussed ways to further strengthen our ties, following the opening of an Israeli embassy in Moldova last February. 🇮🇱🇲🇩 pic.twitter.com/Z4e6mBmNxx
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) May 27, 2025
Sa’ar and Popsoi discuss “further advancing bilateral relations” and “practical steps for combating antisemitism,” as well as preparations for a meeting of the joint economic committee between the countries, which they co-chair, adds the statement.
Popsoi is also expected to sign a legal cooperation agreement with Justice Minister Yariv Levin, says Sa’ar’s office. Moldova has long sought the extradition of Israeli-born billionaire and convicted fraudster Ilan Shor, who was active in Moldovan politics but fled back to Israel after being accused of wide-ranging graft.
In February, Sa’ar visited Chisinau to open Israel’s first embassy in Moldova, over 30 years after the two countries established diplomatic relations.
Defense Minister Israel Katz gives his backing for the appointment of Maj. Gen. David Zini as new Shin Bet chief, praising his “offense[-minded] approach” and saying he was a fitting candidate for the job.
“His [Zini’s] appointment to the post should be enabled as quickly as possible,” says Katz, adding that he was “convinced of Maj. Gen. David Zini’s fitness to head the [Shin Bet] organization and do the job in the best manner possible for the good of the security and defense of the State of Israel,” says Katz.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Zini to head the Shin Bet last week, but the attorney general said yesterday that Netanyahu had a conflict of interest in making the selection, said another cabinet minister must nominate the candidate, and expressed severe reservation as to whether he can now be legally appointed.
Several comments by Zini have also come to light in which he appeared to deprioritize the return of hostages in Hamas captivity, leading to strong criticism by organizations representing the families of those still held in Gaza.
After Democrats leader Yair Golan is heckled at a Beersheba event as a traitor, Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen, who was among the hecklers, takes the stage to praise the protesters, calling them “heroes.”
Others are less impressed. National Unity party head Benny Gantz condemns the chants of “traitor,” and calls for prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do the same.
“The fact that there is divisive and poisonous rhetoric in Israel over and over again obligates all of us to do deep soul searching,” he writes on X.
Former lawmaker Emilie Moatti says the incident proves that Golan should be afforded protection, either from the state or the party.
But Golan posts online that he is not cowed, hinting that Netanyahu or other senior politicians on the right are behind the campaign against him.
“I see the people and the hate in their eyes and I know that this is incitement from above. The same person who incited [Yitzhak] Rabin’s murder continues to incite today,” he writes. “I’m not scared. I tell the poison machine, I will not be deterred and will stop until you are removed from power.”
Democrats MK Naama Lazimi, who is at the same conference where Golan was heckled, posts defiantly on X, “We’re here, we are not afraid. Standing tall against the abandonment and plunder. A sane Israel will be victorious.”
Meanwhile, Likud MK Ofir Katz is unimpressed by the whole exchange. “Did something happen today that the media has suddenly started to be shocked at a politician being called a traitor,” he quips on X.
Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings director Maxim Rybnikov warns that weakening state institutions and an escalation of the security situation pose major risks for Israel’s country credit rating.
“By far, the biggest constraint for the rating today is really the institutional risk and also event risks,” says Maxim Rybnikov, London-based director at S&P Global Ratings speaking via video conference at the Eli Hurvitz conference on Economy and Society in Jerusalem. “The institutional assessment is a factor which has a high weight in our current methodology.”
“We look at the existence of comprehensive checks and balances between various institutions, cohesiveness of civil society, data availability, and respect for the rule of law,” says Rybnikov.
Earlier this month, S&P reaffirmed Israel’s A/A-1 credit rating — which it downgraded twice last year — while keeping its outlook negative, meaning that the country could be facing further downgrades. A lower rating raises credit costs for the government, businesses and households.
“We closely followed the geopolitical events last year, which significantly increased risks for Israel, and this is why the two downgrade rating actions took place,” says Rybnikov. “Going forward, we don’t know when and how the war is going to end.”
“For us, it certainly presents risks, especially in a scenario where there’s a more significant escalation — if Iran, for example, gets directly involved, which is not our baseline scenario, but if that would happen, we could see the influence on multiple credit factors across the board,” he cautions.
Rybnikov notes that the rating agency could revise Israel’s credit outlook to stable from negative, if there was a reduced “likelihood of military escalation broadening, especially with Iran.”
Released hostage Keith Siegel; Ayelet Samerano, mother of Jonathan Samerano, who was identified as having been killed on October 7; and Dalia Cusnir, sister-in-law of hostage Eitan Horn, speak at an online press conference before marking 600 days of the hostages’ captivity on Wednesday.
Cusnir and Siegel emphasize the need to bring home the hostages and bring about an end to the war.
“I feel that we failed them,” says Cusnir. “Humanity, the democratic countries, the health organizations, we failed them and we need to fix this, this is the only way of moving forward.”
Siegel names US President Donald Trump, Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government, the mediating countries and the leaders of the world, and urges them to get an agreement signed.
“We need to move forward in our lives and this can’t happen until all the hostages are brought home,” says Siegel.
Siegel says that after seeing fairly recent Hamas propaganda videos of two hostages, Matan Angrest and Omri Miran, with whom he spent time with in captivity, he sees how much they have deteriorated, physically and emotionally, since he last saw them.
“When I think about 600 days in captivity, I think about my experience, 484 days [in captivity], it’s hard for me to imagine surviving and to be able to cope with that,” says Siegel. “I cannot comprehend the difficulties they’re enduring for so long.”
Cusnir, who is married to Horn’s brother Amos Horn, notes that a third brother Iair Horn, who was also held hostage, marked 100 days of freedom on Monday.
“We were talking about he feels, and he said, ‘Don’t get me wrong, but I’m not really free because I left my little brother back in the tunnel,'” says Cusnir. “Iair is free in that he is walking around but his heart and mind and soul are in Gaza.”
Cusnir notes that 600 is a tough number, “but for hostage numbers, it’s just one more day,” she says. “Every day is horrible and painful. We knew Eitan was alive on February 15 but since then, everything can change, unfortunately. We think about them every single second of every day.”
Samerano, whose son was identified by intelligence as having been killed on October 7 and his body taken hostage by a UNRWA worker to Gaza, says she doesn’t yet know for sure that her son was killed when he was taken captive.
She adds that if he was killed, she can’t be sure if his body will ever be found to be brought home for burial.
“We don’t know if he’s alive or not and will they find him for me? That’s how we feel,” says Samerano. “I never imagined we would wait 600 days. I’m begging, my son should be home, he should have been home a long time ago.”
Democrats party leader Yair Golan is heckled and booed by protesters during a speech at a conference in Beersheba, prompting him to tell the crowd that they “know nothing but hate.”
“At my advanced age, I went to save people from the Nova party. I risked my life while you sat at home in safety,” he yells at the crowd, who attempt to drown out his speech with jeers, whistles, sirens and other noisemakers.
אחרי שכינו אותו ׳בוגד׳ יאיר גולן פתח במתקפה על המשתתפים בכנס שדרות:
אין בכם כלום חוץ משנאה, אתם לא יודעים כלום חוץ משנאה
בגילי המתקדם יצאתי למסיבת הנובה לסכן את חיי בזמן שישבתם בבית
אתם מפרקים את מדינת ישראל pic.twitter.com/fiyIv6tg41
— מיכאל שמש Michael Shemesh (@shemeshmicha) May 27, 2025
“Shame on you,” he repeats over the din. “You are dismantling the state, at a conference whose purpose [is to discuss] how to rebuild what you haven’t yet taken apart.”
“It’s because of people like you that [former prime minister Yitzhak] Rabin was murdered,” he says. “If you had the courage, you would listen, but you are afraid, distrustful, and that causes you hate that leads to violence. You won’t make me hate because I am a courageous person… I dare to love you.”
Protesters are also seen on video shouting “traitor” at the former general.
יאיר גולן הגיע לשדרות!
מה אומרים, ערוצי התרעלה ידווחו על הקריאות מהקהל? pic.twitter.com/JrX8NMvtXo— Igal Malka – 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱 (@igal_malka) May 27, 2025
According to the Walla news site, protesters at the conference, organized by the Kaye Academic College of Education, also attempted to block Democrats MK Naama Lazimi from entering, telling her to “go to Gaza.”
Golan, leader of the left’s flagship party, has become the locus of right-wing protests since saying last week that Israeli soldiers were killing babies in Gaza “as a hobby,” comments he later walked back.
A renewed Israeli military offensive has forcibly displaced almost 180,000 people in the 10 days before May 25, the International Organization for Migration says, as Israel pursues a renewed offensive aimed at taking control of most of the territory.
In a statement on behalf of the UN-backed Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster, the group expresses deep alarm and denounces direct attacks on shelters, which it says have become “common.”
Nearly 616,000 people have been displaced since the end of a ceasefire on March 18, the statement says. During the ceasefire, around half a million Palestinians were able to return home, but “that fragile progress has now been reversed,” it says.
“With the ongoing aid blockade, there has been no guarantee of shelter, assistance, or protection for civilians. Constant movement restrictions and indiscriminate strikes on civilian infrastructure, including shelters, schools, hospitals, and tents, over the last 19 months have continuously exposed civilians to immense danger and raise grave concern,” the IOM states.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says during testimony in his corruption trial that he encouraged US businessman Sheldon Adelson to invest in the Israeli media market in order to “diversify” the news coverage.
“I remember in general that I sought to set in motion, with anyone I could, the diversification of the media in Israel,” the Walla News website reports Netanyahu as saying.
Adelson ended up investing in the Israel Hayom free sheet, which was derided for years as a mouthpiece for Netanyahu that was rarely critical of the premier. However, Netanyahu says he encouraged the casino tycoon to invest in a news website, since he believed printed newspapers to be a thing of the past.
Netanyahu is being questioned today by an attorney for Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the Yedioth Ahronoth tabloid, which saw its market share shrink significantly with the arrival of Israel Hayom.
Mozes was indicted alongside Netanyahu in Case 2000 for allegedly trying to come to an illicit quid pro quo agreement with the prime minister whereby Yedioth would reduce its criticism of Netanyahu, and Netanyahu would in turn advance legislation in Knesset to limit Israel Hayom’s distribution.
During the hearing, judges also reject Netanyahu’s request to end tomorrow’s hearing early due to commitments in Knesset.
They insist that the primary questioning must finish this week so that cross-examination can begin as soon as possible, and suggest extending today’s hearing.
British police say they do not suspect terrorism after arresting a 53-year-old British man who plowed a minivan through crowds in Liverpool during a Premier League title parade.
Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram says four of the 47 people injured are “very, very ill in hospital.”
Merseyside Police say they are not looking for other suspects. The force has not identified the arrested driver, but were quick to identify the driver as a “white British man from the Liverpool area.”
Former police officers and local politicians say authorities had sought to cool social media speculation that the episode was an Islamist attack.
“That was one of my first concerns, that we needed to get the story out quickly,” Rotheram tells the BBC. “If there’s a vacuum, we know there are some elements that will try to inflame the situation and to create that speculation and to put misinformation out there.”
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpudlians had crammed the streets of the port city in northwest England on Monday to celebrate the team winning England’s Premier League this season for a record-tying 20th top-flight title.
As the parade was wrapping up, a minivan turned into a street just off the parade route and plowed into the sea of fans wrapped in their red Liverpool scarves, jerseys and other memorabilia. A video on social media shows the van strike a man, tossing him in the air, before veering into a larger crowd, where it plowed a path through the group and pushed bodies along the street before coming to a stop.
“It was extremely fast,” says Harry Rashid, who was with his wife and two young daughters as the minivan passed by them. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”
Rashid says the crowd charged the halted vehicle and began smashing windows.
“But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid says. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”
Media outlets in Gaza say Israeli airstrikes in recent hours have targeted Jabalia and Beit Lahiya in the northern part of the Strip, as well as the Khan Younis area in the southern part of the enclave.
Gazan reports say five people have been killed in strikes in Khan Younis since this morning, though it is unclear if they are civilians or combatants.
There is no comment from the Israeli military.
Residents of a southern West Bank hamlet have filed a petition to the High Court of Justice after the police and army refused to evict settlers who erected a tent over the home of a Palestinian man.
Settlers erected the canopied structure over a cave near the village of Khilet al-Daba in the South Hebron Hills that locals say is used as a home by a resident of the village, located some 200 meters away.
Jaber Dababseh, a resident of the village, tells The Times of Israel that around 20 settlers have moved into the area, and in recent days, have thrown stones and damaged residents’ property.
He adds that one resident was forced to leave his cave due to settler threats.
Footage from the area shows settlers walking around and allowing sheep to graze in the courtyards of village homes.
1/3 🚨🚨🚨
ניסיון נוסף לטהר אתנית את הכפר ח'לת אל דבע: לאחר נסיונות רבים של הרשויות הציוניות לגרש את תושבי הכפר, ברגעים אלה פולשים לכפר כשלוש עשרה מתנחלים חמושים באקדחים ומקלות, הם הכריחו שתי משפחות לצאת מהמערות בהן הן מתגוררות וכעת המתנחלים נכנסו אליהן והכניסו לתוכן את הצאן שלהם https://t.co/bEDrpGVNK4 pic.twitter.com/ElDXECo3Pj— מחוץ לעדר (@masafering) May 26, 2025
Residents contacted the army and police yesterday, demanding that the settlers be removed, but received no response, so have turned to Israel’s court system for an injunction.
In response to the petition, police state, “The cave is located on state land and appears to be abandoned; forces observed Israelis in the area and warned them not to enter the cave.”
The army also tells the court that the tent is not a settler outpost.
“There is no known outpost at the site. The so-called outpost mentioned by the petitioners is most likely a blue tarpaulin erected by an Israeli shepherd who positioned himself in a cave outside the village. It is a makeshift shelter for his personal use.”
Khilet al-Daba is located within a designated IDF firing zone, and the Israeli High Court ruled nearly three years ago that residents there could legally be evicted. However, Israeli authorities have yet to carry out any evacuations.
Palestinians say West Bank settlers seeking to expand their footprint in the territory have stepped up efforts to force Bedouin off the land in recent months, intimidating residents while herding sheep in close proximity to areas where Palestinians live.
Last week, settlers established an outpost adjacent to a Bedouin community near Ramallah. Within four days, 150 residents fled the area fearing for their safety, according to locals.
Russia launched 60 drones at Ukraine overnight, officials in Kyiv say, indicating a sharp decrease in the intensity of Moscow’s attacks after US President Donald Trump said Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had “gone absolutely CRAZY” and threatened sanctions a day earlier.
The last several nights had seen massive aerial bombardments, including a record barrage of 355 drones on Sunday night, according to Ukraine.
Ukraine says the drone attack hit targets in nine locations, injuring 10 people.
Russia, meanwhile, says it downed 99 Ukrainian drones overnight.
A judge was stabbed to death on his way to work in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz on Tuesday morning, state media reports.
A report by the official IRNA news agency calls the killing a “terrorist act,” adding that two unidentified assailants are still at large. It identifies the judge as Ehsum Bagheri, 38, who worked for the city’s judicial department.
Bagheri in the past worked as a prosecutor in the revolutionary court, which deals with security and drug smuggling cases.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Police say they have cleared protesters who blocked the exit from the Ashdod port in a bid to prevent trucks from carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Two activists have been arrested for disturbing public order and refusing to comply with police orders to clear the road, police say.
According to reports, the two are Ruth Ben Haim, the head of the Tzav 9 activist group which has led efforts to block aid from entering Gaza, and a relative of murdered hostage Maya Goren.
Video from the scene shows chaos as police attempt to clear both protesters and activists from the Standing Together group, which apparently arrived on the scene to protect the shipments.
בזמן שהמילואימניקים נלחמים על המדינה, פעילי תנועת 'עומדים ביחד' משחירים את שמנו בעולם! אין להם בושה להגיע גם לכאן ולהתעמת איתנו.
סרן במיל' עומר ולדמן ממובילי התנועה ששירתה מאות ימי מילואים, לא נשארה חייבת:
בצד של מי אתם?! תתביישו לכם! pic.twitter.com/rlbDnpcpK5
— המילואימניקים – דור הניצחון (@ozleisraelaza) May 27, 2025
“Police returned order to the area and are continuing to assist the IDF in securing aid shipments,” police say in a statement.
The IDF and police this morning launched an operation across the West Bank aimed at seizing “terror funds,” a military official says.
The owners of money exchange companies who Israel believes are funneling cash to terror groups will be detained, the official adds.
Further details on the raids are expected to be provided later by the army and police.
Video published by Quds News purports to show soldiers surrounding a foreign exchange office in the West Bank city of Tubas.
مشاهد من اقتحام الاحتلال لمحل "الخليج" للصرافة في مدينة طوباس. pic.twitter.com/GUPFyDdjXi
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) May 27, 2025
The brother of hostage Nimrod Cohen accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using “psychological terror” against families of captives by appearing to hint at a deal for their freedom only to backpedal.
“It is psychological terror in every sense of the word when a prime minister throws out an aside about my brother’s life,” Yotam Cohen tells Ynet. “This is despicable, and was done in the most crude, disgusting way.”
A small group of right-wing activists say they are blocking trucks from transporting humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite the implementation yesterday of a controversial mechanism backed by Israel and the US meant to distribute assistance to individuals without allowing it to be diverted by Hamas.
Video distributed by the Tzav 9 activist group shows about half a dozen people blocking trucks from exiting the Ashdod port, with some holding a sign that reads “Humanitarian for Humanitarian” in Hebrew, English and Arabic. Others wave Israeli flags.
פעילי תנועת צו 9 ומילואימנקים דור הניצחון חוסמים הבוקר את משאיות הסיוע לאויב העזתי בנמל אשדוד. בצו 9 אומרים כי בשבוע שחלף נכנסו 665 משאיות לרצועה. pic.twitter.com/nWMvDGQ13e
— אלעד הוּמינר 🇮🇱 العاد هومينر (@EladHumi) May 27, 2025
Tzav 9 activists have held a number of actions throughout the war in an attempt to keep aid from reaching Gaza, including blocking roads and crossings near the Gaza Strip, saying no aid should enter Gaza until the hostages are freed.
There is no immediate comment from police.
Relatives of hostages are complaining of feeling toyed with by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he seemed to tease the possibility of a hostage deal, only to dash their hopes.
“When the prime minister speaks about it, we understand that perhaps something real is happening,” Herut Nimrodi, the mother of hostage Tamir Nimrodi, tells Army Radio. “This has stirred up all the families.”
Eli Albag, the father of former hostage Liri Albag, tells Channel 12 news that one hostage relative “tried to do something to himself” after the rug was pulled out from under him, without elaborating.
“The families started to get happy, they were as happy as one can get, but quickly they realized it was just blather, with no significance,” he says. This put them in an extreme emotional state, he says
He accused the premier of being irresponsible, noting that he is “not just some tweeter” and that his words carry weight.
“Every word kills,” he says. “The families don’t have strength anymore. Six hundred days is too many.”
Netanyahu’s comments came at the tail end of a video released Monday in which he announced, “I really hope we can announce something regarding the hostages, if not today, then tomorrow.”
After anxious queries from families, his office walked back the comments, saying they should not be seen as a signal of an impending deal.
Einat Angrest, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest, tells the Kan public broadcaster that “from Netanyahu’s tone, I understood that he was not talking about tomorrow, but rather the future.”
She says soldiers fighting for Israel should know that if they are captured “not a single minister or Knesset member will fight for them, even if they are tortured, even if they are violently interrogated, none of them will care.”
Police say they have detained an Eritrean national suspected of involvement in the killing of an elderly man in Tel Aviv overnight.
The suspect, 40, is thought to have killed the victim, 71, during a robbery in south Tel Aviv’s Hatikva neighborhood in the predawn hours. The victim was also a foreign national.
Cops launched a manhunt in the area and arrested the man a short time later, police say. He has been transferred for questioning.
The Walla news site reports that the victim is thought to have died after being bludgeoned in the face with a rock.
Violent street crime is fairly rare in Israel, though residents of working-class neighborhoods in southern Tel Aviv have for years complained of rising lawlessness, with some blaming the arrival of thousands of African migrants.
Tel Aviv police chief Haim Sargrof and other top police officials visit the scene following the killing.
A ballistic missile launched at Israel from Yemen a short while ago was intercepted by air defenses, the military says, marking the second such incident in hours.
No sirens were activated “according to protocol,” the IDF says, as no towns were under any threat.
Earlier this morning, a missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen set off sirens in the West Bank. It was also shot down, according to the IDF.
A man in his 70s died after being involved in a “violent incident” in Tel Aviv, the Magen David Adom rescue service says.
EMTs were called to the scene on Hanoch Street in south Tel Aviv’s Hatikva neighborhood at 5:41 a.m. and attempted unsuccessfully the resuscitate the man, who had injuries to his face, the emergency service says in a statement.
There are no other details from authorities about the incident.
The IDF says a siren that sounded a short while ago in the Gaza border community of Nir Am was a false alarm.
“This was a false identification,” the military says, meaning not a threat.
A rocket siren is sounding near the community of Nir Am, outside of Sderot on the Gaza border, Israel’s Home Front Command says.
The Israel Defense Forces says it is investigating.
There is no immediate report of injuries or damage in the suspected rocket attack.
The IDF says it that downed a missile fired from Yemen toward Israel, after the projectile triggered warning sirens in the Jordan Valley and northern West Bank.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
A ballistic missile launched from Yemen sets off sirens in Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley and northern West Bank, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
A statement from the military says air defenses “are working to intercept the threat.”
Lebanese reports say IDF ground forces have operated near the town of Mays al-Jabal in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese army troops are patrolling the area, some of the reports say.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
