The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they unfolded.
A 62-year-old tourist is declared dead after he drowned in the Kinneret, medics say.
Media reports identified the man as being from Germany. United Hatzalah says their first responders transported him to a local hospital when he was in critical condition.
The hospital says that they believe the man suffered a heart-related incident while he was swimming, which caused him to drown.
Iran’s president hails his visit to Damascus as a “turning point,” after Tehran’s support helped Syria retake most of the territory it lost in 12 years of war.
Ebrahim Raisi’s two-day trip is the first such visit to Tehran’s close ally since 2010, and gives Iran a leading role as Syrian President Bashar Assad seeks to focus on reconstruction, despite Western sanctions on both countries.
“This trip will be a turning point in Iran-Syria relations and will have an effect on the region and the trade and economic relations of the two countries,” Raisi says during an event for businessmen.
“In no way do we consider the level of economic activity between Iran and Syria to be proportional to the level of political relations between the two countries,” Raisi says. “We believe that there should be a leap forward in commercial relations.”
Raisi says Iran and Syria signed 15 “cooperation documents” which would allow “both countries to open a new chapter in economic relations.”
Authorities have detained seven people, most of them of Chechen origin, on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack in Belgium, the federal prosecutor’s office says.
The office says in a statement that the suspects had not yet selected a precise target but police decided to pick them up for questioning anyway.
“All of them are suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in Belgium,” the statement said. “The examining magistrate will decide at a later stage whether to bring them before him and possibly issue an arrest warrant.”
Three of the suspects are Belgian nationals, according to federal prosecutors. The office’s statement says all seven allegedly belonged to a group of “strong supporters” of the Islamic State extremist group.
“Possible charges are attempted terrorist assassination, participation in the activities of a terrorist group and preparation of a terrorist attack,” according to the statement.
Military prosecutors have filed an indictment against the sons of a Palestinian terrorist who killed Israeli brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv in the West Bank town of Huwara in February, charging them with helping plan the attack.
Khaled and Muhammed Kharousha, the sons of Hamas member Abdel Fattah Hussein Kharousha, were detained on March 7 during a raid in Nablus. At the same time, their father, who shot the Yaniv brothers dead, was killed in a raid in Jenin.
The Israel Defense Forces says the indictment against the Kharousha sons charges them with intentionally causing death — the military court’s equivalent of murder — and weapons offenses.
The pair helped their father in planning the attack, and carried out intelligence gathering, according to the indictment.
Initially, the sons were supposed to join their father in the attack itself, but in the days before the February 26 shooting, they agreed that the elder Kharousha would carry it out alone, the indictment adds.
The pair will be held until the end of legal proceedings.
The Yaniv family has been updated on the indictment, the IDF says.
Protesters are gathering at a variety of locations around the country as they continue a protest “Day of Equality” against the government’s judicial overhaul plans.
Both pro-overhaul and anti-overhaul protesters are outside the home of former Supreme Court justice Aharon Barak in Tel Aviv. A group of Moroccan Jews are among those protesting outside the justice’s home in response to his past comments about “not being able to find” a suitable Moroccan or Mizrahi candidate to serve as a justice on the High Court.
"חפלה מרוקאית" ועמדת מופלטות: מאות מפגינים בת"א בעד התוכנית המשפטית מול בידו של נשיא בית המשפט העליון לשעבר אהרן ברק@galdjerassi pic.twitter.com/7vTi1iMXPQ
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) May 4, 2023
Anti-overhaul protesters are also gathered outside the home of Justice Minister Yariv Levin in Modiin, as well as Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel in Tel Aviv.
A group of Druze activists calling for equality is protesting at the Koranit Junction in the North. A group of activists demanding equality for LGBTQ Israelis is protesting in Habima Square in Tel Aviv.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the operation earlier today in which those allegedly responsible for the deaths of Lucy, Rina and Maia Dee were killed should send a clear message.
“There is a message here that needs to be understood: Over the past few months, we have eliminated 110 murderers,” including those arrested, says Netanyahu in comments from the Shin Bet war room, from where this morning’s operation was run.
“Our message to the murderers, to those who try to harm us or have harmed us, is: We will reach you,” he adds. “You can hide, you can try to hide — but it won’t help. The long hand of the State of Israel will reach you.”
President Isaac Herzog’s office says that the first round of negotiations over the judicial overhaul has been completed, following a meeting today between representatives of the coalition, Yesh Atid and National Unity.
The goal of the first round of talks was “to allow the sides to present — in a broad, detailed and reasoned manner — their positions on the different issues,” the President’s Residence says in a statement.
Herzog’s office adds that the talks are expected to continue “out of a full commitment to trying to reach a broad agreement,” without providing any timeline.
Herzog landed in London a short time ago to participate in the coronation of King Charles. He is slated to return early next week.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen rejects the findings of an internal report from his office that warned of the damaging ramifications of the government’s judicial overhaul effort to Israel’s international standing.
A handful of very senior officials in the Foreign Ministry commissioned the report on the ramifications of the overhaul on Israel’s foreign relations, while agreeing to keep the circle of those who knew about its compilation at a minimum due to the sensitivity of the issue, the Walla news site reports.
While written in very cautious language, the report found that Israel’s international standing has been slowly deteriorating since the establishment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government on December 29, particularly because of the judicial overhaul it unveiled days after being sworn in.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman says today that Cohen “does not accept the assessment presented in the report. It does not express the position of all ministry officials and does not reflect a true picture of the situation. The report reflects the author’s opinion alone.”
President Isaac Herzog has arrived in London ahead of the coronation of King Charles this weekend, his office says.
Herzog and his wife, Michal, will attend a reception tomorrow afternoon at Buckingham Palace alongside other visiting presidents, royals, prime ministers and world leaders.
On Saturday morning, the pair will represent Israel at the official coronation at Westminster Abbey. They will stay nearby the location and walk there as to not violate Shabbat, his office says.
The president is expected to hold meetings with both Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opposition leader Keir Starmer while he is in London.
Police publish footage of the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit operating in the West Bank city of Nablus this morning, during the raid that resulted in three Palestinian gunmen killed, among them the terrorists who killed three members of the Dee family last month.
The footage shows the officers launching grenades at the building where the suspects were holed up.
Police publish footage of Yamam officers operating in Nablus this morning, during the raid that resulted in three Palestinian gunmen killed, among them the terrorists who killed three members of the Dee family. pic.twitter.com/mxzWKniQra
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 4, 2023
National Unity chief Benny Gantz says he would back Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu taking a plea bargain in his criminal trial and departing from political life.
Speaking to Ynet radio, Gantz denounces Netanyahu’s leadership, charging that he is no longer able to responsibly lead the country since he is completely consumed by his own interests.
“I think that the Israel of the past four months is not the same as it was four months ago. The public is not buying his political games anymore. Not everything is acceptable,” he said. “Netanyahu is first and foremost concerned with his personal situation. I am concerned with the state of the nation.”
Footage published by Palestinian media claims to show undercover officers walking through the streets of Nablus early this morning, dressed up as a group of Palestinian men and women, ahead of an operation in which the men allegedly responsible for the murders of Lucy, Rina and Maia Dee were killed.
⭕️فيديو يوثق لحظة تسلل القوات الخاصة إلى البلدة القديمة في نابلس صباح اليوم. pic.twitter.com/Kbt9Hr16nR
— إذاعة الأقصى – عاجل (@Alaqsavoice_Brk) May 4, 2023
In a joint statement, the Shin Bet security agency, Israel Police, and Israel Defense Forces say that troops entered Nablus’s Old City in order to arrest Hassan Qatnani and Moaz al-Masri, the Hamas terrorists who allegedly carried out the deadly shooting attack in the Jordan Valley on April 7.
Members of the police elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit surrounded the home where the two terrorists were believed to be hiding. The forces fired a shoulder-launched missile at it, according to Palestinian media, in a tactic known as a “pressure cooker,” to flush out the wanted suspects.
The state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries reveals it has been developing a new large autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), dubbed BlueWhale.
According to IAI, the unmanned submarine has already conducted thousands of hours of submerged and autonomous operations.
The firm says BlueWhale uses radar and electro-optical systems to detect sea and coastal targets. It is also equipped with sonar capabilities to detect manned and unmanned submarines, as well as map out naval mines.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells a bipartisan group of visiting members of Congress that Iran could threaten the entire United States if it gets a nuclear weapon.
“Iran is 50 North Koreas; it is not merely a neighborhood bully like the dynasty that rules North Korea,” says Netanyahu in response to a question about Tehran. “This is an ideological force that views us, Israel, as a small satan, and views you as the great satan — and to have Iran being able to threaten every city in the United States with nuclear blackmail is a changing of history.”
Russian television shows President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin for the first time since a drone attack that Moscow said was a Ukrainian assassination attempt.
State television shows Putin with Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, saying the meeting was inside the Kremlin.
????????????????????????Putin meets with Economic Development Minister Reshetnikov???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/yZfW6Y45MP
— ????????IL RUSSO???????? (@ILRUSSO12) May 4, 2023
A group of women from the “Mothers on the Frontlines” organization take baby carriages mounted with small coffins draped with Israeli flags to the IDF’s Induction Center at Tel Hashomer and place them outside the base.
The women march toward the base chanting demands for equality in military service, in reference to the government’s plans to re-legislate laws previously struck down by the High Court of Justice giving ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students blanket exemptions from IDF military service.
מיצג חזק ומצמרר של אמהות בחזית היום:
יש בישראל אמהות חרדיות שישנות טוב בלילה ויש אמהות חרדות שיודעות מרגע הלידה שהן יצטרכו לשלוח את הילדים שלהן לצבא.המיצג והמסר האלו נוגעים לי בנקודה כואבת, כאמא לנער בן 17 שאמור להתגייס בעוד שנה לצבא. pic.twitter.com/uu4R8DLUMh
— ענבר בזק Inbar Bezek (@InbarBezek) May 4, 2023
The issue has been a source of division in Israeli society for decades, with opponents of the exemptions arguing that the arrangement for ultra-Orthodox men is profoundly discriminatory against all other Jewish men who are legally obligated to enlist in the IDF.
Today’s anti-government protests have been focused on themes of inequality of different forms in Israel, including draft inequality, as well as religious and gender inequality.
Iran’s president meets senior Palestinian officials in Damascus and expresses his country’s support of them as Tehran and Syria sign a series of agreements.
Among the Palestinians in attendance was Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Nakhaleh, who is based in Syria, and Khalil al-Hayya, a senior member in the Gaza-ruling Hamas.
According to a statement from Raisi’s office, the Iranian president urges Muslims to “use all their capacities to achieve the violated rights of Palestine and the freedom of the holy Quds [Jerusalem].”
“Today more than ever, the unity and cohesion of the resistance forces, the region and the Islamic world is necessary to accelerate the defeat of the Zionist regime and the liberation of the holy Quds and the sovereignty of the Palestinians over their destiny,” Raisi is quoted as saying.
He adds: “We consider the collapse of the Zionist Regime, whose effects are visible, to be very close.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells his Greek counterpart that Iran has enriched enough uranium for five nuclear bombs.
“Make no mistake – Iran will not be satisfied by a single nuclear bomb. So far, Iran has gained material enriched to 20% and 60% for five nuclear bombs,” Gallant tells Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos during a visit to Athens. “Iranian progress, and enrichment to 90%, would be a grave mistake on Iran’s part, and could ignite the region.”
Gallant adds that Israel will not allow Iran to continue its attempts to build a stronghold in Syria.
“Over the past six months, Iran has sent aircraft to Syria on a weekly basis, delivering weapons to be used for terrorism,” he says. “The Syrian regime should be aware that the IDF will respond forcefully to any attacks launched from its territory. We will not allow Iran to establish military power in Syria, or to build a highway for the delivery of advanced weapons to Lebanon.”
Several protesters are arrested in Tel Aviv and Haifa during demonstrations against the government’s judicial overhaul program.
At least two protesters are arrested in the Haifa protests and two in Tel Aviv, according to protest organizers.
Another arrest of anti-judicial overhaul protestors in Haifa… pic.twitter.com/uysS24M5qy
— Jeremy Sharon (@jeremysharon) May 4, 2023
According to the police, two protesters in the Haifa demonstrations aged 45 and 68 were arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, one of whom attacked a police officer. A decision will be made later today as to whether charges will be brought against them.
Kaplan Street and the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv have been blocked by protesters during the course of the afternoon, with the police attempting to block them from reaching the Ayalon.
Police arrest anti-judicial overhaul protestors in Haifa… pic.twitter.com/s287jzAY3V
— Jeremy Sharon (@jeremysharon) May 4, 2023
A passenger bus has slammed into a slowly moving truck on a highway in southwestern Egypt, killing at least 17 people, officials and local media say.
The crash took place late last night in the New Valley province, according to its governor, Mohamed el-Zamlout.
Twenty-nine others were injured, says the Health Ministry, adding that 26 ambulances were dispatched to the accident scene to transfer victims to nearby hospitals and morgues. It was unclear who outside the bus had been hurt or killed, and authorities didn’t elaborate on what caused the crash.
A local daily, el-Shorouk, quots an unnamed official as saying that the bus slammed into the truck which was “nearly parking” on the road. It reported that the bus had been carrying 45 people heading to the capital, Cairo.
An Israeli Air Force investigation into the activity of the Iron Dome air defense system during a flare-up of violence with the Gaza Strip this week reveals a technical error during a rocket barrage on Tuesday afternoon.
The IAF says the issue was fixed immediately, and did not occur again on Tuesday evening or on in the early hours of Wednesday.
In the rocket barrage on Tuesday afternoon, several rockets slammed into populated areas in the southern city of Sderot, including one that wounded three foreign nationals at a construction site.
The IAF says the interception rate of rockets heading for populated areas amid the daylong flare-up was 90.5%.
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