May 5: After deadly Hamas rocket attack, Israeli strikes on Rafah said to kill 16

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi is seen at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony held at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, April 17, 2023. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

In a missive to troops ahead of Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military is fighting in memory of those who perished, and to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

“With the sound of the siren, the memory of the six million who were murdered in the ghettos and death camps, in the killing ravines, and in the death marches arises. For a moment we will bow our heads and unite with the memory of our people who were persecuted and perished just because they were Jews, and immediately we will look ahead, proudly carry their holy will, and act to ensure that [our] national home will be forever, which they wished for, but [did] not have the privilege [to see],” Halevi writes.

“The State of Israel was established, among other things, thanks to the female and male fighters of all generations, who were ready to give their lives for it. These days we are in a war in which at the beginning we failed in our mission and we lost many men and women — civilians, soldiers, members of local security teams, and members of the security and rescue forces. Lives that were cut short, in a war that was also forced upon us by the hand of a heinous enemy who rose up against us to destroy us. But this time we are different. A change has taken place in the Jewish people. From a voiceless and defenseless nation, to a nation that bears responsibility for its destiny. Fighting and promising, never again,” he continues.

“No longer a Star of David as a sign of disgrace, but as a symbol on the flag of the nation, flying with pride. No longer a scattered nation who are homeless and persecuted in exile, but a strong and independent people united in their country and homeland. No longer a nation without a protective force, but a nation with heroes and heroines in its ranks, who stand high and proud and fight together shoulder to shoulder as part of the Israel Defense Forces,” Halevi says.

“We fight in memory of the six million who could not fight the enemy who rose to destroy them; for our people who looked in terror and helplessness through the barbed wire fences; for those who did not allow their fate to be determined by the Nazi oppressor, took up arms and fought for their lives and the lives of their people with all their might, a war of the few against the many with their heads held high; and in the name of those who managed to be saved from the German inferno and mobilized the rest of their strength to take part in establishing a state for the Jewish people,” he writes.

“As we fight our just war, this remembrance will be the source of our strength, and a reminder of the importance of the existence of a protective force for our people. We carry on our shoulders the responsibility to continue fighting for the freedom of the people of Israel, and to promise: Never again!” Halevi adds.

Holocaust Remembrance Day will begin at sundown on Sunday night, and continue Monday.

6:36 am

25 arrested at UVA protest, school says outsiders involved

By AP and ToI Staff

Twenty-five people have been arrested for trespassing at the University of Virginia, according to multiple reports.

In a statement, school president Jim Ryan says demonstrators were told the tents and canopies they erected were prohibited under school policy and were asked to remove them. Virginia State Police were asked to help with enforcement when attempts by university police “to resolve the situation were met with physical confrontation and attempted assault.”

“This afternoon, the police declared an unlawful assembly, issued no trespass orders to those who refused to disperse, and arrested those who continued to refuse dispersal,” Ryan says.

He calls the episode “upsetting, frightening, and sad,” blaming a small group of rule-breakers for the trouble and claiming, without evidence, that they included people unaffiliated with the school.

Laura Goldblatt, an assistant professor of English and global studies who has been helping student demonstrators, tells The Washington Post that as police moved in, students were pushed to the ground, pulled by their arms and sprayed with a chemical irritant.

“Our concern since this began has been the safety of our students. Students are not safe right now,” Goldblatt says.

7:16 am

Rocket sirens sound in communities close to northern border

Sirens sound in a number of communities close to the northern border, warning of incoming rocket fire.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces in Lebanon have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

8:03 am

Trump tells Republican donors the Biden administration is a ‘Gestapo administration’ – report

By ToI Staff and Agencies

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks to reporters, alongside attorney Todd Blanche (R) at the end of the day's proceedings in his criminal trial at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City, on May 3, 2024 (Jeenah Moon/Pool/AFP)

Former US President Donald Trump compares the Biden administration to the Nazis at a Republican National Committee donor retreat in Florida, The New York Times reports.

“These people are running a Gestapo administration,” Trump tells donors at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, according to a recording obtained by The New York Times.

“And it’s the only thing they have. And it’s the only way they’re going to win, in their opinion, and it’s actually killing them. But it doesn’t bother me,” the former US president says as he campaigns to retake the White House from US President Joe Biden in the November elections.

According to a book published in March, and other reports, Trump has commended Nazi leader Adolf Hitler on more than one occasion

Trump is currently embroiled in a historic criminal trial in New York in which he stands charged of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star to avoid another scandal before the 2016 election.

In addition to the New York case, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

He also faces charges in Florida of allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.

8:14 am

Australian officials: ‘Radicalized’ 16-year-old stabbed man before he was shot dead by police

By AFP

Western Australian police shot and killed a “radicalized” 16-year-old boy with a knife who had stabbed a man in a Perth car park, police and the state premier says.

The teenager “rushed” at police who responded by shooting him twice with Tasers before firing a single fatal shot, they say.

“There are indications he had been radicalized online. But I want to reassure the community at this stage it appears he acted solely and alone,” Premier Roger Cook says.

Police received a call late on Saturday from a male warning that he was going to commit “acts of violence” but without giving his name or location, the state’s police commissioner, Col Blanch, tells reporters.

Within minutes, another emergency call alerted police that a “male with a knife was running around the car park” in Willetton, a southern suburb of Perth, he says.

The “middle-aged” man who was stabbed was in a “serious” but stable condition and appeared to be doing well, the police commissioner says.

The boy had “mental issues but also online radicalization issues,” he says.

The attacker had for the past couple of years been part of a “countering violence extremism program” for people who show signs of “religious or issues-motivated” concerns, he says.

8:48 am

US says no Saudi defense pact without Israel normalization: ‘Can’t disentangle one piece from others’

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, April 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan says that Washington will not agree to a defense pact with Riyadh unless there is a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

“The integrated vision is a bilateral understanding between the US and Saudi Arabia combined with normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, combined with meaningful steps on behalf of the Palestinian people,” Sullivan tells The Financial Times. “All of that has to come together… you can’t disentangle one piece from the others.”

“I do expect in the months ahead that you will hear from the president and others of us more of the… of the path that we believe could produce a more secure Israel and a more peaceful region,” Sullivan says.

“All we can do is work out what we think makes sense, [and] try to get as many countries in the region on board with it and then present it, and it will ultimately be up to the Israeli leadership and frankly ultimately the Israeli people can decide whether that’s a path they want to take or not,” he says.

On Friday, the US State Department also pushed back on reports that either the US or Saudi Arabia would support a deal that wouldn’t include the normalization component.

9:25 am

Hostages forum calls on Netanyahu to ‘disregard political pressure’ and secure a deal

Demonstrators protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and against the Israeli government outside Hakirya Base in Tel Aviv, May 4, 2024. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum issues a plea to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “disregard all political pressure,” remember the promise of “never again,” and secure a deal for the release of their loved ones.

“The families of the hostages were shocked to hear that, against the backdrop of cautious optimism about the feasibility of the deal, and before receiving an official response from Hamas, the prime minister had briefed twice during Saturday against making a deal,” the organization representing many of the families says in a statement.

“Today, on the eve of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, we want to remind you, as you have promised every year — ‘Never Again.’ You must disregard all political pressure,” the organization says.

“This is the time to lead, show courage, and bring about the return of all 132 being held by the terrorist monsters of Hamas — the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for burial,” the forum says.

The statement comes as talks were set to resume in Cairo for a potential agreement.

The deal under discussion is believed to be composed of several potential phases, with the first phase seeing a limited release of “humanitarian” hostages for a truce of several weeks, while further phases featuring further releases and a more solid ceasefire are possible.

However, Hamas has insisted the terror group will not agree to a deal that does not include an end to the war, and an Israeli official, widely believed to be Netanyahu, said in a statement yesterday that there would be no agreement that entailed a conclusion to the fighting.

10:25 am

World Food Programme director: North Gaza in ‘full-blown famine’; COGAT: ‘Assertion is incorrect’

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Illustrative: Displaced Palestinians fill jerrycans with water in a school used as a temporary shelter, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, May 4, 2024 (AFP)

The chief of the United Nations’ food program warns of a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza and reiterates calls for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, an assertion sharply rebuffed by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

“There is famine, full-blown famine in the north and it’s moving its way south,” Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, says in an excerpt of a Friday interview with NBC News.

“What we are asking for and what we’ve continually asked for is a ceasefire and the ability to have unfettered access to get in safe… into Gaza — various ports, various gate crossings,” McCain says.

In response, a spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a Defense Ministry body, tells The Times of Israel that the “assertion is incorrect.”

“In recent months, the State of Israel has increased its humanitarian effort to flood the Gaza Strip with food, medical equipment and equipment for tents,” the spokesperson says.

“In recent weeks, approximately a hundred trucks loaded with humanitarian equipment, mainly food, have been sent daily to the northern Gaza Strip in coordination with the international community, including the UN organizations active in Gaza,” COGAT says, adding that “the number of aid trucks sent to the north of the Gaza Strip relative to the population is higher than the number of aid trucks sent to the south of the Gaza Strip.”

“In addition, in recent weeks, Israel has been leading other major efforts that have significantly improved the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip — in both the north and the south,” COGAT says.

“In light of this, as part of the continuous engagement between Israeli authorities and with the UN representatives in the region, including the WFP organization, the international interlocutors stated ‘that the humanitarian situation is improving, there is a variety of goods in warehouses and markets in the north,'” the statement says.

“And in light of the improved situation, they ask to ‘reduce the extent of goods transported to the northern Gaza Strip’ since the quantities flowing are too high relative to the population,” COGAT says.

10:48 am

Nasreen Yousef, who saved town from terrorists, gives up Independence Day torch-lighting due to threats

Nasreen Yousef. (Screenshot taken from Channel 12/Keshet TV, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law).

Nasreen Yousef, chosen to light a torch at the Independence Day ceremony thanks to her actions to save her community on October 7, says she will not accept the honor due to threats to her life and her family.

Yousef, a Druze woman, helped to prevent a bloodbath in her community on the southern Gaza border on October 7 by using her native Arabic to convince terrorists that she would give them money and smuggle them out, while she gathered critical intelligence and passed it to the IDF.

“Due to threats, she has decided with great pain to withdraw her candidacy from the honor,” reads a statement on Yousef’s behalf sent to the committee in charge of the ceremony.

Speaking to Channel 12, Yousef says that “this is our country and we will continue to protect it regardless of whether we light a beacon or not.”

“I think there are people who deserve this more than me, and I want to protect my family and myself,” she says.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who oversees the ceremony, says in a statement that she was “sorry to hear about Nasreen’s decision to withdraw her candidacy due to threats to her life and the lives of her family.”

However, an official from the woman’s community, Yated, told the Ynet news site that while Yousef assisted in the efforts to save the town, “details were added that did not happen,” implying that there may have been some exaggeration.

The Independence Day ceremony traditionally features a torch-lighting portion in which 12 Israelis who are considered exemplary citizens are chosen to light a torch.

This year’s torch lighters were selected for their “heroism” on or in relation to October 7, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking 252 hostages.

The “rescuers” torch will be lit by civilians who acted outstandingly on that day.

In addition to Yousef, the torch-lighters chosen were Youssef Elziadna, a Bedouin minibus driver from Rahat who saved 30 people from the Nova Festival while one family member of his was killed and four were abducted; Rabbi Shahar Botzhek from Ofakim, who fought against Hamas terrorists even after being injured; and Rami Davidian from Moshav Patish, who led rescue missions on October 7 that saved over 700 people.

Independence Day starts this year on the eve of May 13.

11:12 am

Police detain woman armed with knife in Jerusalem’s Old City

A knife police say was taken from a woman detained near Jerusalem's Old City, May 5, 2024 (Israel Police)

A woman armed with a knife was detained in Jerusalem’s Old City near an entrance to the Temple Mount, police say.

According to police, the woman aroused the suspicion of officers after she had her hand inside her head covering.

“The policemen began to question and examine the suspect who refused to remove her hand and obey the policemen’s instructions,” police say.

Police say that amid the questioning, the woman drew a knife from her head covering, and the officers used physical force to detain her.

No officers were hurt.

12:15 pm

IDF says senior Hamas battalion commander, Oct. 7 terrorists killed in Gaza airstrikes

IDF troops operate in the central Gaza corridor, in a handout image published May 5, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

A senior Hamas commander in the terror group’s Bureij Battalion was killed in a recent airstrike, the military says.

The IDF says that Saleh Jamil Muhammad Imad, head of the Bureij Battalion’s combat support unit, was killed alongside several other Hamas operatives at the targeted site in central Gaza.

Another airstrike killed three Hamas terrorists, members of the group’s elite Nukhba force, who participated in the October 7 onslaught, according to the IDF.

The IDF says a separate strike in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya killed three Hamas operatives, including a deputy company commander.

Overnight, the IDF carried out artillery shelling against a Hamas rocket launching site in Gaza that the military says was primed for attacks on southern Israel.

Fighter jets also hit several more sites across Gaza, including buildings used by terror groups, weapon depots, and other infrastructure, the IDF says. One of the buildings was struck after a sniper was identified in it, according to the army.

The airstrikes come as ground troops of the 99th Division continue to operate in central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor.

12:24 pm

No apparent progress in hostage talks, as Hamas insists war must end as part of deal

By Reuters and ToI Staff

A woman holds a sign that reads, 'Bring them home now,' in Tel Aviv, May 4, 2024 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Hamas leaders begin a second day of talks for a truce and hostage deal with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo, with Palestinian officials saying there is no apparent progress as the terror group maintains its demand that any agreement must end the war.

One Palestinian official, close to the mediation effort, says the Hamas delegation had arrived in Cairo with a determination to reach a deal “but not at any price.”

“A deal must end the war and get Israeli forces out of Gaza and Israel hasn’t yet committed it was willing to do so,” the official tells Reuters, asking not to be named.

Another Palestinian official tells Reuters the negotiations are “facing challenges because the occupation (Israel) refuses to commit to a comprehensive ceasefire” but adds that the Hamas delegation was still in Cairo in the hope mediators could press Israel to change its position.

Yesterday, an Israeli official — widely reported to be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — said Israel would “under no circumstances” agree a deal to end the war, which was sparked by the terror group’s devastating October 7 attack. In response to the onslaught, Israel launched the offensive in Gaza with the aims of freeing the hostages abducted by terrorists on that day and dismantling Hamas.

1:01 pm

Lebanon rocket fire toward north Israel steadily increased in recent months, data shows

Israeli forces check a building that was hit by a Hezbollah rocket in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel near the Lebanon border, on March 27, 2024. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

The rate of rocket fire from Lebanon at northern Israel has steadily increased in recent months, according to data published by Army Radio.

In January, some 334 rockets were launched at the north, mostly by the Hezbollah terror group. In February, that number rose to 534.

In March, the number of rockets fired at northern Israel soared to 746, and similarly, in April, 744 rockets were launched, according to the report

The data apparently does not include drones and anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah.

The report also details the number of rockets fired from Gaza at southern Israel in recent months, according to which 357 were fired in January, 165 in February, 104 in March, and 113 in April.

1:06 pm

EU envoys to Israel decry ‘unprecedented increase’ in antisemitism in Europe, around the world

By Lazar Berman

The European Union Mission in Israel decries the “unprecedented increase” in antisemitism in Europe and around the world in a statement ahead of Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“In the aftermath of October 7, we have witnessed an unprecedented increase in antisemitism and antisemitic incidents in Europe and across the world,” says the EU statement, signed by the EU ambassador in Israel along with the heads of the 26 EU member state missions in the country.

“This is unacceptable. We have increased our engagement to fight the hatred of Jews in word and deed. The European Union and member states have not only adopted policies and commitments, but they have also put in place numerous legal instruments that we will use to counter different forms of antisemitism.”

The EU also notes that Yom Hashoah this year is being observed under unique circumstances.

“Hamas terrorists murdered, mutilated, raped and kidnapped more than a thousand Israelis with sheer unbelievable cruelty and in complete indifference to the consequences of these atrocities for their own population,” lament the EU ambassadors. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrorist attack, including many Arab citizens of Israel. The victims of this barbaric massacre included men, women, young children and elderly Holocaust survivors who after having survived the Nazi genocide in Europe came to Israel and once again were subject to a deadly anti-Semitic pogrom. They were targeted only because they were Jews living in the State of Israel. “

1:09 pm

Rocket sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona

Sirens sound in the northern town Kiryat Shmona, warning of incoming rocket fire.

1:09 pm

IDF says jets hit Hezbollah targets; rocket fired at Israel fell short, landed in Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon overnight, the military says.

The targets included a building in Khiam and an observation post in Matmoura, according to the IDF.

Troops also shelled areas near Halta and Naqoura with artillery to “remove threats,” the military adds.

The IDF also says one rocket fired this morning at northern Israel fell short in Lebanon. The incident set off sirens in the Upper Galilee.

Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon overnight, the military says.

The targets included a building in Khiam and an observation post in Matmoura, according to the IDF.

Troops also shelled areas near Halta and Naqoura with artillery to "remove… pic.twitter.com/9toa0jcOH4

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 5, 2024

1:16 pm

Jewish Agency chair tells Diaspora Jewish students who feel unsafe: Complete your studies in Israel

By Canaan Lidor

Doron Almog speaks at a press conference in Budapest on May 5, 2024. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Israel)

BUDAPEST, Hungary — At a Holocaust museum in Budapest, the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel calls on Jewish students to move to Israel and complete their studies there if they feel unsafe.

“If you feel the earth shaking under your feet, if you feel unsafe, if you feel like you need to hide your Jewish identity on your campus, come to Israel right away to complete your studies,” Almog says in response to a question by The Times of Israel at the Glass House museum for Holocaust-era rescuers in the Hungarian capital.

Almog is among dozens of dignitaries from Israel and beyond attending the March of Living events this year in Budapest, which is observing the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary, and the annual March of the Living event at the Auschwitz Holocaust museum in Poland.

The marches coincide with Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Almog is referencing an ongoing crisis in campuses in the United States, France, the United Kingdom and beyond.

Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests that began there following Hamas’s deadly onslaught on October 7 feature antisemitic harassment that Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL, calls in a report released today the “most alarming” aspect of a global surge in antisemitism after October 7.

1:20 pm

Government unanimously authorizes shuttering of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel

By Jeremy Sharon

An employee of Qatar-based news network and TV channel Al Jazeera is seen at the outlet's Jerusalem office on July 31, 2017. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

The government unanimously authorizes the shuttering of Al Jazeera’s news network operations in Israel, in line with a law passed by the Knesset in April.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who strongly advocated for the law, immediately signs the orders to implement the decision.

“Our orders will go into effect immediately. Too much time has passed and there have been too many unnecessary legal hurdles in order to finally stop the well-oiled incitement machine of Al Jazeera, which harms the security of the state,” says Karhi after signing the orders.

“For months I have done everything so that they will not be able to work from Israel any more.”

Karhi is now empowered to order Israel’s television providers to cease broadcasting Al Jazeera; order the channel’s Israeli offices to be closed; confiscate the channel’s equipment, possibly including cellphones; and block access to Al Jazeera’s website.

“We are issuing the orders now; the propaganda [channel] of Hamas, those who incite against Israel, those who harm the security of Israel and IDF soldiers, will not broadcast anymore from Israel and their equipment will be confiscated,” says Karhi.

The law allows foreign media networks to be shuttered for a 45-day period, which can be renewed.

An order to shut down a foreign news channel must be brought within 24 hours for judicial review by the president of a district court, who then has three days to decide whether it will go into effect.

The law itself was passed as a temporary law and will expire on July 31 or earlier if the declaration of an emergency situation is lifted by the government.

1:26 pm

Maccabi HMO establishes mental health hotline ahead of upcoming national days of mourning

The graves of fallen soldiers at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, on April 24, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Maccabi Healthcare Services establishes a mental health hotline for its members for the upcoming period including Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom Hazikaron (Israel Memorial Day), and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day).

These days that swing from mourning to celebration tend to be emotionally charged for Israelis. However, because of the events of October 7 and the ongoing war, it is anticipated that even more people will need support.

The hotline will be staffed by senior social workers and psychologists from today through May 15 between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.

The number to call is 077-602-1200.

1:27 pm

Rocket barrage fired from Lebanon at Kiryat Shmona; number of locations hit in city

A barrage of rockets is fired from Lebanon at the northern city of Kiryat Shmona.

Sirens sounded a number of times in the largely evacuated city, along with several nearby communities.

Footage posted to social media shows the Iron Dome air defense system engaging the attack.

Police say officers are dealing with several impact sites in the city, with damage caused to property.

There are no immediate reports of injuries.

Iron Dome seen intercepting a rocket barrage over Kiryat Shmona. https://t.co/zfKtpSX4KD pic.twitter.com/52VAitMGKk

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 5, 2024

1:38 pm

IDF: At least 20 rockets fired in barrage toward Kiryat Shmona

A barrage of at least 20 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Kiryat Shmona area in northern Israel, the IDF says.

The military says some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.

There are no immediate reports of injuries.

Kiryat Shmona and nearby communities are largely evacuated of civilians amid daily attacks by the Hezbollah terror group.

Footage from the rocket impacts in Kiryat Shmona. pic.twitter.com/c6kuXA00Kh

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 5, 2024

1:40 pm

Rocket sirens sound in Kerem Shalom, close to Gaza border

Sirens sound in Kerem Shalom, warning of incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

The communities close to the enclave have been largely evacuated of civilians since the devastating Hamas-led onslaught on October 7.

1:48 pm

Hamas claims responsibility for rocket barrage on area near Gaza border, says troops targeted

The Hamas terror group claims responsibility for a rocket barrage toward the Kerem Shalom area, close to the border with the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Hamas says it targeted a gathering of Israeli troops.

Sirens had sounded in Kerem Shalom during the attack.

The IDF has not yet commented on the incident.

1:50 pm

Man slightly wounded by shrapnel in rocket barrage from Lebanon at Kiryat Shmona

A man aged 65 was slightly wounded by shrapnel in the rocket barrage from Lebanon toward Kiryat Shmona, medics say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is treating the man at the scene.

An MDA ambulance was also damaged by shrapnel in the rocket barrage, it adds.

The damaged MDA ambulance in the rocket attack on Kiryat Shmona. pic.twitter.com/pZKJF6BjWv

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 5, 2024

1:52 pm

Netanyahu: Israel will not agree to a deal with Hamas that demands end to the war

By Lazar Berman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a video statement, May 5, 2024 (Screen grab via Government Press Office)

Amid swirling rumors over the weekend of international pressure on Israel to agree to an effective end to the war in Gaza as part of a hostage release deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu releases a video statement emphasizing in no uncertain terms that Israel will not accept an end to the campaign and the withdrawal of IDF troops from the Strip.

“Israel cannot accept this,” he says. “We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure, and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding communities, in the cities of the south, in all parts of the country.”

“Israel will not agree to Hamas’s demands, which mean surrender, and will continue the fighting until all its goals are achieved,’ says Netanyahu, repeating a message he has expressed throughout the war.

Netanyahu says accepting Hamas’s demands would only bring the next conflict closer, and would allow Hamas to carry out another massacre in the future.

The prime minister stresses that Israel is still open to a deal, but Hamas “remains entrenched in its positions.”

Senior officials from the US, Qatar, and Egypt are in Cairo, as are Hamas officials.

Netanyahu decided not to send a delegation at this stage.

1:53 pm

Hezbollah claims responsibility for rocket barrage on Kiryat Shmona

Security forces and emergency personnel deploy at a site hit by rocket fire from south Lebanon toward Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanese border on May 5, 2024 (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

The Hezbollah terror group claims responsibility for the rocket barrage on Kiryat Shmona.

In a statement, Hezbollah says it fired dozens of rockets at the city in response to a deadly Israeli strike on southern Lebanon’s Mays al-Jabal.

Damage was caused in the barrage on the largely evacuated city, and a man was slightly wounded by shrapnel.

2:05 pm

PM said to push back against far-right ministers’ criticism of pace of war: ‘Nobody needs to tell me what to do’

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly pushes back during the cabinet meeting against criticism from far-right ministers over the pace of Israeli operations in Gaza.

In the wake of harsh public statements by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu tells his cabinet that “nobody needs to tell me what to do or how to do it,” Hebrew media reports.

“Things are happening and will happen. I expect unity from this table,” he declares.

During the meeting, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announces that “over the last week, I have been very intensively involved in the preparation of the operation in Rafah – including today. The operation will happen soon, even very soon,” prompting pushback from far-right colleagues, Walla reports.

In response, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock shoots back that Gallant had said that “negotiations will only be conducted under fire – now this is not happening.”

Weighing in, Ben Gvir claims that Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi “do not let the IDF fight” — after which Netanyahu responds that “if anyone thinks we will abandon our intention to eliminate Hamas, they are wrong” and that although “there are delays,” Israel will “eliminate Hamas.”

The argument in the cabinet comes as protesters outside the building call for an immediate Rafah offensive.

Speaking with the demonstrators, Sports and Culture Minister Miki Zohar declares that accomplishing “the goals of the war are a necessary condition for the continued existence of the government,” Channel 12 reports.

2:13 pm

Several wounded in Hamas rocket barrage on south; at least 10 rockets fired from Rafah area

Several people are wounded in the Hamas rocket attack on the Kerem Shalom area, authorities say.

The Eshkol Regional Council says the rockets struck an open area near a military position, causing injuries.

At least 10 rockets were fired from the Rafah area in the attack.

Hamas claimed responsibility, saying it targeted a gathering of troops.

2:30 pm

Gantz’s National Unity party says supports shuttering Al Jazeera, but timing could harm hostage deal

Head of the National Unity party Minister Benny Gantz holds a press conference at the Knesset, April 3, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Following its ministers’ boycott of today’s cabinet vote on shuttering Al Jazeera’s news network operations in Israel, the National Unity party clarifies that it supports the measure but believes the timing could harm ongoing negotiations to free Israeli hostages in Gaza.

“National Unity’s ministers support the closing of the Al Jazeera channel and even announced that they will vote in favor of closing it at the last cabinet meeting,” the party says in a statement.

“At the request of the security establishment officials, the Mossad chief in particular, and in order not to harm the negotiation efforts, it was decided at that meeting to postpone the vote for a few days. Bringing the issue to a vote this morning at the cabinet meeting is a correct decision at an unfortunate time that may sabotage efforts to reach [a deal] and stems from political considerations.”

According to Hebrew media reports, the chiefs of the Mossad and Shin Bet security agencies last week cautioned that approving the Qatari network’s closure at this time could have negative ramifications for the deal due to Doha’s role in the ongoing talks.

2:35 pm

Israel’s Eden Golan to skip Eurovision opening event on Holocaust Remembrance Day

By Amy Spiro

Eden Golan rehearsing her song 'Hurricane' on stage at the Malmö Arena in Malmo, Sweden, on May 3, 2024. (Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU)

Israel’s Eden Golan will skip the “Turquoise Carpet” Eurovision opening ceremony in Malmo, Sweden, tonight.

A spokeswoman for the Kan public broadcaster, which organizes Israel’s participation in the contest, says that instead Golan and the Israeli delegation will hold a small ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins this evening.

Golan is also keeping a low profile amid heightened security threats surrounding Israel’s participation in the contest. The turquoise carpet event is one of the few opportunities for fans and media outlets to get up close and personal with the artists.

Israel made a special request to be granted a spot in the second semifinal, which will be held Thursday evening, so that Golan would not have to hold a filmed dress rehearsal tomorrow, during the daytime portion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, ahead of the first semifinal.

2:37 pm

Haniyeh: Hamas wants agreement that will guarantee Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Ismail Haniyeh, the Doha-based political bureau chief of Hamas, speaks to the press after a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in Tehran on March 26, 2024. (AFP)

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says the Palestinian terror group is eager to reach a comprehensive ceasefire that will end Israeli “aggression,” guarantee Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, and achieve a deal that will see the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Haniyeh, in his statement, also blames Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “the continuation of the aggression and the expansion of the circle of conflict, and sabotaging the efforts made through the mediators and various parties.”

2:43 pm

Reports of Israeli airstrikes on targets in Rafah after rocket fire from area

Israeli airstrikes are reported in southern Gaza’s Rafah, following a Hamas rocket attack on the Kerem Shalom area which wounded several Israelis.

Al Jazeera reports that a strike was carried out against a site in the Salam neighborhood of Rafah.

2:52 pm

IDF shutters Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza after Hamas rocket attack on area

A truck carrying humanitarian aid arrives for processing at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza on April 15, 2024. (AFP)

The IDF says it has shuttered the Kerem Shalom Crossing with the Gaza Strip for humanitarian aid trucks following the Hamas rocket attack from the Rafah area.

At least 10 projectiles were fired in the attack, according to the IDF.

Several people were wounded, and Hamas claimed to have targeted a gathering of troops.

2:57 pm

Group providing care to Holocaust survivors to host Zikaron BaSalon events at hospitals

LeMa’anam, a nonprofit organization providing medical care to Holocaust survivors, is hosting Zikaron BaSalon events at hospitals throughout the country.

The events, which take place on or around Yom Hashoah, feature first-, second-, or third- generation survivors sharing testimony of their experiences or those of their families.

The gatherings originally took place in people’s living rooms but have now become so popular that groups gather for them in a variety of venues.

LeMa’anam has organized events at Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod, Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, and Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

For more information and to register, click here.

3:04 pm

Al Jazeera preparing legal response to ‘dangerous’ government decision to shutter outlet in Israel

By Reuters and ToI Staff

Illustrative: An employee of Al Jazeera walks past the channel's logo at its headquarters in Doha, Qatar, in 2016. (AP/ Kamran Jebreili, File)

The head of Al Jazeera in Israel and the Palestinian territories describes the government decision to shutter the Qatari-owned station’s local operations as “dangerous” and motivated by politics rather than professional considerations.

Al Jazeera’s legal team is preparing a response, Walid Omary tells Reuters, in a possible anticipation of a court appeal against the decision.

Earlier, the government unanimously authorized the shuttering of Al Jazeera’s news network operations in Israel, in line with a law passed by the Knesset in April.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi is now empowered to order Israel’s television providers to cease broadcasting Al Jazeera; order the channel’s Israeli offices to be closed; confiscate the channel’s equipment, possibly including cellphones; and block access to Al Jazeera’s website.

3:24 pm

At least 7 injured, some seriously, in Hamas rocket barrage fired at south

A helicopter lands in southern Israel after a number of people were wounded in a Hamas rocket attack in the Kerem Shalom area, May 5, 2024 (Screen grab via Channel 12 news used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

At least seven people were wounded in the Hamas rocket attack on the Kerem Shalom area, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

Several of those hurt in the attack are listed in serious condition, the reports say.

The IDF and medical authorities have not yet provided any details on the casualties.

3:44 pm

Rocket sirens sound in communities close to northern border

Sirens sound in a number of communities close to the northern border, warning of incoming rocket fire.

4:08 pm

Gallant: Signs point to Hamas rejecting hostage deal, IDF will launch Rafah op in ‘very near future’

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with troops in central Gaza, May 5, 2024. )Shachar Yurman/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel has identified signs that Hamas is not interested in a hostage deal, and in turn, the military will launch its offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah in “the near future.”

“We have clear goals for this war: we are committed to the elimination of Hamas and the release of the hostages. We have given [negotiations] a certain period of time… with a specified delay in operational action,” in order to try to obtain the release of the hostages that way, Gallant says to troops in central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor.

But, he noted, “we have identified alarming signs that Hamas actually does not intend to go for any agreement framework with us. What this means is an operation in Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip in the very near future.”

4:08 pm

40 rockets fired from Lebanon at northern Israel

A barrage of some 40 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Galilee Panhandle a short while ago, the IDF says.

Some of the rockets were intercepted, according to the military.

There are no reports of injuries in the attack.

Initially, the IDF said some 65 rockets were launched, but it later lowered the number to 40.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier today, 20 rockets were fired by Hezbollah at Kiryat Shmona.

4:18 pm

Mental health hotline: Calls from Holocaust survivors increased by 40% in 2023

On the eve of Yom HaShoah, ERAN, the emotional first-aid organization, reports that it received 17,153 calls from Holocaust survivors and their family members in 2023, 40% more than in 2022.

According to ERAN, the major increase in requests for help from survivors was related to the events of October 7 and the ensuing war, which served as triggers for trauma and the loss of a sense of security. Many were also worried about family members serving in the IDF.

ERAN is running a special hotline on Yom Hashoah for Holocaust survivors and other senior citizens. The service is free and anonymous. Offered in Hebrew, English, and Russian, it can be accessed by dialing 1201 from any phone and choosing extension 4. The service can also be reached by dialing 1-800-24-1201.

4:31 pm

IDF: Hamas fired rockets at Kerem Shalom from a few hundred meters away from Rafah border crossing

The Hamas rocket fire from southern Gaza’s Rafah at the Kerem Shalom area in southern Israel was carried out from an area just a few hundred meters from the border crossing with Egypt, according to an initial IDF investigation.

The IDF has been carrying out strikes in Rafah in response, including hitting the launch sites.

At least 10 rockets and mortars were launched in the attack, causing injuries to 10 people.

5:00 pm

Netanyahu on eve of Yom Hashoah: If Jewish people don’t defend ourselves, nobody will

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a video statement, May 5, 2024. (Screen grab via Government Press Office)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement ahead of Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, cites comments made to him by Holocaust survivors about gentiles who make promises not being trustworthy, and says the lesson to learn from the Holocaust is that if the Jewish nation doesn’t protect itself, nobody else will.

“Tonight we will commemorate the millions of our brothers and sisters who were murdered in the Holocaust,” Netanyahu says in a statement hours before the annual commemoration, which begins on Sunday evening.

Meeting with Netanyahu, two of the six survivors scheduled to light one of six torches representing the Holocaust’s six million victims at Yad Vashem this evening declared that the Jewish state “is the one and only refuge for the Jewish people” and that “gentiles who make promises are not to be trusted,” Netanyahu recalls.

“These heroic survivors are right. In the terrible Holocaust, there were great leaders in the world who stood by, so the first lesson of the Holocaust is this: If we don’t protect ourselves, no one will protect us. And if we have to stand alone, we will stand alone,” he says.

“Therefore, we will defend ourselves in every way, overcome our enemies and ensure our security — in the Gaza Strip, on the northern border, everywhere.”

5:02 pm

Police arrive at Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem offices to confiscate broadcasting equipment

By Jeremy Sharon

Police officers and Communications Ministry inspectors arrive at Al Jazeera's Jerusalem offices to confiscate the channel's broadcasting equipment, May 5, 2024. (Screenshot, Office of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi)

Police officers and Communications Ministry inspectors arrive at Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem offices to confiscate the Qatari channel’s broadcast equipment.

Video footage sent out by the office of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who led the charge to ban the channel, shows the Israeli officials entering Al Jazeera’s East Jerusalem office and beginning to document the equipment inside.

The move comes just hours after the government voted to shutter Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel for 45 days, in line with a temporary law passed in April allowing foreign media outlets to be temporarily closed if they are suspected of harming national security.

5:04 pm

WATCH: IDF releases footage of Hamas rocket attack on Kerem Shalom

The IDF releases footage of the Hamas rocket attack from the Rafah area in southern Gaza earlier today, which led to the injury of at least 10 people.

The rocket fire, according to the IDF, was carried out from an area close to the Rafah Crossing with Egypt, some 350 meters from a civilian shelter.

The military says the attack is “another clear example of the systematic exploitation that the Hamas terror organization makes of humanitarian facilities and spaces for terror needs, while using the civilian population as a human shield.”

Some 10 rockets and mortars were launched in the attack.

The IDF says fighter jets struck the launcher, as well as an adjacent building used by Hamas.

5:23 pm

Holocaust survivor at March of the Living in Hungary: I’m here to show ‘I am still alive, I am still here’

By Canaan Lidor

Dr. Peter Köves attends the March of the Living event in Budapest, Hungary on May 5, 2024. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Israel)

BUDAPEST — Riding an electric tourist buggy past the Dohany Street Synagogue, Dr. Peter Köves is among a few dozen Holocaust survivors at the head of the annual commemorative March of the Living event through the Hungarian capital.

Thousands of Jews and non-Jews walk behind the fleet of golf carts transporting the Holocaust survivors. This year has an unusually high attendance because it’s the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary, in which the Nazis and their collaborators murdered more than 400,000 people within eight weeks.

Köves, 89, attends the march “to show I am still alive, I am still here,” he tells The Times of Israel at the event, which is occurring just before the beginning of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day this evening. Many of the participants intend to also participate in the annual march tomorrow at the Auschwitz Holocaust Museum in Poland.

Köves remembers escaping with his mother from one of the so-called Yellow Star Houses — apartment buildings that served as prisons for Jews during the bloody reign of the Fascist Arrow Cross regime in Hungary. His father had been taken to a forced labor camp and the family reunited after the Soviet army liberated Hungary. But his mother was raped by one or more Russian soldiers, he says.

“After all that has happened, the terrible drama, you see, perhaps, why it is important for me to show a presence,” says Köves, who has two children with his Catholic wife. They are not at the march, he says, but his children “feel solidarity with the Jewish People, although they are not Jewish.”

Köves is alarmed and furious at the surge of antisemitism that erupted after the Hamas onslaught of October 7. “I watch with disbelief what is happening on campuses,” he says. “And I still ache over the pogroms of October 7 and the hostages, may they return.”

Jewish Agency Chairman Doron Almog says in a speech, “We are here to declare we will never give into antisemitism.” Under relatively light security, the march, where participants wave Israeli and Hungarian flags to the sounds of sporadic singing of Hasidic and Israeli songs, moves past the synagogue en route to its terminus. the Keleti train station.

5:27 pm

Foreign Press Association slams decision to ban Al Jazeera: A dark day for the media

The Foreign Press Association, which represents foreign media in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, condemns the decision to shutter the Al Jazeera news network’s operations in Israel, warning that it should be a “cause for concern for all supporters of a free press.”

“With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station. And the government may not be done. The prime minister has the authority to target other foreign media that he deems to be ‘acting against the state,'” the FPA says in a statement.

“We urge the government to reverse this harmful step and uphold its commitment to freedom of the press — including outlets whose coverage it may not like,” the organization adds. “This is a dark day for the media. This is a dark day for democracy.”

5:28 pm

Finance, Health ministries agree to establish new hospital in Beersheba

The Finance Ministry and Health Ministry reach an agreement to establish a new hospital in Beersheba, with the government announcing today that it authorizes the plan.

The hospital, expected to be ready to open by 2028, will be a joint project of the Meuhedet and Leumit health maintenance organizations and Sheba Medical Center. The HMOs will own the hospital, while Sheba will run it.

According to the Health Ministry, this marks the first time that a hospital will be owned jointly by two HMOs.

The new hospital is expected to have approximately 600 beds and offer a wide range of medical services to the population in the country’s southern region.

“The creation of a new hospital in the Negev is a major milestone in realizing the vision of lessening the gap between the periphery and the center of the country, and in the provision of advanced and professional health services to every citizen, regardless of where they live,” Health Minister Uriel Buso said.

5:51 pm

Hamas official says delegation departing Cairo hostage talks after delivering response to mediators

By AFP and ToI Staff

A Hamas official tells AFP that the group’s negotiators in Cairo are leaving for Doha after talks regarding a potential hostage release and temporary truce deal ended in the Egyptian capital.

The delegation is leaving Cairo after delivering its response to Egyptian and Qatar mediators, the group said in a statement, and will now return to Doha for further consultations.

“The meeting with the Egyptian intelligence minister has ended and the Hamas delegation is leaving for Doha for further consultations,” says the official, who is close to the negotiations, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to publicly discuss the talks.

6:40 pm

CIA chief to hold emergency meeting with Qatari PM as hostage deal said to be ‘near collapse’

By Agencies and ToI Staff

CIA chief Bill Burns is traveling to Doha for an emergency meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani regarding the ongoing negotiations for a hostage release and temporary truce deal, an official briefed on the talks says.

“Burns is on his way to Doha for an emergency meeting with the Qatari prime minister aimed at exerting maximum pressure on Israel and Hamas to continue negotiating,” the source adds.

His visit comes as the talks are “near collapse,” the official adds, after Hamas said its delegation was departing Cairo for Doha, where it will hold further consultations on the terror group’s position on the deal.

7:06 pm

Report: In first, US delayed an ammunition shipment; Israel: US supplies are continuing

By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff

The United States reportedly stopped the delivery of a shipment of US-made ammunition to Israel last week, according to Axios, although Israel says that deliveries are continuing as normal.

Citing two unnamed Israeli officials, Axios reports that the decision to place the ammunition shipment on hold left Israeli government officials concerned, as it is the first time since October 7 that the US has prevented a weapons shipment from reaching Israel.

A White House National Security spokesperson declines to confirm the report, saying they don’t comment on individual cases.

However, the spokesperson notes that the US “has surged billions of dollars in security assistance to Israel since the October 7 attacks, passed the largest ever supplemental appropriation for emergency assistance to Israel, led an unprecedented coalition to defend Israel against Iranian attacks and will continue to do what is necessary to ensure Israel can defend itself from the threats it faces.”

Speaking to Ynet, an Israeli official downplays the Axios report, saying “Even now, a continued series of defense shipments are being sent from the US to Israel.”

“It’s possible that one shipment or another is delayed, but the flow continues and we’re not aware of a policy decision to stop it,” the official adds.

7:42 pm

Katz: On eve of Yom Hashoah, Hamas attack on Kerem Shalom reminds us of group’s Nazi methods

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Foreign Minister Israel Katz links the Hamas terror organization to the Nazis and calls on the international community to support Israel’s war in Gaza.

“Today, on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, we received a harsh reminder of the Nazi terrorist organization Hamas’s methods: firing from a civilian-populated area near the Rafah Crossing toward the Kerem Shalom Crossing, intended to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza residents,” he writes on X, formerly Twitter.

“The world must wake up and support Israel in its mission to eradicate Hamas,” he adds.

The use of rhetoric conflating the terror group with the Nazi Party has become increasingly common among Israeli leaders since October 7, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hard-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has gone so far as to use such terminology to refer to Palestinians more broadly, claiming in November that “there are 2 million Nazis” in the West Bank.

7:43 pm

IDF: Fighter jets hit Hezbollah sites in Lebanon after over 60 rockets fired at Israel

After more than 60 rockets were fired by Hezbollah at northern Israel today, the IDF says fighter jets struck several sites belonging to the terror group in southern Lebanon.

The targets included buildings and other infrastructure in the towns of Markaba, Taybe, Kafr Kila, and Odaisseh, according to the IDF.

This morning, another Hezbollah site in Mays al-Jabal was hit, the military adds.

Hezbollah announced earlier that it launched the rockets in response to the Mays al-Jabal strike, which it says killed and wounded civilians.

מטוסי קרב תקפו לפני זמן קצר מבנים צבאיים ותשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים מרכבא, א-טייבה, כפר כילא ואל עדייסא שבדרום לבנון. בנוסף, הבוקר מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מבנה צבאי במרחב מיס אל ג'בל שבדרום לבנון.

צה"ל תקף בירי ארטילרי להסרת איום במרחב שבעא שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/Z6jTOIXWgD

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 5, 2024

8:12 pm

Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony underway at Yad Vashem

The annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony is underway at Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem.

The event is taking place under the theme: “A Lost World: The Destruction of Jewish Communities.”

President Isaac Herzog will be the first to speak at the annual event.

8:21 pm

Herzog at Yad Vashem: This Holocaust Remembrance Day, we are at war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Left) and President Isaac Herzog arrive at the Holocaust Remembrance Day Ceremony at Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Screenshot, Yad Vashem)

This year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day “is not a regular Memorial Day,” President Isaac Herzog declares during an address at the official state Yom Hashoah memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem. “This year, the State of Israel is at war. We are at war.”

“Two hundred and twelve days have passed since the terrible massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists, against babies, children, and elderly, women and men. Since then, we have been in a period of ‘difficult days and heavy bloodshed.’ Since then, our brothers and sisters have been held hostage by a cruel enemy, and our hearts along with them,” he says.

“I appeal from the heart to the families of the hostages, and I cry out, and pray, and hope, and commit on behalf of the entire nation: we will not rest and we will not be silent until our sons and daughters return home.”

8:27 pm

Herzog: We said ‘never again’ but the horrors of the Holocaust echoed in the Oct. 7 massacre

President Isaac Herzog speaks at the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Despite the comparisons that some have made between the horrors of the Holocaust and October 7, the Hamas massacre “wasn’t a Holocaust,” President Isaac Herzog declares during an address at the official state Yom Hashoah memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem.

“Throughout the decades that have passed since the Holocaust, we assured [ourselves] time after time: ‘Never again,’ and we swore that the Jewish people would never again stand defenseless and unprotected. And yet, despite all that, the horrors of the Holocaust shook us all during the October massacres, echoing in all our hearts,” Herzog says.

“To me as well, the descriptions of mothers silencing babies so they wouldn’t cry and give away their hiding place; of children torn from their parents; and of abominable murderers – who saw in the Nazis a model to emulate, and who, burnt, and butchered entire families – echoed the horrors among us,” but “it wasn’t a Holocaust — because the Holocaust was the deepest abyss in human history, in every measure,” Herzog says, adding that October 7 was “the day when the most Jews were murdered and slaughtered in one day since the Holocaust.”

“October 7th was not a Holocaust because today we have the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces. Although the results of the tragedy and the shock still haunt us; we don’t forget that what our brothers and sisters who perished in the Holocaust could only dream of, only imagine: a country and an army of our own. An army that even now fights in a battle that has not yet ended – for our national home. The home of national independence.”

“I say this with complete and absolute conviction — despite the disaster and mourning that still afflicts us: nothing can destroy this home,” he continues. “This people, our people, who endured the most terrible Holocaust of all, and built for themselves sovereignty in their homeland two millennia after being exiled from it by force — nothing can erase them.”

Insisting that Israelis not “allow divisiveness and factionalism to rule over us,” the president says that the “Israeli unity – rare, courageous, beautiful – that we saw in the past half-year, both on the frontline and in the home front, is our true character.”

“Our beloved Holocaust survivors — you are our eternal heroes. Your legacy is a legacy of resilience, of pride, of hope. You are the source of my unwavering belief that our people can overcome anything,” Herzog adds.

8:29 pm

Herzog at Yad Vashem: Israel stands ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Diaspora Jews

Israel stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Jews across the Diaspora, who are currently being subjected to intense antisemitism, President Isaac Herzog declares at Yad Vashem.

“As Iran and its terrorist proxies attack us, the State of Israel must continue to develop the capabilities to defend itself against any threat and attack; with a strong and advanced defense force, and diplomatic alliances – global and regional. Integration that will ensure us a proven qualitative advantage, and will fortify our existence as a Jewish and democratic state,” he states at the official state Yom Hashoah memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem.

“The foundation of defense also pertains, of course, to our brothers and sisters in Jewish communities around the world, who are currently under threat and attack – in communities and campuses. I address them from here – from our eternal capital, and say: We stand with you shoulder to shoulder against the onslaught of antisemitism, terrorism, and hatred directed at you in recent days. The State of Israel is with you. We are all with you.”

8:53 pm

Niece of Holocaust historian held captive by Hamas speaks at Yom Hashoah event in Jerusalem

By Jessica Steinberg

People attend a Holocaust Remembrance Day event organized by the families of the Hamas hostages, in a tent set up by the families in Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

The hostage families tent near Jerusalem’s Balfour Street is the setting Sunday night for a Zikaron BaSalon (Remembrance in the Living Room), the nationwide project for relating Holocaust histories.

Hundreds of people of all ages sit in the tent and stand outside in the street to listen to the account of Tamar Pearlman, the niece of hostage Alex Dancyg. She tells about her grandparents’ escape from Poland at the start of the war, and the family’s eventual emigration to Israel.

Dancyg, known by the family as Olish, was born after the war while the family was still in Poland and after they emigrated to Israel, he made his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

He was taken hostage on October 7, and when others were released after 50 days, he sent his love and the family heard he had given lessons about the Holocaust in the tunnels.

“All of what my grandparents went through, I hope it helps him survive,” said Pearlman.

9:13 pm

Netanyahu at Yad Vashem: Hamas guided by same goals as the Nazis, but we can defend ourselves now

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day for the six million Jews killed during World War II, at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on May 5, 2024. (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

Eight decades after the end of the Holocaust, Israel again faces a “ruthless and brutal” enemy who seeks its destruction, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declares at the official state Yom Hashoah memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem.

Hamas’s attack on October 7 was “not a Holocaust not because of an absence of intention to annihilate us but because of an absence of ability,” he states, insisting that the Palestinian terror group had the “same intention” to wipe out the Jewish people as the Nazis.

“The murderers of Hamas are guided by the exact same goal,” he insists, noting that unlike during the Holocaust, today Israel “has a force that can defend it.”

Israel will “complete the elimination of [Hamas’s] capabilities” and free the hostages, he promises.

“Our enemies made a grave mistake. They thought we were a weak society. They were mistaken. At the moment of truth, we stood shoulder to shoulder, filled with determination, resilience and power. Our test is to continue and stand together until we reach victory because these are fateful days and this is the only way to guarantee our existence and our future.”

9:33 pm

Hostage families, Holocaust survivors vow ‘Never Again’ at Holocaust Memorial Day event

By Charlie Summers

Hannah Gofrit, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, gives her testimony at a hostage families event in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 5, 2024. (Charlie Summers/ Times of Israel)

Some thousand people are gathered for a “Zikaron BaSalon” gathering on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

The audience members are hearing testimonies given by Holocaust survivors and hostage family members at the event, organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“Pain is pain, it doesn’t matter if I experienced it in Poland or now, on October 7th,” says Hannah Gofrit, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Israel in 1949.

After October 7, Gofrit began to share her story with young survivors of the Hamas massacre.

Organizers play a video on the screen above the panelists, depicting Gofrit with young children evacuated from Kibbutz Melfasim, one of the besieged communities on October 7, promising them that “there is a life after this.”

Omri Shtivi, the brother of Idan Shtivi who was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova rave massacre, alludes to a deal with Hamas to return the hostages.

He asserts the hostages’ plight is not a political or even humanitarian issue, but a moral one, and adds that a “real leader” must opt to do the “moral thing over the just thing,” and work to bring the remaining captives home.

9:36 pm

Lapid on Yom HaShoah: If Israel sinks into hate and fear, then our enemies have won

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in southern Israel, May 5, 2024. (Elad Gutman)

Just as the Jewish people emerged from the Holocaust to establish the State of Israel, Israelis should come out of October 7 “with a firm decision to establish a new, stronger, better society here,” Yair Lapid declares.

Addressing a Holocaust Day ceremony at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in southern Israel, the opposition leader recalls thinking about his father, Tommy Lapid, as he hid in the basement of his home while “rockets were exploding outside” during the Hamas attack.

“I thought of my father in another basement, the basement of the ghetto, a 14-year-old Jewish boy who knew there was no one to cry out to. There is no army that will come to save him. But it was precisely there, precisely in the ghetto, that hope did not die — it was born.

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, in this place, I came to remind you not of the despair and horror, but of what happened only three years after the Holocaust,” Lapid says — recalling how only three years later, his father landed in Israel and enlisted in a Jewish army.

“Where will we be in three years? Wherever we choose. If the State of Israel sinks into hatred and fear, then our enemies have won,” he says, insisting that “the Holocaust didn’t just teach us that the Jews needed to have a state and an army.”

“The Holocaust also taught us that this country should be good. You don’t fight hate with hate. We will not be like them. We will not give them the pleasure,” Lapid continues.

“The Jewish people came out of the Holocaust and chose to establish the State of Israel. The Jewish people should come out of the seventh of October with a firm decision to establish a new, stronger, better society here, which will be worthy of the memory of our parents and even more than that — which will be worthy of the lives of our children.”

9:57 pm

Netanyahu: If Israel is forced to stand alone against the enemy, we will stand alone

Addressing the official state Yom Hashoah memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts that Israel will not halt fighting in Gaza until it defeats Hamas no matter how much pressure is brought to bear to stop the war.

Responding to reports that the International Criminal Court in The Hague could issue arrest warrants for some of Israel’s top officials — including him — Netanyahu says that such actions “undermine” Israelis’ “most basic right” to defend themselves and places “a grave stain on the mere concept of international justice.”

“From here in Jerusalem, I am sending a very clear-cut message: you will not chain our hands and even if Israel has to stand alone, it will stand alone and will continue to fight our enemies until victory,” he declares.

Switching to English, the prime minister says that during the Holocaust the Jewish people were “totally defenseless against those who sought our destruction.”

“No nation came to our aid. Today again, we face enemies bent on our destruction. I say to the leaders of the world: no amount of pressure… will stop Israel from defending itself. As prime minister, I pledge here today from Jerusalem on this Holocaust Remembrance Day, if Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”

“We will defeat our genocidal enemies. Never again is now,” he states.

Switching back to Hebrew, Netanyahu says “During the Holocaust, we were muted and defenseless. We will not go back to those dark times.”

10:00 pm

IDF: Hamas command center based out of UNRWA facility in central Gaza targeted in strike

A Hamas command and control center based out of an UNRWA facility in the central Gaza Strip was targeted in an airstrike earlier today, the Israeli military and Shin Bet say.

According to a joint statement, the site was used by Hamas to direct attacks against Israeli troops in the Netzarim Corridor and against humanitarian aid deliveries.

“The attack was carefully planned and carried out using precise weaponry to avoid as much harm as possible to uninvolved [civilians],” the IDF says.

According to the military, the command center was used to supply operatives with weapons, as well as other supplies to members of the terror group in tunnels.

“The Hamas terror organization systematically exploits international institutions and the civilian population as a human shield for terror actions against the State of Israel,” the IDF adds.

10:04 pm

Gantz: The same heroism that kept Jews going during the Holocaust was seen on October 7

The same heroism that motivated Jews to overcome despair and terror during the Holocaust was seen on October 7, Minister Benny Gantz declares, insisting that “our enemies sought to destroy, intimidate, and break us up, yet found us more united and determined.”

“Our sages say that a hero is one who conquers his passion. Faced with the evil forces of the Nazis, hunger, loss, and the smell of death from the ovens — our people held on to the strength of their souls,” he says at a Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration at the Massuah International Institute for Holocaust Studies.

“Children who jumped from trains, and ran under barrages of fire to freedom. Adults who shared a slice of bread when hunger was eating them from the inside. Heroes who survived, fought, and came to Israel to fight again for the resurrection of their people,” he states.

“In the days after October 7, I spoke with hundreds who had gone through hell,” he continues. “The phrase ‘second holocaust’ was heard more than once. And the stories were again stories of heroism. Little children who lay in the shelters and conquered fear. Soldiers, police officers, and members of the security and rescue forces or civilians, who fought battles with resourcefulness and courage. Who rescued hundreds, under fire and with ruses. Young people who jumped on grenades in shelters and fought terrorists with their bare hands. People who discovered a mutual responsibility and sacrificed their lives.”

In the days ahead, Israelis will need to muster more such courage to “overcome the anger and rage at freeing heinous murderers and at the postponement of fighting” in order to free the remaining hostages in Gaza, Gantz asserts.

“The continuation of fighting over time, and the understanding of the costs to Israeli society as a whole, also require bravery from us, and overcoming our inclinations,” he says, insisting that “our future is reflected in years and generations, not in the achievements of days or weeks.”

10:40 pm

IDF announces deaths of 3 soldiers killed in Kerem Shalom rocket attack earlier today

L-R: Staff Sgt. Ruben Marc Mordechai Assouline, Staff Sgt. Ido Testa, and Staff Sgt. Tal Shavit, killed in a Hamas rocket attack near Kerem Shalom, May 5, 2024. (Courtesy)

The IDF announces the deaths of three soldiers in the Hamas-claimed rocket attack against a staging ground near Kerem Shalom in southern Israel earlier today.

The slain soldiers are named as:

Staff Sgt. Ruben Marc Mordechai Assouline, 19 of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Ra’anana.

Staff Sgt. Ido Testa, 19, of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Jerusalem.

Staff Sgt. Tal Shavit, 21, of the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, from Kfar Giladi.

Another 11 soldiers were wounded in the rocket attack, including two soldiers of the 931st Battalion and a soldier of the Shaked Battalion who are listed in serious condition.

Hamas launched more than 10 rockets from the Rafah area in the attack.

10:43 pm

Report: Hamas agrees Israel can commit to ending war in second stage of hostage deal, not first

Israel will not be required to commit to a total ceasefire in Gaza during the first stage of the hostage release and truce deal with Hamas and will only need to commit to doing so in the second stage, a Palestinian official tells Army Radio of the proposed deal’s outline.

The official — who is not named in the report –adds that Hamas would accept this option as an acceptable compromise and that it could be “a real opportunity to reach an agreement.”

The official adds that the proposal to require Israel’s commitment to ending the war only in the second phase of the deal was “unanimously accepted by Hamas and the other factions.”

If Israel were also to agree to the suggestion, “both sides would be on the verge of an agreement,” he tells Army Radio.

The countries that have been serving as mediators during the ongoing talks — namely Egypt, Qatar and the US — will serve as guarantors to ensure that Israel upholds its commitment, the official adds.

11:33 pm

$400 million increase in federal funding made available for places of worship in US

By AP

A $400 million increase in federal funding is available for security in places of worship, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announces.

The boost in money comes as concerns rise over threats against Jewish and Muslim communities, fueled in part by the Israel-Hamas war.

Places like synagogues and mosques could apply to use the money to hire security personnel or install cameras under the new increase in funding to the existing federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, Schumer, a Democrat, says from New York City.

“We’re going to keep funding so that no synagogue or other religious institution is going to have to live in the fear that they now live with,” Schumer says.

The program allocated $305 million last year to nonprofits to help protect their facilities from potential attacks.

Three New York City synagogues and the Brooklyn Museum received bomb threats through email on Saturday, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department says. The threats prompted two synagogues to evacuate, though no explosives were found.

Houses of worship will need to apply by May 21 to tap into the first round of funds.

11:50 pm

IDF: Two rockets fired from Syria struck open areas in Golan Heights