May 5: Amid ‘difficult’ call-up of reservists, IDF says it needs everyone, ‘including Haredim,’ to mobilize

Houthis say they’re undeterred by ‘Zionist-American raids,’ vow response

Nasruddin Amer, head of the Houthi media office, says the Israeli strikes on Houthi infrastructure earlier this evening will not deter the rebels, and vows that they will respond to the attack.

“The aggressive Zionist-American raids on civilian facilities will not affect our military operations against the Zionist enemy entity,” he says in a social media post.

He says the Houthis will escalate their attacks and will not stop targeting shipping routes and Israel until it stops the war in Gaza, where it is battling the Hamas terror group.

Houthis say at least 21 injured in Israeli strikes on Bajil cement factory

The Houthi-run health ministry in Yemen says that at least 21 people were injured in Israeli strikes on the Bajil cement factory earlier this evening.

The IDF has said that the concrete factory is an “important economic resource” for the Houthis, alleging that it is used “for building tunnels and military infrastructure.”

Netanyahu convenes new special committee focused on national AI strategy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an inaugural meeting of the Nagel Committee for advising on “accelerating the development of artificial intelligence in Israel from a national perspective,” the Prime Minister’s Office says.

At the meeting, attended by the cabinet secretary, science and technology minister, and senior PMO officials, Netanyahu “emphasized the urgency and strategic importance of the committee’s work and instructed that its recommendations be finalized as quickly as possible,” the statement adds.

The committee is chaired by Brigadier General (Res.) Prof. Jacob Nagel, a close associate of Netanyahu who chaired a special committee for determining the direction of Israel’s military force design earlier this year, and includes a team of interdisciplinary experts, the PMO says in a statement.

It says that the committee will “propose an initial national strategy and outline ways to accelerate AI development, including the establishment of a new body within the Prime Minister’s Office dedicated to this mission,” says the PMO.

The panel “will define the nature, functions, and responsibilities of the new entity, recommend a preliminary work plan, determine its scope of activity and authority, and propose mechanisms for coordination with relevant government agencies, the private sector, and academia,” the PMO says, adding that the premier thanked committee members for their role in “positioning the country as a global AI powerhouse.”

Senior Israeli rabbi to fundraise in US in June for yeshivas facing cuts over IDF draft ruling

Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, one of the senior leaders of the so-called Lithuanian stream of ultra-Orthodox Jewry, is slated to go to the United States in early June to raise funds to compensate for cuts to yeshiva budgets implemented in the wake of last year’s High Court decision ending draft exemptions of Talmud students, according to the ultra-Orthodox news site Behadrei Haredim.

Last April, an interim order by the High Court of Justice barring the government from providing funds to ultra-Orthodox yeshivas for students eligible for IDF enlistment went into effect, effectively ending the transfer of subsidies for tens of thousands of full-time students.

In the wake of these cuts, Hirsch, 87, and Rabbi Dov Lando, 94, reportedly raised nearly $100 million in the US to cover the shortfall.

Despite the cuts, the 2025 state budget included more than NIS 1.8 billion ($498 million) in coalition funds for the Haredi community.

This included NIS 1.27 billion ($351 million) for yeshivas, NIS 75 million ($20.7 million) for women’s seminaries, NIS 87 million ($24 million) for strengthening Jewish identity, NIS 60 million ($16.5 million) for yeshivas for overseas students, and NIS 2.9 million ($792,000) for matters relating to Jewish “family purity” laws.

The coalition funds also included NIS 28 million ($7.7 million) for programs to prevent Haredim from dropping out of yeshivas and NIS 8 million ($2.2 million) for “coordination and liaison bodies” — a reference to groups that arrange military exemptions.

Trump: We’re going to help ‘starving’ Gazans get food, but Hamas ‘making it impossible’

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

US President Donald Trump says his administration will help get food to “starving” Gazans during a two-month-and-counting Israeli aid blockade, but he says Hamas has made it “impossible” by diverting humanitarian assistance for its fighters.

“We’re going to help the people of Gaza get some food. People are starving and we’re going to help them get some food,” Trump tells reporters during an event at the White House.

Israeli officials to date have claimed that Gazans are not yet starving and that enough aid entered the Strip during a six-week ceasefire to sustain the Strip for an extended period time, even though they have also argued — like Trump — that Hamas has been stealing aid.

Jerusalem is working on implementing a new system to distribute aid in a manner that it hopes will prevent its diversion by Hamas, but international aid organizations briefed on the initiative said yesterday that they will not cooperate with it, as it does not properly address the humanitarian crisis.

“A lot of people are making it very, very bad,” he continues. “Hamas is making it impossible because they’re taking everything that’s brought in.”

The president adds that Palestinians in Gaza are “being treated very badly by Hamas.”

Some 20 fighter jets took part in Yemen strikes, dropped 50 munitions on Houthi targets, IDF says

Israeli Air Force fighter jets prepare for takeoff for airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen, May 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The military says some 20 Israeli Air Force fighter jets participated in the airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen this evening.

The jets dropped 50 munitions on the Hodeidah port and a concrete factory near the nearby city of Bajil, the military says.

It publishes images showing the jets preparing for takeoff.

IAF refuelers and spy planes also participated in the operation.

PM was inside Air Force command bunker, along with Katz and Zamir, during strikes on Yemen

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center), Defense Minister Israel Katz (left) and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir oversee airstrikes in Yemen, at the Defense Ministry headquarters, Tel Aviv, May 5, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office releases footage of the premier, alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, in the Israeli Air Force command bunker at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv during the strike against Houthi targets in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah.

The strikes come as a response to a Houthi ballistic missile attack that hit an area close to Ben Gurion Airport yesterday, wounding several people.

Media in Yemen reported strikes carried out by the US near the capital, Sanaa, shortly before the Israeli strikes.

IDF says Air Force struck Houthi infrastructure in Yemen, including Hodeidah port, concrete factory

A screen grab of footage purportedly shows Israeli strikes on Yemen's Houthi-held Hodeida area on May 5, 2025. (X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes in Yemen a short while ago, saying it comes as a response to the Houthis ballistic missile attack yesterday on Ben Gurion Airport and other previous attacks.

According to the military, the strikes carried out by Israeli Air Force fighter jets targeted Houthi infrastructure along the coast of Yemen, including at the Hodeidah port and a concrete factory near the nearby city of Bajil, some 2,000 kilometers from Israel.

The IDF says the Hodeidah port is used by the Houthis “for the transfer of Iranian weapons, equipment for military needs, and other terror purposes.”

The Bajil concrete factory “serves as an important economic resource for the Houthi terror regime and is used for building tunnels and military infrastructure,” the military says, adding that the strikes “constitute a blow to the regime’s economy and its military buildup.”

It marks the sixth Israeli strike in Yemen since the beginning of the war, and the first since January. The IDF had stopped responding to the Houthis’ missile and drone fire on Israel, as the US launched a major aerial campaign against the Iran-backed group several months ago.

Lebanese media reports Israeli strikes in the Beqaa Valley, close to Syrian border

Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrikes in the Janta area in the Beqaa Valley, close to the border with Syria.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the strikes.

Ultra-Orthodox parties to start boycotting government votes in protest over lack of Haredi draft law

Both of the coalition’s ultra-Orthodox parties will boycott votes on coalition legislation on Wednesday, in protest of the government’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service.

According to Hebrew media, United Torah Judaism decided on Monday, during its weekly faction meeting, that, starting on Wednesday, the party will no longer vote with the coalition.

i24 reports that UTJ is being joined by Shas, with both parties informing coalition whip Ofir Katz (Likud) that they would act in concert in boycotting bills during Wednesday’s plenum session.

In response, Likud MK Dan Illouz declares on X that “if the Haredi factions boycott the government’s votes and harm the ability to maintain a normal daily routine, the Likud should also be freed from automatically voting for their legislation.”

“The Likud is not a floor rag, but a magnificent national movement — the largest in the coalition and in the Knesset. I will not let you humiliate us,” he writes.

Speaking with Haredi news site Kikar HaShabbat, UTJ MK Yaakov Asher states that if the Knesset does not pass the legislation by the end of the Knesset’s summer legislative session, which ends on July 27, his party will no longer be able to remain in the government.

In an interview, Asher states that, while his party gave the coalition more time after it had failed to pass such a law before the 2025 state budget, it cannot wait any longer.

“If this law does not pass in this session…we will have a very big problem sitting in such a government, period,” he says, explaining that UTJ will “cannot be part of a government” that turns Haredim “into criminals.”

“I can tell you, we don’t know how to sit in a government that will come and say we’re not passing this law,” he continues, calling the legislation “the most important thing for the Jewish people.”

“I don’t see ourselves sitting in a government like that, period.”

Israel launches airstrikes on Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah in response to Houthi airport strike

A large fire and plume of smoke is visible in the port city of Hodeida, Yemen, September 29, 2024, after Israeli strikes on the Houthi-controlled city. (AP Photo/ File)

Israeli officials confirm that the Israeli Air Force is carrying out strikes in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah.

The strikes come as a response to a Houthi ballistic missile attack which hit the area close to Ben Gurion Airport yesterday, wounding several people.

Shortly before the Israeli strikes, media in Yemen reported strikes carried out by the US near the capital, Sanaa.

The IDF has struck in Yemen several times over the past year, in response to repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on the country.

Airstrikes reported in Yemen’s Hodeidah port city; Yemeni media blames Israel

Airstrikes are reported by media outlets in Yemen at the port city of Hodeidah.

It is not immediately clear whether Israel is behind the strikes, and there is no immediate comment from the IDF.

The reported strikes come a day after the Houthis in Yemen launched a ballistic missile which hit an area near Ben Gurion Airport, wounding several people.

The strike is attributed to Israel by media outlets in Yemen.

Acknowledging ‘difficult’ call-up of reservists, IDF spokesman says military needs everyone, ‘including Haredim,’ to mobilize

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, in his press conference, says the call-up of tens of thousands of reservists for the intensified Gaza offensive is “difficult and complicated, but is being done to return our hostages and to defeat [Hamas] and end the war.”

He says that currently, for the missions at hand, the IDF has enough forces.

But he adds that the military “needs everyone to mobilize,” and that the IDF will work to “draft all parts of society, including the Haredim.”

IDF spokesman says combined goal of intensified Gaza op is to free hostages, defeat Hamas

IDF Spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin delivers a press statement from the Gaza border, on May 5, 2025. (Screenshot)

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, in a press statement from the border with the Gaza Strip, says despite the military’s recent achievements and pressure on Hamas, the terror group remains “unwilling” to agree to a hostage deal.

“We have an organized plan. We are moving ahead to a new and intensified phase, Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” he says.

“The goal of the operation is the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas’s rule. These two goals are combined with each other,” Defrin says.

He says the offensive “will include a wide-scale attack and the movement of the majority of the Strip’s population, this is to protect them in an area sterile of Hamas. And continued airstrikes, elimination of terrorists, and dismantling of infrastructure.”

Defrin says the IDF will implement the “Rafah model,” whereby all Hamas infrastructure is razed and the area is declared part of Israel’s buffer zone, in other parts of the Strip.

Houthis accuse US of carrying out new round of strikes in and around Sanaa

Yemen’s Houthis accuse the United States of carrying out fresh strikes in and around Sanaa, after the Iran-backed rebels claimed a missile strike on Israel’s main airport yesterday.

The Houthi-run Saba news agency says the strikes included two on Arbaeen Street in the capital and the airport road, blaming them on “American aggression.”

Sixteen people were wounded, Saba cites the Iran-backed rebels’ health ministry as saying. The rebels’ Al-Masirah TV later reported another three strikes in Sanaa and seven in the northern governorate of Al-Jawf.

The accusations come after a missile fired from Yemen on Sunday struck inside the perimeter of Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv for the first time.

Lufthansa, Wizz Air extend suspension of flights to Israel after Houthi airport strike

The Lufthansa group of carriers and Hungarian low-cost airline giant Wizz Air extend the suspension of flight services to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.

On Sunday, the Lufthansa group — whose carriers also include SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines — and Wizz Air halted all flights to Tel Aviv, after a ballistic missile from Yemen struck an area of Israel’s main international airport.

Lufthansa says it extends flight suspensions to and from Tel Aviv until May 11, from the previously announced date of May 6. Wizz Air extends the cancellation of flight services to and from Tel Aviv until May 8 in the morning, instead of May 6 in the morning.

The Lufthansa group and Wizz Air joined other major airlines, including Air France, Air Europa, British Airways, Delta, and United Airlines in halting flights to Israel.

Netanyahu thanks Ecuadorian president for opening diplomatic office in Jerusalem

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, May 5, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/ GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on opening a new Innovation Research and Development Center with diplomatic status in Jerusalem.

In a video of the two leaders’ meeting at the premier’s office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu says he and Noboa “decided on very practical things that our experts will work on together to see how we can cooperate.”

He adds that he hopes to do so “as fast as possible because we value your friendship, we value your decision to open an innovation center in Jerusalem.”

“Ecuador and Israel have a great friendship. I look forward to cementing this friendship even further with the decisions we made today in the fields of agriculture, water, defense, security, and others,” Netanyhau says.

Noboa responds that he and his delegation “were received as friends, as allies, and as a nation that cooperates with Israel.”

“For us, it’s simple. We share the same enemies. Our enemies are poverty, terrorism, and suffering — and we are fighting them. We will fight them to the end. You will always have my support, and the friendship of myself and the nation of Ecuador,” the Ecuadorian leader tells Netanyahu, adding that the South American country would be happy to host him for a visit.

Yesterday, President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held separate meetings with officials from the Noboa’s delegation, among whom are the Ecuadorian foreign, defense, and interior ministers.

Police find unexploded bomb at Kibbutz Alumim entrance, believe it was left there by Hamas on Oct. 7

An Iranian made bomb believed to have been left behind by invading Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, was discovered by police at the entrance to Kibbutz Alumim on May 5, 2025. (Israel Police)

The Southern District Police say officers from the Netivot police station found an unexploded bomb at the entrance to Kibbutz Alumim this morning that they believe was left there by Hamas terrorists during the October 7, 2023, attack.

A spokesman says that, upon examining the bomb, police sappers concluded that it was Iranian-made and was likely left behind by Hamas terrorists during the October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel.

A police bomb squad neutralized the explosive.

The incident comes after an unexploded bomb also thought to have been left behind by Hamas terrorists was discovered near the city of Netivot last month.

Trump, Erdogan discuss Gaza war in ‘good and productive’ phone conversation

US President Donald Trump says he held a “good and productive” phone call earlier this morning with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He says they discussed the war in Gaza, while Erdogan’s office says in its own readout that the Turkish leader highlighted the gravity of the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

Turkey “is ready to cooperate and provide all kinds of support to establish a ceasefire and ensure lasting peace,” Erdogan’s office says.

Trump says Erdogan will be coming to Washington at an unspecified date and that the Turkish leader invited him to Turkey as well.

The US president touts his strong relationship with Erdogan, which has been a point of contention for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Jerusalem has been clashing with Ankara over the war in Gaza and the rise of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s regime in Syria.

Netanyahu says IDF will keep troops on captured ground in Gaza until Hamas defeated, hostages freed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answers questions about the Gaza war in a video posted on X on May 5, 2025. (Screenshot: X)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a video posted on X that IDF troops will remain stationed on territory captured during the recently approved intensified Gaza operation until the war aims are achieved.

“Last night we sat late into the night in the cabinet and decided on an intensified operation in Gaza,” says the premier.

“This was the recommendation of the chief of staff — to move, as he put it, toward the defeat of Hamas. He believes this will also help us rescue the hostages along the way. I agree with him. We are not letting up on this effort, and we will not give up on a single one. That is what we are doing.”

מעדכן אתכם גם היום בלי הפילטרים של התקשורת >>

תרשמו לי את השאלות שלכם למטה. pic.twitter.com/b1c0XZFSI8

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 5, 2025

“We won’t talk about the details because we’ve already spoken in detail about both of these matters: what we’re doing for the hostages, and what we’re doing for the defeat [of Hamas],” Netanyahu continues.

“One thing will be clear — we’re not going in and out [of Gaza] just to call up reserves so they’ll come and seize territory, we withdraw from territory, and carry out raids on what remains… That’s not the intention. What’s our intention? The opposite,” he says.

Syrian local authorities close up kabbalist rabbi’s grave dug up in Damascus

Syrian local authorities have re-filled in the grave of prominent kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Ben Yosef Vital in the Damascus Jewish cemetery, Joe Jajati, a member of the Syrian Jewish diaspora who visited the city last week, confirms to The Times of Israel, after the Kan public broadcaster first reported the development yesterday.

The grave of the 17th-century scholar, which is housed in a shrine in the cemetery, was dug up by unknown perpetrators on April 22.

The few remaining local Jews, as well as Jews of Syrian ancestry abroad, had asked the new Syrian government to bring the perpetrators to justice and to protect Jewish sites in the country.

“When Syria’s Foreign Minister [Asaad al-Shaibani] spoke at the UN last week, he mentioned how they [the government] were able to bring the Jews back to Syria,” Jajati told The Times of Israel after the incident. “They are using it as a card to try to remove the sanctions on Syria. In my view, since they are claiming it, they better be doing what is needed to actually protect Jewish sites there.”

He describes the covering of the grave as a positive development.

Likud minister accuses anti-government protesters of being funded by Iran

Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem at a Knesset session, December 16, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg FLASH90)

Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem accuses anti-government protesters of receiving funding from Iran during a speech in the Knesset plenum.

“I am completely convinced that in all of the funding of all the protests you have organized in the State of Israel over the past two and a half years, there is significant Iranian money involved,” says the Likud minister.

He recalls that, in recent months, the Shin Bet has arrested several people charged with, among other things, spreading anti-government slogans on behalf of Iran.

Based on this, he says, it seems “completely logical” that they would also funnel money into protests via third parties.

Lebanese army says Hamas handed over second suspect involved in firing rockets at Israel in March

The Lebanese Army announces that Hamas handed over a second Palestinian who was involved in launching rockets at Israel in March, after transferring the first suspect to the army yesterday.

Last weekend, Lebanon warned Hamas not to act in a way that would harm the country’s national security and undermine its stability, and Hamas’s representative in Lebanon, Ahmad Abd al-Hadi, was summoned for a meeting with Lebanese security agencies.

According to Lebanese media, the meeting was described as a reprimand, and reports say Abd al-Hadi was warned not to allow Hamas’s military wing to operate in Lebanon.

Netanyahu: Israel needs ‘special’ state commission of inquiry, but only after war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answers questions about the Gaza war in a video posted on X on May 5, 2025. (Screenshot: X)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel needs to establish a “special state commission of inquiry” to probe the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror assault, but only after the war in Gaza is over.

“We need to do that,” says Netanyahu in a question-and-answer-style video posted on his X account, referring to the need for a state commission of inquiry, adding that “We said from the beginning that we’d do it at the end of the war.”

מעדכן אתכם גם היום בלי הפילטרים של התקשורת >>

תרשמו לי את השאלות שלכם למטה. pic.twitter.com/b1c0XZFSI8

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 5, 2025

“I’ve heard the legal advice saying that ‘the war is over,'” continues Netanyahu, but he asserts that “we are on the eve of a major entry into Gaza. That is the recommendation of the General Staff. Their recommendation — not mine…I recommend the same thing. But they came to it independently and said so.”

He says the defeat of Hamas is “what needs to be done now. Afterward, we’ll investigate. And it must be investigated — all levels of leadership.”

“In order for this to work, it needs to be a committee that is acceptable to the entire public — a special state commission of inquiry that truly reflects the different viewpoints in society and gives them expression. And that way — it’s the only way — the findings will be accepted by the public, as broadly and consensually as possible,” the premier says.

His message comes after the government reportedly decided earlier today to seek to establish a “special” commission to probe the October 7 onslaught, but refused a call from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara for an official state commission of inquiry, which would have the broadest powers.

Iranian FM accuses Netanyahu of trying to ‘brazenly dictate’ US policy toward Iran

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to drag the United States into “disaster” in the Middle East, warning against any attempt to attack Iran.

“Netanyahu is directly MEDDLING within the US Government to DRAG it into another DISASTER in our region,” Araghchi said on X, warning against “ANY mistake against Iran.”

Araghchi also accused Netanyahu of “attempting to brazenly DICTATE what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran.”

Iran’s top diplomat cites US support for Israel in its war in Gaza against the Hamas terror group since the unprecedented October 7, 2023, assault, and also refers to the US retaliatory strikes against the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“LETHAL support for Netanyahu’s Genocide in Gaza and waging WAR on behalf of Netanyahu in Yemen have achieved NOTHING for the American people,” he says.

Araghchi’s remarks also come after the latest round of nuclear talks with the US, which were meant for May 3, were delayed with mediator Oman citing “logistical reasons.”

The two countries have held three rounds since April 12, their highest-level contact since Washington withdrew from a landmark deal with Tehran in 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term as US president.

Netanyahu has called for dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, saying a credible deal must “remove Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons” and prevent the development of ballistic missiles.

On Sunday, Trump said he would only accept “the total dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear program, but also signaled openness to discussing one for civilian use.

“Now, there’s a new theory going out there that Iran would be allowed to have a civilian (program) — meaning to make electricity,” he told NBC News, adding that he “would be open to hearing” the argument.

Araghchi reiterates that if the goal is for Iran not to have a nuclear weapon, “a deal is achievable and there is only ONE PATH to achieve it: DIPLOMACY based on MUTUAL RESPECT and MUTUAL INTERESTS.”

Smotrich indicates support for targeted sanctions against Haredi draft dodgers

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at a Religious Zionism party faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that the status quo in which ultra-Orthodox men do not serve in the army “will not continue,” telling reporters that he will work to “promote frameworks and programs that will allow the Haredim who enlist in the army to remain Haredim” by meeting their religious needs, and that a conscription law “tailored to the needs of the State of Israel” will be passed during the Knesset summer legislative session.

Asked if he would support a bill containing personal sanctions against draft dodgers, Smotrich replies that he supports a bill containing “significant enforcement tools to ensure that it is not empty of content. Including in this matter.”

Speaking at a conference organized by the right-wing Besheva newspaper earlier today, Smotrich endorsed Defense Minister Israel Katz’s plan to gradually increase the number of ultra-Orthodox men conscripted by the army while still allowing many to continue studying full-time in yeshiva.

“There will be a conscription law, with a target of 50 percent conscription within seven years, accompanied by sanctions and enforcement. The Haredi leadership will give it legitimacy, and the army will finally start conscripting,” Smotrich said, according to the Israel National News site.

Katz, who also supports coming to terms with a rabbinic leadership that has strongly ruled out military service for its followers, has pushed for a plan under which the number of Haredim drafted into the military would be increased gradually year-over-year until it hits 50 percent of the annual eligible Haredi draft cohort in 2032.

Last week, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Likud MK Yuli Edelstein asserted that the panel he heads is nearing a final draft of a law regulating ultra-Orthodox enlistment. He has rejected Katz’s approach as insufficient, instead signing a declaration of principles calling for mass mobilization of Haredi men as well as the imposition of “personal and financial sanctions” on those who fail to obey draft orders.

Speaking with Radio Kol Barama this morning, Culture Minister Miki Zohar said that “Haredim should continue to study Torah” and argued that public anger over Haredim not serving was limited “those who do not study Torah and do not go into the army.”

“If there is no conscription law, the entire upcoming election campaign will revolve around the conscription law. If there is no law, it will be very bad for our public in general and the Haredi public in particular,” Zohar stated.

Government only does what is best for Israel’s security, Smotrich claims, pushing back against critics

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich pushes back against opposition criticism of the government’s approval of a renewed offensive in the Gaza Strip, declaring that “all our decisions, in all areas, will be made solely through the prism of what is good for the security of the State of Israel and its economy.”

“This is true regarding Gaza, this is true regarding the [Haredi military] conscription law. There will be zero political considerations here,” Smotrich tells reporters ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

Over the past year and a half, the government has been “resolutely changing Israel’s security doctrine,” but this is a complex process and “repairing decades of damage takes time and requires determination, consistency and patience,” he says.

What is now at stake is the determination of whether “there is a military solution to terrorism” or if Israelis are “doomed to surrender, flee from terrorism, hide behind walls and fences” and go through round after round of fighting “until the next October 7.”

The IDF’s new offensive will mark a significant change, he continues. “No more of the failed method of raids in which IDF soldiers return time after time to places that the IDF has already conquered,” and humanitarian aid makes its way to “the enemy who holds our brothers and sisters, shoots at our soldiers and wants to destroy us.”

“Every truck that reaches Hamas in Gaza prolongs the war, strengthens Hamas, and endangers our fighters,” he says.

Smotrich says that the new offensive justifies his decision to remain in the coalition during the last ceasefire, when fellow far-right party Otzma Yehudit temporarily left the government.

“As I have said again and again since the hostage deal and the last ceasefire: We remained in the government for one purpose only: to ensure that we return to fighting differently until Hamas is destroyed and the hostages are returned,” he says.

Lapid says he’s not opposed to legal reform but government is trying to ‘destroy everything’

Opposition leader and Yesh Atid chair Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid tells reporters that he is not, in principle, opposed to legislation splitting the role of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara but insists that it is only possible to debate such a law “under normal conditions,” when the prime minister is not under indictment.

“The debate now is not objective; it is a debate polluted by the prime minister’s trial and only proves that there is another law that it is a shame we did not pass: that a person with indictments against him cannot be prime minister of the state of Israel,” Lapid tells reporters in the Knesset.

When Lapid and former Naftali Bennett formed their “government of change” in 2021, they agreed to advance a law splitting the AG’s role into two, in their coalition agreement with Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope party.

When the previous government supported this, however, “the prime minister did not have three indictments against him… neither Bennett nor I have, have had, nor will we probably have indictments,” Lapid states, arguing that “what is happening right now is an attempt to sabotage Netanyahu’s trial.”

“Back then, we still thought he was a decent person,” Lapid adds.

“In the end, I was never against changing the legal system. There is no system that cannot be fixed, including the legal system. And for years, I have talked and I have written about the need to make amendments to the legal system. It just shouldn’t be done in a way that is a clear attempt to dismantle the separation of powers, destroy the Supreme Court and destroy the entire legal system, which is what this government is trying to do, destroy everything.”

Asked by a Haredi reporter if he believes that Arabs should be conscripted in the same way he wants to conscript Haredi Jews, Lapid replies that he supports encouraging Arabs to participate in civilian service but “I don’t think the State of Israel needs to enlist young Arabs, give them weapons and military training.”

Addressing the government’s decision to approve a new military offensive in the Gaza Strip, Lapid says that “nobody yet knows what the words ‘occupation of the Strip’ mean, but there is one thing we do know: this war is costing a lot of money.”

“During a war, the government can come to the citizens and tell them to tighten their belts, but on one condition: that it does so itself. That it also cuts itself back, [and] that is not what is happening,” he says.

Record number of voters in World Zionist Congress election, despite fraud allegations

More than 238,000 people voted in the World Zionist Congress election, indicating record participation in a vote that will help determine how billions of dollars a year are allocated to various Jewish and Israeli causes, says the American Zionist Movement (AZM), which administered the election.

The eight-week online election, which ended yesterday, attracted 90% more voters than the previous election in 2020, AZM says. The final result is contingent on several thousand additional paper ballots that have been mailed in and will be released within the coming weeks, it adds.

The election was marred by allegations of voter fraud by as many as six of the 22 slates running for the 152 seats up for grabs in the US. More than 10,200 votes are likely to be tossed out due to suspicions of fraud.

Several slates, including ARZA/Vote Reform, Hatikvah, and Mercaz USA, have called for AZM to deal harshly with any parties found guilty of cheating, including disqualifying the offending slates. No evidence has yet been revealed incriminating any of the slates of orchestrating the fraudulent votes.

“AZM is continuing its investigation into those developments and will ensure that no improper votes are counted in the final results,” the organization says. “AZM is committed to upholding the integrity of the election and to conducting a fair and transparent election process.”

PM approves work on Western Wall section in Muslim quarter of Old City, informs Jordan — report

With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval, renovation and maintenance work has begun on the “Little Western Wall,” a section of the Western Wall located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Netanyahu authorized the work through the National Security Council due to the political sensitivity of the area with regard to Jordan, the report says. As such, it says, Israel issued an official update to the Jordanian government a few hours before the work began.

Jordan views itself as a custodian of the Temple Mount and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, a status Israel does not recognize.

The “Little Western Wall” is considered the second closest place outside of the Temple Mount to the location of the Holy of Holies in the Second Temple and is thus granted a special sacred status by Jews.

The renovation and maintenance work had long been needed, but was delayed because senior political leadership had yet to approve it, according to Kan. The several months of discussions leading up to the authorization included representatives from the NSC, the police, and the Shin Bet, the report says, citing a minister briefed on the details.

World Court throws out Sudan genocide case against UAE, citing lack of jurisdiction

The top United Nations court decides to throw out Sudan’s case against the United Arab Emirates over alleged complicity in genocide during the brutal Sudanese civil war.

Sudan had taken the UAE to the International Court of Justice, saying its alleged support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was contributing to a genocide — accusations strongly denied by the Emiratis.

But the ICJ says it “manifestly lacked” jurisdiction to rule on the case and throws out the case.

Ben Gvir pans decision to resume Gaza aid, says Israel should assist only with voluntary migration

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir slams the government’s decision to resume providing humanitarian aid in Gaza, asserting that “the only aid that ought to enter Gaza should be for voluntary migration, to allow them to emigrate voluntarily.”

“As long as we have hostages languishing in the tunnels, I don’t understand this discussion at all,” he tells members of his far-right Otzma Yehudit party during its weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

Until the hostages come home, “the enemy should not receive either food, electricity, or any other aid, neither through the IDF nor by way of civil society,” he says.

Israel approved a plan to significantly broaden the military offensive against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip late Sunday, including a proposal to renew aid deliveries into Gaza while overhauling the mechanism in order to minimize diversion of the goods by Hamas to benefit its operatives.

Ben Gvir was the only one who voted against this proposal.

Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza for two months and says it won’t allow food, fuel, water, or medicine into the besieged territory until it puts in place a system giving it control over the distribution.

Agencies contributed to this report.

One arrested as police forcibly disperse anti-government protest outside Knesset

Violence broke out at an anti-government protest outside the Knesset in Jerusalem a short while ago as police forcibly dispersed protesters who were blocking the road leading to the Prime Minister’s Office.

One person was arrested during the incident, for “disturbing the peace,” the police say.

The protesters had marched from the Chords Bridge to the Knesset complex earlier this afternoon for a protest timed to coincide with the first weekly faction meetings following the end of the spring recess.

Speaking to Channel 12, protesters say they showed up to demonstrate over a whole host of issues, including the failure to recover the remaining 59 hostages from Gaza, the mass call-up of IDF reservists, and the treatment of the country’s educators amid ongoing wage disputes.

After the rally-goers began blocking the road leading to the Prime Minister’s Office, police started breaking up the demonstration by force.

In footage posted online, police can be seen hauling protesters across the street while crowds jostle around them.

In a second video clip, a protester is dragged across the street by the arm, while a second is hauled out of the crowd by a cop pulling him by the strap of his backpack.

Police forcibly remove protesters from a road leading to the Prime Minister’s Office, on May 5, 2025. (Orna Kupferman/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

In a statement about the incident, the Israel Police says that some of the protesters “began disturbing public order… ignoring the instructions of the police officers on the scene, created provocations and clashed with officers.”

“As a result, a police officer announced that they were disturbing the peace and ordered them to continue their march to the designated protest area,” the police continue. “After they failed to comply, the police, together with Border Police officers, worked to push them back, and during this, a suspect was detained for questioning following an assault on a policewoman.”

♦️ תיעוד: המשטרה החלה לפנות בכוח מפגינים נגד הממשלה מול הכנסת. צילום: זיו שמע תקשורת. pic.twitter.com/xp5HWBGayF

— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) May 5, 2025

Israeli official: Public will soon know how Israel has chosen to respond to Houthi airport strike

Israelis will see “in the very near future” what Israel decided regarding a direct attack on Yemen, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

Houthis in Yemen fired a ballistic missile that struck Ben Gurion Airport yesterday, injuring several Israelis and shutting down air travel.

Israel had ceased its direct strikes on Yemen after the US embarked on an intensified campaign against the Houthis.

Israel trying to ‘leverage’ Trump’s Mideast visit to push Hamas toward hostage deal, Israeli official says

Israel is trying to “leverage” US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week, in combination with the mass call-up of reservists, to push Hamas to accept a hostage release deal, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

In addition, the official says, Qatar is no longer “putting spokes in the wheels” of the Egyptian proposal for a deal.

“We hope that all these factors will come together in the coming days and maybe will lead to a deal,” says the official. “We are giving this time to Hamas. We are saying, take this deal now, because if we start a war and there is a deal, it will be under far worse circumstances for you. Take the deal, because now there is an opportunity, a window.”

The deal would see Hamas release 6-8 living hostages in the first stage, before the sides would enter talks on the end of the war.

“Both sides would bring up their demands. We, of course, would bring up our conditions for Hamas’s surrender. Exile, release of the hostages, and everything that goes along with that.”

“If we come to an agreement, that is, if Hamas agrees to the Israeli conditions — because that is the only way we will reach an agreement — then the rest of the hostages would be released and the war would end.”

There are currently no plans or preparations for Trump to visit Israel next week, says the official: “But Trump being Trump, he could get up one morning and decide that he is coming.”

The US “are coordinated with us” on the expansion of the Gaza operation, says the official. “They are also working for the destruction and defeat of Hamas. They wanted to see this happen already.”

During the Gaza operation, according to the official, civilians will be moved south of the Morag Corridor, where they will undergo security checks and where humanitarian aid will be distributed.

The official denies that Netanyahu is frustrated with Trump’s Middle East policy.

“Trump and the prime minister see eye-to-eye on the danger of a nuclear Iran,” says the official. “They are 100 percent aligned on this danger, on the need to deal with this threat. In the last phone call, Trump also told the prime minister that he supports ending Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity as a condition for reaching a nuclear agreement. That’s what we want.”

Israeli Druze leader urges world to help Syria out of ‘dead end,’ create a democracy that protects minorities

Sheikh Muafak Tarif, spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, speaks at a conference on "The Druze and the security of Israel: The blood alliance in practice" at Western Galilee College in Acre on May 5, 2025. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)

Speaking at a conference on “The Druze and the security of Israel: The blood alliance in practice” at Western Galilee College in Acre, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muafak Tarif, warns that “less an hour and a half away [in Syria] are extremist terror groups that threaten Israel.”

“After October 7 and after what Hezbollah did, Israel cannot allow extremist terror groups to be on its northern border,” Tarif says.

He calls on the international community to help Syria out of the “dead end” it finds itself in and build a democratic government that includes the different ethnic groups in Syria, which he says might eventually lead to peace with Israel.

Tarif says there are “a thousand foreign soldiers who belong to ISIS who are saying the Druze are not part of Syria.”

“The Druze have tried to be part of the new government and to get their basic civil rights,” Tarif argues. He adds that Israeli Druze “don’t want to interfere with politics in Syria, but we will do what we can to protect the Druze.”

The Druze community in Syria is waiting for aid from the international community, but “that hasn’t happened.”

Separately, Tarif stresses that “above all,” the most important thing is the return of the hostages from Gaza and for the war to end.

France condemns Houthi strike on Ben Gurion, says attacks ‘must stop immediately’

Israeli security forces at the site where a missile fired from Yemen hit an area of Ben Gurion Airport, on May 4, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

France “strongly condemns” yesterday’s Houthi missile attack on Ben Gurion airport, and past strikes by the Iran-backed terror group on Israel, the French Foreign Ministry says.

“The Houthis’ repeated attacks on Israel are unacceptable and can only sustain the high level of regional tensions, further delaying the end of the conflict. These attacks must stop immediately,” the foreign ministry statement reads.

“France reiterates its commitment to Israel’s security and reaffirms the right of the Israeli people to live in peace and security, as well as its commitment to regional stability,” it continues, adding that the ministry, “through its diplomatic and consular network, remains attentive to the situation of French nationals in Israel, whether residents or visitors.”

EU calls for ‘utmost restraint’ after Israel approves plans to widen Gaza offensive

The European Union calls for restraint from Israel after the country’s security cabinet approved the expansion of the military offensive in Gaza.

“The European Union is concerned at the planned extension of the operation by Israeli forces in Gaza, which will result in further casualties and suffering for the Palestinian population. We urge Israel to exercise the utmost restraint,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni says.

The plan, approved by the security cabinet late Sunday, will significantly broaden the offensive against the Hamas terror group and provides for the “conquering of Gaza” and retaining the territory.

Slamming PM for lack of progress in Gaza, Gantz warns public is ‘tired of empty slogans’

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on May 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that Israel is close to victory in Gaza, but “the public is not stupid, and it is tired of empty slogans,” says National Unity chair Benny Gantz.

Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s first weekly faction meeting in the Knesset following the end of the spring recess, Gantz says that while Israel is “indeed winning militarily” and “and has dismantled Hamas as a large, organized, fighting military force,” the “war on terror is not a football game that ends with the final whistle or after a penalty shootout.”

“For over a year and a half, there has been no progress in replacing the Hamas regime, no exile, no demobilization, no evacuation of the population, no solution to bringing in aid without it reaching Hamas, and no promotion of an international administrator for Gaza,” Gantz states, accusing Netanyahu of “playing for time instead of scoring.”

“Military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostages and for the replacement of the Hamas government,” Gantz says, asking, however, what Netanyahu means when he says he wants to defeat Hamas.

The return of the hostages is “the most urgent goal,” Gantz adds.

“The truth is that we will not wake up one morning and discover that ‘there is no Hamas’ as the prime minister says, but if we continue to procrastinate, we may wake up one morning and discover that we have no living hostages.”

“Unfortunately, the government is busy dividing the people, not winning the war. It is calling up thousands of soldiers while continuing to release the ultra-Orthodox and Arabs from service,” he argues, accusing Netanyahu of fighting with the attorney general and the Shin Bet instead of being focused on external enemies.

Gantz appeals to “patriotic” Likud voters, stating that “what is happening here right now violates your most basic values,” such as “the supremacy of the law.”

“You will put an end to this because your hearts are in the right place. Even if it takes another six months, even if it takes another year, we will go to elections and make things right,” he vows.

Herzog and German counterpart to exchange state visits with focus on hostages, Holocaust remembrance

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (R) receives his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog at the Presidential Bellevue Palace, on February 16, 2024 in Berlin. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

President Isaac Herzog will depart for a one-day trip to Berlin on May 12 at the invitation of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Steinmeier will then return with Herzog to Israel for a reciprocal visit, Herzog’s office announces.

In Germany, one of Israel’s closest diplomatic and security allies, Herzog will also meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other government officials.

“The leaders will discuss the paramount effort to secure the release of the hostages held in Gaza,” as well as “strengthening bilateral cooperation and developing joint future initiatives,” says Herzog’s office in a statement.

The presidents will visit the Gleis 17 (platform 17) memorial at the Grunewald railway station, from which thousands of Berlin’s Jews were deported to concentration camps during the Holocaust, and meet with Israeli and German youth “for a dialogue on their shared past and future.”

After the trip, Herzog’s office adds, Steinmeier is expected to return with Herzog to Israel for a visit during which the heads of state will tour Kibbutz Be’eri for the second time together since the war outbreak, and Herzog will present his German counterpart with the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor, awarded to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Israel or humanity.

Five German nationals remain hostage in the Gaza Strip.

Senior defense official: IDF to launch major Gaza op if no hostage deal by end of Trump’s Mideast visit

IDF troops operate in the Shejaiya neighborhood in Gaza City, in an image released on May 3, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

A senior Israeli defense official says the military will launch its major offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots,” if no hostage deal is reached with the terror group by the end of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week.

Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates between May 13 and May 16.

“Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots,’ whose objective is the defeat of Hamas in Gaza and the release of all hostages, was unanimously approved yesterday by the security cabinet,” the defense official says in a statement to reporters.

He says the IDF will “bolster its forces and operate with intensity to defeat Hamas and destroy its military and governmental capabilities, while creating strong pressure for the release of all hostages.”

According to the official, “a central component of the plan is the extensive evacuation of the entire Gazan population from combat zones, including from northern Gaza, to areas in southern Gaza, while creating separation between them and Hamas terrorists, in order to allow the IDF operational freedom of action.”

“Unlike in the past, the IDF will remain in every area that is conquered, to prevent the return of terror, and will handle every cleared area according to the Rafah model, where all threats were leveled and it became part of the security zone,” he says, referring to an Israeli-held buffer zone.

The official says the “blockade” on humanitarian aid will continue, and “only later, after the beginning of operational activity and a broad evacuation of the population to the south, a humanitarian plan will be implemented.”

He says the plan includes delineating an area in southern Gaza’s Rafah, to be secured by the IDF, as civilian companies hand out aid to Palestinian civilians. Those entering the “sterile zone” in Rafah will undergo a security screening by the IDF to prevent Hamas from taking aid, the official says.

The official says the IDF’s deployment prior to the start of the major operation “will provide a window of opportunity until the end of the US president’s visit to the region to carry out a hostage deal according to the ‘Witkoff framework.'”

“In such a case, Israel will seek to retain territory that has been cleared and added to the security zone… In any temporary or permanent arrangement, Israel will not evacuate the security zone around Gaza, which is intended to protect communities and prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas,” he says.

“If no hostage deal is carried out, Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ will begin with great intensity and will not stop until all its objectives are achieved,” the official warns.

The official adds that plans to allow Gazans to voluntarily emigrate abroad, “especially those concentrated in the south outside of Hamas control, will be part of the operation’s objectives.”

Man arrested on suspicion of Jerusalem hills arson released to house arrest; fire officials have blamed conditions for blazes

Police release Riyad Abu Tir, a 63-year-old resident of East Jerusalem’s Umm Tuba neighborhood, to house arrest, after he was detained last Wednesday on suspicion of arson, a police spokeswoman confirms.

Officers detained Abu Tir during the massive wildfires on the outskirts of Jerusalem last week, amid rumors spread by politicians that the blazes were intentionally sparked by Palestinian nationalists.

He was arrested by law enforcement after cops received a tip claiming that someone had attempted to start a fire between Umm Tuba and Har Homa.

Abu Tir’s detention was extended until yesterday. Police at the time said they nabbed him with an igniter and combustible materials, sharing a photo of a lighter, cotton wool and tissues they found on his person.

According to Haaretz, Abu Tir’s lawyer argued that his client had gone to the area to smoke, adding that he also had a pipe and tobacco on him at the time of his arrest. He claimed the cotton wool was used by the defendant to clean his pipe.

Police requested again yesterday to extend Abu Tir’s remand by five days, but were rejected by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, which granted police only one additional day. The District Court upheld the decision.

Fire service officials have declined to name arson as the main cause of the fires in the Jerusalem hills, blaming instead the unfavorable topography of the region and harsh weather conditions. Last week saw intense heat and powerful, dry southerly winds, enabling fires to quickly spread through the forests.

Liberman slams PM on Gaza plans: Acting like WWII allies who didn’t prioritize rescuing Jews

Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 5, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

By prioritizing the destruction of Hamas above the rescue of the hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is acting like the allies in World War II who knew about the Nazi death camps but made rescuing the Jews a lower priority than military victory, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman charges.

Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Liberman asserts that “this is a war not for security, but for control,” adding that the government would “do anything” to maintain power, “even at the expense of the lives of hostages and soldiers.”

This is also the belief of most of the IDF general staff, he claims.

The government is “not capable of destroying Hamas,” Liberman continues, calling the return of the hostages a prerequisite for military victory and alleging that the government’s current strategy was motivated by “political calculations.”

During World War II, the allies decided to destroy the Nazis first and afterwards save the Jews, he says, accusing Netanyahu of doing the same thing today.

El Al says it is capping prices of one-way flights to help stranded Israelis get home

An El Al flight lands at Ben Gurion International Airport on March 31, 2025. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

El Al Israel Airlines says it is capping the prices of one-way tickets to help Israelis stranded overseas to travel back home from a number of key hubs after most foreign carriers halted their services to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport following the ballistic missile attack from Yemen, which hit an area at Israel’s main international airport yesterday.

Israel’s flagship carrier is introducing a maximum price policy for one-way tickets from several destinations to Tel Aviv. One-way tickets from Rome will be sold for a maximum of $333, from Barcelona for up to $349, from Paris for up to $392, from London Luton airport for up to $424, from Thessaloniki for up to $289, and from New York for up to $799.

Those prices are for “lite” tickets in economy class, without luggage, and will be valid until May 17. On Sunday, El Al started to sell one-way flight tickets from nearby Greece and Cyprus, from Larnaca to Tel Aviv for $99 and from Athens to Tel Aviv for $149.

“Israeli aviation has a national responsibility to continue connecting Israel to the world in this period, while providing solutions to Israelis seeking to return home,” says Shlomi Zafrany, VP of Commercial & Industrial Affairs at El Al.

Major European and US airlines, including the Lufthansa group, Air France, British Airways, Delta, and United Airlines, on Sunday halted their flight services to and from Tel Aviv. The hiatus of foreign airlines has again left El Al alongside smaller local carriers Arkia and Israir with a near-monopoly.

Opposition leaders slam government decision not to establish Oct. 7 state commission: ‘The truth will come out’

Palestinian terrorists are seen at an entrance to Kibbutz Nir Oz, during the Hamas-led onslaught on October 7, 2023. (AP/Hassan Eslaiah)

The leaders of the Knesset’s opposition parties condemn the cabinet’s decision not to establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 Hamas-led invasion, dismissing the move as an effort by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to evade responsibility for the attack.

Without establishing such a commission, “the catastrophe of October 7 will happen again and again,” argues Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, adding that “if we do not investigate what led to the disaster we will not be able to learn the lessons and ensure that it won’t happen again.”

“I know what was said in the closed meetings and in the security cabinet. Everything is recorded and documented. [Netanyahu] knows exactly why he is afraid of a state commission of inquiry” and “the truth will come out, with or without him,” declares Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman.

“The government is right, this is not the time to establish a state commission of inquiry. That time was over a year ago when I submitted the proposal to the government, and every moment that it is delayed, the security of the state is compromised,” tweets National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, a former member of Netanyahu’s now-defunct war cabinet.

“The public is not stupid. The only reason a state commission of inquiry is not being established is an attempt to escape responsibility. If you’re not going to do it, at least spare us the embarrassing excuses.”

The Democrats chair Yair Golan also slams the government, accusing Netanyahu and his ministers of being “afraid of the truth and running away from their responsibility for the worst massacre in Israel’s history.”

“I promise: the truth will come out and they will bear full responsibility,” he says.

IDF says Khan Younis airstrike destroyed primed Hamas rocket launch site

An airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis yesterday destroyed a primed Hamas rocket launching position, the military says.

According to the IDF, the launch site belonging to Hamas had several launchers that were armed and aimed at Israel.

A video released by the IDF appears to show rockets flying out of the site following the strike.

אתמול, צה"ל תקף והשמיד משגרים חמושים ומוכנים לשיגור של ארגון הטרור חמאס במרחב חאן יונס, שהיו מכוונים לעבר שטח הארץ.

כתוצאה מהתקיפה זוהו פיצוצים המעידים על הימצאות מספר רקטות מוכנות לשיגור לעבר מדינת ישראל.

צה"ל ימשיך לפעול בעוצמה ובנחישות כנגד כל ארגוני הטרור ברצועה pic.twitter.com/OjEhKrep43

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 5, 2025

Smotrich: Israelis should embrace the word ‘occupation,’ IDF won’t withdraw from Gaza

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting of his Religious Zionist party, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 17, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip even if there is another hostage deal, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich insists, calling on Israelis to embrace “occupation.”

“We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation,'” Smotrich tells Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal during a conference organized by the right-wing Besheva newspaper.

“We are finally taking control of all humanitarian aid, so that it does not become supplies for Hamas. We are separating Hamas from the population, cleansing the Strip, returning the hostages — and defeating Hamas,” he says — adding that once the new offensive in Gaza begins there will be “no retreat from the territories we have conquered, not even in exchange for hostages.”

“The only way to release the hostages is to subdue Hamas. Any retreat will bring about the next October 7,” he says.

“Once as we occupy and stay [in Gaza] we can talk about sovereignty. But I did not demand that this be included among the goals of the war. First, we will defeat Hamas and prevent it from existing,” Smotrich says.

Continuing rhetorical attacks, Foreign Ministry says Qatar ‘still seems to support Hamas’

Israel continues its rhetorical offensive against Qatar, saying that the Gulf emirate “still seems to support Hamas.”

Responding to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, who called recent remarks by the Prime Minister’s Office “inflammatory,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry writes on its social media accounts that “the Qatari Foreign Ministry is confused or wants to confuse the world.”

“Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East,” writes the Foreign Ministry. “On the other hand, Hamas is a genocidal terrorist regime that murdered more than 1,100 innocent people on October 7 and still holds 59 innocent people hostage.”

“Unfortunately, Qatar still seems to support Hamas,” it says.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have publicly accused Qatar of convincing Hamas not to accept a compromise proposal that would have freed living hostages and brought about a temporary ceasefire. An Arab official, not from Qatar, told The Times of Israel that the claim was “manufactured” by Jerusalem.

The most recent verbal attack by the Foreign Ministry comes a week before US President Donald Trump comes to the region, including a stop in Qatar.

Over the weekend, Qatar accused Israel of starving Gazans and blocking medicine.

“Qatar must decide if it is on the side of genocidal terror regimes or on the side of those who counter their evil,” says the Foreign Ministry.

Likud minister: Goal of renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza is ‘complete occupation of the Strip’

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar attends a ceremony for the Israeli Olympic and Paralympic delegation competing at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on June 19, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

The goal of the renewed Israeli offensive against Hamas is “the complete occupation of the Strip,” Culture Minister Miki Zohar tells national broadcaster Kan following the cabinet’s approval of an operational plan for the next phase of the campaign.

“Such a move endangers those who remain in captivity,” the Likud politician acknowledges. “But there is no choice left.”

Zohar argues that the war has taken over a year and a half “because we wanted to bring as many hostages home as possible,” adding that the renewed offensive could bring Hamas to the table in a serious way.

“Hamas may soon realize that it has no choice but to return [the hostages] and exile itself from Gaza,” he says.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Days ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “victory” over Hamas, not the return of the hostages, was war’s top goal.

Netanyahu’s comments sparked outrage among hostages’ families, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum accusing Netanyahu of “falling in line” with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who the previous week had triggered a fierce backlash after he said that “the hostages are not the most important thing” in the war effort.

Government said to decide not to establish a state commission of inquiry into October 7

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on April 17, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/ GPO)

The government decides not to establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and atrocities at the current time, Hebrew media reports.

Instead, several cabinet ministers reportedly express a readiness to advance legislation allowing for the establishment of a “special” state commission, whose members would be appointed in a different manner to how a regular state commission of inquiry is appointed.

At present, the members of a state commission of inquiry are appointed by the Supreme Court president, but several cabinet members make hostile comments regarding current president Isaac Amit, and say the chair of the commission who appoints its members should be approved by a two-thirds majority in Knesset, Channel 12 reports.

The government initially opposed establishing a state commission of inquiry on the grounds that doing so amid an ongoing war would distract the military and be divisive. It has subsequently argued that such a committee would be slanted against the government, since its members are appointed by the president of the Supreme Court.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the implication of failing to establish a state commission will be that “the catastrophe of October 7 will happen again and again,” adding, “If we do not investigate what led to the disaster we will not be able to learn the lessons and ensure that it won’t happen again.”

IDF probe finds 2 soldiers injured in Gaza City on Saturday likely hit by Hamas rocket fire

An IDF investigation into the injury of two soldiers in Gaza City on Saturday has found that they were likely hit by Hamas rocket fire, and not a faulty tank shell as initially suspected.

Of the two troops of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion, one was seriously and one was lightly injured by the blast in an army encampment in the area of Gaza City’s eastern Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods.

The investigation, led by the commander of the Jerusalem Brigade Col. Nir Ifergan, has determined “with a high likelihood” that the soldiers were hit by rocket fire aimed at the encampment, and not the explosion of a tank shell.

Reports: Arrested Iranian suspects may have been ‘hours away’ from ‘major attack’ on UK synagogue; no confirmation

Illustrative: Police officers in London, March 21, 2025. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

British media reports say that speculation is mounting that the eight men, including seven Iranian nationals, who were arrested in the UK over the weekend had been “hours away” from carrying out an attack on a synagogue. There is no confirmation of the reports.

According to The Telegraph, “the target may have been a synagogue or another target linked to the Jewish community.”

The Daily Mail says a “major attack” was planned.

Britain’s counter-terrorism police arrested the eight men in two separate operations.

On Saturday, five men, four of whom are Iranian nationals, were detained on suspicion of terrorism offenses over a plot to target specific premises. The arrests were made in Swindon, west London, Stockport, Rochdale and Manchester.

In a separate operation on the same day, three Iranian nationals were arrested in London as part of another counter-terrorism investigation, the Metropolitan Police said in a separate statement.

Experts tell the Daily Mail that elite SAS soldiers were likely to have joined the arrest raids, with sources telling the outlet a “major attack” was planned.

IDF says it demolished main headquarters of former Syrian regime at Mount Hermon’s peak

A former Syrian military compound in southern Syria, which was raided by the IDF, in a photo published May 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it located and demolished “the main headquarters of the former Syrian regime at the peak of Mount Hermon,” during recent operations in Syria.

The military compound was raided by the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade, alongside combat engineers and paratroopers.

At the facility, which belonged to the Bashar al-Assad regime, the IDF says it found bunkers and numerous weapons, including artillery cannons, rockets and launchers, mortars, explosives, and mines.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

Israeli officials have said that they seek to completely demilitarize the southern Syria area, and not allow any armed groups to enter it and gain a foothold, including the new Syrian government.

Divorce lawyer for Aliza Sherman, murdered in Cleveland in 2013, arrested over her killing

Aliza Sherman (Justice for Aliza Sherman Facebook page)

Ohio authorities said they’ve solved the more than decade-old fatal stabbing of a Cleveland Clinic nurse, announcing recent murder charges against her former divorce attorney who already served jail time for lying to police during the investigation.

Friday’s arrest of 51-year-old Gregory J. Moore marks the latest twist in a cold case that has stumped Ohio authorities since 2013. Aliza Sherman was stabbed more than 10 times, her body found on a downtown Cleveland sidewalk near where she was set to meet Moore to discuss her divorce.

Moore was indicted on charges of murder, aggravated murder, kidnapping and conspiracy, according to unsealed documents. He was arrested by US Marshals in Texas, and remains in custody.

“The Sherman family has waited over a decade for answers regarding their mother’s homicide,” says Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley in a statement. “Through the tenacious work of multiple law enforcement agencies, evidence was accumulated that paints the unmistakable picture that Gregory Moore orchestrated and participated in the brutal murder of Aliza Sherman.”

Moore is not a stranger to authorities.

In 2017, he pleaded guilty to falsification for statements he made to police about his whereabouts during Sherman’s killing. He also admitted to calling in bomb threats in 2012 as a way to delay trials. His law license was suspended in 2017 and he resigned it the following year. He served six months in jail.

At the time, he said that he regretted his past actions.

According to the indictment, Moore allegedly planned to kidnap Sherman as a delay tactic for her upcoming divorce trial. The unsealed documents include messages between Moore and Sherman showing how he called her to the office, which was locked. She arrived and waited over an hour before deciding to return to her car, according to the indictment.

“During this timeframe, an individual who was either Moore or an unknown co-conspirator approached Sherman … circled behind her, chased her … and then stabbed her over 10 times,” the indictment reads.

Moore swiped into the office later that evening and messaged Sherman to mislead investigators, according to the indictment.

Moore did not respond to an email message. Court records did not list an attorney. A defense attorney who previously represented Moore did not respond to a phone message.

Moore is expected to be arraigned at a later date, according to prosecutors who say teamwork with the FBI led to the arrest. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation took over the cold case in 2021.

Sherman, 53, was a mother of four and has been remembered as a beloved fertility nurse. Rallies and vigils to honor her memory have been held on the anniversary of her death.

Her daughter, Jennifer Sherman, thanks authorities “for their unwavering dedication in seeking justice for Aliza,” according to a statement issued through her attorney, Adam Fried. “This is an exceptionally difficult time for the family, and we kindly request privacy during this period.”

“I’m in shock because after 12 years, you don’t expect it,” Harry Czinn, Aliza Sherman’s brother, tells Cleveland Jewish News. “The best word to sum up my feelings at this point would be bittersweet — glad they got the person, but the memories are painful.”

Bennett: Most coalition party leaders are draft dodgers or failed to serve in any meaningful way

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett at a tech conference in Ness Ziona on May 5, 2025 (Rafi Delouya/Courtesy of the conference)

While the majority of Israelis have shown unity in purpose, reporting for reserve duty again and again, most of the leaders of the government are either draft dodgers or failed to serve in any meaningful way, former prime minister Naftali Bennett declares at a tech conference in Ness Ziona.

“Those serving are the millions of Israelis who get up to work every day, pay taxes and also do reserve duty and give to the state. But there is an anomaly… Five out of six coalition party leaders are either draft dodgers or have evaded significant military service,” declares Bennett, a former member of the IDF’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit.

“The heads of the state today are working day and night to find ways to transfer billions to continue the same evasion. So there is a nation with a majority that serves, being led by a leadership that pushes evasion, and that must change, and the people want the big change,” he continues.

In fact, two of the six coalition party leaders had what Bennett would describe as “meaningful” army service.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the Otzma Yehudit chairman, was rejected from compulsory service in the IDF because of extremist activism in his youth, though he has claimed he campaigned to be drafted despite the rejection.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the Religious Zionism chairman, served for 14 months in the operations division of the General Staff at the age of 28.

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri served three months in the IDF when he was in his late 20s. Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, the United Torah Judaism chairman, did not serve at all.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, the New Hope chairman, served in the IDF’s Golani Brigade. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud chairman, was, like Bennett, a commando in Sayeret Matkal.

AG tells government it must make decision on Oct. 7 investigation, probe must be ‘severed’ from politics

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara speaks at a meeting of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, April 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara tells the government it must make a decision on how to investigate the failures behind the October 7 Hamas invasion and massacres.

The High Court of Justice told the government in February to provide it with an update on the matter by May 11, in the framework of petitions to the court asking that it order the government to open a state commission of inquiry into the catastrophic attack, something the government has strenuously resisted doing.

A hearing in the cabinet to discuss the issue is scheduled for today.

Writing to the prime minister and the cabinet, Baharav-Miara says she believes a state commission of inquiry is the best framework for such an investigation due to the powers such a commission would wield in gathering information, and the transparent nature of its work.

“The government must take a reasoned decision… and it must present its reasoning in the framework of the notice that it will provide to the court dealing with the issue,” the attorney general says.

Baharav-Miara says it is crucial that the investigation into the events be “severed” from the political echelon “in everything to do with the ability to get at the truth,” and in order to ensure trust in the results of the probe.

Other public commissions, such as a governmental commission of examination, can be appointed but they have fewer powers than a state commission and are seen as more political since their members are appointed by the government, unlike a state commission of inquiry whose members are appointed by the president of the Supreme Court.

Yuval Raphael departs for Basel ahead of next week’s Eurovision Song Contest

Yuval Raphael checks in for her flight to Basel, Switzerland, to compete in the 2025 Eurovision, at Ben Gurion Airport, May 5, 2025. (Courtesy Kan)

Yuval Raphael, Israel’s 2025 Eurovision contestant, departs for Basel, Switzerland, ahead of the competition next week.

“Thank you to everyone who gave me the opportunity to reach this position,” she tells the rest of the delegation in comments on the tarmac ahead of their departure. “My hope is to bring you as much honor as possible, and to represent this country with the honor it deserves,” she says, adding that she hopes that by the time the delegation returns to Israel, “all of the hostages will be with us here at home.”

Raphael is slated to hold her first rehearsal in Basel tomorrow afternoon, where she will sing “New Day Will Rise” for the first time on the Eurovision stage. Israel is competing in the second semifinal, which is to be held live on May 15, hoping for a spot in the grand final on May 17.

Before departing, Raphael, who survived the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, visited President Isaac Herzog at his residence in Jerusalem, where he told her that “every time I hear the song, my heart swells with pride.”

“When you step on that stage, remember that you will be in the hearts of every Israeli home, of the entire Jewish people in the Diaspora, and especially in the hearts of the pure and grieving families of the Nova tragedy, of that horrific massacre,” he told her last week, in comments released today by his office.

Raphael told the president that “I can’t help but feel that just being there is already a victory, that I have the privilege to do this.”

Knesset begins summer session, set to be marked by row over Haredi draft exemptions

Following a monthlong recess for the Passover holiday, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day, the Knesset begins its summer legislative session.

The new session is expected to be marked by fierce arguments over ultra-Orthodox military draft exemptions, as tens of thousands of reservists are once again called up for a renewed IDF offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Angered by the government’s failure to pass a bill reestablishing yeshiva students’ exemption from military service, the Haredi United Torah Judaism party has stated that it no longer considers itself bound to vote with the coalition and will pursue an independent course.

Last week, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Likud MK Yuli Edelstein asserted that the panel he heads is nearing a final draft of a law regulating ultra-Orthodox enlistment.

The Knesset’s summer session will last until July 27.

Over 300 objections challenge government proposal to extend secrecy over controversial oil pipeline

View of the Europe Asia Pipeline Company's oil terminal in the southern city of Eilat, January 14, 2022. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

More than 300 objections are submitted ahead of the deadline for comments on a government proposal to extend the secrecy rules covering the controversial state-owned Europe Asia Pipeline Company for an additional 18 months after the current arrangements expire on June 1.

The Europe Asia Pipeline Company — formerly the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company — is the best-known of three state companies established by Israel decades ago in a secret partnership with the shah’s Iran.

Until the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the severing of bilateral relations, Iranian oil was quietly picked up by Israel in Eilat on the Red Sea and transported overland to Ashkelon on the Mediterranean, from where it could be shipped to Europe.

It was also used by Israel for internal purposes.

The Society for the Protection of Nature, whose staff first noticed the extension proposal on a government website, writes in its objection — one of 316 submitted: “The old EAPC was involved in deals with security aspects. The new EAPC is a government company, fully owned by the state, subject to the Government Companies Authority, and continues to enjoy heavy confidentiality, even though it is no longer in contact with Iran, and therefore the original justification for imposing confidentiality is no longer valid today.”

Among other objectors, Israel’s Movement for Freedom of Information charges that such an extension “seriously violates the fundamental principles of the democratic system of government in Israel, including transparency, proper administration and public trust, and also ignores the broad public interest in applying the rules of transparency to the activities of a government company.”

Oil leaks connected to the company have caused some of Israel’s worst environmental disasters over the years.

Environmental campaigners have long warned of the dangers an oil spill could unleash on Eilat’s climate-resilient coral reefs. These are not only important as the world continues to warm, but also underpin much of the tourism industries in Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

The proposal is subject to approval by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Communications minister calls for ‘full advancement of Gaza migration plan’

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi attends a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem on March 31, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi endorses the government’s newly approved operational plan for the next phase of the campaign in the Gaza Strip, calling it “a brave step on the path to absolute victory,” but insists it must be paired with efforts to encourage the emigration of Palestinians.

“Only uncompromising military and political pressure will defeat Hamas and free the hostages. We must destroy Hamas. We must hold the territory – not raids, but continuous and deep control,” Karhi writes on X.

“But the truth must be told: the real and profound solution to the Gaza problem will only come with the full advancement of the migration plan,” he insists.

Karhi cites a Talmudic dictum to suggest that the Gazans should be “forced” to come to the decision to emigrate.

“We must advance this – and with all our might, God willing,” he says.

Hostage families: Government going against will of the people by ‘choosing territories over hostages’

A rally calling for the release of hostages at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, May 3, 2025 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The families of hostages say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is disregarding the people by “choosing territories over hostages.”

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum says it is releasing the statement in response to the announcement by an “Israeli official” earlier this morning that the cabinet plan for operations that was approved last night includes the “conquering of Gaza and holding territories.”

The forum represents the majority of relatives of those held captive in Gaza.

“The plan approved by the cabinet deserves the name ‘Smotrich-Netanyahu Plan’ for giving up on the hostage and its abandonment of national and security resilience,” the forum says in a statement, referring to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Throughout the fighting, Smotrich and others on the far-right have urged using the war as an opportunity to reestablish Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.

“The government admitted this morning that it is choosing territory over hostages, and this is against the will of over 70% of the people,” the forum says.

Polls have consistently shown that a large majority of the Israeli public favors a deal that would see all the hostages held in Gaza released, even if it means ending the war.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.

IDF reservist killed in car crash during military activity near Gaza Strip

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, killed in a car crash during military activity near the Gaza border on May 5, 2025 (IDF)

An IDF reservist was killed in a car crash during military activity near the border with the Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.

The soldier is named as Sgt. Maj. (res.) Dejen Daniel Sahalo, 41, a heavy equipment operator in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 5067th Battalion, from Rehovot.

The deadly car crash occurred during operations of the Jerusalem Brigade near the Gaza border community of Nahal Oz.

The IDF says the incident is under further investigation.

Sa’ar takes off for visit to Ethiopia to meet with PM, foreign minister

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar attends a conference organized by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on March 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar takes off for an official visit to Ethiopia, where will meet Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos.

Timothewos was in Israel in March.

According to Sa’ar’s office, the purpose of the trip is to strengthen relations between the two countries. He is bringing dozens of representatives from Israeli companies, including agriculture, water and climate technologies, renewable energy, health and medical devices, and manufacturing.

The foreign ministers will hold an economic forum with Israeli and Ethiopian executives.

Sa’ar is making a push to deepen Israel’s relations in sub-Saharan Africa. His deputy, Sharren Haskel, has made a series of visits to the continent in recent months.

Trump says he ordered the rebuilding and reopening of notorious US prison Alcatraz

A general view of Alcatraz Island on August 16, 2024, near San Francisco, California (Loren Elliott / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

US President Donald Trump says he directed officials to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz prison, the notorious federal jail based on a small island in California that shuttered six decades ago.

The jail will house “America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders,” Trump writes on his Truth Social platform, adding that the institution will be “substantially enlarged.”

Alcatraz closed in 1963 due to high operating costs after being open for just 29 years, according to the US Bureau of Prisons, and now serves as a tourist attraction.

Located two kilometers (1.25 miles) off the coast of San Francisco and with a capacity of just 336 prisoners, it held several well-known criminals, including Prohibition-era mob boss Al Capone, and saw many fantastical escape attempts by inmates.

Trump has made cracking down on crimes — particularly those committed by migrants — a key element of his second term in the White House.

“When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Trump writes.

“No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets,” he says.

Cabinet-approved plans include ‘conquering Gaza and holding territories,’ official says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on April 17, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/ GPO)

The security cabinet last night unanimously approved the operational plan for the next phase of the campaign in the Gaza Strip, which would include the “conquering of Gaza and holding the territories,” says an Israeli official.

The plan presented by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir will see the IDF take control of territory in Gaza, move the civilian population toward the south, attack Hamas, and prevent the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid.

The security cabinet also approved overwhelmingly a plan to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza “that would prevent Hamas from taking control of supplies and would destroy its governing capabilities.”

That plan will not yet be implemented, since the cabinet determined that there is currently enough food inside Gaza.

In the meeting, says the official, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zamir said that the plan would achieve both the defeat of Hamas and the freeing of the hostages.

Netanyahu told the forum that he is working to move forward on US President Donald Trump’s plan to allow Gazans to emigrate voluntarily, and that he is in discussions with a number of countries.

ICJ set to rule in Sudan’s case against UAE alleging complicity in genocide

People who fled the Zamzam camp for the internally displaced after it fell under RSF control queue for food rations in a makeshift encampment in an open field near the town of Tawila in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on April 13, 2025 (AFP)

The top United Nations court will rule today in Sudan’s case against the United Arab Emirates, which Khartoum accuses of complicity in genocide due to alleged support for rebel forces.

Sudan has dragged the UAE before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, arguing it is supplying weapons to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been battling the Sudanese army since 2023.

The UAE denies supporting the rebels and has dismissed Sudan’s case as “political theater” distracting from efforts to end a war that has killed tens of thousands.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The war has triggered what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises. Famine has officially hit five areas across Sudan, according to a UN-backed assessment.

The North Darfur region has been a particular battleground, with at least 542 civilians killed in the past three weeks, according to the United Nations.

A world away from the horrors on the ground, lawyers in robes and wigs thrashed out legal arguments in hearings last month in the paneled splendor of the ICJ’s Peace Palace.

Muawia Osman, Sudan’s acting justice minister, told the court the “ongoing genocide would not be possible without UAE complicity, including the shipment of arms to the RSF.”

“The direct logistical and other support that the UAE has provided and continues to provide to the RSF has been and continues to be the primary driving force behind the genocide now taking place, including killing, rape, forced displacement and looting,” said Osman.

Responding for the UAE, top foreign ministry official Reem Ketait said Sudan’s allegations were “at best misleading and at worst pure fabrications.”

“This case is the most recent iteration of the applicant’s misuse of our international institutions as a stage from which to attack the UAE,” added Ketait.

In the end, legal experts say, Sudan’s case may founder on technical jurisdictional issues.

Hundreds of schools, kindergartens stay shut amid teacher anger over union compromises on pay cuts

View of an empty classroom at a school in Jerusalem, during a strike, on September 1, 2024 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Hundreds of schools and kindergartens remain shut this morning as teaching staff call in sick over surprise salary cuts, despite an agreement last night between the Finance Ministry and the Israel Teachers Union.

The Walla news site reports 48 elementary schools in Tel Aviv alone did not open their gates this morning.

Channel 13 news says some 300 educational institutions, mainly in the center of the country, are shut.

Teachers tell Channel 12 news that they are angered by union leader Yaffa Ben David’s concessions in the negotiations, insisting that the salary cut be canceled entirely rather than being reduced and offset.

“The situation is at boiling point,” an unnamed teacher tells Channel 12. “Ben David is apparently ready to compromise. For the first time, teachers are taking their fate into their own hands and are not ready to compromise.”

The Teachers Union said in a statement last night that the agreement would set the pay cut at 0.95% instead of 3.3%, and it would only be in effect from May to the end of December 2025, hailing the “significant achievements.”

The gap in the cuts would be offset by promotions and school benefits, and teachers would get extra vacation days, Hebrew media reported.

According to Channel 12 news, the salary cut does not apply to teachers in Haredi schools.

IDF chief Zamir said to clash with Ben Gvir on Gaza aid: ‘Your statements are dangerous’

(L) IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir in Jerusalem on March 5, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) and (R) National Security Itamar Ben Gvir at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 24, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

There was a “heated discussion” at the cabinet meeting last night between the IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, after the latter declared it was unnecessary to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, Hebrew-language media reports.

According to Channel 12, far-right minister Ben Gvir said that “there is no need to bring in aid [to Gaza], they have enough. Hamas’s food stores should be bombed.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reportedly responded: “These ideas endanger us.”

The Kan public broadcaster says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intervened and said to Zamir: “Excuse me, every minister here can state their position and disagree with officers.”

Zamir responded, apparently to Ben Gvir: “You don’t understand what you are saying. You are endangering us all. There is international law and we are committed to it. We cannot starve the Strip, your statements are dangerous.”

Netanyahu reportedly repeated that ministers can disagree with Zamir’s position and added that if ministers make comments that are against the law, it is the attorney general’s job to clarify the law for them.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara responded that Israel is “obligated to bring aid into the Strip under international law.”

Kan reports that Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs was then asked to note for the record that “no minister intends to violate international law.” It is unclear who asked him to make that declaration.

Ben Gvir responded: “There is enough food there. I don’t understand why anyone who fights against us should automatically be given aid. Where exactly is this written in international law?”

According to Kan, far-right Settlements Minister Orit Strook backed Ben Gvir on the issue of aid.

Ministers at the meeting approved a plan to broaden the military offensive against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, even as Zamir reportedly warned ministers that this could endanger the hostages.

Additionally, the security cabinet approved a plan to renew aid deliveries into Gaza while overhauling the mechanism in order to minimize diversion of the goods by Hamas to benefit its operatives. Ben Gvir was the only one who voted against the plan, which is to be implemented when the situation in Gaza necessitates it.

The worsening food shortage in the Strip is now entering its third month under a complete Israeli ban on the entry of humanitarian aid.

Displaced Palestinians line up to receive a meal in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 4, 2025 (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

Following wildfires, US-Israeli confab at Stanford to compare notes on climate

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire which broke out near Moshav Mesilat Zion, April 30, 2025. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

In the wake of devastating fires in Israel and California, experts from the US and Israel, particularly Los Angeles and Tel Aviv, will compare notes, conclusions, and suggestions for climate resilience at Stanford University later this month.

The event, from May 29 to 30, will feature around 50 speakers.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist and Obama-era US energy secretary Steven Chu, will be keynoting the opening dinner.

Chairing the conference will be Prof. Alon Tal of Tel Aviv University, a visiting professor at Stanford University last year. Tal says he hopes the event — focusing on climate resilience and local government policy — will help normalize Israel again on American campuses and allow for Israeli experts to engage academically on a topic in which Israel can make a valuable contribution.

Because of climate change, wildfires are expected to be more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting.

“The topic itself could not be more pressing,” Tal says. “After the fires in Los Angeles and now the Independence Day blaze that paralyzed central Israel, it’s essential to bring greater attention to preparing cities for the challenges that the climate crisis will increasingly be imposing. ”

“Tel Aviv has been active and creative in this regard. It is a member of the vaunted C-40 global network of climate-conscious cities. So is LA. So, bringing top experts from LA and Tel Aviv together at Stanford seemed like a good idea, and as we moved forward, the conference took on national dimensions,” he says.

Attendance is free for the public, with meals included upon registration.

A decision has yet to be made on broadcasting the confab online.

Yemen’s Houthis report around 10 overnight US strikes in Sanaa and surrounding area

Yemenis brandish drone replicas and traditional rifles during a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel rally in Sanaa on May 2, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels blame the US for around 10 strikes in and around the capital Sanaa overnight.

The Houthi-run Saba news agency says the strikes included two targeting Arbaeen Street in the capital as well as one on the airport road, blaming them on “American aggression.”

The rebels’ health ministry says 14 people were wounded in the Sawan neighborhood, according to Saba.

The strikes came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and to act against “their patron” Iran, hours after the rebel group struck Ben Gurion Airport with a ballistic missile.

Many schools, kindergartens expected to stay shut amid action by teachers over salary cut

View of an empty classroom at a school in Tel Aviv, during a strike, on May 4, 2025 (Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90)

Many schools and kindergartens are expected not to open their doors this morning as teaching staff call in sick amid action over surprise salary cuts, despite an agreement last night between the Finance Ministry and the Israel Teachers Union.

The official strike began yesterday morning — some teachers did not report to school until 10 a.m. and others did not report at all, with many schools opting to remain closed for the entire day. According to Channel 12 news, the salary cut does not apply to teachers in Haredi schools.

Multiple reports say that many teachers were unhappy with union leader Yaffa Ben David’s concessions in the negotiations, and were planning to continue to strike, with thousands of teachers calling in sick yesterday ahead of today’s studies.

Channel 12 said tens of thousands more teachers could join the strike today, with many schools announcing that they would close their doors altogether in anticipation that teachers would not report to work.

According to reports, some 25,000 teachers joined the strike yesterday, with the number expected to increase significantly on Monday. Some outlets put the anticipated number of striking teachers at over 50,000.

Several outlets reported that the Education Ministry and Finance Ministry had informed teachers that their “sick days” would not be considered legitimate and thus they would not be entitled to pay for days in which they did not report to work. It was unclear how this could be enforced.

IDF, police say no security incident in Ariel, alarm was caused by criminal activities

Police say the terrorist infiltration alert in Ariel sounded due to two criminal incidents, stressing that there is no longer a fear of a security incident.

One incident saw two robbery suspects run a police roadblock, with cops searching for them, while the second saw security guards stop a stolen car at the entrance to the city.

Later, the IDF Home Front Command gives an all-clear for residents to resume normal activities.

Alert in West Bank settlement-city warns of possible terrorist infiltration

A possible terrorist infiltration alert sounds in the West Bank settlement-city of Ariel.

Residents are ordered to go indoors, lock the door, head to a safe room, close the door and sit where they aren’t visible through windows.

Trump says he is considering Stephen Miller as new national security adviser

US President Donald Trump says he is considering naming his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller as national security adviser and expects to appoint a successor to Mike Waltz within six months.

Trump makes the comments while speaking to reporters on Air Force One.

Trump announces 100% tariff on movies produced outside US

US President Donald Trump announces a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the United States.

He says he is authorizing the US Trade Representative to process the institution of the tariff because the United States’ movie industry is dying “a very fast death” due to other countries offering incentives to attract filmmakers and studios.

“This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat,” Trump says in a post on Truth Social. “It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”

Far-right figure tops Romania’s presidential rerun, will face pro-EU candidate in runoff

Leader of nationalist sovereign party 'Alliance for the Union of Romanians' George Simion (R) casts his ballot next to former candidate Calin Georgescu during the first round of the presidential election in Mogosoaia on May 4, 2025 (Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)

Romania’s far-right candidate George Simion takes a comfortable lead in the first round of presidential elections, according to near-final results for the rerun of last year’s annulled ballot.

The closely watched rerun may potentially herald a foreign policy shift in the EU country of 19 million, which has become a key pillar of NATO since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

With 99% of ballots counted, nationalist AUR party leader Simion — a fan of US President Donald Trump — is leading with 40.5% of the vote.

He will face off in the May 18 runoff against pro-EU Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan, who surges to second place at 20.9%, narrowly booting out governing coalition candidate Crin Antonescu at 20.3%.

“Together we made history today,” says Simion in a video message broadcast at his party’s headquarters as euphoric supporters chant “Out with the thieves, let patriots come.”

Cabinet approves plans to expand Gaza op, renew aid; neither move will be immediate

IDF troops operate in the Shejaiya neighborhood in Gaza City, in images released on May 3, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The security cabinet has unanimously approved the plan to expand the military offensive in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official confirms to The Times of Israel.

That plan is expected to only be implemented after US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week, and until then, efforts will be made to reach an agreement with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage deal, Hebrew media reports.

Additionally, the official says, the security cabinet approved a plan to renew aid deliveries into Gaza while overhauling the mechanism in order to minimize diversion of the goods by Hamas to benefit its operatives. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir was the only one who voted against the plan, which is to be implemented when the situation in Gaza necessitates it.

The plan, first reported by The Times of Israel on Friday, would entail the IDF transitioning away from wholesale distribution and warehousing of aid and instead have international organizations and private security contractors hand out boxes of food to individual Gazan families.

According to Israeli and Arab officials familiar with the matter, the IDF would not be directly involved in the distribution of aid, but troops would be tasked with providing an outer layer of security for the private contractors and international organizations handing out the assistance. Israel believes this method will make it harder for Hamas to divert aid to its fighters, the officials said.

Jacob Magid and Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

UN humanitarian agency rejects Israeli plan to majorly alter Gaza aid delivery mechanism

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, February 12, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The UN agency responsible for coordinating the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza issues a formal statement rejecting an Israeli plan to overhaul the way aid enters the Strip, saying it “contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles.”

The Israeli plan, first reported by The Times of Israel on Friday, would entail the IDF transitioning away from wholesale distribution and warehousing of aid and instead have international organizations and private security contractors hand out boxes of food to individual Gazan families.

According to Israeli and Arab officials familiar with the matter, the IDF would not be directly involved in the distribution of aid, but troops would be tasked with providing an outer layer of security for the private contractors and international organizations handing out the assistance. Israel believes this method will make it harder for Hamas to divert aid to its fighters, the officials said.

Israel stopped allowing aid into Gaza on March 2 after the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage release deal concluded. Jerusalem argued that Hamas diverted much of the aid that entered during the 6-week-long truce, but that the 650 trucks per day were enough to feed the population for an extended period.

The UN agency, OCHA — whose spokesperson already dismissed the Israeli plan in comments to The Associated Press on Saturday — issues an official statement that expands on its opposition to the proposal.

“Israeli officials have sought to shut down the existing aid distribution system run by the United Nations and its humanitarian partners and have us agree to deliver supplies through Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military, once the government agrees to re-open crossings,” it says.

“The design of the plan presented to us will mean large parts of Gaza, including the less mobile and most vulnerable people, will continue to go without supplies,” it continues. “It contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy. It is dangerous, driving civilians into militarized zones to collect rations, threatening lives, including those of humanitarian workers, while further entrenching forced displacement.

“The UN Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator have made clear that we will not participate in any scheme that does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the heads of all UN entities and non-governmental organizations under the Humanitarian Country Team have unanimously affirmed this position.”

Emanuel Fabian, Jacob Magid and agencies contributed to this report.