Join our Community

Support ToI and remove all ads

Learn more

English
Français
עברית

Get The Daily Edition
Account
Sign In
- Sign in
- Join our Community

Open Search form

Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
Podcasts
Video
Newsletters
Partners

Input search

English
Français
עברית

Latest Articles
Latest Alerts
Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
Podcasts
Video
Newsletters
Partners
Community
- Join our community
- Sign in
- About The Times of Israel
- Advertise on The Times of Israel
- Contact us
- Download our App
  - For IOS users
  - For Android users
- Get the Daily Edition
- Follow us
- © 2026 The Times of Israel , All Rights Reserved
  
  Terms and conditions Privacy policy

Input search

The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Monday, May 20, 2024

Facebook
Twitter

View previous edition

View next edition

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (center), announces he is seeking arrest warrants from the court’s judges for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, May 20, 2024. (ICC)

Pre-trial judges to decide whether to issue warrants

ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and 3 Hamas leaders

By Jeremy Sharon, Sam Sokol and Agencies

Karim Khan accuses both Israeli and Hamas leaders of ‘extermination,’ says Israeli crimes ‘continuing to this day’; Israel, Hamas both decry being equated with one another

US President Joe Biden speaks at a celebration for Jewish American Heritage Month celebration in Washington, DC on May 20, 2024. (Mandel NGAN / AFP)

Live updates (closed)

May 20: ‘What’s next? A moment of silence for Hitler?’ Israel fumes over UN memorial for Raisi

Security Council memorializes Iranian president killed in helicopter crash, drawing ire * Israel, US decry ICC bid for arrest warrants * Hostage talks stuck, White House says

9:05 pm

Amal Clooney says she was part of legal team that recommended ICC prosecutor seek arrest warrants
9:04 pm

South Africa welcomes ICC prosecutor announcement on bid for warrants against Israeli, Hamas leaders
8:18 pm

Germany says ICC warrant requests for both Israeli, Hamas leaders give 'false impression of equivalence'

President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting during the inauguration ceremony of dam of Qiz Qalasi, or Castel of Girl in Azeri, at the border of Iran and Azerbaijan, May 19, 2024. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Iran’s Raisi confirmed dead in helicopter crash near Azerbaijan border

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Officials declare deaths of president and foreign minister after lengthy overnight search in difficult conditions; Hamas conveys ‘deepest condolences’ to the Iranian government

A woman reads a newspaper with a front-page report on the crash of the Iranian president's helicopter outside a kiosk in Tehran on May 20, 2024. (Atta Kenare / AFP)

ToI podcastDaily Briefing May 20: Day 227 – The butcher Raisi is dead. What now for Iran?

File: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in the city of Kerman, Iran, January 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

ObituaryEbrahim Raisi, 63, ‘Butcher of Tehran’ and Khamenei protégé who died in chopper crash

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Promoted Content

Reviving Jewish identity: The power of modern Hebrew in today’s world

Amid rising global antisemitism and the enduring shadows of the Holocaust, the resurgence of Modern Hebrew serves as a beacon of light.

Handout picture of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi chairing a cabinet meeting in Tehran on April 2, 2024. (Iranian Presidency/AFP)

Israeli official: Jewish state not behind helicopter crash

‘We won’t shed a tear’: Israeli MKs react coldly to Raisi’s death, as government mum

Far-right MK: Iran leader who threatened Israel with annihilation now ‘a grain of dust in history’; TV station sorry after falling for joke that pilot was Mossad agent ‘Eli Kopter’

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, right, shakes hands with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh at his office in Tehran, Iran, March 27, 2024. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

‘Protector of the resistance’: Iran’s allies, proxy terror groups mourn Raisi’s death

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib, in Beirut Lebanon, October 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

ObituaryHossein Amir-Abdollahian, 60, Iran’s hardline FM who died in helicopter crash

By AP and ToI Staff

A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency shows Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi (C) at the site of Qiz Qalasi, the third dam jointly built by Iran and Azerbaijan on the Aras River, ahead of its inauguration ceremony on May 19, 2024. (Iranian Presidency/AFP)

Analysis

Raisi’s death doesn’t change Iranian policy, but will spark fight for power

After fatal crash of Iran’s president and potential Khamenei successor, deep stable of figures aiming to fill the vacuum his loss creates may test supreme leader

Fighters lift flags of Iraq and paramilitary groups, including al-Nujaba and Kataib Hezbollah, during a funeral in Baghdad on December 4, 2023. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Six pro-Iran fighters reported killed in Israeli strikes in Syria

By AFP and ToI Staff

Tel Aviv University's Executive Council Chairman Eli Gelman writes, "A shame [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu was not on the helicopter too. One accident can solve many problems for us and the world," while posting an article about the fatal helicopter crash that killed Iran's president, May 19, 2024. (WhatsApp screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Top Tel Aviv University official: ‘Pity’ Netanyahu wasn’t on Iran president’s chopper

By Michael Horovitz

Members of Brothers in Arms protest for early elections and for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, on Route 1, outside of Jerusalem on May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Protesters arrested in clashes with police ahead of anti-government rally at Knesset

By Shira Silkoff

Brothers in Arms activists accused of planning to set vehicles alight on Route 1; Shikma Bressler leads convoy from Caesarea, says government must go for sake of nation’s survival

Gadi Kedem arrives to file a complaint at a police station in Tel Aviv on May 19, 2024, a day after being attacked during a demonstration. (Flash90)

Bereaved father grilled by cops after scrap with right-wing activist at hostage rally

Einav Zangauker (second right), whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, argues with Likud MK Tally Gotliv (left) at the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, in Jerusalem, May 20, 2024. (KnessetTV screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Hostage families butt heads with MKs at raucous Knesset committee debates

By Sam Sokol and Michael Horovitz

Likud firebrand Gotliv says rallies ‘destroying Israel’ after hostage’s mother slams her for vilifying them; Otzma Yehudit lawmaker walks out of room while relative speaks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with Mossad chief David Barnea, April 18, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Netanyahu said to reject negotiators’ bid to formulate new hostage deal proposal

Mourners attend the funeral of Shani Louk in Srigim, on May 19, 2024, two days after her body was recovered from Gaza by the IDF. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

3 recovered hostages laid to rest in Israel, 7 months after they were slain by Hamas

By Sue Surkes and ToI Staff

Mourners pay their respects to Shani Louk, Amit Buskila and Itzhak Gelerenter, with funeral for Ron Benjamin set for Monday

Ela (L) and Dafna Elyakim are seen in a photo released by the IDF on May 19, 2024, which was taken while the two sisters were held captive by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip last year. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF releases Hamas propaganda video recovered from Gaza of former child hostage

By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff

The 5 coffins of the Kotz family during their funeral in Gan Yavne, October 17, 2023. (Ohad Zwigenberg/ AP) surrounded by photos of the Kedem Siman Tov, Shosh, Shindler, Goldstein-Almog, Zak, Brodutch, Berdichevsky, Golan, Bibas, Kutz and Idan families, all of whom were among the many family units in which members were murdered, kidnapped or wounded by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2024*

FROM THE BLOGS

Cochav Elkayam-Levy and Irwin Cotler

Kinocide: Hamas targeting of families is a new crime against humanity

On October 7, Hamas committed atrocities deliberately targeting the family unit, a crime that is not defined in international law but should be

The protests aren’t peaceful: Believe their calls for intifada

The ADL’s antisemitism grade of ’F’ surprised me. It shouldn’t have – I had reason to be scared on campus (photo essay)

Rachel Tzvia Back

We must disenthrall ourselves

If we do not, Israel will stay bonded to violence, remaining a nation and a people that live by the sword, forever killing and being killed

Saudi ties in reach but hinge on path to Palestinian state, Sullivan tells reluctant PM

By Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman

As Israeli leaders bicker on direction of war, top Biden aide discusses Rafah operation with Netanyahu and other top officials, meets Herzog on efforts to free hostages

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meets with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (R) in Jerusalem, May 19, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Ronen Bar (left), head of the Shin Bet security services, speaks with Mossad chief David Barnea during the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Netanyahu said repeatedly stopping Israeli security chiefs from meeting US officials

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) is greeted by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

ExplainerHow would a US-Saudi civil nuclear deal work, and what are the challenges?

By Reuters and ToI Staff

Ultranationalist youths persist with coordinated campaign to block Gaza aid trucks

By Jeremy Sharon

Trucks stopped Sunday night in Jerusalem, at Latrun interchange and spots in West Bank, in effort to stop passage of humanitarian aid as long as hostages are held in Strip

File - People holding Israeli flags stand in front of trucks carrying humanitarian aid as they try to stop them from entering the Gaza Strip near the Kerem Shalom border crossing, May 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Activists from the Standing Together organization help reload cartons of humanitarian aid destined for Gaza thrown off a truck by extremists opposing the supply of aid to Gaza at the Tarqumiyah Crossing in the West Bank, May 19, 2024. (Courtesy Standing Together)

Peace activists descend on West Bank crossing to thwart extremists blocking aid trucks

By Jeremy Sharon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with municipal heads from cities and towns on Israel's northern border, May 19, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Meeting local leaders, PM vows to restore security to north, refuses to talk timeline

By ToI Staff and Lazar Berman

In meeting described by Hebrew media as ‘stormy,’ Netanyahu declines to say when tens of thousands of evacuees can return, saying that would telegraph plans to Hezbollah

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks during an official Memorial Day ceremony at the Ashdod Military Cemetery, May 13, 2024. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)

Ben Gvir suggests Israel should invade Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah in its entirety

Op-edBeyond Israel’s borders: Netanyahu’s arrogance risks Israeli-Egyptian relations

By Ksenia Svetlova

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik in the Knesset on May 19, 2024. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

At Knesset, GOP lawmaker warns Oct. 7 ‘could happen in US’ if Israel not victorious

Addressing MKs, Elise Stefanik slams Biden’s decision to pause arms shipment over Rafah op, praises Trump’s ‘historic support’ for Israel

US President Joe Biden delivers a commencement address during Morehouse College's graduation ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia on May 19, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

Biden’s graduation speech goes uninterrupted after fears of anti-Israel protests

By Jacob Magid and Agencies

George Washington University students carry a sign during an anti-Israel protest as George Washington University President Ellen Granberg speaks at a commencement ceremony in Washington, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

George Washington U grads storm out of graduation ceremony in anti-Israel protest

By AP and ToI Staff

Coalition tensions, enlistment bill loom large as Knesset reconvenes Monday

New legislative session will focus on war-related legislation as arguments over ultra-Orthodox military service and postwar order in Gaza threaten future of Netanyahu’s government

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (center) attend a vote in the Knesset, July 24, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

IDF Maj. Gal Shabbat, 24, succumbed to wounds sustained fighting in Gaza on May 19, 2024. (Courtesy)

IDF announces death of officer seriously wounded fighting in northern Gaza

By Emanuel Fabian

Ground offensive toll rises to 283; military says it killed senior Hamas operative involved in smuggling arms, sourcing funds for terror group

Filmmaker, influencer and widower Rob Mor in Israel while making a film about grief, in April 2024 (Courtesy)

Jewish American widower channels post-Oct. 7 Israeli grief in new film

By Jessica Steinberg

Influencer and producer Rob Mor reflects on loss, his Judaism and how to process death

More Headlines

Salman Rushdie poses for a portrait to promote his book 'Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,' at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, Germany, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Salman Rushdie: Palestinian state would be ‘Taliban-like,’ ruled by Hamas

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli takes part in Spanish far-right party Vox's rally 'Europa Viva 24' in Madrid on May 19, 2024. (OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

At hard-right conference, minister blasts Spain’s plans to recognize Palestinian state

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Aharona Sadan. (Dafna Talmon)

Aharona SadanUprooted: Aharona Sadan, 77, from Kibbutz Dafna. This is her story

By Tamar Mor Sela

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett at the scene of a terror attack in Raanana on January 15, 2024 (Itai Ron /Flash90)

Bennett says he regrets ‘stupid’ 2021 election pledge not to sit with certain parties

Delivery trucks of the Israel Postal Company (Courtesy)

Investor group led by Milgam wins tender for privatization of Israel Post

By Sharon Wrobel

Athletes from Israel enter the stadium during the opening ceremony for the 2020 Paralympics at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Paralympics chief says there’s no reason to ban Israel from 2024 Games

By Reuters and ToI Staff

Carmel Olefins in the Haifa Bay, northern Israel, in an undated photo. (Ilan Melster)

Bazan oil refinery group and subsidiaries fined almost $1 million for pollution

Kosher McDonald's restaurant in Ashkelon, Israel. (Creative Commons via JTA)

Rehovot residents protest after police repeatedly shut McDonald’s on Shabbat

View Edition by Date

April	May 2024					June
Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

The Times of Israel

Daily Edition

Free to Your Inbox

The email is either missing or invalid.

By signing up, you agree to our terms You hereby accept The Times of Israel Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and you agree to receive the latest news & offers from The Times of Israel and its partners or ad sponsors.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
podcasts
video

terms and conditions
privacy policy
about us
advertise with us
Jobs at The Times of Israel
contact us

Community

Join our community
Sign in

Get the Daily Edition

Enter your email address

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Whatsapp Follow us on X Follow us on Youtube Follow us on Telegram Follow us on Threads Follow us on Bluesky

© 2026 The Times of Israel, all rights reserved

Concept, design & development by

Developed by

Powered by

Never miss breaking news on Israel

Get notifications to stay updated

You're subscribed

Register for free
and continue reading

Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.

Email address

Please use the following structure: example@domain.com

Or Continue with

By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.

Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition

Register to continue

Email address

Or Continue with

Log in to continue

Email address

Something went wrong.
Please try again in a few minutes..

Sign in or Register

Email address * Password *

Incorrect password. Please try again or choose an option below.

I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link

Or Continue with

check your email

Check your email

We sent an email to you at .

It has a link that will sign you in.

Click the link in that email to complete your registration.