Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf of Otzma Yehudit visited the Temple Mount on Wednesday morning ahead of Jerusalem Day.
"As I do every year, I ascended the Temple Mount in honor of Jerusalem Day to give thanks for the miracles and to pray for the people of Israel, IDF soldiers and the recovery of all the wounded," Wasserlauf said.
Wasserlauf called on Israelis to visit the site and "see with their own eyes the revolution led by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on the Temple Mount," adding that Jews "no longer walk around the Mount like thieves and no longer need to hide."
Under the status quo in place since 1967, the Temple Mount is a place of worship for Muslims and a site of visitation for non-Muslims. Police had long barred Jewish visitors from bringing prayer items, praying, singing or bowing at the compound, but have increasingly allowed such practices in recent years.
Lebanese sources close to the presidential palace told Asharq that Lebanon's first demand in direct talks with Israel will be a permanent cease-fire, rather than an extension of the current truce, which is set to expire at midnight Thursday.
According to the report, the cease-fire is one of five key points Lebanon plans to raise, with efforts underway to ensure that the first round of direct negotiations ends with Israel implementing a permanent halt to attacks. The sources said Lebanon's initial position had been to refuse negotiations before a full cease-fire and an end to strikes on towns and villages in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar also reported disagreements between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and the country's prime minister over holding the talks in Washington. According to the report, the prime minister backed French-Egyptian proposals to move the talks to Sharm el-Sheikh or Paris to ensure a more balanced negotiating framework, while Aoun insisted on keeping the process under U.S. auspices.
The IDF said it struck more than 40 Hezbollah infrastructure sites across several areas of southern Lebanon over the past day, including weapons storage facilities and structures used for military activity.
According to the military, the sites were used by Hezbollah to advance attacks against Israeli troops and civilians. The IDF also said Hezbollah operatives were killed and launchers aimed at Israeli territory were struck.
Two separate Israeli strikes targeted two cars in Lebanon's Jiyeh area, south of Beirut, on Wednesday, Lebanon's state news agency NNA reported.
There was no immediate information on casualties, and the Israeli military has not yet commented.
First responders carry the body of a victim at the site of an Israeli drone strike that targeted a vehicle in the town of Jiyeh, south of Beirut, on May 13, 2026.Credit: AFP/FADEL ITANIFirst responders carry the body of a victim at the site of an Israeli drone strike that targeted a vehicle in the town of Jiyeh, south of Beirut, on May 13, 2026.Credit: AFP/FADEL ITANI
A Chinese-flagged oil supertanker appeared to be attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump headed to Beijing for talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, CNN reported.
Citing MarineTraffic data, CNN said the Yuan Hua Hu was moving east through the strait on Wednesday morning before it disappeared from ship tracking around 8:45 A.M. local time. It was unclear whether the vessel had turned off its automatic identification system tracker.
Traffic through the strait, a major oil shipping route, has slowed sharply since the war with Iran began, with ships risking attack or detention and the United States imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports, CNN reported.
According to the report, the vessel stopped at Iran's Asaluyeh port on February 28, the day the war began, and has since traveled within the Persian Gulf. Trump is expected to urge Xi to press Iran to reopen the strait and agree to a peace deal. China is the main importer of Iranian oil.
Screen shot of Gilad Kariv addressing the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee on May 13, 2026.Screen shot of Gilad Kariv addressing the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee on May 13, 2026.
Israeli lawmaker Gilad Kariv called attacks and harassment targeting Christian clergy in Jerusalem's Old City a "moral disgrace" Wednesday, saying the incidents have become routine and require action beyond Knesset discussions.
Opening a meeting of the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, Kariv said the issue is often discussed in terms of the diplomatic damage it causes Israel, but should first be understood as "a moral disgrace and an educational failure."
"These incidents cast a moral stain on the State of Israel and Israeli society," Kariv said, adding that attacks on clergy undermine Israel's basic values and commitments. "As a rabbi in the Reform community, I am ashamed of them."
Kariv praised police for quickly locating the suspect in an attack on a nun two weeks ago, calling it "an act of terror in every sense," but said authorities must do more.
Vatican Ambassador to Israel Archbishop Giorgio Lingua praised the committee's efforts, saying there is "always a gap between the idea and reality" but that efforts are being made to find solutions for Christians in Jerusalem.
Father Aghan Gogchian, chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate, said the hearing showed that "someone is following hate crimes against Christians in Jerusalem" and that there is an Israeli effort to preserve Christians' dignity in the holy city. But he said such incidents threaten Jerusalem's spiritual character, adding that members of the Armenian community have faced bullying, violence and intimidation while walking through the Old City in traditional clothing.
Father Bishoy Zaki, a representative of the Coptic Church, said Christians in Jerusalem's Old City face "violent attacks, restrictions by security forces on prayer, spitting, kicking and stone-throwing" while walking through the area.
"I call on the Israeli government to call these acts by their name: hate crimes," Gogchian said.
The hearing comes amid growing scrutiny of Israel's treatment of Christians and Christian holy sites, following several incidents that drew international criticism. Israel recently appointed former ambassador George Deek as special envoy to the Christian world.
The IDF's Arabic-language spokesperson issued an evacuation warning for residents of six villages in southern Lebanon: Maashouk, Yanouh, Burj al-Shamali, Hallousiyeh al-Fawqa, Debaal and Abbasiyeh.
Yanouh, located south of the Litani River, is being evacuated for the first time since the current round of fighting began on March 2.
