Two Gaza flotilla activists who were arrested last week will be brought before the Ashkelon Magistrate's Court on Tuesday as police seek to extend their detention by six days.
The two detainees, Thiago Avila and Saif Abu Keshek, are the only flotilla activists held in Israeli custody. They are considered the leaders of the flotilla, whose vessels were seized by the Israeli navy last week off the coast of Greece.
They are suspected of aiding the enemy in war, membership in a terrorist organization, contact with a foreign agent and other offenses.
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that President Joseph Aoun believes that it is not the appropriate time to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "security agreement must first be reached and the Israeli attacks stopped before we can open the possibility of holding a meeting," he told parliament members.
He was also reported to have said that "there is no turning back from the negotiating track because there is no other choice. The goals that have been set are based on Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territories and the return of prisoners – rights that Lebanon has been demanding for years."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the establishment of a government coalition with United Arab List Chairman Mansour Abbas is "more grave than the October 7 massacre" in an interview with 103FM radio station.
Smotrich explained that working with the Arab party is intentional and therefore more serious than the failures that led to October 7.
"Those who knowingly sold the State of Israel to its enemies – the Islamic Movement is an enemy – and to this day we are licking our wounds, this is much more severe than someone who made a mistake, stumbled," he said.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in response to the U.S. initiation of "Project Freedom" that "The security of shipping and energy transit has been jeopardized by the United States and its allies through the violation of the cease-fire and the imposition of a blockade; of course, their evil will diminish."
The U.S. operation marked its first apparent attempt to use naval power to unblock the world's most important energy shipping route, and provoked the biggest escalation of the Iran war since a cease-fire was declared four weeks ago.
معادلهٔ جدید تنگهٔ هرمز در حال تثبیت است. امنیت کشتیرانی و ترانزیت انرژی به دست آمریکا و متحدانش با نقض آتشبس و اعمال محاصره به خطر افتاده است؛ البته شرّشان کم خواهد شد.
خوب میدانیم که استمرار وضع موجود برای آمریکا غیر قابل تحمل است؛ درحالی که ما هنوز حتی شروع هم نکردهایم.Show more
"The new equation of the Strait of Hormuz is in the process of being solidified," Ghalibaf added. "We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet."
The IDF announced it killed two armed Hezbollah militants in a drone strike, who they said were operating near Israeli ground troops in southern Lebanon.
In addition, the IDF said that it struck a building in southern Lebanon overnight from which it said Hezbollah had launched an anti-tank missile at Israeli forces.
IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an urgent evacuation notice to Lebanese residents located in the towns of Jibchit and Srifa, urging them to move at least 1 kilometer away from the towns.
#عاجل ‼️انذار عاجل الى سكان لبنان المتواجدين في بلدتيْ جبشيت وصريفا
🔸في ضوء قيام حزب الله الارهابي بخرق اتفاق وقف اطلاق النار يضطر جيش الدفاع على العمل ضده بقوة. جيش الدفاع لا ينوي المساس بكم.
🔸حرصًا على سلامتكم، عليكم إخلاء منازلكم فوراً والابتعاد عن القرى والبلدات لمسافة لا Show more
U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
The assessments of Tehran's nuclear program remain broadly unchanged even after two months of a war that U.S. President Donald Trump launched in part to stop the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear bomb.
The latest U.S. and Israeli attacks that began on February 28 have focused on conventional military targets, but Israel has hit a number of significant nuclear facilities.
The attacks destroyed or badly damaged the three enrichment plants known to have been operating at the time. But the UN nuclear watchdog has been unable to verify the whereabouts of some 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. It believes that about half was stored in an underground tunnel complex at the Isfahan Nuclear Research Center, but it has been unable to confirm that since inspections were suspended.
U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted the "countless contributions of Jewish Americans" and vowed to "end the scourge of anti-Semitism," marking Jewish American Heritage Month ahead of the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.
He encouraged Jewish Americans to observe a "national Sabbath" on May 15 "in gratitude" of the United States.
"Since the earliest days of our Republic, Jewish Americans have helped build the cause of liberty and sustain the greatness of our Nation. Among them was the iconic Haym Salomon, an early supporter of the war for independence," Trump said.
"Under my leadership, we are aggressively fighting the violence against Jewish Americans that increased under my predecessor, prosecuting hateful criminals to the fullest extent of the law, and working to end the scourge of anti-Semitism throughout our institutions, especially on college campuses," claiming, "As President, I will never stop fighting to protect our birthright of religious freedom."
