The commander of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, warned in a Monday meeting with local council heads and rabbis in the Binyamin region that violence by settlers against Palestinians is undermining the army's ability to maintain security.
"These actions, especially when they harm uninvolved civilians, are not only illegal and immoral – they directly harm security and endanger lives," Bluth said, according to remarks from the meeting. He added that the area is "on the verge of serious incidents that could end in disaster."
Settlers watch a Bedouin community in the West Bank abandoning their homes, May 2025.Credit: Avishay Mohar
Settlers watch a Bedouin community in the West Bank abandoning their homes, May 2025.Credit: Avishay Mohar
Bluth called on local leadership to take responsibility for curbing the phenomenon, stressing that activity not coordinated with the military or attempts to "take the law into one's own hands" disrupts operational efforts.
He also said that over the past year, there has been a decline in attacks in the sector, adding: "There has not been a war in which terrorism did not increase – and this time it is the opposite." He attributed the change to "focused offensive action against terror hotspots."
The Israeli military said it has destroyed more than 50 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in recent days, including an underground compound used by the group.
According to an IDF statement on Monday, during a targeted raid in the Aadshit al-Qusayr area in southern Lebanon, troops uncovered a weapons storage facility inside a children's room. The army said the site contained explosives, Kalashnikov rifles, grenades, RPGs, machine guns and ammunition.
"The Hezbollah terrorist organization cynically exploits the civilian population in Lebanon in order to execute terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops," the army said.
Separately, the IDF said Hezbollah operatives launched an explosive drone at forces operating in southern Lebanon on Sunday. The drone was intercepted shortly after it was launched.
The commander of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, warned of the security implications of violence in the West Bank during a meeting with heads of local councils and rabbis in the West Bank on Monday.
Israeli settlers harass Palestinian farmers and foreign activists in the West Bank town of Silwad in 2025.Credit: Nasser Nasser/APIsraeli settlers harass Palestinian farmers and foreign activists in the West Bank town of Silwad in 2025.Credit: Nasser Nasser/AP
Bluth called on local authorities to take action against violence in the area and cautioned: "We are one step away from much more serious incidents."
On a spring evening two weeks ago, a seemingly typical bulk carrier – a cargo ship that carries unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grain – docked at the Haifa port. From the outside, it appeared to be just one of many ships arriving to Israel's shores, nothing out of the ordinary.
However, inside the ship lay precious merchandise on its way to the Israeli market. According to an official statement by the Ukrainian government, the ship, Abinsk, was sailing under a Russian flag and bringing millions of dollars' worth of wheat, stolen from territories under Russian occupation. Profits from the selling of this merchandise in markets around the world – including in Israel – has been financing President Vladimir Putin's war machine.
The St. Olga, heading for IsraelCredit: Yörük IşıkThe St. Olga, heading for IsraelCredit: Yörük Işık
The story of the Abinsk was exposed in the Ukrainian media, resulting in an outcry. The Kyiv government was quick to state that Abinsk may belong to Putin's shadow fleet, and added that it had warned Israel about the ship's cargo in advance.
However, a Haaretz investigative report indicates that this was not the first time that stolen grain from Ukraine has been imported for the Israeli market. In fact, by 2023, about a year after the Russian military's massive invasion of Ukraine, at least two ships carrying stolen grain arrived in Israel, and at least one of them unloaded here, according to documents, an analysis of ship tracking data and satellite images obtained by Haaretz.
British police said on Monday they had arrested a 37-year old man in relation to a series of attacks on Jewish-linked premises in north west London.
A sign stands in front of the New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, in London.Credit: Kin Cheung/AP A sign stands in front of the New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, in London.Credit: Kin Cheung/AP
Over the last month, counter terrorism officers have arrested a total of 26 people as part of investigations into arson and other attacks on Jewish-linked premises.
"He was arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts and has been taken to a London police station for questioning," the police said in a statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony in his corruption trial, due to resume Monday morning after a nearly two-month pause during the war with Iran, was canceled again, about an hour before it was due to start, citing security reasons at the request of his attorney.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), his wife Sara (L), and President Isaac Herzog as they attend a Yom Hazikaron ceremony, Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, last week.Credit: AFP/ILIA YEFIMOVICHPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), his wife Sara (L), and President Isaac Herzog as they attend a Yom Hazikaron ceremony, Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, last week.Credit: AFP/ILIA YEFIMOVICH
Netanyahu is nearing the end of cross-examination in Case 4000, where he's due to face multiple corruption charges, including bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His last appearance, on February 24, was his 80th.
Although the cease-fire with Iran began two and a half weeks ago and emergency court restrictions have ended, judges approved his requests to cancel hearings over the past two weeks, citing diplomatic-security constraints.
On one of those days, Netanyahu met Golan local authority heads to discuss budgets and housing.
The Israeli military said Monday it lost contact with a drone launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel, prompting sirens across several communities. No injuries were reported.
In a statement, the IDF said "contact with the target that was launched from Lebanon toward Israeli territory was lost." Missile and rocket alerts were also activated due to concerns over falling interception debris.
About 30 minutes later, additional sirens were heard in northern Israel. The army later said the second round of warnings was triggered by "a false identification."
Discussions on bilateral ties and regional issues, including the Iran-U.S. conflict, will be held with Russian officials during a visit to St Petersburg, Iran's foreign minister said, marking the final leg of a regional tour that also took him to Pakistan and Oman, Iranian state media reported on Monday.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is greeted by officials during his visit to Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday.Credit: SEYED ABBAS ARAGHCHI VIA TELEGRAM/ REUTERSIran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is greeted by officials during his visit to Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday.Credit: SEYED ABBAS ARAGHCHI VIA TELEGRAM/ REUTERS
Abbas Araghchi said recent consultations in Pakistan had reviewed conditions under which Iran-U.S. talks could resume, stressing that Tehran would seek to secure its rights and national interests following weeks of conflict.
He also said Iran and Oman, as coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz, had agreed to continue expert-level consultations to ensure safe transit and protect shared interests in the waterway.
Iran's envoy in Russia, Kazem Jalali, said in a post on X that Araghchi would meet Putin "in continuation of the diplomatic jihad to advance the country's interests and amid external threats."
"Iran and Russia are present in a united front in the campaign of the world's totalitarian forces against independent and justice-seeking countries, as well as countries that seek a world free from unilateralism and Western domination," Jalali said.
Here are Monday's latest updates from the U.S.-Iran cease-fire and Israel's war with Hezbollah:
■ Fourteen people were killed and 37 were wounded in IDF strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.
■ The IDF announced that four Israeli soldierswere wounded on Sunday at a base in southern Israel during an operational accident: one was severely wounded, one moderately, and two lightly wounded.
■ Iran, through Pakistani mediators, gave the United States a new proposal on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the ending of the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage, Axios reported on Sunday, citing a U.S. official and two sources with knowledge of the matter.
■ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin, Iranian media has reported.
■ Araghchi met with the sultan of Iran's neighboring country, Oman, to discuss "safe transit" in the Strait of Hormuz.
■ U.S. President Donald Trump told the press that trade wars and military investments have made him a target for assassination attempts: "When you're impactful, they go after you," he told journalists in Washington, D.C., following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday.
■ A 19-year-old and a 25-year-old were seriously wounded from gunfire in the Israeli settlements of Givat Ze'ev and Givon Hahadasha, north of Jerusalem in the West Bank.
■ Activists from several countries set sail fromSicily towards the Gaza Strip on Sunday on dozens of ships carrying civilian aid.
The IDF announced that four Israeli soldiers were wounded on Sunday at a base in southern Israel during an operational accident: one was severely wounded, one moderately, and two lightly wounded.
The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and their families were notified, according to the statement.
