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

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

Lebanese-British barrister Amal Clooney attends the Clooney Foundation For Justice's 'The Albies' on September 28, 2023, in New York City. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images via AFP)

Amal Clooney is one of the legal experts who recommended that the chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes court seek arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three top leaders of the Hamas terror group.

The Lebanese-British human rights lawyer and wife of actor George Clooney writes of her participation in a letter posted on the website of the couple’s Clooney Foundation for Justice. She says she and other experts in international law unanimously agreed to recommend that International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan seek the warrants.

Khan announced his intention to do so earlier today, saying that actions taken by both Israeli leaders and Hamas in the seven-month war in Gaza amounted to war crimes.

“I served on this Panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives,” Clooney writes. “The law that protects civilians in war was developed more than 100 years ago and it applies in every country in the world regardless of the reasons for a conflict.”

The panel comprised experts in international humanitarian law and international criminal law, and two of its members are former judges at criminal tribunals in The Hague, where the ICC is based, Clooney writes. She adds that their decision was unanimous.

The panel also publishes an op-ed about its recommendation in the Financial Times.

A panel of three judges at the ICC will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow a case to proceed. The judges typically take two months to make such decisions.

South Africa welcomes ICC prosecutor announcement on bid for warrants against Israeli, Hamas leaders

A general view of a pro-Palestinian mural in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, on April 5, 2024. (Wikus de Wet / AFP)

South Africa’s presidency says it welcomed an announcement by the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, saying he had requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.

“The law must be applied equally to all in order to uphold the international rule of law, ensure accountability for those that commit heinous crimes and protect the rights of victims,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office says in a statement.

Israeli and Hamas leaders have dismissed allegations of committing war crimes, and representatives of both sides criticized the prosecutor’s decision.

South Africa has in recent months brought a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice accusing it of genocide in the war in Gaza. Israel rejects the accusations as baseless and says South Africa is acting as an emissary of Hamas.

Israel says the military is targeting Hamas terrorists, not Palestinian civilians, but that civilian casualties in the fighting are unavoidable as terrorists operate from within the population.

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

BERLIN, Germany — Germany says the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes creates a “false impression of equivalence.”

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan earlier today made a request to the court for warrants to be issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as senior Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif.

“The simultaneous application for arrest warrants against the Hamas leaders on the one hand and the two Israeli officials on the other has given the false impression of equivalence,” a spokesman for the German foreign ministry says in a statement.

Hamas perpetrated a “barbaric massacre” with its October 7 massacre in southern Israel communities, the spokesman says.

“Hamas continues to hold Israeli hostages in unspeakable conditions, attacks Israel with rockets, and uses Gaza’s civilian population as human shields,” he adds.

“The Israeli government has the right and duty to protect and defend its people from this,” the spokesman states.

In this context, however, it was “clear that international humanitarian law with all its obligations applies,” the German spokesman says.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Satellite photos show Palestinians leaving Rafah tent camps after IDF evacuation orders

Newly-released satellite photos reviewed by The Associated Press show a large number of Palestinians departing from Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah earlier this month, ahead of a looming Israel Defense Forces ground invasion there.

The photos taken three days apart — first on May 5 and then on May 8 — show the change on the ground after Israel issued its first evacuation order for the city on May 6.

They show that crowded tent camps in the central and northwest regions of the city grew sparse within days of the order.

This satellite photo taken by Planet Labs PBC shows a camp before its mass evacuation in Rafah, Gaza, May 5, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

This satellite photo taken by Planet Labs PBC shows an evacuated camp in Rafah, Gaza, May 8, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

In the three days between the photos, at least half of the hundreds of tents cramming the area disappeared, likely from Palestinians packing up and departing.

Before the evacuation orders, some 1.3 million Palestinians — many already displaced from other parts of Gaza — had taken shelter in Rafah, according to the UN.

The IDF said earlier today that 900,000 Palestinians had left Rafah.

Israel has so far classified its operations in the city as limited in scope, a claim the US has echoed.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.

White House: US national security adviser met top PA officials in Ramallah yesterday to discuss reforms

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met yesterday with senior Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah to discuss efforts to reform the PA, the White House reveals.

During Sullivan’s meeting with PA Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, the top officials “discussed the crisis in Gaza and efforts to end the fighting through a hostage deal and to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance,” the US readout says.

“They also discussed the new PA government’s reform agenda and the importance of the international community providing financial support to enable this new government to succeed.”

Sullivan also “commended the efforts of the PA security forces to maintain stability in the West Bank,” the US readout adds.

According to a report in the Asharq news site, the PA leaders warned Sullivan that Ramallah is on verge of financial collapse due to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s continued withholding of hundreds of millions of shekels in Palestinian tax revenues.

The US has urged Israel to release the funds but Smotrich has refused and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not intervened.

In meetings with top Israeli officials, Sullivan reiterates US opposition to major Rafah offensive

The White House issues a readout on the meetings US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held earlier today with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

The readout is a regurgitation of the same talking points that were used in the statement the White House issued yesterday, after Sullivan’s meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials.

Both readouts stress US support for Israel, its opposition to a major Rafah offensive, the need to secure a hostage-truce deal, and to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Seinfeld roasts anti-Israel protester on stage: ‘I like it when the Jew-haters spice up the show’

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld roasts anti-Israel protesters who heckled him during a standup routine, at a show in Norfolk, Virginia, over the weekend.

In video published by US celebrity news site TMZ, a person in the audience can be heard shouting, “Free Gaza,” as Seinfeld takes the stage.

A scuffle breaks out in the audience with some audience members calling for the protesters to “get out,” as the crowd shouts “Jerry, Jerry,” in support of the comedian.

As the crowd boos the demonstrator, Seinfeld says sarcastically from the stage, “I think your message is resonating with the crowd, people seem to be on your side.”

The veteran comedian appears to keep his cool during the interruption, quipping, “I like it when the Jew-haters spice up the show.”

Video shared on social media shows the protester being escorted out of the venue by a security guard.

The incident comes a week after a handful of students walked out of Seinfeld’s speech at Duke University’s commencement ceremony to protest his support for Israel since Hamas’s October 7 massacres and throughout the ensuing war in Gaza.

During a solidarity visit to Israel in December, Seinfeld visited Kibbutz Be’eri, which was heavily targeted by Hamas on October 7, and met with hostages who had been freed in a week-long truce in November.

COGAT: 402 trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza today

Palestinians wait for aid trucks to cross in central Gaza Strip, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/ Abdel Kareem Hana)

Four hundred and two trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza today, Israel’s COGAT Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories says.

The figure is similar to the daily number that was seen for nearly a month, after Israel took several steps to improve its aid facilitation due to extreme frustration from the Biden administration. But the amount of aid decreased significantly earlier this month, when Israel took over the Rafah Border Crossing. The gate has not been re-opened since.

The aid from today entered through Israel’s Kerem Shalom and Erez Crossings along with the temporary pier, established by the US. Aid was also delivered via Jordan and Israel’s Ashdod Port, COGAT says.

Kerem Shalom and Erez Crossings are open, and humanitarian aid is flowing into Gaza:

????402 aid trucks were transferred to Gaza today, May 20.

Aid came from multiple routes we developed to facilitate aid into Gaza: From the Ashdod Port, Judea and Samaria, and the JLOTS. pic.twitter.com/iEzFHTWOo0

— COGAT (@cogatonline) May 20, 2024

White House: No progress on hostage deal since talks in Cairo fell apart last week

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/ Susan Walsh)

The efforts to secure a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas have not made any progress over the past week, since the last round of negotiations led by Egypt fell apart, says White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

“I can’t, sadly, sit here and tell you that we’re closer right now than than we were a week or so ago. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop working on it,” Kirby tells reporters during a briefing.

Kirby reiterates that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made significant progress toward a major bilateral security agreement between the US and Saudi Arabia during his weekend visit to the Gulf kingdom.

“We have achieved a near-final set of text on some of those bilateral agreements,” Kirby says.

However, he acknowledges that the same cannot be said to the Palestinian component on which the entire initiative is contingent. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the establishment of a pathway to a future Palestinian state, which likely makes the entire US effort moot.

US State Department says Iran asked for assistance over Raisi helicopter crash

Rescue team members work at the crash site of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan, in northwestern Iran, on May 20, 2024. (Azin Haghighi/ MOJ News Agency/ AFP)

WASHINGTON — Iran asked the United States for assistance after a helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi yesterday, the US State Department says, without providing further details.

“I’m not going to get into the details, but we were asked by the Iranian government for assistance,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters, saying the United States was unable to do so, “largely for logistical reasons.”

106 MKs sign letter slamming ICC prosecutor’s move to seek arrest warrants for Israeli, Hamas leaders

Knesset speaker Amir Ohana arrives to a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

One hundred and six out of 120 Knesset lawmakers from both sides of the aisle sign a letter condemning International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza.

The text is read out loud in the Knesset plenum by Speaker Amir Ohana.

“The State of Israel is in the midst of a just war against a criminal terrorist organization. The IDF is the most moral army in the world. Our heroic soldiers fight with unparalleled courage and morality, in accordance with international law, as no other army has ever done,” the letter states.

“The scandalous comparison of the prosecutor in The Hague between the leaders of Israel and the heads of the terrorist organization Hamas is an indelible historical crime and a clear manifestation of antisemitism.”

Comparing democratic Israel, which “defends human rights and fights” and is defending itself, to Hamas terrorists who “kidnapped, butchered, burned and raped its citizens” is a “distortion” which Israelis “reject with disgust.”

“80 years after the Holocaust, no one will tie the hands of the Jewish state [to prevent it] from defending itself,” the letter states.

Rocket sirens sound in Misgav Am near Lebanon border

Rocket sirens are sounding in the northern town of Misgav Am, near the border with Lebanon.

The towns close to the northern border have been largely evacuated of civilians since October 8, when Hezbollah-led forces began launching daily attacks on Israeli communities and military posts along the border.

The Lebanon-based terror group says it is doing so to support Palestinians during the ongoing war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

Red Alert [21:12:10] – 1 Alert:

• Confrontation Line — Misgav Am#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/Dj96TNm0fo

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 20, 2024

US defends paying respects to Iran despite ‘worst human rights abuses’ during Raisi’s tenure as president

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)

Explaining the decision to offer official condolences from the US over the deaths of Iran’s leaders in a helicopter crash, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says the US does not want to see anyone die under such circumstances, even though Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was a “brutal participant in the repression of the Iranian people for nearly four decades.”

“Some of the worst human rights abuses occurred during his tenure as president,” Miller adds during a press briefing.

US State Department: ICC chief prosecutor seeking arrest warrants against Israeli leaders ’emboldens’ Hamas

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answers questions during a news briefing at the State Department on July 18, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Nathan Howard/ File)

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says the ICC chief prosecutor’s pursuit of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders “emboldens” the leadership of Hamas, which could harm the ongoing efforts to secure a hostage deal.

Miller stresses during a press conference that Hamas has been the “principal obstacle to achieving a ceasefire agreement.”

He argues that the court does not have jurisdiction to target Hamas leaders either, arguing that they can instead be held accountable by the IDF on the battlefield or by being brought before an Israeli court.

As for holding Israeli officials accountable for alleged crimes committed during the Gaza war, Miller notes that the IDF has ongoing internal investigations, including criminal ones, into suspected inappropriate conduct by individual soldiers during the war.

Miller calls into question the legitimacy and credibility of the ICC prosecutor’s case, given his decision to issue an announcement while those investigations are still ongoing.

The ICC is supposed to be a “last resort” if a country is not properly holding itself accountable and this does not currently apply to Israel, Miller says, adding that Washington’s issue with the ICC prosecutor’s decision is not just a jurisdictional one but a process one as well.

The pursuit of arrest warrants “is fully unfounded and should not have been brought,” Miller says.

The State Department spokesperson declines to say whether the US is considering sanctions against the ICC following today’s decision.

“The ICC has done important work over the years to hold people accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and we have supported that work. That’s not changed by the announcement today, but I will say that we do have great concerns about the prosecutor and the steps that he took,” Miller says.

Former Trump foreign policy officials meet Netanyahu, Lapid in Israel — report

Former US president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, September 15, 2020. (AP Photo/ Alex Brandon, File)

WASHINGTON – Three former US foreign policy officials in Donald Trump’s administration met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, and other public figures in Israel today, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

The delegation was made up of Robert O’Brien, who served as Trump’s fourth and final national security adviser, as well as former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates John Rakolta, and former ambassador to Switzerland Ed McMullen, says the source, who requests anonymity, as the trip’s itinerary was not public.

Among the main goals of the trip is to obtain a better understanding of Israel’s complex domestic political situation, according to the source.

The source does not say what was discussed in the meeting, noting that the group was not acting at the Republican presidential hopeful’s request and had no message to deliver to Israeli officials.

But all serve as informal advisers to Trump, and the former US president will likely receive a readout of the meetings, the source adds.

Trump has occasionally criticized Israel over its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, and he has faulted Netanyahu for failing to prevent the October 7 massacre that sparked the war. But Trump consistently portrays himself as a more reliable ally to Israel than Democratic President Joe Biden, his rival in the upcoming November 5 election.

The White House declines comment when asked about the meeting and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

US offers condolences over deaths of Iran’s president, FM, reaffirms ‘support for the Iranian people’

The helicopter carrying Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi taking off at the Iranian border with Azerbaijan, after the inauguration of the dam of Qiz Qalasi, in Aras, on May 19, 2024. (Ali Hamed Haghdoust/ Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)/ AFP)

The US offers its condolences over the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the other members of their delegation, who were killed in yesterday’s helicopter crash in northwest Iran.

“As Iran selects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement.

Israeli envoy Erdan lashes out as UN mourns Iran’s Raisi: ‘What’s next? A moment of silence for Hitler?’

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan lashes out at the Security Council for observing a moment’s silence today in memory of Iranian President Ebhraim Raisi, who was confirmed dead this morning.

“You read correctly, the UN Security Council today held a moment’s silence to remember a mass murder, Iranian President Raisi,” Erdan says in a video statement.

“This body, which makes no effort to free our hostages, tipped their heads today to a man who was responsible for the deaths of thousands in Iran, in Israel, and around the world.”

“What’s next? A minute of silence on the anniversary of Hitler’s death?” Erdan asks, charging that the UN Security Council has become “a danger to world peace.”

On the same day that ICC issues arrest warrant for a democratically elected leader who is defending his country, the UN Security Council, including US representative, stands to honor Ebrahim Raisi, “butcher of Tehran”, who's killed thousands of Iranians…
pic.twitter.com/YfnAUkP5KR

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) May 20, 2024

FM Katz traveling to Paris tomorrow to meet French counterpart, Jewish leaders

Foreign Minister Israel Katz will fly to Paris tomorrow to meet his French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné, National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet, Senate President Gérard Larcher, and Jewish leaders.

Katz says in a statement that he will discuss the ICC decision to pursue arrest warrants against Israel leaders, the fighting in Rafah, French attempts to broker a ceasefire in Lebanon, sanctions against Iran, and antisemitism in France.

Netanyahu: ICC warrant bid is ‘the new antisemitism,’ flowing from college campuses to The Hague

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a video address on May 20, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)

In a video statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the “absurd and false” warrant from the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor is “directed against the entire State of Israel.”

“It is directed against the IDF soldiers, who are fighting with supreme heroism against the vile Hamas murderers,” he says.

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan has not issued arrest warrants but, rather, announced his intention earlier today to seek them from the court for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alongside Hamas’s three top leaders.

“With what chutzpah do you dare compare the monsters of Hamas to the soldiers of the IDF, the most moral army in the world?” Netanyahu asks. “With what audacity do you compare between the Hamas that murdered, burned, butchered, raped, and kidnapped our brothers and sisters, and the IDF soldiers who are fighting a just war that is unparalleled, with a morality that is unmatched?”

Netanyahu says he rejects “with disgust” Khan’s ostensible comparison, calling it “an utter distortion of the reality,” and says it is an example of “the new antisemitism” that has moved from college campuses to The Hague.

The premier promises the Israeli public that the ICC’s “effort to tie our hands will fail,” that no international forum will “prevent us from hitting those who seek our destruction,” and that Israel will topple Hamas and achieve “total victory.”

אף אחד לא יעצור אותנו. pic.twitter.com/6aLWiRijsX

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 20, 2024

Asked whether the US also views Khan’s decision to be antisemitic, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller responds that this is not a conclusion that the Biden administration has reached.

Jerusalem police use ‘skunk’ to disperse anti-government protesters marching to Netanyahu’s home

Police use a water cannon containing putrid Skunk liquid to disperse anti-government protesters in Jerusalem, May 20, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

An anti-government march to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem has strayed off course, with protesters making a break for the city entrance.

The march has now split into multiple directions and police are spraying demonstrators with the putrid Skunk liquid, a chemical compound designed to disperse crowds.

A group of protesters is now marching towards Netanyahu’s residence, and will likely proceed through Jerusalem’s Rehavia neighborhood to reach their destination.

Biden: ICC prosecutor’s decision to pursue arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant ‘outrageous’

US President Joe Biden speaks during the NAACP Detroit Branch annual 'Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner' in Detroit, Michigan on May 19, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/ AFP)

US President Joe Biden calls the decision by International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan to pursue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “outrageous.”

Khan also asked the ICC to issue arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.

“Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Biden says in a statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Biden administration “fundamentally rejects” Khan’s decision.

“We reject the prosecutor’s equivalence of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and is still holding dozens of innocent people hostage, including Americans,” Blinken says in his own statement.

The secretary of state reiterates the long-held US stance that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in no small part due to the fact that Israel — and the US — are not members of the court.

“The ICC was established by its state parties as a court of limited jurisdiction. Those limits are rooted in principles of complementarity, which do not appear to have been applied here, amid the prosecutor’s rush to seek these arrest warrants, rather than allowing the Israeli legal system a full and timely opportunity to proceed,” Blinken says.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, third right, stands between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, third left, and UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag, right, at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Kerem Shalom, on May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

“In other situations, the prosecutor deferred to national investigations and worked with states to allow them time to investigate. The prosecutor did not afford the same opportunity to Israel, which has ongoing investigations into allegations against its personnel,” he continues.

“There are also deeply troubling process questions,” Blinken says.

“Despite not being a member of the court, Israel was prepared to cooperate with the prosecutor. In fact, the prosecutor himself was scheduled to visit Israel as early as next week to discuss the investigation and hear from the Israeli government. The prosecutor’s staff was supposed to land in Israel today to coordinate the visit. Israel was informed that they did not board their flight around the same time that the prosecutor went on cable television to announce the charges,” Blinken notes.

“These and other circumstances call into question the legitimacy and credibility of this investigation.”

“Fundamentally, this decision does nothing to help and could jeopardize, ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement that would get hostages out and surge humanitarian assistance in, which are the goals the United States continues to pursue relentlessly,” Blinken warns.

Israel was preparing to host ICC chief prosecutor, taken completely by surprise by arrest warrant bid — officials

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan visits a Gaza border town attacked by Hamas, on December 3, 2023. (Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum)

Israel has been in touch with the ICC chief prosecutor’s office in recent weeks, The Times of Israel has learned. Israeli officials were expecting to host ICC officials starting this evening for a preliminary visit to plan an official visit by Karim Khan.

Israel was ready to spend time with Khan to show how decisions are made, where legal experts fit into the decision-making process, how strikes are approved in the IDF, what Israel is doing around humanitarian aid, and more.

Israel was taken totally by surprise by Khan’s announcement earlier today that he intends to seek arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Yoav Gallant.

Khan had been in Israel on an unofficial visit after October 7 to meet hostage families.

The fact that Khan made the announcement in front of cameras further frustrated Israeli officials, who saw it as indicating that he was running after headlines.

For now, the Foreign Ministry is involved in a diplomatic blitz to ask other countries to publicly decry Khan’s decision. The ministry is convinced that other countries will issue statements similar to those that have already come from the Czech Republic, Austria, and the UK.

IDF: Soldier lightly hurt in rocket attack on army base in north; jets hit Hezbollah rocket launcher used today

Illustrative. A rocket fired from Lebanon that hit northern Israel, May 20, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

An Israeli soldier was lightly hurt in a rocket attack on the Biranit army base in northern Israel earlier today, the military says.

The IDF says fighter jets hit a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab, used in attacks on Biranit today.

Several more rockets were launched at other areas in northern Israel throughout the day. The IDF says it shelled the launch sites.

Fighter jets also struck another Hezbollah cell in southern Lebanon earlier today, the military says.

The operatives were spotted entering a building known to be used by the terror group in the town of Odaisseh, by soldiers of the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, according to the IDF.

Hezbollah has announced that five members died in IDF strikes today.

כוחות יחידה 869 זיהו מוקדם יותר היום מחבלים נכנסים למבנה צבאי במרחב אל עדייסא, זמן קצר לאחר הזיהוי מטוסי קרב תקפו את המבנה בו שהו המחבלים.

לפני זמן קצר מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו משגר של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב עייתא א-שעב, ממנו זוהו שיגורים אל עבר מרחב בירנית במהלך היום>> pic.twitter.com/RVBNi6Eh8J

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 20, 2024

NYC mayor defends police response after videos show officers punching anti-Israel protesters

New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators during a rally to mark the Nakba anniversary in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on May 18, 2024. (John Lamparski / AFP)

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams defends the police department’s response to an anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian street demonstration in Brooklyn, New York over the weekend, calling video of officers repeatedly punching men laying prone on the ground an “isolated incident.”

“Look at that entire incident,” Adams says on the “Mornings on 1” program on the local cable news channel, NY1. He complains that protesters who marched through Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge section on Saturday had blocked traffic, spit at officers and, in one instance, climbed on top of a moving city bus. “I take my hat off to the Police Department, how they handled an unruly group of people.”

“People want to take that one isolated incident that we’re investigating. They need to look at the totality of what happened in that bedroom community,” Adams adds.

Footage shot by bystanders and independent journalists shows police officers intercepting a march in the street, shoving participants toward the sidewalk, and then grabbing some people in the crowd and dragging them down to the asphalt. Officers can be seen repeatedly punching at least three protesters, in separate incidents, as they lay pinned on the ground.

A video shot by videographer Peter Hambrecht and posted on X shows an officer in a white shirt punching a protester while holding his throat. Hambrecht said the arrests took place after police told the crowd to disperse.

The NYPD is seen slamming this protestor to the ground punching his chest with his hand around their neck. They never once resisted. Their head was also bleeding as they were transported to the police van.

All for walking in the street.

One of the many brutal arrests from… pic.twitter.com/f3sub6HFty

— Peter Hambrecht (@peterhvideo) May 18, 2024

“They were aware they might get arrested, but many times people use that to justify the beating which is obviously ridiculous,” Hambrecht tells The Associated Press in a text message.

Independent journalist Katie Smith separately recorded video of an officer unleashing a volley of punches on a man pinned to the ground, hitting him at least five times with a closed fist.

NOW: As pro-Palestine protesters reached an intersection, officers rushed in and grabbed people out of the crowd seemingly at random

Officers tackled multiple protesters to the ground and then proceeded to punch them pic.twitter.com/fyPfA8emyM

— katie smith (@probablyreadit) May 18, 2024

At least 41 people were arrested, according to police.

The NYPD later released its own video showing misbehavior by protesters, including people throwing empty water bottles at officers, splashing them with liquids and lighting flares and smoke bombs. It also showed one protester sitting on the roof of a moving transit bus waving a Palestinian flag.

The protesters were demonstrating against Israel and marking the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, of Israel’s founding and the accompanying exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the War of Independence in 1948.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Knesset plenum strikes down three no-confidence motions in Netanyahu’s government

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid leads a meeting of his Yesh Atid party at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Three no-confidence motions in the government brought by the opposition Yesh Atid, Labor, and Hadash-Ta’al parties are defeated in the Knesset plenum, after failing to secure the necessary majority.

“I read the letter that Likud members are now signing against the decree from The Hague to file an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister. Bring it, we will sign it. It will be both a coalition and opposition document. But where is the letter from all Likud members saying that we will not rest until all the abductees return home? Where is the letter from all Likud members who say that we will return the residents of the north by the first of September,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid asks before the vote on his party’s motion.

“With this government, we will not win the war,” he declares, calling those in government “careless and unprofessional.”

After trip to UAE, Ra’am chair says Israel ‘missing historic opportunity’ for regional initiative to end conflict

United Arab List chair MK Mansour Abbas leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, on February 19, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Fresh off a trip to the United Arab Emirates where he met with senior Emirati officials, Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas says the government is “missing a historic opportunity” by failing to advance a diplomatic initiative that provides hope to Israelis and Palestinians alike, while also ending the war and returning the hostages.

The UAE has indicated that it would be willing to join a regional effort assisting in the post-war rehabilitation of Gaza if Israel agrees to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected such efforts, proposing instead that Abu Dhabi assist in the management of Gaza while Israel maintains a security presence there — an idea that led to a bitter condemnation from UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed, who met with Abbas last week.

“Despite the difficult and complex reality in which we’re living, there currently lies before us a historic opportunity that we must, must not miss,” Abbas says during a press statement before a meeting of his Islamist faction.

Abbas subsequently tweets a photo of his meeting with Bin Zayed and says Abu Dhabi is prepared to advance joint projects with Jerusalem to better serve Israel’s Arab citizens, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to promote such initiatives.

מאוד חשוב שאזרחי מדינת ישראל הערבים , יזכו לתועלות מהשלום בין ישראל ואיחוד האמירויות. יש נכונות מצד איחוד האמירויות, וחשוב שממשלת ישראל תקדם פרויקטים משותפים לטובת האזרחים הערבים. pic.twitter.com/XI0NBW1Py7

— Mansour Abbas מנסור עבאס (@mnsorabbas) May 20, 2024

Daughter-in-law of Hamas captive: ‘The prime minister gave up on the hostages’

Ayelet Metzger, whose father-in-law Yoram Metzger is held captive by Hamas in Gaza, speaks to protesters at an anti-government rally outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on May 20, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Ayala Metzger, the daughter-in-law of Hamas captive Yoram Metzger, is speaking to a crowd of thousands at an anti-government rally outside the Knesset in Jerusalem.

“I now know that the prime minister of Israel gave up on the hostages,” she says. “It hurts to say, but he gave up on them. The number 128 is just another number to him, not 128 entire worlds, 128 wounded souls that must return to their 128 families.”

Protesters call for early elections and for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, as they march towards the Knesset in Jerusalem on May 20, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Metzger says that she also realized the governing system, which she had trusted, “is no longer democratic, nor professional.”

“Sitting in the government and Knesset are people who only care about their political future, and not citizens and soldiers of the country,” she says, calling on more moderate members of the war cabinet to act.

“Eizenkot and Gantz, Gallant and Deri, this isn’t the time for tears, words, or hugs… This is the time for action and you will be judged on your actions,” she continues. “The hostages have no time — act now or their blood will also be on your hands.”

It is believed that 124 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a week-long truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 16 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.

The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 37 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.

One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.

Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

UN Security Council, atomic watchdog observe minute of silence for Iran’s Raisi

File - The United Nations Security Council meets on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City on April 18, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

Members of the UN Security Council on Monday observed a minute of silence in memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage who were killed in a helicopter crash.

Mozambique Ambassador Pedro Comissario Afonso, who holds the rotating Council presidency in May, asks members to stand up and remain silent “in remembrance of the loss of life in a crash of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi” and his team, which took place yesterday.

International Atomic Energy Authority chief Rafael Grossi also extends his condolences on Raisi’s death and calls for a minute of silence during the International Conference on Nuclear Security in Vienna, according to a post on X.

I extend my condolences on the tragic passing of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other delegation members. Our thoughts are with their families and the people of Iran during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/P79cfBv6Le

— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) May 20, 2024

Gazans spare little thought for Iran’s Raisi, saying he failed to ease Palestinian suffering

Volunteers prepare food for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip, on May 19, 2024. (AFP)

Gazans are sparing little thought for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash, saying he had failed to ease the suffering in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

Raisi was confirmed dead this morning after search and rescue teams found the remains of his helicopter, which crashed last night in a fog-shrouded western mountain region of Iran.

Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip and receives financial and military support from Iran, paid tribute to Raisi’s “support for the Palestinian resistance, and tireless efforts in solidarity” with Palestinians.

But Gazans in the central city of Deir al-Balah, an area which has been hit by fighting between Israel and Hamas since the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 massacre, tell AFP that Raisi’s legacy had been tarnished by inaction over their plight.

“He never supported us, never kept his promises, never called for a ceasefire, and never stood by us. He does not concern us at all,” says Naji Khodeir, a resident of the city, which now hosts large numbers of Gazans fleeing fighting further south.

“He means nothing to us and nothing to Gaza,” says Βilal Khodary, a displaced Gazan.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 252 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.

UK: ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant ‘not helpful’

LONDON — The ICC prosecutor’s decision to request an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is unhelpful, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says.

“This action is not helpful in relation to reaching a pause in the fighting, getting hostages out or getting humanitarian aid in,” the spokesperson says, referring to a decision made by the ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan earlier today.

‘Modern antisemitism’: Justice minister slams pursuit of ICC arrest warrants against Israeli leaders

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is “one of the greatest moral disgraces in human history,” says Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

“The decision, the purpose of which is an attempt to deny the State of Israel the right of self-defense, and the comparison between Israel’s leaders and the many murderers at the head of Hamas are a clear expression of modern antisemitism and hatred of Jews wherever they are,” he says in a statement.

Khan is also seeking warrants against three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

“The State of Israel will continue to fight a just war of defense against terrorism, in the most moral manner and according to international law,” Levin pledges.

“The citizens of Israel, and many of our friends around the world, today stand strongly behind the prime minister, the leadership of the country, the IDF and the security forces,” he says in a statement conspicuously lacking Gallant’s name.

Thousands converge on Knesset to protest against government: ‘Bibi endangers the existence of the country!’

Protesters gather outside the Knesset in Jerusalem for an anti-government rally on May 20, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Thousands of anti-government protesters from across the country are converging on the Knesset this afternoon as lawmakers reconvene after a six-week parliamentary recess.

Police have erected two layers of barricades separating the rally from the Knesset as protesters chant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

“Bibi is a danger to the existence of the country!” they shout over drums and blowhorns.

Prominent anti-government activist Shikma Bressler goes up on stage to address the crowd before speeches officially begin.

Anti-government activist Shikma Bressler addresses a crowd of protesters at rally outside Knesset in Jerusalem on May 20, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Bressler says the protest, conducted in a “lawful and nonviolent manner,” aims to “give us back the ability to influence the direction in which our country is progressing.”

A number of hostage family members are expected to speak at the rally, including Ayala Metzger, the daughter-in-law of Hamas captive Yoram Metzger.

Protesters arrived in Jerusalem from across the country, many having partaken in a massive convoy of slow-moving cars headed for the capital earlier today.

Right-wing activist suspected of attacking bereaved father at Tel Aviv rally released to house arrest

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)

A man suspected of attacking Gadi Kedem, whose daughter and son-in-law and their three children were murdered by Hamas on October 7, has been released to house arrest.

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court releases right-wing activist Uri Harush after questioning Kedem under caution yesterday over a violent incident during a clash at a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.

“A review of [Kedem’s] testimony shows that the injury to his head was caused by being hit on the head with a sharp object. It is possible that another person holding a sign also attacked the complainant,” Judge Binyamin Judge Hirschel Doron notes in his decision.

In video from Saturday evening, a man can be seen arguing with a group of protesters while clutching a sign, which reporters said read “Leftist traitors.” Gadi’s wife, Reuma, can be seen trying to grab the sign, and the man moves forward, at which point Gadi lunges toward him.

Video from a few minutes later shows Kedem bleeding from the head, as his wife Reuma says that the man who approached them told them that “it’s good that your children died” and called them “stinking leftists.”

עוד זווית מתקיפת ראומה וגדי קדם אמש על ידי תומכי נתניהו. אחרי שביביסטים התעמתו עם ראומה והחזיקו שלט ״שמאלנים בוגדים״ ואמרו לה ״טוב שהרגו את הילדים שלכם״ ראומה ניסתה לקחת לתומך נתניהו את השלט מהיד והוא הכה אותה באגרוף. שניה לאחר מכן גדי חוצה את הגדר. מהזווית הזאת נראה שהוא הודף את… pic.twitter.com/KJrKjpgyNE

— בר שם-אור Bar Shem-Ur (@Bar_ShemUr) May 19, 2024

Kedem’s daughter Tamar, son-in-law Yonatan and three grandchildren, Shahar, Arbel and Omer, were murdered in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel. Yonatan’s mother, Carol, was also slain that day.

Netanyahu on ICC prosecutor seeking arrest warrants: ‘Scandalous’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in the Knesset for a Likud faction meeting, May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

At today’s Likud faction meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls the chief ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants for him and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “scandalous.”

“This order will not stop me or us,” he is heard saying in a recording from the meeting. “I will continue to do what is necessary in order to protect the State of Israel and destroy our enemies.”

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced earlier today that he had requested arrest warrants from the court’s judges for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with three top Hamas leaders.

Netanyahu is expected to issue an official statement later today.

Hamas ‘strongly condemns’ ICC prosecutor bid against its leaders Sinwar, Deif, Haniyeh

Hamas says it “strongly condemns” a bid by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants for the terror group’s top leaders Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, political leader Ismail Haniyeh and military chief Mohammed Deif.

“The Hamas movement strongly condemns the attempts of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to equate the victim with the executioner by issuing arrest warrants against a number of Palestinian resistance leaders,” Hamas says in a statement.

IDF: Bodies of hostages recovered from Gaza last week were found in Hamas tunnel in Jabaliya

Clockwise from top left, the four hostages whose bodies were recovered by the IDF from the Gaza Strip on May 17, 2024: Ron Benjamin, Shani Louk, Itzhak Gelerenter and Amit Bouskila. (Courtesy)

The bodies of the four Israeli hostages recovered from the Gaza Strip last week were found in a Hamas tunnel in the Jabaliya camp, the military announces.

The IDF had not reached the tunnel during its initial ground operation in Jabaliya, which had served as a command center for the terror group amid the fighting.

The bodies of Ron Benjamin, Itzhak Gelerenter, Amit Buskila, and Shani Louk were found hidden inside the tunnel, and the area surrounding it was guarded by Hamas, according to the military. In an alley close to the tunnel shaft, terror operatives had planted a large explosive device, which was disarmed by troops.

There were several clashes above ground as troops pushed into the area, and in one incident, Maj. Gal Shabbat, 24, a company commander in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion, was fatally wounded. However, there was no fighting in the tunnel itself.

Czech PM: ICC prosecutor’s decision to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders ‘appalling’

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala calls the ICC prosecutor’s decision to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders “appalling and completely unacceptable.”

“We must not forget that it was Hamas that attacked Israel in October and killed, injured and kidnapped thousands of innocent people,” he writes on X, formerly Twitter.

“It was this completely unprovoked terrorist attack that led to the current war in Gaza and the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon.”

‘This war is a colossal failure’: Likud MKs attack Gallant for challenging government’s postwar vision for Gaza

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrives at the Knesset for a Likud faction meeting, Jerusalem on May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

Likud lawmakers hurl insults at Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during their party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset on Monday, after he challenged the government’s postwar thinking for the Gaza Strip in a televised address on Wednesday evening.

During the heated meeting, Gallant tries to explain his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his declared opposition to Israeli civil or military rule in a post-Hamas Gaza — prompting harsh pushback from his fellow Likud MKs.

According to the Ynet news site, Likud MKs Tally Gotliv and Moshe Saada shout at Gallant while MK Amit Halevi accuses him of mismanaging the Gaza conflict.

“This war is a colossal failure. You were trusted with security,” Ynet quotes Halevi as saying.

Defending himself, Gallant asserts that Israel “doesn’t have enough soldiers” for an extended occupation of Gaza, which would require lengthening mandatory terms of service for IDF soldiers, asserting that while he is “against a Palestinian state,” he believes that “neither Hamas nor Israel” should rule in Gaza.

“Likud is my home, I’m staying,” he insists, adding that “we are the successors of Begin, not of Ben Gvir.”

A source who was in the room confirmed to The Times of Israel that the Ynet report was accurate, adding that “it is clear that Gallant is a minority opinion here and that Saada has support of most Likud members.”

Knesset speaker: ICC prosecutor ‘denying Israel its right to self-defense’ by seeking arrest warrants

File - International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan poses during an interview with AFP at the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais Royal in Paris on February 7, 2024. (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

Opening the first plenum session of the Knesset’s summer legislative session, Speaker Amir Ohana declares that “the International Criminal Court in The Hague has proven to the world that it is not legitimate.”

“I cannot open the meeting without referring to the scandalous decision of the prosecutor at the ICC which put the State of Israel, whatever its leadership, together with the murderous terrorist organization Hamas, which kidnapped, tortured, burned, butchered and murdered Jews for their Jewishness and Israelis for their Israeliness,” he says.

On Monday, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced his decision to seek arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

“An institution that is unable to distinguish between the aggressor and the defender, between a democracy that respects human rights and a terrorist organization dedicated to its destruction in the name of the values of extreme Islam and murderous fanaticism constitutes a danger to humanity,” he continues.

“Prosecutor Khan’s decision” denies Israel its right to self-defense and “will be infamously remembered as the turning point where international legal institutions lost their moral compass.”

IDF estimates 950,000 have evacuated Rafah, Hamas still capable of firing rockets at central Israel

IDF soldiers operate in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip in a photo cleared for publication on May 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli military estimates that some 950,000 Palestinians have evacuated the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, as troops operate in the eastern part of the city.

Some 300,000 to 400,000 civilians remain in Rafah, mostly in the coastal area and some parts in the center of the city, according to information seen by The Times of Israel.

The IDF had issued an evacuation warning for the eastern part of Rafah earlier this month, where more than a million Palestinians were sheltering before it pushed into the area. That evacuation zone had only some 150,000 Palestinians in it, meaning many civilians from other parts of Rafah, where the IDF has not yet operated, evacuated on their own.

Palestinian civilians are now largely concentrated in the al-Mawasi area, designated by the IDF as a “humanitarian zone,” on the Strip’s coast, and in central Gaza, in areas where ground forces have not yet operated. There is also a substantial civilian population in the coastal part of Rafah and in some areas of northern Gaza.

The military says it learned from past experiences when it came to evacuating the population in Rafah, which was carried out much faster than the United States had predicted.

IDF soldiers operate in central Gaza, in a photo cleared for publication on May 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Among the moves to enable the evacuation, the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone was expanded to accommodate more civilians, damaged water lines were fixed by Palestinians, field hospitals were moved to the zone, and aid deliveries are also being focused there.

The IDF believes that some Hamas operatives and members of other terror groups fled with the population to the humanitarian zone, as there are no Israeli checkpoints. Still, many gunmen have stayed behind in Rafah to fight the Israeli army.

Rafah is seen by the IDF as Hamas’s last major stronghold in Gaza, and where four of its battalions are located. Two more Hamas battalions remain in central Gaza, in the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah camps.

The city in southern Gaza is one of the last locations where Hamas is believed by the IDF to have major rocket stockpiles.

The terror group is not believed by the IDF to have any rocket manufacturing capabilities amid the war, with the military taking out its major factories in other areas of Gaza.

The IDF believes that Hamas has the capability to launch rocket attacks on central Israel from the Rafah area, and when troops advance further into the city, the terror group is likely to carry out such an attack.

Currently, the IDF has not pushed further than the Brazil neighborhood of eastern Rafah.

The IDF is still maintaining control of the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt. At the same time, there are ongoing operations along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, separating Egypt and Gaza.

IDF soldiers operate in central Gaza, in a photo cleared for publication on May 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The military says it has located dozens of tunnel shafts and “a number of significant underground routes” in the eastern Rafah area that are currently under investigation or being prepared to be demolished.

It has not, however, detailed how many of the tunnels cross in Egypt. In the past, Hamas used such tunnels to smuggle in weapons and supplies.

More than 130 gunmen have been killed by troops so far amid the operation in eastern Rafah, the IDF says.

Herzog on potential ICC warrants: Any parallel between Hamas and Israel’s democratically elected leaders is ‘outrageous’

President Isaac Herzog calls ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to seek arrests warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “beyond outrageous,” adding that is “shows the extent to which the international judicial system is in danger of collapsing.”

“Taken in bad faith, this one-sided move represents a unilateral political step that emboldens terrorists around the world,” writes Herzog on X, “and violates all the basic rules of the court according to the principle of complementarity and other legal norms.”

He calls any attempts to draw parallels between Hamas leaders and Israel’s democratically elected government “outrageous.”

“We will not forget who started this war, and who raped, butchered, burned, brutalized, and kidnapped innocent citizens and families,” he pledges, adding that he expects “all leaders in the free world to condemn outright this step and firmly reject it.”

‘The whole government should put down their keys and go to elections’ — Yisrael Beytenu chair Liberman

Israel Beytenu party chairman Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman slams the government’s handling of the ongoing war in Gaza and along the northern border.

Speaking at his first weekly faction meeting of the new legislative session, the hawkish opposition politician declares that Israel must prevent a protracted “war of attrition.”

“We must prevent this, even at the cost of a dramatic escalation,” he declares.

Asked if he believes that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should resign, he replies that “the whole government should put down their keys and go to elections.”

‘Scandalous’ for ICC to put Israelis in same category as ‘vile, cruel’ Hamas — outgoing Labor chair

File - Labor Party chair MK Merav Michaeli announces that she will step down from the party leadership, at a press conference in Tel Aviv, December 7, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is one that “the State of Israel will not and cannot accept,” says Labor leader Merav Michaeli during her party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

“It is simply a scandal to put the Israeli leadership in the same category as a vile, cruel terrorist organization. This is something we cannot accept under any circumstances,” she says.

Khan is also seeking warrants against three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

Attacking Netanyahu, Michaeli says that Israel is undergoing “a series of unprecedented political failures: threats of an embargo on the State of Israel, threats and consideration of economic sanctions by Western countries, by the UN, even sanctions on individual Israelis.”

“And almost a decision to impose sanctions on a military unit by the United States, our great friend,” she adds, referring to Washington’s having weighed but ultimately holding off on sanctions against the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda battalion.

“Every day that Netanyahu is in power… he puts decades of Zionism, security, and building the State of Israel down the drain,” she declares.

‘Not in my name!’: Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders rebukes EU sending ‘sincere condolences’ to Iran

File - Leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders delivers a speech at a post-election meeting at the Nieuwspoort conference center, The Hague, November 23, 2023. (John Thys/AFP)

The European Union extends “sincere condolences” for the death of late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and other officials in a helicopter crash yesterday, drawing instant rebuke from Geert Wilders, the leader of the incoming ruling party of the Netherlands.

In an X post, European Council President Charles Michel writes: “The EU expresses its sincere condolences for the death of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian, as well as other members of their delegation and crew in a helicopter accident. Our thoughts go to the families.”

Wilders, whose anti-Islam, far-right Party for Freedom had won the election last year and last week announced it successfully negotiated the formation of a ruling coalition, joins countless critics on the social platform, writing on X: “Not In My Name!”

In a separate post, Wilders, a staunch advocate of Israel, labels EU assistance to Iran with locating the crashed helicopter “EU solidarity with evil.”

Slow-moving protest convoy headed for Knesset arrives at Jerusalem city entrance

Anti-government protesters taking part in a slow-moving convoy to Jerusalem arrive at the city entrance, May 20, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Hundreds of anti-government protesters are entering Jerusalem by car in the final haul of a slow-moving convoy to the city, one of many demonstrations planned for today as the Knesset reconvenes for its summer session after a controversial six-week recess.

Convening from all across Israel, drivers began their sluggish journey this morning. Participants in the convoy are flying Israeli flags and yellow ribbons, symbolizing hostages held by terrorists in Gaza since October 7, from their vehicles.

“This is the time for those who feel that the country must be saved to stand up and make this move,” says Shikma Bressler, one of the most visible and articulate leaders of the nationwide protest movement against the government’s judicial overhaul plans last year and an organizer with the Black Flag protest movement, in a filmed statement.

Many truckers and other drivers who happen to share the road with the anti-government demonstrators are honking their horns at the protesters as the entrance to Jerusalem becomes increasingly congested.

Later this evening, the protesters will join a number of hostage families outside the Knesset in a mass rally that will spotlight a number of speakers including Ayala Metzger, the daughter-in-law of Hamas captive Yoram Metzger.

????The convoy on its way to Jerusalem
(Amos Gil) pic.twitter.com/vssCxACXgO

— Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي (@NTarnopolsky) May 20, 2024

FM: Potential ICC arrest warrants against Israeli officials ‘a historical disgrace that will be remembered forever’

Foreign Minister Israel Katz issues a statement calling the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli officials an “unrestrained direct attack” on the victims of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught and the hostages still being held in Gaza.

“While Hamas murderers and rapists commit crimes against humanity against our brothers and sisters, the [ICC] prosecutor mentions in the same breath the prime minister and defense minister of Israel alongside the vile Nazi-like monsters of Hamas – a historical disgrace that will be remembered forever,” added Katz.

Katz said he immediately instructed the Foreign Ministry to open a specialized situation room focused on “fighting against the decision intended primarily to shackle Israel’s hands and prevent it from exercising its right to self-defense.”

Katz’s comments come hours after ICC chief prosecutor Karim Kahn said he has requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for the crimes of “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”

He also announced that he is applying for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.

IDF says drone alerts in northern towns were false alarms

The IDF says that suspected drone infiltration sirens which sounded a short while ago in the Ramot Naftali area in northern Israel were false alarms.

The alerts sounded in largely evacuated towns including Ramot Naftali, Malkia, Yiftah, and Dishon.

Red Alert [15:18:03] – 5 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Malkia, Mevuot Hermon Regional Council, Dishon, Ramot Naftali, Iftach#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/5YzzaLeKXZ

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 20, 2024

Official tells ToI: Allegations against Netanyahu, Gallant a ‘baseless blood libel’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, May 6, 2024. (Amir Cohen / POOL / AFP)

After the International Criminal Court prosecutor said he is seeking arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that Karim Khan’s “baseless blood libel against Israel has crossed a red line in his lawfare efforts against the lone Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East.”

“The blood libel will not deter Israel from defending itself and accomplishing all its just war objectives,” says the official.

Netanyahu will issue a video statement later in the day, says the official.

Israel considering sending team to hostage deal talks in Qatar

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on May 18, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Israel is considering sending representatives to talks on a hostage deal in Doha next week if they take place, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

The move, which has not been approved, would come after IDF hostage envoy Nitzan Alon presented a plan to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend that would offer Hamas a period of “sustained calm” in order to get more hostages out. That proposal was rejected by the premier.

Lapid says including Israeli leaders in same ICC charges as Hamas is ‘unforgivable’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Left) at the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/ GPO) and Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, in Gaza City, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed / AFP)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid dismisses the decision of International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan to seek arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas terror leaders, declaring that Israel will “not accept a comparison to Hamas.”

“It is not possible to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Sinwar and Deif. There is no such comparison, we cannot accept it and it is unforgivable,” he says, calling the decision “a terrible political failure.”

Khan is also seeking warrants against three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

“I expect the American administration to condemn the arrest warrants. I believe they will stand behind us,” Lapid says.

Far-right ministers slam ‘antisemitic’ ICC decision to go after Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes

Far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir accuse the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of antisemitism after he sought arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alongside three Hamas leaders.

“We have not seen such a show of hypocrisy and hatred of Jews like that displayed by the court in the Hague since Nazi propaganda,” says Finance Minister Smotrich. “The Nazis also spoke in the name of ‘morality’ and there was nothing there besides antisemitism.”

Smotrich offers his support to Netanyahu and Gallant. “Arrest warrants for them are arrest warrants for all of us,” he says.

Ben Gvir calls on Israel to halt its participation in “antisemitic” international court proceedings in the Hague.

“The prime minister and the defense minister need to ignore the antisemitic prosecutor and order a stepped-up assault against Hamas until they are completely destroyed,” he says.

Lapid urges Gantz to leave coalition immediately

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid leads a meeting of his Yesh Atid party at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid calls on National Unity leader Benny Gantz to leave the coalition, arguing that he “can’t wait three weeks” until his ultimatum to Netanyahu expires.

“We need this time to make a supreme effort to topple the government,” he declares. “Try to imagine him still prime minister on [next] October 7 — it’s a chilling thought.”

On Saturday evening, Gantz issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu, threatening to withdraw from the coalition unless the premier commits to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict by June 8.

After his press conference, Yair Lapid accused him of doing too little too late.

“Enough. Get out of there,” Lapid said on Saturday. “Enough with the press conferences, enough with the empty ultimatums, get out! If you weren’t sitting in government, we would already be beyond the era of Netanyahu and Ben Gvir.”

Without Gantz’s party in the coalition, Netanyahu would have a slim majority of 64 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

Gantz slams ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants: A crime of historic proportions

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz holds a press conference in Ramat Gan, May 18, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz slams the decision of International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan to seek arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Khan is also seeking warrants against three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.

Gantz says that Israel’s military is complying with international law in its fighting in Gaza and terms the decision “a crime of historic proportions.”

“The State of Israel is waging one of the just wars fought in modern history following a reprehensible massacre perpetrated by terrorist Hamas on the 7th of October,” Gantz says in a statement.

“While Israel fights with one of the strictest moral codes in history, while complying with international law and boasting a robust independent judiciary – drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a bloodthirsty terror organization is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy,” Gantz says.

“The prosecutor’s position to apply for arrest warrants is in itself a crime of historic proportions to be remembered for generations,” Gantz says.

Israeli official slams ‘hypocritical, embarrassing’ ICC decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

File - International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan poses during an interview with AFP at the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais Royal in Paris on February 7, 2024. (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

A senior Israeli diplomatic official tells Ynet that the decision by  the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to seek arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes is “a decision that is hypocritical and embarrassing on an international level.”

The report says that even though the decision was expected, officials in Jerusalem were “shocked” when it came through.

IDF says it hit more than 80 terror sites across Gaza over last day

Palestinians look at the rubble of a building that was hit overnight in Israeli strike in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in southern Gaza on May 20, 2024 (Photo by AFP)

The Israeli Air Force struck more than 80 targets belonging to terror groups in the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military says.

According to the IDF, the targets included weapon depots, rocket launchers, and buildings used to attack troops, along with cells of gunmen.

The strikes come as IDF ground troops operate across the Gaza Strip.

In Jabaliya in the Strip’s north, the IDF says the 98th Division has been raiding Hamas sites, locating weapons, and killing gunmen in close-quarters combat and by directing airstrikes.

At a UNRWA complex in Jabaliya, troops found a cache of weapons, the IDF says.

In southern Gaza’s Rafah, troops of the 162nd Division are operating in the eastern part of the city. The IDF says one recent airstrike in Rafah amid the battles took out a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander along with three other operatives.

In central Gaza, the 99th Division continues to hold the Netzarim Corridor. Several buildings used by terror groups to store weapons were shelled by tanks in the area, the military says.

Israeli jets hit Hezbollah cell, weapons depot in southern Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah cell in southern Lebanon’s Mays al-Jabal a short while ago, the military says.

The IDF says artillery forces of the 91st Division spotted the cell at a position used in recent days to launch rockets at Israel.

Earlier, fighter jets hit a weapons depot belonging to Hezbollah in Naqoura, the IDF says.

The military says it identified secondary blasts following the strike, indicating that munitions were stored there.

לפני זמן קצר חטיבת האש של אוגדה 91 זיהתה חוליית מחבלים של ארגון חיזבאללה במרחב מיס אל ג'בל, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו את החולייה. חוליית המחבלים היו בעמדת שיגור ממנה זוהו שיגורים אל עבר הארץ בימים האחרונים>> pic.twitter.com/wuajODTpvq

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 20, 2024

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) delivers a recorded statement on the war with Hamas in Gaza (Screenshot/GPO); Defense Minister Yoav Gallant delivers a statement to the press, May 15, 2024. (Screenshot)

In an unprecedented and hugely controversial development, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan says he has requested arrest warrants from the judges of the court for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Khan says that the charges are for the crimes of “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”

Khan says he is also applying for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.

“Today we have applied for warrants to the pretrial chamber of the international criminal court in relation to three individuals who are Hamas members,” says Khan listing Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh.

He says they would be charged with extermination, murder, hostage taking, rape and sexual assault in detention.

Dancers reinterpret Hamas massacre at Knesset conference on sexual violence

Lawmakers and other participants in a Knesset conference on weaponized sexual violence are shown a so-called “No Silence Fashion show,” in which women dressed to represent the victims of October 7 engage in interpretive dance to highlight the events of that day.

Dancers are dressed as avatars of the grim stages of the massacre, from dance party to rape and hostage taking, with women wearing artificially bloodstained clothes making their way through the parliament’s Negev Hall.

Lawmakers and other participants in a Knesset conference on weaponized sexual violence are shown a so-called "No Silence Fashion show,” in which women dressed to represent the victims of October 7 engage in interpretive dance to highlight the events of that day. pic.twitter.com/qzFgZHj3BB

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) May 20, 2024

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

A war monitor says at least six pro-Iran fighters were killed in Israeli strikes in Syria near the Lebanese border, including in an area where Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group holds sway.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says “Israeli strikes targeted two positions of pro-Iran groups in the Homs region,” including “a Hezbollah site in the Qusayr area” near the border where “six Iran-backed fighters were killed.”

The Observatory did not specify their nationalities.

There was no comment from Israel.

BREAKING:

Explosions were heard in the city of Kosair in the Homs, Syria region following an #Israeli airstrike. According to the report there are casualties.#IRan #Raïssi pic.twitter.com/XxBOxgeyvW

— World Wide Update (@Happiningwww) May 20, 2024

Paralympic chief: No reason to bar Israel from games over Gaza war

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)

Wars and conflicts should not influence participation in the Paralympics, which need to convey a message of hope and support, and Israel should not be sanctioned, Andrew Parsons, the head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) says.

The IPC said in March that Russian and Belarusian athletes joining the Paris 2024 Paralympics would not be part of their opening ceremony.

Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot take part in team competitions at the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics and the Aug. 28-Sept. 8 Paralympics, but are allowed to participate as neutrals — without flags or anthems being played.

Israel, however, will fully participate in the Games despite calls to take actions due to the ongoing war in Gaza.

“The situations are different… The Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees were suspended because both organizations have breached the (Olympic) constitution,” Parsons tells Reuters 100 days before the start of the Paris Paralympics.

“They used the Olympic movement to promote the war and the invasion of Ukraine.”

Olympic authorities believe Israel should not be penalized.

“In the case of Israel, the Paralympic Committee and even the Palestine Paralympic Committee have not done anything of that nature, so we don’t have any process in place when it comes to suspending those national Paralympic committees,” Parsons explains.

“So far, the two national Paralympic (committees) are in line with our constitution, and we don’t have any suspension process in place targeting those two nations.”

Parsons added the Olympic movement should keep a cool head and promote peace.

“We don’t want to be directed by the conflicts around the world. I think the message is the other way around, that even if there are countries who are in conflict, even in the most difficult and challenging situations, support can still be a beacon of hope,” Parsons says.

At Knesset conference on sexual violence, participants slam silence from women’s groups on Hamas crimes

Protesters gather outside the UN headquarters in New York City on December 4, 2023, to protest the international community's perceived silence on sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women during the October 7 massacre. (Carli Fogel)

Addressing a conference in the Knesset on combating sexual violence, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, slams those who ignore or minimize Hamas’s mass rape of Israeli women and declares that “silence is a crime against women.”

“We came here today to cry out against silence,” he says.

“In Trafalgar Square in London, people who see themselves as liberal, who see themselves as progressive, talk about the rights of terrorists and the reason they justify murder. But when it comes to rape, silence. In Dublin and Madrid, in UCLA, in Berkeley, useful idiots shout from the river to the sea without understanding they are calling for genocide against Jews. They believe everything they see on their phones, but do not believe the horrific testimonies of sexual abuse by Hamas terrorists when it comes to this. Silence.”

He warns: “Throughout history, there has been a conspiracy of silence surrounding sexual violence during war. This is what enabled it… Women are raped, humiliated, murdered, and the world is silent.”

The meeting, convened by MK Shelly Tal Meron of Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, seeks to establish a “Global Women’s Coalition Against Gender Based Violence as a Weapon of War.”

Speaking at the conference — which was organized together with ELNET, an organization working to build ties between Israel and Europe —Tal Meron announces that “we are declaring today the establishment of an important historical coalition, of acknowledging sexual violence as a crime of war.”

International law has already recognized this, she say, but “the cultural and political ‏perception” must change.

She notes, “For the 128 hostages, and especially the 17 women who are still held in Gaza, this reality is going on now for 227 days.”

In a prerecorded message, former French prime minister Manuel Vals compares Hamas crimes to those committed by Russian forces in Ukraine and argues that “we could have hoped for greater outrage at this femicide, at these appalling atrocities, and notably by part of the feminist movement that has remained too silent.”

French MP Aurore Bergé, minister for gender equality and the fight against discrimination, likewise addresses the conference, declaring that Israel “can count on France’s determination… to combat this scourge [of weaponized sexual violence] we sadly see reemerging.”

“We will stand by your side to shed light on what happened,” she says. “These crimes too must not be unpunished.”

Iran opposition group calls Raisi death a ‘monumental’ blow to mullahs’ rule

A woman cycles past an Iranian national flag set to half staff to mourn the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, at the Iran embassy in Beijing, Monday, May 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

The death of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash is a major blow to the Islamic Republic’s clerical leadership, an exiled opposition group says, predicting a succession of crises.

The People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) and its political wing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) have long detested Raisi, accusing him of involvement in the 1988 mass executions of thousands of their members and other dissidents when he was a young prosecutor.

Raisi’s death “represents a monumental and irreparable strategic blow to the mullahs’ supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the entire regime, notorious for its executions and massacres,” NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi says in a statement.

“It will trigger a series of repercussions and crises within theocratic tyranny, which will spur rebellious youths into action,” she says.

The MEK accuses Raisi, as Tehran deputy prosecutor in the late 1980s, of playing a key part in the executions of thousands of political prisoners, mostly suspected members of the opposition group.

Raisi at the time was a member of what opponents call a four-man “Death Committee” that sent convicts to their executions without a shred of due process.

Drone infiltration alert sounds in Western Galilee

A drone infiltration alert sounds in several communities along the northern border in the Western Galilee.

???? Large Red Alert [12:16:20] – 13 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Achziv Miluot Industrial Zone, Eilon, Arab al-Aramshe, Idmit, Hanita, Ya'ara, Goren, Betzet, Rosh HaNikra, Gornot HaGalil, Metzuba, Shlomi, Lehman#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/D13XUOPuX1

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 20, 2024

Ireland concerned over slow pace of justice in peacekeeper’s killing in Lebanon

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib, right, shakes hands with Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Micheal Martin after their meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Ireland’s top diplomat in a visit to Lebanon expresses his concern over the slow progress in criminal proceedings against several Hezbollah-linked Lebanese men charged with the killing of an Irish peacekeeper in 2022.

Micheál Martin, Irish foreign and defense minister, says he was “very, very concerned” about the case. He met with Irish peacekeepers in south Lebanon and with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and a representative of the Lebanese defense ministry.

Lebanon’s military tribunal last June charged four men with the killing of Pvt. Seán Rooney, 24, of Newtown Cunningham, Ireland, following a half-year probe. Rooney was killed on Dec. 14, 2022.

Only one of the suspects, Mohammed Ayyad, was arrested. However, he was released on bail in November, with officials citing his medical condition. The four others facing charges — Ali Khalifeh, Ali Salman, Hussein Salman, and Mustafa Salman — remain at large.

All five are allegedly linked with the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any role in the killing.

Commandos kill gunman emerging from Rafah tunnel

A gunman is seen emerging from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a picture released on May 20, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the Maglan commando unit, using a drone, spotted a gunman in a tunnel shaft amid operations in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the military says, releasing a picture from the incident.

The troops directed a drone to strike the tunnel, killing the operative.

The IDF says the Commando Brigade has been raiding Hamas sites in the Rafah area, killing gunmen and locating dozens of tunnels.

Ministers urge against lighting traditional bonfires on Lag B’Omer

People dance near a big bonfire, during celebrations of the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer in the ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on May19, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

In the run-up to the Lag B’Omer festival on Saturday evening, the Environmental Protection and Health ministries call on Israelis not to light traditional bonfires for the sake of public health and environmental protection.

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman says, “Especially this year, let’s protect our environment and health and that of our children and mark Lag B’Omer with social get-togethers and alternative activities in nature.“

Health Minister Uriel Buso calls on parents to ensure that their children are not exposed to smoke pollution.

Similar calls have been made in recent years to find safer alternatives to the bonfires that have traditionally marked this festival, and air pollution has been gradually going down.

One of the main festival events, the pilgrimage to Mount Meron in northern Israel, has already been canceled due to continued attacks on the area by the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

Gallant briefs Sullivan on Gaza aid efforts, says Israel will expand Rafah operation

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan meets Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF chief Herzi Halevi in Tel Aviv on May 20, 2024 (David Azagury/US Embassy Jerusalem)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presents to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan the latest on the evacuation of civilians from the Rafah area and the provision of humanitarian assistance, according to the Israeli readout.

Gallant tells Sullivan that expanding the operation there is a component of Israel’s efforts to dismantle Hamas and bring back the hostages.

Gallant also warns that the continued lack of a solution to attacks by Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah could “lead to a significant escalation.”

According to Gallant’s office, the two discuss the need to publicly show the strength of the countries’ bilateral relationship in the face of Iranian designs in the region.

After a weapons shipment was held up by the White House earlier this month, they also discuss how maintain Israel’s “qualitative edge,” a catchphrase referring to advanced military technology and platforms provided by the US.

Iran’s supreme leader approves Mokhber as interim president, declares 5 days’ mourning

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Vice President's Media Office shows Vice President Mohammad Mokhber speaking at the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the railway connection project at the Shalamcheh border crossing in Iraq's southern province of Basra Governorate on September 2, 2023.(Photo by Iranian Vice-Presidency / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is in charge of the executive branch and has a maximum period of 50 days to hold elections following the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.

Five days of national mourning have been declared by Khamenei.

Iran’s government cabinet also appoints Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister following the death of Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the crash.

Brother of hostage blames lawmakers for his continued captivity, warns he will ‘pursue’ MKs if sibling harmed

Screaming at lawmakers during a committee meeting on the first day of the new Knesset session, Mor Shoham, the brother of hostage Tal Shoham, blames the state for his sibling’s captivity and warns he will “pursue” them if any harm comes to his brother.

“Did you eat? Did you drink? Did you relax? Did you put your kids to sleep? Did you bring your kids to school? These are very basic activities that my brother hasn’t been able to do for eight months. And I don’t know how to speak calmly and I don’t know how to speak quietly. I’m fed up,” he wails as protesters stand nearby with a banner stating “The recess is over and the hostages are still there.”

“I’m fed up, because if something happens to my brother I will pursue, day by day, each and every one of you. And I’m not afraid to say that. Two and a half months you sat in recess and the hostages, what happened to the hostages,” he continues. “More hostages died. My brother is suffering… every day.”

“The one who didn’t protect us is the State of Israel. The one who didn’t protect the soldiers here is the State of Israel,” he declares.

Relatives of the hostages appeared at the beginning of many committee meetings and engaged in high-profile protests and arguments with lawmakers before the Knesset recess, culminating in the smearing of yellow paint in the plenum during the final session on April 3.

Speaking with The Times of Israel on Sunday, Udi Goren, the cousin of hostage Tal Haim, said that during the new Knesset session “we will be seeing the families of the hostages going to the Knesset at least once a week and appearing in the committees to make sure that nothing gets done and no topic is dealt with before speaking about the hostages.”

"מי שלא שמר עלינו זה מדינת ישראל. מי שלא שמר על החיילים פה, זה מדינת ישראל!" – כך אמר מור, אח של טל שוהם החטוף בעזה pic.twitter.com/UPaUBbyH4n

— ערוץ כנסת (@KnessetT) May 20, 2024

Sullivan holds meetings with Gallant, Gantz and IDF chief Halevi

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan meets war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and fellow war cabinet and National Unity party member Gadi Eizenkot in Tel Aviv on May 20, 2024 (David Azagury/US Embassy Jerusalem)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan meets Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in Tel Aviv.

The senior Biden aide then meets with war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and fellow National Unity party member Gadi Eisenkot, a war cabinet observer.

No immediate details on their conversations are released.

Sullivan met with all of Israel’s war leadership, as well as President Isaac Herzog, during his two-day visit.

Police say demonstrators planned to set fires to vehicles to block highway

Police say that anti-government protesters detained trying to block the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway may have been planning to set vehicles on fire to create a long-lasting shutdown of the main road.

Police release pictures showing tires, jerrycans filled with gasoline, planks and rags that they found in one of the vehicles.

So far 13 members of the Brothers in Arms protest group, including four leaders, have been detained, the group says.

המשטרה עצרה 8 מעורבים שעל פי החשד ניסו לחסום את כביש 1 כשברכבם נמצא מערומי קרשים, ג'ריקנים של דלק, צמיגים, כפפות וסמרטוטים. חלק מהחשודים ניסו להתעמת עם השוטרים ושוטר אחד נחבל קלות בפניו@hod_barel
(צילום: דוברות המשטרה) pic.twitter.com/5UPkcArga3

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) May 20, 2024

Official says Israel not involved in Raisi helicopter crash; Liberman: We won’t shed a tear

Israel was not involved in the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash that also killed several members of his entourage, an Israeli official tells Reuters.

“It wasn’t us,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

There is no official Israeli reaction to his death.

However, opposition MK Avigdor Liberman says Israel does not expect Raisi’s death to make any difference to Iran’s policies in the region.

“For us it does not matter, it won’t affect Israel’s attitude [to Iran]. Iran’s policies are set by the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei],” he tells the Ynet news site.

“However, there was no doubt that the president was a brutal man. We won’t shed a tear.”

‘Protector of the resistance’: Hamas, Hezbollah mourn death of Iran’s Raisi

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)

The Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas mourns the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, saying he had supported it during the ongoing war with Israel.

“These leaders supported the legitimate struggle of our people against the Zionist entity, provided valued support to the Palestinian resistance, and made tireless efforts in solidarity and support in all forums and fields for our people in the steadfast Gaza Strip during the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood,” Hamas says referring to the current war with Israel which began on October 7 when Hamas launched a devastating assault on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 252 hostages.

“They also made significant political and diplomatic efforts to stop the Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people,” says Hamas in a statement.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group also mourns Raisi as a “protector of resistance movements.”

“Hezbollah in Lebanon extends its deepest condolences,” the group says in a statement, adding that it knew Raisi “closely for a long time” and that he was “a strong supporter, and a staunch defender of our causes… and a protector of the resistance movements.”

National Unity minister says party opposes establishing Palestinian state as part of Saudi normalization deal

Minister Benny Gantz speaks with MK Chilli Tropper at a vote on the state budget at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 7, 2024.(Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Unity party minister Chili Tropper rejects establishing a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization with Saudi Arabia, telling Army Radio that “we are against” such a move.

On Saturday evening, Gantz issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, threatening to withdraw from the coalition unless the premier commits to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict by June 8.

Among his demands was that Netanyahu “advance normalization with Saudi Arabia as part of a comprehensive process to create an alliance with the free world and the West against Iran and its allies.”

During a meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that an opportunity is currently available for Israel to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia if Jerusalem agrees to a pathway to a future Palestinian state.

Iranian Red Crescent says all bodies recovered from Raisi helicopter crash site

The Iranian Red Crescent says that the bodies of President Ebrahim Raisi and others who died in a helicopter crash have been recovered, and search operations have ended.

“We are in the process of transferring the bodies of the martyrs to Tabriz” in Iran’s northwest, Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand tells state TV, adding that “the search operations have come to an end.”

BREAKING: TRANSFERRING OF BODIES FROM HELICOPTER CRASH INVOLVING IRAN PRESIDENT RAISI pic.twitter.com/b8J78VC0S0

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) May 20, 2024

Communications minister accuses Gallant of being a proxy for Gantz

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (center) and Minister Benny Gantz (right) embrace, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at left, at a joint press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on November 11, 2023. (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi accuses Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of representing the interests of National Unity leader Benny Gantz.

In an interview with Army Radio, Karhi says that his fellow Likud minister is “Gantz’s proxy; politically he understands that his career is finished.”

Last Thursday, Gallant went on television to directly challenge Netanyahu’s handling of the ongoing conflict in Gaza — sparking a very public spat with the prime minister and triggering the biggest threat to the stability of the government since the start of the war.

Two days later, Gantz issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu, threatening to withdraw from the coalition unless the premier commits to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict by June 8.

Alongside Netanyahu, Gantz and Gallant comprise the two other voting members of the war cabinet.

IDF says rocket fired at Sderot fell in open area, no injuries

One rocket was launched from the northern Gaza Strip at southern Israel a short while ago.

The attack set off sirens in the southern city of Sderot and several nearby towns.

According to the IDF, the rocket struck an open area.

There are no reports of damage or injuries.

Israel says two top Hamas military operatives killed in recent Gaza strikes

Two Hamas military operatives who also served as top officials in the terror group’s police were killed in recent Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, the military and Shin Bet announce.

On Sunday, Zaher al-Houli, a senior police officer in central Gaza was targeted in a drone strike. According to the IDF, al-Houli was a member of Hamas’s military wing along with his senior role in the police.

“As part of his activities, Zaher maintained contacts with other terrorists from the organization and advanced terror attacks against the Israeli home front,” the military says.

A separate strike on Saturday killed Rami Khalil Faki, who the IDF says is a member of Hamas’s military wing, alongside his role as a top officer in the Nuseirat police.

“As part of his role, he commanded a force of armed terrorists who led acts against our forces,” the military says.

Faki’s deputy and four more Hamas members were killed in the strike.

Police in the Gaza Strip are under the jurisdiction of Hamas, and according to Israel, many of its officers also serve in the terror group’s military wing.

Lapid meets top Biden official, calls for disagreements to stay out of the public eye

Opposition leader Yair Lapid meets US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv on May 20, 2024 (Elad Guttman)

Opposition leader Yair Lapid meets US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Tel Aviv, and calls for disagreements between allies to stay out of the public eye.

“The strategic relations between Israel and the United States are stronger than any government,” says the former prime minister.

“We will manage any disagreements behind closed doors as we have always done in the past. That’s how close allies work, the world needs to know that our strategic relations are strong.”

He says that US-Israel ties are especially important right now, given that Iran “will enter a period of instability.”

Lapid says that a solution – military or diplomatic- must be found for the conflict with Hezbollah that has driven almost 100,000 Israelis from their homes.

Iran government says will operate ‘without disruption’ after Raisi death

The Iranian government will continue to operate “without the slightest disruption” following the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, says a cabinet statement.

“We assure the loyal nation that the path of service will continue with the tireless spirit of Ayatollah Raisi,” says the statement, stressing that the government’s work will continue “without the slightest disruption.”

Rocket warning sirens sound in Gaza border communities

Rocket warning sirens sound in several Gaza border communities.

Sirens sound in Mefalsim and Gevim on the outskirts of the city of Sderot.

Red Alert [08:30:22] – 6 Alerts:

• שדרות, איבים, ניר עם
• Gaza Envelope — Mefalsim, Gavim, Sapir College#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/UVFxQeWXoB

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) May 20, 2024

Police, anti-government demonstrators clash on Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway

Members of the Brothers in Arms group protest against the government on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway on May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Police and anti-government demonstrators clash near the Sha’ar Hagai Junction on the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway.

Demonstrators from the Brothers in Arms group try to block the highway and are dispersed by police. The group says 10 members were detained.

They are calling on the government to resign and call elections, citing the failures to bring home the hostages captured by Hamas on October 7 and the fate of tens of thousands of residents of the north and south who remain evacuated from their homes.

Several groups are heading to Jerusalem to demonstrate outside the Knesset as it resumes today, while other protests are planned across the country.

Police arrest 13 on suspicion of multi-million shekel fraud in Tel Aviv municipality

Police count cash seized in a probe into corruption in the Tel Aviv municipality on May 20, 2024 (Israel Police)

Police say they have arrested 13 people, including, Tel Aviv municipality workers, on suspicion of involvement in a multi-million shekel fraud and collusion with organized crime.

Police say that cleaning companies paid bribes and favors to members of the municipal sanitation department and falsified tenders, they also issued fictitious invoices and pocketed “tens of millions of shekels.”

A statement says that both Arab and Jewish organized crime families were involved.

The 13 suspects are being questioned by police after their arrest and will be charged later in the day, police say.

Jets hit Hezbollah sites in overnight strikes

Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, the IDF says.

The sites included buildings used by the terror group in Blida, Jibbain, and Odaisseh, alongside an observation post in Chihine, according to the military.

מטוסי קרב תקפו במהלך הלילה מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון.
בין המטרות שהותקפו, מבנים צבאיים של חיזבאללה במרחבים בליידא, אל ג׳יבין ואל עדייסא, לצד עמדת תצפית של הארגון במרחב שיחין שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/gbv2T9Sq7M

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 20, 2024

Iran state media declares Raisi dead, no official confirmation

In this photo provided by Moj News Agency, rescue teams are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Azin Haghighi, Moj News Agency via AP)

Iranian state media declares President Ebrahim Raisi dead after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous northwestern region, but there has not yet been any official confirmation.

“The servant of Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has achieved the highest level of martyrdom whilst serving the people,” state television says, with Mehr news agency also saying he was dead.

State TV broadcast photos of Raisi, with the voice of a man reciting the Koran playing in the background.

“The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, had an accident while serving and performing his duty for the people of Iran and was martyred,” Iran’s Mehr agency says as other media outlets also reported the news.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is also declared dead.

Apparent Raisi helicopter crash site seen in first images

Footage on social media purports to show the crash site of the Iranian president’s helicopter.

BREAKING: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in yesterday's helicopter crash- IRINN Telegram Channel

Reports say that the helicopter hit the mountain before crashing as a result of severe weather conditions and fog.. pic.twitter.com/X07rCWTXRz

— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) May 20, 2024

Ebrahim Raisi: ‘Butcher of Tehran’ seen as a potential successor to Khamenei

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)

It seems at this time that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did not survive his helicopter’s fiery crash yesterday.

Raisi, 63, was elected president in 2021, and since taking office had ordered a tightening of morality laws, overseen a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests and pushed hard in nuclear talks with world powers.

Before becoming president1, Raisi held various positions inside the judiciary under the purview of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As a prosecutor, and at the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, he sat on the committee that sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death.

The executions earned him the nickname the “Butcher of Tehran” and subsequently subjected him to sanctions by the United States and to condemnation by the United Nations and international human rights organizations.

Since 2006, Raisi has served on the Assembly of Experts, a body that appoints and supervises the supreme leader.

For years many saw Raisi as a strong contender to succeed Khamenei, who has endorsed Raisi’s main policies.

Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with a final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear program, had earlier sought to reassure Iranians, saying there would be no disruption to state affairs.

Iran state TV says ‘no sign’ of life in president’s helicopter

Iran’s state television says there is “no sign” of life among passengers of the helicopter which was carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials.

“Upon finding the helicopter, there was no sign of the helicopter passengers being alive as of yet,” state TV reports.

An Iranian official tells Reuters: “President Raisi’s helicopter was completely burned in the crash… unfortunately, all passengers are feared dead.”

Iran’s Red Crescent chief says Raisi’s helicopter found, situation ‘not good’

The chief of Iran’s Red Crescent says that the wreckage of the missing helicopter which was carrying President Ebrahim Raisi has been found but the situation is “not good.”

“The helicopter has been found. Now, we are moving toward the helicopter,” says Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand, adding “the situation is not good.”

An Iranian official tells Reuters expectations are low for Raisi to be alive after the crash.

The helicopter is said to have been completely burned in the crash.

China says it is deeply concerned about incident involving president of Iran

China’s Foreign Ministry says it is deeply concerned about the crash of a helicopter carrying the president of Iran.

‘Searching every inch’: Raisi’s helicopter still missing in Iran 15 hours after crash

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

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran yesterday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray.

As the sun rises Monday, Raisi and the others on board remain missing some 15 hours after the likely crash, with Turkish drone footage suggesting the helicopter went down in the mountains. Rescuers rushed to the site.

Earlier, the national broadcaster showed a rescue team, wearing bright jackets and head torches, huddled around a GPS device as they searched a pitch-black mountainside on foot amid a snowy blizzard.

“We are thoroughly searching every inch of the general area of the crash,” state media quoted a regional army commander as saying. “The area has very cold, rainy, and foggy weather conditions. The rain is gradually turning into snow.”

Turkish drone assisting Iranian search finds heat source, may be chopper’s wreckage

A Turkish drone has identified a source of heat suspected to be the wreckage of the Iranian president’s helicopter, Anadolu news agency says on X.

It has shared the coordinates of the possible crash site with Iranian authorities,