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Sunday, May 24, 2026

05/23 Links: Will There Be “Blood Libel”?; Trump: Agreement with Iran ‘largely negotiated,’; IRGC plot to assassinate Ivanka Trump; Flotidiots beaten by Spanish police

From Ian:

Inside Israel’s secret operation to turn Hezbollah’s beepers into bombs
The whole world was shocked out of its wits on September 17-18, 2024, when the Mossad brought the mighty 150,000-rocket-wielding Hezbollah terror army to its knees in an instant with a “fleet” of exploding beepers. Or, rather, almost the whole world, excluding the Mossad operatives and defense officials who ran the operation, such as “Adam Feyn,” who recently published a book in Hebrew, Hoda’ah Goralit (Fateful Message), about the operation and gave his first English-language interview about it to The Jerusalem Post.

In his interview with the Post and in his book, Feyn made a series of stunning dramatic reveals about the operation.

These include how the Mossad lured a Hezbollah operative into an ambush to prevent him from exposing the beepers; the true story regarding how close Iran was to uncovering the plot; fleshing out how hard it was to get Hezbollah to lower its suspicions sufficiently for it to buy the beepers; showing how unwitting third parties were used by the Mossad to sell Hezbollah on the beepers; how the Mossad later tried to make good to such innocent third parties where it could; and how the Mossad’s gym and many other leisure areas were effectively converted into a beeper assembly line when the agency had to jump the pace of its production and had insufficient space to do so using its standard operations areas.

During the interview and in the book, Feyn also provided new insights into, and details of, key strategic moments when top Mossad or other Israeli officials gambled and took history in one direction instead of another, despite the “right” choice being covered in a haze of fog.

Feyn only recently retired from the defense establishment after decades in operations, including as one of the top managers with unique insider information about the beepers operation. He may still do other future work with the defense establishment, and so published the book under a fictional name to protect his identity. Another twist regarding the book is that Feyn wrote it as a partially fictional account, but which is meticulously based on the insider history of what actually happened, which only he and a small number of other top Mossad senior managers and defense officials know.

The best way to understand the breakdown of truth and fiction in the book is that the vast majority of the actions taken by the Mossad officials mentioned in the book, especially Mossad chief David Barnea (referred to only as the Mossad chief), actually happened, but sometimes in the book one character is a composite of multiple real agents to simplify the storytelling, which would otherwise become cumbersome and kill some of the pace. Such is the difference sometimes between Hollywood versions of intelligence operations and the real world. In both versions, the final result can be awesome and truly sweep readers or viewers off their feet. But in the real-life version, the culminating drama comes only after painstaking and agonizingly slow steps and meticulous spy tradecraft which laymen would never understand or tolerate.

The Mossad lured a Hezbollah operative into an ambush to prevent him from exposing the beepers
According to the book, around July 2024 the Mossad chief (Barnea in the real world) called the air force chief (Tomer Bar in the real world), who sent a senior air force operations colonel to a critical Mossad meeting, usually one not attended by outsiders (including the IDF). The Mossad officials at the meeting warned the colonel that a Hezbollah operative was getting too close to figuring out that the beepers were booby-trapped and requested that the air force kill him to save the operation. This was only around two months before the beepers were activated. In the book, the air force colonel responded to the Mossad officials by saying he needed the agency to trick the Hezbollah technology reviewer into leaving Beirut and also to give the air force his exact location when he left.

Next, the book said that Israeli defense and intelligence officials fooled the Hezbollah operative into traveling to southern Lebanon, where they bombed him. Questioned about such operations, Feyn told the Post, “it’s highly sensitive. The situation was problematic. There was more than one problematic situation that the Mossad had to deal with. Sometimes the problems went away on their own or more easily, and sometimes the Mossad had to act.” This operation did not end Hezbollah’s suspicions.
Major investigation: Intelligence failures let Akram family shooters enter terror hotspot prior to Bondi massacre while avoiding surveillance
Australia’s top spy agency’s assessment of the alleged Bondi attackers in 2019 demanded travel alerts be placed on them and their file revisited if they associated with extremists - but in a catastrophic failure, the men were able to move freely through known terror hotspots.

An investigation has uncovered a series of failures that meant that Sajid and Naveed Akram slipped through the cracks of law enforcement and security agencies prior to the Bondi terror attack on December 14, 2025.

In a critical lapse, the Australian Federal Police and Border Force, which sits within Home Affairs, were aware of the Akram’s travel to known terror hotspots but did not pass the intelligence onto ASIO or NSW Police, which issued the gun licenses.

It can be revealed that the Akrams travelled to Uzbekistan - a known gateway to terror hotspot Afghanistan - in late 2022 or early 2023.

The investigation, conducted for the upcoming book Bondi Terror, also discovered that ASIO’s travel alert was only placed on the Akrams' first port of call, rather than their final destination.

This is a matter that is likely to come under scrutiny by the Royal Commission this week.

ASIO conducted a thorough assessment of Naveed Akram in 2019, which included several interviews with his father Sajid.

The spy agency concluded that while Naveed was associating with dangerous individuals, neither were considered to be violent extremists themselves.

But it’s understood the ASIO assessment stated if the Akrams were found to be associating with ‘persons of interest’ again, the assessment would need to be revisited and the inquiry re-opened.

This never occurred in the subsequent years.

The 2019 assessment was signed off at a middle-ranking level and was not reviewed by senior officials.

ASIO also required that travel alerts be placed on the Akrams' movements.

However, the alerts placed on the Akrams were only for their first port of arrival, not their final destination.

Some senior figures have suggested this was inadequate.
Israeli soldier killed by Hezbollah drone near Lebanese border
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed in a Hezbollah explosive drone strike in Israeli territory near the Lebanese border while he was on operational activity in northern Israel, the military announced on Saturday night.

The fallen soldier was identified as Staff Sgt. Noam Hamburger, 23, a technology and maintenance specialist in the 9th Battalion of the 401st “Iron Tracks” Brigade.

Hamburger, from the northern Israeli coastal town of Atlit, was the ninth Israeli soldier killed since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect on April 16, 2026.

In the same incident, another soldier was seriously wounded and a noncommissioned officer sustained light injuries, the IDF said. Both were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and their families were notified, it added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed his condolences to Hamburger’s family.

“My wife and I send our heartfelt condolences to the family of Staff Sgt. Noam Hamburger, of blessed memory, who fell near the northern border,” Netanyahu said. “Noam, of blessed memory, from the town of Atlit, fought heroically to defend our communities and citizens against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”

The premier added that “on behalf of all citizens of Israel, we embrace Noam’s family and loved ones, and wish a speedy and full recovery to his comrades who were injured in this difficult incident.”

Ten IDF soldiers were wounded on Wednesday from direct hits by explosive drones in Southern Lebanon, two severely, the military said. They included the commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Meir Biderman, who was hospitalized in serious condition. His condition improved over the Shavuot holiday weekend, doctors said.


Will There Be “Blood Libel”?
Even by Times standards, it was a heavy week: Nick Kristof’s radioactive Opinion piece—a lengthy exposé alleging that Israeli prison guards had engaged in depraved and systematic sexual abuse of Palestinians—set in motion a series of high-pitched events. Pro-Israel advocates immediately accused the paper of antisemitism. Incredulous editorials in The Wall Street Journal and The Free Press followed. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu threatened to sue the Times for libel against the State of Israel. Whether it is actually possible for a nation to bring a libel case against a foreign newspaper is not the concern of this column; suffice to say that the threat itself achieved the desired conflagratory effect.

The Times is standing by its star columnist, and has issued several public statements asserting that the column, supported by numerous on-the-record victim accounts and independent human rights reports, was rigorously and meticulously fact-checked. In private conversations, the paper’s upper echelons stress that Nick is a two-time Pulitzer winner with a reporter’s DNA, and attest to a rigorous editing process and a lack of factual errors.

Nevertheless, many Times journalists told me they remain suspicious of Nick’s sourcing for the most incendiary allegations, skeptical that those sources would have cleared the standards of the newsroom rather than Opinion, and mildly miffed at the Pulitzer-eager columnist for bringing scrutiny on the paper in a piece that should have been in their jurisdiction. Above all else, many seemed exasperated by what they viewed as another instance of the Times brand being undercut by the actions of another department that, they feel, is not held to the same standards. Said one, “I am sick of being embarrassed by the Opinion section.”

The distinction between news and opinion matters only to the inmates at this point, and you can imagine how much time some reporters spend bitching about the reputational effects that an Ezra Klein or Bret Stephens piece of content has on the brand. But, in this case, the journalists’ sentiments toward Nick underscore just how much his column, despite being an Opinion piece, has become the newsroom’s issue—and the first real crisis of the otherwise mostly peaceful Joe Kahn era, the recent Dianna Russini scandal at The Athletic notwithstanding.

The Times has reported on two allegations of Israeli sexual abuse against Palestinians in the past, and the paper’s leadership says it feels no need to have the newsroom rereview Nick’s work—which, it maintains, contains no factual errors. Nevertheless, given the scrutiny, Nick has effectively put the onus on Joe and the Times newsdesk to engage in a referendum on the Times’s own editorial product—either by advancing the reporting or ignoring it, neither of which is likely to quell the issue or satisfy the critics.
New Blow to New York Times Gaza Rape Report: Key Source Gets Caught Quietly Removing Terrorists’ Names from List of Slain ‘Palestinian Journalists’
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)—whose claims about detained Palestinian journalists being sexually assaulted by Israeli troops were a linchpin of a lurid New York Times report—has been caught quietly removing terrorists’ names from its widely cited list of journalists killed in Gaza. This latest blow to the CPJ’s credibility further undermines the Times piece, which at its most salacious featured two male "Gaza journalists" who claimed they were raped—one by a carrot and the other by a dog—while in Israeli custody.

HonestReporting, an Israeli media watchdog, reports that in the weeks leading up to the publication of the Times piece on May 11, CPJ surreptitiously removed six names from its running list of "Journalist casualties" in the Gaza War.

The Times piece, by Nicholas Kristof, cites a report by CPJ alleging that "three percent" of 59 Palestinian "journalists" who’d been detained by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023 "said they had been raped, and 29 percent said they had endured other forms of sexual violence." It’s not known if CPJ connected Kristof with the two "Palestinian journalists"—one named and one anonymous—who told the carrot and dog stories.

Kristof calls CPJ "a respected American organization" but does not mention that it has faced persistent accusations of bias for repeatedly including known terrorists on its list of slain journalists. The group previously acknowledged removing at least 10 names of Palestinians in recent months after it became clear those individuals were not actually reporters (and in several cases, were members of or affiliated with various Gaza terror groups).

But the six names, removed from CPJ’s list between March 29 and May 7, were quietly deleted without any contemporaneous acknowledgment of error from the organization, which claims to "use the tools of journalism to protect those engaged in acts of journalism." Each of those six names once touted by CPJ as working reporters were actually "terror combatants," according to HonestReporting’s review.

The findings raise new questions about the integrity and motivations of the primary sources in Kristof’s Times piece. More than a week after the controversy first erupted over Kristof’s sensational claims about "sexual violence" by Israeli troops against Palestinian detainees, his already tenuous credibility has crumbled further as the sources in the piece are picked apart.
‘No errors’: NYT defends its allegations of systematic Israeli sexual abuse of Palestinian inmates
In Thursday’s response, Kristof also defended his reporting process, saying he “traveled to the West Bank and interviewed 14 survivors of rape or other sexual assaults,” and “cited three surveys that illuminated the scale of this violence, backed by the work of nine organizations and two Israeli lawyers who have worked on these topics.”

He added that he corroborated each testimony by speaking “either to a witness to the abuse; to a family member, lawyer, or social worker the person had confided in; or I backed up the individual’s story with public comments the person made previously.”

At the same time, Kristof acknowledged that “rapes are difficult to document, and they are often contested,” but argued that “it serves no one to automatically discount people’s accounts because of their identity or beliefs.”

“The Times doesn’t rule out interviewing people or considering them credible because they were in prison or detained,” Kingsbury said.

The column also drew criticism over its reliance on the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, whose chairman, Ramy Abdu, has been found to have ties with Hamas leadership and wrote on October 8, 2023 — a day after the terror group’s onslaught in southern Israel — that footage from the attacks on Ofakim and Magen showed “Hollywood-like amazing scenes.”

Kristof said Abdu’s comments “can’t be taken lightly,” but added that “citing a source does not constitute an endorsement of its leadership’s political views, or social media activity.”

Addressing why the original article appeared in the opinion section rather than as a news report, Kingsbury said it was because Kristof is a Times Opinion columnist “with decades of experience reporting on sexual abuse in conflict zones, and his columns run in the Opinion section.”

“An Opinion column offers a proposition that the writer is asking readers to consider,” Kingsbury explained. “Newsroom articles and investigations, by contrast, unearth and confirm newsworthy facts and information to share with readers, not to make an argument.”


The NYT’s Dog-Rape Rumor Spreader Is a Charlatan
Recently, the paper escalated things further with the article that reportedly prompted many readers to unsubscribe entirely: the despicable ‘opinion’ piece by Nicholas Kristof, alleging that Israelis trained dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners.

And who was apparently one of the sources behind that article, which doesn’t even qualify to be an opinion piece by editorial standards, according to investigative journalist Serge Milshtein?

Correct: Shaiel Ben-Ephraim — a man with a documented history of sexual misconduct allegations and aggressive online behavior toward women, which is also why he was reportedly dismissed from UCLA. But we should have all learned by now that when it comes to sex offenses and the perpetrators it is only the Epstein files that the NYT is interested in, rejecting everything that would even a tad undermine its preferred narratives.

Which may also explain why the NYT reportedly declined to publish the Israeli Civil Commission’s report on Hamas’s systematic sexual violence before and after Oct. 7.

After all, why bother with such material when you have exclusive testimony from Shaiel Ben-Ephraim himself — a deeply controversial academic with a tendency toward inflammatory claims, who later told Piers Morgan that he was no longer entirely sure the alleged dog rape had happened after all because someone told him that he “has heard but not seen and maybe penetration didn’t take place?

Sarcasm aside, none of this is remotely funny given the scale of antisemitism worldwide, now conveniently repackaged as “anti-Zionism,” because apparently the aspiration to have a state in one’s historical homeland is acceptable for every group except Jews.

But it also demonstrates how far some media institutions have sunk in their attempt to pander to ideologically intoxicated audiences living inside ready-made slogans like “Free Palestine” without understanding what Palestine historically was, free from whom exactly, or even the names of the river and sea they so confidently invoke.

Because if they actually studied the subject — including how territories become states, the principles of internationally recognized borders, the realities and consequences of war, and the burden of initiating conflict — there is a decent chance they might arrive at a very different conclusion and stop asking questions like:


UN Watch: UN Watch Welcomes U.S. Appeals Court Order Reinstating Sanctions on Francesca Albanese
UN Watch today welcomed a U.S. appeals court ruling that reinstates Washington’s sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur accused of helping the International Criminal Court target Americans and Israelis, and who was condemned by France, Germany, Canada, and numerous other countries for spreading antisemitism and Holocaust inversion.

In an order issued Friday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed a lower court order that had blocked the measures announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 9, 2025. The appellate court ruling allows Washington to “implement and enforce” Albanese’s designation as a sanctioned foreign national while the court considers the government’s emergency appeal.

The sanctions stem from allegations that Albanese directly supported efforts by the International Criminal Court to prosecute American and Israeli nationals. The Justice Department argued in its emergency motion that the district court’s injunction improperly interfered with U.S. national security and foreign policy powers, and that Albanese, as a foreign national residing abroad, does not enjoy First Amendment protections under the U.S. Constitution.

UN Watch, an independent Geneva-based human rights organization, filed an amicus curiae brief in the district court opposing the preliminary injunction sought by Albanese’s family. The brief argued that Albanese’s conduct went beyond protected speech and constituted active coordination with ICC prosecutorial efforts targeting U.S. and Israeli officials.

“Today’s ruling is an important victory for accountability and for the principle that no UN official is above the law,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch. “The appeals court recognized that the sanctions should remain in force while the case is reviewed, after a lower court wrongly suspended measures aimed at protecting America and its allies from politically weaponized international prosecutions.”

“Francesca Albanese did not merely express opinions. She used her UN mandate to campaign for ICC prosecutions against democratic leaders and American companies,” Neuer said. “That is precisely the conduct at issue in this case.”

UN Watch’s amicus brief documented what it described as Albanese’s sustained advocacy urging the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israeli officials, as well as U.S. corporations and institutions. The filing argued that her activities constituted coordinated support for ICC actions rather than independent academic commentary.

The UN Watch submission also included a detailed dossier documenting dozens of public statements by Albanese urging ICC prosecutions of Israeli and American officials, endorsing arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, and calling on international courts to pursue what she described as “apartheid” and “genocide” cases against Israel.


Spanish police filmed beating Gaza flotilla activists as Israel jabs back at Madrid
Spanish police arrested four Global Sumud Flotilla activists at Bilbao Airport on Saturday after clashes broke out following the return of members of the Spanish delegation from Turkey, according to Spanish reports and videos circulating online.

Footage from Bilbao Airport, in Spain’s autonomous Basque Country, showed officers dragging activists across the terminal floor and striking them with batons.

The incident came after Spain summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires on Wednesday over National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s controversial video taunting detained flotilla activists. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares condemned what he described as the “monstrous,” “inhumane,” and “disgraceful” treatment of activists aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry seized on the Bilbao footage to strike back at Madrid, demanding an explanation from the Spanish government while accusing the flotilla activists of bringing disorder wherever they go.

“We demand an explanation from the Spanish government regarding its treatment of the flotilla anarchists,” the ministry said.

FM: Flotilla "anarchists" spread "chaos" everywhere they go
In a separate post on X, the ministry wrote: “The flotilla anarchists are driving the Spanish police crazy.”

“The flotilla anarchists bring provocation and chaos everywhere. Here they are in Greece,” it added in another post.

According to Spanish newspaper El País, the four people arrested were accused of serious disobedience, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer.

The confrontation seemingly began after six members of the Spanish flotilla delegation posed for cameras following their arrival from Turkey. A person waiting in the terminal attempted to approach the group but was stopped by a police officer, sparking unrest that led to the arrests.


Trump says Iran deal 'largely negotiated,' had positive call with Netanyahu
A peace agreement has been "largely negotiated" among the United States, Iran, and several Middle Eastern countries, US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday.

The New York Times also reported early Sunday morning that Iran had agreed to give up its enriched uranium in the deal, although this agreement was reportedly made in very broad terms and not confirmed by officials on either side.

Among the countries included in Trump's peace agreement were Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain.

He added that he had separately conducted a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which "likewise, went very well."

While the majority of the deal's details have yet to be publicized, Trump said one element they would include was the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Early on Sunday, Iran's Fars news agency reported that the Strait of Hormuz would remain under Iran's control, citing the latest text exchanged between Iran and the US, and dismissed Trump's announcement as "incomplete and inconsistent with reality."

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Trump on his "extraordinary efforts to pursue peace."

Two Pakistani sources involved in the talks also told Reuters that the deal being negotiated is "fairly comprehensive to terminate the war." One also said that if the US accepts the memorandum of understanding, further talks could take place after the Eid holiday ends on Friday.

Report claims US, Iran to sign 60-day ceasefire extension
Earlier on Saturday, The Financial Times reported that the US and Iran were on the verge of agreeing to a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire, during which most issues that arose in the negotiations would be addressed.

The report noted that the terms of this deal would include the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key issue raised by both the US and Iran after each country imposed closures and blockades of the waterway.


Can the Middle East handle the endless rollercoaster between Iran, US, and Israel
Over the last six months, the Middle East has been on edge about the chances of renewed fighting with Iran. After the US and Israel carried out strikes in June 2025, many reports suggested that fighting might happen again.

The June 2025 conflict was short. However, the conflict that began on February 28 has been much longer. After a ceasefire in early April, there have been endless reports about how the war will begin again. In addition, there are endless reports about how a deal is near.

For instance, journalist Barak Ravid posted on X/Twitter that “President [Donald] Trump tells me he’s a “solid 50/50” on Iran deal or bombing. Trump said he will meet senior advisers [Saturday] to discuss [the] latest draft agreement and may make a decision by tomorrow.”

He wrote a story for Axios about Trump’s statement. This has left many people wondering and has left the Middle East on edge.

Back on Tuesday, there were headlines about how Israel was preparing for renewed fighting.

Iran International noted this week that “hope for a limited US-Iran agreement gained momentum Friday as regional mediators intensified efforts to stabilize the ceasefire.”

The endless headlines put the Middle East through a roller coaster of hope and concern. This has gone on now for a while. It’s worth recalling that even back in October, there were already reports about “Israel and Iran on the brink: Preventing the next war.” That report appeared at the European Union Center for Security Studies.
Hawkish Senate Republicans erupt over reported Iran deal terms
Hawkish Senate Republicans are expressing outrage over the reported terms of a U.S. ceasefire deal with Iran, calling the agreement a defeat for the United States filled with major concessions to the Iranian regime.

“I am deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran ‘deal,’ being pushed by some voices in the administration,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said on Saturday.

Cruz said that Trump’s decision to strike Iran was correct and “the most consequential decision of his second term, but said that ending the war on the reported terms would be a failure.

“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz continued.

He said that he is “pray[ing] the early reports are wrong” but said the fact that former Biden administration Iran envoy Rob Malley is celebrating the reports is “not encouraging.”

“President Trump believes in peace through strength, and his strong leadership has already made America much safer,” Cruz said. “He should continue to hold the line, defend America & enforce the red lines he has repeatedly drawn.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that ending the war along the proposed terms would be conceding that there is no military solution to defeating Iran.

“If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution,” Graham said.
Cotton Pushes Sanctions on Any Nation Backing Iran's Hormuz Strait 'Toll Booth'
Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) is pressing the Trump administration to immediately sanction any country or entity helping Iran establish a "toll booth" in the Strait of Hormuz that could net the hardline regime as much as $2 million per vessel. The senator says that he is crafting new legislation that will aid the Trump administration's efforts to stop Iran from bullying vessels in the pivotal shipping corridor, according to a copy of Cotton's request obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The letter sent Thursday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is a direct response to Iran's efforts to create a "permanent Hormuz toll system" in the strait along with Oman, a major U.S. ally. The rumored efforts have already drawn a sharp rebuke from the Trump administration, which says that any type of Iranian-controlled toll system will detonate ongoing talks around a permanent ceasefire plan.

"Any individual, entity, or nation that lends legitimacy to Iran's illegal toll booth is enabling the IRGC and undermining the global trading system," Cotton wrote. "Beyond the immediate revenue it generates for the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], formal recognition of their scheme by any government, shipowner, or financial institution would violate the principle of freedom of navigation and set a dangerous precedent for other coastal states near the world's critical maritime routes."

Iran formally created a Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) on Thursday and said it "has defined the boundaries of the Strait of Hormuz management supervision area," which will extend from the Strait and into the Gulf of Oman. Under the framework, commercial vessels would need to apply to the PGSA, disclose their ownership, insurance, crew manifest, and cargo. Tehran would then charge up to $2 million per ship to ensure safe passage through the waterway.
IRGC operative plotted to assassinate Ivanka Trump—report
An affiliate of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to assassinate Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the U.S. president, to avenge the elimination of his alleged mentor, Iranian Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani, by U.S. forces in 2020, the New York Post reported on Friday.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, an Iraqi national, was recently extradited from Turkey to the United States and charged with six terrorism offenses connected to “nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks throughout Europe and the United States,” the U.S. Justice Department said.

According to the Post, on top of al-Saadi’s schemes to carry out terrorist attacks on Jewish targets across Europe and the U.S., he also planned to kill Ivanka Trump, posting a map of her house in Florida on X.

“I say to the Americans look at this picture and know that neither your palaces nor the Secret Service will protect you. We are currently in the stage of surveillance and analysis. I told you, our revenge is a matter of time,” the Post cited him as threatening in Arabic in an X post from 2021.

Entifadh Qanbar, a former deputy military attaché in the Iraqi embassy in Washington, told the Post that “After Qasem was killed, he [al-Saadi] went around telling people ‘We need to kill Ivanka to burn down the house of Trump the way he burned down our house.’”

Al-Saadi was allegedly close to Soleimani and maintained ties with his successor, Esmail Qaani (also rendered as Ismail Ghaami, the current commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, a unit responsible for extraterritorial operations.
IDF kills five Hezbollah terrorists as Lebanon clashes continue
The Israel Defense Forces overnight Friday carried out an attack on an underground Hezbollah compound in the Beqaa Valley that was used by terrorists to manufacture weapons, the military said.

Another strike was executed against Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Lebanese coastal city of Tyre.

The IDF noted that “steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the issuing of advance warnings, the use of precise munitions, and aerial surveillance.”

On Thursday, the Israeli military targeted Hezbollah sites across Lebanon and killed several of the Iranian proxy group’s terrorists, the military said in a separate statement.

IDF soldiers of the 146th Reserve Armored Division identified five Hezbollah terrorists entering a command center of the organization, the army said. Subsequently, the IDF struck the command center and eliminated the terrorists.

In a separate incident, the IDF eliminated additional terrorists and struck weapons storage facilities and additional terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Shi’ite organization, the military added.

Hezbollah fires projectiles into Israel

Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued to fire at Israeli territory over the weekend. Air-raid sirens blared in the city of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee Panhandle on Saturday morning due to a suspicious aerial target that made an impact in the area, the IDF said.

Shortly thereafter, another aerial threat impacted a site in the area of Rosh HaNikra in the northwesternmost point of the Western Galilee, the military said, adding that the incident was under review.


There are three outcomes of the war with Iran. Eli Lake joins Hugh to reviews them.



Anti-Israel activist Khalil to appeal to Supreme Court in last bid to stay in US
A lawyer for anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil pledged to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after an appeals court rejected on Friday a bid to overturn the decision of the Trump administration to deport his client from the country.

The Philadelphia-based 3rd ‌U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided to leave in place a ruling stating that a district judge lacked jurisdiction to release Khalil from detention last year, Reuters reported.

The 31-year-old Columbia University graduate was first arrested in March 2025 at his apartment in New York City, for his part in organizing disruptive protests at the school.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey had ordered Khalil’s release after 104 days in custody, finding fatal flaws with the government’s reasoning for holding him. A federal appeals panel later overturned the judge’s decision, ordering the case to wind its way through immigration court before it could be challenged in federal court.

In April, the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that Khalil, a U.S. permanent resident and Algerian citizen born in Syria of Palestinian heritage, is subject to deportation, paving the way for his removal from the United States.

His attorneys, however, insist he cannot be removed while a separate federal court case plays out.

“That ruling green-lights holding someone in prolonged, brutal detention conditions without access to meaningful judicial review in order to punish them and deter others from dissenting from U.S. foreign policy,” Baher Azmy, a lawyer for Khalil at the Center for Constitutional Rights, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

A spokesperson of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told Reuters that in the wake of the 3rd Circuit’s decision, it “will work to enforce Khalil’s lawful removal order.”
A N.J. congressional candidate’s ties to a convicted terrorist mastermind deserve a careful look
Two months after six people died in the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the infamous “Blind Sheikh,” held a news conference at his Jersey City, N.J., home to deny his guilt.

Standing with him that day was a young medical student from New Jersey who had followed the sheikh’s teachings, traveled with him, and had graciously agreed to translate the sheikh’s press release from Arabic to English.

The young man was Adam Hamawy, now considered a front-runner in the crowded Democratic primary race to replace U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in New Jersey’s 12th District.

“I would disagree that after he was a suspect, I did anything for him,” Hamawy told me. “Just the translation.”

And that, he says, was perfectly innocent. “A blind man has a piece of paper and says, ‘What does it say on there?’” Hamawy said. “It’s more about that than a nefarious action here.”

This is troubling stuff, to put it mildly. Hamawy is an admirable man in many ways. He served with distinction as an Army combat surgeon in Iraq for two years. He was at ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001, doing what he could for the cops and firefighters who were hurt. He’s volunteered in crisis zones all over the world, in Haiti, Syria, Sarajevo, and Gaza. Who can match that?

But his association with the Blind Sheik deserves a careful look. According to testimony at the 1995 trial, the sheikh was openly advocating terrorism during the period Hamawy was following him, preaching that Muslims have a duty to attack Americans, along with Jews of any nationality. This was a genuinely bad guy, on par with leaders of the Ku Klux Klan. Hamawy concedes he personally heard the sheikh advocate violence. “He did speak about violent things that I think most people disagree with and most people condemn, including myself,” he told me. “But it wasn’t the only thing he spoke about.”

But what drew him to the sheikh in the first place? And why did he stick with him, even after the bombing?

I sat with Hamawy for an hour at his West Windsor, N.J., office, where he now practices plastic surgery, and I got no clean answers.
Janeese Lewis George’s political director shared videos calling Israel ‘evil’ and supporting BDS
The highest-paid staffer on Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George’s campaign has a social media history showing deep-seated hostility toward Israel and adherence to far left views on the Middle East, according to a review of the staffer’s public posts.

Makia Green, Lewis George’s political director, posts frequently on Instagram, often a mix of photos or videos of herself alongside TikTok videos that she downloads and shares to her own profile. Green is a local activist who founded a nonprofit called Harriet’s Wildest Dreams that advocates for prison abolition.

In the months after the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel, Green’s posts on Instagram, where she has 6,400 followers, regularly centered on anti-Israel advocacy.

One video she shared in Dec. 2023 called Israel an “imaginary state.” Another post that month featured a video with someone saying “Israel is a bitch, so evil.”

In November, weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks, Green shared a video of a woman who called it “sickening” that Israeli actress Gal Gadot was screening footage of Hamas’ atrocities.

At least two posts featured videos that appeared to defend the Houthis, an Iran-backed militia in Yemen that began attacking Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea after Oct. 7. One, from Jan. 2024, showed an Irish parliamentarian criticizing the European Union for its concern about the Houthis’ attacks on global shipping.

A Dec. 2023 post included a video with a woman who said that “Yemen is the only nation militarily backing the people of Palestine.” The caption to the post expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.


‘Zionism is Nazism’ Green appointed to ‘healing and sanctuary’ council role
A Green party councillor in Lewisham who previously compared Zionism to Nazism and backed legal efforts to de-proscribe Hamas in the UK has been given the council’s “healing and sanctuary” cabinet role after the party won control of the borough.

Hau-Yu Tam shared a post on Twitter that declared, “Zionism is pure evil and must be abolished.” Just six days later, she shared another post that read, “Zionism was undoubtedly and unquestionably the Nazism of our time.”

In April, Tam, who has also been appointed Deputy Leader of the Greens in Lewisham, also expressed support for lawyers acting on behalf of Hamas in a legal bid to have the group removed from the UK’s list of proscribed terrorist organisations.

Reacting to the announcement from London firm Riverway Law, Tam posted, “Extremely proud of my brilliant comrade and lawyer Frank Magennis for being among those blazing the way on this intervention.”

Originally a Labour councillor, Tam was suspended from the party in 2022, after being accused of helping organise a pro-Palestine protest at a council meeting, a charge she denied. She officially left Labour in July 2024, initially serving as an independent before joining the Green Party.

Tam has also been widely criticised after referring to Justice Secretary David Lammy as a “coconut” in a since-deleted social media post.

At the time, Abena Oppong-Asare, the Labour MP for Erith & Thamesmead, said the comment was “completely unacceptable”. She said: “It is a racist slur that has long been used to suggest someone is ‘not really’ part of their own community, reducing identity to the colour of their skin and policing who does and doesn’t belong. That kind of language is divisive and has no place in our politics.”

Labour Party Chair, Anna Turley, said: “It doesn’t matter what your politics are. Going after public figures based on the colour of their skin should be condemned.


Group of deaf, mute Israelis extracted from Nablus after being invited for lunch
A group of 23 deaf and mute Israelis were extracted from the West Bank city of Nablus by security forces on Saturday after they were reportedly invited there by a deaf and non-verbal Palestinian man in the city, the military said.

The Israelis explained that they had been invited by the Palestinian for a meal at his home, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

The report said that a local man was surprised to see the group of Israelis walking in the Palestinian-controlled city and had alerted local security forces.

The Israelis were detained by Palestinian security officers and then handed over to Israel, Kan said.

According to the Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which manages civilian affairs in the West Bank, the group entered the city in six vehicles bearing Israeli license plates.

Officers from COGAT’s Coordination and Liaison Administration provided the civilians with initial protection and coordinated their transfer to security forces, the Civil Administration said.
GOP in Connecticut town apologizes for antisemitic social media post
The Republican Party in Trumbull, Conn., issued a statement on Friday apologizing “sincerely” for a social media post that many viewed as antisemitic and said that it hoped that Jew-hatred will be taken seriously on both sides of the aisle.

“We want to sincerely apologize for the use of an artificial intelligence-generated image that included a modified headline in a recent social media post,” the Trumbull Republican Town Committee stated. “The alteration was completely unintentional, was not reviewed carefully enough before posting and we understand why some found it insensitive or offensive. We regret that mistake.”

The image which the party posted contained an image which appeared to show a copy of the preamble of the Constitution hanging on a wall in a classroom. Instead of “We the people,” the document seemed to say “We Jew people.”

“There was never any intent to reference Jewish people in a negative way, diminish the seriousness of antisemitism or create division,” the party stated. “We understand the importance of language and historical sensitivity, and we pledge to do better.”

‘At the same time,” the party said in the statement, “we hope this mistake is addressed with consistency and good faith. Opposition to antisemitism cannot be situational or invoked only when politically convenient.”

“Real leadership means speaking out against antisemitism regardless of where it appears or who is responsible, including when it comes from one’s own supporters, allies or elected officials,” it added.

The town’s Democratic Party stated that “we want to be clear about what this is: it is antisemitic and it is embedded in a political attack on our schools.”

“It is open hate speech, distributed by an official political party committee in a community where Jewish families and children live and learn every day,” the party said. “We have reported this to Facebook and the Anti-Defamation League and urge the community to do the same.”

“‘Bad AI’ and ‘bad eyesight’ are easy outs. AI use needs to be responsible, it needs to be truthful and it must be free of hateful rhetoric and imagery,” the party stated. “We call on every Republican elected official to condemn this by name and for the Trumbull Republican Town Committee to offer more than a half baked ‘whoops.’”
Man who told synagogue manager ‘Jew, I’m going to kill you’ is jailed
A man who shouted “Jew, I’m going to kill you” at a synagogue manager and said “it would be good if we blew up one of their schools” has been jailed for five years after admitting religiously aggravated threatening behaviour.

Tavius Jean Charles, 35, pleaded guilty last month to eight offences against six victims of religiously aggravated threatening behaviour and religiously aggravated criminal damage between October 2025 and March 2026. Jean Charles, of Hackney, east London, was arrested on March 24 following reports of a man shouting antisemitic abuse and throwing a rock at the window of a moving car.

Sentencing him at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Judge Dafna Spiro said: “Your behaviour amounted to sustained and deliberate campaign of antisemitic behaviour carried out over a number of months.

“You repeatedly targeted individuals who were visibly Jewish in the street and outside a synagogue.”

She added: “There has been no expression of remorse and no mitigation whatsoever addressing the religiously motivated nature of your conduct.”

The offending “strikes at the fundamental values of a tolerant society”, the judge told him, adding: “Any attack on the Jewish community is also an attack on all of society.”

Jean Charles, who appeared from prison via video link, was also handed a restraining order banning him from entering the Stamford Hill, north London, area and contacting the victims.
‘Are you a baby killer?’: Israeli couple harassed by employee at California hotel
Two Israeli tourists were recently harassed by an employee at a California hotel with questions like “Are you a baby killer?” and “Did you serve in the IDF?,” according to video shared Saturday on social media.

The interaction, which apparently took place Friday night, was filmed and uploaded by the man working at the front desk of the hotel in Cambria, California.

In the video, which starts in the middle of the interaction, the man is heard saying, “All I said was free Palestine.”

The Israeli woman then replied that he needs to be “objective” toward clients and “should be ashamed.”

“Are you a Zionist?” the employee then asked.

“Are you a baby killer?” he continued. “Did you serve in the IDF?”

As the couple discussed the situation between themselves in Hebrew, the hotel manager again asked: “Did you serve in the IDF?”

In the caption of the post, the hotel employee said he “stared into the soul of the devil” of an “IDF soldier child killer.”

No further details have been reported about the incident.


Israel’s first Druze female doctor receives recognition award from Miriam Adelson
The first Druze woman in Israel to study medicine received a special recognition award on Sunday 17 May for her contributions to Israeli society.

Dr. Nadia Khir, 58, a gynaecologist in the Haifa and Western Galilee district, was honoured at a ceremony organised by the newspaper Israel Hayom and led by its owner, Jewish philanthropist Miriam Adelson.

The award was presented by Dr. Yaffa Ashur, director of Yoseftal Medical Centre and head of Clalit’s Eilat region.

Khir, from the Druze village of Julis, embarked on her career at a time when women leaving the area for academic studies was considered highly unusual, particularly for medical school, which required many years of training and living away from home.

She grew up in a household facing economic and family challenges; witnessing her mother’s illness and feeling powerless in the face of it inspired her desire to become a doctor. She studied for her exams while sitting on the grass because there was no desk at home.

When she chose to begin medical studies at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 1985, she faced significant opposition from parts of her community. At the time, very few Druze women pursued higher education, and almost none studied medicine. Despite social pressure, criticism and fear of breaking convention, she refused to give up and ultimately became a symbol of profound social change.

Today, Dr. Khir is a veteran and highly respected gynaecologist, providing care to women in four clinics serving Israel’s Arab communities: Julis, Tamra, Jatt and Yanuh.
Israel OKs $85 million investment in heritage sites across Judea and Samaria
The Israeli government on Wednesday approved a 250 million shekel ($85.5 million) plan to develop and preserve heritage sites across Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the Judean Desert.

“Almost every stone and heritage site contains thousands of years of Jewish history. We are investing in preserving our past to secure our future and pass on our heritage to future generations,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The initiative will fund preservation, development and accessibility of antiquities and heritage sites, establish regional heritage centers, expand tourism infrastructure and increase enforcement against the theft and destruction of antiquities in the area. The centers are intended to serve as hubs for research, education and tourism, alongside multi-year upgrades to visitor infrastructure aimed at attracting Israeli and international visitors.

“The Judea and Samaria region is the heart of our ancestral land and the place where Jewish history was written. We will continue developing tourism and making sites accessible to millions of visitors,” said Tourism Minister Haim Katz.

The plan highlights a number of key heritage sites. These include Tel Shiloh, traditionally identified with the biblical site of Shiloh and an early center of Israelite worship; the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, regarded as the burial place of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs; and Herodium, the fortified palace complex built by King Herod near Bethlehem.

In Samaria, Sebastia preserves extensive remains from the Israelite, Roman and Byzantine periods, while the Judean Desert includes Qumran, associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls. The list also includes Mount Gerizim near Shechem (Nablus), a site of major religious significance for the Samaritan community with substantial archaeological remains.

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said: “This is a Zionist and historical decision. After years in which sites were neglected or looted, Israel is making historical corrections. We are investing in preserving our history and connecting future generations to the Jewish heritage of the land.”





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