March 31: Hezbollah hits north with rocket barrage, lightly hurting 3; IDF strikes launchers

Foreign Press Association slams Israeli police attack on photographer

An international media association condemns what it describes as a “violent and unprovoked attack” on veteran photographer Menahem Kahana.

Kahana was covering a demonstration against a death penalty bill passed by the Knesset that mandates execution for Palestinians convicted of deadly acts of terror.

According to the Foreign Press Association, which represents hundreds of journalists in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Kahana was “sprayed at a close distance by a water cannon” at the protest outside the Knesset.

“The force of the spray threw him to the ground and he remains hospitalized with pain to his neck, back and head,” the FPA says in a statement on X.

During a protest outside the Knesset against the death penalty law for Palestinians, Israeli police used a water cannon, injuring photojournalist Menahem Kahana. Video by: Tomer Cordovi pic.twitter.com/FdZ8pBbXgU

— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv_) March 31, 2026

An AFP image shows Kahana lying on the ground next to a puddle of white liquid that was mixed with the sprayed water, according to an AFP reporter who was on the scene.

“There simply is no justification for this attack on journalists doing their job,” the group writes, criticizing the “lack of professionalism” of the officers involved and the “climate of impunity” encouraged by the police command and politicians.

An AFP journalist sits on the FPA board. Kahana is a former AFP employee.

The police do not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

The law does not apply to Israeli citizens and only concerns those who “intentionally cause the death of a person with the aim of denying the existence of the State of Israel” — which is designed to exclude Jewish terrorism. It has been widely criticized in Israel and abroad as discriminatory.

Israeli strikes in south Lebanon kill 8, including paramedic — Lebanon Health Ministry

Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed at least eight people today, one of them a paramedic, the country’s Ministry of Health says.

In separate statements, the ministry says a strike in Tyre district killed three people and wounded 19 more, while another attack in Sidon district killed four.

A third strike in Bint Jbeil district hit a gathering point for the Risala Scouts — a rescue organization run by Hezbollah ally the Amal movement — killing a paramedic and wounding 13 other people.

The IDF has warned several times in recent weeks that Hezbollah is using ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon for military purposes.

Fresh attack hits major Iranian steel factory — local media

Iranian media report new strikes on a major steel factory in Isfahan that was bombed by Israel last week.

“The American-Zionist enemy a few minutes ago targeted the Mobarakeh Steel complex of Isfahan for the second time with airstrikes,” the Fars news agency reports.

Last week, Israel struck the steel plant in Isfahan along with a second factory near Ahvaz, with officials saying the attacks were aimed at causing major economic damage to the Iranian regime.

UN’s Albanese has issued legal threats to American groups again, US envoy says

UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese in Cape Town, South Africa, October 28, 2025. (Rodger Bosch/AFP)

UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinians Francesca Albanese threatened American companies with “criminal liability,” says the US envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz.

Albanese sent the missives out on UN letterhead alleging liability for “working with a US ally,” Waltz says, apparently referring to Israel.

Last year, Albanese threatened two pro-Israel US Christian groups, sending them letters accusing them of complicity in “gross human rights violations,” war crimes, crimes against humanity and apartheid, due to their connections to Israel. They later sued Albanese for defamation and libel.

Albanese has a history of antisemitic and inflammatory statements criticizing Israel, is under US sanctions and is involved in multiple lawsuits in the US focused on her conduct and the government’s response.

US warned kidnapped American journalist of threats, State Department says

The US is aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad, Iraq, a US State Department official says, adding that the department had previously warned the journalist, named as Shelly Kittleson, of threats against her.

“The State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible,” the department’s Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson writes in a post on X.

Turkish intel chief hosts senior Hamas official to discus Gaza ceasefire

L: Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin in Damascus on September 17, 2025 (Syrian Presidency Facebook page / AFP): R: Hamas's Khalil al-Hayya in Istanbul on April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın meets with senior Hamas politburo official Khalil Al-Khaya and a Hamas delegation in Ankara, according to a senior Turkish official.

The senior official says that they discussed implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, and “underscored that Israel must be held to fulfilling its obligations arising from the first phase of the Gaza peace plan.”

Kalin hosted a similar meeting with Hamas officials on March 22.

PA security forces extract 3 Israeli civilians from West Bank city of Qalqilya, Israel says

Three Israeli civilians were extracted by the Palestinian Authority’s security forces from the West Bank Palestinian city of Qalqilya this evening.

The Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT), says it received a report of three Israelis wandering around Qalqilya, in a situation that “posed a real danger to their lives.”

“Upon receiving the report, officers from the Ephraim District Coordination and Liaison office acted to provide immediate protection to the Israelis, and at the same time, to transfer them to the security forces through coordination channels,” the Civil Administration says, referring to the Palestinian Authority.

According to a preliminary investigation, the civilians entered Qalqilya to eat at a restaurant, the Civil Administration says.

Israelis are barred from entering West Bank areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

US judge says Trump administration can demand list of Jews at University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania signage is seen in Philadelphia, May 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

A federal judge rules that the Trump administration can legally demand that the University of Pennsylvania turn over information about Jews on the campus as part of an antisemitism probe.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began investigating the university in December 2023 for allegedly allowing discrimination against Jewish employees.

The federal agency asked the university for the contact information of Jewish staffers and the university refused to comply, court filings said.

Jewish groups at the university also pushed back against the demand, despite the investigation’s stated goal of combating antisemitism.

“Across history, the compelled cataloging of Jews has been a source of profound danger, and the collection of Jews’ private information carries echoes of the very patterns that made Jewish communities vulnerable for centuries,” Jewish campus groups said in a statement last year.

The federal commission sued Penn’s trustees last year, claiming that the university had refused to comply with the subpoena, leading to a legal battle.

Judge Gerald J. Pappert of Philadelphia’s Federal District Court rules in favor of the Trump administration’s claim that the request is normal for discrimination probes.

Pappert rules that the university has until May 1 to comply with the subpoena.

Trump says Iran war ‘coming to an end’

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on March 29, 2026. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

US President Donald Trump tells NBC News that the Iran war is “coming to an end.”

In the interview, which focused on Trump going golfing during the US-Israeli war with Iran, the US president says Iran’s military has been “decimated” and that its current leadership is “much more reasonable” and less “radicalized” than the previous leaders, who have largely been killed in American and Israeli strikes.

“We’re doing great,” Trump says. “And it’s coming to an end.”

IDF says it struck Hezbollah launchers following rocket barrage on north

The IDF says it struck several rocket launchers in southern Lebanon used by Hezbollah in its rocket barrage on northern Israel this evening.

In all, some 45 rockets were fired by Hezbollah at the north, triggering sirens in Haifa and across the Galilee.

The military says most of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, others hit open areas, and one projectile struck a town in the Western Galilee. Medics treated three people who were lightly injured by the rocket strike.

The Israeli Air Force is working to locate and strike additional launchers, the military adds.

בסגירות מעגל מהירות: צה"ל תקף משגרים מהם נורו הרקטות לעבר שטח מדינת ישראל בירי האחרון מלבנון

צה"ל תקף לפני זמן קצר משגרים בדרום לבנון מהם נורו הרקטות בירי האחרון לעבר שטח מדינת ישראל.
גם כעת צה"ל ממשיך לאתר ולתקוף משגרים נוספים pic.twitter.com/nRGJSPBoUf

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 31, 2026

Michigan’s Jewish AG targeted with antisemitic protest

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel pauses during an interview with The Associated Press, November 21, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, posts a photo of an antisemitic protest targeting her yesterday.

Nessel hosted a town hall meeting in Howell, outside Detroit, to discuss concerns about constructing data centers in the state.

Protesters outside the event held up a banner that said, “A Jewish data center has no home here,” alongside two swastikas, according to an image Nessel posts on social media.

“If you think antisemitism isn’t a problem in Michigan, think again,” Nessel writes.

US says it’s ready to thwart Iran attacks after IRGC threatens American tech giants

The White House says the US military is prepared to thwart any attacks by Iran, responding to threats by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against US tech giants, such as Apple and Google, in the region.

“The United States military is and was prepared to curtail any attacks by Iran, as evidenced by the 90 percent drop in ballistic missile and drone attacks by the terrorist regime,” says a White House official, who does not wish to be named.

The IRGC said earlier on Tuesday that they would target US companies in the region as of tomorrow in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media reported.

Syria will stay out of Iran conflict unless it faces aggression, its president says

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives at the General Plenary of Leaders at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para State, Brazil, on November 6, 2025. (Mauro PIMENTEL / AFP)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa says his country will stay out of the US-Israeli war against Iran unless Syria is subject to aggression and has no diplomatic solutions.

“Unless Syria is targeted by any party, Syria will remain outside any conflict,” the Syrian president says in a speech at an event hosted by think tank Chatham House in London.

Countries across the region have been hit by Iranian attacks.

Lebanon denounces Israel’s ‘clear intention’ for new occupation

Lebanon denounces what it calls Israel’s plans for “a new occupation of Lebanese territory,” after Israel said it would establish a “security zone” in the country.

Lebanese Defense Minister Major General Michel Menassa says the remarks by his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz are “no longer mere threats,” but reflect “a clear intention to impose a new occupation of Lebanese territory, forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of citizens, and systematically destroy villages and towns in the south.”

Katz also said Israel would have “security control” up to the Litani river, an idea which Menassa denounces as “a deepening of the aggression against Lebanese land and national sovereignty.”

US journalist kidnapped in Iraq named as Shelly Kittelson; footage shows abduction

An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad and Iraqi security forces are pursuing her captors, Iraqi officials said.

The Iraqi interior ministry said in a statement that a foreign journalist had been kidnapped, without giving more details, but Alex Plitsas, who identifies himself as her designated US point of contact in Iraq, names her as Shelly Kittelson and says she was taken captive by the Iran-allied Iraqi terror group Kataib Hezbollah.

Iraqi police sources also told Reuters that the kidnapped journalist was Kittelson, a freelance reporter.

Kataib Hezbollah also kidnapped Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton graduate student with Israeli and Russian citizenship who disappeared in Baghdad in 2023. She was freed and handed over to US authorities in September 2025. The group never officially claimed responsibility for kidnapping her.

Al-Hadath TV publishes what it says is footage of the abduction of Kittelson. The footage shows a person being forcibly pushed into a car by two other individuals.

فيديو خاص لـ "الحدث" يوثق لحظة خطف الصحافية الأميركية شيلي كليستون من وسط بغداد

قناة الحدث pic.twitter.com/t38DmkQUko

— الحدث عاجل (@Alhadath_Brk) March 31, 2026

Iraqi security officials tell the Associated Press that two cars were involved in Kittelson’s kidnapping, one of which crashed and was apprehended while being pursued by authorities near the town of Al-Haswa in Babil province southwest of Baghdad, and the journalist was transferred to a second car that fled the scene.

The interior ministry says that security forces had launched an operation to track down the kidnappers, “acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations” after intercepting a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers that overturned as they tried to flee.

One suspect was arrested and one of the vehicles used in the kidnapping was seized, but others remain on the loose, the statement says.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Baghdad declines to comment.

It is not immediately clear if the kidnapping was related to the ongoing regional war, but Iran-backed militias in Iraq have launched regular attacks on US facilities in the country since the beginning of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Since the start of the war, the US embassy has warned of kidnapping risks and urged citizens in the country to leave.

US warns Americans in Saudi Arabia to shelter in place after threats

The US State Department says it is monitoring threats to Americans in Saudi Arabia and warns all US citizens in the country to shelter in place.

“We are tracking reports of threats against locations where American citizens gather,” the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia says in a travel advisory.

“We advise US citizens that hotels and other gathering points including US businesses and US educational institutions may be potential targets.”

The embassy asks Americans to remain inside and stay away from windows until further notice.

The latest advisory comes after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they would target US companies in the Middle East as of April 1 in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media report.

3 wounded, including child, in impact from Hezbollah attack in northern Israel

Three people were wounded following an impact in a Western Galilee town amid Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attack on northern Israel this evening, medics say.

Magen David Adom says it treated two people lightly hurt by a blast and a 6-year-old who was hit by glass shards, the latter of whom did not require hospitalization. One person was also treated for acute anxiety, MDA adds.

Lapid: Netanyahu failing to achieve strategic victory over Iran, dismantling Israel from within

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid delivers a video statement, March 31, 2026. (Screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is incapable of achieving victory in the war against Iran and has continuously failed, despite his boasts to the contrary, to accomplish any real changes in the Middle East, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares.

Responding to a primetime televised speech by Netanyahu, who bragged that Israel has hit Iran and its axis with “ten plagues,” Lapid says in a video rebuttal that while he continues to support the wars in Iran and Lebanon, he also believes that “Netanyahu is unable to reach a strategic resolution” and “the time has come for us to recognize the fact that he is simply incapable.”

Netanyahu delivered yet another speech declaring that he “changed the Middle East,” Lapid says. However, “one word is missing from this speech: almost. You almost changed the Middle East, and it always turns out in the end that it hasn’t changed,” Lapid adds.

While the army and public have shown courage and resilience, “the one who fails to fulfill his role, time and again, is Netanyahu himself,” the opposition leader continues, stating that Hezbollah fired rockets from Lebanon before October 7, 2023, and continues to do so today, Hamas still has control in part of Gaza and Iran is still ruled by a supreme leader named Khamenei who is shooting ballistic missiles at Israeli cities.

Rather than achieving victory, Netanyahu has “dismantled us from within,” Lapid alleges, slamming the government for attempting to “steal NIS 800 million from Israeli citizens” for Haredi education and working to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service during an IDF manpower shortage.

“Last night, after they already knew that four soldiers had been killed in Lebanon, Ben Gvir and his friends opened champagne in the Knesset plenary and celebrated,” he continues, referring to the far-right national security minister’s celebration of the passage of a law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of lethal terror attacks. “On the eve of Passover, it is time to go out from slavery to freedom and replace this terrible government.”

Netanyahu: ‘We’ve smashed Iran’s industrial capability’ to produce nuclear bombs, ballistic missiles

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a video statement, March 31, 2026. (Screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is creating “new alliances with important countries in the region” against the shared Iranian threat.

He does not mention which states he is referring to, only saying he hopes that “soon, I will be able to tell you more about these important pacts.”

Netanyahu promises that “sooner or later,” the Iranian regime will fall.

Netanyahu sums up 10 major achievements he says were accomplished in the war, including the creation of “security zones” in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon that are patrolled by the IDF.

He lauds the IDF’s accomplishments in the wars against Iran last June and in the current campaign, including “hitting hard and distancing two existential threats”: Iran, he specifies, was “moving ahead to develop nuclear weapons and tens of thousands of ballistic missiles.”

“In Operation Rising Lion, we removed from upon us the immediate threat of Iran arming itself with a nuclear weapon and many ballistic missiles,” he says, referring to the June war. And in the current war, he adds, “We brought a complementary achievement, by smashing the industrial capability of the regime to produce these tools of destruction.”

Netanyahu says Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who was killed on the war’s first day, wanted to bury these programs deep underground to make them immune from Israeli attacks.

The premier adds that Hezbollah, which has been pounding northern Israel with rockets and missiles for the past month, no longer constitutes “a strategic threat” to Israel.

After an edit in the video, Netanyahu turns to the press and opposition, asking, “What happened to you?” He demands that they “raise the morale of our side, not of the enemy.”

Netanyahu says Israel hit Iran and its terror axis with ’10 plagues,’ lays out achievements, as US pursues talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a video statement, March 31, 2026. (GPO screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Iran’s “trillion dollar” investment in ballistic missiles, nuclear enrichment, and in supporting armed proxies “has gone down the drain.”

In a video statement, he says that Israel has hit Iran and its axis with “ten plagues,” a reference to the upcoming holiday of Passover, which begins tomorrow evening.

He lists the blows Israel has delivered to terror groups Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and others in the West Bank, as well as to the ousted Assad regime in Syria. He also lists five “plagues” delivered to Iran — hitting its nuclear program, ballistic missiles, regime infrastructure, internal security forces, and its senior leaders.

He says that war is not over, but lays out achievements that Israel has accomplished — a possible effort to prepare his messaging campaign if US President Donald Trump decides to end the war soon.

Netanyahu says that there has been “a strategic turnaround” against Iran — saying that it wanted to strangle Israel, but now Israel is strangling it. The regime, he says, is weaker than ever, and Israel is stronger than ever.

He hints that US President Joe Biden did not internalize the Iranian danger, saying that he had warned “presidents in the US.”

Iran’s Araghchi says he’s gotten direct messages from US’s Witkoff — Al Jazeera

Left: US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Paris, France, April 17, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP); Right: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. (Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool Photo via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says he has been receiving direct messages from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, but they do not constitute “negotiations,” he tells Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV in an interview.

The messages include threats or exchanged views delivered through “friends,” he adds.

WATCH: Netanyahu gives Hebrew statement on Iran war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement on the war with Iran.

Watch the statement in Hebrew here:

Hezbollah fires more than 20 rockets across north; no injuries reported

Hezbollah fired more than 20 rockets at northern Israel this evening, according to the IDF, triggering sirens in Haifa, Safed, and other towns across the Galilee.

There are no reports of injuries.

FIFA chief Infantino promises backing for Iran to play at World Cup co-hosted by US

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, (center) follows a friendly soccer match between Iran and Costa Rica, in Antalya, southern Turkey, March 31, 2026. (AP/Riza Ozel)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino throws his support behind Iran’s World Cup preparations, attending its 5-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in Turkey even as the country’s tournament participation is in limbo due to the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Infantino’s surprise appearance comes as Iran continues pushing to relocate the team’s World Cup matches from the US to Mexico, citing the war.

Iran’s federation said earlier this month they were in discussions with FIFA about the venue switch, while Iran’s Sports Ministry has banned national and club sports teams from traveling to countries it considers hostile until further notice.

FIFA, however, has maintained it is looking forward to all participating teams “competing as per the match schedule” announced in December.

“I am very pleased that the Iran national team is currently holding its training camp… We have only one plan for this team. Iran has qualified for the World Cup and will play in the tournament,” Infantino is quoted as saying by Iranian media at the match in Antalya.

“Personally, I will do whatever I can to make sure everything is in order,” he says.

Iran, which dominated the Asian qualifying rounds to book its place at the tournament in March last year, is scheduled to play all three Group G matches on American soil — two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle — against Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand.

Speaking directly to the Iranian team, Infantino pledges his support but steers clear of the wider issues surrounding the dispute, saying they are “not pursuing politics.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that while Iran’s national team is welcome to play in the US, it might not be appropriate for the team’s “life and safety.”

“From now until the World Cup, I will do whatever I can to support the Iran national team,” Infantino says.

IDF ‘pushing the enemy north’ in Lebanon, spokesperson says; some 900 Hezbollah operatives killed

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says the ground offensive against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon is “pushing the enemy north, and distancing the threat from the communities.”

He says the Israeli Air Force has struck over 2,500 targets in Lebanon since hostilities escalated amid the war with Iran, and some 900 Hezbollah operatives have been killed.

Sirens again sound in Haifa and surrounding area due to Hezbollah rocket attack

Sirens again sound in Haifa and nearby towns amid a Hezbollah rocket attack from Lebanon.

Alerts are also activated in Safed and other towns in the Galilee.

A barrage launched at Haifa a short while earlier was comprised of 15 rockets, according to the IDF.

There have been no immediate reports of injuries.

Pakistan and China release ‘five point initative’ to end war; White House reportedly doesn’t oppose it

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar (left) is received by Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, at Beijing's Diaoytai State Guest House, March 31, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs via X)

Pakistan and China issue a joint call for an immediate ceasefire in Iran, followed by peace talks between the US and Iran.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, after which they issued their five-point initiative.

The plan also calls for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and a UN-backed peace agreement.

In a call with Channel 12, US President Donald Trump doesn’t deny knowledge of the plan, saying only that talks about ending the war are progressing.

An official with knowledge of the details tells the outlet that the White House does not oppose the Chinese-Pakistani initiative.

PR No.85/2026

Five-Point Initiative of China and Pakistan for Restoring Peace and Stability in the Gulf and Middle East Region (Beijing, March 31,2026) pic.twitter.com/JAkSsro17a

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) March 31, 2026

Foreign journalist kidnapped in Baghdad by unknown parties — Iraq Interior Ministry

A female foreign journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday by unknown parties, the Iraqi Interior Ministry says, without identifying her nationality.

One suspect has been arrested, the ministry says, adding that efforts are ongoing to free the journalist.

European countries urge Israel not to expand Lebanon conflict

Smoke rises following an apparent Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

The foreign ministers of 10 European countries, including Britain, France and Italy, call on Israel to avoid widening its military operations in Lebanon, and to respect its neighbor’s territorial integrity.

A joint statement also signed by the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expressed the countries’ “full support for the government and the people of Lebanon, who once again are suffering the dramatic consequences of a war that is not theirs.”

Hezbollah, the Lebanese terror group backed by Iran, renewed conflict with Israel on March 2, amid the US-Israeli war with Iran. In response Israel has deepened its ground presence in Lebanon and struck Hezbollah targets from the air.

Sirens again sound in Haifa, north amid Hezbollah attack

Sirens sound in Haifa and across the Galilee amid a Hezbollah rocket attack from Lebanon.

The alerts are activated in numerous towns.

UN Rights Council appoints expert who called Hamas ‘resistance movement’

Palestinian academic Zeina Jallad in a November, 2024 discussion. (Screenshot/Georgetown University Qatar via Youtube)

The UN Human Rights Council appoints an academic who has defended Hamas as a “resistance movement.”

Zeina Jallad is appointed as the special rapporteur “on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures,” the UN Human Rights Council announces.

#HRC61 | The @UN Human Rights Council appointed Zeina Jallad as Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures. pic.twitter.com/a2UX5aWeMs

— UN Human Rights Council (@UN_HRC) March 31, 2026

Jallad is a Palestinian who has called Hamas a “political party” that recognized Israel, despite Hamas being dedicated to Israel’s destruction.

She has also referred to Hamas as a “resistance movement”; said separately that “resisting oppression must be recognized not as a crime”; called to suspend Israel from international organizations as a “means to uphold justice”; said Israel’s creation was “the product of the wrongdoings of the West” and a “product of Europe”; and accused Israel of settler colonialism and apartheid.

The UNHRC’s Office of the President nominated Jallad for the role, bypassing the candidate recommended by the rights council’s own consultative group, who was an academic from Spain.

Special rapporteurs are independent experts assigned to report on particular subject fields for the council.

Once appointed, they are given resources, a prominent platform and UN authority to espouse their views, but are largely free of oversight.

Special rapporteurs whose fields are nominally unrelated to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have used their platform to denigrate Israel.

The UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, overwhelmingly targets Israel in its condemnations, similar to the UN General Assembly.

Hezbollah drones launched at Israel were intercepted, IDF says

Several drones launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at northern Israel were intercepted, the military says.

Sirens had sounded across the Western Galilee.

UN says Israel’s death penalty law for Palestinian terrorists violates international law

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria, January 15, 2025. (Louai Beshara / AFP)

The UN rights chief urges Israel to repeal a law mandating a death sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly terror attacks, saying the legislation violates international humanitarian law.

“It raises serious concerns about due process violations, is deeply discriminatory, and must be promptly repealed,” Volker Turk says in a statement sent to reporters.

He says the law is inconsistent with Israel’s legal obligations, citing the lack of opportunity for pardon and ordering executions to be carried out within 90 days.

UN security source says Israeli fire killed Lebanon peacekeeper on Sunday — AFP

A UN security source says that Israeli fire killed an Indonesian peacekeeper on Sunday, after the UN force said it was investigating the incident.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, had said that the peacekeeper was killed on Sunday evening when a projectile of unknown origin “exploded in a UNIFIL position near Adchit al Qusayr.”

The source tells AFP on condition of anonymity that investigations had shown the fire came from an Israeli tank, adding that “debris from a tank round has been recovered” at the site.

On Monday, UNIFIL said another “explosion of unknown origin” destroyed a peacekeeping vehicle, killing two more Indonesian troops, and that an investigation had also been launched into that incident.

The IDF has said a preliminary investigation indicated that the explosion had been a Hezbollah bomb, and the UN also said initial findings indicated it was a roadside bomb.

Israel’s military says it is investigating the two deadly incidents to “determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah activity or from IDF activity.”

“It should be noted these incidents occurred in an active combat area,” the military says, adding that “it should not be assumed that incidents in which UNIFIL soldiers were harmed were caused by the IDF.”

Ten European countries, including France and the United Kingdom, urge all sides to ensure the safety of UNIFIL.

“We urge all parties, under all circumstances, to ensure the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises, in accordance with international law,” the foreign ministers of Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union’s top diplomat, say in a joint statement.

Sirens sound in Western Galilee amid Hezbollah attack; no injuries reported

Sirens warning of a drone attack from Lebanon sound across the Western Galilee.

There are no immediate reports of injuries.

Air France extends suspension of routes to Israel through April 19

Illustrative: An Air France plane is parked at the Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, August 14, 2025. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

French carrier Air France extends the suspension of its flights to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport through April 19, citing the security situation and the closure of Israel’s airspace.

Air France is “monitoring the evolving situation in the region in real-time,” Air France says. “The resumption of our operations will remain subject to an assessment of the local situation, which is highly evolutive.”

IDF says it killed Hezbollah cell that launched drone wounding troops

The IDF says it killed a cell of Hezbollah operatives who launched a drone that wounded three troops during operations in southern Lebanon yesterday.

Three reservists of the 226th Paratroopers Brigade were moderately hurt by the drone that exploded near them, according to the military.

Within a few minutes, the 213th Artillery Regiment shelled the operatives and killed the cell behind the attack, the army says.

בסגירת מעגל מהירה: לוחמי אוגדה 146 חיסלו חוליית מחבלים, מיד לאחר ששיגרו לעבר הכוחות כטב"ם ופצעו לוחמים בדרום לבנון

אתמול, במהלך פעילות קרקעית ממוקדת של לוחמי צוות הקרב של חטיבה 226 נפצעו שלושה לוחמים באורח בינוני כתוצאה מפגיעת כלי טיס בלתי מאויש ששוגר לעבר הכוח.
בתוך דקות… pic.twitter.com/9HO7xPJyS3

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 31, 2026

NY man who allegedly attacked rabbi and then skipped court is arrested

A suspect in New York City who skipped a court hearing after being charged for attacking a rabbi is arrested and arraigned.

The suspect, Eric Zafra Grosso, allegedly attacked a rabbi in Queens on January 27, which is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Grosso, 32, allegedly approached the rabbi, shouted “Fuck Jews,” and punched the rabbi in the face and chest, knocking him to the ground, the Queens district attorney’s office said at the time.

Grosso was charged with a hate crime and other charges, with a potential sentence of up to four years in prison.

He was scheduled to be arraigned in court on March 18 but failed to appear for the mandated hearing.

The Queens district attorney’s office secured a warrant for his arrest and Grosso was detained in Manhattan on Friday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz says.

Grosso was held over the weekend and appeared in court for the arraignment yesterday, Katz says.

Grosso pleaded not guilty and remains in detention. His next hearing is May 7, court filings show.

El Al demands government pay compensation to travelers for canceled flights

A picture taken on August 31, 2020, shows the El Al's airliner, which will carry a US-Israeli delegation to the UAE following a normalization accord, lifting off from the tarmac in the first-ever commercial flight from Israel to the UAE at the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Israeli flagship carrier El Al is urging the government to pay compensation to passengers for the cancellation of flights following the closure of the country’s airspace at the outbreak of war with Iran.

In a letter sent today to Transportation Minister Miri Regev, El Al seeks relief from regulations that mandate the carrier to compensate Israelis whose flights were canceled and who were stranded overseas for days due to the closure of the country’s airspace on February 28.

“There is no doubt that passengers whose flights were canceled during the operation and were forced to remain abroad for a longer time than planned until getting on a repatriation flight incurred significant expenses,” El Al says in the letter. “However, this responsibility to compensate passengers for their expenses during the stranded period, until the repatriation flight, should be borne by the state, not the airlines that were forced to cancel flights as a result of state decisions, and were also significantly harmed by the cancellation of flights.”

El Al says wartime restrictions on Israel’s airspace, which are severely limiting flight operations, are incurring $4 million in damages per day.

Israel’s airspace has been shut to most commercial traffic since the beginning of the war. Earlier this month, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport gradually reopened for limited air traffic operated by Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia, Israir, and Air Haifa to repatriate more than 100,000 Israelis stuck abroad.

Currently, government restrictions limit the number of passengers permitted on a flight departing Ben Gurion Airport to 50 people. In addition, only one flight is permitted to take off and land per hour. The restrictions have severely hampered Passover travel.

“State officials are throwing all responsibility stemming from the operation onto the shoulders of the Israeli airlines, while encouraging the public to sue the Israeli airlines, which are the only companies operating at this time,” says El Al.

El Al warns that without state intervention in paying compensation to passengers and changing regulations, irreversible damage will be caused to the stability of Israeli airlines, which continue to operate under missile threats and security risks, while foreign airlines have stopped their flight operations.

Netanyahu to give statement at 8:20 p.m. tonight

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will give a video statement tonight at 8:20 p.m., his office says.

The statement comes as Israel and the US continue their war against Iran, and as Israel expands its ground and air campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Police arrest four in protest at Knesset against death penalty law for Palestinian terrorists

Police say they have arrested four demonstrators during a protest outside the Knesset against a controversial new law mandating the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

The small protest, which drew several dozen people, was quickly dispersed by police. Officers used a water cannon on participants and injured two in the process. Both were taken to receive medical treatment, activists say.

מאות מחו מחוץ לכנסת על חוק עונש המוות למחבלים, המשטרה הפעילה מכת"זית כדי לפנותם@VeredPelman pic.twitter.com/wZUYjUd2lY

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 31, 2026

Footage from the protest shows officers directly spraying protesters with forceful blasts of water at close range, which goes against the police’s own regulations regarding the use of the crowd control measure.

Police and Border Police officers began breaking up the demonstration after protesters refused to comply with officers’ calls for them to disperse, police say in a statement.

Two of those arrested were taken in on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

The force claims the protest runs contrary to the law and wartime regulations set by the IDF Home Front Command, which restrict outdoor public gatherings to a maximum of 50 people.

The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv derides police’s behavior as “selective enforcement,” noting that Jerusalem police have neglected to disperse much larger public gatherings since the outset of war with Iran over a month ago.

“At any given moment there are dozens of other gatherings in Jerusalem that don’t meet the Home Front Command restrictions. We all remember the photos from the Purim parties. And the photos of Haredi schools before the Passover break. They [police] dispersed the dozens of madmen who broke into Joseph’s Tomb [in Nablus, in the West Bank] with less violence,” Kariv writes.

Officers disperse demonstration against newly-passed death penalty law, blasting protesters with a water cannon from close range — against police's own regulations pic.twitter.com/R1mqYW0xup

— charlie summers (@cbsu03) March 31, 2026

UK to send additional air defense kit, troops to Middle East

John Healey, Britain's secretary of state for defense, arrives at a cabinet meeting in Downing Street in London, October 20, 2025. (AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Britain plans to send additional air defense equipment and troops to help its allies in the Middle East as Iranian attacks continue, Defense Minister John Healey says as he visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.

Healey held talks with allies where they discussed the Strait of Hormuz and further UK-Gulf co-operation on regional security, Britain’s Ministry of Defense says. The UK will deploy Sky Sabre, a ground-based air defense system used by the British Army, in Saudi Arabia, the statement says.

The deployment of British Typhoon fighter jets in Qatar, where the UK operates a joint squadron with Qatar, will be extended, Healey announces.

Britain’s Lightweight Multirole Launcher is now in Bahrain, where it is being integrated into that country’s defense systems, the ministry adds.

Healey tells reporters that British troops will help install, train, and operate the new air defense systems, with nearly 1,000 soldiers expected to be deployed across the Middle East to help “defend the skies and reinforce air defenses.”

“I pay tribute to the heroic efforts of our partners across the Gulf in protecting their nations. We will stand by our long-term partners in the Middle East and continue to push for a swift resolution to this conflict,” Healey says in a statement.

Air Force hit 20 Iranian arms production, research sites in past day — IDF

Illustrative: An Israeli Air Force F-35I fighter jet prepares to take off for strikes in Iran, in a handout photo published on March 19, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

In the past day, the Israeli Air Force struck 20 Iranian weapon production facilities and research and development sites, the military says.

According to the IDF, during a wave of strikes this morning, IAF jets dropped 80 bombs on several targets, including a site where “essential components” for ballistic missile engines were manufactured, a site where experiments for ballistic missile engines were conducted, and an air defense system production site.

Earlier, the military said that it would complete targeting all of the “critical” assets of Iran’s military production industries by tomorrow.

The military says it also struck infrastructure at the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air force in Tehran, along with ballistic missile launch and storage sites and air defense systems, as part of the wave of strikes this morning.

IDF says Hamas ‘expert’ naval operative killed in strike

A Hamas naval operative who planned an attack on Israeli troops was killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the military says.

According to the IDF, Ibrahim al-Khaldi was a “source of expertise” in Hamas’s naval force and was planning maritime attacks on Israeli troops.

The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, carried out in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.

חוסל מחבל מהמערך הימי של ארגון הטרור חמאס שתכנן לבצע מתווה טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל

צה״ל תקף בהכוונת חיל הים אתמול, במרחב נוצירת וחיסל את אברהים אלחלדי, מחבל מהמערך הימי של ארגון הטרור חמאס, שהיווה מוקד ידע, תכנן והוביל מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל מהזירה הימית ברצועת עזה.

טרם התקיפה… pic.twitter.com/SfYAXZgvYB

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 31, 2026

Trump: I don’t ‘even think about’ Iran’s enriched uranium, ‘it’s so deeply buried’

US President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, March 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says that he “doesn’t even think about” Iran’s stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium, whose recovery experts say is critical to ensuring that Tehran can’t rush to a nuclear weapon.

“I don’t I even think about it. I just know that it’s so deeply buried it’s going to be very hard for anybody” to reach it, Trump tells CBS News in a phone interview, referencing last year’s US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities where the stockpiles are believed to be held.

“It’s down there deep… Even without a war, they haven’t been able to do it. So… it’s pretty safe. But, we’ll make a determination,” he adds.

Trump says he’s holding off on pulling US assets from the region that would be needed to help restore freedom of movement in the Strait of Hormuz, the key pathway for oil blocked by Iran, while reiterating his frustration with NATO allies for not enlisting in the effort.

“At some point I will [pull US forces], not quite yet. But countries have to come in and take care of it. Iran has been decimated,” Trump says.

NATO allies have responded that the US launched this war against Iran without consulting them, but is now demanding their assistance for a problem that they weren’t responsible for creating in the first place.

Asked when the war might wind down completely, Trump is again non-committal. “It won’t be long,” he says.

“I would say we are two weeks ahead of schedule,” Trump claims, even though the White House has said the war would last four to six weeks, and the war is now in its fifth week.

Trump adds that it will take Iran “10 years to rebuild” after the war.

Footage from recent settler attack shows cars, structures torched, several injured

Ahmad Daraghmeh, a resident of the Palestinian West Bank village of Tayasir, who was injured by extremist settlers during an attack they staged on the dwelling on March 31, 2026. (Amer Dabak)

Footage from the extremist settler attack close to the village of Tayasir today in the northern West Bank shows several men injured, cars on fire, and burned-out structures.

Local Palestinian residents took pictures apparently showing the Jewish extremists who participated in the attack, as well as of the injured men, who include Anan Daraghmeh, Ammar Daraghmeh, Ahmad Daraghmeh, and Uday Saddam Wahdan, according to Amer Dabak, a representative for Tayasir.

Anan, Ammar, and Ahmad are all cousins of Abdullah Daraghmeh, 75, who was severely beaten by extremists settlers last week, Dabak says.

Abdullah Daraghmeh and three other residents of Tayasir were attacked last week, and a CNN crew covering the incident was subsequently detained and allegedly assaulted by IDF soldiers.

Dabak adds that Abdullah Daraghmeh’s wife died today.

The Times of Israel has asked the IDF and the police for comment on today’s attack.

Government announces NIS 100 million in aid to regional councils for wartime expenses

Iron Dome interceptors go up behind a group of Israeli soldiers along the border with Lebanon, in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, on March 21, 2026. (Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

In a joint statement, the Prime Minister’s Office, Finance Ministry and Interior Ministry announce the government’s approval of NIS 100 million ($31.6 million) in “immediate aid” to regional councils for dealing with “emergency expenditures” due to the war with Iran.

According to the government, the purpose of the funds is to “ensure their continuous functional continuity and the provision of essential services to residents during the emergency.”

The statement says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered that “a dedicated financial compensation plan be brought forward as soon as possible…in accordance with criteria to be determined by the Finance and Interior Ministries.”

“The plan includes a basic grant for all authorities, alongside a dedicated addition for authorities that were more significantly affected, depending on the scope of the activity and the actual damage. In addition, it was agreed that as the campaign continues, additional amounts will be allocated to assist the authorities,” the statement adds.

Earlier this month, representatives of the Confrontation Line Forum, Sdot Negev Regional Council and other local governmental bodies on the northern and Gaza borders wrote to Netanyahu to protest the decision to impose a government-wide three percent cut to spending, which they said would harm programs “intended for the rehabilitation and development of the confrontation areas and the Gaza perimeter.”

In a letter to Smotrich signed by both coalition and opposition lawmakers, Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer wrote that the cut to such programs would total around NIS 150 million ($47.5 million), more than the amount announced this evening.

The mayors of several northern communities severely criticized Netanyahu after a meeting with him on Sunday, during which he was presented with demands for increased physical protection for towns and tax benefits for residents of that embattled region.

Metula Regional Council chief David Azoulay, who skipped the meeting, told the Walla news site that he has “heard enough from [Netanyahu], I no longer believe the talk and declarations.”

‘Throw him out’: Steve Bannon calls for Yair Netanyahu to be expelled from US, sent off to war

Steve Bannon, the influential pro-Trump commentator, calls for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair to be kicked out of the United States, where he has been living, and sent to fight in the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Bannon, who previously served as a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump and is now a leading voice in the pro-Trump MAGA movement, says on his podcast that US Homeland Security agents should expel Yair Netanyahu from his home in Miami and put him on the front lines of the war.

“Netanyahu’s kid down in Miami, turf him out tomorrow,” Bannon says in a clip that began circulating online yesterday. “Where’s DHS when you need them? Get him, throw him out, get him back there. Put a uniform on him. Let’s have him in the first wave.”

BANNON: Netanyahu’s kid down in Miami, turf him out tomorrow. Where’s DHS? We need him. Get him, throw him out, get him back there. Put a uniform on him. Let’s have him in the first wave. pic.twitter.com/hZJIlTzI4F

— Grace Chong, MBI (@gc22gc) March 30, 2026

Bannon makes the comment while calling on Middle Eastern countries to get involved in the war, and specifically a mission to capture Iran’s Kharg Island, which Trump has weighed doing.

“Let’s have the Arabs, I want Arabs,” he says. “I want the UAE… They actually know how to fight. Kharg Island. There’s your objective. Go. And throw in a couple of Qatari princes, and throw the Saudi princes in there too. Get them out of London, get them out of the casinos and whorehouses in London, and get them back to the Gulf.”

Russian ambassador: Mojtaba Khamenei, new supreme leader, is in Iran

A woman holds a portrait of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei as people march in support of the Iranian armed forces in central Tehran on March 25, 2026. (AFP)

Russia’s ambassador to Tehran says Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is in Iran and is not being treated in Russia, as some rumors have suggested.

“As the Iranian leadership has stated repeatedly, the new leader is in Iran, but for obvious reasons, he is refraining from appearing in public,” Alexey Dedov tells the global Russian-language outlet RTVI.

Khamenei is the son of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike at the start of the war on February 28. The younger Khamenei has yet to appear in public after being named Iran’s leader earlier this month, and his voice has not been heard. Instead, written statements attributed to him have been carried by state media.

His failure to appear in person has led to intense speculation over his condition and whereabouts, as well as the extent to which he is in control of the Iranian government and military.

No injuries reported following Hezbollah attack on Haifa area

No injuries are reported following Hezbollah’s rocket attack on the Haifa area.

The small number of rockets launched in the attack were intercepted or hit open areas, according to the IDF.

Iran’s IRGC says it will target 18 companies including Google, Apple, IBM, Tesla

Google offices in Tel Aviv, June 9, 2018 (ColorMaker / Shutterstock.com)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they will target US companies in the region as of April 1 in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media reports.

The 18 companies listed in the IRGC’s threat included Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing.

“These companies should expect the destruction of their respective units in exchange for each terror act in Iran, starting from 8 PM Tehran time on Wednesday, April 1st,” the IRGC statement says.

Sirens sound in Haifa area amid Hezbollah rocket attack

Sirens sound in the Haifa area amid a Hezbollah rocket attack from Lebanon.

The alerts are activated in some parts of the port city, as well as the Krayot suburbs and Acre.

IDF says it’s destroyed 180 Hezbollah rocket and missile launchers since fighting renewed

The IDF says it has destroyed 180 Hezbollah rocket and missile launchers in Lebanon since the start of the fighting amid the war in Iran.

During recent operations in southern Lebanon, the military says, troops of the ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade located primed rocket launchers in the village of Ramyeh, which were destroyed a short while later.

כוחות אוגדה 146 בפיקוד הצפון איתרו עשרות קני משגרי טילים טעונים ומכוונים לשיגור לעבר שטח מדינת ישראל

מתחילת מבצע 'שאגת הארי' צה"ל השמיד יותר מ-180 משגרים ברחבי לבנון

בפעילות של לוחמים מחטיבת החשמונאים בפיקוד חטיבה 300, אותרו עשרות משגרי רקטות טעונים ומוכנים לשיגור לעבר שטח… pic.twitter.com/bU3Lj3cmBw

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 31, 2026

IDF chief: Iran is weaker than ever, its ‘axis of terror is beginning to collapse’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meets with CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper at the IDF HQ in Tel Aviv, March 29, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says “the Iranian regime’s axis of terror is beginning to collapse,” according to remarks released by the military from his meeting earlier this week with US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper.

The IDF says Zamir and Cooper “spoke about the importance of cooperation between the two militaries in the operation against the Iranian regime and coordinated the next steps” during their meeting.

“Through synchronized and coordinated action, together we are striking the Iranian terror regime and making it both strategically isolated and weaker than it has ever been before,” Zamir is quoted as saying.

“The strategic partnership with our ally is a tremendous source of strength and its level is unprecedented in this operation,” he says.

Zamir adds that “the Iranian regime’s axis of terror is beginning to collapse, and we will continue to strike until our objectives are reached.”

Earlier, CENTCOM Spokesperson Cpt. Tim Hawkins said that the two military leaders “discussed progress made during ongoing operations to eliminate Iran’s ability to project power in meaningful ways outside its borders.”

The Times of Israel reported on Sunday that Cooper and Zamir met to discuss the ongoing joint campaign against Iran.

Cooper also met with Defense Minister Israel Katz for “a strategic coordination meeting to deepen the achievement and strengthen cooperation against Iran,” the defense minister’s office says.

IDF preliminary review indicates 2 UN peacekeepers killed Monday were hit by Hezbollah bombs

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy drives near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on March 23, 2026. (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

The Israeli military believes, following a preliminary review, that two Indonesian peacekeepers killed in Lebanon yesterday were hit by Hezbollah roadside bombs.

In addition, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix tells the UN Security Council that initial findings in a probe into the deaths of the two peacekeepers point to a roadside explosion striking their convoy.

The peacekeepers were part of the UNIFIL observer force, which saw another peacekeeper killed on Sunday. That incident is still under investigation.

Iran war has cost Arab countries $186 billion, 3.7 million jobs, UN official warns

Abdullah Al Dardari gestures as he speaks during a conference, in Beirut, Lebanon, January 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

The US-Israeli war with Iran, which has spread across the Middle East, has cost Arab countries $186 billion, a top UN official says, as he calls for an immediate halt to the fighting.

“We hope the fighting will stop tomorrow, as every day of delay has negative repercussions on the global economy,” UN assistant secretary-general Abdallah Al Dardari tells reporters in Amman.

“We estimate that the loss to the Arab region’s GDP as a result of one month of fighting will be around six percent… Sixper cent of GDP means the region has lost around $186 billion from its economy in a single month,” he says.

Al Dardari, who is also a top UN official for the Arab region, says the countries of the oil-rich Gulf were shouldering the heaviest burden.

“The impact on GDP is very significant in the Gulf region, where it could reach $168 billion, and in the Levant region, where it could reach around $30 billion,” he says.

Al Dardari warns against the Gulf’s economic dependence on oil, saying the crisis around the vital waterway of the Strait of Hormuz has proven the need to diversify.

He also says there is a need to seek out routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed pre-war.

“The Arab economy relies on virtually a single commodity; even countries that do not export oil depend on remittances from expatriates in oil-exporting countries and on aid from those same countries, while the oil-exporting countries themselves rely on a single product,” he says.

“This fragility in the Arab economy is demonstrated by recent events, which prove that it is unsustainable,” he says.

Dardari sounds the alarm over the expected impact on jobs in a region already wracked by inequality.

“We estimate that the number of jobs we will lose as a result of this conflict is around 3.7 million,” he says. “As for the impact on poverty, we expect that around four million more people in the region will fall, or have already fallen, below the poverty line this month as a result of the hostilities.”

‘Step toward apartheid’: Spanish PM condemns Israeli death penalty for Palestinian terrorists

This handout photo taken on September 8, 2025 and provided by the Moncloa Palace shows Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announcing several measures including an arms embargo on Israel and a ban on ships carrying fuel for Israeli military personnel from docking in Spanish ports, to 'stop the genocide in Gaza.' (Borja Puig de la Bellacasa / LA MONCLOA / AFP)

Joining other European leaders, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemns legislation passed by the Knesset this week mandating the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

In a Spanish-language post on X, Sanchez calls the legislation “an asymmetric measure that would not be applied to Israelis who commit the same crimes.”

“Same crime, different punishment. That is not justice. It is another step toward apartheid. The world cannot remain silent,” he adds.

The newly passed law effectively enshrines capital punishment only for Palestinians convicted of deadly terrorist acts by military courts, as it explicitly excludes Israeli citizens, and only Palestinians are tried in military courts. Israelis are tried in civilian courts.

Though a separate provision allows courts to impose the death penalty on anyone, including Israeli citizens, it applies only to those who “intentionally cause the death of a person with the aim of denying the existence of the State of Israel” — a definition designed to exclude Jewish terrorists.

Deri, Goldknopf spar over Haredi draft exemption law, support for government

MKs Moshe Gafni and Yitzchak Goldknopf seen during a vote on the state budget at the assembly hall of the Knesset, Jerusalem, January 28, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Speaking to party newspaper Haderech, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri appears to launch a veiled attack on the Agudat Yisrael faction of fellow ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism, sparking an angry response from UTJ and Agudat Yisrael chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf.

Last summer, the Knesset’s ultra-Orthodox parties backed off a threat to dissolve the Knesset and trigger early elections over a dispute about a bill exempting yeshiva students from conscription. In the end, only two lawmakers from Agudat Yisrael voted in favor of dissolution.

“There are those who claimed that because of the conscription law, we should have toppled the government a year and a half ago, even during the war. But one must ask: what would such a step mean for security? Where is the responsibility?” asks Deri, wondering whether those in favor of such a move would be willing to hand over power to the current opposition.

Hitting back, UTJ chief Goldknopf says he was “shocked to see how a Haredi representative expresses himself with such disparagement toward the gedolei yisrael,” a phrase referring to the Haredi community’s top rabbinic leadership.

Such criticism of the party’s rabbis “is an affront to the honor of the Torah, and I protest against it,” Goldknopf says, accusing Deri of placing the pursuit of government positions and influence ahead of “the regulation of the status of yeshiva students.”

In response, Shas issues a statement saying that it also operates under the guidance of a rabbinic council and respects any politicians who obey their rabbis, adding that “if any other tone was implied, we regret it.”

Deri predicts Haredi draft exemption bill will pass this summer

MK Aryeh Deri attends a Knesset session in Jerusalem on February 10, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In a pre-Passover interview with Shas party mouthpiece Haderech, the party’s chairman, Aryeh Deri, declares that there is sufficient support within the Knesset for a law exempting yeshiva students from military service and that he expects such legislation to pass in the summer after the end of the parliamentary recess.

“The draft of the conscription law is ready. If we had brought it to a vote in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, it would have passed. I believe it would have passed in the plenum as well. But war broke out and our rabbis rightly thought that this was not the time to promote such a thing during wartime. With God’s help, we will settle the issue in the summer session. This is another reason why the summer session is very important,” says Deri.

Following the outbreak of war with Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the coalition was putting aside the controversial legislation. However, on Monday evening, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth, a Likud MK, told the Knesset that the bill will be put back on the agenda as part of a legislative package intended to shore up the IDF as it is strained by fighting on multiple fronts.

The bill has come under fire from IDF brass, the attorney general, and a wide array of other critics, who have objected to it on the grounds that it is full of loopholes, preserves inequality in the mandatory draft, and will not increase Haredi enlistment amid what the military says is an urgent manpower shortage.

China, Pakistan call for start of Iran peace talks as soon as possible — state media

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Ishaq Dar attends a roundtable session of the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, November 21, 2025. (Omar Havana/AP)

Chinese and Pakistani foreign ministers called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to war in the Gulf and Middle East, urging peace talks to be held as soon as possible, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry and China’s state news agency Xinhua report.

The diplomats also said the safety of waterways should be ensured and that of ships and crews stranded in the waters within the Strait of Hormuz, Xinhua says.

The countries appealed in a five-point initiative released today for restoring peace and stability in the region, Pakistan’s foreign ministry says. Pakistan is taking a leading role in mediating the talks.

Air Force hit Iran’s air defense systems, primed missile launchers in past day — IDF

The Israeli Air Force carried out over 230 strikes in Iran in the past day, the military says, publishing footage showing attacks on Iranian air defense systems in Tehran.

The IDF says other targets hit in the past day included primed ballistic missile launchers and weapon production sites.

Anti-Israel protests in London draw ire a week after ambulance arson

Anti-Israel demonstrations were held yesterday in the Hendon neighborhood of London, a week after four ambulances belonging to Jewish rescue service Hatzola were destroyed in an arson attack in nearby Golders Green.

Several dozen protesters accused Israel of genocide and shouted that the “State of Israel has to go.” Police dispatched forces to prevent disorder, but no arrests were made as officers escorted protesters away from the demonstration.

Jewish organizations condemned the demonstration, with the National Jewish Assembly saying it “achieves nothing but inflaming tensions and intimidating residents.”

In a post on X, MP David Pinto-Duschinsky, a Labour politician who represents Hendon, calls the protests “utterly appalling, completely unacceptable and clearly antisemitic.”

“At a time when the community is already frightened, they have sought to make things worse,” Pinto-Duschinsky writes.

Hendon now.
Stop turning up to Jewish areas to try to harass and intimidate us.
It's not pro-Palestinian. It's anti-Jewish. pic.twitter.com/ZjuLVMwYkx

— Stop The Hate UK (@StopTheHate_UK) March 30, 2026

IDF: Hezbollah has ‘seized control’ of Lebanese Christian village, using it for attacks

The IDF says Hezbollah has “seized control” of a Christian village in southern Lebanon and has been launching attacks on Israeli targets from it.

“Hezbollah has seized control of the village of Qawzah in southern Lebanon and has begun launching terror attacks from within the village. This includes rocket and missile launches as well as anti-tank fire,” the military says in a statement, citing “declassified IDF intelligence.”

The IDF says that in recent months, Hezbollah has been “strategically embedding itself in Christian villages and executing terror attacks from them, assuming that operating from these areas grants it protection from IDF strikes.”

“Hezbollah’s activity from within civilian areas endangers the local residents,” the military says.

Last week, the IDF said it had uncovered a Hezbollah tunnel that was built underneath a church in the southern Lebanon town of Khiam.

‼️EXPOSED: Hezbollah has seized control of the Christian village of Qawzah and is launching terror attacks from within it.

Hezbollah has launched rockets and missiles launches and anti-tank fire from inside the village, a repeated strategy that dangerously exploits civilians as… pic.twitter.com/axeoey4mSZ

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 31, 2026

Italy denied use of its base to some US aircraft headed to Middle East

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on January 16, 2026. (Toru HANAI / POOL / AFP)

Italy recently refused authorization for some US aircraft headed to the Middle East on a combat mission to land at its Sigonella base, a Defense Ministry source and Italian media say.

Under the terms of agreements with the United States, some Italian bases can be used by US military aircraft, but only for logistical purposes.

Authorization for any use for combat missions has to come from the government which in turn needs to get the go-ahead from parliament.

“They asked for permission to land… They were already in flight and there was not enough time to consult parliament so it was refused,” a Defense Ministry source tells AFP.

Italy’s Sigonella base is located in eastern Sicily, south of the city of Catania.

A report in the Corriere della Sera daily says the incident happened a few days ago and involved US bombers.

The source says they do not have information on when the incident occurred or how many aircraft were involved.

Following the report, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office publishes a statement saying ties with the US are “solid and based on full and honest cooperation.”

“Italy acts in full compliance with international agreements,” it says, adding: “Every request is examined on a case-by-case basis.”

But opposition leader Elly Schlein, head of the center-left Democratic Party, says the incident shows “the US wants to use our territory as a platform for the war in the Middle East.”

The reports come after Spain’s leftist government confirmed it had closed the country’s airspace to US planes carrying out missions against Iran. France has also reportedly refused Israel use of its airspace to transfer US weapons for the Iran war.

France’s refusal happened over the weekend, a Western diplomat and two sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters.

Israel said to stop buying arms from France amid plan for military independence after Gaza war

An attendee walks past the closed Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Israeli Pavillon during the 55th edition of the International Paris Air Show at the Paris Le Bourget Airport, on June 16, 2025. France on June 16, 2025, blocked access to the stands of five Israeli arms manufacturers at the Paris Air show for displaying "offensive weapons", according to a French government source. (ALAIN JOCARD / AFP)

Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. Amir Baram recently decided to halt all arms procurements from France as part of a larger initiative to reduce military dependence on countries viewed as diplomatically hostile to Israel, according to multiple unsourced Hebrew media reports.

Defense Minister Israel Katz and Baram are working to expand domestic arms production in light of the diplomatic fallout of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, according to a Channel 12 report on the decision.

The Defense Ministry is working to redirect procurement toward Israeli industries and toward suppliers in other “friendly countries,” the report adds.

Multiple countries imposed partial or full arms embargoes on Israel during the war in Gaza, citing humanitarian concerns and the high death toll. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared earlier this year that he was seeking “maximal independence” from foreign military aid, “so we don’t run out of weapons or ammunition.”

Paris has barred Israeli representatives from participating in defense exhibitions and conferences on its territory since the war began, and, after French President Emmanuel Macron called for an arms embargo on Israel in October 2024, France has halted the sale of certain weapons that could be used for IDF operations in Gaza.

Spokespeople for Katz and for the Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The French embassy declined to comment.

4 Palestinians reportedly wounded in settler attack in northern West Bank

The Palestinian Red Crescent says four Palestinians were injured in a settler attack in the area of the village of Tayasir in the northern West Bank.

There are also reports of vehicles being set on fire in the area.

The area saw a similar attack last week following the establishment of an illegal outpost in Area A, which under the Oslo Accords is under full Palestinian control. It is the same area where a CNN crew was allegedly assaulted by Israeli troops.

🟨صورة | المستوطنون يحرقون سيارات و تراكتورات في منطقة الصافح بمحيط قرية تياسير بالأغوار الشمالية pic.twitter.com/uDVWAkzIyt

— شبكة يافا الإخبارية (@yaffa_ps) March 31, 2026

Gas prices set to spike to highest price in nearly 4 years at midnight amid Iran war

Illustrative: Delek Israel gas station in Haifa. (Livinus/iStock)

At midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, the price of gasoline in Israel will jump above NIS 8 per liter for the first time since July 2022, the Energy Ministry announces.

As of April 1, Israelis will pay NIS 8.05 per liter ($9.63 per gallon) of gasoline at the self-service pump, up 14.7 percent, or NIS 1.03 (33 cents per liter) higher than the price in March.

The Energy Ministry attributes the surge to a 49% increase in gasoline prices in the Mediterranean region, as global oil prices spike due to the war with Iran, as well as to changes in the shekel-dollar exchange rate.

Hegseth: US ‘addressing’ Russian and Chinese activity surrounding Iran

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on March 19, 2026 (Mandel NGAN / AFP)

WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says, “We know exactly what Russia and China are doing with Iran. We are addressing it.”

Hegseth is responding to a question at a Pentagon briefing about reports that Russia and Iran are providing intelligence to Iran on US troop movements in the war.

Asked about Iran’s impeding of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth says the US is working toward having it fully reopened but reiterates US President Donald Trump’s assertion that other countries should help as well.

US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine says the thousands of Marine forces Trump has deployed to the region can be used for tasks other than a ground invasion, amid speculation that such an offensive is coming.

Iran’s foreign minister warns of false-flag operations in call with Turkish counterpart

A handout photograph released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on February 8, 2026, shows Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to a forum in Tehran (Iran's Foreign Minister / AFP)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a call with his Turkish counterpart, warns of repeated false-flag operations aimed at undermining regional ties, Iran’s Foreign Ministry says, a day after NATO intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran over Turkey.

Turkey is playing a mediating role, alongside other regional countries, between Washington and Tehran to help de-escalate tensions and end the war.

Report: Netanyahu says Israel ‘forming alliances with Arab countries that are talking about fighting together on our side’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference in Jerusalem on March 19, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun / POOL / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers at a cabinet meeting today that Israel is “forming alliances with Arab countries that are talking about fighting together on our side,” the Hebrew-language Maariv daily reports.

“In the past, I had secret conversations with Arab leaders,” Netanyahu reportedly said. “I told them, ‘As soon as Iran can, it will conquer you and overthrow your kingdoms.’ Back then, they didn’t really internalize things. Today they understand.”

Yesterday, Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter said on a podcast that Gulf countries are asking Israel for help.

“Some of our allies have become even greater allies over the past month,” he told the “What the Hell is Going On” podcast. “Whether it’s UAE, Bahrain, I think we’ve become closer to the Saudis, closer to the Omanis. Closer to the Kuwaitis for crying out loud. They’ve asked us for assistance.”

He also hinted at joint action with Arab countries: “Israel and her allies will continue to act. This could really make the difference going into the future.”

US military chief says B-52 bombers conducting Iran ‘overland missions’

WASHINGTON — US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine reiterates that US forces have carried out more than 11,000 strikes against targets in Iran.

Speaking during a Pentagon briefing on the war, Caine reveals that the US has successfully begun conducting “overland missions” of B-52 bomber sorties, thanks to the air superiority that US currently has over Iran.

Hegseth says he visited troops in Mideast, Iran’s ‘new regime’ should be wiser than the last

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, March 19, 2026. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reveals during a Pentagon briefing that he visited troops in the Middle East on Saturday to witness the military operation against Iran.

He touts the successes of Operation Epic Fury.

“The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran,” he says.

Echoing US President Donald Trump, Hegseth claims that regime change has effectively been completed Iran, thanks to the US-Israeli strikes to decapitate its leadership.

“This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last,” he says. “President Trump will make a deal. He is willing, and the terms of the deal are known to them.”

“If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity,” he adds.

WATCH: Pentagon holds briefing on the progress of the Iran war

The Pentagon is holding a briefing on the progress of the Iran war.

Trump: France refused to allow US planes headed to Israel with arms to fly over territory

US President Donald Trump lashes out at France, saying it had been ‘very unhelpful’ in the US-Israel war on Iran.

“The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory. France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated!” Trump posts on his Truth Social platform.

EU’s Costa urges Iranian president to ensure freedom of navigation in Strait of Hormuz

European Council President Antonio Costa speaks during a media conference at the conclusion of an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

European Council President Antonio Costa says he has spoken on the phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and urged him to engage on the diplomatic track and ensure the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Costa also says he told Pezeshkian that Iran must stop what Costa describes as “unacceptable attacks” on countries in the region.

“I urged for de-escalation and restraint, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the need for all parties to fully respect international law. The loss of innocent lives, including in the Minab school, is deeply regrettable,” Costa says in a post on X.

IDF carries out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut

Lebanese media reports an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Earlier, the IDF reiterated an evacuation warning for the area, a Hezbollah stronghold, ahead of strikes on the terror group’s sites.

من الغارة التي استهدفت الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت#ملحق pic.twitter.com/FSuR1Z5oOd

— Mulhak – ملحق (@Mulhak) March 31, 2026

The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes in Beirut a short while ago, saying it has launched a new wave of strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure.

Further details will be provided later, the military adds.

EU calls attacks on UN Lebanon peacekeepers ‘grave violation’ of law

The EU demands an investigation into attacks on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon, after three Indonesian troops were killed this week amid fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

“We call for a thorough investigation to shed light on these grave attacks. These attacks are a grave violation of international law, are totally unacceptable and must stop immediately,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni says.

UNIFIL has said three of its troops were killed in two incidents in recent days — one by a projectile and the other two by “an explosion of unknown origin.”

The peacekeeping force has said it is investigating. Israel’s military has also said it is probing the two incidents “in order to clarify the circumstances and determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah activity or from IDF activity.”

Army says dozens of Hezbollah men killed in part of south Lebanon in recent days

Dozens of Hezbollah operatives were killed in one area of southern Lebanon during ground operations in recent days, the military says.

The IDF says that in one incident, troops of the Givati Brigade spotted two Hezbollah cells, and within minutes directed artillery shelling against them, killing at least six operatives.

In another incident, the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit identified two Hezbollah gunmen who had fired on Israeli forces. The IDF says it hit the gunmen with tank shelling and a drone strike, killing the pair.

The IDF says the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division also demolished Hezbollah surveillance posts in their area of operations.

בהיתקלויות פנים אל פנים ובסגירות מעגל: כוחות אוגדה 91 חיסלו עשרות מחבלים ביממה האחרונה

כוחות אוגדה 91 ממשיכים בהרחבת הפעילות הקרקעית הממוקדת להגנה על תושבי הצפון.

כוחות צוות הקרב של חטיבת גבעתי זיהו שתי חוליות מחבלים, בתוך דקות בודדות מרגע הזיהוי הכוחות פתחו בירי ארטילרי וחיסלו… pic.twitter.com/v8XTB4jZ1n

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 31, 2026

Trump urges UK, others that need fuel to go to Strait of Hormuz and ‘just take it’; ‘learn how to fight for yourself, US won’t be there to help you anymore’

US President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, March 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US President Donald Trump urges countries that did not help the US in its coordinated strikes against Iran and are now unable to get “jet fuel” to buy American oil, and to go to the Strait of Hormuz and “just TAKE it.”

Trump writes on his social media platform Truth Social: “All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the US, we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the USA won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”

UNRWA chief seeks probe into killing of hundreds of staff in Gaza war

The outgoing head of the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees says he wants an investigation into the killing of nearly 400 UNRWA staff during the Gaza war.

“I believe that we need to have a panel… a high-level panel of experts to look into the killing of our staff,” Philippe Lazzarini tells reporters in Geneva.

Speaking at a press conference on the last day on the job as UNRWA Commissioner-General, the 62-year-old Swiss national condemns the fact that “more than 390” of the agency’s staff had been killed since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023.

“Many others have sustained life-changing injuries or have been arbitrarily detained and tortured,” he says. He states that an investigation is needed into the killing not just of UNRWA employees but also of other UN staff, stressing: “There have been other UN colleagues who have been also killed.”

“And we have to look also at the extraordinary, large-scale destruction of the agency, of UN premises in Gaza,” says Lazzarini.

Israel alleged during the war that some 10% of UNRWA’s 12,000 Gazan employees had ties to Palestinian terror groups, with some actively participating in the atrocities of October 7. It also found several Hamas facilities located directly underneath multiple UNRWA facilities throughout the war.

Iran claims US-Israel strikes targeted major pharmaceutical company

US-Israeli airstrikes today hit one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Iran which produces anaesthetic and cancer drugs, the Iranian government says.

“During the US and Zionist regime attacks on civilian centers, on the morning of Tuesday, one of the largest companies producing anti-cancer, anaesthetic and specialized medicines was damaged and the drug production line was damaged,” the government says in a post on X.

The pharmaceutical company is named as Tofigh Daru Research & Engineering Company, which is owned by the Social Security Investment Company, a state-run holding firm.

On LinkedIn, Tofigh Daru says it develops and produces active pharmaceutical ingredients “in the anticancer, narcotics, cardiovascular to immunomodulatory segments.”

Iran has long faced chronic shortages of medicines, partly due to UN sanctions imposed over its nuclear program. The sanctions have crippled essential trade services such as banking, while scaring off drug companies from doing business in Iran, even though humanitarian products are exempt.

Israel’s US envoy: War aims ‘probably can’t’ be achieved without regime change in Iran

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter said in a podcast that aired yesterday that Israel “probably can’t” achieve its goals in the war with Iran without regime change, and described a closer alliance between Jerusalem and Gulf states as they handle the Iranian threat.

“The purpose [of the war] is to make sure that we don’t have a power, an entity in Tehran, which is developing nuclear weapons, is developing weapons of mass destruction in terms of these ballistic missiles, and is supporting proxies around the region,” Leiter told hosts Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen on the American Enterprise Institute’s “What the Hell is Going On?” podcast.

“That’s what we’re focused on. Now, if that can be done without regime change, okay. Probably can’t, though. So at the very least, what we want is regime collapse,” Leiter said.

Regime change was never one of the official goals of the war, and while Israeli leaders indicated their desire to topple the Islamic Republic at the start of the conflict, the regime’s apparent resilience has led recent messaging to focus mostly on degrading its military capabilities.

The ambassador added that Gulf states “have become even greater allies over the past month” and have requested assistance from Israel during the conflict. “Whether it’s UAE, Bahrain, I think we’ve become closer to the Saudis, closer to the Omanis, closer to the Kuwaitis for crying out loud,” he said.

“They’ve asked us for assistance. So we become closer, and there’s going to be a concerted effort,” he said, without elaborating.

Continuing his remarks, Leiter referenced a recent op-ed published by Emirati envoy to Washington Yousef Otaiba, in which he wrote that “a simple ceasefire [with Iran] isn’t enough” and called for a “conclusive outcome that addresses Iran’s full range of threats: nuclear capabilities, missiles, drones, terror proxies and blockades of international sea lanes.”

Leiter said Otaiba was “very clear” about the desired war objectives and that “this isn’t going to end even if at some point the US says, we’ve done our job. We’ve taken out all the production sites. We’ve destroyed them militarily, and now we’re wrapping up.”

The Israeli diplomat said Iran has been “put on notice” by this rhetoric, “because Israel and her allies will continue to act. This could really make the difference going into the future.”

Israeli strikes kill five in Gaza Strip, medics say

Israeli strikes killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip in two separate attacks today, health officials say.

Medics say an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia, in the north of the enclave, killed at least three people, while another airstrike killed two others in Khan Younis, in the south.

There is no Israeli comment on either of the two incidents.

Iran says desalination plant out of service since early March strike

One of the desalination plants on Iran’s Qeshm Island has been out of service since being hit by an airstrike earlier in the month, an official from the Iranian Health Ministry tells media.

“Drinking water on Qeshm Island is provided by desalination plants. One of the desalination plants on Qeshm Island was targeted and is completely out of service as it is not possible to repair it in the short term,” the Health Ministry’s head of the Environmental and Occupational Health Centre says, according to the news outlet Borna.

Iranian media quotes the deputy governor of Hormozgan province as saying the island’s desalination infrastructure was only struck once earlier in the month.

IDF says it struck Iranian sites for missile components, anti-aircraft weapons

During a wave of strikes in Tehran overnight, the Israeli Air Force bombed several Iranian weapon production sites, the IDF says.

According to the military, the targets included a facility for casting and filling ballistic missile warheads with explosive material; a research and development site for “advanced weaponry” components; a ballistic missile components production site; and a production, research, and development site for components for anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, and additional weaponry.

The IDF says it also hit Iranian ballistic and anti-aircraft missile launch sites during the wave of strikes.

Defense Ministry gets its first female deputy director general

Racheli Chen (Defense Ministry)

The Defense Ministry announces the appointment of Racheli Chen as deputy director general and head of its planning division, making her the first woman to serve in the senior role overseeing staff work and the implementation of the ministry’s multiyear force buildup plans.

Chen has led the Defense Export Controls Agency for the past decade and previously held a range of positions within the ministry’s research and development and procurement bodies.

She will replace Itamar Graf, who served in the role for four years and has been appointed acting head of the ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau.

Construction worker moderately wounded by Hezbollah rocket in north

The site of a Hezbollah rocket strike in the border community of Avivim, March 31, 2026 (Merom HaGalil Regional Council)

A construction worker was moderately wounded by a Hezbollah rocket strike in the border community of Avivim, medics say.

Magen David Adom says the 56-year-old was hit by shrapnel and is being taken to a hospital.

Sirens had sounded in the community amid the rocket fire from Lebanon.

IDF says 4 more soldiers wounded yesterday in south Lebanon

Four more Israeli soldiers were wounded in Hezbollah attacks in southern Lebanon yesterday, according to the IDF.

In one incident, a soldier was moderately injured by shrapnel from a rocket that struck near Israeli forces, and in separate incident, three reservists were lightly hurt after a drone impacted near troops.

IDF says will complete strikes on ‘critical’ Iranian military production sites by tomorrow

Iran's domestically built missiles and satellite carriers are displayed in a permanent exhibition at a recreational area in northern Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The Israeli Air Force will complete targeting all of the “critical” assets of Iran’s military production industries by tomorrow, according to the IDF.

The defense industry of Iran is extensive, with numerous military bodies and private companies manufacturing weapon systems or components, including ballistic missiles, air defenses, naval weapons, cyber capabilities, and even spy satellites.

By tomorrow, all of the key sites used to develop weapons that threaten Israel — around 70% of Iran’s military production industry — will be targeted, according to the military.

Other, less critical military production sites may also be targeted in the future, as the IDF prepares for several more potential weeks of conflict with Iran.

The IDF says it will also continue strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile launchers, air defense systems and military officers, as well as targets that cause economic damage to the Iranian regime.

Katz says Israel will demolish Lebanon border villages, create Gaza-style buffer zone

Defense Minister Israel Katz holds a situational assessment with IDF leadership, March 31, 2026 (Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterates that the IDF plans to establish a new security zone in southern Lebanon, and says that “all homes in Lebanese villages near the border will be destroyed — in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza,” in order “to remove, once and for all, the threats near the border.”

“At the conclusion of the operation, the IDF will establish a security zone inside Lebanon… and will maintain security control over the entire area up to the Litani River,” Katz says following a situation assessment with senior military officials.

He adds that Israel will bar the return of “more than 600,000 residents of southern Lebanon” to areas south of the Litani River “until the safety and security of northern Israeli residents is ensured.”

He states that “we are determined to separate Lebanon from the Iranian arena – to pull out the snake’s teeth and strip Hezbollah of its ability to threaten,” adding that Israel will seek to “change the situation in Lebanon” through an ongoing IDF security presence.

Russia’s Lavrov says regime change plans in Iran and Venezuela were about oil

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that US plans to unfurl regime change in Iran and Venezuela are aimed at gaining more control over oil and gas resources.

Lavrov says the United States and Israel do not want normalization between Iran and its neighbors, and cautions that the war in the Middle East could spiral into a wider conflict.

Home Front Command says no plans to ease war guidelines as missile attacks persist

The IDF Home Front Command says it currently does not plan to change its wartime guidelines, as Iran’s ballistic missile attacks continue at a steady pace.

The guidelines prevent large gatherings and educational activities in most areas of the country.

Iran’s missile fire on Israel has slowed to around 10-15 missiles a day in the past two weeks, down from around 90 on the first day of the war.

Iran has not been carrying out large missile barrages, with each attack composed of a small number of missiles — usually between one and three.

Iranian missile attacks have killed 16 people in Israel, along with four Palestinians in the West Bank. Two Israeli civilians have also been killed by Hezbollah rockets, and an Israeli civilian was mistakenly killed in the north by Israeli artillery shelling. According to the Home Front Command, 5,500 Israelis have been displaced due to damage caused to their homes by the attacks.

Wizz Air extends flight suspension to Israel through April 20

Illustrative: A Wizz Air jet comes in to land at Gatwick Airport, south of London, on June 10, 2022. (Ben Stansall / AFP)

Hungarian low-cost airline giant Wizz Air further extends its suspension of flights to and from Israel, as Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport remains closed to foreign airlines amid the ongoing war with Iran.

Wizz Air says it will extend its flight cancellations through April 20, from the previously announced date of April 14. The budget carrier had been poised to set up an operational aviation hub in Israel as early as April, which could have boosted competition and brought down sky-high fares, but this has been put off by the war.

Israel’s airspace has been shut to foreign airlines since February 28, when the war with Iran began.

4th soldier killed in south Lebanon yesterday named as Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21

Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21, killed in south Lebanon on March 30, 2026 (Courtesy)

The fourth IDF soldier killed during a clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon yesterday is named as Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21.

Harel, from Modiin, served in the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit.

Earlier, the military announced the deaths of Cpt. Noam Madmoni, Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, and Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis in the clash with Hezbollah gunmen.

Iran warns of death penalty and asset seizures for spying, aiding enemies

People accused of spying or cooperating with “hostile states” could face the death penalty and confiscation of all assets under a recently enhanced law, an Iranian judiciary spokesperson says, a month into the war with the United States and Israel.

Even sharing photos or videos that could aid enemy targeting may be treated as intelligence cooperation, the spokesman adds.

Iranian media has reported more than 1,000 arrests over the course of the month, related to individuals accused of filming sensitive locations, sharing anti-government content online, or “cooperating with the enemy.”

The judiciary spokesman says the legislation, passed last year, applies to operational, intelligence and certain media activities deemed to support hostile governments. He warns those creating “fear” through misinformation could face prison terms, with penalties increased in wartime.

He adds that authorities have issued around 200 indictments in such cases and are working with security bodies to identify and seize assets linked to suspects, stressing that there will be no leniency in enforcing the law.

EU tells members to prepare for ‘prolonged disruption’ to energy markets from Iran war

European Union governments should prepare for a “prolonged disruption” to energy markets as a result of the Iran war, the bloc’s energy chief has told countries ministers’ ahead of an emergency meeting.

In a letter to ministers, seen by Reuters, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen says that while the fallout on Europe’s energy supplies is currently contained, governments are “encouraged to make timely preparations in anticipation of a potentially prolonged disruption.”

No injuries reported in Iran’s latest volley of missiles at central Israel

No injuries are reported following Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack on central Israel, the third since this morning.

The small number of missiles launched in the attack were intercepted or hit open areas, according to the IDF.

Sirens had sounded across central Israel, as well as in several settlements in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank.

New ballistic missile attack targets central Israel

The IDF has detected a new ballistic missile attack from Iran, again targeting central Israel.

Sirens are expected to sound in the coming minutes.

Medics say 8 lightly injured by Iranian missile attack on central Israel

Cars are on fire after impacts from an Iranian missile in central Israel, March 31, 2026 (Hatzalah)

Eight people are lightly injured as a result of Iran’s missile attack on central Israel, first responders say.

Magen David Adom says the eight were hurt by the blasts from impacts of the apparent cluster bomb warhead’s submunitions.

Impacts were reported in Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, and Petah Tikva. Footage showed several cars on fire as a result of the impacts.

CENTCOM confirms Adm. Cooper visited Israel this week to discuss war

The US Central Command confirms that CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper visited Israel this week and met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

During the visit on Sunday and Monday, the two military leaders “discussed progress made during ongoing operations to eliminate Iran’s ability to project power in meaningful ways outside its borders,” says CENTCOM spokesperson Cpt. Tim Hawkins.

“They also reaffirmed the strength of the US-Israel defense partnership and emphasized the importance of continued coordination,” he adds.

The Times of Israel reported on Sunday that Cooper and Zamir met to discuss the ongoing joint campaign against Iran.

One person slightly hurt, damage reported as Iranian cluster munitions hit central Israel

One person is slightly hurt and damage is caused in central Israel as a result of Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack, rescue services say.

The IDF says the missile likely carried a cluster bomb warhead, spreading submunitions over a wide area.

Apparent bomblet impacts are reported in Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, and Petah Tikva. Footage shows several cars on fire as a result of the impacts.

Magen David Adom says it is treating one person who was hit by glass shards.

הירי מאיראן: רכבים עלו באש במרכז הארץ@ndvori pic.twitter.com/DEC87HHj9r

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) March 31, 2026

Lapid party ad depicts PM, Smotrich as burglars robbing Israeli homes

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party runs an AI-generated ad on social media showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, all dressed as robbers, breaking into citizens’ homes and stealing their money.

The video is published following the passage of the 2026 budget, which massively increased funding for Haredi institutions, and which Lapid declared was not a budget but rather “a robbery.”

Following the 2026 budget vote, Yesh Atid runs an AI generated advertisement showing Deri, Bibi and Smotrich dressed as robbers breaking into people’s homes in the middle of the night to steal their money pic.twitter.com/wb3UtL4vUd

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) March 31, 2026

The airing of the AI-generated attack ad comes not long after the Central Elections Committee ordered Netanyahu’s Likud party to take down a manipulated image that appeared to show Lapid and former prime minister Naftali Bennett joining hands with Arab party leaders in celebration of an announcement that the Arab factions would undertake efforts to run together in the next elections.

According to Radio 103FM, Smotrich responded to criticism of the budget by attacking the former Lapid-Bennett government, stating that Israelis had woken up “to a campaign of lies as if their money had been stolen from them. The previous government gave money to terror supporters.”

Smotrich was referring to Mansour Abbas’s Islamist Ra’am party, a member of Bennett and Lapid’s short-lived coalition, which included parties from across the political spectrum. Abbas has condemned terror on multiple occasions, but has been attacked for his Islamist party’s historic — though not current — connection to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Yesh Atid’s video was followed by another AI clip shared by The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv, which showed National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir giving Deri a wad of cash in exchange for a rope, an apparent reference to Shas’ support for Ben Gvir’s controversial death penalty for terrorists law, which passed in the Knesset last night.

And now Gilad Kariv (The Democrats) is sharing an AI video of Deri and Ben Gvir exchanging a lot of cash for a rope (presumably to be used for a noose) which is a reference to both the massive allocation for haredi education and Deri’s support for the death penalty bill pic.twitter.com/SeenB0YJDi

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) March 31, 2026

Emergency services checking several impact sites after apparent cluster bomb missile attack on central Israel

Iran’s latest ballistic missile fired at central Israel carried a cluster bomb warhead, according to initial IDF assessments.

Emergency services were heading to the sites of several possible bomblet impact sites. There are no immediate reports of injuries.

Iranian missile launched toward central Israel

The IDF has detected a new ballistic missile attack from Iran, targeting central Israel.

Sirens are expected to sound in the coming minutes.

121 people hospitalized due to war in past day; 6,131 treated since start of conflict

The Health Ministry reports that in the past 24 hours, 121 injured people have been taken to hospitals as a result of the conflict with Iran and Hezbollah.

Among those treated in hospitals over the past day, one is in serious condition, eight are in moderate condition, and 106 are in good condition. Six people have been treated for anxiety.

The ministry says that since the beginning of the war on February 28, 6,131 people have been admitted to hospitals, 118 of whom are currently hospitalized. The casualty figures include soldiers and civilians.

The ministry does not give a breakdown of the causes of injuries. Some were indirect, such as people injured while trying to reach shelters, rather than as a direct result of missile fire.

US hits Iranian ammunition bunkers, causing major explosions

The American military carried out massive strikes on Iranian ammunition bunkers near Isfahan overnight, according to footage posted online.

The videos show large secondary blasts following the strikes.

US President Donald Trump shares one of the videos on his Truth Social platform.

'انفجارهای حمله ساعت ۲ به جایی در #اصفهان و انفجارهای ثانویه'
ویدیوی دریافتی، سه‌شنبه ۱۱ فروردین#Iran pic.twitter.com/a7OvfFO4Wb

— Vahid Online (@Vahid) March 30, 2026

Citing a US official, The Wall Street Journal reports that the American military dropped “a high volume” of 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on the ammunition depot.

Soldiers in southern Lebanon capture Hezbollah operative

IDF troops of the 91st 'Galilee' Regional Division operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued by the military on March 26, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says troops operating in southern Lebanon have captured a Hezbollah operative.

According to the military, the operative was carrying out surveillance on forces of the 36th Division. He was captured by troops and taken to Israel for interrogation.

The military says the division also killed dozens of Hezbollah operatives who attempted to ambush the forces, and located numerous weapons in southern Lebanon in the past day.

In one incident, troops spotted an RPG-wielding operative and killed him before he could open fire, the army says.

Iran executes two men convicted of attack on government building, judiciary says

Iran has executed two men convicted of links to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran and involvement in multiple attacks, including firing launcher weapons at a government building, the judiciary news outlet reports.

On Monday, two other men linked to the same opposition group were executed.

IDF says it completed wave of strikes on Iranian regime infrastructure

The Israeli military says it completed another wave of airstrikes in Tehran a short while ago.

The military says the strikes hit Iranian regime infrastructure sites, with further details to be provided later.

Iranian media has reported some power outages in the capital following strikes.

Gulf allies tell Trump to keep fighting until Iran decisively defeated

A fire and plume of smoke rise after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026.(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are urging President Donald Trump to continue prosecuting the war against Iran, arguing that Tehran hasn’t been weakened enough by the monthlong US-led bombing campaign, US, Gulf and Israeli officials tell AP.

After private grumbling at the start of the war that they were not given adequate advance notice of the US-Israeli attack and complaining the US had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran’s clerical rule once and for all.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have conveyed in private conversations that they do not want the military operation to end until there are significant changes in the Iranian leadership or there’s a dramatic shift in Iranian behavior, according to the officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The push from the Gulf nations comes as Trump vacillates between claiming that Iran’s decimated leadership is ready to settle the conflict and threatening to further escalate the war if a deal is not reached soon. All the while, Trump is struggling to rally public support at home for a war that’s left more than 3,000 dead across the Mideast and is shaking the global economy. Yet the US leader is sounding increasingly confident that he has the full support of his most important Mideast allies — including some that were hesitant about a new military campaign in the lead-up to the war.

While regional leaders are broadly supportive now of the US efforts, one Gulf diplomat describes some division, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the calls for increasing military pressure on Tehran.

The UAE has emerged as perhaps the most hawkish of the Gulf countries and is pushing hard for Trump to order a ground invasion, the diplomat says. Kuwait and Bahrain also favor this option. The UAE, which has faced more than 2,300 missile and drone attacks from Iran, has only grown more irritated as the war grinds on and the salvos threaten to tarnish its image as the safe, pristine and monied hub for trade and tourism of the Mideast.

Oman and Qatar, which historically have played the role of intermediary between the long economically isolated Iran and the West, have favored a diplomatic solution.

The diplomat says Saudi Arabia has argued to the US that ending the war now won’t produce a “good deal,” one guaranteeing security for Iran’s Arab neighbors.

The Saudis say an eventual war settlement must neutralize Iran’s nuclear program, destroy its ballistic missile capabilities, end Tehran’s support for proxy groups, and also ensure that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be effectively shutdown by the Islamic Republic in the future as it has during the conflict.

Report: Decision making in Tehran hampered, even if regime still standing after decapitation of leaders

The US-Israeli decapitation of Iran’s leadership since the outbreak of the war has hampered Tehran’s ability to make decisions and coordinate major retaliatory attacks, The New York Times reports, citing unnamed officials familiar with US and Western intelligence assessments.

The killing of dozens of Iranian leaders also complicates Washington’s efforts to negotiate with the officials in Tehran who remain, NYT says, adding that Iran’s negotiators may have little knowledge about what their government is willing to concede.

American officials tell The Times that the assassinations have led to the further empowering of hardliners from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Four soldiers killed, 2 wounded in south Lebanon clash with Hezbollah — IDF

L-R: Cpt. Noam Madmoni, Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, who were killed in Lebanon on March 30, 2026. (Courtesy)

Four IDF soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in a clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon yesterday, the military announces.

Three of the slain soldiers are named as:

Cpt. Noam Madmoni, 22, from Sderot

Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, 21, from Lehavim

Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, 21, from Bat Yam

All served with the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit.

The name of the fourth soldier is set to be released later, the military says.

In addition, one soldier was seriously wounded, and a reservist was moderately hurt in the incident.

According to an IDF probe of the incident, during operations in the western sector of southern Lebanon at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday, troops of the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit spotted a cell of Hezbollah gunmen.

The soldiers exchanged fire with the Hezbollah operatives from a close range, hitting several of them, the military finds.

While evacuating the wounded soldiers from the gun battle, Hezbollah operatives fired an anti-tank missile at the troops, which did not cause any further injuries, according to the probe.

The IDF says it returned fire, with tank shelling and airstrikes, against the Hezbollah operatives in the area.

No injuries reported after two successive Iran missile attacks at central Israel

An Israeli interception of an Iranian missile over the West Bank on March 31, 2026. (Josh Davidovich/Times of Israel)

Magen David Adom says it has not received any reports of injuries after a pair of Iranian missile salvos at around 5:30 a.m. local time that triggered sirens in Jerusalem and central Israel.

The missiles were either intercepted by Israeli air defenses or allowed to fall in open areas, the IDF says.

US pump prices hit $4 a gallon as Iran war wreaks havoc on global energy supply

The US national average retail price of gasoline crossed $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years on Monday, data from price-tracking service GasBuddy shows, as the US-Israeli war with Iran rages on.

Trump said to tell aides he’s willing to end Iran war without reopening Hormuz

US President Donald Trump told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed and leave a complex operation to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing administration officials.

Jewish comedian Modi drops out of Passover event due to Mamdani’s participation

Comedian Modi Rosenfeld. (Courtesy)

The Jewish comedian Modi Rosenfeld, who goes by Modi, drops out of a Passover event after finding out that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is participating.

Mamdani is delivering a speech at a Passover event at City Winery in Manhattan.

Modi, who is Israeli-American, was supposed to perform, but says that he was “not told Mamdani was participating in this event until today.”

“Modi will no longer be attending,” a statement on his social media says.

US refrains from condemning controversial death penalty law passed by Israel

The US avoids condemning controversial legislation passed by the Knesset mandating the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

“The United States respects Israel’s sovereign right to determine its own laws and penalties for individuals convicted of terrorism,” a State Department spokesperson says in a statement sent to querying reporters.

“We trust that any such measures will be carried out with a fair trial and respect for all applicable fair trial guarantees and protections,” the statement adds.

Hegseth’s broker looked to buy defense fund before Iran attack — report

A broker for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to make a big investment in major defense companies in the weeks leading up to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, the Financial Times reports, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in the asset manager’s Defense Industrials Active ETF, shortly before the US launched military action against Tehran, the report added.

“This allegation is entirely false and fabricated,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell tweets in response to the story.

Debris from air defense interception sparks fire, wounds 4 in Dubai

Falling debris from an air defense interception sparked a fire and wounded four people in Dubai, city authorities say.

“Authorities in Dubai responded to a fire in an abandoned house in Al Badaa caused by debris following an air defense interception,” the Dubai Media Office posts on X, adding that four people near the house sustained minor wounds.

Kuwait says an oil tanker hit in Iranian attack at Dubai port, warns of possible oil spill

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation says a giant Kuwaiti crude oil tanker, Al Salmi, was directly targeted in what it described as an Iranian attack while anchored at Dubai port in the United Arab Emirates, causing damage to the vessel and a fire onboard, the state news agency KUNA says.

The corporation says the tanker was fully loaded at the time of the incident and warned of a possible oil spill in surrounding waters, adding no casualties were reported and an assessment of the damage was underway, KUNA adds.

Just 31% of American Jews back unconditional US aid to Israel — J Street-commissioned poll

Just 31 percent of American Jews back unconditional US aid to Israel, according to a new poll commissioned by the dovish J Street lobby.

Forty-four percent of respondents said the US should only provide financial and military assistance to Israel if Jerusalem complies with US law, while 26% said the US should stop providing financial and military assistance to Israel entirely.

Sixty percent of respondents said they strongly or somewhat oppose the US military action against Iran, compared to 40% who said they strongly or somewhat support the operation.

The survey was conducted last week and included interviews with 800 self-identified American Jews who are registered to vote. It has a margin of error of 3.5%.

PM: I won’t put timeline on when Iran war will end, but over half our missions achieved

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the war on Iran has achieved more than half its aims, without putting a timeline on when it would end.

“It’s definitely beyond the halfway point. But I don’t want to put a schedule on it,” Netanyahu tells the conservative US broadcaster Newsmax.

He adds that he meant the war was more than halfway “in terms of missions, not necessarily in terms of time.”

Netanyahu says the war has achieved goals, including killing “thousands” of members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Israel and the United States are also “close to finishing [Iran’s] arms industry,” he adds.

“Just the whole industrial base — wiping out… entire plants, and the nuclear program itself,” he says.

Netanyahu also voices confidence that the Islamic Republic would fall.

“I think this regime will collapse internally. But at the moment, what we’re doing is just degrading their military capacity, degrading their missile capacity, degrading their nuclear capacity and also weakening them from the inside,” Netanyahu says.

Top Vatican officials meet with Israeli envoy after Holy Sepulchre blocking

Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, speaks during a plenary session at the COP28 UN Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

The Vatican says that top officials met with Israel’s ambassador following an attempt to stop the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday.

Following the incident, which drew international criticism, Israeli authorities and Catholic leaders reached an agreement to allow prayer at the Christian holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem for Holy Week, which culminates with Easter on Sunday.

Vatican second-in-command Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and its top diplomat, Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, meet with Ambassador Yaron Sideman.

“Regrets were expressed regarding this incident, concerning which clarifications were provided,” the Vatican says.

On Sunday, Israel Police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch, from entering the church, citing security concerns amid the war with Iran. Pizzaballa described the incident as a “grave precedent” that disregards the sensibilities of Christians worldwide.

After the backlash, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Latin Patriarch would get “full and immediate access.”