Drones bomb aid ship bound for Gaza; NGO blames Israel

Drones bomb aid ship bound for Gaza; NGO blames Israel

A ship bound for Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and activists was bombed by drones in international waters off Malta early Friday, its organisers said, alleging that Israel was to blame.The Israeli foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the allegation by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international non-governmental group. The Maltese … Read more

Israel cancels visas for 27 French lawmakers amid tensions with France

Israel cancels visas for 27 French lawmakers amid tensions with France

The Israeli government has cancelled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials just two days before they were set to begin a five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The delegation, comprising members of France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, was invited by the French consulate in Jerusalem. Their mission, according to the … Read more

Israeli probe into the killings of 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza finds ‘professional failures’

Israeli probe into the killings of 15 Palestinian medics in Gaza finds ‘professional failures’

An Israeli investigation into the killings of 15 Palestinian medics last month in Gaza by Israeli forces said Sunday it found “professional failures” and a deputy commander will be fired. Israel at first claimed that the medics’ vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire but later backtracked. Cellphone video recovered from … Read more

Hundreds of Israeli Air Force Reservists Call for Halt to Gaza War

Hundreds of Israeli Air Force Reservists Call for Halt to Gaza War

Hundreds of reservists and retired officers in Israel’s air force signed a letter on Thursday urging the Israeli government to agree to a deal with Hamas to return hostages to Israel, even at the price of stopping the war in Gaza. The letter, signed by roughly a thousand people, including a former chief of staff … Read more

Leaders Flex Muscles Against International Criminal Court

Leaders Flex Muscles Against International Criminal Court

There aren’t a lot of countries Israel’s prime minister can visit without risking arrest. Which makes the red-carpet treatment Benjamin Netanyahu received in Hungary — Europe’s only proud “illiberal democracy” — all the more noteworthy. Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, invited Mr. Netanyahu right after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant last November … Read more

What We Know About the Case of Gaza Aid Workers Killed by Israeli Gunfire

What We Know About the Case of Gaza Aid Workers Killed by Israeli Gunfire

The Israeli military has acknowledged flaws in its initial accounts of its troops’ involvement in the killing last month of 15 people in southern Gaza who the United Nations said were all paramedics and rescue workers. The admission came on Saturday, the day after a video obtained by The New York Times appeared to contradict … Read more

Video Shows Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Under Gunfire Barrage, With Ambulance Lights On

Video Shows Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Under Gunfire Barrage, With Ambulance Lights On

A video recording, discovered on the cellphone of one of the paramedics who was found along with 14 other aid workers in a mass grave in the Gazan city of Rafah in late March and obtained by The New York Times, shows that the ambulances and fire truck that they were traveling in were clearly … Read more

Israel’s Military Says It Struck Beirut’s Suburbs

Israel’s Military Says It Struck Beirut’s Suburbs

The Israeli military said early Tuesday that it had conducted a strike on the southern outskirts of Beirut, the second attack near Lebanon’s capital in less than a week. Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire in November, raising hopes that Lebanon’s deadliest war in decades could be over. But the recent strikes have prompted … Read more

Israel Budget Vote Is Win for Netanyahu

Israel Budget Vote Is Win for Netanyahu

A spending plan approved by Israel’s Parliament hands Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a big political victory and devotes a significant chunk to military spending, signaling that Israel expects to stay on a war footing for the longer term. The $206 billion budget was approved on Tuesday with broad enough support — 66 votes to 52 … Read more

Syrian Druse Pilgrims Pay Rare Visit to Israel

Syrian Druse Pilgrims Pay Rare Visit to Israel

A delegation of Syrian Druse made a rare trip to Israel this week and visited a shrine revered by the faith as Israel seeks to extend its influence inside Syria after the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad. Both Israel and Syria have sizable communities of Druse — an Arabic-speaking religious minority scattered across the … Read more