Uruguay becomes latest country to summon Israeli ambassador

As we previously reported, several countries – including France, Spain, Canada and the UK – have summoned their respective Israeli ambassadors after Israeli forces fired towards a group of European Union and Arab diplomats in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

Uruguay’s Foreign Ministry has now announced that it has summoned Ambassador Michal Hershkovitz and asked him to “clarify the reported facts” as to why the shots were fired.

A Uruguayan representative was among the foreign diplomats fired upon on Wednesday.

Iran threatens ‘special measures’ if Israel attacks nuclear facilities

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that his country will “forcefully respond” to any Israeli attack after CNN reported that the Israeli military could be preparing strikes.

“Iran strongly warns against any adventurism by the Zionist regime of Israel and will decisively respond to any threat or unlawful act by this regime,” Araghchi said in a letter addressed to UN chief Antonio Guterres.

“I have called on the international community to take effective preventive measures against the continuation of Israeli threats, which if unchecked, will compel Iran to take special measures in defence of our nuclear facilities and materials.”

Abbas, Salam stress right of return for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Lebanon’s PM Nawaf Salam hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the capital, Beirut, and renewed support for the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Salam’s office said the two leaders stressed that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are “guests” and emphasised the right of return for them.

Lebanon is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, the survivors of the mass expulsion of Palestinians during the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and their descendants.

The statement also backed Lebanon’s effort to disarm Palestinian groups in the country and assert full authority over refugee camps.

One killed, another wounded in Israeli attacks in Lebanon

An Israeli air raid has killed at least one person in the Lebanese border town of Rab Thalathin, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports.

Israeli forces also opened fire and wounded a shepherd in the neighbouring village of Wazzani.

Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire agreement in November of last year, but Israeli forces have been launching regular attacks on Lebanon, including on the capital, Beirut. Parts of South Lebanon also remain under Israeli occupation, in violation of the truce deal.

Israeli military issues warning that it will strike Lebanese town

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee has warned residents of the southern Lebanese town of Toul to stay away from the building in the centre of the village, describing the site as Hezbollah infrastructure.

Lebanese news outlets reported low-flying drones over the area. Toul is in the Nabatieh Governorate, north of the Litani River.

Israel bombs area it threatened in south Lebanon

The Israeli military has struck a building in the Lebanese village of Toul after warning residents to stay away from the area. Israel had claimed that the site housed Hezbollah infrastructure.

Footage shared by Lebanese media outlets showed huge plumes of smoke rising from the area after the attack.

Israel intensifying Lebanon attacks, testing Hezbollah

With Hezbollah weakened and seemingly unable to fight back, the Lebanese army lacking the military power to confront Israel, and diplomacy failing to end violations of the November ceasefire, it appears that Israel is asserting complete freedom of military action in Lebanon.

For many people in Lebanon, Israeli attacks – with and without warning – have become a recurring reality.

The scenes of the latest Israeli strike in Toul, which was preceded by an evacuation warning, appear familiar: People gathering near the site with their phone cameras, fire and rescue crews rushing to the scene, clouds of black smoke and fire in the background.

Toul is north of the Litani River, an area that Hezbollah argues is not covered by last year’s ceasefire agreement requiring the group to pull its forces away from the Israeli border. But Israel has made it clear that it will strike on both sides of the river as it sees fit.

In fact, hours before the Toul attack, Israel wounded a shepherd and killed another person in separate attacks south of the Litani, later claiming that it targeted a Hezbollah fighter.

Last month, Israel bombed Beirut, saying that it targeted a Hezbollah missile storage – a claim dismissed by the group. The Israeli military has also been carrying out targeted assassinations across Lebanon. Earlier in May, it killed senior Hezbollah military official Adnan Harb in a drone strike.

Beyond attacks that target – or claim to target – Hezbollah, Israel drops stun grenades and fires at Lebanese border villages almost daily.

Hezbollah has said that its patience may eventually run out, but it’s unclear if the group is capable of mounting a fight against Israel after the withering blows it has been suffering since September of last year, including the killing of its top political and military leaders.

More Israeli strikes reported in Lebanon

Additionally to the strike against a building in Toul, the Israeli military has been bombing areas across south Lebanon, according to Lebanese news outlets. Israeli bombardment was reported in the towns of Sujoud, Touline, Sawanna and the Rihan Mountain.

Lebanon’s National News Agency described Israeli attacks as some of the heaviest since the ceasefire went into effect in November of last year.

US security chief says 2 killed in Washington shooting, both Israeli embassy staff

Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC. We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share. Please pray for the families of the victims.

We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice.

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 22, 2025

Washington police chief says shooting suspect in custody

Washington police chief Pamela Smith said officers have arrested a suspect following the murder of two Israeli embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC.

Smith said the suspect was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting. Following the attack, security detained the suspect and handed them over to police. Smith said the suspect chanted “Free, free Palestine” in custody.

Israeli embassy in Washington spokesman, Tal Naim Cohen, confirmed that two staff members were shot “at close range” while attending a Jewish event at the museum.


https://www.axios.com/2025/05/22/dc-israeli-embassy-shooting-victims


_{Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim met when she started working at the Israeli Embassy in Washington in November 2023}

The victims of the Washington, D.C. terror attack were identified as Israeli embassy staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were on their way back from a conference at the Jewish Museum. The two had planned to get engaged next week in Jerusalem. 

The two had planned to get engaged next week in Jerusalem. Yaron, a Christian, had immigrated from Germany to Israel at age 16 and served in the IDF, later becoming a diplomat.

The attack took place overnight (Wednesday into Thursday), when eyewitnesses reported that the terrorist, wearing a keffiyeh, shouted “Free Palestine” before opening fire at close range on the embassy staff. According to reports, two other embassy workers were injured in the shooting and were taken to the hospital for medical treatment. The attack occurred at 9:30 p.m. local time, near the site of the conference and just a few blocks from the Washington, D.C. police headquarters.

Israel’s UN envoy calls shooting ‘depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism’

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, has condemned the attack as a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism”.

“Harming the Jewish community is crossing a red line. We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act. Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives – everywhere in the world,” Danon said in a post on X.

Trump says Washington attack rooted in anti-Semitism

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, President Trump condemned the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, a short while ago, saying they were “based obviously on anti-Semitism”.

“Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen!” he added.

Anti-semitism has lost its meaning thanks to Biden and Trump. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/livestory/u-s-officials-expected-to-give-update-on-killing-of-2-israeli-embassy-staff-9.6768751

We're learning more about the suspect detained in the D.C. shooting. Elias Rodriguez worked at the health-care non-profit American Osteopathic Information Association, Reuters is reporting. The organization confirmed his employment in a statement that expressed sympathy for the victims.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, in his interview on CBC News Network, said he believes the suspect had a "a certain violent background which has nothing to do with Israel and with Palestine and is just a kind of excuse to express a certain violent character in this person which has nothing to do with us."

"I only know one thing: that he said 'Free Palestine' and he was shooting and killed two Jews, two Israelis…. Obviously, this is terrible," Olmert said.

"I can imagine that under certain circumstances when people watch what is going on in the Middle East, it can trigger some very negative traits in their personality, which may lead them into violence. This has to be condemned and has to be stopped."

Anyway tons of coverage of this in the mainstream media, while this hardly got reported
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250407-us-turns-a-blind-eye-says-american-palestinian-after-son-killed-by-israel
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/17/miami-shooting-israeli-men
https://news.sky.com/story/illinois-man-guilty-of-hate-crime-murder-of-palestinian-american-boy-13319106

Tragic nonetheless, but double standards and pulling the anti-semitic card are on full display again.

US congressman suggests Gaza should be nuked

Commenting on the attack that killed two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, DC, newly elected Republican legislator Randy Fine says, “The Palestinian cause is an evil one.”

“In World War II, we did not negotiate a surrender with the Nazis. We did not negotiate a surrender with the Japanese. We nuked the Japanese twice in order to get unconditional surrender. That needs to be the same here,” Fine told Fox News.

Fine, a close Trump ally, has a long history of anti-Palestinian statements. In 2021, he commented on a post with a photo of a dead Palestinian child, asking him how he sleeps at night with: “Quite well, actually! Thanks for the pic!”

Israeli politicians blaming one another for shooting attack in Washington

Netanyahu’s office has released a lengthy statement saying Israel would be stepping up security at its embassies around the world.

Israeli politicians are attacking each other in the wake of the shooting. Members of the far right are accusing members of the far left, saying their rhetoric is the reason why these types of incidents are taking place.

Bezalel Smotrich is blaming left-wing member Yair Golan, saying it’s his rhetoric that is prompting this type of violence. But then you have Golan saying that actually it’s because of this right-wing government that is not popular within the Israeli public and also around the world, and is causing these types of acts of violence.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry will be giving a news conference soon to answer questions about what’s to come next as part of the investigation.

Israeli FM claims criticism of war by foreign leaders may be causing anti-Semitic violence

⁠Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking in West Jerusalem, said the shooting in Washington, DC was an anti-Semitic attack.

This is something that Israel says whenever there is this kind of attack. He said the Israelis are still trying to get all the information from their American counterparts.

But he also pointed the finger at other countries in the West, including EU members and those who have released statements in recent days and weeks against Israeli policies when it comes to the war on Gaza, expanding military operations and the blockade of humanitarian assistance that’s still ongoing.

Israeli officials have said this type of anti-Israel rhetoric, as they call it, is what’s inciting these types of attacks.

Yeah it's the criticism of starving 2.1 million people while simultaneously bombing women and children, burying them under tons of rubble while denying rescue nor recovery that incites attacks. Do these 'officials' believe what they say? It's frightening to think they actually do.

How many children has Israel killed in Gaza since October 2023?

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 16,500 children have been killed in the enclave by Israeli attacks since October 2023. This figure includes:

Protest in Dutch port over ship transporting F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel


<sub>Protesters take part in a demonstration outside the city hall in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on May 21, 2025, to protest the arrival of a ship reportedly carrying F-35 components bound for Israel



Demonstrators in Rotterdam on Wednesday called for an end to the shipment of weapons to Israel amid its ongoing war in Gaza</sub>

Which countries trade with Israel?

On Tuesday, the UK government suspended free trade negotiations with Israel in response to what it said was its military conduct in the war on Gaza and the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Addressing the parliament, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK government couldn’t continue talks on upgrading its existing trade agreement with an Israeli government pursuing what he called “egregious policies” in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

This came a day after the UK, France and Canada threatened to take “concrete actions” against Israel if it does not stop its renewed offensive and lift aid restrictions in Gaza.

The EU also took a step towards reassessing its relationship with Israel, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirming on Tuesday that the bloc had voted to review its trade cooperation agreement.

Israel sold $61.7bn of goods around the world in 2024. The biggest importers of Israeli products were the United States with $17.3bn, Ireland with $3.2bn and China with $2.8bn.

• The United States primarily imported diamonds, high-tech electronics, including integrated circuits and telecommunications equipment, as well as chemical products.
• Ireland was the largest buyer of Israeli integrated circuits in 2024, importing some $3bn billion worth of electronic integrated circuits and microassemblies. These components are widely used in Ireland’s pharmaceutical, medical device and tech manufacturing sectors.
• China imported a range of Israeli products including optical equipment, electronic components and chemical products.

Israel bought $91.5bn worth of goods from around the world in 2024. The biggest exporters to Israel were China with $19bn, the United States with $9.4bn, and Germany with $5.6bn.

• China primarily exported electric vehicles, mobile phones, computers and metals.
• The United States sold Israel explosive munitions, diamonds, electronics and chemical products. Israel receives billions in US military aid, much of which is spent on American-made weapons, effectively boosting US exports.
• Germany exported vehicles, pharmaceutical products, machinery and electronics.

Israeli settlers storm village near Nablus, try to set mosque on fire: Report

Palestinian activist in the occupied West Bank, Ihab Hassan, reports that Israeli settlers have stormed the village of Aqraba, southeast of Nablus, and carried out attacks on Palestinian-owned property.

Hassan said the settlers set a Palestinian-owned vehicle on fire and “attempted to burn a mosque with worshippers still inside” in what he described as an “apparent attempt to burn them alive”.

https://x.com/IhabHassane/status/1925374219346473269

Israeli army demolishes Palestinian home in West Bank raid

Israeli forces have destroyed a house in Baqat al-Hatab during an overnight raid in the Palestinian village south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

It destroyed the house that belonged to Sultan al-Jani, a Palestinian accused of killing an Israeli security guard with a hammer during an attack on an industrial park near the illegal settlement of Kedumim in August 2024.

Israeli forces also detonated an explosive device during an ongoing raid in Bal’a, east of Tulkarem. Israeli infantry forces have also stormed the Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah.

Dozens of Palestinians detained in occupied West Bank

Wafa, citing the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), says that Israeli forces detained 25 Palestinians from various areas of the occupied West Bank last night.

The PPS said that this included a number of prisoners released as part of the recent prisoner-captive exchange deal.

From October 2023 to April 2025, the number of Palestinian political prisoners doubled, rising from 5,250 to nearly 10,000.

According to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, since 1967, Israeli forces have detained an estimated one million Palestinians, or approximately 20 percent of the Palestinian population.

Statistically, this means one out of every five Palestinians has been imprisoned at some point in their life.

Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque compound

Dozens of Israeli settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site, in occupied East Jerusalem under the protection of Israeli police.

Wafa news agency also reports that a settler attacked a shrine located in the Maaman Allah Cemetery in occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli prison: Report

Amr Hatem Odeh, abducted from Gaza in December 2023, has died in Israel’s infamous Sde Teiman military base that doubles as a prison for Palestinians, reports Quds News Network.

The Israeli military abducted Odeh, age 33 and a father of three, along with some of his family members from Gaza during an Israeli ground invasion, the report added.

Several settler attacks reported across occupied West Bank

There has been a spate of settler attacks in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem last night and today:

Israeli forces seize ambulance, arrest paramedic near Ramallah

Israeli forces have seized an ambulance and arrested a paramedic at a checkpoint east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Earlier, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that seven Palestinians were wounded when Israeli forces stormed the Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah.

Israeli school closures deny education to hundreds of Palestinian children in East Jerusalem

Hundreds of Palestinian children have been left without education after Israeli closure orders for six UN-run schools in occupied East Jerusalem, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said.

On May 8, Israeli police shut down six schools run by the UNRWA in Shu’fat refugee camp and neighbourhoods of Silwan, Wadi al-Joz, and Sur Baher, citing the lack of permits.

“Nearly 800 children are out of school since 8 May, after the Israeli Forces forced the closure of the 6 UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem,” the refugee agency said in a statement.

“These UNRWA schools are inviolable premises of the United Nations,” it said. “UNRWA schools must continue to be open to safeguard an entire generation of children. Palestinian children’s right to education must be upheld.”

In October 2024, Israel’s Knesset passed two laws banning UNRWA from operating in Israel, with the laws going into effect on January 30.

One killed, several wounded in Israeli bombing of Khan Younis

Our colleagues are reporting that a Palestinian was killed and several injured in an Israeli bombing of a tent housing displaced people in Khan Younis.

At least 51 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn today.

Fire breaks out at Gaza hospital after Israeli attack

A fire has broken out at al-Awda Hospital’s drug depot after it was attacked by Israeli forces, our colleagues on the ground are reporting.

The hospital, located in Tal az-Zaatar in the northern Gaza Strip, is just one of many attacked by Israeli forces throughout the war.

Israeli forces target medical warehouses

The Israeli army has intensified its aerial and ground bombardment across Gaza, in particular near al-Awda Hospital in the northern part of the enclave, which has been one of the few medical facilities operating in the north.

The management of the hospital told us that the Israeli army hit one of the main medical supplies warehouses. A huge fire broke out there, and they have been unable to contain it so far.

There will be a devastating ripple effect, especially in the process of distributing aid here in Gaza.

Until now, no aid trucks have made their journey to the north and if aid routes will be under fire, it means that aid will not be able to move to the north, and aid workers will not feel safe to operate on the ground, which will hamper the entire distribution process.

Thirteen bodies pulled from the rubble of destroyed homes in northern Gaza

Our colleagues on the ground are reporting that 13 bodies have been pulled from the rubble of two houses struck by Israeli forces in ​​Jabalia al-Balad in the north of the Gaza Strip. They say a search and rescue operation is under way.

Israel orders forced evacuation threats for Jabalia

An Israeli army spokesperson has ordered residents in large areas of northern Gaza, including Beit Lahiya and Jabalia refugee camp, to leave immediately as they are “considered dangerous combat zones”.

He said the Israeli military “will significantly expand its military activity in the areas”.

_{Workers package bread for distribution at the World Food Programme (WFP) bakery after a limited amount of flour entered the Gaza Strip, where border crossings have remained closed since March 2 due to an Israeli aid blockade, in Deir el-Balah, Gaza}

Gaza authorities laud Palestinians for protecting aid convoys

The Government Media Office in Gaza says it salutes Palestinians in the besieged enclave for helping the first assistance trucks to enter the territory after months of total Israeli siege to reach bakeries and distribution centres.

“We express deep gratitude for our great Palestinian people, families, mayors and clans, who answered the call of the homeland and stood to protect the trucks against looting attempts,” the office said in a statement.

Israel has been targeting security officers securing aid convoys, reportedly allowing criminal gangs to steal the assistance in areas under the control of its army, compounding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Palestinian children line up for food in Gaza City

Aid that reached Gaza ‘vastly insufficient’: UNICEF

The UN agency for Palestinian children says 508 pallets of nutrition reached its warehouse in Gaza yesterday, but the amount of assistance is “vastly insufficient”.

“Children are in urgent need of food, water, and protection,” UNICEF Palestine said in a social media post.

The agency’s evaluation mirrors that of several other major NGOs and UN bodies, as well as the UN secretary-general’s spokesperson.

🚨508 pallets of life-saving nutrition supplies reached @UNICEF’s warehouse in #Gaza yesterday.

This is vastly insufficient. Children are in urgent need of food, water, and protection.

As intense bombardments continue, children keep being killed and injured. pic.twitter.com/jLb8Yb8nTZ

— UNICEF Palestine (@UNICEFpalestine) May 22, 2025