Trump pushes Netanyahu on Gaza aid, IDF reservist severely wounded

The US Department of Justice submitted a letter on Thursday arguing that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is not entitled to immunity from lawsuits in the United States.

This filing is part of an ongoing case in which the families of over 100 victims of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack are seeking $1 billion in damages, alleging that UNRWA supported Hamas by allowing its facilities to be used for weapons storage, the construction of tunnels and command centers, and the transfer of funds to the group through employee payments in US dollars.

The lawsuit, filed last June in the Southern District of New York, accuses UNRWA, which coordinates much of the aid to Gaza, of enabling Hamas's operations. The plaintiffs argue that the agency’s activities played a direct role in facilitating the October 7 attacks.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine into the devastated Gaza Strip.

No aid has been delivered into the strip since March 2. Israel has said it would not allow the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza until the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas releases all remaining hostages.

Earlier on Friday, the UN World Food Programme said it had run out of food stocks in Gaza.

An IDF reservist soldier in the 5250th battalion, 205th Brigade, was severely injured during combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Friday.

The soldier was evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment, and his family has been notified.

In an ongoing operation in the Daraj Tuffah area of the Gaza Strip, the IDF’s 401st Armored Brigade, under the command of the 252nd Division, successfully neutralized a terrorist cell and destroyed several rocket launchers intended for attacks on Israeli territory, the military announced on Friday.

Earlier this week, during one of the operations, a terrorist cell fired an anti-tank missile at IDF troops from a window of a building where they had been hiding.

A new federal indictment was issued against a Jewish woman, a self-described Lebanese-American Hamas operative and a third person on charges of conspiracy, defacing and damaging a Jewish religious site, making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Executive branch of the United States, and possession of destructive devices, the US Justice Department announced on Wednesday.

Mohamad Hamad, 23, of Coraopolis, Talya A. Lubit, 24, a Jewish resident of Pittsburgh, were previously indicted for defacing synagogues with pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist graffiti.  

Hamad, according to the new indictment, was assigned to the 171st Maintenance Squadron of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PAANG) in 2023 - and consequently sought top security clearance in connection to his military role. It was found that Hamad made multiple false statements to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency during the three interviews required to gain the high security clearance level, according to the indictment.

[Damascus] Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signaled a willingness to explore the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel, according to senior Syrian officials. The move would represent a major shift in Damascus’ longstanding stance toward its southern neighbor, which it has technically been at war with since 1948.

The remarks were made during a meeting earlier this month in Damascus with US Representatives Marlin Stutzman and Cory Mills and were first reported by Bloomberg News. Syrian government sources confirmed the account to The Media Line, emphasizing that any such normalization process would need to preserve Syria’s unity and full sovereignty.

Historical tensions and shifting dynamics

The Syrian-Israeli conflict dates back to 1948, when Syria joined other Arab nations in the first war against the newly declared State of Israel. The two countries later engaged in several military confrontations, most notably the 1967 war, during which Israel occupied the Golan Heights—an area that remains a core symbol of Syrian sovereignty and a central obstacle to peace.

Three new "Adir" (F-35i) aircrafts have landed at Israel's Nevatim Air Base and will now join the Israel Air Force's 'Golden Eagle' squadron, the IDF announced on Friday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar applauded Paraguayan President Santiago Peña’s decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamas, and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations on Thursday.

“I applaud Paraguay and President Peña for this landmark move,” he wrote on X.

"Iran is the world’s leading exporter of terrorism and extremism, and together with its terror proxies, it threatens regional stability and global peace. More countries should follow suit and join the fight against Iranian aggression and terrorism," Sa'ar added. 

The IDF published the investigation into Hamas's assault on Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, 2023, in which it determined that the IDF failed in its mission to protect the kibbutz and its residents, while still emphasizing the heroism of the fighters and of the kibbutz squad.

The findings were presented to the residents of the kibbutz, the families of the kidnapped, and the bereaved families before they were made public on Friday.

Israel Police recently arrested an armed terrorist from Kalkilya while he was on his way to carry out an operational mission, the police announced on Friday.

The terrorist was operating alongside other Hamas operatives from Kalkilya.

תיעוד: סוכל תכנון פיגוע – לוחמי יחידת הגדעונים של להב 433 בהכוונת שב״כ עצרו מחבל חמוש בקלקיליה

בפעילות מבצעית משולבת, עצרו לוחמי יחידת הגדעונים (33) בשיתוף עם כוחות צה״ל ושב״כ, מחבל חמוש, פעיל צבאי מקלקיליה, המזוהה עם ארגון הג'יאהד האסלאמי שפעל עם פעילי חמאס נוספים מהעיר. המחבל… pic.twitter.com/1ob3AMYX0K

— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) April 25, 2025

Following the arrest, which was directed by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in cooperation with the IDF, the police seized M16 rifles that were intended for the cell's activities.