Israel News for 5-15-2026
News Update
Staff Sergeant Negev Dagan, 20, from Dekel, a combat soldier in the 12th Battalion, Golani Brigade, was killed in a mortar attack in southern Lebanon. He is the 19th soldier to fall in Lebanon since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, and the sixth killed since the start of the ceasefire.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, including 53 vessels, set sail today from the Turkish coastal city of Marmaris toward the Gaza Strip, saying its goal is to “break the Israeli blockade.” The Israeli Navy is preparing for the flotilla’s expected arrival off Israel’s coast in the coming days and fears it could turn violent. Diplomatic efforts were made to stop the flotilla from being able to depart, but they all failed.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Sa’ar said that Israel will sue The New York Times over what they described as “one of the most horrifying and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in modern journalism.” The decision follows an opinion column by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof, who accused IDF soldiers and Israeli prison guards of systematic and brutal sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees. Among the claims cited in the column were allegations of rape using dogs, metal rods and other forms of sexual violence. It is truly a modern day blood libel. The saddest, and scariest, part of this is that millions of people around the world actually belief these lies. For more, click here.
Today is Jerusalem Day, marking the 59th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem by the IDF in the 6 day war and Jewish sovereignty over the Holy City and the eternal capital of Israel and the Jewish nation. Jerusalem will never again be divided or taken from the Jewish people.
