Israel News for 5-5-2026
News Update
Israeli municipal officials are preparing their cities and towns for the possibility of renewed hostilities with Iran, after the Iranian missile attacks against the UAE yesterday. President Trump didn’t say that the attacks violated the ceasefire, and seems to want to continue it, along with the blockade against Iranian ports, which is choking off Irans economy. The U.S.is also in the process of carrying out Operation Freedom, to allow ships to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Yesterday, the IDF eliminated a Hamas Nukbah commander who had participated in the October 7 massacre, in northern Gaza. The IDF stressed that the terrorist posed an imminent threat to troops operating in the Gaza Strip and was eliminated in a precise aerial strike. The IDF also noted that before the strike, multiple measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance.
For the first time since 1992, an independent Druze party called “Brit Achim” (Alliance of Brothers) will run in national elections. Heading up the new party is former commander of the Druze battalion and former head of the IDF’s Population Administration, Col. (res.) Wajdi Sarhan. For more, click here.
Jonathan Pollard, the former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst who served 30 years in an American prison for spying for Israel, announced that he will be running in the next Knesset election. For more, click here.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama said, in an interview with The New Yorker, that Prime Minister Netanyahu had presented him with the same arguments he later presented to current President Donald Trump to persuade him to launch a war with Iran. He said, “I think my prognosis was accurate,” he said. It may be that Netanyahu has “gotten what he wanted. Whether that’s what is ultimately best for the Israeli people, I would question that. Whether I think it’s what is good for the United States and America, I would question that. I think there’s an ample record of my differences with Mr. Netanyahu.”
