[IsraelTimes] In retrial over 2024 raid of Israeli defense firm’s Bristol factory, defendant admits cop he targeted after hearing screams from fellow activist wasn’t actually hurting anyone
A member of the British group Paleostine Action told a court on Thursday that he believed it was "reasonable" to strike a police officer with a sledgehammer during a 2024 attack on an Israeli defense firm’s UK factory
Six members of the anti-Israel group are being retried after a jury acquitted them of aggravated burglary earlier this year but wasn’t able to reach verdicts on several key charges, including criminal damage and violent mostly peaceful disorder.
One of the defendants, Samuel Corner, 23, was called to testify on Thursday and told the court that he hit the officer with a sledgehammer after hearing "someone screaming" and fearing that one of his fellow activists was being hurt by security personnel.
The officer suffered a fractured spine from the attack and remains on restricted duty.
"It seemed reasonable to do something, and I had to act quickly," Corner reportedly told the court. He accepted in court that the officer was not injuring anyone and acknowledged in hindsight that his actions were extreme.
Corner said the group’s aim was to "shut Elbit down" by damaging equipment they believed was linked to the Israeli company’s weapons production. Jurors heard the attackers say they used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers and drones during the break-in.
During the trial, the court’s public gallery was filled with supporters of the defendants, some of whom wore keffiyeh scarves. Three pro-Paleostinian protesters were arrested outside the court.
The August 2024 raid, which prosecutors said caused about 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) in damages, took place around 10 months into the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war triggered by Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... ’s October 7 terror onslaught.
The initial verdict on the raid drew criticism from police, politicians and Jewish communal groups. The retrial concerns the charges of criminal damage and violent mostly peaceful disorder.
The retrial is expected to continue next week.
Paleostine Action was banned in the UK in July 2025 after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized aircraft in protest of Britannia’s military support for Israel. Earlier this year, Britannia’s High Court ruled that the proscription was unlawful, but allowed it to remain in place to let the government appeal the decision.
[AAWSAT] German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested on Friday that the European Union could ease sanctions on Tehran as part of a comprehensive deal that would end the Iran war, but other EU leaders struck a more cautious note.
The 27-nation EU has imposed sanctions on Iran for years, including travel bans and asset freezes for senior officials and entities, in response to human rights violations, nuclear activities and military support for Russia.
US officials have suggested a comprehensive deal covering Iran's nuclear and missile programs and the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz could bring a lasting end to the US-Israeli war with Tehran, beyond the current ceasefire.
After an EU summit in Cyprus, Merz said the bloc could gradually ease sanctions on Iran in the event that a comprehensive agreement was reached.
European leaders have been largely sidelined in the current Middle East conflict but some European officials see the bloc's sanctions as a possible way for the EU to be involved in a diplomatic solution.
"The easing of sanctions can be part of a process," Merz told reporters after the Nicosia summit.
"No one has objected to that," he said of the summit deliberations. "It is, so to speak, part of the contribution we can make to advance this process and, hopefully, lead to a permanent ceasefire."
But European Council President Antonio Costa, the chair of the summit, told a press conference after the end of the meeting: "It is too early to talk about relieving any kind of sanctions."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said sanctions relief could only come after clear evidence of fundamental changes of course from Iran.
"We believe that sanctions relief should be conditional on verification of de-escalation, particularly on progress on the international effort to contain its nuclear threat, and on a change to the repression of its own people," she told the same press conference.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 ||
04/25/2026 01:50 ||
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New: Data on Asylum Cases: “The Trump administration has dismissed more than 100 immigration judges out of about 750 in place when Mr. Trump returned to power, an unprecedented purge.
The results of this purge, or aggressive supervision, have been excellent. Across the board,… pic.twitter.com/E2GauzOaYk
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Malek Dudakov
[REGNUM] The US military is rocked by bitter internal conflicts.
There are those who were happy under the previous conditions, and those who prefer the Hegseth War Department. The former are either leaving or being purged, because they can’t or won’t keep up. This is a good thing.
Discord within the Pentagon has been evident since at least the spring of 2025, when Donald Trump's new administration began purges of the military bureaucracy. However, it was the Iran adventure that led to mass resignations at the highest levels—the American military machine literally crumbled in the wake of the failed operation. No, no — this really is a good thing. The ones leaving will be happier and more successful elsewhere, while men and women who want to fight are lining up to join in.
Since the start of the war in the Middle East, a number of four-star generals have left the Pentagon, including US Army Chief of Staff Randy George and US Navy Secretary John Phelan. The blow is affecting both military and civilian positions. These departures are part of an internal battle between the top military secretary, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and his growing number of opponents.
During his tenure as Pentagon secretary, Hegseth managed to alienate many. First, these were those who supported continued support for Ukraine and Europe, as the secretary actively advocated cutting off all aid channels to Kyiv. Then, the Pentagon's military apparatus reacted extremely negatively to the preparations for an attack on Iran. The "deep state," which Trump often criticizes, was skeptical of the regime change campaign in Tehran.
The deep state is confused about who the US Constitution puts in charge of making decisions, and who accepts orders to execute those decisions.
CIA analysts presented reports stating that Iran currently poses no threat to the United States, and that a change in the country's leadership in the event of a military escalation is unlikely. The State Department, represented by Marco Rubio and his subordinates, called plans for a quick war with Iran "bullshit." The Joint Chiefs of Staff, which oversees military operations, underwent a reshuffle before the launch of the operation against Iran. The military brass was also dissatisfied.
Hegseth and his friends in the Israeli lobby have become the main advocates of the attack on Iran. The minister makes no secret of his messianic convictions, which, however, coexist in his mind with a complete ignorance of the essence of the Christian religion. And now, driven by sectarian thinking, he is trying to rid himself of everyone in his circle who does not share his worldview.
The dismissal of the Army generals was formally presented as a routine personnel rotation. However, it was obvious to everyone that it was taking place during a period of heated debate over the prospects of a ground operation in Iran. Ultimately, the president was afraid to greenlight an invasion of the Persian Gulf islands, fearing heavy losses among American troops. Hegseth's position lost, so he was forced to take revenge on his opponents in the generals.
The current dismissal of the US Secretary of the Navy is also curious. John Phelan had no military background; he spent his entire career in finance. In 2024, the future Secretary held a fundraising event in support of the Trump campaign. For raising money for the Republicans, he was awarded a high-ranking position at the Pentagon. This is a clear example of the current administration's personnel selection process.
Phelan's name figured prominently in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. It was revealed that the financier and future Secretary of the Navy flew on the billionaire pedophile's jet in the 2000s. However, his dismissal is unlikely to be directly related to Epstein. The official explanation is the failure to ensure accelerated ship construction.
However, the US Navy's problems didn't arise yesterday or out of nowhere. Over the past fifteen years, production times for submarines, destroyers, and aircraft carriers have increased dramatically. For example, building a submarine used to take five to six years, while now it takes nine to ten. Consequently, the US Navy is shrinking—significantly fewer ships are being launched than are being decommissioned.
Reversing these processes of technological degradation in the American military-industrial complex in a short period of time is clearly impossible. Therefore, the resignation of the Secretary of the Navy is most likely an attempt to find another scapegoat to blame for the failures in the Iranian direction.
Phelan holds a civilian position: the Secretary of the Navy handles logistics and management, not operational planning, for which each branch of the US military has its own General Staff. But there are also clear problems with the provision of military personnel. For example, it was discovered that sailors on aircraft carriers are malnourished due to a shortage of provisions. They spend months circling the Arabian Peninsula without proper rotation or replenishment.
The main question is who will be next in line for dismissal? The conflict between Hegseth and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll (also a civilian "business" position) is currently taking center stage. Driscoll is also the White House's special envoy for negotiations with Ukraine, although Driscoll hasn't been directly involved in the matter for a long time. He is a protégé of Vice President J.D. Vance ; they were classmates at Yale.
Driscoll, like Vance, was skeptical of the Iran operation. Many are now hailing him as a potential replacement for Hegseth. Hegseth is seeking to weaken the Secretary of the Army's position, which is why he is firing generals in his entourage. Much will depend on the outcome of the overall standoff between hawks and realists in the administration. If the negotiations with Iran, which Vance is handling, lead to any progress, those who favor the use of force will be sidelined from decision-making positions.
Then we can expect Hegseth's imminent resignation and his replacement by Driscoll, who also opposes support for Ukraine but may also support a reduction in the American military presence in the Middle East and Europe. Driscoll, like Vance, considers Asia a priority for the United States—they would like to direct the Pentagon's military resources toward countering China.
If, of course, there's anything left to send there. Recently, leaks have emerged from the US Defense Department about arsenal depletion. Two-thirds of the country's main precision-guided missile stockpiles have already been expended during the forty days of the Iran War. The situation with air defense munitions is even worse. Replenishing the arsenal will take at least five to seven years, even if weapons production is ramped up.
Hegseth and his associates have undermined US military potential in a very short period of time. This could certainly serve as further grounds for impeachment proceedings against the Pentagon chief, which Democrats in Congress are currently preparing. The Secretary of War is currently firing Pentagon officials in response to the failures in Iran, but in any case, he himself is a candidate for removal. The key question is only when he will be removed.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff are forced to curb Trump's impulses. The US president constantly lashes out at the generals, who in turn ignore his orders, as was the case with his demands for nuclear weapons access codes. Disunity and instability within the Pentagon are worsening. In the near future, we will see numerous high-profile resignations among career US military officers who do not want to be held accountable for carrying out the current White House's controversial decisions.
Fierce battles lie ahead over the approval of the next $1.5 trillion US military budget, which allocates a lot of money to Trump's favorite programs, such as building a protective "Golden Dome" over America or creating new battleships.
The Pentagon first needs to replenish its depleted reserves and catch up with its colleagues in key areas, such as drone deployment. On the eve of the congressional elections, budget wars could once again lead to a so-called shutdown—that is, paralysis of the American government. This would be the best embodiment of the chaos into which the US military machine, overwhelmed by conflicts, has been plunged.
#1
I believe I had a stroke trying to understand that first comment.
Posted by: chris ||
04/25/2026 7:54 Comments ||
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#2
Since the guy doesn't cite any sources, I assume this all came to him in a vision. The title should be "Please Don't Throw Me Out The Window."
Posted by: Matt ||
04/25/2026 9:56 Comments ||
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#3
Since the start of the war in the Middle East, a number of four-star generals have left the Pentagon, including US Army Chief of Staff Randy George and US Navy Secretary John Phelan
Ummm, Phelan was a civilian, but do go on..
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2026 10:28 Comments ||
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#4
Did Malek D. get a draft deferment for his willingness to write propaganda? Maybe it was the threat of defenestration? Enquiring minds need to know!
[IsraelTimes] Malignant tumor found months ago successfully treated with radiation therapy, doctor says; PM, 76, says he withheld diagnosis to prevent Iran from spreading propaganda mid-war.
#1
Intelligence agencies like the CIA, NSA, DIA and other spooks are RIGHT to hide facts from us when their free release would result in negative consequences.
No other PM than Netanyahu could force Iran to surrender. His iron will is the only thing keeping Israel going. He's a wartime leader, like Churchill.
Imagine if Gaza hadn't been bombed flat after Oct 7. Terror attacks would have just kept coming.
The villages bombed flat in southern Lebanon would still be launching Hezbollah missiles.
Ask any Israeli when's the last time you had to run to the bomb shelter?
War WORKS.
Netanyahu is the FDR and Churchill of his generation. In the future he will be regarded as a villain and war criminal but he's doing what is absolutely necessary to secure a future for Jewish children in their own native homeland.
#2
Israelis running to bomb shelters? It’s been days, I think. A few weeks, maybe — I’ve not been reading closing as I prep articles for the Burg. But on the other hand, except for the little girl who died yesterday of injuries from an Iranian cluster bomb in April 1st, the number of deaths and injuries has been shockingly low. Israeli defenses work very well. And for the rest, I agree with you completely. Well said, O nameless one!
[PJMedia] As genocidal Islamic terror group Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... is once again consolidating power in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , some Gazooks are breaking their silence on how abusive Hamas jihadis are even of their own people.
The Daily Mail has a new report of Hamas sex abuse of Gazook women, as companion to the reports of horrific Hamas abuse of Israeli captives.
As of Oct. 2025, 80% of Paleostinians supported jihad against Israel, and 70% opposed Hamas disarmament, but there is a minority of Gazooks who are tired of being always the sex slaves and human shields of Hamas. Hamas co-founder's son Mosab Hassan Yusef has repeatedly emphasized how Paleostinian jihadis will willingly sacrifice even their own children to the cause of jihad and how different factions in Gaza will fight and exploit each other when not actively fighting Israel. This is all the backdrop of the sad stories published on the Daily Mail.
There has been a rise in child marriages and adolescent pregnancies in Gaza, the Daily Mail noted, and a common trend of sex exploitation partly fuels the pregnancies. The Gazooks who spoke to Jusoor News, which then passed the stories on to the Daily Mail, spoke in anonymity. One Gazook man said he was asked to locate a widow who had requested aid from a commander in Hamas's terrorist Qassam or al-Qassam Brigades, "but he took advantage of her." The Gazook man called it "disgraceful," and said he found the widow "in a tent in the Gharabli area where a bunch of Qassam members were taking advantage of her. We informed the leadership, but we were told we had to keep silent about it."
Another Gazook man said a female neighbor of his ended up in the same situation. In that case, "one of Hamas's charity organizations" blackmailed the woman. They "wanted her to wh*re herself in exchange for a food parcel, or an aid voucher, or 100 shekels," he said. The interviewers even spoke with a Qassam Brigade jihadi who affirmed that he told his leadership the "wives of the Martyrs," i.e., the widows of dead terrorists, were being exploited in Gharabli. He was angry when the leadership told him to shut up, so he tore down the tent where the women were held in protest.
The rape accounts come after even more horrifying stories from Israeli captives such as Arbel Yehoud, who said her captors raped and abused her daily, the Daily Mail acknowledged.
A Jusoor News journalist, who used the pseudonym Abdullah, noted how endemic sex abuse is in Gaza. "Unfortunately, there are many cases — very widespread. In every area, many women are exploited, especially widows and divorced women, because they have no support and no income. Their vulnerability is taken advantage of, and the situation is getting worse day by day," he said.
[IsraelTimes] Leavitt claims Tehran asked for in-person meeting, but Trump’s envoys won’t arrive in Islamabad until Sunday, while Iran FM lands on Friday and has no plans to meet them.
#7
Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
·
2h
🚨 HOLY CRAP! President Trump just revealed that after he canceled the Pakistan-Iran trip, they SENT HIM A BETTER DEAL
Art of the Deal, in motion.
"They gave us a paper that should have been better. And INTERESTINGLY, immediately when I canceled it, within 10 MINUTES, we got a new paper that was much better!"
"I'll deal with whoever runs the show...but there's no reason to wait 2 days, have people traveling for 16, 17 hours...When they want, they can call me, we have all the cards!"
"That whole deal is not complicated: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon."
@RapidResponse47
🔥 The man knows what he's doing.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2026 18:27 Comments ||
Top||
#8
The man knows what he's doing.
Watching Trump work the Iranians is like a real-time case study in modern game theory. Thomas Schelling must be smiling down from on high.
"I'll deal with whoever runs the show
Something we need to remember is that there are two games going on here - Trump vs Iran, and the struggle between the various Iranian factions to be on top. The struggle part needs to be sorted before the final Trumpian deal is made.
My SWAG: The IRGC is going to be a sticking point. Unless the other factions can get the IRGC under control, there will be another round of blowing stuff up. After that is taken care of, the choice for the Iranians will be either A) modern oil-exporting nation or B) pastoral nation of livestock-botherers. Note that Kharg Island facilities are currently undamaged.
#9
the asymmetry in targeting between the regular iranian army and the irgc by US and Israeli forces gives a clear strategy to use them to remove the irgc once the pain is great enough...
[IsraelTimes] US president says Netanyahu and Aoun will likely meet at White House in coming weeks; did not know about Lebanese law outlawing contact with Israelis but insists it will be scrapped
US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... announced a three-week extension of a ceasefire between Israel and Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... shortly after presiding over the second round of ambassador-level talks between the two countries at the White House.
In a Truth Social post published immediately after the meeting ended, Trump said he also planned to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House "in the near future."
"The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah," Trump wrote, adding that the White House meeting went "very well."
Shortly after publishing the post, Trump invited news hounds into the Oval Office, where participants in the talks offered brief remarks thanking the president for organizing them.
Trump then took questions from news hounds, claiming that any deal the US signs with Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... must include a provision barring Tehran from continuing to fund Hezbollah. He also clarified that the ceasefire does not bar Israel from launching strikes in self-defense and called for Lebanese legislation outlawing contact with Israelis to be scrapped, though he acknowledged having never heard of the law before.
Earlier this month, Trump coaxed Israel into agreeing to an initial 10-day ceasefire against Hezbollah, which was set to expire at midnight Monday-Tuesday. Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the US-Israeli war against Iran after it began targeting the Jewish state on March 2.
After the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on April 7, Tehran insisted that it cover Lebanon as well and continued blocking ships in the Strait of Hormuz as Israel kept up strikes against Hezbollah.
Apparently concerned that the continued tensions in Lebanon would harm the truce between the US and Iran, Washington began pressuring Israel to curb its strikes on Hezbollah.
But to avoid legitimizing Iran’s influence over developments in Lebanon, the US sought to secure the truce through a separate channel — direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut, which had not happened in decades.
Given the anti-Hezbollah stance of the current government in Beirut, the Trump administration saw a unique opportunity for a peace deal.
However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt... the Iran-backed terror group still holds significant sway in Lebanon, where roughly one-third of the population is Shiite. Previous attempts by the government to disarm Hezbollah have proven wildly unsuccessful, as it continued to fire repeatedly at northern Israel.
Accordingly, it is not clear whether an agreement between Israel and Lebanon in Washington will have practical ramifications on the ground.
Moreover, Beirut’s priorities in the talks with Israel appear to be maintaining the ceasefire and pushing back the IDF, which has established a three-to-six-mile deep buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
For Israel, the main priority in the talks is to secure the disarmament of Hezbollah. Jerusalem has pledged to resume fighting if diplomacy fails.
Trump, meanwhile, is looking to add another peace deal to his resume, but also indicated that such a deal would help with Washington’s efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire with Iran.
"It’ll be a wonderful thing to get this worked out simultaneously with what we’re doing in Iran," Trump told news hounds in the Oval Office after the meeting.
Asked when the sit-down between Netanyahu and Aoun would be held, Trump expressed the hope that it would take place sometime during the three-week truce extension. Last week, however, he said the Israeli and Lebanese leaders would speak by phone the following day, though no such call ended up occurring.
Aoun has held off on engaging with Netanyahu as he faces significant domestic pressure back home, including threats from Hezbollah, and it’s unclear whether he would be willing to meet Netanyahu while Israeli forces continue to occupy a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
’ELIMINATING THE HEZBOLLAH MENACE’
In his opening remarks during the meeting, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter cautioned against focusing on Israel’s military presence in Lebanon.
"To put the emphasis repeatedly in our talks on Israeli withdrawal, is to fall into the trap once again of putting the emphasis in the wrong place," Leiter said in remarks later published by the Israeli embassy. "If we continue down that path, we are doomed to failure. And failure, friends, is not an option."
"If, on the other hand, we put the focus on the root problem, Hezbollah, and its murderous intentions with regard to Israel, I have no doubt that we will succeed in eliminating the Hezbollah menace and achieving peace between our two countries," he said.
Leiter stressed that the IDF buffer zone is in place to defend Israeli northern towns from Hezbollah fire.
"As long as the threat to Israeli citizens persists, our forward positions must remain," he continued. "Lebanon has not met its obligations to dismantle terror infrastructures, as demonstrated in the repeated attacks against Israel launched from the south Lebanon area in recent weeks — indeed, during the ceasefire itself."
The Israeli envoy said Israel is prepared to extend the ceasefire, while warning that it would only work if Jerusalem maintains the right to take out threats whenever they’re identified.
During the public portion of the meeting, Leiter insisted that Jerusalem has no beef with the Lebanese government.
"Israel wants peace with Lebanon and Israel wants security for its citizens," he said. "We’re united with the Lebanese government in wanting to rid the country of this malign influence called Hezbollah."
Thanks to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Leiter maintained that "the possibility of degrading Hezbollah and liberating Lebanon from their occupation is real... We hope that together, we can formalize peace between Israel and Lebanon in the very near future."
Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh also thanked Trump, but refrained from offering similar comments about the potential for peace with Israel.
"Thank you for... presiding over this historic moment," Hamadeh said.
"With your support, we can make Lebanon great again," she adds, causing Trump to smile.
Trump also asked US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... , US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to address the press, and each was careful to use the opportunity to praise the president.
Rubio said the ceasefire extension gives time for Israel and Lebanon to work toward a "permanent peace."
Huckabee compared Hezbollah to a "rough little kid living in the neighborhood who keeps throwing rocks at everybody’s window."
"If the kid will quit throwing rocks, the neighbors can get along and start actually working together," Huckabee said, maintaining that the effort initiated by the US will "get that little kid out of the neighborhood."
As he began taking questions from news hounds, Trump was asked whether Iran must stop funding Hezbollah to reach a deal with the US.
"Yes, that is a must," Trump responded.
Recent talks with Iran have largely focused on the nuclear issue, though, as Tehran has pushed back on demands that deals include an end to its support for proxies in the region.
Asked whether he thinks Israel and Lebanon can reach a peace deal this year, Trump responded, "There’s a great chance."
Trump was then asked about continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah and indicated that he would allow them under certain circumstances.
"Israel is going to have to defend itself if they are shot at... but they’re going to do it carefully, and they’ll be surgical," Trump told news hounds.
The remarks indicated a softened approach from Trump after he declared last week that Israel was "PROHIBITED" from bombing Lebanon.
The Truth Social warning was said to have sparked alarm in Washington, leading a White House official to clarify to news hounds that the ceasefire still allows Israel to take action against perceived threats.
Trump was also asked about a Lebanese law outlawing contact with Israelis, which the US State Department has reportedly been leaning on Beirut in recent days to annul.
"I never heard of that, but... I’m pretty sure that’ll be ended very quickly," Trump said before turning around to seek affirmation from Rubio.
"Yup," the secretary responded.
"I know Lebanon doesn’t want that... That’s crazy," Trump added.
The Lebanese ambassador standing behind him was not given an opportunity to respond.
[IsraelTimes] Rocket attack by Iran-backed terror group, the first since start of truce, comes as Israeli and Lebanese envoys meet at White House; IDF reservist in south Lebanon lightly hurt by explosive-laden drone
Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets at northern Israel late Thursday night, in the first such breach of the shaky ceasefire, shortly before US President Donald Trump announced the truce would be extended as envoys from Beirut and Jerusalem met in Washington.
The salvo came hours after the Israel Defense Forces launched strikes that it said killed several Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, where local media reported three people were killed in another Israeli airstrike.
Hezbollah launched four rockets from Lebanon at the northern border community of Shtula around 11:30 p.m. According to the IDF, all of the rockets that crossed the border were intercepted. There were no reports of injuries.
In a statement, Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, saying it was a response to an Israeli violation of the ceasefire when it allegedly carried out artillery shelling in the southern Lebanon town of Yater earlier in the day that reportedly injured two people, including a child.
The IDF later said it struck the launcher “within several minutes” of Hezbollah using it to target Shtula, along with another launcher “that was loaded and ready to be launched” at Israeli troops.
Hezbollah also took responsibility for several other attacks on Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon throughout Thursday, despite the ceasefire.
The incident marked the first Hezbollah rocket attack on Israeli territory since the ceasefire took effect last week for an initial 10-day period, which Trump said would be extended by three weeks as he hosted the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States for high-level negotiations.
Israel and Hezbollah have continued exchanging smaller-scale blows, accusing each other of violating the Lebanon ceasefire.
On Thursday evening, Lebanon’s health ministry said three people were killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanon town of Shoukin, close to Nabatieh. According to the IDF, the three were Hezbollah operatives who earlier fired an anti-aircraft missile at an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon, in an unsuccessful attempt to down the unmanned aircraft.
Earlier in the day, the IDF said Commando Brigade troops stationed in the southern Lebanese area of Bint Jbeil killed two armed Hezbollah operatives who approached them in the village of Aynata.
The troops identified “two armed terrorists who approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat,” and “eliminated the terrorists to remove the threat,” the IDF said.
It later said that Hezbollah fired several rockets at troops operating in the Aynata area, which struck next to the soldiers but did not result in injuries.
In another incident, the IDF said it fired an interceptor missile on Thursday at a “suspicious aerial target” identified over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are stationed.
The target did not cross into Israeli territory, and no sirens were triggered in Israel, the IDF said, identifying the target as a suspected Hezbollah drone and saying it was successfully intercepted.
Hezbollah said in separate statements that it twice targeted Israeli soldiers in the southern Lebanese village of Taybeh, and downed a drone over Majdal Zoun on Thursday. In Taybeh, Hezbollah said it used a drone as well as “appropriate weapons,” by which the terror group usually means anti-tank missiles.
The IDF said the explosive-laden Hezbollah drone lightly wounded a reservist soldier, with forces striking Hezbollah sites in the area in response.
Hezbollah also claimed to have fired rockets at Israeli troops stationed in the Bint Jbeil area, and targeted an IDF bulldozer that was demolishing homes in the southern Lebanese town of Rachaf on Thursday evening. The IDF later said Hezbollah fired an anti-tank guided missile at Israeli troops, striking near them but resulting in no injuries.
Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that the IDF would raze all of the Lebanese border villages — with the exception of several Christian communities — though military commanders have insisted that the army is only destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, which they say is often embedded within civilian homes.
IDF says it killed Hezbollah rocket operator, found underground command center
Separately, the IDF said Thursday that it had killed a Hezbollah operative on Wednesday while he was operating a rocket launch site in southern Lebanon.
The operative was targeted in an airstrike on the launch site in Sejoud to “prevent a direct threat to the communities of northern Israel,” the IDF said.
In addition, the military said Thursday that it uncovered an underground Hezbollah command center located 25 meters beneath a clothing store in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam.
Inside the tunnel, troops found weapons and several rooms that were used by Hezbollah “for managing the fighting,” the IDF said.
Israel’s strikes since March 2 have killed over 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about a million, according to Lebanese authorities, while the IDF says it has killed some 1,700 Hezbollah operatives, including hundreds of members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force.
Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets a day in the fighting that began on March 2, according to the IDF. The rockets killed two Israeli civilians, and another was mistakenly killed in the north by Israeli artillery shelling.
Fifteen IDF soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, including two during the ceasefire with Hezbollah.
FRANCE TOUTS ITS PART IN TALKS DESPITE ITS ABSENCE FROM THEM
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he was willing to host a conference on rebuilding southern Lebanon and supporting Lebanon’s army, which, under the 2024 agreement, is required to disarm Hezbollah. Macron said after talks with Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday that the conference would take place when Lebanon deems it appropriate. The conference would also aim to release additional European funding. Macron said he and Christodoulides support the idea of a European Union partnership agreement with Lebanon.
Meh. Israel has already stated France is not wanted. President Macron is welcome to sit by the phone, however, waiting for a call that never comes.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Another American aircraft carrier will soon join the blockade of Iranian-linked merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth made this statement at a press conference on April 24.
"A second aircraft carrier will join the blockade in just a few days," the US Secretary of War said.
The aircraft carrier in question is the USS George HW Bush. Hegseth stated that while the operation was previously regional in nature, it is now moving to a global level, involving significant naval forces. He noted that since the Strait of Hormuz blockade began, 34 vessels have already received orders to turn around and that the US Navy is enforcing the blockade "without hesitation."
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with more than 18 other warships, including guided-missile destroyers, large amphibious ships, and minesweepers, are currently on mission in the Arabian Sea.
On April 12, following the failure of talks with Iran in Islamabad, US President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Two days later, US Central Command announced that not a single vessel had managed to breach the US blockade in the strait in the previous 24 hours. Six merchant vessels were ordered to return to an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.
#2
Not sure if it was intentional or not, but it would have been nice if Fox had reported that the minesweepers retired were retired last fall, well before the situation with Iran started.
Islamic State Pakistan Province (ISPP) Magazine Calls For Killing Anti-Islam British Activist Tommy Robinson 'Unconditionally,' Features Poster Listing Traits Of A Lone Wolf On February 9, 2026, the Islamic State Pakistan Province (ISPP) published the first issue of its… pic.twitter.com/R8gR66VW8Z
…first issue of its English-language magazine Invade. The magazine is notable for a full-page poster of anti-Islam British activist Tommy Robinson calling for his killing in the light of Quranic teachings.[i]
The magazine Invade, which is supposed to be an English-language version of ISPP's Urdu magazine Yalghar ("Invasion") but features different content, announces the start of a major series called "Terrorize Them!" – arguing that all non-Muslim nations can be terrorized by a single mujahid and gives the example of a "lone mujahid from Jerusalem who silently slaughtered a couple in their apartment."
Along with the poster calling for the killing of Tommy Robinson, the magazine also features another poster describing the traits of a lone wolf mujahid.
Both Yalghar and Invade are published by ISPP-linked media outlet Nashir Pakistan. The first issue of Invade is dated Shaaban 1447, in the Hijri calendar, which corresponds with the lunar month ending February 20, 2026.

The poster of Tommy Robinson cites an opinion of radical Islamic theologian Ibn Taymiyyah[ii] that reads: "The Quran, the Prophetic tradition, the unanimous consensus of the Prophet's Companions, the generation that followed them, and the leading scholars of Islam all establish that: Whoever reviles or insults the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has committed disbelief, and such a person is to be executed unconditionally [bold in the original], whether they claim to be Muslim or are a non-Muslim, and whether they later repent or do not repent." Another poster, that is part of an article celebrating a mujahid named Abdur Rahman Bin Auf, highlights the traits of a lone wolf. It reads: "Oh Mujahid, make the next news yourself and show them your anger for what they are doing to the Muslims around the world. Show them how your blood boils when they drop bombs on the mujahideen in Somali and Shaam [Syria]. Follow the example of the brothers who came before you and terrorized them and shook the thrones of the enemies right before their eyes!"
According to the poster, a lone wolf has a "leadership mindset" – "A man who is a nation in himself. He does not need anyone; he does not wait for anyone and shows exceptional thinking and courage."
According to the poster, such a person "puts his trust in Allah only" – "If Allah helps you, none can defeat you. But if he denies you help, then who else can help you? So in Allah let the believers put their trust. For what can your enemies' plots and tricks do to you when you supplicate day and night to Allah?"
A lone wolf is "a man of action" – "When he plans something, he acts on it. He does not fall prey to procrastination, nor does he wait like a woman, when he sees his Muslim brothers and sisters getting oppressed."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
