(2026-05-17). Israel strikes south Lebanon day after ceasefire extension. al-monitor.com Israel launched a massive series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite an extension of the truce between the two countries.Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages.And the continuing bombardment has only increased scepticism about the truce among the many thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south.
(2026-05-17). Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 7 as Hezbollah condemns talks. newarab.com 
Israeli strikes killed killed seven people in Lebanon on Sunday, including an Islamic Jihad commander, Lebanese authorities and state media said, despite a fragile ceasefire as The health ministry published a "preliminary toll" for Israel's strikes on Sunday, with three people killed in the town of Tayr Felsay, including a child, and two killed in the town of Tayr Debba, including another child. | It said 11 people were wounded in those strikes and four more were wounded i…
(2026-05-17). After UAE and Iran scares, Massive fire erupts at IDF base in Negev near Israel's nuclear heartland. hindustantimes.com Reports of escalating regional tensions across the Middle East have raised fresh concerns after alleged drone strikes, explosions, and fires near sensitive military and energy infrastructure. Incidents reportedly include a fire at an Israeli military base in the Negev Desert, alongside unverified claims linking the region to critical strategic facilities. Separately, Iranian authorities have described controlled explosions in parts of Isfahan, while earlier reports suggested a drone strike near the Barakah nuclear plant in the UAE. Officials across affected regions have issued statements downplaying damage, but s…
(2026-05-17). Iraq exported 10 million barrels of oil through Hormuz in April. newarab.com 
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Israeli war on Iran has curtailed oil exports from Saudi Arabia, the
(2026-05-17). Alexander Zevin: Trump's Gulf War. newleftreview.org Asymmetries of the US-Israeli assault on Iran, as an uneasy balance holds between Tehran's tourniquet on the Strait of Hormuz—and the world economy—and the enormous firepower of the aggressors, at the end of the first round.
(2026-05-17). US says Iran-backed militia commander planned Jewish site attacks. al-monitor.com US authorities on Friday detailed charges against a commander of an Iran-backed Iraqi militia who was allegedly involved in plotting terrorism against Jewish people in Europe, Canada and the United States. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, is said to have directed and urged others to attack US and Israeli interests, and to kill Americans and Jews, in retaliation for the war against Iran.He was identified as a senior figure in Kataeb Hezbollah, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
(2026-05-17). After the Iran War: Seven Dynamics That Will Define the New Middle East. moderndiplomacy.eu Every major war in the Middle East has left the region permanently altered in ways that nobody fully anticipated at the time. The 1948 Arab-Israeli war created a refugee crisis whose consequences are still being negotiated seventy-eight years later. The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran reorganized the entire regional security architecture around a new fault …
(2026-05-17). The Surprising History of Warm Iranian-Jewish Relations. juancole.com Berkshire (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) — After the massive US and Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February 2026, the second attack in the middle of negotiations within a year, with his characteristic modesty, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "The war on Iran fulfils my 40-year dream". Netanyahu has not only been dreaming of involving the United States in a war against Iran, but he has also been actively working and plotting to bring this about. US Senator Chris Van Hollen put it this way: 'Netanyahu waited 40 years to find an American president "stupid enough and reckless enough" to s…
(2026-05-17). Israeli officials say 50% chance of renewed war with Iran. newarab.com 
(2026-05-17). Explained: Multi-dimensional Implications of US/Israel War on Iran. ummid.com Far from reviving American supremacy, the Iran conflict exposed the limits of coercive power in an age where history is no longer shaped by a single empire, but by competing centres of influence struggling to define a new world order.
(2026-05-17). Eurovision Boycotters Turn to Father Ted, Raphael and Gaza Documentaries. moderndiplomacy.eu Broadcasters boycotting the Eurovision final due to Israel's participation plan to show alternatives like reruns of "Father Ted," an alternative music show with Spanish artist Raphael, or documentaries about Gaza. This year's contest has faced criticism due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, leading broadcasters from Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland to withdraw, …
(2026-05-17). Eurovision 2026 Results: Bulgaria Takes Victory. moderndiplomacy.eu Bulgaria won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, with Dara's song "Bangaranga," which avoids political themes, taking the top spot. The contest was affected by a boycott from five countries protesting Israel's participation due to its military actions in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack. Notably, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, and …
(2026-05-17). Israel says Hamas armed wing chief killed in Gaza strike. al-monitor.com Israel said Saturday it had killed Hamas armed wing chief Ezzedine Al-Haddad in an airstrike in Gaza the previous day, describing him as a key architect of the October 7 attacks.Since Hamas's October 7, 2023 cross-border assault, the Israeli military and intelligence services have waged a campaign targeting the group's senior political leaders and militant commanders in Gaza and across the region.The military said Friday it had carried out an airstrike in Gaza targeting Haddad, before confirming his death on Saturday.
(2026-05-17). Nancy Fraser: Gaza as World Event. newleftreview.org The global reverberations of Israel's destruction of Gaza, understood as world event—an epochal turning point which serves to reveal the changing nature of the times. Philosophical reflections on the rise of a new-era McCarthyism in Germany and the US.
(2026-05-17). Spanish star Javier Bardem says on Gaza. al-monitor.com Outspoken Spanish star Javier Bardem told AFP he was "getting more work than ever" despite his public campaigning against Israel's war in Gaza, something he attributed to "the narrative changing" around the conflict. At the last Oscars ceremony in February, the openly political star of "No Country for Old Men" used his time presenting the award for best international feature film to state: "No to war and a free Palestine."
(2026-05-17). Israel's PM says close to killing all architects of October 7 attack. scmp.com Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel had almost completed a key goal of the war in Gaza — eliminating all those responsible for orchestrating the October 7 attack. | His remarks followed the Israeli military's announcement that Ezzedine al-Haddad, commander of Hamas' armed wing, had been killed in an air strike in Gaza on Friday.
(2026-05-17). Gaza health officials say Israeli strikes, gunfire kill five. newarab.com 
Despite "Five martyrs have been brought to hospitals as a result of Israeli strikes today so far in the Gaza Strip," sai…
(2026-05-17). Could a leadership change undo Israel's international isolation? aljazeera.com Opposition leaders hope to end Israel's isolation, even as they retain policies towards Palestinians that led to it.
(2026-05-17). ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for 5 Israeli officials. newarab.com 
The A source told the newspaper that the warrants would target Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, two extremist members of the government who have pushed aggres…
(2026-05-17). Questions over huge late-night explosion in Occupied Palestinian Territories. thecanary.co 
A huge explosion and fireball rocked Beit Shamesh in the Occupied Palestinian Territories late on Saturday, 16 May. Residents near Israel's Beit Shemesh area reported a loud explosion and large fire visible from afar. Israel's Kan News later claimed the incident was a controlled explosion carried out inside a civilian factory. No injuries or damage […] | By
(2026-05-17). Israel planning to seize up to 20 properties in East Jerusalem. newarab.com 
In a statement, the governorate said Israeli authorities are preparing to approve a plan on Sunday aimed at confiscating Palestinian properties in the Bab el-Silsileh neighbourhood adjacent to the mosque complex, f…
(2026-05-17). Prosecutors seek death penalty for US man charged with killing Israeli embassy staffers. al-monitor.com Prosecutors said Friday that they will seek the death penalty for a Chicago man charged with fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers in the US capital last year.Elias Rodriguez was arrested immediately after the May 21 shooting of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and his fiancee, Sarah Milgrim, 26, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington.US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a court filing that prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Rodriguez, who faces murder, firearms and hate crime charges.
(2026-05-17). Venice Art Biennale hit by upheaval over Israel's participation. newarab.com 
In an unprecedented move, more than two dozen national pavilions at the Venice Art Biennale this week shut their doors in protest over Countries including France, Belgium, Austria, and Italy walked out of the festival, an international cultural exhibition hosted every two years in the Italian city. | The boycott was triggered by opposition to both Israel's and Russia's participation, leading to the resignation of the international jury, coordinated pavilion shutdowns, artist boycotts, and protests across the Giardini, the Veni…
(2026-05-17). Large blast near Beit Shemesh part of pre-planned test: Israeli defence firm. tribune.com.pk 
(2026-05-17). Palestinian-owned dog survives after Israeli settler beating. newarab.com 
A Palestinian-owned dog that was brutally beaten by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank on Friday is now recovering and being treated for severe wounds. | The Lucy suffered severe injuries and has since been taken for emergency treatment. | The harrowing footage clearly shows the settler, who has not yet been named, r…
(2026-05-17). Friday 5/15: Nakba Day protest at israeli consulate. indybay.org 456 Montgomery St | "israeli" consulate…
(2026-05-17). Israel could wean itself off US defence aid, but not yet. al-monitor.com Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call to gradually end Israel's reliance on US military aid could boost strategic flexibility, analysts said, though a full break from Washington's support remains unlikely anytime soon.The United States currently provides Israel with $3.8 billion annually under a 10-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 under Barack Obama's administration.The vast majority of the funds must be spent on American-made equipment, according to the agreement.
(2026-05-17). Saturday 6/6: How Communities Across Turtle Island are Cutting Ties with Israeli Apartheid. indybay.org Online | www.mobilize.us/us-palestineactivism/eve……