The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
Pentagon chief Hegseth warns Iran ‘will pay the consequences’ for supporting Houthis
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warns Iran that it will face consequences for supporting the Houthis, a group that controls northern Yemen and has struck shipping in the Red Sea in what it says is solidarity with the Palestinians.
“Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” Hegseth writes on X. “You know very well what the US Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”
Firefighters rescue 3 people from blaze at Bat Yam senior home
Firefighters have rescued three people from a fire that broke out at a senior living facility in the central coastal city of Bat Yam, according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Service.
The fire service says several people were taken to hospitals with light injuries, including an 80-year-old man.
Fire service stresses ban on visiting national parks and forests on Independence Day
The fire service issues a statement stressing that visitors are banned Thursday from national parks and forests in areas where the fires are blazing, as firefighters continue to battle the fires overnight.
National parks typically draw large crowds on Independence Day as Israelis gather for barbecues and to celebrate the holiday.
Meanwhile, Route 1 remains closed though other roads in the area have been partially reopened to traffic.
Trump suggests US may not award further grants to Harvard for ‘really not behaving well’
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump suggests his government may stop giving grants to Harvard University, which has refused to concede to his demands regarding hiring, administration and speech regulation.
“And it looks like we are not going to be giving them any more grants, right Linda?” Trump says in remarks while referring to US Education Secretary Linda McMahon and without elaborating.
“A grant is at our discretion and they are really not behaving well. So it’s too bad.”
Harvard and the US Education Department do not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
Ukraine and US sign minerals deal that commits Trump administration to Kyiv
The United States and Ukraine signs a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump’s administration calls a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid.
Ukraine says it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped.
Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine’s mineral wealth as compensation for the billions of dollars in US weapons sent under former president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago.
After initial hesitation, Ukraine accepted a minerals accord as a way to secure long-term investment by the United States, as Trump tries to drastically scale back US security commitments around the world.
Announcing the signing of the deal in Washington, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it shows “both sides’ commitment to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine.”
“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Bessent says.
“And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
The Treasury statement notably mentions Russia’s “full-scale invasion” of Ukraine — diverging from the Trump administration’s usual formulation of a “conflict” for which Kyiv bears a large degree of responsibility.
In Kyiv, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal says on national television that the agreement was “good, equal and beneficial.”
In a post on Telegram, Shmygal says that the two countries would establish a Reconstruction Investment Fund with each side having 50 percent voting rights.
“Ukraine retains full control over its subsoil, infrastructure and natural resources,” he says.
Meeting a key concern for Kyiv, he says Ukraine will not be asked to pay back any “debt” for the billions of dollars in US weapons and other support since Russia invaded in February 2022.
“The fund’s profits will be reinvested exclusively in Ukraine,” he says.