The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.
BBC’s main soccer presenter Gary Lineker set to leave broadcaster over antisemitic post
Gary Lineker, the former England soccer star who became a leading sports broadcaster on the BBC, is set to announce his departure from the British broadcaster on Monday due to a controversy surrounding an antisemitic post he published on social media, UK media outlets report.
Lineker is leaving the BBC by “mutual agreement” after 26 years, The Sun reports, with other outlets — including the BBC itself — reporting similar details.
The 64-year-old came under criticism on Tuesday after he shared a post from the Palestine Lobby group, illustrated with a picture of a rat, titled: “Zionism explained in two minutes.”
Rats, linked to disease and dirt, have been used to represent Jews in antisemitic propaganda throughout history, including by the Nazis in 1930s Germany.
Lineker apologized on Wednesday, saying he had reposted material which he had subsequently learned contained “offensive references,” adding that he withdrew the post as soon as he became aware of the issue.
“I take full responsibility for this mistake,” said Lineker. “I would never knowingly share anything antisemitic. It goes against everything I believe in.”
Israel Police say Palestinian who spat on IDF soldier in central Israel is in its custody
A Palestinian man who spat on an IDF soldier and then reportedly turned himself in to the Palestinian Authority is now in the hands of the Israel Police, the force says in a statement.
Police say the man, a resident of the northern West Bank town of Huwara, turned himself in to Civil Administration military and police forces, adding that he’s been taken for questioning.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir touts the arrest on social media, tweeting a photo of the arrest and writing: “Zero tolerance toward those who harm IDF soldiers.”
אפס סובלנות במי שיפגע בחיילי צה"ל pic.twitter.com/u1BhfTCXIa
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) May 18, 2025
The soldier had been on the way to her IDF base on a bus from Tel Aviv to Ramat Gan when she moved away from a young man listening to videos in Arabic.
A young man spits on an Israeli female soldier before getting off the bus. #Israel #IDF #WestBank #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/XO4zC7urya
— Ali Shunnaq (@schunnaq) May 18, 2025
“At some point, I moved to another seat because I was uncomfortable hearing that music,” she recounted to the Walla news outlet.
“Then, when he got up to get off at a stop — I believe on Herzl Street in Ramat Gan — he stood next to me, spat in my face, and got off the bus,” she said.
Charlie Summers contributed to this report.
Trump says he’s ‘saddened’ by Biden’s cancer diagnosis
US President Donald Trump says he is “saddened” by the news that his predecessor and political rival Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,” Trump, who has repeatedly derided Biden for his cognitive abilities and aged demeanor, says on his Truth Social platform.
France urges Israel to allow ‘massive and unhampered’ aid to Gaza
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot calls on Israel to allow the “immediate, massive and unhampered” resumption of aid to Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would allow a “basic amount” in.
“After three months of diplomatic efforts, the Israeli government finally announces the reopening of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Barrot posts on X. “It must be immediate, massive and unhampered. It must put an end to the catastrophic humanitarian situation and definitively end the famine.”
Head of nascent Gaza aid org welcomes Israeli aid resumption as ‘important interim step’
The head of a new body created under an Israeli-American plan to change the way humanitarian aid is distributed in Gaza welcomes the Israeli announcement that it will allow the immediate resumption of aid into the territory.
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) Executive Director Jake Wood says in a statement that the decision is “consistent with the commitment made to us to serve as a bridging mechanism until the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is fully operational. Swift implementation is essential — needs on the ground are urgent, and there is no time to lose. We are also grateful to the Trump Administration for its support in advancing this effort.”
“Today’s announcement marks an important interim step. We expect GHF’s new aid mechanism — including the establishment of four initial Secure Distribution Sites — to be up and running before the end of the month,” Wood adds. “We have secured, and will continue to mobilize, funding from the international community to support GHF’s operations.
“We are actively coordinating with international partners and humanitarian organizations. Now is the time for all participants in the aid community to step forward and collaborate on this effort. We cannot allow fragmentation or hesitation to delay life-saving assistance,” he says.
“Through the GHF, we are building a secure, transparent system to deliver aid directly and effectively — without diversion or delay and in strict adherence to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.”
‘Insanity’: Netanyahu blasted by hawkish politicians, groups for resuming Gaza aid
Right-wing politicians and groups assail Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s abrupt decision to resume humanitarian aid to all parts of the Gaza Strip.
“Every humanitarian aid that enters the Strip, and definitely all parts of it, will fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages languish in tunnels,” laments National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who earlier this year bolted the government over the announcement of a ceasefire-hostage deal, and then returned when fighting resumed.
“The prime minister is making a grave mistake with this move, which doesn’t even have a majority,” Ben Gvir argues in a statement. “We must crush Hamas and not simultaneously give it oxygen.”
In a separate post on X, Ben Gvir says: “Mr. Prime Minister, our hostages have no humanitarian [aid]!”
Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, of Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party, says: “This is our tragedy with Netanyahu’s approach. A leader who could have led to a clear victory and been remembered as the one who defeated radical Islam, but who time after time lets this historic opportunity slip away. Letting humanitarian aid in now directly harms the war effort to achieve victory and another obstacle to the release of the hostages.”
The Tikva Forum, which represents a hawkish group of families of hostages held in Gaza, says it is “shocked” by the decision “to give Hamas a gift without getting anything back, while our loved ones have been starved for almost 600 days.”
The forum urges Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to work against the step, adding: “If a drop of supplies gets to the enemy, this isn’t only a betrayal of the hostages, but also a stab in the back of the IDF fighters who are currently risking their lives in the war.”
Criticism also comes from the ranks of Netanyahu’s own Likud party.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” says MK Avichai Boaron. “We mustn’t hand humanitarian aid to the enemy, we mustn’t hesitate.”
MK Moshe Saada said that calling up five IDF divisions while also allowing aid in that will help Hamas “is an incorrect and immoral decision.” He calls for “totally eradicating Hamas and not helping it survive.”
Centrist leader Benny Gantz of the opposition accuses Netanyahu of “hiding behind the IDF and the security establishment when making decisions that destabilize his coalition.”
“When it’s uncomfortable — ‘The IDF recommended.’ In successes — ‘I gave the order.’ This is a frightened leadership that is incapable of standing behind its own decisions, and national irresponsibility during wartime. Israeli citizens deserve a different leadership that knows how to stand before the public and speak the truth, even when it’s difficult,” Gantz adds.
The Tzav 9 group, which previously blocked aid trucks en route to Gaza, calls on its activists to resume these actions.
“Netanyahu, this is on you. Hamas can’t be pampered and given aid until the last hostage is back here,” says the right-wing organization, which was sanctioned last year by the Biden administration before this was reversed by the Trump administration.