The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
IDF says it targeted Hezbollah operative posing ‘immediate threat’ in Beirut strike
The IDF says it carried out a strike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital of Beirut targeting a Hezbollah operative, the second such strike since a November ceasefire.
“The strike targeted a Hezbollah terrorist who had recently directed Hamas operatives and assisted them in planning a significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians,” the Israeli military says in a joint statement with the domestic Shin Bet security agency.
“The terrorist posed a real and immediate threat,” the statement adds.
‼️ An Israeli strike on the southern suburb of Beirut : pic.twitter.com/Bbut8BChFb
— Hiba Nasr (@HibaNasr) April 1, 2025
Trump: David Friedman, 30 others have expressed interest in UN envoy vacancy
US President Donald Trump says his former ambassador to Israel David Friedman has expressed interest in becoming the next US ambassador to the United Nations after Elise Stefanik pulled her nomination in order to maintain her seat in the House where Republicans have a narrow majority.
“We have a lot of people that have asked about it, and would like to do it — David Friedman, Ric Grenell and maybe 30 other people,” Trump tells reporters after signing executive orders in the Oval Office.
Friedman waged considerable influence from Jerusalem during the previous Trump administration and was said to have vied for a top spot in the second administration. However, Trump has held off on appointing the former envoy, who criticized the president after he dined with antisemite Kanye West in 2022.
Friedman went on to endorse Trump’s re-election and has been one of his most vocal advocates.
“Everyone loves that position. That’s a star-making position, and so we’ll see what happens. But we have a lot of people that are interested in going to the United Nations, as you can imagine,” Trump says.
Trump says he plans to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and ‘possibly other countries’
US President Donald Trump confirms that he plans to make his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, adding that he’ll also likely make stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
He doesn’t mention Israel in these comments to reporters after signing executive orders in the Oval Office but he does say that the Mideast itinerary may include “a couple of other countries.”
Asked if the trip will take place in May as reported, Trump responds, “It could be next month, maybe a little bit later.”
Trump reiterates that he decides to make Saudi Arabia his first foreign destination after Riyadh pledged to invest nearly $1 trillion in US companies.
Iran complains to UN about Trump’s ‘reckless, belligerent’ remarks
Iran has complained to the United Nations Security Council about “reckless and belligerent” remarks by US President Donald Trump, describing them as “a flagrant violation of international law” and the founding United Nations Charter.
Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.
In a letter, seen by Reuters, Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani writes that Tehran “strongly warns against any military adventurism and will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime, against its sovereignty, territorial integrity, or national interests.”
Israeli students still stranded in Turkey after 12 hours as rescue plane also found to be unsafe
A group of Israeli 12th graders stranded at an airport in Turkey are still there 12 hours later, after a plane sent to rescue them was also found to have technical issues, the the Education Ministry says.
The plane carrying 12th-grade students from five schools to Poland was forced to make an emergency landing in Turkey, due to engine issues.
According to reports, the students were taken to a secure area in the airport in Antalya as they await a replacement aircraft.
But the replacement plane was also found to be unsafe and now a third plane will be sent in the coming hours, the ministry says.
The students are on an organized trip to visit concentration camps and learn about the Holocaust. The Poland trips are seen as a learning experience about the Holocaust, the subsequent necessity of the Jewish state, and the values of volunteerism and social cohesion.
Khamenei adviser says Iran will have ‘no choice’ but to get nuclear weapon if attacked
An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says the country would have no alternative but to acquire a nuclear weapon if attacked, following a threat by US President Donald Trump.
“We are not moving towards (nuclear) weapons, but if you do something wrong in the Iranian nuclear issue, you will force Iran to move towards that because it has to defend itself,” Ali Larijani, adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says in an interview with state TV.