The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.
‘Hands off!’: Tens of thousands march throughout US against Trump ‘devastation’
Tens of thousands of protesters flood the streets of major US cities to oppose the divisive policies of President Donald Trump, in the largest demonstrations since his return to the White House.
Opponents of the Republican president’s policies — from government staffing cuts to trade tariffs and eroding civil liberties — rally in Washington, New York, Houston, Florida, Colorado and Los Angeles, among other locations.
So-called Hands Off! demonstrations are organized for more than 1,200 locations in all 50 US states by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ advocates, veterans and elections activists. The rallies appear peaceful, with no immediate reports of arrests.
Protesters assail Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s actions on government downsizing, the economy, immigration and human rights. On the West Coast, in the shadow of Seattle’s iconic Space Needle, protesters hold signs with slogans like “Fight the oligarchy.”
Demonstrators voice anger over the administration’s moves to fire thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, effectively shutter entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut funding for health programs.
Musk, a Trump adviser who runs Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in the downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars.
Asked about the protests, the White House says in a statement that “President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”
Gazan reports claim at least 9 dead in new Israeli strikes on Strip
Gazan media report at least eight deaths in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a home in western Khan Younis in the Strip’s south.
Reports also claim a child has been killed in a bombing in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City in the Strip’s north.
تغطية صحفية: اللحظات الأولى لقصف الاحتلال منزلاً لعائلة عبد الهادي غرب مدينة خانيونس، والذي أسفر عن ارتقاء 8 شهداء. pic.twitter.com/1BBqOxGbxW
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) April 6, 2025
Opposition MK claims Gaza ambulance incident a result of government rhetoric about ‘no innocents in Gaza’
The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv claims the recent deadly IDF shooting of an ambulance convoy and what he calls the attempt to cover up the incident are the result of a culture created by senior members of the government and their supporters who repeatedly claim that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza.
Kariv’s comments are a rare example of a Jewish lawmaker weighing in on an alleged war crime in Gaza.
“The very serious ambulance incident in the southern Gaza Strip raises difficult and poignant questions. One should not automatically accept every claim in foreign media, but one certainly cannot close their eyes,” Kariv tweets.
“When government ministers, members of Knesset, former senior commanders and influential rabbis use rhetoric such as ‘no one is innocent’ and talk about exercising power without any limits, these messages seep into the IDF, leading to both difficult and unbearable consequences and attempts at a cover-up,” the left-wing opposition lawmaker says.
“The army must provide answers about what happened in this incident, take the necessary steps — despite the expected attacks and campaigns against it — and show real steps to correct ethical and operational failures,” he adds.
Kariv also weighs in on the uproar from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others over a leaked recording in which the head of the Shin Bet’s Jewish Division can be heard saying settlers “shmucks” had been arrested without evidence.
Kariv says the Shin Bet agent’s remarks are inappropriate and require clarification.
“But the attack by Netanyahu and the Knesset members of the Kahanist right will not make the severe violence of the extremist settlers disappear, given that pogroms were just carried out in several locations throughout the West Bank in the past several days,” Kariv writes.
“For years, the Israel Police and other law enforcement agencies have turned a blind eye to this violence and at times even provided it with backing,” he adds.
Houthi media say one dead in alleged US airstrikes on Yemen energy site
Media aligned with Yemen’s Houthi rebels says one person has been killed and several others wounded in airstrikes in the north of the country that they blame on the United States.
“One citizen was killed and four others wounded in an American attack against a solar energy site in the Hafsin neighborhood in the west of the city” of Saada, say the Saba news agency and Al-Masirah television channel.
Both media earlier reported four airstrikes on Sadaa, the rebel’s stronghold in the northern mountains.
“Civil protection teams are fighting to put out the blazes and rescue the victims,” says Saba.
UK criticizes Israel for barring entry to two anti-Israel British MPs
Britain’s top diplomat condemns Israel’s decision to bar entry to two UK lawmakers after questioning at Ben Gurion Airport.
The Labour Party MPs, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, were barred entry after questioning revealed that the purpose of their visit was “to document Israeli security forces and spread hateful rhetoric against Israel,” the population authority has said.
“It is unacceptable, counterproductive and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities,” UK Foreign Minister David Lammy says in a statement.
“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support,” Lammy continues.
“The UK government’s focus remains securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza,” he further adds.
Mohamed and Yang landed in Israel at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on a flight from Luton, England, along with two of their aides.
While being interrogated, the two MPs — who both call for boycotting Israel — claimed to arrive as part of an official delegation on behalf of the UK parliament, but the claim was found to be false as no Israeli entity verified the arrival of such a delegation. Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, therefore, decided to deny entry to all four individuals “in accordance with the law and ordered their removal from Israel,” said the population authority.
In Hungary, Netanyahu claims fight against ‘deep state’ is a takeaway from his father’s advice
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues his new campaign against the “deep state” during his visit to Hungary.
In an X thread, the premier’s account shares comments he made on Friday to Hungarian students at the National University of Public Service in Budapest, after receiving an honorary doctorate there.
In the comments, Netanyahu said he asked his father Benzion before he became prime minister, “What is the most important thing that I have to have in order to lead our country?”
“And he had one word, which surprised me,” he said. “‘You have to have education. You have to be deeply and broadly educated. Otherwise,’ he said, ‘you’ll be at the mercy of your clerks.'”
“It’s called the deep state,” the premier added.
היה או לא היה? בנימין ששואף לגדולות שומע מאביו ההיסטוריון בנציון שהדבר הכי חשוב לעתידו זה חינוך. למה חינוך? בגלל הדיפ סטייט! כדי שיישמר משלטון הפקידים. סיפור שסופר אתמול לסטודנטים הונגרים בעת קבלת תואר דוקטור לשם כבוד. pic.twitter.com/oODms3v6yF
— Dov Gil-Har (@DovGilHar) April 5, 2025
Bennett on Qatargate: Netanyahu’s ‘closest aides worked for Hamas’s driving force, it’s insane’
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett launches a fresh attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Qatargate scandal rocking the latter’s office.
“There are three things you should understand and remember when talking about the Qatar affair, no matter how much spin they try to feed you: 1. Qatar is the main driving force powering Hamas. 2. The PM’s advisers worked for it and not for us. 3. And all this happened during a war our children are fighting.”
Bennett notes Qatari payments of hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas over the years. He omits that the payments, which were okayed by successive Israeli governments, were not canceled by the government he headed in 2021-2022.
He notes Qatar’s hosting of Hamas’s leaders and claims Doha had known about the terror group’s plan for a mass invasion of Israel from Gaza, and that it currently knows its future plans. Bennett also notes Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, “which incites against Israel around the world.”
Bennett, who plans to run in the next election and recently registered a new party, charges that “Qatar paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Netanyahu’s closest advisers so that they would work for it without anyone knowing. In secret, through lies and trickery, the prime minister’s closest aides worked for Hamas’s driving force. It’s insane.”