The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
Security cabinet makes return of residents to the north an official war goal
The Prime Minister’s Office announces that the security cabinet has updated its official goals for the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza to include a fourth objective: “The safe return of the residents of the north to their homes.”
“Israel will continue to act to achieve this goal,” it says.
The motion comes more than eleven months after tens of thousands of northern residents were displaced from their homes following Hamas’s October 7 attack, when Hezbollah began attacking northern Israel on a near-daily basis.
Israel has increasingly threatened to launch a major operation to push back Hezbollah from the border, and the change to the stated war goals comes as US special envoy visits Israel in an attempt to reach a diplomatic solution and avoid further escalation.
Until now, the official war goals have been the elimination of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the return of all the hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.
US Secret Service: Suspected Trump gunman didn’t fire his weapon
The man arrested on suspicion of seeking to assassinate Donald Trump in Florida had no clear line of sight on the former president and did not fire his weapon, the US Secret Service says.
“He did not fire or get off any shots at our agent,” Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe tells reporters, referring to suspect Ryan Routh who has been charged with illegal firearms possession in the case.
Burning oil tanker safely towed away from Yemen after Houthi attacks, EU says
Salvagers have successfully towed a Greek-flagged oil tanker ablaze for weeks after attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to a safe area without any oil spill, a European Union naval mission says.
The Sounion reached waters away from Yemen as the Houthis meanwhile claimed that they shot down another American-made MQ-9 Reaper drone, with video circulating online showing what appeared to be a surface-to-air missile strike and flaming wreckage strewn across the ground.
The two events show the challenges still looming for the world as it tries to mitigate a months-long campaign by the rebels over the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip. While the rebels allowed the Sounion to be moved, they continue to threaten ships moving through the Red Sea, a waterway that once saw $1 trillion in goods move through it a year.
The EU naval mission, known as Operation Aspides, issued a statement via the social platform X announcing the ship had been moved.
The Sounion “has been successfully towed to a safe area without any oil spill,” the EU mission said. “While private stakeholders complete the salvage operation, Aspides will continue to monitor the situation.”
The Houthis had no immediate comment and it was not clear where the vessel was, though it likely was taken north away from Yemen. Salvagers still need to offload some 1 million barrels of crude oil aboard the Sounion, which officials feared could leak into the Red Sea, killing marine life and damaging corals in the waterway.
Security cabinet begins meeting amid tensions with Hezbollah, reports of Gallant’s looming ouster
The security cabinet has begun its meeting in Tel Aviv, against the backdrop of growing tensions with Hezbollah and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s potential replacement of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with New Hope chair Gideon Sa’ar.