The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they unfold.
Addressing White House iftar dinner, Trump thanks Muslims for backing him in November, says US will start ‘filling out Abraham Accords’
US President Donald Trump hosts an iftar dinner at the White House where he thanks Muslims in America for voting for him in record numbers in the previous election.
“I want to extend a very special thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Muslim Americans who supported us in record numbers in the 2024 presidential election. It was incredible. We started a little slow with you, but we came along,” Trump says. “The Muslim community was there for us in November, and while I’m president, I will be there for you.”
“We’re keeping our promises to the Muslim community. My administration is engaged in relentless diplomacy to forge lasting peace in the Middle East, building on the historic Abraham Accords, which everybody said would be impossible. And now we’re going to start filling them out,” he reiterates.
Tomb of unidentified ancient Egyptian pharaoh discovered
Archaeologists have discovered the large limestone burial chamber of an unidentified ancient Egyptian pharaoh near the city of Abydos dating to about 3,600 years ago during a chaotic period in Egypt’s history.
The discovery of the tomb seven meters (23 feet) underground at the ancient necropolis of Anubis Mountain was announced by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Egyptian archaeologists. It marked the second discovery announced this year of a tomb of an ancient Egyptian king.
The burial chamber discovered in January at Abydos, an important city in ancient Egypt located about 10 km (6 miles) from the Nile River, was bare – apparently long ago plundered by grave robbers. The name of the king once buried inside was originally recorded in hieroglyphic texts on plastered brickwork at the chamber’s entrance alongside painted scenes showing the sister goddesses Isis and Nephthys.
“His name was in the inscriptions but does not survive the depredations of ancient tomb robbers. Some candidates include kings named Senaiib and Paentjeni who we know from monuments at Abydos – they ruled in this era – but whose tombs have not been found,” University of Pennsylvania Egyptian archaeology professor Josef Wegner, one of the leaders of the excavation work, says.
In addition to the decorated entryway, the burial chamber featured a series of other rooms capped by five-meter (16-foot) high vaults fashioned from mudbrick.
The tomb dates to a time known as the Second Intermediate Period that ran from 1640 BC to 1540 BC and bridged the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras when Egyptian pharaohs were among the most powerful figures in the region.
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv for hostages and against ‘the Oct. 7 government’
Thousands of Israelis protested for the release of the hostages and against the government earlier tonight at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square.
Hundreds of participants then joined hostage Matan Zangauker’s mother Einav in marching to the nearby Begin Gate. Police officers — some on horseback — sought to prevent demonstrators from blocking the road, leading to a clash that saw several protesters thrown to the ground. Seven protesters were arrested, according to Hebrew media reports.
Addressing the earlier Habimah protest, former IDF general Noam Tibon asserted that the IDF’s renewed military operations are endangering the hostages.
“But the October 7 government doesn’t care about this. They are busy toasting the passage of their budget,” Tibon said.
Former police chief Roni Alsheich told the crowd that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is acting against the national interest and called on fellow members of the national religious camp to speak out against the premier and his government.
The protest was held against the backdrop of the government’s passage of key judicial overhaul legislation and an ongoing impasse in the hostage negotiations.
Bernie Sanders says he’ll force Senate votes on blocking US arms sales to Israel
US Senator Bernie Sanders says he will force votes next week on resolutions that would block $8.8 billion in arms sales to Israel, citing the human rights crisis faced by Palestinians in Gaza after Israel resumed bombarding Hamas targets in the enclave and suspended aid deliveries.
“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has clearly violated US and international law in this brutal war, and we must end our complicity in the carnage,” Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, asserts in a statement announcing his plan.
“No humanitarian aid has entered Gaza in more than three and a half weeks since Israeli authorities announced a complete blockade — that’s no food, water, medicine, or fuel since the start of March,” he adds.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly in November to block three resolutions introduced by Sanders that would have halted transfers of weapons approved by the administration of then-president Joe Biden, a Democrat whom progressives criticized as doing too little to help Palestinians as conditions in Gaza worsened.
President Donald Trump, who began a second term on January 20 and is a fierce advocate for Israel, has reversed Biden’s efforts to place some limits on what arms are sent to Netanyahu’s government.
Last month, Trump sidestepped the congressional review process to approve billions of dollars in military sales to Israel.
US judge orders Trump administration to preserve Yemen attack plan messages
WASHINGTON — A US judge orders President Donald Trump’s administration to preserve messages sent on the Signal messaging app discussing attack plans against the Houthis in Yemen that became public after they were inadvertently shared with a journalist.