The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they happen.
At Israel’s request, US mulls giving $500M to fund Gaza aid group’s operations — Reuters
WASHINGTON — The State Department is weighing giving $500 million to the new foundation providing aid to war-shattered Gaza, according to two knowledgeable sources and two former US officials, a move that would involve the US more deeply in a controversial aid effort that has been beset by violence and chaos.
The sources and former US officials, all of whom request anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, say that money for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) would come from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is being folded into the US State Department.
The plan has met resistance from some US officials concerned with the deadly shootings of Palestinians near aid distribution sites and the competence of the GHF, the two sources say.
The State Department and GHF do not immediately respond to requests for comment.
One source with knowledge of the matter and one former senior official say the proposal to give the $500 million to GHF has been championed by acting deputy USAID Administrator Ken Jackson, who has helped oversee the agency’s dismemberment.
The source says that Israel requested the funds to underwrite GHF’s operations for 180 days.
The Israeli government doesn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two sources say that some US officials have concerns with the plan because of the overcrowding that has affected the aid distribution hubs run by GHF’s contractor, and violence nearby.
Those officials also want well-established non-governmental organizations experienced in running aid operations in Gaza and elsewhere to be involved in the operation if the State Department approves the funds for GHF, a position that Israel likely will oppose, the sources say.
US Supreme Court allows DOGE broad access to Social Security data
The US Supreme Court has permitted the Department of Government Efficiency, a key player in President Donald Trump’s drive to slash the federal workforce, broad access to personal information on millions of Americans in Social Security Administration data systems while a legal challenge plays out.
At the request of the Justice Department, the justices put on hold Maryland-based US District Judge Ellen Hollander’s order that had largely blocked DOGE’s access to “personally identifiable information” in data such as medical and financial records while litigation proceeds in a lower court. Hollander found that allowing DOGE unfettered access likely would violate a federal privacy law.
The court’s brief, unsigned order did not provide a rationale for siding with DOGE. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority. Its three liberal justices dissented from the order.
DOGE swept through federal agencies as part of the Republican president’s effort, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, to eliminate federal jobs, downsize and reshape the US government and root out what they see as wasteful spending. Musk formally ended his government work on May 30.
Two labor unions and an advocacy group sued to stop DOGE from accessing sensitive data at the Social Security Administration, or SSA, including Social Security numbers for Americans, bank account data, tax information, earnings history and immigration records.
The agency is a major provider of government benefits, sending checks each month to more than 70 million recipients, including retirees and disabled Americans.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that the Social Security Administration had been “ransacked” and that DOGE members had been installed without proper vetting or training and demanded access to some of the agency’s most sensitive data systems.
IDF reservist moderately wounded by mortar fire in Gaza City
A reservist with the 646th Paratroopers Brigade was moderately wounded by a mortar impact fired by terror operatives in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood earlier today, the military says.
He was taken to a hospital where his condition has since improved.
Following the attack, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for a small area in Gaza City, though it is an area that was already ordered to be evacuated earlier.