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The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.
Lebanese president appeals to Israel to pursue talks, not war; says he won’t meet Netanyahu until deal signed
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun gestures to journalists at the Presidential Palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun makes a rare public appeal to the Israeli government and people in an interview with CNN, saying a military solution “will never provide you with security and safety” for the people in northern Israel.
“We are ready, we are willing, we are committed. Are you? If you are, let’s sit and talk,” says Aoun.
“We are fed up and we want to live in peace,” he says, adding that the Lebanese people “deserve to live in peace and in dignity, they deserve not seeing their homes being destroyed every five to 10 years.”
Regarding Israel’s military operations, Aoun says: “They can invade the whole country, they can flatten the whole country, but they will never be able to achieve their objective.”
He says he will not meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before reaching an agreement to end the war, which he says would be a non-aggression pact and not a full peace deal.
Trump says he warned Netanyahu Israel could be left alone if it escalated Iran fight, claims US got last-minute notice of strikes
(L) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
US President Donald Trump says that he warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the past day that Israel could find itself alone against Iran if it escalated the conflict further, while claiming Washington was informed only at the last minute about Israel’s overnight strikes against Iran and that he succeeded in limiting their scope.
In a phone conversation with Channel 12’s Barak Ravid, Trump says that he asked Netanyahu during a phone call last night that Israel not respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attacks.
According to the Hebrew network, the conversation ended without a clear conclusion, but several of Trump’s aides who were on the call told Channel 12 they were given the impression that Trump had succeeded in buying a few more days without Israeli retaliation to support the US-Iran talks on a deal.
Following last night’s call, however, Netanyahu convened consultations with senior security officials, after which he informed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he had decided to carry out strikes in Iran, according to Channel 12.
Referring to Israel’s initial strikes against Iran last night, Trump tells the network that Israel updated Washington on the strikes very late, as the missiles were already on their way to Iran, while adding that he managed to scale back the scope of the attack.
Trump adds in the report that five regional countries involved in mediation efforts between the US and Iran had asked him to pressure Netanyahu to halt the strikes and move forward with an agreement.
He says that this morning, Iranian officials contacted Washington and said they would not carry out any more attacks on Israel and requested that Israel stop attacking in return, after which Trump again called Netanyahu and persuaded him to agree to halt further strikes.
The president reiterates to Channel 12 that he believes an agreement with Iran remains within reach, that Tehran wants to sign one, and that such a deal would be beneficial. Trump told Fox News on Tuesday last week that he believed he had been only days away from finalizing an agreement with Iran before the fighting between Israel and Iran erupted.
Man with PTSD said to have broken into Haifa zoo, shattered window of leopard enclave
Illustrative: A Persian leopard at the Ramat Gan Safari on October 11, 2018. (Ramat Gan Safari, courtesy)
A 25-year-old man suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder broke into northern Israel’s Haifa Zoo this morning and shattered the glass screen of the Persian leopard exhibit, Hebrew media reports.
Upon seeing zoo staff, the man bolted into the bear exhibit and climbed a tall tree.
The break-in activated the zoo’s emergency procedures.
The zoo’s management reported that the leopard had been nowhere near the window, and that there was no danger to the man at any point.
Zoo staff tried to calm the man until police and ambulance workers arrived, along with the man’s father.
The man was referred for treatment and medical supervision.
US military says it disabled unladen oil tanker headed to Iran
US forces disabled a Palau-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman today as the unladen vessel Marivex headed toward Iran, the US military says.
Iran removes all flight restrictions in country as Israel says it has halted fire
Iranian state media says flight restrictions in the country have been lifted, with airspace returning to normal conditions.
Reports earlier said all flights to and from Iranian airports were halted until further notice amid fears of further Israeli attacks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed a short while ago that attacks on Iran have been halted, while threatening to resume them if Iran attacks it again.
Israel says crossings with Gaza to reopen tomorrow, after closure due to Iran missile fire
Humanitarian aid enters Gaza via the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Israel, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 2, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
After they were closed due to Iran’s missile fire, Israeli authorities say the crossings with the Gaza Strip will reopen tomorrow.
“In accordance with the operational situation assessment and the removal of security restrictions in Israel, it has been decided to reopen the Kerem Shalom Crossing as of tomorrow for the gradual entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip,” the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says.
COGAT says the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt will also “reopen for the limited movement of people in both directions.”
After restrictions lifted, Education Ministry confirms schools to reopen nationwide tomorrow
After the Home Front Command lifted almost all restrictions imposed amid the latest escalation of fighting with Iran, the Education Ministry confirms that schools will reopen nationwide tomorrow.
In the communities next to the Lebanese border, classes will need to take place near a shelter, while in the rest of the country, they will resume in full according to the regular school schedule.
Earlier today, Education Minister Yoav Kisch said that if the escalation in Iran were to continue, the ministry would give schools another day to get organized before resuming on Wednesday within a protected framework.
The ministry’s new statement also says that the matriculation exams scheduled for this week are confirmed to be canceled, as announced earlier today.
Reports: Two killed in IDF strike in southern Gaza
Media outlets affiliated with Hamas report that two people were killed in an IDF strike earlier today that targeted a group of Gazans east of Khan Younis.
The IDF has not yet commented.
شهيدان جراء استهداف الاحتلال مجموعة من المواطنين شرق منطقة العطار بمواصي خان يونس#فيديو pic.twitter.com/euWik0WIQl
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) June 8, 2026
Eran Nahon, seen as Ben Gvir ally, tapped as police’s new chief legal adviser
Eran Nahon, chief legal adviser in the Israel Prison Service, attends a hearing regarding sexual abuse claims at Gilboa Prison in the Knesset, Jerusalem on August 3, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)
Israel Police Chief Commissioner Danny Levy appoints former Prison Service official Eran Nahon as the police’s new chief legal adviser, following his predecessor’s retirement from the force in February.
Nahon most recently served as the Prison Service’s chief legal adviser and is closely aligned with the policies of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, namely the drastic reduction in food portions for Palestinian security prisoners.
The official replaces Assistant Commissioner Elazar Kahana, who retired from the police force amid tension between him and Levy, with the latter seeking to demote him to the head of the police’s prosecution division.
Kahana had a track record of opposing Ben Gvir’s repeated interference in the promotions of mid-ranking officers, which critics claim serves to undermine law enforcement’s independence from political pressures.
According to a Haaretz report from January, Ben Gvir pushed for Nahon’s appointment against the wishes of Levy, who wanted the role to go to someone already serving in the force.
Lebanese Red Cross claims 4 rescuers wounded in Israeli strike on Tyre
The Lebanese Red Cross says an Israeli strike has wounded four rescuers near their center in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre.
In a statement, the Red Cross says “the targeting that occurred in front of the Lebanese Red Cross centre in Tyre” wounded four paramedics. Lebanese state media earlier reported an Israeli strike on a vehicle in front of the center.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
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