04/05/2026

MONDAY | MAY 4, 2026

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Flotilla activists taken to court

U.S. UNLIKELY TO ACCEPT PROPOSAL WEST PALM BEACH: President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will review a new Iranian peace proposal, but cast doubt over its prospects as he left open the possibility of future attacks. Negotiations have been deadlocked. The dour outlook came after Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported Tehran submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Islamabad. Details included ending the conflict on all fronts and enacting a new framework for the Strait of Hormuz. “I will be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to humanity and the world,”Trump said. – AFP TEL AVIV APPROVES FIGHTER JET DEAL TEL AVIV: Israel said yesterday it had approved a deal to acquire two combat squadrons of fighter jets from the United States. The purchase includes a squadron of F-35 stealth fighters from Lockheed Martin and another of F-15IA warplanes from Boeing, the Defence Ministry said. The plan aims to “ensure Israel’s air superiority”, Defence Minister Israel Katz said.“The F 35 and F-15IA acquisitions are central to the ‘Shield of Israel’ plan. Our mission is clear: to ensure the IDF has the tools, capabilities and strength to operate anywhere, at any time.” The F-35 is one of the world’s most advanced military aircraft. – AFP ONE DEAD IN RUSSIAN STRIKES KYIV: Russian strikes on southern Ukraine killed one person and wounded four others, military officials said. Military officials in the frontline Ukrainian city of Kherson said a Russian drone killed one person and wounded four others. Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defence units destroyed 334 drones on Saturday night across more than a dozen regions near its western border. Both countries have stepped up the use of drones in recent months. Russia fired a record number of long-range attack drones at Ukraine in April, an AFP analysis of data published by Kyiv’s air force showed. – AFP TWO MIGRANTS DIE OFF FRENCH COAST COQUELLES: Two women died yesterday while trying to reach Britain from northern France in a small boat. The migrants were among 82 people packed on the boat that “ran aground” on a beach at Neufchatel-Hardelot, about 12km south of the port of Boulogne, said Christophe Marx, a regional government official. At least eight people have died this year on small boats trying to make the trip across the English Channel. At least 29 migrants died in the boats last year. Britain and France last month signed a deal on security operations to stop the crossings. – AFP

pair were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) – a group accused by Washington of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Hamas. It said Saif was a leading PCPA member and that Avila was also linked to the organisation and “suspected of illegal activity”. Spain has condemned the detention of Saif and rejected the Israeli accusation against him. Organisers of the latest flotilla said the Israeli interception took place more than 1,000km from Gaza and their equipment was smashed, leaving them facing a “calculated death trap at sea”. Dozens of intercepted activists disembarked on the Greek island of Crete on Friday, an AFP journalist said. The Global Sumud Flotilla’s first Mediterranean voyage to Gaza last year drew worldwide attention, before being intercepted by Israeli forces off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza. Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested by Israeli forces. – AFP

ASHKELON: Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for interrogation appeared before an Israeli court yesterday, said a rights group defending them. The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory. They were intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece early on Thursday, with Israel saying it had removed some 175 activists – two of whom were taken to Israel for questioning. Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in Ashkelon yesterday. “The state asked to extend their detention by four days,” said Miriam Azem, international advocacy coordinator at the rights group Adalah. o Duo subjected to extreme brutality

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severely that he passed out twice”. Since arriving in Israel, he said he had been “kept in isolation and blindfolded,“ according to Adalah. Saif was also “hand-tied and blindfolded ... and forced to lie face down on the floor from the moment of his seizure” until reaching Israel, the group said. Israel’s foreign ministry said the

On Saturday, Adalah said its lawyers had met the two detained activists at Shikma Prison in Ashkelon. Avila told the lawyers he had been “subjected to extreme brutality” when the vessels were seized. Avila said he was “dragged face down across the floor and beaten so

Smoke rising from the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah yesterday after airstrikes. – AFPPIC

Eleven Lebanese towns ordered to evacuate TEL AVIV: The Israeli military issued an urgent warning yesterday to residents of 11 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, urging them to evacuate their homes and move at least 1,000m away to open areas. The military said it was conducting operations against Hezbollah following what it its troops are occupying a strip of the country’s south, destroying homes they describe as infrastructure being used by Hezbollah. The group has kept up its drone and rocket attacks against Israeli troops in Lebanon and on northern Israel. Reuters targeting Israeli troops, saying they were in response to ceasefire “violations”. Israel has kept up deadly strikes on Lebanon despite the April 17 ceasefire that sought to halt more than six weeks of war between it and Hezbollah.

charge of monitoring a 2024 ceasefire meant to put an end to the last war between Israel and Hezbollah. They discussed “the security situation in Lebanon, regional developments, and ways to maximise the effectiveness of the (committee) and enhance its operations”, according to a Lebanese army statement. Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,600 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since March 2. – Reuters/AFP

The ceasefire text grants Israel the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks”. Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal on Saturday met visiting US General Joseph Clearfield, the head of a five-member committee in

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported a series of Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon. The Israeli army had earlier issued two evacuation warnings for nine southern villages. Hezbollah claimed several attacks

described as a violation of their ceasefire agreement, warning that anyone near Hezbollah fighters or facilities could be at risk. Israel has continued to carry out strikes across southern Lebanon, and