Israel carries out deadly airstrikes against suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon
A series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon have killed at one person and wounded eight others. The Israeli military said it bombed infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah militant group that included weapons and tunnel shafts as part of an underground network. AP video shot by Ali Sharafeddine and Fadi Tawil
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NATO chief Rutte calls for 400% increase in the alliance's air and missile defense
LONDON -- LONDON (AP) — NATO members need to increase their air and missile defenses by 400% to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance plans to say on Monday. Secretary-General Mark Rutte will say during a visit to London that NATO must take a 'quantum leap in our collective defense' to face growing instability and threats, according to extracts released by NATO before Rutte's speech. Rutte is due to meet U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing St. ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands where the 32-nation alliance is likely to commit to a big hike in military spending. Like other NATO members, the U.K. has been reassessing its defense spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Starmer has pledged to increase British defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027 and to 3% by 2034. Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5% of economic output on military spending and another 1.5% on 'defense-related expenditure' such as roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports. He said last week he is confident the alliance will agree to the target at its summit in The Hague on June 24-25. At the moment, 22 of the 32 member countries meet or exceed NATO's current 2% target. The new target would meet a demand by President Donald Trump that member states spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the U.S. provides security to European countries that don't contribute enough. Rutte plans to say in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London that NATO needs thousands more armored vehicles and millions more artillery shells, as well as a 400% increase in air and missile defense. 'We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,' he plans to say. 'Wishful thinking will not keep us safe. We cannot dream away the danger. Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.' European NATO members, led by the U.K. and France, have scrambled to coordinate their defense posture as Trump transforms American foreign policy, seemingly sidelining Europe as he looks to end the war in Ukraine. Last week the U.K. government said it would build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, prepare its army to fight a war in Europe and become 'a battle-ready, armor-clad nation.' The plans represent the most sweeping changes to British defenses since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
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Israeli forces seize Gaza-bound aid boat and detain Greta Thunberg and other activists
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board early Monday, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas. The activists had set out to protest Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, both of which have put the territory of some 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organized the voyage, said the activists were 'kidnapped by Israeli forces' while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the territory. 'The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated,' it said in a statement. It said the ship was seized in international waters some 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Gaza. Israel's Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a post on X that "the 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel.' It said the activists would return to their home countries and the aid would be sent to Gaza through established channels. It circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, said the ship was still en route to Israel around midday Monday. It was expected to dock at the port of Ashdod. A weeklong voyage Thunberg, a climate campaigner, was among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard. 'I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible," Thunberg said in a pre-recorded message released after the ship was halted. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the volunteers on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. She was among six French citizens aboard the boat. French President Emmanuel Macron asked Israel to allow them to return to France as soon as possible, his office said in a statement. Adalah, a rights group in Israel that said it was representing the activists, said Israel had 'no legal authority' to take over the ship because it was in international waters and because it was headed not to Israel but to the 'territorial waters of the state of Palestine.' 'The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law,' Adalah said in a statement. After a 2 1/2-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers and experts have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive. An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta, organizers said. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship. An 18-year blockade Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's Palestinian population. Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but later relented under U.S. pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine. Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said women and children make up most of the dead. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory's population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid. Efforts to broker another truce have been deadlocked for months. Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the captives are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and exiled. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at Yesica Fisch And Tia Goldenberg, The Associated Press
Yahoo
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Jewish lawmakers call out silence as antisemitic threats surge in Florida
Sen. Tina Polsky made it clear in a prayer at the beginning of a Florida Senate session: The sound of silence is deadly for Jews in Florida and Jewish communities everywhere. On June 5, the Boca Raton Democrat called on senators to be 'a light in the darkness, to confront hatred with justice and to never stand silent in the face of cruelty.' It was a restatement of a "call to conscience" issued earlier in the day by the 14-member Florida Jewish Legislative Caucus. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel, there has been an increase in violence against Jews in Florida, according to 'The Year in Hate and Extremism,' an annual report by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit legal advocacy organization based in Montgomery, Alabama. There were 353 Florida reported antisemitism incidents in 2024, fewer than the previous year but 31% higher than 2022, according to the SPLC. The counties of Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade make up the U.S. third largest Jewish community, after New York and Los Angeles. At the same time, some civil rights advocates and pro-Palestinian groups fear conflating hatred with legitimate criticism of Israeli policies. They caution about suppressing free speech and peaceful protest, calling for a balanced approach that protects Jewish communities while preserving the right to dissent. Earlier during a break in budget negotiations, Rep. Mike Gottlieb, D-Davie, the chair of the Jewish Legislative Caucus, held a news conference to encourage people to speak up and condemn violence because 'silence enables bigotry.' 'We need people to stand with us to fight antisemitism. It is not OK to pick on anybody for any reason. We need Floridians to know that we are uniting people, Republicans, Democrats, independents, Black, White, gay, straight, to say this is wrong and we are not going to tolerate it,' Gottlieb said. The SPLC report finds more than half of the reported incidents involved people harassing Jewish residents over the state of Israel policies. They include vandalism of Jewish institutions and places of worship, intimidating flyers from known hate groups, and outright battery, such as one involving a 68-year-old Broward man near a synagogue. 'People are literally experiencing fear to be Jewish here in America. A year and a half ago, I was talking to a few people. I said, 'We're going to just start getting knocked down in the streets,' and it's happening now,' said Rep. Debra Tendrich, D-Lake Worth. Tendrich organized Thursday's call-to-conscience news conference in less than 24 hours. A discussion with colleagues about three recent high-profile attacks, including two in which 'the attacker tried to burn Jews alive,' prompted her. In the past three months, a suspect has fire-bombed the Pennsylvania governor's mansion after Jewish Gov. Josh Shapiro and family had finished dinner; two Israeli embassy staffers were murdered outside a Washington, D.C., museum; and a man with Molotov cocktails, gasoline, and a make-shift flamethrower sprayed fire on people marching in support of Jewish hostages still held by Hamas. Two dozen colleagues and legislative staffers stood with the 14-member caucus as they voiced disappointment with other elected officials and community leaders for not loudly condemning the acts of violence as hate crimes. Silence is complicit in abuse because it isolates the victims and makes them 'an easy target," Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman explained. Added Rep. Jennifer 'Rita' Harris, D-Orlando, 'Hate wants us to be silent.' Neo-Nazis staged demonstrations and flew banners on highway overpasses two years ago in her district. Earlier this year, Harris co-sponsored a bill that makes Jan. 27 Holocaust Remembrance Day in Florida. Rep. Hillary Cassel of Dania Beach flipped to the GOP from Democrat in December because among other issues she 'felt disconnected' from the Democratic Party after listening to a debate about a Hamas-Israeli ceasefire. She too said she would not be silenced. 'Let me be clear," she said. "Blaming Israel for Hamas terrorism is not activism. It is antisemitic. Shouting 'From the river to the sea' is not a peaceful protest. It is a genocidal slogan for the eradication of Israel and endangers Jewish lives everywhere. Language that advocates the destruction of an entire people is not activism. It is incitement.' Cassel said she was fortunate to live in the state of Florida where the Legislature has delivered "the most protections" in the country for the Jewish community. The past two sessions, the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis has responded to a series of hate crimes: HB 187, which codifies as Florida law the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. Thirty-six other states use the IHRA definition, which emphasizes criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. HB 1109, which provides funding for security hardening measures at Jewish day schools. HB 269, which created a felony to harass individuals based on their ethnicity or religion and makes it a misdemeanor to leave flyers with hateful images, messages, or any other credible threat on a person's private property. Polsky told the Senate she was grateful beyond words for the allies and friends who have stood beside the Jewish community since the hostages were taken in 2023. She closed with these words, 'May we work together to transform grief into action and despair into hope, so that our children may live in a world free of fear in honor of those injured and to guide our body as we continue to work for the betterment of Florida." James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@ and is on X as @CallTallahassee. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Jewish legislative caucus slams rising antisemitism in Florida, U.S.
