News Digest — 5/7/26
Son Of Senior Hamas Leader Khalil al-Hayya Reported Killed In Gaza Strike
Azzam al-Hayya, the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, was killed in an Israeli strike in eastern Gaza, according to reports Wednesday (6th) by the Saudi channel Al Hadath.
Al Jazeera separately reported that Azzam al-Hayya was seriously wounded but not killed.
An Israeli military source said the strike targeted a Hamas Nukhba terrorist in the Daraj Tuffah area and that al-Hayya’s son was not the intended target.
According to the source, Azzam al-Hayya was nearby during the strike and was either wounded or killed.
The source said that he was considered a supporter and was an assistant to terrorist activity but was not specifically targeted by the IDF.
The report came months after Israel attempted to assassinate Khalil al-Hayya himself during a strike in Qatar targeting Hamas leadership abroad.
A senior Hamas source at the time told Al Jazeera that the organization’s negotiating team had been targeted during a meeting in Doha concerning the Trump framework.
Al Hadath reported at the time that Hamas officials present at the Doha meeting included Khalil al-Hayya.
The report of Azzam al-Hayya’s killing comes as Hamas continues internal voting for leadership positions within the organization’s political bureau
According to Al-Araby, Hamas recently selected a new leader in the Gaza Strip whose identity has not yet been made public. The report said the appointment would take effect if Khalil al-Hayya is elected to lead Hamas’ overall political bureau.
Netanyahu Condemns Iranian Attacks On UAE In Call With Sheikh bin Zayed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan condemned the “Iranian terrorist attacks targeting civilians” in the Emirates, Abu Dhabi said on Monday (4th).
Tehran launched missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates on Monday (4th) for the first time since the US-brokered ceasefire took effect in March, injuring three Indian nationals.
Sheikh bin Zayed in the wake of the attacks also spoke with several other leaders, including Jordanian King Abdullah II and Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, according to an official Emirates News Agency report on Wednesday (6th)’
Netanyahu, King Abdullah and Barzani “affirmed their countries’ solidarity with the UAE and their support for all measures it takes to safeguard its security and stability and ensure the safety of its citizens,” per Abu Dhabi’s readout of the calls.
The Islamic Republic has launched more than 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,000 drones at the UAE, more than at any other country, according to the UAE Defense Ministry.
Israel recently sent the UAE an Iron Dome system with attendant troops to help protect the country, marking the first time Jerusalem had sent an air defense battery to another country.
Netanyahu decided to send the Iron Dome battery after speaking by phone with Sheikh bin Zayed, Israeli officials told Axios last week.
Israeli Ambassador to the UAE Yossi Shelley told Kan News on Wednesday (6th) that Abu Dhabi hopes the Americans and Israelis “will do the job regarding the Iranian nuclear issue and the missiles.” He added: “Our relationship is currently growing because of economic, technological and medical interests.”
“As far as I understand they want what we want: to see an end to this threat and to continue doing what they know how to do best: economy, business, and more” continued Shelley.
Asked whether the cooperation with Abb Dhabi includes assistance in intercepting missiles, the envoy replied: “You should read about it in the foreign press; I cannot comment on it.”
Most Israelis Say Ending Iran War Now Would Not Serve Security Interests, Poll Finds
A majority of Israelis believe ending the war with Iran under current conditions would not align with Israel’s security interests, according to a survey released Tuesday (5th) by the Israel Democracy Institute.
A recent poll of Israelis asked their opinions about ending the current conflict with Iran: 59% of the overall sample said doing so now would either only slightly be compatible or not compatible at all with Israel’s security interests.
Roughly two-thirds of Jewish respondents expressed that position, while nearly half of Arab respondents took the opposite view.
The findings showed that 62% of respondents believe another large-scale confrontation with Iran is likely, while 30% said the possibility of renewed fighting is low.
The survey also reflected growing unease over Israel’s international position and decision-making process. Some 72% of respondents ascribed declining support for Israel among the American public as somewhat or very worrying.
At the same time, 51% said the US administration has more influence over Israeli defense policy than Israel’s own government, up from 44% in October 2025. Only 18% said Israel’s government holds greater influence over those decisions.
The poll also pointed to declining public confidence in several national areas. Optimism regarding Israel’s national security dropped from 47% in March to 39% in April. Confidence in social cohesion also declined falling from 30% to 22.5%.
By comparison, attitudes toward the economy and democratic governance remained stable.
Respondents were also pessimistic about proposals for a future arrangement with Lebanon. Nearly three-quarters said the chances of achieving a lasting diplomatic-defense agreement with the Lebanese government, including disarmament of Hezbollah, were low or nonexistent.
Asked about Israel’s long-term approach to security, the largest group said military capabilities and diplomatic agreements should carry equal weight. In the shorter term, support for emphasizing military power declined to 28.5%, while backing for diplomatic agreements rose to 30.5%
The survey also found that a plurality of respondents believe security forces are too lenient toward settlers involved in violence against Palestinians. Among Jewish respondents, that share rose to 46%.
The Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research conducted the survey between April 26 and April 30, 2026 among 601Jewish and 150 Arab respondents ages 18 and older.
The World Chooses To Ignore Hezbollah’s Rocket Attacks On Israel – Yaakov Katz
More than 6,000 rockets and drones have been fired into Israel in the two months since Hezbollah began its latest round of attacks on March 2. In the Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona there have been 180 rocket sirens and 87 drone alerts. That comes out to more than four sirens a day – every day. Yet, if you follow much of the international media coverage of Lebanon, you wouldn’t know any of this.
Instead, the stories are according to the Iranian script: Israel is once again striking its northern neighbor. There is little mention of the relentless rocket fire, the daily drone incursions, or the inability of the Lebanese government to rein in Hezbollah. Israel is cast, almost exclusively, as the aggressor.
This is the same storyline we saw 2 ½ years ago when after the initial shock of the Hamas invasion faded, coverage of the war in Gaza shifted almost entirely to the suffering of Palestinians, making it seem like there was only one side to the war and as if Israel’s actions existed in a vacuum, disconnected from the massacre that had triggered the conflict.
In Lebanon, the fact that Hezbollah – a designated terrorist organization – is actively firing thousands of rockets and drones at Israeli communities, and Israel is acting in self-defense like any country that wishes to survive would do, does not fit into that narrative, and so it is sidelined.
The way the media cover wars is by reducing them to a scoreboard – how many people have been killed on each side. The result creates a distorted moral equivalence, where a sovereign state defending its citizens is seen in the same way as a terrorist organization whose stated goal is destruction. But Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, and Hezbollah opened a second-front from Lebanon. Israel did not choose these wars; they were forced on them.
Do people expect Israel to simply evacuate again an entire swath of the country? Should it tolerate a situation where communities live under constant threat of rockets and drones? Should it simply concede the territory? We know that this would only embolden Hezbollah and send a dangerous message across the region – that sustained attacks on civilians provide results. Moral clarity is needed when the media ignores who initiated the war and why it continues.
The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. (Jewish Chronicle – UK)
Israel Weighing Renewed Military Action In Gaza As Hamas Refuses to Disarm – Ron Ben-Yishai
According to Nikolay Mladenov, director general of President Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, talks in Cairo with a Hamas delegation in April produced preliminary understandings that Hamas is willing in principle to discuss partial, phased disarmament involving heavy weapons, such as missiles, rockets, medium and heavy mortars, anti-tank missiles, heavy machine guns, drones and possibly large explosive devices. But Hamas refuses to give up pistols, rifles, light machine guns, RPG launchers, and grenades. According to officials, each stage of heavy-weapons disarmament would require a parallel Israel step.
Israel says Hamas’ maximum offer on disarmament remains far from Israel’s minimum demands. Other parts of Trump’s plan are also stalled. The Multinational Stabilization Force has not been established and the funds needed to fund, equip and deploy it have not been secured. The Palestinian Technocratic Committee meant to manage Gaza is also not functioning.
Senior IDF officials say Israel must act. The October 2025 ceasefire left 43% of Gaza under Hamas control and Hamas has used the situation to strengthen its rule The officials argue that Israel should use the fact that there are no longer Israeli hostages in Gaza, and to act with full force to disarm Hamas and collapse its rule. Those officials know that because the fighting in Lebanon is limited, forces are now available to operate in Gaza.
‘Jews Should Prepare To Leave Belgium:’ Mohel Indictment Sparks Fear For Jewish Future
Israel and Belgium traded sharp criticism Wednesday (6th) after Belgian authorities indicted three mohels arrested last year in Antwerp over circumcisions allegedly performed without official authorization.
The case has sparked anger in Israel and among Jewish organizations in Europe, with critics saying the prosecution threatens Jewish religious freedom in one of the continent’s oldest Jewish communities.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Wednesday (6th) that in this act,Belgium joins a short and shameful list, alongside Ireland, of countries that use criminal law to persecute Jews for observing Judaism.”
“This is a mark of shame upon Belgium,” Sa’ar said. :The covenant of circumcision is a cornerstone of the Jewish faith.”
Sa’ar added that many countries in Europe and around the world have created legal frameworks to facilitate circumcision and Jewish religious freedom, and urged Belgium to do the same.
Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot rejected the criticism, urging Sa’ar to “exercise greater restraint” and view his role in “its proper context.”
“It is inappropriate to publicly criticize a country and tarnish its image simply because you disagree with judicial proceedings,” Prevot said. “I have already told you this. Would you consider it acceptable for our Ambassador in Washington to do the same?
Prevot said the proceedings were initiated by representatives of the Jewish community themselves.
“To portray those as a country’s desire to undermine the religious freedom of Jews is defamatory,” he said. “This freedom has never been called into question and never will be in our country. Our Constitution protects it.”
Sa’ar responded that the reference to judicial independence missed the point, saying the investigation should never have been opened had Belgium properly regulated circumcision.
Jewish leaders in Europe also condemned the indictments. Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association called the prosecution “antisemitic in essence” and said it marked “another red line” crossed in Europe.
Israel’s Chief Rabbi Kalman Meir Bar, also denounced the case, calling circumcision a central Jewish commandment and not merely a surgical procedure. He urged Belgian authorities to withdraw the prosecution.
