Netanyahu names new head of security agency

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced Thursday his decision to appoint Major General David Zini as the next head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service.

Zini is a former army commando and has held a number of top positions in the Israeli military. Netanyahu’s office said that in March 2023 Zini prepared a report warning about the dangers of a surprise attack on Israeli forces along the Gaza border.

Earlier this year Netanyahu moved to fire the agency’s current chief, Ronen Bar, blaming his agency for failures in the lead-up to Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel’s Supreme Court froze Bar’s firing after multiple legal challenges against it. However, Bar has since said he will resign in June.

President Donald Trump and Netanyahu spoke by phone Thursday about the shooting that killed two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Washington reception, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Leavitt said the two leaders also discussed “a potential deal” with Iran to stem its rapidly advancing nuclear program. Trump is expected to dispatch special envoy Steve Witkoff to Italy for talks later this week with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi.

Leavitt said Trump believes the talks are “moving along in the right direction.”

U.N. officials on Thursday said that a small number of trucks carrying flour on Wednesday were intercepted by residents and their contents were stolen.

“As far as I know, this was not a criminal act with armed men,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a briefing.

Over the last several months, Israel has accused Hamas of siphoning off aid and using it to fund its military activities. The U.N. has said that there are mechanisms in place that prevent any significant diversion of aid.

The Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to Gaza, COGAT, said Thursday that the United Nations is currently allowed to bring in “nutrition products, some food ingredients and medical supplies.”

“According to our current assessment, there is no food shortage in Gaza at this time,” COGAT said in a statement on X.

The U.N. says aid has been collected from only about 90 trucks — out of a total of nearly 200 that have entered Gaza since Israel ended its nearly three-month blockade this week.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that the only international leader with enough power to make Netanyahu stop the war in Gaza is Trump.

“If at some point the president of the United States, President Trump, will take part and perhaps will summon the Israeli prime minister and say to him in no unclear terms that ‘enough is enough’ — that may be very useful,” said Olmert, an open critic of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Olmert said he understands why the EU and countries like Britain, Canada and France sent strong warnings to Israel this week, including threatening sanctions, but believes that ultimately a dressing down from Trump would stop Netanyahu from continuing the war.

Israeli tanks fired on Al-Awda Hospital in the Tel al-Zaatar area of northern Gaza on Thursday, igniting fires and causing extensive damage to the facility, according to hospital officials.

The Israeli military said its forces were operating “adjacent” to Al-Awda Hospital and had allowed emergency workers to come try to put out a fire at the hospital, but said only that, “The circumstances of the fire are still under review.”