The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they unfold.

US working on building new coalition to ensure ships can pass through Hormuz — WSJ

The United States is asking other countries to join a new international coalition that would enable ships to navigate the Strait of Hormuz after traffic through the waterway stalled, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The proposed coalition, dubbed the “Maritime Freedom Construct,” would share information, coordinate diplomatically and help enforce sanctions, the Journal says, citing an internal State Department cable.

“Your participation will strengthen our collective ability to restore freedom of navigation and protect the global economy,” the cable sent to US embassies reportedly says. “Collective action is essential to demonstrate unified resolve and impose meaningful costs on Iranian obstruction of transit through the Strait.”

According to the report, the cable says US diplomats should ask their foreign interlocutors whether their countries want to be a “diplomatic and/or military partner,” and that the mission will be run jointly by the State Department and US Central Command.

“The MFC would be complementary to other security maritime task forces, including the maritime planning effort the U.K. and France are leading,” the cable also reportedly says.

Australia should bolster security at Jewish events after Bondi mass terror shooting — royal commission

Australia should bolster security at Jewish events in the wake of an antisemitic mass shooting that killed 15 at Bondi Beach last year, a high-powered inquiry finds.

Police should consider ramping up security arrangements at Jewish celebrations “that have a public facing element,” says retired judge Virginia Bell, who is leading a royal commission into the attack.

IDF says ‘false identification’ set off sirens in Gaza border kibbutz

The military says rocket warning sirens were activated in Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza Strip due to a “false identification.”

Trump says US may cut number of troops in Germany, amid spat with chancellor over Iran

US President Donald Trump announces on Truth Social that his administration “is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time.”

The announcement comes amid a public spat between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israel war against Iran.

Merz said the Iranians were humiliating the United States in talks to end the war, leading Trump to claim that the chancellor “thinks it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

There are currently about 35,000 active-duty US military personnel stationed in Germany, more than any other country in Europe.

London cops ID Golders Green terrorist as a UK national from Somalia, don’t name him

The London Metropolitan Police identify the 45-year-old man who stabbed and seriously wounded two Jewish men in Golders Green as a UK national born in Somalia, but refrain from naming him.

A statement from the police force adds that the suspect has been taken to a local police station after being discharged from the hospital, while officers carry out a search at an address in southeast London.

Canada says IRGC members banned, after Iranian soccer officials who arrived at airport return home

Officials with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are banned from Canada, the country’s government says after Iranian soccer officials arrived at Toronto airport and decided to immediately return home, citing their treatment by immigration officials.

In video, Navy officer calls on Gaza flotilla organizers to change course; Israel says ‘condoms and drugs’ found aboard a boat

Organizers of a flotilla sailing to the Gaza Strip publish footage in which an Israeli Navy officer can be heard calling on the activists to change course.

“If you wish to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, you may do so through established and recognized channels. Please change course and return to the port of origin. If you are carrying humanitarian aid, you are invited to proceed to the port of Ashdod,” the officer can be heard saying.

Same script, different year. The israeli navy thinks a radio warning can drown out the cries for justice. You call it a "maritime security blockade" — the rest of the world calls it a crime scene. We aren't "invited" to Ashdod; we aren't your guests. We are the witnesses you… pic.twitter.com/dElolWN59Y — Global Sumud Flotilla (@gbsumudflotilla) April 29, 2026

Same script, different year. The israeli navy thinks a radio warning can drown out the cries for justice. You call it a "maritime security blockade" — the rest of the world calls it a crime scene. We aren't "invited" to Ashdod; we aren't your guests. We are the witnesses you… pic.twitter.com/dElolWN59Y

— Global Sumud Flotilla (@gbsumudflotilla) April 29, 2026

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry publishes a video it says shows “condoms and drugs” that were found aboard one of the vessels that has been intercepted by the Israeli Navy.

This is the “medical aid” found aboard the PR stunt flotilla: condoms and drugs pic.twitter.com/RKiHrGLWfw — Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) April 29, 2026

This is the “medical aid” found aboard the PR stunt flotilla: condoms and drugs pic.twitter.com/RKiHrGLWfw

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) April 29, 2026

The Israeli Navy began intercepting the flotilla, made up of 58 vessels, near the Greek Island of Crete, this evening.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

© The Times of Israel