Report: IDF proceeding with demolition of south Lebanese towns despite ceasefire |
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.
Report: IDF proceeding with demolition of south Lebanese towns despite ceasefire
The IDF is reportedly moving ahead with the destruction of buildings in southern Lebanese villages, even though a ceasefire is currently in place in its conflict with Hezbollah.
Several IDF commanders tell the Haaretz daily that civilian homes, public buildings and schools are being systematically razed as part of a policy to “clear the area,” which is currently part of the buffer zone created by the Israeli military inside Lebanon.
Israel says Hezbollah has been using civilian infrastructure to store weapons or dig tunnels under homes, and previously, IDF officers have said the military is only demolishing the infrastructure of Hezbollah.
But according to Haaretz, the IDF doesn’t appear to be differentiating between buildings exploited by the terror group and ones untouched, as entire towns are reportedly being razed to the ground.
The demolitions are carried out by paid contractors, including some who are compensated based on the number of buildings they destroy, the commanders tell Haaretz.
The commanders say the IDF is replicating its policy from Gaza in Lebanon as it pertains to demolishing civilian infrastructure. One commander tells Haaretz that the goal is to prevent Lebanese civilians from returning to towns along Israel’s border.
Last month, Defense Minister Israel Katz described the policy, saying, “All houses in villages near the Lebanese border will be demolished according to the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza” in order “to remove, once and for all, the threats near the border.”
The IDF does not respond to Haaretz’s request for comment.
Policeman gets head injury, 10 arrested in brawl at soccer game in Jerusalem
A police officer sustains a head injury, and 10 people are arrested, as a brawl breaks out at the end of a soccer match between Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Haifa at Teddy Stadium in the capital.
The police officer’s head can be seen bleeding in a photo of the incident, and he received medical attention, Hebrew media outlets report.
The police condemn violence that endangers the public at sporting events, and calls for those who participated in the brawl to be prosecuted.
LA woman arrested on charge of helping Iran traffic weapons to Sudan
US federal prosecutors say a 44-year-old Los Angeles woman was arrested Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of helping Iran traffic weapons to Sudan, which is in its fourth year of a bloody civil war.
Shamim Mafi will face charges that she brokered the sale of “drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition” between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces, First US Attorney Bill Essayli says on social media.
A phone number for Mafi could not be located and it isn’t known if she has an attorney who can speak on her behalf.
Essayli posts a photo of someone in an FBI jacket escorting a woman into the back of a sedan outside a terminal at LAX.
Last night, Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for trafficking arms on behalf of the government of Iran. She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of… pic.twitter.com/l39Gf1WVed — F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) April 19, 2026
Last night, Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for trafficking arms on behalf of the government of Iran. She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of… pic.twitter.com/l39Gf1WVed
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) April 19, 2026
Mafi is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016, Essayli says.
A criminal complaint dated March 12 alleges that Mafi and an unnamed co-conspirator operated a company in Oman called Atlas International Business through which weapons and ammunition were trafficked. The company received over $7 million in payments in 2025.
Separately, Mafi and the co-conspirator brokered the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses to the Sudanese Ministry of Defense, according to the court documents.
“In connection with the transaction, Mafi submitted a letter of intent to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (‘IRGC’) to purchase the bomb fuses for Sudan,” the complaint says.
Mafi is scheduled to appear in US District Court in Los Angeles on Monday. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.
The Sudanese civil war has created a humanitarian crisis in the North African country, where food supplies are dwindling and millions of people have fled their homes.
Iran accuses US of ceasefire breach, vows retaliation over attack on ship
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, accuses the US of violating the ceasefire in their war by firing at one of Iran’s commercial ships in the Gulf of Oman, and vows to retaliate.
State media quotes a Khatam al-Anbiya spokesperson as saying that the vessel was en route from China to Iran.
“We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military,” the spokesperson says.
US military posts footage of its navy firing on Iranian ship it later seized
The American military publishes footage showing a US Navy missile destroyer opening fire on an Iranian cargo ship that attempted to pass a blockade that Washington has been maintaining around Iranian ports.
“Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at 17 knots en route to Bandar Abbas, Iran. American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade,” the US Central Command says in a statement.
CENTCOM says that after Touska’s crew “failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room.”
The missile destroyer disabled the Iranian cargo ship’s propulsion “by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room.”
“U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the non-compliant vessel, which remains in U.S. custody,” CENTCOM says.
CENTCOM says its forces “acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance.”
U.S. forces operating in the Arabian Sea enforced naval blockade measures against an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, April 19. Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at… https://t.co/iyzOQd93C3 pic.twitter.com/HwU4XS48Oq — DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) April 19, 2026
U.S. forces operating in the Arabian Sea enforced naval blockade measures against an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, April 19.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at… https://t.co/iyzOQd93C3 pic.twitter.com/HwU4XS48Oq
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) April 19, 2026
IDF says image of soldier destroying Jesus statue in Lebanon is real, vows action
The Israel Defense Forces confirms the authenticity of a photo showing a soldier in southern Lebanon smashing a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer, and says it will take action against those involved.
Following an initial review of the photo, the military says that “it was determined that the photograph depicts an IDF soldier operating in southern Lebanon.”
“The IDF views the incident with great severity and emphasizes that the soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops,” the military says.
The incident is being investigated by the Northern Command and is being handled “through the chain of command,” the IDF says, adding that “appropriate measures will be taken against those involved in accordance with the findings.”
The Northern Command will also assist the Christian community in restoring the statue to its place, the military adds.
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