LiveLive Updates May 19, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeMay 19, 2026UpdatesIsraeli parliament advances bill to split attorney general powersIsrael's parliament took a first step toward splitting the powers of the attorney general, advancing a government-backed bill that would weaken the position's authority and give ministers greater control over legal representation and criminal prosecutions. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote in protest.Under the proposal, the attorney general's role would be divided between a legal adviser appointed directly by the government and a separate prosecutor general, while the government would no longer be bound by the attorney general's legal opinions and could hire private lawyers to represent it in court.On Monday, Simcha Rothman secretly added a clause to the bill designed to make it more difficult to open an investigation and file indictments against public servants – including the prime minister and ministers. The clause states that the attorney general will be required to obtain approval from a district court to open a criminal investigation against members of Knesset, deputy ministers, religious and secular court judges, the ombudsman for judges, or the ombudsman for state representatives in the courts, and other senior officials.Filing an indictment against senior officials will also require the approval of a special committee of three members: a retired judge who will head it, a lawyer appointed by the attorney general, and another lawyer with criminal experience appointed by the chairman of the state audit committee.RECAP: IDF kills six in Lebanon; Trump says he paused planned attack on IranHere are Tuesday's updates from the U.S.-Iran cease-fire and Israel's war with Hezbollah:■ Israeli strikes killed at least six and wounded three others in southern Lebanon's Tyre and Nabatieh, according to local reports.■ U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington.■ The Gaza Health Ministry said three dead were identified at hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours.■ The judges in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's criminal trial shortened Tuesday's hearing by three and a half hours at Netanyahu's request due to "security reasons."■ Irish President Catherine Connolly told reporters she is "very worried" about her sister, who was detained by Israeli forces while aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla on Monday.■ Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would immediately sign an evacuation order for the West Bank Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in response to a confidential request that the International Criminal Court issue an arrest warrant against him.■ An IDF report presented to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee indicates that there has been a sharp increase in reports of sexual assault in the army compared to the years before the war.6 hours agoSharp increase in reports of sexual assault in the army since start of war, IDF saysAn IDF report presented to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee indicates that there has been a sharp increase in reports of sexual assault in the army compared to the years before the war.An IDF spokesperson speaking in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee hearing on Tuesday. Credit: Itay CohenAn IDF spokesperson speaking in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee hearing on Tuesday. Credit: Itay CohenAccording to army data, 2,420 reports of sexual assault were received in 2025, compared to 1,744 reports in 2022. The increase in reports of sexual assault in the army can be attributed, among other things, to the widespread mobilization of reserve forces without sufficient screening of soldiers, as well as to the weakening of military discipline.Smotrich responds to report of ICC arrest warrant: I will sign an order to evacuate Bedouin village Khan al-AhmarFinance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to reports of a confidential request to issue an international arrest warrant at the International Criminal Court, saying that he would immediately sign an evacuation order for the West Bank Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar."Issuing arrest warrants against the prime minister, the defense minister and the finance minister is a declaration of war – and in the face of a declaration of war, we will respond in kind," Smotrich declared. He threatened to harm the Palestinian Authority, which he accused of standing behind the international legal move, and said, "As soon as I finish my remarks here, I will sign an order to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar within the framework of my powers as defense minister. I promise all our enemies – this is just the beginning."Khan al-Ahmar in January 2023. Credit: Ohad ZwigenbergKhan al-Ahmar in January 2023. Credit: Ohad Zwigenberg"The hands are the hands of The Hague, but the voice is the voice of the Palestinian Authority. This organization launched a war and it will get a war. I am not a submissive Jew."This Bedouin village is close to Route 1, near the settlement of Kfar Adumim. It is home to a few dozen families from the Jahalin tribe, which was expelled from its home in the Negev to the West Bank in the 1950s.Khan al-Ahmar has become an international symbol of the Israeli-Palestinian battle for control over Area C, the part of the West Bank assigned to full Israeli control by the Oslo Accords. Some 250 residents live in the small village.IDF issues urgent evacuation warning to southern Lebanon villages, some north of Litani RiverThe IDF issued urgent evacuation notices for 12 villages in southern Lebanon, some of which are located north of the Litani River.#عاجل ‼️انذار عاجل الى سكان لبنان المتواجدين في البلدات والقرى التالية: طورا, النبطية التحتا, حبوش, البازورية, طير دبا, كفر حونة, عين قانا, لبايا, جبشيت, الشهابية (طير زبنا), برج الشمالي (صور), حومين الفوقا