LiveLive Updates May 26, 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 26, 2026UpdatesIran partially lifts internet blackout after more than two months, watchdogs' data showsIran has partially lifted the internet blackout that has been in place for more than two months, live data from internet watchdogs showed on Tuesday.A man uses his smartphone while riding the subway in Tehran, Iran, 2024. Credit: Vahid Salemi,AP A man uses his smartphone while riding the subway in Tehran, Iran, 2024. Credit: Vahid Salemi,AP Netblocks, an organization specializing in internet blackouts, wrote on X that the shutdown was "the longest nationwide internet shutdown in modern history," with Iran almost completely cut off from international networks for 2,093 hours.The organization warned that it was still unclear whether the restoration will last.Data from the IT company Cloudflare also showed an increase in web traffic on Tuesday compared to previous weeks.Iranian sources said President Masoud Pezeshkian had on Monday ordered the blockade on international internet connections to be lifted, though no timeline for restoring access was provided.Iranian media reported in mid-May about a possible lifting of the blockade on June 5. The government had almost completely blocked access to the global internet in the country since the start of the war with Israel and the United States on February 28.Since then, Iranians have only been able to use the so-called "national internet," where they can only access websites that the state has authorized. The block has led to significant economic and social consequences.Iran's internet is subject to strict censorship even in peacetime. Many websites and apps are blocked; internet users rely on expensive local VPN services to access social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.Israel apprehends Palestinian man tied to 2007 West Bank terrorist attack, defense agencies sayIsraeli forces apprehended a man involved in a 2007 terrorist attack that killed an Israeli civilian in the West Bank, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency said.In a joint statement, the agencies said that Shadi Jumaa was apprehended in the city of Qalqilyah in the West Bank. According to the statement, Jumaa in 2007 took part in a shooting attack in the Palestinian village of Funduq, east of Qalqilyah, in which Israeli civilian Ido Zoldan was killed."The terrorist had been released shortly beforehand from detention by the Palestinian Authority, where he had been detained until now," the statement said. Jumaa has been transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning, the statement added.Remnants of Assad's chemical weapons program found in Syria, 18 arrested, official saysSyria's transitional leadership has located remnants of former Syrian ‌president Bashar al-Assad's clandestine chemical weapons program, including raw materials and munitions similar to those used ⁠to carry out deadly gas attacks during the country's long-running civil war, a Syrian official told Reuters on Tuesday.Labels of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inside a damaged house in Damascus, Syria, 2018. Credit: Ali Hashisho/ REUTERSLabels of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inside a damaged house in Damascus, Syria, 2018. Credit: Ali Hashisho/ REUTERSSyrian authorities have also taken into custody 18 ‌suspects ⁠for alleged involvement in Assad's chemical weapons program, including high-level military, political and ⁠technical officials, said Mohamad Katoub, Syria's permanent representative to the ⁠Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in ⁠The Hague, in an interview.Report: U.S. restarts escorting ships crossing Strait of HormuzVessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, Monday. Credit: Stringer/ REUTERSVessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, Monday. Credit: Stringer/ REUTERSThe U.S. Navy is again guiding vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, after a similar initiative was backtracked earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. military officials.According to the officials who spoke with the Journal, U.S. naval forces guided a Greek tanker carrying two million barrels of crude off the Omani coast.Earlier in May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced "Project Freedom" to restore commercial shipping traffic through the strategic waterway. The president later reversed the plan after Saudi Arabia had reportedly suspended U.S. military access to key bases and airspace needed for the operation.RECAP: Israel expands Lebanon ground operations north of buffer zone, Iranian top negotiator returns from talks with Qatari mediatorsHere are Tuesday's latest updates:■ Israel has deployed ground troops north of the Yellow Line in Lebanon, the IDF said, citing an effort to tackle the threat of explosive drones from Hezbollah. Earlier, the IDF said it intercepted several explosive drones launched by Hezbollah, with some landing on the Israeli side of the border.■ Lebanon's Health Ministry said 28 people were killed and 104 were wounded in Israeli attacks across the country in the past day, bringing the casualty toll to 3,213 killed and 9,737 wounded since hostilities reignited on March 2. Earlier, the ministry said 11 were killed in a Monday strike in the Bekaa Valley, and a paramedic was killed in a strike in the Tyre district.■ Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged the Israeli government to strike Beirut in response to Hezbollah drone strikes, saying IDF soldiers are currently not allowed to attack Hezbollah.■ The IDF's Home Front Command said it began issuing early warnings before Hezbollah rocket and missile fire from Lebanon, similar to the ones it issued when Iran fired ballistic missiles.■ Iran's top negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has returned to Iran after consultations with Qatari officials in Doha centered on Iran's $24 billion in frozen funds, Iran's state television reported. Fars News Agency said the frozen funds remain the last sticking point in the talks.■ Iran's Foreign ‌Ministry said the ⁠United States violated the ⁠cease-fire after the U.S. military carried out strikes on ‌Monday in southern Iran against ‌targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, in what it described as defensive actions.■ IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has dismissed former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the IDF said, citing a criminal investigation into the former top military lawyer's involvement in leaking a video showing alleged abuse of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility in 2024, as well as her suspected involvement in a subsequent cover-up.■ Ireland aims to pass a law curbing goods trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by mid-July, Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said. Israel, some U.S. lawmakers and business groups oppose the move.■ An Israeli strike on a vehicle killed two people and wounded several others in the southern Gaza Strip's Muwasi area, formerly known as the humanitarian zone, local media outlets reported.IDF expands Lebanon ground operations north of buffer zone to tackle Hezbollah drone threatIsrael has deployed ground troops north of the Yellow Line in Lebanon, the IDF said, citing an effort to tackle the threat of explosive drones from Hezbollah.The Yellow Line is an unofficial demarcation marking Israeli-held territory in the south of the country under the terms of the U.S.-mediated cease-fire agreement that came into effect in April.Military officials said they are engaged in finding solutions to the drone threat and that they are currently combating them using nets and special ammunition. For now, though, the officials said there is no comprehensive solution.Read the full articleIDF says it dismantled 11 km of 'terrorist' tunnels in Gaza's Beit HanounIsraeli troops dismantled 11 kilometers (about 7 miles) of "terrorist" tunnels in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, the IDF said. The IDF's statement said that the engineering operation took place east of the Yellow Line, an unofficial line marking Israeli-held territory in the enclave under the terms of the cease-fire agreement, which came into effect in October.In the NewsIsrael Expands Lebanon Ground Offensive Beyond Self-declared Buffer ZoneNetanyahu's Mossad Chief Pick Cleared by State Panel Despite Chair's ObjectionIsraeli Army Chief Discharges Ex-top Prosecutor Amid Leak InvestigationSome Canadian Jews Say Ride-sharing Apps Are No Longer Safe. 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