Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-05-16 at 10:01

HEADLINES
Iran to charge Hormuz traffic fees
Israel airstrikes southern Lebanon amid fragile truce
Hadash elects Jabareen to challenge Netanyahu

The time is now 10:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

In Regional Impacts, Iran is preparing to introduce a mechanism to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz along a designated route. The system would regulate commercial vessels and charge fees for specialized services provided under the arrangement. Iran's parliament's national security committee head Ebrahim Azizi said that only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran would benefit from the plan, which is described as prepared and set to be introduced soon. This is a developing story.

In the Conflict with Iran and its Regional Proxies, Israel launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite the extension of the truce between the two countries. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah, but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages. The bombardment has increased scepticism about the truce among the thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported strikes on at least five villages, including one more than 50 kilometres from the border. There was also a fresh exodus of residents toward the southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut. On Friday, the two countries agreed to extend the ceasefire by another 45 days. Since the start of the ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation warnings for south Lebanese villages north of the Litani River and farther from the border. The Israeli military also struck at least one town that was not included in the warning, near the southern city of Nab.

In the Israeli Domestic Politics, Hadash elected former MK Yousef Jabareen as party chairman, ousting Ayman Odeh. Jabareen, a resident of Umm al-Fahm, defeated Dr. Shukri Awawdeh at the party’s national council meeting in Deir Hanna. He called for the establishment of the broadest and strongest Joint List possible and urged all components to commit to the mission, negotiate, and become an influential political force. He added that they would work to prevent the Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, and Smotrich government from continuing for another term, and would fight for equality, democracy, and peace together with Jewish democratic forces. Hadash said the vote marked the opening of its election campaign and made it the first political faction to select its list ahead of the next election. Jabareen previously served as a Knesset member for Hadash and the Joint List from 2015 to 2020.

Also in Israeli Domestic Politics, an opinion piece asks whether new Knesset proposals push Israel toward Hungary-style governance. It notes that while the headlines focus on proposals to give the ultra-Orthodox a de facto exemption from military service and to establish an October 7 inquiry controlled by the prime minister, other items on the docket are seen as potentially shifting democratic norms in ways reminiscent of Hungary. The column also references the Hungarian prime minister's inauguration and recalls past pro-democracy protests in Israel, framing the current changes as part of a broader debate about democratic safeguards.

In Antisemitism and Anti-Jewish Hate, Mamdani shares Nakba Remembrance Day content on social media. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked Nakba Remembrance Day with a post that included a video interview with a Palestinian New York resident described as "Inea." The post discusses Nakba Day, commemorating the displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians during Israel’s founding. The interview features Inea describing family displacement and displacement across countries, and the post includes Palestinian art, including a 1936 Visit Palestine poster by Frank Krausz, described as a Holocaust survivor and a Zionist Jew. Reacting to Mamdani’s post, Israeli activist Hen Mazzig shared his family’s own displacement experience.

At Cannes, a juror claims anti-Israel activists face blacklisting. The piece notes there was no official boycott or blacklisting of Israelis at this year’s festival, but Israeli films were not part of Cannes. Israeli presence was limited to two Russian-born Israeli actors, Anatoliy Beliy and Vladimir Friedman, who appear in the new Minotaur by Andrey Zvyagintsev, and the participation of Israeli cinematographer Giora Bejach on La Bataille de Gaulle: L’âge de fer, shown out of competition. Off the record, several Israeli directors said their recent films were rejected at Cannes, with one noting his movie had been turned down by “every film festival you’ve ever heard of.”

Thank you for tuning in to this Israel Today: Ongoing War Report update.
I'm Noa Levi. Stay safe and informed.
Keep in mind that this AI-generated report may contain occasional inaccuracies, so consult multiple sources for a comprehensive view. Find the code and more details in the podcast description.

SOURCES
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-896365
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/israel-strikes-south-lebanon-day-after-ceasefire-extension
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-896367
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-896152
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-896366
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-896364