The House swiftly approved $95 billion in foreign aid for Israel, Ukraine and other U.S. allies in a rare Saturday session.
War in Israel
An Iranian attack on an Israeli desert air base last week damaged a taxiway, a satellite image analyzed by The Associated Press on Saturday shows.
Defiant students at Columbia University continued Friday to protest the war in Gaza as some Jewish students requested permission to study remotely.
Some Palestinians left an area of Rafah near the border with Egypt on Saturday after receiving an evacuation alert from the Israeli army.
“It’s the best thing in my life,” said 1st Sgt. Omer Glikstal of the team’s twice-weekly practices at a stadium in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan.
Friday’s vote produced a seldom-seen outcome in the typically hyper-partisan House, with Democrats helping Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan advance overwhelmingly 316-94. Final House approval could come this weekend, when the package would be sent to the Senate.
Defiant students at Columbia University continued Friday to protest the war in Gaza, a day after university President Minouche Shafik tapped the NYPD to clear a campus encampment and arrest more than 100 demonstrators .
Israel has long considered Iran to be its greatest enemy — citing the Islamic Republic’s calls for Israel’s destruction, its controversial nuclear program and its support for hostile terrorist proxies across the Middle East.
Iran fired air defense batteries early Friday morning after reports of explosions near the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
The U.S. and U.K. on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran as concern grows that Tehran’s attack on Israel could fuel a wider war in the Middle East.
“The world is on fire, and history will judge us for our action,” said Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, during a news conference this week.
On Monday, Jews around the world will begin celebrating the weeklong Passover holiday, recounting the biblical story of their exodus from Egypt.
Republican Speaker Johnson, facing a choice between losing his job and funding Ukraine, notified lawmakers earlier that he would forge ahead for votes on the package later this week.
The president of Columbia University took a firm stand against antisemitism Wednesday as she parried accusations from Republicans who see the New York campus as a hotbed of bias.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates called for maximum “self-restraint” in the Middle East to spare the region “from the dangers of war and its dire consequences” in a frank joint statement Wednesday.