Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz has ordered the IDF to escalate its military campaign against Iranian regime targets in Tehran, aiming to destabilize the government and deter further missile attacks on Israeli cities. Following a high-level assessment Friday morning with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior military officials, Katz directed the IDF to focus on symbolic regime assets, including the Basij paramilitary force and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as Iran’s internal repression apparatus. The goal, he said, is to “bring about the destabilization of the regime and increase deterrence against missile attacks on Israel’s home front,” while continuing to degrade Iran’s nuclear program.

Russian drones slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in nighttime attacks, authorities said Friday, as a Kremlin official said he expected an announcement next week on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks. Russia’s overnight drone assault targeted the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, hitting apartment blocks, officials said. The barrage of more than 20 drones injured almost two dozen civilians, including girls aged 17 and 12, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people,” Zelenskyy said on messaging app Telegram, urging the United States and the European Union to crank up economic pressure on Russia.

Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is finding himself on the defensive Thursday as backlash grows over his refusal to denounce the controversial slogan “globalize the intifada” — a phrase which incites violence against Jews. Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens and avowed democratic socialist, struggled to clarify his position at a press conference, offering a vague and at times meandering defense. “These words have different meanings for many different people,” Mamdani said, pivoting to affordability issues and insisting he opposed “any incitement of violence.” But his remarks did little to quell the controversy.

In light of the continued closure of Israeli airspace, El Al has announced an alternative route home for stranded passengers — by sea. In coordination with Mano Maritime, a cruise ship will sail from Limassol, Cyprus, to the port of Ashdod on Wednesday, June 26. The voyage will be free of charge for El Al and Sun D’Or customers whose flights were cancelled due to the ongoing situation. Other travelers can book a one-way ticket for €550 through the El Al website. The ship, which can accommodate approximately 1,500 passengers, will first depart from Ashdod to Limassol on Monday, June 24, carrying ticketed passengers from Israel to Cyprus. The return leg is expected to dock back in Ashdod on Friday, June 27.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Thursday night that Israel is surpassing expectations in its ongoing military offensive against Iran, boasting that the campaign is “ahead of schedule” and vowing that all of Iran’s nuclear sites — including the heavily fortified Fordo facility — will be targeted and neutralized. Speaking in a rare interview on Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu provided an expansive update on Israel’s week-old preemptive assault. He said at least half of Iran’s missile launchers have been destroyed, key military figures eliminated, and Iran’s feared Basij paramilitary forces heavily damaged. “We are ahead of the schedule we set, both in terms of timing and results,” Netanyahu said.

Authorities in El Salvador have extradited two Lev Tahor members, one to Israel and another to Guatemala, amid ongoing investigations into allegations of child abuse and human trafficking. Prosecutors confirmed that Eliezer Rumpler was handed over to Israeli authorities following his January arrest after crossing into the country from Guatemala. Rumpler, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, is accused of overseeing the abuse of students. According to prosecutors, the students were allegedly forced to disrobe before being subjected to beatings. Separately, 23-year-old Jonathan Cardona was extradited to Guatemala to face a slate of serious charges, including child abuse and human trafficking, Guatemalan officials announced.

A senior commander in the Mujahideen Brigades terror group, Ali Saadi Wasfi al-Agha, was killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a hideout in central Gaza, the IDF announced. Al-Agha, who headed the group’s southern Gaza division, was slated to succeed its leader, Asaad Abu Sharia, who was eliminated in an earlier Israeli strike this month. According to the IDF, al-Agha played a key role in the October 7 attacks and was personally involved in the abduction, murder, and burial of Israeli hostages, including Gadi Haggai and Judith Weinstein. The military said the bodies of Haggai and Weinstein were discovered earlier this month in al-Agha’s home in Khan Younis, confirming his direct involvement in concealing their remains.

More than 60 IAF fighter jets truck dozens of military targets in Iran overnight, using approximately 120 munitions. During the night, several industrial sites used to manufacture missiles were struck in the Tehran area. These sites were developed over many years and served as a key industrial center for the Iranian Ministry of Defense. Among the targets were sites producing missile components and facilities manufacturing raw materials used in casting missile engines. As part of the ongoing efforts to degrade the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program, the IDF struck the SPND headquarters in Tehran. The SPND headquarters is used for research and development of advanced technologies and weapons supporting the Iranian regime’s military capabilities.

Following nearly 13 hours of relative quiet in Israel, early Friday morning saw a new barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles targeting southern regions. The attack forced millions of residents to take cover in bomb shelters as sirens blared across the area. One missile struck Beersheva, landing directly in front of an apartment building. The impact caused multiple vehicles to burst into flames and inflicted severe damage to the structure. Bichasdei Hashem, according to Magen David Adom, there have been no reports of physical injuries so far. A few civilians experienced anxiety and panic attacks due to the shock of the attack. Emergency services are on the scene providing support and assessing the damage.

President Donald Trump is holding off on authorizing U.S. airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear sites, amid growing concerns that toppling Iran’s leadership could plunge the region into chaos and repeat the mistakes of Libya, the NY Post reports. According to multiple sources close to the administration, Trump has repeatedly invoked the NATO-led intervention in Libya during internal deliberations, citing it as a cautionary tale of regime change gone wrong. In 2011, the U.S. joined a coalition to remove Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, only to watch the country descend into civil war and lawlessness — a scenario Trump is determined to avoid with Iran. “He doesn’t want it to turn into Libya,” said one insider familiar with the president’s thinking.