Israel kills 6 Hamas chiefs, braces for more Gaza rockets after worst-ever barrages * Arabs riot in Lod, burn shuls * Analysis: US fumbles * Why COVID makes you so sick

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Wednesday, May 12, 2021 Live updates [LIVE: IDF expects more rocket fire at central Israel after killing 6 Hamas commanders]( By [TOI staff]( [Massive rocket barrages fired at southern towns; Gantz: We won’t stop until there’s quiet; 6 killed in Israel, 53 Palestinians; Israel says many of the Gaza dead were terrorists]( [Hamas fires missile at Israeli jeep, killing 1; IDF hits group’s top commanders]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Israel says it is targeting Hamas leadership and munitions, moving additional troops to the border; Netanyahu: ‘We will inflict blows on them that they couldn’t even dream of’]( [Overnight Hamas barrages kill father and daughter in Lod, woman in Rishon Lezion]( By [Judah Ari Gross and TOI staff]( [2 women killed by rockets in Ashkelon amid massive barrages from Gaza]( By [Judah Ari Gross and Aaron Boxerman]( [‘No end date’ for Gaza operation, Gantz says, rejecting ‘moral preaching’]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Defense minister warns ‘all options are on the table’ as fighting shows no sign of abating; adds that in the Strip, ‘high-rises are falling down, commanders are being killed’]( [Egypt: Israel hasn’t responded to our offer to mediate to defuse tensions]( By [Agencies and Jacob Magid]( [Massive forces sent to Lod as Netanyahu vows to restore order with ‘iron fist’]( By [Michael Bachner and TOI staff]( [Synagogues torched in widescale Arab riots described by city’s mayor as ‘Kristallnacht’ and ‘civil war’; 3 Jewish suspects remanded over fatal shooting Monday of Arab man]( [After Lod synagogues torched, Rivlin accuses ‘bloodthirsty Arab mob’ of ‘pogrom’]( By [Michael Bachner and TOI staff]( [‘Kristallnacht in Lod’: State of emergency as Arab mobs set synagogues on fire]( By [TOI staff]( Op-ed [David Horovitz]( [Israel’s leadership taken by surprise, in a conflict it failed to see coming]( [‘We must not be dismissive about the situation we are in,’ defense minister says, as rockets hit nationwide and Arab riots spread. Rarely was advice more appropriate and necessary]( Behind the Headlines [Israel under fire: Join ToI Community for live Q&A TODAY with our senior editors]( By [TOI staff]( [In a special Behind the Headlines for ToI Community members only, this Wednesday, May 12, readers can query panelists for their perspective on the ongoing crisis in Israel]( [Tuesday Liveblog (closed) / IDF strikes Hamas leaders amid heavy rocket attacks; major rioting in Lod]( By [TOI staff]( [IDF kills 4 Islamic Jihad, Hamas commanders in targeted strikes in Gaza]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( Analysis [Jacob Magid]( [Biden fumbles attempt to please everyone with tepid response to Mideast violence]( [US blocks passage of Security Council statement criticizing both sides, but neither Israel nor Palestinians impressed; other allies of administration slam hands-off approach]( [US: Israel has right to respond to rockets, Palestinians have right to safety]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Amid rocket attacks, US top diplomat says ‘all sides need to de-escalate’]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Trump slams Biden’s ‘weakness,’ lack of support for Israel]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Thousands of pro-Palestinian New Yorkers pack Midtown in protest against Israel]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Small group of pro-Israel activists tussles with counter-demonstrators; police make several arrests at tense but mainly uneventful protest; rally backing Israel set for Wednesday]( [TikTok, Twitter videos bring images of Israel-Gaza conflict home to US Jews]( By [Shira Hanau]( [Security Council to meet for 2nd time in 3 days on Israel-Palestinian violence]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Hamas hails ‘victory in battle for Jerusalem’ after onslaught on central Israel]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Ismail Haniyeh says Gaza-ruling terror group ready for any scenario, celebrates ‘new balance of power’ with Israel after huge rocket barrages, eruption of violence in Arab sector]( [After rockets rain on Tel Aviv, Netanyahu says terror groups will pay dear price]( By [TOI staff]( [Hamas hits central Israel with unprecedented rocket fire; woman killed]( By [Judah Ari Gross and Aaron Boxerman]( [As Gaza conflict escalates, here’s what US Jews think about Israel]( By [Ben Sales]( Times of Israel Podcast [TOI staff]( [Daily Briefing May 12 – Is Hamas spurring Arab Israelis to intifada?]( [Tune in Sunday through Thursday to hear ToI editors and reporters quickly catch you up on what’s important today]( [Bennett vows to back government Gaza response, says Hamas must pay ‘heavy price’]( By [TOI staff]( [Why does COVID make people so sick, so quickly? Israeli geneticist has an answer]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [SARS-CoV-2 uses a three-pronged approach to keep cells from recruiting immune system to fend off the attack until it may be too late, says Weizmann Institute researcher]( [Israeli lab ‘switches off’ brain connectors, boosting efforts to treat disorders]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( Top Ops [David Harris]( [Israel and Gaza: Moral clarity, moral fog]( [The genocidal, death-celebrating Hamas terrorists drag Israel into reluctant confrontation, yet somehow the two sides are painted as morally equivalent]( [Leonard Saxe]( [There are more American Jews – and they’re staying Jewish]( [The latest Pew survey shows double-digit growth in the American Jewish population and finds intermarriage is having a net positive effect]( [Yael Shahar]( [Proportionality of response: What it really means]( [How much force should the IDF use to stop rocket fire from a given location in Gaza? What if there are civilian casualties?]( [Bassem Eid]( [This has nothing to do with Sheikh Jarrah]( [It’s about Hamas seeing a chance to seize the narrative and increase its own influence and control over Palestinians in Jerusalem]( [10 key takeaways from the new Pew survey of American Jews]( By [Ben Sales]( [They’re older, more educated, and less religious than rest of country; 1 in 10 supports Israel boycott, but most back Jewish state; most young people are marrying non-Jews]( [Pew study: 75% of US Orthodox Jews identify as Republicans, up from 57% in 2013]( By [Shira Hanau]( [Pew survey of American Jews shows worries about antisemitism are widespread]( By [David Crary]( [Without using the term, Pew survey unveils new data on US ‘Jews of color’]( By [Asaf Shalev]( [CRM]( [Iran now enriching uranium to 63% purity — UN watchdog]( By [TOI staff]( [Amid talks on renewing nuke deal, IAEA said to conclude Tehran exceeding 60% enrichment cap it announced, bringing it even closer to weapons-grade level]( [Iran’s Holocaust-denying ex-president Ahmadinejad to run again for office]( By [Nasser Karimi]( [‘You never get used to it’: Ashkelon shaken by first rocket deaths in 2 years]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Two women killed in southern city; with up to a quarter of the city lacking shelters in their homes, residents say they’re living on ‘Iron Dome and luck’]( [Gantz: Gaza operation aims to ‘strike Hamas hard,’ make it ‘regret’ rockets]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [IDF says it thwarted West Bank shooting, would-be Palestinian gunman killed]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( Analysis [Lazar Berman]( [With Jerusalem focus, Hamas touches nerve even friendly Arab states can’t ignore]( [Rage against Israel spreads through regional states as the Gaza-based terror group positions itself as a defender of Palestinians and Islam]( [After reviving ancient dates, a Negev pioneer plants seeds against a dry future]( By [Sue Surkes]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Jewish teen seriously hurt in Beersheba stabbing; Arab Israeli suspect arrested]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [Supreme Court orders retrial of convicted killer of 13-year old Tair Rada]( By [TOI staff]( [Digital analytics firm SimilarWeb to raise $180 million in NY IPO]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Time for a manicure? Israeli startup’s 3D imaging, AI has got your nails covered]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Northern literary lights / COVID rules eased, Metulla Poetry Festival to be held in person]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Cisco to buy Israeli startup Sedona for reported $100 million]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Japanese telecom giant NTT to open innovation lab in Israel]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Moody’s, Team8 invest $25 million in joint cyber-risk venture]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2021 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved