* Israel posts 303 new virus cases, 0.3% infection rate: Israel on Thursday posted 303 new coronavirus cases diagnosed a day earlier, with the infection rate falling to 0.3%. The Health Ministry said that on Tuesday 53,755 tests had been conducted. The ministry said 290 patients are in serious condition, of whom 152 are ventilated. The official death toll now stands at 6,266. (Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz)
* Sirens and ceremonies: Israel remembers victims of the Holocaust: Israelis on Thursday were set to observe two-minute silence and hold a host of official ceremonies in remembrance of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. At 10am all pedestrians, traffic and public transport are set to stand in place with their heads bowed. In homes and businesses, people stopped what they were doing to pay homage to the victims of the Nazi genocide, in which a third of world Jewry was annihilated. (Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz)
* Israel Injures Four Syrian Soldiers in Strikes Near Damascus, State News Reports: Israel carried out a missile attack near the Syrian capital of Damascus and its southern suburbs early Thursday that wounded four soldiers, Syria’s state media said. State news agency, SANA, quoted an unidentified military official as saying that Syrian air defenses were able to shoot down most of the missiles before they hit their targets. SANA said some of the missiles were fired by Israeli warplanes flying over neighboring Lebanon. (Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz)
* Israel eases coronavirus restrictions: Israel's coronavirus cabinet approved loosening restrictions on gatherings Wednesday. Gatherings of up to 100 people will be permitted in the open air. However, limits on indoor gatherings remain unchanged, and are capped at 20 people. At events that include both indoor and outdoor spaces, the number of attendants is still capped at 100 people. Israel also approved special regulations for Memorial Day services, which will allow bereaved families to attend events, even if they do not possess a vaccine pass. (Haaretz, Yediot Ahronot)
* The Latest Reported Israeli Attack on an Iranian Ship Seems Like a Deliberate Escalation: The Iranian ship Saviz, which took a hit when a mine exploded in the Red Sea on Tuesday – in an attack attributed to Israel – was a mothership for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The incident is a part of a series of similar attacks against Iranian ships in the Mediterranean and Red Sea. It’s the second attack reported in the past month, since a story appeared in the Wall Street Journal about a seaborne campaign Israel has launched against Iran. (Haaretz)
