3,000 Tons of Munitions from US, Europe to Israel

Israeli vehicles near Ashkelon last October 15 (AFP)
Israeli vehicles near Ashkelon last October 15 (AFP)
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3,000 Tons of Munitions from US, Europe to Israel

Israeli vehicles near Ashkelon last October 15 (AFP)
Israeli vehicles near Ashkelon last October 15 (AFP)

The Department of Production and Procurement (DOPP) at the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that last week it has purchased 3,000 tons of munitions and weapons for 6 billion shekels.

It said about half of the equipment were bought from Israeli factories, while the other half arrived from Europe and the United States on 100 cargo planes and five ships.

The Ministry affirmed that the purchases, which came to respond to Israeli needs in the event of a wider war involving Lebanon, include bombs, missiles, radars, drones, vehicles, ambulances, medical equipment and more.

The Department said that some of these purchases had already arrived and were being used.

Additionally, it noted that the Directorate of Defense Research and Development dedicated more than 3 billion shekels for research, development, and armament, covering both defensive and offensive capabilities.

In this regard, the Ministry said it has activated about 651 factories and engaged approximately 57,000 workers who received mobilization orders.

Additionally, it rented approximately 8,500 vehicles, more than 4,000 buses, and over 2,000 trucks, tractors, and heavy machinery for the Israeli military.

The DOPP also noted that the engineering department at the Israeli Army spent some 1 billion shekels to repair military bases and communities on the border that were damaged from the October 7 Hamas attack.

It bought 350,000 tons of equipment and construction materials and hired 100 construction companies to undertake the repair works.

Also, in an attempt to appease angry families over the military's failures, the Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department recognized 712 army personnel as disabled due to injuries, unlike in the past, when every case was carefully studied by a medical committee.

Also, the ministry has decided to continue to accommodate 125,000 people evacuated from almost 100 communities on the border of Lebanon and Gaza, who are staying in hotels and guest houses.

Meanwhile, Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that they have agreed to increase the compensation pay given to reservists by 40 percent, in addition to allow a one-time grant of 1,100 shekels for those who served more than 8 days and 2,000 shekels for those who served 14 days or more. They also agreed to pay these sums on a monthly basis.

So far, the war has cost Israel 30 billion shekels, with the US Congress planning to give Israel $14.3 billion in assistance as the Israeli-Hamas war continues.



Macron: French Navy Intercepted Another Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Tanker

France's President Emmanuel Macron addresss the press at the end of the meeting of state leaders of the European Group of Five (E5) and the NATO Secretary General, on June 24, 2026 at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresss the press at the end of the meeting of state leaders of the European Group of Five (E5) and the NATO Secretary General, on June 24, 2026 at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
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Macron: French Navy Intercepted Another Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Tanker

France's President Emmanuel Macron addresss the press at the end of the meeting of state leaders of the European Group of Five (E5) and the NATO Secretary General, on June 24, 2026 at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresss the press at the end of the meeting of state leaders of the European Group of Five (E5) and the NATO Secretary General, on June 24, 2026 at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that his country's navy had intercepted an oil tanker as it transited near the coast of Sicily, in what he called his country's latest action against the 'shadow fleet' Russia uses to ship oil and gas and ⁠to skirt Western ⁠sanctions.

"This new action against the shadow fleet, conducted days after a similar operation by Britain, shows Europeans' determination," Macron said in ⁠a post on Instagram, adding that the interception took place on Tuesday.

"We will not let the shadow fleet evade sanctions and finance the Russian war effort," Reuters quoted Macron as saying.

Macron posted a video showing Marines descending from helicopters onto the ⁠Deliver.

⁠France has intercepted at least five tankers it says are part of Russia's shadow fleet, old vessels that Russia has relied on to ship oil and gas and to skirt Western sanctions.

Moscow has called such actions illegal.


Ukraine Drone Attacks Kill 5 in Russia, Crimea

FILE PHOTO: Explosion at Moscow oil refinery after Ukrainian drone attacks on the city, in Moscow, Russia june 18, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Explosion at Moscow oil refinery after Ukrainian drone attacks on the city, in Moscow, Russia june 18, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
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Ukraine Drone Attacks Kill 5 in Russia, Crimea

FILE PHOTO: Explosion at Moscow oil refinery after Ukrainian drone attacks on the city, in Moscow, Russia june 18, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Explosion at Moscow oil refinery after Ukrainian drone attacks on the city, in Moscow, Russia june 18, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS

Ukrainian drone strikes killed five people, including two children, in Russia and on the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula, in attacks that also triggered a fire at a major oil depot in the country's south, local officials said Thursday.

Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russia in recent months in retaliation for Moscow's near-daily barrages of drones and missiles throughout its five-year offensive, AFP reported.

Russia's defense ministry said it downed 269 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russia and Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

In Crimea, which Ukraine is trying to cut-off from Russian logistics and supply routes, the Russia-appointed governor Sergey Aksyonov said: "Two people, including a child, were killed and two others wounded ... as a result of overnight enemy attacks.

Drone strikes also killed two people in the border Bryansk region -- a 23-year-old driver and 15-year-old girl -- and one in the Belgorod region, regional authorities said.

Kyiv insists that the Ukrainian army first and foremost targets military installations and energy infrastructure, in a bid to deprive the Kremlin's war chest of vital fossil fuel revenues.

In Russia's southern Krasnodar Krai region, debris from a drone strike triggered a fire at an oil depot, authorities said Thursday.

"Following the fall of UAV debris, a fire broke out at the Poltavskaya oil depot," Aleksandr Kharitonov, head of Krasnoarmeysk district in Krasnodar Krai, wrote on Russia's state-run Max platform.

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 90 drones and an Iskander missile -- launched from Crimea -- at Ukraine overnight, adding that 83 of the drones had been shot down.

But Ukraine's state railway operator said a crew member was killed in a strike on a train in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.


Iran Warns Against Hormuz Crossings Without Authorization

FILE PHOTO: Vessels are seen at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 1, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels are seen at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 1, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Iran Warns Against Hormuz Crossings Without Authorization

FILE PHOTO: Vessels are seen at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 1, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels are seen at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 1, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday warned against any crossings of the Strait of Hormuz without authorization, saying vessels not complying "will be dealt with.”

The future of the strait, a vital route for energy shipments that was blockaded by Iran during the war, is a key sticking point in negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

Tehran has said it plans to impose what it calls maritime service fees, as opposed to tolls, while the United States argues it is an international waterway and therefore should not be charged.

"The only authorized route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the route announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran," said the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military.

Any crossing without authorization is "unacceptable and extremely dangerous,” they warned in a statement.

According to AFP, they also denounced what they said was a new route through the waterway announced by "certain authorities.”

The statement did not elaborate but it appeared to be a response to an announcement overnight of a temporary corridor by Oman, which also borders the strait.