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Israeli Government Unveils Special Independence Day Logo Ahead of Celebrations Amid War
People watch a fireworks display kicking off celebrations for Israel’s Independence Day, marking the 73rd anniversary of the creation of the state, in Tel Aviv, Israel April 14, 2021. REUTERS/Corinna Kern
The Israeli government has unveiled the new logo for this year’s Israeli Independence Day.
The image to mark the 76th annual celebration of the independence of the modern State of Israel shows a Star of David intertwined with the color yellow, which has become synonymous with the release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas to Gaza. The image is accompanied by a phrase reading “Israeli Heroism” in Hebrew.
Official logo for Israel’s 76th Independence Day celebrations. Photo: Screenshot
The announcement came just over a month before Independence Day, known as Yom Haatzmaut, will commence. The celebrations — which take place on the 5th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar — are scheduled this year from the evening of May 13 to the evening of May 14.
Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who is in charge of planning for official state events, has said that despite the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, celebrations will continue, though with certain limits unlike in years past. The main event every year is a torch lighting which typically takes place at Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery and the final resting place of many fallen Israeli soldiers and former presidents and prime ministers.
This year, however, there will be multiple torch lightings, one at Mount Herzl and a simultaneous candle lighting at 12 sites attacked by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel on Oct. 7, such as Kibbutz Be’eri and the site of the Nova Music Festival massacre.
In total, Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7 murdered more than 1,200 people and kidnapped 253 others as hostages, launching the current war in Gaza with their surprise invasion.
The yellow in the new Independence Day logo commemorates the hostages — across Israel, citizens have placed yellow ribbons on their clothing and on the door handles of their cars in hopes of keeping awareness of their plight alive, even as international pressure for their release has slowly subsided.
Due to the VIP participation and scale of the Mount Herzl event, there will reportedly be extra anti-missile defense systems placed around the site to protect it from rocket fire.
Independence Day events this year will also be designed to respect the mental health of Israeli soldiers. The Jerusalem Municipality, which is home to the Mount Herzl torch lighting, announced that officials will cancel fireworks and explosives during the celebrations.
“The city of Jerusalem is preparing for Independence Day events and to mark the establishment of the State of Israel, and in the spirit of the times, the events will take place this year in the shadow of the ongoing war [against Hamas in Gaza] and the many people for whom the sounds of explosives evoke uncomfortable feelings,” read a statement from the municipality released last week.
“Independence Day events will begin at the end of Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism (Yom HaZikaron in Hebrew) who fell in the wars and whose death commanded us life,” the statement continued. “This year, Independence Day will be celebrated in Jerusalem with a salute to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and the security forces, to the martyrs and their families, to the wounded and abductees. We will all offer a prayer for their speedy return from captivity, for their health, and for strengthening the strength and glory of the State of Israel.”
Mental health has come to the forefront of Israeli society, with both citizens and soldiers suffering from trauma due to the Oct. 7 massacre and ensuing war in Gaza. This led IDF officials to call on Israelis to avoid using toy explosives on the Jewish holiday of Purim last month, noting that loud, sudden sounds could cause panic attacks or stress to soldiers who may hear them as gun shots or actual explosives.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip

Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
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