A US State Department spokesperson expressed concern on Wednesday over Spain’s measures limiting access to Spanish ports and airspace to ships and planes carrying weapons for Israel.

“It is deeply concerning that Spain, a NATO member, has chosen to potentially limit US operations and to turn its back on Israel on the same day six individuals were killed in Jerusalem. These measures embolden terrorists,” the spokesperson said in an email sent to Reuters on Wednesday.

The US operates two military bases in southern Spain, in Moron, and on the southern coast Atlantic coast in Rota.

The office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Spain’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On top of its ban on ships and aircraft delivering weapons or military-grade jet fuel to Israel, Madrid said it would not allow anyone who has participated directly in “genocide” in Gaza to enter Spain.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares later said the ban would extend to Israel‘s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Israel has strongly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide, and is fighting a case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague over accusations of genocide.

In reaction to Sanchez’s announcement on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused the Spanish leader of “antisemitism” and attempting to divert attention from domestic corruption scandals.

He also announced a ban on Sanchez’s deputy, Yolanda Diaz, and Youth Minister Sira Rego entering Israel. Both belong to hard-left party Sumar, the junior partner in Sanchez’s coalition government.

As the diplomatic row escalated, Spain summoned its ambassador in Israel back for consultations late on Monday.

Scarlett Johansson cast real Holocaust survivors in her directorial debut “Eleanor the Great” with help from the USC Shoah Foundation and a fellow Jewish actress, the filmmaker told People magazine at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sunday.

Written by Tory Kamen, “Eleanor the Great” stars Academy Award nominee June Squibb as the title character. Squibb plays 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who moves to New York following the devastating loss of her best friend and develops a friendship with a journalism student after telling a lie that takes over her life. The film premiered at TIFF on Monday following its world premiere in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a five-minute standing ovation. “Eleanor the Great” also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Erin Kellyman, Israeli actress and real-life Holocaust survivor Rita Zohar, and other survivors of World War II.

“It wasn’t really ever a question of whether we would cast real [Holocaust] survivors. It was more of how can we identify people that would want to participate, could participate,” Johansson, 40, told People magazine at TIFF. “So, we got really lucky. Every time we would find someone who could participate, it was like, ‘Yes, we got another survivor.’”

Johansson noted that actress Jessica Hecht, who is Jewish and stars in the film as Squibb’s daughter, as well as the Shoah Foundation were both very helpful in finding Holocaust survivors to participate in the film. Founded by Jewish visionary filmmaker Steven Spielberg 1994, the goal of the Shoah Foundation is to record, preserve, and share the testimonies of Holocaust survivors.

Johansson said the Holocaust survivors she interacted with during the filming of “Eleanor the Great” were very eager to “share their stories.” She jokingly added that they were also “pretty excited about catering.”

“I have to say that the whole group was so patient,” the star of “Jurassic World Rebirth” told People. “I don’t think anybody in the group had really done a film like that before … They really were just engaged and listening.”

Johansson also told the magazine she felt a personal connection to the script for “Eleanor the Great”  because of the Jewish identity that was weaved into the storyline. Johansson’s maternal family is Jewish, with roots in Eastern Europe. She discovered in 2017 that she had relatives who died in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust.

“Eleanor the Great” will be released in theaters Sept. 26. Watch the trailer below.



If Israel failed to kill Hamas leaders in an air strike on Qatar on Tuesday, it would succeed next time, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said after the operation.

“Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism. They’ll get over it. And Israel is being changed for the better,” Yechiel Leiter told Fox News’ “Special Report” program late on Tuesday.

Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday, escalating its military action in the Middle East.

The airstrike took place shortly after Hamas claimed responsibility for a shooting on Monday that killed six people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

The widely condemned Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating in negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

“If we didn’t get them this time, we’ll get them the next time,” Leiter said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defied global condemnation of operations like the one that struck Doha, extending military operations across the Middle East and severely weakening Israel‘s Iran-backed enemies since Hamas attacked Israel in 2023.

On Wednesday, Israel struck the Yemeni capital Sanaa, after killing Houthi Prime Minister Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi and other senior figures in an attack in late August.

Witnesses said the Wednesday attack targeted the Houthi defense ministry, while Israeli Army Radio reported that Houthi headquarters and military camps were among the targets.

The Israeli military confirmed it had attacked Yemen in a statement.

The Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

LEADER’S SON KILLED IN STRIKE

Hamas said five of its members were killed in the Doha attack, including the son of its exiled Gaza chief and top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya. It said its top leaders survived.

The attack generated a flurry of diplomacy between Arab states.

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Qatar on Wednesday, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein is also expected to visit Qatar on Wednesday, while Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to arrive in Doha on Thursday, an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The visits were a show of regional solidarity with Qatar following the Israeli strikes, the official said.

The European Commission will propose sanctioning certain Israeli ministers and the suspension of trade-related measures in a European Union agreement with Israel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The proposals reflect growing EU criticism of Israel‘s conduct of the war in Gaza and increased pressure on the bloc’s executive body to take action.

Germany, one of Israel‘s staunchest supporters, has taken note of those proposals targeting Israel and will participate in a dialogue about future measures, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Wednesday.

The Doha airstrike followed an Israeli warning to Palestinians to leave Gaza City, an area once home to about a million people, as it tries to destroy what is left of Hamas.

Residents there expressed alarm the Doha strike might destroy chances for a ceasefire.

IMPACT ON CEASEFIRE TALKS UNCLEAR, US SAYS

Asked how the strike would affect ceasefire negotiations, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Reuters:

“The honest answer is, we simply don’t know. Hamas has rejected everything so far. They continually reject every offer that’s put on the table.”

The terrorist group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but today controls only parts of the enclave, on Saturday once again said that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.

Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all of the hostages released at once and Hamas surrendering.

The Oct. 7, 2023, attack by the Palestinian terrorist group killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians and 251 were taken hostage.

Israel responded with a campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and political control in neighboring Gaza.