JERUSALEM: A bus collided with two vehicles on a highway in northern Israel on Wednesday, leaving five people dead and dozens more injured, according to paramedics.
The bus crashed into a truck and a taxi carrying four passengers on a twisting mountain highway in northern Israel’s upper Galilee region.
Israel’s national emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, said in a statement that four of the deceased were passengers from the taxi, including a 35-year-old woman and three children aged 15, 12 and 5. The fifth fatality was the 45-year-old male driver of the bus. All were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Magen David Adom, 32 people were taken to nearby hospitals while three seriously injured victims were airlifted to a hospital in the northern city of Haifa.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett sent his condolences to the families of those killed, saying “the entirety of the people of Israel prays for the health of the injured.”
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Vehicle collision in Israel leaves five dead, dozens hurt
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Vehicle collision in Israel leaves five dead, dozens hurt
- The bus crashed into a truck and a taxi carrying four passengers on a twisting mountain highway
- Israel's national emergency medical service said 4 of the deceased were a woman, 35, and 3 children
US sanctions Larijani and other Iranian officials over protest crackdown
WASHINGTON: The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on Iranian security officials and financial networks, accusing them of orchestrating a violent crackdown on peaceful protests and laundering billions in oil revenues.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the measures in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and an almost week-long Internet blackout.
“The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, adding that the action was taken at President Donald Trump’s direction.
Among those sanctioned is Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, whom Washington accused of coordinating the crackdown and calling for force against protesters.
Four regional commanders of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces and Revolutionary Guard were also sanctioned for their roles in the crackdown in Lorestan and Fars provinces.
Security forces in Fars “have killed countless peaceful demonstrators” with hospitals “so inundated with gunshot wound patients that no other types of patients can be admitted,” the Treasury said.
The Treasury additionally designated 18 individuals and entities accused of operating “shadow banking” networks that launder proceeds from Iranian oil sales through front companies in the UAE, Singapore and Britain.
These networks funnel billions of dollars annually using cover companies and exchange houses, as Iranian citizens face economic hardship, according to the Treasury.
The sanctions freeze any US assets of those designated and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. Foreign financial institutions risk secondary sanctions for transactions with the designated entities.
The action builds on the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. In 2025, the Treasury sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels and aircraft as part of this effort, it said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the measures in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and an almost week-long Internet blackout.
“The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, adding that the action was taken at President Donald Trump’s direction.
Among those sanctioned is Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, whom Washington accused of coordinating the crackdown and calling for force against protesters.
Four regional commanders of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces and Revolutionary Guard were also sanctioned for their roles in the crackdown in Lorestan and Fars provinces.
Security forces in Fars “have killed countless peaceful demonstrators” with hospitals “so inundated with gunshot wound patients that no other types of patients can be admitted,” the Treasury said.
The Treasury additionally designated 18 individuals and entities accused of operating “shadow banking” networks that launder proceeds from Iranian oil sales through front companies in the UAE, Singapore and Britain.
These networks funnel billions of dollars annually using cover companies and exchange houses, as Iranian citizens face economic hardship, according to the Treasury.
The sanctions freeze any US assets of those designated and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. Foreign financial institutions risk secondary sanctions for transactions with the designated entities.
The action builds on the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. In 2025, the Treasury sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels and aircraft as part of this effort, it said.
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