Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer helps out in the call centre at Labour Party headquarters in London, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the elections, May 6, 2026
Meanwhile, far-right Reform UK projected to gain around 1,550 representatives
LABOUR is facing electoral annihilation across the country on Thursday in elections that could bring the hard-right Reform UK a major step closer to power.
Much of Britain is set to deliver a damning verdict on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s two years in power in one of the most consequential sets of local elections ever.
Voting for the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments and local authorities across England, including every London borough, could mark a landmark in the breakdown of the long-standing two-party system.
Reform boss Nigel Farage claimed that “we will emerge over the course of the next couple of days as the only true national party.”
Last-minute polling suggests Labour could lose up to 1,850 of the 2,550 seats it is defending and crash to defeat in Wales for the first time in more than a century, with Reform projected to gain around 1,550 representatives.
If these predictions are borne out as results emerge on Friday, pressure will grow still further on Sir Keir to quit, given his epic-level personal unpopularity is clearly a deadweight on Labour’s vote.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership is intensely relaxed about assaulting those least able to defend themselves – the very poorest and most vulnerable.Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Keir Starmer says that he’s banning words and phrases now as well as placards.
An Aviva shareholder is bundled out of the insurer’s AGM after joining 11 others in a protest against the firm’s ‘propping up’ of fossil fuel companies, benefiting from the genocide in Gaza and abuse of migrants in detention
TWELVE Aviva shareholders disrupted the insurer’s AGM today, urging it to stop “propping up companies involved in fossil fuel extraction, the genocide in Gaza and abuse of migrants in detention.”
Activists from Boycott Bloody Insurance blocked access to the company’s board room in a protest against it underwriting and investing in a number of companies, including Serco, Saudi Aramco and Elbit Systems.
…
Boycott Bloody Insurance campaigner Andrew Taylor added: “Aviva insures and invests in companies causing death and destruction across the world.
“We are here today to demand that they end their support for genocide, climate breakdown and the abuse of migrants.
“Our research into the UK insurance market shows that Aviva insures more migrant detention and surveillance contractors than any other company, underwrites oil majors such as Saudi Aramco, and invests billions in fossil fuel and weapons companies.
“Aviva is enabling companies to profiteer from the abuse of migrants. Private companies are raking in millions while subjecting people fleeing war and persecution to cruel and dangerous conditions.
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An aerial view from Sheikh Ridwan in Gaza City, Gaza, shows the heavy destruction left behind after the Israeli army withdraws following a ceasefire agreement, on October 25, 2025. [Mahmoud Abu Hamda – Anadolu Agency]
Israel is preparing to spend nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars on its propaganda apparatus, in a sign of growing alarm in Tel Aviv over its collapse in global standing following the genocide in Gaza and expanding wars across the region.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s public diplomacy budget, known in Hebrew as hasbara, has risen to $730 million, more than four times the $150 million allocated the previous year. That earlier sum was itself reportedly around 20 times higher than Israel’s pre-2023 spending on such efforts.
The vast increase was included in Israel’s national budget passed in March and will be directed through the national public diplomacy directorate, which oversees efforts to shape foreign public opinion.
The surge in propaganda spending comes as Israel is increasingly seen by critics and human rights organisations as a pariah state.
The budget increase appears to reflect Israeli fears that the country’s ability to rely on Western political cover may be weakening. This is particularly true in the US, Israel’s most important ally and arms supplier, where public support has fallen sharply.
A Pew Research Center poll published in April found that 60 per cent of US adults now hold an unfavourable view of Israel, up from 53 per cent last year and nearly 20 points higher than in 2022. Only 37 per cent view Israel favourably.
The shift cuts across important sections of US society. Pew found that 80 per cent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now view Israel unfavourably, while 57 per cent of Republicans under 50 also hold a negative view.
Gallup has recorded a similar trend. Its February survey found that American sympathy is no longer clearly with Israel, with 41 per cent saying they sympathise more with Palestinians and 36 per cent with Israelis. Gallup said Israel’s favourable rating had fallen close to its historical low, while ratings of the Palestinian Territories had reached a new high.
The crisis has triggered open concern inside Israel’s own policy establishment. The Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv has warned of a “deepening crisis” in Israel’s standing in the US, pointing to declining support among younger Americans, Democrats, younger Republicans and parts of the Jewish community.
A separate report cited growing diplomatic and public opinion isolation and warned of a “creeping economic boycott”, as businesses, academic institutions and civil society organisations become more reluctant to maintain ties with Israel.
Israel’s foreign ministry has responded by expanding its messaging machinery. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has overseen the creation of a dedicated unit to shape international narratives, while funds have reportedly been channelled into digital campaigns, foreign delegations, influencer outreach and pro-Israel advocacy networks.
Reports have also pointed to a centralised “media war room” tracking coverage of Israel across hundreds of outlets and monitoring thousands of daily references. Additional spending has reportedly been directed towards evangelical networks, private public relations firms and campaigns aimed at universities, influencers and young audiences.
The scale of the spending suggests that Israel views its deteriorating image not merely as a public relations problem, but as a strategic threat. Israel’s military dominance has long depended on the political, diplomatic and military support of Western governments, especially Washington. If Western publics increasingly view Israel as a genocidal, apartheid and expansionist state, sustaining unconditional support becomes harder for elected leaders.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
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Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes on areas between East and West Zawtar in Nabatieh and on the town of Yohmor al-Shaqif, Lebanon, on May 06, 2026. [Ramiz Dallah – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli drone and air strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon killed 16 people and wounded 21 others, including paramedics, and damaged a school, Lebanese officials said on Wednesday, in the latest apparent violation of a ceasefire, Anadolu reports.
Two people were killed in drone strikes on the town of Mefdoun, while additional airstrikes targeted areas between Zawtar al-Sharqiya and Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
Four more people were killed and three others injured in a separate strike that hit the home of a municipal council head in the town of Zellaya in western Bekaa, with rescue operations ongoing at the site, the agency added.
An Israeli strike also hit a car between the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiya and Mifdoun in southern Lebanon, leaving two people dead, the same source said.
An Israeli drone targeted paramedics affiliated with the Islamic Health Authority in the town of Deir Kifa, wounding three of them, who were taken to nearby hospitals, the NNA said.
A separate Israeli airstrike on the town of Aadchit in the Nabatieh district killed one person, according to the same source.
The agency also reported that an Israeli strike on the town of Saksakiyeh in the Zahrani area killed five and wounded 15 others.
The Health Ministry said in a statement later that the strike on Saksakiyeh resulted in four deaths and the injury of 33 others, including six children and four women.
In the Tyre district, civil defense teams recovered two bodies following a strike that targeted a vehicle on the al-Haddathiya road near al-Siraj Secondary School between Wadi Jilo and Tayr Debba, the report said.
Israeli warplanes also carried out strikes on the towns of Rishknaniyah, Safad al-Battikh, Baraachit, and Qallawiyeh, causing severe damage to a school building in Burj Qallawiyeh, the agency said.
Israeli warplanes also carried out an airstrike on a residential home in the Bir Zbib neighborhood of the town of Doueir in the Nabatieh district, destroying it completely, NNA said.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army carried out about 60 attacks across Lebanon, killing five people and injuring others as part of ongoing hostilities since March 2.
Despite a ceasefire announced April 17 and extended until May 17, the Israeli army continues daily strikes in Lebanon and widespread demolition of homes in dozens of villages, echoing its years-long devastation of Gaza.
Since March 2, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 2,715 people and wounded 8,353 and displaced more than 1.6 million, about one-fifth of the population, according to the latest official figures.
Israel occupies areas in southern Lebanon, including some it has held for decades and others since the 2023-2024 war, and has advanced about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) inside the southern border during the current conflict.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keir Starmer says that he’s banning words and phrases now as well as placards.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Global Sumud Flotilla members Saif Abu Keshek (left) and Thiago Ávila (right) are seen during a May 5, 2026 court appearance in Ashkelon, Israel.(Photo by Ilia Yefimovich/AFP via Getty Images)
Brazil’s president called Israel’s continued detention of Brazilian Thiago Ávila and Spanish-Swedish national Saif Abu Keshek “a serious affront to international law.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday condemned Israel’s twice-extended detention of two Global Sumud Flotilla members abducted last week off the coast of Greece while attempting to break the decadeslong Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to its people amid an ongoing genocide.
“Maintaining the imprisonment of Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila, a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla, is an unjustifiable action by the Israeli government, causes great concern, and must be condemned by all,” Lula said on X.
“The detention of the flotilla activists in international waters had already represented a serious affront to international law,” he added. “For this reason, our government, together with that of Spain, which also had a citizen detained, demands that they receive full guarantees of safety and be immediately released.”
Lula sure did take his time to speak out, but, he finally did, which is a good sign. The way the two flotilla activists are being treated truly illustrates the moral depravity of it all. https://t.co/KZUUgIIywO
Spain’s government has also condemned Israel’s capture of Abu Keshek and demanded his immediate release, and like Lula, called the detention illegal because it occurred in international waters. Abu Keshek is also a citizen of Sweden, which has not condemned his detention—or even mentioned him by name—but has asked that “the rights of any Swedish citizens will be respected.”
Adalah Legal Center, the Palestinian group in Israel representing Ávila and Abu Keshek, said Tuesday that the Ashkelon Magistrates’ Court approved Israel’s request to extend the pair’s detention through May 10. This, after the court on Sunday prolonged their detention by two days.
“The court’s decision to extend the detention of humanitarian activists abducted in international waters amounts to judicial validation of the state’s lawlessness,” Adalah assertedad, vowing to appeal the decision, which the group said was based on “secret evidence.”
Adalah noted that “because the activists were abducted over 1,000 kilometers away from Gaza and are not Israeli citizens, Israeli domestic law does not apply to them.”
Israel contends that it is enforcing a lawful naval blockade of Gaza Strip, and that under the laws of naval warfare, that blockade can be enforced not only in its territorial waters, but also on the high seas.
Adalah said, “Crucially, the court granted the full six-day extension requested by the state without imposing any limitations or judicial constraints on the interrogation period,” adding that the stated purpose of their continued detention is further interrogation.
“Ávila reported being subjected to repeated interrogations lasting up to eight hours,” the group reported. “Interrogators have explicitly threatened him, stating he would either be ‘killed’ or ‘spend 100 years in jail.’”
“Both activists remain in total isolation, subjected to 24/7 high-intensity lighting in their cells, and kept blindfolded whenever they are moved, including during medical examinations,” Adalah said, accusing interrogators of “trying all the time to connect the humanitarian aid with Hamas to present it as a service to Hamas.”
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that both men were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, which the US government accuses of “clandestinely acting on behalf of” Hamas, the militant Palestinian resistance group that led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Still, no charges have been filed against the pair, who Adalah said have been on hunger strike since April 30 in protest of their detention.
Abu Keshek and Ávila were among the more than 170 Global Sumud Flotilla members intercepted and seized last week in international waters 45 nautical miles west of the Greek island Kythira and 600 nautical miles from Gaza in what many critics have called an act of piracy.
All of the other flotilla members have been released. Many said they brutally abused by their Israeli captors, who threatened to kill them. The Washington Postreported 34 people—including citizens of Australia, Colombia, Italy, Ukraine, and the United States—required medical attention for broken ribs, noses, and other injuries. Detained activists also said they were denied food and water, and were forced to sleep on deliberately flooded floors. Both Abu Keshek and Ávila had visible facial injuries during their first court appearances.
In a statement issued on Monday, Global Sumud Flotilla said Abu Keshek and Ávila “are being subjected to systemic psychological torture and explicit threats to the lives of their families.”
The zionist regime has, once again, extended the illegal detention of our friends; Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila.
Our organizers have been illegally kidnapped in international waters, subjected to beatings and torture in Greek territorial waters, and forcefully brought against… pic.twitter.com/tL7O1gGeS0
— Global Sumud Flotilla (@gbsumudflotilla) May 5, 2026
The statement also noted the growing calls for their release from advocacy organizations and governments.
“We urge the international community and their representatives to immediately take action for the safety and freedom of Saif and Thiago, the freedom of all Palestinian hostages, and the end of Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza and its genocide,” Global Sumud added.
American journalist Alex Colston, who was aboard the flotilla on assignment for Zeteo, said he was beaten by his captors, and corroborated accounts of broken bones, concussion symptoms, and other signs of abuse inflicted by Israeli forces on flotilla members, as well as death threats, property theft, and other mistreatment.
Hannah Smith, a representative of the flotilla’s public affairs team who was also aboard one of the vessels, toldDemocracy Now! on Monday that, after intercepting the boats, Israeli forces “pointed guns at us. They had lasers pointed at us. We had our hands in the air. They threatened lethal force.”
💢 “I Heard People Screaming”: Flotilla Activist Describes Israeli Navy Attack in European Waters
Hannah Smith, a representative of the Global Sumud Flotilla who was aboard the ships when Israeli forces raided them, told Democracy Now that activists were held in a makeshift… https://t.co/G32sRSvGWepic.twitter.com/Gq1m9hEv35
“Many people were subject to aggressive physical force,” she said. “We were denied access to adequate water. We were denied access to sanitary supplies.”
Smith continued:
The nights were extremely cold. People’s jackets were stolen. When I advocated for one of the participants, who’s a doctor, who was pacing for two hours trying to stay warm—she had a short-sleeve shirt in like 50-degree weather that was cold and damp. When I advocated for blankets, they flooded the sleeping area. And then we had a dozen people pacing, trying to stay warm, trying not to get hypothermia.
When we nonviolently resisted, many people were beat. Many people were dragged. I was held in a stress position for many hours… I heard people screaming. I heard people being dragged around. And it was absolutely horrifying.
The reports of torture and other abuse are consistent with Israeli forces’ brutal treatment of members of past Gaza flotillas, including Ávila, who has taken part in at least three such missions. Victims have included Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who was allegedly dragged, beaten, and made to kiss an Israeli flag in which she was allegedly wrapped after Israeli forces intercepted last October’s Global Sumud mission.
It’s not just activists who reported Israeli brutality. Journalist Noa Avishag Schnal—who was covering last October’s flotilla—described rape threats and being “hung from the metal shackles on my wrists and ankles and beaten in the stomach, back, face, ear, and skull by a group of men and women guards, one of whom sat on my neck and face, blocking my airways.”
In 2010, Israeli forces raided one of the first Freedom Flotilla Coalition convoys carrying humanitarian aid intended for Gaza, which Israel blockaded three years earlier. The Israeli attackers killed nine volunteers aboard the MV Mavi Marmara, including Turkish-American teenager Furkan Doğan.
In a letter to his daughter dictated to his lawyer from prison, Ávila said, “I’m sorry for not being home with you right now.”
More than 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 2023. Around 2 million others have been forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, and Israel is facing an International Court of Justice genocide case filed by South Africa and formally supported by numerous nations, including Brazil and Spain.
“Your world will be safer because many parents decided to give everything to build this better world for you,” Ávila added. “I hope someday you understand that because I love you so much there was nothing more dangerous for you and for other children than living in a world that accepts genocide.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer helps out in the call centre at Labour Party headquarters in London, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the elections, May 6, 2026
