Tanker off Oman reports explosion near vessel — monitor

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.

A bicycle rider has been seriously injured in an accident in the southern town of Yeruham.

No one else was apparently involved in the incident that injured the man, aged around 30.

He was treated by medics at the scene and rushed to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba with a head injury.

The master of a tanker off the coast of Oman has reported hearing an explosion near the vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reports.

“The vessel and crew are all reported as safe,” says the UKMTO. The master is the highest-ranking person on an oil tanker.

The incident happened 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) northeast of Khasab, in Oman, the monitor adds.

“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity,” the UKMTO advises.

The report comes as Iran said Sunday it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after the US called off major strikes to allow for diplomacy.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state television that a deal was close with Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait, over a new route through it. But he insisted that such an agreement did not mean the reopening of the strait.

Ukrainian attacks on Russia killed at least nine people on Sunday, while Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five, according to officials in both countries.

The exchange of strikes comes amid signs both Moscow and Kyiv are increasing the scale and intensity of attacks on each other, nearly four-and-a-half years into their grinding war.

Civilian casualties in Ukraine have soared this year, as Russia has ramped up its use of hard-to-intercept long-range missiles, according to UN data.

Kyiv has meanwhile launched waves of retaliatory strikes on Russia, including on energy facilities and retail warehouses, in an effort to pressure Moscow into negotiations on ending its offensive.

The military says it will hold an exercise in the city of Ra’anana, which starts this evening and ends tomorrow morning.

“As part of the exercise, lighting will be used, and increased movement of military forces and emergency vehicles will be noticeable in the area,” the IDF says. “The exercise was planned in advance as part of the 2026 training program. There is no concern about a security incident.”

The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.

There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.

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— Stav Levaton, military reporter

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