US and Israel said planning joint strikes on energy sites in Iran, bombing could continue throughout weekend

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

US President Donald Trump has ordered another wave of strikes against Iran, with the aim of forcing the Islamic Republic’s surrender, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Citing US officials, the report says the bombing is expected to last several days and could start as soon as this weekend.

SAN DIEGO — The US Marine Corps says the pilot of an F-35B stealth fighter is expected to live after ejecting from the jet before it crashed in California.

The jet went down Friday near the Miramar air base in San Diego. “The pilot ejected, was transported to a local medical facility in stable condition for evaluation and treatment of non-life-threatening injuries,” the Marine Corps says in an updated statement.

Aerial video from a news helicopter shows a plume of black smoke rising from the wreckage in a dirt field, with multiple military and firefighting vehicles and people standing nearby. What appears to be white flame retardant covers the ground, and at least one person is spraying the wreckage with a fire hose.

Candace Hadley, a spokesperson for San Diego Fire, says firefighters are on scene to respond to a vegetation fire that sparked near the crash site. She refers additional questions to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The base used to host the Navy fighter pilot training school depicted in the original “Top Gun” movie, and was known as “Fightertown USA” in its heyday. The school was relocated to Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada in 1996 after the base was transferred to the Marine Corps.

The US Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force together have more than 630 F-35s, according to a 2024 analysis by the Government Accounting Office, which estimated the overall price tag to be $2 trillion at that point. The F-35B is one of several versions, and has an engine designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings. A single F-35B costs about $109 million.

A Marines statement calls Friday’s crash a “Class A mishap.” That’s the most severe mishap category, used when the damage totals more than $2 million, an aircraft is destroyed or a service member killed. In the Air Force alone, there have been at least 17 other “Class A mishaps” involving F-35 aircraft since 2000, according to Air Force Safety Center statistics.

NEW YORK — A Turkish man has been arrested in the United Kingdom on charges alleging he conspired to funnel money and supplies to Hamas through his senior role in what prosecutors say was a sham global humanitarian organization.

Mohammad Yousef Hasna, 45, of Istanbul, is ordered held pending extradition proceedings that will occur before he can be brought to New York.

US Attorney Jamie McDonald in Manhattan says Hasna worked closely with Hamas’s senior leadership to deliver supplies, food and funding to Hamas under the guise of humanitarian aid.

It’s not immediately known who will represent Hasna in the US.

Charges lodged against Hasna include conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, conspiring to finance terrorism and financing terrorism. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

In a release, the US government alleges that Hasna worked closely with senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s governing body, since at least 2023.

The United States and Israel are planning a bombing campaign against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, with strikes possible throughout the weekend, CBS News reports, citing sources.

The report says the sides discussed wrapping up the strikes before financial markets open on Monday due to concerns over the potential economic fallout, though no endpoint was agreed upon.

The network also reports US President Donald Trump has yet to give the final go-ahead, adding that the planned offensive was discussed during a cabinet meeting he held Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat.

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.

As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.

— Stav Levaton, military reporter

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