Thursday 9 Iyar – Government Plans Crackdown on Visa Holders – Arrested Iranian nationals were planning attack on Israeli Embassy in London – Netanyahu says 21 hostages are definitely alive, but there is doubt about 3 others

Three sources familiar with the reported plans told the New York Times that the US president will make the announcement on Thursday.

Shortly after the report emerged the value of the British pound rose by 0.4% against the US dollar.

Mr Trump had earlier teased that he would be announcing a major trade deal in the Oval Office at 10am local time (3pm UK time) on Thursday without specifying which country it had been agreed with.

Writing in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, he said the news conference announcing the deal would be held with “representatives of a big, and highly respected, country”.

He did not offer more details but said the announcement would be the “first of many”.

A White House spokesperson has declined to comment on the New York Times report.

The UK government is preparing a major crackdown on visa holders who breach the terms of their stay, amid growing pressure to tighten immigration rules and clamp down on illegal working. New measures are expected to focus on foreign nationals working in unauthorised jobs or exceeding the hours permitted under their visa category, including student and skilled worker visas.

The Home Office is said to be working with HMRC and other government agencies to identify individuals and employers flouting immigration law. Under the proposed crackdown, tougher penalties could be introduced, including the cancellation of visas, future bans on re-entry, and fines or criminal charges for employers who knowingly hire workers in breach of their conditions.

Government sources say the move is part of a broader push to restore public confidence in the immigration system and to “level the playing field” for legal workers. The latest ONS figures show legal migration to the UK remains high, but there are increasing reports of abuse, particularly in sectors like hospitality, care, and construction.

“We welcome international talent, but we won’t tolerate abuse,” said one Home Office official. “This is about fairness — people who play by the rules should not lose out to those who don’t.”

Campaigners for stricter immigration enforcement have long argued that lax oversight has led to growing numbers of foreign nationals working illegally, undercutting wages and avoiding taxes. However, others warn that sudden policy shifts risk hurting legitimate migrants and placing unfair burdens on employers.

Further details on the proposed changes are expected to be announced in Parliament later this month.

Eight Iranian men arrested in the United Kingdom over the weekend are suspected of plotting to attack the Israeli Embassy in London, according to an unsourced report in The Times newspaper.

“Police have refused to publicize details of the alleged plot, but it is understood the embassy was the main target,” says the report, without naming sources.

“Dan Jarvis, the security minister, refused to give details of the immigration status of the suspects citing the continuing police inquiry,” the newspaper adds.

There was no immediate comment from Israel’s Foreign Ministry or the embassy.

After two separate arrests of the men were conducted in counter-terrorism operations on Saturday, British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper called the operations “some of the biggest counter-state threats” the country had seen in recent years.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said earlier this week that “the investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter.”

British media on Tuesday reported mounting speculation that the seven Iranians and one other person arrested over the weekend had been “hours away” from carrying out an attack on a synagogue or a location linked to London’s Jewish community, though there was no confirmation of the reports.

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Mark Carney has told Donald Trump that Canada “is not for sale” as the president raised the prospect of the country becoming the 51st US state while welcoming the prime minister to the White House.

Carney won the election last month promising to “stand up” to Trump, who has imposed tariffs on some Canadian products and sometimes talks about annexing the country.

The former central banker responded with a firm but measured tone after the president proposed a “wonderful marriage” of incorporating Canada into the US.

Despite a strained relationship recently between the once-close neighbours, the two men also lavished praise on each other in what was a largely cordial Oval Office meeting.

Trump has imposed general tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico and sector-specific import taxes on cars, some of which have been suspended pending negotiations.

The US president, who accuses Canada of not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl south, has levied similar duties on steel and aluminium.

Tuesday’s meeting was the first time the two had met since Carney won Canada’s general election on 28 April, a victory many have credited to concerns in that country about Trump.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there is “doubt” as to whether three Israeli hostages held in Gaza are still alive, after comments by his wife and by US President Donald Trump had called into question Israel’s official estimate that 24 living hostages remain in the Strip.

“We know for certain that there are 21 [hostages] alive, about this there is no dispute,” Netanyahu said in a video message posted to his X account, but “there are another three who, unfortunately, there is doubt if they are alive.”

“We are not giving up on any of them,” he added.

Netanyahu’s comments came after Trump said Tuesday night that he had information indicating that only 21 of the hostages remained alive, fewer than the official Israeli figure.

Those comments came days after Sara Netanyahu also said the number of hostages thought to still be alive in Gaza was lower than 24.

Trump’s comments sent shockwaves through the families of the hostages, who demanded they be provided with any updates.

“The number of living hostages as is known to the families, provided to them by official sources, is 24,” the Hostage Families Forum said in a statement the same evening. “We demand again…if there is new intelligence being kept from us, pass it to us immediately.”

Following Trump’s comments, Israeli sources speaking to Kan news also indicated “grave concerns” over the lives of three captives.

Amid resurgent worry over the hostages’ status, Haaretz also revealed Wednesday that in a military document outlining plans for a new Gaza offensive, the IDF had ranked the return of the hostages as its least important objective.

The document, presented to commanders Tuesday, placed the Hamas-held captives in sixth and last place, a fact incongruent with army officials’ previous assertions to the Israeli public that the return of the hostages was the IDF’s most important war goal.

According to Haaretz, the document stated the following objectives: 1. Defeating Hamas; 2. Operational control over the territory; 3. Demilitarizing the territory; 4. Striking Hamas government targets; 5. Concentrating and moving the population; 6. Returning the captives.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Monday that returning the hostages was the army’s most important goal, and defeating Hamas was second. A senior IDF official made similar remarks to reporters last week.

The IDF did not immediately respond to the Haaretz report.

Almost all foreign airlines have further extended their suspension of flight services to Tel Aviv, leaving thousands of Israelis stranded overseas and many scrambling to find new flights abroad.

Most foreign airlines servicing Israel canceled their flights to Israel shortly after a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis struck inside the grounds of Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday. The attack prompted sweeping Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeida port, the airport in the capital, Sanaa, and other Houthi infrastructure targets. Amid the instability, the majority of airlines are pushing off their return to Israel, in a worrying sign that foreign carriers are yet again likely to stay away for longer stretches.

British Airways was the latest carrier extending the suspension of its flights from London through June 14. Wizz Air said it was extending the suspension through May 11 at least. The Lufthansa group of carriers — which also includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines — extended its suspension of all flights to Israel through May 11 as well, as did Air Baltic, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair, and LOT Polish Airlines.

Air France cancelled flight services through May 13. Spanish low-cost carrier Air Europa has halted flights to Israel through May 7. Air India and Iberia paused their Israel services through May 8.

US airline Delta extended the stoppage of its daily nonstop service to Tel Aviv from New York’s JFK airport through May 19. United Airlines said it was halting flight services to and from the country through May 18.

“The outlook for inbound and outbound passenger traffic to and from Israel is facing significant challenges,” Yoni Waxman, deputy chairman of Ophir Tours, told The Times of Israel. “For Israeli travelers, this means longer layovers, higher prices, and fewer direct connections in the short term.”

“Inbound passenger traffic is also expected to decline temporarily, as global tour operators and individual travelers weigh safety concerns,” said Waxman.

Only a very few foreign airlines continued to fly in and out of Ben Gurion Airport this week, including flydubai, Emirates, and Jetblue Airways. Ethiopian Airlines canceled some of its flights to Israel, but was expected to resume services to Tel Aviv on Thursday morning.

“Major international airlines are reassessing their operations, with some reducing frequencies or temporarily suspending flights,” said Waxman. “Others, like Air Seychelles, are rerouting via nearby hubs such as Larnaca, Cyprus, to keep routes viable.”

Many of the airlines had only recently resumed service to Israel, after flights were canceled for much of the time since Hamas’s onslaught on southern communities on October 7, 2023, started the war in Gaza. United resumed flights from New York in March, while Delta returned on April 1 and British Airways restarted its Israel flights on April 5.

Daily passenger traffic in and out of Ben Gurion Airport has dropped to an average of around 40,000 people a day in recent days, from around 70,000 at the end of April.

In response to the cancellations, Israeli airlines, including smaller carriers Arkia and Israir, have added flights from nearby destinations such as Athens and Larnaca, and capped one-way fares to a few destinations to help bring home Israelis stuck abroad. However, tickets have been selling out fast.

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