This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Aug. 26, 2026.It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
A growing number of establishment Democrats are facing backlash from progressives for their escalating attacks on leftist streamer Hasan Piker, with critics accusing the party’s corporatist wing of obsessing over an online influencer while ignoring the economic and foreign policy grievances driving millions of voters away on the eve of the critical midterm elections.
The latest controversy erupted after Piker argued during an online broadcast that Jewish Americans’ public support for Israel could contribute to antisemitism. Piker’s comments drew swift condemnation from prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY), who, without naming Piker, called them “dangerous and antisemitic.”
Other Democrats piled on, prompting rebuke from progressives, who accused the centrists of caring more about an online personality than winning back control of Congress in November.
Former progressive Michigan congressional candidate Kyle Blomquist called it an “absolute mass psychosis event.”
Wild to see establishment Dems fighting a Twitch streamer harder than they're fighting Trump. Putting out statements attacking @hasanthehun while meeting with Jared Kushner. It's so obviously playing into the right's midterm strategy of distracting people from rising costs. pic.twitter.com/vhxHN9pTpB
“Too many demotivated Democrats stayed home in 2016 and 2024. We can’t repeat past mistakes,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on social media.
Khanna implored Democrats to stop calling Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—who is Jewish—an antisemite and “stop wasting time attacking Hasan Piker instead of [President Donald] Trump’s robber-baron corruption.”
“Don’t put Israel hawks out of touch with our voters in charge of our Middle East policy,” he added. “It is time for a reckoning: Are we a party that represents corporate interests and super PACs, or will we represent the American people?”
According to Track AIPAC, pro-Israel Democrats have taken tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from pro-Israel lobby groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s United Democracy Project.
Khanna’s comments came a day after Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced the appointment of Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) as ranking member of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. Moskowitz, who said earlier this year that he is “to the right” of Vice President JD Vance in his support of Trump’s illegal US-Israeli war of choice on Iran, is one of the strongest supporters of Israel in Congress.
This, at a time when three-quarters of Democratic voters oppose US aid to Israel—up from just 45% three years ago—and after the issue was a factor in former Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Jasper Nathaniel, a US journalist known for his coverage of Israel’s illegal occupation, settler colonization, and ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, posted on X: “The entire bipartisan political establishment has coalesced around a willful misreading of what Hasan Piker said in order to silence criticism of Israel. They’re doing the same thing to Mark Ruffalo in Hollywood. It’s all fucking gaslighting. Don’t give an inch.”
“What Hasan said is completely intuitive. Everyone knows that Israel’s genocide of Palestinians—and the Jewish institutions’ blanket support for it—has created more hostility towards Jews,” he added. “There is no good-faith argument against this.”
Below is a fuller transcript of Piker's remarks. No doubt much that some would disagree with, but there's no call for or justification of violence – the opposite, actually. pic.twitter.com/AZiksRy4VR
Jacobin staff writer Branko Marcetic asserted Wednesday that “centrists despise Hasan Piker more than they want to win.”
“It’s an extreme stretch to describe Piker’s remarks as an incitement of or justification for violence and bigotry against Jews,” he continued. “The basic point he’s making—that the tendency by pro-Israel voices to conflate Jewishness with lockstep support for Israel makes Jews less safe—has been made by a number of Jewish voices, including Ezra Klein at The New York Times, David Klion at The Nation, Norman Solomon at The Guardian, union organizer Molly Kraft, and Hannah Arendt nearly 80 years ago.”
The dispute has now ensnared Michigan US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who campaigned alongside Piker during his successful Democratic primary bid. El-Sayed has somewhat distanced himself from Piker’s comments, emphasizing that the campaign represents his own views and condemning antisemitism. It hasn’t placated establishment Democrats.
Some Democrats have implored their party to keep its eyes on the proverbial prize—winning back Congress—instead of engaging in senseless internecine battles.
“Billionaires are draining our resources to develop a technology they want to replace us, millions will lose Medicaid in the new year to pay for tax cuts for the rich, and we’re spending billions on genocidal wars the voters oppose,” said Melat Kiros, the progressive Democratic nominee for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. “But sure, let’s keep talking about Hasan Piker.”
It’s not just Democratic Socialists of America-type progressives who get it. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) admonished reporters during a Wednesday campaign rally for El-Sayed at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
.@RepDebDingell (D-MI) says Hasan Piker is "not what November is about," and that Republicans are trying to divide Democrats over it: "I'm still trying to figure out is it the reason he exercises and looks buff why he has so many followers?" pic.twitter.com/zZLTCHHbTy
“Don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker,” she said angrily. “It’s not what November is about.”
“Republicans are… trying to divide us,” she continued. “And we’ve got to stop letting them try to divide us.”
Weighing in on corporate Democrats’ attacks on Piker from across the Atlantic, British writer and activist Owen Jones said Wednesday that “the Democratic establishment know they’ve lost their base. These smears are driven by panic.”
“The bottom line about what’s happening here is this: The American people have turned against Israel in revulsion at the genocide and want to stop facilitating its crimes. That opposition is overwhelming among the Democratic rank-and-file,” he continued.
“But the Democratic Party establishment remains invested in the alliance with Israel—and they fear being swept aside by pro-Palestinian left-wing candidates in upcoming primaries,” Jones asserted, adding that centrists “would prefer to lose to the Republicans than win with the left. They would prefer to keep facilitating Israel’s genocide and heinous crimes rather than win.”
“That’s what we are dealing with here,” he added. “And if it means destroying US democracy to defend Israel—that’s a price they’re willing to pay.”
Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former foreign policy adviser to Sanders, expressed a similar sentiment on social media.
“You’ve never seen corporate Democrats fighting as hard and as on message against Trump as they are against Hasan right now,” he said. “It’s insane.”
Once again, anti-semitism is being cynically—and falsely—redefined in the press and broader Discourse as “pointing out uncomfortable facts about the nation state of Israel.”
This past weekend, the Israel Crybully Lobby, using a familiar script I’ve detailed before, led a smear campaign against actor Mark Ruffalo because he had the temerity and integrity to note that the family vying to control not only 60 Minutes and CBS News, but CNN and HBO, is a committed and open supporter of Israel and its genocidal military.
Ruffalo is leading a broad coalition of antitrust activists, creatives, and filmgoers to oppose the pending Skydance Paramount-Warner Brothers Discovery merger and, in doing so, violated an unwritten rule against noting that the father-son duo behind the merger, David and Larry Ellison, are well-documented and open zionist advocates that not only lobby for and support Israel, but “privately” donate to their military. A military that—it’s worth noting—Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, B’Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, OxFam, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and dozens of other humanitarian and human rights organizations have determined is committing genocide in Gaza. Ruffalo also pointed out that the Ellisons’ $400 billion fortune was largely built on military and surveillance technology from Oracle that is used, in part, to surveil, imprison, and kill Palestinians, as well combat opposition to Israel stateside.
Ruffalo simply noted the open and well-documented ideological commitments that the Ellisons themselves have long championed.
Predictably, the Israel Crybully Lobby and its one-note propaganda organs in the nonprofit and media world responded to these comments by accusing Ruffalo of “antisemitism” and engaging in “tropes”—many of which are not, of course, tropes in any traditional sense, but simply Things That Are Awkward To Mention. Paramount Skydance released a whiney and self-indulgent statement saying “We are, as always, troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked.… Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong—they’re a bridge too far.” This statement, and related scandalizing of Ruffalo’s otherwise true and banal comments, were echoed by Hollywood press outlets such as Variety magazine,the Hollywood Reporter, and the Wrap, the latter of which is owned by Sharon Waxman, an open supporter of Israel and its genocide in her own right. Needless to say, the Wrap has been covering this like Watergate, with nonstop breathless headlines, even laughably citing NATO-funded think tanker Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib as a “Leading Palestinian Activist.”
This campaign failed at shutting up Ruffalo, who defended himself on Twitter/X, where he received an outpouring of support. But more zionist advocacy organizations—always posing as “antisemitism” monitors, such as the Anti-Defamation League, Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Creative Community for Peace, and L.A. Jewish Federation—joined the pile-on. All four groups are openly supportive of Israel and its genocidal military and largely exist to smear Israel critics as antisemites regardless of the tone or nature of the criticism.
Despite the “antisemitism scandal” playbook being less and less effective, it’s not stopping the Israel Crybully Lobby from using it to discipline Ruffalo and other actors who dare support basic human rights, or in this case, actors who connect Oracle’s obscene wealth with their intimate involvement in the US and Israeli security state. The whole “antisemitism” and “trope” charge is even more absurd since, in context, in addition to Ruffalo simply citing Oracle’s Executive Vice-Chair Safra Catz’s own dystopian words about their “really profoundly scary technologies,” Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is open in his support for not just Israel as some romantic abstraction, but the IDF itself. In 2024, upon announcing his purchase of Paramount, Ellison’s Skydance issued a dressed-up press release in the Jerusalem Post detailing how his buying of Paramount would be good for Israel:
“These two young men [Ellison being one of the men] love Israel, are connected to their Judaism, have Zionist values, and it’s very encouraging to see that in such successful families, the values are passed on to the younger generations. Both quietly donate quite a bit to the State of Israel and the IDF. It is positive news for the Jewish world that Korff and Ellison are the next generation of global Jewish leadership, connected to Israel and holding Zionist values.”
The piece would go on to note that the “article was written in cooperation with SkyDance” which is another way of saying it’s a touched-up press release issued by Skydance. So here is Ellison using his own company to boast how great his purchase of Paramount would be for Israel (setting aside how funny it is to point out how you “quietly” support a cause in your own company’s press release), thus openly acknowledging that his media properties would reflect Israel’s line. A promise immediately confirmed by Ellison’s first major hire post-Paramount purchase: self-identified “zionist fanatic” Bari Weiss, who he immediately put in charge of all of CBS News. The family patriarch, Larry Ellison, has even deeper ties to Israel: In addition to being the single largest private donor to the IDF, leaked emails revealed last year that in 2015 the elder Ellison vetted then-candidate for President Marco Rubio on behalf of the Israel ambassador to the UN.
Israel is a nation state, a political entity; zionism is an ideology, a worldview that violently privileges Jewish sovereignty in Palestine. Neither are protected religions, cultures, or identities. Adults have to be able to separate these two things—one being an ethno-religious identity and the other being an ideological choice—when discussing the dispossession, occupation, and mass killing of Palestinians, and how this right-wing worldview dovetails with media ownership, US imperialism, the military state, and free speech suppression in the United States. It is certainly possible to criticize Israel and its supporters while engaging in antisemitic tropes, but Ruffalo did not come remotely close to doing this, and it’s deeply cynical to claim he did without presenting any credible evidence. Instead we just get mindless working of the refs, increasingly hollow pro forma language about “tropes” and “antisemitism,” whining and chauvinist solipsism from deluded rich ideologues high on their own zionist media supply. Ruffalo simply noted the open and well-documented ideological commitments that the Ellisons themselves have long championed. Adults should be able to talk about very rich people’s connections to militaries without everyone reaching for the antisemitism smelling salts. This script—where powerful, wealthy and deeply ideological actors cry and whine and piss and moan about being the victims of racist abuse because someone dares highlight their backing of a nation state and its military—is as dangerous and sleazy as it is tedious and, one can only hope, diminishing in its returns.
Continuing the project we started in the beginning of “026.
Here is our selection of our 7 most astonishing, original or viewed videos released in this the week.
This reminder ccome back after many months of pause due to that the main important videos were published in the post WARS in Video with dauky updates on the ongoing international conflicts in Ukraine and in Middle East.
But there are many videos that are extremely significant for their social or geopolitical content that sometimes take a back seat to the serious events that occur every day in wars, which is why we decided to start this periodic column.
Inside the Rumble description of each video there is a link to the detailed investigation it refers to or to a related topic.
Enjoy watching with Gospa News. And if you like our work, support us with a small donation.
Hace aproximadamente quince mil años, las comunidades de cazadores-recolectores que poblaban el sur del Levante experimentaron una transformación radical en su organización social y espacial. Aquellos grupos que hasta entonces habían mantenido un régimen nómada, desplazándose tras las manadas y las estaciones, redujeron drásticamente su movilidad y establecieron los primeros asentamientos permanentes de los que […]
Around fifteen thousand years ago, the hunter-gatherer communities that populated the southern Levant experienced a radical transformation in their social and spatial organization. Those groups that until then had maintained a nomadic lifestyle, moving with the herds and the seasons, drastically reduced their mobility and established the first permanent settlements known in the region. This […]
Three authorative religious experts explained n three different footage that Christian Zionism as Zionism, as Talmud, as Star of David, as Israelians origin have not roots with Biblical Israelites and Holy Bible.
They are the orthodox priest Fr. Spyridon Bailey and the American Pastor of different Baptist Churches: Dillon Awes Chuck Baldwin
Fr. Spyridon Bailey is a priest of the Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, serving in England and Ireland.
2nd footage – The Star of David is not in the Bible
Pastor Dillon Awes was born in Fresno, California. He is a pastor of the Anchor Baptist Church in Oklahoma, which was formerly a satellite church of Stedfast Baptist Church.
3rd footage – The Zionist State has not ties with Biblical Israelites
Pastor Chuck Charles Obadiah Baldwin (born May 3, 1952) is an American right-wing politician, radio host, and as founder he served as pastor of Independent Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida.As of 2024 he is leading pastor of Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Montana.
He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for vice president in 2004. He hosts a daily one-hour radio program, Chuck Baldwin Live, and writes a daily editorial column carried on its website, as well as on VDare. He is a former editor of NewsWithViews.com.
The Analysis of VIDEO Contents & Previous Investigations
“Talmud Blasphemies Christ. You can’t be a be Zionist and an Orthodox Christian”
Fr. Spyridon Bailey said that you can’t be a be Zionist and an Orthodox Christian:
«The Talmudic Faith is Alien to Moses, to Isaac and Jacob. Christians must know that Talmud blasphemies Christ and the Mother of God» the orthodox priest affirmed.
The symbol on Israel’s flag is said to be a sign of Remphan or Moloch
Pastor Dillon Awes explained that the Star of David (or the symbol on Israel’s flag) is said to be a sign of Remphan or Moloch, the ancient pagan deities.
Moloch, or Molech, is an ancient, often feared, deity from the Middle East associated with horrific child sacrifice, particularly in the Hebrew Bible where his worship was condemned as a pagan practice involving burning children to him, sometimes depicted as a bull-headed figure.
The difference among biblical scripture, Israelites and modern politics
Pastor Chuck Baldwin breaks down a major distinction many people overlook: the difference between biblical scripture and modern politics. The biblical concept of Israel refers to an ancient faith community described in the Bible. It was never meant to be a modern political ideology or a shield for modern state policy.
Under administrative detention, hundreds of medical professionals, journalists, and children are held without formal charge or trial, facing severe conditions documented by international monitors. Inside these facilities, they document the harshest living conditions, systemic neglect, and severe physical and psychological tactics.
Pastor Baldwin also argues that Zionism is a fascist and communist movement, writing, according to Wikipedia:
“Anyone who claims to be opposed to globalism and neoconism but denies the pernicious part that Zionism plays in globalismand neoconism is either badly ignorant of what globalism and neoconism really are or is knowingly providing cover for the Zionists—and is, therefore, controlled opposition for Zionists. I believe the latter is true in far, far too many cases. And never forget the fact that at their center Zionists are fascists and communists”
Since today, therefore, this War Daily Summary will no longer contain news only on the war (and related geopolitical issue) in the Middle East, but also on the war in Ukraine and any other international conflicts.
Ukraine Drones funded by EU to Kill Russian Civilians, Moscow Missiles to Target Weapons Industries
Brief analysis by Fabio G.C. Carisio on August, 17, 2026
While the Russian Army continues to advance on the battlefield in Donbas, consolidating its military positions—predicting its complete annexation within a year—the Russian Aerospace Forces are engaged in an asymmetric strategic war against Kiev’s air force.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, using drones paid for by European Union citizens and built in a covert partnership with the US Pentagon and EU countries, continues to target Russia’s energy infrastructure and civilian buildings in a vain attempt to provoke a rebellion among the Russian population, as military bases are too well-protected to be attacked.
In the last few hours, more than a thousand kamikaze drones have been launched, killing at least six Russian civilians and seriously damaging the Wildberries (Russian Amazon) online distribution centers alone.
Without having to contend with the costs borne by the European Union, the leader of the pro-Nazi Zelensky regime can waste drones at will on massacres of civilians, as recently happened in Nizhnekamsk.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin, who could level much of Kiev in a single night with undetectable hypersonic missiles, to avoid a massacre of “Ukrainian brothers,” limits himself to striking the military and energy infrastructure that is bringing Ukraine’s military apparatus to its knees, increasingly short of Patriot air defense rockets.
But the escalation triggered by Zelensky, with the applause of US President Trump, has inevitably led Russia to raise the level of retaliation and also include civilian targets, such as ships in the port of Odessa.
Until Putin loses patience and carries out a massacre in Kiev… But from that moment on, thanks to vile Western propaganda, every day will be a good day for the start of World War III.
Iran says Hormuz remains closed despite Oman route deal
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says the Strait of Hormuz remains closed despite a temporary transit agreement with Oman, insisting that Washington must return to its commitments under the memorandum of understanding before the waterway is fully opened.
US President Donald Trump says that all mines have been cleared and detonated from the strait’s international waters and that Tehran has received warnings that any ships laying new mines will be “destroyed”.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs details a temporary arrangement between the Islamic Republic and Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz, while asserting that reopening of the waterway hinges on realization of Tehran’s demands, according to Iranian Press TV.
Remarking on Tuesday, Kazem Gharibabadi detailed the arrangement that he identified as tentative pending establishment of a “permanent route” during further negotiations between the two sides that are expected to take between 30 and 60 days.
Iran closed the chokepoint following the launch of the latest bout of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against the country on February 28.
According to Gharibabadi, under the arrangement involving Iran and Oman, the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz will be closed. As part of its violations of the MoU, the US would try to illegally escort vessels through the southern route that runs along the Omani coastline.
Oman has accepted the closure, the official said, adding that the move would be communicated to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Under the arrangement, “vessels entering the Persian Gulf will use Iranian waters, while vessels leaving the Persian Gulf will use Omani territorial waters,” the senior diplomat stated. “Vessels would pass through Iranian waters in both directions,” he added.
He described the arrangement as functioning “like a two-way highway,” with a total width of approximately seven nautical miles.
Gharibabadi stressed that the arrangement agreed with with Oman does not mean that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened immediately. He said the issue of the arrangement and the question of reopening the strait were separate matters.
Israeli forces raid UNRWA training centre in East Jerusalem, raise Israeli flag
Israeli far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvircelebrated after Israeli forces raided a facility operated by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in occupied East Jerusalem, expelling employees and hoisting an Israeli flag in the courtyard.
UNRWA and experts say it is a direct breach of international law.
But after the previous bombings of various UNRWA offices and the massacres of UN officials in Palestine, UN Secretary General António Guterres (who earns $227,000 a year) and his other well-paid aides should stop clowning around on the world stage, resign, or intervene with severe sanctions against Israel and the US, which since 2023 have been protecting Israel’s genocide, as confirmed by dozens of UN reports.
It would be enough to put a resolution to a vote in the General Assembly, bypassing the Security Council, where the US continues to exercise its vote. But the real problem is that many Western countries, including Italy, have effectively protected the massacre committed by Zionists in the Holy Land to speculate on the weapons market.
«Israeli so-called National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced on Tuesday the start of operations to dismantle a vocational training center run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, in the East Al-Quds (Jerusalem) area of Kafr Aqab, near the Qalandiya refugee camp»Al Manar Lebanese TV pointed out.
“Large forces of Israel Police are working together with the relevant authorities to realize the law and get UNRWA out of the area,”Ben Gvir said in a statement.
“An organization whose workers were involved in terrorism, and which served as a front for Hamas time after time, has no right to exist for even another second, and has no place in Jerusalem and the State of Israel.”
Footage from Palestinian media shows Ben Gvir on the scene with Israeli occupation forces at the UNRWA facility.
The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli forces ordered UNRWA employees to exit the facility and not return.
Ben Gvir’s announcement comes after the Israeli occupation authorities’ Jerusalem municipality this month greenlit a plan to build a road and an “educational complex” over the 82-dunam area.
Explosion in Ammo Depot in Pishchanka, Ukraine, Kills One and Injures 11
An explosion occurred in Pishchanka, Samar District, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing one person. Another 11 people were injured.
Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, reported on the consequences of the incident.
The explosion destroyed three private homes. Another 15 houses sustained varying degrees of damage. But according to Russian sources the huge blast happened inside an ammunition depot.
People who were near the epicenter at the time of the explosion were evacuated to a safer location. Access to the hazardous area was temporarily restricted.
Investigators, forensic experts, and other specialized services are working at the site of the explosion in Pishchanka. Oleksandr Hanzha did not specify the cause of the blast, but described the incident as a war crime.
Updates on AUGUST, 25, Breaking News in Video
Vatican Top Diplomat and CIA director together in Moscow for a MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: Peace in Ukeaine
Brief analysis by Fabio G.C. Carisio
Suddenly, as if prompted by the Vatican, on the same day that the Holy See’s top diplomat Paul Richard Gallagher travels to Moscow for a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, one of the most strategic figures in the United States also rushes to the Russian capital: CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who arrived in Moscow on a US Air Force Boeing C-17, arousing curiosity with his unexpected arrival.
The trip, however, had been planned for at least two days, like that of Pope Leo XIV’s envoy.
The two visits represent two separate and distinct initiatives with different discussions, which remained secret in the case of the head of American counterintelligence.
Both clearly have the aim of attempting the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE of peace negotiations for Ukraine with spokespeople for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had rejected any truce after the ongoing massacres of civilians by the drones of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s army.
Moscow rejected the Peace proposal based on a free trade economic zone in Donbass administered by US: accused of Complicity
Moscow has rejected the possibility of creating a free trade economic zone in Donbass administered by Washington, which was even accused of complicity in Ukrainian attacks vs Russian territory.
The Kremlin thus rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal to create a free economic zone in Donbas, administered by a third party as a buffer zone under a peace agreement, and reiterated that the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine would be “unacceptable” to Russia.
The external administration of Donbas, proposed by Ukraine, is impossible, as the region is part of Russia, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized today during a briefing.
“Donbas is the territory of the Russian Federation, a federal entity. (…) It is unlikely that a third party could take over the administration of a region of the Russian Federation,”the Kremlin representative stated.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed today that Russia has sent a formal request to the U.S. State Department, detailing intelligence evidence demonstrating the United States’ deep involvement in organizing and carrying out attacks deep inside Russian territory.
According to Lavrov, the evidence shows that the Trump administration was actively involved in helping Ukraine bomb Moscow, St. Petersburg and other places.
«Russia will not forget about Zelensky’s “bloody act” in Starobilsk and will seek justice», Lavrov added in a statement.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe on secret trip in Russia with a Mysterious Flight on a Boeing C-17A
CIA Director John Ratcliffe is in Moscow, Russia, for meetings, sources familiar with the situation told CBS News on Tuesday.
News of his trip comes after a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane was spotted at a Moscow airport, along with a U.S. diplomatic motorcade. Neither the U.S. nor Russian governments has commented on the identity of the U.S. official in Russia or the purpose of the visit.
The CIA did not immediately comment. It appears to be Ratcliffe’s first known trip to Russia as CIA director, though he has maintained contact with Russian intelligence counterparts.
The CIA has also played a role in recent U.S.-Russia detainee exchanges, including the April 2025 release of a U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina, whose case Ratcliffe personally negotiated. The agency was also involved in the 2024 prisoner exchange that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan.
Former CIA Director William Burns traveled to Moscow in November 2021, when he met with senior Russian officials and spoke directly with President Vladimir Putin to warn him against invading Ukraine.
Ratcliffe’s visit comes as U.S.-mediated peace talks with Ukraine remain mostly stalled, with the sides still far apart on core issues.
Lavrov and top Vatican diplomat held first Moscow talks since start of special op
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks in Moscow with Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States and International Organizations. who has arrived in Moscow on his first official visit since the beginning of the special military operation.
The sides will discuss international issues and prospects for bilateral cooperation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Ukraine issue is likely to receive particular attention, including in the context of possible separate consultations on Ukraine at the Vatican. Russian Ambassador to the Holy See Ivan Soltanovsky told TASS that Russia is prepared to take part in such a format.
The central topics were the Ukrainian conflict and possible ways to resolve it, humanitarian cooperation, the situation of Orthodox and Catholics, the situation in the Middle East and other regions, as well as the prospects.
Russia Knocks Out Vessel Supplying Ukraine’s Military in Odessa Strike
Russian forces carried out a strike on a dry cargo ship in the port of Yuzhny, which delivered cargo to the Ukrainian armed forces, as well as port infrastructure facilities, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
“Last night, unmanned aerial vehicles in the Yuzhny port damaged a cargo ship that delivered cargo to Ukraine intended for purposes of the armed forces of Ukraine, as well as port infrastructure facilities used to unload military cargo,” the statement read.
The Russian armed forces continue to launch group strikes against Ukrainian ports and ships targeted in the interests of delivering goods for the armed forces of Ukraine.
In the video below a previous Russian attack on port of Ukraine
Yemeni forces target Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu amid escalation
The Yemeni Armed Forces announced operations targeting a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of Yanbu and Saudi military positions in several areas, as part of Sanaa’s military equation against Saudi Arabia’s aggression.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces were able to target the Saudi oil tanker Amzan in the northern Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, with a ballistic missile,” Spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement. “The strike was precise and direct, resulting in a fire on the ship, and the escape of several other ships in the area.”
Saree confirmed that this move “is part of the implementation of the Yemeni Armed Forces’ decision to ban maritime traffic for the Saudi enemy and to enforce a blockade with a blockade.”
Updates on AUGUST, 24, Breaking News in Video
Israeli forces Bombed Gaza, destroying houses, mosques and at least one water desalination facility.
Sources at hospitals in Gaza tell our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that Israeli air strikes have killed at least eight Palestinians, including two children, since dawn.
Israeli forces have targeted areas in central and southern Gaza, destroying houses, mosques and at least one water desalination facility.
But Israel has released alleged fake claims which said that they “continue to target Hamas weapons depots in the Gaza Strip”, according to a joint statement by the Israeli army and internal security service, Shin Bet.
The statement said Israeli forces carried out attacks in the Shati refugee camp and Deir el-Balah areas in central Gaza and “destroyed two weapons depots belonging to Hamas”.
At least two children are among eight Palestinians killed so far on Monday in Israeli air strikes across Gaza, according to Gaza health officials.
Iran to detain, confiscate violating ships in Strait of Hormuz: PGSA
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), Iran’s regulatory body for the Strait of Hormuz, has announced that vessels violating Iranian protocols for the strategic waterway will face restrictions on future passages, including fines, detention, or confiscation, Iranian Press TV has reported.
In a statement posted on its official X account on Sunday, the authority warned cargo owners shipping to and from the Persian Gulf to review the Non-Compliant Vessels (NCV) list prior to chartering in order to avoid potential issues.
Effective immediately, the authority said, any vessel cooperating with listed vessels, including through ship-to-ship (STS) transfers or transshipment, will also be added to the list.
To request removal from the list, vessels must submit a formal application with justifications to info@pgsa.ir, it said.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy shipments, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
Iran has warned that it will not tolerate any disruption to its sovereignty over the strategic passage, saying traffic in the waterway will not return to normal unless the United States ends the war and blockade against the country.
Greece moves missile battery to Crete after Iranian threats to US bases in Europe
Greece is moving a Patriot missile battery from the island of Karpathos to the Souda naval base on Crete to bolster air defences, Greek daily Kathimerini is reporting
The move comes about 24 hours after senior Iranian officials threatened possible strikes on US bases on European soil, the paper said.
Greece’s defence ministry and armed forces general staff have been on alert since last week, assessing the threat level and reviewing measures to protect critical infrastructure, according to the report.
The battery, along with its equipment and personnel, departed Karpathos at dawn and was expected to be operational in the wider Souda area within hours, Kathimerini said. The system had been deployed to Karpathos in March as part of a broader plan to shield all sectors of Athens’ flight information region from potential ballistic missile attacks.
Two children killed, seven injured after UAV debris fell on children’s center in Krasnodar
A massive Ukrainian drone attack is being repelled in the Krasnodar Region, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said, adding that debris fell on a private children’s center in Krasnodar, killing two children and injuring seven others, and two adults have been hospitalized.
“The Krasnodar Region is repelling a massive enemy drone attack tonight. Once again, the targets were civilian facilities, peaceful residents, and our children. Drone debris fell on a private children’s center in Krasnodar. Unfortunately, two children died. My deepest condolences to their families. Seven other children were injured and are currently receiving all necessary medical care. Two adults are also in city hospitals. I wish a speedy recovery to everyone,” he wrote on Max.
In the video below the previous Ukrainian UAV’s vs Russian Civilian Buildings that killed Children in Krasnodar (August, 12, 2026 – Novorossiysk)
Ozon’s logistics center in Krasnodar attacked by drone – VIDEO
UAVs have attacked Ozon’s logistics center in Krasnodar, with the strike causing a fire at the warehouse. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties, the company’s press service reported.
“On August 24, a logistics center in Krasnodar was hit by a drone attack. All systems functioned as intended, and we promptly evacuated the staff. Preliminary reports indicate there are no casualties. A major fire has broken out at the warehouse, and emergency services are at the scene,” the report said.
In the video below the second Ozon warehouse attacked in Russia by alleged Ukrainian Drones (August, 23, Orenburg, via ImmaginixConoscer IG)
The company said earlier that the logistics center had suspended the acceptance of shipments, with goods currently at the warehouse to be hidden from the marketplace storefront. Some items will be cancelled or delivered from other warehouses.
If no equivalent goods are available, they will be marked as out of stock, according to the report. Shipments already en route to the warehouse will be rerouted. Ozon will provide sellers with specific information regarding the status of their goods via their marketplace seller accounts and official seller channels on social media.
Ex CIA Johnson: 30 sailors attempted suicide aboard USS Lincoln
Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson and University of Tehran professor Mohammad Marandi told Al Mayadeen that a prolonged confrontation increasingly favors Iran, pointing to mounting military, logistical, economic and political pressure on the United States as Tehran prepares to adopt a more offensive posture.
Speaking during the program The Great Standoff: Iran and the World on Monday night, Johnson argued that Washington faces growing difficulties sustaining its military presence and replenishing advanced weapons, while Marandi said Iran’s ability to endure the consequences of the war is greater because it views itself as defending against an externally imposed aggression.
“Time’s on the side of Iran, not the United States”,Johnson said, arguing that strains within the US military would become increasingly difficult to sustain the longer the conflict continued.
He said those difficulties extend beyond the Navy, citing concerns over suicides and morale across different branches of the US military. “The longer this goes on, the more it wears on the personal morale of individual soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen,” Johnson said.
Johnson mentioned that “One news report indicated that as many as six sailors had tried to jump overboard on the Abraham Lincoln. I had a recently retired US military officer tell me that that was a lie, that the number was probably closer to 30, not just six. And we find that these problems are not confined just to the Navy.”
Beyond personnel pressures, Johnson argued that the United States is increasingly constrained by shortages of advanced weapons and its reliance on foreign supply chains. He said China controls critical materials required to manufacture weapons, including Tomahawk and JASSM cruise missiles, PAC-3 interceptors used by Patriot systems and THAAD missiles.
Iran released the Footage on its Secret Underground Air Base
Footage 1 – Iran has released footage reportedly showing the Aqab 44 Air Base, a military facility built deep underground.
The footage appears to show sections of the facility, highlighting Iran’s underground military infrastructure designed to protect strategic assets from potential attacks.
Footage 2 – Iran has added another significant boost to its missile capabilities! In the latest breakthrough in defense technology, the Ghassem Basir solid-fuel ballistic missile has been unveiled, with a range of 1,200 km+.
With Fatah hypersonic gliders and Khorramshahr-4 heavy warheads, this new missile system is designed for rapid mobility and high-precision targeting.
Russia Ships Nuclear Reactors To Turkey. Pakistan is supplying Atomic Watheads to Ankara?
1st Footage – Turkey’s first nuclear power plant has reached another construction milestone, with Russia’s Rosatom delivering four steam generators for Unit 4 of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.
The massive components were manufactured in southern Russia before travelling around 3,000 kilometres by sea to the construction site on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
Once operational, Akkuyu’s four reactors are expected to play a major role in meeting the country’s growing electricity demand.
2nd Footage – Viral claim: Pakistan transferring nuclear missiles to Turkey Reports and social media posts are widely circulating claiming that Pakistan has decided to transfer its strategic nuclear capabilities to the Republic of Turkey.
According to these viral posts, Pakistan plans to deploy 170 nuclear missiles equipped with 16 warheads to Ankara, effectively placing these strategic assets under Turkish command.
This had been happened after the signing of “Mecca Deal” to Defense agreement among Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia too. However, this news is not officially confirmed by any Pakistani or Turkish officials.
Pakistan is a declared nuclear weapons state and maintains that its nuclear arsenal is under strict national command and control. Turkey is a NATO member and hosts US nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base under NATO arrangements, but does not own nuclear weapons.
Neither the Pakistan Foreign Office, Pakistan military, nor Turkish government agencies have issued statements confirming such a transfer.
As of this writing, the claim remains unverified and appears to originate from unconfirmed social media posts.
Updates on AUGUST, 23, Breaking News in Video
Iran to attack other oil export routes if Gulf countries support US sanctions
Iran is ready not only to strike oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but also to attack other oil transportation routes from the Persian Gulf zone, if regional countries join the anti-Iranian sanctions of the United States, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said.
“We are telling all the neighboring countries not to join the US economic war on Iran, or Tehran will view them as enemies,” he was quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic’s state-run broadcaster.
He added that if the neighboring states join the US sanctions, “not a single drop of oil will be shipped from the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”
In this case, Iran will “view other routes of oil export from the region as its target.”
In his words, the Islamic Republic does not want the conflict to spread. “But if Iran’s neighbors support the US in its economic war, Tehran will damage their interests,”Rezaei said.
Two days ago (read below updates on August, 21)Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned a new round of US economic sanctions against the country, stating that the measures amount to “economic terrorism” and “crimes against humanity.”
Dry cargo ship carrying weapons hit by Russian strikes in port of Chernomorsk, Odessa region
The Russian armed forces have hit a dry cargo ship delivering weapons, as well as seven fuel storage tanks in the port of Chernomorsk of the Odessa Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“With the help of high-precision strikes and drones, the following targets were hit in the Odessa Region’s port of Chernomorsk: a dry cargo ship, delivering weapons and military equipment to Ukraine; seven fuel storage tanks, and port infrastructure where military cargo was unloaded and stored,” the ministry said.
Russia has attacked the Odesa region for 11 hours, using a combination of 17 “Banderol” missiles, 4 Х-59 and Х-31 missiles, approximately 10 air-dropped bombs, and about 70 drones, according to monitoring reports.
Israeli army admits firing on car carrying the 5yo Hind Rajab: rights groups see “charade” not justice
The Israeli occupation forces acknowledged on Wednesday that their personnel fired on a vehicle carrying five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in Gaza in January 2024, and announced a criminal investigation into the incident.
Hind was martyred after her family’s vehicle came under fire while they were attempting to flee Gaza City amid an Israeli military advance in northern Gaza. Her body was recovered days after she made a desperate, hours-long emergency call to the Palestinian Red Crescent on January 29, 2024.
She was found inside a vehicle riddled with bullets alongside six relatives. Two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics who had been dispatched to rescue her were also killed.
The Israeli occupation had previously denied that its forces were present in the area at the time of the incident.
Five-year-old Hind Rajab’s last phone call from a car surrounded by her slain relatives shocks the world; now her killing is one of two Gaza cases Israel’s army says it will investigate. The second case involves 15 paramedics crushed in their convoy in southern Gaza.
«But critics note that only 0.18% of such cases ever reach prosecution, and that high-profile incidents like the World Central Kitchen strike are excluded, leaving families with little faith in justice»Al Jazeera’s Joel Evans reported in the video above.
Mossad chief holds call with Syrian FM week before aggression
The head of “Israel’s” Mossad spy agency, Roman Gofman, held a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani last week during which they discussed Turkey’s military presence in Syria, three people familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported.
The call, which the sources said took place on August 14, came days before “Israel” launched airstrikes on a Syrian military airbase in the north of the country on Tuesday.
It marks one of the highest-level contacts yet between “Israel” and the new Syrian government since the fall of former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2014.
Syria was “on the verge of breaching” a security understanding with “Israel” by allowing Turkish forces to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office claimed late on Tuesday.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office accused Damascus of ignoring repeated Israeli warnings against the move, saying that the deployment “would pose a threat to Israel’s security.”
“Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo,” the office said in a statement.
The statement came hours after Israeli aggression hit Syria’s Abu al-Duhur military airbase in eastern Idlib, the first such strike on the base since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has not officially confirmed carrying out the attack.
Updates on AUGUST, 22, Breaking News in Video
UN rights office for Palestine calls out Israeli army WAR CRIMES over attacks on Gaza
The UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory says the latest killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza may be war crimes, highlighting the ongoing attacks on the enclave’s police, according to Al Jazeera.
“These incidents are a stark reminder that, despite occasional drops in the number of reported attacks, civilians throughout Gaza remain exposed to persistent, unpredictable, lethal harm,” it said in a statement on Friday.
It said the reported killings of at least 22 Palestinians in Gaza between August 13 and 19 alone, including women and children, “may amount to war crimes and other atrocity crimes”.
The UN office also called the “pattern” of attacks on police personnel and facilities in Gaza “alarming”, including an attack on Gaza City’s municipal police headquarters on Wednesday that killed eight officers and a 13-year-old girl.
It says it recorded 18 Israeli attacks on police personnel across Gaza since January, with 77 Palestinians killed, including six children and four women.
Under international humanitarian law, it says, police are protected civilians, unless they are actively and directly participating in hostilities.
New US Sanctions against members of the International Criminal Court.
Based on the same executive order with which Donald Trump authorized sanctions against UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, Marco Rubio announced new measures against members of the International Criminal Court.
This time, it was the turn of Tomoko Akane, judge and president of the Court, and Abdoulaye Seye, a lawyer for the ICC Prosecutor’s Office who was investigating the Israeli case.
Both will be subject to sanctions that include, among other measures, a ban on entry to the United States and a freeze on any assets held in the country, as well as exclusion from the US financial system.
This is not the first time Washington has targeted ICC members: last year, the Trump administration imposed sanctions against several judges and officials of the Court, including Prosecutor Karim Khan, who was targeted after the issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
VITAL VIDEO – At Night Turkey secretly deployed massive weapons systems into Syria. How and Why…
What was feared has happened. Israel has made an indirect move against Turkey…. In the video below a medley of many social footages on Turkish military reaction.
Turkey condemned the strikes, while Israel said it was acting to prevent a potential Turkish military deployment at the Syrian base—an allegation Ankara has denied. Washington is now working on a deconfliction mechanism to prevent accidental military clashes between Turkey, Israel and Syria. (Reuters)
A senior Israeli official revealed that intelligence was shared with the United States prior to Israeli strikes on Abu al-Duhur Airport in the Idlib countryside in the latest day (details below in August, 18 updates), after US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack expressed concern that the operations constitute an unnecessary escalation.
Yesterday, Israeli forces advanced with tanks and vehicles in southern Quneitra ((details below in August, 21 updates),
Yesterday Turkey’s Ministry of Justice has asked Interpol to issue Red Notices for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an Israeli official on genocide charges, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced on Friday (details below in August, 21 updates).
VIDEO LEGEND UNDER THE VIDEO
Footage 1 – Turkey is secretly deploying massive weapons systems into Syria under cover of darkness, directed by MIT intelligence. The buildup follows Israeli airstrikes on a Syrian airbase and signals Ankara is preparing for a potential military confrontation with Israel. US envoy warns of direct clash…
Footage 2 – Turkey is reportedly concerned about the possibility of a direct military confrontation or war with the Israeli military inside Syria! It is now fully determined to send Israel a strong and clear message.
Footage 3 (grey part in the general video but visible in the footage below)– According to information provided by a Syrian journalist, Turkey has deployed approximately 200-250 armored vehiclesand 20 tanks along the southwestern Syrian front. This deployment is believed to coincide with recent Israeli air strikes in Syria.
Footage 4 – The Turkish Bayraktar TB3 unmanned aircraft is displayed for the first time at one of the exhibitions – It features radar detection combat skills – Submarine detection using acoustic sensors – Carrying heavy and guided missiles, stealthy with high capabilities
Footage 5 – As part of the NATO 2026 Summit Defense Industry Forum, a high-level reception was held at the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) facilities in Kahramankazan, hosted by Haluk Görgün, Chairman of the Defense Industry Directorate of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. The program, which highlighted the capabilities of the Turkish defense industry, international collaboration, and alliance spirit, is expected to attract widespread participation.
Footage 6 and 7 – No one knows for certain what Turkey is planning! However, it is believed that #Ankara is making these extensive preparations to deliver a strong response to the Israeli airstrikes carried out last Tuesday.
Israel has relocated 190th Squadron of AH-64A Apache attack helicopters near Syrian, Lebanon borders
“Erdogan is an anti-Semitic dictator who massacred Kurds, harbors Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus, and imprisons a record number of journalists and political opponents. Now he is trying to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria. Israel will not tolerate this. Erdogan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will not succeed,”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after the Turkish Justice Minister announced an arrest warrant for him yesterday.
Israel has fully relocated the 190th Squadron (“Magic Touch”) — operating AH-64A Apache attack helicopters — to Ramat David Airbase in the north, near the borders with Syria and Lebanon, the IDF confirmed.
The permanent move from southern Ramon Airbase is intended to boost rapid-response capabilitie…
In the second footage of the video a Turkish miltary deployement in Syria
China rejects US demand on Iran
China has refused to join a US plan to “squash” Iran’s economy, rejecting Washington’s push to be part of the “toughest sanctions in history” against the Islamic Republic.
On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on American allies and other countries to choose sides and stop doing business with Iran, as Washington prepares what he touted as “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”
In an interview with CNBC, Bessent described the plan, expected to be unveiled on Monday, as “a one-two punch” combining a naval blockade with “the toughest sanctions in history.” He claimed it would “squash” the Iranian economy and “collapse this regime.”
Beijing, however, has rejected Washington’s call.
“Regarding the Iran issue, sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem,” Reuters quoted a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington as saying. “China calls on the relevant parties to take responsible actions and resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means.”
The Russian Army is steadily choking off Ukraine’s fuel supplies, and the recent strike on the KLO fuel depot in Brovary is yet another nail in the coffin of Ukraine’s military mobility.
On the night of August 20, Russian forces struck the KLO fuel and lubricants depot in Brovary, a city just northeast of Kiev, that was storing up to 8,000 cubic meters of fuel intended for Ukrainian forces.
Footage filmed by an eyewitness at the industrial site quickly spread across social media. The depot has ceased operations, according to Ukrainian media reports, and the company said that no site employees were injured.
Building a new gas station costs around $1.2 million, while protecting it against drone attacks costs about $44,800. Ukrainian fuel station network WOG claims that fully restoring a single station can cost up to $1.6 million. Depending on the extent of the damage, repairs can take up to ten weeks.
Since April 2026, Russia has been intensively targeting Ukrainian gas stations, according to Ukrainian media. The extent of the damage is being downplayed by the Ukrainian side. As early as July 6, Ekonomichna Pravda reported that 200 gas stations had been hit. Despite Russia’s military campaign, Ukrainian newspapers have stubbornly continued to cite that figure through the end of August.
Drone strike on Ukraine shopping centre kills six, injures 103
A Russian drone strike hit a major shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, killing six people and injuring 103, including eleven children. Officials said the attack came in two waves, with the second strike occurring as emergency crews were responding to the scene.
10 MINUTES OF NIGHTMARES’ VIDEO! The Major Houthi Attacks on Pro-Saudi Forces in Yemen
Houthis released a major video showing strikes against pro-Saudi forces in Yemen. Footage shows attacks on personnel and equipment in the southwest of the country.
Updates on AUGUST, 21, Breaking News in Video
Turkey requests Interpol red notice for Netanyahu over Sumud Flotilla
Turkey’s Ministry of Justice has asked Interpol to issue Red Notices for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an Israeli official on genocide charges, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced on Friday.
“Pursuant to the arrest warrants issued on 14 July 2026 for Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch on charges of genocide, our Ministry of Justice requested that the Ministry of Interior seek Interpol Red Notices for their international apprehension. The relevant documents have also been forwarded to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the minister said in a statement posted on X.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch are standing trial for crimes against humanity, genocide, aggravated unlawful deprivation of liberty, intentional injury, torture and ill-treatment, damage to property, aggravated robbery, and the hijacking or seizure of means of transport.
“The charges relate to the armed intervention against civilians delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza in international waters and the subsequent detention of activists.”
Ship traffic through Strait of Hormuz slides as peace talks stopped. Oil prices stay elevated
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped on Thursday compared with the previous day amid growing safety concerns in the Middle East, as US-Iran peace talks remain stalled, Reuters reports.
Citing preliminary data from ship-tracking company Kpler, Reuters reported that seven commodity vessels transited the waterway on Thursday, down from 14 ships on Wednesday. Of Thursday’s total, four vessels were entering the Gulf and three were exiting.
No supertankers or liquefied natural gas carriers were recorded passing through the narrow chokepoint, according to the data.
Oil prices held largely steady on Friday, with Brent crude futures gaining 4 cents, or 0.04 percent, to reach $93.82 a barrel as of 01:42 GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 6 cents, or 0.06 percent, to trade at $86.78.
The market remains on track for a second straight weekly gain as the stalemated US-Iran conflict continues to disrupt Middle East oil supplies.
Iran: New US sanctions amount to ‘economic terrorism,’ ‘crimes against humanity’
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned a new round of US economic sanctions against the country, stating that the measures amount to “economic terrorism” and “crimes against humanity.”
In a statement issued on Thursday, the ministry said the new sanctions, announced by the US government on the anniversary of the 1953 coup in Iran, demonstrate the continuation of decades of hostility toward the Iranian people.
“The new US sanctions are not only another indication of the continuation of 73 years of hostility by US policymakers toward the Iranian people, but also demonstrate the anti-human, lawless and hegemonic nature of the US government,”the statement said.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to financially punish any country providing an economic “lifeline” to Iran, as he declared an “economic D-Day” against Tehran.
The threat, six months into the US’s costly conflict with Iran, is Trump’s latest attempt to wield US economic power to achieve his foreign policy objectives, after a series of damaging trade wars earlier in his second term in office.
But Trump’s leverage over China and Russia, two important trade partners with Iran, is limited, analysts say. Russia is already under sweeping US sanctions and operates largely outside the US-led economic framework. China, meanwhile, has repeatedly shown it is willing to ignore US sanctions when doing so serves its own economic interests.
Israeli occupation turns West Bank Palestinian homes into military posts
Israeli occupation forces raided the West Bank town of Yaabad, southwest of Jenin, on Thursday evening and seized a Palestinian home, converting it into a military post.
Local sources told the Palestinian Wafa news agency that occupation forces informed homeowner Hamed Hamarsha that they would maintain control of his home for two days.
Yaabad has faced repeated Israeli occupation raids in recent months, including home invasions, the establishment of checkpoints, the closure of entrances, and restrictions on Palestinian movement.
In a separate incident, Israeli occupation forces raided and damaged the belongings and furniture inside a Palestinian home in Qusra, south of Nablus.
Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi told Wafa that occupation forces had converted the home of Yusuf Abdel Salam into a military post after besieging it for 12 consecutive days.
On Thursday evening, the forces destroyed the home’s belongings and furniture and threw them through the windows, according to Wadi.
The homeowner is currently staying in another besieged home after occupation soldiers forced him and his family to leave their residence, claiming that the area had been designated a “closed military zone.”
Israeli occupation intensifies attacks across southern Lebanon
Israeli occupation forces carried out a series of attacks across southern Lebanon on Thursday, including demolitions, artillery shelling, drone activity and the burning of homes, amid continued violations of the ceasefire.
The attacks targeted several towns and areas across the southern governorates, according to local reports.
In the Marjayoun district, Israeli occupation forces carried out a demolition operation on the outskirts of Mais al-Jabal and another in the town of Al-Tiri in the Bint Jbeil district.
An Israeli drone also dropped explosive material near the Ali al-Taher area in the Nabatieh region, were a few days ago 3 children were exterminated within their family
In Talsah, in the Marjayoun district, Israeli occupation forces set fire to several homes.
An Israeli Merkava tank subsequently shelled the outskirts of Baraachit in the Bint Jbeil district with several rounds.
Earlier Thursday, a major explosion was reported in the area between Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Yohmor al-Shqif, following another explosion in the al-Mashaa area of Mansouri, which was also subjected to artillery fire.
The continued attacks come despite the ceasefire, with Israeli occupation forcesmaintaining military operations across southern Lebanon and continuing to strike towns and villages, including through warplanes and drones.
Israeli forces advance with tanks and vehicles in southern Quneitra
Israeli occupation forces advanced on Thursday with two tanks and three military vehicles toward Tal al-Dariyat in the southern countryside of Quneitra, according to local Syrian sources.
The sources also reported that an Israeli occupation patrol advanced into the Tal al-Karoum area in the central countryside of Quneitra.
The Israeli occupation continues to carry out near-daily incursions into the Quneitra and Daraa countryside, accompanied by the establishment of temporary military checkpoints, searches of civilians and vehicles, and raids on homes.
The incursions have also involved the detention and interrogation of Syrians, as well as the bulldozing of agricultural land, according to local sources.
The old video below shows Israeli that tanks was now stationed in towns and villages in Syria’s southwest since 2024…
Yemen targets Saudi sites in Najran after airspace violation
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced that Yemeni forces had carried out two military operations using drones in Saudi Arabia’s Najran region, claiming that both operations successfully achieved their objectives.
Brigadier Saree said the first drone targeted a sensitive site at Najran Airport, while the second targeted Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Najran.
He asserted the operations were conducted as a response to what he called violations by the Saudi regime, including the use of drones in the airspace over Yemen’s Saada province.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces will continue to protect Yemen’s sovereignty against any violation and consolidate this equation,” Saree concluded.
In the video below one of the previous attacks by Houtis on a Yemeni Red Sea Port
Ukraine election debate grows as ousted Defense Minister Fedorov challenges Wartime Politics
Ukraine’s ousted defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for elections, intensifying a debate over political accountability during the war with Russia.
While most Ukrainians oppose holding elections during wartime, growing concerns about government accountability are adding pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Protesters in Kyiv said the recent government reshuffle showed that Ukrainians feel they are not being heard.
Opposition MP Oleksii Honcharenko questioned how elections could be held while missiles are falling, nearly one million Ukrainians are serving in the military and millions remain abroad.
Fedorov has argued Ukraine must find a way to restore the democratic process if the war continues for years. The debate highlights the challenge of maintaining democracy during a prolonged war. Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine reports from Kyiv.
Updates on AUGUST, 20, Breaking News in Video
Iran-Iraq ties built to resist Zionist meddling: Ghalibaf in Baghdad honored Generals Soleimani and al-Muhandis martyred by Trump
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday and delivered a speech at the site where General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were martyred, paying tribute to the two leaders of the Axis of Resistance, before the monument on these Iranian and Iraqi heores.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Baghdad during a speech before the monument on the Iranian and Iraqi heores General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
Ghalibaf said the US government had assassinated “the two heroes of the Axis of Resistance who saved the region from ISIS”,and said Iran’s resistance capabilities had been demonstrated during the Ramadan War.
He further stressed that his visit to Iraq was part of a new regional approach focused on bilateral cooperation with countries in the region, without foreign meddling. “Today, everyone has come to recognize the Zionist entity’s ugly nature”, Ghalibaf stressed.
Iranian Parliament Speaker: US is behind regional crises
Ghalibaf affirmed that during his visit to Iraq, he would meet with senior Iraqi government officials and politicians and participate in the Arbaeen commemorations for the martyred Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei,Lebanese TV Al Mayadeen has reported.
Just during this religious event, on July, 30, a joint Saudi-US struck on positions of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU), commonly known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, across the country, which have killed at least 20 resistance fighters and wounded 32 others (details here).
Iranian Parliament speaker also described relations between Iran and Iraq as deeply rooted, saying they reflected ties between two neighboring countries based on a shared destiny, adding that past experiences would guide the two countries toward a bright future.
During his meeting with Amidi, Ghalibaf said Iran and Iraq have recognized that the United States and its policies constitute a principal factor behind the region’s problems.
He said Washington is responsible for problems affecting the Gulf and obstacles facing regional energy markets, linking them to the United States’ reliance on military intervention and war.
“America approached the Gulf states and the region with the aim of plundering and looting their resources,” Ghalibaf said.
The Russian Armed Forces liberated the settlements of Matyashevo and Nikolaipolye in the DPR
The Russian Armed Forces liberated the settlements of Matyashevo and Nikolaipolye in the DPR, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reports.
3 SHOKING VIDEOS – Russia Carried out a massive missile attack on Kiev WIPING Weapons Facilities and Warehouse
Russia carried out a massive missile attack on Kyiv in the night on August, 19, alongside 168 drones, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 40
Last night, August, 19, Kiev was under attack again. In the capital of the Ukraine has received dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at logistics and industrial facilities.
More than 25 missiles have struck Kyiv, including Iskander-M ballistic missiles, allegedly North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles, and 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles.
Additionally, Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers launched Kh-101 cruise missiles, while a Buyan-M-class corvette launched several 3M14 Kalibr cruise missiles, which are expected to enter Ukrainian airspace soon.
Fires were recorded on the territory of the Antonov plant,whose capacity can be used to assemble long-range UAVs. Heat tags of fires are also marked in the area of the railway junction to the south of the enterprise (video below).
Two more groups of targets were hit in Svyatoshinsky and Darnitsky districts of Kiev. In particular, fires were recorded in the vicinity of the large Darnitsa railway station, which serves industrial facilities located in its vicinity.
In Brovary, the Russian Armed Forces attacked a fuel storage facility near a city railway junction. There have been numerous fires in the area of the facility, but it is impossible to talk about damage to fuel tanks until additional satellite images are available.
In the Boryspil area, the target of the raid was the Zamler Group logistics complex, the territory of which could be used to store dual-use goods: commercial and military ones. A strong fire in the warehouse was captured by the Ukrainian media (video below).
In addition, the Ukraine nnounced an attack by “Geraniums” at the Reni checkpoint on the border of the Ukraine and Moldova. The fact of the attack is indirectly confirmed by thermal tags in the area of the border crossing.
Russian troops continue to take advantage of the lack of anti-ballistic missile weapons in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As can be seen from the footage from the field, it is these munitions that ensure the destruction of the most important targets, such as logistics hubs or components of large industrial areas
Two explosions hit the regional headquarters of the National Police of Ukraine: 2 cops Killed
Footage filmed in Zhytomyr shows the moment two explosions hit a building housing the regional headquarters of the National Police of Ukraine on August 19.
Ukrainian officials said Russian Banderol-type drones struck the building, killing two police officers and injuring at least 20 people. The attack caused a fire on the roof and upper floors of the building.
Ex-deputy head of Zelensky’s office Mudraya detained
Irina Mudraya, deputy head of Vladimir Zelensky’s office, who was sacked amid a corruption scandal, has been detained and will spend the night in a detention facility, Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Alexey Goncharenko (designated as terrorist and extremist in Russia) said on Wednesday.
Irina Mudraya
“Irina Mudraya has been detained. She is currently under an investigative procedure at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine [NABU]. She will stay during this night at a temporary detention facility,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
“The Americans are building this personnel reserve from the NABU people. And they already have a [reserve] for all the bodies that will be in the competition. They took the customs away from us, the BEB [the Economic Security Bureau], ARMU [National Agency of Ukraine for Asset Recovery and Management] will be taken now, NABU, SAP,” she stated.
“Klimenko will win again, and that’s it, and he’ll secure a second term for seven years, and that will be the end for everyone,” Mudraya noted.
A video from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) about corruption in the highest echelons of power contains a recording of Mudraya’s conversation with a former Rada deputy, in which she says she is unhappy with the lack of control over head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) Alexander Klimenko.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies launched a special operation against a criminal group led by a former and a current member of the Verkhovna Rada, which includes officials from Zelensky’s office. NABU later said the criminal group includes Mudraya, an ex-Rada deputy, and the chairman of a state bank.
Updates on AUGUST, 19, Breaking News in Video
Deadly Gaza City drone attack by IDF hits police post: 9 Killed
A total of nine people have now been reported killed by the Israeli drone attack in central Gaza City, according to a local ambulance source cited by our colleagues on the ground.
In the past hour, a drone attack targeted a police post here in Gaza City. The attack happened during a busy time in the central part of the city, near the municipality and a city park which was filled with people, including children.
A few hours ago, another attack targeted a motorcycle in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. One person was reported killed in that attack.
Israeli army to hold its positions in Gaza
The Israeli military will not withdraw from the so-called Yellow Line and will hold its positions in the Gaza Strip, while Israel will not change its approach toward targeted operations against armed radicals, Dmitri Gendelman, adviser to the Israeli prime minister’s office, told TASS.
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces – TASS) will not retreat from the ‘Yellow Line’, will remain in its current positions and will continue to counter any threats to its forces and citizens. Israel will not change its approach to targeted killings of militants either,”he said after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Russia’s Submarine Built To Launch Devastating Poseidon Nuclear Drones begins Sea Trials
Russia’s Project 09851 Khabarovsk special-purpose nuclear submarine appears to have begun its first factory sea trials after being photographed leaving Severodvinsk on August 17. The voyage takes Russia’s first submarine designed from the outset around the Poseidon underwater weapon from shipyard construction into at-sea testing.
Khabarovsk was laid down at Sevmash on July 27, 2014. It was rolled out of its construction hall on November 1, 2025, and physically lowered into the water later that month before undergoing final outfitting and dockside tests.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the submarine was built to deploy modern underwater weapons, including robotic systems. Its detailed specifications remain classified, but it is widely assessed to carry up to six Poseidon vehicles.
Poseidon is an autonomous, nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone designed to travel across intercontinental distances. Instead of flying through the radar and interceptor networks built to detect ballistic missiles, it approaches its target beneath the ocean.
Iran downed over 200 enemy aircraft during US-Israeli aggression: IRGC deputy chief
The deputy chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Iran’s air defense systems shot down more than 200 enemy aircraft, including drones and manned aircraft, during the recent US-Israeli aggression,Iranian Press Tv has reported
An Iranian strike in March, 29, 2026 on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia destroyed a U.S. E-3 Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft and heavily damaged or destroyed several KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft
Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday, Major General Mostafa Izadi said that the downing of over 200 enemy aircraft had stirred serious public scrutiny in the United States and fueled internal instability within the Israeli regime.
He added that the enemy had entered the war with a calculated scenario of “regime change” and disintegration, but suffered defeat on all fronts and failed to gain access to Iran’s nuclear industry.
Turning to the role of the Iranian people in the enemy’s defeat, Gen. Izadi emphasized that the people’s conscious presence had neutralized all enemy ploys, to the extent that national cohesion and authority were strengthened more than ever before.
He also noted that, according to available information, 80 percent of young Americans oppose war with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iranian strikes expose US military vulnerability as Pentagon weighs Persian Gulf pullback
Iran’s sustained retaliatory strikes against US military positions across West Asia have exposed the vulnerability of Washington’s military footprint in the region, prompting the Pentagon to examine whether the American presence in the Persian Gulf should be scaled back after the war on Iran, according to a report.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing eight people familiar with the matter, that the Pentagon’s policy office is conducting an initial assessment of the future of the US military footprint in West Asia.
The review is examining whether bases damaged by Iranian missile and drone strikes should be rebuilt in their previous form or whether Washington should use the destruction to establish a smaller military presence.
The assessment is not yet a formal review ordered by War Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to a senior Pentagon official cited by the Post, who described it as “prudent planning” that could eventually inform decisions on the future of US forces in the region.
The newspaper said the damage inflicted by Iranian missile and drone strikes has given some US officials an opportunity to reconsider Washington’s long-standing military footprint in West Asia.
More than 200 US military facilities have reportedly been damaged or destroyed, according to the Post, while six US service members were killed in a March Iranian strike on Port Shuaiba, a military facility in Kuwait.
Iran warns regional states over military cooperation with US due to they can’t defend their bases
Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Ali Abdollahi said on Wednesday that regional states providing support to US forces could be regarded as parties to any military action against Iran.
Abdollahi added that, “It is unlikely that military aircraft and refueling aircraft would be stationed at regional bases without the knowledge of the host countries”.
In a similar vein, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi commented on Tuesday on the regional balance of power, stating that the recent war “proved that America cannot even defend its own bases”.
The foreign minister also confirmed diplomatic channels between Iran and the United States, noting that Qatar and Pakistan “have played an effective mediation role between Iran and Washington”, adding that “currently, relations between Tehran and Doha are going through a very positive phase”.
Iran rejects UAE’s missile claim, warns of ‘false-flag operations’
Iran has rejected a United Arab Emirates’ claim that Tehran launched two ballistic missiles towards the country, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei warning regional states against making unfounded accusations and urging vigilance over a history of “false-flag operations” seeking to implicate blameless parties.
Remarking on Tuesday, the official categorically rejected that Iran had launched any projectiles towards the UAE, deploring such accusations.
He stressed that such conduct runs counter to the principle of good-neighborliness and undermines ongoing efforts to build trust among regional countries and prevent a further escalation of insecurity in the region.
The spokesman also called on regional parties to take into account the complexities created by the continued “malign actions” of the United States and the Israeli regime against regional peace and security.
In this context, Baghaei specifically referred to the history of multiple “false-flag operations” and urged regional countries to refrain from making unfounded accusations against the Islamic Republic.
“We call on all regional parties to avoid baseless accusations against Iran.”
Earlier in the day, the UAE defense ministry had alleged that its air defenses had “detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards the country.”Also on Tuesday, a Press TV reporter revealed that reports claiming Iran launched missile attacks against the Emirates were unfounded.
Updates on AUGUST, 18, Breaking News in Video
‘Israel’ struck Syrian airport after notifying US: Israeli official
A senior Israeli official revealed that intelligence was shared with the United States prior to Israeli strikes on Abu al-Duhur Airport in the Idlib countryside, after US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack expressed concern that the operations constitute an unnecessary escalation.
The Israeli official, speaking to Fox News, said that “highly sensitive intelligence was shared with the United States in advance” of the strikes. The official also commented on Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, stating, “Al-Sharaa understands that he cannot operate like the previous Syrian regime, which maintained proxy forces. It’s possible that he didn’t understand what was going on, or didn’t know.”
Iran threatens the US with a forceful breakthrough of the Hormuz blockade
The American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will be broken by force if the United States fails to comply with the terms of the peace agreement, Reuters reports, citing a senior Iranian official.
Iran is threatening the United States in a way it hasn’t done before. But the current conflict has exposed the United States’ weakness, which Tehran has exploited. Currently, the Iranians are threatening to break the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz if Washington ignores Iran’s terms of the peace agreement.
Tehran is ready to shift from a defensive to an offensive policy, with virtually no hope that the conflict can be resolved through negotiations. According to the British publication, Iran has begun dictating its terms to the US, declaring that if Trump fails to reach an agreement with the Iranian authorities within a few weeks, force will be used.
Blood of martyrs of US-Israeli aggression against Iran ‘will not go unavenged’: Ghalibaf
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf vows that the Islamic Republic will not let the blood of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and other martyrs of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against the nation “go unavenged.”, Iranian Press Tv has reported.
The top legislator made the remarks on Tuesday, honoring the memories of the 168 victims, mostly comprising schoolchildren, who were fatally targeted at a school in the southern Iranian city of Minab in the opening airstrikes of the February 28-April 7 aggression.
He pledged that, under the guidance of Ayatollah Khamenei’s son and successor, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, the Islamic Republic will “devote all its capabilities to securing the rights of the Iranian people, ending the aggression, punishing the aggressor, and upholding the country’s honor and standing.”
“We will not allow the enemy to target [our] national unity, the popular participation [in support of the Islamic Republic], the nation’s resilience, or the motivation of our officials,” he added.
Ghalibaf slams ‘misplaced’ US attempts at ‘squeezing Iran harder’
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, says the US is misplaced in “squeezing Iran harder” to win concessions in a post on X.
Ghalibaf said, “Americans think squeezing Iran harder will win concessions that were never part of the agreement. [US Treasury Secretary Scott] Bessent and [War Secretary Pete] Hegseth are way out of their league. Stop waiting for the clown crew to pull a rabbit out of their hat and clean up the mess you made”.
Ghalibaf says Hormuz to remain closed until US meets MoU conditions
The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States meets the conditions of the interim deal with Iran, including lifting the naval blockade and sanctions as well as the release of Iran’s frozen assets, says Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
“Let me state clearly: until the commitments made by the United States in the memorandum of understanding, including the lifting of the blockade, the release of frozen assets, the lifting of oil sanctions, the end of threats and military operations on all fronts, and other conditions to which America agreed in the memorandum, are implemented, the Strait will not be opened,” Ghalibaf said.
Ghalibaf also warned that internal divisions would weaken Iran and encourage foreign adversaries. The latest statement comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz remaining a major flashpoint for regional security, energy supplies and international shipping.
Russian troops gained direct access to a major Ukrainian defense hub after liberating Krasnopodolye
Three footage in one VIDEO
1st footage – Russian troops gained direct access to a major Ukrainian defense hub after liberating Krasnopodolye, located 3 km from Dobropolye, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. Video: Russian Defense Ministry/TASS
2nd footage – Dnepropetrovsk Oblast: Intelligence footage confirms the destruction of two locomotives with freight cars using Geran drones near Shakhterskoye. The strike severely disrupted rail logistics in the region.
3rd footage – Kiev on fire after the heavy
Moscow: 791 Ukrainian drones flew over Russia last night
Ukrainian forces launched 791 drones last night against 15 Russian regions, including Moscow, as well as occupied Crimea and the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that all the aircraft were intercepted, but local authorities reported several injuries. The Tass news agency reported this. Furthermore, Wildberries, a leading Russian online retailer, said its warehouse suffered minor damage in a raid in the Moscow region.
In the Ukrainian town of Energodar, near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one resident was killed and 15 injured this morning in a Ukrainian drone attack on a bus stop, according to Mayor Maxim Pukhov.
Attempted UAV attack on Moscow largest in two years
The attempted attack on Moscow by hostile drones was the largest in the past two years, according to TASS calculations based on data released by Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
According to the mayor, 620 UAVs flew toward Moscow and the Moscow Region between Monday evening and 5:00 a.m. Moscow time on Tuesday, with 180 drones destroyed in the capital region. “Emergency services are working at the sites where debris fell,” the mayor said on his official Max channel.
Prior to this, the largest attempted hostile drone attack took place between the evening of August 15 and 6:30 a.m. Moscow time on August 16. According to the mayor, 600 UAVs flew toward the capital, with 201 destroyed in the Moscow Region.
Sobyanin also reported that between the evening of July 6 and 6:00 a.m. Moscow time on July 7, air defense forces downed more than 430 drones, including 36 while approaching Moscow.
In addition, between 8:30 p.m. Moscow time on July 19 and 5:00 a.m. on July 20, more than 400 UAVs flew toward Moscow and the surrounding region. Most of them, Sobyanin said, were neutralized by air defenses at distant approaches, while 85 were destroyed while approaching the capital.
The mayor previously reported that more than 390 drones flew toward the Moscow Region between 8:30 p.m. Moscow time on July 27 and 6:30 a.m. on July 28, while more than 370 UAVs flew toward the region between 8:30 p.m. on July 17 and the early hours of July 18, most of which were neutralized by air defenses at distant approaches. Sobyanin also said that more than 300 hostile UAVs were destroyed between the evening of July 11 and the evening of July 12, including 45 while approaching Moscow. More than 200 hostile drones flew toward the capital on July 4.
The mayor reported the most massive attack on March 11, 2025. At the time, he said that “74 drones were downed while approaching Moscow, while hundreds of combat drones were shot down at various defensive lines overall.”
Updates on AUGUST, 17, Breaking News in Video
BREAKING NEWS – Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it ‘gets in the way’ of Strait of Hormuz talks with Iran
President Donald Trump threatened in an interview with Fox News to bomb Oman if it interferes in a potential deal with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the news outlet reported.
Oman has been negotiating with Tehran over the vital shipping route, where maritime traffic has nearly ground to a halt as talks on ending the U.S. war with Iran have stalled.
Below the CNN Breaking News keynotes about:
• Threat to Oman: President Donald Trump warned of an attack on Oman if it “gets in the way” of efforts in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump previously threatened the US ally in May.
• Iran agreement expires: The 60-day deadline for the two sides to reach a deal toward ending the conflict has now passed. Trump again said he is in no rush and claimed his administration has established a direct backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the IRGC denies.
• Main priority: The president reiterated that the top goal in the war is preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, undercutting advisers who say keeping oil prices low is an important priority.
• Gaza ceasefire plan: Meanwhile, after Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today for over four hours, Kushner said Hamas could disarm soon but indicated the US would support further Israeli military action in Gaza if not.
«US President Donald Trump threatened today to attack Oman if it interferes with US efforts in the Strait of Hormuz, as the conflict with Iran continues and a two-month window for peace talks expires without a clear path to end the war» CNN has reported in a video.
Trump’s comments come as the 60-day window for peace talks between the US and Iran, agreed to in June, closed Monday without any concrete plans announced for the war to end. Meanwhile, Iran said Monday that its talks with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz are complex but continuing.
In the latest days POTUS said that he wants to declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory: “I’ll Never Apologize” War Crimes
Ukraine again Failed to Shoot Down a Single Ballistic or Hypersonic Missile last Night
Ukraine again Failed to Shoot Down a Single Ballistic or Hypersonic Missile last Night
This follows from the summary of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Air Force Ukraine was attacked on the last night (August 16, 2026) nby Onyx, Iskander-M, S-400, KN-23 and Kh-59/69 missiles, as well as 106 drones.
3 FOOTAGES IN ONE VIDEO – legenda below
1st Footage – Kiev on fire after the heavy strikes which hit also the market of book in retaliation to the yet another attack on a distribution center of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer with two million visitors a day.
2nd footage – Russian troops are delivering precision strikes on Ukraine’s military and fuel infrastructure
In the Kiev-controlled part of the Zaporizhia region, a gas station and related equipment were hit. The fact of the attack was confirmed by the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov. In the north of the Kharkiv region, the Russian Aerospace Forces are launching guided aerial bombs at enemy positions and fortifications. This is reported by local publications.
Direct hits to infrastructure facilities were recorded in Sumy, and large fires broke out in the affected areas. A massive raid by unmanned aerial vehicles continues in the Odessa region, explosions are heard in Sanzheyka. Systematic attacks on the fuel infrastructure leave the Ukrainian army without fuel at a time when the Western allies are reporting on the supply of new batches of weapons that have nothing to refuel.
3d footage – Russian FAB-500s level Ukrainian drone hub
The Russian forces сonducted a strike on the Ukrainian National Guard’s drone command post in the settlement of Dobropolye in the Donetsk People’s Republic using four FAB-500 high-explosive aerial bombs, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said.
Russian forces strike defense industry facilities, oil refinery, steel plant
Russian forces struck defense industry facilities in Kiev, the Kremenchug oil refinery and a steel plant in Krivoy Rog, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“Russian forces struck Fire Point in Kiev, a company producing components, warheads and solid-fuel boosters for Flamingo ground-launched cruise missiles. Russian troops also struck Ukrdefense Company in Kiev, which produces components for strike drones, Khrushch interceptor drones and Garpiya air defense drones,” the Defense Ministry said.
Below the previous attack on Fire Point facility launched one week ago
Russian forces struck the Kremenchug oil refinery in the Poltava Region, where the remaining storage tanks continue handling fuel and lubricants supplied from abroad. The Russian military struck steelmaking facilities in Krivoy Rog in the Dnepropetrovsk Region, producing rolled steel for weapons and military equipment.
Russian forces also struck a dry cargo ship carrying military equipment for Ukrainian forces at the port of Odessa, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Russian forces hit Ukrainian uncrewed boats production facility
Russian drones struck facilities for the production and storage of components for uncrewed boats used by Ukraine to attack Russian coastal cities, ships and infrastructure facilities in the Black Sea, the Russian defense ministry said.
“During the day, Russian attack unmanned aerial vehicles struck in the settlement of Belgorod-Dnestrovsky (40 kilometers southwest of Odessa): a production facility and a depot holding warheads and components for uncrewed boats used to attack ships and energy infrastructure facilities in the Black Sea, and Russian cities on the Black Sea coast,” it said.
Russian forces hit three dry cargo ships, two tankers at Odessa port
Russian forces struck three dry cargo ships and two tankers, as well as fuel tanks at the port of Odessa, the Russian defense ministry said.
“Three dry cargo ships and two sea-going tankers used to deliver military cargoes and fuels for the Ukrainian army, as well as fuel tanks and warehouses holding military products were struck at the port of Odessa,” it said.
Russian air defenses down 822 Ukrainian drones overnight
Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 822 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Russian regions and the Black and Azov Seas overnight (august, 16, 2026), the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“Russian air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 822 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles over Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov and Tula regions, the Moscow Region, the Krasnodar Region and the Republic of Crimea, as well as over the Azov and Black Seas, from 8 p.m. Moscow time (5 p.m. GMT) on August 15 to 8 a.m. Moscow time (5 a.m. GMT) on August 16,” the Defense Ministry said.
Three killed, one injured in drone attack on Russia’s Rostov Region
Three people were killed and one more was injured in a drone attack on southern Russia’s Rostov Region, Governor Yury Slyusar reported.
“Last night, three people were killed as a result of an aerial attack on the Rostov Region, and one more has been hospitalized with injuries,” he wrote on Max channel.
More than 150 UAVs were destroyed over three cities and nine districts in the region in the Ukrainian attack, the official added.
Below the previous UAV attacks on Russia town of Nizhenekamsk wichiu killed 11 civilians including children
Three injured as Moscow comes under massive drone attack
Three people were injured in a drone attack near the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (MKAD), according to Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
“Defense Ministry air defense capabilities have downed another nine drones targeting Moscow. Three people were injured near MKAD, they are being given all necessary assistance. Emergency specialists are working at the scene where [drone] debris fell,” Sobyanin wrote on Max channel.
Since midnight (August,16,2026), as many as 132 unmanned aerial vehicles flying toward the Russian capital have been shot down, calculations by TASS based on the mayor’s posts show.
Updates on AUGUST, 16, Breaking News in Video
Elon Musk’s Starlink promised faster data for US Drone, Iran’s air defenses promised faster downing
Iranian state television is showing, for the first time, evidence that Elon Musk’s “Starlink” devices are being used in U.S. military drones.
The IRGC is now displaying wreckage from 171 downed US and Israeli aircraft and drones — including MQ-9 Reapers, Hermes 900s, an F-15 fighter jet, and Starlink modems recovered from the wreckage.
Saudi-linked port halts operations following attacks by Yemeni armed forces (Houthis)
Yemen’s Mokha port has suspended commercial and maritime operations after the Yemeni armed forces targeted it with more than 25 missiles in recent days, the port’s director said on Saturday.
The attacks killed seven people and caused an estimated $16 million in losses, the director told a news conference.
Mokha is a Red Sea port near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a strategic chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and a key route for international shipping.
The port is controlled by Saudi-linked mercenaries. It has a smaller cargo capacity than Yemen’s main ports of Aden and Hodeidah, according to Iranian Press TV.
On Friday, spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in a statement that the armed forces subjected Saudi Arabia-linked targets to fresh heavy strikes.
He added that the servicemen targeted “warships belonging to its (Riyadh’s) tools and mercenaries in the al-Mokha area, using a large number of ballistic missiles.”
Hezbollah: Israeli Occupation’s Continued Attacks on Lebanon will receive an Appropriate Response
Hezbollah condemned on Saturday the major Israeli enemy’s escalation in southern Lebanon, affirming the Israeli occupation army carried out brutal massacres against civilians and warning that continued attacks and violations of Lebanese sovereignty would be met with an appropriate response, Al Manar Lebanese TV has reported.
In a statement, Hezbollah said Lebanese residents woke at dawn to an aggressive escalation and a brutal massacre allegedly carried out by the criminal Zionist enemy against civilians in the south. It said Israeli strikes targeted a home on the outskirts of the southern town of Ansar and a building in Deir Al-Zahrani, killing 11 people, including women and children, and wounding 12 others.
“Those grave crimes add to Israel’s long record of “massacres, crimes, and the shedding of Lebanese blood, as well as the destruction of homes, the bulldozing of farmland, and the erasure of entire villages,” the statement read.
Hezbollah said responsibility for the Israeli enemy’s continued aggression and violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty rested with the Israeli government and the United States, which it accused of providing Israel with political and military backing and cover.
At the same time, the group called on the Lebanese authorities to explore every available means to halt the Israeli attacks rather than persist with the humiliating direct negotiations and offer “Israel” free concessions, despite the Israeli enemy’s repeated crimes and attacks, as well as its openly stated aggressive and expansionist intentions toward Lebanon.
The Lebanese Parents of Child Martyrs Association on Saturday condemned a new Israeli massacre in the southern town of Ansar that killed a family of six, including four children, and called on Lebanese authorities to document the attack and pursue accountability through regional and international legal channels.
People check a destroyed home that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ansar village, southern Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo:Mohammed Zaatari via Al Manar Lebanese TV)
«In a statement, the association condemned the Israeli occupation army’s pre-dawn attack on a family in Ansar on August 15, 2026, which killed Ali Al-Hajj Hassan, his wife, Zeinab Nassereddine, and their children Zahraa, Hassan, Hussein, and Abbas» Al Manar Lebanese TV has reported.
Updates on AUGUST, 14-15, Breaking News in Video
Aoun, Salam condemn Israeli massacres in South Lebanon
Israeli forces carried out a series of airstrikes and attacks across South Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least nine people and wounding 11 in the past 24 hours, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent, citing the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Our correspondent reported that an Israeli strike on Deir al-Zahrani targeted a building along the town’s main highway. Ambulances rushed to the scene amid initial reports of a massacre, while rescue teams worked to assess the casualties and search for survivors.
The Health Ministry reported that the preliminary toll from the Deir al-Zahrani attack stood at two martyrs and nine wounded, bringing the reported toll from the two attacks to at least nine martyrs and 11 wounded.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned on Saturday the Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, stressing that these violations constitute a “clear message to the negotiating process and to US efforts aimed at implementing the framework agreement”.
For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the Israeli escalation since dawn as “extremely dangerous”, saying that the strikes and heavy bombardment targeting Nabatieh, Ansar, Deir al-Zahrani, and neighboring villages were undermining efforts to establish stability in the South, as he posted on his X account.
The Israeli escalation began with an Israeli airstrike on an inhabited home in Ansar, in the Nabatieh district, killing seven people, including three children and two women, while two others were wounded, according to the Health Ministry.
Houthis used 6 ballistic missiles in al-Makha attack, Yemen army says
Yemen’s Houthi rebels used six ballistic missiles in their Friday attack on the port of al-Makha, the internationally-recognised government’s army has said in a statement.
One port security official was killed while two sailors went missing, the army’s statement said. At least 8 civilians were injured in the attack, it added.
Attacking the port, a key hub for the inflow of food and goods, as well as civilian infrastructure, shows the Houthi group’s “determination to impose a suffocating siege on the Yemeni people”, military spokesperson Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili added.
Yemeni Armed Forces Strike Aramco Refinery in Jizan with Two Drones
A Yemeni military source told the Saba News Agency: “The Yemeni Armed Forces targeted an Aramco refinery in the Jizan region with two drones, and the strike was precise”
“The targeting comes in response to the Saudi enemy’s violation of Yemeni airspace and the country’s sovereignty in the governorates of Saada and Hajjah,” the sources added.
Qalibaf says he halted talks, warned of immediate strike after Israeli assault on Beirut’s Dahiyeh
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says he halted negotiations following the latest Israeli attack on Beirut’s Dahiyeh and said Iran will hit the regime immediately.
Speaking at a gathering of cultural elites on Saturday, Qalibaf said, “In the latest attack on Dahiyeh, I halted the negotiations and announced: ‘Tonight, we will strike the regime, and if the regime responds, we will strike the entire region.’”
He said the outcome was that “the blockade was lifted that same night.”
The top Iranian negotiator also referred to talks over the Strait of Hormuz, saying a reopening had been scheduled for 30 days under an understanding.
He said that after US President Donald Trump said on social media that the blockade and the Strait of Hormuz would be opened together “tonight,” he warned, “If the false claim about the Strait of Hormuz is not corrected, we will carry out an attack.”
According to Qalibaf, Trump was forced to correct his post, which he described as an example of “negotiating as a form of fighting.”
Teheran Govt: “Hormuz cannot be conquered with a tweet or an aircraft carrier”
Iran, however, was quick to react to the US president’s statement.
“The Strait of Hormuz was Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian. This strait will be opened and closed only on Iran’s orders,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi reiterated on X on Saturday morning.
“It cannot be conquered with a tweet or an aircraft carrier, nor with a presidential decree, nor with an election campaign speech,” he added.
US Navy official denied worsening conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln which is leaving Persian Gulf
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is en route to the United States after completing an extended mission of more than 260 days in the Middle East, necessitated by specific operational needs in the area.
«A U.S official told NBC News that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is set to head home from the Mideast. It comes as some families report poor living conditions for the sailors and marines on board». NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez reports.
Acting Secretary of the US Navy Hung Cao says that reports of dire conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln amid the US-Israel war with Iran, including accounts of sailors trying to jump overboard, have been blown out of proportion.
“Legitimate challenges of a long combat deployment are being twisted into a false narrative, while the genuine difficulties faced by military families are being used for headlines,”Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell chimed in on X. “That is shameful.”
Earlier today, US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about conditions on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump rejected the assertion that the families of those on board the aircraft carrier are worried about their loved ones.
“The Sailors aboard the Lincoln are doing what American warriors have always done: remaining resilient, focused on the mission, and proud of their service on this historic deployment,” Parnell added. “We stand with them”.
Trump wants to declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory: “I’ll Never Apologize” War Crimes
Trump wants to declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory
Donald Trump said that after the completion of the military operation against Iran, he intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz the territory of the United States.
“After we finish defeating Iran … pretty soon I will declare the Strait of Hormuz the territory of the United States,” the American president said, adding that the United States allegedly already controls the passage of ships through the strait.
Meanwhile, a large-scale oil spill was reported in the Strait of Hormuz after a missile strike on the Minoan Pioneer bulk carrier. The oil slick spread over more than 300 km, an area comparable to about 40,000 football fields.
Don told Americans to show some patience and PAY MORE for gas while he bombs more girls in Iran as part of his ego play.
“What we’re doing is a great service for — not only for ourselves, for the world,” the failed emperor declared.
Russian attacks hit 11 locations across Ukraine as grain ports come under fire
Cities across Ukraine are facing near-daily Russian attacks, with 11 locations hit overnight on Thursday, including Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Kramatorsk.
Several people were killed and more than two dozen wounded, including children. Ukraine says more than 100 drones were launched, but it is no longer releasing figures for missiles used, citing security concerns and shortages of interceptor missiles.
Ukraine’s grain industry is also suffering from repeated Russian attacks on ports. Hundreds of vessels have been targeted by both sides in the Black Sea over the past month, prompting Ukraine to propose a ceasefire covering civilian vessels.
Kyiv says this would allow ports to reopen and farmers to export their harvest during a crucial period. Russia has not yet responded to the proposal.
These attacks came in retaliation for the ongoing lethal attacks on civilian buildings launched by the Ukrainian military.
Russian Armed Forces liberate Rybalskyoe in Zaporozhye Region
The Russian Armed Forces liberated Rybalskyoe in the Zaporozhye Region within 24 hours, the Defense Ministry reported.
“As a result of decisive actions by units of the Battlegroup East, the village of Rybalskoye in the Zaporozhye Region has been liberated,” the statement reads.
The liberation of Rybalskoye in the Zaporozhye region allowed the Battlegroup East to expand its zone of control northwest of Novoye Pole and continue its advance, the ministry added.
“During the fighting, units of the Battlegroup East broke through the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defenses. The enemy suffered losses of up to a company of personnel. Seven armored combat vehicles, 10 vehicles, 13 ground robotic systems, and more than 20 R-18 heavy hexacopters were destroyed. The liberation of Rybalskyoe allowed units of the Battlegroup East to expand their zone of control northwest of Novoye Pole and continue their advance in the special military operation zone in the Zaporpzhye region,” the ministry said.
Updates on AUGUST, 12-13, Breaking News in Video
US Ambassador to Israel: “Settler Siege of Palestinian Homes Is Terrorism”
“The actions of those who carried out this horrific act of terrorism, aimed at intimidating and harassing this family, are abhorrent,” the US ambassador to Israel wrote on X, referring to Israeli settlers besieging the home of two Palestinian families in Qusra, in the West Bank.
“There is no excuse for such violent behavior,” Mike Huckabee wrote on X. Among the homes targeted is one owned by a US citizen.
The Israeli army (IDF) has reversed its decision to evacuate Palestinian families whose homes are under siege by settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra, near Nablus, for several days.
The public broadcaster Kan reported, specifying that the commander of the IDF Central Command, General Avi Blot, ordered that soldiers enter only unoccupied homes.
The decision, Kan emphasizes, follows criticism of Israel for its handling of the situation in Qusra. The IDF had initially asked residents of the besieged homes, as well as other residences, to leave their homes for a few days in anticipation of a military operation in the area.
Israeli settlers lay siege to Palestinian family with two daughters
Armed Israeli settlers and Israeli occupation forces have besieged two Palestinian families in their homes since the weekend in an effort to usurp their properties in the West Bank village of Qusra through intimidation.
On Sunday afternoon, armed settlers and Israeli soldiers surrounded Yousef Hassan’s home, erecting a tent just outside and effectively trapping him inside with his wife and their two young daughters, leaving the family confined as the intimidation campaign unfolded around them.
The Israeli men gathered only meters from the location where 28-year-old Amir Moatasem Odeh was killed by a settler in March. Another attacker stabbed Odeh’s father. No arrests have been made in connection with the killing and assault.
“Every night, the settlers throw stones, use obscene language, and shout during the night. We are living in a state of terror,” Hassan said.
‘We will not withdraw’: Katz on Israeli forces in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza
Katz made the remarks on Wednesday during a visit to Israeli occupation forces deployed inside southern Lebanon, according to Israeli media platform Divuhim Online, as senior commanders discussed military preparations for a possible future confrontation with the Lebanese Resistance.
“The Israeli army is here to stay in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza and to protect the entire State of Israel,” Katz said. “We are up above and they are down below. I have instructed the Israeli army to take all necessary steps to prepare for a long-term presence in the area.”
The declaration comes almost two months after Lebanon and “Israel” agreed to a US-sponsored framework involving the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, the disarmament of Hezbollah, and the deployment of the Lebanese Army, beginning in designated test areas known as “pilot zones.”
«His remarks provide an unusually explicit articulation of an Israeli policy increasingly centered on maintaining military control beyond occupied Palestine’s internationally recognized borders, under the pretext of creating buffer or “security” zones.»Al Mayadeen Lebanese TV freported.
Such declarations reinforce longstanding warnings that Israeli military expansion is not intended as a temporary security measure, but as an effort to entrench occupation and impose new realities by force.
IRGC: No Ship Can Safely Pass through Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s Permission
Spokesperson for the Central Headquarters of Khatam al-Anbiya (PBUH) affirmed that no ship can pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian permission and supervision.
The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters is the highest operational military command center of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, located in Tehran.
Washington’s baseless claims about the normal movement of ships through Hormuz are nothing but lies, he added.
Meanwhile, hte head of the Basij Mobilization Group, Hojjatoleslam Hussein Taeb, said, “The Americans ignited a war in the Strait of Hormuz to change the balance of power, but they were defeated once again.”
He added, “The Strait of Hormuz is under the administration and control of the Islamic Republic, and Iran continues its path in complete security and stability.
Updates on AUGUST, 11, Breaking News in Video
HUNTER BIDEN to Carlson: “Bibi Netanyahu evil incarnate…”
HUNTER BIDEN: ‘If it’s antisemitic to point out that Bibi Netanyahu evil incarnate… don’t know what to say to people anymore… just open your eyes’
TUCKER: ‘It’s such an obvious lie’
HUNTER: ‘How is it possible that they’re dividing us on things like that?’
TUCKER: ‘I agree’
Russian armed forces launched a coordinated attack on defense facilities in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia
The Russian armed forces launched a coordinated attack on defense industry facilities and transportation and logistics hubs in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense.
The video shows the aftermath of one of the attacks in Kyiv.
Defense Ministry’s statement quoting by TASS:
“The Russian Armed Forces carried out a coordinated overnight strike using ground-based precision-guided weapons, resulting in the destruction of military-industrial facilities and transport and logistics centers in the cities of Kiev and Zaporozhye” the military said in a statement
The ministry later revealed in another statement that the targets of the overnight strike were successfully hit.
The Russian Armed Forces struck a Nova Post logistics terminal in Kiev, an automated compound storing and distributing dual-use goods, including components for long- and medium-range UAV production, robotic vehicles and electronic warfare systems.
Russian servicemen also hit the Kiev-3 transport and logistics center, also known as San-park, a large warehouse facility of approximately 50,000 square meters that stored up to 15,000 attack FPV drones, including those equipped with thermal imaging cameras, such as Beshket, Spuk, Komik-A, and Gorobets, as well as ground control stations and related components.
The Russian Armed Forces struck the Zaporozhstal steel mill (PJSC Zaporizhstal), a part of the Metinvest Group.
Leader makes new appointments to top military posts; Vahidi named IRGC commander
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei has made new appointments to six top military posts, including the head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
In six separate decrees issued on Monday, Major General Ali Abdollahi was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, with Brigadier General Kioumars Heidari as his deputy. Major General Ahmad Vahidi, promoted to the rank of Major General, was appointed commander-in-chief of the IRGC, with Major General Mostafa Izadi as his deputy.
Rear Admiral Ali Ozamaei was appointed IRGC Navy commander, and Hojjatoleslam Hossein Taeb was named head of the Basij Organization.
Gen. Abdollahi appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces
In another decree, the Leader appointed Major General Ali Abdollahi as Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, following the martyrdom of his predecessor, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, in a US-Israeli airstrike.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the appointment was made in view of Mousavi’s “glorious and honorable martyrdom” at the hands of the Zionist-American enemy and in appreciation of Abdollahi’s worthy services and valuable experience.
Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baghaei said the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen as long as the US maintains its naval blockade against Iran, stressing that Washington must end and make amends for its “destructive actions” before further steps can be discussed.
Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Baghaei said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was a result of the US and Israeli military aggression against Iran.
He noted that negotiations between Iran and Oman over a shipping route are naturally a bilateral matter involving the two coastal states.
The spokesman stressed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz depends on the conditions imposed on Iran and the waterway by the US and the Zionist regime, saying that the necessary conditions for reopening do not exist while the US naval blockade remains in place.
“As long as the US naval blockade continues, the necessary conditions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz do not exist,”Baghaei stated. He added that it is up to the US to stop and make amends for its destructive actions so that the sides could then discuss the next steps.
Asked about the possibility of Iran imposing transit fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei said discussions on such details are still underway and that Iran is not currently discussing the issue.
Drone attack on Nizhnekamsk kills thirteen people killed, including child
he number of people killed as a result of the drone attack on facilities in Nizhnekamsk has increased to 13, the press service of the head of Tatarstan told journalists.
Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman, Svetlana Petrenko, told TASS that a child was among those killed. Industrial and civilian facilities in Nizhnekamsk came under a large-scale drone strike, causing fatalities.
Later, it was reported that 12 people had been killed and 39 were injured Later, the press service of the head of Tatarstan told journalists that the number of people killed as a result of the drone attack on facilities in Nizhnekamsk had increased to 13.
According to the investigation, Ukraine used drones to strike residential areas and industrial facilities in Nizhnekamsk.
Ukraine lost 11 locomotives, having received 41 blows to the railway infrastructure
The Ukrainian railway company Ukrzaliznytsia officially called the past days one of the most difficult and destructive weeks in its history. In five years, the country’s transport infrastructure has been attacked 41 times.
11 locomotives were damaged and disabled, tracks and station facilities used for military transportation were destroyed.
Passengers from trains had to be evacuated 350 times due to threats and arrivals. The loss of a key locomotive fleet and the constant destruction of tracks cause critical damage to the entire transport system of the country.
YAF-HOUTIS announce targeting of Saudi-backed factions in Mokha
The strikes by the Yemeni Armed Forces (aka Houtis) on Al-Mukha and Marib decimated Saudi officers and their troop concentrations, targeting a heavy and medium weapons depot alongside a secret storage facility, a senior Yemeni source told Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent in Sanaa.
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the operation, carried out using a large number of ballistic missiles and drones, came in response to Saudi Arabia’s continued mobilization of its proxies, its supply of weapons and equipment to them, and its ongoing attacks along the western coast and in Taiz governorate aimed at deterring the Yemeni people from confronting the blockade and aggression imposed on them for the past 12 years.
“The strikes were precise and caused extensive damage to the equipment and weapons, killing and wounding dozens, including Saudi nationals”,Saree said on Telegram.
The Yemeni Armed Forces reaffirmed their commitment to the declared equation of “blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation,” vowing to continue targeting any military buildup directed against the Yemeni people and the free governorates.
The strike on Mokha is the second operation carried out by the YAF on Sunday. Earlier in the day, the YAF announced that they targeted a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jizan with a drone, stating that the operation comes as a response to Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace.
Saree announced that the forces successfully targeted the Aramco refinery in Jizan with a drone, achieving a precise hit. He said the operation came in response to Saudi drone incursions into the airspace of Yemen’s Saada and Hajjah provinces.
The announcement came after Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry reported earlier that a fire had broken out at a facility belonging to Saudi Aramco’s refinery in Jizan, southwestern Saudi Arabia. The ministry said Aramco’s industrial security firefighting teams extinguished the fire and that there were no injuries.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman pays tribute to journalists killed in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine
“During the last two years, we have lost so many of your colleagues in Iran, Lebanon and Palestine. They have lost their lives for the sake of doing their jobs. We have lost so many of our loved ones,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said in a news conference on Monday.
“We send a big salute to all of our martyrs who have lost their lives for the sake of our country and for the sake of the mission of journalism,” he added.
Updates on AUGUST, 9, Breaking News in Video
Israel rejects 15-point Gaza document, not to withdraw until Hamas disarms — Netanyahu
Israel rejects the 15-point document on Gaza and will not withdraw its forces until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the government’s weekly meeting.
“Israel does not accept the 15-point document. The Israel Defense Forces will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed. And when I say the disarming of Hamas, it means heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry. We are talking about genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament,”Netanyahu said, according to his office.
“Right now, we are talking with the Americans about this issue. They have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us and some of which are unacceptable, and we know how to stand firm against these things,” he added.
Israel will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons regardless of whether Washington and Tehran reach an agreement, Netanyahu said. “I greatly appreciate the historical partnership with the US against Iran’s attempts to acquire nuclear weapons. And I wish to emphasize once again: with or without an agreement, as long as I am prime minister, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Iranian TV Airs Footage of Captured US and Israeli Aircraft
Footage appears to show a drone, aircraft parts, and other machinery.
This week, US media reports said that Washington faces depleted missile stockpiles—including long-range and air-defense systems—following the conflict with Iran, a claim the White House denied. The developments follow a war of words after Donald Trump said the two sides were talking again, which Tehran rejected.
Updates on AUGUST, 7-8, Breaking News in Video
Russian MOD: “Plant Producing Warheads for Flamingo Missiles Hit in Kiev” – VIDEO
The Russian military struck the Fire Point industrial plant in Kiev, which produces components and warheads for FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“The following were struck in Kiev: the Kiev-111 industrial enterprise (Fire Point LLC), which produces components and warheads for FP-5 Flamingo ground-launched cruise missiles,” the ministry said.
According to the Russian ministry, Russian forces launched a strike overnight with ground-based precision weapons against a military industry enterprise and a fuel and lubricants depot in Kiev.
According to preliminary data, the asphalt-concrete plant in Kiev, used for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was damaged.
In the Obolonsky district, fuel tanks caught fire, and armament depots were hit in Goloseevsky. In addition, the Fire Point enterprise, which produce kamikaze-drones, components and warheads for missiles, was hit in Kiev.
The Russian army also attacked the Grandterminal fuel depot, which supplies petroleum products to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Long-range Hundreds drones striking Russia are assembled in secret factories underground
The British TV channel Sky News published a report from a secret underground enterprise in Ukraine, which acts as the main hub for the production of long-range attack drones. Technicians, welders and engineers work around the clock at the plant, assembling over 200 drones per day.
The chief designer of Fire Point, Stilerman, also appeared in the frame, telling the journalist that the purpose of his work was to “dismantle the Russian Empire” with the support of Europe 02:01.
The FP-1 and FP-2 long-range drones are being produced on an underground conveyor. The cost of one such device is about $ 60 thousand, and the claimed flight range is up to 3,000 kilometers with an accuracy of 2-3 meters. The project is funded by Western donors through the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Kiev began the construction of factories underground involuntarily, after the destruction of the traditional defense industry in the early days of its independence. Some of the enterprises have completely gone underground, while others are disguised with fake decorations.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense repeatedly delivered effective strikes against such centers. At the end of July, the assembly plant of the American corporation Terminal Autonomy, which produced noise-resistant drones for strikes deep into the territory of Russia, came under attack.
On July 19, the UKRTAC factory, which produced tactical equipment and ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was completely destroyed. Despite the underground execution, Russian intelligence and precision weapons continue to methodically open and destroy military installations of the Kiev regime.
Ukraine’s Missile Shield Crumbles as US and Europe Run Short on Interceptors
The refusal by the US and Europe to provide Ukraine with more Patriot missiles points to depleted stockpiles and sluggish interceptor production, military expert and Arsenal of the Fatherland columnist Alexander Sinyugin tells Sputnik.
The earlier plan for European countries to buy Patriot missiles from the US and pass them on to Ukraine is no longer viable, the pundit explains. The US lacks sufficient missile stocks, while Europe has already depleted much of its arsenal by supplying Ukraine.
“Only three countries currently manufacture these missiles: the US, Japan, and Germany, which secured a production license in 2024,” Sinyugin says. With production capacity well below Lockheed Martin’s, Germany is expected to use all of its missile output to meet Europe’s own needs, he projects.
Lockheed Martin presently produces 50-60 Patriot missiles per month, while it typically takes two to three interceptors to destroy a single ballistic missile, the pundit notes. But Russia produces roughly 120 ballistic missiles per month, meaning that Ukraine needs at least twice as many.
Meanwhile, Russian hypersonic missiles, including Kinzhals and Zircons, easily overcome Patriot air defenses.
Iranian strikes leave hundreds of US troops with lasting brain injuries
Hundreds of US troops have suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in Iranian missile and drone strikes since Washington launched its war on Iran, highlighting the mounting physical cost of the US aggression and the potentially lasting consequences for American forces, according to Iranian Press TV.
Nearly 700 US troops have been wounded in Iranian missile and drone attacks on US bases since Washington’s aggression against Iran escalated, according to US military officials. Most were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries and returned to duty after treatment, the Associated Press reported.
The Pentagon has described most of the injuries sustained over a two-week period as “minor concussions.” But medical experts warn that an apparently mild concussion can develop into persistent neurological problems, including headaches, dizziness, memory loss, difficulty concentrating and chronic fatigue.
Doctors say there is currently no reliable way to determine immediately which blast injuries will result in lasting complications. They are also continuing to study how powerful explosions can damage the brain even without a direct blow to the head.
The widespread use of Iranian missiles and drones has heightened concern within the US military, as explosions can occur in close proximity to American troops, increasing the risk of blast-related brain injuries.
The scale of the injuries has revived concerns that traumatic brain injury could once again become a major legacy of a US war, as it did during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 500,000 US soldiers were diagnosed with TBIs between 2000 and 2025, according to US military data.
Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan joint defence agreement signals closer cooperation
Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have committed to closer military cooperation in a joint defence agreement modelled on NATO’s Article 5, under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
The deal comes as regional countries increasingly look to each other for security following Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, its strikes on several countries in the region and the renewed conflict with Iran.
For Turkiye, which already fields NATO’s second-largest army and one of the world’s fastest-growing defence industries, the pact is a major strategic gain, expanding its reach into the Gulf and South Asia and opening access to new financial resources through a joint weapons programme.
But the real test, as Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas reports from Ankara, will come if a member is actually attacked — determining whether the agreement becomes a genuine regional security architecture or remains just a political declaration.
Updates on AUGUST, 6, Breaking News in Video
Yemeni Armed Forces (Houtis) launch large-scale op. against Saudi troop concentrations
The Yemeni Armed Forces (aka Houtis army) carried out a large-scale military operation against Saudi military reinforcements, reporting hundreds of casualties and significant material damage, the YAF spokesperson, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced.
The Yemeni military spokesperson said the operation was a response to continued Saudi actions, stating that “in light of the criminal Saudi enemy’s persistence in continuing the siege and aggression against our dear Yemeni people for nearly 12 years, our Armed Forces monitored large Saudi military concentrations that were in their final stages, aimed at escalating against the free provinces and the Yemeni people to deter them from their position on ending the unjust siege.”
The operation, according to the YAF, resulted in:
the killing and wounding of hundreds of “Saudi enemy mercenaries”
the destruction and burning of a large number of Saudi enemy camps, concentrations, weapons depots, and military equipment in the al-Wadi’ah area, east of the country
the destruction of a large number of military vehicles stationed at the targeted bases
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have confirmed targeting multiple Yemeni Emergency Forces camps in the Marib and Hadramout governorates, including in the Ruwaik, Al-Abr and Al Thaniyah areas.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree says the group used “a large number of ballistic missiles and drones” to destroy and burn campgrounds, troop concentrations, depots, weapons and military vehicles.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have killed at least 30 government soldiers and injured 15 in missile attacks on Yemeni military camps in Hadramout and Marib governorates, government sources told Al Jazeera.
Service fees for transit through Strait of Hormuz to depend on services provided
The fees for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz will vary based on the services rendered by Iran and Oman, according to a report by Fars News Agency, citing a source within the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
The source dismissed recent reports of disagreements between Iran and Oman over the percentage of cargo value – specifically, a tariff of 7% versus 3% – to be used as transit fees, stating these claims are false.
“Payments by vessels will depend on multiple factors, including the scope of services we can provide,”the official emphasized.
Previously, Reuters reported that Iran and Oman are engaged in negotiations to introduce transit fees ranging from 3% to 7% of the declared cargo value, as part of efforts to restore shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Russian forces strike Ukrainian army’s infrastructure sites, logistics centers in past day
Russian forces struck infrastructure sites and logistics centers used by the Ukrainian army and its deployment areas over the past 24 hours in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported.
“Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck fuel and energy and transport infrastructure, logistics centers used by the Ukrainian army, sites for the storage of attack unmanned aerial vehicles, and also temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 155 locations,” the ministry said.
The Ukrainian army lost roughly 1,395 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past 24 hours, according to the latest data on the special military operation in Ukraine released by Russia’s Defense Ministry.
UNICEF says one child killed per day in Gaza since ‘ceasefire’
At least 300 children have been killed in Gaza in the roughly 300 days since a so-called “ceasefire” was announced on October 10, 2025 – an average of one child a day, the United Nations children’s agency says.
Hundreds more have been wounded, many severely, UNICEF said in a statement on Thursday as it pressed parties to a proposed US-led peace plan to translate pledges into action.
“A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Children in Gaza are still waiting for the end to the violence they were promised.”
Families are now confined to about a third of the enclave, sheltering among destroyed buildings, rubble and uncleared waste, the agency said.
Children continue to face acute malnutrition, disease, unsafe water and damaged sanitation, while a shortage of incubators has left some premature newborns sharing machines.
Updates on AUGUST, 4-5, Breaking News in Video
A massive overnight strike on Kiev and the Kiev region by Russian Armed Forces – 3 VIDEOS
On the night of August 5, the Russian Armed Forces hit seven large logistics centers in Ukraine. The Russian ballistic missile attack on the region surrounding Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, has killed at least 14 people and injured 27 others, the city’s military administration said.
The strikes early on Wednesday morning come after at least 27 people were killed in separate attacks in both Ukraine and Russia earlier this week, with the five-year-long conflict showing no signs of slowing down.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has revealed details of a massive overnight strike on Kiev and the Kiev region. High-precision ground-based weapons and long-range attack drones have hit transport, logistics and distribution centers involved in the storage, production and supply of equipment and components in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In the capital of Ukraine, the goals were:
MLP-Chaika is a warehouse complex for storing components for medium and long—range UAVs.
The innovative Novaya Pochta terminal is an automated sorting hub for dual—use goods, including components for assembling drones, robotic systems and electronic warfare.
Trans-Logistics is an enterprise for the production of various modifications of drones and the storage of logistical assets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Epicenter warehouse is a large automated order processing center with dual—use goods and parts for creating UAVs.
In the territory of the Kiev region, the following targets were hit:
Brovary Terminal — storage of components for drones, including foreign-made ones;
Raben Ukraine is a key hub for the distribution of parts for various types of drones;
The Novaya Pochta sorting complex in Brovary is a storage facility for aircraft—type vehicles and their spare parts.
In addition, three dry cargo ships delivering weapons and military equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit in the sea south of Odessa.
Death toll among minors from Kiev’s attack on Gelendzhik up to 4
The death toll among minors from Ukraine’s attack near Gelendzhik has risen to four, Russian childerns’ rights ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova said.
“An awful tragedy. Ukraine’s aggression. By now, we have reports about four killed children, three more children are in hospitals. One child has been operated on, two others are being examined, they have shrapnel wounds,” she told reporters.
Casualties, fire at Wildberries sorting center, 475 UAVs: aftermath of drone attacks
Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 475 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, as well as over the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov overnight, the Defense Ministry reported.
In the Tula Region, one person was injured as a result of a drone attack, and a fire broke out at the Wildberries sorting center.
According to its statement, the drones were shot down over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Saratov, Smolensk, Tula, Ulyanovsk, Krasnodar, Tatarstan and Moscow Regions, Crimea, as well as over the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
According to the Ministry, the victims included five people martyred in new Israeli attacks and one who succumbed to previous injuries.
The Ministry added that a number of victims remain trapped under rubble or stranded on roads and in inaccessible areas, as ambulance and civil defence crews continue to face difficulties reaching them.
The Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed since the announcement of the ceasefire on October 11 has risen to 904, while 2,713 others have been injured. Authorities also reported that the bodies of 777 Palestinians have been recovered during the same period.
According to the latest figures released by the Ministry, the cumulative death toll since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, has reached 72,797, in addition to 172,821 injuries.
Israel kills 19 (4 children) in Gaza as attacks escalate despite latest Trump plan
On August, 2, Israeli forces have killed at least 19 Palestinians in Gaza, despite United States President Donald Trump announcing a plan he described as a “monumental step” towards peace and security in the shattered enclave.
Medical sources said that 14 Palestinians, including four children, have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn on Sunday.
The deaths on Sunday included three people killed in an air raid on a residential apartment in Al-Sousi Tower in western Gaza City – Abdullah Abu Taif, 33, his pregnant wife, Abeer Anan, 29, and their five-year-old son, Azzam – according to medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital.
An attack on an apartment in al-Qarara, northwest of the city of Khan Younis, killed three members of the Al-Hams family – father Mahmoud, 38, his wife, Fatima, 37, and their young daughter. Three others were wounded, medical sources at Nasser Hospital said.
Kamu Abu Muailiq, 68, and his wife, Huda, 59, were killed in an attack on their home near Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, medics said. In the same area, two brothers were killed as they rode a motorbike.
In northern Gaza, a Palestinian was killed after being directly targeted in the Jabalia refugee camp. In al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, one Palestinian was killed, and five others were wounded in an Israeli attack on a tent.
Two Palestinians, including one, were killed in an Israeli drone attack on a tent for displaced people in the Remal neighbourhood, west of Gaza City. Four others were killed in a strike on a vehicle in Gaza City.
The Israeli attacks since dawn caused the largest daily death toll in weeks, according to Palestinian health officials.
Gaza families bury 112 people recovered nearly three years after Israeli strikes: 44 Kids and 43 women among martyrs
Palestinians on Tuesday buried 112 members of a single clan killed in Israeli air strikes in November 2023, after their remains were recovered from beneath the rubble last month. Relatives of the Abu Shari’a and al-Hasayna family gathered in Gaza City to bid a final farewell to their loved ones, whose bodies lay in rows draped in Palestinian flags.
For many, it was a moment of both relief and renewed grief after nearly 1,000 days of waiting to recover the bodies of their relatives.
“There is a feeling of both pain and joy,” Amer Abu Shari’a, who lost relatives in the attack, told Middle East Eye. “Joy because we will bury and honour these martyrs after three years. But the sorrow has returned, as if the massacre happened today.”
On August, 4, Gaza and Palestine bid farewell to the largest funeral procession of martyrs in all of Palestinian history. Around 112 martyrs have been recovered from beneath their homes after nearly three years of war.
Today, the Al-Hassaneh and Abu Sharia families are burying 112 martyrs out of 308 family members who were killed and later recovered. Does the world see 44 children in a single funeral? Does it see 43 women?
Does it witness these scenes and still remain silent These are scenes from Gaza scenes that will forever remain in the history of Palestine.
Iran-Oman Strait of Hormuz corridor talks enter new phase despite US obstruction
The ongoing negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding the future operational arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz represent a pivotal moment in the region’s strategic landscape amid the US destabilising activities, Iranian Press Tv has reported.
These discussions, which began in the very first days following the Iran-US ceasefire on April 8 and entered a more serious phase after the June 18 agreement to end the imposed war, are a testament to Iran’s commitment to diplomatic engagement and its determination to safeguard its legitimate sovereign rights.
However, what should have been a straightforward bilateral process between two littoral states has been systematically disrupted and derailed by the United States and certain regional actors acting in concert with Washington (below the videos of latest US attack on July, 30).
Their obstructionism has not only delayed a mutually beneficial outcome but has also exposed the hollow nature of American influence in a region where Iran’s strategic interests are paramount and non-negotiable, a senior Iranian official aware of the details of ongoing negotiations told Press TV.
Yemeni forces strike vital target inside Saudi Najran Airport with drone
The Yemeni Armed Forces have struck a strategic installation inside Najran Regional Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, in response to the Riyadh regime’s ongoing aggression and blockade against their homeland.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesperson for Yemen’s Armed Forces, said on Tuesday afternoon that Yemeni military units targeted the vital target with a domestically-developed kamikaze drone. Saree noted that the retaliatory strike attained its desired objectives successfully.
He emphasized that the attack was a retaliation for Saudi Arabia’s violation of Yemeni airspace over the northern provinces of Sa’ada and Hajjah with unmanned aerial vehicles.
“We warn the Saudi enemy that any violation of our airspace will not go unanswered and unpunished,” Saree emphasized.
On July 20, the Sana’a government declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, stating that its authorities have enforced “an unjust and oppressive siege” on Yemen for almost 12 years, “looting our resources and enforcing a total blockade.”
Since then, the Yemeni Armed Forces said they have launched attacks on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.
Yemen’s Houthis claim missile attack on Saudi oil tanker in Red Sea
The Houthis from the Yemeni Ansar Allah rebel movement have used ballistic missiles to hit a Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern part of the Red Sea, Houthi Military Spokesman Yahya Saria stated.
According to him, rebels “struck a Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern part of the Red Sea near [the port city of] Yanbu using several ballistic missiles.” Saria said the strike was accurate.
Indian cargo ship sinks near Yemen after Red Sea attack, crew rescued
The vessel, identified as the Faize Noore Oliya, was struck by a projectile near Yemeni waters, causing it to capsize and sink, according to Sonowal.
“Indian MSV Faize Noore Oliya has been hit by a projectile near Yemeni waters, causing the vessel to capsize and sink. India strongly condemns this unprovoked attack on the defenseless mechanised sailing vessel. The safety of our people is our supreme priority & I am relieved to inform that ALL 14 seafarers (including 13 Indians) have been safely rescued by the Yemeni Coast Guard,” Sonowal wrote on X.
Earlier on Tuesday, Yemeni news portal HYemen24 reported that the Yemeni Coast Guard of the Saudi-affiliated Yemeni government had rescued the crew of an Indian cargo ship after it came under attack by a booby-trapped boat in the Red Sea.
Updates on AUGUST, 2, Breaking News in Video
VITAL FOOTAGE: Massive Explosions in Kiev after 25 Russian missiles were fired including hypersonic Iskander and Zircon
While Western-backed forces continue to strike at shopping malls in Russia, such as Wildberries and now Ozon the Russian military space forces are intensifying their bombing, not propaganda, but military, against targets in the enemy’s military-industrial complex.
Last night, Russian troops attacked several Ukrainian areas, with virtually no effective air defense from Western-backed forces.
More than 25 Russian precision-guided missiles were fired at Kiev alone, including Iskander-M ballistic missiles and Zircon hypersonic missiles, which hit targets in the capital of Ukraine and its suburbs (Vasilkov, Boyarka) without encountering effective air defenses, as has been the case for several days. Only one anti-aircraft missile was launched that night, but it failed to intercept the target. Even Zelensky was forced to admit this (probably in order to better request new military assistance in this area):
“Ukraine’s air defense system was able to intercept only one ballistic missile during the massive Russian attack on Kiev last night.”
Russian Wildberries Warehouse Raid, Fire Breaks Out
Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retail platform, has been targeted again by Ukrainian forces: a logistics facility in the Samara region was hit, according to TASS. A fire broke out following the attack. According to initial reports, there were no injuries.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it destroyed 635 Ukrainian drones on the night of Saturday to Sunday in several regions of its territory and in annexed Crimea. In a statement published on the Russian state-run messaging app Max, the ministry stated that “overnight, air defense assets in action intercepted and destroyed 635 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.”
Moscow, bomb at party for Russian general, many Killed and Wounded
A private party organized in the center of the Russian capital to celebrate a high-ranking officer has turned into carnage. At least three people were killed and 21 injured in the explosion that occurred this evening outside the Balzi Rossi restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square in Moscow.
According to News-Pravda the death toll from the explosion at the entrance to the Balzi Rossi restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square has risen to five that include the woman who tried to bring in the explosive device, the security guard, and a cafe customer.
Among the guests at the event was General Alexander Chaiko, appointed to command the Russian Air Force just a month and a half ago.
According to the Interior Ministry, the explosion occurred at about 08:10 p.m. (05:10 p.m. GMT) near a summer cafe near house No. 1 on Kudrinskaya Square. According to the NAC, an unknown woman tried to bring an improvised explosive device there, but a guard stopped her.
An explosive device, a 1 kg TNT bomb filled with metal balls, detonated at the entrance to the Balzi Rossi restaurant. The device was in the possession of a “suicide bomber” who was probably used “in the dark.” As a result of the explosion, she died on the spot, her fragments were captured on video.
The Shadow of the Ukrainian Secret Services behind the Terrorist Attack
Investigators and criminologists of the Investigative Committee are working at the site of the explosion, the Investigative Committee said.
The police and Russia’s National Guard Rosgvardiya restricted access near the residential high-rise on Kudrinskaya Square, where the blast took place, a TASS correspondent reported.
The attack is part of a long series of targeted actions that, since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, have targeted senior officials, military leaders, and prominent public figures close to the Kremlin.
Over the past four years, several generals and Russian administration officials based in the occupied territories have been victims of bombings and ambushes claimed or attributed to Kiev’s intelligence services with the help of NATO’s 007 and in particular of the British military counterspionage MI6 vvery active in the conflict as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is an agent of London, as also confirmed by high-profile arrests.
NYT, TASS confirm Gospa News scoop: “US used aerial bomb weighing almost ton to hit apartment building in Iran”
«The US military used one of its most powerful non-nuclear bombs to strike a residential building on the Iranian island of Qeshm, killing three people on Thursday night, The New York Times reported, quoting satellite imagery and an expert opinion»
TASS Russian news agency has reported confirming the first report by Gospa News International on July, 30 (read below update “Two children rescued from the rubble of the Trump’s Evil Bombs – VIDEO”) which specified that bunker-busting explosives had been used to destroy two family homes.
ARCHIVE PHOTO – In the frame the meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu, in the image a US-made MK-84 heavy aerial bomb – previous poston bomb supply here
It said that the diameter of the crater and fragments of ammunition indicate the use of a heavy MK-84 aerial bomb weighing 2,000 pounds (about 907 kg). The newspaper said that it was not possible to find any evidence of military installations nearby. The strike was carried out in a densely populated area, the newspaper adds.
Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the US Central Command (CENTCOM), told The New York Times that the US military leadership is aware of the strike and is looking into it. He also said the United States never targets civilians.
Russian forces destroyed a large Ukrainian ammunition depot in Ukrainian-occupied Kramatorsk.
Russian forces destroyed a large Ukrainian ammunition depot in Ukrainian-occupied Kramatorsk. The depot, carefully concealed by Ukrainian militants, was struck by two loitering munitions. The detonation of the munitions lasted for several hours. Several Ukrainian air defense systems were also hit in Kramatorsk.
In the Sumy region, at least ten FAB strikes with UMPK-based missiles and at least 45 Geran/Lancet/Molniya/FPV strikes were carried out over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, in the Kharkiv region, at least 11 guided bomb strikes, two MLRS/OTRK strikes, and at least 56 Geran/Lancet/Molniya/FPV strikes were carried out over the same period. Additionally, morning Geran and FAB strikes “visited” the outskirts of Illichivsk (Chornomorsk) in the Odessa region and Vasylkivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
It is also reported that new modifications of the Geranium family of attack UAVs are recently equipped with a laser rangefinder. The laser rangefinder is designed to partially implement the air-to-air detonation function of the warhead.
During the final stages of flight (during a dive or approach to a target), the rangefinder measures the exact distance to the ground or object in real time, after which, upon reaching the optimal altitude, the electronics initiate the detonation of the munition in mid-air. Air-to-air detonation of a high-explosive fragmentation charge significantly increases the area of destruction caused by the fragmentation. Thus, unlike the contact detonation of a kamikaze UAV’s warhead, air-to-air detonation covers a larger area.
Russian missile attack kills three in Ukraine’s Kyiv
A Russian missile attack has killed at least three people in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and injured 15 others, the city’s mayor said.
Residents were trapped in damaged buildings in the Shevchenkivskyi and Solomyanskyi districts, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. All 15 injured people, including two boys aged 13 and 17, were hospitalised, with one in serious condition.
Fires and damage were also reported in several other districts of the capital, including burning warehouses in Darnytskyi and debris falling on buildings in Holosiivskyi. Emergency services remain on the scene as rescue efforts continue.
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Kyiv in recent months, taking advantage of Ukraine’s shortage of air defences capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
Russian forces hit over 80 vessels involved in cargo deliveries for Ukrainian army in July
Russian forces struck more than 80 seagoing vessels in Ukrainian ports and at sea that were involved in delivering cargo for the Ukrainian military, according to TASS estimates based on Russian Defense Ministry data.
Among them were two dry cargo ships, a sea ferry transporting military cargo and a screening boat hit in overnight group strikes on July 12, according to the ministry. On the same day, the ministry released footage that showed Geran-4 Seeker drones destroying a seiner converted to launch unmanned boats, a patrol boat, a ferry and a dry cargo ship.
According to the ministry, Russian forces struck 24 seagoing vessels used by the Ukrainian military during the week of July 11-17, including 14 dry cargo ships and one tanker.
The cover image shows Netanyahu and Trump on the list of those wanted for war crimes published by an Iranian newspaper.
by Carlo Domenico Cristofori
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) denounced the US and the Zionist regime for the most severe violations of international humanitarian law
«On the 77th anniversary of the adoption of the Four Geneva Conventions, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has issued a statement denouncing the United States and the Zionist regime for committing some of the most severe violations of international humanitarian law in modern history through their ongoing military aggression against the Islamic Republic»Iranian Press TV has reported.
The statement, released on Thursday, August, 13, 2026, by recalls that on August 12, 1949, the four Geneva Conventions established binding principles for armed conflict, including the distinction between military and civilian targets, proportionality, military necessity, and the prohibition of unnecessary suffering.
Common Article 1 of the conventions obliges all states parties not only to respect these rules “in all circumstances” but also to ensure their respect by others. These principles now form an integral part of customary international humanitarian law binding on every nation.
«Yet the world continues to witness unprecedented breaches. The Zionist regime, the ministry declared, remains the single greatest violator of international humanitarian law. Over the past eight decades it has perpetrated the most serious international crimes — war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity — in occupied Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and across West Asia» Press TV wrote reporting Abbas Araghchi sentences..
The statement identifies the Zionist regime’s aggressive operations against Iran in 2025 and 2026, carried out with the full complicity and participation of the United States, as among the gravest violations of humanitarian law since the conventions were adopted.
Trump: “I’ll never apologize” on War Crimes in Iran
We recall that in the latest days US president Donald Trump, never quoted in the statement as the Israeli prime minister Benjiamin Netanyahu by Iranian Minister Araghchi, said that after the completion of the military operation against Iran, he intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz the territory of the United States.
“I’ll never apologize. I did the right thing. What we’re doing is a great service for — not only for ourselves, for the world” Trump added on his war-crime spree in Iran where US-Israeli preventive attacks started on Febryuary, 28, killed around 7,000 people among wich the most part civilians and children.
“The war crimes committed by the terrorist US army and the genocidal Zionist regime during their military aggression against Iran over the past year and a half have pushed the boundaries of savagery and barbarity,”the ministry said one day before another massacre perpetrated by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Southern Lebanon.
The Latest War Crimes by IDF in Southern Lebanon: Children within Family Massacre
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned on Saturday the Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, stressing that these violations constitute a “clear message to the negotiating process and to US efforts aimed at implementing the framework agreement”.
The Israeli escalation began with an Israeli airstrike on an inhabited home in Ansar, in the Nabatieh district, killing seven people, including three children and two women, while two others were wounded, according to the Health Ministry.
The Lebanese Parents of Child Martyrs Association on Saturday condemned a new Israeli massacre in the southern town of Ansar that killed a family of six, including four children, and called on Lebanese authorities to document the attack and pursue accountability through regional and international legal channels.
People check a destroyed home that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ansar village, southern Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo:Mohammed Zaatari via Al Manar Lebanese TV)
«In a statement, the association condemned the Israeli occupation army’s pre-dawn attack on a family in Ansar on August 15, 2026, which killed Ali Al-Hajj Hassan, his wife, Zeinab Nassereddine, and their children Zahraa, Hassan, Hussein, and Abbas» Al Manar Lebanese TV has reported (more details here in the Daily Updates on WARS in VIDEO)
The One-Ton Bunker-Bomb on residential homes in Qeshm
It cited specific atrocities: the massacre of students and teachers in Minab with Tomahawk missiles; the attack on the Lamerd stadium with cluster munitions on February 28, 2026; and the bombing of residential homes in Qeshm with one-ton bombs on July 30, 2026. These, it stressed, represent only a fraction of the thousands of war crimes inflicted on the Iranian people.
«The US military used one of its most powerful non-nuclear bombs to strike a residential building on the Iranian island of Qeshm, killing three people on Thursday night, The New York Times reported, quoting satellite imagery and an expert opinion»
ARCHIVE PHOTO – In the frame the meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu, in the image a US-made MK-84 heavy aerial bomb – previous poston bomb supply here
It said that the diameter of the crater and fragments of ammunition indicate the use of a heavy MK-84 aerial bomb weighing 2,000 pounds (about 907 kg). The newspaper said that it was not possible to find any evidence of military installations nearby. The strike was carried out in a densely populated area, the newspaper adds.
Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the US Central Command (CENTCOM), told The New York Times that the US military leadership is aware of the strike and is looking into it. He also said the United States never targets civilians.
Open and Systematic contempt shown by the US ruling establishment vs international humanitarian law
The ministry pointed to the open and systematic contempt shown by the US ruling establishment for the fundamental rules of international humanitarian law.
Explicit statements by high-ranking American officials — including the president, the secretary of war, and the secretary of state — together with a repeated pattern of strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure, demonstrate a clear intent to commit grave, severe, and organized violations of the laws of armed conflict.
Attacks by the United States and the Zionist regime on hospitals, universities, schools, residential areas, bridges, airports, and fire stations, along with the deliberate killing of civilians, women, and children in places such as Minab, Lamerd, and Qeshm, fall squarely under the grave breaches listed in Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These include willful killing, the infliction of great suffering, and the extensive destruction of property. Both the material and mental elements of these crimes have been fully established.
Repeated admissions by US officials of a policy of “no quarter, no mercy,” open threats to strike Iranian infrastructure, bridges, and power plants, and rhetoric about “returning Iran to the Stone Age” or “completely destroying Iranian civilization,” combined with the systematic targeting of civilian objects, provide irrefutable evidence of premeditated intent and a deliberate pattern of grave breaches under Article 147.
Once attribution, causation, and the other legal elements are confirmed in each case, criminal responsibility attaches to the perpetrators and those who ordered the acts under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which requires states parties to search for and prosecute those responsible for such violations.
«The continued commission of these serious breaches by the United States and the Zionist regime, coupled with the inaction of the United Nations, the states parties to the Geneva Conventions, and Switzerland as depositary, has normalized violations of humanitarian law and fostered a culture of impunity for war crimes. This trend, the ministry warned, is not merely a threat to one nation but a catastrophic regression for the entire legal order that humanity constructed to civilize conflict and restrain violence» Press TV highlighted.
UNICEF says one child killed per day in Gaza since ‘ceasefire’
At least 300 children have been killed in Gaza in the roughly 300 days since a so-called “ceasefire” was announced on October 10, 2025 – an average of one child a day, the United Nations children’s agency says.
Hundreds more have been wounded, many severely, UNICEF said in a statement on Thursday as it pressed parties to a proposed US-led peace plan to translate pledges into action.
“A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Children in Gaza are still waiting for the end to the violence they were promised.”
Families are now confined to about a third of the enclave, sheltering among destroyed buildings, rubble and uncleared waste, the agency said.
Children continue to face acute malnutrition, disease, unsafe water and damaged sanitation, while a shortage of incubators has left some premature newborns sharing machines.
VITAL VIDEO – Prof. John Mearsheimer: Between 1971 and 2021, the US murdered 38 million people
Prof. John Mearsheimer: Between 1971 and 2021, the US murdered 38 million people.
John Joseph Mearsheimer born December 14, 1947) is an American political scientist and international relations scholar. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago.
Mearsheimer developed the neorealist (or structural realist) theory of offensive realism, which describes the interaction between great powers as being primarily driven by the rational desire to achieve regional hegemony in an anarchic international system.
In accordance with his theory, in the 2001 book The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, Mearsheimer says that China’s growing power will likely bring it into conflict with the United States.
His more recent work focuses on criticism of the “liberal international order” (laid down in his 2018 book The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities) and why he believes that the West is to blame for the Russo-Ukrainian War.
In 2024, at the height of Israel’s US-backed genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, one of the most widespread waves of college campus protests since the Vietnam War exploded across the United States. Then came the repressive backlash. Over the past two years, we’ve seen a harrowing assault on free speech and the right to protest from the federal government and Zionist organizations, and universities themselves have ramped up their own internal surveillance and repression machines, weaponizing them against their own students, grad students, and faculty.
Life, learning, and activism on American college campuses looks very different today than it did in 2024, but the student-led Palestine solidarity movement is not going away. As a new school year begins, we speak with four students at different college campuses across the University System of Maryland (USM), who are all organizers and members of the USM Divestment Coalition for Palestine, about how the movement is maintaining its demands and adapting its tactics in 2026.
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated. Maximillian Alvarez:
Welcome back to the Real News Network. I’m Maximillian Alvarez. Two years ago at the height of Israel’s US-backed genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, we witnessed one of the most widespread waves of college campus protests in this country since the Vietnam War. Student-led Palestine solidarity encampments exploded from Columbia University in New York to UCLA to right here in Baltimore. And as we’ve been covering continuously here at The Real News, what we’ve seen since then has been a harrowing assault on free speech and the right to protest from the federal government and Zionist organizations. And we’ve also seen universities themselves, private and public, ramp up their own internal surveillance and repression machines and weaponize them against their own students, grad students, and faculty. Life, learning, and activism on America’s college campuses looks very different today. And today we’re talking with a number of student organizers across our home state of Maryland about how they are adapting their tactics today to continue their struggle to end the slaughter and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and to hold supporters and enablers of the genocide accountable, including their own universities.
And I am really grateful to be joined today by four students from different institutions across the University System of Maryland who are all also organizers with the USM Divestment Coalition. Thank you all so much for being here. Please introduce yourselves to our listeners.
Khadeeja:
Hi everyone. We’re so excited to be here today and grateful for the opportunity to share a little bit about what the University System of Maryland Divestment Coalition does. My name is Khadeeja. I’m a student within the USM system. I’m also a member of the USM Divestment Coalition and I’m a former member of UMBCSJP. The USM Divestment Coalition is an organizing body of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members of the USM and the broader Maryland community organizing for the end of our university system’s complicity in violating Palestinian human rights and upholding the settler Zionist state. Hey
Zyad:
Everyone. We’re really grateful to be here. My name is Zyad and I’m one of the members of the USM Diveston Coalition and a former member of the UMDSJP. I got involved with the coalition after we at UMD finally had successfully achieved a divestment win via our referendum in the student government elections, which over 3,000 students voted in favor for calling UMD to divest from companies complicit in the genocide in Palestine. The university refused to take action on this. However, we knew that the power of divestment was really at the USM level and recognized this led to where we are today with multiple USM schools part of the coalition.
Mohammad:
Yeah. Hi, my name is Mohammad. I’m also a student at the University of Maryland College Park, involved in the SJP. Don’t want to reiterate what Zyad said too much, but similarly, we saw that there was only so much we could do at the school level. We’ve been meeting with our school administration for years and they would always just point their fingers and say, “Hey, we don’t have power over divesting the USM’s $2 billion endowment from weapons manufacturers and companies enabling the genocide in Palestine.” So yeah, that’s why we got involved just to shift the pressure onto the people who actually have decision-making power and to hopefully shift all of our activism back to gain back the momentum that we had during the encampments and actually start negotiating with the people that have the power to divest rather than just screaming it into a vacuum.
Fi:
My name is Fi. I am Towson YDSA’s incoming co-chair. I’m a Towson University student, and I got involved with the USM Divestment Coalition following a teach-in that they had at our university.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Well, thank you all so much for being here. It really, really is incredible to have you all here on the same call together. And I wanted to ask if y’all could just explain a little bit more for our listeners what this Divestment Coalition is, how it came to be, and how you personally got involved in it.
Khadeeja:
Yeah, so I was actually one of the founding members of this Divestment Coalition around two years ago, post-October 2023. A few of us started attending Board of Regents meetings to clarify how the university system of Maryland structure works. Essentially, there’s 12 Maryland public state universities, and they’re governed by one body, which is called the Board of Regents. And these are 21 governor-appointed individuals. So they’re not elected and they’re not necessarily paid for their positions by the state, although we can kind of elaborate further on how they benefit from the structure later. But essentially, they sit above the president. So most people think that university presidents actually control all university operations, but the presidents merely form one of multiple advisory councils to this Board of Regents that ultimately have final say. And these Board of Regents also govern over a $2 billion pooled endowment that is shared between all the schools.
So essentially in that first year, post-October 2023, a few of us started attending Board of Regents meetings and speaking during the public comment portion. And in the past year, we have done a lot of outreach and organized much more with Towson and UMD students. And we’ve developed a lot more internally and externally with a social media presence, as well as developing internal and external goals, increasing our presence at board meetings, and really built up a dedicated organizing body overall.
Fi:
I do want to say one small thing. Although this coalition has sort of united around the issue of Palestine, and that will always remain the core goal is liberation of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause. Divestment from weapons manufacturing is an issue that has much broader implications with other imperialist struggles in the world. In countries such as the Philippines, weaponry manufactured by Lockheed Martin, a corporation that the university does a lot of business with, has sort of been used to target certain student activists that have done work in the Philippines, humanitarian work in the Philippines, which I think we’re going to elaborate on more. But divestment is an issue that has very wide-reaching implications, and we are fighting for freedom for colonized and oppressed peoples around the world.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Well, let’s talk a bit more about that and what the USM Divestment Coalition does and why. From the organizing and advocating that y’all are doing on a week-to-week campus-to-campus basis to these larger actions and campaigns like the People’s Tribunal that y’all held earlier this year. Tell us more about what this coalition does and tell us how your universities have responded to the coalition and your demands.
Mohammad:
So I was talking before about how the divestment movement has been around on USM campuses for over a decade now. There have been huge pushes. I have friends who are around now who used to come to these divestment meetings urging the USM to divest from Israel back when they were in middle school. So it’s been going on for a while, but during the encampments era, it escalated and we got to the point where the university couldn’t ignore, or at least not entirely ignore, the calls of its students who overwhelmingly wanted to divest. And at first, the way that manifested was they established an inquiry process. So before, there was no formal way to request that the USM divest its endowment from anything, but they established an inquiry process where every semester there’s a deadline and you can submit something. Usually it’s like a student government at the university that’ll submit a resolution calling on them to divest from anything, whether it be fossil fuels or from Israel, from weapons manufacturers.
Unfortunately though, it wasn’t really legitimate. It was more so just a formal way for them to tell us no, and it wasn’t really being taken. We still weren’t being taken seriously at that point, which is why I think the coalition needed to be formed because all of us, we had the three biggest universities in the USM, University of Maryland College Park, UMBC and Towson University, all pass resolutions calling on the USM to divest, and they were still ignoring it. At that point, you have a substantial portion of the 180,000 students that you represent telling you that they want you to divest, and we still weren’t actually having negotiations with them or having the demand seriously considered or given a reason as to why we can’t divest. So the USM Coalition was basically just a way for us to bridge those concerns that people had and the call for divestment to the people who actually have the power to make it happen.
And we can talk more later about how the response has been on campuses to those calls and the repression we’ve seen. Yeah, essentially what we’ve seen is just them trying to give us more creative ways to deny the calls for divestment. Yeah.
Zyad:
And to add on to that, I think Mohammed mentioned and other people mentioned it as well, and I did as well, but I want to talk more specifically about UMD, at least at UMD and the divestment campaign there, which has a history dating back to actually 2017 where the calls for divestment and specifically for Palestine were made. So it’s clear that the organizing that we’re doing now isn’t new, it’s just how the strategy has shifted. For years, organizers would bring divestment bills to the Student Government Association. And again, like mentioned before, this was done at UMD, at Taos, and then also at UMBC. But at least at UMD, they were blocked by legislatures who weren’t willing to take the stance and didn’t have any morality because they were in there for their political gain. However, like I mentioned before, in spring of 2024, the strategy changed in the sense that instead of trying to persuade the legislatures that didn’t represent the opinions of the students, at UMD, at least we ran a pro-Palestine slate that ran strictly on being pro-Palestinian and being pro-divestment, and basically almost sweeping the entirety of the student government elections and building what became the first pro-Palestine super majority in UMDSJ history.
So with that super majority, we passed our BDS resolution, which went more specific into the other aspects of BDS, boycott divestment and sanctions that followed the demand from the referendum that over 3,000 students voted for. And like we kind of mentioned before, the administration acknowledged the referendum and the resolution, but choose to ignore both. That being because of how the structure is, they actually generally don’t have the power to divest, at least at the system level. And with that, the coalition, the form of the coalition, it was a necessity because the money wasn’t sitting in a place that each individual university has a say over. In fact, the investments are managed through the USM Foundation and the Common Trust Fund, which are governed, like we mentioned, by unelected board of regents that are appointed by the governor. So the campus organizing, the campus wins, they’re real, and we saw a lot of that post-October 2023 and post the encampments because of the escalate organizing that was done specifically with the genocide in Gaza and seeing that escalate.
And over the last two and a half years, we see these wins, but the actual target this entire time was the system itself.
Khadeeja:
So I did my first two years of my undergraduate degree at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and I spent two years heavily involved in the SJP there. UMBC was always heavily invested in divestment efforts post-October 2023 as the genocide against CASDA accelerated and public consciousness simultaneously was raising. UMBC is actually a minority-serving institution, so the majority of our student body are minorities. So we did receive a lot of support amongst the student body for divestment, and we were the first university within the system to pass a divestment resolution within the Student Government Association. And it explicitly used the Palestinian Boycott Divestment Sanction Movement Framework, which was definitely a big win, and I think set UMBC apart early on within the USM. Not only that though, hundreds of students also signed a petition urging the university’s career center to stop inviting defense contractors to recruitment events.
And two of the main war profiteers in America, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, actually did stop coming to our career fairs in 2024 and have continued to stop. So UMBC’s student population has always been relatively easy to organize around. That being said, administrations are separate from the student body. We are lucky at UMBC. We’re definitely a bit better off than UMD. UMD is definitely more repressive. Our administration was definitely willing to hear us out a little more and even remove sober homeless off campus. So that was a BDS win. However, they did charge the students wrongfully with student conduct violations in 2024, although they lost the case. The students won that case, but they did release interim time, place, manner policies, which all the universities around that time actually released post-encampments across the nation. So there’s collaboration between universities across the nation and also between the states.
So universities serve as a mouthpiece of the state to repress us. And we saw that at a national scale after the encampments, despite these restrictive efforts, the student movement is constantly adjusting and growing despite their efforts to stall our clearly winning movement. In terms of, I mentioned the Sobrahamus and other divestment efforts at UMBC, but along with divestment also comes the academic and cultural complicity that our universities play in upholding the Zionist settler ideology. So for example, at UMBC, a couple of the campaigns that we are still working on is one of the professors, his name is Eli Lieberman. He teaches Jewish studies and has taught courses that are explicitly biased against the Palestinian people and their struggle for self-determination. He has released papers on deterring terrorism where he compares Palestinian people directly to terrorist groups. There has been a call to remove him, which has not happened yet.
The administration has largely ignored those calls. And then lastly, and also very horrible and shamefully, UMBC has been in a partnership with Israel’s Minister of Agriculture for an aquatics research partnership. And like I mentioned earlier, part of the divestment within the coalition is not only cessation of financial complicity, but also a cessation of academic complicity in the apartheid occupation. So UMBC students have been appealing to university admin to end this partnership. This minister, current minister has called the current genocide in Gaza as rolling out the second NECBA, which the NECBA was the expulsion of over 600,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948. But regardless, the university has made no effort on that.
Fi:
I can say on Towson University’s campus students, there was one specific instance of students facing very clear repression for exercising their right to free speech, being attacked under these time, place, and manner policies. A die-in was organized shortly after October 7th where students mourned in the University Square and they were threatened with disciplinary action and some were even tracked to their vehicles as they were leaving. And recently there was an IDF soldier came to Towson’s campus unregistered. They showed up, they set up a table in a kind of Kirkian way, just sort of had this sign that was like, “I’m an ex – IDF soldier, ask me anything.” And they were able to bring their own security detail that was not vetted by the university. Their presence themselves was not vetted by the university. And it was a presence that was clearly very intimidating for Arab students.
And yeah, the university responded to. They have not released a statement on this as I am aware. And even in the moment, they did not kick him off campus even as he was in violation of the same sort of jurisdictions that caused very intense discipline to students for exercising similar rights. They just allowed him to be moved back to a different area a little further off campus. So there was very little solidarity for students and tolerance for this kind of rhetoric as well.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Let’s take a step back and put all of this in the context of the past few years. From the genocide in Gaza to the student encampment movement, to the wave of repression from the Biden and Trump administrations and from university administrations themselves. Firstly, I wanted to ask y’all if you could just describe for people out there who aren’t living or working on a college campus right now, what is it like to be a student and a student activist in the US in 2026? And what does the emergence of the USM Divestment Coalition say about the evolution of tactics and goals and strategies of the student movements against war and genocide and censorship?
Mohammad:
Yeah, of course. So I think the way that we’ve seen it at USM schools, and I would say College Park is probably the worst campus when it comes to repression, is they’ve done it very sneakily. So the Maryland SJPs didn’t host an encampment on any of their campuses. They participated in the DMV wide one, which was on a DC campus. So our universities didn’t have, I don’t think they had the same pretext as many other universities did to go in and directly suppress or ban any SJPs like we saw at other campuses. So the way that they went about it, as Katija mentioned earlier, was with these time, place, and manner restrictions that they rolled out on all campuses. But like I said before, College Park probably being the worst example. Yeah, I mean, just to give a few examples, amplified sound isn’t allowed at all.
During the week, you can only use it over the weekend. That obviously makes it harder to protest. You can’t have a group of over 10 students gathering together without a reservation made because it’s then considered an event and you need a reservation to be able to do an event. You’re not allowed to talk unless outside of three designated areas on campus, and you’re not allowed to put stickers up on university property. And what’s more disappointing than just the policies themselves is how selectively enforced they are. If you take a walk around the College Park campus, you’ll see stickers for just about everything. Lots of organizations create stickers. You’ll see them all over the place. Political, not political. It is a very casual thing. But I know personally of two students who put up stickers that actually had their faces covered, but were investigated and the university tracked them down just based on their height and their skin color.
So that’s how seriously they take it when it’s a pro-Palestine sticker is they’ll track the person down, give them student conduct charges, but any other type of sticker, it’s not treated as a big deal because it shouldn’t be a big deal. And obviously we’ve called the university out on this. Why did these really strict policies come about around the same time as the encampments were blowing up? And they have claimed that it isn’t indirect response to it, but we know it is. And we see it in other places. Even in my orientation when I was preparing to. I hadn’t even had my first class on campus yet. This was my first time summer before my freshman year. And for context, I was a freshman after the encampments. And we had the police talking to us, again, first day on campus about how they had prevented any of the.
They didn’t use the word encampment, but the chaos that they saw in other campuses, they were bragging about how they prevented it at UMD and how they wouldn’t let it happen. So it was very explicit. There’s also been repression when we actually go to Board of Regents meeting, this was more recently once who created the USM coalition, which I think Tadija can speak to.
Khadeeja:
Yeah, just really briefly, I’ve been attending the Board of Regents meetings since November 2023. I’ve attended eight Board of Regents meetings and these meetings, the Board of Regents are extremely inaccessible. They basically never meet with students, the Board of Regents and the chancellor. Even though that they’re in these public serving positions to serve the students, they never meet with us. But regardless, their meetings have a public portion, the beginning section, and then they have a public comment section. And people are limited to three minutes, which I know people who have attended meetings before we started attending, and they said that they never saw the time limit being enforced. We would go up there and they would stand behind us with a timer. They would cut us off if we spoke on anything that wasn’t explicitly on the agenda for that day. And mind you, again, these are 21 people, 21 adults, grown-up adults who are meant to serve the students.
And these are young 18, 19-year-olds coming with a prepared speech just for three minutes to talk about something that they care about, something that’s an ethical concern, which the USM claims to have a commitment to global justice. So this should be directly aligned with their mission and values, but it’s become increasingly apparent in the way that they have engaged with us at these meetings that it hasn’t necessarily been in good faith. Also, their security measures have amped up. So they always have security, but they have started searching through our bags, requiring us to open any posters that we have, searching through every single pocket, turning students down from speaking just because they got there a few minutes late. Just things like that have definitely been, I wouldn’t say discouraging, but definitely disappointing.
Zyad:
Back in October 2024, the UMDSJP were planning on organizing an AXGA vigil for the martyrs in Ghaza. And that was faced by a lot of backlash from the Zionist community of UMD, which is really large. And even threats were made to the president of the university threatening to lynch him and his family using racial slurs in emails sent to him unless the event was canceled. And again, this is a peaceful vigil that was being held, not even a protest, honoring the martyrs in Ghaza. And the university folded to the threats claiming that it was not safe for the students to organize that event, which in response to that, they created a blackout date to be held instead. So no student organizations were allowed to have any event regardless of what it was about, which is obviously repressive in the sense of the Palestinian organizing, but also repressive in the forms of freedom of speech.
Any other student organization wanted to have an event they were not allowed to. And this has never been done before. There’s never been a day where you’re not allowed to have an event at all. So the response with that was that UMDSGP sued the school and it’s turned out to be the UMDSGP won the lawsuit and ended with a $100,000 settlement with majority of that being donated directly back to Gaza and the people there. And then I also wanted to mention about doxing, which is very prevalent at UMD. It’s happened at UMBC as well. I’m not too sure in terms of Taos and how common it’s there, but doxing is a method used by Zionists students and just general Zionists to target students that are speaking out against the genocide and speaking against the apartheid system. This has been something that’s been done for almost 10 years now.
And students who were on student government like myself voting for divestment were doxed. Actually, I was doxed over a resolution that condemned the university for allowing the university to host three IOF soldiers who participated in the genocide in Gaza. And for the purpose of the event was to talk about their experience committing a genocide, which was appalling. The university claimed that this was not a security threat or safety threat to the students, but having a peaceful vigil was. And it shows you that clear bias that they have against Palestine. And so in response to that, calling for the university to change their policies to not allow people that have been complicit in genocide and war crimes to be banned from university resulted in being doxed. And many other students have been doxed as well. I think actually one of the people that leads the doxxing campaigns on a popular site that is used for doxing called Canary Mission actually was a UMD alumni.
So it kind of shows you those ties that it’s peer malice targeting students who are just speaking against genocide. And I also kind of want to touch upon the Board of Regents meeting. Hadijah touched on a lot of it, but just to say for any other students here, the meetings that they do are held on Fridays at 8:30 AM. I don’t know about you, but most students are not up at 8:30 AM on a Friday, let alone being held at different campuses. So students who want to raise their voices to the Board of Regents, the people that represent them, they have to wake up at 8:30, figure out a way, drive or figure out their own transportation to get to wherever they’re holding the meeting just to speak to them, which even that is limited. Before there wasn’t a time limit, but when in past and we have spoken, we’ve been given three minutes for time limit that actually moved down to two minutes for one of the meetings for no reason at all.
And they block out only 15 minutes to hear from the people that they represent. So that kind of shows you how they use their oppression, the tactics in terms of saying that there’s only 15 minutes allocated to that, that we’re going to only allow those students to speak for that long. And there’s also double standard in terms of any other people testifying to the USM where they have allowed speakers to go beyond the time as allocated for them. Whereas when students speaking out for divestment, speaking out for the university to cut complicity with the occupation and weapons manufacturers, they are not faced with that same opportunity. And
Fi:
Zaya did bring up Towson and the use of doxing over there. Although I can’t off the top of my head name any direct examples of doxxing. During testimonies for a SGA resolution calling for a divestment, an ex-faculty member named Richard Vatz, who actually has an auditorium named after him, testified against the resolution and advocated for doxing of students, which is incredibly. It’s a very bad look for the university to say the least. And the kind of message that it sends that an ex-faculty member who the university holds very dear is willing to advocate for the doxing and potentially putting these students in real harm underlines how unprotected students are who advocate for this cause.
Mohammad:
Yeah. And I think another important thing to highlight is just that as the student movement has been more successful, I think it’s really done a good job just exposing the underlying racism and agenda that the university upholds. As a Palestinian student myself, I can speak to just the double standards in how the university functions in terms of the curriculum that’s offered. There are no classes at UMD talking about the Palestinian experience. The closest thing there is there’s a class talking about the experience of the minority of Palestinians who live under Israeli society and have Israeli citizenship. So the only class even mentioning Palestinians is taught in the context of a very biased pro-Israel perspective of a specific portion of Palestinians who live with Israeli citizenship. We have Israel studies, Hebrew studies, and Jewish studies, but there isn’t anything about. There’s Arabic studies, but there’s no, like I said before, there’s just a lack of coverage of the Palestinian story and then Palestinian voices in the academics and even looking at the guest speakers that departments invite.
The business school has regularly invited. They’ve made it almost an annual thing at this point. They invite Israeli politicians and staunch pro-Israel advocates to come speak. And actually the one time that they did invite Palestinians, it was the two most sellout one in a thousand worst of the worst Palestinians that they could find. So they just have refused to platform Palestinians in academia in general while not just normalizing, but promoting pro-Israel narratives. And then I think the other area that we see a lot of bias is in their response to hate bias incidents. So they created after October of 2023 when they observed a rise across Across the country in both Islamophobia and antisemitic hate crimes. They created one committee to address both antisemitism and Islamophobia, but there was very clear bias. I’ve spoken to people on the committee who’ve talked about this. And also reading the report they published, they published a 60-page report and in it there was a list of antisemitic incidents.
They have a list of all the hate crimes. Of course, none of the many, many instances of Palestinian students being regularly harassed by Zionist students who were listed. Any Palestinian can speak to that. It is unfortunately very commonplace, but you had a long list of incidents that were literally a sighting of a free Palestine sticker or someone hearing someone else chant free Palestine. And students would call the police and report that and label it as an antisemitic hate crime. And the police not only kept a record of that, which was crazy in and of itself, but they published it somewhere in the 60-page report. So the fact that they’re associating these very mundane examples of people expressing their opposition to the genocide and support for Palestinian people with antisemitism is alarming. And when there’s a very real rise in anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia on campus, we see absolutely nothing.
Actually, in the last few weeks of just this past semester, we had two very good examples that highlight just that. So there was an instance of someone who did make an antisemitic post featuring a Jewish student’s face and posting it online with antisemitic symbolism in the back. And the school responded to that very quickly and with heavy condemnation. Within 24 hours, the president of the university had sent an email to everyone. The police department had sent an email to everyone saying that they were actively investigating it. And then not even a week after that, there was a pro-Israel influencer on campus who posted a Muslim girl’s face, visibly Muslim girl. She was wearing a hijab. He posted her face and called her a terrorist and posted it online. This wasn’t an anonymous post like the other one. This was on his personal account. We know who the student is, and multiple people reported this to the administration and were told nothing could be done.
We asked them, why did you just a week ago loudly and openly condemn an antisemitic post featuring a student’s face? But now a very similar incident is happening to a Muslim student and you’re doing nothing. And the explanation was that one was a hate bias incident and one was a hate crime. So it’s using this vague technical language to justify doing nothing when Muslim, Palestinian, Autumn students are being victimized and not necessarily for others. And that same student who posted the Muslim girl’s face went and did it again a week later to another Muslim girl calling her a terrorist and posting it online, which was, I mean, no need to say it is unacceptable, but the university has been unable to condemn or even acknowledge it outside of closed door meeting. So there’s that very clear inequity in how they address that. And aside from the administration, even just the Zionist presence on campus that Zaya talked about before has just got a lot more animalistic in the past two years.
They’ve gotten a lot more bold. There are too many examples to name, but I mean just walking around on campus with a kefia on or being visibly Palestinian or talking about Palestine, I have friends who’ve been shoved, physically attacked. I personally, during my freshman year, a group of friends and I were harassed by a group of 20 Zionists who came up to us because we were playing Arabic music on a speaker and leaving notes on our backpacks, accusing us of having ties to foreign terrorist organizations, even university officials. So for example, the director of Hillel, multiple Palestinian girls specifically have spoken out about being harassed by him at protests to the extent that UMPD, the police department has had to go and talk to him and tell him to stop coming to SJPA events, which to my knowledge he has since, but the fact it got to that point was insane.
And the university allowed him to maintain his position as an adjunct professor at the university. So he still teaches a class. Last semester, there was also a case where a business professor who was organizing an event where she invited some pro-Israel speakers, was confronted. And she actually, to my face and in front of other students, was accusing us of taking money from Iran and then foreign terrorist organizations. So these are people with faculty appointments in the university. It’s not just outside agitators or even random students. These are people who the university has direct ties to going and being able to say whatever they want. And disappointingly but unsurprisingly, the university does nothing, doesn’t treat those incidents the same as they treat others. And it’s really just a general lack of, I can’t even say lack of initiative, just lack of care when it comes to addressing the needs of students who are actually being targeted, whose families are being genocided overseas.
And yeah, I guess that’s just the student experience on campus over the last few years.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Well, let me ask y’all before we have to wrap up, where do things stand now with this coalition and where do they go from here? What are your ultimate goals and what do you think it’s going to take to achieve them?
Khadeeja:
Yeah, I would say at a broader scale, student organizers across the nation have become increasingly more aware of the university system structures and how they all nationally function as an arm of America’s military industrial complex. And that has created the need for centralized campaigns. I would say this is widely reflected within the USM Divestment Coalition. It was the decentralization of all of our university’s separate divestment efforts combined with a greater understanding of the system itself that revealed the necessity for us to shift our strategy. And that was the motivating effort for us coalescing our efforts. Not only has combined efforts strengthened our campaigns through numbers and resource sharing, but this formation of a coalition has allowed us to begin actively archiving our work. Students are only part of the system for around four years, give or take, and the structures are intentionally complicated. So it’s necessary that we have increased our internal research, we’ve increased our political education, we’ve increased our base building with other USM schools, as well as local Maryland campaigns such as the Break the Bonds campaign, which was recently successful that we were an official endorser of.
We’ve collaborated with unions and the broader community at large. And along with doing that work, we’ve institutionalized all of that. We’ve institutionalized the research, the education, and the relationship so that we are not reinventing the wheel every few years. And this strategic shift has allowed us to progress beyond the post-encampment stall where many student organizers were kind of left picking up the pieces and trying to figure out how to emulate a spark, but we’re not trying to do that. Ultimately, we’re concerned with our university’s material function as financial backers of genocide, and we’re strategizing how to achieve material wins because thus far the winds have been largely symbolic. To build off of that, I think as students, like I mentioned, we understand that our universities, they serve as landlords, they serve as extensions of US capitalist imperial society and to reproduce that. They were built on stolen land and they’re sustained on the extraction and exploitation of the global community.
I think it’s important and necessary that we recognize the systems for what they are and that we reject some of the social norms that come with it. And unless we reject them, we can’t really move forward. So although the material aspect is the most important, I mentioned earlier that the US is also uniquely complicit in the Zionist state and that it’s upholding it in a way beyond material, but also ideologically and culturally. Universities are not exempt for that, and so our complicity is unique as a result. So we recognize that true divestment means a dismantling of many of these structures as we currently know them. It would mean a dissolution of the Board of Regents, for example. It would mean the replacement with a popular elective body. It would mean the end of the university’s current volatile investment structure that prioritizes growth at any cost over human rights.
There was recently a position paper put out by National SJP. It’s only about 70 pages. I recommend anyone and everyone to read it. It’s called The University and the Reproduction of Capitalist Imperial Society. It’s publicly available, but it expands upon this idea of the so-called good student where students accept their own subordination within the system and keep their head down so that they may be accepted and receive the material and social benefits that come from the university. It is ultimately our responsibility to disrupt that structure. We are aiming to empower the student and broader community. We want to understand that there’s power within us. We don’t need to rely on the structures as heavily as we have before. And lastly, I want to mention in part of moving forward is, like I mentioned, empowering the student community, but also the larger, broader community. So if the USM, when we say that they control the universities, that really does affect all of us.
So the USM has recently put forth a proposal for a over $300 million development contract basically to turn the surrounding area of UMB, so University of Maryland, Baltimore, to gentrify, essentially to turn it into a college town. An interesting link is that Steven Sabell, who sits on the Board of Regents, is one of the, I think, main financial partners for, I think it’s called Caves Valley Partners, which is I think the largest gentrifier of Baltimore. That’s not a coincidence. There’s a reason that Lockheed Martin is one of the largest employers of the USM and recruiters, and that simultaneously the chair of the Board of Regents, Linda Gooden, is the retired VP of Lockheed Martin. Lastly, also that relates to Baltimore and the broader community. There was a proposal to spend over $300 million, again, on a COP training facility at Coppin University, which is an HBCU, which just further increases the over-militarization and criminalization of the Black community and marginalized communities in Baltimore.
So divestment truly involves all of us. It’s not just the students. It’s truly all of us, students and non-students alike, and the system benefits from us not interacting with each other and not recognizing that our struggles really are interconnected.
Zyad:
Yeah, to go off of that, like I was mentioned before, we are a coalition consisting of organizations across USM, and we really won’t stop until we reach each school and all types of organizations because we know that our demands are connected and that we will continue until demands a reality. In May, we saw the system-wide student council pass a divestment resolution, which was the first of its kind in the entirety of the US, calling for the divestment of arms manufacturing. And we know that the arms manufacturing that we’re targeting don’t only supply the IOF who have been committing an escalated genocide for the last two and a half years, legally stealing land and creating settlements. But these are the same companies that are supplying the human rights violations in Sudan that are armed by Saudi Arabia and other parties by companies like Lockheed Martin or in the Philippines.
And in the Philippines, we want to name this because of people like Chantal Anikoche, who was a UMBC alumni who was kidnapped by the AFP or the Negros 19 who were murdered by weapons used, weapons made by Lockheed Martin and other manufacturing. The weapons economy that killed them is the same economy that the endowment dollars are financing through the USM Common Trust. When we stay divest, we’re not making a statement about only one particular cause. We’re withdrawing material support from a global system of militarized violence. That is a long-term project, not just resolution. It’s not just one board meeting, it’s not just one disruption, but building a coalition of students, faculty, union, and community members who understand that these struggles are structurally connected and refuse to let our institutions be complicit in any of them.
Fi:
And to piggyback off what Zyad and Khadeeja have been saying about the material consequences of the investments that the USM is making into arms manufacturing, not only does this have international ripples in the human rights violations in Sudan and Palestine and the bombing of Mindoro and capture of Chantal and Akoche by the AFP and the murder of 19 activists in Negros in the Philippines, but even domestically, the USM is making decisions that financially disadvantage their workers and the people that are keeping these institutions going. Divestment is an issue that is for the workers as well. We’re advocating for more transparency of where the money is going. I believe it was AFSCME is a faculty and staff union that just suffered mass layoffs across the USM system. And at Bowie State University, they’re in a huge deficit right now due to a misappropriation of funds that haven’t been going toward upkeeping positions for workers that have been working there for a long time, but the creation of newer higher paid consultant positions that are sort of just replicating that sort of anti-worker pro-capitalist establishment where there’s this whole class of consultants and people who are getting paid these large amounts of money and disenfranchising the people that actually run to keep this university going.
We’re talking about healthcare professionals or students with mental health problems. We’re talking about cultural centers such as Norrenborough at UMD, which has faced ongoing structural issues and has consistently been advocating for reallocation of funds to create a more sustainable university that reflects the future that the students are advocating for. And the Board of Regents as an unelected body consistently again and again with the way they allocate the funds of the USM system show very little interest in representing the people. And yeah, it’s about time that students come together and form these strong coalitions. And we stand in solidarity with unions as well that are also getting screwed over by these same misappropriations and unethical decisions. Yeah, the issue of divestment, it’s very all-encompassing.
Mohammad:
Yeah. And I think just to round that out, you described it very well. When you look at it from a broader view tying in what Zaid and Fi said, when we’re talking about divesting for Palestine, obviously that is a moral obligation in itself. We should not be financing the suffering of any people overseas, but the same endowment that is being used to reinforce the suffering of Palestinians is upholding systems of oppression all over the world. And the same Board of Regents members claiming that they can’t pay their own workers despite being allocated money by the Maryland State legislature to do so are claiming they can’t. And all of this just ties back to the issue of the American universities in general, but we can see it very clearly here in the USM, which is that we have a for-profit university system. Even though these are our public institutions, they’re supposed to serve the people of Maryland.
They do not. If you look at the makeup of the Board of Regents, it’s not made up of academics or former university administrators or leadership. All of them are business people. The head of the Board of Regents, she was the former vice president of Lockheed Martin. The chancellor currently, well, he actually was an academic, but his legacy was a partnership program he established with a medical school in Israel. And all of the Board of Regents members, most of them are really just wealthy people who were appointed not to advance the university’s mission or to benefit the people of Maryland, but just to uphold our university’s corporate ties and make sure that we’re still doing research to help develop weapons for Lockheed Martin and Northrop Garden to make sure that we aren’t divesting our endowment from war profiteers, to make sure that we’re still inviting IDF soldiers and not taking a public stand against the suffering that our university is complicit in.
And that’s just why it’s important for us to fight on the USM level, as we’ve been saying before. We are still very optimistic. I mean, if you look at where the movement is now compared to two years ago, students would’ve been shocked that we passed resolutions at all. But now we’ve passed resolutions at the SGA level. The students have made very clear where they stand. We’ve gotten around all the red tape that was set in place. We’re escalating it at a higher level now. There’s the Break the Bonds campaign that Khadija mentioned. We’re seeing divestment actually happening and taking shape now, which is why it’s just more important than ever for us to continue pushing just as hard, harder than we ever have been and making noise.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Real News Network Podcast. And thank you to our panel of guests, Khadija, Zaid, Mohammed and Fi, who are all student organizers with the University System of Maryland Divestment Coalition. If you want to get more coverage and hear more important conversations just like this, then we need you to become a supporter of The Real News Now. Share this podcast with people in your circles, your friends, your family, your coworkers. Sign up for the Real News newsletter so you never miss a story and go to therealnews.com/donate and become a supporter today. I promise you guys, it really makes a difference. For the Real News Network, this is Maximillian Alvarez signing off from Baltimore. Take care of yourselves and take care of each other.
While humanitarian associations’ coverage of Gaza focuses on how to provide food, medicine, and shelter, another devastating consequence of wars is the loss of childhood itself.
According to various reports and estimates, tens of thousands of children have been killed or injured in Israel’s war on Gaza, and many more have been affected by the loss of one or both parents. Large numbers of people have been displaced amid widespread destruction and ongoing genocide since 2023.
It is an unbelievable set of statistics that illustrate the systematic killing of childhood in Gaza and the erasure of new generations from Palestinian society. However, according to Save the Children, an estimated 105,000 to 110,000 children have been born in the Gaza Strip during the war — a new generation born alongside the immense number of children killed.
A New Generation Born Amid War
These children are born with nothing but suffering. Many mothers give birth in makeshift tents, in winter or the heat of summer, under bombardment, and with severely limited medical care. Many children experience starvation, displacement, and the loss of family members and lives around them.
Israel is not only preventing normal life but also restricting the entry of toys into Gaza. A wide range of goods, including toys, have been subject to restrictions entering the Strip. Some in the newest generation of Palestinians in Gaza may not even know what toys or games are.
Regarding the war’s impact, Truthout interviewed Italian psychologist and psychotherapist Damiano Rizzi, president of Fondazione Soleterre, an Italian humanitarian organization founded in 2002 that works to protect the physical and psychological well-being of people across the world.
Rizzi works in the West Bank and supports psychosocial programs for children affected by war in both the West Bank and Gaza.
“Children have trauma that affects emotional regulation, communication, language, and trust in the world,” Rizzi says, describing how war impacts the mental state of children. He explained that when trauma is repeated without a root solution, it becomes more complex and appears more as post-traumatic stress disorder, aggressive behaviors, lack of self-awareness, and difficulties in dealing with relationships.
“Trauma becomes permanent because there is almost no experience of an ‘after’ in which children finally feel safe.”
The normal daily life of a 2- or 3-year-old child has lost much of its meaning and is instead filled with fear. The ability to play with toys is not a secondary aspect of childhood; it is a crucial part of a child’s ability to develop, learn, engage with life, and build essential skills. Instead of doing so, many children in Gaza now are growing up searching for water, standing in food lines, and falling asleep to the sound of explosions.
I have seen this play out in the experience of my 5-year-old brother Yamen, who has lived in Gaza throughout the war and continues to suffer there, since he was not able to come with me on my student visa to Italy. “I really want to have a toy,” Yamen said during a video call I had with my family, who remain in Gaza.
Yamen is one of those children who have lost the experience of childhood. He was only three years old when the war began, so he no longer remembers the toys he once had.
He used to have many toys, but he lost many of them amid the chaos of displacement and the destruction of our neighborhood. Later, during the intense starvation conditions that we faced in Gaza in 2025, when we ran out of fuel and firewood with which to cook, we were forced in desperation to burn Yamen’s remaining plastic toys to make a fire. Too young to understand what was happening, Yamen innocently helped us by bringing more of his little plastic cups and toy dishes to feed the flames so we could prepare a meal. Wanting to help us, he was unaware that we were destroying the last pieces of what had once been his childhood.
Yamen’s young mind cannot fully grasp that he once owned so many toys and that they were all lost. He longs to play, go to kindergarten, and make new friends. However, Israel’s restrictions have shaped even his simplest dreams, where something as small as a toy becomes a reminder of the childhood he might have had before the war.
Children in the Strip are also deprived of the right to education; over 90 percent of Gaza’s school buildings have either been destroyed or repurposed as shelters for families displaced by the war. Instead of attending classes, many children now live in school buildings, having lost both their homes and access to education.
Parents Cannot Provide Safety
When a child like my brother asks for a toy, he is not asking for a simple material possession. He is asking for something ordinary: the right to play, imagine, and experience a moment of normal childhood.
Children usually look to their parents for reassurance that the world around them is safe. In Gaza, however, many parents are themselves terrified, exhausted, and overwhelmed by the daily struggle to survive. They spend hours searching for food, clean water, or a safe place to shelter, leaving little emotional energy to comfort their children or help them feel secure. Instead of protecting their children from fear, many parents are forced to endure that fear alongside them. The psychological burden of war affects entire families, making it far more difficult for children to find the stability and reassurance they need during their earliest years of development.
For many children, there are no gardens to play in, no toys, no regular activities, and no functioning schools. Countless children have also lost relatives, neighbors, and friends. The ordinary experiences that define childhood have been stripped away, leaving many parents unable to give their children a sense of normalcy. Children used to calm themselves through the reassurance of trusted adults, but what if the adults are themselves traumatized?
Recovery Seems Far Off in Gaza
Healing is nearly impossible when children remain trapped in the same environment that caused the trauma. “Trauma becomes permanent because there is almost no experience of an ‘after’ in which children finally feel safe,” Rizzi said, explaining why many children in Gaza are unable to recover psychologically. As long as displacement, destruction, deprivation of basic rights, disease, and daily suffering continue, they are denied the safety and stability necessary for healing. Instead of leaving trauma behind, these children are forced to relive it day after day during the most formative years of their lives.
When a child like my brother asks for a toy, he is not asking for a simple material possession. He is asking for something ordinary: the right to play, imagine, and experience a moment of normal childhood. When even toys become difficult to access, it reveals the extent to which war has disrupted the most basic elements of children’s lives.
The loss of access to toys is not only about the absence of objects. It reflects the broader destruction of childhood itself — the memories, skills, imagination, and emotional development that shape a generation. The consequences of war extend beyond physical injuries; they also affect the minds and futures of children who are growing up surrounded by fear and loss.
Children in Gaza are growing up shaped by memories that no child should ever have to experience. They are learning the language of loss and fear before they have the chance to discover the possibilities of life. The damage in Gaza affects more than homes and buildings; it reaches a generation that is being shattered by this war even amid the so-called ceasefire.
by Scott Ritter – originally published on his Substack
Scott ritter is a former US Navy Intelligence official, now writer, historian, geopolitical analyst, arms control specialist, military expert.
All links to previous Gospa News article or video have been added in the aftermath
When I was travelling to Israel on a regular basis back in the mid- to late-1990’s as part of my duties with the United Nations, I was always struck by how closely many Israelis identified with the United States. On national holidays, many Israeli motorists would fly two little plastic flags from the windows of their cars—one the blue and white Star of David, and the other the Stars and Stripes. “We see ourselves as little America”, my Israeli host would explain when I pointed this out.
I know—I was caught up in the middle of this power dynamic, and ended up being accused by the US government of spying on behalf of Israel. The charges were eventually dropped as unfounded and politically motivated, but the sentiment behind the accusations was real—a significant part of the US defense, intelligence and security establishment of the United States viewed Israel as a threat.
Collaboration and cooperation ongoing between the US and Israel
Because Israel was a threat. This doesn’t mean there wasn’t collaboration and cooperation ongoing between the US and Israel—while I was in Israel, the hotels were full of CIA officers, US military officers, and State Department diplomats who were on official business.
But there was a Chinese Wall separating the US and Israel, and interactions were governed by strict protocols that kept this wall up at all times. After I left the United Nations, I worked for a while as an on-air analyst for NBC News.
I also signed with a New York City speakers bureau, Greater Talent Network (GTN). And it was these two experiences which exposed me to the level to which pro-Israeli interests had infiltrated every aspect of American media and information management.
I was approached repeatedly by NBC producers who would hand me their business cards—not the NBC ones, but rather their AIPAC cards (the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, a literal front for the Israeli government.)
AIPAC called the shots for influential Senators and Congressional Representatives, and Senate and House staffers
GTN networked me directly with AIPAC, as well as its affiliate entities that had taken root in American academia and the think tank industry.
Through these networks, I was brought into a secretive world of backroom connectivity with the US Congress, where AIPAC called the shots for influential Senators and Congressional Representatives, and Senate and House staffers openly collaborated with employees of various US government agencies to set policy.
I was offered a great deal of money by Paul Wolfowitz, who at the time of the pitch was the Dean of the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), if I would join the team.
All I had to do was get onboard with the notion that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. I declined Wolfowitz’s offer, and walked away from the AIPAC cabal.
Unfortunately America’s elected representatives have not shown such moral clarity or loyalty to the Republic they ostensibly serve.
We live in an age where the Israeli Prime Minister openly brags about having bought the US Congress.
Pro-Israeli operatives spent $30 million to evict Thomas Massie from the US Congress
Where AIPAC brags about spending $100 million to accomplish just that. Where pro-Israeli operatives spent $30 million to evict Thomas Massie from the US Congress because he dared challenge the surrender of American sovereignty to Israel.
Where the US Secretary of State has openly declared that criticism of Israel is grounds for being denied a visa into the United States. Where Israeli politicians openly advocate for the suppression of free speech in America.
And where the Chinese Wall that separated US and Israeli interests is being torn down by a compliant Congress, all the while the mainstream media, which long ago surrendered its independence and integrity to Israeli interests, remains silent.
The surrender document that signals the capitulation of the Constitutional Republic formerly known as the United States of America to a new entity which could more accurately be called the United States of Israel is the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), in particular Section 219 of the House version, and Section 1217 of the Senate’s version.
Secretary of Defense to designate an Executive Agent (EA) to expand and accelerate deeper integration of Israel into US institutions.
Section 219/1217 directs the Secretary of Defense to designate an Executive Agent (EA) to expand and accelerate deeper integration of Israel into US institutions. The EA authority would take precedence over the authority of the other DoD Component heads per DOD Instruction 5101.01, meaning that the EA would be able to overrule determinations by other DOD agencies such as the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) on Israeli access to US technology.
This new EA would end direct Congressional oversight with supervision by the Secretary of Defense. There would be no Congressional confirmation or ability for removal of an executive agent by Congress.
In short, it is the surrendering of the constitutional duties of Congress to a politically appointment agent of the Executive branch of government.This is not what the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution.
Section 2191217 integrates American and Israeli research and development programs in a way which makes the United States dependent on Israel’s provision of specific technologies, thereby granting Israel a significant amount of leverage over future American policy and infrastructure, entangling defense supply chains of Israel and the United States across government, private and academic sectors, blurring the lines of territorial integrity and political sovereignty.
Section 219/1217 targets defense related procurement and acquisition processes so that it will be impossible for future Administrations to separate Israeli technologies or agreements from major defense procurement programs, holding DOD Program Executive Offices and Program Managers hostage to the inclusion of Israeli-origin technologies in US systems. These procedures make moot current “Buy-America” provisions, and give Israeli companies access to intellectual property for weapons systems they are directly competing against.
Section 2191217 grants the EA the authority to re-allocate the funding and focus of the Defense Department by prioritizing the integration of Israel into the US’ national defense structures. It is literally subordinating the totality of the most sensitive aspects of US defense to Israel, outside the purview of Congressional oversight.
At a time when the majority of the American people are waking up to the horrific crimes committed by Israel against the people of Palestine, and the role played by Israel in getting America involved in permanent wars in the Middle East, Section 219/1217 will permanently tie the United States to Israel, making the US Department of Defense and, by extension, all of the American people, complicit in these crimes.
The Greater Israeli Project in the Middle East is floundering.
The Greater Israeli Project, which seeks the territorial expansion of the Israeli State in the Middle East at the expense of Israel’s neighbors, is floundering. Israel itself is going through an existential crisis because of its permanent state of war.
I have previously written that the relationship between Israel and the United States is like that of a parasite to its host. Section 219/1217 would codify this status as law.And in doing so, destroy the Constitutional Republic.
Congress has specific duties and responsibilities demanded of it by the Constitution.Surrendering these responsibilities to a foreign nation is not one of these duties.
If Section 219/1217 becomes law, Israel will have permanently attached itself to the American enterprise.
Right now, we have a Congress which has considered criminalizing and criticism of Israel.This, or course, is an affront to the very notion of free speech.By making Israeli security and US security indistinguishable, as would happen if Section 219/1217 becomes law, the inevitability of the criminalization of speech critical of Israel is assured.
The 2027 NDAA is America’s last stand.Remove Section 2191217, and we have a chance at survival.Turn Section 219/1217 into law, and we have lost the Republic.
I swore to defend the United States of America, a Constitutional Republic.
I will never serve the United States of Israel. And neither should anyone who calls themselves an American.
by Scott Ritter – originally published on his Substack
William Scott Ritter Jr. (born July 15, 1961) is an American former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer, former United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspector, author, and commentator.
Next to rubble and pictures of the deceased, people in Gaza are still getting married. Athar Abu Samra reports on why couples are refusing to delay their nuptials. With so much already lost, and so much still under threat, families in Gaza are seizing moments of joy wherever they can. Marriage ceremonies are no longer what they once were—nor do they express hope in quite the same way—but they have become powerful testaments to resilience.
As I worked on this story, I came to understand that the war has not only transformed weddings in Gaza. It has transformed people’s relationship with time itself. Before the war, marriage followed a familiar sequence. People finished their education, found work, built or rented a home, saved enough money and only then began planning a wedding. Families often postponed marriages until those expectations had been met. But now no one has that luxury — the luxury of time.
I spoke with one mother who had lost several of her children during the war, yet hurried to arrange the marriage of her youngest son. She told me she had always dreamed, like any mother, of watching all of her children grow up, get married, and fill her home with grandchildren. The war had taken much of that dream away, but she was determined not to lose what remained.
MI5 directors secretly pushed for Britain’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization
MI5 directors secretly pushed for Britain’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization and helped the government adopt the draconian National Security Act, a report says.
The report, published by The Grayzone on Friday, revealed that MI5 Director General Kenneth Douglas McCallum and former MI5 chief Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller privately worked to advance the IRGC designation and expand state security powers before the measure was adopted.
McCallum discussed the proposed IRGC proscription with then-Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in 2023, while acknowledging that its “direct operational benefit” was likely to be “modest.”
The combo shows the former MI5 chief Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller (L), and the current MI5 Director General Kenneth Douglas McCallum (Image via Press TV)
Despite recognizing the limited practical impact, McCallum told Cooper that granting authorities such powers was still “sensible to contemplate” as Britain debated whether to formally proscribe the IRGC.
The leaked emails showed that the IRGC designation gained momentum amid false claims by British security officials that Iran had been involved in plots inside the UK, including McCallum’s statements that MI5 had disrupted multiple Iran-related threats without disclosing any evidence.
The UK government officially designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization on July 13, granting authorities expanded powers to prosecute individuals for activities to support or promote the group under Britain’s so-called terrorism laws.
The intelligence campaign to the passage of the National Security Act,
The report also linked the intelligence campaign to the passage of the National Security Act, a controversial law that expanded government powers against activities considered threats to national security.
In one leaked email, McCallum thanked Manningham-Buller for helping secure the legislation, writing, “Many thanks for your support (and stamina) in getting the NS Act over the line.”
The report said the legislation introduced offenses targeting unauthorized disclosures of state information, while parliamentary debates explicitly referenced preventing future “WikiLeaks-type” disclosures.
Grayzone: “The Act could have a “chilling effect” on legitimate journalistic activity”
The Grayzone also cited warnings from lawyers involved in drafting the legislation that the Act could have a “chilling effect” on legitimate journalistic activity. The leaked correspondence showed McCallum continued promoting warnings about foreign threats, including unfounded claims that Iran had carried out plots against British targets.
In October 2024, Manningham-Buller praised McCallum’s public security warnings, writing, “You could not have hoped for fuller coverage. Hope it helps with SR,” referring to the government’s spending review.
The report said the exchange highlighted how claims of foreign threats were used to support calls for increased intelligence resources, with the government later announcing a seven-percent rise in spending on domestic and foreign intelligence operations.
Por Alfredo Jalife Rahme Hoy resaltan dos posturas diametralmente opuestas cuan incompatibles entre el “memorándum Islamabad” de 14 puntos, negociado con Irán por el vicepresidente JD Vance, frente al “memorándum…
La Comisión Internacional Independiente de Investigación de la Organización de Naciones Unidas sobre los Territorios Palestinos Ocupados acusó a Israel de “apuntar” contra los niños en la franja de Gaza…
Por Marcelo Ramírez Israel suele ser analizado desde las categorías habituales de la geopolítica moderna como la seguridad nacional, alianza con Estados Unidos, presión del lobby en Washington, conflicto con…
Suddenly, for centrists, refusing to support Democrats and withdrawing their support isn’t much of an offense, and indeed could be something worthy of “serious conversations.”
Over the past few weeks, progressive and self-identified democratic socialist candidates are racking up major victories in New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, and leading in polls in Wisconsin and Michigan. In response, centrist pundits, politicians, and funders are increasingly threatening to boycott, leave, or otherwise announce their uncommitment to the Democratic Party. But unlike the Uncommitted Movement of 2024—which sought to use their leverage as voters to pressure the Biden, and ultimately Harris, campaign into adopting the both morally and politically correct position of ending support for genocide—the emerging Centrist Uncommitted movement is animated, in large part, by their support for genocide and lockstep support for Israel.
First up is perennial centrist sage James Carville, whose claim to fame is winning an election 34 years ago and spending the next several decades occupying cable news panels or calling in from gaudy pink mansions to scold Democrats for never being sufficiently centrist. He has one note, and he was going to elevate it after the recent wave of Left electoral wins, telling his podcast listeners after Mamdani-backed candidates in New York won 8 for 8 last month, “I actually do think it’s time for Democrats to talk the S-word: schism.” He added that some DSA-aligned candidates “have no place in the Democratic party” and, of the broader coalition: “I’m not in that fucking political party.”
Carville is by no means alone. CNN reported that same day that there’s apparently a brewing conspiracy on Capitol Hill for centrists, namely pro-Israel centrists, to form their own party or otherwise divorce from the Democratic Party. With the courage typical in these ideological meltdowns, these designs were, of course, leaked anonymously to a friendly outlet. “One Democratic lawmaker sitting in a battleground district told CNN,” Sarah Ferris, Ellis Kim, and Annie Grayer reported, “that they are so concerned about the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America that they have recently begun having serious conversations with donors about leaving the party altogether.”
It’s a funny formulation here by CNN: The anonymous threat is framed as being from a congressperson in a “battleground state,” implying their concern is electoral, and they are forced to respond to the organic demands of their constituents to support Israel. But then it’s immediately followed up with an acknowledgment that they’re actually taking cues from their “donors,” with whom they discussed the issue before any voters are mentioned, much less centered.
One of the few Democrats who has the decency to make this threat publicly is increasingly right-wing and erratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who indicated last week he will leave the party over its supposedly insufficient support for Israel.
We have evidence elsewhere of a pending Centrist Uncommitted movement backed by (far more consequentially than media whining) a donor strike—especially if anti-zionist Abdul El-Sayed wins his Democratic primary on August 4 in Michigan. “Some Jewish Democratic leaders in the state,” reports the Times of Israel, “are prepared to go even further.”:
“Several prominent Metro Detroit Jews who have traditionally fundraised for Democrats are also planning fundraisers for the presumptive GOP nominee, former US Rep. Mike Rogers, as a ‘hedge.’… Others affirmed the idea that the Jewish Democratic donor class, feeling abandoned by the party, would back Rogers.”
Other pro-Israel commentators, such as alleged gun control advocate Fred Guttenberg, have openly threatened to leave the party.
Unfortunately @RoKhanna, this is the kind of position that will cause people like me to step away from the Democratic party. https://t.co/npdNPE4D0q
After Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani secured the Democratic Party nomination for mayor of New York City last year, party leaders either dragged their feet in endorsing him or—as was the case with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer—never endorsed him at all. House Minority Leader (and the House’s number one recipient of AIPAC money out of 435 members) Hakeem Jeffries made veiled mob threats for months over Mamdani’s refusal to spout pro-Israel bromides, before reluctantly being forced to endorse Mamdani days before the general election, releasing a statement with all the charm and enthusiasm of an ISIS hostage video. Other Democrats, such as New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, accused Mamdani of being a “jihadist.”
It may seem vulgar to compare this genocidal fit to the 2024 Gaza Uncommitted Movement, but it’s a useful window into brazen hypocrisy and double standards. In retrospect, no group of people in the country were more loyal to the Democratic Party than the Uncommitted Movement, which was trying to save Democrats from themselves. Yet that movement’s acknowledgment of reality—that support for genocide would demoralize the base and reduce volunteer and GOTV energy—was framed as petulance, lack of loyalty, or a secret desire for Trump to win. Democrats were attempting to run a marathon with a rock in their shoe. The Uncommitted Movement insisted the rock must be removed. And the zionist ideologues that comprise a great deal of our media and party establishment insisted they were anti-winning the marathon. A grotesque combination of racist, stubborn, stupid, and cruel.
Democrats were attempting to run a marathon with a rock in their shoe. The Uncommitted Movement insisted the rock must be removed. And the zionist ideologues that comprise a great deal of our media and party establishment insisted they were anti-winning the marathon.
The emerging Centrist Uncommitted movement is, of course, not motivated by any such humanitarian or practical concerns. It’s motivated by venality and pro-corporate politics, but is being supercharged by a deluded commitment to the dead-end ideology of zionism and its never-ending regime of indefensible and extreme regional violence. A goal these Uncommitted “donors” and pro-Israel electeds openly profess.
The idea that threatening to leave, or not vote for, Democrats to extract concessions from the party is a uniquely left-wing phenomenon is a popular canard but not one supported by evidence. Indeed, it’s become something of conventional wisdom that disgruntled Bernie voters sat out the 2016 election or voted for Trump or Stein, but the reality is they voted for Clinton at a rate twice that of Clinton voters supported Obama in 2008. The anti-Obama PUMA movement, or the Party Unity My Ass Movement as it was called, was far more potent than any effort for Sanders supporters to boycott the general in 2016. But it nevertheless became conventional wisdom that the latter was of greater consequence than the former. Partly this is, of course, because Obama won and Clinton didn’t, but also because the Left’s loyalty to the party is taken for granted, whereas centrists must be won over and catered to. A dynamic that, conveniently, works out well for Wall Street, Corporate America, and zionism.
Centrists must be courted, pandered to, and their petulant threats to leave the party—in service of genocide rather than principled opposition to it—must be coddled. But those using the only lever they had to enact change in the doomed 2024 election were threatened, mocked, belittled, and turned into a punchline for disloyalty.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) issued a stark warning this week about a congressional measure that would merge the U.S. and Israel’s military technology industrial complexes, saying that it represents an “existential threat” to U.S. democracy.
The provision — called the “U.S.-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” or Section 219 — is included in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed the House in a 216 to 212 vote on Wednesday. Six Democrats broke from the party to vote “yes,” and seven Republicans voted “no.” The bill is still stalled in the Senate, however, after Democrats voted against its advancement last week.
The NDAA “includes a provision to merge parts of our military with the [Israeli military],” Ocasio-Cortez said in a post on social media on Tuesday. “This [provision] is an existential threat to American sovereignty and democracy. Every member of Congress must vote NO.”
The provision, if included in the final bill, would entrench Israel’s enmeshment with the U.S. military, mandating cooperation with regard to technology and intelligence with Israeli forces even when the U.S. gets little in return. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advocated for the measure as public scrutiny over the U.S.’s monetary military aid to Israel has increased amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Some lawmakers in Congress have waged a bipartisan effort for Section 219 to be stripped from the NDAA. Representatives Ro Khanna (D-California) and Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) have introduced an amendment to the bill to remove Section 219.
However, these efforts have been quashed by pro-Israel lawmakers, who make up the vast majority of Congress. When it published its list of proposed amendments to the bill this week, the House Rules Committee didn’t even include the Khanna/Massie proposal — barring it from being considered by the full chamber.
In a video posted to social media on Tuesday, Khanna pledged to continue to advocate for the proposal. He said that the lawmakers will now seek to fight against Section 219’s inclusion in the bill during the conference between the House and Senate, during which the two chambers reconcile differences in their versions of the legislation.
“It’s shocking that this even has to be explained. It’s about American sovereignty,” Khanna said. “We do not even have the chance to vote in the House to stop Israel and the United States from co-producing weapons.”
Last week, the House voted overwhelmingly to kill another Massie amendment to strip a State Department funding bill of $3.3 billion in military assistance to Israel. However, the measure did garner 103 votes from Democrats, marking a shift within the caucus.
Ahead of the House vote on Wednesday, progressive lawmakers vowed to vote against the NDAA due to its inclusion of Section 219.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) said the provision is an “outrageous threat to our country’s security and autonomy.”
“Americans want no part in Netanyahu’s genocidal regime. Congress cannot continue to bankroll Israel’s campaign of terror,” she went on.
“Despite Americans demanding an end to genocide, this bill deeply merges the U.S. and Israeli militaries, fuels Trump’s immoral war on Iran, and enriches billionaire arms dealers,” wrote Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). “Hell no.”
This story originally appeared in Mondoweiss on July 21, 2026. It is shared here with permission.
In December 2023, former State Department official, Josh Paul told CNN anchor, Christiane Amanpour that during his tenure in the foreign service, he learned of the rape of a 13-year old boy by Israeli officers while in captivity. In response to U.S. inquiries, the Israeli Government designated the Defense for Children International, the Palestinian organization that documented the abuse, a terrorist organization.
Since then, multiple Palestinian testimonies have emerged, enough to fill the pages of reports by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as B’tselem, an Israeli human rights organization. Among the most harrowing incidents was a leaked video of five Israeli officers gang raping a Palestinian detainee in Sde Teiman prison. An Israeli court not only acquitted the officers, but Israeli society celebrated them as heroes and protested their trial in infamous “right-to-rape” rallies. Still, when American journalist Nicholas Kristof published his opinion essay bemoaning impunity for the systematic sexual abuse of Palestinians in Israeli captivity in The New York Times, he insisted that there was “no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes.” (The Israeli government threatened to sue the paper of record for blood libel nonetheless.)
While Kristof, the UN, and human rights organizations are right to scrutinize the lack of concern and accountability for the sexual abuse of Palestinians, they have rarely asked how sexualized violence has functioned within Israel’s wider system of conquest, occupation and domination.
On June 30, 2026, the Palestinian Feminist Collective released a report that helps rectify that elision with meticulous research and painstaking documentation. A Predatory State: Israeli Systemic Sexualized and Gendered Violence against Palestinians lays out a decades-long pattern of Israeli sexual aggression against Palestinian children, women, and men. Harrowing as the 200-page report is, it is necessary reading for anyone concerned with human rights and gender justice. The report’s historic sweep, from the early days of the Zionist militia attacks on terrorized Palestinians, to the present day sexual torture of Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli prisons, should lay to rest any attempt to rationalize the current horrors as a response to the alleged rapes by Hamas militants of Israeli citizens or worse, an issue of a few rogue soldiers. Instead, the PFC report makes clear that such violence advances the genocide of the Palestinian people.
The report revisits a 1949 case, revealed in Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion’s own diary, in which he describes how a platoon of Israeli soldiers kidnapped a young Bedouin girl, “in her mid-teens.” When their commanding officer gave them the choice between using her as kitchen staff or a sex slave, the Israeli officers opted for the latter. They cut her hair and washed it with kerosene, then gang raped her so violently that on the next morning the officer in charge, Second Lieutenant Moshe, “saw fit to remove her from the world.”
Gendered violence is an inherent tool of settler colonialism and is not unique to Israel. Here in the United States, another settler colonial state, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement has highlighted the impunity surrounding the sexual assault of indigenous women on reservations where overlapping US and native criminal jurisdictions have made indigenous women particularly vulnerable to sexual assault. That it remains a significantly under-resourced and unaddressed crisis is not an accident.
Similarly, Zionist ideology, as a nation-making enterprise, necessitates the dispossession of Palestinian land and, ultimately, Palestinian elimination through juridical negation — denying their right to self determination, forced removal, containment, and/or destruction. Sexual violence is central to that effort as it both advances ethnic cleansing ambitions and shatters the social cohesion of those Palestinians who remain.
Israeli historian Benny Morris, who bemoans the fact that the 1948 Nakba did not go far enough in ethnically cleansing Palestine, noted many reported instances of rape dating to the founding of the Zionist state. He observed that “because neither the victims nor the rapists liked to report these events, we have to assume that the dozen cases of rape that were reported, which I found, are not the whole story. They are just the tip of the iceberg.” The sexual violence, like other forms of violence enacted throughout and since the Nakba, aimed to terrorize Palestinians and compel them to leave their towns and villages in search of safety. Official records show that the highest-ranking Israeli officials were fully aware of these abuses. The PFC report traces this history from before the establishment of Israel, into the present and intensified genocide in Gaza, to illustrate how Israel has always relied on sexual violence to advance its colonial plans. In it, we learn about the rape of civilians during the 1948 Nakba, the sexual torture of innocent prisoners in administrative detention during and in the aftermath of the 1967 War, and the rape of grassroots organizers during the Intifada, all the way to 2023–that is, before the October 7, 2023. The report also provides an analysis of the unfounded mass rape accusations against Hamas militants to demonstrate how such narratives work to further racialize Palestinian society as uncivilized and unworthy of life.
From being used as a method to expel Palestinians from their land in 1948 to the use of gendered sexualized violence to torture Palestinian detainees and prisoners in the wake of the 1967 War, and beyond, the report shows that while sexualized violence has changed frequency and form, it has remained a feature of settler-colonial displacement and oppression.
The United States cannot treat this as someone else’s crime. US officials have been told about these abuses. US weapons and diplomatic support continue to shield the system in which they occur. Accountability must go beyond a handful of soldiers to reach and tear down the legal, military and political structures that command and then protect these crimes.
Israel’s recent attacks on Lebanon and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank are part of a long history of military aggression and occupation. But the Zionist project of creating a “Greater Israel” in the region has reached new heights, with senior government officials openly advocating territorial expansion into sovereign nations like Lebanon.
In the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Palestinian refugee camps of Shatila and Bourj al-Barajneh have been a home to generations of Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Nakba. Residents of these camps have endured decades of violence, while holding onto the dream of one day returning to their stolen homeland.
TRNN was granted exclusive access to the Shatila and Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camps. In this on-the-ground report, we take you inside the camps in the midst of the latest conflict, and we speak to residents about their lives, resistance, and dreams of returning home.
Credits:
Filmed, directed and edited by Ross Domoney
Produced by TRNN, Antonis Vradis, and Shadowgraph Media
“Israel aims to establish a greater Jewish state from the Euphrates to the Nile. All Arabs are threatened, not only Palestinians. Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan—all are threatened”
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