Aug. 6: Cabinet reportedly weighs occupation plan that would begin with conquering Gaza City

IDF says strikes on Hezbollah targeted rocket launchers, weapons depots

The IDF says it carried out airstrikes on a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon a short while ago.

The targets included weapons depots, rocket launchers, and sites used to store construction vehicles that were used by the terror group to restore its infrastructure, according to the military.

“The Hezbollah terror organization continues its attempts to restore terror infrastructure throughout Lebanon, while endangering Lebanese civilians and using them as human shields,” the IDF says, adding that the presence of weapons and Hezbollah’s activity in the area “constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Since the beginning of a ceasefire in November 2024, the IDF says it has carried out over 500 airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, killing at least 230 operatives and destroying dozens of sites belonging to the terror group, saying they violated the terms of the truce.

Iran issues message of support for Hezbollah during disarmament plan

Supporters of Hezbollah wave Palestinian and Iranian flags as they protest against Israel's attacks on the Islamic Republic, following Friday noon prayers in the terror group's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, June 20, 2025. (Anwar AMRO / AFP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that Tehran supports its ally Hezbollah in its decisions, after the group rejected a Lebanese government plan to disarm it.

“Any decision on this matter will ultimately rest with Hezbollah itself. We support it from afar, but we do not intervene in its decisions,” Araghchi says in a television interview, adding that the group has “rebuilt itself” following setbacks during its war with Israel last year.

Report: Hamas leaders in Turkey pushed group toward ‘complete veto’ in ceasefire talks

Hamas leaders based in Turkey played a key role in shaping the terror group’s hardened stance during the most recent round of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Israel, Channel 12 news reports, without citing sources.

According to the report, mediators told Israeli officials that Hamas leaders in Turkey urged their counterparts in Qatar — both verbally and in writing — to impose “a complete veto” on negotiations with Israel, leading to the breakdown in communication cited by Israeli officials in recent weeks.

The network also points out that on August 1, at the height of the deadlock in talks, senior Hamas leaders in Qatar traveled to Turkey for meetings with fellow leaders and the Turkish foreign minister.

Minister of Foreign Affairs @HakanFidan met with the Hamas delegation headed by Muhammad Darwish, the Head of Hamas Shura Council, in İstanbul. pic.twitter.com/nKsUKooncz

— Turkish MFA (@MFATurkiye) August 1, 2025

Channel 12 adds that the cabinet’s expected approval tomorrow of a plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip is partly intended to pressure Hamas in light of this breakdown in talks.

Lebanese media report wave of Israeli airstrikes in south of country

Lebanese media outlets report a wave of Israeli airstrikes in the south of the country.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

سلسلة غارات تستهدف مناطق جنوبية مختلفة pic.twitter.com/CR5XtkOkm5

— مصدر مسؤول (@fouadkhreiss) August 6, 2025

Jerusalem grand mufti said to be handed 6-month ban from visiting Al-Aqsa

A Border Police officer blocks Grand Mufti Muhammad Ahmad Hussein (L) from entering the Temple Mount compound in the Old City of Jerusalem on March 12, 2019, after it was closed when a firebomb was thrown at police officers. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

Israeli authorities have banned Jerusalem’s top Muslim cleric from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for six months over a recent sermon, his attorney tells AFP.

Police did not respond to a request for comment from The Times of Israel, and there was no other public confirmation of the move.

Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, will be prevented from entering the holy site in Jerusalem’s Old City until January 2026, according to his lawyer, Khaldoun Najem.

Najem claims that Israeli police “did not interrogate” or hold a hearing for the mufti prior to their decision.

Hussein’s lawyer asserts that the ban was due to a Friday sermon the mufti gave at Al-Aqsa in late July, “which contained nothing inappropriate.”

The Palestinian news agency Wafa says the sermon had focused on deteriorating conditions in Gaza and growing starvation in the territory.

Cabinet reportedly weighing occupation plan that would begin with conquering Gaza City, ramping up aid

Israeli soldiers are seen operating in Gaza in this handout photo cleared for publication on August 6, 2025. (IDF)

A reported plan for the full occupation of the Gaza Strip, expected to be presented for cabinet approval by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow, focuses initially on seizing Gaza City and expanding aid distribution centers in coordination with the United States, according to Hebrew media reports.

According to a Channel 12 report, in the plan’s first phase, Israel will issue an evacuation notice to the residents of Gaza City — estimated to number around 1 million people, roughly half the Strip’s population — to allow time for the establishment of civilian infrastructure in central Gaza, including hospitals and camps for evacuees. This phase is expected to last several weeks.

Israel would then launch a military offensive in the second phase, during which US President Donald Trump is expected to deliver a speech announcing the acceleration of humanitarian aid in coordination with Israel, the report continues. Under US-Israel coordination, the number of food distribution sites is expected to grow from four to 16, though the network did not clarify if all sites would be operated by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The expansion would be funded by approximately USD 1 billion in donations from the US and other countries, Channel 12 adds, saying the goal would be to enable Gazans to access aid that bypasses Hamas while Gaza City falls under Israeli control.

The operation is reportedly designed to span several weeks, not months, and appears intended as a compromise with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who has warned against a full invasion, by initially limiting the operation to Gaza City, thereby delaying full occupation.

A separate report from Ynet says the military campaign is expected to last four to five months and involve four to five IDF divisions. The civilian population is expected to be further pushed toward the southern Strip, while maneuvers take place in areas where hostages are believed to be held, with efforts toward avoiding any harm to them.

Channel 12 adds that the plan may endanger the hostages, who could be executed by Hamas if Israeli forces approach areas where they are held — as happened with six Israeli hostages slain in August 2024.

According to the network, the plan has two main goals: to pressure Hamas back into hostage talks, and to possibly align with a proposed US-led framework for a comprehensive deal. While Israel may pause operations if that framework advances, officials see it as unlikely, Channel 12 adds.

By the end of the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu is expected to seek a mandate to authorize himself and Defense Minister Israel Katz to make operational decisions, including phased steps.

Channel 12 reiterates that Zamir and other military officials have warned against the plan for the full occupation of Gaza, quoting Zamir as saying in closed-door meetings: “Occupying the Strip would drag Israel into a black hole — taking responsibility for two million Palestinians, requiring a years-long clearing operation, exposing soldiers to guerrilla warfare and, most dangerously, jeopardizing the hostages.”

A senior security official also tells Channel 12: “We are entering a Vietnam model — with our eyes wide open.”

Knesset defense panel to hold 1st discussion on Haredi draft with new chairman next week

MK Boaz Bismuth leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset on August 4, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has scheduled for next week its first discussion on ultra-Orthodox enlistment since former chairman Yuli Edelstein was replaced by fellow Likud MK Boaz Bismuth.

Members of the committee were informed that they would meet to discuss advancing the government’s controversial enlistment legislation on Tuesday, in preparation for the second and third readings necessary for it to pass into law.

The Knesset’s ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, have been pushing hard for the passage of a bill enabling most ultra-Orthodox males to continue to avoid military conscription or other national service.

Last month, UTJ quit the coalition after being presented with a copy of a proposed enlistment bill prepared by Edelstein, which it argued had violated the terms of a supposed compromise reached in June. They were quickly followed by Shas, which, while quitting the government, has remained part of the coalition.

Edelstein’s bill would have imposed harsh sanctions on draft evaders, including the revocation of drivers’ licenses, a ban on flying abroad, a prohibition on applying for civil service jobs, no government subsidies for purchasing an apartment, and cancellations of discounts on public transportation, National Insurance payments, and electricity bills.

To mollify the Haredim, the coalition on Monday replaced Edelstein with Bismuth, who, according to the Ynet news site, intends to submit a new draft of the bill within weeks and hold discussions on it during the current Knesset recess to advance it when the parliament reconvenes in October.

Bismuth met with reservists in the Knesset today to discuss the issue.

Senior IDF general appears to admit to ‘disagreements’ among top military brass on Gaza

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (right) and Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor meet at the Southern Command HQ in Beersheba, June 6, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, the chief of the IDF Southern Command, appears to confirm there are “disagreements” in the military’s top brass, after a report published earlier today accused the general of sparring with the head of the Air Force during a recent meeting on Gaza.

“The fighting in Gaza is often accompanied by tension, and sometimes disagreements between various parties,” Asor says during a ceremony for the fallen soldiers of the 401st Armored Brigade, in a video released by the IDF.

“It’s important for me to say clearly: these are disagreements with the best of intentions. These are substantive and professional discussions, driven by the sincere desire of all IDF commanders to do what is right for the security of the State of Israel,” he says.

According to a report by the Yediot Ahronot daily, during a video call meeting some 10 days ago, Asor demanded that Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar stop overturning his decisions to carry out strikes in Gaza.

Bar, according to the report, had intervened in strikes after increasing reports of civilian casualties in the Strip since March, which has led to growing tension between him and Asor.

Asor, in the meeting, lashed out, reportedly saying to the other generals: “You there in Tel Aviv are disconnected from the [what is happening] on the ground.”

Asor’s statement tonight may, however, be referring to tension between IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the premier’s plans to “occupy” the Gaza Strip, which the military chief is reported to oppose.

UN claims only 8.6% of Gaza’s cropland is still accessible

Israel’s air and ground war has destroyed nearly all of Gaza’s food production capabilities, leaving its people reliant on international aid, according to a new study.

A report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN satellite center finds that just 8.6% of Gaza’s cropland is still accessible, following sweeping Israeli evacuation orders in recent months. Just 1.5% is accessible and undamaged, it says.

The military offensive and a breakdown in security have made it nearly impossible for anyone to safely deliver aid, and aid groups say recent Israeli measures to facilitate more assistance are far from sufficient.

Israel blames the UN for not delivering aid that entered the Strip and denies that there is a widespread famine in Gaza, but has boosted aid entry in recent weeks.

Liberman slams Haredi rabbi who called for ‘global struggle’ against state

Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on July 7, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman slams Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party, after he declares that the “State of Israel has declared war on yeshiva students.”

“The people of Israel are mobilized to fight our enemy. The entire Haredi leadership is mobilized to fight the IDF, the troops and the reservists who are carrying the burden,” Liberman says in a statement, promising that Israel’s next government “will put an end to evasion.”

In a subsequent tweet, Liberman notes that Lando is currently holding an emergency at his home to discuss the Haredi community’s response to the arrest of draft dodgers “while our soldiers are fighting on all fronts and risking their lives.”

“If they mobilized for the security of the state as they are mobilizing for evasion, the State of Israel would be stronger and more united,” he adds.

Earlier this year, Liberman filed a police complaint against several prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis, including Lando, over statements calling on yeshiva students to ignore IDF enlistment orders in apparent violation of the law.

Lebanon’s army says its troops killed 3 of the country’s most wanted drug dealers

The Lebanese army says it killed three of the country’s most wanted drug dealers, who also had been involved in killing members of the military.

The shooting in the northeastern city of Baalbek comes as the cash-strapped military tries to exert its presence across the country, including along the border with Syria. For years, the porous border has been a key route for weapons and drug smuggling, notably cannabis and the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon.

The army says in a statement that an exchange of fire occurred as members of the military were chasing the car used by the three Lebanese citizens, leading to their death.

“They were among the most wanted and dangerous drug dealers,” the army says, adding that the three had been involved in shooting at army posts and patrols as well as kidnapping and theft.

Two judicial officials said one of the men had 115 arrest warrants against him and was involved in the 2023 kidnapping of a Saudi citizen in Beirut. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with regulations.

Egyptian FM says Gaza suffering is a ‘stain on the conscience of the international community’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty ahead of a meeting in the US State Department Building in Washington, DC, on February 10, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images via AFP)

Egypt’s foreign minister, on a visit to Greece, describes the international response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as shameful, and urges powerful Western nations to increase pressure on Israel.

“The international community should be ashamed of the tragic situation unfolding in Gaza and the devastating actions being carried out by Israel,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty tells reporters in Athens.

“What is unfolding is a human tragedy, and the suffering witnessed is a stain on the conscience of the international community,” he said.

The Egyptian minister describes Israel’s military campaign in the territory as a “systematic genocide,” but reiterates his government’s position that it “firmly rejects any displacement of the Palestinian people from their ancestral lands.”

Senior Haredi leader threatens ‘global struggle like never before’ over IDF draft

Rabbi Dov Lando addresses an anti-enlistment conference in Bnei Brak, July 31, 2025. (Daniel Nafusi)

The spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party accuses the government of waging war on the Haredi community, following the arrest of two Haredi draft evaders.

“The State of Israel has declared war on yeshiva students. Haredi Judaism will embark on a global struggle like never before,” a spokesman for Rabbi Dov Lando, one of the most prominent rabbinic leaders of the so-called “Lithuanian” stream of ultra-Orthodoxy, declares in a statement.

Alongside the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael, Degel Hatorah is one of the two factions in the United Torah Judaism party.

Lando’s statement comes as he consults with Haredi activists at his home in Bnei Brak, in order to arrive at “a consensus for a response” among the various Haredi sub-groups.

Addressing a rabbinical conference in the central city of Bnei Brak last week, Lando warned that if Israeli authorities begin to arrest yeshiva students for draft evasion, the Haredi community will “make the world tremble, with all our strength and heart” and that the government would find itself facing “a united, global Haredi Jewry that is fighting for its very soul.”

Netanyahu briefs visiting members of US Congress on Gaza war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets in Jerusalem with a group of Republican lawmakers on an AIPAC organized trip, August 5, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/ GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met earlier today with a bipartisan delegation from the United States House Intelligence Committee, the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement.

Mossad chief David Barnea, and US Congressmen Rick Crawford, Josh Gottheimer and Ronny Jackson were present at the meeting, adds the PMO, without providing further details.

In a separate statement, the PMO says that Netanyahu met yesterday evening with an AIPAC-organized delegation of Republican US members of Congress.

Netanyahu “briefed the members of Congress on the war in the Gaza Strip and commented on the issue of the humanitarian assistance and the mendacious campaign being waged by Hamas against Israel,” according to the PMO.

The premier “also referred to the efforts to release our hostages, and answered questions… on regional issues and expanding the Abraham Accords,” the 2020-2021 series of normalization agreements between Israel and four Muslim-majority states, adds the PMO.

Herzog urges world ‘not to fall for Hamas’s lies’

President Isaac Herzog holds up an image of hostage Evyatar David alongside Estonian President Alar Karis in Tallinn, Estonia, August 6, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog calls on the international community “not to fall for Hamas’s lies,” which he says are distorting media coverage, and urges global pressure on the terror group to secure the release of hostages in Gaza.

“We urge the world not to fall for Hamas’s lies,” Herzog says, speaking in Tallinn alongside Estonian President Alar Karis during the final stop of his visit to the Baltic states.

Holding up images of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski — who appeared severely emaciated in recent videos released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad — Herzog contrasts them with a photo showing a Gaza-based photographer capturing images of residents holding empty pots, but not in front of a food distribution site.

He condemns what he described as a Hamas-fueled “PR campaign” against Israel that has gained international support.

Although Israel has “overhauled its entire approach to the humanitarian situation” in Gaza over the past two weeks and significantly increased aid entering the Strip, Herzog criticizes the United Nations, saying the body “can distribute — and is failing to distribute” that aid.

“Instead of that, we see a PR campaign,” the president continues. “You see a photographer staging Gaza people to show that they are lacking food. This is staged. We don’t shy away from the humanitarian need to help the people of Gaza, but we ask the world not to fall for the lies. Condemn Hamas and say to Hamas… Get the hostages out.”

Slovenia to ban imports of Israeli settlement goods

Slovenia has introduced a ban on imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements and approved an additional aid package for Palestinians in Gaza, the government says in a statement.

“The government today banned the import of goods originating from settlements in the occupied territories, including a ban on circumventing the ban on these imports,” the statement on the government website says.

The news agency says the volume of goods affected is extremely low, at under 2,000 euros ($2,327.60) in 2023.

The government also instructs ministries to consider banning the export of goods from Slovenia intended for Israeli settlements.

“Israeli government’s actions, including the construction of illegal settlements, expropriations, the forced displacement of the Palestinian population, the destruction of their homes… constitute serious and repeated violations of international humanitarian law,” Prime Minister Robert Golob says in statement quoted by the STA news agency.

“These actions not only threaten the lives and dignity of the Palestinian population, but also the foundations of the international order.”

The government also says it will provide material assistance in the form of food and blankets, estimated to be worth up to 879,490 euros, to the Palestinians affected by the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Slovenia recognized a Palestinian state in June last year, following Spain, Ireland and Norway. Last week it imposed an embargo on exports, imports and the transit of arms to Israel, two weeks after it declared far-right Ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich personae non gratae.

German newspapers accuse global news outlets of using staged photos from Gaza

Amid growing international condemnation of Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, reports from leading German newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung and Bild — both cited by the Foreign Ministry and President Isaac Herzog today — question the authenticity of images circulating from the war-torn Strip.

In a report on Sunday, Süddeutsche Zeitung cited media sources and Gerhard Paul, a photography expert who has studied images from Israel and Gaza for 25 years, to argue that Hamas propaganda and biased reporting shape much of the photo coverage coming out of Gaza.

The report alleged that some photos showing Gazans with empty pots were not taken at food distribution centers, as widely assumed and stated, but were instead staged in front of photographers to create the illusion of desperation. Included in the article was a widely shared photo of Gaza-based photographer Anas Zayed Fteiha, a freelancer commissioned by the Turkish news agency Anadolu, taking pictures of children holding pots and pans — not while waiting at a food distribution center.

Beware of fake news.

A joint investigation by @SZ and @BILD reveals how Hamas uses “Pallywood”, staged or selectively framed media, to manipulate global opinion.

At the center is Anas Zayed Fteiha, a Palestinian photographer for Anadolu and an open Israel- and Jew-hater,… pic.twitter.com/ZwAea0sBeK

— Israel ישראל (@Israel) August 5, 2025

Journalist Christopher Resch of Reporters Without Borders told the paper that “little gets past Hamas” of what reporters are able to share from the ground — while adding that photographers providing subjects with certain instructions to frame an image is an acceptable practice “so long as it roughly reflects reality.”

Following the Süddeutsche Zeitung report, Bild on Tuesday published an investigation focused on the work of Fteiha — accusing him of deliberately using staged or misleading images to amplify the narrative of Israeli-caused suffering, and citing content from his personal social media accounts as evidence of anti-Israel bias.

In addition to the staged image reported by Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bild claimed that Fteiha — whose work has been published by outlets including CNN, the BBC and Bild itself — had recently shared images of women and children waving empty pots and pans at an unspecified distribution site, despite them receiving food shortly thereafter. According to the report, while other photographers at the same site shared photos of mostly adult male Gazans calmly receiving meals, Fteiha deliberately aimed to depict a food shortage. When questioned by Bild, he did not provide the outlet with the images he took at the scene or respond to requests for comment.

In response to the allegations, the German Press Agency and Agence France-Presse told Bild they would no longer work with Fteiha and stressed their careful vetting of photographers and their reputations, while Reuters stated that its photos “meet the standards of accuracy, independence, and impartiality.”

Some cited in the reports added that further complicating matters is the fact that Israel currently does not permit foreign journalists to enter Gaza independently, except through rare, IDF-guided visits — making independent coverage extremely difficult. The military has said the current policy aims to protect both photographers and troops.

Israeli Druze leader demands world do more to help Druze in Syria’s Sweida

Israeli Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif stands in the war room in the Druze village of Julis in the Galilee on August 6, 2025. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)

Israeli Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif calls on US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and UN Secretary-General António Guterrres to demand the entry of humanitarian aid for the Druze in Syria.

Speaking to The Times of Israel in a war room set up in the Druze village of Julis in the Galilee, Tarif says, “I call on the world to stop the killing of our Druze brothers and sisters.”

“Our people are being subjected to ethnic cleansing and systematic murder, and the world is silent,” he adds.

Tarif says that in Sweida province, the heartland of Syria’s Druze minority, 1,800 civilians have been killed, and 557 Druze men, women and children have been kidnapped. Some 223,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

“Their water supply has been poisoned,” he says. “Their houses have been burnt. There is no food or medicine and the dead are lying in the street.”

The situation is “catastrophic,” he says.

“I issue an urgent appeal to world leaders to stop the massacres before it is too late,” he says, demanding assurances that minorities in Syria can “live in peace.”

He adds: “You don’t have the right to kill me because I am a minority. I have the right to be different.”

Despite firing, AG invited to attend tomorrow’s security cabinet meeting

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara listens as she attends a cabinet meeting at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem on June 5, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via AP)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has been invited to attend tomorrow’s key security cabinet meeting in which plans for a full military occupation of Gaza will be discussed, Ynet reports.

Baharav-Miara was fired by the government on Monday, but the High Court immediately froze implementation of that decision and told the government her various authorities remained intact until the court issues a final ruling.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin had been seeking to have the government boycott the attorney general despite the court ruling, but the presence of the government’s chief legal adviser in what could be a fateful meeting was apparently deemed critical to ensure the legality of the move.

Associates of Levin were nevertheless said to be angered by the invite to Baharav-Miara despite the justice minister’s determination to oust her from office, describing it as “very severe.”

Smotrich reverses position, says millions will be funneled toward aid in Gaza

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, right, attends a Knesset conference discussing Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 22, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich admits that he is advancing a move to direct millions of shekels from Israel’s coffers toward providing humanitarian aid to Gaza — despite his past adamant opposition.

Speaking to the Kan public broadcaster, Smotrich claims such funding is “not money for humanitarian aid, it’s money to win the war. Had we controlled the humanitarian aid to Gaza we would have won the war a while ago.”

The finance minister suggests that it would be preferable to pull the troops from an IDF division from fighting “and put that money toward supporting the American companies who are managing the humanitarian aid. This is money that’s inseparable from the war effect.”

Smotrich previously threatened to quit the coalition over an Israeli decision to lift a blockade on aid entering the Strip.

Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accused the government of secretly funding humanitarian aid for Gaza through two foreign shell companies in order to avoid backlash from the prime ministers’ coalition allies.

Syria signs deals worth $14b, including $4b from Qatar for new Damascus airport

A Qatar Airways plane, background, the first international commercial flight since the fall of the Assad regime, lands at Damascus Airport, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP/Omar Sanadiki)

Syria signs 12 investment deals worth $14 billion in a ceremony attended by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, including infrastructure, transportation and real estate projects aimed at reviving the war-damaged economy.

The agreements include a $4 billion deal for building a new airport in Damascus signed with Qatar’s UCC holding, and a $2 billion deal to establish a subway in the Syrian capital with the UAE’s national investment corporation.

Other major developments include the $2 billion Damascus Towers project signed with Italy-based UBAKO.

In July, Syria signed $6.4 billion of investments with Saudi Arabia as it seeks to rebuild after a 14-year civil war.

2 Palestinians arrested for allegedly working to establish West Bank terror cell

Two Palestinians who allegedly attempted to establish a terror cell in the al-Am’ari refugee camp in the West Bank city of Ramallah were recently detained by officers, police say.

The pair, who were known to have been armed, were nabbed by officers of the police’s elite Gideonim unit, in a joint operation with the IDF and Shin Bet, a police spokesperson says.

According to the Shin Bet, the two suspects were previously jailed for terror activity.

Two Palestinians who allegedly attempted to establish a terror cell in the al-Am'ari refugee camp in to the West Bank city of Ramallah were recently detained by officers, police say.

The pair, who were known to have been armed, were nabbed by officers of the police's elite… pic.twitter.com/R7yN4ci3Ix

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 6, 2025

Moscow says Putin-Witkoff talks on Ukraine war were ‘constructive’

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (left) greets US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff prior to their talks in Moscow on August 6, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov / POOL / AFP)

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were “useful and constructive,” says Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.

Witkoff held around three hours of talks with Putin in the Kremlin, two days before the expiration of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions.

Ushakov tells Russian news outlet Zvezda that the two sides discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the potential for improving US-Russia relations. He says Moscow had received certain “signals” from Trump and had sent messages in return.

Hezbollah says Beirut’s call for group’s imminent disarmament is a ‘major mistake’

Protesters hold Hezbollah and Palestinian flags after Friday prayers in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, August 1, 2025. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

In a statement, Hezbollah dismisses an announcement yesterday from the Lebanese government seeking a plan to disarm the terror group by the end of 2025, calling it a “major mistake” that harms Lebanon’s sovereignty.

The group said in its response that it will treat the decision “as if it does not exist.”

Nonetheless, Hezbollah said it remains open to a national strategic security dialogue, to ending what it called Israeli aggression against Lebanon, and to working on rebuilding and restoring what the “enemy has destroyed.”

Yesterday, the Lebanese government convened to discuss the clause asserting the state’s monopoly on arms, which effectively means the disarmament of Hezbollah, as part of a proposal submitted by the United States. However, at the end of the session, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced that the discussion on the matter was postponed until tomorrow.

107 tons of humanitarian aid airdropped into Gaza today by five countries, IDF says

Aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Germany, Belgium, and France airdropped 107 pallets of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip today, the IDF says.

Each pallet contains around one ton of food.

Since July 26, nearly 900 humanitarian aid packages have been airdropped in the Gaza Strip by nine countries, including Israel, according to the military. The packages the IDF airdropped were supplied by international aid groups.

IDF says it struck Hamas weapons manufacturing site in Gaza City yesterday

A Hamas weapons manufacturing site in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood was struck by the Israeli Air Force yesterday, the IDF says.

To mitigate civilian harm in the strike, the military says it issued an evacuation warning, and used a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

Meanwhile, the IDF says the 215th Artillery Regiment shelled a launching position used by terror operatives to fire mortars at an army encampment in northern Gaza yesterday. No injuries were caused in the mortar attack.

In the area of the Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods of Gaza City, troops of the 401st Armored Brigade directed a drone strike on a cell of some 10 operatives and eliminated them, the military says.

Elsewhere in Gaza, the IDF says it demolished Hamas infrastructure and killed additional operatives.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 138 Palestinians were killed in the Strip during the previous 24 hours.

Lapid says he told PM in security briefing that occupying Gaza is ‘a very bad idea’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a security briefing this morning that occupying Gaza would be “a very bad idea.”

“You don’t send the State of Israel to war unless the majority of the people are behind you, and the people of Israel are not interested in this war,” he says he told the premier.

He says the price of such a move would be “too heavy” for Israel to bear, both financially and in the number of casualties it would likely lead to.

Instead of engaging in the “pointless occupation” of the Gaza Strip, Lapid says Israel should allow Arab countries to govern the enclave, freeing up Israel to take the time it needs to eliminate Hamas.

ראש האופוזיציה יאיר לפיד בסיום הפגישה עם ראש הממשלה נתניהו: "אמרתי לנתניהו – כיבוש עזה זה רעיון רע מאוד, לא יוצאים למהלך כזה אלא אם רוב העם מאחוריך, עם ישראל לא מעניין במלחמה הזו. נשלם עליה מחירים כבדים מדי"@gilicohen10 @diklaaharon pic.twitter.com/9PUoBonBcu

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 6, 2025

Knesset immigration committee examines mental health challenges faced by IDF’s lone soldiers

The Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs, headed by Labor MK Gilad Kariv, convened today to examine the mental health challenges faced by lone soldiers — IDF service members without familial support — and explore ways to strengthen the assistance they receive.

“When we speak about lone soldiers, there are unique challenges,” Kariv said during the session.

The committee reviewed a series of proposals aimed at expanding support, including increased leave for personal needs, additional housing assistance, improved access to mental health care for both active and discharged soldiers — in Israel and abroad — and streamlined family visit arrangements during wartime. Officials also presented advanced-stage plans for a national memorial to honor fallen lone soldiers, to be built in Defenders’ Forest near Modiin.

The meeting came after Cpl. Dan Phillipson, a lone soldier from Norway, succumbed to wounds sustained in an apparent suicide last month.

According to the IDF, approximately 7,000 lone soldiers are currently serving in the military. While support systems such as financial grants and mental health resources predate the war, the need has intensified since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. According to the IDF, some 4,000 discharged soldiers — both lone and non-lone soldiers — have received psychological assistance since the war began, a dramatic rise from the pre-war annual average of 270.

The Defense Ministry’s Amit Program, which offers therapy and counseling to thousands of soldiers coping with psychological wounds, now includes around 300 lone soldiers. Meanwhile, the Immigration and Absorption Ministry has stepped up its services throughout the war — boosting aid for immigrant reservist students, increasing voucher amounts, and providing mental health services in multiple languages.

The next committee meeting is scheduled for September, and Kariv urges all relevant agencies to continue advancing support efforts.

PM meets with Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee-Sanders

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee-Sanders, during her visit to Israel, on August 6, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met this morning with United States Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee-Sanders, the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement.

During a visit to Israel this week, Huckabee-Sanders also met with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and participated in a tour of the West Bank settlement of Ariel as part of a US delegation alongside her father, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and US Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson.

The PMO does not provide further details about today’s meeting.

Netanyahu to convene security cabinet in Jerusalem tomorrow evening to approve Gaza war plans

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet at 6 p.m. tomorrow at his office in Jerusalem, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

During a three-hour security discussion among a smaller group yesterday, Netanyahu was presented with options for continued military operations in Gaza by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

The cabinet is reportedly expected to approve a full military occupation of the Strip during tomorrow’s meeting, despite Zamir and army officials warning against the move.

On 80th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing, Pope Leo criticizes ‘illusory security’ of nuclear deterrence

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, August 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo criticizes the “illusory security” of the global nuclear deterrence system, in an appeal on the 80th anniversary of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima at the end of World War II.

Leo, the first US-born pope, says in his weekly audience that the destruction in Hiroshima, which killed about 78,000 people instantly, should serve “as a universal warning against the devastation caused… by nuclear weapons.”

“I hope that in the contemporary world, marked by strong tensions and bloody conflicts, the illusory security based on the threat of mutual destruction will give way to… the practice of dialogue,” says the pontiff.

While the Catholic Church for decades gave tacit acceptance to the system of nuclear deterrence that developed in the Cold War, Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis changed the Church’s teaching to condemn the possession of nuclear arms.

Leo’s appeal comes hours after representatives from 120 countries and governments — including representatives from Israel and, for the first time, the Palestinian Authority — attended an annual ceremony in Hiroshima to mark the atomic bombing.

Israel’s Ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, writes on X that he “deeply [feels] the responsibility to honor those who lost their lives and to pass on their memory to future generations.”

広島市の平和記念公園で行われた平和記念式典にて、イスラエル代表として参列の機会をいただき、祈りを捧げました。

命を落とされた方々を追悼し、その記憶を未来へと受け継ぐ責任を深く受け止めています。 pic.twitter.com/Db3OwnSNrs

— Gilad Cohen ????????????️ (@GiladCohen_) August 5, 2025

Iran, which is accused by the West of developing nuclear weapons, said last month that it would send representatives to the ceremony, as well.

Notably absent were Iran’s nuclear-capable allies China, North Korea and Russia, although close Russia ally Belarus sent representatives to the annual ceremony for the first time in four years.

IDF issues evacuation warning for small area in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza

The IDF issues another evacuation warning in the Gaza Strip, for Palestinians residing in a small zone in western Khan Younis.

“The IDF is continuing its ground maneuver and is using heavy force in your area to expand the scope of the fighting,” says the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee in a post on X, attaching a map of the area that is to be evacuated.

He says that the evacuated zone will not be part of the areas that see a daily “humanitarian pause” for the delivery of aid.

#عاجل ‼️الى جميع المتواجدين في المنطقة المحددة، بما في ذلك المتواجدين في الخيام في حي النصر في خان يونس في البلوك 110 والجزء الشرقي في بلوك 89

⭕️يواصل جيش الدفاع تنفيذ مناورته البرية ويستخدم قوته الشديدة في منطقتكم ليتم توسيع نطاق القتال.

⭕️نؤكد ان المنطقة لن تكون ضمن المناطق… pic.twitter.com/0zaueHZL9O

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) August 6, 2025

Earlier, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the Gaza City neighbourhood of Zeitoun.

New Knesset defense committee chair congratulates first troops of ultra-Orthodox IDF unit on completing training

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth congratulates members of the first company of troops from the IDF’s new ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade on their completion of combat training, stating that “the army and the Torah go together, shoulder to shoulder. One strengthens the other.”

The ultra-Orthodox soldiers completed a lengthy march to the Western Wall in Jerusalem this morning in order to receive the unit’s new signature dark blue beret following seven months of basic and advanced training.

Calling the ceremony “moving,” Bismuth declares that “only together will we win.”

According to the Ynet news site, Bismuth intends to submit a new draft of a bill dealing with Haredi conscription within weeks, and will hold discussions on it during the current Knesset recess to advance it when the parliament reconvenes in October.

הצבא והתורה הולכים יחד, כתף אל כתף. האחת מחזקת את השני.

מברך את חטיבת "החשמונאים" – החטיבה החרדית הראשונה בצה"ל שסיימה היום את מסלול הכשרתם ובטקס מרגש בכותל המערבי קיבלו את הכומתה.

רק יחד ננצח ???????? pic.twitter.com/1reugunZ8m

— Boaz Bismuth (@BismuthBoaz) August 6, 2025

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also congratulates the Haredi troops, writing on X that “there is nothing more Jewish than defending the land of Israel.”

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The Israel Defense Forces has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits, due to the strain on standing and reserve forces amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges. Overall, around 2,700 Haredim in total joined the army over the past year.

Haredi communal leaders have objected to efforts to conscript yeshiva students and crack down on draft dodgers, issuing a statement following a recent rabbinic conference insisting that it was “forbidden to go to any military framework,” even those established to accommodate an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle.

Military officials said to warn that occupying Gaza would lead to heavy IDF casualties

Military officials believe that if Israel proceeds with plans to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, it will lead to heavy casualties among Israeli troops, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The defense officials estimate that “dozens” of soldiers could be killed, and a large number would be wounded in the operation, Kan reports.

They also warned of the risk that conquering the full breadth of the Gaza Strip would pose to the remaining hostages, as until now the IDF has refrained from operating in areas where they are believed to be held.

According to Kan, the officials believe that the hostages could be killed either intentionally by their captors if the IDF approaches or inadvertently by Israeli troops.

The IDF is widely reported to be at odds with the political leadership over the next steps to take in Gaza, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be set on moving forward with occupation, while Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is reportedly recommending that the IDF take a more gradual approach and encircle Gaza City instead.

Netanyahu was said to have shot him down and told him to prepare plans for the occupation of the Strip.

Musician Efraim Shamir questioned on suspicion of incitement to terrorism, violence against PM, lawyer confirms

Israeli musician Efraim Shamir is under investigation on suspicion of incitement to terrorism and violence against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his lawyer confirms.

Shamir, a longtime critic of the prime minister, was summoned for questioning by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit earlier this morning without being told why.

His lawyer, Yair Nehorai, says Shamir “denies the suspicions” against him.

“Mr. Shamir opposes all violence, and in his worldview, violence is the erosion of the foundation of democracy,” Nehorai adds.

Jordan says Israelis blocked aid convoy from reaching Gaza for second time this week

Palestinians get food and humanitarian aid from the back of a truck as it moves along the Morag corridor near Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP/Mariam Dagga)

Jordan says Israelis attacked a Gaza-bound aid convoy today in the second such incident in days, and accuses Israel of failing to act firmly to prevent assaults.

The convoy, carrying 30 trucks of humanitarian aid, was delayed in its arrival in a violation of signed agreements, government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani tells Reuters.

“This requires a serious Israeli intervention and no leniency in dealing with those who obstruct these convoys,” Momani says.

Earlier this week, Momani had said that several aid trucks were forced to turn back to Jordan on Sunday after being accosted in Israel.

Israeli musician and vocal Netanyahu critic Efraim Shamir summoned for police questioning

Efraim Shamir of the Israeli rock band Kaveret performs during the group's comeback tour in the summer of 2013. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Israeli musician Efraim Shamir has been summoned for questioning by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit this morning, Hebrew media reports.

Shamir, a longtime critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was not given a reason for the summons, the Walla news site reports.

Shamir’s lawyer, Yair Nehorai, says the questioning is scheduled for 11 a.m. and that he will “respond accordingly” once the reason for the summons is made clear.

Shamir tells Ynet that he suspects the reason for the summons “might be because of Facebook posts” that are heavily critical of the prime minister and his government, but “I really don’t know.”

“I’m worried about it, but I know who I am and what I am,” he adds.

Shamir, a member of 70s pop rock group Kaveret, has drawn ire from Netanyahu and his Likud party before, including in 2019 when he lamented that the premier’s wife, Sara, had not died in place of then-president Reuven Rivlin’s wife Nechama.

In a Facebook post reacting to Nechama Rivlin’s death, Shamir had written, “Why not Sara?”

He doubled down amid fierce backlash, calling Likud lawmakers who criticized him “hypocrites” as they had chosen to back “criminal” Netanyahu, who at the time was the focus of a criminal investigation that led to the charges he is currently on trial for.

Smotrich intervenes after IDF reservists told they have to repay government for gifted vacation vouchers

The IDF assures reservists that they will not have to reimburse the government for vacation vouchers issued as a reward for their service, after multiple troops received messages demanding retroactive repayment for part of the benefit.

According to Hebrew media reports, reservists received messages informing them that their eligibility for the vouchers had been recalculated and that they should contact the Finance Ministry to service their new debts.

In early 2024, the cabinet approved a NIS 9 billion ($2.5 billion) wartime assistance program for the hundreds of thousands of IDF reserve soldiers mobilized in the wake of Hamas’s brutal attack on October 7.

This package included the provision of vacation vouchers valued at NIS 1,500-4,500 ($413-$1,240).

In a statement, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that the demands for payment have been canceled as a result of his intervention, sending reporters a copy of an IDF letter to reservists stating that “no debt will be collected from a reservist as a result of a change in the method of calculating entitlement.”

The IDF “appreciates the tremendous contribution of reservists and the support of their families. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and are working to ensure that each service member receives an appropriate and fair response,” the letter adds.

IDF says Hezbollah operative killed in overnight drone strike in eastern Lebanon

A Hezbollah operative was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon’s northeastern Beqaa Valley last night, the IDF says.

According to the military, the operative, Hassam Qassem Gharab, was directing — from Lebanon — terror cells in Syria to launch rockets at the Golan Heights in northern Israel.

“The terrorist’s activity posed a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens,” the IDF says.

Since a November 2024 ceasefire, the IDF says it has killed over 230 Hezbollah operatives in strikes in Lebanon, saying they were violating the terms of the truce.

US speaker, Republican lawmakers tour Hebron, visit Tomb of the Patriarchs

US House Speaker Mike Johnson and a delegation of Republican members of Congress joined Economy Minister Nir Barkat on a tour of Hebron, in the West Bank, yesterday.

During the visit, the group visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a flashpoint site revered in Judaism as the burial site of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs and a holy site in Islam.

In a post on X, Barkat says that while partaking in the “special tour” of Hebron, he thanked the US lawmakers “for their support of Israel even in the most difficult times under President Trump.”

The Republican lawmakers are in Israel on a private, previously unannounced trip, organized by Heather Johnston, the founder of a group called the US Israel Education Association, which describes its core value as “the Judeo-Christian heritage and the historical and biblical significance of Israel.”

The night before the Hebron visit, Johnson had dined with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh, making him the most senior US official to ever visit a West Bank settlement.

בסיור מיוחד בחברון יחד עם יו״ר בית הנבחרים, מייק ג׳ונסון ומשלחת חברי קונגרס רפובליקנים. הודיתי להם על התמיכה בישראל גם בזמנים המורכבים ביותר בהובלת הנשיא טראמפ. נמשיך לחזק את הברית ההיסטורית בין ישראל לארצות הברית. ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/RaKd9Vn6kC

— ניר ברקת (@NirBarkat) August 6, 2025

Katz defends IDF chief Zamir after Yair Netanyahu accuses him of leading a ‘military coup’

Defense Minister Israel Katz (left) and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, June 20, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz appears to hit back at Yair Netanyahu, the Miami-based son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after he accused IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir of being behind a “rebellion and attempted military coup.”

In the same post on X, Netanyahu appeared to blame Katz for the supposed “military coup,” noting that the defense minister had selected Zamir to head up the IDF.

The younger Netanyahu was reacting to reports that Zamir had clashed with the premier over the government’s incipient plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, as it would endanger the remaining hostages and further exhaust the military.

Katz, now appearing to respond to the premier’s firebrand son, says, “Yes, exactly as published, I recommended Eyal Zamir for the position of IDF chief of staff, and the prime minister and government approved my recommendation.”

He continues, defending his appointment and Zamir’s reputation: “I believed that at the crossroads the IDF was at, he was the most suitable candidate to build up and run the forces in the face of the many security challenges that lay ahead of us, due to his security outlook, his abilities, and his extensive experience.”

Noting Zamir’s achievements in the five months since he stepped into the role, Katz says that under his leadership, and the guidance of the political echelon, “the IDF is operating with strength and an offensive policy in Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, Gaza , and in other arenas — and led us to an unprecedented and victorious attack against Iran.”

He addresses the younger Netanyahu’s primary complaint against Zamir — that he disagreed with the political leadership over the best approach for Gaza — saying that it is the IDF chief’s “right and duty to express his position in the appropriate forum” and then to carry out whatever decisions are made by Israel’s leaders, regardless of his own opinions, “as has been the case until now.”

First troops of IDF’s ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade complete seven months of training

Troops of the Hasmonean Brigade are seen in a forest near Jerusalem, early August 6, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

After completing seven months of basic and advanced training, the first company of troops from the IDF’s new Haredi brigade, known as the Hasmonean Brigade, is set to receive their berets in a ceremony this morning.

The ultra-Orthodox soldiers are completing a lengthy march to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where they will receive the unit’s new signature dark blue beret.

חרדים תחת האלונקה. זה אפשרי.
בוקר מרגש במסע הכומתה של חטיבת החשמונאים מהרי ירושלים לכותל המערבי pic.twitter.com/jTa80o9uck

— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) August 6, 2025

Iran executes man convicted of spying for Israel

Iranian authorities have executed a man convicted of spying for Israel by passing information about a nuclear scientist killed during the 12-day war with Israel in June.

“Roozbeh Vadi… was executed following judicial proceedings and confirmation of his sentence by the Supreme Court,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website says, adding that the convict had leaked information about a “nuclear scientist who was assassinated during the Zionist regime’s recent aggression.”

IDF instructs Palestinians to evacuate Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood

The IDF issues an evacuation warning for Palestinians residing in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.

“As you have been warned, the IDF continues to deepen its operations westward,” says the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee in a post on X, attaching a map of the area that is to be evacuated.

The area from which people are instructed to evacuate is already under prior evacuation orders.

Palestinians in Zeitoun are instructed to head for the Mawasi area on the coast of the south of Gaza.

#عاجل ‼️ تحذير إلى كل من لم يُخلِ المناطق المحددة بعد أو عاد إلى البلوكات 613, 624, 625, 628, 629, 630, 631, 641, 695 – في حي الزيتون،
⭕️كما تم تحذيركم، يواصل جيش الدفاع تعميق عملياته غربًا.
⭕️من أجل سلامتكم، أخلوا فورًا جنوبًا نحو المواصي pic.twitter.com/P2JuRLqSyh

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) August 6, 2025

US Justice Dept. said seeking death penalty for DC shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez

Left: Yaron Lischinsky and his partner Sarah Milgrim, employees of the Israeli Embassy in the US who were killed in a shooting in Washington, DC, on May 21, 2025, in an undated photo. (Israeli Embassy in Washington); Right: The suspect in the shooting, Elias Rodriguez, shouts 'Free Palestine' as he is arrested. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The US Department of Justice is expected to seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim in Washington, DC, back in May, CNN reports.

The suspect behind the attack, Elias Rodriguez, is expected to be indicted this week on federal hate crime charges, CNN states, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. He has already been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, as well as other charges, including the murder of foreign officials.

By adding federal hate crime charges, the Department of Justice would be paving the way to hand down a death penalty to the alleged double murderer.

Rodriguez allegedly murdered Lischinsky, a research assistant in the Israeli Embassy’s political section, and his partner Milgrim, a member of the embassy’s administrative staff, outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC on May 22.

Police said at the time that Rodriguez had shouted “Free Palestine” after being taken into custody by event security.

Witkoff arrives in Moscow as Trump’s deadline for Ukraine ceasefire approaches

US special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow and was greeted at the airport by Russia’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, a source familiar with the situation tells Reuters.

US President Donald Trump, who warned that he would impose sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine before Friday, had said earlier that Witkoff might be traveling to Moscow this week.

A source familiar with the plan told Reuters yesterday that Witkoff would meet with Russian leadership on Wednesday.

20 said killed, dozens wounded in overturning of Gaza aid truck

Media outlets in Gaza report that 20 people were killed and dozens injured overnight when a truck carrying goods into Gaza overturned in Deir al-Balah, in the central part of the enclave. It remains unclear whether the truck was intended for merchants or for a humanitarian organization.

According to reports by the Qatari outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the truck overturned after a crowd gathered around the vehicle, prompting it to divert onto an unsafe route, resulting in the accident.

Cars torched, ‘Death to the IDF’ graffitied in St. Louis; American who served in IDF said to be target

A screenshot of aerial footage from KMOV 4 News shows graffiti reading "Death to the IDF" and a burnt car on a street in Clayton, Missouri, August 6, 2025. (YouTube screenshot)

Several cars were set on fire and “Death to the IDF” graffiti was spray-painted in a residential neighborhood in the St. Louis area, according to local reports and the head of the Trump administration’s antisemitism task force.

Leo Terrell says the “horrific antisemitic attack,” in which three cars were torched, targeted an American citizen who served in the Israel Defense Forces who had returned to his family home in Clayton.

“Soon after, he and his family were targeted,” Terrell writes in a post on X.

There are no reports of injuries. Local media reports a suspect has been taken into custody.

KMOV 4 News says that in addition to “Death to the IDF,” further graffiti was spray-painted on the street that it described as “a direct attack on an individual.” The outlet adds that it blurred that “part of the threatening message because it’s targeted at a specific individual.”

Terrell says the graffiti “accused him of being a murderer.”

“I am outraged. Antisemitic violence has no place in America, not in St. Louis and not anywhere. We will pursue every avenue to bring the perpetrators to justice. If you commit antisemitic hate crimes, you will be caught. And you will be held accountable,” says Terrell, adding he contacted the FBI about the case.

Russia lodges protest over alleged settler attack on Russian diplomatic vehicle

Russia has lodged a formal protest to Israel following an alleged attack on a Russian diplomatic vehicle near the settlement of Givat Assaf near Jerusalem, according to a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry.

“On July 30, a vehicle of the Russian Federation’s mission to the Palestinian National Authority, bearing diplomatic license plates and carrying personnel of the Russian diplomatic mission accredited by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, was attacked near the illegal Israeli settlement of Givat Assaf, near Jerusalem, by a group of settlers,” Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says in a statement.

The incident occurred “with the acquiescence of Israeli military personnel, who were present at the scene and did not attempt to stop the attackers’ aggressive actions,” she adds.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the Russian foreign ministry’s report.

Zakharova says the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv submitted an official démarche to Israeli authorities.

Trump says ‘pretty much up to Israel’ when asked if he backs potential occupation of Gaza

US President Donald Trump shouts to reporters as he surveys the grounds from the roof above the Colonnade that goes to the West Wing of the White House, August 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON — Pressed on whether he supports reported Israeli plans to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, US President Donald Trump responds, “That’s pretty much going to be up to Israel.”

Trump says his primary focus is on feeding Gazans “who are obviously not doing to well with the food.”

Trump says “Israel is going to help us with that in terms of distribution and also money.”

Israel has reportedly already funneled millions of dollars to the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, though it has yet to publicly confirm doing so, as such funding would likely be unpopular among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s base.

Trump said eight days ago that the US would establish new food centers in Gaza, and the White House has been saying since that it will unveil a new aid distribution plan for Gaza. That has yet to rolled out, though.

Trump tells reporters that “Arab states are also going to help us with that in terms of money and possibly distribution.”

Trump says he watched ‘horrible’ Hamas video of hostage Evyatar David, ‘hopes a lot of people see it’

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says he has watched Hamas’s “horrible” video of emaciated Israeli hostage Evyatar David being forced to dig his own grave in the tunnel where he is being held in Gaza.

Asked what his reaction was to watching it, Trump tells reporters, “I think it’s horrible.”

“I hope a lot of people do get to see it, as bad as it is because I think it’s a horrible thing,” he adds.

Ayalon Highway reopened to traffic after protesters blocked road in call to release hostages

Activists block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, during a protest calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and against the government, August 5, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Ayalon Highway has reopened to traffic after it was blocked by dozens of protesters earlier this evening amid a demonstration against the government’s widely-reported plan to forgo negotiating a hostage deal in favor of occupying the Gaza Strip.

Smaller simultaneous protests cropped up elsewhere in the country as well, including in Rehovot, near the Weizmann Institute of Science.

UN: Reports of Israeli plans to take full control of Gaza are ‘deeply alarming’

The United Nations calls reports about a possible decision to expand Israel’s military operations to take control of the entire Gaza Strip “deeply alarming” if true.

UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca tells a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza and the hostages that such a move “would risk catastrophic consequences … and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.”

“International law is clear in the regard, Gaza is and must remain an integral part of the future Palestinian state,” he adds.