July 29: Official says Netanyahu reiterated desire to wean Israel off US aid during DC meetings

Vetting of first 5,000 cadets for Gaza police force complete as BOP pushes Rafah pilot zone, official says

Palestinians inspect a site of an Israeli strike on a storage facility that was warned by the Israeli military to evacuate earlier before it was struck, in Gaza City, July 27, 2026. (Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters)

The vetting process has been completed for an initial group of some 5,000 Gazans slated to be trained for an emerging Palestinian police force under Washington’s 20-point plan for the Strip, an official from the US-backed Board of Peace tells The Times of Israel.

“There were over 200,000 applications” to the police force since the Board’s National Committee for the Administration of Gaza opened up registration earlier this year, the official says, adding that the NCAG, with the support of the International Stabilization Force that is meant to train and deploy with the police force, completed enough vetting “for a first class of 5,000 cadets.”

Standing up the police force has been a top priority for the Board, which is seeking to install new governing and security bodies in Gaza that can gradually reduce the presence of both Hamas and the IDF in the Strip.

The official stresses, however, that there is no timeline for the police force’s deployment and that its activity in the Strip is “conditions-based.” Many of the Gazans need to complete training outside of the Strip and then be brought back, the official adds, saying that the Board of Peace hopes to begin training the vetted group “in the next weeks.”

Asked about the criteria for joining the force, following Times of Israel reporting that Israel was adamantly opposed to any Hamas-affiliated Gazans being included, the official says the vetting was carried out by the NCAG with support from the ISF, which also “took information” from other bodies — indicating that Israeli security forces played a role and likely vetoed any candidates linked to the terror group.

An Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel in March that Palestinians who previously served as Hamas civil servants had been allowed to apply to the new police force, but would have to undergo Shin Bet vetting to be approved.

On Sunday, the Israeli security cabinet voted to approve the limited entry of the ISF under the US Gaza plan, with troops expected to first deploy along the borders of a pilot humanitarian zone in Gaza being planned by the Board in the area of the southern city of Rafah.

“We’re close to finalizing the plans with the NCAG on how they would administer the zone, legally [speaking],” the official adds.

Officials have told The Times of Israel in recent weeks that securing funding from the US and internationally has complicated the plan’s advancement, but the official says the Board has secured “firm commitments” on the funding for the pilot zone, and has “clear operational plans for which the money would be connected,” though they do not elaborate on the funding sources.

Before any deployment of the ISF or police force, first steps on advancing the zone would focus on “site preparation” in Rafah, the official says, adding this process hasn’t begun yet on a meaningful scale.

No tolls or fees will be imposed on Hormuz shipping as part of deal with Iran — US official

Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

There are going to be no tolls and no fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz in a coordination deal being discussed in relation to the waterway restricted by the Iran war, a US official says.

The US official says Iran is making unreasonable demands that have been rejected by Oman and the United States.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fire missiles at US forces in Jordan

The US military says it intercepted multiple missiles launched by Iran, marking the first reported Iranian attack on an American target since President Donald Trump declared over the weekend that he would halt strikes following two weeks of fighting.

“Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East,” Central Command (CENTCOM) writes on X, adding that “all Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted.”

Defense minister boasts of ceasing administrative detention for Jews, while increasing its use against Arabs

Defense Minister Israel Katz boasts of having ceased signing off on administrative detention orders against Jewish suspects, while significantly increasing the draconian tool — which allows for a suspect to be held without charge — against Arab suspects.

“I cancelled on my own initiative all administrative detention orders against settlers in the West Bank,” Katz says during a Likud campaign event in the Ariel settlement.

He says there were over 20 such orders on the books when he entered his post as defense minister in late 2024.

Katz acknowledges the severity of the order, saying that it allows Israeli authorities to detain people, “without a trial, without representation, without information and without [granting them any] rights.”

“I called the head of the Shin Bet at the time and informed him, that this (policy) was canceled,” he says to applause from the crowd.

“But on which administrative detention orders do I sign — And many of them. I sign (administrative detention orders for) incidents of Palestinian terror,” Katz says.

He adds that he also has approved the use of administrative detentions against Arab Israeli citizens, including Bedouins from the Negev allegedly involved in smuggling of drones and residents of the Galilee who are allegedly tied to terror groups.

“Why? Because this is terror activity. Why didn’t I sign against settlers? Because it’s not terror activity,” Katz claims.

שר הביטחון ישראל כ״ץ אומר לפני זמן קצר בכנס פריימריז של הליכוד באריאל, כי הוא חותם על צווי מעצר מנהליים לאזרחים ערבים-ישראלים מהפזורה הבדואית בנגב ומהגליל, אך מנגד – מסרב לחתום על צווים לאזרחים יהודים-ישראלים מיהודה ושומרון.
לדברי כ״ץ, פעולות המתיישבים הקיצונים ביו״ש אינן פעולות… pic.twitter.com/WAlNj9rOe1

— דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) July 28, 2026

Katz says Israel has completely razed 24 south Lebanon villages whose residents aided Hezbollah

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel has completely destroyed 24 historic villages in southern Lebanon whose residents were operating on Hezbollah’s behalf.

“Twenty-four Lebanese villages that were hundreds of years old — with Shiite residents who acted as enemies (of Israel) on behalf of Hezbollah and threatened our borders and our residents — we destroyed all of the buildings,” Katz says during a conference sponsored by the pro-government Channel 14 news network.

“Not one house at a time. The entirely of those villages — their demolition has been completed. We’re talking about 15,000 to 20,000 homes. All 24 of these villages have been destroyed and Bint Jbeil, which is beyond this area (of southern Lebanon) has been destroyed,” Katz says.

“We have 700 square kilometers in southern Lebanon — from the coastline until the Beaufort Castle and the foothills of the Hermon. We’re preventing infiltrations into Israeli towns, we’re preventing the firing of anti-tank missiles at Israeli towns, and the IDF continues to operate (in southern Lebanon), demolishing tunnels,” he adds.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:

Twenty-four Lebanese villages, hundreds of years old—we destroyed all the buildings, not house by house, but entire villages.

Their destruction has been completed. You need to understand: 15,000 to 20,000 homes across all 24 villages have… pic.twitter.com/1sprg5aCx6

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 28, 2026

Katz says a similar strategy has been used by the IDF in Gaza where it has flattened much of the territory that was riddled with Hamas terror tunnels.

“Today there is no Shejaiya. There is no Jabalia. All those terrible places… no longer exist,” he says.

“Today, the mayor of Sderot told me, ‘I don’t see any houses (when I look toward Gaza). I see the shoreline,” Katz continues. “We have destroyed Gaza.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz admits:

Today there is no Shuja'iyya, there is no Jabalia. All those terrible places you remember no longer exist.

The Southern Command chief told me, "I don't see any houses—I see the seashore."

We destroyed Gaza. pic.twitter.com/kb758lDyJf

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 28, 2026

US and Saudi Arabia launch joint strikes on Iran-linked militias in Iraq

The US military says it conducted strikes with Saudi Arabia’s armed forces in Iraq against militant groups aligned with Iran.

“US Central Command and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq, July 28, against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure,” the US Central Command says in a statement.

The attacks against US forces were not successful, the US military says.

“The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response,” CENTCOM warns.

Trump: ‘Many important subjects were discussed’ at ‘very good’ meeting with Netanyahu

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says he had a “very good meeting” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Obviously, many important subjects were discussed,” Trump writes in a Truth Social post that includes three photos from their Oval Office sit-down.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel, along with myself and Representatives. Had a very good meeting! Obviously, many important subjects were discussed. President DONALD J. TRUMP

( TS: Jul 28 2026, 8:57 PM ET )​​​​​​​​‍‌​​​‌​‍‌​‌​‌‌‍‍‌​‍‌‌‍​‌‍​​‍​​‌‌​‍​‍ pic.twitter.com/6FnSD3wksm

— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) July 29, 2026

Smotrich says he considered resigning after Oct. 7, but decided there was nothing he ‘did that wasn’t right’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks during a Conference in Yad Binyamin, July 21, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reveals that he considered resigning after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught but decided to hold off after giving it more thought and concluding that he didn’t do anything wrong.

“I thought about resigning — not right after October 7, but a little while afterward, when I tried to think about what I did that wasn’t right and I couldn’t think of anything,” Smotrich says during an interview on the Geekonomy podcast.

Smotrich explains that he protested against the Oslo Accords as a child, suggesting that that peace process with the Palestinians in the 1990s was connected to the Hamas attack three decades later.

He adds that he also demonstrated against Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and was jailed for three weeks after authorities pulled him over with 700 liters of gasoline. While the Shin Bet suspected that he was trying to use the gasoline in an attack, he was never convicted.

Smotrich argues that Israeli policies from decades earlier played more of a role in leading to Hamas’s attack than his conduct as minister over the last four years.

השר סמוטריץ׳: ״חשבתי להתפטר אחרי 7.10 – אבל לא מצאתי במה הייתי לא בסדר״. (בשיחה עם הפודקאסט ״גיקונומי״) pic.twitter.com/btpK8iLfQl

— סודות News (@News_Secrets_of) July 28, 2026

Seeking greater control, Iran rejects Omani plan to evenly divide Hormuz between them

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, shaking hands with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq during their meeting, in Muscat, Oman, April 26, 2026. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)

Iran has rejected a plan put forward by Oman to evenly split control over the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which says officials from the countries mediating US-Iran talks were infuriated by the Islamic’s Republic’s rejection of the Omani proposal.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi tells the newspaper that Tehran won’t agree to the next stage of negotiations with Washington unless Oman backs Iran’s proposal granting it most of the strait, while claiming the Omani plan “doesn’t address Iran’s security concerns.”

“The inbound shipping lane must be entirely under Iran’s control, while part of the outbound lane may remain under Oman’s control,” Gharibabadi says. “If they accept this proposal, we will move on to the next stage.”

The report quotes mediators saying that Iran’s rejection of the Omani plan has undercut efforts to revive the US-Iran memorandum of understanding reached last month.

Netanyahu says he and Trump in lockstep on stopping Iranian nukes; has special forces on hand if lands somewhere that seeks his arrest

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during an interview with Fox News, July 28, 2026. (Screenshot/Fox News)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells Fox News that he and US President Donald Trump “see eye-to-eye” on stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

“It was great,” he tells the station’s Sean Hannity of his closed-doors meeting with Trump Tuesday, repeating that it was “one of the best meetings that we’ve had.”

Netanyahu describes his alliance with Trump as a “wall of granite.”

“That’s because the president is so clear. We have a common commitment,” he says. “We don’t want to see this fanatic regime in Tehran have nuclear weapons to threaten every American and to threaten the peace of the world and to threaten the existence of Israel.”

“So we have this common goal, and its going to be achieved, either through diplomatic means or other means, but we’re both committed to that,” he adds, describing it as the main takeaway from his White House meeting.

Hannity also asks Netanyahu about recent threats from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to arrest Netanyahu, who has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court over the Gaza war. Mamdani later acknowledged that he does not have the authority to arrest Netanyahu should he attend the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Netanyahu reiterated he would be going to New York.

“I’m definitely going to be there, I’m going to speak the truth in front of us,” Netanyahu says. Israel vociferously rejects claims of war crimes in Gaza

The Fox host then asks Netanyahu what he would do if his plane had to make an emergency landing in a country that would enforce the ICC warrant.

“Do you worry about that,” Hannity asks.

“I think about it,” Netanyahu says. “We have special forces around.”

“Lets give them a new task,” he says without giving further details.

Iraq’s PMF says several killed, buildings damaged in US-Saudi attacks

Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces says a number of its official headquarters in different parts of Iraq were attacked on Wednesday by what it described as US and Saudi forces.

The Iran-backed PMF says preliminary reports indicated several people were killed and others wounded, with damage to a number of its buildings and facilities.

Saudi Arabia confirms participation in the joint strikes which the US said was launched in response to Iranian Guard-directed attacks on US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.

In a post on social media, the Saudi Defense Ministry warns that “the Kingdom emphasizes that it does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression it faces.”

Jordan says it downed five Iranian missiles

Jordan’s army says it intercepted and downed five Iranian missiles, as fighting between Tehran and Washington resumed following a brief pause.

“Air defenses this morning dealt with five missiles coming from Iran targeting the kingdom’s territory,” the spokesman of the Jordanian army says in a statement, adding that the missiles were “intercepted and downed.”

The US said earlier that missiles fired by Iran at its forces in Jordan had been intercepted.

Internal probe into fatal shooting of city worker at checkpoint won’t include autopsy — report

The Department of Internal Police Investigations will not perform an autopsy on a Jerusalem municipal sanitation worker who was shot dead by security forces at a checkpoint last week, Channel 13 News reports.

The deceased man, 50-year-old Khalil a-Rishq, was shot twice in the legs and once in the groin Thursday night by a Border Police officer and private security guard at the Shuafat checkpoint.

The report, citing witnesses, claims the man was left to bleed out at the checkpoint for an “extended period of time” before receiving medical assistance.

DIPI, a Justice Ministry unit that probes police officers on criminal suspicions, told The Times of Israel that it was probing the lethal incident. However, the reported decision to forgo an autopsy would seriously hamper investigators’ ability to confirm police claims that the officer and security guard shot Rishq while he was moving toward them.

Police said that officers shot at Rishq after he approached a checkpoint meant for vehicles on foot and refused to heed their calls to halt.

Man seen attacking Palestinians while in IDF uniform arrested, police say

An IDF soldier, alongside settlers, beats two Palestinians in the West Bank town of Huwara, June 6, 2026. (X)

Police say they have arrested an Israeli man who was seen dressed in military uniform while participating in a settler rampage in the northern West Bank town of Huwara in June.

Footage from the scene of the June 6 attack showed masked assailants and at least one ostensible soldier, seen in full military gear and armed with an assault rifle and pistol, repeatedly punching one of the Palestinians.

The Israel Police says that an investigation revealed that the man, in his 20s, was a member of a civil defense squad in a nearby settlement. He had been on the run for the past month, before being detained overnight in the northern West Bank, police say.

Police say the civilian’s weapons were seized, and he was taken for further questioning.

Authorities intend to request a court order the man held in custody for the remainder of the investigation, police say.

Tehran official confirms Omani strait proposal dead in the water

Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, June 16, 2026. (AP)

A senior Iranian official confirms to Reuters that Tehran has ruled out Oman’s proposal for regional joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, saying it has no chance of success.

The US and Saudi Arabia are trying to pressure Oman to advance their “unrealistic plans” regarding the strategic strait, the official says.

Iran and Oman control opposite shores of the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran insists the entire inbound route through the strait and part of the outbound route must be under Iranian control, the senior Iranian official says.

Iran mulled strike on Ukraine after sailor killed in Caspian — report

Iran considered launching an attack on Ukraine in response to the killing of an Iranian sailor on the Caspian Sea, but ultimately shelved the plan, the New York Times reports, citing sources in Iran and the West.

Any such attack would have potentially complicated and further entangled the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, with Iran already supplying Russia with attack drones and Russia providing Iran intel used to attack US bases, according to Ukraine.

The report cited officials who said Iran was expected to attack a Ukrainian seaport on the Black Sea. Other officials said an attack on Ukraine would have been a largely symbolic ballistic missile strike, with the goal of sending a message without sparking retaliation, the newspaper reports.

The plan was ultimately shelved amid diplomatic contacts between Tehran and Kyiv, as well as the EU, according to the report, which comes a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky held their first face-to-face meeting in years.

IDF confirms firing on suspect who posed threat, after fatal south Lebanon shooting

Israeli troops fired on a suspect who approached them in southern Lebanon earlier this week, the IDF says.

Lebanese media reported on Monday that Shadi Hussayan al-Darwish was shot dead by Israeli forces between Mansouri and Ras al-Bayada in the Tyre area.

The IDF says a suspect was identified in the Ras al-Bayada area, approaching troops “in a manner that posed a threat.”

Troops fired “warning shots in an attempt to distance him,” and after he “continued advancing toward the soldiers and failed to comply with their calls, they fired toward him in order to remove the threat,” the IDF says.

Soldiers operating in the south Lebanon buffer zone also captured Hezbollah weapons, including assault rifles, RPGs, explosive devices, and other equipment, the military adds.

Nearly half of Americans would put Netanyahu in handcuffs, poll says

A protester stands in rain near the White House on July 28, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Finn Gomez/Getty Images/AFP)

Nearly half of Americans believe that Prime Minister Benjamin should be arrested on war crimes charges while he is in the country this week to meet US President Donald Trump, a new poll suggests.

Asked about the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes related to Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, 49% of respondents to an Economist/YouGov survey say the Israeli premier should be detained. Another 27% say he should not be arrested and 23% are unsure.

The US is not a member of the ICC and the Trump administration has flatly rejected the ICC case against Israel and has sanctioned the Hague officials involved. Israel strongly refutes the war crimes allegations.

However, the poll still offers a barometer on how Americans view Netanyahu, whose upcoming visit to New York for the UN General Assembly in September had been shadowed by threats from the city’s mayor to try and have him arrested.

Among Democrats, 68% backed arresting Netanyahu, compared to 24% of Republicans and 55% of independents who said the same.

Similar figures were shown across the board when respondents were asked whether they thought Netanyahu is guilty of war crimes.

Iraqi paramilitary group says at least 20 killed in US-Saudi strikes

US-Saudi strikes on Iraq on Wednesday killed at least 20 members of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, the alliance says.

At least 20 fighters “were martyred and another 32 wounded according to a preliminary toll” following the US-Saudi strikes on its bases in seven provinces, PMF says.

China in talks with Houthis to let its tankers through Red Sea strait

A commercial vessel passes through an international shipping lane off Yemen’s Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026. (Khaled ZIAD/AFP)

China has held direct talks with Yemen’s Houthis to enable its tankers to sail through the southern Red Sea without being attacked after the Iran-aligned rebel group pledged to prevent access to Saudi ports, six sources with knowledge of the matter say.

Beijing has asked the Houthis directly to promise safe passage for its tankers, according to the sources, including a senior Iranian official.

China was among the first countries to contact the Houthis directly about transits through Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea with Yemen on its eastern bank, say the sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

China’s Transport Ministry, the Houthis’ media office and Iran’s Foreign Ministry do not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China’s Foreign Ministry, without confirming talks with the Houthis, says it is closely following developments in the Red Sea.

At least four tankers have loaded crude from Saudi ports bound for China and transited Bab el-Mandeb since the Houthis announced restrictions on July 20, according to Kpler analysis and LSEG and MarineTraffic ship-tracking data.

Chinese officials have cleared each vessel individually with the Houthis, one of the sources says, and both sides have informed Iran of their actions, two officials in the region briefed by Tehran tell Reuters.

The Houthis have informed international shipping companies by email that vessels may be attacked if they load or discharge cargo at Saudi Arabian ports.

Some tankers trying to enter the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb have changed course because of safety worries, two separate Chinese trade sources say.

The Houthis have maintained good relations with China and there has been close coordination in the past between them, especially on oil shipments to China from Saudi Arabia, two sources close to the Houthis tell Reuters.

IDF says it destroyed Hezbollah command tunnel near UNIFIL post

The Israeli army says it demolished an underground Hezbollah command center, built beneath a construction material factory near a peacekeeper post in southern Lebanon.

During operations in the village of Haddatha, inside the IDF’s south Lebanon buffer zone, troops uncovered a 55-meter- (180-foot)-long tunnel, the military says.

The IDF says the tunnel featured three rooms, and it was used by Hezbollah as a command center. It was built beneath a construction material factory and located some 300 meters from a UNIFIL building, according to the army.

Nearby, troops also located a pit with dozens of weapons in it, the IDF adds.

Combat engineers blew up the tunnel this week.

IDF vehicle hit in southern Lebanon, in possible first drone attack since truce

Smoke rises following an explosion in southern Lebanon, as seen from the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh July 28, 2026. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

An IDF engineering vehicle was hit by an explosion in the military’s south Lebanon buffer zone overnight, in the Ali Taher Ridge area, according to the army.

No injuries are reported in the blast.

The military is investigating the possibility that the vehicle was struck by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah, which would mark the first such incident since the framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon in late June.

Hezbollah has a massive underground complex under the ridge, near Nabatieh, and the IDF estimates that dozens of operatives are holed up in the area.

However, because of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is prevented from capturing the underground passages beneath the ridge.

Arms depot inside Gaza mosque destroyed, IDF says

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 29, 2026. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The military says it struck and destroyed several Hamas weapon depots in the central and northern Gaza Strip this week, including one inside a mosque.

The weapon storage site in a mosque in the Strip’s north is “another example of terror organizations using civilian infrastructure for terror purposes,” the army says.

The IDF says the weapons were intended to be used in attacks on Israeli troops in Gaza and Israeli civilians, and the sites were struck “to remove the threat.”

Man sentenced to 21 years over 2023 rape that charged tensions

Residents of Gedera hold a protest after a resident was allegedly raped in her home on February 3, 2023. (Flash90)

A man has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for the brutal rape of a woman in her home in Gedera in 2023, in a case that charged Jewish-Arab tensions despite no evidence of nationalist motivations.

Barakat Abu Asa, from the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, was found guilty in April of aggravated rape and abusing his victim’s two-year-old son, who was present in the house at the time of the assault.

According to the indictment, Abu Asa had been working at a construction site across from the victim’s home in the central town.

On the night of February 2, 2023, he broke into her home with rolls of thick tape, which he used to tie her wrists and ankles and cover her mouth and her eyes. He then dragged her to the house’s safe room and raped her.

The brutal assault sparked an uproar at the time and heated Jewish-Arab tensions in Gedera, though prosecutors found no basis for charging Abu Asa with nationalistically motivated offenses.

Days after Abu Asa’s arrest, police said they questioned four men on suspicion of planning to attack Arab construction workers in revenge for the rape.

National Security Itamar Ben Gvir was present at the hearing and reiterated claims that the crime was nationalistic.

The far-right politician, who has campaigned on Jewish-Arab friction, denies to reporters that his appearance was tied to the upcoming election.

State prosecutors involved in the case hail the court’s decision, saying it established a new legal precedent in its determination that the assault in its own right constituted abuse of the victim’s child.

Abu Asa is also ordered to pay NIS 200,000 ($65,000) in damages to his victim.

“We commend the complainant for the courageous testimony she gave in court,” the State Attorney’s Office says. “She bravely endured a difficult journey, and we hope that this sentence will be of some comfort to her, so that she can continue her journey of recovery.”

Israel won’t agree to more southern Lebanon withdrawals in Rome talks — report

Israel has told mediators that it will not agree to additional withdrawals from territory in southern Lebanon in Rome talks scheduled for next week, Channel 12 reports.

Israel’s focus in Rome will be on maintaining the freedom to re-enter areas it handed over to the Lebanese army last week, should it need to deal with Hezbollah threats, according to the report. Israel won’t agree to withdraw from any more territory without that agreement on freedom of action.

Last month’s deal called for the Lebanese military to deploy in areas in southern Lebanon where the Hezbollah terror group had a military presence and influence, paving the way for Israel to withdraw from its declared security zone in the south, dependent on Hezbollah disarmament.

Until Hezbollah is disarmed, Israel also won’t agree to any future withdrawals at all south of the so-called “yellow line” it established marking the Israeli buffer zone in southern Lebanon, according to the report.

“The additional areas will not be on our side, in the defense lines that we have stabilized,” says an Israeli official. “If the current pilot is successful and additional pilot areas are decided upon later, they will be beyond the yellow line. We will not allow further withdrawals of the area on our side. Until Hezbollah is disarmed in Lebanon –- that is what was agreed upon.”

Technical teams from each side will meet from August 4 to August 6 and focus on advancing the implementation of the framework agreement for an eventual peace deal between Israel and Lebanon.

Guided by Iran, Houthis may start charging for passage through Red Sea strait

A photo taken from the Yemeni coast southwest of the city of Taiz shows boats floating in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, in the Red Sea, on July 24, 2026. (Khaled ZIAD/AFP)

Yemen’s Houthi group is considering imposing fees on commercial ships sailing through the southern Red Sea, a week after declaring a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, regional sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The Iran-aligned Houthis on July 20 declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, opening a new front against the US and its allies in the Iran war and expanding attacks on tankers carrying global energy and other supplies to waters beyond the Gulf.

The Houthis were looking into imposing fees on most traffic through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb gateway, which links the southern Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, the sources say. No timeframe was given at this stage for implementation, they added.

The Houthis’ media office did not respond to a request for comment.

Houthi officials traveled to Iran in July for the funeral ceremony of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, where Iranian counterparts discussed with them the issue of imposing fees on Bab el-Mandeb transits, two regional officials briefed by Tehran tell Reuters.

The objectives of such a move would be to normalize the practice of imposing fees on international waterways and increase pressure on the United States, the sources say. Chinese ships would be exempted from such fees and the Houthis were supportive of the arrangement, they add.

Houthi officials who returned by plane from Tehran were accompanied by Iranian advisers who were on the ground to guide them on setting up a potential authority that will regulate fees through the Bab el-Mandeb, an Arab official in the region says.

“The Houthis will try to gain access over the Red Sea and they will try to charge ships if they do,” Afrah al-Zouba, foreign minister-designate with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, tells Reuters.

Such a move would face strong opposition from Gulf and European countries, although overstretched international naval forces are currently unable to provide sufficient protection for merchant shipping and there is little political appetite to change that, two Western diplomats say.

Meeting between Iraqi PM, Saudi crown prince called off after strikes

A planned visit to Saudi Arabia by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has been indefinitely postponed, two Iraqi government officials say, on condition of anonymity.

Al-Zaidi had been scheduled to travel to Jeddah tomorrow, where he planned to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

The meeting was called off after Saudi Arabia took part in US strikes targeting Iraq’s Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces paramilitary group, in retaliation for recent attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and US forces in the region. At least 20 members of the militia were killed in the strikes, it said.

Al-Zaidi has called an emergency meeting of the country’s National Security Council to discuss the strikes.

IDF confirms Hezbollah drone hit bulldozer, breaking Lebanon truce

The military confirms an unmanned engineering vehicle was struck overnight by a Hezbollah explosive drone in the Ali Taher Ridge area of southern Lebanon, in the IDF’s buffer zone.

The attack on the armored bulldozer, the first since the start of the framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon in late June, caused no injuries, according to the army.

“This is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon by the Hezbollah terror organization,” the IDF says.

Israel is currently deliberating a response to the violation of the ceasefire, according to security officials.

Israel says Hezbollah has a massive underground complex under the Ali Taher Ridge, near Nabatieh, and the IDF estimates that dozens of operatives are holed up in the area.

However, because of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is prevented from capturing the underground passages beneath the ridge.

The army says forces “continue to operate in the ridge area and will not allow terrorists in the area to advance or carry out terror attacks against IDF troops.”

Veteran of secret IDF unit charged with spying for Iran

An Israeli civilian who previously served in the military in a classified unit has been arrested and charged with spying on behalf of Iran, Israeli authorities announce.

In a joint statement, the Israel Police, Defense Ministry, and Shin Bet say the man was charged at the Tel Aviv District Court on July 16 with “contact with a foreign agent and attempted delivery of information for the benefit of the enemy.”

The investigation found that the man, who served in the classified unit during both his mandatory service and reserves, was in contact with “an individual who identified himself as an Iranian intelligence agent.”

The statement says the suspect at one stage was also asked to assist with recruiting a soldier “to establish contact with those [Iranian] agents.”

No further details are given regarding the information the suspect sent to the Iranian handler, or when he was arrested. The unit the man served in previously is not detailed, as its activities are classified.

Israeli security authorities say they “reiterate their warning” to civilians against “maintaining contact with foreign actors from enemy states or with unidentified individuals.”

Over the past two years, dozens of Israelis, including several soldiers and reservists, have been charged with espionage on behalf of Iran. In many cases, Iranian agents recruited Israelis via social media, specifically through Telegram, authorities say.

Senior Iranian lawmaker: Hormuz belongs to Iran, we will not back down

The Strait of Hormuz will not return to its previous status, says a senior Iranian lawmaker.

Speaking to the Iranian Students News Agency, deputy speaker of parliament Ali Nikzad stresses that Hormuz belongs to Iran.

“We consider the strait as an achievement of the recent imposed war and a divine gift to the great Iranian nation,” says Nikzad, adding that Tehran will not back down from asserting its rights over Hormuz.

IDF denies apologizing to US military over Katz revealing planes striking Iran from Israel

A US Air Force Boeing KC-46A aerial refueling tanker takes off from Ben Gurion Airport on June 8, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

An Israeli military official denies a report by the Saudi al-Hadath outlet, claiming that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir was forced to apologize to his American counterpart after Defense Minister Israel Katz said US warplanes have been taking off from Israel for strikes in Iran.

“The report regarding a conversation between the chief of staff and the CENTCOM commander is incorrect,” the official says, adding that Zamir has not spoken with Adm. Brad Cooper since Katz’s remarks yesterday.

Katz had told the right-wing Channel 14 news that the Iranians “know that American aircraft are taking off from here, and refuelers are taking off from here, to strike.”

Al-Hadath, citing an Israeli military source, claimed that CENTCOM was outraged by the remarks, and that they had revealed “operational secrets.”

The report claimed that Israel had raised its level of alert after the revelation.

Norwegian teen convicted after joining Iran-linked Swedish mafia

A Norwegian teenager has been convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in Britain after being recruited by a Swedish organized crime group that prosecutors said was used by the Iranian government.

Johannes Natland, now 19, was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield in northern England in March last year in possession of two firearms and ammunition.

Prosecutors say Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group used by the Iranian state which has been sanctioned by Britain and the United States.

Trump says US will ‘beat the f*cking sh*t’ out of Iran after its ‘surprise’ attacks on US assets

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says Washington is going to “beat the fucking shit” out of Iran in response to Tehran’s overnight attacks on US assets in the region.

“We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating,” Trump tells Fox News in a phone interview.

Trump calls the Iran strike targeting US forces in Jordan a “surprise attack” in which troops had just minutes to shoot down incoming missiles.

Commenting on the US-Saudi strikes against pro-Iranian militia groups in Iraq, Trump says they were coordinated with the Iraqi government. He calls the pro-Iranian militia groups a “cancer on the world.”

Despite the apparent escalation with Iran, Trump says he’s going to allow his negotiators to continue holding talks with Iran.

Asked about his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump reiterates that it went very well, adding that the Israeli premier “understands now,” without elaborating as to what he meant.

TikTok launches Israel election task force to combat disinformation

A TikTok logo is shown on a phone in San Francisco, January 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

TikTok says it has established a dedicated Israel election task force to combat disinformation, AI-generated deception and other forms of platform abuse that could manipulate voters or interfere with the October 27 national vote, as part of a new set of election guidelines.

The task force, according to the company, “includes experts from the fields of policy, cybersecurity, deceptive behavior, threat intelligence, elections and civic integrity.”

The company also says it will launch an in-app Election Center drawing on information from Israel’s Central Elections Committee, giving users access to “reliable information” about voting procedures, election dates and other key details, alongside tips for identifying disinformation.

The company reiterates its existing global policies on election-related misinformation and other forms of platform manipulation, saying it removes content, including AI-generated material, that could mislead voters, prevent people from voting or interfere with election results.

It also requires creators to label AI-generated content that appears realistic and says it removes coordinated influence campaigns, fake accounts impersonating public figures and bots used to artificially amplify content.

TikTok has for years faced criticism over the spread of misinformation on its platform, particularly during elections, with concerns intensifying following the rise of increasingly sophisticated AI-generated content.

The announcement comes amid heightened concern over the potential impact of AI-generated content and disinformation on the upcoming election.

Yesterday, the Central Elections Committee instructed polling firms and media outlets to submit the full results, questionnaires and underlying data of any published election poll in an effort to improve transparency and prevent manipulation, and on Sunday the committee introduced new rules requiring digitally created or substantially AI-edited election materials that could be mistaken for authentic footage to be clearly labeled.

Police conducting major anti-organized crime raid in Rahat and nearby towns

Israel Police chief Danny Levy accompanies officers during the first day of a sweeping police operation in Bedouin towns in southern Israel, meant to crack down on organized crime in the region, on July 29, 2026. (Israel Police)

Police are conducting a sweeping raid today in Rahat and other Bedouin areas of southern Israel in an operation meant to combat organized crime in the region.

The operation, which involves hundreds of police officers and officials in civilian enforcement agencies, is meant to “sever the income sources of criminal actors, strengthen governance and increase public security in Rahat and its environs,” police say.

The operation comes months after a state comptroller report found that southern Israel has suffered from a massive uptick in extortion, specifically in the form of protection rackets in which criminals threaten businessowners with violence, blackmailing them into paying for gang-run security services.

The phenomenon, which has been burgeoning amid a chronic shortage of police officers in the south, has seen the cost of building projects skyrocket and dissuaded contractors from competing for tenders.

“We are working hard against criminal organizations so that we can have a quieter and safer country, and therefore we won’t pull punches when dealing with these criminal organizations,” says police chief Danny Levy to officers at the scene, in a quote carried by the Walla news site.

Tax Authority officials are seen going from business to business in Tarabin al-Sana as the streets remain mostly empty, save for children gathered near the mosque at the town entrance.

The Bedouin village was subject to a weeks-long, militarized police raid in December closely overseen by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. That operation led to clashes between locals and police, and the fatal shooting of one resident on his own doorstep.

Netanyahu met Vance last night, will sit down today with Hegseth

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left), US President Donald Trump, and Vice President JD Vance (right) meet in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026. (GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met one-on-one with US Vice President JD Vance last night at Blair House, the Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel.

He is expected to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today.

Vance has been openly critical of Israel recently, including accusing Netanyahu’s government of trying to undermine US talks with Iran and even floating conspiracy theories of Israeli intelligence ties with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Vance was also present during Netanyahu’s Oval Office meeting yesterday morning with US President Donald Trump.

Fauci pleads the Fifth in Senate hearing about origin of COVID-19 virus

Dr. Anthony Fauci appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at the Capitol, July 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Allison Robbert)

Anthony Fauci, the former top US infectious disease expert, declines to answer questions at a Senate hearing, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and accusing Republican Sen. Rand Paul of an “unhinged” campaign to see him imprisoned.

“Under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions,” Fauci tells the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which Paul chairs, in his opening statement.

The Kentucky Republican has for years called for Fauci to be indicted and accused him of lying to Congress about whether the National Institutes of Health funded “gain-of-function” research in Wuhan, China, and of helping cover up the origins of COVID-19.

Fauci denies both claims and says he has testified truthfully multiple times before Congress on these issues.

“Given Senator Paul’s obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me, and recently his publicly releasing my unredacted personal diary aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me,” says Fauci, “the only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this Committee is to get me to say something that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars.'”

Military reopens naval helicopter squadron with new Seahawk choppers

A Sikorsky SH-60F Seahawk helicopter in use by the Israeli Air Force on behalf of the Israeli Navy is seen at the Palmachim Airbase, July 28, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli Air Force has reopened the 193rd Squadron, which operates helicopters on behalf of the Israeli Navy for missions at sea.

The 193rd Squadron was shuttered in August 2025 after the IAF retired its fleet of AS565 Panther helicopters before receiving new SH-60F Seahawk choppers, a naval-focused version of the Blackhawk helicopter.

A ceremony was held yesterday at the Palmachim Airbase for the reopening of the squadron, the military says.

The IDF says the squadron will operate in “close cooperation” with the Missile Boat Flotilla for missions at sea, including “defense of the State of Israel’s strategic assets, safeguarding freedom of navigation, supporting maneuvering forces, and employing naval firepower.”

“The squadron constitutes a central component of the IDF’s air-sea array and expands the operational response in the maritime domain,” the military adds.

UN human rights office urges action against rising settler violence in West Bank

Israeli settlers set agricultural lands on fire near the West Bank town of Beit Furik, July 13, 2026. (AP/Majdi Mohammed)

The UN human rights office warns of worsening violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and urges international action against the killing of Palestinians as well as the creation of settlements, which it says has reached an all-time high.

According to United Nations figures, 18 Palestinians have been killed in incidents linked to settler attacks so far this year, compared with 17 in the whole of 2025.

“Settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting together, have attacked local communities, assaulting families, destroying and confiscating property, and burning mosques,” Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, says in a statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have privately referred to growing settler violence as a “metastasizing cancer,” while in public comments he has called it a fringe phenomenon carried out by a small handful of extremists.

Shin Bet figures reported yesterday by Army Radio showed the number of such attacks significantly increasing in the first half of 2026.

Bodies of Herzl’s grandparents exhumed in Belgrade, to be reinterred in Jerusalem next week

Representatives from the World Zionist Organization, the Foreign Ministry, and ZAKA help exhume the bodies of Theodor Herzl's grandparents, Shimon and Rivka Herzl, in Belgrade, Serbia, July 29, 2026. (World Zionist Organization/ ZAKA)

The remains of the grandparents of Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl were exhumed today from their graves in Belgrade, Serbia, in order to be brought to Israel and reinterred next week on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

The bodies of Shimon and Rivka Herzl will be buried next to their grandson’s grave on Mount Herzl in a ceremony on August 5, exactly 77 years after Herzl was reburied there in 1949.

The exhumation was carried out under local legal and religious requirements in the presence of representatives from the World Zionist Organization, Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the emergency response organization ZAKA. The remains were transferred to specially designated coffins for transport to Israel.

Herzl’s grandparents are believed to have influenced his early attachment to Zionism. Shimon Herzl was a Jewish community leader in Belgrade and was close to Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai, an early herald of Zionism. Shimon served as the ba’al tekiah — the ceremonial shofar blower — at Alkalai’s synagogue.

Herzl, who founded the Zionist Organization (later the WZO) in 1897, was buried in Vienna after he died of a heart ailment in 1904. In 1949, his remains were taken to Israel and reinterred on Mount Herzl, named in his honor.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog are expected to attend the ceremony next week.

IDF: 3 settlement activists crossed into Syria, were apprehended a day later

View of snow on Mount Hermon in Syria, as seen from the northern Golan Heights near the Syrian border, December 13, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

Three Israeli settlement activists illegally crossed the border into Syria and spent nearly a full day there before being apprehended by Israeli troops.

According to the IDF, the trio crossed the border in the Mount Hermon area last night.

Troops in the area searched for them, but only located them this morning. The forces detained the civilians and handed them over to the Israel Police for further questioning, the IDF says.

The military says there has been an increase in attempts by activists to cross the border into Syria in recent weeks. The activists, who call themselves the Bashan Pioneers, call for establishing settlements in the area.

“The IDF strongly condemns this incident, which is another serious disruption to operational activities and poses a risk to the safety of IDF troops operating in the area,” the military says.

The IDF says “law enforcement authorities must bring those responsible to justice to prevent these individuals from repeatedly engaging in this type of criminal conduct.”

There have been no charges filed against the Bashan Pioneers members, and despite their illegal actions, they have received support from some coalition lawmakers.

Military data shows rise in number of Haredi troops drafting to IDF

Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai visits the ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade's training base, May 20, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF has seen an increase in the number of ultra-Orthodox men who have been drafted into the military over the past year, reaching some 4,000 new Haredi soldiers.

Before the war, which began with Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, around 1,800 Haredi soldiers were drafted annually.

Between July 2023 and July 2024, some 2,200 Haredi men were drafted to the IDF. A year later, up to July 2025, that number reached 2,800.

In the past year, at least 4,000 ultra-Orthodox soldiers have been drafted, according to the military’s data.

The military says the data is not yet final, as the July 2025-July 2026 draft period has not yet been completed. Still, the IDF appears to be getting close to its goal of drafting 4,800 Haredi soldiers per year.

The IDF’s numbers may be inaccurate, as the data on who is counted as ultra-Orthodox is drawn from the education system, which lies outside its purview.

The dispute about the ultra-Orthodox community serving in the military is one of the most contentious in Israel, with decades of governmental and judicial attempts to settle the issue having failed to achieve a resolution. The Haredi religious and political leadership fiercely resists any effort to draft young men, who have in the past been granted exemptions from serving.

Around 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The IDF has said repeatedly that it urgently needs 12,000 new recruits amid the ongoing multifront conflict.

Lapid meets Democratic senators who voted against arms sales, urges them ‘not to give up on Israel’

Opposition chairman Yair Lapid speaks during an event at the Atlantic Council in Washington on July 27, 2026. (Screenshot/YouTube)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid meets during his visit to Washington with Democratic senators who voted to restrict arms sales to Israel.

According to his office, the meeting was organized by Sen. Jacky Rosen (Nevada).

They were joined by senators Tim Kaine (Virginia), Michael Bennet (Colorado), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), Cory Booker (New Jersey), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Alex Padilla (California), John Hickenlooper (Colorado) and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada).

Lapid tells the group of mostly centrist Democrats “not to give up on Israel and to show solidarity in the face of its challenges,” says his office.

He also stresses the importance of continued cooperation between Israel and the Democratic party.

Lapid runs into Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) as well, his office tells The Times of Israel.

“Boycotting those who speak out against you is not the way,” says Lapid on X, who is in the US capital at the same time as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “In the face of opposition in the Senate, you need to work hard, meticulously, to repair relations with both parties. It’s not always fun, but that’s how you fix things. Not with whining and not with boycotts.”

US issues new Iran-related sanctions targeting tankers

Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

The United States issues another round of Iran-related sanctions, targeting eight tankers and 10 entities, according to a notice posted on the US Department of Treasury’s website.

Six of the entities targeted today are based in China, according to the notice.

The sanctions come after US President Donald Trump earlier today vowed to hit Iran hard, according to an interview with Fox News, after the US military said it had intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran toward American forces in the Middle East.

Indonesians ask Jakarta to file complaint against Netanyahu for Gaza flotilla arrest ‘abuses’

A video released by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir showing detained flotilla activists at Ashdod Port on May 20, 2026. (Screenshot/Ben Gvir's X account)

Nine Indonesians among global activists detained aboard a Gaza activist flotilla in May filed a complaint against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today alleging crimes against humanity, their lawyer tells AFP.

The men were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla intercepted by Israel and detained along with more than 400 other activists, some for days.

The group asked Indonesia’s attorney general to investigate Israel for offenses including piracy at sea and crimes against humanity, says lawyer Kafin Muhammad.

“We are asking the attorney general of the Republic of Indonesia to conduct an investigation into crimes allegedly committed by Zionist Israel,” he tells AFP.

The complaint includes testimony from the volunteers about abuses they claim to have suffered during their detention by Israeli authorities, he adds.

A spokesman for the Attorney General’s office did not reply to an AFP request for comment.

Israel’s treatment of the flotilla activists sparked an international outcry after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video of the volunteers, who were made to kneel with their hands tied behind their backs.

Iraq militants say 5 Iranians among those killed in US-Saudi strikes

Damaged structures at the site of an airstrike on a Popular Mobilization Forces base in Mosul, Iraq, July 29, 2026. (AP/Farid Abdulwahed)

US-Saudi strikes on the Hashed al-Shaabi, an armed Iraqi alliance that includes pro-Iran groups, killed five Iranian advisers, two sources from the alliance tell AFP.

AFP correspondents saw coffins wrapped in Iranian flags during a funeral organized by the Hashed al-Shaabi in Baghdad for those killed. The sources said the Iranians died in a strike in the central Diyala province.

Meanwhile Iraq vows to defend its sovereignty and to prevent its territory from being used against neighboring countries, following the deadly US-Saudi strikes on the country.

Iraq’s Ministerial Council for National Security says it “decided to adopt a comprehensive security plan to strengthen control across the country, confront any violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and prevent any source from using Iraqi territory to threaten neighboring states.”

Lebanese lawyers file complaint against banker who met Netanyahu in Washington

A mock 'wanted' poster of Lebanese bank owner Antoun Sehnaoui, left, plastered by protesters outside the Lebanese Central Bank, in Beirut, Lebanon, January 19, 2024. (AP/Hussein Malla)

More than a dozen Lebanese lawyers file a complaint at the prosecutor’s office in Beirut today against a prominent local banker, saying he violated the country’s laws by meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington this week.

Lebanon’s laws prevent its citizens from having contact with Israelis — the countries remain in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948 — and violators could face prison terms.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted a photo on X of the banker, Antoun Sehnaoui, sitting at a restaurant table with Netanyahu and his wife, Sara. Ravid wrote that Sehnaoui and former US envoy Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner on Monday in memory of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham that was attended by Netanyahu and US officials.

????????????????????????Lebanese businessman and banker Antoun Sehnaoui and former U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner in memory of Sen. Lindsey Graham at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C., on Monday night
????????The event was attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife… pic.twitter.com/00v3Q6EK28

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 28, 2026

A Sehnaoui-linked website, This is Beirut, also reported details of what it called the “special dinner.”

Sehnaoui’s lawyer in Beirut does not immediately respond for comment.

The complaint says Sehnaoui committed “the crimes of contacting and dealing with the Israeli enemy, violating the Israel boycott law, the crime of treason and state security crimes.”

One of the lawyers, Hassan Bazzi, says Sehnaoui violated the law and offended national sentiments. Bazzi says the lawyers hope the prosecutor’s office performs its duties “effectively and swiftly.”

A Lebanese foreign ministry official refused to comment when contacted by the AP.

Zamir tells Haredi commanders IDF must ‘grow, expand, and become stronger’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks to Haredi officers in the Hasmonean Brigade, on the Lebanon border, July 29, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

During a visit to commanders of the Hasmonean Brigade for ultra-Orthodox troops on the Lebanon border, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military must expand its ranks.

“One of the lessons we learned from October 7 is that the IDF must grow, expand, and become stronger. We must increase our ground combat forces and build more battalions and brigades that know how to fight, defeat the enemy, and defend the State of Israel,” he says, according to remarks published by the army.

Zamir tells the Haredi commanders that the military’s goal is to “enable you to serve in the IDF while preserving your way of life.”

“Your integration into the IDF is vital to the security of the State of Israel and to the entire people of Israel,” he says.

Zamir notes that the IDF has seen “an increase in the enlistment of Haredim into the IDF, in both combat units and combat support units.”

In the past year, at least 4,000 ultra-Orthodox soldiers have been drafted to the IDF, according to the military’s data, an increase of some 1,200 troops compared to the previous annual period.

Netanyahu laid out Iran options for Trump rather than pushing specific strategy — senior Israeli official

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and US President Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026. (GPO)

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not push a particular strategy regarding Iran on US President Donald Trump during their Oval Office meeting, a senior Israeli official says, characterizing the sit-down as an “exchange of ideas” regarding the three main scenarios before them.

The first scenario would be a diplomatic agreement with Iran; the second would be a murkier scenario where there is no deal and the US continues trying to pressure Iran through economic sanctions without a return to war; and the third option is to launch a major new offensive against the Islamic Republic, the senior Israeli official explains during a briefing with Israeli reporters in Washington.

The senior Israeli official seeks to dispel the notion that Netanyahu came to Washington in order to convince Trump to resume strikes against Iran, as was widely reported to have been the case during his last visit in February when he made a high-stakes case for why the US should join Israel in striking Iran.

Trump got on board less than three weeks later, but many of the predictions Netanyahu made in the Situation Room about how smoothly the campaign would go did not pan out.

This time around, Netanyahu did not tell Trump which of the three scenarios was preferred, although the premier acknowledged that he noted his doubts regarding the possibility that Iran will uphold any agreement that it signs, the senior Israeli official says.

The two leaders discussed all three scenarios in detail, laying out the advantages and disadvantages of each, the senior Israeli official says.

Court rejects MK Rothman’s libel suit against Channel 12 reporter since report was true

Journalist Guy Peleg arrives at the Jerusalem Magistrate Court for a hearing in a lawsuit against him by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, May 22, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court rejects a libel suit brought by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman against Channel 12 legal reporter Guy Peleg, who reported that Rothman said “the blood of brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv who were murdered in Huwara is redder than the blood of those murdered on October 7.”

Rothman’s comments related to a Palestinian terror attack in the village of Huwara in February 2023 in which brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv were murdered.

The court finds that Peleg’s report was correct, stating “the plaintiff’s testimony and conduct reinforce the finding that the element of truth has been established.”

Netanyahu meets US Defense Secretary Hegseth in Washington

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and their aides in Washington on July 29, 2026. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Blair House.

Footage released by the Prime Minister’s Office shows the two men shaking hands and talking, joined by several military and civilian aides.

Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance yesterday.

Senior Israeli official admits squeezing Iran at odds with stabilizing energy markets

This frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage on July 12, 2026 shows a cargo ship anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan. (AFPTV/AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognizes that taking care of the energy markets and global economy is at odds with efforts to continue squeezing Iran, and the question is how both of these aims can be advanced at the same time, a senior Israeli official says during a briefing with reporters in Washington, without offering a solution.

While the regime appears to have withstood the worst of what the US and Israel were able to throw at it over the last four months, the regime is now much weaker than it seems and is facing unprecedented economic turmoil and even a renewal of small protests against it, the senior Israeli official asserts.

“The regime is very afraid of the possibility that the public will take to the streets over the economic situation,” the official adds, pointing to what he says is a 90% inflation rate in Iran.

While Netanyahu in the early days of the war spoke about regime change as a very realistic possibility, the senior Israeli official appears to acknowledge it will not happen organically under current conditions, with unarmed protesters.

Accordingly, Netanyahu and Trump “discussed [during their meeting yesterday] additional economic pressure [against Iran] through kinetic and non-kinetic means,” the senior Israeli official says.

While the official acknowledges that the final decision on how to proceed belongs to Trump, Netanyahu will not wait for an American green light if Iran decides to attack Israel first.

The official suspects Iran has refrained from doing so to date because it knows the response will be overwhelming and because Israel has achieved a degree of deterrence.

Canada condemns West Bank violence, demands end to settlement growth

Canada condemns worsening violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and demands a halt to the expansion of Israeli settlements there.

According to United Nations figures, 18 Palestinians have been killed in incidents linked to settler attacks so far this year, compared with 17 in the whole of 2025.

“Canada condemns the ongoing violence in the West Bank. The expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank must stop. These settlements are illegal under international law,” the Foreign Ministry writes in a post on X.

Drone hits gas storage tanker at Egyptian port, signaling possible expansion of Mideast war

Firefighters work to put out a blaze on a gas tanker in Egypt's Damietta port after it was reportedly hit by an Iranian drone strike, July 29, 2026. (Screenshots/ X used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

An explosion took place at the liquid natural gas terminal at Egypt’s Damietta Port as cargo was being unloaded, according to media reports.

According to the Ambrey global security company, a drone hit a US-owned gas storage tanker, with no injuries reported.

Port services firm Inchcape says in a separate message that two gas tankers had caught fire at Damietta.

The drone hit floating storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that then spread to another vessel, Gaslog Salem, three trading sources familiar with the incident say. Two separate security sources say the cause of the blast was a drone strike.

The crew was evacuated and the fire brought under control, Ambrey says, adding that no party had claimed responsibility.

Official Egyptian channels have not yet commented on the incident.

The explosion occurred while the Middle East is on high alert, as Iranian drones have targeted a number of Arab countries. Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen have also recently hit Saudi energy facilities. Egypt has until now not been hit by Iranian drone strikes.

IDF chief says if needed, troops ‘will push deeper’ into southern Lebanon

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meets troops in southern Lebanon, July 29, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

During a visit to southern Lebanon today, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military is prepared for the war to continue on any front.

“The campaign across all fronts is not yet over, and you must be prepared for it to continue. We are prepared for any change in the situation and ready for a wide range of scenarios,” he says to officers, according to remarks published by the army.

Zamir says that, in Lebanon, “if required, we will push deeper and reach additional areas.”

His comments come ahead of a new round of direct Jerusalem-Beirut talks scheduled for next week in Rome, with the US pushing for the expansion of pilot zones where the Lebanese military is deploying as Israel withdraws troops.

Netanyahu used map to help dispel Trump’s assumptions about Israeli presence in Syria — official

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in the Oval Office with their aides on July 28, 2026. (GPO)

WASHINGTON — While the bulk of the 90-minute meeting yesterday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump focused on Iran, Netanyahu did raise the issue of Israel’s presence in Syria, in light of Trump’s private demands that the IDF withdraw from the country and from neighboring Lebanon, says a senior Israeli official briefing reporters.

Trump “has certain assumptions — that if you don’t find a way to change them, they become fixed. So you have to show [him the] facts — preferably in a visual manner. Such presentations have a cumulative weight against the things he hears from other sources,” the senior Israeli official says.

Accordingly, Netanyahu showed Trump a map during their meeting, which showed the Syria territory occupied by Turkey and Israel respectively, the official says, claiming that the former area is five percent of the country, while the IDF-controlled area is 0.1% of the country.

However, the territory controlled by Turkey is at the approval of the Syrian government, while the territory controlled by Israel is not.

The senior Israeli official says Netanyahu’s ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came up during the meeting, with the premier telling Trump that Erdogan is seeking to restore the Ottoman Empire and again raising his objection to the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Ankara.

Trump did not take well to Netanyahu’s public messaging against the sale — which he has indicated he is inclined to authorize — telling reporters the day before the meeting that nobody can tell him who to sell weapons to.

As for Israel’s six-mile-wide buffer zone in southern Lebanon, Trump didn’t demand that the IDF withdraw further after Netanyahu explained that the troops are there to protect towns across the board, the senior official claims.

The IDF withdrew from the first pilot zone earlier this month and was replaced by members of the Lebanese Armed Forces, who are tasked with advancing the disarmament of Hezbollah.

However, the State Department said on Monday that it is looking to establish additional pilot zones in southern Lebanon and that the issue will be discussed in the next round of US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome next week.

Egypt confirms fire at port but makes no mention of drone attack

Firefighters work to put out a blaze on a gas tanker in Egypt's Damietta port after it was reportedly hit by an Iranian drone strike, July 29, 2026. (Screenshot/ X used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

A statement from Egypt’s petroleum ministry confirms a fire at the port of Damietta but makes no mention of a drone attack, after multiple reports blaming the blaze on a drone.

The oil ministry says two ships used for the processing and storage of gas caught fire in the Egyptian port.

“The situation was handled immediately in accordance with emergency and rapid response plans,” the ministry says, without identifying the cause of the blaze. “The necessary procedures are being taken to assess the implications of the situation.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident, although Iran has been targeting US assets in many countries in the region, including Jordan, Syria, Iraq and others.

In DC meetings, Netanyahu reiterated desire to wean Israel off US aid, says official

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026, alongside US special envoy Steve Witkoff. (GPO)

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held separate conversations yesterday with US Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff, during which he again raised his desire to gradually wean Israel off of US aid within 10 years.

“I want to move from aid to partnership,” a senior Israeli official explains in a briefing with reporters.

The current memorandum of understanding between the US and Israel grants Israel $3.8 billion annually, but expires in 2028, several months before the end of Trump’s second term in office.

For the next MOU — which the sides are beginning to negotiate ְ– Netanyahu envisions gradually zeroing out the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants that currently stand at $3.3 billion annually, while maintaining some of the Ballistic Missile Defense aid, which currently stands at $500 million annually.

Netanyahu also spoke to the top Trump officials about creating a new joint US-Israel fund of roughly $16 billion that would go toward research and development of new weapons systems, the senior official says.

Republican lawmakers have told Netanyahu they are worried about being seen as anti-Israel by supporting the zeroing out of US aid to Israel, so the premier told them that he would be the one to lead this initiative, the official recounts.

Netanyahu recognizes the necessity of adopting this approach in light of souring views on Israel among both parties, the official says, adding that Israel does not want its future security to be dependent on politics in Washington.

Accordingly, Netanyahu has also instructed Israel’s defense sector to develop its own fighter jet within 10 years, even if it may not be as stealthy as the US-made F-35.

Official: Netanyahu has not seen controversial AI campaign video of Eisenkot

Screenshot from an AI-generated ad shared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 21, 2026, against election rival Gadi Eisenkot. (Screenshot via Facebook)

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not seen the Likud campaign AI video that critics say cruelly depicts Yashar chief Gadi Eisenkot choosing to embrace Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas instead of his late son Gal, a senior Israeli official claims.

The video was posted on Netanyahu’s own X account, sparking immediate uproar and a denial from the Likud Party that the young man in the clip was meant to depict Eisenkot’s son, an IDF soldier who was killed in the Gaza war.

Nonetheless, an Israeli official briefing reporters covering Netanyahu’s visit in Washington claims that the premier has yet to watch the video, even if he was made aware of the reactions to it.

The official says it would be best if all campaigns avoided weighing in on candidates who have lost family members, claiming Netanyahu’s rivals have also made light of him being the brother of a fallen soldier — Entebbe hero Yoni Netanyahu, who was killed in the famed 1976 raid.

AG said to demand police probe amid conflicting claims in state comptroller vote scandal

Members of the Knesset during the state comptroller elections, the Knesset plenum, Jerusalem, June 3, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has reportedly instructed police to probe the conflicting statements from the Likud party and MK Sharren Haskel about the contentious Knesset vote for the next state comptroller.

Haskel, whose New Hope party merged with Likud last year, testified that lawmakers were instructed to film themselves voting for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s preferred candidate, his longtime attorney Michael Rabello — though it is meant to be a secret ballot — after Rabello fell short in the first round of voting.

Some MKs were seen holding their phones as they went to vote for the next state comptroller and the High Court froze Rabello’s appointment, ordering a new vote to assuage concerns over the process.

The Likud party meanwhile disputed Haskel’s testimony on the vote, and claimed there was no order for lawmakers to document themselves voting.

According to Hebrew media reports, Baharav-Miara is ordering police to further investigate which statement is true, and to explore the possibility of a criminal probe of whoever is found to be lying.

Netanyahu meeting with Vance was ‘good’ and ‘honest,’ says Israeli official

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left), US President Donald Trump, and Vice President JD Vance (right) meet in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026. (GPO)

WASHINGTON — Asked to comment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting earlier today with US Vice President JD Vance — who has been one of the administration’s most vocal critics of Israel — a senior Israeli official briefing reporters characterized the conversation as “good” and “honest,” without elaborating further.

Vance fumed earlier this month at a reported Israeli government-funded influence campaign aimed at criticizing the Trump’s administration efforts to negotiate an end to the Iran war.

A US official later tells The Times of Israel that Vance and Netanyahu “had a cordial and productive conversation about Middle East issues that are important to both countries.”

“They agreed to continue pursuing opportunities for Israel and the United States to cooperate in areas of mutual interest and shared goals,” the official adds.

As for reports that Netanyahu snubbed a meeting request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Israeli official claimed the prime minister was unaware of such an ask.

Netanyahu did manage to have a brief conversation with Zelensky during the Wednesday memorial service for senator Lindsey Graham that they both attended at Washington’s National Cathedral.

Also present was Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s ousted shah. The Israeli official says Netanyahu spoke for two minutes with Pahlavi without disclosing what they discussed.

Trump: It’s ‘our turn’ to hit Iran ‘very hard’ after Tehran’s strikes on US bases

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, July 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says it is Washington’s “turn” to strike Iran after Tehran launched missiles at US assets in Jordan last night.

“We’re going to be hitting them very hard. Because it’s our turn to hit them. They know it’s coming. They’re asking us not to do it,” Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office, noting that all five missiles fired by Iran were knocked down.

Trump also says he was briefed on a drone attack on tankers off the coast of Egypt.

“We’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump adds of diplomatic efforts with Iran.

Iranian officials have previously vowed that if the US bombs Tehran or critical Iranian infrastructure, Iran will respond by firing missiles at Tel Aviv — something it has refrained from doing since the renewal of hostilities.

Eisenkot’s team said to tell Shin Bet candidate is under threat and has no state protection

Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, attends a conference in Haifa, July 9, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

Former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot has been forced to hire a private bodyguard firm in the leadup to the elections, since he is not entitled to a state-issued security detail, Channel 12 reports.

Eisenkot, who heads the centrist Yashar party and is now polling as the foremost contender against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sent a letter through his campaign field director to Shin Bet chief David Zini regarding the lack of protection.

“In light of a number of incidents that have occurred in recent weeks, as well as a series of troubling publications, we have decided to secure the party chairman with a private security firm,” the letter reads.

“It should be noted that permission was not given for us to provide him with armed protection, and therefore this is an unarmed security detail,” it continues.

The letter also notes that Eisenkot is particularly exposed as his election campaign heats up, with the politician regularly touring the field, holding conferences, and other events whose details are advertised to the public ahead of time.

The law does not mandate Eisenkot’s protection by a state-issued security detail, since the former IDF chief of staff is not a figure in government, the outlet notes, despite rising fears of political violence as elections draw near.

According to Channel 12’s report, the Shin Bet has not yet provided a response to Eisenkot’s letter and the issue of his security is under review.

The letter from Eisenkot’s campaign comes after several Hebrew reports claimed yesterday that the security establishment is convinced Iran has stepped up its attempts to harm current and former senior Israeli officials.

The threatened figures were reportedly briefed this week on the Islamic Republic’s intensified efforts to harm high-ranking officials, and the Ynet news outlet said the Shin Bet beefed up security for several individuals thought to be targets.

Netanyahu and Trump are as close as a ‘married couple,’ says Israeli official

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and US President Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026. (GPO)

WASHINGTON — A senior Israeli official briefing reporters on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington rejects the notion of tensions between the premier and Trump, insisting that the pair are like a “married couple” who know each other so well that they “finish each other’s sentences.”

In fact, it was Trump who again raised the issue of Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial at his own initiative, with the US president expressing his disdain for the case during their meeting, the official says.

Trump in the past has berated President Isaac Herzog for not pardoning Netanyahu, but he has also refrained from endorsing the Israeli premier ahead of the upcoming election.

Some of Trump’s aides are reportedly concerned that another hard-right government headed by Netanyahu would prevent the administration from advancing regional integration, given the expansionist policies in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria.

Israeli official: PA can withstand Smotrich’s withholding of its funds

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends the Religious Zionism party primary ahead of the upcoming election, in Jerusalem, July 26, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

WASHINGTON — The Times of Israel asked a senior Israeli official briefing reporters whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was concerned about the Palestinian Authority collapsing in light of the measures advanced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that have brought Ramallah to the brink of financial ruin.

The Israeli official responds that Netanyahu believes the PA will be able to survive, before pivoting to tout the steps that Israel has taken to clamp down on Palestinian terror in the West Bank. The official says Israel may soon need to conduct another counterterror operation in the territory’s refugee camps. Such raids over the past three years have already displaced thousands of Palestinians.

As for the more than $6 billion of Palestinian clearance revenues that Israel is withholding from the PA, the senior Israeli official says Jerusalem is holding discussions internally, as well as with the US, about what to do with those funds.

The US has sought to have them transferred to the Trump-controlled Board of Peace that is overseeing the postwar management of Gaza, though Smotrich has resisted the idea, while the PA has demanded that it receive at least a portion of the funds, given that they belong to Ramallah in the first place, sources familiar with the matter have told The Times of Israel.

Saudi Arabia seeks international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthis — sources

A commercial vessel passes through an international shipping lane off Yemen’s Hanish Island in the Red Sea on July 27, 2026. (Khaled ZIAD/AFP)

Saudi Arabia is seeking to build an international coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, say two people familiar with the deliberations.

The composition of the coalition has yet to be finalized and remains under discussion with dozens of countries, the sources add.

Trump assured Netanyahu Saudi normalization is part of nuclear deal, says Israeli official

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in the Oval Office with their aides on July 28, 2026. (GPO)

WASHINGTON — A senior Israeli official says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his meeting yesterday with US President Donald Trump, raised the civil nuclear agreement that Washington signed last week with Saudi Arabia.

Trump assured Netanyahu that he views the deal as part of the process of Riyadh normalizing ties with Israel, the official says in a briefing with reporters.

The day after the deal was signed, Trump declared that it would be retroactively conditioned on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords — something Riyadh has said it will not do unless Israel agrees to begin an irreversible process toward the creation of a Palestinian state — a non-starter for Netanyahu.

The Israeli official indicated Netanyahu would publicly express concern over the US-Saudi civil nuclear deal if he saw that it was advancing without Riyadh moving toward normalization with Israel.

Man convicted in terrorism trial over the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie

Hadi Matar walks in to the Chautauqua County court in Mayville, New York, May, 16, 2025. (AP/Adrian Kraus)

A man is convicted of federal terrorism charges in the 2022 stabbing of Salman Rushdie, the author who has faced a decades-old death threat over his novel “The Satanic Verses.”

A jury find Hadi Matar guilty of all the charges against him, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism.

Matar, 28, is already serving a 25-year New York state prison sentence on an attempted murder conviction in the August 2022 attack on an amphitheater stage. The federal conviction carries a potential life sentence.

Rushdie, who was about to speak on writers’ safety, was slashed 15 times in front of a stunned audience. He was gravely wounded and lost the sight in his right eye.