EU, UN Urge ‘Restraint,’ Call for ‘Independent Investigation’ of Hezbollah Rocket Attack on Majdal Shams

By  Hana Levi Julian  – 22 Tammuz 5784 – July 28, 2024  The European Union and United Nations condemned a horrific Hezbollah rocket attack Saturday on northern Israel that killed 12 children and wounded 30 others while they were playing soccer in the Israeli Druze village of Majdal Shams. The rocket used in the attack was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 that carried a warhead with 53-kilograms explosives, the Israel Defense Forces found in its initial investigation. But despite their condemnations, top officials in both international bodies urged “restraint,” while offering no proposals that would end the threat to northern Israel posed by …

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Time Is Short, You Need To Make A Decision

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved! In the New Testament, a jailer at Philippin asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Paul and Silas answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). What does it mean to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? What does it mean to be saved? First of all, it means being saved by faith, not works, Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not …

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“If you like your health care plan, you can keep it.” Remember that sham?

Stephen Schmutzer How about this one? “Read my lips: no new taxes.” Yeah – that one was a doozy too. Here’s one that’s still echoing in our skulls, “I’m going to shut down the virus!” Yeah – uh huh. Only fools believed that. And just for good measure, here are a few more lies to churn your gut: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” “The holocaust never happened,” “I remember landing under sniper fire in Bosnia,” “The Benghazi attack resulted from a protest against a YouTube video,” “Jewish temples were never located on the Temple Mount,” and, …

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Meeting with Kushner, PM doubles down on IDF remaining in Gaza until Hamas disarmed

Kushner predicts progress in Hamas weapon handover within 30 days, reportedly cautions PM against interpreting ‘imminent threat’ too broadly when approving Gaza strikes By Nava Freiberg,  Agencies and Jacob Magid  17 August 2026, 5:19 pm   Left to right: White House adviser Jared Kushner, Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP, Chaim Goldberg/ FLASH90) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted during a meeting Monday with envoys from the White House and the US-backed Board of Peace that Israel would not redeploy any of its forces in Gaza or allow reconstruction to begin until the Strip was completely disarmed, …

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Trump confirms there is backchannel with IRGC, urges Iran to surrender | LIVE BLOG

Iran moves from defensive to ‘fully offensive’ policy toward US and sets deadline for full MoU implementation within the next few weeks, Iranian official says i24NEWS August 16, 2026 at 11:21 PM ■ latest revision August 17, 2026 at 02:44 PM Eight Muslim countries say Israel ‘bears responsibility for obstructing efforts to achieve peace’ after rejecting Trump’s Gaza plan, in a joint statement of foreign ministers. The signatories included Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt. The countries say they condemn Israel’s public rejection of the Gaza peace plan, which “fundamentally undermines the collective efforts exerted to …

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Kushner meets Hamas chief in Egypt in push for Gaza disarmament; IDF continues strikes

Hamas says it will only begin disarming if Netanyahu publicly commits to plan, diplomat tells ToI; Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari mediators also present; after his first meet with terror group head since ceasefire, Kushner flies to Israel By Jacob Magid, Follow Emanuel Fabian Follow and Agencies16 August 2026, 6:33 pmUpdated: Today, 2:17 am US envoy Jared Kushner (left) and Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya (right) in a photo montage. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP; AP/Khalil Hamra) US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner met with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian coastal city of El-Alamein on Sunday, an Arab diplomat told The Times of …

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Iran’s supreme leader planning major escalation in war with US – report

 August 17, 2026 Mojtaba Khamenei (X) Israel reportedly caught off guard by the pace of Iran’s rearmament during ceasefire as Tehran appears poised to escalate fighting with the US. By World Israel News Staff Iran’s hard-line leadership used a two-month negotiating window with the United States to rebuild military capabilities, tighten the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ grip over the armed forces and prepare Tehran’s regional allies for an expanded war, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. The preparations, undertaken under Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, have included accelerating missile and drone production, reorganizing Iran’s security leadership and coordinating with allied groups …

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Hezbollah preparing for new campaign against Israel – report

August 17, 2026 Hezbollah. (Shutterstock) Hezbollah gearing up for new confrontation with Israel in southern Lebanon aimed at torpedoing peace talks, while waiting for approval from Iran. By World Israel News Staff Hezbollah is deliberately stepping up military pressure in southern Lebanon while waiting for approval from Iran to widen the confrontation with Israel, according to a Lebanese political source, raising fears that renewed fighting could derail US-backed negotiations between Jerusalem and Beirut. The assessment, first reported by Lebanon’s Nidaa al-Watan, said Hezbollah was seeking to undermine the direct negotiations and was awaiting instructions from Tehran before deciding whether to escalate …

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US pressure ramps up as Kushner, Mladenov to meet with Netanyahu to advance Trump’s Gaza plan

According to a senior official, the talks expected in Jerusalem will focus on ways to accelerate the implementation of Trump’s 20-point plan, with the end goal being a demilitarized Hamas. US President Donald Trump listens, as his son-in-law Jared Kushner speaks, during the inaugural Board of Peace meeting at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, US, February 19, 2026.(photo credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)Which committee is set to take control of Gaza?›What condition must be met before Israeli forces withdraw?›Why is Jared Kushner pressuring Netanyahu in Jerusalem?›Who is Nikolay Mladenov?› ByIDAN KWELLERAUGUST 17, 2026 08:15Updated: AUGUST 17, 2026 08:27 Jared Kushner, Nikolay …

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Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy denies financial deal with Hamas: ‘Not on the table’

$400 million will pay ‘legitimate’ contractors, severance to Hamas civil servants not hired by new technocratic government, sources tell ToI; NCAG to audit Hamas books By Lazar Berman Follow and Jacob Magid Follow12 August 2026, 7:43 pm Palestinians in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Abed Rahim Khatib/FLASH90) The Board of Peace on Wednesday denied that there is any “financial agreement” with Hamas, after the Kan public broadcaster reported that the body agreed to cover $400 million of Hamas’s debt to outside parties as part of its roadmap for the terror group’s disarmament. Instead, the sum earmarked in the disarmament plan will …

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Jared Kushner plans to visit Israel, Egypt next week for Gaza talks

US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is planning to visit Israel next week for talks on the situation in Gaza, Axios reported on Thursday. US Vice President JD Vance, Jared Kushner, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio look on as US President Donald Trump holds up a resolution document that he signed during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on February 19.(photo credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)What is the Board of Peace?›Who will Kushner meet regarding Gaza peace talks?›What role is Donald Trump playing in this visit?›Why …

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IDF kills second Hezbollah commander in round of weekend strikes in southern Lebanon

Both attacks came in response to the incident in which three IDF soldiers were seriously wounded over the weekend. Explosion of infrastructure in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side. August 10, 2026.(photo credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90)ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAMAUGUST 16, 2026 08:34Updated: AUGUST 16, 2026 10:11 The IDF killed senior Hezbollah commander Abu Hassan Alaa during weekend strikes in the Deir ez-Zahrani area in southern Lebanon, the military announced on Sunday morning. Alaa served as a commander in Hezbollah’s Bader Unit and had carried out attacks on IDF soldiers operating in the region. The military noted that its strikes came alongside those from over the weekend …

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Israeli strikes reported in south Lebanon as Defense Minister Katz vows to ‘settle scores’

Reported nighttime attacks come day after three soldiers were seriously injured by Hezbollah drone; IDF names second senior Hezbollah commander killed in Saturday strikes By Emanuel Fabian, Follow ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 11:12 am Heavy machinery, first aid responders and residents search the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese village of Deir al-Zahrani on August 15, 2026. (Abbas FAKIH/AFP) Lebanese media reported Israeli airstrikes in the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon Saturday overnight, a day after three Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah. The reported strikes came hours after residents …

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Iranian Foreign Minister: No intention of returning to negotiations with US

Aug 16, 2026 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “60 days have passed since the agreement signed with the US, we have no intention at the moment to return to negotiations with the United States.” https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/691809

Iran disputes Qatar, Kuwait accounts of captured Iranian personnel, demands to investigate

In May, Iran said the four were affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards and had been on a maritime patrol before entering Kuwaiti territorial waters because of a navigation disruption. A fighter jet fly during a military exercise called Fidayeen of Hareem Velayat in Isfahan, Iran, in this picture obtained on July 24, 2023.(photo credit: IRANIAN ARMY/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY)/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)Why were four Iranians detained in Kuwait?›Why is Iran demanding emergency access to Qatar?›What is the Revolutionary Guards?›What did Qatari search teams find in March?› ByREUTERS AUGUST 16, 2026 10:54Updated: AUGUST 16, 2026 11:43 An Iranian military official said on Sunday …

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Iran’s military reshuffle reflects the regime’s narrowing pool of trusted officials

 August 16, 2026 Shiite women take pictures of a giant billboard that shows the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, with Arabic writing that reads: “Thank you Iran”, in Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) What is taking shape is an architecture built around institutional memory, loyalty, and coercive power. By Erfan Fard, Middle East Forum Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, or whomever is acting in his name, is not merely rebuilding Iran’s military command but, rather, is constructing a new security architecture for his rule. The appointments …

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