Month: August 2026

 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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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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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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$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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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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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

 August 16, 2026 IDF tank in the Gaza Strip. (IDF) On Thursday, the IDF targeted and killed Hudhaifa Khaled Suleiman Qawari, a company commander in the Khan Yunis Brigade of Hamas’s “military” wing. By JNS An Israel Defense Forces tank on Saturday drove over an explosive charge planted by Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said. There were no injuries in the incident, which took place during Givati Infantry Brigade operations in the “Yellow Line area,” the IDF said. No further details were provided. In a separate incident, Israeli troops killed a pair of terrorists in Gaza who …

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 August 9, 2026 An IRGC vessel shadows an American warship in the Strait of Hormuz Friday, May 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell) Tehran says Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened unless the US lifts all sanctions, pays reparations to Iran, and withdraws its forces from neighboring countries. By World Israel News Staff Iran said Saturday it will not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the United States lifts sanctions, withdraws military forces from around the country, ends attacks on Tehran and its regional allies and compensates Iran for damage from the war, raising new obstacles to US efforts …

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US official confirms progress in Oman-Iran talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, noting Washington will lift its blockade once a deal is finalized. Israel National News Published: Aug 7, 2026, 10:50 PM (GMT+3) Oil tanker in Strait of HormuziStock Diplomatic negotiations involving Oman and Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz have made measurable headway, with an agreement expected shortly, a US official informed Reuters on Friday. Following a public announcement confirming the unhindered restoration of commercial maritime transit, the United States intends to remove its naval blockade against Iranian harbor facilities, said the official. However, the official emphasized that American policy changes …

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US official confirms progress in Oman-Iran talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, noting Washington will lift its blockade once a deal is finalized. Israel National News Published: Aug 7, 2026, 10:50 PM (GMT+3) Oil tanker in Strait of HormuziStock Diplomatic negotiations involving Oman and Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz have made measurable headway, with an agreement expected shortly, a US official informed Reuters on Friday. Following a public announcement confirming the unhindered restoration of commercial maritime transit, the United States intends to remove its naval blockade against Iranian harbor facilities, said the official. However, the official emphasized that American policy changes …

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