Kushner warns Hamas: US will allow Israel to ‘finish the job’ if disarmament fails

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 August 18, 2026 Jared Kushner delivers a statement to the media alongside U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, near Kiryat Gat, on October 21, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90) Jared Kushner says progress in Gaza disarmament could start in as little as one to three months. By World Israel News Staff US envoy Jared Kushner issued a blunt warning to Hamas on Monday, saying the group has a limited opportunity to prove it is serious about surrendering its weapons before Washington gives Israel broader backing to resume military operations and “finish the job” in Gaza. Kushner …

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Turkey rejects Israel’s justification for strikes on Syrian airbase

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Turkey rejects Israel’s justification for strikes on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase, accusing Jerusalem of violating Syrian sovereignty and stability. Elad Benari Published: Aug 19, 2026, 4:41 AM (GMT+3) Recep Tayyip ErdoganReuters Turkey on Tuesday night condemned Israel’s confirmation that it carried out airstrikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria, rejecting Jerusalem’s explanation for the operation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel acted after Syria was close to violating a security understanding by allowing Turkish forces to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo. “Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching …

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Iran’s oil exports down to ‘zero barrels,’ says US Energy Secretary

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August 18, 2026 Oil tanker – illustrative (AP) Top Trump administration official says US is able to get 8-9 million barrels of oil out of the Persian Gulf, while Iran’s exports have fallen to zero.  By World Israel News Staff US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Monday that Iran is currently exporting no oil at all, portraying the US naval blockade as having effectively severed one of Tehran’s most important sources of revenue as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on the Islamic Republic. “Iran’s exports today are zero barrels of oil per day,” Wright said during an appearance on Fox News. …

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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 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

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

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

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

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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

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

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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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