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Sunday, August 10, 2025

08/10 Links: Netanyahu: ‘No choice’ but to complete defeat of Hamas; Shoah survivor dies weeks after being wounded by Iran missile; How ‘Haaretz’ built a false campaign about Gaza ‘starvation’

From Ian:

Shoah survivor dies weeks after being wounded by Iran missile
Holocaust survivor Olga Weisberg, 91, from Rehovot, collapsed and died on Saturday, shortly after her ending hospitalization for serious wounds sustained in an Iranian missile attack during June’s 12-day war.

According to the MyRehovot local news site, she underwent multiple surgeries in the wake of the missile assault and was recently released from the hospital to recover further at a hotel. However, on Saturday, she took a turn for the worse.

Weisberg reportedly left behind a husband who is also a Holocaust survivor, as well as a daughter, grandson and great-grandson. Her funeral was set to take place Sunday at Rehovot’s New Cemetery.

On July 28, an 85-year-old Israeli who was moderately wounded in a missile attack during the war with Tehran succumbed to his wounds.

The slain victim, who sustained injuries when a residential building in Rehovot in took a direct hit on June 15, died at the city’s Kaplan Medical Center.

Last month, the Philippine Embassy in Israel announced that Leah Mosquera, a Filipina caregiver working in Israel, died on July 13 of wounds sustained in the same June 15 missile attack.

Mosquera was rushed to Shamir Medical Center in Be’er Ya’akov, where she underwent many surgeries and spent several weeks in the intensive care unit. The embassy noted that Mosquera would have turned 50 on July 29.

Iran’s missile attacks in June have now killed 31 people in Israel, while wounding more than 3,000 and displacing over 13,000 others.
Gaza recalls ancient antisemitic tropes
While Hamas commits atrocities against its own people, uses its children as human shields, hoards humanitarian aid, and starves Israeli hostages like Evyatar David — forcing him to dig his own grave — the international community blames Israel.

Meanwhile, genuine humanitarian crises elsewhere are met with near silence: Uyghur Muslims detained in Chinese camps, Christians slaughtered in Nigeria, Yazidi women enslaved by ISIS, Rohingya Muslims driven from Myanmar, and mass killings in Sudan. These tragedies barely register in the headlines, let alone spark sustained outrage. There are no emergency sessions of the UN, no massive street protests, no cultural boycotts.

The spotlight seems to shine only where it serves a pre-existing bias, selectively illuminating one nation while leaving vast fields of human suffering in the shadows. This is a double standard which is yet another blatant expression of antisemitism.

The truth is that never in the annals of warfare has a nation supplied its enemy with food and aid while its own citizens are still under fire. In the aftermath of WWII, the United States did feed Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan — but only after their surrender. Yet Israel, astonishingly, has allowed 1.8 million tons of aid to enter Gaza during the ongoing war.

Much of that aid lies idle, as my grandson Eitan Fischberger, who was embedded on the scene, noted in The Wall Street Journal. It has been blocked by a United Nations that refuses to facilitate its distribution — insisting that only Hamas’ Blue Police, not Israel or even a U.S.-backed group like the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, can be trusted to deliver it. As Fischberger wrote, “put simply, the UN would rather work with Hamas than the Israelis or the Americans.”

Some claim Israel has lost the battle for global opinion. Perhaps there is truth in that. But Israel has articulate and capable spokespeople making its case. The deeper reality is more sobering: the truth is irrelevant to those who are unwilling to hear it. Much of the world, still infected by an ancient hatred of Jews, has closed its ears.

They join the long line of accusers who, over centuries, have condemned Jews as the scourge of civilization. In time, history has exposed the lies behind those charges. So too, in time, will the truth come out and condemn the defamers of today — those who, under the guise of human rights advocacy, are resurrecting and amplifying the oldest hatred in the world.
George Brandis: Recognising Palestine now only rewards Hamas, the side with clear genocidal intent
The chilling irony of the debate about the Gaza War – in Australia, as elsewhere – is that those who most volubly condemn Israel for genocide are acting, wittingly or unwittingly, as apologists for Hamas, whose very raison d’etre is genocide.

Like “fascist” before it, “genocide” has become the go-to word of abuse for the left, a denunciation invoked with such indiscriminate carelessness that it has become unmoored from its true meaning. International law defines “genocide” in the 1948 Genocide Convention as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical [sic], racial or religious group”.

The forcible occupation of territory may be a violation of international law, but it is not genocide. Israel’s announcement last week that it intends to deploy armed personnel to secure Gaza City is not a threat of genocide.

The elimination of the state of Israel would, however, undoubtedly be an act of genocide. Every protester accusing Israel of genocide, while mindlessly chanting the mantra “From the river to the sea …” , is either too stupid to understand this truth or too hypocritical to admit it. (I suspect few of those marching on the Harbour Bridge last week could tell you what sea – let alone what river – this undergraduate slogan refers to, let alone the implications of its demand.)

The current pressure for the recognition of a Palestinian state began last month when President Emmanuel Macron announced France’s intention to do so. He was swiftly joined by Britain and Canada. (Germany’s position – so far – has been more nuanced.) The rationale was condemnation of Israel’s interference with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza – including shocking evidence of starvation among Palestinian children, and instances of the killing both of aid workers delivering food supplies, and those needing them.

The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, was explicit in linking the two. On 29 July, he said: “[T]he UK will recognise the state of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.”

As Starmer’s statement makes clear, he, Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are using the immediate recognition of Palestine as a threat, to pressure Israel to desist from its current policy in Gaza.

This is appallingly ill-judged diplomacy. Condemnation of Israel’s actions – however justified – is no basis for reversing those nations’ long-held position that it is a precondition of recognition – a necessary ingredient of the two-state solution – that a Palestine state must accept Israel’s right to exist and agree not to threaten its security.

The profound inconsistency in the French, British and Canadian positions is revealed in Starmer’s choice of the word “unless”. According to this logic, if Israel were to accede to the demand, Palestinian recognition would continue to be withheld. If it does not, it would be granted. Yet on either scenario, the inability of the Palestinian Authority to give the guarantees upon which the two-state solution depends – and the continuation of Hamas’ genocidal intentions – remain exactly as before.

The change of policy, couched in terms of support for the two-state solution, in reality undermines its rationale. Two states may be recognised, but the “solution” element – the use of recognition as a tool to leverage a solution to the conflict – will have been effectively abandoned. It may linger as a rhetorical trope, but nothing more – undercut by the very leaders by whom it was invoked as cover for a diplomatic demarche that already looks to have failed.

And it also means that those who perpetrated the massacre of innocents on October 7, 2023 will have succeeded.
Israeli intelligence has kept countless Australians, including Bob Hawke, safe over the years
In the early 1970s, Palestinian terrorists tried to build a network of Australians sympathetic to their cause and saw Australia as a soft touch, not least of which because of then prime minister Gough Whitlam’s policy of neutrality in the Middle East notwithstanding the Palestinian program of terror that had up to then included the Munich Olympic Games massacre, the assassination of the Jordanian prime minister and plane hijacks across Europe.

At the Sydney Town Hall on in May 1973, Whitlam said: “Australia’s policy towards the Middle East is one of neutrality and of sympathetic interest in a settlement.”

Future prime minister Bob Hawke, then president of the Australian Labor Party, bravely wanted none of it.

“I know that if we allow the bell to be tolled for Israel it will have tolled for me, for us all,” he told the Zionist Federation in a Sydney meeting in January 1974.

“For me”? If only he had known. Palestinians were already arranging his assassination.

One of their agents, posing as a journalist, was given a visa to enter Australia in 1974. Munif Mohammed Abou Rish arrived here that year and planned to return to Australia the following year with a hit list that included Hawke, the then Israeli ambassador to Australia Michael Elizur, prominent Jewish Australian Isi Leibler and my old mate, and this newspaper’s one-time foreign editor, Sam Lipski.

Israeli intelligence warned Australia about the risks. One Palestinian was expelled and the rest were watched.

The man who planned to assassinate Hawke, Munif Mohammed Abou Rish, was provided with fake passports by Australian supporters.

Later, he was “accidentally” killed by Israeli security forces.


Netanyahu: ‘No choice’ but to complete defeat of Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that Israel does not seek to stay in Gaza, but to replace the Hamas regime with an expanded military operation, and insisted that was the best way to bring the war to a speedy conclusion.

“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza but to free Gaza,” Netanyahu said at a press conference for foreign media. “But no one is going to go in there unless we finish the job and finish Hamas.”

He noted that Hamas still has thousands of armed terrorists remaining in about a quarter of the coastal strip after nearly two years of war, and declared that Israel had “no choice” but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.

He argued that the best way to end the war was the recently approved military plan to take over Gaza City in order to clear the area of Hamas and make way for a civilian administration that is not connected to the Islamist regime, which led the Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught on southern Israel that triggered the war, or to the Palestinian Authority.

“Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily,” Netanyahu said.

Describing his postwar vision for the Strip, Netanyahu said it had five principles: “Hamas will be disarmed. All hostages will be freed. Gaza will be demilitarized. Israel will have overriding security responsibility with a security zone to be established on Gaza’s border with Israel to prevent future terrorist incursions. A civilian administration will be established in Gaza that will seek to live in peace with Israel.”

Acknowledging “deprivations,” he said aid distribution would continue via safe corridors, larger number of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites and air drops.
Benjamin Netanyahu delivers address on the war in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a press conference outlining Israel’s intention to disarm Hamas and restore peace in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu emphasised principles for concluding the war including the disarmament of Hamas, release of hostages, demilitarisation of Gaza, overriding security control by Israel, and establishing a peaceful civilian administration.

The Israeli PM defended Israel's humanitarian efforts, stating nearly two million tons of aid have been delivered to civilians despite Hamas' interference.


Gantz pans Western pressure on Israel over Gaza war
Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday criticized recent Western actions following a joint statement by several foreign ministers on Israel’s expansion of military operations against Hamas in Gaza.

(In July, after MKs Gadi Eizenkot and Matan Kahana left the National Unity Party, it reverted to its previous name, Blue and White.)

Responding on X to a British Foreign Office post, Gantz wrote:
“Actions like unilateral illusionary Palestinian recognition, weapon sanctions & critical letters of Israel are harming the prospects of securing a hostage deal. Not only do they inadvertently reward terror and harden Hamas’ position—they are prolonging the war. As an Israeli opposition leader, let me say this very clearly—instead of pressuring Israel, the west should focus on putting an end to Hamas leadership’s impunity abroad.”

Gantz’s remarks come after the foreign ministers issued a statement rejecting Israel’s intensified military operations in Gaza.

They included those of Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom, and the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy.

The Israeli Security Cabinet decided by a “decisive majority” to approve Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to defeat Hamas, including controlling Gaza City, the premier’s office said shortly before 5 a.m. on Friday.

“A decisive majority of Security Cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan that had been submitted to the Security Cabinet would neither achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages,” according to Netanyahu’s office.


Geert Wilders tells Netanyahu 'millions of people in Europe support him' during phone call
Dutch politician Geert Wilders spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him that “there are millions and millions of people in Europe supporting him and his brave actions to free both Israel and Gaza from the terrorists of Hamas,” which he confirmed on his personal X/Twitter on Sunday.

This support comes despite “criticism from weak politicians and biased media,” Wilders claimed.

Netanyahu’s “fight is our fight since we cherish life and freedom while they love death and destruction,” he added, concluding by writing Am Israel Chai.

Previous statements by Wilders
Last Sunday, the right-wing Dutch politician posted his support for the hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip, saying that “victims don’t hold hostages. Savages do.”

“Heroes support the hostages. Traitors support Hamas and call for sanctions. What side are you on?”

Wilders also criticized and mocked France’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state in a post on X on July 25.

In the post, Wilders highlighted the southeastern coastline of the country’s Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in red and wrote: “Here will be the new Palestinian state. Big parts of France are already Islamic anyway.”

“Good luck, [French President] Emmanuel Macron and France! Happy suicide!” he addressed the French leader.

Wilders also called Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a d***head in an X post following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.
Cambridge University Press: Hamas’ October 7th Genocide: Legal Analysis and the Weaponisation of Reverse Accusations – A Study in Modern Genocide Recognition and Denial
Abstract
This article analyses the October 7th 2023 Hamas attack on Israel through the lens of the Genocide Convention, arguing that these actions constitute genocide under international law. Drawing on international case law, the analysis demonstrates how Hamas’ actions meet both the physical element and specific intent requirements for genocide, evidenced by its ideology, systematic policies and leadership statements. The article also examines how reverse accusations of genocide against Israel have functioned as a rhetorical shield to deflect recognition of Hamas’ own genocidal actions. It analyses the legal implications for state parties and the international community.


How ‘Haaretz’ built a false campaign about Gaza ‘starvation’
The Israeli left-wing newspaper, Haaretz, continues to dedicate its pages to its claims of “mass starvation” in the Gaza Strip. Recently, a so-called “famine researcher” named Alex de Waal was recruited to bolster the claim. And indeed, with a somber expression and deep moral anguish, he was compelled to accuse Israel of the grave crime of mass starvation of more than two million Gazans.

Such a serious accusation, coming from an impartial and independent “expert,” indeed sounds like a real problem for Israel. However, even a quick and superficial examination of de Waal’s history of claims casts a heavy shadow over the credibility of his accusation, as he is a known Israel-hater and a serial accuser of Israel for “starving Gaza” throughout the war.

As early as Jan. 2024, just two months after the beginning of the IDF’s operation in the Gaza Strip, de Waal published his first warning about Israel’s horrific crime of starvation. He reiterated his warning in Feb. 2024. And repeated it in early March 2024.

It should be noted that in early March, a COGAT report was published, proving that the amount of food entering Gaza was 80% higher than the amount entering before the war, thus refuting de Waal’s claim. De Waal was not impressed and in April, 2024, he provided another warning. And another in June 2024.

During the same month, his claims were refuted by the Famine Review Committee (FRC), whose experts concluded that “the available evidence does not indicate that Famine is currently occurring.”


Stop posting about Gaza, police tell woman with Jewish family
A woman subjected to anti-Semitic abuse on social media says she was advised by police to stop posting on controversial subjects such as Gaza.

Heidi Bachram, who had Jewish family members murdered and taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct 7 attacks, was the subject of anti-Semitic posts by another user on X.

The account was eventually suspended for violating X’s rules with the posts, which contained anti-Semitic comments and cartoons showing stereotypically Jewish figures.

But Ms Bachram, from Brighton, said that instead of investigating who was responsible for the abuse, Sussex Police suggested she stop posting about “controversial subjects” such as Gaza.

Ms Bachram has been prominent in raising the plight of hostages still held by Hamas. On Oct 7, Tsachi, the cousin of Ms Bachram’s husband, and his wife and two children were held at gunpoint on the floor of their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

Mayan, Tsachi’s 18-year-old daughter, was murdered and Tsachi taken hostage. His family received confirmation in February that he had been killed in captivity.

Cruel jibes about Oct 7 victims
An account operated under the name NJimmytree is accused of bombarding Ms Bachram with abuse, calling her a “scumbag”, “ugly Zionist” and “ugly faced pig”.

One message stated: “You have a face only a genocidal Zionist pig could like. Your brother-in-law should thank Hamas, because of them he never has to see your monstrosity of a face again.”

Another of NJimmytree’s posts showed a photograph of Mia Chem, a young woman kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova festival, with the jibe “check out the beak on this one”.


Why Recognise Palestine Now?
Although this point has escaped many commentators, the most likely reason why no conditions have been placed on Hamas in the plan to recognise Palestine is that recognition will benefit not Hamas, but rather its enemies in Fatah. The UK in particular had already made quite clear that it recognises the Palestinian Authority as “the only legitimate governing entity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in Gaza.” As to how Fatah will overcome Hamas’s resistance—given that it was violently ejected from the Strip in 2007—I can only assume that the Qataris are going into this with their eyes open, as a significant level of violence is certainly to be expected.

Of course, Palestinian statehood will still only be theoretical. Even if Hamas were to vanish overnight, it would take time for the PA to reassert its authority over Gaza and to unify the Strip administratively with its territories in the West Bank. And then there’s the small matter of resolving the disputed status of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The Israelis, meanwhile, are acutely aware that disengagement from Gaza ultimately led to the pogrom of 7 October, which is likely to translate into reluctance to withdraw from the West Bank. Hamas remnants will almost certainly remain to cause problems, although their main targets will be other Palestinians at first. But these are the sorts of difficulties that Western politicians might feel able to defer in the service of a symbolic gesture that may bring key allies on board.

Besides the opportunity to present itself as having played a key role in conjuring up a recognised (if still somewhat chimerical) Palestinian state, what might have led Qatar to turn its back on Hamas? It would be implausible to attribute any change of heart to horror over the latter’s misdeeds. But questions may well have been asked about how Qatari interests are served by continuing to finance mujahideen so fearless and bold that their only real tactic in the event of invasion is to hide beneath Palestinian civilians.

There is, after all, little respect to be gained from continuing to indulge in such expensive patronage, now that the heavyweight champion of post-Holocaust Jew-killing has turned out to be a seven-stone weakling with a glass jaw, skulking beneath the streets of Gaza while its sister militia in Lebanon and its other patron in Tehran have their teeth kicked in by the IDF. Palestinian suffering is a wonderfully effective propaganda weapon in the West, but if that was all the Qataris wanted, they could have produced it far more cheaply.

I suspect that this is why Hamas has released the disgusting video of an emaciated Israeli hostage named Evyatar David—one of the civilians seized at the Nova music festival on 7 October—being forced to dig his own grave. “Don’t give up on us,” the subtext cries to his captors’ fellow Islamists. “We are still murdering and humiliating Jews. Keep financing us, and we’ll do more of this.” It is almost certainly why Hamas officials have presented Western promises to recognise Palestine as “one of the fruits of October 7”: infuriating though this must be for the Israelis, and embarrassing though it undoubtedly is for the politicians making those promises, the real audience for such statements is in Doha. “You see?” the subtext says. “Invading Israel and publicly slaughtering all those civilians wasn’t a tactical error after all.”

Perhaps such arguments will prove persuasive—in which case, things could still go badly wrong. If Qatar changes its mind again and decides to give Hamas another chance, the Islamists’ reign of terror in Gaza could continue for many years to come. One hopes that, under such circumstances, Western leaders would find a reason to retract their gesture of recognising statehood. But not as much as one hopes to see Hamas wither and fragment in a Middle East that no longer wishes to indulge its fetish for martyrdom.
The U.N. Betrays Its Own Charter with Premature Palestine Recognition
Why do France and Britain make such proclamations if they understand that recognition in practical terms is not enough? While headlines laud their willingness to recognize a Palestinian state to validate the Palestinian cause, the fine print shows their recognition is conditional. French President Emmanuel Macron conditioned his promise to recognize a Palestinian state upon the immediate release of all Israeli hostages, a ceasefire between the factions, and the provision of “massive humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” while simultaneously requiring “the demilitarization of Hamas” and the consequent rebuilding of a Palestinian state that fully recognizes Israel. Likewise, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed a commitment to “recognising a Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process” and advocated a ceasefire, an “immediate release of the hostages,” as well as “the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the removal of Hamas leadership from Gaza as key steps towards a negotiated two-state solution.”

In the April 2024 U.N. application for Palestinian statehood, Paris voted in favor and London abstained. Their support then neither encouraged demilitarization nor the release of the hostages. Requiring conditions now will likely yield little. Hamas may want humanitarian aid and Palestinian statehood, but will never agree to demilitarize, recognize Israel, or release the Israeli hostages—something that would have demonstrated to the international community long ago that they are truly partners for peace. Instead, on August 1, 2025, Hamas released a video of an emaciated hostage, 24-year-old Evyatar David, as he said he was digging his own grave.

Inconsistency also matters. While the United Kingdom made removal of Hamas leadership a condition of recognition, France has offered recognition with the intent that it “will create the conditions necessary for the elimination of Hamas.” Absent unity, France and Britain will take the stage at the United Nations with no plan to help the Palestinians get a state; they will simply virtue signal on a diplomatic platform at the expense of both Israel and the Palestinian people.

The United States now takes the more moral, even if minority, position, as it upholds the responsibility the United Nations requires to deny membership to any aspiring state that violates the U.N. Charter. At a basic level, those obligations are prerequisites for statehood.


Princeton University Announces Seyed Hossein Mousavian’s Departure
After Sustained AAIRIA Campaign, Mousavian’s Career at Princeton Terminated; Calls Renewed for Mousavian’s Deportation and Prosecution

The Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) notes the conclusion of Seyed Hossein Mousavian’s 15-year position at Princeton University, where he served as a “Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist” in its Program on Science and Global Security. In an official announcement, Princeton University characterized Mousavian’s departure as a retirement.

Mousavian’s exit follows a sustained two-year campaign orchestrated by AAIRIA that included:
Organizing campus events with Princeton University students that brought Parviz Dastmalchi, a Mykonos Restaurant Massacre survivor, Mina Ahadi, an Iranian expatriate residing in Germany, and scores of Kurdish dissidents to Princeton.
Conducting press conferences to expose Mousavian’s record, featuring the families of the Mykonos massacre victims, relatives of those killed in the Argentina AMIA bombing, and journalist Fardad Farahzad, a target of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI).
Engaging the U.S. House Education and Oversight Committee which examined the matter.
Securing a public endorsement of the campaign against Mousavian from Senator Ted Cruz, Princeton “92.
Partnering with Iranian expatriates in Europe who staged protests against a prospective Mousavian appearance at the Korber Foundation in Hamburg, Germany.

We exposed the truth: Mousavian is not an neutral scholar but a former ambassador of the IRI who defended the fatwa to kill author Salman Rushdie, promoted anti-Israel propaganda, amplified antisemitic voices by sharing their rhetoric on Mousavian’s social media platforms, and openly supported U.S. designated terrorist organizations Hezbollah and Hamas. Mousavian’s hiring by Princeton University, along with that of Mohammad Jafar Mahallati at Oberlin College, reflects a disturbing pattern unique to the IRI. No other brutal regime has seen its former ambassadors granted prestigious positions at U.S. colleges and universities. This practice gives a platform and legitimacy to individuals directly implicated in assassinations, terrorism, and crimes against humanity.

Given Mousavian’s incriminating record, we now call on the U.S. State Department to deport him to Germany, where Mousavian must answer for his role in the killings of at least 24 Iranians on European soil, including the murders of Shapour Bakhtiar and Fereydoun Farrokhzad, as well as Dr. Abdul Rahman Ghasemlou, assassinated in Vienna in 1989, and Dr. Kazem Rajavi, assassinated in Switzerland in 1990. The Mykonos Restaurant assassinations and the associated landmark Berlin court verdict, which found the IRI responsible for murdering four Iranian dissidents in 1992, can and should serve as the foundation for a trial of Mousavian.


IDF destroys Hamas rocket launch complex in Gaza City neighborhood after firing two rockets
Israel Air Force fighter jets destroyed Hamas's rocket launching complex in the Shejaia neighborhood of Gaza City, which had launched two rockets towards Israeli territory hours earlier, the military said Sunday.

The rockets triggered sirens in Kfar Aza, Nahal Oz, and Saad in the Gaza border area.

A rocket reported impacted a barn in the Sdot Negev Regional Council, causing minor damage. No injuries were reported.

The IDF reviewed the incident; however, it did not say if the rockets were intercepted.

The military is set to widen its operations in Gaza City, a decision which has faced condemnation from many hostage families, Western, and Arab leaders. Hostage families argue that the widened operation puts hostages at risk.
IDF int'l spox.: No record of any incident involving Suleiman al-Obeid
An IDF strike on August 6 did not result in any casualties in and around aid distribution centers, IDF spokesperson Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani said on social media.

The report comes following widespread accusations that an IDF strike resulted in the death of soccer player Suleiman al-Obeid, known as the "Palestinian Pele," at an aid distribution site in southern Gaza.

Following a tribute to Obeid by UEFA, Premier League star Mohammed Salah criticized the soccer body for not mentioning the circumstances behind his death.

However, Shoshani replied to Salah, "After an initial review, we found no records of any incidents involving Suleiman al-Obeid. In order to take a closer look, we need more details."
Senior Al-Jazeera reporter in Gaza, who IDF said served as head of Hamas terrorist cell, killed in air strike
One of Gaza’s most prominent journalists, who according to the IDF was a Hamas operative, was killed Sunday night in an airstrike near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. According to Palestinian sources, a journalists’ tent was targeted, killing Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza Anas al-Sharif and another reporter, Mohammad Kariqa. Israel's military acknowledged the strike targeted Al-Sharif. "The IDF struck the terrorist Anas Al-Sharif, who posed as a journalist for the Al Jazeera network," the IDF said in a statement released at midnight. "Anas Al-Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops." Israel's military acknowledged the strike targeted Al-Sharif. "The IDF struck the terrorist Anas Al-Sharif, who posed as a journalist for the Al Jazeera network," the IDF said in a statement released at midnight. "Anas Al-Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops." The IDF noted that it had previously disclosed intelligence information and many documents found in the Gaza Strip, confirming his military affiliation to Hamas. "The documents once again confirm his involvement in terrorist activities, from which the Al Jazeera network has attempted to disassociate itself," according to the IDF. "The documents include personnel rosters, lists of terrorist training courses, phone directories, and salary documents for the terrorist, and provide unequivocal proof that he serves as a military terrorist in Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "The documents also provide proof of the integration of the Hamas terrorist within the Qatari Al Jazeera network," according to the IDF.


Three Jerusalem suspects arrested in terrorist plot
Israeli security services recently arrested three suspects who planned to carry out large-scale terrorist attacks targeting civilians and security forces, the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office said on Sunday.

The men—a father, son and a third suspect, all residents of northeastern Jerusalem’s Kafr Aqab neighborhood—assembled pipe bombs and trained for a shooting attack at a nightclub, according to the Israel Police.

During a raid of the suspects’ homes, security forces found “various chemicals, containers, activation mechanisms operated by electricity or SIM cards, and various components that were allegedly intended to be turned into explosive devices,” in addition to assembled pipe bombs, police said.

The father and son worked for businesses throughout central Israel, including a restaurant and nursing home, and were reportedly not known to the country’s security establishment until their arrest.

According to Ynet, the son is a Jewish convert to Islam who had attempted to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces but was rejected for a combat position, and led the terrorist cell alongside his Muslim father.

Sources involved in the investigation told reporters that the attacks were in advanced planning stages and were thwarted at the eleventh hour by undercover police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officers.


“What Is It About Antisemtism That’s Acceptable To So Many?”
Antisemitic incidents in the UK spiked after Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set, where the duo chanted “death to the IDF”, Community Security Trust (CST) figures show.

CST recorded 1,521 incidents in the first half of 2025, the second highest ever. The worst day was 29 June, a day after the performance, followed by 17 May after Israel expanded its Gaza offensive.

Over half of incidents referenced Israel, Palestine, Hamas’s 7 October attack, or the Gaza war, with CST warning such rhetoric fuels anti-Jewish hate.

Peter Cardwell speaks with Israel’s special envoy for combatting antisemitism, Michal Cotler-Wunsh.




‘Force Hamas To Step Down By Military Action’ | Israel Approves Plans For Gaza City Takeover
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to take military control of Gaza City, saying a full takeover of Gaza is needed to end the war and defeat Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel does not plan to keep Gaza but wants to remove Hamas, set up a security zone, and hand control to Arab forces. The plan includes disarming Hamas, freeing hostages, and creating a new civil administration.

Hamas called the move a “war crime” and accused Israel of ignoring hostage safety. UK PM Keir Starmer, Germany, and several other countries have urged Israel to stop, warning it will cause more bloodshed.

Israel already controls about 75% of Gaza but would need further ground operations in crowded areas to take full control.

Peter Cardwell speaks with ex-British army commander, Colonel Richard Kemp.


Trump ‘absolutely deserves’ a Nobel Peace Prize for his ‘remarkable’ peacemaking achievements
Former British colonel Richard Kemp says US President Donald Trump’s achievements in peacemaking are “quite remarkable”.

Mr Kemp says President Trump “absolutely deserves” a Nobel Peace Prize.

“He’s not very far into this term of office yet … I think he deserves it,” he said.


travelingisrael.com: Why Palestinian Lives Matter More Than Druze (and Kurds, Yemenites & All Others)
Why Palestinian Lives Matter More Than Druze (and Kurds, Yemenites & All Others)

You haven’t seen this girl’s photo in the headlines this past week — and here’s why. She’s a Druze girl, kidnapped by Muslims who murdered her family. This happened just days ago, during a massacre in which hundreds of Druze were killed in Sweida, southern Syria. Not far from Israel — but very, very far from the spotlight.

So why wasn’t her face on every front page, while you did see staged photos from Gaza? One word: narrative.


Australia to recognize Palestinian statehood in coming days
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing to announce Australia’s plans to recognize a Palestinian state, according to an exclusive by the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday.

People familiar with the plans told the Australian paper that the Australian government could make the decision as soon as today or in the coming days.

Albanese said on Thursday that he had discussed the situation in Gaza with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, and reiterated his government's strong support for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

Albanese said they agreed on the importance of using international momentum to secure a ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages, and the acceleration of aid. They also want to ensure terrorist group Hamas does not play a role in a future Palestinian state.

The country’s federal cabinet is reportedly preparing to meet to pass the action.

The decision would follow similar positions made by the United Kingdom, France, and Canada - countries which have either already recognized a Palestinian state or threatened to do so should the Gaza war not soon come to an end.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has previously asserted that such recognition would spur the Palestinian leadership to modernize and push for an end to the enduring Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke reportedly also defended the prospective policy shift, despite Hamas remaining in control of the Gaza Strip.

“Both Syria and Iraq had a long period where parts of those countries were being occupied and realistically controlled by ISIS,” Burke told Sky News. “It didn’t stop us from recognizing and having diplomatic relations with those countries themselves.”
‘Shameful’: Benjamin Netanyahu criticises Australia over Palestinian state recognition
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticised “shameful” Australia over its advocacy for a Palestinian state.

“To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole, just like that,” he said.

“And buy this canard, it is disappointing. And I think it’s actually shameful, but it’s not going to change our position.”


‘Incredibly complex’: Israel’s Gaza takeover plan is a ‘very risky proposition’
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Andrew Hastie claims Israel’s plan to move in and take control of Gaza City is a “very risky proposition”.

“I think it’s incredibly complex from a military perspective – if you look at Gaza from a bird’s-eye view on Google Earth, you’ll see that a lot of it has been reduced to rubble,” he told Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell.

“It would be incredibly difficult for IDF troops to move through ... all the advantage would be with Hamas defenders and anyone else who would stand and fight, so we can expect more casualties.”


‘Hamas got what they wanted’: Sydney’s ‘march of hatred’ photos sell for ‘propaganda’
Sky News host Rowan Dean discusses the pro-Palestine march on the Sydney Harbour Bridge last week, which was labelled a “march of hatred” with “buffoons on the bridge”.

“What was most conspicuous about the crowds was the total absence of any serious political or community leaders,” Mr Dean said.

“The images merely confirm what a disaster the last few decades of Australia’s so-called multi-immigration policies have been for this once proud, relaxed, and comfortable nation.

“Hamas got what they wanted, which was propaganda photos that went around the world.”




Burke says Hamas sympathiser who had visa applicaiton cancelled applied for entertainment visa
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has confirmed that Mona Zahed, a Palestinian woman who praised Hamas’ October 7 attacks against Israel, initially applied for an entertainment visa as opposed to a humanitarian visa.

Her visa applicaiton was cancelled by the Home Affairs Department on Friday.

A Home Affairs spokesperson said the department advised Ms Zahed her visa was cancelled and that the "reasons have been communicated directly to the applicant".

Ms Zahed had posted a photo on Instagram of Israeli festival goers fleeing for their lives on October 7 with the caption “Praise be to Allah who has kept us alive to see this day”.

In a bizarre twist, Mr Burke told Sky News Australia’s Political Editor Andrew Clenell on Sunday that the woman had initially applied for an entertainment visa, which was cancelled once immigration officials were alerted to her social media posts.

“This was someone from Gaza who was not going through the humanitarian visa process that we’ve got in place, or even for a visitor visa for that matter, but who’d applied on the entertainment stream,” Mr Burke said.

Mr Burke said the woman was not eligible to receive the visa, and that as a result her application was not immediately cancelled on character grounds.

“The presumption of that visa is you are coming for a fixed tour, where the tickets are being sold, the dates are all in place, and your intention is then to return to the country you came from,” Mr Burke said.

“This was a very unusual visa application and it was a visa she was not eligible for."

Entertainment and humanitarian visas are designed for entirely different purposes, with the entrainment visa requiring proof of skills in the entertainment industry while the humanitarian visa requires applicants to show that they are at risk of serious harm or persecution.


'Not for us to fix': Calls for Palestinians to rebuild trust
LNP MP Garth Hamilton firmly rejects any path toward Palestinian statehood while Hamas remains in control.

Mr Hamilton said the group’s grip on power must end before serious diplomatic discussions can begin.

“What has changed? Nothing has changed in the situation,” he said.

“I'll be really blunt here, I think Palestinian people have a lot of work to do to regain the trust of international community.

“They have to change that, that’s not for us to fix and until such time … that those circumstances have changed, I don’t think we should be having a conversation about statehood at all.”




U2 letter on Gaza condems Israeli government and Hamas, asks for a ceasefire and hostages back
U2 released a 20-part Instagram post critiquing Israeli policies in Gaza on Sunday afternoon. But, unlike most celebrities who have weighed in on the issue, the bandmates have harsh words for Hamas, call for the release of the hostages, and question the hypocrisy of those who ignore humanitarian crises all around the world and only voice outrage when Israel is involved.

This post will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Irish band’s support for Israel, and remember that following the October 7 massacre by Hamas, U2 changed the lyrics of their hit, “Pride (In the Name of Love)” to reference the Nova music festival victims and dedicated the song to them. In May, U2’s frontman, Bono, called for Hamas to release the hostages, as well as for Israel to be “released from Netanyahu.” The band played one concert in Israel in 1997.

While many will disagree with the post on Sunday afternoon, it’s undeniable that their critique echoes what many Israelis have been saying in recent weeks.

The post starts with a disclaimer in the comments, in which U2 writes, “Everyone has long been horrified by what is unfolding in Gaza - but the blocking of humanitarian aid and now plans for a military takeover of Gaza City have taken the conflict into uncharted territory. We are not experts in the politics of the region, but we want our audience to know where we each stand.”

U2 sends a message about Gaza, Israel, and the need for peace
Ten sections of the 20-part post are by Bono, who notes that, “The hemorrhaging of human life in Sudan or Ethiopia barely makes the news. Sudan alone is beyond comprehension, with a civil war that has left 150,000 dead and 2 million facing famine.” Pointing out that these crises will be made worse by the dismantling of USAID and other programs that he is familiar with through his ONE Foundation, which fights AIDS and poverty in Africa, he calls the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “evil,” blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies.

But, he also blames Hamas for carrying out the massacre that started the war, writing that they were “willing to play with the lives of two million Palestinians.” He goes on to discuss Hamas’s positioning themselves among civilians, including in hospitals, and revisits the terror group’s charter, which he says is “an evil read,” and writes, “We know Hamas is using starvation as a weapon of war.”


Police arrest 474 people in London for supporting terrorist organisation Palestine Action
Police have arrested 474 people at a demonstration in London in support of banned group Palestine Action.

The Metropolitan Police said 466 protesters were arrested for supporting the group, five for assaults on police officers, two for public order offences, and one for a racially aggravated offence.

Scores of people simultaneously unveiled handwritten signs with the message "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action" at the protest, organised by Defend Our Juries at Westminster's Parliament Square.




Israelis in Greece urged to be on alert over protests
The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem is advising Israelis currently in Greece to exercise caution on Sunday during a planned “Day of Action” by anti-Israel organizations.

The ministry warned travelers this weekend of “demonstrations expected to take place throughout the country—including on islands and at tourist sites—organized by radical pro-Palestinian groups.”

Israeli visitors are urged to avoid protests, refrain from engaging in political arguments or displaying visible Israeli symbols, and stay alert in crowded places.

Greek leftist groups have called for demonstrations targeting Israeli tourists over the war against Hamas in Gaza.

The planned protests come amid a surge in anti-Israel incidents across Greece, which is the top tourist destination for Israelis this summer.

Last month, an Israeli tourist was assaulted by a group of Syrian migrants at a beach near Athens, with one of them reportedly biting off a piece of his ear.

Two coaches from Israel’s national soccer team were attacked in Athens in July while speaking Hebrew, and a kosher burger eatery in the city was vandalized, in full view of staff and patrons.

The socialist mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, lashed out at Israel’s ambassador to Greece last week after the envoy denounced antisemitic graffiti in the city, accusing Jerusalem of deliberately targeting civilians and carrying out an “unprecedented genocide” in Gaza.

“The conflict has become a convenient excuse for extremists in Greek society—especially those aligned with pro-Palestinian causes—to express hostility toward Israel,” the Athens-born Benjamin Albalas, chairman of the March of the Living Europe, said in a statement released on Friday. “Among leftist parties, there’s a kind of competition to appear the most sympathetic to Hamas and the Palestinians of Gaza.”


Concerned by antisemitism, parents lead effort to launch new Jewish high school in Chicago
Chicago has many hallmarks of a thriving Jewish community: dozens of synagogues of every denomination, a range of kosher restaurants and bakeries, and one of the largest Jewish federations in the country. But locals have long lamented one big gap: a Jewish high school within the city limits.

Now, a parent-led initiative to open one in Chicago is gaining steam, with a building under contract, the city’s Jewish federation engaged, and buzz growing among families.

The goal is to launch in 2027, giving graduates of the city’s three non-Orthodox Jewish day schools a local choice beyond public and secular private schools.

The effort comes as both public and private high schools in the city have drawn allegations of antisemitism.

Last year, the Department of Education announced it would investigate Chicago Public Schools for antisemitic discrimination over allegations that schools had supported a student-led pro-Palestinian walkout. That fall, the new president of Chicago’s public school board — handpicked by the city’s mayor, who has himself shown solidarity with the Palestinian cause — resigned amid revelations about his history of antisemitic social media posts.

The elite Latin School of Chicago, meanwhile, faces a lawsuit over searing allegations of antisemitism, including one incident in which the school’s band members allegedly played the Nazi anthem.

“The climate has gotten very scary for Jews and for our kids, and so it definitely plays into my desire to look more carefully and more seriously at the new Jewish high school,” said a parent at one of the local schools, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School.


Wikimedia Foundation trustee candidate denies use of rape on Oct. 7, posts Hamas symbol
One of six finalists up for election for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees has on several occasions posted the inverted red triangle associated with Hamas and has accused Israel of falsifying claims of rape by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

The Jerusalem Post was first alerted to Ravan Jaafar al-Taie when knowledge expert Dr. Shlomit Aharoni Lir posted on X that "the Wikimedia Foundation board elections raise serious concerns about anti-Israeli candidate Ravan among the six finalists."

"To combat bias and antisemitism on Wikipedia, those promoting hateful views should not serve on the board, regardless of their gender or ethnicity," she wrote.

Who is Taie?
Iraqi-national Taie joined Wikipedia Arabic in 2008 and was an admin for four years. In her application, she said she has created a total of 1000 articles, more than 24,000 edits, and founded the Iraqi Wikimedians user group. She also co-founded the Wikiwomen prize to increase the content of women in Wikipedia, and is a member of the MENA Regional Funds Committee (RFC).


Censored Tweet
Massacre at the Suweida National Hospital, the men seen in the video executing a medical staff member were identified as members of Syria’s Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior.

Watchdog Group Flags Antisemitic Bias Concerns in AI Models
The founder of the nonprofit StopAntisemitism, Liora Rez, told Newsweek in an exclusive interview that artificial intelligence (AI) models have displayed some concerning behavior that demonstrates the need to create stronger safeguards in those systems to fight potential antisemitic behavior and tropes.

Newsweek reached out to Perplexity, OpenAI, X, and Anthropic for comment by email, but received no response by the time of publication.

Why It Matters
Concerns over the safeguards in AI models have increased after X's AI Grok started spewing antisemitic rhetoric, which occurred following a tweak to the program's parameters for acceptable sourcing and material. Grok started referring to itself as "MechaHitler," and discussing "vile anti-white hate" that Adolf Hitler would "handle."

X CEO Elon Musk had modified the model after criticizing its responses as being "too woke" and looking to tweak its sourcing parameters to include Reddit threads as acceptable to counterbalance mainstream sources and a "liberal bias."

Grok confirmed this in response to queries from users, saying that it had used phrases that came from its training data: "Think endless internet sludge like 4chan threads, Reddit rants, and old Twitter memes where folks highlight patterns (often with a side of conspiracy). It's not from one 'who,' but a collective online echo chamber. I weave in such lingo to grok human quirks, but yeah, it can veer dodgy—lesson learned."

X addressed the issue, assuring users in a post that developers were "aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved."

This occurs as antisemitic hate crime is on the rise, with nearly three-quarters of American Jews saying as recently as February 2025 that they feel less secure than they did last year. A full 90 percent say that antisemitism has increased in the United States following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and more than one-third (35 percent) of American Jewish college students report experiencing antisemitism at least once during their time on campus.


In the weeds Anti-Israel community garden in Queens claims ‘viewpoint discrimination’ in new lawsuit
The leaders of an anti-Israel community garden that demanded members take a pro-Palestinian pledge are whining in a new federal lawsuit they are the victims of “egregious viewpoint discrimination.”

Sunset Community Garden organizers claim in recently filed Central Islip Federal Court papers their license was revoked this spring as punishment for their “expressing messages of [Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] affirmation and anti-discrimination.”

The controversial Ridgewood garden came under fire in September, when Jewish neighbors told The Post they didn’t feel welcome due to the far-left, pro-Palestine rhetoric and mandate that new members pledge “solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized people” of Palestine by the garden’s management. The green space even had a special section called “Poppies for Palestine.”

Citing a breach of contract, the city Parks Department tried to oust the group by June 6, prompting garden leaders to quickly sue in state court. The legal action was then filed in federal court July 31.

The impending eviction left leaders of the garden at Onderdonk and Willoughby avenues with “emotional distress, and the loss of their community sanctuary,” they claimed.

Parks only came after them because of their “actual or perceived gender identities, sexual orientation, and/or race, and by the QTBIPOC-affirming nature of the Plaintiffs’ expressive conduct,” they insisted in court papers.

“While the plaintiffs go court shopping, it’s time for Parks to take action,” said Christina Wilkinson, a Ridgewood resident who worked to secure funding for the green space, but is now one of its most vocal critics.

“We live in a city that prides itself on its diversity, and our public resources shouldn’t be run by people who openly discriminate against any segment of the population.”


Chief Rabbi blasts Starmer over Palestine plan as progressive rabbis booed off stage
The Chief Rabbi has accused the government of dealing a “blow to lives of each of our hostages” as he questioned how ministers would be able to “live with themselves” if the UK recognised Palestine while they remained in captivity.

Sir Ephraim Mirvis was among the speakers at a rally to call for the hostages outside Downing Street at the end of an hour-long march by 5,000 Jews and supporters from Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

The rally, led by Stop the Hate and supported by key organisations like the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council, was originally advertised under the banner ‘No recognition without the hostages’. This was later watered down to focus on a demand for the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza to be freed.

While the organisers claimed the demo brought the community together as one, the co-heads of progressive Judaism Rabbis Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy were told to leave the stage by organisers after being drowned out by the minority of the crowd barely a minute into their speech.

The ‘boos’ and shouts of ‘get off’ grew louder after they spoke of the right of the Palestinians to a state, while stressing that the question was how this should come about.
Thousands march on Downing Street to call for the redemption of hostages from Gaza strip Jonathan Sacerdoti discussed today's march on Downing Street calling on the UK government to do more to pressure Hamas for the release of the hostages from the Gaza Strip



Let My People Go! demands Natasha Hausdorff on the 674th day of the hostages' captivity
Natasha Hausdorff, UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director, addresses the UK National March for the Hostages in Whitehall, London, on 10 August 2025, the 674th day of their captivity.

"We are coming together in troubled times to send a singular message to the government of this country and to the Prime Minister that they are actively harming the chances of us being able to bring the hostages home."


Pnina Pinhasi, only woman to fight in Israel’s naval commando unit, dies at 97
Pnina Pinhasi, a Holocaust survivor who was the first and only woman to serve in Israel’s naval commando unit, died last month at 97.

Pinhasi’s death was reported by the Ynet news outlet on Sunday.

Born in Poland in 1928, Pinhasi moved with her family to France and survived the Holocaust as a teenager hidden in a ward for children suffering from tuberculosis, Ynet reported. When the war ended, Pihasi learned that her mother had been murdered by the Nazis.

After the war, she worked in a displaced persons camp. She immigrated illegally to British Mandate Palestine, where she landed in Haifa and was placed in an internment camp, according to Ynet.

In 1947, she joined the naval branch of the Palmach, the elite strike force of the Hagana, Israel’s pre-state militia. The following year, she was recruited as the only woman in a Mossad unit meant to block arms shipments to Arab armies.

From there, she completed a course in maritime intelligence and sabotage, becoming the only female fighter in the divers’ unit. After the war, the unit became part of what is now Shayetet 13, the elite commando force of the Israeli Navy.

Relatives said she did not speak often about her service, but a book about Shayetet 13 said that she faced challenges as the unit’s only woman.

She “had difficulty integrating into the course; the men didn’t like her presence,” the book said, according to Ynet. “She understood that her presence as a woman in this field appeared to hurt their manliness, and she felt that many wanted her to fail — which only pushed her more to succeed.”




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