Jake Wallis Simons: How the West is amplifying Hamas propaganda
As we have seen far too often, such propaganda now holds great influence even within the Jewish community itself, certain segments of which are now competing with the mainstream in their Israelophobia.Yisrael Medad: Jewish support for Hamas: A new sacrificial idolatry
It is also exerting a draw on Israeli society, not just on the Left but also in parts of the defence apparatus.
The irony of it all is that the one thing that would save us all from falling victim to such propaganda is proper journalism based on facts, scepticism and resolve.
Our tendency to side with our enemies is all very well when it is limited to denigrating our history or paying reparations, but it is an entirely different matter when it comes to supporting those who will behead us. Or it should be.
In an appearance on Saudi television last week, I was faced with another iteration of this attitude. “I think we can both say it is propaganda from both sides,” the presenter said, “from Hamas and Israel.”
I was left to explain the moral bankruptcy of drawing an equivalence between the jihadis of Hamas and the Middle East’s only democracy.
Afterwards, it really hit home. Such has been the success of the propaganda that huge numbers of people just don’t see why supporting Israel in its war against Islamist terror is the only ethical position to hold.
It is a sobering reminder of the malleability of the human mind. And it doesn’t make Jews feel particularly safe.
As Genesis records the incident in its Chapter 22, our forefather Abraham was tested. A test to the extreme. He was instructed to bind his only son, Isaac, and to prepare to sacrifice him when a heavenly voice told him, “Do not stretch out your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now, I know that you fear God.”
Abraham proved his allegiance, but it would appear to most, if not all of us, that there was no need for his commitment to serving God to be carried in such a soul-wrenching manner as sacrificing his own child.
Isaac lived to originate the Hebrew people’s genealogy until this day, a people proscribed, as we read in Leviticus 18 and 20, from “giving children to Moloch,” the practice of child sacrifice.
In a contemporary setting, a new generation of Jews seems to have forgotten or is ignoring that lesson by being willing to participate in an activity that would harm fellow Jews.
They appear to be willing to participate in a new form of sacrificial idolatry. Not only do they lend support to those of Israel’s enemies who intend to kill our children and infants in the name of “Free Palestine,” but they further extend their backing to a terror group, Hamas, which does not mind sacrificing its own children, callously furthering that goal to achieve their political goals.
JPost Editorial: All or nothing: Why Israel should stand firm, avoid phased hostage deals
Why Israel needs to switch to an all or nothing approach
First, partial deals have only prolonged the nightmare. Every time Israel agreed to a phased release, Hamas pocketed the gains and came back for more. More time, more leverage, more prisoners freed, and more pressure to halt military operations. This piecemeal process served Hamas’s interests perfectly: keep Israel waiting, keep the world watching, keep the families divided, and keep the terrorist organization calling the shots. Demanding all the hostages at once denies Hamas that advantage.
Second, the previous approach created a cruel hierarchy. Whose child comes home first? Whose parent is left behind? Whose turn is it to suffer longer? By insisting that all must be freed together, Israel affirms a fundamental moral truth: Every hostage is of equal worth. No life is expendable, no family’s anguish is less urgent.
Third, deterrence depends on clarity. As long as Hamas could calculate that abducting Israelis would generate repeated concessions, kidnapping remained a viable strategy. Requiring the release of all hostages at once is the clearest possible message: This tactic will yield no further dividends. The only way forward is to let everyone go.
Fourth, phased deals corrode national cohesion, prolong the whole trauma, and spark bitter protests and internal recriminations. The new position restores fairness and unity: either everyone comes home, or Israel presses on until they do. This is not only just, but it will reduce friction in a society frayed by nearly two years of war, mourning, and political turmoil.
Fifth, it shuts down Hamas’s psychological warfare. The terror group has never viewed the hostages purely in military terms; they are tools in cognitive warfare, designed to divide Israeli society, erode morale, and fracture cohesion. By releasing some while holding others, Hamas deliberately sowed discord and prolonged trauma. Requiring all of the hostages at once closes this front, denying Hamas its most effective psychological weapon.
Sixth, it aligns with Israel’s broader military and political goals. The war aims to dismantle Hamas as a governing and military entity and strip it of the power it held on October 7. Phased hostage deals undercut that aim by prolonging the terror group’s survival as an organization. The demand for the release of all hostages in one stroke supports the larger strategic vision: Hamas’s leverage must end.
Taken together, these reasons make clear that the old model of partial releases has run its course. It prolonged the nightmare, emboldened Hamas, and frayed Israel’s unity.
The new stance, by contrast, closes down avenues of exploitation, strengthens deterrence, and reasserts the principle that every life matters equally. It is natural to grasp at any deal that promises partial relief. But history shows that partial relief has come at the steep price of perpetuating the very captivity it sought to end.
This is not just a new negotiating formula but rather a reassertion of national resolve. Israel will no longer play Hamas’s game of drips and drabs. The demand is simple, moral, and unshakable: all of them, all at once. Nothing less.
Let the meltdowns begin... https://t.co/7ZhrThoJrw
— Konstantin Kisin (@KonstantinKisin) August 19, 2025
HORRIFYING
— Jeremy Kamali (@JeremyKamali) August 19, 2025
In a new interview, former hostage — Ohad Ben Ami tells us about the sick “execution games” Hamas terrorists forced six hostages to play in Gaza’s tunnels.
“Choose 3 people I’ll KILL.
And 3 people that I’ll SHOOT in the knees.”
Unimaginable cruelty.
😞👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/7Yzg6BfVsA
Rachel Goldberg-Polin read a poem for her beloved son Hersh z”l at a memorial marking the first Anniversary of his death.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) August 19, 2025
No mother should ever have to go through this. pic.twitter.com/t6qyI3ktsq
I was honored to meet the beautiful family of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali agricultural student who Hamas brutally kidnapped on Oct. 7 and still holds captive in a Gaza dungeon. We must put pressure where it belongs - on Hamas - and demand the immediate release of every last hostage. pic.twitter.com/be1oSwJSS9
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@USAmbIsrael) August 19, 2025
Government votes to add billions to state budget, including $473 million in Gaza aid
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Tuesday evening voted to approve a NIS 31 billion ($9 billion) increase to the 2025 state budget — NIS 1.6 billion ($473 million) of which will go toward humanitarian aid for Gaza.
This angered some members of Netanyahu’s cabinet as well as opposition figures like Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, who accused the government of “paying taxes to Hamas.” The additional funds will still require the approval of the Knesset.
The increase will primarily go toward defense spending and will be accompanied by an across-the-board cut of 3.35 percent of ministerial budgets set to go into effect at the beginning of next year.
According to the Ynet news site, the ministries with already larger budgets will be the most influenced by the cuts, with the National Security Ministry set to face the biggest slash to its spending.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Education Minister Yoav Kisch said in a joint statement on Tuesday morning that they would oppose the budget proposal being presented to the government unless it included funding for security at educational institutions in the coming school year. Kisch also warned that failing to allocate the money could delay the start of the school year.
Speaking during the cabinet meeting, Kisch complained that while aid to Gaza was being increased, he had not received the funds he requested for mental health assistance for students, telling Smotrich: “You prefer the children of Gaza over the children of Israel.” Smotrich is a “small man with a big ego,” he said, according to a transcript leaked to Hebrew media.
Literally only Israel could be accused of starving Gazans while cutting welfare for Israelis to feed those Gazans. https://t.co/9I9GIcpxSH
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) August 19, 2025
Netanyahu: Aussie PM is ‘weak,’ has ‘abandoned’ Australian Jews
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday slammed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a weak leader after Canberra canceled the visa of a Knesset member who had been planning to visit the country.
“History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews,” Netanyahu posted to X.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also weighed in, describing the Australian government’s decision as “shameful” during an interview with The Erin Molan Show.
“Instead of battling against antisemitism in Australia, as they should, they are doing the opposite. They are fueling antisemitism by these mad decisions to ban from Australia Israeli politicians and other figures,” Sa’ar said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Australia denied entry to Israeli parliamentarian Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) ahead of his planned solidarity visit to the country’s Jewish community.
The move follows other visa cancellations by Australia, including that of Hillel Fuld, a pro-Israel social media personality, in June, and in November 2025 of former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.
In retaliation for banning Rothman, Sa’ar on Monday revoked the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has written a scathing letter to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, saying Australia’s policy “encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets.” pic.twitter.com/uOoi6VfMRa
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) August 19, 2025
Israel’s Diaspora Minister lambasts Australia’s gov’t for stoking Jew-hatred
Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Countering Antisemitism Amichai Chikli on Monday condemned the “unprecedented levels” of Jew hatred in Australia, rebuking that country’s government for fueling the phenomenon.
“The next special report on antisemitism by the @AlboMP government should begin with a record of the government’s own antisemitic actions—the most hostile government toward the Jewish community since 1939,” said Chikli said of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government in a post on X.
Chikli was referring to a July report by the Office of Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism. The government appointed a special envoy in July 2024 as part of an effort “to preserve social cohesion in Australia.”
According to that report, which focused on giving recommendations to combat the rise in antisemitism: “From October 2023 to September 2024, antisemitic incidents surged by 316%, with over 2,000 cases reported—threats, assaults, vandalism and intimidation.”
“In 2024, over 60% of Australian Jewish students who experienced antisemitism felt unsupported by their institutions, according to a survey conducted by the Australasian Union of Jewish Students,” it said.
The Albanese government has betrayed civilisation and strengthened those committed to a second Holocaust of the Jews. Its membership of the "Five Eyes" alliance must now be considered a security threat to the west. https://t.co/fkVNsbGTav
— Melanie Phillips (@MelanieLatest) August 19, 2025
Since the US is the only one of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance that's now defending Israel and western civilisation, it’s become One Eye and Four Blindfolds. https://t.co/Z0H71MctXJ
— Melanie Phillips (@MelanieLatest) August 19, 2025
“A country can’t support terrorism and still expect itself to be a part of the international community. To take hostages is to exclude yourself from the civilized world.”
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) August 19, 2025
— Margaret Thatcher, 1989
pic.twitter.com/QjMhw4tyIr
'Weak': Benjamin Netanyahu issues scathing attack on Anthony Albanese
Sky News host Sharri Markson says the shock cancellation of an Israeli politician's visa has today escalated into a major diplomatic row between Israel and Australia.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sensationally called Anthony Albanese a "weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews
“These are words of strength and clarity from Netanyahu who is responding to the relentless aggression from Albanese, Penny Wong and Tony Burke – the pro-Palestinian trio,” Ms Markson said.
‘It’s crazy’: AJA CEO speaks out after Israeli politician banned from Australia
Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory has blasted the Albanese government for cancelling the visa of an Israeli politician who called for elimination of Hamas.
The Minister for Home Affairs of Australia Tony Burke has dramatically banned a senior Israeli politician Simcha Rothman from visiting Australia for three years.
“If anyone in Home Affairs has an issue with someone calling for the elimination of a terrorist group, they shouldn’t be working in Home Affairs – it’s crazy,” Mr Gregory told Sky News host Steve Price.
‘Somebody’s giving them bad advice’: Albanese and Wong under fire for banning Simcha Rothman
Bar Ilan University Professor of Politics Gerald Steinberg discusses Israeli politician Simcha Rothman receiving a three-year ban from coming to Australia because he argues for the elimination of Hamas.
Mr Steinberg told Sky News host Chris Kenny somebody is giving Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong “very bad advice”.
“I don’t think that either Albanese or Wong are paying attention to the day-to-day activities of Israeli politicians.”
‘Performative bombast’: Albanese government’s Palestine recognition not helpful
The Australian’s Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan says the Albanese government’s decision to recognise Palestine is “performative bombast”.
Mr Sheridan told Sky News Australia that it won’t “hasten” the existence of a Palestinian state.
“The state will come into being when Israel and Palestine make an agreement.”
BREAKING: Just 26% of Australians support their government recognizing a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN conference in September. pic.twitter.com/bj0PolZg0V
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) August 19, 2025
Exactly right, @SenatorCash. What Albanese has done is nothing short of catastrophic. For decades, Australia has stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel a democratic ally on the frontlines against Islamist terror. Now, under Albanese, we’ve gone from trusted partner to cheer squad… https://t.co/BDggsis3NL
— Aussie Persian 🇦🇺 - אוסי פרסי آسی پرسی (@Aussie_Persian) August 19, 2025
So let’s get this straight, @AlboMP you “stand with Ukraine” against Russia’s aggression, but when it comes to Israel fighting for its survival against Hamas terrorists, you turn your back, undermine our ally and hand terrorists a propaganda win?
— Aussie Persian 🇦🇺 - אוסי פרסי آسی پرسی (@Aussie_Persian) August 19, 2025
That’s not leadership. That’s… https://t.co/TFtTc3cwph
Tony Burke's Home Affairs department misconstrued Israeli politician Simcha Rothman's comments in decision to ban him from Australia for three years
The Government document, obtained by Sky News, states: "When the interviewer asked why doesn't Israel let the children leave Gaza, the visa holder replied 'They are our enemies.""Hate preacher who praised terror attacks gets a visa to Australia - while democratically elected Israeli politicians are banned
But a review of the media interview shows that this is not what Rothman said in the interview with Channel 4.
In fact, during the interview, Rothman was actually arguing the opposite - for the United Kingdom to take in Gazans who wished to flee the war.
Here is a transcript of the media interview:
Lindsey Hilsum: Mr Smotrich, your leader, has said that the people of Gaza should leave. That the aim is to get them to leave.
Simcha Rothman: It’s a combat zone. When there is a combat zone, when there is a terrorist organisation who is hiding behind civilians, you should let them run away. And if you are blocking them, you are aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation using them as human shields. That’s not a moral thing to do. And if the United Kingdom wants to be a humanitarian country, that cares about human rights and human lives, they would help the Gazans, who want to leave the area, leave and not aid Hamas to use them as human shields.
Lindsey Hilsum: I’ve got an idea, why don’t you let them come over the border into Israel? Why don’t they flee into Israel?
Simcha Rothman: Because they are our enemies.
Lindsey Hilsum: The children are your enemies?
Simcha Rothman: They are our enemies and according to international treaties about refugees in the time of war, you don’t let them conquer your country with refugees.
Rothman could have answered that question differently, but his overall position was that other nations should provide more assistance to Palestinian civilians so that they are not used as human shields by Hamas.
The diplomatic tit-for-tat prompted Foreign Minister Penny Wong to accuse Benjamin Netanyahu of 'isolating Israel'.Issuing ultimatum, Netanyahu tells Macron Palestine recognition fuels antisemitism
Mr Rothman's visa was cancelled despite the Australian governemnt last year allowing controversial British commentator Sami Hamdi to conducted a speaking tour across the country.
Ten days after the October 7 Hamas attacks, which claimed the lives of 1,200 Israelis, Hamdi was filmed encouraging people to 'celebrate the victory' of the terrorist organisation.
'Celebrate the victory! Allah has shown the world that no normalisation can erase the Palestinian cause,' Hamdi said ten days after the worst loss of life for Jews in a single day since the holocaust.
'When everybody thought it was finished, it's roaring! How many of you feel it in your hearts? When you go the news that it happened, how many of you felt the euphoria? Allahu Akbar! How many of you felt it?'
Before he came to Australia, Hamdi had been banned from speaking at two universities in Canada after his comments came to light.
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Andrew Hastie said it was 'just the latest example of Tony Burke's double standards when it comes to Australia's immigration system'.
'How can the Albanese Labor Government approve the visa of a Hamas supporter but deny entry to an elected politician of a friendly country?', he told the Daily Mail.
'Tony Burke must come clean on the secret and arbitrary process that he applies to create these inconsistencies leading to a current Israeli politician having his visa cancelled a day before he is set to arrive in Australia.'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upbraided French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, charging that the latter’s move to recognize a Palestinian state fuels antisemitism, drawing a combative response from Paris.
Late last month, Macron said France would formally recognize a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, drawing a swift rebuke from Israel.
By announcing the move, France was set to join a growing list of nations to have recognized statehood for the Palestinians since the start of the Gaza war nearly two years ago. Many Western nations have followed in Paris’s footsteps.
In the letter sent to Macron, seen by AFP, Netanyahu said antisemitism had “surged” in France following the announcement.
“Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement. It rewards Hamas terror, hardens Hamas’s refusal to free the hostages, emboldens those who menace French Jews and encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets,” Netanyahu wrote in the letter.
The premier went on to call on Macron to confront antisemitism in France, saying he must “replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve, and to do so by a clear date: the Jewish New Year, September 23,” known as Rosh Hashanah.
The Elysee Palace slammed the accusation as “abject” and “erroneous.”
France “protects and will always protect its Jewish citizens,” the Elysee said, adding that Netanyahu’s letter “will not go unanswered.”
“This is a time for seriousness and responsibility, not for conflation and manipulation,” it added.
Benjamin Haddad, France’s minister for Europe, said the country has “no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism.”
The issue, “which is poisoning our European societies,” must not be “exploited,” Haddad added.
Prime Minister Netanyahu sent a sharp rebuke to French President Macron: “Your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on this antisemitic fire. It is not diplomacy, it is appeasement.” pic.twitter.com/1aWgWAa9C5
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) August 19, 2025
Open Letter to French Ambassador to Israel
I am still surprised why the AFP and the French-language media present you as the French ambassador to Tel Aviv, even though every Israeli child knows perfectly well that this city is not the capital of the Jewish state. As a Francophile Israeli, I admit that I do not understand France's double-dealing policy toward the State of Israel.
I often wonder with sadness why this capital of the Enlightenment does not realize that Israel's fight against barbarism and Islamist terrorism is identical to the universal values of the secular French Republic and the Free World.
For the past two decades, France has turned a deaf ear to all Israeli claims about the real intentions of Hamas, whose goal remains the destruction of the only Jewish state on the planet. It's revolting that we had to wait until the massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, for President Macron to finally understand Hamas's real intentions.
Regarding the Palestinian Authority, we suggest reading Mahmoud Abbas's belligerent speeches in Arabic. One might wonder what Abbas has done with all the billions of euros he has received from the international community, including those received from France. We also recommend listening to the speeches of Hamas leaders, who do not recognize the very existence of the State of Israel.
At the same time, we must continue the dialogue with the Muslim world and bring together moderates and all people of goodwill within the framework of the Abraham Accords, to fight extremists and fanatics together, and to remove all those who sow hatred and terror.
France's Minister Delegate shockingly said, "France has no lessons to learn in the fight against antisemitism."
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) August 19, 2025
Really? Doesn't he know that during World War II, France's Vichy regime actively collaborated with Nazi Germany, rounding up Jews, including children, to be deported…
The Prime Minister of Denmark Gets Israel All Wrong
Dear Madam Prime Minister, you have declared recently that your Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, is "a problem"; that the current Israeli government is acting against the interests of Israel; and that you intend to push for sanctions against Israel.
Imagine the reverse situation. Imagine if Netanyahu had declared that Denmark would be better off without you; that your government is acting against the interests of Denmark; and that it was time, let's say, for Denmark to grant full independence to Greenland. The Danes would rightly be offended by such chutzpah.
It is for Israeli citizens and not for you to decide what are the interests of Israel. This is what elections are for. And in the previous elections, Israeli voters gave a majority to the ruling coalition. I personally did not vote for that coalition. But today, I fully support Netanyahu's commitment to victory. If he had given in to pressures, Iran's nuclear program would be intact, Sinwar and Nasrallah would still be alive, and Assad would still be president of Syria. The problem is not Netanyahu. The problem is the jihadist coalition led by Iran that for years had planned a coordinated attack against Israel with the declared purpose of destroying it. And, thankfully, Israel has mostly dismantled that coalition.
Israel is half the size of Denmark. It was the one attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, and it is defending itself in accordance with international humanitarian law by allowing civilians to evacuate combat zones and by providing them with humanitarian aid. And Israel is fighting an enemy that is also your enemy: the same jihadists that have made hundreds of victims in Europe in the past two decades. Israel is not only fighting for itself but also for the Free World. Why do you think we are still fighting? Because we enjoy it? No. Trust me, our reserve soldiers, our sons, would rather be pursuing their studies, running their businesses, and taking care of their families than blowing up tunnels in Gaza. But we still have 50 hostages there and Hamas has not been defeated yet. Hamas would more likely capitulate if it were pressured by foreign powers. But why should Hamas release our hostages and lay down its arms when it sees that governments like yours only put pressure on Israel?
😂😂😂The same Spanish PM that wants a similarly kleptocratic Palestinian state? https://t.co/LY9S5CKGAV
— Robert Myers 🇺🇸🇮🇱 🏴☠️🟦 (@Rondo2) August 19, 2025
Eugene Kontorovich: Time to Shut Down the Failed UN Lebanon Mission
On Aug. 31, the UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on whether to renew the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
UNIFIL was given the task of disarming Hizbullah and instead enabled the Shiite militia.
It didn't keep the peace in 2006, when Hizbullah started a war, or in October 2023 when Hizbullah joined in Hamas's attack on Israel.
Hizbullah operatives captured by Israel testified that the group paid UNIFIL personnel to exploit their outposts and security cameras near the border.
Hizbullah tunnel shafts were built within 100 yards of UNIFIL watchtowers, and rocket firing positions put next to UNIFIL bases.
The U.S. pays 27% of UNIFIL's budget, around $150 million a year.
Some argue that the Lebanese army isn't ready to take over for UNIFIL. But UNIFIL doesn't keep the peace, so there's nothing to get ready for.
The UN peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights likewise makes no sense, given the changing geopolitics in the area.
The French draft resolution on @UNIFIL_ is not even a wind-down, but a clever ploy to keep the failed peacekeepers in place forever. By tying ending the mission to the "Lebanese Government [being] the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon," they create a condition that… pic.twitter.com/c3AsP5jjEv
— Eugene Kontorovich (@EVKontorovich) August 19, 2025
UNIFIL has a navy. This navy has a "gender task force" https://t.co/Eq9IEFGbdH
— Mike (@Doranimated) August 19, 2025
UNIFIL's "military gender advisor" https://t.co/gdPdEh9A7z
UNIFIL's "gender-sensitive accommodations" https://t.co/u28T3j9bia
UNIFIL trains the Lebanese Army on "gender mainstreaming"…
One understands why a growing number of Israeli international law professors are criticizing the conduct of the war. It is the minimum ante for acceptance in a academic professional climate where real Hamas apologists who aren't even lawyers are keynote speakers.
— Eugene Kontorovich (@EVKontorovich) August 19, 2025
2/ Facts. Sources. Logic.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) August 19, 2025
⭕ Dossier on UNRWA Terror Ties https://t.co/a9JXDLijmz
⭕ 3,000 UNRWA teachers cheered massacrehttps://t.co/1avingQHvp
⭕ Rigged: Colonna's “Review”https://t.co/EGghPnOjnQ
⭕ Hamas Terror Chief Ran UNRWA Teachers Unionhttps://t.co/bl76mOBOKT
IDF says it killed Hamas terrorist who took part in kidnapping of Yarden Bibas
A Hamas terrorist who took part in the kidnapping of former hostage Yarden Bibas during the October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed in an Israeli airstrike earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet announced Tuesday.
The strike on August 10 in Gaza killed Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, who the military and Shin Bet said invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 and abducted Yarden Bibas.
“A small part of my closure happened today,” Bibas reacted in a statement, thanking the security forces. “Thanks to you, he will be unable to hurt anyone else.”
He added that he was still waiting for further closure in the form of the return of his friends, twins David and Ariel Cunio, who are still held captive, as well as the other 48 hostages still held by terrorists, of whom 28 have been declared dead.
Bibas was released on February 1 of this year as part of the second ceasefire deal with Hamas.
His wife, Shiri, and their two young sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 10 months, were abducted by the Mujahideen Brigades terror group and murdered in captivity. The bodies of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir were returned under the same deal earlier this year. An Israeli autopsy determined that they had been murdered by their Hamas guards weeks after their abduction.
🚨 Remember this filth, Ghassan Salut an activist in Hams' military wing who spoke on stage on February 8, at the release ceremony for the 3 Israeli hostages Eli Sharabi, Uri Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami. He was eliminated today by the IDF pic.twitter.com/RVPDN9tUbE
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) August 19, 2025
Seth Frantzman: How important is Gaza City to Hamas?
What is happening in Gaza now? Reports in Israeli media indicate that tanks have entered the outskirts of Gaza City. These reports speak of operations in the Sabra neighborhood in the southern part of the city. There have also been operations in the Zeitoun area between Gaza City and the Netzarim Corridor. The IDF had already taken this area at least four times since the war began.
There have been limited operations in Sabra as well. Israel’s political echelon believes that if Hamas is pushed out of Gaza City, then Hamas might finally collapse. However, Hamas has been pushed out of other key areas such as Rafah and Khan Yunis, and it has not collapsed. Evidence shows it has lost almost all of its company, battalion, and brigade commanders, as well as most of its leadership in Gaza.
However, it continues to replace its fighters, and it has fought on. Hamas mostly retreats and hides in areas where the IDF operates. In Beit Hanoun, for instance, it hid out for 20 months of war near the Israeli border before finally being defeated. It was only defeated in Beit Hanoun in July 2025 because every house there was demolished.
Gaza City symbollically important to Hamas
Some believe that Gaza City is of great importance to Hamas. It is symbolically important, to be sure. Militarily, it is less clear. Hamas has strongholds in the Central Camps, areas where its activists have historically grown up. Hamas is more popular among Gazans who are descendants of Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 and ended up in Gaza. The older clans of Gaza are less supportive. These older Gazans tend to live in parts of Gaza City. Will entering their areas lead Hamas to collapse?
Gaza City presents a challenge. In 2024, it was largely cut off from central Gaza because the IDF held the Netzarim corridor. The IDF left that area in January 2025 and never retook it fully. How many people are in Gaza City today? Several hundred thousand? Whatever the number, fighting among them will be complex. The IDF has always asked people to leave before it enters an area. This gives Hamas time to leave as well. Will Hamas simply leave Gaza City and wait out this offensive as it has in the past?
The dug strip and path expose Hamas’s IED, planted with a hidden camera to film IDF casualties—yet it ended up hitting a young girl.
— GAZAWOOD - the PALLYWOOD saga (@GAZAWOOD1) August 19, 2025
Thanks again to @CherylWroteIt for the brilliant analysis👏 pic.twitter.com/ar1i1dc8UR
This TikTok account called "The Gazan" quotes the number of trucks entering Gaza just from the northern Zikim border crossing today 19 Aug '25:
— Imshin (@imshin) August 19, 2025
54 WFP (UN) free aid trucks
20 Emirati free aid trucks
17 private commercial trucks
How much of this will be distributed free to… pic.twitter.com/HMuHMmmB27
COGAT: UN massively undercounts Gaza aid trucks
The United Nations offered data that significantly underrepresented the actual amount of aid being let into the Gaza Strip by Israel, the Jewish state’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said on Tuesday.
COGAT’s statement, which claimed that the United Nations was counting only 3,553 trucks out of nearly 9,200 that had entered Gaza since May, followed the release of data by COGAT on Sunday, showing a significant increase in the number of aid trucks in Gaza. COGAT cited those figures as an example of how the United Nations can step up its efforts.
In Tuesday’s statement about the global body’s alleged undercounting of aid trucks, COGAT wrote, “The UN publishes its figures through a public dashboard that claims to present a full picture of all humanitarian aid, but in practice it includes only the trucks facilitated by UN agencies and a small number of aid organizations working with them.”
The dashboard, COGAT added, “fails to include aid delivered by other actors in the humanitarian system, including various states, additional international organizations, the private sector, airdrops, and the distribution centers of the American company.”
In the data released on Sunday, COGAT published a chart showing that the aid truck collection at the Gaza crossings stood at 2,250 from Aug. 10 to Aug. 16, compared to just 200 in the week of July 13-19.
“The U.N. proves yet another week it can step up collection efforts. But the UN isn’t the only actor. Other organizations and countries send in the majority of aid. There’s no quantitative limit to the number of trucks. The U.N. just has to bring in all the trucks they say they can,” COGAT said.
COGAT stated on Monday that hundreds of aid trucks were still waiting on the Gaza side of the crossings to be collected.
Aid entry data is published regularly on a dedicated website.
— COGAT (@cogatonline) August 19, 2025
It provides a daily breakdown of the number of trucks entering Gaza, categorized by crossing point and type of goods.
The data presented on the site reflects the full and accurate picture of the aid that Israel… pic.twitter.com/UwGattKdbK
At Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel, there was a specialized medical department for children with cancer from across the border. I spent a day there. Take a look, be amazed by such humanity, and please share. It's important! pic.twitter.com/5kfsBxvkxU
— Pierre Rehov 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@rehoov) August 19, 2025
Do you want to witness some humanity? Check what happens regularly in Isra@li hospitals. Watch, be amazed, and share, please. That's important. pic.twitter.com/bK0Co4sly6
— Pierre Rehov 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@rehoov) August 19, 2025
Jonathan Sacerdoti: Hamas' hostage deal is a Catch-22 for Netanyahu
No, surrender to extermination is not a Jewish value. Harari's work channels not Judaism but dehumanisation. The real catastrophe for Judaism has always been Jews like this who spread falsehoods to demonise their own people. @harari_yuval https://t.co/xl5NFa4wtT
— Melanie Phillips (@MelanieLatest) August 19, 2025
No Palestinian in Gaza has tried to help a hostage escape from captivity https://t.co/QcV4YNQ6QE
— Gregory Irwin (@greg_irwin91) August 9, 2025
🚨 CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Anti-Israel activist ATTACKS reporter for asking questions
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) August 19, 2025
I asked a supporter of the racist salon owner who KICKED OUT an Israeli customer why he was protesting Jews fighting discrimination.
His answer? Violence.
FULL STORY: https://t.co/qm3yojLDQY pic.twitter.com/lzi6lssCz1
Out Muslimed 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Udb3qkrpqB
— Tal Oran (@travelingclatt) August 19, 2025
Apparently according to @hasanthehun it's fine & "legal" for Palestinians to cut off 3mo baby Hadas Fogel's head & slaughter her 4 & 11 yo brothers because they were settlers. This is Palestinianism: violent & hateful to the core.
— Queen of Broccoli 🥦👑 (@jobellerina) August 18, 2025
I won't share pics of their dead little bodies. https://t.co/A6tUs9Pf93
What he’s doing here is subtle. It’s not about praising the Taliban; he wants to keep hammering the idea that certain wealthy people in America (you can guess who they are!) are getting rich by deliberately preventing addicts from getting treatment. He notes darkly that these… https://t.co/cClVof6Fn8
— David Reaboi, Late Republic Nonsense (@davereaboi) August 19, 2025
I don’t think this one is gonna make the interview archives @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/VPQ74eQhom
— Ami Kozak (@amiKozak) August 18, 2025
Stumped with one question @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/D7SSoQq4F5
— Ami Kozak (@amiKozak) August 19, 2025
The most recent Nevada undercover operation to nab predators yielded 8 arrests. Out of them was one guy identified as an “Israeli government official” in the news. Every antisemite jumped on this story. But it turns out that a Christian pastor was also arrested. As were other… pic.twitter.com/BkBYqqT54G
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) August 19, 2025
The lies about this case were of course spread by communists and Islamists. https://t.co/1DddmncXk4
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) August 19, 2025
Candace Owens with the most MORONIC TAKE says Trump’s meeting with European leaders and Zelensky is pointless — because (BIG SURPRISE) Israel controls ALL THE WARS: "He's the big boss Bibi & he's going to decide when & if & exactly what moment these wars are going to end."
— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) August 19, 2025
She… pic.twitter.com/H7rPPhcBJa
4 Bankruptcies Later…
— Nima Yamini (@NimaYamini) August 18, 2025
Mohammed Hadid Still Blames Jews pic.twitter.com/NvAAa5Rwhd
📌 The Historical Timeline
— Tamari 🎗️ (@tammydiamonds) August 18, 2025
•May 15, 1948 → Arab–Israeli war begins with Arabs attacking the newly established Israel.
•May 11, 1948 → Safed falls. Arabs flee.
•July 16, 1948 → Nazareth surrenders; Arabs allowed to stay.
•Nov 6, 1948 → Mohamed is born in Nazareth, already…
3️⃣ Expelled vs. Left
— Tamari 🎗️ (@tammydiamonds) August 18, 2025
Mohamed claims “we were kicked out.”
But his father told The Washington Post (1989): he chose to leave because he did not want the family living under Israeli rule. That’s not expulsion. That’s not expulsion. Also he admits it was Israeli rule already. pic.twitter.com/fytFGX43ur
7️⃣ The Daher al-Omar Ancestry Myth
— Tamari 🎗️ (@tammydiamonds) August 18, 2025
Hadid claims his great-great-grandfather was Daher al-Omar al-Zaydani, the 18th-century Arab ruler of Galilee who invited Jews to settle in Tiberias. But:
•Historians confirm Daher al-Omar’s sons were killed or executed after his fall in 1775,… pic.twitter.com/CPIOSscOPS
The last 20 posts from @wikileaks have all been on a single topic: anti Israel takes
— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) August 18, 2025
Multiple have been proven to be lies, such as Anthony Aguilar's testimony
This is a prime example of "credibility laundering"
A decade building "perceived credibility" to use against a target pic.twitter.com/bdQaTedEOg
The Young Turks hosts declaring they’re “not suicidal” is hilarious.
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 19, 2025
🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/w701JbqXeX
🏆 Canada isn’t backing down.
— Creative Community for Peace (@CCFPeace) August 19, 2025
Despite pressure from anti-Israel groups demanding a boycott, Tennis Canada has confirmed its Davis Cup match with Israel will go ahead as planned in Halifax this September.
No politics. No discrimination. No antisemitism. Just tennis.
Cancel… pic.twitter.com/D5xksh9v7h
INSANITY: @Microsoft employees launched an encampment at Microsoft's HQ in Redmond, Washington, and are demanding the company stop doing business with Israel.
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) August 19, 2025
Anyone looking for a job? We expect some positions will be opening up at Microsoft... pic.twitter.com/x8cfeKevvI
There were no "threats". The venue was apprised of the awful record of the hate marchers and rightly cancelled the booking. This is what all venues in Leeds should do. pic.twitter.com/S6UOsUXtBT
— habibi (@habibi_uk) August 19, 2025
❗️ IDENTIFIED ❗️
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) August 19, 2025
We believe the woman shouting 'death to all Zionists' (meaning Jews) is Aiyla Zaidi. How is it possible for anyone to openly call for the death of others on the streets of London? This is an explicit call to violence, yet it goes unpunished by @TerrorismPolice… pic.twitter.com/ECfDR7JVVn
This is Maria Gallastegui, an abhorrent antisemite with a history of inverting the Holocaust and causing offense and distress to Jews. Yet, despite numerous complaints, it seems that @metpoliceuk has not taken action against her.
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) August 19, 2025
📹@GhorbaniiNiyak pic.twitter.com/aW8CDnIqiQ
A Zohran Mamdani supporter tried tearing up our sign that read: “Jews have a right to exist.” Absolutely disgusting. @ZohranKMamdani pic.twitter.com/E9uyHT76ft
— Brandon Straka #WalkAway (@BrandonStraka) August 18, 2025
NYC is fed up with this trash 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/BfRqIUI9UR
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) August 18, 2025
German police arrest an anti-Israel protester breaking the law in Berlin
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 18, 2025
🇩🇪🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/yKsAWNmDg7
Drama in Whitechapel! Allegedly the shopkeeper called police after the guy who posted this video complained he was selling Israeli mangoes. It’s fruit, for God’s sake. This is Britain today. pic.twitter.com/xhP0mHMof6
— Starmer Sycophant (@sirwg202110) August 19, 2025
.@PalantirTech should repurpose the idiotic hate poster and run this new version as an ad. https://t.co/FQHxJPqMyM pic.twitter.com/BeCguTuUyJ
— David Keyes (@DavidMKeyes) August 19, 2025
Uhm… on a second thought, it is on brand with her to be an anti-Zionist, it checks pic.twitter.com/DPCrMDQonc
— Michael Elgort (@just_whatever) August 19, 2025
"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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