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Sunday, August 24, 2025

08/24 Links: The Gaza Famine Claim Was Timed for Gaza City Op; Stop Leaving Egypt Out of the Gaza Conversation; Hillel Neuer: How Hamas Controls UNRWA From Within

From Ian:

Arnold Roth: Trump must demand Jordan surrender the celeb jihadist who murdered my American child
A thunderous explosion stunned Israel’s capital Aug. 9, 2001, destroying a crowded Sbarro pizzeria.

Seven of the 16 murdered in the Jerusalem blast were children. One was my daughter Malki, 15, killed as she waited in line to order lunch.

The United States has failed for more than a decade to enforce the extradition of the bragging jihadist who faces trial in Washington for what she calls “my operation.”

Ahlam Tamimi, a native Jordanian, walked free from an Israeli prison as part of a 2011 deal the Jewish state was extorted to do with Hamas. She has since lived a life of celebrity in Jordan.

But President Trump can bring justice to a murdered American.

Consider whom Jordan harbors.

Tamimi, then a journalism student, part-time TV newsreader and at 21 the first woman ever admitted to Hamas’ terrorist ranks, carefully selected the fast-food outlet.

She boasted in a viral interview she targeted the pizzeria because of the crowds of Jewish children inside and the proximity of a Jewish religious school.

Tamimi’s Hamas handlers furnished her with a human bomb — a young, radicalized Islamist lugging a guitar case packed with explosives and flesh-ripping nails.

She brought him to the entrance of the crowded Sbarro, then fled to safety as he detonated, ending his own life and many others.

Confessing to all charges in an Israeli court, she was convicted and sentenced to 16 life terms with a judicial recommendation that she never be released in any future deal.

The judges were ignored. Israel freed 1,027 convicted terrorists including Tamimi in 2011 to get the release of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, held hostage by Hamas for five years.

Tamimi’s arrival at Amman’s airport was a riotous celebration.

Settling back in Jordan, Tamimi’s celebrity soared along with her influence.

She hosted a weekly made-in-Jordan talk show on Al-Quds TV for five years, promoting terrorism. Her standing as an advocate for ideological murder earned her wide support across the Arab world.

Few Americans knew since mainstream US news channels didn’t report it.
Jake Wallis Simons: It’s time for the whole truth on the UN’s declaration of famine in Gaza
As I write, Israeli troops are mobilising to conquer Gaza City. In response, the United Nations has declared that the Strip has succumbed to famine, a claim that has been denied by Israel but amplified unquestioningly by the media. There you have it: attack and counterattack.

Such is the asymmetry of this war. When it comes to military might, the IDF is unstoppable. As Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out on a podcast this week, Hamas would have been defeated without a single Israeli casualty if Jerusalem hadn’t striven to limit civilian deaths.

The jihadis have lost hundreds of their tunnels and tens of thousands of men, including several generations of leadership. But this is not the war they are fighting.

No, Hamas is fighting for your sympathy. Embracing death and misery, both real and exaggerated, for the sake of propaganda, they keep the hostages for bait and use gullible ideologues in NGOs and the media to conjure international pressure on the enemy. Sooner or later, Israel will buckle. All they have to do is hold out.

Both sides are on the ropes. While Hamas is a shadow of the light infantry corps it resembled in 2023, Israel is enduring the worst crisis of legitimacy in its history, with country after country lining up to recognise a Palestinian state. Hamas openly applauds Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and the rest. They push on regardless.

Weakened by trauma, grief, political infighting, fatigue, anti-Semitism and international demonisation, the unity and resilience of Israel’s population has ebbed. The campaign to take Gaza City is a last-ditch attempt to force Hamas to release the hostages and end this appalling war.

Enter the UN. For all its veneer of authority, this is not an assembly of democracies. Rather, most members are autocracies or corrupt regimes seeking legitimacy by equivalence with free countries. Many derive individual benefit from vilifying the Jewish state.
Daniel Greenfield: The Gaza Famine Claim Was Timed for Gaza City Op
The false claim that Gaza is in a state of famine was only made possible by a UN linked group redefining the definition of famine. (If you’re confused why this is a big deal since famine claims have been made about Gaza for over a year, it’s because that was media hype and false claims from international groups but without any formal famine finding.)

The more significant point is that the famine claim was timed for a key event, in this case an Israeli operation in Gaza City, just like previous false famine claims were timed for particular events.

For example, the recent ‘sick kid’ photos that were falsely used to claim children were dying of malnutrition were timed for a key point in the negotiations with Hamas.

When you go back, time after time that there’s a major famine PR push, it coincides with some actual event happening in the war.

Are those coincidences? Not at all. It’s the event that generates the famine claim. Propaganda is a weapon of war. The false claims of famine have been far more effective weapons than any Hamas attack post Oct 7.


Richard Kemp: The battle of Gaza City is beginning. Get ready for a barrage of Hamas lies
The battle of Gaza City does not need to happen. The expected loss of human life and physical destruction could be avoided if Hamas laid down its arms and released the hostages. That is made much less likely by the words and actions of Western leaders including our own prime minister and foreign secretary. The pressure they are piling on Israel to end the war, including threats to recognise a “Palestinian state”, are understandably translated by Hamas into signals to them to fight on. Why would they give up the struggle, which has already cost Gazans so dearly, if there is a chance their enemy will be restrained by its own so-called allies? It is hard to reconcile the constant attacks on Israel’s vital self-defence with the near silence about the savages that started this war and keep it going.

But despite the complicity of Western leaders, Hamas has clearly been panicked by the IDF’s preparations to invade one of their last remaining strongholds. Having earlier rejected a ceasefire proposal Hamas have just accepted the same terms in the hope that will put a stop to, or at least delay, their eventual demise. There is a lesson here for Western leaders, applicable not just to the Middle East: threats of force with the means to back it up accompanied by unquestioned political will is the only language tyrants understand. Instead, what is the West’s response? To undermine it with every means at their disposal. And these are the self same faint-hearted leaders who think their security guarantees to Ukraine will be taken seriously.

Israel is mobilising 60,000 more reservists for what may be a five division assault on Gaza City. It has already begun operations to “shape the battlefield”, in military parlance, including air strikes against key targets and preparations to encircle the city with tanks and infantry. Up to a million civilians are at present in Gaza City, around half the population of the Strip, although many have now begun to head south. A large number of these, having previously evacuated, were forced back by Hamas to increase the number of human shields to die in the anticipated fighting there.

The IDF will do everything it can to clear out as many of them as possible before the attack begins, something they successfully achieved before assaulting Rafah in the south — another pivotal battle that Western leaders did their utmost to stop. Where will these civilians live and how will they survive? The IDF has demarcated humanitarian zones in the south but the UN has proven woefully unable or unwilling to provide effective support. Their meagre efforts will be strengthened by Israel — unprecedented by a combatant nation during any war. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which gets aid to civilians and keeps it out of Hamas hands, is working to significantly expand its operations, which are now responsible for delivery of most aid into Gaza.
Colonel Richard Kemp Drops a Bombshell on the UN’s Gaza Agenda
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is changing the game in Gaza, delivering millions of meals directly to civilians while bypassing Hamas. In this episode, host Gabriel Groisman, former Mayor of Bal Harbour, Florida, sits down with Colonel Richard Kemp, former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, to discuss how the GHF is reshaping humanitarian aid, the resistance it faces from Hamas and even the UN, and the surprising reactions from Gazans themselves.

From on-the-ground reports of 50 million meals distributed in just one month, to the risks faced by American ex-military volunteers protecting the aid convoys, this conversation reveals what international media refuses to cover. Colonel Kemp shares firsthand insights from his recent visit to Gaza, where civilians openly expressed gratitude to the U.S. and demanded freedom from Hamas’s control.

The discussion also expands to global security: Iran’s nuclear threat, the West’s reluctance to confront it, and how European domestic politics often undermine support for Israel. Kemp explains why weak leadership and self-doubt in Western capitals are putting democracies at risk, and why American leadership remains the decisive factor.




Are Palestinians really facing a famine in Gaza? - explainer
The UN is preparing a declaration of famine in Gaza City, holding Israel responsible for the humanitarian crisis under its revised criteria, in spite of footage and testimony that Hamas is looting aid and manipulating media coverage.

The Media Line’s reporter has been speaking to Gazans throughout the war. The following is a sampling of their responses. TML was also in Gaza City and witnessed a large amount of humanitarian aid available, including an abundance of food, but offered at exorbitant prices.

The situation for those living several miles away in the refugee camps has been complicated by the lack of access to food available in other areas.

Who is to blame in Gaza?
Gazans described Hamas looting aid and reselling it. “First of all, we have no food, no water, none of life’s basics. And second, we never see any of the aid that comes in,” Ibrahim Atta Hawila of Jabalya said. “Hamas takes the aid. They don’t want anyone else to be in control. They seize it, store it in warehouses, keep what they want, and hand us lentils.”

Ali Khamis al-Tanini, also from Jabalya, expressed grief over the loss of three grandchildren as the crisis continues: “We can’t find food. I have heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. I can manage a day or two without food, but the children can’t. This little girl can’t eat, can’t even stand; she hasn’t had anything. Why did Hamas leave us with nothing while they eat lamb and beef?”

He added, “Hamas did this to us. We can’t even find a bite to eat. Not even lentils - the merchants have hidden those and everything else.”

Others voiced the same anger. Ahmad Fayad told The Media Line that his young daughter had gone 10 days without milk. “I hold Hamas responsible. They’re the ones who brought us to this point. I blame Hamas, and I also blame the Arabs - and even the Jews.”

Ne’ma Abu Saleh said, “Others are eating and stealing, while we sit here with nothing. I blame Hamas.”

He continued, “Let them release the hostages and stop dragging us into their problems. What do they want from us? Our homes are already destroyed.”

From Gaza City, Abdul Rahim Bakr pointed out that Hamas was engaged in “oppression, heavy taxes, forced collections, the killings, the masked gunmen, and their acts of terror.” He added, Hamas doesn’t “have enough men, so they pay mercenaries to steal the aid and block American assistance. They grab the shipments meant for schools, then use the stolen aid money to pay salaries.”
UN Declares Famine in Gaza, But Science Says Otherwise
Cooking the Numbers
Even after lowering the bar, Gaza City still didn’t qualify.

In July, the IPC measured 15,749 children using MUAC. Result: 12% acutely malnourished—well below the 15% famine threshold.

That should have been the end of the matter. But instead of publishing the full dataset, the IPC cherry-picked a smaller, incomplete sample of 7,127 children, which showed 16.4%. Just enough to cross the famine line.

Table 18 of their own report admits this manipulation. And when the State of Palestine Nutrition Cluster published the complete dataset on August 8—covering the same sites, same methods, with double the sample size—the picture was clear: 12%, not 16%.

Defenders tried to claim malnutrition “rose” in late July, justifying the cherry-pick. False. Independent surveys from EMPHNET, Médecins du Monde-France, and even UNRWA showed rates trending down in the second half of the month.

Even the inflated numbers collapse under reality checks. By IPC’s famine math, Gaza should be suffering 200 starvation deaths per day, something not happening. This isn’t famine science. It’s statistical fraud.

Rejecting Israel’s Aid Data
Amid all the alarmist headlines and manipulated statistics, the report completely ignores the visible reality on the ground: Gaza is far from empty of food. Markets are open, bakeries are operating, and aid convoys—both U.N. and non-governmental—continue to deliver supplies to families across the Strip. Not to mention, the IPC refused to take Israel’s distribution data into account, ignoring evidence of food deliveries and logistics that directly contradict its famine claims. The selective famine narrative erases these facts.

The People Behind the “Science”
The Gaza famine declaration wasn’t just a methodological fraud. It was authored by individuals with open political agendas.

One of the key authors, Andrew J. Seal, is no neutral scientist. His public record shows him as a committed ideologue: A Senior Lecturer at University College London, Andrew was already posting about "genocide" as early as October 28, 2023.
Backing the Houthis: He portrayed the Iranian-backed Houthis—whose slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, Damn the Jews”—as legally enforcing the “Genocide Convention” by firing missiles at Israel.
Pushing anti-U.S. conspiracy theories: He accuses America of running a “new imperial model” through proxies, bombing campaigns, and media propaganda, even suggesting Israel may be “pulling the strings.”
Defending Hamas propaganda: When the BBC pulled a Gaza documentary after admitting it relied on a Hamas official’s son as narrator, Seal blamed “pro-Israel lobbyists.”
Demonizing Israel: He has called Israel’s creation “the destruction of the state of Palestine by Jewish insurgents,” promoted the false “apartheid” narrative, and called for cutting U.S. aid to Israel.
Equating terrorists with Israel: Even after Hamas vowed to repeat October 7th “again and again,” Seal argued that Hamas shouldn’t be removed from power because Israel is “just as bad.”

Another co-author, Zeina Jamaluddine, is no better. A self-styled “researcher,” she was granted VIP access to Gaza health data directly from Hamas’s Ministry of Health—the same office notorious for inflating casualty figures and manufacturing propaganda. That exclusive access was used to co-authored a flawed Lancet study that inflated Gaza casualty numbers through less than scientific modeling. She has equated Israeli defensive strikes on Hezbollah with “terrorism.” She recently deleted her X account, one must wonder why.

In short: the famine report was not authored by neutral humanitarian experts. It was authored by a Hamas-linked activist with privileged access to Hamas data, and an ideologue who defends Iran’s proxies. It handed authorship to activists who are less than reliable. The IPC broke its rules. It discarded the gold-standard famine metrics. It cherry-picked partial data. It confined its “famine” to a single pocket of Gaza while the press reports it as strip-wide.

This was never about objective science. It was about creating a headline. The Gaza famine declaration is not a humanitarian assessment—it is propaganda. And like all propaganda, it collapses the moment you read the fine print.


Israel slams ‘Daily Mirror’ for photo of ‘starving’ Gaza child with genetic disorder
The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Sunday called out British tabloid the Daily Mirror after it ran a front-page photo of a seemingly emaciated child who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that disrupts the absorption of essential nutrients under the headline, “Stop Starving Gaza’s Kids.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein accused the paper of manipulation by concealing this context from its readers on its Saturday cover.

Marmorstein noted that X users flagged the image with a community note stating that the child, Kareem Muammar, suffers from Fanconi syndrome, “a rare genetic disorder that affects the liver, kidneys and intestines” and harms nutrient absorption.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied allegations of starvation in Gaza, insisting that Israel allowed sufficient aid in throughout the war, while Hamas has disrupted the flow of and stolen supplies and the United Nations has failed to properly distribute them, leading to deprivation.

The pushback against the British outlet follows a string of similar cases in which images of Gazan children with chronic illnesses who appeared to be suffering from severe malnutrition have appeared on covers of newspapers around the globe.


John Spencer: Stop Leaving Egypt Out of the Conversation on Gaza’s Humanitarian Crisis
Last week the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system declared famine conditions in parts of northern Gaza. The declaration altered normal IPC standards by relying on projections rather than verified evidence such as daily death counts from malnutrition or updated reporting on hunger mortality. No data was presented on the number of people dying per day from starvation, nor was there acknowledgment that aid deliveries into Gaza have increased significantly over the past two weeks. The announcement generated headlines worldwide but departed from the empirical baseline normally required to label a famine.

Amid this humanitarian debate, Egypt remains absent from serious discussion of solutions. Egypt is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the 1967 Protocol which expanded asylum protections worldwide by removing the original convention’s geographic and time limitations, and the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa. Despite these commitments, Cairo has repeatedly refused to open its border to displaced Gazans. After the October 7 attacks and the outbreak of war, Egypt reinforced its position by deploying an armored brigade and tens of thousands of troops to northern Sinai, erecting new border fortifications, and constructing a massive wall near Rafah to ensure no civilians could escape from the war zone inside Gaza. These measures show that Egypt’s current explanations came after its decision to physically seal the border.

Egypt’s official position is that opening Sinai to large numbers of refugees is a red line. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has warned that hosting Gazans would “liquidate the Palestinian cause” by removing them from their land. Egyptian officials cite security concerns, pointing to the long insurgency in Sinai and the risk that militant groups could use the territory as a staging ground. They argue that Egypt lacks the resources and infrastructure to absorb such an influx. Already home to millions of refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom are not granted formal refugee status, Egypt insists that it cannot handle more. These arguments may sound pragmatic and rooted in security or political logic, but they do not outweigh humanitarian imperatives, especially in a moment of mass suffering and long-standing regional instability.

The reality is that no single country has ever been able to shoulder an entire population’s displacement alone, nor has any country had the absolute ability to block every escape route. When Russia invaded Ukraine, over five million Ukrainians fled across multiple borders, with Poland, Romania, and other EU states sharing the burden. No single European state both carried the flow and sealed every exit. In Syria, over six million people have fled since 2011, mostly into Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Again, responsibility was spread across many countries. In Yemen, millions of displaced people found refuge in multiple neighboring states. Egypt is unique because it alone controls the only open border of Gaza while Israel remains at war with Hamas. Unlike in Ukraine or Syria, where civilians had options, Gazans are trapped.

Because of this, all humanitarian aid is forced directly into Gaza itself, where Hamas continues to control territory, launch attacks, and hold hostages. That creates an environment where supplies are perpetually vulnerable to diversion, seizure, or exploitation by Hamas. What is occurring today is without precedent. Never in modern history has a nation at war provided such sustained deliveries of food, water, and medicine to a population under the control of its active enemy. It did not happen in World War II, nor in Vietnam, nor in any other major conflict. International law obligates facilitation of humanitarian access, but not at the cost of feeding the very adversary still engaged in combat.


Israel has powerful leverage over Egypt; it should use it
Officially, a peace agreement exists between Egypt and Israel. Practically, the southwestern neighbor operates as a genuine adversary. Like in the Little Red Riding Hood story, Israelis ask Egypt, "Why do you maintain such a large army? Why is Israel its reference threat? Why did you construct tunnels and extend runways in Sinai? And what justification exists for deploying forces into the peninsula without requesting Israel's approval and contrary to the peace agreement?"

Good answers to these questions do not exist, so particularly after the surprise massacre on Oct. 7, it is worth recalling the words of former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi: "Egypt has a large army, with advanced weaponry, with aircraft and submarines, a large quantity of tanks and infantry." Halevi added that according to current assessments, it is not considered a threat, but "this can reverse in a moment."

Also in the political arena, Egypt regularly challenges Israel. This is one of the reasons it refuses to take in – even temporarily – the Gazans, or give them territory in Sinai. It does not want this agitated population with them, but it is also convenient that they are fighting us. From President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's perspective, this kills two birds with one stone.

To this must be added the hatred toward Israel in Egyptian elites, in popular classes, on social networks and in Egyptian media, and also the obstacles it places before Israel in international institutions. All this together resembles cold war more than "cold peace."

The great paradox is that Israel has significant levers to put Egypt in its place. First, the Americans: Jerusalem has assisted Cairo many times in Washington corridors over the years. It is possible and appropriate to reverse direction and draw Congress's attention to what is happening.

Second, gas: For years Egypt has depended on Israeli gas to survive. Without it there will be widespread power outages in the country. Additionally, the Egyptian economy, which essentially profits from the gas it purchases from Israel and sells to Europe, will lose a significant source of income if someone here flips the switch.

All this becomes doubly true after the future giant deal published this week. According to the plan Egypt will purchase 130 billion cubic meters of gas from the Leviathan reservoir over the next 14 years, for a cumulative sum of $35 billion.
Egypt to reinforce military forces along Gaza border, Arab media reports
Egypt is reportedly planning to reinforce its border with the Gaza Strip, London-based Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Sunday morning.

This includes approximately 40,000 soldiers, air defense systems, and tanks being deployed to the area, according to the report.

Egyptian officials are concerned about the IDF taking over Gaza City and fear the humanitarian and military repercussions of any such invasion, the report added.

Officials said they expect one million Palestinians to evacuate Gaza City towards the southern areas of the Strip, according to the report, "opening the door to deliberate Israeli attempts to push these civilians toward the Egyptian border."

Cairo views this potential scenario as a direct threat to national security as it would cause a significant humanitarian and security burden to the Sinai area, an informed source told the outlet.

Thus, Egypt is bolstering its forces in an attempt to send a message that they categorically reject displacement of Palestinians in the enclave and to warn against any security breaches on Egyptian territory, according to sources cited by the outlet.

Egypt will remain a "firewall" against any plans to forcibly displace Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula, an official said.

Israeli threats of expanding its invasion coupled with right-wing Israeli factions expanding settlement projects has deepened regional tensions, a former Egyptian foreign ministry official told the outlet.

He also called for more stringent international action against Israel, whether via the United Nations Security Council, imposing economic sanctions, or mirroring world boycott, divestment, and sanctions policies taken against apartheid South Africa.


Hillel Neuer: How Hamas Controls UNRWA From Within
In an exclusive interview with Bulletin, UN Watch chief Hillel Neuer reveals how the Muslim terrorist organization Hamas has taken over the UN agency UNRWA, thanks Sweden for cutting funding, and dismisses Social Democrat ally Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a peace partner.

A Hamas terror chief was in charge of 2,000 UNRWA teachers. Norway’s current foreign ministry official Leni Stenseth traveled to Gaza to apologize to the now-deceased terror leader Yahya Sinwar. And 90 percent of Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre were educated in UNRWA schools.

These revelations come from an interview with Hillel Neuer, executive director of the watchdog organization UN Watch. Neuer had strong ties to Sweden through his friend Per Ahlmark, former leader of the Liberal Party who died in 2018. Ahlmark served as European co-chair of UN Watch for 20 years, and the organization annually awards the Per Ahlmark Award for moral courage.

”Per was my friend. I went to Stockholm for his 70th birthday celebration and he used to fly to Geneva for our events. Each year we give out the Per Ahlmark Award to people who have moral courage,” Neuer said.

He praised the Swedish government’s decision to stop funding UNRWA.

”I want to commend the Swedish government. My understanding is that in December the government announced they would no longer give money to UNRWA but instead increase aid to Palestinians through other agencies. That was the right decision,” Neuer said.


US envoy to Macron: Antisemitism rising, your government isn’t doing enough
The US ambassador to Paris has strongly criticized the French government for failing to adequately confront rising antisemitism, just days after similar concerns were voiced by Israel, AFP reported on Sunday.

In a letter addressed to President Emmanuel Macron and dated August 25 - the 81st anniversary of the Allied Liberation of Paris, which ended the deportation of Jews under Nazi occupation - Ambassador Charles Kushner expressed “deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it.”

"In France, not a day passes without Jews assaulted in the street, synagogues or schools defaced, or Jewish-owned businesses vandalized," he wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

While acknowledging that “antisemitism has long scarred French life,” Kushner noted that anti-Jewish hatred has intensified since Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
France summons US ambassador Kushner over 'unacceptable' letter to Macron on French antisemitism
France summoned the American ambassador Charles Kushner after he wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging France had failed to do enough to stem antisemitic violence, a French foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.

Kushner, who is Jewish and whose son is married to US President Donald Trump's daughter, published the open letter in the Wall Street Journal amid deep divides between France, the US, and Israel.

In the letter, he urged French President Emmanuel Macron to more urgently enforce hate-crime laws and tone down criticism of Israel, saying French government statements about recognizing a Palestinian state have fueled antisemitic incidents in France.

"France has learned of the allegations made by the United States Ambassador, Mr. Charles Kushner, who, in a letter to the President of the Republic, expressed his concern about the rise in antisemitic acts in France and noted the alleged lack of sufficient action by the French authorities to combat them," the ministry said.

"The Ambassador's allegations are unacceptable," the ministry said, adding Kushner would be due to appear on Monday.

Kushner's letter follows another sent to Macron by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week in which Netanyahu accused Macron of contributing to antisemitism by calling for international recognition of a Palestinian state, according to the Jerusalem Post.


IDF chief reportedly says there is a hostage deal ‘on the table, we need to take it’
While visiting the Haifa naval base, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that “there is a [hostage] deal on the table, we need to take it,” according to Channel 13 news.

The report quotes Zamir adding that “the IDF brought about the conditions for a deal, now it is in Netanyahu’s hands.


Seth Frantzman: Are the Houthis testing new missiles on Israel?
It now appears that a Houthi ballistic missile launched against Israel on Friday contained cluster munitions. This also appears to be the first time the Iranian-backed Houthis have used this type of missile against Israel. Iran has long utilized the Houthis to test new missile and drone technology.

This could be another example of Iran using the Houthis, or the Houthis developing more missile types locally, based on a similar Iranian missile that uses cluster munitions.

The Houthis appeared to confirm that they are attempting to use new missiles in a statement broadcast by their military spokesperson, Brig.-Gen. Yahya Saree, who announced a “qualitative military operation targeting Lod Airport in the occupied Jaffa area with a hypersonic ballistic missile of the Palestine-2 type.” He claimed that the missile “successfully hit its target after penetrating the Israeli defense systems.”

UAE’s Al-Ain News noted, “Media reports in Israel indicated that authorities suspect the Houthis used a fragmentation missile previously used by Iran in the 12-day war.” This was later confirmed by the IDF on Sunday.

Israel retaliated for the attack on Sunday, one of more than half a dozen long-range raids Israel has carried out against the Houthis in the past year.

The Houthis have launched several dozen ballistic missiles at Israel since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The reports about possible cluster munitions in the recent missile attack have been circulating for two days.
Israel strikes Yemen after Houthis fire cluster munition for first time
The Israel Defense Forces attacked several key locations in Yemen on Sunday, including in the capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, following the first-ever cluster missile fired by the Houthis at Israel on Friday night.

The IDF said the targets included a military compound housing the presidential palace, the Asar and Hizaz power plants, and a fuel storage facility, all of which were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to support its attacks.

“The use of these plants constitutes further proof of how the Houthi regime uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” said the IDF.

The strikes were in response to “repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory in recent days,” added the military.

The IDF noted that the Houthis operate under Iranian direction and funding to target Israel and its allies, and exploit the maritime domain to project power and conduct attacks against global shipping and trade routes.

“The Houthi terror regime is learning the hard way that it will pay and is paying a very heavy price for its aggression against the State of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday night.

“Anyone who attacks us—we attack them. Anyone planning to attack us—we attack them. I believe the entire region is learning the power and determination of the State of Israel,” he continued.

Added Defen se Minister Israel Katz: “For every missile the Houthis launch at Israel, they will pay with compound interest.”


71 Jewish shepherds and farmers wounded in Arab attacks since Jan. 1
Seventy-one Jewish farmers and shepherds have been wounded in Palestinian terrorist assaults across Judea and Samaria since the beginning of 2025, according to an Israeli rescue organization.

Data gathered by the Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders) NGO and cited by the Israel Hayom daily over the weekend indicate a rise in violence targeting Jewish agriculturists.

Fifty-two shepherds and 19 residents of Jewish farms sustained wounds in the first seven months of the year, alongside “dozens” of additional assaults that ended without casualties.

Victims were attacked “with stones, gunfire, axes, clubs, attempted car rammings and severe violence, alongside extensive online incitement and calls to harm Jews who are defending state lands from Arab invasion and takeover,” the organization told Israel Hayom.

Four of the violent incidents targeting Jewish farmers and shepherds took place in the past week, Hatzalah Judea and Samaria noted.

An Israeli civilian sustained light wounds on Thursday when an Arab terrorist opened fire at a group of shepherds near the Malachei Hashalom Farm in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria.

The terrorist, who emerged from the nearby Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir, fired one shot at the shepherds before his gun jammed.

Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz called it a “miracle” that the attack near the farming outpost did not end in further bloodshed.

“This was a planned ambush that ended with a miracle. We support the security forces and the courageous farmers in Binyamin,” said Ganz.

“The farmers have proved again how important their presence is in the open areas between the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem and that they are protecting our country’s lands,” the regional Israeli leader declared.
At least two Palestinian illegal residents arrested in Tel Aviv in suspected terror attack plot
At least two suspected terrorists were arrested by Israel Police on Sunday evening in northern Tel Aviv and transferred to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for further investigation.

The suspects were caught in a manhunt after suspicion arose that they had planned to carry out a terror attack in the city, police said.

The suspects are Palestinians illegally residing in Israel.

The arrests were made following intelligence received at around 7 p.m., which led to the deployment of police forces "Team Tequila," the Shin Bet's counterterrorism squad, N12 reported.

According to N12, one of the suspects, from Nablus, decided to carry out an attack, but at this stage, it is unclear whether he was armed.
Syria’s president said to confirm ‘advanced’ talks with Israel on security agreement
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa confirms to Arab journalists that his government is in “advanced” talks with Israel on a security agreement, according to Sky News Arabic.

The broadcaster reports that Sharaa said any agreement would be be based on the lines from the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that followed the Yom Kippur War the previous year.

Sharaa also reportedly said that while he doesn’t believe the time is right for a peace deal with Israel, he “will not hesitate to take” any agreement that benefits Syria and the region.
IDF seizes arms, detains suspects in Syria raids
The Israel Defense Forces’ 474th “Golan” Territorial Brigade carried out a series of overnight raids in southern Syria last week to locate weapons and arrest suspects, the military said on Sunday.

During simultaneous searches at several sites in the area, IDF troops discovered arms caches containing RPG missiles, explosive devices, Kalashnikov rifles and large quantities of ammunition, it stated.

All weapons and other combat equipment were seized by the army.

In addition, following intelligence gathered in recent weeks, the soldiers, in cooperation with Human Intelligence Unit 504 field investigators, arrested several suspects for questioning, it said.

Last week, the IDF said that troops of the 810th Mountain Brigade had seized more than 300 weapons and arrested suspects of involvement in arms trading and smuggling during a targeted raid on outposts of the former Syrian regime.

The raid took place Wednesday on the slopes of Mount Hermon as part of ongoing military activities near the border with the Golan Heights since the fall of the Assad regime and the rise of the Islamist regime in Damascus.

“The brigade’s troops continue to work in the area to protect the security of the citizens of the State of Israel and the residents of the Golan Heights in particular,” the Aug. 20 military statement said.


European MPs call to fire EU antisemitism coordinator over defense of Israel
Twenty-six E.U. Parliament members recently submitted formal correspondence to the European Commission requesting the dismissal of Katharina von Schnurbein, who has served nearly 10 years as E.U. antisemitism coordinator and maintains strong support from Jewish organizations throughout the continent.

The correspondence, obtained by Israel Hayom, specifically criticizes her professional performance, focusing on statements from the leaked protocol of a meeting conducted in late May. During the session, von Schnurbein addressed ambassadors and diplomatic representatives, presenting her professional assessment of the relationship between antisemitism and efforts to delegitimize Israel.

The protocol leak generated controversy among parliament members from moderate and radical left political groups, including the Greens, Socialists and Liberal factions. Letter signatories include France’s Rima Hassan, from the Left group in the parliament, who has characterized Hamas as a legitimate organization; the Netherlands’ Tineke Strik of the Greens; Barry Andrews (Ireland) and Abir Al-Sahlani (Sweden) from French President Emmanuel Macron’s “Renew Europe” faction; and César Luena (Spain) from Socialist left factions.

The parliamentary correspondence argues that von Schnurbein exceeded her institutional authority by attempting to persuade E.U. member state representatives against imposing sanctions that would affect Israel’s standing in the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Informed sources explain that von Schnurbein clarified to ambassadors and E.U. officials that while not every criticism of Israel constitutes antisemitism, antagonistic policies toward Israel generate antisemitic sentiment across the continent. She specifically observed that E.U. employee charity events supporting Gaza create “environmental antisemitism,” noted Hamas involvement in European protests following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack and stressed caution regarding actions that might generate “rumors about Jews” and disseminate inflammatory information.


Tens of thousands rally across Australia in pro-Gaza protests
Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied across Australia over the weekend in one of the largest waves of anti-Israel protests the country has seen, with organizers claiming total attendance of nearly 300,000 nationwide, though numbers are contested.

The impetus for the coordinated demonstrations, spanning more than 40 cities and regional centers, and organized by the Palestine Action Group, was the United Nations-backed report on Friday claiming “reasonable evidence” that there has been “famine” in Gaza since Aug. 15, according to Sky News Australia.

Israel said that the “famine” determination contradicts recent, publicly available data and uses “outdated figures while downplaying or disregarding newer information that directly undermined the famine classification.”

However, the protesters demanded an end to “starvation” and “genocide” in Gaza, the imposition of sanctions on Israel, and a halt to Australia’s arms trade with the country.

Melbourne hosted what organizers described as the largest rally, claiming more than 100,000 participants. Protesters gathered outside the State Library before marching through the city to the steps of Parliament, Sky News Australia reported.

Demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and signs reading “Free Palestine,” “Gaza City: Now in Famine, 1/2 million at risk” and “Israel is killing children.”

Independent Sen. Lidia Thorpe, a member of the Australian Greens Party until February 2023, addressing the crowd, urged Australians to boycott multinational fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and KFC over links to Israel.

She accused Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government of complicity in the conflict, although his administration has been highly critical of Israel.

“[Foreign Minister] Penny Wong and Albanese continue to lie about being complicit in genocide at all here and abroad,” Thorpe said. “The only way we’re going to get traction here is to boycott Israel in all its forms.”

Chants of “Death to the IOF”—a reference to the Israel Defense Forces, which protesters labeled the “Israel occupation forces”—echoed through the streets, Sky News Australia reported.


Paris music festival keeps anti-Israel group despite funding cuts, criticism
Kneecap, a three-member band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, will appear outside Paris on Sunday evening despite objections from French Jewish organizations and government officials, France 24 reported.

Matthieu Ducos, director of the Rock en Seine music festival, told AFP, “We are confident that the group will perform in the correct manner.”

The group is set to perform at the annual festival in the western Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud, even though local authorities pulled a €40,000 (nearly $46,500) subsidy over the group’s scheduled appearance.

In rescinding the funds on July 3, the town council of Saint-Cloud said it was a direct response to Kneecap’s inclusion in the festival’s lineup.

The wider Île-de-France region, which includes Paris, also withdrew its funding for the 2025 festival, France 24 reported. However, the loss of funds didn’t carry much weight given the event’s budget of $18 million–$20 million.

In July, Hungary banned Kneecap from entering the country, saying it constituted a national security risk.

The trio had been scheduled to perform on Aug. 11, the closing day of the annual Sziget Festival (Aug. 6-11), one of the largest music festivals in Europe.


Sephora removes Huda Beauty after founder blames Israel for World Wars, 9/11
Global personal care and beauty products chain Sephora has decided to remove Huda Beauty from its upcoming fall “Experts” campaign, according to the media website Puck.

The decision comes after Huda Kattan, founder and CEO of Huda Beauty, found herself in early July embroiled in a media storm after she shared a video on her TikTok account in which she made false claims that Israel was responsible for World War I and World War II, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.

“All of the conspiracy theories coming out and a lot of evidence behind them—that Israel has been behind World War I, World War II, September 11, October 7—they allowed all of this stuff to happen,” Kattan said in the post to her 1.7 million followers, according to the StopAntisemitism NGO.

The video aroused criticism among Jewish communities and international organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, which responded sharply and called for exposing the antisemitic narratives being spread. Following numerous reports, TikTok removed the video for “violating platform rules.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez slammed Kattan as an “unhinged hater” who spreads “bigotry.”


Iran’s Khamenei calls relations with US ‘unsolvable’ amid nuclear standoff
Iran’s supreme leader said the current situation with the United States was “unsolvable” and that Tehran would never bow to pressure to obey Washington, amid a standoff with Western powers over its nuclear program, state media reported on Sunday.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remarks days after Iranian officials threatened Israel with renewed fighting, two months after the countries fought a 12-day air war. The comments also come after Iran and three European powers agreed on Friday to resume talks to try to restart full negotiations on curbing Tehran’s nuclear enrichment work.

“They want Iran to be obedient to America. The Iranian nation will stand with all of its power against those who have such erroneous expectations,” Khamenei was reported as saying.

“People who ask us not to issue slogans against the US… to have direct negotiations with the US, only see appearances… This issue is unsolvable,” he added.

The Islamic Republic suspended nuclear negotiations with the United States after the US and Israel bombed its nuclear sites during the 12-day war in June. Israel said the sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent Tehran from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.

Iran retaliated to Israel’s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel. The attacks killed 31 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.

Following that war, France, Britain and Germany have said if Tehran does not return to the table, they could reactivate United Nations sanctions under a “snapback” mechanism agreed to in a 2015 deal between Iran, the United States and several world powers.

To avoid those sanctions, some Iranian officials are reportedly willing to accept limits on the country’s nuclear program. The Telegraph reported on Sunday that reformers in Tehran are pushing the regime to agree to cap uranium enrichment at 20 percent, short of the 90% that would make it suitable for nuclear weapons.

The new leader of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, is leading that effort, the British outlet reported, adding that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps opposes the idea. The report said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who appointed Larijani, has drawn backlash from hardliners in the regime.

“Larijani is trying to convince the system to reduce the level of enrichment to avoid another war,” a senior Iranian official said, according to The Telegraph. “He’s concerned that without lowering it or meeting some of the West’s demands, the system will face another major challenge.”


Jews in Revolt
Jews are said to be noted for their resilience, resilience defined as the ability to successfully react to stress and maintain calm in the face of adversity. In the prologue to his Jews vs. Rome, Barry Strauss calls the survival of the Jews "one of history's great cases of resilience," and at his book's close, he notes that it has been "a story of resilience. … Ancient Jewry is one of history's great examples of how a people can lose on the battlefield and yet prevail."

Professor Strauss recounts three Jewish revolts against the all-powerful Roman Empire: the Great Revolt, also known as the Jewish War, which took place between 66 and 74 A.D.; the Diaspora Revolt, 116-17 A.D.; and the Bar Kokhba Revolt of 132 to 136 A.D. Accounts of the last two revolts, alas, are thin—"the details, unfortunately," Strauss writes, "are murky"—owing to the want of archaeological evidence and literary sources. The Great Revolt is dominated by a single source, that of Josephus' The Jewish War. Josephus participated in the war and wrote his book—some 408 pages in its Penguin classics edition—in Rome, where he resided for roughly the last half of his life. (He was born in 37 A.D. and died sometime during the reign of the emperor Domitian.) Josephus did not so much favor the Romans as recognize and reconcile himself to their superior power. The Romans came to call him Flavius Josephus. As a Jew, Josephus came by his praenomen of Flavius through the offices of Vespasian, the Roman general whose rise to emperor he, Josephus, predicted.

Josephus' relation to Rome has long complicated his reputation, both in his lifetime among fellow Jews, many of who looked upon him as a turncoat, and in our day by anyone who reads his extraordinary work with an eye toward its point of view. As would anyone who writes about the Great Revolt, Strauss is deeply indebted to Josephus' The Jewish War. But it turns out to be a debt rather grudgingly paid. Strauss rarely mentions Josephus without appending a criticism to his citation. "Josephus is at pains," he writes, "to make the Jewish revolt seem like the work of a few radicals. It's one of the central themes of his book. The historical record suggests otherwise." Or, of the number of Jews killed in the town of Caesarea: "The figure is probably exaggerated, like most of Josephus's figures." Or: "Just what happened at Jerusalem is unclear, as the details of Josephus's account don't add up." And so on into the night.

Barry Strauss, like Josephus before him, has a complicated story to tell. The Jews never fought the Romans en masse. Many were zealous in their opposition to the Romans, others took up moderate positions, some even fought on the side of the Romans. If resilience is one aspect of Jewish life, so is a penchant for faction among themselves.




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