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Friday, July 17, 2026

07/17 Links Pt1: Sa’ar: Radical left, terror groups form ‘operational alliance’; Ro Khanna uses Jewish lives as fodder for presidential ambitions; IDF kills Oct. 7 infiltrator, Hamas platoon commander in Gaza

From Ian:

Jonathan Tobin: Vance is the variable in the partisan divide on Israel
America’s two major political parties were given an opportunity this week to show where they stood on the alliance with Israel and gave the nation a clear answer to the question. In a vote on a proposal put forward by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to cut all military aid to the Jewish state, the partisan split was stark.

Massie, who was defeated in a GOP primary earlier this year, was the sole Republican to back the idea of ending support for Israel, with every other one of the 215 members of the caucus opposing it. A majority of House Democrats joined him in voting for the proposal. In all, 103 Democrats voted in favor of it, with 98 opposing and 10 others voting “present.”

A stark partisan divide
The vote made it clear that national polls revealing the decline in backing for Israel—largely driven by partisanship—are reflected in Congress. At a time when antisemitic blood libels about Israel committing “genocide” in Gaza or being an “apartheid” state have been mainstreamed by liberal publications like The New York Times and routinely endorsed by many Democrats, the overwhelming majority of Republicans reject these lies and still support Israel. There are now votes on record in both the House and the Senate that show the majority of Democrats support ending the alliance with the Jewish state, while, other than outliers like Massie, all Republicans oppose the idea. It means there is no avoiding the conclusion that the Democrats are on their way to becoming the anti-Israel party, if that hasn’t happened already.

Due to retirements and primary results, the number of anti-Israel Democrats will be far larger in the next Congress. That leaves the GOP, which will be rid of Massie next January, in a position to claim that anyone who cares about Israel ought to be looking at them as their only viable political home.

Yet there is one reason for holding off on describing the debate about Israel and antisemitism as one in which partisanship is the key indicator. And his name is Vice President JD Vance.

While House Republicans were holding the line against the tide of anti-Israel sentiment sweeping the country, Vance went on the most-listened-to podcast this week and made it clear that he is not to be counted among those who share that position.

In a three-hour interview on the “Joe Rogan Experience” that spent as much time discussing the July Fourth White House UFC extravaganza and the fact that one of the fighters there called former first lady Michelle Obama a “man” as it did policy questions, the vice president nevertheless demonstrated that he was not among those who value the alliance with Israel. To the contrary, he was eager to blame Israel, its government and its American friends for the fact that his excursion into foreign policy with a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran has become a fiasco.

Vance nods to the ‘groypers’
Given a chance to demonstrate his mettle as a negotiator in what appeared to be a new version of President Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” reality show, Vance’s performance bore comparisons to his predecessors in the Obama and Biden administrations. He not only stubbornly defended the ludicrous notion that the Islamist terrorists running Iran could be enticed to rejoin the civilized world by means of Western bribery and diplomacy, but scapegoated the Israelis and the pro-Israel community for his failure.

In a clear pitch to what might be considered the “groyper” antisemitic wing of the American political right, he said: “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to, like, actually shift us away from [negotiations] because they want to continue the military campaign.”

He acknowledged the downward trend in support for Israel in the United States. But then, as veteran conservative commentator Rod Dreher noted in The Free Press, Vance’s position “sounds like scapegoating; a contemporary version of the ‘stab in the back legend’ (Dolchstosslegende) that German generals conceived and spread in 1918 to blame Jews and socialists for Germany’s World War I defeat and their own leadership failures.”

Vance rightly rejected the ridiculous charge that it was Israel’s fault that Trump chose to pursue a longtime U.S. foreign-policy goal by attacking Iran to prevent it from gaining nuclear weapons and spreading terror. And yet he still cited stories about efforts by Israelis and supporters of Israel to influence public opinion in the United States as evidence that this is undermining the administration. He considers criticism of his Obama-like appeasement of Iran to be somehow wrong, while not acknowledging that frenemy nations like Qatar spend exponentially more to spread support for Islamist ideas and hate for Israel in America than Israel’s backers.

It was a dismal performance by the vice president, whose record when it comes to standing against the post-Oct. 7 surge of antisemitism has been, at best, equivocal. While he is on record for opposing Jew-hatred, his public statements have shown him as unwilling to confront or oppose antisemites as Democratic leaders such as former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Tom Barrack promotes Middle East trade alignment cutting out Israel
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack on Friday promoted a new regional trade and security alignment in the Middle East centered around Iraq, Turkey and neighboring Arab states, appearing to sideline a similar regional project including Israel.

Speaking at the U.S.-Iraq Business Summit, Barrack told attendees that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who visited with President Donald Trump at the White House this week, is considering a transformative agreement “that will make the Strait of Hormuz” — which has been effectively shut down due to the Iran war and continued hostilities — an “afterthought in two years” by shifting trade that usually passes through the waterway to overland routes.

“What this young leader [al-Zaidi] has in mind — aligned with Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt — is a program that will make the Strait of Hormuz an afterthought in two years,” Barrack said. “We’re going from just-in-time delivery on boats through these minor straits to just-in-case delivery going the other way.”

The proposal appears to serve as an alternative framework to the stalled India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which has faced roadblocks following regional turmoil and the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. While the original IMEC agreement included Israel as a vital transit point connecting India to Europe via the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the newly envisioned corridor relies instead on a coalition featuring Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

The State Department also released a statement on Friday welcoming the announcement of cooperation between Iraq and Syria on the “rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Iraq-Syria crude oil pipeline as a priority infrastructure project of bilateral and regional strategic significance.”

“We feel the chaos on one side, but actually, what’s happened is a brilliant realignment of security and strategic alliances in the region,” Barrack said in his remarks, with “Iraq being at the forefront of a new strategic security alliance.”
Bruce Pearl: Ro Khanna uses Jewish lives as fodder for presidential ambitions
California Congressman Ro Khanna announced last weekend that “Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine. When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention.”

Khanna was trying to turn 90 minutes on an Israeli road into political capital, asking supporters to imagine what Palestinians endure every day if even a member of Congress could be treated this way.

Powerful politics. But an incomplete story.

Khanna’s office says his trip to Israel was financed with campaign funds. Before it began, his staff reportedly told the Israeli Embassy it would be a private visit, with no official meetings.

According to a source involved in the planning, Israel nevertheless offered meetings with survivors of the Oct. 7 terror attack and others affected by the conflict.

Those offers, the source said, were declined.

Apparently, Khanna’s delegation was more interested in reinforcing a conclusion about the Jewish state than testing one.

I’ve assisted in taking members of Congress through Judea and Samaria (West Bank) with the US-Israel Education Association. Serious congressional delegations coordinate these visits carefully.

When we visit predominantly Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, we travel with Jewish guides and buses marked with Hebrew lettering. When the itinerary includes lands with mostly Palestinian Arab populations, we switch to Arab guides and buses clearly marked in Arabic.

For Khanna’s delegation to move through an Israeli-populated area relying on a single Palestinian Arab activist as a guide was an invitation to exactly the kind of confrontation that followed.

Not because of “Israeli apartheid.” Because of Israeli funerals.

During the Second Intifada, Palestinian suicide bombers turned Israeli buses, cafés and family restaurants into terrorist targets. Israel’s security architecture was built in response to that harrowing reality.

To debate the checkpoints without recalling what produced them is to explain the lock while forgetting the burglar.


Sa’ar: Radical left, terror groups form ‘operational alliance’
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned representatives of more than 60 countries on Thursday that radical left-wing movements and Islamist terrorist organizations are working together to undermine democratic societies.

Speaking at the Ministerial Consultation on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, hosted in Washington by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sa’ar said activist groups operating under humanitarian and political banners have become part of an international network advancing the interests of terrorist organizations.

The conference brought together foreign ministers, homeland security ministers, counter-terrorism officials, national security advisers and other senior representatives to discuss the growing threat of political terrorism.

“Terror groups have an operational alliance today with radical leftist elements in Western democracies, in Europe, in Latin America, in Africa, and beyond,” Sa’ar said.

“Together, they [are] turning the world order on its head, challenging the very values of democracy and freedom.”

He argued that media coverage had amplified the narrative promoted by terrorist organizations.

“Through the lens of the BBC and the pages of The New York Times, the world fell for the trap set for them,” he said.

Sa’ar cited the “so-called Global Sumud Flotilla” as an example, saying it was portrayed as a humanitarian initiative but was in fact intended to undermine Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.

“There was no humanitarian aid on these vessels,” he said. “The goal was to breach a legal naval blockade and to serve the interests of terror groups, mostly Hamas.”

According to Sa’ar, documents seized by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza show Hamas financed and helped organize flotilla activities through a Spanish shell company linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“The flotilla is operated through a network linked to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, while providing legitimacy and civilian cover for terrorist organizations and objectives,” he said.

Sa’ar said activist organizations recruit participants, organize logistics, mobilize student groups and generate international pressure while “Hamas provides the strategy.”


As Jewish Republicans sour on JD Vance, many are rallying behind Marco Rubio for 2028
It’s no secret that JD Vance has lost the confidence of many Jewish Republicans, who have taken issue with the vice president’s reprimanding of Israeli officials, indulgence of anti-Israel conspiracy theories and silence on Tucker Carlson, the prominent pundit who has turned against Israel.

But Vance is still thought by many to be Donald Trump’s likeliest successor at the top of the party’s ticket in 2028, leaving the GOP’s Jewish supporters with the question of whom to back when Trump’s second term ends.

Many are finding an answer elsewhere in the Trump administration.

“The overwhelming majority of American Jewish MAGA voters, donors, and policymakers are enthusiastically supporting a Marco Rubio presidential run,” Shabbos Kestenbaum, whose high-profile activism against campus antisemitism has made him a hero among Jewish conservatives, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency this week. “I look forward to voting for him as well.”

Kestenbaum was offering an update on a claim he made in an interview at a Republican Jewish Coalition gala in May.

“I can certainly tell you with confidence that in the American Jewish conservative circles, it’s Marco Rubio by a margin of 99 to 1,” he said at the time. “In fact that’s probably underselling it, it’s probably closer to 100 to 0. I can’t think of anyone within the American Jewish MAGA movement who would not want Marco Rubio as the nominee.”

Rubio, who is Trump’s secretary of state and national security adviser and served as a US senator from Florida for 14 years, has won the support of a number of Jewish Republicans with his staunch support of Israel and hawkish opposition to Iran. He has signaled a willingness to remove restrictions the Biden administration had placed on violent Israeli settler groups in the West Bank and this week vowed to dismantle the International Criminal Court, which has an arrest warrant for multiple Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The RJC praised Rubio’s ICC vow on Monday, tweeting, “Leadership. Thank you, @SecRubio.”
Dissidents in Iran condemn JD Vance for failing to back opposition to regime
Ordinary Iranians who have spoken to the JC have condemned US vice-president JD Vance for failing to back opposition to the regime.

Speaking while they are still able to before the internet is cut off, the dissidents also spoke of their hope that military action by America and Israel could help to bring down the regime.

Repeated exchanges between the US and Islamic Republic in recent days – in particular over control of the Strait of Hormuz – have left the supposed truce in virtual tatters, but the threat of a return to all-out war has yet to to be realised.

Vance is understood to be a strong opponent of a further re-escalation, and has been closely involved in negotiations with Tehran’s leaders, to the dismay of hawkish members of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Interviewed by American podcaster Joe Rogan, the vice-president said US military action was not intended to bring about regime change.

Drawing on the example of Libya’s recent history, he asked: “What is in our interest?”

Vance added: “How is it in the United States’ interest to have 94 million desperate people flooding into Europe, flooding into the United States, to have the sort of terrorist infrastructure that can get established when you fan terrorists all over the world? We’ve run this experiment before.”

The remarks infuriated Iranian opponents of the regime.

Speaking to the JC from Tehran, Mahdi, 27, said: “We are not terrorists. We have risen up many times to topple the terrorist regime in Iran, and now JD Vance is saying they want it to remain in power so terrorism does not spread.

“He does not know what he is talking about.”

Asked whether the recent US strikes could encourage another wave of anti-regime protests by exposing the cost of the Islamic Republic’s military ambitions, Mahdi dismissed the suggestion.

“Why should we?” he said. “At the beginning of the war, President Trump said this could be a once-in-many-generations opportunity for Iranians to topple the regime.

“Now his vice-president is clearly saying he is against regime change.”


SCOOP: AIPAC removes fundraising links from its site for 15 House Dems, who voted against aid to Israel
AIPAC removed links on its website to donate to 15 Democratic members of the House, who voted to strip $3.3 billion in U.S. military financing to Israel.

Archived versions of the AIPAC website appear to show that links had been removed on Thursday or Friday for donations to House Minority Whip Catherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Josh Harder (D-Calif.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Laura Friedman (D-Calif.), and Gabe Amo (D-R.I.).

Three other Democratic members of the House who voted for the amendment to strip funding to Israel, who also had been endorsed by AIPAC—Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) and Julie Johnson (D-Texas)—did not have fundraising links before the vote, because they aren’t running for re-election, but text from AIPAC thanking them for their support for the U.S.-Israel relationship was likewise removed between Thursday and Friday.

The 18 Democrats were the AIPAC endorsees who joined 85 fellow Democrats—a total of 103—on Wednesday in voting for an amendment from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to end the $3.3 billion in funding.

Support for that financing has been one of the cornerstones of AIPAC’s advocacy and endorsement choices for both Republicans and Democrats.

It’s unclear whether the removal of the links signals an intent to withdraw its endorsement of those candidates. JNS sought comment from AIPAC.

Donation links to the two AIPAC endorsees who voted “present” on the Massie amendment, Reps. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) and Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), remained live at press time.
Rep. Adam Smith tells JNS he’s ‘aware’ AIPAC might stop supporting him after vote on US aid to Israel
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), one of 15 House Democrats whose fundraising links were removed from AIPAC’s website after the members voted against military aid to Israel, told JNS that he is aware that the pro-Israel group might stop supporting him “in the short term” but hopes to continue engaging.

A ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Smith, who spoke to JNS about his vote earlier on Friday, said that AIPAC has “made some decisions that sort of pushed them in the direction of being too partisan Republican and too blindly in favor of whatever Israel does.”

“AIPAC should have an expanded idea of who their friends are these days,” he told JNS. “I just don’t think they can afford to be cutting people off every time they don’t take the right vote.”

He told JNS that he has spoken with AIPAC officials.

“I certainly am aware of the fact that they’re not going to be supporting me in the short term,” he said. “But I want to maintain the dialogue and the conversation, because I think they need to work harder to try to figure out how to get more friends instead of creating more enemies.”

Smith pointed to a New Jersey political race, in which AIPAC spent “a few million dollars” against Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) because “he wasn’t aggressively anti-Israel and they didn’t think he was a sufficient friend,” he said.

“A radical left-wing socialist wound up winning the seat,” Smith told JNS. “I talked to some AIPAC folks who said, ‘We’re fine with that. We’d rather have someone who’s clearly against us.’”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Smith said. “Not if you’re smart about it. In my view, I think AIPAC needs to reset.”
Rep from most Jewish district in New England defends vote to cut off Israel aid
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), who is Jewish and whose district has the highest proportion of Jews in New England, defended his vote to cut off U.S. military aid to Israel on Thursday by accusing U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of destroying the aid agreement when they began the war against Iran.

“At the heart of foreign military financing was a deal: America ensures qualitative military edge for Israel to fight terrorists,” and “Israel never asks Americans to wage its wars,” Auchincloss stated on Thursday. “Netanyahu and Trump broke that deal with this Iran debacle.”

Auchincloss was one of 103 Democrats who voted in favor of an amendment from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Wednesday to end $3.3 billion in annual military aid to the Jewish state.

The congressman represents Massachusetts’s 4th Congressional District, which includes Newton and Brookline, both of which have large Jewish populations. (JNS sought comment from Auchincloss.)

“This is the statement a Dem lawmaker releases when they’re trying to appease the rising anti-Israel forces within the party,” wrote Josh Kraushaar, editor-in-chief of Jewish Insider, in response to the statement from Auchincloss.

The congressman responded. “This is not about politics. American soldiers are dead,” he wrote.

Auchincloss had previously received endorsements from pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC, and was noted for being willing to disagree with fellow Democrats over his support for Israel.


U.N. General Assembly president criticizes Board of Peace
Annalena Baerbock, the president of the United Nations General Assembly and former foreign minister of Germany, on Friday criticized the Board of Peace, the U.S.-led body responsible for managing the ceasefire in Gaza.

The Board of Peace has “proved what I just said — that obviously it’s not so easy to build another institution, and for sure it can never ever replace the United Nations,” Baerbock said at the Aspen Security Forum, referring to claims by some in the Trump administration that the board could act as an alternative to the U.N. for a range of global conflicts.

“There’s a reason why we do have a body for peace and security, where every country, no matter how big or small, how powerful or rich, has a seat at the table and an equal voice and vote at the table.”

She argued, during a live taping of the podcast Pod Save the World, hosted by former Obama administration officials, that existing U.N. institutions are better equipped to deal with the situation in Gaza. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency and other U.N. bodies have come under significant criticism over ties to terrorism and entrenched anti-Israel bias.

“We have specialized agencies who can go into Gaza, we have specialized agencies for health, for education,” Baerbock continued. “Obviously a new setup where you just say, ‘We just collect money and somehow we throw it into an area,’ does not work at all because you need the structures on the ground, and you don’t even have the money. We need billions, and I think we have, what, $23 million so far collected.”

She also said that the Board of Peace was an example of why calls to build an alternative to the U.N. are misguided.

Baerbock claimed that the U.N. conference held last July on a two-state solution organized by France and Saudi Arabia, during which numerous countries announced their support for Palestinian statehood, had been a driving factor behind the peace deal and the formation of the Board of Peace, though it’s not clear that was actually the case.

But she framed the conference as an example of the ability of individual member states, acting outside of the Security Council, to push for change and progress within the U.N. system. She also dismissed as impractical calls for removing the U.N. Security Council’s veto, while calling for other reforms.
Israeli legal group urges US to investigate Hind Rajab Foundation
A prominent Israeli legal group has submitted a complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice, calling for the opening of a federal national security investigation into a Brussels-based legal advocacy group that targets Israeli soldiers.

The complaint by the Shurat HaDin Law Center, which has represented thousands of victims of terrorist and antisemitic attacks over the last quarter century, urges the U.S. government to determine “who funds, directs, coordinates, services and benefits” from the work of the Hind Rajab Foundation and to sanction it for its alleged terror ties.

The complaint requests that U.S. law enforcement officials determine whether the Hind Rajab Foundation and its network are acting on behalf of foreign principals and thus operating in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), receiving support from hostile foreign actors, or providing services that benefit designated terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah and Iran-backed entities.

“Perhaps the most troubling unanswered question surrounding HRF is who finances and directs it,” the July 6 letter states. “The scale, geographic reach, legal sophistication, investigative capabilities, media operations, multilingual litigation campaigns, international travel, data collection activities and coordinated filings across multiple jurisdictions require significant resources.”

The organization, which is named after a 6-year-old girl killed in Gaza, was established in Belgium in 2024 by Lebanese-Belgian activists with a history of anti-Israel activism and extremist ties.

It focuses on doxing and launching legal cases against Israelis who served in the IDF, and has submitted petitions in several countries against scores of individuals for alleged war crimes.

It has also filed complaints against Israeli lawmakers from across the political spectrum who were traveling abroad.

“This is not human rights advocacy, it is the systematic weaponization of the legal system to terrorize the defenders of the Jewish state,” said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder and president of Shurat HaDin. “The same forces that finance rockets and terrorism are increasingly seeking to fight Israel in courtrooms around the world.”
Colombia to pull out of ICJ case against Israel
Colombia’s president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, is withdrawing his country’s support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a move confirmed by Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Friday.

The announcement followed a meeting in Washington on Wednesday between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Colombia’s incoming foreign minister, Omar Bula.

According to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, de la Espriella’s office said Colombia would “return to a responsible position in the international arena,” including by ending its participation in the ICJ proceedings, when he takes office.

South Africa lodged the case in late 2023, accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention through its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Israel has rejected the allegations as baseless, arguing that its campaign targeted Hamas following the terrorist group’s attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In May, the ICJ granted South Africa’s request for additional time, extending the proceedings by three years. The U.N.’s principal judicial body has given Pretoria until Nov. 22, 2027, to file its reply, with Israel’s rejoinder due by May 22, 2029.

Since late 2023, the ICJ has been hearing South Africa’s case.

During their meeting, Sa’ar and Bula agreed to fully restore diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries and exchange ambassadors.

According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Bula said Colombia intends to open an embassy in Jerusalem, recognizing the city as Israel’s capital. The Foreign Ministry said preparations are already underway to appoint a new ambassador to Bogotá following Sa’ar’s telephone conversation with de la Espriella in June.


Iran claims to have struck US military assets in Kuwait, Jordan with missiles, drones
Iran claimed to have struck and damaged US military sites in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain with drones, according to Iranian state media outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in the early morning hours on Saturday.

According to IRIB, drones targeted US ammunition stores and communication assets at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base. They also claimed to have targeted US military assets at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

IRIB additionally claimed that they targeted US aircraft hangars, fuel tanks, and communication assets in Bahrain.

Later on Saturday, Jordanian media reported the interception of ten Iranian ballistic missiles by Jordan's military. No casualties or material damage were reported.

On Friday evening, Iran fired several ballistic missiles and drones towards Kuwait, Kuwait's military stated in an X/Twitter post citing Kuwaiti Defense Ministry Spokesperson Maj.-Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi.

Several Kuwaiti soldiers were wounded by falling shrapnel from intercepted aerial targets, according to the statement.

Multiple sites were hit by the Iranian attack, including a power station, water desalination plant, and other civilian infrastructure, with reports of fires and material damage.


US CENTCOM concludes seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iranian military sites
The US completed its seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran in the early morning hours of Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a statement on X/Twitter.

According to CENTCOM, US forces struck Iranian surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and naval capabilities.

Fighter jets, drones, and warships were used to carry out the strikes.

On Friday night, when announcing the start of the strikes, CENTCOM stated that the attack was “designed to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities.”

In a separate statement, CENTCOM also announced that since reimposing the US’s blockade on Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz, US forces have redirected four commercial vessels, disabled one vessel, and boarded an additional vessel to ensure compliance with the blockade.

Shortly after CENTCOM announced the strikes, Iranian state media outlets reported that multiple explosions were heard in the central Iranian city of Yazd and that areas of the southwestern city of Ahvaz were attacked by US missiles.
US forces destroy Iran surveillance tower used by IRGC
U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian surveillance tower on Thursday, used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to target ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“On July 16, U.S. forces successfully destroyed the Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower, part of a maritime surveillance network along Iran’s Gulf of Oman coastline used for decades by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to track and target commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” U.S. Central Command announced on Friday, sharing footage of the strike.

“The destruction of the tower directly degrades IRGC’s ability to coordinate attacks on innocent civilian crew members,” CENTCOM stated.

It noted that the strike protects freedom of navigation in the waterway, but that a U.S. naval blockade will continue against Iranian-linked vessels.

The command also rejected claims made on Friday that Iranian forces had captured or killed American troops in Syria.

“Claim: Iranian forces claim they attacked al-Tanf Garrison in Syria and captured or killed American troops in the process. False,” CENTCOM stated. “Fact: No U.S. troops in the region have recently been killed or captured.”


Military prosecutors charge terrorist in 2007 murder of Israeli man
Military prosecutors in Judea and Samaria have filed an indictment against a Palestinian terrorist accused of participating in the 2007 murder of Israeli civilian Ido Zoldan, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday.

Shadi Juma was arrested on May 26, 2026, in the heart of the Samaria city of Qalqilya during a joint operation by the IDF, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Gideonim Unit 33 of the Israel Police. The arrest followed what authorities described as a prolonged intelligence and operational effort. He had recently been released from custody by the Palestinian Authority, where he had been held until his arrest.

The indictment, filed on Thursday in a military court, charges Juma with intentionally causing death in concert with others, the equivalent of murder under military law.

Zoldan, 29, a former Golani Infantry Brigade officer and resident of Shavei Shomron, was married and the father of two young children. He was returning home from a Torah study session on Nov. 19, 2007, when terrorists ambushed and fatally shot him near the Samaria village of Funduq.

According to the charge sheet, Juma and two accomplices planned the shooting attack, targeting Jewish motorists traveling along a main road. The three allegedly prepared their vehicle, discussed how the attack would be carried out and agreed to confirm that their intended victim was Jewish before opening fire.
IDF kills Oct. 7 infiltrator, Hamas platoon commander in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces announced late Thursday that it had eliminated a Hamas platoon commander who infiltrated Israeli territory during the Gazan invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023.

Nihad Arouq, a platoon commander in Hamas’s Shati Battalion, was killed earlier on Thursday in the northern Gaza Strip, it said.

“The terrorist posed a threat to our forces operating in the Gaza Strip and was eliminated in a precise aerial strike,” the military said in a statement.

The IDF said Arouq participated in the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and, throughout the war—including in recent months—trained Hamas terrorists and sought to advance attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians.





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