WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 136 JULY 13,26 - IRAN FIRES AT 3 ISLAMIC COUNTRIES.
THE NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.
JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39
32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN) will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them, (MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them; (DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy from there king (KHEMENI, ISLAM) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS NOW)
WHEN ARE THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL IN THE SPRING TIME.(GET READY ISLAM TO BE BIRD SEED FOR THESE BIRDS)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m0bXU5Xqc5M
The 500 million migratory birds in Israel during the spring arrive from Africa and head toward Europe and Asia, with the peak migration occurring in March and April. While migration starts in late February, the most intense movements, particularly of birds of prey, storks, and pelicans, occur during the third week of March and continue into April.
Key Details on the Spring Migration
Peak Period: Mid-March through April.
Main Migration Route: The birds use the Great Rift Valley, which includes the Hula Valley and Eilat, acting as a "bottleneck" where millions of birds fly through the narrow land bridge.
Best Spots: The Hula Lake Park (Northern Israel) and the Eilat Birding Center (Southern Israel) are primary locations for observing the migration.
Key Species: Hundreds of thousands of white storks, along with black kites, raptors, and pelicans, pass through over these months.
uration: The spring migration runs from late February and continues into June, though the heaviest traffic is in March/April.
The 500 million migratory birds fly over Israel in the fall between late August and mid-December. The peak migration period for the autumn, when the highest volume of bird traffic occurs, is typically October and November.
Key Fall Migration Details
Location: The Hula Valley (Agamon Hula Park) in northern Israel is the premier spot to witness this phenomenon.
Timing: Migration starts as early as late June with some waders, but intensifies from mid-August through November.
Peak Festival: The "Annual Hula Valley Bird Festival" is usually held in November to align with the peak migration traffic.
Key Species: Many birds of prey (raptors), including honey buzzards and steppe eagles, cross during this time, along with massive flocks of storks and cranes.
While roughly 500 million birds pass through in the autumn on their way to Africa, the same number crosses again in the spring (mid-February to May) on their way back to Europe and Asia.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
US strikes Iran again, after IRGC attacks ship in Hormuz and declares strait closed-Tehran attacks American base in Jordan, appears to also target Gulf states in response to US striking coastal areas near waterway; Iran has previously threatened to attack Israel if US strikes persist By Agencies and Michael Bachner-12 July 2026, 6:52 am
The US military said it launched another round of strikes on Iran early Sunday, the third in recent days, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck a container ship traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and declared the waterway closed until further notice.Tehran later appeared to target Gulf states and an air base in Jordan, having threatened to expand its response to new US-related targets if it faced new attacks. It was unclear whether it would make good on its Friday threat to possibly target Israel as well if American strikes persisted.The fresh hostilities followed a series of similar attacks over the past several days, which led US President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations.The Revolutionary Guard Corps said multiple vessels “disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route.” One of them “was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop.”Iran said that the strait would remain closed “until further notice.”It warned that any retaliation over the incident would be met with a “severe response,” and said it would consider targeting “additional enemy bases in the region” if it faced more attacks.US Central Command identified the targeted vessel as the M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, saying it suffered significant engine-room damage and that a civilian crew member was missing.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the crew of the container ship, damaged east of Oman, had abandoned the vessel and were in a lifeboat.Central Command said its forces began a third round of strikes against Iran, a little more than an hour after the Revolutionary Guard statement. Iranian media reported explosions in several coastal areas along the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, including Bushehr, Asaluyeh and Chabahar. Three blasts were reportedly heard in Bandar Abbas and two in Sirik, with explosions also heard in Qeshm Island.“The United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” the American military said.“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media.Senior US officials had previously said in Washington that negotiations to further cement last month’s deal to end the war will be unable to progress without the strait being secure — and even said they wanted Iran to offer public statements to that effect.Later, the Revolutionary Guards said they had destroyed a command and control center and drone hangars at a base in US ally Jordan. The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems engaged missiles and drones from Iran, Qatar said it had intercepted a missile attack, warning sirens sounded in Bahrain, and explosions were heard in Doha.Attacks followed more diplomatic talks about the strait-The latest flurry of shots from both sides followed Iran and Oman’s foreign ministers meeting on Saturday to discuss the strait that lies between them, after days of Iranian attacks on ships and US retaliation that dealt a blow to the interim deal to end the war.Oman said it and Iran agreed to keep talking about the Strait of Hormuz “at the technical and political levels.”A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Iran, the US, Qatar and Pakistan had agreed to negotiate in a call that mediators were trying to arrange for Saturday while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Oman, a Gulf state trying to mediate an end to the war.It was not immediately clear whether those efforts succeeded.Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi met in Oman to exchange “views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a statement from the Iranian foreign minister. Oman’s state news agency said Omani and Iranian negotiators would continue talks “at the technical and political levels.”CNN reported on Saturday that Oman made a draft proposal for the strait, including free navigation through its southern corridor in Omani territorial waters. The plan called for vessels transiting the northern corridor through Iranian territorial waters to obtain prior approval from Iran, although no tolls would be imposed, CNN said.The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the CNN report.Araghchi said before the new round of strikes that he met with his counterpart in Oman to discuss “appropriate mechanisms for ensuring the safe passage of ships.”The world for decades has considered the strait an international waterway. Iran has insisted that the strait now remain under its control and that it be allowed to charge ships moving through it, a stance it took after the war began. The US urges mariners to transit on a southern route through Oman’s territorial waters.About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war began. Iran’s grip on it during the war led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.Iran’s top diplomat also accused the US of violating the interim deal by ending waivers allowing Iran to sell crude oil on the open market in US dollars. Washington ended them in response to the attacks on ships in the strait.“Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance,” Araghchi wrote on social media.US envoy confirms Israel conveyed intel on Iranian plan to kill Trump-Meanwhile Saturday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed reports that Israel recently shared with the United States intelligence about an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump.“This week, Israeli intelligence tipped off our side, the president and our officials, that there was a very specific plot that was designed to take out President Trump,” Huckabee said in an interview with Fox News.Trump himself denied the reports, telling The New York Post in a phone interview Friday: “No, no. Israel came up with nothing. No, no. I’ve been number one [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is.”But Trump has said he’s personally been the target of an Iranian plot, and he said the US military would automatically retaliate if he was killed.He wrote on social media early Saturday that “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat.”However, such retaliation would have to be ordered by US Vice President JD Vance, who would become commander-in-chief if Trump were to be killed.Trump said he was responding to threats “to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate” him.The US president has declared the ceasefire over but said the US would continue negotiations.US officials, speaking Friday on condition of anonymity about the current situation with Iran, said the resumption of strikes even before the latest round came as a result of what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hardliners who were trying to sabotage the ceasefire.Iran has insisted its theocracy is unified under the new supreme leader.After the US wrapped up strikes on Thursday, more attacks reportedly hit Iran, raising questions about who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.Israel didn’t claim them, meaning the Gulf Arab states may have launched them, likely as a means to deter Iran from attacking them again. Iran on Thursday retaliated for US strikes by targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.The strikes in Iran over two days — and prior to the Sunday ones — killed at least 17 people and wounded 115 others, Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said.
Iran: Strikes have 'rendered futile' efforts at diplomacy-US carries out fresh wave of strikes on Iran, insists Tehran doesn’t control Hormuz-CENTCOM says it sought ‘to degrade’ Iran’s ability to attack ships traversing Persian Gulf; Iran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman in response, says strait ‘is our territory’By Agencies, Jacob Magid and ToI Staff Today, 6:17 amUpdated at 9:56 am-JUL 13,26
The United States launched a new wave of strikes on Iran into Monday morning, following an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing over the weekend. Tehran retaliated with further strikes on countries across the region.The fresh US strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump said the American military had “hit them hard,” and claimed that Iran had agreed to a diplomatic deal before it attacked a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. With rhetoric and tensions sky high, an Iranian foreign ministry statement suggested in the wake of the latest strikes that the time for diplomacy was now over.Despite the escalation in violence, Israel still remained on the sidelines of the fighting as of early Monday morning, without joining the US strikes in Iran nor so far becoming a target for Tehran’s retaliatory bombing. Israel had no part in negotiating the Iran-US memorandum of understanding, which sought to reopen the strait and launch talks as part of a deal that now appears shakier than ever.In a statement amid a third round of strikes late Sunday night and into Monday in Iran, following separate Iranian strikes on ships in Hormuz, the US military said it was seeking “to degrade” Iran’s “ability to attack commercial ships freely transiting” the strait.Later announcing that the latest wave of strikes had ended, CENTCOM said it had used fighter jets, ships, aerial drones and naval drones to hit Iran’s air defense systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment and small boats.“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” US Central Command said. “Iran does not control it.” It added: “US forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats and arbitrary declarations.”A U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighter jet is refueled over the Middle East. U.S. forces are constantly present and ready when called upon. pic.twitter.com/HI4iyrbQAa — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 12, 2026-Iranian state media acknowledged the latest attacks on its soil early Monday, describing explosions in several locations with at least one person being killed and four reported wounded at a water pumping station in the southwest city of Mahshahr. State media reported strikes targeting large areas across southern and western Iran, including Qeshm island and Bandar Abbas near the strait, and in Khuzestan province bordering Iraq.Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a key power center in the country’s theocracy that controls its ballistic missile arsenal, sharply rejected the American statement.“The Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and we will not allow a rogue and child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference in it,” the Guard said.It added that its forces had targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar systems in Oman, and struck fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan.Missile alert sirens sounded three times Monday in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait said it was intercepting hostile fire. There was no immediate word on damage in either country.In Jordan, the kingdom’s military said it shot down four Iranian missiles in an incident that “resulted in zero casualties or material damage.” Jordan also hosts US military forces and aircraft.Meanwhile Monday, a base belonging to the armed wing of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an Iranian Kurdish opposition group based in Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdistan region, came under drone attack. Rebaz Sharifi, commander of the Kurdistan Militia Corps, said the strikes targeted the group’s Chamshar base, without giving details on casualties or damage. No group immediately claimed responsibility.The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, which once saw a fifth of all oil and natural gas pass through it, has become the key issue challenging an interim deal between the US and Iran. Iran and the US are nearly at the midway point of the 60-day period of that deal, which was supposed to set up talks for a permanent end to the war. Instead, it has devolved into a series of attacks over the strait and its future, worrying world leaders the Iran war could resume.In an interview on Sunday, Trump claimed Iran “agreed to a deal” on Saturday before striking a ship in the Strait of Hormuz with a drone.“We had meetings with them. They agreed to a deal yesterday. A perfect deal for us. No nuclear… They gave up everything, and then… within an hour, they launched a drone at a ship,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” It was not immediately clear what deal Trump was referring to.“I said, ‘You people are sick, and so it’s one of those things,'” Trump added of Iran. He insisted that the Strait of Hormuz remained open — despite Iran’s claims to the contrary — and that the US “bombed the hell out of them last night.”Iran early Monday condemned the latest wave of US attacks on its territory, saying they have “rendered futile” all the diplomatic efforts of the last few months.“The US regime has also caused the return of insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz and disruption of international commercial shipping by openly interfering in the process of Iran implementing the necessary arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz,” a foreign ministry statement said.The governor of Qeshm Island near the strait told Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency that projectiles were fired at military targets, with no casualties. Explosions were also heard in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas and Hajiabad city to the north.A US official said a few strikes targeted missile and air defense systems and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard boats. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss military operations.The US military earlier Sunday said it hit some 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites.“A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.The attacks were heavier than in recent days. The US has launched three rounds of airstrikes targeting Iran in the past week over attacks on ships heading through the strait using a route off Oman, seeking to avoid the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters.Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that a navy officer was killed. Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting US military forces, while insisting it alone must control the strait and potentially charge vessels for traveling through it.“The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a main negotiator, wrote. “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”Iran said the strait was closed until calm is restored, and Tehran would consider targeting “additional enemy bases in the region” if it faced more attacks. The US military and Trump asserted that the strait remained open.The US military said more than 140 ships had transited over the past week. A multinational body overseen by the US Navy said traffic continued “at reduced levels” off both Oman and Iran, and that nearly 140 vessels transited daily before the war.The top diplomat for Pakistan, which has been mediating, called for “deescalation” on Sunday during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Islamabad said.“Dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable path to resolving disputes and achieving lasting peace,” said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
Iran official says Hormuz more important than atomic bombs-Iran attacks Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar with drones and missiles after US strikes-Three people including child hurt by falling debris in Kuwait; Qatar condemns ‘dangerous escalation’ after being hit for first time since April; Iranian soldier killed in US attacks By Agencies, ToI Staff and Lazar Berman-12 July 2026, 3:13 pm
Iran fired missiles and drones at Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar early Sunday in response to widespread American strikes, as a flare-up with the US continued to erode a ceasefire agreement between the two foes.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had destroyed a command and control center and drone hangars in US ally Jordan, targeted a US radar site in Kuwait, attacked US aircraft carrier support and refueling platforms in Oman, and destroyed a jet maintenance center and command facility in Qatar, the first strikes on the key mediator since April.Iran has so far not made good on its Friday threat to target Israel as well if American strikes persist.“Three missiles fired from Iranian territory fell at dawn in several locations across the kingdom, without causing any casualties. The damage is limited to minor material losses,” said a Jordanian military source quoted in an army statement.Kuwait’s armed forces said they intercepted hostile aerial targets inside Kuwaiti airspace, while Qatar’s government said three people, including a child, were injured by falling shrapnel from the attack on that country.The United Arab Emirates said its defense systems engaged missiles and drones from Iran. However, the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority later said that missile threats detected earlier in the day were outside the country’s borders.Heavy air defense activity continues over Qatar https://t.co/WWknGi7wk2 pic.twitter.com/i0gGj9jtB3 — Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 12, 2026-Sites in Oman’s Musandam region were targeted with drones, its state news agency reported, without saying whether there had been any casualties.A series of attacks between the US and Iran over the past several days led US President Donald Trump to declare the end of a ceasefire meant to halt the fighting that the US and Israel began on February 28, though Trump has left the door open to continued negotiations.Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X on Sunday: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”The US had earlier attacked Iran over an Iranian strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz that set the container ship ablaze and forced its crew to abandon it. One Indian crew member was missing.Sunday, in an interview with CNN that mostly centered on the death of US senator Lindsey Graham, Trump said the US “hit [Iran] very hard last night.”Trump claimed the United States and Iran had been close to “a deal” on Saturday.“They were giving up everything, and then all of a sudden, two hours after that, they hit a ship with a drone. These people, there is something wrong with them,” he said.The Strait of Hormuz is a key issue in negotiations after Iran closed it off during the war, throttling a sea route through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows. Though the strait was supposed to reopen under the agreement between the US and Iran to end the fighting, ships have continued to be struck as clashes go on.Iran says strait is closed, but US insists ‘traffic is flowing’Iran said it had closed the strait again after firing a warning shot that struck the vessel as it traveled on an unapproved route, and said on Sunday it had disabled a second vessel.The strait will remain closed until “the end of US interference in this region,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.The US insisted, however that the strait was open, and said American military forces were “positioned and prepared” to ensure freedom of navigation.“Iran does not control the strait,” said US Central Command. “Traffic is flowing.”The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway. U.S. forces are positioned and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary… pic.twitter.com/FS3TUBOZEj — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 12, 2026-But the Persian Gulf Strait Authority — the agency Tehran created in May in an attempt to control shipping through the strait — doubled down, writing on X that passage through the waterway “is currently not possible.”“As soon as stability and calm are restored, all requests will be reviewed based on the schedule, and the necessary permits will be issued,” the PGSA said.Hormuz ‘more important than dozens of atomic bombs’An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Sunday that the strait was more important than “dozens of atomic bombs,” vowing to protect the vital waterway.“This strategic passage is more important than dozens of atomic bombs, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will protect it,” Mohsen Rezaee was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying. Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to create an atomic bomb, but Tehran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes.Preventing the weaponization of Iran’s nuclear program was a primary goal of the joint US-Israel campaign when it started. Israel was not involved in talks to reach a deal between the US and Iran and is reportedly waiting for a greenlight from Washington to rejoin the fighting.The US military’s Central Command said it hit some 140 targets in its strikes, far more than in the two rounds of attacks in previous days, and went after missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites. It said the attacks would weaken Iran’s ability to threaten civilian shipping.“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote online.The overnight strikes killed an Iranian soldier, local media reported.“Lieutenant Hamidreza Dehghani, of the navy of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces, was martyred during the criminal, terrorist attack last night by the United States on the port of Jask” in southern Iran, the Mehr and Tasnim news agencies said, citing a local official.Attack on Qatar an escalation-Tehran’s latest strikes marked a sharp escalation in pace and targets. In recent weeks, Iran had hit Kuwait and Bahrain while avoiding Qatar since early April and the UAE since early May.“Qatar condemns in the strongest possible terms the renewed attacks carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, also referring to the targeting of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait and calling the barrages a “dangerous escalation.”The attack on Qatar targeted a state whose mediation efforts have been central to attempts to broker a ceasefire between the US and Iran. Doha has previously said it would not act as a mediator so long as it was under attack.Oman, another mediator, was also not spared.The Oman News Agency said on X that “the Sultanate of Oman affirms its condemnation and denunciation of this attack,” which came just hours after the country hosted Iran’s foreign minister to address security issues in the Strait of Hormuz.Oman also issued a formal protest to the Iranian ambassador, in a rare instance of it publicly accusing Tehran of targeting its territory.“Oman expresses its profound dismay at these irresponsible acts, and underscores the imperative of adhering to the provisions of state sovereignty, good neighborliness, non-interference in internal affairs,” the state news agency said in a post on social media.The war has destabilized the Gulf, while Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has caused energy prices to surge, fueling global inflation.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed regional developments in a phone call with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, whose country has been a key mediator seeking to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.Pakistan’s top diplomat called for “de-escalation” and for parties in the Iran conflict to “show restraint” during the phone call with his Iranian counterpart, a foreign ministry statement said.“Both leaders exchanged views on the evolving regional situation,” it said.Dar “further underscored that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable path to resolving disputes and achieving lasting peace and stability in the region,” it said.The latest round of hostilities came after talks on Saturday between Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi in Oman.The talks aimed at coordinating arrangements for shipping and transit in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Sunday.Legal and technical delegations from both countries discussed maritime security and safety, and agreed to continue political and technical-legal talks to reach a joint understanding, with a Qatari delegation also present, he said.Oman’s state news agency reported on Saturday that negotiators would continue talks “at the technical and political levels.”A written statement from Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, on Saturday threatened vengeance for the death of his predecessor and father, who was killed in the war’s initial attacks.Iran’s new leader has not been seen in public since the war began.Late Saturday, a conservative newspaper in Iran known for its provocative tone published online a list of people to be targeted, sharing an infographic with photos of 13 foreign leaders alongside Mojtaba’s statement vowing revenge.Hamshahri, a newspaper owned by Tehran Municipality, published an image depicting US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in crosshairs, alongside the caption: “Revenge is certain.” The image also showed Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Brad Cooper,… pic.twitter.com/I4mA8LwhG0 — Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) July 11, 2026-The graphic from the Hamshahri newspaper — published by authorities in the Iranian capital — included US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, among others.Also on the list were US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.It did not appear in the paper’s print edition on Sunday.
Unclaimed airstrikes hit Iran, raising possibility of Gulf state involvement-After US completed attacks, a series of strikes targeted southern Iran; Iranian official warns UAE will ‘pay the price for its cooperation with the United States’By Jon Gambrell 10 July 2026, 5:40 pm
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A series of unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after the US said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. The country’s theocracy hasn’t directly blamed anyone for the strikes, though one lawmaker issued a warning to the United Arab Emirates over allegedly providing support to the United States in its campaign against Iran.Gulf Arab states, which repeatedly have been targeted by Iran since the war began February 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday over the strikes. The attacks come as they and the US insist the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for world energy markets, must be open and free to ships.Iran says the strait must now be under its sole control and that vessels should begin to pay fees to Tehran — even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. About a fifth of all oil and natural gas transited the strait before the war began.Iran’s grip on the strait during the conflict led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.Israel, which took part in the Iran war, has also not claimed any recent attacks on Iran.Unclaimed strikes came after US ended its attacks-The US military’s Central Command said Thursday around 6:30 a.m. local Iran time that it had concluded a round of strikes that saw some 90 targets hit. Shortly after that, Iranian news outlets and state media reported a series of airstrikes and explosions targeting the country’s Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, the cities of Ahvaz and Chabahar and other areas.A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details of the American military campaign, said there had been no new US strikes since the last round ended Thursday morning.Iran responded to the strikes Thursday by launching a wider volley of attacks across the Mideast, targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Missile alert sirens sounded in the four countries, sending people to seek shelter. One person was reportedly hurt in Kuwait as air defense systems targeted the incoming fire across the region.The leader of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, traveled to Kuwait immediately after the Iranian attack for a meeting with the small, oil-rich nation’s ruling emir. Gulf Arab countries also held calls with Qatar’s foreign minister, who has been deeply involved, along with Pakistan, in mediating talks between Iran and the US over the interim deal now in place to halt the return of open warfare.During the Iran war, there were also a series of unclaimed airstrikes. Officials later said both Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched airstrikes on Iran, after Tehran struck energy sites in their countries. Having a Gulf country again strike Iran likely could be an effort to deter Tehran from targeting the Gulf states again.Israel, which, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has engaged in an intense campaign against Iran, has not attacked the Islamic Republic since June. In most cases, Israel immediately claims its attacks on Iran.Israel’s government said Netanyahu spoke with US President Donald Trump on Thursday night, with Trump updating Netanyahu “on American moves in the Gulf.”Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, also renewed threats that his nation stood ready to confront Iran if needed.The Israeli military “is on alert and ready to renew the campaign, to reestablish aerial superiority, and to carry out a blue-white (Israeli) strike in Iran to remove threats, even for a third time,” Katz told a military ceremony. “If we will have to return, we will return with even greater force.”Iran keeps up its threats-On Friday, Iranian state media quoted Esmail Kousari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee and a former commander in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, as warning the UAE would “pay the price for its cooperation with the United States.” He accused the Emirates of having a “behind-the-scenes” role in the recent US attacks.Iran repeatedly accused Gulf Arab states of actively supporting the US war effort, something they denied during the war. The US since the 1991 Gulf War has maintained a broad footprint of military bases across the Gulf Arab states, including in Bahrain, which is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters. Meanwhile, Iran insists it must be the sole controller of the Strait of Hormuz. But the US is continuing to urge mariners to travel on a southern route through Oman’s territorial waters to avoid Iran.The Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by the US Navy, issued a new advisory Friday urging ships to travel that route. A similar message for ships to use that route sparked an Iranian attack on Tuesday that saw three vessels hit.“Notwithstanding recent unprovoked attacks on merchant vessels, mariners are reminded that the southern route of the (strait) has been expanded and remains available for all traffic,” the maritime center said.
US signals it's still committed to MOU despite clashes-Israel reportedly warned US that Iran devised a new plot to assassinate Trump-SJ says Israeli intelligence indicated new plan in development; US officials tell Channel 12 warning was more general, appeared to be attempt to smooth ties between Trump, Netanyahu-By ToI Staff and Jacob Magid-10 July 2026, 10:55 am
Israel has shared intelligence with the United States about Iranian plans to kill US President Donald Trump, according to reports on Thursday.Individuals familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that Israeli intelligence indicated a new plot was in development to assassinate the US president.It was unclear from the report when the intelligence was relayed, or through what channel.The newspaper noted that Iran has been publicly pledging to assassinate Trump since the US killed Iranian IRGC Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020, with calls for the US president’s death featuring prominently in the ongoing mourning commemorations for slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.However, two US officials told Channel 12 news that the information related to general dialogue between Iranian officials on potentially assassinating the US president, rather than a specific plot.The officials said that they believed Israel gave the information to the US to improve ties between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump and to try and influence Washington’s policies on Iran.One of the officials noted that Israel had given similar information over plans by Iran and Iran-linked terror groups over the past year.Trump, who has faced several assassination attempts — including the 2024 shooting in which a bullet grazed his ear — this week referred to threats against him, saying, “I’m on every list. I saw this morning, I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long.”Amid the fears of an assassination attempt, Trump unexpectedly left Turkey this week aboard an older Air Force One rather than the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet that brought him there. The New York Times reported that this was done at the recommendation of the US Secret Service as a security precaution.Citing unnamed sources briefed on the matter, the report said that the plane switch was a precaution and wasn’t prompted by a concrete threat.The trip to Turkey for the NATO summit, the first international travel for the new plane, took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, a country that borders Turkey. Trump later boarded the new plane in Britain for the flight to Washington.The unexpected plane switch followed months of scrutiny over the luxury gift intended to serve as a temporary replacement while Boeing struggles to deliver long-delayed next-generation Air Force One planes. Critics have questioned the cost, security and pace of the retrofit.Trump said on Truth Social that he would use an older baby blue Air Force One plane “for old time’s sake” to fly from Ankara to RAF Mildenhall in Britain while the new plane stopped at the same base so US service members stationed there could tour the aircraft.The US president denied that the switch was due to a security concern.Still committed-Meanwhile, the White House signaled on Thursday that it was still committed to the memorandum of understanding with Iran, even though Trump declared earlier this week that the framework deal to end the Iran war was “over” after the Islamic Republic carried out strikes against vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and against neighboring countries.“The United States is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue,” read a statement attributed to a senior US official that the White House has sent to reporters.The statement acknowledged Trump’s comments against the MOU but signaled that the US is still prepared to adhere to its terms, so long as Iran does the same.“President Trump made his feelings very clear yesterday in no uncertain terms. Iran’s attacks on these innocent vessels are acts of terrorism,” the senior US official said.“The MOU is performance-based, and Iran’s actions constitute failed performance at an unacceptable level,” the official added.While the most recent exchange of fire has remained confined to the Gulf and has not spilled over into Israel, Jerusalem is preparing for multiple scenarios, given concerns that the situation could deteriorate rapidly, Channel 12 has reported.The fighting, which began with US-Israeli strikes on February 28, entered a truce on April 8, and the US and Iran are engaged in talks based on the memorandum of understanding they reached last month.The MOU saw the sides agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz toll-free for 60 days, but Iran claims the document still gives it the right to manage shipping through the corridor.Israel is not a party to the memorandum or the talks, and Israeli officials have criticized the document for failing to secure a concrete concession from Iran on its nuclear program.
As US-Iran deal falters, experts say this was caused by the MOU text’s vagueness-Clause on Strait of Hormuz was interpreted by Tehran as empowering it to dictate route used by ships and attack vessels that deviate from it, US diplomats tell New York Times By ToI Staff Today, 10:17 am-JUL 13,26
As the US-Iran deal appears to unravel over sharp differences regarding the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times cited experts Sunday focusing on the vagueness of the text of the memorandum of understanding that caused the wildly differing interpretations.While the June 17 MOU explicitly compelled the US to “fully end the naval blockade within 30 days” and end “any disturbances or impediments against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the deal was far less explicit when detailing Tehran’s obligations regarding the strait.It said Iran would “make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only.” It added: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialogue with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz, in discussion with other Persian Gulf littoral states, in line with the applicable international law and the sovereign rights of coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz.”The New York Times quoted veteran US diplomat Michael Ratney as saying that “no one should be surprised that Iran views that as explicitly giving them an enduring role controlling passage through Hormuz.”“Iran’s control obviously gives them powerful leverage, and they appear to be willing to risk a resumption of conflict, perhaps even a collapse of the ceasefire, to maintain that leverage,” he added.The outlet also quoted longtime negotiator Dennis Ross as saying that in Iran’s view, “you were opening the strait — but only on the condition that Iran was completely in control and that any other routes are not acceptable.”The piece noted that nothing in the MOU specified what route ships would be taking through the Strait of Hormuz, or limited Iran’s control of what route they would take.The deal has all but collapsed since Iran last week started targeting ships using the Oman coast route, with recent days seeing US strikes on Iranian coastal areas and Iranian retaliatory attacks on US bases in Gulf states and Jordan.Traffic through the key oil waterway has plunged from 400 vessels per week late last month — or over 55 per day — to just 22 ships last Thursday, according to maritime traffic tracking firm Kpler.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH) (DO NOT EVER LISTEN TO ANYBODY THAT SAYS THE WORLD IS ENDING.ITS NEVER GONNA HAPPEN-4 BILLION WILL BE LEFT ON EARTH TO GO INTO JESUS" 1000 YEAR RULE)(THAT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE THE END OF THE WORLD TO ANY ONE, DOES IT-NOT ME.THE EARTH IS JUST RENOVATED.NEVER ENDED.
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(CAN YOU SAY TORNADOES,HURRICANES,VOLCANOES,EARTH QUAKES,LANDSLIDES,FLASH FLOODING,EXPLOSIONS,SNOW STORMS,THEN FINALLY NUKESAND ANY OTHER JUDGEMENTS THE EARTH CAN VOMIT THE SINNERS OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH WITH.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.
Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.
LUKE 19:40
40 And He answered and said unto them, “I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
UN official says Hamas obstructing Gaza aid: ‘Dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence’Special coordinator says armed Hamas-linked operatives raided food distribution point and WFP depot, assaulted 2 truck drivers; police scrap charges for Israeli right-wing activist who blocked aid trucks By AFP, Jeremy Sharon and ToI Staff Today, 1:44 pm-JUL 13,26
A senior UN official on Monday accused Hamas of interfering with humanitarian deliveries in Gaza and intimidating aid workers, warning that the terror group’s actions were making relief operations increasingly dangerous.Palestinian Islamist terror movement Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza, even after Israeli forces expanded their presence across the majority of the territory.In a statement, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, said he “strongly” condemned the obstruction of humanitarian operations by Gaza’s de facto authorities, referring to Hamas.Hamas’s actions “endangered humanitarian personnel, intimidated workers delivering life-saving food assistance and disrupted life-saving humanitarian operations,” he said.Armed men linked to Hamas allegedly forced their way into a food distribution point in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, the UN statement said.The operatives “also entered a WFP (World Food Programme) warehouse and reportedly assaulted two truck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies,” it added.Alakbarov said “these incidents are not isolated” and “reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, targeting and abusing humanitarian operations.”He warned that such actions were hampering the delivery of life-saving assistance at a time when civilians across Gaza faced severe hardships.An official from the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza rejected the accusations, calling them unfounded.“These are baseless accusations. The police and security forces continue to protect aid trucks and distribution centers and facilitate the work of international and humanitarian organizations,” he told AFP.He said that “the police will not allow any attacks on humanitarian workers.”COGAT, the Defense Ministry body in charge of civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, slammed Hamas over the latest accusation.“This constitutes further clear evidence that Hamas cynically exploits the humanitarian space and the aid intended for the residents of the Gaza Strip for its own purposes,” COGAT said in a statement.Throughout the war in Gaza, Israel accused Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, while others said the looters were frequently desperate and starving Palestinians.Israel Police scrap indictment of right-wing activist-Separately on Monday, an indictment filed in June against Reut Ben Haim, who protested against the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, was rescinded, following a request by the Israel Police’s prosecution department.Ben Haim was indicted on two charges over her role in an incident in May 2025 when she and the Tzav 9 organization she founded blocked aid trucks from traveling from Ashdod to Gaza-She was indicted on charges of interfering with a police officer carrying out his duty and creating a disturbance in a public place, which could lead to a disturbance of the peace.The police did not explain why the indictment was cancelled.“The entire indictment was disgraceful and unnecessary in the first place, and public pressure was still needed [for the police] to calm down,” Ben Haim told the Walla news website.“We will continue to fight against the restrengthening of Hamas and stopping the rehabilitation of Gaza until the strip is demilitarized,” she added.A ceasefire was reached in Gaza between Israel and Hamas in October following two years of war, which was sparked when Hamas-led terrorists rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, slaughtering some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.The second phase of the ceasefire, which was to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has been stalled for months.Israeli forces have expanded their presence in recent months, taking control of more than 60 percent of the territory, and targeting terrorists it says pose a threat.Hamas still exerts control over the remaining area.Strikes continue in Gaza since the ceasefire. Israel says it is responding to violations of the truce by Hamas.At least 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect in October last year, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. That toll is unverified and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, though the Israeli military believes that Hamas’s overall figure is largely accurate.Overall, Hamas says over 73,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked the war in the enclave. The IDF says it has killed over 23,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
As ties sour, Poland to build new memorial for victims of WWII massacres by Ukrainians-Polish PM claims the killing of 70,000-100,000 civilians by Ukrainian nationalists, which triggered deadly reprisals against Ukrainian civilians, was act of ‘genocide’By AFP Today, 8:42 pm-JUL 11,26
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday announced the creation of a new monument to civilian victims of what he called a “genocide” by “Ukrainian nationalists” in World War II.Warsaw and Kyiv have been at loggerheads for decades over the massacre of civilians on both sides during World War II, souring relations.But the dispute has taken on more significance given Poland’s support for its neighbor as Ukraine fights off an invasion by Russia.“A Wall of Remembrance will be erected in Warsaw, with an eternal flame and the names of every victim who has been found and identified,” Tusk said in a video on social media.“The republic will not forget any of them.”Tusk’s announcement came on the eve of the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in 1943, when units from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) killed thousands of Poles in Volhynia, now in northwest Ukraine.According to Poland, between 70,000 and 100,000 civilians were killed between 1943 and 1945, while reprisals are thought to have claimed the lives of up to 12,000 Ukrainians.The UPA and the OUN are seen in Ukraine as groups that fought for independence against the Red Army and the Soviet Union.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky caused outrage in Poland in May by announcing that he was naming a military unit after the UPA.In retaliation, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelensky of the country’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle.Heal wounds-Tusk, a former president of the European Council and a staunch backer of Ukraine against Russia, said “memory and truth must help us build a better future, without hatred and without contempt.”“The Europe of peace and mutual respect, the Europe reconciled after World War II, was made possible thanks to truth and to calling things by their name.“Whoever wants to join this community must be ready for this truth.”In Olyka, northwest Ukraine, Poland’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told a commemorative ceremony that Warsaw and Kyiv needed to “move forward together” to “build a better future by accepting responsibility for the past.”“Friendship means telling each other the truth, even the difficult truth,” he said, adding that he was “not here to reopen old wounds but to heal them.”In Warsaw, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar, laid a wreath in memory of “all victims of the Second World War, whether Polish or Ukrainian.”He called for “reconciliation” between the two countries, which he said was essential to confronting “the Russian threat.”Ceremonies were also held in the southeastern Polish border town of Chelm — a key rail link to Kyiv — at the site of a planned museum to those who died at Volhynia.The town’s mayor, Jakub Banaszek, said the commemorations were “not directed against today’s Ukraine or its citizens” nor to cause division and hostility.“They are an expression of remembrance for the victims of historical events,” he added.
US military delegation visits Beirut to discuss IDF ‘pilot zone’ withdrawal-Lebanese officials say key aim of US officials’ trip is ‘the translation and implementation of the framework agreement,’ confirm Lebanon will attend upcoming Rome talks with Israel By AFP and Emanuel Fabian-Today, 7:18 pmUpdated at 10:05 pm-JUL 11,26
A US military delegation met with Lebanon’s army in Beirut to discuss the implementation of Israel’s withdrawal from a “pilot zone” in occupied territory, a Lebanese military official told AFP on Saturday.Under a framework agreement reached on June 26, Israel will gradually withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where it has deployed troops to fight Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shi’ite terror movement.As part of the agreement, the long-disempowered Lebanese military will take full control of two small areas dubbed pilot zones.“The American military delegation arrived and began meetings with the Lebanese army command to discuss the mechanisms for implementing the first pilot zone from which the Israelis will withdraw, allowing the Lebanese army to deploy,” the official said, requesting anonymity.“This is the main objective the American military delegation is bringing to Lebanon… it is the translation and implementation of the framework agreement.”US Ambassador Michel Issa told President Joseph Aoun on Thursday that the American delegation was coming to “determine the mechanism” for the deal’s implementation.In Washington, a US official had said on condition of anonymity that “the first pilot zone will launch in a matter of days, and further pilot zones are being mapped out and planned.”US Central Command will coordinate on the zones with both countries, he said.The agreement — rejected by Hezbollah — does not set a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal, and Israeli officials have also vowed that their forces will remain in a “security zone” 10 kilometers (six miles) deep as long as Hezbollah remains armed.The war, which began in early March when Hezbollah entered the wider Middle East conflict on the side of its backer Iran, displaced more than a million people in Lebanon, according to the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA.On Saturday the agency said more than 732,000 people had now returned home, up from 640,000 a week before.That leaves more than 430,000 still displaced, it added.Israel has pursued intermittent strikes amid the truce with Hezbollah, with Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reporting several in the south on Saturday, including in the town of Mansouri near Tyre.The Israel Defense Forces later said it struck Hezbollah operatives who were identified transporting weapons inside the south Lebanon buffer zone.Troops of the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division spotted several Hezbollah operatives entering the IDF’s security zone in a vehicle and moving several anti-tank missiles from it into a building, the military said, sharing footage of the incident.After several more Hezbollah operatives transported weapons into the building and entered it, the IDF carried out an airstrike against the structure “to remove the threat.”The military said secondary explosions were identified at the building following the strike, which it published video of.The latest talks between Lebanon and Israel, which have no formal relations but have met for five rounds of negotiations since the start of the war, will take place in Rome nextednesday and Thursday.Lebanon had initially conditioned its participation on Israel withdrawing from two pilot zones.But a Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP on Saturday that “Lebanon will participate,” without offering further details.The talks precede Aoun’s expected visit to Washington later this month at the invitation of his American counterpart Donald Trump.
Germany’s AfD vows to expel all migrants without legal status if it wins eastern region-Far-right party, which is leading rival conservatives in polls, says it aims to shift school curricula away from what it deems an excessive focus on Nazi-era guilt-By AFP Today, 5:35 pm-JUL 11,26
MAGDEBURG, Germany — Germany’s far-right AfD party on Saturday unveiled a manifesto for its first 100 days in office if it wins control of an eastern region, pledging to immediately expel all undocumented immigrants.The Alternative for Germany has a lead of nearly 20 points over the mainstream conservatives in opinion polls in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, which votes for its government in September.In an address to delegates in the city of Magdeburg, AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund set out the first 10 measures he promised to implement once in office, following the September 6 vote.The 35-year-old said he would expel all irregular migrants from the state “from the very first minute.”“We will use all available leeway, including detention pending deportation, to send back as many as possible,” and oblige asylum seekers to carry out community service or risk having their benefits cut, he said.If the anti-immigration, pro-Russia, and pro-Donald Trump AfD wins, it would be the first far-right party to govern a German federal region since the end of World War II.It has surged in popularity in recent years of economic turbulence, in line with far-right parties elsewhere in Europe.Siegmund said the party would defend a traditional family model, made up of “a man, a woman and children from that couple.”He vowed to ban the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag in schools and ensure instead that the national flag be flown in public establishments.In the longer term, he aimed to change history curricula in schools, which he said were too focused on Germany’s Nazi-era guilt.He said that “to prevent young people from leaving rural areas,” the AfD would offer a 1,500-euro ($1,700) subsidy to finance driving licenses for apprentices.
Area 'critical to the defense of the Galilee'Beneath Beaufort’s strategic bulwark, a Hezbollah lair built to attack Israel is unearthed-Built into rocky ridge below imposing Crusader fortress, massive tunnel system, complete with showers and operating room, allowed terror group to launch Iranian arms at Metula and elsewhere without detection, IDF says-By Emanuel Fabian 12 July 2026, 6:00 pm
BEAUFORT RIDGE, Lebanon — With cool air rushing over the sweeping view from atop Beaufort Castle at dawn, it is easy to forget that just a few months ago, Hezbollah operatives launched hundreds of attacks at Israeli troops and northern Israel from this strategic escarpment.In late May, Israel recaptured the historic Beaufort Castle and the surrounding ridge, 26 years after withdrawing from the site, as it pushed deeper into Lebanon during the fighting against Hezbollah.Speaking to reporters during an organized media tour of the area last week, the commander of the 36th Division, Brig. Gen. Yiftah Norkin, said the capture of the Beaufort Ridge was “critical to the defense of the Galilee Panhandle, Metula, and the surrounding communities.”Sitting atop a steep bluff some 680 meters (2,230 feet) above sea level, the site, known in Lebanon as Qalaat al-Shakif, commands sweeping views of the Galilee Panhandle in northern Israel, as well as the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon, making it a strategically valuable position.Home to a medieval fortress and castle that today lies mostly in ruins, Beaufort also holds symbolic importance as an emblem of Israel’s past military entanglements in Lebanon, particularly the 18-year occupation that ended in 2000.According to the Israel Defense Forces, operations in the Beaufort Castle area are focused on capturing and demolishing major Hezbollah underground sites, as well as preventing the terror group from carrying out rocket attacks on Israel from the area.Hezbollah launched over 400 rockets from the Beaufort Ridge toward northern Israel during the current round of fighting, mainly at the border community of Metula, the military says.The fighting began in early March, when the Lebanese terror group began firing missiles and drones at Israel in support of its patron, Iran.It also dispatched first-person view drones and fired anti-tank missiles at troops operating in southern Lebanon from the area.About a kilometer (0.6 miles) south of the Crusader-built fortress, beneath the ridge, the military uncovered several major Hezbollah tunnels, which it said were constructed with direct Iranian assistance.During Tuesday’s tour, reporters were taken into one of the tunnels, which stretches 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) from the cliff face into the mountain.“The tunnels were intended for two purposes: first, to fire directly toward Israel. The moment you exit the tunnel, you can see Metula right in front of you,” said an officer in the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.“And its second purpose is to defend against an IDF ground maneuver to the Beaufort Ridge, in which, as you can see, we defeated them (Hezbollah),” he said.Soldiers and officers were made available to comment on condition of anonymity, in line with military protocol.Troops said they found “an exceptional quantity” of arms inside the Beaufort Ridge tunnels, including “unique and highly valuable” weapons, such as anti-aircraft systems and Iranian-made anti-helicopter mines.The Yahalom officer said troops found Iranian weapons “that we had not previously gotten our hands on,” which were taken for examination in Israel.The tunnel featured water and electricity infrastructure, and numerous rooms, including several living quarters complete with showers, toilets, kitchenettes, and what officers said was a fully equipped operating room for medical procedures.“This operating room is at the highest level you can imagine, completely sterile, with machines and equipment — everything needed to perform a procedure right here inside this tunnel,” the Yahalom officer said.According to officers, Hezbollah operatives could spend many months at a time in the tunnel.The Yahalom officer said the tunnel likely took 10 to 15 years to construct and set up.“Building such an underground system in the rocky terrain here in southern Lebanon is an undertaking that requires major investment and a great deal of time,” he said. “The process here involves drilling, blasting along the route, and then removing the excavated earth — all of this without being exposed to Israeli eyes.”The army said it plans to demolish the facility.During the tour, explosives placed by the Yahalom troops could already be seen in many of the rooms and passages. Reporters were warned not to light cigarettes inside the tunnel.The IDF has uncovered several similar Hezbollah tunnels in southern Lebanon and says they were all built with direct Iranian assistance, planning, and funding.Asked whether there had been fighting inside the underground facility when it was captured by the army, the officer said that “there were terrorists who were killed in the tunnel.”Despite the castle being only about five kilometers (three miles) from the Israeli border, it took a convoy of army Humvees an hour and a half to reach the site, detouring around the sheer slope overlooking the Litani River to the fortress’s east and instead approaching the ridge from the less rugged western side.On the way there, the convoy passed row after row of razed buildings in southern Lebanese villages near the Israeli border.Israeli troops pushed into southern Lebanon in March after Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in support of Tehran days after the US and Israel started attacking Iran.Soldiers are positioned up to 10 kilometers inside southern Lebanon in what Israeli officials have termed a “security zone” aimed at preventing Hezbollah from launching anti-tank guided missiles directly at Israeli border communities and reducing the terror group’s ability to launch rockets at the country.On May 31, the IDF captured Beaufort Castle — located inside the buffer zone — as part of expanded ground operations against Hezbollah.Fighting has tapered off for the last few months under a shaky ceasefire, though both sides continue to launch occasional attacks.Just a few kilometers north of Beaufort Castle stands the Ali Taher ridge, on the outskirts of Nabatieh, where Israeli troops and Hezbollah operatives are in a tense holding pattern.The Israeli military currently controls the ridge above ground, but beneath the hill, Hezbollah has another “strategic” underground facility. According to the IDF, that underground site is the “nerve center” of Hezbollah’s Badr regional division.Dozens of Hezbollah operatives are believed to remain underground there, and the IDF, amid the ceasefire, has occasionally struck members of the terror group trying to escape or bring in reinforcements to the tunnel system, officers said.However, because of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is prevented from capturing the underground passages beneath the ridge.Norkin, the division commander, said his forces were “currently in a defensive phase under the ceasefire,” but were prepared for any scenario and ready to return to offensive operations.With fighting on hold, “Hezbollah is refreshing its forces, trying to remove weapons from the combat zone and improve some of its positions and capabilities,” he said.“We are monitoring this,” Norkin added. “If we are required to return to fighting, we will be able to strike those forces, and we are prepared for any scenario in this regard.
Iran increasingly scapegoats Baha’i minority, including accusing members of spying for Israel-Rights groups say anti-government protests, war with US and Israel prompted Islamic Republic to publicly incite against the faith, arrest dozens of its members, some without charge By FATMA KHALED Today, 3:50 pm-JUL 13,26
AP — Peyvand Naimi has spent more than six months in an Iranian prison, accused of killing state security agents during nationwide protests, although his family says no formal charges or evidence have been presented. “The Baha’is will not be released,” the family says it was told by the prosecutor.Ever since the Baha’i faith was founded in Persia — now Iran — in the 19th century, its followers there have been persecuted, usually more harshly during times of crisis.This year, amid massive anti-government protests and war with the United States and Israel, the Islamic Republic has mounted a fierce crackdown on the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, human rights groups say.Since January, dozens of Baha’is have been imprisoned because of their faith, human rights groups say. Holy books and religious symbols have been desecrated during raids of Baha’i family homes — which these groups say is evidence of authorities’ sectarian motivations. Those detained have faced mistreatment ranging from electric shocks to mock hangings, and some have made forced confessions to crimes punishable by death, rights groups say.The Islamic Republic’s intensified campaign against Baha’is is part of a wider crackdown across Iran. Nationwide protests that began in late December prompted the deadliest backlash by Iranian security forces since the Islamic Republic took power in 1979, with thousands killed and tens of thousands reportedly arrested.Iran’s Foreign Ministry and its spokesperson at the United Nations didn’t respond to multiple requests to discuss the treatment of Baha’is.The targeting of Baha’is, who make up less than 1 percent of Iran’s population, is hardly discreet: The authoritarian government often uses state TV and social media to accuse followers of being spies and blame them for the country’s economic woes.“Every time there is a crisis — social, economic or political — shift the blame to the Baha’is,” said Simin Fahandej, who represents the international community of Baha’is at the United Nations. “And this [year’s] protest and the war have also been no different.”While Baha’is often practice their religion in secret, the Iranian public is encouraged to report on neighbors if they are known or suspected followers of the faith, which is considered immoral by the country’s ruling clerics.“Much of this portrayal stems from theological hostility,” said Omid Ghaemmaghami, an associate professor of Middle East Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He and other experts said the scapegoating of Baha’is also serves to instill fear and obedience among other Iranians.A confession made under duress-Naimi was arrested at work on the afternoon of January 8 by agents from Iran’s intelligence ministry, according to his family, which insists he did not participate in anti-government protests. Amnesty International says the alleged killings of three Basij agents during January 8 protests in Kerman took place after he was arrested. The government has not publicized any details about the alleged killings.On February 1, Iranian state TV broadcast a clip of him admitting to taking part in the protests, though his family says the confession was made under duress.Authorities also accused Naimi of “celebrating” from prison the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei during the opening salvos of the Iran war, according to the Baha’i International Community. The group said Naimi at the time had no access to communications and “no knowledge” of Khamenei’s death.Naimi told his family over the phone that he was held in solitary confinement in Kerman Central Prison for over two months, according to Fahandej.Naimi’s cousin Emilia Nazari said a judge ordered Naimi’s release on March 7, but he remained behind bars. Soon after, family members visited the prosecutor’s office every day for more than a week to demand his release. That is when the family says the prosecutor told them it would never happen — and referred to Naimi only by his religion.When his parents visited him in late March, he told them he had been subjected to 10 days of harsh treatment that included denial of food, Nazari said. In mid-May, his family learned that he was transferred out of solitary and into a cell among the general population at the Kerman prison, Nazari said.Baha’is have a long history of persecution in Iran-The Baha’i faith was founded in the 1860s by a Persian nobleman named Baha’u’llah, who was considered a prophet by his followers. He taught that all religions represent progressive stages in the revelation of God’s will, leading to the unity of all people and faiths.There are more than 5 million Baha’is across the world, according to Harvard University’s The Pluralism Project. Most live in Asia, with the largest community in India. The Baha’i World Centre, the faith’s spiritual and administrative center, is located in the Israeli cities of Acre and Haifa, the latter of which is home to the famed Baha’i Gardens.Baha’is also face persecution in Egypt, Qatar and Yemen. But the mistreatment is greatest in Iran, where Shiite Muslim clerics have regarded the faith as heretical since its earliest days.After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, many Baha’is fled Iran in the face of arrests, executions, property seizures, and restrictions on education and employment. Some stayed, while others have returned in the ensuing decades. An estimated 300,000 Baha’is live in Iran, whose population exceeds 90 million.Many Baha’is feel a sense of purpose by remaining in Iran, said Sheyda Kamran, a professor at the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education. Despite living in fear, her students often ask how they can help Iranians grieving losses from protests and war. “They have a goal,” she said. “That is the only way they can survive.”Scapegoating intensified after war began-The crackdown against Baha’is — and all Iranians — intensified after the US and Israel launched the war in late February.The Baha’i International Community says at least 63 Baha’is were detained in Iranian prisons as of June 11, though it says the figure is likely an undercount because some families fear speaking out.Most detainees are being held without known charges, while others face accusations of “propaganda against the regime” and acts deemed “contrary to Islamic law,” the Human Rights Activists News Agency said on X.Some Iranian television outlets and social media accounts have amplified anti-Baha’i rhetoric in recent months, accusing followers of the faith of collaborating with Israel to undermine the Islamic Republic.In May, in the northern Mazandaran province, an exhibition open to the public portrayed Baha’is as enemies of the state, according to IRNA, the Iranian state-run news agency. A representative for Iran’s supreme leader who attended the exhibition, Mohammad Bagher Mohammadi Laini, said Baha’is are “spies” and should be banned from owning property, according to the semiofficial news agency Tasnim.The highly publicized harassment of Baha’is suggests the real purpose is to instill fear among all Iranians, said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, founder of Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based organization.“I think it’s part of the general intensification of the repression in Iran,” he said.Baha’is pay a ‘heavy price’ for remaining in Iran-In April, Behzad Basiri was arrested by Revolutionary Guard agents at his house in Shiraz — without any charges, according to his family, which said Baha’i holy books were torn up during the raid. His wife Mandana Sotoudeh was arrested the same day at her parents’ house, and her sister Mahsa Sotoudeh had been detained three days earlier.Basiri was released on bail on May 6; his wife and sister-in-law were released on bail on July 1, according to their family.Basiri’s sister, Roya, who lives in Canada, said some of her family members chose to stay in Iran out of love for the country and hope for a better future.“They’re paying the heavy price for that choice,” she said.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
LINDSEY GRAHAM WAS FOR ISRAEL.HE WAS OK.
Sen. Lindsey Graham died of aorta tear, medical examiner says in preliminary finding-Condition, called aortic dissection, tied to hardening of US lawmaker’s arteries; official cause of death to be published after further testing-By AP Today, 12:56 pm
WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress who traveled the globe to advocate for a more aggressive US foreign policy, died after a tear in his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner finding shared by his office.The tear in the inner wall of the aorta, called an aortic dissection, was related to the hardening of Graham’s arteries. An official cause of death will be disclosed after toxicological and microscopic testing.Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican, former Air Force lawyer and outspoken supporter of Israel who served in Congress for more than three decades, had turned 71 years old just two days before dying on Saturday night. His office had originally said he had suffered from a “brief and sudden illness.”Trump, who talked to Graham frequently, said he was “like a member of the family. It’s very tough.” He said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Graham had called him on Saturday night after returning from a trip to Ukraine and “sounded a little bit tired, but perfect.” The president ordered that flags across the country be flown at half-staff until next Saturday evening.A noted foreign policy hawk, Graham was one of the most influential figures in Washington on international affairs, and he advised Trump on matters such as the Iran war and Russia. On Friday, Graham had announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions.As chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham also had a central role during Trump’s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation on party-line votes while holding a narrow 53-47 majority in the chamber.Under South Carolina law, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, who was seeking a fifth term in November.A new nominee will be selected in a special primary, which is required to be held within weeks of a vacancy.The winner of November’s general election will start a full six-year term in January.
Police arrest dozens as undercover agent busts suspected arms, drug smuggling network-Police say operation marks first time Bedouin agent used for elite undercover probe; police say 4 M16s, dozens of handguns and cocaine among the contraband seized in multiple raids By Charlie Summers-Today, 11:39 am-JUL 13,26
The Israel Police on Monday arrested dozens of individuals suspected of trafficking arms and dangerous drugs after an extended undercover investigation.Authorities said the raid was made possible after a Bedouin agent working undercover for an elite police investigative body infiltrated the network, marking the first time a member of the community was employed for such a task.The agent, nicknamed “The Nomad,” operated under the auspices of the Lahav 433 major crimes unit for an extended period, gathering evidence against the alleged smugglers before this morning’s wave of arrests.Hundreds of officers raided locations across the country, nabbing suspects ferreted out by the agent. Many of the targets were located in southern Bedouin towns, including Rahat, Tel Sheva, and Bir Hadaj, but police also made arrests in Arad, Dimona, Eilat, and East Jerusalem.The agent documented a significant number of arms and drug transactions, police said.Four M16s, dozens of handguns, and half a kilogram of cocaine were among the items seized in the raids, according to police.Lahav 433 chief Manny Binyamin lauded the covert operation, saying the agent’s deployment enabled cops to “expose a vast criminal infrastructure and deal a major blow to arms and drug traffickers across the country.”Police added that officers will bring suspects to the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court later on Monday for an extension of their remand.The exact number of individuals arrested is unclear.The raids came amid a violent crime crisis which, according to the Abraham Initiatives crime watchdog, has killed 155 members of the Arab community since the start of the year, an 18 percent jump over the 128 deaths during the same period in 2025, which was the bloodiest year on record in the Arab community.Killings are often the result of feuds between crime families.The watchdog has accused National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees police, of gutting programs meant to curb violence in the Arab community.His first full year in office, 2023, was at the time the bloodiest year on record in the Arab community, with the number of Arab homicide victims soaring to 244, more than double the previous year, according to the watchdog.The numbers have since climbed, with the Abraham Initiatives reporting 252 victims in 2025.
UK pledges £250 million over 3 years to boost protection of Jewish communities-Outgoing PM Keir Starmer says tackling antisemitism ‘has been central to my leadership from day one,’ amid major spike in attacks on British Jews By Agencies Today, 5:12 am-JUL 13,26
LONDON — Britain will spend more than £250 million ($335 million) across the next three years to better protect its Jewish communities, the government said Monday, following a series of recent antisemitic attacks.The funding will deliver over 500 additional officers across England and Wales, boosting security in Jewish neighborhoods and around schools, synagogues and community centers, the government said.There has been a string of attacks on Jewish-linked sites in the capital this year, including the torching of four Jewish community ambulances in March. In April, Britain raised its national terrorism threat level to “severe” from “substantial” in response to an antisemitic stabbing attack in north London.The new package, which is on top of a £25 million funding announced following the stabbings in April, includes around 300 additional officers in London and around 80 in Greater Manchester — where a synagogue was attacked last year by a terrorist, resulting in two dead — alongside £43 million for forces serving other areas with significant Jewish populations.“The rise in antisemitism we have seen in recent years is a test of our values as a country and tackling it has been central to my leadership from day one,” outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in Monday’s statement.London’s Metropolitan Police is due to receive £86 million from the new funding, while £59 million was earmarked for counterterrorism policing.Police will increase patrols at times of heightened vulnerability, offering visible reassurance and helping to deter hate crime and antisemitic incidents, the government said.This latest package is intended to be spent over a three-year period. Part of it will finance education measures in the fight against antisemitism.“Jewish communities are facing an exceptional threat with rising hate crime alongside terrorism and interference from hostile states,” said Matt Jukes, deputy commissioner of London Metropolitan Police.After April’s Golders Green attack, Starmer pledged extra funding, at the same time accusing Iran of wanting “to harm British Jews.”In May, London’s Metropolitan Police announced the creation of a special unit to protect Jews following a spate of hate attacks amid growing antisemitism.
Massive fire at a bar in Bangkok kills at least 27 people-Another 22 revelers at venue in Thai capital in critical condition, officials say, after fire that ignited at front of stage spread rapidly and smoke filled the room By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng Today, 2:15 am-JUL 13,26
BANGKOK (Reuters) — An explosive fire at a popular pub in Thailand’s capital Bangkok has killed 27 people, with another 22 injured in critical condition, officials said on Monday, in one of the deadliest such incidents in the tourism hub in recent years.“We have recovered 27 bodies, others are being sent to hospital,” said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited the site of the fire that broke out at 11:57 pm local time.Based on survivor accounts, he said the pub in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district rapidly filled with smoke after a fire broke out, forcing many to run to the back of the venue near the bathrooms, but there were no fire escapes.Another 63 people injured in the incident have been hospitalized, said Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.“The number of deaths has stabilized at 27,” he told Reuters.Of those injured and hospitalized, 22 are in critical condition, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters.There were no initial reports of any Israelis killed or wounded in the fire, though Thailand is a very popular tourist destination for Israeli travelers.By the time the rescue workers arrived at the scene of the accident, the fire that witnesses said ignited at the front of the venue’s stage had already burned through the area, according to Suriyachai.“We have to wait for the police to investigate,” he added.Body-camera footage from an emergency worker seen by Reuters shows firefighters in oxygen masks moving through the darkened remains of the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao pub with flashlights as they searched for survivors.Several victims can be seen lying prone on the floor near the pub’s toilets while rescue workers carry in stretchers. The video also shows what appears to be the fire-damaged main room of the venue, with bar tables and stools still visible.Chadchart said the pub had procured proper permits and had fire exits, but the fire spread rapidly and smoke filled the room, potentially making it hard for patrons to escape.In the early hours of the morning, emergency personnel remained at the scene as bodies were prepared for transport and forensic teams collected evidence to help identify the victims.Numbered bodies lay in two rows awaiting removal, surrounded by a large number of rescue workers. Firefighters stood near the pub’s entrance, its facade scorched and blackened by the blaze.A band member at the venue told local media that smoke suddenly filled the room after the lights briefly went out, followed by a massive explosion and fire.“After the explosion I didn’t see anybody trying to run, most of them were on the floor asking for help,” he told reporters, his head still bandaged, without giving his name. “I ran towards the door from the stage, about five meters. It was dark and there was smoke, no oxygen.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IN TORONTO THERE WAS 2 KILLED. AND SOME 4 INJURED. WHEN IT SOUNDS LIKE A COUPLE OF GANG BANGIN, DRUG DEALIN PIMPS. SHOT AT EACH OTHER AT A LATIN FESTIVAL.I THINK THE 2 ESCAPED.AND LEFT THE SCENE.TORONTO IS JUST AS BAD NOW AS ANY MUSLIM COUNTRY FOR KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE.
2 dead, 4 injured after ‘exchange of gunfire’ in the middle of Toronto street festival-By Isaac Callan Global News-Posted July 11, 2026 9:23 pm
Two men have died and four more people are injured after an “exchange of gunfire” between two suspects in the middle of a crowded Toronto street festival.Toronto police had initially warned there could be an active shooter at the Salsa on St. Clair festival as first responders rushed to a chaotic scene mobbed by some 13,000 attendees.“There were people that were injured, there were people that were down,” Deputy Chief Frank Barredo told reporters. “It was a very active and chaotic scene.”The first call, he said, came in around 8:12 p.m. in the area of St. Clair and Arlington.Information from police changed in the hours that followed, including at one point suggesting six people had been injured.Eventually, they confirmed two men had died, and four other people were taken to hospital with serious injuries.Rather than an active shooter randomly targeting festival goers, police said they thought it was two people with guns “targeting each other” in the middle of a crowd.Barredo said it was “difficult to say with certainty” what happened, but that he believed officers were looking for two suspects.Nobody has been arrested yet.Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow lamented the violence.“I’m deeply disturbed and angry about this reckless, irresponsible act of violence,” she said.“Right in the middle of a festival attended by families, children, seniors. Just beyond words how disturbed I am.”Amellia St John, who was at the festival with her friend, told Global News she saw one person get shot.“We heard about seven shots, then we see everyone running, so I started running too,” she said.Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was “devastated” by the violence that shattered the weekend.“My thoughts are with the victims, their families and everyone affected,” he wrote in a post on social media.“Thank you to Toronto Police and our first responders for responding to this horrific incident. The person responsible must be caught, brought to justice and spend the rest of their life behind bars.”The shooting happened on the evening of the first night of Salsa on St. Clair, which was set to run on both Saturday and Sunday.Currently in its 22nd year, the festival is a celebration of Latin culture with performances as well as many of the street food stalls seen at other events around the city in the summer.“I really don’t feel safe at these events anymore,” St John added.“I feel like this is the last time I will be going to an event like this… I thought I was going to come out here and have fun and after I saw a person die, I really don’t feel safe to come out here anymore.”
Salsa on St. Clair festival cancelled in aftermath of deadly shootings-By Isaac Callan Global News-Posted July 12, 2026 12:01 pm
Toronto’s annual Salsa on St. Clair festival has been cancelled after the event was shattered by gunfire on Saturday night that left two people dead and four more injured.Toronto police, paramedics and firefighters rushed to the festival at St. Clair Avenue and Arlington Avenue just after 8 p.m. in response to reports that initially pointed to an active shooter.As first responders tried to get control of a chaotic scene where 13,000 attendees tried to run for shelter, they confirmed two people had died and two guns had been recovered.Four more people sustained serious injuries and were rushed to hospital.Speaking at the scene on Saturday night, Toronto police said there were three crime scenes.They said it was not an active shooter, but rather they were working under the theory that there was “an exchange of gunfire” in the middle of the crowd by two people “targeting each other.”In a statement, Salsa on St. Clair organizers said the police investigation that now dominates the mid-town street had forced them to shut down for the year.“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the shootings at the Salsa on St. Clair festival early Saturday evening,” the organizers wrote.“Due to the complex police investigation at the scene, we understand that the festival will not resume today, Sunday, July 12.”So far, police have not released any suspect descriptions for the shooting or made any arrests.The force’s homicide, guns and gangs officers are leading the investigation into the shooting.Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow lamented the violence.“I’m deeply disturbed and angry about this reckless, irresponsible act of violence,” she said.“Right in the middle of a festival attended by families, children, seniors. Just beyond words how disturbed I am.”Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was “devastated” by the violence that shattered the weekend.“My thoughts are with the victims, their families and everyone affected,” he wrote in a post on social media.“Thank you to Toronto Police and our first responders for responding to this horrific incident. The person responsible must be caught, brought to justice and spend the rest of their life behind bars.”Prime Minister Mark Carney also said he was “appalled” by the violence.
Indian Ocean may impact long, dry winter spells in Eastern Mediterranean – study-Hebrew University findings could help improve seasonal forecasting of drought risk in parched Levant-By Sue Surkes-12 July 2026, 11:53 pm
While the world focuses on the Pacific Ocean for signs of a possible “Super El Niño,” new research from Jerusalem’s Hebrew University suggests that temperature patterns in the Indian Ocean may influence prolonged dry winter spells in the Eastern Mediterranean, months in advance.The findings could improve seasonal forecasting of drought risk in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions.The study, due to be published in Atmospheric Research, was carried out by doctoral student Victor Murphy and Assaf Hochman of the university’s Earth Sciences Institute, with Sigalit Berkovic of the Israel Institute for Biological Research.Forecasting dry spells lasting weeks during the Levant’s winter is difficult.The team examined how the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a recurring pattern of warming and cooling across the tropical Indian Ocean, might be connected to these arid spells.By analyzing more than 70 years of climate observations and atmospheric data, the researchers discovered that positive phases of the Indian Ocean Dipole are linked to large-scale shifts in atmospheric circulation spanning the Indian Ocean, Eurasia, and the Eastern Mediterranean.During a positive phase, warm waters are pushed to the western part of the Indian Ocean, and cold waters from the deep rise to the surface in the Eastern Indian Ocean. These shifts favor stable high-pressure systems that suppress rainfall and increase the likelihood of prolonged winter dry spells. The study also found that conditions in the Indian Ocean during December connect with an increased chance of especially long dry spells later in the winter.“When we think about drought in the Eastern Mediterranean, we rarely think about the Indian Ocean,” said Berkovic. “Yet our research shows that what happens thousands of kilometers away can reshape the atmospheric circulation that determines whether our region experiences weeks without rain. This highlights just how interconnected Earth’s climate system really is.”“Weather in the Mediterranean is not controlled only by local conditions,” said Hochman. “Our results show that changes in the tropical Indian Ocean can trigger atmospheric processes that ultimately shape winter rainfall in the Levant. Understanding these long-distance climate connections gives us valuable insight into predicting weather extremes months in advance.”Rather than focusing on El Niño alone, the study emphasizes that multiple tropical oceans contribute to seasonal climate variability and that incorporating Indian Ocean conditions into forecasting systems could improve predictions of drought risk and other weather extremes in the Eastern Mediterranean.The Israel Meteorological Service warned earlier this month that life-threatening urban flooding, wind gusts of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour, oversized hailstones, and extensive lightning storms could hit Israel as the El Niño phenomenon tightens its grip.El Niño is a phenomenon that occurs every two to seven years, during which surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean warm up and the global jet stream is disrupted.
IDF says it hit weapons site in Gaza, as 6 said killed in Strip, including girl-IDF says unaware of incident in which 9-year-old reported killed; says operatives were inside arms factory during strike, 2 Hamas members killed last week By Emanuel Fabian and Agencies 12 July 2026, 8:17 pm
Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on Sunday reportedly killed at least six people, including a 9-year-old girl, as Palestinian media reported a series of particularly heavy strikes in Gaza City, which the army said targeted a weapons production site and killed Hamas operatives who were working there.Medics said Israeli gunfire directed at a tent encampment on the eastern side of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza hit 9-year-old Tala Abu Matar. She succumbed to her wounds and was taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.The military said it was unaware of the incident.Separately, the military carried out a large strike in the Sabra area of Gaza City Sunday afternoon, which it said hit a makeshift weapons production site.Footage shared by Palestinian media showed the moment of the strike, indicating that the IDF gave prior warning-Witnesses said the site was hit with three missiles.According to the army, it bombed the site as Hamas operatives were working there.Recently, Hamas operatives worked at the site to “manufacture weapon components in an attempt to restore the organization’s capabilities,” in a “violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the military said.“The manufacturing site was struck while several Hamas terrorists were operating inside it,” the IDF said, adding that the operatives were advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.IDF says two Hamas members killed last week.The IDF announced separately that it killed two Hamas operatives in strikes in the Gaza Strip last week, both of whom it said were advancing attacks on troops stationed in the area.A strike on Saturday killed Hassan Mustafa Zahir Al-Razina, whom the military said tried to plant explosive devices “in the area of the Yellow Line,” and advance other attacks.A separate strike on Thursday killed Mohammad Mahmoud Abd al-Mu’ti Fayyoumi, identified by the IDF as a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force.Fayyoumi was advancing “imminent” attacks on troops operating in Gaza, the military said.Both operatives had “posed an immediate threat to the troops and were eliminated in aerial strikes,” the IDF added.Counting Sunday’s deaths, at least 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect in October last year, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. That toll is unverified and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, though the Israeli military believes that Hamas’s overall figure is largely accurate.Overall, Hamas says over 73,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked the war in the enclave. The IDF says it has killed over 23,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Election date finalized for October 27, with government set to complete full term-Vote will be first to be held on schedule in 40 years, with Netanyahu’s government the first to finish its entire term in 50 years-By Nava Freiberg and ToI Staff 12 July 2026, 7:53 pm
Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik announced Sunday that the Knesset will dissolve on July 17 and that elections will be held on their originally scheduled date of October 27, the latest date permitted by law.“The current Knesset will complete its full term and will not be dissolved [early]. The election date remains as established by law — October 27,” Afik said during a Knesset House Committee discussion.This would mark the first elections to be held on schedule in Israel since 1988, and make Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government the first Israeli government to complete its full term since 1973.The announcement came as the coalition has embarked on a legislative blitz aimed at passing as many of its contentious bills as possible before the parliament dissolves, when legislation generally grinds to a halt unless agreed to by both the coalition and the opposition.The current government, Israel’s 37th, was formed on December 29, 2022, after the collapse of the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government.Made up of Netanyahu’s Likud party together with several ultra-Orthodox parties and far-right parties, the current government is generally considered the most hardline ever to govern the country.It has been at risk of collapse on several occasions, primarily over its efforts to codify long-standing exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox men, which are controversial even within the coalition.Additionally, far-right parties threatened on several occasions to collapse the government amid the war in Gaza, in opposition to hostage-ceasefire deals with Hamas.According to polls, if elections were held today, Netanyahu and his allies would fall well short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, with the Zionist opposition bloc – an anti-Netanyahu alliance that excludes the Arab-majority and ultra-Orthodox parties – teetering on the edge of a majority itself.Netanyahu’s main challengers for the premiership are former general and Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot and ex-prime minister Bennett, who heads the Together party.
