20 YEARS ON FROM GAZA WITHDRAWL, ISRAEL IS AGAIN MIRED IN THE STRIP.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

20 YEARS ON FROM GAZA WITHDRAWL, ISRAEL IS AGAIN MIRED IN THE STRIP.

WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)

EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18

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.

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)

GODS PROMISED LAND FOR ISRAEL.

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.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)

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.

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.

ISAIAH 66:7-8
A Nation Born in a Day
7 Before she was in labor, she gave birth.Before her pain came, she delivered a male child.
8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.

Isaiah 2:19
19 Men will go into caves of the rocks And into holes of the ground (BUNKERS,UNDER GROUND TUNNELS) Before the terror of the Lord , And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble.(EARTHQUES,NUKES)
JOB 30:6
6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis,among the rocks and in holes in the ground.(TUNNELS, BUNKERS)

DR DOCTORION-ANGEL OF THE MIDEAST
"The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.

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.

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
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.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(NEW YORK) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK ATTACK ON NEW YORK)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

Over 200 Global NGOs Urge UN to End Reliance on UNRWA, Back Gaza Humanitarian Foundation-Friday, August 15, 2025 | Gaza Strip Worthy Christian News-by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – A interfaith coalition of more than 200 faith-based and secular NGOs from over 15 countries is calling on the United Nations and world leaders to abandon Gaza aid distribution through the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and instead partner with the U.S.-funded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).In a strongly worded letter to the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly, the signatories – which include the Christian Jewish Alliance, Israel Christian Nexus, and the Multi-Faith Women’s Empowerment Council – warn that UNRWA’s Gaza operations have been “compromised,” enabling Hamas to profit from and control humanitarian aid in violation of international law.Hamas-UNRWA Aid Corruption Allegations-According to the letter, multiple reports and eyewitness testimonies from Palestinians and politicians confirm that Hamas has exploited the U.N.’s aid network, siphoning off an estimated $1 billion since the war began through direct theft and by taxing aid that should have been free.Several U.N. employees have also been accused of hoarding food instead of distributing it, further fueling Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. The coalition says such practices violate the international prohibition against weaponizing aid for the benefit of armed groups.GHF’s Civilian-Focused Alternative-By contrast, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has delivered more than 123 million free meals directly to ordinary Gazans since May, including 1.5 million in the past week alone, effectively blocking Hamas from profiting. Retired British Army Colonel Richard Kemp, after visiting GHF sites, called the operation “brilliantly conceived and extremely well executed,” describing it as “a turning point in the war” because it undermines Hamas’s stranglehold over aid.UN Resistance and Hamas Retaliation-Despite GHF’s success, U.N. officials on the ground have reportedly refused to cooperate with the group and are “actively campaigning against it,” according to the letter. Hamas, viewing the independent aid effort as a threat, has allegedly placed bounties on GHF workers and engaged in torture and killings of Palestinian aid staff associated with the group.The NGOs accuse the U.N. of prioritizing the restoration of the old UNRWA-led system – which they say facilitated Hamas’s profiteering – over genuine humanitarian needs.Policy Demands-The coalition urges the U.N. and global leaders to:Formally oppose any attempt to obstruct or delegitimize GHF’s work.Establish coordinated aid operations between the U.N., GHF, and other credible organizations.Launch an independent investigation into UNRWA’s ties to Hamas, aid diversion, and obstruction of independent relief groups.“There is overwhelming evidence that UNRWA-led aid in Gaza has been compromised… The GHF offers a viable, neutral, and effective alternative,” the letter concludes.The appeal comes as pressure mounts on the U.N. to reform its Gaza aid policies, with many viewing the GHF model as a test case for breaking terrorist influence over humanitarian relief.

IDF Launches Major Offensive, Destroys Dozens of Terror Targets, Seals Massive Hamas Tunnel Network-by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced Friday it has destroyed dozens of “terror targets” during a sweeping offensive in the Zeitoun neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City, part of a broader plan to capture the city in its entirety. The operation comes after Israel’s security cabinet approved the takeover of Gaza’s largest urban center, currently home to an estimated one million Palestinians, amid the 22-month-long war with Hamas.Ground Forces and Air Support_According to the IDF, the Zeitoun assault is being led by the 99th Division, including the Nahal Infantry Brigade, the 7th Armored Brigade, and the 990th Artillery Regiment. Over recent days, troops have demolished booby-trapped structures, destroyed weapons storage sites, and killed approximately 20 Hamas operatives. In one engagement, soldiers eliminated militants who had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tank.The Israeli Air Force has been conducting precision strikes in coordination with ground forces, targeting Hamas positions and personnel. Artillery units have also been shelling identified terrorist infrastructure, reportedly killing a Hamas platoon commander from the Zeitoun Battalion.Civilian Evacuation Warnings-Prior to the offensive, the IDF issued multiple evacuation alerts to civilians in Zeitoun, urging them to leave combat zones. Hamas-run agencies in Gaza reported intensified airstrikes on Zeitoun and nearby Sabra, claiming civilian homes and potentially high-rise buildings were hit.Sealing Hamas Tunnels in Beit Hanoun_In a separate engineering operation, the IDF said it has neutralized a 7-kilometer-long Hamas tunnel network in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza. Over a four-week period, combat engineers pumped more than 20,000 cubic meters of concrete into the tunnels via a 4.5-kilometer pipeline from the Israeli border to the underground complex. Another 2.4 kilometers of tunnels were demolished using explosives.“The operation was made possible thanks to precise engineering planning, advanced technology, and innovative methods used for the first time,” the IDF stated, adding that the destruction dealt a “significant blow” to the Beit Hanoun Battalion, leading to its “operational defeat.Casualties and Hostage Situation-Israel reports that Hamas and other terror groups still hold 50 hostages, with 20 believed alive. Hamas claims over 60,000 Gazans have been killed or are missing, though the figure cannot be independently verified. Israel says at least 20,000 of those were combatants, and reiterates that Hamas embeds itself in civilian areas to deter attacks.The IDF’s own losses in the Gaza ground campaign and related border operations have reached 459 personnel since the conflict began, including soldiers, police officers, and Defense Ministry contractors.Prophetic Significance: A Vision of a Land Without “Hamas”Some Bible prophecy teachers see the removal of Hamas from power as aligning with the promise in Isaiah 60:18:“Violence (‘Hamas’ in Hebrew) shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”In Hebrew, the word translated as “violence” is ḥāmās, the same word used by the terror group’s name. For many, this passage offers a hopeful vision of a future where the land is free from terrorist violence, its defenses secure, and its gates marked by worship and peace. As Israel pushes deeper into Gaza City, some believe this could foreshadow the fulfillment of that promise.Reporting contributed by Worthy News staff and wire services.

Pakistan Police Detain 80 Christian Villagers For ‘Terrorism’ (Worthy News Investigation)by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

SAHIWAL, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – Pakistani Christians urged prayers Thursday after police reportedly detained some 80 Christian villagers, including children, in Pakistan’s Punjab province on disputed “terrorism” charges.Pastor Imran Amanat, leader of advocacy group LEAD Ministries Pakistan, confirmed to Worthy News that the arrests took place in the Chak No. 190 area of Harappa, a historic village on the outskirts of Sahiwal city.He said the incident began “as a family matter between a Christian husband and wife but was mishandled by police.”According to Amanat, police “detained Nina Bibi, wife of Alfred Masih, and their children,” then extended the action to “80 innocent Christians from the village, including women, children, and elderly members.”Calling the detentions “a grave injustice” against Pakistan’s already “marginalized” Christian community, Amanat condemned what he described as “an unacceptable misuse of anti-terrorism laws against poor Christians.”He urged the government to “immediately withdraw these charges and ensure justice for the affected families.” There was no immediate reaction from the government or police amid an ongoing investigation.FAMILY DISPUTE-LEAD founder and human rights lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill told Worthy News the “dispute was a private family matter and should not have been escalated to this level.”He also criticized certain villagers identifying as “Christian” for allegedly siding with the police. “It is tragic that instead of offering support and protection, some members of our own community are aiding in the persecution,” Gill said.LEAD Pakistan Ministries and allied activists called for a prompt review of the case, the release of those detained, and measures to prevent “such misuse of the law” against vulnerable minorities.In a joint statement, they said the detentions are “a blatant example of how anti-terrorism laws are weaponized against marginalized communities, especially Christians,” adding that “legal reforms and accountability mechanisms are urgently needed.”The police’s First Information Report (FIR), required to initiate a criminal investigation, has already sparked concern among rights advocates over “religious discrimination and abuse of legal provisions.”The FIR, obtained by Worthy News, contains what activists describe as “exaggerated allegations and indiscriminate application” of the Anti-Terrorism Act — measures they believe are intended to ensure maximum punishment and deny bail.‘QUESTIONABLE EVIDENCE’Gill said contradictions and questionable evidence suggest “a misuse of the judicial system to target religious minorities,” warning that such practices violate Pakistan’s constitutional guarantee of equality and undermine the integrity of the justice system.As tensions rose Thursday, LEAD Ministries Pakistan appealed “for prayer” for the detained Christians. “Let’s pray for justice, protection, and strength for these families,” the group said. “May God’s peace surround them, and may truth and fairness prevail. We also pray that the authorities act with mercy and wisdom.”“In these difficult times, our faith and unity are our greatest strength,” the statement added. “Please share and keep them in your prayers.”Pakistan ranks 8th on the annual World Watch List compiled by advocacy group Open Doors, which says Christians face “extreme” persecution for their faith.Around 4.5 million Christians live in the Muslim-majority nation, representing less than two percent of the population, according to data.Rights groups have long warned that Pakistan’s anti-terrorism and blasphemy laws are frequently used to target Christians and other religious minorities through “false accusations and politically motivated cases.”

IDF Preparing to Call Up 80,000-100,000 Reservists for Gaza City Offensive-by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is preparing for one of its largest reserve mobilizations in decades, as military leaders finalize plans for a massive ground offensive to capture Gaza City.IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has approved the “core concept” of the operation, which could see between 80,000 and 100,000 reservists called up under emergency orders. The decision follows authorization from Israel’s Security Cabinet, with final operational details expected to be hammered out in the coming days.Senior IDF officials have made clear that such an extensive call-up is essential for the campaign’s success. “We will definitely mobilize reserves — the question is not if, but how many,” one official said, noting that planning must also account for the olive harvest season in the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and the upcoming Jewish holidays.A Prolonged Urban Battle-The Gaza City operation, targeting Hamas strongholds in the north of the Strip, is expected to be both prolonged and intense. Military estimates suggest that the extended maneuver could last well into 2026, with urban combat, high-rise clearance operations, and counter-guerrilla tactics dominating the battlefield.Recent operations in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood have provided the IDF with updated intelligence and tactical experience ahead of the planned push. The next round of high-level discussions will focus on urban maneuver tactics and dealing with entrenched Hamas units.Leadership Tensions Amid War Planning-Zamir’s early approval — coming two days ahead of schedule — followed a meeting with the General Staff Forum, Shin Bet representatives, and senior commanders. In recent weeks, he has clashed publicly with Defense Minister Israel Katz, who has pushed for a full-force approach in Gaza. Katz has insisted that Israel must act decisively in response to Hamas’ refusal to release hostages.Despite earlier reservations about a full-scale occupation, Zamir now says the campaign will “lead to the collapse of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities” and end only “when we can ensure our security and our future.”Mobilizing “All Forces”Katz confirmed after a briefing with Zamir that the IDF is “mobilizing all forces and preparing with great strength to implement the cabinet’s decision. We will act as one fist until the mission is completed.”If approved at the projected scale, this reservist mobilization would be one of the largest in Israel’s history, underscoring both the scale of the Gaza City operation and the government’s determination to achieve a decisive military outcome.A Prophetic Hope-Beyond the battlefield, some Bible prophecy teachers are watching events in Gaza with particular interest. They point to Isaiah 60:18, which reads: “Violence (Hamas) shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.” They see the current military push — and the potential removal of the Hamas terrorist organization from power — as a hopeful sign that this ancient prophecy could be moving toward fulfillment.

Arab Nations Condemn Netanyahu Over ‘Greater Israel’ Remarks-by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – Several Arab nations and the Arab League issued sharp condemnations on Wednesday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to endorse the vision of a “Greater Israel” during a televised interview.The controversy arose from Netanyahu’s appearance on i24 News with former right-wing Knesset Member Sharon Gal. Gal asked whether the war since Oct. 7 had led to a spiritual “strengthening” for the prime minister. Netanyahu replied:“When you reach these kinds of tests, you always ask the question, ‘why’, ‘what are you doing here’… we’re here on a generational mission. There are generations of Jews who dreamed of coming here, and generations who will follow us. So if you’re asking me whether I feel I’m on a historic and spiritual mission, the answer is yes.”Gal then presented Netanyahu with a necklace depicting the “promised land” — a map whose borders exceeded modern Israel, appearing to encompass parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. “Do you feel a connection to this vision?” Gal asked. “Very much,” Netanyahu responded, linking his generation’s duty to the founding generation’s mission of creating the Jewish state.While Netanyahu’s remarks appeared to reference the biblical “promised land” and the task of safeguarding Israel rather than a concrete plan for territorial expansion, they triggered swift condemnation across the Arab world.The Palestinian Authority called the comments “a provocation and a dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region,” accusing Israel of pursuing “expansionist colonial policies.” Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry rejected “settlement and expansionist projects” and warned of threats to global peace. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry labeled the statements a “dangerous and provocative escalation,” while Egypt sought clarification from Israel over the implications for regional stability. The Arab League described the remarks as a “blatant violation of the sovereignty of Arab states” and evidence of “colonial delusions.”The concept of “Greater Israel” has roots in early Zionist maps from the British Mandate era, which included present-day Israel, Judea and Samaria (West Bank), Gaza, the Golan Heights, and territory now forming Jordan. Since the 1967 Six-Day War, the term has been used primarily by Religious Zionists and some far-right groups advocating Jewish settlement throughout Judea and Samaria, with fringe factions extending the idea to include areas of neighboring Arab states.The backlash comes as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans to approve over 3,000 housing units in the contentious E1 corridor between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. Critics say the project — frozen for years due to international opposition — would bisect the West Bank and block the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state. Smotrich, who oversees West Bank civilian affairs, said the plan “buries the idea of a Palestinian state” and advances a “de facto sovereignty” agenda.Reporting contributed by Worthy News staff and wire services.

Hezbollah vows to fight disarmament as Lebanon PM slams civil war 'threats'

Beirut, Lebanon, Aug 15 (AFP) Aug 15, 2025-Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed Friday to fight government plans to disarm his group, with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accusing him of making "unacceptable" threats to unleash civil war.Qassem gave a televised address after meeting with Iran's security chief Ali Larijani, whose country has long backed the Lebanese militant group.Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year's war with Israel, and the Lebanese government -- under US pressure -- has ordered the army to draw up a plan to disarm the group by the end of the year.Iran, whose so-called "axis of resistance" includes Hezbollah, has also suffered a series of setbacks, most recently in its own war with Israel, which also saw the United States strike its nuclear facilities."The government is implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife," Qassem said."The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues, occupation persists, and we will fight it... if necessary to confront this American-Israeli project no matter the cost."He urged the government "not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed", adding the state would "bear responsibility for any internal explosion and any destruction of Lebanon".Prime Minister Salam later denounced the remarks, saying on X that they "constitute an implicit threat of civil war".He added that "any threat or intimidation related to such a war is totally unacceptable".Salam also hit back at Hezbollah's characterisation of the disarmament push as an American-Israeli effort."Our decisions are purely Lebanese, made by our cabinet, and no one tells us what to do," he said."The Lebanese have the right to stability and security... without which the country will not be able to recover, and no reconstruction or investment will take place."Before the war with Israel, Hezbollah was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.It long maintained it had to keep its arsenal in order to defend Lebanon from attack, but critics accused it of using its weapons for political leverage.Qassem said Friday that Hezbollah and its political ally Amal would not be organising any street protests against disarmament at this time, but threatened to do so in future.Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Larijani was in Beirut this week, and held talks with Qassem as well as with President Joseph Aoun.Iran has expressed its opposition to the government's disarmament plan, and has vowed to continue to provide support, with Lebanese officials recently hardening their tone towards Hezbollah and its patron.Both the president and the prime minister took issue with Iran's recent statements during Larijani's trip, with Salam saying Lebanon rejects "any interference in its internal affairs".

Russia hosts first military meeting with Sahel juntas; Mali junta accuses foreign powers of destabilisation plot-by AFP Staff Writers.

Moscow (AFP) Aug 14, 2025-Russia hosted its first official meeting with the heads of militaries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Moscow's defence ministry said Thursday, as it seeks to increase its influence in the Sahel region.Facing isolation in the West following its full-scale offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has tried to build new partnerships in Africa, where it has been growing its presence in recent years, including militarily.The three Sahelian countries are led by juntas which seized power in coups and have turned away from former colonial power France while moving closer to Russia, which sends mercenaries to help them fight a jihadist insurgency."Today we are holding the first consultations between the heads of the defence ministries of the Russian Federation and the countries participating in the Sahel states confederation," defence minister Andrey Belousov said, referring to the recently created entity aimed to replace a Western-led alliance."Currently, defence is the largest area of cooperation between our countries," said his Malian counterpart Sadio Camara, a heavyweight in the junta who is seen as one of the advocates of closer ties with Russia.Niger and Burkina Faso defence ministers Salifou Modi and Celestin Simpore also took part in the meeting, according to the footage shared by the Russian ministry.Following the talks, Russia and the three states have signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation, Moscow's defence ministry said, without giving details.Belousov said Russia was ready to provide a "comprehensive assistance" to ensure stability in the contested region facing a growing jihadist conflict, which threatens to spill over to the wider west Africa region.The three states quit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the beginning of the year, accusing the regional bloc of being subservient to France, and have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), aimed to offset the pro-Western ECOWAS.The Russian minister called the decision to create the pro-Russian bloc AES a "result of a free choice by the Sahelian peoples their commitment to sustainable peaceful development".

South Africa's top general under fire for remarks in Iran

Pretoria (AFP) Aug 14, 2025 -President Cyril Ramaphosa's office criticised South Africa's top general on Thursday for reported comments about solidarity with Iran as unhelpful during the process of resetting ties with the United States.The foreign ministry has also condemned South African National Defence Force chief General Rudzani Maphwanya for his statements during a recently-ended trip to Iran, and a leading political party has called for his court-martial.Pretoria is working to improve its rock-bottom ties with Washington, with the aim of reaching a new trade deal that will avoid 30 percent tariffs on its exports."We are in a process of managing a very delicate exercise of resetting diplomatic relations with the United States," Ramaphosa's spokesman said at a media briefing.During these negotiations, it was "not helpful" to have "senior government or military officials making statements that will inflame the situation," Vincent Magwenya said.The Tehran Times reported on Tuesday that Maphwanya had called for deeper cooperation with Iran, especially in defence matters, during meetings with top Iranian defence officials.Iran's state-owned Press TV reported that the South African general had affirmed the two countries had "common goals" and also condemned Israel's actions in Gaza."At this period of heightened geopolitical tensions as well as conflict in the Middle East, one can say the visit was ill-advised," Magwenya said, adding that Ramaphosa had not been aware of the visit.The Democratic Alliance, the second-largest group in the government of national unity, has demanded that Maphwanya be court-martialled for "breaching military neutrality".Mali junta accuses foreign powers of destabilisation plot.Dakar (AFP) Aug 14, 2025 - The authorities in Mali on Thursday said a French national had been arrested on suspicion of working for French intelligence services, and accused "foreign states" of trying to destabilise the country.The ruling junta, which came to power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, also said that dozens of soldiers had been detained in recent days for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government.Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group, as well as local criminal gangs.In a statement read on national television, the military said "fringe elements of the Malian armed security forces" were held for seeking to "destabilise the institutions of the republic"."These soldiers and civilians" are said to have obtained "the help of foreign states", the government said.The French national was held on suspicion of working "on behalf of the French intelligence service".Security sources told AFP that at least 55 soldiers had been arrested, and the government said it was working to identify "possible accomplices".The junta confirmed the arrest of two generals, including Abbas Dembele, a highly respected figure in the army and a former governor who was recently dismissed from his position.Security sources told AFP the arrests were made mainly within the national guard -- a branch of the army from whose ranks emerged Defence Minister Sadio Camara, a key figure in the junta.Several observers noted that some of those arrested were close to Camara but he has not been questioned so far.On Tuesday, Mali's civilian former prime minister Choguel Maiga and a number of his former colleagues were taken into custody as part of an investigation into claims of "misappropriation of public funds".Maiga, a former junta heavyweight, was appointed prime minister in 2021 before being dismissed at the end of last year after criticising the military government.He had criticised being excluded from decisions about the continued leadership of the generals, who had initially promised to hand power back to elected civilians in March 2024.No connection has been made between his arrest and those of the soldiers accused of wanting to overthrow the government.The junta, led by President Assimi Goita, has turned away from Western partners, notably former colonial power France, to align itself politically and militarily with Russia in the name of national sovereignty.The Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies have been tasked with hunting down the jihadists and are regularly accused of committing abuses against civilians.

China says opposes European sanctions over Iran nuclear programme.

Beijing, Aug 15 (AFP) Aug 15, 2025-China said Friday it opposed invoking sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme after three Western nations told the UN they would reimpose them if no diplomatic solution was found by the end of August.European sanctions on Iran were eased after a 2015 deal in return for curbs on Tehran's nuclear programme.But on Wednesday, foreign ministers from the E3 group -- Britain, France and Germany -- threatened to reimpose them in a joint letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council.China said Friday it "opposes invoking" sanctions and "believes that it does not help parties build trust".Reimposing sanctions was "not conducive to the diplomatic effort for the early resumption of talks", Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in a statement.Iran said Thursday it was working with China and Russia to stop the return of the sanctions.European countries have stepped up warnings to Iran about its suspension of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.That came after Israel launched a 12-day war with Iran in June, partly seeking to destroy its nuclear capability. The United States staged its own bombing raid during the war.Wednesday's E3 letter sets out engagements that the ministers say Iran has breached, including building up a uranium stock to more than 40 times the permitted level under the 2015 deal."The E3 remain fully committed to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis caused by Iran's nuclear programme and will continue to engage with a view to reaching a negotiated solution," the ministers said.- 'Tools to respond' -The 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, effectively collapsed after US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018 during his first term and restored sanctions.European countries attempted to keep the deal alive.The agreement, which terminates in October, includes a "snapback mechanism" allowing sanctions to be restored.Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the return of sanctions would be "negative" but that the predicted economic effects "have been exaggerated"."We will try to prevent it," he told state TV on Thursday."If this does not work and they apply it, we have tools to respond. We will discuss them in due course."Last month, Araghchi sent a letter to the UN saying the European countries did not have the legal right to restore sanctions.The European ministers called the claim "unfounded"."Any moves taken by the Security Council now should help reach new agreements in talks, instead of the opposite," China's Lin added on Friday.

Hezbollah says govt 'handing' Lebanon to Israel with disarmament bid.

Beirut, Lebanon, Aug 15 (AFP) Aug 15, 2025-Qassem spoke in a televised address after meeting Iran's top security chief Ali Larijani, whose country has long backed the Lebanese militant group.Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year's war with Israel, and under US pressure the Lebanese government has ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm the group by the end of the year.Iran, whose so-called "axis of resistance" includes Hezbollah, has also suffered a series of setbacks, most recently in the war with Israel that saw the United States strike its nuclear sites."The government is implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife," Qassem said."The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues, occupation persists, and we will fight it... if necessary to confront this American-Israeli project no matter the cost," he said.Qassem urged the government "not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed".He also said the government would "bear responsibility for any internal explosion and any destruction of Lebanon", accusing it of "leading the country to ruin".Hezbollah and its ally Amal would not be organising any street protests at this time, he said, while threatening to do so in future.Before the war with Israel, Hezbollah was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.It long maintained it had to keep its arsenal in order to defend Lebanon from attack, but critics accused it of using its weapons for political leverage.Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Larijani was in Beirut this week, where he met Qassem as well as with President Joseph Aoun.Iran has expressed its opposition to the government's disarmament plan, and has vowed to continue to provide support.Aoun told Larijani that he rejected any interference in the country's internal affairs, branding as "unconstructive" Iran's statements on plans to disarm Hezbollah.

World's first humanoid robot games begin in China.

Beijing, Aug 15 (AFP) Aug 15, 2025-The world's first-ever humanoid robot games began Friday in Beijing, with over 500 androids alternating between jerky tumbles and glimpses of real power as they compete in events from the 100-metre hurdles to kung fu.Hundreds of robotics teams from 16 countries are going for gold at the Chinese capital's National Speed Skating Oval, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics.The games include traditional sports like athletics and basketball, as well as practical tasks such as medicine categorisation and cleaning."I believe in the next 10 years or so, robots will be basically at the same level as humans," enthusiastic 18-year-old spectator Chen Ruiyuan told AFP.Human athletes might not be quaking in their boots just yet.At one of the first events on Friday morning, five-aside football, 10 robots the size of seven-year-olds shuffled around the pitch, often getting stuck in a scrum or falling over en masse.However, in a 1500-metre race, domestic champion Unitree's humanoids stomped along the track at an impressive clip, easily outpacing their rivals.The fastest robot AFP witnessed finished in 6:29:37, a far cry from the human men's world record of 3:26:00.One mechanical racer barrelled straight into a human operator. The robot remained standing, while the human was knocked flat, though did not appear to be injured.- 'National strategy' -Robot competitions have been held for decades, but the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games is the first to focus specifically on robots that resemble human bodies, organisers said.The Chinese government has poured support into robotics hoping to lead the industry.Beijing has put humanoids in the "centre of their national strategy", the International Federation of Robotics wrote in a paper on Thursday."The government wants to showcase its competence and global competitiveness in this field of technology," it added.Authorities are working to raise awareness of the sector across society.Cui Han, accompanying her 10-year-old, told AFP that her son's school had organised and paid for the trip to the Games."I hope it will encourage him to learn more about these new technologies," she said.In March, China announced plans for a one-trillion-yuan fund to support technology startups, including those in robotics and AI.The country is already the world's largest market for industrial robots, official statistics show, and in April, Beijing held what organisers dubbed the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon.Chen, the spectator, told AFP he was about to begin studying automation at university."Coming here can cultivate my passion for this field," he said. "My favourite is the boxing, because... it requires a lot of agility and I can really see how the robots have improved from before."Meanwhile, at the kung fu competition area, a pint-sized robot resembling one from the popular Transformer series attempted to execute a move, but fell flat on its front.It spun around on the floor as it struggled to get back up, the crowd happily cheering. 

Pakistan establishes new missile force after India conflict, PM says by AFP Staff Writers.

Islamabad (AFP) Aug 14, 2025-Pakistan will establish a new military force to supervise its missile capabilities, the prime minister has said, after its worst conflict in decades with South Asian arch-rival India.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the formation of the Rocket Force Command while addressing an Independence Day ceremony in Islamabad attended by senior military officials late on Wednesday."It will be equipped with modern technology and capable of striking the enemy from all directions," Sharif said at the ceremony, during which the deadly clash with India in May dominated official speeches and displays."It will improve our conventional war capabilities," he said, commending the military for its performance.Pakistan and India fought an intense four-day conflict in May that killed more than 70 people on both sides in missile, drone and artillery fire, the worst clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours since 1999.Pakistan has sophisticated missile capabilities, some of which it deployed in May alongside J-10C Vigorous Dragon and JF-17 Thunder fighter jets.Islamabad is boosting its military capabilities following the conflict, increasing defence spending by 20 percent in the current budget that was passed in June.The government also announced that it was in discussions to acquire 40 new Chinese fighter jets and new air defence systems."After the recent conflict, the object of course is to further strengthen Pakistan's military capability and this is a part of that process," defence analyst Talat Masood, a former general, told AFP.The May conflict was triggered by a deadly attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir a month earlier that Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denied the allegation.Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the region in full and have fought two wars and several conflicts over its control. 

GET OUTTA THE EU YOU SLIME BAG DANISH LIBERAL NUTCASE. USE WERE NEVER PART OF THE ORIGINAL ROMAN EMPIRE. GO TAKE A HIKE AND BUY WOODEN SHOES FROM THE NETHERLANDS. AND GET OFF NETANYAHUS BACK YOU SLIME BAG LIBERAL.

Netanyahu has become a ‘problem,’ says Danish PM, wants EU to weigh sanctions-Center right leader Mette Frederiksen affirms support for Israel, but says it has gone ‘too far’; France blasts E1 settlement plan as ‘colonization,’ ‘serious violation’By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 7:58 pm-AUG 16

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Saturday that her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu has become a “problem,” adding she would try to put pressure on Israel over the Gaza war as her country currently holds the European Union presidency.The comments come amid mounting international pressure on Israel over the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, especially from Israel’s European allies and from the EU itself.“Netanyahu is now a problem in himself,” Frederiksen said in an interview with the Jyllands-Posten daily, noting that Denmark has long stood by Israel, and that she is personally committed to continuing this support.The Danish premier said she thinks Israel would be better off without Netanyahu in charge, saying that the current government is acting against the interests of the country, though she clarified that was a matter for Israelis.The center-right Danish leader also described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “absolutely appalling and catastrophic.”The Israeli government is going “too far,” she added, also condemning settler violence and the new settlement plan to build over 3,000 housing units in the E1 area of the West Bank, which Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Wednesday.“We are one of the countries that wants to increase pressure on Israel, but we have not yet obtained the support of EU members,” she said.Frederiksen added that she wanted to consider “political pressure, sanctions, whether against settlers, ministers, or even Israel as a whole,” referring to trade or research sanctions.“We are not ruling anything out in advance. Just as with Russia, we are designing the sanctions to target where we believe they will have the greatest effect,” added Frederiksen.Asked if Denmark plans to join its Scandinavian neighbors and other European countries in recognizing a Palestinian state, the Danish premier said that her country will not do so as long as Hamas still controls major parts of territories claimed by the Palestinians for a future state.Denmark does not wish to “reward” Hamas, she said, after the terror group sparked the war in Gaza its with its invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 61,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.France blasts E1 plans as ‘colonization’Adding to recent condemnations of the new E1 settlement plan, France on Saturday called the project “a serious violation of international law.”A French foreign ministry spokesman said that Paris “condemns with the utmost firmness” the plan.France said it “reiterates its condemnation of colonization” and said it “remains mobilized alongside its European partners to increase pressure on Israel to end colonization, including through new sanctions against the individuals and entities responsible for colonization.”Several countries, as well as the United Nations, have sharply condemned the E1 project, saying it undermines hopes for a contiguous future Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.The potential construction of the new neighborhood for Ma’ale Adumim in the so-called E1 zone has long been cause for alarm in the international community. It would divide the West Bank into northern and southern regions and prevent the development of a Palestinian metropolis that connects East Jerusalem to Bethlehem and Ramallah, which the Palestinians have long hoped would serve as the foundation of their future state.Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, along with the Gaza Strip from Egypt, during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians want all three areas for a state. Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the longstanding conflict.Israel annexed East Jerusalem, but has refrained from taking the step in the West Bank. Far-right leaders, including Smotrich, have also pushed for Israel to reestablish settlements in Gaza amid the ongoing war there.

ITS ABOUT TIME THESE DEATH CULTS ARE STOPPED FROM COMING IN WESTERN COUNTRIES. IF THEY ARE ALLOWED MICROCHIP THEM ALL. AND IF THEY TAKE OUT THE CHIP. FINE THEM 1 MILLION DOLLARS 5 YRS IN JAIL. THEN INSTANT DEPORTATION AFTER THEIR JAIL TERM.IN FACT DO THIS FOR ANY MIGRANTS THAT COME INTO ANY WESTERN COUNTRY.

Move comes after far-right activist tweeted about the visas-US State Department halts all visitor visas for Gazans-Department announces it will conduct ‘a full and thorough’ review after issuing temporary medical-humanitarian visas to 3,800 Palestinians in initiative coordinated with RFK Jr.-By Reuters, ToI Staff and Jacob Magid-AUG 16,25

The US State Department on Saturday said it was halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza while it conducts “a full and thorough” review.The department said “a small number” of temporary medical-humanitarian visas had been issued in recent days, but did not provide a figure.The US issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas, which permit foreigners to seek medical treatment in the United States, to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document, according to an analysis of monthly figures provided on the department’s website. That figure includes 640 visas issued in May.Many of those granted visas were children who lost limbs or suffered other serious injuries as a result of Israeli airstrikes and who are now receiving treatment in various cities across the US, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel, adding that the effort was backed by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. His office has not responded to requests for comment.The State Department’s move to stop visitor visas for people from Gaza came after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and an ally of President Donald Trump, said on social media on Friday that the Palestinian “refugees” had entered the US this month.Loomer’s statement sparked outrage among some Republicans, with US Representative Chip Roy, of Texas, saying he would inquire about the matter and Representative Randy Fine, of Florida, describing it as a “national security risk.”Loomer celebrated the State Department decision on Saturday, tweeting, “It’s amazing how fast we can get results from the Trump administration.”Gaza has been devastated by the war started by the Hamas terror group’s devastating October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, during which Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251 while committing brutal atrocities and sexual violence.Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose unverified figures do not differentiate between non-combatants and fighters.The US has not indicated that it would accept Palestinians displaced by the war. However, sources told Reuters that South Sudan and Israel are discussing a plan to resettle Palestinians.

Hundreds in Syria’s Sweida demand Druze self-determination; some wave Israeli flag-Demonstrators chant ‘free free Sweida… Julani out,’ appeal for international support following last month’s deadly sectarian violence By Agencies Today, 5:26 pm-AUG 16,25

Hundreds demonstrated in Syria’s Sweida on Saturday, denouncing last month’s sectarian violence and calling for the right to self-determination for the Druze-majority province.A week of bloodshed began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces and volunteers from other parts of Syria.Syrian authorities have said their forces intervened to stop the clashes, but witnesses, Druze factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have accused them of siding with the Bedouin and committing abuses against the Druze, including summary executions.The Observatory has said the violence killed some 1,600 people, many of them Druze civilians.In one of Sweida’s main squares, some demonstrators waved the Israeli flag, an AFP correspondent reported.Israel, which has its own Druze community, bombed government forces during last month’s violence, saying it was acting to defend the minority group as well as enforce its demands for the demilitarization of southern Syria.Rayyan Maarouf, who heads the activist media collective Suwayda 24, said Saturday’s demonstration in Sweida was the largest since last months’s clashes, and that there were similar gatherings in areas including the nearby towns of Shahba and Salkhad.He added that this was the first time people protested under the slogan of self determination.“This is an unprecedented change for the Druze in Syria,” Maarouf told The Associated Press.Other protesters chanted “free free Sweida… Julani out,” referring to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose nom de guerre as an Islamist rebel commander was Abu Mohammed al-Julani.Some held placards, one reading “the right to self-determination is a sacred right for Sweida,” while another demanded an aid corridor from neighboring Jordan.“Today Sweida has taken a stand… under the slogan of the right to self-determination,” resident Munif Rashid, 51, told AFP.“This is Sweida’s position today, and no one can blame it because the assault it faced was not normal.”A live broadcast by Suwayda showed a woman telling the applauding crowd: “We do not want self-administration or federal rule, we want full independence.”Demonstrator Mustafa Sehnawi, who said he was a US-Syrian dual national, told AFP: “We’ve been under siege for more than one month. “We call on the international community… to open (humanitarian) corridors.”Residents have accused the government of imposing a blockade, something officials have denied, pointing to the entry of several aid convoys.State media said another convoy entered the province on Saturday.But the Observatory said the main Damascus-Sweida highway was still cut, accusing armed groups linked to the government of blocking the resumption of normal trade.Last month, authorities announced the formation of a committee to investigate the Sweida violence.

HAMAS ARE A LIAR LEECH COCKROACH PEDOPHILE DEATH CULT. YOU GOTTA NUKEEM. THATS THEIR DEATH WISH. TO DIE FOR THEIR FATHER SATAN.GIVE THEM THEIR WISH. SINCE THEY REFUSE TO STARVE TO DEATH FOR SATAN, THEIR FATHER.

Hamas negotiators signal willingness to ease demands that collapsed talks — officials-Arab diplomat tells ToI that the gaps remain wide, particularly over Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm; security chiefs expected to urge political leaders to back 60-day truce deal By Jacob Magid-Today, 1:14 am-AUG 16,25

Hamas negotiators in Cairo this week signaled a willingness to come down from demands they made last month that led to the collapse of hostage talks in Doha, an Israeli official and an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Friday.Arab mediators passed along the development to Israel, but Jerusalem responded that it is not interested in another partial ceasefire and is only willing to forgo plans to take over Gaza City if Hamas agrees to all of its demands for ending the war, the Israeli official said.Those demands include the release of all 50 remaining hostages, the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.But the gaps on those issues are very wide, particularly regarding the disarmament of Hamas, with the Arab mediators believing that it is a “poison pill” designed to blow up the talks, as it will likely require ongoing intensive Israeli military operations in Gaza in order to verify that it is being upheld, the Arab diplomat said.Instead, the Arab mediators prefer a gradual approach to dealing with Hamas’s weapons, akin to the system that is in place in Lebanon. Arab countries are willing to contribute troops to this effort, provided it is at the invitation of the Palestinian Authority, the diplomat recalled.But another of Israel’s conditions for ending the war is that the PA be barred from any governance role in Gaza, effectively preventing the Arab initiative from moving forward.Despite opposition from Jerusalem, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are planning to resume talks with Hamas on Saturday with the aim of getting the terror group’s final approval on an updated proposal that is far closer to the one that the United States and Israel authorized last month.While this has been characterized as a partial deal, the Arab diplomat stressed that it still has the potential to turn into a permanent ceasefire if the sides hold successful negotiations during the envisioned 60-day truce. During that two-month period, 10 living hostages and 18 bodies will be released in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian security prisoners.The US and Israel pulled their negotiators out of Doha last month due to frustration over Hamas’s demands regarding the scope of the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Gaza, the humanitarian aid mechanisms that will be in place during the truce and the number of Palestinian security prisoners it was demanding, the Israeli official said.If Hamas gives its final approval of a softened proposal that comes down from those demands in the coming days, the mediators will present it to Israel, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide whether to retreat from his declarations that he will no longer accept partial deals.If he agrees to walk back those assertions, the sides will still have to hold another round of talks to agree on the Palestinian security prisoners to be released in the deal, the Arab diplomat clarified.The Israeli official said that the security establishment will likely urge the political leadership to take the deal, as it will secure the release of at least 10 living hostages, whereas taking over Gaza City will risk the lives of some of those captives, with no guarantee that the military pressure will lead Hamas to capitulate.Netanyahu currently feels that Hamas is buying time by expressing interest to mediators in a partial deal when it is not actually serious and that only military pressure will secure the release of all remaining hostages, the Israeli official added.Meanwhile, Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu received a “dramatic” document from who the network dubbed as a “professional” source involved in the negotiations, expressing in writing Hamas’s willingness to reach a partial deal after the terror group long insisted that it would only release additional hostages in exchange for an up-front Israeli commitment for a permanent ceasefire.While Hamas appeared to forgo that demand earlier this summer, its subsequent demands were rejected by Israel and the US, leading to the talks’ collapse.The Arab diplomat argued that Israel raised new demands of its own in June relating to the scope of its withdrawal that led the talks to drag out before the US eventually convinced Netanyahu to come down from them. But by then, Hamas came back with new demands of its own, and the window of opportunity for a deal was missed, the diplomat said.The remaining captives held by terror organizations in Gaza include 49 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.

Israel strikes Hezbollah, warns Lebanon it’s responsible for reining in terror group-Airstrikes come as Hezbollah threatens civil war if Lebanon tries to disarm it; Lebanese PM says threats unacceptable, Beirut will do whatever is necessary for peace and stabilityBy Emanuel Fabian-and AFP 1gust 2025, 10:01 pm

Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck a Hezbollah facility and a tunnel belonging to the terror group near the Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon on Friday, the IDF said, with Defense Minister Israel Katz warning Beirut that it was responsible for reining in the terror group.The military said that it had identified Hezbollah military activity at the site and that the existence of the facility was a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.Following the strikes, Katz said Israel would continue to strike at all Hezbollah violations.“We will not budge from our policy of maximum enforcement and will not allow threats to arise against the residents of the north and all citizens of Israel,” he said.In a message to Lebanon’s new President Joseph Aoun, Katz said Israel views Beirut as “directly responsible for enforcing Lebanon’s sovereignty and upholding the ceasefire agreement.”The Lebanese government has been working to disarm Hezbollah, but has sometimes been criticized for not doing so effectively. Critics of Israeli policy, however, argue that carrying out such strikes too regularly without allowing the Lebanese government to dismantle Hezbollah on its own may risk undermining the first-ever government that has expressed a genuine willingness to address the issue.The strikes came hours after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed to fight government plans to disarm his group, with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accusing him of making “unacceptable” threats to unleash civil war.Qassem gave a televised address after meeting with Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, whose country has long backed and armed the Lebanese terror group.Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year’s war with Israel, and the Lebanese government — under US pressure — has ordered the army to draw up a plan to disarm the group by the end of the year.Iran, whose so-called axis of resistance includes Hezbollah, has also suffered a series of setbacks, most recently in its own war with Israel, which also saw the United States strike its nuclear facilities.“The government is implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife,” Qassem said.“The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues, occupation persists, and we will fight it… If necessary to confront this American-Israeli project, no matter the cost.”He urged the government “not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed,” adding the state would “bear responsibility for any internal explosion and any destruction of Lebanon.”Salam later denounced the remarks, saying on X that they “constitute an implicit threat of civil war.”He added that “any threat or intimidation related to such a war is totally unacceptable.”Salam also hit back at Hezbollah’s characterization of the disarmament push as an American-Israeli effort.“Our decisions are purely Lebanese, made by our cabinet, and no one tells us what to do,” he said.“The Lebanese have the right to stability and security… without which the country will not be able to recover, and no reconstruction or investment will take place.”Before the war with Israel, Hezbollah was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.It long maintained it had to keep its arsenal to defend Lebanon from attack, but critics accused it of using its weapons for political leverage.Qassem said Friday that Hezbollah and its political ally Amal would not be organizing any street protests against disarmament at this time, but threatened to do so in the future.Iran’s Supreme National Security Council chief Larijani was in Beirut this week and held talks with Qassem as well as with Aoun.Iran has expressed its opposition to the government’s disarmament plan, and has vowed to continue to provide support, with Lebanese officials recently hardening their tone toward Hezbollah and its patron.Both the president and the prime minister took issue with Iran’s recent statements during Larijani’s trip, with Salam saying Lebanon rejects “any interference in its internal affairs.”

In fresh offensive on Gaza City outskirts, IDF says dozens of ‘terror targets’ destroyed-Pushing into Zeitoun, army says troops working to ‘locate explosives, eliminate terrorists’; IDF seals 7km of Hamas tunnels with cement; UN says 1,760 killed seeking aid since MayBy Emanuel Fabian,Jacob Magid,Agencies and ToI Staff 15 August 2025, 8:59 pm

The Israeli military on Friday said it destroyed dozens of “terror targets” in its new offensive on Zeitoun on the outskirts of Gaza City, which was launched earlier in the week ahead of its planned major operation to conquer the entire city that is currently home to an estimated one million Palestinians.The new operation in the Zeitoun neighborhood comes after Israel’s security cabinet approved the capture of the Palestinian territory’s largest city following 22 months of war that have created dire humanitarian conditions in the enclave.“Over the past few days, IDF troops have been operating in the Zeitoun area, on the outskirts of Gaza City,” said the statement released by the Israeli military, confirming reports of ground troop movements and heavy strikes in the area.According to the military, the Zeitoun offensive is being carried out by the 99th Division with the Nahal Infantry Brigade and 7th Armored Brigade.The troops have so far demolished dozens of “terror targets,” including booby-trapped buildings and sites where weapons were stored, and killed some 20 terror operatives, the IDF added.“The troops are operating to locate explosives, eliminate terrorists and dismantle terrorist infrastructure above and below ground. As part of their activity, the troops struck and dismantled a booby-trapped structure that stored weapons,” it said.In one incident, the military said the 7th Brigade troops spotted several operatives who fired an RPG at a tank, without causing injuries. The operatives were then eliminated in a strike, according to the IDF.The Nahal Brigade troops have meanwhile been working on clearing the area of Hamas infrastructure and establishing control. The army said the Nahal soldiers killed several operatives who were spotted planting bombs, and others who approached the forces.Additionally, the division’s 990th Artillery Regiment has provided the ground troops with covering fire. Ahead of the offensive and during it, the IDF says the artillery unit shelled terror infrastructure and killed several operatives, including a Hamas platoon commander in the Zeitoun Battalion.The Israeli Air Force has also been provided support, striking Hamas sites and operatives in the area.Ahead of the operation, the IDF issued multiple evacuation warnings for Palestinian civilians who were residing in the area.On Wednesday, Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City had intensified, with the residential neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit “with very heavy airstrikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings.”IDF seals major tunnel networkAdditionally, the IDF said Friday that seven kilometers (4.3 miles) worth of Hamas tunnels in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun were sealed with concrete.The IDF said the engineering effort took place over the past four weeks, amid an offensive against Hamas in the town.Over 20,000 cubic meters of concrete were pumped into the Hamas tunnel network in Beit Hanoun, using a “dedicated system” that included a 4.5-kilometer-long (2.8-mile-long) pipeline running from the border fence near the community of Netiv Haasara to the “heart” of the underground passages, the IDF said.“The operation was made possible thanks to precise engineering planning, combining advanced technological capabilities and innovative methods used for the first time, which led to the complete sealing of the tunnel,” the military said.Simultaneously, the IDF said another 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) of tunnels in Beit Hanoun were blown up by combat engineers using standard demolition methods.“The two combined efforts led to a significant blow to the Beit Hanoun Battalion and led to its operational defeat,” the army added.Sealing tunnels with concrete can be a cheaper and less risky alternative to blowing them up, although it takes longer to carry out.UN: At least 1,760 killed while seeking aid since MayAlso on Friday, the UN human rights office said that at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid in Gaza since late May, a jump of several hundred since its last published figure at the beginning of August.“Since 27 May, and as of 13 August, we have recorded that at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid; 994 in the vicinity of GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) sites and 766 along the routes of supply convoys. Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military,” the agency’s office for the Palestinian territories said in a statement.That compares with a figure of 1,373 killed, the office reported on August 1, a jump of 387 fatalities in just over two weeks.The IDF has acknowledged firing warning shots toward those who pose a threat to soldiers, while insisting that Hamas is inflating the death count at each of these incidents. It has not provided alternative figures, though, and hasn’t allowed journalists to freely operate in Gaza in order to verify the toll.Those firing the warning shots are soldiers not trained in crowd control the way police officers are and aren’t provided with non-lethal means to employ in Gaza while they are carrying out other combat missions.While the majority of reported deaths have taken place en route to GHF sites, the past several weeks have seen double the casualties near the convoys of the UN and other international organizations.This appears to be tied to the ongoing chaos surrounding UN convoys, which are quickly overrun by desperate Gazans before they make it to warehouses or distribution sites. Nearly 90% of UN aid is not reaching intended destinations throughout Gaza, according to UN figures.The latest update comes as Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency says at least 23 people were killed by Israeli fire on Friday, including 12 who were waiting for humanitarian aid.The Israeli military said it is looking into the reports when contacted for comment.Airdrops and aid trucks continue to enter Gaza-As Israel has ramped up aid efforts in the face of reports of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza, aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and — for the first time — Singapore airdropped 127 pallets of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to the IDF.Each pallet contains around one ton of food.Israel re-adopted a policy of allowing aid airdrops on July 26, amid mounting international criticism over the hunger crisis in Gaza. But airdrops are only able to deliver a small fraction of what can come into Gaza by land. They also pose safety risks for the civilians who can be hit by the packages from above.Alongside the airdrops, over 310 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip Thursday through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities (COGAT) said.According to COGAT, more than 390 trucks worth of aid were also collected by the United Nations and other international organizations from the Gaza side of the crossings yesterday to be distributed.Another 119 pallets of aid — about 4-6 trucks worth — were airdropped by Jordan, the UAE, Germany, Belgium, Italy and France in Gaza Thursday, according to the IDF.The UN has said 600 trucks of aid need to be distributed each day in order to properly feed the Strip’s roughly two million people.Additionally, COGAT said that “tankers of UN fuel entered for the operation of essential humanitarian systems” Thursday. It also says it facilitated the entry and exit of aid workers rotating in and out of Gaza.The war began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.Terror groups in Gaza still hold 50 hostages, of whom 20 are believed to be alive, while 28 have been confirmed dead, and the government has expressed “grave concern” about the remaining two.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 60,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January 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.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 459. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.

Twenty years on from Gaza withdrawal, Israel is again mired in the Strip-For Israelis evacuated in the 2005 disengagement, the war is viewed as an opportunity to undo past mistakes and return; Palestinians fear a long-term reumption of Israeli control By Melanie Lidman 15 August 2025, 7:05 pm

AP — Twenty years ago, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, dismantling 21 Jewish settlements and pulling out its forces. The Friday anniversary of the start of the landmark disengagement comes as Israel is mired in a nearly two-year war with Hamas that has devastated the Palestinian territory and means it is likely to keep troops there long into the future.Israel’s disengagement, which also included removing four settlements in the West Bank, was then-prime minister Ariel Sharon’s controversial attempt to jump-start negotiations with the Palestinians. But it bitterly divided Israeli society and led to the empowerment of Hamas, with implications that continue to reverberate today.The emotional images of Jews being ripped from their homes by Israeli soldiers galvanized Israel’s far-right and settler movements. The anger helped them organize and increase their political influence, accounting in part for the rise of hardline politicians like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.On Thursday, Smotrich boasted of a settlement expansion plan east of Jerusalem that will “bury” the idea of a future Palestinian state.For Palestinians, even if they welcomed the disengagement, it didn’t end Israel’s control over their lives.Soon after, Hamas won elections in 2006, then drove out the Palestinian Authority in a violent takeover. Israel and Egypt imposed a closure on the territory, controlling the entry and exit of goods and people in a bid to stop Hamas from importing weapons. Though its intensity varied over the years, the closure helped impoverish the population and entrenched a painful separation from Palestinians in the West Bank.A unilateral withdrawal enhanced Hamas’s statureIsrael couldn’t justify the military or economic cost of maintaining the heavily fortified settlements in Gaza, explained Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Misgav Institute and the Institute for National Security Studies think tanks. There were around 8,000 Israeli settlers and 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza in 2005.“There was no chance for these settlements to exist or flourish or become meaningful enough to be a strategic anchor,” he said. By contrast, there are more than 500,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, most living in developed settlement blocs that have generally received more support from Israeli society, Michael said. Most of the world considers all Israeli settlements illegal under international law.Because Israel withdrew unilaterally, without any coordination with the Palestinian Authority, it enhanced Hamas’s stature among Palestinians in Gaza.“This contributed to Hamas’s win in the elections in 2006, because they leveraged it and introduced it as a very significant achievement,” Michael said. “They saw it as an achievement of the resistance and a justification for the continuation of the armed resistance.”Footage of the violence between Israeli settlers and Israeli soldiers also created an “open wound” in Israeli society, Michael said.“I don’t think any government will be able to do something like that in the future,” he said. That limits any flexibility over settlements in the West Bank if negotiations over a two-state solution with the Palestinians ever resume.“Disengagement will never happen again, this is a price we’re paying as a society, and a price we’re paying politically,” he said.An early settler longs to returnAnita Tucker, now 79, was part of the first nine Jewish families that moved to the Gaza Strip in 1976. She and her husband and their three kids lived in an Israeli army outpost near what is today Deir al-Balah, while the settlement of Netzer Hazoni was constructed.Originally from Brooklyn, she started a farm growing vegetables in the harsh, tall sand dunes. At first, relations were good with their Palestinian neighbors, she said, and they worked hard to build their home and a “beautiful community.” She had two more children, and three chose to stay and raise their families in Netzer Hazoni.She can still recall the moment, 20 years ago, when 1,000 Israeli soldiers arrived at the gate to the settlement to remove the approximately 400 residents. Some of her neighbors lit their houses on fire in protest.“Obviously, it was a mistake to leave. The lives of the Arabs became much worse, and the lives of the Jews became much, much worse, with rockets and October 7,” she said, referring to the decades of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel and the date in 2023 of the Hamas attack that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage, launching the ongoing war.Despite the passage of time, her family still is “yearning and longing for their home,” she said. Several of her 10 grandchildren, including some who spent their early childhood in the Gaza settlements, have served in the current war and were near her old house.“It’s hard to believe, because of all the terrible things that happened that we predicted, but we’re willing to build there again,” said Tucker.Palestinians doubt Israel will ever fully withdraw from Gaza againAfter Israel’s withdrawal 20 years ago, many Palestinians described Gaza as an “open-air prison.” They had control on the inside – under a Hamas government that some supported but some saw as heavy-handed and brutal. But ultimately, Israel had a grip around the territory.Many Palestinians believe Sharon carried out the withdrawal so Israel could focus on cementing its control in the West Bank through settlement building.Now, some believe a more direct Israeli occupation is returning to Gaza. After 22 months of war, Israeli troops control more than 75 percent of Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks of maintaining security control long term after the war.“Over the past 20 years we were relieved of occupation, shelling and seeing the Jews. Now we hear that they want to occupy here again after two years of war,” said Sabah Abu Audeh, a 67-year-old grandmother who was displaced to Gaza’s Shati refugee camp.Aouni Timras, 55, from the Nuseirat refugee camp said he felt optimistic when Israel pulled out, thinking things would get better.“We were hopeful but now the occupation returned for the second time,” Timras said. “What can people do? This is what we live through. We hope that there will be a truce so that people can stand up again.”Amjad Shawa, the director of the Palestinian NGO Network, said he doesn’t believe Netanyahu will repeat Sharon’s full withdrawal. Instead, he expects the military to continue controlling large swaths of Gaza through “buffer zones.”The aim, he said, is to keep Gaza “unlivable in order to change the demographics,” referring to Netanyahu’s plans to encourage Palestinians to leave the territory.Israel is “reoccupying the Gaza Strip” to prevent a Palestinian state, said Mostafa Ibrahim, an author based in Gaza City whose home was destroyed in the current war.Missed opportunities-Israeli former Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, who was head of the country’s Southern Command during the disengagement, remembers the toll of protecting a few thousand settlers.There were an average of 10 attacks per day against Israeli settlers and soldiers, including rockets, roadside bombs big enough to destroy a tank, tunnels to attack Israeli soldiers and military positions, and frequent gunfire.“Bringing a school bus of kids from one place to another required a military escort,” said Harel. “There wasn’t a future. People paint it as how wonderful it was there, but it wasn’t wonderful.”Harel says the decision to evacuate Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip was the right one, but that Israel missed crucial opportunities.Most egregious, he said, was a unilateral withdrawal without obtaining any concessions from the Palestinians in Gaza or the Palestinian Authority.He also sharply criticized Israel’s policy of containment toward Hamas after disengagement. There were short but destructive conflicts over the years between the two sides, but otherwise the policy gave Hamas “an opportunity to do whatever they wanted.”“We had such a blind spot with Hamas, we didn’t see them morph from a terror organization into an organized military, with battalions and commanders and infrastructure,” he said.The October 7 attack was not a result of the disengagement, said Harel. “The main issue is what we did in the 18 years in between.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

EZEKIEL 32:6-9
6  I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7  And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8  All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9  I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator and baby murderers by abortion) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

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)

Hurricane Erin rapidly strengthens to Category 5 storm near the Caribbean-The storm is expected to continue rapidly intensifying, according to the National Hurricane Center.Aug. 16, 2025, 4:23 AM EDT / By Mirna Alsharif and The Associated Press.

Hurricane Erin rapidly exploded from a Category 3 storm Friday evening into catastrophic Category 5 Saturday morning and is expected to strengthen as it curves north between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda this upcoming week, according to the National Hurricane Center.The massive hurricane is about 105 miles north of Anguilla and heading west at 17 mph, the service’s hurricane center in Florida noted in an update at 11:20 a.m.The storm is currently 105 miles north of Anguilla with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. It is moving west at 17 mph.“A turn toward the west-northwest is expected tonight with a decrease in forward speed, and a turn toward the north is expected to occur early next week,” the hurricane center said. “On the forecast track, the center of Erin is expected to move just north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico over the weekend.”Hurricane Erin is expected to strengthen as it passes north of the Leeward Islands this weekend, and curve north between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda this upcoming week. It is forecast to stay a Major Hurricane (Category 3+) through the first half of the work week.The storm is not currently forecast to hit land, but its strong winds are impacting nearby islands, prompting warnings of possible flooding and landslides.There are tropical storm watches in effect for St. Martin, Sint Maarten and Saint Barthélemy, according to the hurricane center. The northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos and the southeastern Bahamas should also keep an eye on the storm, the hurricane center advised.In Sint Maarten, there is also a flood advisory and a small aircraft advisory, according to the country’s government.The storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall through Sunday to the northern Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Rainfall totals of 2 to 6 inches are possible, the hurricane center said.“Locally, considerable flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides, are possible,” the hurricane center said.Erin will generate large, powerful waves that are forecast to affect Hispaniola, Turks and Caicos, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the northern Leeward Islands through the weekend, according to the hurricane center.“These swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the east coast of the United States early next week,” the hurricane center said. “These rough ocean conditions will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents.”Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, but the first to reach hurricane status.This year’s season is once again expected to be unusually busy. The forecast calls for six to 10 hurricanes, with three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 110 mph.The U.S. government has deployed more than 200 employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies to Puerto Rico as a precaution as forecasters issued a flood watch for the entire U.S. territory from late Friday into Monday.Puerto Rico Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña said 367 shelters have been inspected and could be opened if needed.The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday that it closed six seaports in Puerto Rico and two in the U.S. Virgin Islands to all incoming vessels unless they had received prior authorization.Meanwhile, officials in the Bahamas said they prepared some public shelters as a precaution as they urged people to track the hurricane.“These storms are very volatile and can make sudden shifts in movement,” said Aarone Sargent, managing director for the Bahamas’ disaster risk management authority.

U.S. braces for uncertainty ahead of peak hurricane season amid NOAA upheaval-Hurricane season could be more dangerous following federal cuts to U.S. weather agency, experts warn-Katie Nicholson, Jill English · CBC News · Posted: Aug 15, 2025 4:00 AM EDT |

One year after being hit by two powerful hurricanes just two weeks apart, Florida is bracing for its first peak hurricane season after sweeping federal cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its National Weather Service (NWS).A branch of NOAA, the weather service is heavily relied upon across the U.S. for fast, accurate forecasts, including where and when a hurricane might hit. The NWS serves to inform local governments and emergency management, as well as members of the media and the public at-large.More than 2,000 jobs eliminated at the research and forecasting agency this year have been attributed to the Trump administration. There are currently more than 3,000 vacancies across NOAA, and that has some scientists and meteorologists worried as peak hurricane season begins."My greatest concern is the lack of people that will be available to actually do the work that needs to be done, whether it's collecting observations or making a forecast," said John Cortinas, a former assistant administrator for science at NOAA.The Trump administration is now pledging to rehire 450 staff at the NWS after eliminating more than 500 jobs there earlier this year. But new employees are unlikely to be in place to help as this hurricane season peaks next month."It takes time to train people. It takes time to acclimate them to the kinds of things that the weather service does, and the weather in the various areas in the region that they'll be responsible for," Cortinas said.Gaps in data-NOAA is recognized as a world leader in hurricane research and forecasting, but the staff that remains is spread thin, and critical data collection is compromised, according to many former NOAA employees who spoke with CBC News. Several of the 122 NWS offices have scaled down to non-24 hour operations, and others are without a meteorologist-in-charge."If it's a sunny day or there's no weather happening, the impacts of that are going to be minimal," he said. "But sometimes you're not always prepared for when something may pop up or something may happen. And so the 24-hour operation is important to maintain."Many meteorologists and decision-makers rely on the information NOAA and its weather service provide, like Emmy-winning veteran broadcast meteorologist John Morales."We're going to have worse modelling. And this is already being observed," Morales said.Weather balloons, usually released twice a day to gather data, are sometimes only being sent into the atmosphere once a day or sometimes not at all, he said. Morales says he is also worried about how many times hurricane hunter aircraft will fly missions into storms this year. He relies on their data to make timely forecasts.Last October, as Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified off the Florida coast, Morales was visibly shaken on air as he interpreted data coming to him live from a hurricane hunter plane in the storm."In those few seconds before getting punched up on air, I am looking at the barometric pressure as being measured by a hurricane hunter aircraft ... transmitting it to the National Weather Service, which in turn transmitted to us one of their partners in media," he said."It's very likely that without that hurricane hunter mission, we would have not seen how rapidly the hurricane was intensifying. So that's how crucial this information is."NOAA's crucial forecasting and research is used by many countries, including Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada told CBC News it has contingency plans in place in case there are any interruptions to the data shared by the American agency. That includes relationships with several other meteorological organizations around the world. "This collaboration will continue and can be enhanced if needed," ECCC wrote in an email.Tied at the hip-Heading into peak hurricane season, NOAA has maintained predictions that this will be an above-average season, driven by unnaturally warm temperatures in the air and oceans, directly attributable to heat-trapping fossil fuel emissions. "It's really a combustible mix to live in an era in which there is a higher chance that any tropical storm can become a Category 4 or 5 hurricane." says Morales. "We're getting more of the stronger hurricanes happening. Well, that's one element. Now we're going to mix it with degraded ability to study, monitor, forecast and warn … I'm very concerned."Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has relied on NOAA's data to keep her city safe. She says she is holding her breath heading into hurricane season. "Unfortunately, we're not going to find out the impact of those cuts until that storm comes. And so that is something that I'm very concerned about," she said.The sudden loss of institutional knowledge at NOAA is compounded by the mass exodus of senior leadership at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the organization that responds to the storms with aid, before, during and for months after.North Carolina's governor Josh Stein has pleaded that his government has lost billions, and new red tape requires any claims to FEMA over $100,000 go to the secretary of Homeland Security for sign off. That new rule was blamed by some for a slow response to the Texas flash floods in July."I stay out of politics. My job is to protect the community," said Pete Gomez, the director of Miami-Dade County's emergency management department. NOAA is a critical resource."We're tied at the hip with NOAA and the National Weather Service," he said. "We base a lot of our decisions on the advice that they're giving us. So we need to have the most accurate, up-to-date information possible," he said."If we're not getting timely, accurate information, then we can't make timely, accurate decisions."Future losses-The Trump administration is also proposing an additional 27 per cent cut to NOAA in its 2026 budget, which would eliminate all research laboratories including at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. So far, the plan has received a lot of pushback from Congress."Eliminating those laboratories would have real significant impacts not only on the things that are happening today, but on our ability to improve the way that we understand the environment," said Cortinas, referring to NOAA's world renowned leadership on hurricane research.And as storms increase in frequency and intensity with climate change, there's an increased need to be able to pinpoint exactly where, when and how hard a storm will hit."The last thing you want is to have a high false alarm ratio, right?," said Morales. "You don't want to be over warning people for events that might affect the next town over, but not your town." "To be able to do the research, to be able to narrow those warnings to specific communities as opposed to an entire state, that's what leads to better action when people are called to take action."

At least 280 people killed by flash floods in India and Pakistan, with scores still missing-More than 1,600 people have been rescued from floods triggered by torrential rains-The Associated Press · Posted: Aug 15, 2025 10:02 AM EDT | 

Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed more than 280 people and left scores of others missing in India and Pakistan over the past 24 hours, officials said Friday, as rescuers brought to safety some 1,600 people from two mountainous districts in the neighbouring countries.In Pakistan, a helicopter carrying relief supplies to the flood-hit northwestern Bajaur district crashed on Friday due to bad weather, killing all five people on board, including two pilots, a government statement said.Sudden, intense downpours over small areas, known as cloudbursts, are increasingly common in India's Himalayan regions and Pakistan's northern areas, which are prone to flash floods and landslides. Cloudbursts have the potential to wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides, impacting thousands of people in the mountainous regions.Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years partly because of climate change, while damage from the storms also has increased because of unplanned development in mountain regions.Dozens missing in remote Himalayan village-In India-controlled Kashmir, rescuers searched for missing people in the remote Himalayan village of Chositi on Friday after flash floods a day earlier left at least 60 people dead and at least 80 missing, officials said.Officials halted rescue operations overnight but rescued at least 300 people Thursday after a powerful cloudburst triggered floods and landslides. Officials said many missing people were believed to have been washed away.Harvinder Singh, a local resident, joined the rescue efforts immediately after the disaster and helped retrieve 33 bodies from under mud, he said.At least 50 seriously injured people were treated in local hospitals, many of them rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris. Disaster management official Mohammed Irshad said the number of missing people could increase.Weather officials forecast more heavy rains and floods in the area.Chositi, in Kashmir's Kishtwar district, is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an ongoing annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 3,000 metres.Officials said the pilgrimage, which began July 25 and was scheduled to end on Sept. 5, was suspended.The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen set up for the pilgrims, as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes. More than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen at the time of the flood, which also damaged or washed away many of the homes clustered together in the foothills, officials said.Sneha, who gave only one name, said her husband and a daughter were swept away as floodwaters gushed down the mountain. The two were having a meal at the community kitchen while she and her son were nearby. The family had come for pilgrimage, she said.Photos and videos on social media show extensive damage, with household goods strewn next to damaged vehicles and homes in the village. Authorities made makeshift bridges Friday to help stranded pilgrims cross a muddy water channel and used dozens of pieces of equipment to shift boulders, uprooted trees, electricity poles and other debris.The Kishtwar district is home to multiple hydroelectric power projects, which experts have long warned pose a threat to the region's fragile ecosystem.In northern and northwestern Pakistan, flash floods killed at least 243 people in the past 24 hours, including 157 people who died in the flood-hit Buner district in northwest Pakistan on Friday.Mohammad Suhail, a provincial emergency service spokesperson, told The Associated Press that dozens of people were still missing, and rescue operations were underway.He said 78 bodies were recovered from various parts of the district by midday Friday, and another 79 were pulled from the rubble of collapsed homes and flooded villages later."The death toll may rise as we are still looking for dozens of missing people," Suhail said.Dozens were injured as the deluge destroyed homes in villages in Buner, where authorities declared a state of emergency Friday. Ambulances have transported more than 100 bodies to hospitals, according to a government statement.The helicopter that crashed Friday was on a relief mission when it went down in the northwest, provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said.At least 35 people were still missing in these areas, according to local officials. The latest fatalities bring the total number of rain-related deaths to 556 since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.Deaths were reported from different parts of Pakistan on Thursday. Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said rescuers worked for hours to save 1,300 tourists after they were trapped by flash flooding and landslides in the Siran Valley in Mansehra district on Thursday.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at an emergency meeting, ordered the disaster management authority to ensure the evacuation of tourists and all those hit by the floods.The Gilgit-Baltistan region has been hit by multiple floods since July, triggering landslides along the Karakoram Highway, a key trade and travel route linking Pakistan and China that is used by tourists to travel to the north. The region is home to scenic glaciers that provide 75 per cent of Pakistan's stored water supply.During the summer, when schools are closed for more than two months, hundreds of thousands of people travel to scenic destinations in northern and northwestern Pakistan. This year, despite repeated government warnings about landslides and flash floods, many still visited popular resorts in flood-hit areas. Officials said rescuers had evacuated nearly 2,000 tourists from rain- and flood-affected regions to safer locations in the past 24 hours.Pakistan's disaster management agency has issued fresh alerts for glacial lake outburst flooding in the north, warning travellers to avoid affected areas.A study released this week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall in Pakistan from June 24 to July 23 was 10 to 15 per cent heavier because of global warming. In 2022, the country's worst monsoon season on record killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated $40 billion US in damage.

Torrential rains trigger flash floods in Kashmir, killing at least 56 and leaving scores missing-Officials said at least 80 people were still missing in the region’s Chositi village after a sudden, intense downpour known as a cloudburst.Aug. 15, 2025, 4:01 AM EDT / Source: The Associated Press By The Associated Press

SRINAGAR, India — Flash floods caused by torrential rains in a remote village in India-controlled Kashmir have left at least 56 people dead and scores missing, authorities said Thursday, as rescue teams scouring the devastated Himalayan village brought at least 300 people to safety.Following a cloudburst in the region’s Chositi village, which triggered floods and landslides, disaster management official Mohammed Irshad estimated that at least 80 people were still missing as of late Thursday, with many believed to have been washed away.Irshad said that the count of missing people could increase as authorities continue to tally the figures.Officials halted rescue operations for the night, he said. Weather officials forecast more heavy rains and floods in the area.India’s deputy minister for science and technology, Jitendra Singh, warned that the disaster “could result in substantial” loss of life.Susheel Kumar Sharma, a local official, said that at least 50 seriously injured people were being treated in local hospitals. Many were rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris.Chositi is a remote Himalayan village in Kashmir’s Kishtwar district and is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an ongoing annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 9,500 feet and about a 5-mile trek from the village.Multiple pilgrims were also feared to be affected by the disaster. Officials said the pilgrimage had been suspended and that more rescue teams were on the way to the area to strengthen rescue and relief operations. The pilgrimage began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on Sept. 5.The first responders to the disaster were villagers and local officials who were later joined by police and disaster management officials, as well as personnel from India’s military and paramilitary forces, Sharma said.Abdul Majeed Bichoo, a local resident and social activist from a neighboring village, said that he witnessed the bodies of eight people being pulled out from under the mud. Three horses that were completely buried alongside them under debris were “miraculously recovered alive,” he said.The 75-year-old Bichoo said Chositi village had become a “sight of complete devastation from all sides” following the disaster.“It was heartbreaking and an unbearable sight. I have not seen this kind of destruction of life and property in my life,” he said.The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen set up for the pilgrims as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes, officials said. They added that more than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen when the tragedy struck. The flash floods also damaged and washed away many homes, clustered together in the foothills.Photos and videos circulating on social media showed extensive damage caused in the village with multiple vehicles and homes affected.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that “the situation is being monitored closely” and offered his prayers to “all those affected by the cloudburst and flooding.”“Rescue and relief operations are underway. Every possible assistance will be provided to those in need,” he said in a social media post.Sudden, intense downpours over small areas known as cloudbursts are increasingly common in India’s Himalayan regions, which are prone to flash floods and landslides. Cloudbursts have the potential to wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides, impacting thousands of people in the mountainous regions.Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years partly because of climate change, while damage from the storms also has increased because of 

3 dead in historic rain and flash flooding in Tennessee, authorities say-Chattanooga Airport recorded 6.42 inches of rain on Tuesday, the second wettest day on record in the city’s history.Multiple fatalities confirmed after record Tennessee flooding Aug. 13, 2025, 9:30 AM EDT / By Marlene Lenthang and Kathryn Prociv

At least three people have died after heavy rain and flash flooding lashed Chattanooga, Tennessee, overnight Tuesday and shut down interstates, stranded cars and prompted swift-water rescues.A family of two adults and one child died after a tree fell on their car in East Ridge Wednesday morning, the Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.At least one man is also missing in the floodwaters, authorities said. First responders saw the man being swept away and attempted to look for him by swift-water boat, but were unable to find him. The search for that man is a “top priority this morning at first light,” the Office of Emergency Management said.Chattanooga Airport recorded 6.42 inches of rain on Tuesday, the second wettest day in the city’s history since records began in 1879, the National Weather Service Office in Morristown said.Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp declared a local state of emergency due to the flash flooding.Muddy brown floodwaters turned highways into rivers. One video showed a big rig driving through Interstate 24 with water levels reaching the trailer. Video footage also showed cars swirling in floods with water reaching up to the windows.Road closures Tuesday included I-24 and I-24. The waters receded Wednesday morning, and as of 12:30 a.m. local time, the I-24 was clear and open in both directions.The Chattanooga Fire Department and Hamilton County Sheriff's Office's swift-water rescue teams raced to help stranded motorists and locals trapped in their homes.Six people were rescued by the fire department after a van was nearly swept away in a nearby overflowing creek at Davidson Road and Gunbarrel Road late Tuesday night. No injuries were reported.“Firefighters spent hours checking sunken cars for any trapped people. This was a large coordinated response effort by city, county and state agencies as flash flooding caused dangerous situations in Chattanooga,” the fire department said.The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office also rescued residents trapped by rising flood waters in East Ridge.“The occupants of three houses were not able to leave their homes due to rising flood waters and swift-water rescue personnel helped assist them into inflatable boats to safety,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.But the rain isn't over just yet.This morning 6 million people are under a flood watch across much of Tennessee and eastern Kentucky, where heavy rainfall over already saturated soils could lead to additional flash flooding.Cities in the slight risk for flooding include Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville in Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; and Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina.Additional areas that can expect heavy rain capable of causing scattered flash flooding include parts of the Gulf Coast as well as the mid-Atlantic to Northeast.The flood watch warning for middle Tennessee warned excessive rainfall is possible through the evening and excessive runoff could result in flooding in creeks, streams and low-lying locations.“Widespread flooding is not expected, but localized flash flooding is possible from heavy thunderstorms. Areas that had heavy rain this morning are at greatest risk,” The Flood Watch warning said.While waters were receding in Chattanooga, flood concerns are growing for residents thousands of miles to the north in Juneau, Alaska, where a glacial outburst is underway.The Suicide Basin, a glacial lake near the Mendenhall Glacier, periodically releases outburst that causes major flooding along Mendenhall Lake and River.Juneau officials said in a news release Tuesday a glacial outburst has occurred, and the Suicide Basin is releasing, with flooding expected along Mendenhall Lake and River Tuesday through Wednesday.Residents are being told to evacuate the potential flood area. Check here for evacuation zones.A flood warning is in place through 8 a.m. Alaska time Thursday.The Mendenhall Lake gauge crested at 16.65 feet at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday local time, and started to go down afterwards, the National Weather Service office of Juneau said. The area will remain in major flood stage of several more hours, city officials said.The Army Corps of Engineers is helping the town prepare for what could be a record-setting flood. Thus far the Army has provided 37,800 feet of HESCO barriers, 400 super tacks, 112,000 sandbags and 25,000 feet of polyethylene sheeting.

Heat wave hampers fight against wildfires in Spain, Portugal, Greece-14 major fires in Spain, 7 in Portugal as high temperatures expected over the weekend-The Associated Press · Posted: Aug 15, 2025 

Firefighters in Spain, Portugal and Greece battled ongoing wildfires Friday, an important religious holiday in all three countries, as persistent hot, dry conditions challenged efforts to contain the blazes.Spain was fighting 14 major fires, according to Virginia Barcones, general director of emergency services. Temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend."Today will once again be a very tough day, with an extreme risk of new fires," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X.The national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in most of the country, including where the largest blazes were burning in the north and west. A heat wave, which brought temperatures exceeding 40 C on several days this month, was expected to last through Monday.Fires in the Galicia region forced the closure of several highways. The high speed rail line connecting it to Spain's capital, Madrid, remained suspended.The fires in Spain this year have burned 158,000 hectares, according to the European Union's European Forest Fire Information System. That's an area roughly as big as metropolitan London.The wildfires raged on Friday as many European countries celebrated a religious holiday devoted to the Virgin Mary, known in Catholic countries like Spain and Portugal as the Feast of the Assumption.Thousands of firefighters battling Portugal's firesIn Portugal, nearly 4,000 firefighters were battling fires on Friday. Seven major fires were active. Authorities extended the state of alert until Sunday as high temperatures were expected to last through the weekend.The Portuguese government on Friday requested assistance from the EU's civil protection mechanism, a firefighting force that European countries in need can call upon. A day before, Spain received two Canadair water bomber aircraft after requesting EU help to tackle blazes for the first time ever.In the past week, Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also requested help from the EU's firefighting force to deal with forest fires. The force has already been activated as many times this year as all of last year's fire season.On Friday, a wildfire in Greece burned out of control for a fourth day on the island of Chios, prompting several more overnight evacuations.Two water-dropping planes and two helicopters were operating in the north of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea, where local authorities said a lull in high winds was helping firefighters early Friday.Following a series of large fires in western Greece earlier this week, the fire service was on alert Friday outside Athens and nearby areas in the south of the country where adverse weather conditions elevated the fire risk.The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed solidarity on Friday with the victims of wildfires in southern Europe during prayers on a day that is also important for Orthodox Christians and known as the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.Scientists say that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness in parts of Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.The burning of fossil fuels like coal and gas releases heat-trapping gasses that are the primary driver of climate change.Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.The EU monitoring agency says that 2024 was the hottest year on record both globally and in Europe, which experienced its second-highest number of "heat stress" days.

Wildfire crews hope for reprieve as rain falls on Vancouver Island blaze-Special air quality statement remains in effect as smoke continues to dissipate over eastern Vancouver Island-Courtney Dickson · CBC News · Posted: Aug 15, 2025 9:24 AM EDT | 

Rain has arrived on Vancouver Island, where an out of control wildfire has been burning for several days. The Mount Underwood wildfire, south of Port Alberni, B.C., covers about 34.06 square kilometres (3,406 hectares), according to the B.C. Wildfire Service's latest information Friday morning. It has forced evacuations, prompted local states of emergency and caused power outages throughout the area since it was discovered on Monday.Environment Canada is forecasting rain all day Friday and into the weekend in the area, which could aid firefighters battling the blaze. The area around Port Alberni could get up to 20 millimetres on Friday, the weather agency says. "We have a favourable forecast, which is really great news," B.C. Wildfire Service spokesperson Stefan Hood said Thursday.In an update Friday morning, the wildfire service said wildfire behaviour and suppression will depend on how much rain actually falls over the next few days. If it rains too much, the service said, slopes could be impacted, which could cause rock falls.There are currently 123 wildland firefighting personnel working on the Mount Underwood fire, as well as 11 helicopters.The road between Port Alberni and Bamfield is closed due to the fire. A special air quality statement remains in effect for eastern and inland Vancouver Island, as well as the Sunshine Coast from Saltery Bay to Powell River, as smoke from the Mount Underwood fire is expected to be visible through the next 24 hours, Environment Canada says. Smoke from a fire in Washington state is also expected to blow up as far as Harrison Lake, the agency says. However, air quality forecasts for Friday show a low risk across the province.As of noon Friday, 82 wildfires were burning across the province. Of those, six are out of control. A total of 59 of the wildfires throughout B.C. have been caused by lightning, 15 are human-caused, and in eight cases, the cause of the fire has not been determined. 

Kingston fire destroys Cabot Academy elementary school-Air support temporarily grounded Friday morning, as wildfire grows-Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News · Posted: Aug 15, 2025 6:23 AM EDT |

Latest updates:Kingston fire is now 9,838 hectares.Paddy's Pond fire is 318 hectares.Martin Lake fire is 2,160 hectares.Evacuation order lifted for Paddy's Pond industrial area Friday evening.Evacuation order lifted for Three Island Pond area in Paradise on Friday afternoon.Cabot Academy elementary school in Western Bay destroyed.Air quality warning in effect for northern Avalon Peninsula and St. John's area.Evacuation alert issued for Job's Cove, on the north side of Conception Bay.About 100 homes destroyed by Kingston fire, including at least 33 homes in Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam's Cove, and at least 10 homes in the community of Kingston. Air support was grounded Friday morning, as the Kingston fire in Conception Bay North continued to grow and burn out of control at 9,838 hectares."Weather conditions can dictate what we do, and this is the first day we've had low ceilings, there's low ceilings right now," Premier John Hogan told reporters on Friday during a live update that began at 10:15 a.m NT. "As of this moment the air assets are unable to get to the Kingston fire, and they can't fly. But we will continue to monitor that throughout the day."However, Hogan said the weather conditions improved on Friday. He said the drop in temperature, forecasted rain and shifting winds could help fire suppression.He said there were 80 Canadian Armed Forces firefighters and 20 Ontario firefighters helping with the effort on the fire's northern flank, working to protect structures and put out hot spots.Job's Cove residents remained on evacuation alert Friday morning. Safety is first priority-Craig Coady, director of the province's wildfire program, said the first priority is the safety of people. After that, it's protecting properties and infrastructure."The question we have to ask ourselves when planning out operations each day: Are we putting our first responders or our citizens at undue risk?" Coady said they have to look at the conditions when deciding how to fight a fire, and the low ceiling in the St. John's area meant aerial support couldn't fly.Cabot Academy destroyed-Education Minister Bernard Davis said the Kingston fire destroyed Cabot Academy elementary school in Western Bay."This is certainly a massive loss for the community, but we are here to support the school community, and provide as much information and support as we possibly can," Davis said.He said students and staff will have a place to go in the new school year.Everyone affected will be contacted in the coming days with more information, Davis said.Meanwhile, he said he doesn't anticipate any delays to the school year for students and staff returning to schools that were being used to support evacuees and firefighters.Evacuation orders lifted for Three Island Pond, Paddy's PondAs for the Paddy's Pond fire, Hogan said it was about 306 hectares and was still very smoky with hot spots.He was hopeful cooler temperatures and about five millimetres of rain would help fire suppression.He said helicopters would drop buckets of water on the fire on Friday, and there were 30 ground crew on site. He said the fire guard construction was also going well.Shortly after 6 p.m. NT on Friday, the City of St. John's lifted the evacuation order for the Paddy's Pond industrial area, and reopened Northern Pond Road and Paddy's Pond Road. The area remained under an evacuation alert, as did the Galway and Southlands neighbourhoods of St. John's.At 12:30 p.m. NT on Friday, the Town of Paradise announced the evacuation order for the Three Island Pond area was lifted, and residents could return home. However, the area was placed on an evacuation alert, along with the other parts of the town which were previously put on alert.The areas of Paradise under an evacuation alert on Friday included the portion of Paradise on the south side of Topsail Road from the Outer Ring Road exit to the Conception Bay South boundary, including the Three Island Pond area.Martin Lake area cabins sprayed down-Hogan said the Martin Lake fire was 2,190 hectares in size Friday morning.He expected cooler temperatures and rainfall would help suppress the fire, but the Bay d'Espoir Highway remained closed until further notice."Cabins in the area were sprayed down, and we continue to assess the impact on the Rushy Pond cabins," Hogan said.He said four helicopters, a bird dog and two water bombers would be on site Friday, as well as a ground crew.Another fine issued-Hogan said there was an illegal fire in Gander on Thursday, so another $50,000 fine was issued for violating the provincewide fire ban.RCMP Chief Supt. Pamela Robinson said the police were investigating fires, and asked people to report suspicious behaviour."Actions have consequences," she said.Robinson said people could face serious penalties, including tickets, fines and jail time.Air quality warnings-The heat warning issued by Environment Canada that had been in effect for several days was lifted, but an air quality warning due to the Kingston and Paddy's Pond fires was in effect for the northern Avalon Peninsula and St. John's area on Friday.Meteorologist Justin Boudreau said there was more smoke coming from the Kingston fire rather than the Paddy's Pond fire."The trick will be this evening when the winds shift from southerly to northerly, the plume from the Kingston fire is probably going to sweep across the Avalon," he said.There will likely be a brief period of low air quality Friday evening in the St. John's metro area, and areas south of the fire, he said.Boudreau said between two to four millimetres of rain was expected to fall over the region on Friday, adding there was a good chance of thunderstorms moving across the island, which might bring rainfall.He said periods of drizzle were expected overnight until Saturday morning, with temperatures dipping as well."What the showers will do — not entirely sure. It may improve things for sort of Friday night into Saturday, but I would expect it's probably not going to be enough to put that fire out."An air quality statement was also in effect for parts of central Newfoundland due to the Martin Lake fire.

Air Canada suspends operations as flight attendants go on strike | CBC News Loaded-Politics-130,000 customers will be impacted each day the walkout continues-Racy Rafique · CBC News · Posted: Aug 16, 2025 9:52 AM EDT |

Air Canada has suspended operations as more than 10,000 of its flight attendants went on strike early Saturday after the airline and the union failed to reach a deal ahead of the deadline.All Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations have been cancelled or are in the process of being cancelled. Flights by Air Canada Express, which are operated by third-party airlines, are not affected.For those customers due to travel soon whose flights are not yet cancelled, Air Canada says it has put in place a "goodwill policy" to allow them to rebook their travel or obtain a credit for future travel.The airline says about 130,000 customers will be impacted each day that the strike continues and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded abroad daily. Air Canada operates about 700 flights a day.The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday after midnight. Air Canada responded shortly after by saying it would lock out workers, and it began winding down operations on Thursday with a gradual suspension of flights.The contract fight escalated on Friday as the union turned down the airline's request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party arbitrator to decide the terms of a new contract.Flight attendants walk off the job-Flight attendants walked off the job at 12:58 a.m. ET Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports.Cross Country Checkup is asking:  How have you been affected by the Air Canada strike? What should be done about it?  Leave your comment here and we may read it or call you back for our show on Sunday.Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with both the airline and union on Friday night.In a statement posted on social media, she said she urged them to "work harder" to reach a deal "once and for all.""It is unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are counting on both parties to put forward their best efforts," Hajdu said on social media platform X.