LiveLive Updates August 04, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeAugust 04, 2026Updates14 minutes agoBoard of Peace Gaza deal: Netanyahu says Israel to withdraw from Gaza lines only after Hamas disarmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video posted to social media on Tuesday evening, responded to "reports that Israel is giving in to Hamas and withdrawing from the lines Israel holds in Gaza," as an off-screen interviewer asks.Netanyahu said Israel "will not withdraw from the current lines until Hamas is completely disarmed of its weapons."He added that Israel is "ordering IDF troops to do everything they need to defend themselves, defend our territory, defend our civilians.""Three," Netanyahu added, "President Trump and his team think that they can get Hamas to disarm of its weapons and demilitarize Gaza. We're checking it. They sent us a draft, we didn't agree to it; it's not our draft. We sent out comments," he said, "Before a whole media campaign on the matter began."Israel's political leadership instructed the military not to carry out assassination strikes in Gaza without the IDF chief of staff's approval, allowing troops to strike without such approval only in cases of "imminent danger."Previously, forces needed authorization from the head of the Southern Command to carry out strikes on militants that didn't pose an imminent threat. Earlier this week, Haaretz reported that U.S. officials told Israel to curb its strikes in Gaza.The Board of Peace, tasked with overseeing postwar Gaza governance, said on Monday that Israel will need to pull back from territories it currently holds in the Gaza Strip only after Hamas' disarmament, retreating from a plan announced last week outlining the two moves taking place simultaneously and gradually.Earlier on Monday, Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov criticized Israel over its continued strikes in the Gaza Strip. "Two days of strikes across Gaza have killed civilians and destroyed medical supplies that people depend on," he wrote, saying that the strikes follow mediators' "intense efforts" to reach an agreement "to hand over civilian governance and to decommission their weapons."Qatar says progress made toward U.S.-Iran talks on ending warQatar said on Tuesday that mediators were making progress in efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war, driving oil prices lower, although Tehran has denied President Donald Trump's assertion that talks are already under way.Benchmark Brent crude fell more than 4 percent after the comments from Qatar, extending Monday's ‌steep losses on hopes that an arrangement could soon be reached to restore traffic through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. But for now, the strait remained virtually shut, with another ship coming under attack while trying to cross it: A cargo vessel reported being struck by an unidentified projectile near the Strait of Hormuz off Oman's coast, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) maritime security agency. Maritime sources told Reuters on Tuesday the vessel was a dry bulk ship. Its crew abandoned the vessel, and one seafarer was missing.Israel limits Gaza assassinations, allows strikes if 'imminent danger' presentPalestinians attend the funeral of 112 members of the Hassayna and Abu Sharia clan, who were killed in an Israeli strike in 2023 and whose remains were recovered from beneath the rubble, in Gaza City, Tuesday. Credit: Dawoud Abu Alkas/ReutersPalestinians attend the funeral of 112 members of the Hassayna and Abu Sharia clan, who were killed in an Israeli strike in 2023 and whose remains were recovered from beneath the rubble, in Gaza City, Tuesday. Credit: Dawoud Abu Alkas/ReutersIsrael's political leadership instructed the military not to carry out assassination strikes in Gaza without the IDF chief of staff's approval, allowing troops to strike without such approval only in cases of "imminent danger."Previously, forces needed authorization from the head of the Southern Command to carry out strikes on militants that didn't pose an imminent threat. Earlier this week, Haaretz reported that U.S. officials told Israel to curb its strikes in Gaza.On Monday, Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov criticized Israel over its continued strikes in the Gaza Strip. "Two days of strikes across Gaza have killed civilians and destroyed medical supplies that people depend on," he wrote, saying that the strikes follow mediators' "intense efforts" to reach an agreement "to hand over civilian governance and to decommission their weapons."IDF says it detained Palestinian militant from West Bank's 'Lion's Den' groupThe Israeli military said its soldiers detained a militant in a raid on the Palestinian city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, adding that the man is a member of the Lion's Den.The Lion's Den is a secular and unorganized cell consisting primarily of young Palestinian men that gained notoriety in a series of 2022 attacks on IDF soldiers.In its statement, the IDF said the man it detained on Tuesday is "a terrorist affiliated with the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization who operated to advance terror activities," adding that he "belonged to The Lion's Den terrorist organization which was previously dismantled by Israeli security forces in the past."Rubio says there is 'progress' in Iran talks on Hormuz, 'nothing final'U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a cabinet meeting at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland, Friday. Credit: Daniel Heuer/ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a cabinet meeting at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland, Friday. Credit: Daniel Heuer/ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there has been progress with Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, adding that an agreement has yet to be reached."Nothing final," he said, adding that he hopes a deal "will happen very shortly."IDF advances deeper into Lebanon while shelling area, local media reportsThe village of Hadatha in southern Lebanon, where the IDF reportedly advanced on Tuesday.The village of Hadatha in southern Lebanon, where the IDF reportedly advanced on Tuesday.Israeli military vehicles advanced deeper into Lebanese territory while shelling the area of the new incursion, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.IDF vehicles reportedly advanced north from the village of Hadatha, which lies in the IDF-occupied buffer zone in southern Lebanon, into the nearby village of Ayta al-Jabal, about a mile northeast.According to the agency, the Israeli army carried out the new incursion while shelling the two villages and flying drones over the area.Report: Trump gives Iran Tuesday deadline for deal, threatens 'decapitation'U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from the media after signing an executive order establishing the President's Military Spouse Commission to be chaired by Jennifer Rauchet, wife of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Monday. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from the media after signing an executive order establishing the President's Military Spouse Commission to be chaired by Jennifer Rauchet, wife of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Monday. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump set Tuesday as the deadline for Iran to agree to a deal with Washington before facing "decapitation," Bloomberg reported."I want to give them every last chance before decapitation," Trump told reporters, according to Bloomberg. "You'll find out today or tomorrow," he added."I mean, they're going to go quickly, one way or the other. It's not very complex." According to Bloomberg, Trump said the Tuesday deadline is the "last chance" to reach a deal.Trump no longer calling the shots? Iran and Oman take control of Hormuz talks | AnalysisAfter U.S. President Donald Trump canceled the massive attack he had planned to launch against Iran, at the request of Tehran and "other Middle Eastern Countries," he at least managed to convince the capital markets that he is in control of reality, even if that's the fruit of his own imagination. Oil prices plunged and stock markets soared.But it seems that Trump, who managed to convince the markets that Iran is already negotiating with him, is no longer exactly in control of events. Shortly after he announced that Iran had sought to resume the talks and that on Monday, they were about to restart imminently, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei poured a bucket of cold water on his head.President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about military families, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, in Washington. Credit: Alex Brandon/AP President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about military families, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, in Washington. Credit: Alex Brandon/AP Iran didn't seek to restart the talks, Baghaei stressed in his weekly briefing for journalists. Moreover, the only negotiations it is currently holding are with Oman, over a temporary solution to the issue of the Strait of Hormuz.And even on that, he didn't recommend that anyone hold their breath. Even if an agreement is reached between Iran and Oman, he said, navigation through the Persian Gulf won't resume until America fulfills all its commitments under the memorandum of understanding, including withdrawing American troops from the region and ending the naval blockade on Iran.In practice, it seems as if the negotiations on renewing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz have been privatized. Initially, back in April and May, this issue was an inseparable part of the direct American-Iranian talks.Read the full articleIn the NewsIsrael, Ceuta and 'The Real Story': How to Spot Conspiratorial HogwashTop Court: Racial Violence Against Arabs 'Contrary to Israel's Core Values'A Diss Track of Rapper Saint Levant Asks What Famous Palestinians Should BeJewish Billionaire and Megadonor Ron Lauder Reportedly Stopped Donating to GOPIran Considered Strikes on Ukraine as Caspian Sea Tensions Spiked, Adviser SaysRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIThis Israeli ultra-Orthodox Feminist Activist Has a Warning for U.S. JewsNetanyahu Says Israel Has 'Special Forces' Ready if He's Arrested on NY VisitHow Israel's Elbit Armed the United Arab EmiratesTwo Female Israeli Soldiers Die by Suicide as IDF Mental Health Crisis DeepensDozens of IDF Soldiers Desert Sde Teiman Base in Protest of Commander'I Tried, I Got Crushed by AIPAC': Andy Levin Is All-in for El-Sayed