August 23, 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 23, 2026UpdatesFreed Palestinian detainees arrive in Gaza hospital, Red Cross saysRed Cross vehicles in Gaza, in 2025. Credit: Ramadan Abed/ReutersRed Cross vehicles in Gaza, in 2025. Credit: Ramadan Abed/ReutersSix Palestinian detainees released from Israel arrived at Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement, adding that it facilitated the handover.According to the ICRC, the six Palestinians reunited with their families after arriving in Gaza.The organization said it has facilitated the transfer of more than 2,700 released detainees since the war began, but "has been unable to access detainees held in Israeli detention centers since October 2023." Families " are deeply concerned for their health and safety," the ICRC said.Administrative detainees are held in Israeli detention facilities without charges being brought against them, with the procedure often defined as preventive detention for security reasons.IDF soldiers hang Israeli flag on mosque's tower in Palestinian refugee campIDF soldiers raised an Israeli flag on a mosque in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank during a military raid on the area.Footage of the flag on the Abu Ubaida Mosque's minaret has gone viral on social media, and Tulkarm's Waqf – a Muslim religious trus – condemned the incident as "a violation of the sanctity of the mosque."An Israeli flag waves on the tower of Abu Ubaida Mosque in Nur Shams refugee camp, West Bank, Sunday.Use under Section 27A of the Copyright LawNur Shams, which lies east of the Palestinian city of Tulkarm, has been under Israeli military control since January last year. The IDF has yet to respond to requests for comment.In January 2025, the IDF took control of the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps and expelled most of their residents. During the operation, which it dubbed "Iron Wall," the IDF forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and demolished buildings in the camps.IDF shoots, kills 14-year-old Palestinian boy in West Bank city raid, medics sayIsraeli soldiers shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy during a raid on al-Askar refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus, medics and witnesses said.Islam Ajouri, 14, fatally shot in al-Askar refugee camp, Nablus.Islam Ajouri, 14, fatally shot in al-Askar refugee camp, Nablus.According to an eyewitness who spoke with Haaretz, about 10 Israeli military vehicles entered the Palestinian refugee camp around 10 A.M. and raided buildings along the camp's main street and nearby alleys.The witness added that three gunshots were heard as the forces withdrew from the eastern part of the camp, and a 14-year-old was shot in the chest. Medics said 14-year-old Islam Ajouri was critically wounded by direct gunfire to his chest and was later pronounced dead at the government hospital in Nablus.According to the witness who spoke with Haaretz, Israeli forces continued patrolling buildings and agricultural fields near the scene of the shooting until withdrawing from the refugee camp around midday.Katz to hold meeting with IDF chief in coming hour over Gaza kitesDefense Minister Israel Katz, in August. Credit: Itay Cohen Defense Minister Israel Katz, in August. Credit: Itay Cohen Defense Minister Israel Katz is expected to hold a meeting with high-ranking Israeli military officials on kites believed to have crossed from the Gaza Strip, the IDF said in a statement.Four kites believed to be from Gaza were found over the weekend on the grounds of Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel, and the military said it found no suspicious materials on the kites and that they posed no danger to the public.Earlier Sunday, Katz ordered the IDF to treat the kites as threats and use all necessary means to counter them, including targeting Hamas commanders and displacing residents from neighborhoods where the kites are launched.Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill two people, including a 4-year-old boy, medics sayTwo Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday killed at least two ⁠people, including a 4-year-old boy, and wounded seven others, Palestinian health officials said.People run for cover, as debris flies through the air during an Israeli strike, Al-Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip, Sunday. Credit: Mahmoud Issa/ReutersPeople run for cover, as debris flies through the air during an Israeli strike, Al-Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip, Sunday. Credit: Mahmoud Issa/ReutersOne of the strikes hit a building in Zawayda ⁠town in the centre of the enclave and followed a warning by the Israeli army for the owners of the property to leave the area, residents said.Medics said flying debris and shrapnel that spread for dozens of metres around had wounded at least six people, including the 4-year-old, Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha, who was later pronounced dead at hospital.Shin Bet chief's sister joins far-right anti-LGBTQ party ahead of electionShin Bet security service chief David Zini's sister, Yiscah Haimov, joined the far-right anti-LGBTQ Noam party ahead of Israel's 2026 election in October.Yiscah Haimov, sister of Shin Bet security service chief David Zini Credit: Yiscah Haimov / FacebookYiscah Haimov, sister of Shin Bet security service chief David ZiniCredit: Yiscah Haimov / FacebookNoam, led by far-right MK Avi Maoz, ran on a joint slate in 2022 with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party and National Security Minister's Otzma Yehudit party.RECAP: Israeli man moderately wounded in West Bank stabbing; Pakistani army chief to visit Tehran in push for peace Here are Sunday's latest updates:■ An Israeli man was moderately wounded after he was stabbed at a West Bank shopping center in the Palestinian town of al-Auja near Jericho, a security source told Haaretz.■ Three people were killed by gunfire in East Jerusalem's Silwan overnight, including two who were shot dead by police, after a dispute between two families escalated into arson attacks, according to Palestinian sources.■ Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and a building overnight in the Palestinian village of Osarin, south of Nablus, Palestinian reports said.■ Lebanese media reported that the Israeli military carried out strikes overnight in the area of the Ali al-Taher ridge and near Kfar Rouman in southern Lebanon.■ Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, is set to visit Tehran on Monday as part of Islamabad's efforts to help strengthen regional peace and security, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said.■ A cyberattack linked to Iran shut down a small-scale power plant in Britain for four days in July, The Telegraph reported, in what is said to be the first successful attack of its kind.Katz orders IDF to target Hamas over kites, balloons from GazaIsrael's Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the Israeli military on Sunday to act forcefully against kites and balloons crossing into Israel from Gaza after four kites bearing Arabic writing were found in the border community of Kibbutz Nahal Oz.A kite bearing Arabic writing found in the western Negev on Tuesday. Credit: Used in accordance with Section 27a of the Copyright LawA kite bearing Arabic writing found in the western Negev on Tuesday. Credit: Used in accordance with Section 27a of the Copyright LawIn a statement, Katz instructed the IDF to employ all means necessary, including targeted killings of Hamas commanders and the evacuation of neighborhoods from which the aerial objects are launched.Katz said he viewed any such launch as an act of war and was committed to the complete defense of Israeli communities."Explosive-laden or otherwise, a balloon is treated like a kite, and a kite is treated like a drone," he said.On Friday, one kite was found in the kibbutz's avocado groves, while three more were discovered Saturday. According to the military, no suspicious materials were found on any of the kites and they posed no danger to the public.Residents of Nahal Oz expressed concern that the incidents could signal a return of the incendiary kites that were launched from Gaza into Israeli communities near the border in the years before October 7.Iran’s president says U.S. memorandum is best path out of stalled warIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a recent memorandum of understanding as the best way for the country to move beyond what he described as a situation of "neither war nor peace."President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian takes questions from the media during a news conference in New York, 2025. Credit: Angelina Katsanis/AP President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian takes questions from the media during a news conference in New York, 2025. Credit: Angelina Katsanis/AP In a speech published by state-run IRNA early on Sunday, he said members of Iran's Supreme National Security Council believed the memorandum represented the best possible agreement based on what he described as dignity, wisdom and the national interest"There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation," Pezeshkian said. "The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path."The deal known as the Memorandum of Understanding that U.S. President Donald Trump signed in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program. That period ended last week, but the two sides remain far apart, with no signs of compromise on the crucial issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, vital to global shipping.Pezeshkian also linked the agreement to Iran's economic prospects, saying the country could not attract investment in this stalled phase. "Capital and money are extremely sensitive to risk," he said. "We have to remove this risk from the country."Nearly six months into the war with the United States and Israel, the Iranian economy is suffering under sanctions and a naval blockade.In the NewsIsraeli Man Moderately Wounded in West Bank Stabbing Attack, Medics SayIDF Was Warned 170 Soldiers' Details Were Online. It Did Nothing for a WeekOver 100 Former British, French Diplomats Urge Sweeping Sanctions on IsraelIDF Sources Say West Bank Policing Plan Meant to Let Settlers Build FreelyMark Ruffalo Rejects Paramount's Antisemitism Charge Over His Israel CriticismRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIIDF Marks Detained Palestinians With Numbers as Northern West Bank Raids ExpandThe American Jewish Establishment Is Defending an Israel That No Longer ExistsAn Israeli Startup Is Reinventing Salmon Farming. It May Upend a Global IndustryDavid Remnick on Netanyahu, Mamdani and Israel's 'Failure to Face' GazaIsraeli Army Orders Criminal Probes Into Killing of Hind Rajab, Gaza MedicsGo to Qusra to See What Israel Is Trying to Hide