August 25, 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 25, 2026UpdatesBritain backs U.S. efforts for diplomatic solution on IranBritish ‌Finance ‌Minister John Healey ⁠said the country supports U.S. efforts to secure ‌a diplomatic solution ‌on Iran and welcomed steps to increase pressure, including the expanded sanctions ⁠on Iran announced Monday.Healey also ‌called ⁠on ‌Iran to cease its "destabilizing activity" across the ⁠region, including in the Strait ‌of Hormuz.Israel to strike Lebanon in coming hours, local officials warn residentsIsrael is expected to launch strikes on Lebanon in the coming hours, local officials said in a message to residents, warning them that blasts will be heard in northern Israel.According to the warning, issued by the Upper Galilee Regional Council in northern Israel, the IDF Home Front Command's guidelines for the general public remain unchanged.Report: U.S. to hold off Iran strikes until after U.S. MidtermsU.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, in August. Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/APU.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, in August. Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/APU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told foreign ministers from several countries in recent days that Washington won't launch strikes against Iran, Israel's Channel 12 reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.According to senior U.S. officials, the policy is expected to remain in place until after the U.S. midterm elections. However, Rubio reportedly didn't rule out military action if Iran strikes first.According to the report, Rubio outlined two objectives that the United States will focus on in the coming period: increasing economic pressure on Iran and normalizing the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to restore oil trade through the passageway.Senior U.S. officials said the possibility of military action against Iran could return to the agenda after the midterm elections.Read the full articleEx-IDF general announces election bid, calls for Gaza 'emigration'Ofer Winter announcing his new party on Tuesday. Credit: Olivier FitoussiOfer Winter announcing his new party on Tuesday. Credit: Olivier FitoussiRetired IDF general Ofer Winter announced an election bid, launching a new far-right party and urging displacement of Palestinians from Gaza."There will never be a Palestinian state here," Winter said at the party's launch event. "There is only one solution for Gaza – emigration," he added, referring to a widely hailed initiative to displace Gaza's Palestinian population.He also criticized the leading security doctrine that preceded Hamas' October 7 attack, and vowed to "reshape Israeli security" and establish Israel's defense policy as one that "takes initiative against its enemies, defeats them, and rewards those who defend it."Read the full articleIsraeli decision to bar Dutch officials bears no effect, diplomat tells HaaretzU.S. troops at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, in October. Credit: Olivier FitoussiU.S. troops at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, in October. Credit: Olivier FitoussiThe Netherlands doesn't expect Israel's decision to bar Dutch officials from the U.S. base that oversees the Gaza cease-fire to have any practical effect, a senior Dutch diplomat told Haaretz.According to the diplomat, there are no Dutch officials assigned exclusively to the center in Kiryat Gat, and the Netherlands has other ways of keeping abreast of developments in the West Bank and Gaza, including through its representative office in Ramallah.Staff from the Dutch Embassy in Tel Aviv visit the Gaza coordination center in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, once a week to attend briefings, the diplomat told Haaretz, adding that no Dutch representative is currently expected to leave Israel as a result of the decision.Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said he decided to "immediately expel" Dutch representatives from the U.S. base over "a series of anti-Israel moves by the Dutch government."Read the full articleForty members of U.S. Congress urge Israel to release Palestinian-American studentIsraeli forces raid Birzeit University, near Ramallah, West Bank, in January. Credit: Birzeit University FacebookIsraeli forces raid Birzeit University, near Ramallah, West Bank, in January. Credit: Birzeit University FacebookU.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib and 40 U.S. Congress members signed a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging Washington to pressure Israel into releasing a 20-year-old U.S. citizen it holds.According to the letter, Israeli forces detained 20-year-old Sama Safi during a raid on her West Bank house "as part of a series of raids targeting Birzeit University students."The student "has described horrific conditions and violence by guards in Israeli military detention, including frequent physical assault, gas and stun grenades thrown in overcrowded cells, and lack of food and water," the representatives wrote in their statement, adding that she suffers from a "severe chronic health condition."According to the signatories, "Every day that Sama remains wrongfully detained in these inhumane conditions, she is at greater risk of irreversible and life-threatening repercussions."Palestinian Authority urges UN Security Council meeting over Israeli raid on UNRWAPalestinian Preisdent Mahmoud Abbas, in 2023. Credit: Amr Nabil / APPalestinian Preisdent Mahmoud Abbas, in 2023. Credit: Amr Nabil / APPalestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' office called for the UN Security Council to adopt measures against Israeli attacks on UN facilities after Israeli forces raided an UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem.Israeli police raided an UNRWA vocational training center in northern Jerusalem on Tuesday for the seventh time in recent months, ordering staff to evacuate and shutting the facility in what National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said was an effort to permanently close it.The center, located near the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab, was the last UNRWA facility still operating in the city, training hundreds of young people from West Bank refugee camps in professions including carpentry and auto electrical work.Abbas' office described attacks on UN facilities in the Palestinian territories as "a serious escalation and a blatant violation of international law."Read the full articleIsrael removes Dutch officials from U.S. Gaza base over decision on settlementsForeign Minister Gideon Sa'ar at the Knesset, Jerusalem, June. Credit: Danny Shem Tov / Knesset Spokesperson's OfficeForeign Minister Gideon Sa'ar at the Knesset, Jerusalem, June. Credit: Danny Shem Tov / Knesset Spokesperson's OfficeIsraeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said he decided to "immediately expel" Dutch representatives from the U.S. base in the country's south, which oversees the Gaza cease-fire, over "a series of anti-Israel moves by the Dutch government."In a statement posted on X, Sa'ar said his decision is backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and follows the enactment of a Dutch law prohibiting trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights."The representatives were asked to leave Israel within a week," he wrote, adding that "the Dutch government's anti-Israel policy is accompanied by an unprecedented wave of antisemitism and boycotts in that country. " Sa'ar added, "Our message is clear: Whoever acts against Israel will have no foothold in the region. Israel will not allow steps against it without a response."Last month, a senior Dutch diplomat told Haaretz that the Netherlands will ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements starting September 22. According to the diplomat, the move is intended to bring the Netherlands' trade policy in line with international law, which considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal.Read the full articleTrump says U.S. Navy destroyed Iranian mines in Hormuz, will bomb ships laying moreU.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy has destroyed mines placed in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the U.S. military will attack any vessel placing more mines."Through Space Force, we are watching every square inch of the Strait, as we are, also, with Pickaxe Mountain and the already destroyed three other Nuclear sites," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network."There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect."Netanyahu says he ordered to evacuate UNRWA compound, blames agency for Oct. 7Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Shin Bet detail exit the Irgun militia museum in Tel Aviv, Monday. Credit: Moti MilrodPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Shin Bet detail exit the Irgun militia museum in Tel Aviv, Monday. Credit: Moti MilrodPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the evacuation of the UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem's Kafr Aqab, accusing the UN agency of involvement in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023."In accordance with my instructions and in furtherance of the law we passed, the evacuation of the UNRWA compound in Kafr Aqab, Jerusalem, began today," Netanyahu said in a statement."The State of Israel will not allow an organization whose employees were involved in terrorism and the October 7 massacre to operate on its territory and will use all means necessary to act against it," he added.Read the full articleIn the NewsNetanyahu's Gun-toting Security Detail Clears Tel Aviv Beach for Video ShootThe Israeli Left Should Be Fighting Settlements - Not Building ThemEisenkot Won't Be Able to Run Away From Netanyahu's IsraelIsrael's Secular Culture Is Rediscovering Judaism – but Only the Easy PartsThe United Arab List Is Selling the House for a Night in a HotelRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIAn Israeli Startup Is Reinventing Salmon Farming. 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