LiveLive Updates August 27, 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 27, 2026Updates3 hours agoTen Senate Democrats to demand U.S. report on Americans killed in West Bank, cite 'state-backed' settler violenceSen. Chris Van Hollen and nine other Senate Democrats announced that they are seeking to force a vote on a resolution alleging Israeli abuses against American citizens in the West Bank and other human rights violations.The resolution, which lists nine American citizens killed, allegedly by settlers or Israeli security forces, over the past four years, would order the Trump administration to provide an account of ongoing investigations into their deaths. It also details several other cases in which it says American citizens have been wrongfully detained and, in one case, tortured. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen in Washington three years ago. Credit: Julio Cortez / APDemocratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen in Washington three years ago. Credit: Julio Cortez / APVan Hollen, a prominent critic of Israel, plans to introduce the resolution after the Senate returns from recess in September, using a procedure that forces a vote even if Republican leadership opposes the measure. He announced Sunday that he is considering a presidential run."American citizens have been killed time and again, and they have received no justice and no accountability," Van Hollen said in a statement. "It's past time we get answers on their deaths – and on the growing violent instability in the West Bank and the injustices facing Palestinian civilians on a daily basis."The resolution cites a report from the Platform, an Israeli human rights coalition, that states that "public and political support for violent settlers by ministers and Members of Knesset demonstrate that, in practice, settler violence is state-backed."It also directs the Trump administration to determine to which Israeli security units the personnel implicated in violence in the West Bank belong.The resolution also notes "a sharp rise in violent Israeli settler attacks against Christian communities in the West Bank," an issue that has become a rallying cry for some right-wing critics of Israel in the United States.In addition to Van Hollen, the resolution is sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, among others.Iran warns it would strike U.S. interests if attacked, ties Hormuz reopening to concessionsIran's top security official Mohsen Rezaee warned Iran would strike U.S. military and economic interests if the U.S. starts "mischief" against Iran during a meeting with Qatar's Foreign Minister. Mohsen Rezaee. Credit: AFP/ATTA KENAREMohsen Rezaee. Credit: AFP/ATTA KENARERezaee told the Qatari foreign minister that the U.S. must take practical steps to meet Iran's conditions before Iran moves to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 5 hours agoOne killed, six wounded in earlier Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, Health Ministry saysA woman was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon earlier on Thursday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.The strike hit the town of Arabsalim in the Nabatieh district, wounding several other people, according to the state-run National News Agency.Lebanese security sources said at least 10 Israeli strikes had been carried out in the wider Nabatieh area.The Israeli military said the attacks were in response to a Hezbollah drone attack against its troops in southern Lebanon overnight. The mayor of Arabsalim, Ali Hassan, said that the deceased was Saja Musa Sharara, who had been married only 48 hours ago. According to him, Israeli warplanes attacked her family's house, located in the center of the town, and flattened it.Hassan stressed that this was a civilian residence, located in the heart of a residential area.Israeli strikes kill at least three in Gaza, health officials sayIsraeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians across Gaza City, medics say.According to health officials, an airstrike killed one person near Qarara town ⁠in the southern Gaza Strip, and another killed a man at a house in the Beach refugee camp in Gaza City.Another ‌airstrike on Gaza City later on Thursday ‌hit a motorist, killing one person, they said.The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the incidents.More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the U.S.-backed cease-fire took effect last October, ‌according to Gazan health officials, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have ⁠been killed.Smotrich says he will 'Judaize' northern and southern Israel: 'I did it in the West Bank'Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed that "the Arabs are occupying the Negev and the Galilee," in part as a result of the "post-Zionist policy" of the Planning Administration."We will replace these post-Zionist and anti-Zionist people to enable the moves we want," he said at a press conference in which he presented a plan to "Judaize the Negev and the Galilee."According to the minister, he plans to do in the Negev in the south and the Galilee in the north what he did in the West Bank.Read the full articleNetanyahu calls off IDF opening Gaza border crossing despite U.S. pressurePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the Erez Crossing would not be opened for the entry of goods into Gaza. Yisrael Katz, left, and Benjamin Netanyahu Credit: Ohad ZwigenbergYisrael Katz, left, and Benjamin Netanyahu Credit: Ohad ZwigenbergThis came after the defense establishment had prepared to open the crossing by Tuesday, under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace. "Israel's policy in Gaza is clear and has not changed: There will be no reconstruction before the Hamas terrorist organization is disarmed and the Gaza Strip is fully demilitarized," they said in a joint statement.In the NewsBen-Gvir Defies Netanyahu, Warns Smotrich Alliance Could Scare Off VotersIDF Strikes in Lebanon Kill One, Wound Six, Including Child, WomanYou're on a 25th-floor Balcony. Suddenly, an Iranian Drone Flies BelowI Spent a Saturday Way Outside My Comfort Zone – in the West BankWe Found a Secret Netanyahu Campaign. When We Reached Out, It Was Taken DownRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIAn Israeli Startup Is Reinventing Salmon Farming. 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