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Analysis
The 36th report of the UN Security Council 1267 Monitoring Team on ISIL, Al-Qaida, and their affiliates
New York Times: Thailand and Cambodia Stepped Back From War, but Their Temple Fight Remains
On Tuesday, the Thai and Cambodian militaries agreed to implement a cease-fire. Both sides said that they would not deploy more troops to their contested border, bringing a tenuous peace after rocket launches, airstrikes and shelling that killed dozens and forced more than 300,000 people to flee their homes. But questions remain about how long the lull can last. A key issue that brought the two neighbors to arms is their most intractable dispute: who can lay claim to the centuries-old Hindu temples along the border, dating back to the ancient Khmer Empire.
Jerusalem Post: Qaani’s Baghdad visit signals Tehran’s concern over Iraqi instability – analysis
Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Esmail Qaani recently made a secretive visit to Iraq. This is according to a new report in Al-Ain media in the UAE. This media outlet has published details on secretive Iranian actions in the region in the past, and the report is worth examining for its details. The report says that Qaani made a “secret” trip to Iraq in connection with the upcoming elections. The Iranian-backed parties in Iraq have been struggling to unify in recent months.
United States
UPI: State Department increases reward for info on al-Qaeda leader to $10M
The State Department has increased to $10 million its reward for information leading to the identification or location of the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Sa'ad bin Atef al-Awlaki is the man the State Department says leads AQAP and has called for attacks against the United States and its allies.
Kurdistan24: Trump: Hamas 'Steals the Food,' Must Not Be Rewarded
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Israel will be tasked with overseeing the distribution of American-funded food aid in Gaza, arguing it is necessary to prevent Hamas from stealing supplies. Speaking to reporters, the president also stated he has "no view" on a new British policy to recognize Palestinian sovereignty and rejected the idea of pressuring Israel for a long-term solution, stating such a move would be "rewarding Hamas."
New York Times: Midtown Manhattan Becomes America’s Stage for Acts of Violence
Midtown Manhattan contains multitudes. It is a thrumming center of global commerce, proudly avoided by many locals. It is the mecca of American tourism, a maze of world-famous landmarks routinely swarmed by visitors. And now, for some, it may be earning an unsettling new distinction: a spot-lit setting for brazen acts of premeditated violence. On Monday afternoon, a gunman who had driven from Nevada parked his car outside a Park Avenue office tower and took the lives of four people inside. Officials said he was targeting the headquarters of the National Football League, apparently aggrieved by the organization’s handling of brain injuries in the sport.
Reuters: New York gunman was flagged by security camera system before attack, sources say
Cameras at 345 Park Avenue flagged an approaching gunman on Monday as a potential threat that required immediate attention, seconds before he burst into the office skyscraper's lobby and began firing, according to two former federal officials familiar with New York building security systems. Police have identified the shooter as Shane Tamura, 27, a Las Vegas resident with a history of mental illness. He killed two security officers, including a police officer working on a paid security detail, a Rudin employee and an investment firm executive before taking his own life.
Reuters: NYC skyscraper shooter's 'suicide note' blamed NFL for brain disease
The man who shot four people dead with an assault-style rifle inside a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper was carrying a "suicide note" blaming the National Football League for a degenerative brain disease he claimed to have, New York City's police commissioner said on Tuesday. Police have identified the gunman as Shane Tamura, 27, a Las Vegas casino security officer and former high school football player with a documented history of mental illness. Tamura killed two security guards, one of them a city policeman on security detail, as well as a real estate executive and a business management associate, before taking his own life on the 33rd floor of the Park Avenue skyscraper.
Reuters: FEMA to require states use terrorism prevention funds for migrant arrests
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will require states to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the Trump administration arrest migrants, as part of the U.S. president's transformation of the agency. This is latest example of the Trump administration tying its goal to arrest migrants to federal funding for states.
Jerusalem Post: UCLA violated federal civil rights law for failing to protect Jewish, Israeli students, DOJ says
The US Justice Department alleged on Tuesday that the University of California, Los Angeles, failed to prevent a hostile environment for its Jewish and Israeli students since the start of October 2023. According to the Justice Department, UCLA "violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by acting with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students."
Jewish Insider: Congress gridlocked over legislation to crack down on antisemitism
It’s been two months since the Capital Jewish Museum shooting in Washington and the Boulder, Colo. firebombing attack. The two attacks prompted unified condemnation from lawmakers and calls from the Jewish community for Capitol Hill to take aggressive action against the escalating antisemitism crisis in the United States. But as Congress heads into its August break, that initial momentum has produced little concrete action.
Baltimore Banner: Baltimore schools ignored antisemitism complaints, ADL alleges
The Anti-Defamation League filed a federal civil rights complaint against Baltimore City Public Schools last week, saying Jewish students have been subjected to “persistent discrimination and harassment.” The school system, the complaint says, knew its schools were hostile places for Jewish students and did not address the complaints of antisemitism, harassment and bullying. The ADL said Jewish parents identified problems and suggested remedies. It claims the school system ignored their concerns or didn’t take enough action.
Times of Israel: UCLA settles antisemitism suit with $6.13m payout, as feds allege discrimination
The University of California has agreed to a sweeping settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused UCLA, one of 10 campuses in the UC system, of enabling antisemitic discrimination during campus protests in 2024. The settlement came the same day the US Justice Department accused the university of discriminating against Jewish students, in violation of the US Constitution and 1964 Civil Rights Act.
WRGB News: Man faces more than 10 years at sentencing for hate crime shooting at Albany temple
The man who pleaded guilty in February to firing a gun on the steps of Temple Israel will be sentenced in August, according to Federal court documents. Court documents reveal that prosecutors are seeking a sentence of more than 10 years in prison, followed by five years of probation, for Mufid Fawaz Alkhader. Alkhader pleaded guilty in February to firing a gun on the steps of Temple Israel in December 2023.
Canada
CBC: Charging a soldier with terrorism may be a first, but Canadian military has history of extremism in its ranks
Early on the morning of July 8, RCMP officers arrested four suspects — two of them active military members — in an alleged plot to form an anti-government militia. The Mounties maintain the group had stockpiled a trove of weapons, including dozens of firearms and 11,000 rounds of ammunition, as part of a plan to take control of a piece of land near Quebec City by force.
Venezuela
Fox News: US accuses Venezuelan regime of narco-terrorism over alliances with Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa Cartel
The U.S. government has named the Cartel de los Soles, a Venezuela-based criminal group led by President Nicolás Maduro, a global terrorist organization. Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, is being sanctioned by the U.S. for providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, including the violent Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa Cartel, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
France
Le Monde: No progress made on France's terrorism memorial despite years of studies
French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his commitment in January to see the site inaugurated after years of back-and-forth in the planning process. But the funding has not been secured.
France 24: French authorities question airline over removal of Jewish passengers
Vueling airlines is being questioned by French authorities trying to establish whether a group of young French nationals were removed from a plane bound for Paris from Spain this week because they are Jewish. The airline said the passengers were removed Wednesday after the minors repeatedly tampered with the plane’s emergency equipment and interrupted the safety demonstration.
Germany
ARD: Knife attack in Solingen - Attacker apparently announced the attack on Telegram
Since May, Issa Al H. has been on trial at Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court for three counts of murder, attempted murder and membership of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS). The 27-year-old Syrian confessed to killing three people at a city festival in Solingen in August last year. His defense lawyers explained in court that he had brought serious guilt upon himself, and research by the research format STRG_F (NDR/funk) now shows that Issa Al H. is said to have announced the crime in advance - in a concealed manner. As the analysis of the cell phone by the police revealed, Al H. wrote in a Telegram story in the early morning of the day of the crime that he was asking his "brothers" for forgiveness and prayers to remain steadfast during the hours remaining to him. He posted a knife emoji behind the text.
FAZ: Palantir: Dobrindt examines use of controversial US security software
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) is examining the nationwide use of the controversial analysis software from the US company Palantir. A spokesperson for the ministry confirmed at the request of the magazine "Stern" that this is "the subject of an ongoing review". There is no result yet. It was announced on Tuesday that the police in Baden-Württemberg would soon be using the software. The green-black coalition cleared the way for this. The Hamburg Interior Ministry, on the other hand, ruled out its use for the city state. Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia also rely on the software. The Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF) association has filed a constitutional complaint against the legal regulations that allow the use of Palantir's cross-procedural research and analysis platform (VeRA) in Bavaria.
Deutsche Welle: How recent Syrian communal violence is impacting Germany
Nobody ever used to ask Hassan which sect he belonged to. The 32-year-old Syrian has been in Germany since 2015, having fled after taking part in his country's civil war on the side of anti-government forces. But now they do. "The level of sectarian abuse and hate speech on social media is intense," Hassan, who lives in Berlin, told DW. Like every other ordinary Syrian interviewed for this story, he didn't want to use his full name so he could speak openly about what is a highly sensitive topic among Syrians in Germany, and back in Syria. "We're losing each other over this." By "this," Hassan means recent violence in Syria that saw two communities, the Druze and Bedouin-Sunnis, begin fighting in the southern province of Sweida in mid-July. The violence started due to tit-for-tat kidnappings between the two groups, and then escalated.
Italy
Associated Press: Italy’s prosecutors investigate an attack on a Jewish man and his young son as a possible hate crime
Prosecutors in Italy are investigating an attack against a Jewish man and his young son at a highway rest area north of the city of Milan as a possible hate crime. The incident started after someone noticed the 52-year-old French tourist and 6-year-old son were wearing a kippah, a Jewish head covering, when they stopped on Sunday evening to use the restroom about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Milan.
Netherlands
Bloomberg: Wilders’ Far-Right Party Projected to Win Dutch Election in Poll
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) is projected to be the biggest in the October parliamentary election, a July poll said. The Freedom Party is expected to receive 27 out of 150 seats, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos I&O Research released on Wednesday.
Spain
Times of Israel: French ministers condemn ‘excessive use of force’ after Jewish youths were removed from plane in Spain
A summer camp counselor has accused Spanish law enforcement officers of using brute force against her during the removal of a group of French Jewish teenagers from a plane bound for Paris from Spain, French government ministers and her lawyer say. Ministers Aurore Bergé and Benjamin Haddad met with the counselor yesterday after French authorities last week contacted the CEO of the Spanish low-cost airline Vueling and the Spanish ambassador to France to determine whether the youngsters had been discriminated against on the basis of their religion.
United Kingdom
Reuters: UK rejects criticism that move to recognise Palestinian state rewards Hamas
Britain rejected Israeli criticism on Wednesday that it was rewarding militant group Hamas by setting out plans to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to improve the situation in Gaza and bring about peace. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ultimatum, setting a September deadline, prompted an immediate rebuke from Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it rewarded Hamas and punished the victims of the fighters' 2023 attack that triggered the war. U.S. President Donald Trump also said he did not think Hamas "should be rewarded" with recognition of Palestinian independence.
Reuters: Palestine Action's co-founder wins bid to challenge UK terror group ban
The co-founder of a pro-Palestinian campaign group on Wednesday won her bid to bring a legal challenge against the British government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws. Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, asked London's High Court to give the go-ahead for a full challenge to the group's proscription, which was made on the grounds it committed or participated in acts of terrorism.
Afghanistan
MSN: Elite Afghan soldiers trained by MI6 face ‘savage’ Taliban attacks after data leak
Elite Afghan commandos – who worked closely with British intelligence services – and their families face grave danger after the major Ministry of Defence (MoD) data leak, The i Paper has been told. It is feared that the identity of individuals in the elite Triples units was revealed after a list containing the personal information of thousands of Afghans applying to move to Britain was accidentally leaked, making them targets for the Taliban. Funded, trained, and deployed under the close direction of MI6 and the MoD, the “Triples” carried out some of the most dangerous missions of Britain’s war in Afghanistan, including surveillance missions on key targets, including Taliban leaders.
Afghanistan International: Rule Cannot Be Sustained Through Force, Says Former Top Haqqani Aide
A longtime aide to Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani has criticised group’s governance, warning that power cannot be maintained through coercion alone urging Taliban leaders to give the Afghan people freedom to judge their rulers. Abdullah Raihan, who served for more than two decades as a close assistant to Haqqani and now identifies as a journalist, made the remarks in a written commentary published on Wednesday.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Accuses UN Of Bias, Says Group Deserves Afghanistan’s UN Representation
The Taliban has accused the United Nations of losing its credibility and independence, following the organisation’s continued refusal to recognise the group as Afghanistan’s legitimate representative. Speaking in an interview with a local pro-Taliban radio station, spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the UN operates under the influence of Western powers and no longer functions as a neutral international body.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Forcibly Evict Villagers In Bamiyan Following Land Dispute With Nomads
The Taliban have forcibly evicted residents of a village in Bamiyan province following a legal ruling in favour of Kuchi nomads, according to local sources. Residents of Rashk village in Punjab district were ordered to leave their homes after a Taliban court decision awarded land rights to the nomadic group. Local sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban forces, accompanied by Kuchis, locked 25 homes and expelled their occupants.
Gaza Strip
Jerusalem Post: How many men has Hamas continued to recruit in a year?
The Israel Defense Forces have been fighting Hamas as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots since mid-May. The operation was approved in early May as part of the response to the ceasefire not being renewed in March. Now it appears that the IDF has retaken around seventy-five percent of Gaza. However, it should be recalled that the IDF believed it had largely defeated Hamas last year as well. Now the IDF has once again defeated several Hamas brigades in Gaza. Yossi Yehoshua, writing at Ynet, noted that “fighting eliminates senior Hamas terrorists, three brigades, destroys terror infrastructure, reshaping Gaza’s battlefield, yet the war’s end remains elusive.” The reference to three brigades is interesting.
France 24: Exclusive: GHF ‘complicit in war crimes’ in Gaza, says former aid contractor
Anthony Aguilar, a retired US army soldier, worked as a security subcontractor for the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) tasked with delivering aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave. In this exclusive testimony, Aguilar reveals untold and harrowing details about the GHF aid operation in Gaza.
Iraq
Kurdistan24: Drone Attacks, ISIS Threats Top Agenda in Kurdistan President’s Meeting with British Admiral
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani received Vice Admiral Edward Ahlgren, Senior Adviser to the UK Ministry of Defense for the Middle East and North Africa, along with an accompanying delegation and the British Consul General in the Kurdistan Region, on Wednesday, according to a statement published on the official website of the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
Israel
Jerusalem Post: UN’s push for Palestinian statehood ignores Israel’s security concerns
Nearly 22 months after Hamas launched an invasion of Israel designed to trigger the beginning of the end of the Jewish state, the international community is dusting off the same talking points that dominated the diplomatic discourse before October 7. But the ground has shifted and the assumptions that underpinned the two-state idea have eroded—swept away by the blood and horror of October 7, and the 20 years of Gaza-based terrorism that preceded it.
Times of Israel: Far-right minister calls for categorizing hostages as ‘prisoners of war,’ so that defeating Hamas can come first
Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu suggests that Israel should define the 50 remaining Gaza hostages as “prisoners” rather than hostages, which would allow for their release to be delayed until “victory” has been achieved over Hamas.
Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu discussed partial Gaza annexation if hostage talks stall, source tells 'Post'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed partial annexation of the Gaza Strip as a potential course of action if hostage deal talks fail, during a Monday small cabinet meeting – an Israeli source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. “It was raised as a serious matter and was debated,” the source said. This comes after a source told the Post on Monday that Israel will have “no choice” but to expand its military operation in some capacity if hostage talks stall.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Israeli settler arrested after fatal shooting of Palestinian activist featured in ‘No Other Land’
Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian English teacher and activist featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was shot and killed Monday during a confrontation with Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Umm al-Khair. According to witnesses and human rights groups cited in multiple media reports, the incident began when settlers arrived with a bulldozer and began clearing land near the Palestinian community. Tensions escalated, and Hathaleen, 31, was struck by gunfire. He was transported to an Israeli hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Reuters: Israeli minister hints at annexing parts of Gaza
Israel could threaten to annex parts of Gaza to increase pressure on the militant group Hamas, an Israeli minister said on Wednesday, an idea that would deal a blow to Palestinian hopes of statehood on land Israel now occupies. The comment by security cabinet member Zeev Elkin came a day after Britain said it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes steps to relieve suffering in Gaza and reaches a ceasefire in the war with Hamas.
Reuters: Palestinians in West Bank village face new crisis as settlers cut off water
Palestinians in the village of Susiya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank thought life could not get worse as Jewish settlers were attacking them repeatedly and ripping apart their precious olive groves.
Then settlers armed with knives set upon their water sources, villagers said.
Jerusalem Post: Yoseph Haddad's lawyers refute gun fired during road rage, claims self-defense, racist assault
Lawyers representing pro-Israel activist Yoseph Haddad claim that there was no instance of road rage, but a "violent attack motivated by racism and hatred" targeting Haddad, by an Arab who recognized him, cursed him, threatened his life, and physically attacked him. After these events, which Haddad allegedly felt endangered his life, he drew his personal handgun, and a bullet was fired, hitting a nearby wall, the lawyers' statement added.
Lebanon
Reuters: US pressures Lebanon to issue cabinet decision to disarm Hezbollah before talks continue
Washington is ramping up pressure on Beirut to swiftly issue a formal cabinet decision committing to disarm Hezbollah before talks can resume on a halt to Israel's military operations in Lebanon, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Without a public commitment from Lebanese ministers, the U.S. will no longer dispatch U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack to Beirut for negotiations with Lebanese officials, or pressure Israel either to stop airstrikes or pull its troops from south Lebanon, according to the sources, who include two Lebanese officials, two diplomats and a Lebanese source familiar with the matter.
Reuters: Lebanon sentences six Hezbollah members over 2022 killing of Irish peacekeeper
Lebanon's military tribunal has sentenced six people over the 2022 killing of an Irish peacekeeper in southern Lebanon, two judicial sources told Reuters on Tuesday, and a Lebanese security source said all six were members of Hezbollah. Hezbollah's media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The judicial sources said one man was sentenced in absentia to death, another was sentenced to three months in prison and four others were ordered to pay fines ranging from about $1,100 to $2,200. A seventh man was acquitted.
Naharnet: Upcoming US ambassador to Lebanon says Hezbollah needs to be disarmed
U.S. ambassador to Lebanon nominee Michel Issa, who is of Lebanese origins, has appeared before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing on pending nominations. “They know that if they don’t disarm, there is something that’s gonna happen. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but something needs to happen,” Issa said about Hezbollah.
Syria
Reuters: UN prepares aid to Sweida after Syrian government green light
The United Nations is preparing to send a convoy of humanitarian aid to Syria's southern province of Sweida, three aid officials told Reuters, after days of bloodshed left hundreds dead and displaced an estimated 175,000 people. The preparations began after Syria's foreign ministry granted U.N. aid agencies a green light to access Sweida directly, according to correspondence seen by Reuters, following three deliveries of U.N. aid to the province carried out by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
Kurdistan24: Secret Deal Cedes South Syria Control to Israel, SOHR
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has alleged the existence of a significant, unannounced agreement between the Syrian and Israeli governments, purportedly reached in France, that restricts Syrian military movement and effectively allows Israel to operate freely in the skies over southern Syria.
India
NDTV: 2 Terrorists Killed In J&K Encounter Days After Pahalgam Killers Shot Dead
Two terrorists were gunned down in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch this morning, days after security forces shot dead the terrorists involved in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The terrorists, it is learnt, were affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit.
NDTV: 30-Year-Old Woman, Al Qaeda Terror Module Head, Arrested From Bengaluru
A 30-year-old woman has been arrested from Bengaluru for her alleged links with Al Qaeda. Sama Parveen, arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad, is an alleged ‘mastermind of the Al-Qaeda terror module' in India. Parveen's arrest comes days after four terrorists associated with the Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent were arrested.
Pakistan
Dunya News: Field Marshal Asim Munir vows to crush terrorism, Indian proxies
Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has said that India, having suffered defeat in “Marka-e-Haq,” has now escalated its proxy war to advance her nefarious designs. The COAS interacted with participants of the 16th National Workshop Balochistan, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release.
The Tribune: UN report flags The Resistance Front's role in Pahalgam attack, links to LeT
The Resistance Front, a proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, has found mention for the first time in a UN Security Council (UNSC) report for its role in the Pahalgam attack that is expected to bolster India's diplomatic offensive against Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism.
Somalia
El Mundo America: A reborn Al Shabab Spreads terror across the horn of Africa
In Somalia, there is a more reliable indicator than any intelligence report, a data point that shows the levels of security in Mogadishu, one of the most precarious and violent cities in the world: when hotel prices rise, especially those few that accommodate Westerners, things are starting to go wrong. In 2010, one night's reservation cost $700 and included a security service with a bulletproof vest, helmet, and an escort of eight militiamen armed to the teeth. This month, the price has gone from $35 to $150 and rising. Following this trend, when the records of 2010 and 2011 are surpassed, it will mean that the city has become a hornet's nest.
Australia
Associated Press: Police arrest suspect in Melbourne synagogue arson attack
Australian police say they have arrested one of three men they suspect are responsible for an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that marked a major escalation in antisemitic violence across the nation. A 21-year-old Melbourne man was arrested at a house on Wednesday on suspicion that he had set fire to the Adass Israel Synagogue in December, Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam said. The predawn attack destroyed the synagogue and left a worshipper with minor burns.
Reuters: Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption
Australia said on Wednesday it will add YouTube to sites covered by its world-first ban on social media for teenagers, reversing an earlier decision to exempt the Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O), opens new tab video-sharing site and potentially setting up a legal challenge. The decision came after the internet regulator urged the government last month to overturn the YouTube carve-out, citing a survey that found 37% of minors reported harmful content on the site, the worst showing for a social media platform.
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