The body of murdered Israeli hostage Ilan Weiss was recovered from Gaza along with "findings linked to another deceased hostage, whose name has not yet been cleared for publication," the IDF announced this morning.
The complex rescue operation was carried out by IDF troops, in coordination with the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the Shin Bet, and other special forces, based on precise intelligence.
Ilan (pictured below) was 55 years old when he was murdered on the morning of October 7, 2023, while defending Kibbutz Be’eri from Hamas terrorists as a member of the emergency response team.
After his abduction, his wife, Shiri, and daughter, Noga, were also kidnapped, and were later returned as part of the hostage deal in November 2023.
The process of identifying the remains of the additional deceased hostage is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, Israel is continuing to increase the military pressure on Hamas in Gaza City while also surging humanitarian aid to help the civilian population.
Israel has now facilitated over 2 million tons of aid into Gaza since October 7 — more than 1 ton of aid for every man, woman and child in Gaza.
Just yesterday, nearly 300 humanitarian aid trucks were brought into Gaza, while hundreds of trucks-worth of aid are waiting inside Gaza for collection and distribution by the U.N. and international organizations.
At the same time, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has now distributed more than 142 million meals, including more than 1.5 million yesterday alone.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains very challenging. Families in Gaza are suffering because Hamas is prioritizing its own survival instead of ending this war by freeing the hostages and surrendering power.
It’s urgent that American and world leaders take concrete steps that increase the pressure on Hamas to reverse course.
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Shabbat Shalom,
Jake Braunstein
Director of Policy Communications
Turkey completely severs economic ties, closes airspace to Israel
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced today that Turkey will completely sever all commercial and economic ties with Israel and close its airspace to Israeli aircraft.
The move will force Israeli flights to take costly detours, adding up to two hours for routes to countries like Georgia and Azerbaijan.
While the full economic fallout remains to be seen, the disruption highlights Ankara’s increasing anti-Israel actions regardless of the consequences for regional trade and stability.
The announcement comes as Turkey’s own economy reels from inflation above 30%. Its largest export markets are now Russia and China, underscoring Ankara’s growing economic dependence on authoritarian anti-American powers.
With this decision, Turkey is prioritizing attacking Israel over addressing its own economic mismanagement.
Initial Assessments: Major Israeli strikes against Houthis successful
Yemeni media reports that the Houthi prime minister was among the senior Houthi officials killed in yesterday's IDF strikes targeting multiple gatherings of Houthi leaders.
The IDF confirmed today that the Houthi defense minister and chief of staff were among those targeted in that attack, but the damage assessments are not final.
Political sources cited by Israel’s Channel 13 news claimed that “the direction [of the assessments] is positive, it seems the attack succeeded,” and Israel's Ynet reported that “the assessment that the entire military and governmental elite of the Houthis was eliminated in the attack is growing.”
Yesterday's strikes marked the 16th time that Israel has attacked the Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen, located around 1,100 miles away.
The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse upon the Jews” — has been attacking Israel, U.S. Navy vessels and international maritime traffic since November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
Rubio bars Palestinian officials from attending U.N. General Assembly
The administration will deny visas for Palestinian officials and diplomats ahead of the upcoming September meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, according to a State Department memo reviewed by The New York Post.
“In compliance with the laws and national security interests of the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming U.N. General Assembly,” State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
“Before they can be taken seriously as partners for peace, the PA and PLO must repudiate terrorism, lawfare campaigns at the ICC and ICJ, and the pursuit of unilateral recognition of statehood,” Pigott added.
The overwhelming majority of Democrats and Republicans across the country stand with Israel against Hamas! 🇺🇸🇮🇱
📰 "What these men did wasn’t journalism, and claiming otherwise dishonors the real journalists who risk and sometimes lose their lives endeavoring to bring us the truth."
World leaders must increase the pressure on Hamas to end this war!
The IDF is establishing 2 additional humanitarian aid distribution centers in the southern Gaza Strip.
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
