WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 173 AUGUST 19,26 - TRUMP SAYS STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS AMERICAS.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 173 AUGUST 19,26 - TRUMP SAYS STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS AMERICAS.

THE NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.

JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39    
32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN) will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them, (MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them; (DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy from there king (KHEMENI, ISLAM) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS NOW)

WHEN ARE THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL IN THE SPRING TIME.(GET READY ISLAM TO BE BIRD SEED FOR THESE BIRDS)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m0bXU5Xqc5M
The 500 million migratory birds in Israel during the spring arrive from Africa and head toward Europe and Asia, with the peak migration occurring in March and April. While migration starts in late February, the most intense movements, particularly of birds of prey, storks, and pelicans, occur during the third week of March and continue into April. 
Key Details on the Spring Migration
Peak Period: Mid-March through April.
Main Migration Route: The birds use the Great Rift Valley, which includes the Hula Valley and Eilat, acting as a "bottleneck" where millions of birds fly through the narrow land bridge.
Best Spots: The Hula Lake Park (Northern Israel) and the Eilat Birding Center (Southern Israel) are primary locations for observing the migration.
Key Species: Hundreds of thousands of white storks, along with black kites, raptors, and pelicans, pass through over these months.
uration: The spring migration runs from late February and continues into June, though the heaviest traffic is in March/April. 

The 500 million migratory birds fly over Israel in the fall between late August and mid-December. The peak migration period for the autumn, when the highest volume of bird traffic occurs, is typically October and November. 
Key Fall Migration Details
Location: The Hula Valley (Agamon Hula Park) in northern Israel is the premier spot to witness this phenomenon.
Timing: Migration starts as early as late June with some waders, but intensifies from mid-August through November.
Peak Festival: The "Annual Hula Valley Bird Festival" is usually held in November to align with the peak migration traffic.
Key Species: Many birds of prey (raptors), including honey buzzards and steppe eagles, cross during this time, along with massive flocks of storks and cranes.
While roughly 500 million birds pass through in the autumn on their way to Africa, the same number crosses again in the spring (mid-February to May) on their way back to Europe and Asia. 

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

Trump circles the Strait of Hormuz on map and proclaims it as ‘new US territory’The president reasserts that the U.S. will takeover the Middle East passageway it hasn’t been able to get under control for months — and even parts of Iran — in taunting new Truth Social post
John Bowden in Washington, D.C.Tuesday 18 August 2026 23:13 BST

Donald Trump posted a map identifying the Strait of Hormuz as “new U.S. territory” on Tuesday, echoing a threat he made last week under the continued pressure of the key waterway’s contested nature.The president is facing rising anti-war sentiment across America and the understanding on Capitol Hill, even among his own party, that the war against Iran is unpopular and driving up costs for Americans with only weeks to go before voters will determine control of Congress.Trump, according to reporting, is desperate to find a way to mark the military effort as a victory as negotiations with the Iranian government — which he once claimed he’d overthrow, or could easily — have collapsed, and the U.S. appears no closer to a deal restricting the future of Iran’s nuclear program.The Strait of Hormuz remains a dangerous zone for tankers and other ships as Iranian mines and drone attacks remain a threat for vessels that stray from one of two approved routes through the waterway. Traffic remains at a crawl.In a captionless post on Truth Social on Tuesday morning, the president circled the strait and labeled it “new U.S. territory.”U.S. forces, however, have been unable to guarantee safe passage for ships through the strait thus far and the circle depicted on Trump’s map actually includes quite a bit of Iranian land on the northern borders of the strait. That would imply a partial U.S. occupation of Iranian soil.The president first claimed that the strait would be “U.S. territory” at an event in New York last week.“Pretty soon, I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” he told attendees at a political rally.Iran’s deputy foreign minister responded, calling the president’s assertion a “delusion” and warning that the U.S. could not seize the waterway by “tweet” or with military force.“This strait will only be opened and closed under Iran’s command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” said Kazem Gharibabadi on X.Trump and the White House reportedly view reopening the strait and relieving the stress put on Americans by higher gas prices as a top priority, where once the stated goal of the military incursion in Iran was the end of Iran’s nuclear program and the securing of enriched nuclear material. But the president’s demands have grown more wild and untethered as the conflict has drags on, and last week he insisted that Iran pay war reparations for Americans kiled by Iranian forces over decades.Gas prices have jumped by more than $1 per gallon on average across the country since late February when the war began, and Americans’ dissatisfaction with the administration has been fueled in part by the pronouncements of various figures around the president, as well as Trump himself, that the war would conclude in a matter of weeks. The conflict is now only about a week away from reaching its six-month mark.There’s no sign that official negotiations are ongoing, though the president confirmed that a backchannel with Iranian officials does exist. While the president himself has repeatedly insisted that he does not view the midterm elections as a deadline for ending the war, his allies in Congress have said the opposite and warned that the effects of the war are putting Republicans in dire straits.“This situation in Iran is causing repercussions like you can't imagine,” West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice, a Republican, told reporters on Monday according to Punchbowl News. He added that his party was “scared to death about the midterms”.White House officials and allies of the president celebrated in June when a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed to extend a ceasefire that was already in place between the U.S. and Iran. That MOU appeared to open the door to talks concerning Iran’s nuclear program and was poised to allow traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to resume at close to pre-war levels.But the deal, which officially expired on Monday, collapsed almost immediately after Iranian officials contended that the deal gave the country control over the strait and asserted restrictions on vessels transiting through it, firing upon those that disobeyed. U.S. and Iranian forces have traded fire in the weeks since the deal collapsed, resulting in the deaths of three U.S. service members and injuries to more.

Ankara slams Jerusalem's 'frivolous allegations'Israel confirms striking Syrian air base, saying Turkey was planning to deploy forces-Netanyahu’s office asserts Damascus was repeatedly warned ‘such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security’; Trump’s envoy says US working to establish deconfliction mechanism for Israel, Syria and Turkey-By Emanuel Fabian and Agencies 19 August 2026, 5:27 am

Israel confirmed late Tuesday that it was behind overnight airstrikes against a Syrian military airport, where it claimed Turkey was planning to deploy forces.“Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in an English-language statement.The Prime Minister’s Office said Israel “repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security.”“Syria chose to ignore these warnings,” Netanyahu’s office said, adding that Israel “will not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a return to the status quo.”In response, Ankara decried “the frivolous allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office,” according to a Turkish government statement quoted by the Anadolu state news agency, saying they “aim to legitimize Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”An unnamed Turkish official also denied to Axios that Ankara was seeking to establish a military presence at the Abu Duhur air base in Idlib province.“There was no Turkish presence at the airbase. Israel is inventing pretexts to bomb neighboring countries and destabilize the region,” the official asserted.Deconfliction mechanism-The attack marked extraordinary defiance by Israel of the United States, which has sought to support Syria’s new government led by a former jihadist allied with Turkey. US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack criticized the strikes as an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”An Israeli security source cited by the Kan public broadcaster said Israel had intelligence it shared with the US on Turkish efforts to deploy troops at the base, and that the strikes were only carried out after attempts to dialogue with Syria failed. The report did not specify how the US responded to the Israeli intelligence.Barrack, a business friend of US President Donald Trump who is also ambassador to Turkey, later said the United States was working to establish a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria.According to Barrack, Turkey was not warned about the Israeli strikes, “and consequently observed the aircraft heading north toward its territory and therefore could have reasonably prepared its own response,” referring to possible Turkish military reaction.“Thankfully, calm heads were able to prevent the situation from deteriorating further,” Barrack told Reuters in a phone interview.Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army and signed a mutual defense pact this month with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, has become one of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s main allies.Ankara has been training Syria’s army, helping it rebuild state institutions and infrastructure and providing military and diplomatic support.Israel’s strikes on the Syrian airbase “reflected a perception — whether accurate or misplaced — that Türkiye might in the near future increase its presence at that base,” Barrack said, using the Turkish name for Turkey.“This underscores the need for a deconfliction mechanism involving Israel, Syria and Türkiye. That is something we are actively working on to establish in order to prevent future miscommunication,” he said. “The priority now is to lower tensions and allow space for a more measured approach.”The airbase, about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) east of the Turkish border, has been out of service as a dedicated military airfield since 2013 and changed hands several times during Syria’s 14-year civil war between forces loyal to former president Bashar al-Assad and opposition factions.Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya television, citing a military source, said on Tuesday that Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the base’s runway and storage facilities. A separate military source and a civilian who lives near the base said there were no casualties.Israel has for years struck targets in Syria to curb what it says is Iranian influence and to prevent weapons from reaching Hezbollah in Lebanon.Since Assad’s overthrow in 2024, it has also viewed Syria’s new rulers with suspicion and continued military operations in the country, most recently attacking government sites in southern and central Syria in March.‘Kinetic means of communication’Syria and Israel have held several rounds of de-escalation and border discussions since rebel forces under Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s command toppled Assad, but no agreement has been reached.“An incident of the kind that occurred this morning demonstrates the need to intensify these efforts and expand the process,” Barrack said.The envoy said the US already facilitates an information-sharing and dialogue mechanism among the parties.“What is required is a more robust architecture with greater resources committed to it. Investing in such mechanisms is far less costly than relying on kinetic means of communication that can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said, referring to military force.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Iran would see a win; some forces could relocate near Israel-US reportedly weighing major troop pullback from Gulf following damage in Iran war-Washington Post says war prompts ‘once-in-a-generation chance’ to review American presence in region, as Pentagon, CENTCOM said to be considering not rebuilding some damaged bases By ToI Staff 18 August 2026, 11:04 pm

The US Defense Department is considering pulling back troops from the Persian Gulf following damage to its presence there during the ongoing war with Iran, the Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing eight sources.The war has prompted a “once-in-a-generation chance” for the US to consider whether to maintain its bases in the Gulf, the report said, adding that the Pentagon is even considering not rebuilding its damaged bases as they were before the fighting broke out in late February.While the move was being positioned as a chance for a review of US policy, such a shift would most likely be seen as a major achievement by Iran, which has long chafed at the large American presence in the region and has called for a US withdrawal. It could also leave Gulf countries that have long hosted the US bases vulnerable to further attack by Iran.One option, according to the report, is for the US to move its troops and bases further west in the region and away from Iran, into an area that includes Jordan and Israel. American refueler jets have been stationed in Israel throughout the war, and Jordan houses several US bases.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not ordered a formal review of the question, but it is being explored by the Pentagon’s policy office and the US Central Command, according to the report.“Decisions are going to have to be made on some of this stuff,” a senior Pentagon official told the US newspaper.Normally, about 40,000 US troops are stationed across the Middle East, according to the Post, at some 20 bases scattered throughout the region. Many of these bases, as well as other US military sites, have come under heavy Iranian missile and drone fire since the US and Israel launched the war in late February, killing 18 US service members and injuring hundreds more.The biggest American bases are in the Gulf, notably the US Navy Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, and the US significantly increased its presence in the region during the Iran war.The US has especially bolstered its naval forces in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, with dozens of warships and aircraft carriers stationed in the region, carrying thousands of sailors, many of whom have been deployed for hundreds of days more than planned.“The war really did highlight the vulnerability” of American forces in the region, former US diplomat Michael Ratney told the Post.The former envoy to Saudi Arabia said that while moving troops further west and away from much of Iran’s missile range could revive some pressure, there is no “perfect solution to this problem.”The report cited sources familiar with the Pentagon’s thinking as saying that the issue would “likely” intensify an inter-administration debate over US military intervention in the Middle East, a question that has been central to the second term of US President Donald Trump as the hawkish and isolationist wings of his government vie for influence on the president.Either way, the Post noted that any significant changes to US forces in the region were “distant” and would only take place if approved by the White House.

Bennett: Israel should strike Iran to retaliate for Hezbollah attacks-B’Yachad chief accuses PM of tearing ‘Israeli society to shreds’ at party conference. Lapid calls to repair Israel’s ‘bipartisan status’ in US, strengthen ties with Diaspora Jews By Sam Sokol-19 August 2026, 7:53 pm

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said on Wednesday that, if they form the next government, they will push for a hardline deterrence policy against Iran while seeking to rebuild frayed ties with American liberals and the European Union.Bennett, a security hawk leading the B’Yachad party alongside Lapid, told party members at an internal policy conference in Tel Aviv that attacks from Iranian proxies should be treated as if they came from Iran.“If Hezbollah fires at us, we strike Iran. A strike by the Iranian octopus’s tentacles inside Israel’s borders will exact a price inside Iran’s borders,” Bennett declared.While accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of tearing “Israeli society to shreds” and thus being ineffective against foreign enemies, he echoed the premier’s insistence that Israel refuse to pull back in Gaza until Hamas is disarmed.Bennett also said he will not allow Qatar or Turkey to have any role in postwar Gaza, reiterating his call for Qatar to be labeled an enemy state.“We will not move a millimeter from the Yellow Line until Hamas is completely disarmed and this weaponry is removed from Gaza. We will maintain security and freedom of action throughout the Gaza Strip. We will remove Qatar and Turkey from Gaza and replace them with Egypt. Whoever allows Qatar and Turkey to run Gaza is preventing the dismantling of Hamas,” said Bennett.“We will use our credit with the White House only for the benefit of Israel’s security, and we will also know how to say ‘no’ when necessary and stand up for Israel’s security without compromise. Just as I did during the government I headed when I said no to President [Joe] Biden on the issue of establishing an American consulate in East Jerusalem.”Bennett also backed redefining rampant and deadly crime in the Arab community as a national security threat rather than a criminal one, urging the deployment of the IDF and Shin Bet in the fight against illegal weapons.“There are about half a million illegal weapons circulating today within the borders of the State of Israel. This is an incomprehensible number. The flawed conception here is that the government treats this as a criminal problem, when it is in fact a security threat of the highest order. This is why they’ve done nothing about it,” he said.“This is a ticking time bomb. Here too, we will fundamentally change our approach. We will define arms smuggling as terrorism in every way. We will use the full power of the state — including the Shin Bet and the IDF. Wherever there is intelligence that there are weapons caches, we will declare that location a closed security zone, and we will clear our streets of illegal weapons so that they are not then aimed at Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs alike.”On the theme of weapons, Bennett, a former hi-tech CEO, insisted that Israel’s current leadership had failed to grasp that “AI is the weapon of the future.”“In the not-so-distant future, AI capabilities will be more important than even nuclear weapons. Artificial intelligence is the next superpowers’ arms race, and despite the current government lagging over the past four years, we will not let Israel be left behind,” he said.Repairing ties with allies, world Jewry-Lapid, who has served as both prime minister and foreign minister, told party members that he will work to repair ties with the US and bring the relationship back “to the bipartisan status Israel enjoyed until four years ago.”“The number one goal and challenge of our foreign policy is to restore and change the direction of our relations with the United States,” he said, calling to “work with both parties, not only in Washington, but also at the state level.”Lapid slammed Netanyahu for giving up American military aid, calling it “a grave mistake” and insisting that “we must fight for it.” Netanyahu has repeatedly said he would seek to end Israel’s reliance on US aid, which has become increasingly unpopular among Americans.Israel must also focus on “rebuilding ties with the European Union, deepening connections with the NATO alliance and addressing — despite the difficulty –public opinion in countries like Spain, France and Ireland” while at the same time strengthen regional integration, including making a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia “a central goal in the coming years” so long as it prevents uranium enrichment by Riyadh, Lapid added.“Israeli foreign policy is what brings us an F-35 that can attack Iran as well as the continuous air corridor that leads there. Satellite coverage. Apache helicopters. The Iron Dome. A hi-tech economy. Scientific cooperation with Europe. Cooperation in cyber. Oil from Azerbaijan. Preferential access to world markets. Partnerships in critical technologies and AI. All of this is now in danger,” he said, accusing the government of negligence, arrogance and “amateurism.”Turning to relations with Diaspora Jewry, Lapid leveled an attack against recent attempts to sideline non-Orthodox denominations in Israel, stating that to “restore our relations with Diaspora Jewry,” Israelis must “respect their Judaism.”“The overwhelming majority of American Jewry are Reform or Conservative. They have suffered enough from a terrible wave of antisemitism against them; there is no reason for them to be insulted here in Israel – their Judaism, their rabbis and their rituals,” he said.Calling to merge the Diaspora Affairs Ministry with the Foreign Ministry, Lapid said that “world Jewry is our family, and it is also a strategic and diplomatic asset that we need to protect.”

UAE imposes financial embargo on Iran after missiles target ‘maritime traffic’UAE defense ministry says two Iranian missiles fell into the sea; Iran’s foreign ministry calls allegations ‘baseless’By Michael Georgy 19 August 2026, 6:24 pm

DUBAI (Reuters) — The United Arab Emirates’ decision to suspend all financial and economic transactions with Iran until further notice, citing a military escalation by Tehran with a missile threat, has refocused the spotlight on fraught ties between the major Gulf Arab oil producer and Iran.The UAE, a close US ally and regional power, was the Gulf state most heavily hit by Tehran during the early stages of the Middle East war. However, the last reported attack on UAE soil was the May 4 strike on Fujairah port, a key oil export hub.The move by the UAE to sever commercial ties came after its defense ministry said that it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, an incident that marked the first time in months that residents received telephone alerts warning of possible threats.In a statement, the ministry said the missiles targeted “maritime traffic” based on its assessments. Both missiles fell into the sea, it said.The UAE also sent a phone alert on Tuesday to residents stating that the situation was safe and people should resume normal activities after the earlier warning.Iran’s foreign ministry rejected the statement by the UAE that its missiles targeted maritime traffic, describing it as “baseless.”UAE says it is committed to dialogue-Dubai, the UAE’s main commercial hub, is one of Tehran’s most critical economic lifelines.UAE official Afra Al Hameli, Director of the Strategic Communications Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the UAE was committed to dialogue and cooperation to advance peace, stability and prosperity in the region.Al Hameli said that in light of regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security, all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran have been halted.Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the UAE president, said in a post on X that rumors about the “provision of financial facilities to Iran” are “false and part of desperate media campaigns.”The UAE was drawn into the wider war in the region, which began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran’s attacks on UAE soil stopped in May, while they persisted in neighboring Kuwait and Bahrain. Attacks at sea on its vessels did not stop.In August, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s largest energy producers, said it was being significantly impacted by what it described as unprovoked attacks on its people and assets, as it sought to continue meeting customer requirements in an “exceptionally challenging environment.”ADNOC said in a statement that several of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict.The missile launch that the UAE blamed on Iran came as a 60-day window for US-Iranian peace talks expired without a breakthrough, raising fears of a new escalation in the conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since February and rattled global markets.Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have previously ​threatened action against vessels transiting the strait if they are linked to Tehran’s adversaries ​or fail to comply with Iranian directives.

Government opens bidding to build 1,200 homes in controversial E1 settlement project-Construction in area east of Jerusalem would split up West Bank and deal blow to hopes for a contiguous Palestinian state; Peace Now: Tender seeks to tie next government’s hands By ToI Staff 19 August 2026, 1:10 pm

The government on Tuesday issued a tender for the construction of seven residential compounds housing 1,234 housing units in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, where Israeli settlement activists seek to divide the West Bank.The tender published by the Construction and Housing Ministry gives contractors until October 19 to bid on the project — a week before the October 27 parliamentary election.The housing units in the tender are some of the roughly 3,400 E1 housing units that were greenlit last August. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich lauded the E1 expansion plan at the time, saying it “practically erases the two-state delusion” by splitting up the territory that would be slated for a Palestinian state.The Peace Now settlement watchdog, which together with other organizations challenged the expansion plan in the Supreme Court, said on X that “at the height of the election period, the government is trying to realize the settler right wing’s vision of annexation, and tie the hands of the next government.”It added that implementing the E1 expansion plan would isolate “dozens of Bedouin communities, including Khan al-Ahmar, and lead to their expulsion from their land.”Peace Now also charged that the tender was published “in violation of an express commitment by the state.”According to the group, the State Attorney’s Office in July told petitioners against the expansion that no E1 construction tenders were expected in the next two to three months, and that there would be an early notice in case of any changes.“A single month later, the tender opened with no early notice,” Peace Now said.The E1 expansion connects the Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim areas, while seemingly scuttling the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian presence between the population centers of Bethlehem, East Jerusalem and Ramallah — long considered the basis for a Palestinian state.The project was frozen for long years amid fierce opposition from the international community, including past US administrations, which feared that building a new settlement neighborhood on the mostly empty tract of land would rule out the establishment of a contiguous, viable Palestinian state.Agencies and Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.

UAE says Iran fired two missiles at it, both fell in the sea-No immediate comment from Tehran on alleged attack, two days after drone strike on UAE’s only nuclear plant; Iran-backed rebels in Yemen attack Aramco refinery in Jazan with drones By Agencies 18 August 2026, 11:43 pm

Iran fired two missiles at the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, the country’s defense ministry said, with both projectiles falling in the sea without causing injury or damage. The missile fire, the first in months, came amid continued tensions between the US and Iran.The UAE said both missiles fell in the sea, one inside territorial waters, one outside them, and stressed the UAE’s readiness to deal with any threats. It was the the first such incident reported since a May 4 strike on the Fujairah port.The defense ministry said in a statement later that the missiles were targeting “maritime traffic” based on its assessments. The ministry also called on the public “to obtain all information from official authorities in the country and to avoid rumors and misinformation.”There was no immediate comment from Iran.The future of the US-Iran conflict is uncertain, with the 60-day ceasefire laid out in a June memorandum of understanding having expired on Monday. US President Donald Trump has said Washington and Tehran are not currently in talks and have no plans to engage in any.The UAE’s interior ministry also sent a phone alert stating that the situation was safe and people should resume normal activities after an earlier alert warning of a missile threat.Air Forces Detected Two Missiles Headed Toward the Country; Both Fell Into the Sea The UAE Ministry of Defence announced that the UAE's air defence systems detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards the country. The first fell outside the country's territorial… pic.twitter.com/medXz9VoXy Advertisement — وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) August 18, 2026“The defense ministry affirms its full readiness to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything that aims to destabilize the state’s security,” it said in a statement.On Sunday, a drone strike targeted the UAE’s sole nuclear power plant, sparking a fire.The UAE also accused Iran recently of attacking its state-owned ADNOC vessels while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have previously ​threatened action against vessels transiting the strait if they are linked to Tehran’s adversaries ​or fail to comply with Iranian directives.Houthis say they targeted Saudi refinery with drones-Separately on Tuesday, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis targeted an oil refinery on Saudi Arabia’s southern Red Sea coast, rebel media reported, as the group ramps up attacks on the kingdom after announcing a maritime blockade.Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, in July became the latest country to be drawn into the Middle East war as the Houthis upended a 2022 truce with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, launching attacks on areas it holds as well as Saudi Arabia.The Houthis “targeted the Aramco refinery in Jazan with a number of drones… in response to airspace violations over the governorates of Saada and Hajjah” in Yemen, Houthi news agency Saba said Tuesday, citing a military source.Last month, the Houthis welcomed an Iranian plane landing in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, setting off a spate of tit-for-tat attacks.They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia — which has led a coalition that heavily bombed Houthi areas throughout the war.The United Nations said it was “deeply concerned” by the reported strikes.“Such attacks risk further entangling Yemen in the wider regional confrontation, at a time when the region is already facing intense pressure and regional trade and energy flows are under severe strain,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ official spokesman.The Houthis have hit Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and attacked Yemeni government forces since the latest round of fighting broke out.They have also repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure and airports.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH) (DO NOT EVER LISTEN TO ANYBODY THAT SAYS THE WORLD IS ENDING.ITS NEVER GONNA HAPPEN-4 BILLION WILL BE LEFT ON EARTH TO GO INTO JESUS" 1000 YEAR RULE)(THAT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE THE END OF THE WORLD TO ANY ONE, DOES IT-NOT ME.THE EARTH IS JUST RENOVATED.NEVER ENDED.

REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

WORLD TERRORISM

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(CAN YOU SAY TORNADOES,HURRICANES,VOLCANOES,EARTH QUAKES,LANDSLIDES,FLASH FLOODING,EXPLOSIONS,SNOW STORMS,THEN FINALLY NUKESAND ANY OTHER JUDGEMENTS THE EARTH CAN VOMIT THE SINNERS OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH WITH.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)

ISAIAH 14:12-14
12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14  I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.

Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF -  HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.

LUKE 19:40
40 And He answered and said unto them, “I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

NY judge says Columbia University did not discriminate against pro-Hamas professor-Court dismisses Mohamed Abdou’s case alleging discrimination in university president’s Congressional testimony and by pro-Israel instructor-19 August 2026, 11:45 pm

NEW YORK — A New York City judge on Monday dismissed a case that a pro-Hamas professor filed against Columbia University, saying the university, its president and a pro-Israel professor had not discriminated against the instructor by condemning his rhetoric.Mohamed Abdou was a visiting professor at Columbia in the spring term of 2024. His employment term ended in May 2024 and was not renewed.Abdou had previously made pro-terror statements, saying days after the October 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel, “I’m with Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.”US Rep. Elise Stefanik questioned former Columbia University president Minouche Shafik about the comments during a Congressional hearing.Shafik said she shared Stefanik’s “repugnance” with the remarks and that Abdou would never work at the university again.Abdou filed a lawsuit against Shafik and the university in August 2024, alleging that Shafik’s comments and issues on campus constituted defamation, discrimination based on his national origin and a hostile work environment.Abdou identified in his lawsuit as a North African-Egyptian Muslim.The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint later that year, and in Monday’s court filing, the judge, Kathleen Waterman-Marshall, granted the dismissal.Abdou had claimed that Shafik had falsely labeled him an “antisemite” in her Congressional testimony, but the judge said Shafik did not actually make such a statement.Shafik had made truthful statements about Abdou’s employment or stated opinions, which did not constitute defamation, the judge said.Abdou also claimed Shafik’s hearing was “chock full of racism” that Shafik had endorsed, but the judge said Abdou had only cited allegedly racist comments from others at the hearing.“Abdou provides no authority which stands for the proposition that expressing disapproval of a foreign terrorist organization in a Congressional hearing amounts to discrimination,” the judge said.Abdou had also claimed that former Columbia professor Shai Davidai, an Israeli who became an outspoken critic of the university’s handling of anti-Zionist activism, had discriminated against him, and that Columbia had allowed the discrimination, creating a hostile work environment.The judge said Davidai’s statements about Abdou were “solely based upon Professor Abdou’s criticism of Israel,” noting that Davidai also targeted Jewish anti-Israel activists, and were therefore not discrimination based on Abdou’s identity.Columbia and Abdou’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.Abdou has filed an appeal.Columbia was an epicenter of campus anti-Zionist activism following the October 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel and war in Gaza.The university has been hit by lawsuits from both pro-Israel Jews and anti-Zionist activists.Abdou regularly makes statements in support of Islamist terror groups and calls for the destruction of the US and Israel, online and in talks to college students.Abdou was a visiting assistant professor at Columbia’s Middle East Institute, where he taught a course called “Decolonial-Queerness & Abolition in SWAN,” an acronym that stands for “Southwest Asia and North Africa.”

One of those targeted invaded Israel on Oct. 7 -- army-IDF says it hit meeting of elite Hamas commanders near Gaza port; six reported dead-Military says targets included Nukhba Force company commander, three platoon commanders and several other terror operatives; Hamas-run civil defense says a minor among the dead By Emanuel Fabian-and Agencies 19 August 2026, 1:19 am

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday struck what it said was a meeting of Hamas commanders and elite operatives in Gaza City, in an attack that the Hamas-run civil defense agency killed six and wounded 14.The military said the strike, near the city’s port, targeted commanders and members of Hamas’s Nukhba Force, which led the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel that started the war in Gaza.One of the terrorists targeted on Tuesday had himself invaded Israel during the onslaught, according to the IDF.The military said the targets included a Nukhba company commander, three platoon commanders and several other terror operatives who were planning attacks against Israeli troops operating in the Strip.The results of the strike would be released once they were verified, the IDF said.Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates under Hamas authority, told AFP that at least six were killed, “including a child, and a large number were wounded, as a result of an Israeli raid on tents of displaced people in Gaza port.”Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said it had received five bodies and 13 injured, one of whom died later in the evening.Eyewitness Mohammed Alghoul told AFP: “Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at the ‘Sweet and Bitter’ cafe on the fishermen’s port west of Gaza City.”Hamas issued a statement condemning the strike, saying it exemplified Israel’s “blatant disregard for all calls for a ceasefire issued by mediators and guarantor states, including President Trump’s call yesterday,” apparently referring to comments the US leader made during a Fox News interview that Israel should not be striking in Gaza right now, and that Hamas was “giving up their guns.”Hamas said on Tuesday it remained committed to the US-backed Gaza disarmament deal, a day after a source told The Times of Israel that the Board of Peace is considering abandoning its original framework, which would have seen the terror group disarming in phases, in favor of an all-at-once process supported by Israel.On Sunday, an IDF strike killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad company commander who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught and abducted an Israeli hostage.The military justified that strike amid the ceasefire by saying that Ra’i had recently been advancing attacks on troops and civilians, though the army has also acknowledged that it’s engaged in a campaign to kill all those who took part in the October 7 atrocities.

Don’t’: Netanyahu says he warned Turkey before Israel struck Syrian base-PM says message now conveyed ‘more clearly’ to Ankara; sources say Mossad chief discussed issue last week with Syrian FM; Ehud Barak calls escalation ‘reckless and stupid’By ToI Staff and Agencies 19 August 2026, 11:18 pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted on Wednesday that Israel had already warned Turkey against any military activity in Syria before Israel bombed an airbase that Ankara had been eyeing, while sources told Reuters that the Mossad chief discussed the issue last week with the Syrian foreign minister.Speaking in a podcast interview a day after Israel struck a military airbase in northwest Syria, Netanyahu said that Israel will not tolerate a Turkish military buildup “that descends south because it threatens us.”Warning Turkey against such military activity in Syria, Netanyahu simply said “Don’t,” in English.“The message was conveyed but apparently they didn’t hear it, so we made sure they understood it more clearly,” he added.Meanwhile, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday that Mossad chief Roman Gofman held a phone call last week with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in which they discussed Turkey’s military presence in Syria.The call, which the sources said took place on August 14, marks one of the highest-level contacts yet between Israel and the new Syrian government since the fall of former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.Both Turkey and Syria reacted angrily to the airstrike, which Damascus said caused material damage but no casualties. The strike was also condemned by US Ambassador Tom Barrack, who called it an “unnecessary escalation.”Condemning the strike, Syria’s foreign ministry said that it “has exercised restraint and worked to consolidate stability and avoid escalation.”Despite tensions between the neighbors — in particular over the presence of Israeli troops in a southern Syria buffer zone — Israel and Syria’s new authorities have held several rounds of direct talks and have agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism.But Israel has repeatedly raised the alarm about an entrenched Turkish presence in Syria, and in a statement Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office asserted that Turkish troops were allowed to deploy at the airbase, breaching an agreed-upon “status quo.”Israel “repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel’s security,” the statement added, and “Syria chose to ignore these warnings.”While Turkey accused Israel of making baseless allegations, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the strikes came after “a visit by a Turkish military delegation to the airfield in recent days,” while several Syrian officials also confirmed to The Associated Press that the Turkish visit had recently taken place.Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on Syria since the December 2024 toppling of Assad by Islamist forces led by former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa, who relies on support from Turkey and has received enthusiastic backing from US President Donald Trump. But this strike goes much further into Syria than the so-called security zone in southern Israel.Former prime minister Ehud Barak accused Netanyahu on Wednesday of being “reckless and stupid” in escalating tensions with Turkey, alleging that the prime minister was attempting to “stir public anxiety” ahead of the upcoming national election.“Turkey is not Iran or Assad’s Syria,” wrote Barak in a series of posts on X. “There is no strategic problem with Turkey that cannot be resolved, mitigated, or postponed over the long term through discreet contacts coordinated with the United States and its influence in Turkey and Syria. Netanyahu has completely gone off the rails.”Barak, a former IDF chief of staff who also served as defense minister from 2007-2013, wrote that Netanyahu is engaged in “survival maneuvers” in an attempt to secure his political future, and that any “handling of these issues would be better postponed until after the election.”

Houthis planning to seize vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemen government warns-Such an assault would cement Iran-backed rebels’ control over one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and give Tehran a foothold in a second vital waterway in the Middle East-By AFP 19 August 2026, 6:25 pm

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Yemeni minister warned Tuesday that the country’s Houthi rebels are plotting to seize land along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which would allow the group to further threaten the vital shipping artery.Three Houthi military sources and a spokesman for Yemeni government forces bordering the waterway also told AFP the rebels are planning to advance.Such an assault, if successful, would cement Houthi control over one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, which the Iran-backed rebels have disrupted with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war broke out after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel in October 2023.It would also extend the hold of Tehran and its allies to a second vital waterway in the Middle East after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in its war with the United States.Greater Houthi control of Bab el-Mandeb would choke off oil exports from Saudi Arabia, against which the rebels have announced a maritime blockade.“The Houthi militia… is working to create the conditions for seizing control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by expanding its presence along the western coast and attempting to control strategic Yemeni islands in the Red Sea,” Yemen’s information minister Moammar al-Eryani told AFP.He said there had been a military buildup by the Houthis and that their plans had been illustrated by “repeated targeting of ports, docks, civilian infrastructure, ships, and government naval capabilities.”The Houthis currently do not control coastal areas directly on the strait, but they hold the key port city of Hodeida to the north and have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea.In recent weeks, the rebels have launched their deadliest attacks in years on Yemeni government forces.They have also begun targeting Yemen’s port city of Mokha, which lies close to Bab el-Mandeb, as well as military sites near the strait and government-controlled islands in the Red Sea.Major-General Sadeq Duwaid, a spokesman for the government-affiliated National Resistance Forces that control areas bordering the strait, told AFP that the rebels “are striving to secure a foothold in Bab el-Mandeb.”“Through their continued attacks on Mokha and its port, the Houthi militia seeks to establish a presence along the shores of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and transform the area into a situation resembling that of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.Three Houthi military sources told AFP that the group was preparing to launch an operation to seize areas south of Hodeida.They said around 2,000 fighters had been deployed to front lines along Yemen’s western coast in the provinces of Taiz and Hodeida, along with rocket launchers.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Op-ed-Hamas must be drained of its money as well as its weapons-Gaza’s terror group is rearming, in part with money from the daily influx of aid * Plus: Netanyahu’s party primary brings an overdue farewell to some members of the Likud demolition crew, but the main wreckers remain-By David Horovitz-19 August 2026, 5:18 pm

I’d really like to think that the US Middle East peace team has gotten over Steve Witkoff’s delusion that Hamas is not ideologically intractable and that it can be persuaded to lay down its weapons and quietly slink away into history.I’d like to believe that when Jared Kushner meets, as he did again in Egypt over the weekend, with Khalil al-Hayya, he is thoroughly aware that the current Hamas chief was one of the architects of the October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in southern Israel, and remains laser-locked on the goal of destroying Israel.In purportedly agreeing to the US-established Board of Peace’s plan for its own disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas is manifestly playing the United States and playing for time: It is recruiting; it is training; it is awaiting a less intrusive, more anti-Israel American administration; it is awaiting a resumption of funding from the despicably resilient Iranian regime.That does not mean that the US-led effort, via the Board, to marginalize Hamas and gradually change the face of Gaza is a lost cause. But success requires genuine Hamas disarmament; ongoing, relentless elimination of Hamas operatives preparing and attempting to carry out attacks… and a heightened focus on Hamas’s finances.According to Yitzhak Gal, of the center-left Mitvim advocacy think tank, Hamas retains broad leverage over aid entering the near-50% of Gaza where it retains control, and is able to tax (at entry and in the markets), obstruct and loot supplies to the tune of some $2 million a day. (A Board of Peace official acknowledged to The Times of Israel that diversion of aid continues, but did not confirm Gal’s figure, and said the scale of Hamas intervention has been going down.) It is essential, therefore, urged Gal, that the Board’s yet-to-be-deployed International Stabilization Force fully control the entire aid distribution process.In an Army Radio interview on Monday, Gal further argued that Hamas, in purportedly agreeing to relinquish civilian governance to the Board’s National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the intended interim technocratic government, is, again, playing the US, the Board et al for fools, since it has ensured that the hierarchies through which this committee would seek to operate are staffed by Hamas and its loyalists.Finally, Gal urged the establishment of a kind of economic police force — to oversee taxation, money-changing, cryptocurrency dealings and every other aspect of finance in Gaza, an effort that he acknowledged would likely trigger open conflict with Hamas.Common to these proposals is the imperative to ensure not only the disarming of Hamas but also the draining of Hamas’s coffers.The Board of Peace may not be perfect, Gal argued, but it is the least bad international tool around to heighten pressure on Hamas. And that pressure must include shattering Hamas’s financial leverage.Otherwise, Hamas will continue quietly strengthening, and another round of devastating conflict is only a matter of time.How potent and proximate is the threat? Former and would-be prime minister Naftali Bennett, visiting the Gaza border town of Netiv Ha’asara two weeks ago, sounded a furious alarm: “Hamas has restored its command system, they appointed company commanders, battalion commanders, brigade commanders, rearmed themselves with long-range missiles, UAVs, drones, and weaponry and are now digging the tunnels anew,” Bennett said, adding that the terror group was “already training for the next massacre.”Bennett is campaigning to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, and unsurprisingly pointed a renewed finger of blame at Netanyahu, declaring that “a direct line connects the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem to what is happening here on the other side of the fence: Netanyahu gave up on eliminating Hamas, brought Qatar into the Prime Minister’s Office, and later gave the Qataris the keys to Gaza.”But a month earlier, officers in the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate and Southern Command similarly warned that Hamas’s military wing was preparing for renewed war with Israel, specifying that the terror group was producing hundreds of explosive devices and anti-tank missiles every month, recruiting fighters aged 18-22, and recently restarted training for members of its elite Nukhba force.Hamas, the officers said, according to a Kan TV report, is also trying to smuggle in drones and communication devices from Sinai. And it is working to rebuild its underground infrastructure, much of which was never destroyed.At least twice in recent weeks, indeed, the IDF has stated that it attacked Hamas operatives working to restore Gaza tunnels.Almost unbelievably, what’s more, three years after October 7, IDF surveillance soldiers say they are again witnessing Hamas terror activities, and that their superiors are ignoring their warnings.Naivete and complacency are unthinkable when it comes to Hamas. But so, too, are paralysis and inaction.Likud’s non-shakeup-Barely a month after they cast their votes, at Netanyahu’s command, in favor of legislation that unconscionably seeks to enshrine the mass exemption from military service of ultra-Orthodox men, at least 16 and probably several more Likud MKs and ministers will not be returning to the Knesset given their relatively poor showings in Monday’s Likud party primary.They knew when they voted that the IDF is desperate for more troops, amid the relentless, multifront security frictions. They knew how badly the reservists are hurting after hundreds upon hundreds of days of service at the front. They knew that there is nothing “Jewish,” much less “ultra-Orthodox,” about refusing to defend the Jewish state. They knew their prime minister was being extorted by their non-Zionist ultra-Orthodox coalition partners. And yet, as throughout the four-year term of Israel’s most security-incompetent, democracy-destroying, settler-terrorism-indulging, divisive government, they nonetheless did their cynical, self-serving leader’s bidding.And now, they’re going to be cast aside.Do any of them feel even the merest twinges of guilt and regret? Very probably not.Certainly not Idit Silman, whose defection to Likud sealed the demise of the Bennett-Lapid government in 2022 and bought her four ministerial years spent doing the opposite of environmental protection.What about Avi Dichter, the once-admirable former Shin Bet chief who broke the Second Intifada but then sold his soul to Netanyahu? And what of Ariel Kallner, the Likud MK who initiated the bill to hold a politically led inquiry into the failures surrounding October 7 — an inquiry to be staffed and mandated by the very government that presided over the catastrophe, rather than the independent state commission so desperately needed to establish what went wrong and how to prevent a recurrence? Kallner, too, is about to disappear into history, a dispensable, doubtless unrepentant footnote.However, Ofir Katz, the House Committee chair who would appoint the farcical non-inquiry panel, fared very well in the primary, and will be back in the Knesset to help shepherd the bill through its two final readings, if a Likud-led coalition is reelected.So, too, will Yariv Levin, the anything-but-justice minister obsessed with destroying our judiciary, who plunged Israel into the bitter internal dissent that Hamas so effectively exploited. Like much of the Netanyahu-loyal senior old guard, Levin will return, after a primary that, strikingly, failed to elect a single fresh face — unless you count far-right Otzma Yehudit defector Almog Cohen — to a realistic slot on Likud’s slate.Coming in at No. 3 in the vote, Levin promised, before the count was even finished, “to complete the judicial reform,” and asserted, with characteristic inaccuracy and arrogance, that his success in a contest for which barely half of his own party’s members bothered to turn up represented the endorsement of his incendiary policies by “a vast public.”Apropos all of which, as this inevitably toxic election campaign heats up, could the Shin Bet, even under Netanyahu-appointee David Zini, be prevailed upon to put aside partisan consideration and provide security protection for the opposition frontrunner, Gadi Eisenkot?

Poll shows drop in Palestinian support for Hamas's war conduct-At least 10 said killed in Gaza airstrikes that Israel says targeted Hamas commanders-IDF: Strikes in Nuseirat and Gaza City were against terror operatives planning attacks on Israeli troops; UN: More than half of all aid workers killed worldwide in 2025 were in Gaza By Emanuel Fabian,Nurit Yohanan and Agencies 19 August 2026, 5:50 pm

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday killed at least 10 people and wounded 15, according to Palestinian media, with the IDF saying the airstrikes targeted Hamas operatives.The first strike, in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, targeted a Hamas company commander who invaded Israel on October 7, according to the military. Palestinian media reported that one person riding a motorcycle was killed in that strike.Less than half an hour later, the military struck a police station in Gaza City, killing nine people — including a 13-year-old girl — and wounding 15, according to Palestinian media.The target of that strike was a Hamas commander and several other operatives who were alongside him, the army said. The IDF asserted that the terror operatives had planned to carry out attacks on Israeli troops operating in the Strip, justifying the strikes amid the ceasefire.Later Wednesday, the IDF said that at least four Hamas operatives and a member of a smaller terror group were present at the police station in order to advance attacks on troops stationed in the Strip.“At the time of the strike, at least four terrorists from the military wing of the Hamas terror group and a terrorist from the Popular Resistance Committees terror organization were present,” the military said, adding that it will provide an update on the strike once the results are clear.Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem condemned what he called Israel’s “complete disregard for all calls for a ceasefire.”Qassem said US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace “bears responsibility for this escalation due to its failure to fulfill its obligations by pressuring the occupation” — how Hamas refers to Israel — to abide by its commitments.In a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, US envoy Jared Kushner pressed the Israeli premier to hold back on its targeted airstrikes on Hamas commanders in Gaza, a request Netanyahu rejected, according to an official present at the sit-down.Wednesday’s strikes came a day after another unusually deadly Israeli strike in Gaza, with the IDF saying it had targeted a meeting of Hamas commanders and elite operatives in Gaza City in an attack that the Hamas-run civil defense agency killed six and wounded 14.The military said Tuesday that the strike, near the city’s port, targeted commanders and members of Hamas’s Nukhba Force, which led the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel that started the war in Gaza.The IDF then officially announced Wednesday that the strike a day earlier killed four Nukhba Force commanders in Hamas’s Beit Lahia Battalion.They were named by the military as: Muhammad Hamdi Ahmed al-Masri, a company commander; Samad Samir Harb Abu Jabal, a platoon commander who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught; Muhammad Attar, a platoon commander; and Muhammad Fathi Hussein Nasser, also a platoon commander.The military said the operatives were involved in advancing attacks on troops: “The commanders’ activities posed a threat to IDF troops, and they were therefore eliminated in an aerial strike to remove the threat.”And earlier Wednesday, the IDF announced that two Hamas tunnels, spanning in total some two kilometers (1.2 miles) underground, were recently sealed by combat engineers.The IDF said the tunnels were found in central and southern Gaza, amid efforts to clear the Israeli-held portion of the Strip of Hamas infrastructure.The army said it used concrete to close off the tunnels. Sealing tunnels with concrete can be a cheaper and less risky alternative to blowing them up, although it takes longer to carry out.Figures released by the United Nations on Wednesday asserted that a record number of humanitarian workers were attacked worldwide in 2025, with Gaza accounting for more than half of the 350 aid staffers killed.Some 907 aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2025 versus 833 the year before, according to the Aid Worker Security Database, a platform funded by Canada and Australia that compiles major security incidents affecting aid workers.Of those, 350 were killed, down slightly from a record 387 in 2024.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the level of violence is appalling and urges states to respect the rules of war and hold perpetrators accountable.“Serving others has become more dangerous than ever,” he said.Gaza was by far the most deadly place for aid workers in 2025, with 186 humanitarian staffers killed there, the database showed, followed by Sudan. The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has reported at least 393 staff killed there since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, 2023.Israel has provided evidence of the refugee agency’s staffers taking part in the Hamas-led October 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed and 251 kidnapped. It has claimed that the agency is riddled with members of Hamas and other terror groups, and has said it goes to great lengths to avoid harm to aid workers and civilians.Poll sees falling support for Hamas, especially in West Bank-Meanwhile, a new poll by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed a decline in support for Hamas, particularly among Palestinians in the West Bank.The survey, conducted earlier this month and released last week, found that 42% of respondents expressed satisfaction with Hamas’s performance during the war with Israel, down from 60% in the previous poll conducted in late October 2025.In the West Bank, 45% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the terror group, a sharp drop from 66% who were happy with Hamas 10 months ago. In Gaza, the fall-off was slightly less pronounced, going from 51% in October to 38% in the more recent poll.In the previous poll, conducted in the immediate aftermath of the Gaza ceasefire deal, 39% of respondents overall said Hamas had emerged victorious. Today, that figure has fallen to 20%, with another 15% saying Israel won and 60% maintaining that neither side emerged victorious.Seventy-two percent of respondents said the terror group should not give up its weapons before a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, while 20% said it should.Nearly 50% of respondents say they believe Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Palestinian legislative elections will be held at the end of November. Elections have not been held since 2006, with plans for a vote repeatedly called off in the last two decades.Were presidential elections to be held, Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti — currently in Israeli prison serving five consecutive terms plus 40 years for helping plan attacks during the Second Intifada that killed five civilians — remains the most popular candidate, with 56% saying they would vote for him over Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya (26%) or Abbas (14%).The poll, overseen by Khalil Shikaki, surveyed 830 Palestinians in the West Bank and 440 in the Gaza Strip between August 5 and 8, with a ±3.5% margin of error.

Turkish media mocks Israel's 'hysterical panic attacks'Ankara rejects Israeli ‘allegations’ on airbase, but Syrian officials confirm Turkish visit-Turkey slams Israel for trying to ‘legitimize unlawful airstrikes’ after Jerusalem accused it of planning deployment; IDF chief in Syria: Israel won’t allow ‘hostile forces’ along borderBy Agencies, Emanuel Fabian-and ToI Staff 19 August 2026, 5:37 pmUpdated at 6:55 pm

Turkey firmly rejected on Wednesday what it called “untenable allegations” by Israel regarding its military position in Syria, after Israel bombed a Syrian airbase near the Turkish border and said Syria was on the verge of permitting Turkish troops to deploy there.But Syrian officials admitted Wednesday that Turkish officials had visited the base in question a day before the Israeli strikes, while the IDF chief said in a visit to Syria that Israel would not allow “hostile forces” along its borders.Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Turkey and criticism from US Ambassador Tom Barrack, who called the attack an “unnecessary escalation.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Syria late Tuesday of being on the verge of violating a “status quo agreed with Israel in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase, adding that such a deployment would threaten Israel’s security.In response, Turkey’s presidency said Wednesday that the “imputations” from Netanyahu’s office stemmed from his intention to pursue “expansionist and destabilizing policies” ahead of the upcoming national election in Israel, adding that lasting regional peace could only be achieved if Israel respected international law and abandoned its “aggressive and coercive policies.”“The untenable allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office are intended to legitimize Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said on X, without explicitly referring to any potential deployment plans.“Turkey will resolutely continue to cooperate with the Syrian Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the destabilization of Syria.”Turkish media outlets also reacted harshly to the Israeli strike and accusations, accusing Jerusalem of fomenting conflict.The daily newspaper Takvim asserted Tuesday that Israel “is experiencing hysterical panic attacks” after the recent defense pact signed between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, declaring in a separate headline that “Turkey is the Zionists’ target.”The front page of the Turkiye daily newspaper called the strike a “major provocation from Israel,” while a separate headline claimed that a recent phone call between US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “drove ‘genocidal Israel’ crazy.”Meanwhile, Syrian officials told The Associated Press Wednesday that a Turkish delegation had in fact visited the airbase in northern Syria on Monday.Two officials — who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly — said the Turkish delegation had visited the airbase in the northwestern province of Idlib Monday to review rehabilitation work underway at the facility.It was the first confirmation of a Turkish presence at the Abu Duhur base.IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited troops in the Israel-held buffer zone in southern Syria Wednesday morning, and said Israel “will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves along our borders.”“We see what is happening and are monitoring the changes on the Syrian front. We must prepare for them accordingly,” he said, according to remarks provided by the IDF. “We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves along our borders, and we will know how to use our power precisely where it is needed and when it is needed.”The IDF chief added that the military “must prevent the development of terror threats, while at the same time preventing the emergence of a significant military threat along our borders.”The Israeli strikes on Tuesday followed worsening security tensions between Israel and Turkey and increasingly sharp rhetoric between the two countries over Syria, where both countries’ militaries are active.Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army and has emerged as one of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s main allies, accuses Israel of trying to destabilize Syria and undermine its new administration, repeatedly calling for international pressure and measures on Israel to respect Syria’s territorial integrity.Ankara has been training Syria’s army, helping it rebuild its state institutions and infrastructure, and providing military and diplomatic support.Israel meanwhile has accused Turkey of trying to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate and of taking advantage of the fall of the Assad regime for its own ends.

Syria arrests Assad-era officer who fled prison sentence in Austria-Musab Abu Rukbah returned home after Vienna court sentenced him to 8 years in jail for torture, sexual assault of Assad critics while serving as head of Raqqa police investigationsBy Feras Dalatey 19 August 2026, 11:42 am

DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) — Syrian security forces have arrested a former Assad-era security officer who fled Austria after being sentenced to eight years in prison for abusing detainees and returned to his hometown in southern Syria, state news agency SANA said on Tuesday night.Lt. Col. Musab Abu Rukbah was arrested in the city of Nawa in Daraa province by internal security forces in coordination with the counter-terrorism department, SANA said, citing the security forces.Abu Rukbah was convicted by a Vienna court last month of bodily harm, aggravated coercion and sexual assault against detained opponents of former president Bashar al-Assad while he headed the police’s criminal investigations department in the northern city of Raqqa more than a decade ago.He had pleaded not guilty.Reuters reported on Friday that Abu Rukbah had left Austria while challenging his eight-year sentence on appeal, and arrived in Nawa in early August, where his family held a reception to celebrate his return.SANA said on Tuesday that Abu Rukbah had entered Syria illegally after fleeing Austria and that authorities had tracked him down in Nawa. He had been referred to the relevant authorities to complete legal procedures ahead of prosecution, it said.It was not immediately clear what charges Abu Rukbah could face in Syria or whether Austria had requested his arrest or extradition.A spokesperson for the Austrian court that convicted him told Reuters at the time that Abu Rukbah had not been considered a flight risk before his trial because he had lived in Austria since 2014 and was seeking asylum there with his family.He was not held in custody during the trial or subjected to other restrictions, and his departure from Austria did not breach Austrian laws or court orders while the appeals process remained underway, the spokesperson said.

US sanctions ICC president, senior trial lawyer on team seeking Netanyahu’s arrest-Rubio slams ‘fatally politicized supranational court,’ which counters that move ‘undermines rule of law’; PM thanks US ‘for making clear corrupt officials who lead ICC will face consequences’By Agencies and ToI Staff 19 August 2026, 6:03 am

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the president of the International Criminal Court and one of its top prosecutors as it continues a campaign to dismantle the tribunal, which it accuses of trying to unfairly prosecute US and Israeli soldiers for alleged crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza.The State Department said Tuesday it had hit ICC president Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who is from Senegal, with sanctions that freeze any assets they have in US jurisdictions or come into contact with the US financial system.“The Trump administration has been clear: the International Criminal Court is a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty.”The move is the latest by the administration against the ICC, which it says has exceeded its mandate by investigating or trying soldiers, commanders and political officials from countries, such as Israel and the United States, that are not members of the court.The ICC was quick to respond, as it has done when faced with previous US actions, saying that the sanctions “undermine the rule of law.”“When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” it said.Seye is a senior trial lawyer on the prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and has been nominated for election as an ICC judge.“The ICC has become a kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in the language of international law while undermining the very principles of justice,” Netanyahu wrote on X in response to the US announcement, hailing Rubio’s “determined efforts against the ICC’s illegitimate overreach, and for making clear that the corrupt officials who lead the ICC will face consequences.”The US imposed targeted sanctions last year on several ICC officials, including prosecutors and judges, citing ⁠the ICC’s ​arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a past probe into US troops in Afghanistan.The sanctions freeze any US assets the individuals may have and essentially cut them off from the US financial system, with which almost all internationally operating banks have close ties.The US Treasury Department also issued a general license on Tuesday authorizing the wind-down of transactions involving Akane and Seye through September 17.Akane warned in December that the US sanctions would “rapidly undermine the court’s operations in all situations and cases, and jeopardize its very existence.”Three ICC judges sued Trump and his administration in June over the sanctions, arguing the measures were unlawful. Advocacy groups, in two separate lawsuits, have said that the US campaign infringes on the constitutional rights of organizations working with the court to seek justice for atrocities around the world.Rubio said last month that the administration would step up efforts to undermine the ICC, including a diplomatic campaign aimed at persuading other countries to quit the institution, a call that at least five countries have already heeded.He accused the court of posing a threat to US personnel carrying out US President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies or strikes on boats accused of carrying drugs, as well as other US service members.

Inside story Board of Peace uneasy over civilian harm from strikes on Hamas-PM, Kushner clashed over continued Israeli strikes on Oct. 7 terrorists — officials-Officials tell ToI that Trump aide also took issue with Netanyahu’s refusal to let police recruits leave Gaza for training, as Board of Peace needs them for Hamas weapons handovers-By Jacob Magid and Nava Freiberg-19 August 2026, 3:54 am

The main dispute during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting on Monday with US special envoy Jared Kushner was over the premier’s insistence that Israel continue carrying out strikes on Hamas operatives in Gaza who allegedly took part in the terror group’s October 7 onslaught, an official present at the sit-down told The Times of Israel.Earlier this month, Israel acknowledged having established a special operation to hunt down and kill every Palestinian terrorist involved in the October 7, 2023, invasion and atrocities.The mission has resulted in countless apparent violations of the ceasefire that Israel and Hamas inked in October 2025, but the US-controlled Board of Peace has not adamantly objected, as the Israel Defense Forces in most cases has claimed those targeted posed an imminent threat to troops.For months, the Board of Peace prioritized coaxing Hamas to accept its disarmament proposal, which the terror group finally did on July 30.Once in place, the plan envisions both sides immediately halting all military operations, though Netanyahu has come out against the proposal and raised the issue during his meeting with Kushner, according to the official present.While Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior aide, assured Netanyahu that he would not oppose Israeli strikes against those who genuinely pose an “imminent threat,” he also told the premier that this exception should not be widely interpreted, the official said To the frustration of the Board of Peace delegation, Netanyahu insisted that strikes against participants in the October 7 attack would continue, according to the official, who added that no agreement was reached on the matter.A second source briefed on the meeting confirmed the official’s account.Hours after Kushner left Israel, the IDF carried out one of its deadliest strikes in months, targeting what it said was a gathering of senior Hamas operatives. Reports said at least six people were killed in the strike, including a child, and over 10 wounded, among them an elderly woman.Even while theoretically understanding Israel’s desire to pursue October 7 terrorists, the continued harm to civilians in those strikes has been an increasing cause of concern for the Board of Peace, the official said.In addition to violating the Board of Peace’s stalled disarmament plan, the policy laid out by Netanyahu could well go against Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, which the premier accepted in September of last year.That proposal stated that Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty.”The official present at the Monday meeting said Kushner also took issue with Netanyahu’s refusal to allow recruits for the new Palestinian police force to leave the Strip for training in Egypt.The Board of Peace disarmament plan envisions Hamas handing over its weapons to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza’s new police force, in a process facilitated by the International Stabilization Force.Kushner said Monday that he wants Hamas to begin handing over its weapons within a month, but without a sufficient number of already trained police recruits, there may not be anyone for Hamas to give its weapons to.

Inside story Kushner bullish on post-election expansion of Abraham Accords-Palestinian official worries US ‘replicating’ PM’s strategy of boosting Hamas at PA’s expense-Concern expressed to ToI after Kushner meets with Hamas chief and Netanyahu, while ignoring Ramallah; Trump aide says PA should focus on reforms, which the official accuses Jerusalem of hobbling By Jacob Magid-19 August 2026, 3:08 am

A senior Palestinian Authority official expressed “concern” on Tuesday that the United States was “replicating” what he said has been Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy of bolstering Hamas at the expense of the PA.The remarks to The Times of Israel came two days after US envoy Jared Kushner held a rare in-person meeting with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt, before proceeding to Jerusalem for a sit-down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kushner did not stop in Ramallah to see anyone from the PA, which the Trump administration has largely sidelined.“The PA can play a critical role in stabilizing the situation in Gaza and the West Bank and should not be ignored,” the Palestinian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The official recalled how successive Netanyahu governments authorized Qatari payments to Hamas, which allowed for the bolstering of the terror group, even as Jerusalem gradually disengaged from the more moderate PA, which supports a two-state solution, and took steps to delegitimize it.The official was careful not to explicitly criticize the Trump administration, with Ramallah apparently recognizing it has limited leverage at the moment.Kushner was asked in a portion of a Fox News interview that aired on Tuesday about the possibility of the US recognizing a Palestinian state and dismissed the idea for the time being, while knocking the PA.“Before we can even talk about the political nature of a state, what we want to see is that the Palestinians can govern themselves. With the PA, they fall very, very short on the standard we need for somebody who can qualify for a state,” he said. “They have a lot of reforms they need to do, which the Saudis, the French and everyone agrees with us on. Governments are working on what the right set of reforms are.”“Whether they’ll actually do it is another question. They’ve been threatening to reform for a decade now,” Kushner added in reference to the PA.He recalled how the US established a technocratic panel to govern postwar Gaza in place of Hamas, adding that “maybe we can talk about a political horizon later on in the future” if the new committee demonstrates that it can effectively manage the coastal enclave.The US plan for the Gaza Strip envisions that body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, handing over control of the territory to the PA once the latter completes a series of reforms.The Palestinian official insisted that Ramallah was working on implementing these steps, but was significantly hobbled by a growing list of punitive measures taken by Netanyahu’s government that have brought the West Bank economy to the brink of collapse.For example, the official said the PA reformed its textbooks amid accusations from Israel that they have long included incitement against Jews.The official said the curriculum was updated online but that the PA education ministry does not currently have the funds to print the textbooks en masse, as Israel continues to withhold billions of dollars in funds.Kushner bullish on Abraham Accords expansion after Israeli election-Kushner was also asked during the Fox interview whether he thinks the normalization agreements between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries known as the Abraham Accords could still be expanded during the remainder of Trump’s second term in office.“We have a lot of very good, active conversations going with countries — some obvious, some not obvious,” responded Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law.“Once we get this Gaza situation moving forward, that will hopefully deescalate the tensions here,” Kushner said, referring to his efforts to advance the US-controlled Board of Peace’s disarmament plan, which has been approved by Hamas but rejected by Israel.He then noted a second factor holding up efforts to expand the Abraham Accords as he seemingly knocked Netanyahu’s government, whose hardline policies toward the Palestinians have turned off countries from normalizing relations with the Jewish state in recent years.“Israeli politics are complicated, and Israeli politics in election are even more complicated. Hopefully, when we get after the Israeli election, there will be some opportunities for expansion,” Kushner said.He did not explicitly call out Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition, which Arab diplomats have long maintained has become a primary obstacle in expanding the Abraham Accords.Regardless, Kushner said Trump was committed to building on the initiative he launched during his first term, when he brokered normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.“Everyone always said we can’t have normalization (with Israel) until the Palestinian issue is resolved. But what we showed through the first batch of the Abraham Accords (agreements), is that the Emiratis are actually the biggest donors to Gaza, and they’ve done a ton to help the Palestinian people,” he said, alluding to Abu Dhabi’s funding of over 40% of the humanitarian aid for the Strip during the recent war there.“It’s only by having relations with Israel that they’re able to help the Palestinians hopefully achieve a better outcome for themselves,” Kushner argued.

Aug. 19: US to provide $206 million for Gaza peacekeeping force, letters show-Palestinians say they’re still trapped in homes, 11 days after settler siege commenced * Board of Peace mum on IDF’s Gaza strikes, days after Kushner asked PM only to target imminent threats By Joshua Davidovich and ToI Staff 19 August 2026, 1:25 am

US President Donald Trump’s administration has told Congress it is sending more than $206 million for a proposed Gaza peacekeeping force, the first significant funding for Washington’s stalled plan to rebuild the devastated enclave.In two July 30-dated notifications seen by Reuters, the State Department informed Congress it will provide $200 million for the International Stabilization Force’s (ISF) equipment, infrastructure, vehicles and operational costs. An additional $6 million would repurpose US armored vehicles to support the force.The notifications, which were addressed to key appropriations and foreign affairs committees in Congress, have not been previously reported.The funding is the first concrete US spending on the peacekeeping force and signals the administration’s determination to press ahead with Trump’s Gaza roadmap even as both Israel and Hamas have balked at conditions needed to advance the plan.“The ISF will lead security operations, support comprehensive demilitarization, and enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction material to Gaza,” one of the notifications says, while noting the final composition of the force was still being negotiated.The administration has not said how much money will ultimately be needed to fund the force.Trump set up a Board of Peace to oversee his ambitious plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza and rebuild the shattered territory. His plan envisioned that the peacekeeping force would deploy to Gaza to secure areas after Israeli forces withdraw and would train new Palestinian police forces, support aid deliveries and assist with Hamas’s disarmament.While Hamas agreed to the Board of Peace’s disarmament plan on July 30, the effort has stalled amid Israel’s rejection of the plan.Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner held meetings with Hamas officials on Sunday and Israeli leaders on Monday in Jerusalem but left without a breakthrough.An official from the Board of Peace claims the last two weeks as a period of “significant advances” and says the board had sought additional funding pledges as a result.The official says the funding was needed for the construction of a base for forces inside Gaza, among other reconstruction projects.Member countries had initially pledged $17 billion for reconstruction efforts inside Gaza, but only a tiny fraction of the funds have been received.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.(IN 1 HR THE STOCK MARKETS WORLDWIDE WILL CRASH)
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed:(CONFISCATED) their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, (SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

I KNOW THIS MARK WILL BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP WHAT THE WORD MARK SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS DICTATORS MARK. NOW LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE. UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION 13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA, KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS A BADGE OF SERVITUDE), OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM 5482 XAPAE CHARAX, KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A POINT; AKIN TO 1125 THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E (BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM 1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO "GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE; FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING, -TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 - STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα, στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick; (cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German stechen, English stick, sting, etc.; Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in or branded upon the body. According to ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to, and there were even some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their gods (cf. Deyling, Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.) Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and approved votary, servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, the passage cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian, Plutarch, Lcian, others.) 

THE INVENTOR OF THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT-CARL SANDERS MICROCHIP ENGINEER LEADER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgH9D6n4ZWo

 Water in the wilderness: A desert preaches-It doesn't rain in Israel in August. It just doesn't. So when the heavens bucketed down on the dry and dusty wadis, I found myself looking for meaning-Aug 19, 2026, 7:55 AM

Something happened in the Judean wilderness last Saturday that the record books say has never happened before. In the middle of August — the deadest, driest heart of an Israeli summer, when the desert east of Jerusalem is supposed to be nothing but dust and heat — the sky opened over the hills, and water ran down through the wadis toward the Dead Sea.The numbers were startling enough on their own. According to The Times of Israel, Ma’ale Adumim took 11 millimeters of rain in a single hour and around 26 across the day — the most rain ever recorded in that region in the month of August, and only the fourth time since measurements began that anywhere in the country has seen more than 20 millimeters in this month. Jerusalem itself got a soaking it almost never sees at this season.But the figure that stopped me was not the rainfall total. It was a streambed. Nahal Og, a normally bone-dry channel north of the Dead Sea, filled and flooded — and the Israel Meteorological Service said it was the first flood ever documented there at this time of year. Water ran east through the Judean wilderness, down into the basin of the sea that takes every river and gives none back, at a season when that ground has never once been recorded doing such a thing.I am a careful reader of Scripture, and I want to be careful here, because this is exactly the kind of moment that tempts a certain sort of Christian to say more than he knows. So let me be plain about what I am not saying before I say anything at all. I am not announcing a fulfillment, and I am not holding up a weather report as a prophecy come true. I have no date to give you, and I distrust the men who claim they do.What I want to do is quieter than that, and I think harder to dismiss. I want to point out what this particular land, doing this particular thing, has a habit of preaching — and then let you sit with it.Because water running east through the desert toward the Dead Sea is not a random image in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is one of the most specific pictures the prophets ever drew. Ezekiel was carried in vision to the Temple and shown water coming out from under the threshold, and he watched where it went.“These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed” (Ezekiel 47:8).East, down into the desert, into the sea. And the sea that takes and never gives — the Dead Sea, the lowest and saltiest water on the face of the earth, where nothing lives — is healed, and fills with fish, and everything the river touches lives. That is the direction the water ran last Saturday. Not a claim; a direction. The same compass bearing the prophet was shown.And Ezekiel is not alone in it. Isaiah, promising the restoration of the land, reached for the same picture and made it a desert one on purpose.…for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:6).Parched ground turns to pools, thirsty land to springs. The prophets kept returning to this single, stubborn image — the desert, of all places, running with water — because in a land like this one, water where there should be none is the plainest sign a person can be given that the God who made the ground has not forgotten it.Now here is where I have to be honest with the honest reader, because you deserve it. The meteorologists have an explanation, and it is a good one. They point to a warming Mediterranean, to the pattern some are calling a super El Niño, to the machinery of a changing climate that is pushing moisture into seasons that used to be dry. They may well be right. I am not a meteorologist, and I am not going to stand here and tell you the physics is wrong.But notice what the physics does and does not settle. Scripture has never disputed the mechanism of the rain; it disputes that the mechanism is all there is. The same Bible that calls rain a covenant blessing (“I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain” (Deuteronomy 11:14)) knows perfectly well that rain arrives through clouds and wind and pressure. How the water gets here was never the question. Whose hand is on the weather is. And the answer the Scripture gives is not shy: “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). He sendeth. Through the clouds, through the fronts, through the El Niño if you like — but He sendeth.So I will not tell you last Saturday was a sign. I will tell you it was, at the very least, a sermon — and the preacher was the ground itself, speaking a language the prophets already taught us to read. Water broke out in the wilderness. Streams ran in the desert. The flood went east, toward the sea that only takes, for the first time anyone has written down. And a land that has spent 3,000 years answering to its Maker did the one thing that land is not supposed to be able to do in August.You can call it climate. I will not fight you on the clouds. But I would gently ask the sceptic to consider that a thing can have a mechanism and a meaning at once — that the rain can come by the front and still come by the hand — and that when a desert starts behaving like a prophecy, the wise response is neither to explain it away nor to shout that the end has come. It is to pay attention. The land is preaching. It would be a strange thing to be standing in Israel and refuse to listen. 

THE WORLD IN 10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS LEAD BY THE EUROPEAN UNION THE WORLD LEADER, NOT AMERICA.I PREDICT.

THE EUROPEAN UNION AND REVIVED ROMAN WORLD GOVERNMENT
DANIEL 2:31-33,36-43, DAN 7:3-8,17

First From Daniel Chapter 2

1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (HEAD OF GOLD) DAN 2:31-32,36-38, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (CHEST & ARMS OF SILVER) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (WAIST & HIPS OF BRONZE) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (2 LEGS OF IRON) DAN 2:33,40, ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) (FEET IRON & CLAY) DAN 2:33,41-43,10 TOES

Now From Daniel Chapter 7

1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (LION WITH EAGLES WINGS) DAN 7:4, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (BEAR ON HIND LEGS) DAN 7:5, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (LEOPARD 4 WINGS, 4 HEADS) DAN 7:6, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (HUGE IRON TEETH) DAN 7:7 (10 HORNS), ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) DAN 7:8,19-20,23-25 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS
REV 17:9,12, 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS, 7 HILLS ROME. REV 13:1 BEAST WITH 7 HEADS. THE E.U LEADER OF WORLD GOVERNMENT DAN 2:40-45, 7:7-8,23-25,27, 8:23, REV 13:3,7,8,12,14,16

REVELATION 17:10-12
10 And there are seven kings (7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY) five are fallen, (EGYPT, ASSYRIA, BABYLON,:MEDO-PERSIAN,GREECE and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS DAY-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh,(FUTURE-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE-EUROPEAN UNION TODAY) he must continue a short space.(7 YEARS OF WORLD DOMINATION-BUT 3 1/2 YEARS OF NEW WORLD ORDER OR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT)
12 And the ten horns (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS OR REGIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS-NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind,(WORLD SOCIALISM) and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.James Paul Warburg appearing before the Senate on 7th February 1950

Like a famous WWII Belgian General,Paul Henry Spock said in 1957:We need no commission, we have already too many. What we need is a man who is great enough to be able to keep all the people in subjection to himself and to lift us out of the economic bog into which we threaten to sink. Send us such a man. Be he a god or a devil, we will accept him.And today, sadly, the world is indeed ready for such a man. 

DICK MORRIS-This truly creates a global economic system. From now on, don’t look to Washington for the rule making, look to Brussels.

THE CLUB OF ROME FOUNDER AURELIO PECCEI WANTS THE WORLD IN 10 REGIONAL TRADING BLOCKS.

REVELATION 16:1-2
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, (SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

I KNOW THIS MARK WILL BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP WHAT THE WORD MARK SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS DICTATORS MARK. NOW LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE. UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION 13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA, KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS A BADGE OF SERVITUDE), OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM 5482 XAPAE CHARAX, KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A POINT; AKIN TO 1125 THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E (BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM 1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO "GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE; FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING, -TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 - STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα, στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick; (cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German stechen, English stick, sting, etc.; Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in or branded upon the body. According to ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to, and there were even some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their gods (cf. Deyling, Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.) Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and approved votary, servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, the passage cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian, Plutarch, Lcian, others.) 

THE INVENTOR OF THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT-CARL SANDERS MICROCHIP ENGINEER LEADER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgH9D6n4ZWo

THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD.

LEVETICUS 19.28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

HERES WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE (SINCE THERE WILL BE WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE)-UPDATED VERSION (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)

01 CANADA, U.S.A, MEXICO
02 EUROPEAN UNION,WESTERN EUROPE
03 JAPAN
04 AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND, S AFRICA, ISRAEL AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
05 EASTERN EUROPE
06 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICAS
07 NORTH AFRICA, AND MIDEAST (MOSLEMS)
08 CENTRAL AFRICA
09 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
10 CENTRAL ASIA

THE CLUB OF ROME WANTS A WORLD CHARISMATIC DICTATOR (EITHER RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL OR SCIENTIFICAL) TO HEAD THIS WORLD GOVERNMENT. REV 13:3,7-8, DAN 7:23-24

WORLD POWERS IN THE END TIME

NORTH - RUSSIA EZEK 38:1-2, 39:1-2
SOUTH - EGYPT DAN 11:42
EAST - CHINA DAN 11:44,REV 16:12
WEST - EUROPEAN UNION DAN 7:23-24 (NOT THE U.S.A)
http://israel7777777.blogspot.ca/2012/03/10-world-trade-blocs-one-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2006/09/how-eu-takes-world-control.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2012/05/one-world-religion-crislam.html 

FINALLY THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TALKING ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN ARMY.AND IT MUST HAPPEN.
REVELATION 19:16-21
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.(JESUS RETURNG TO EARTH LITERALLY ON A WHITE HORSE WITH THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS 7 YEARS EARLIER)
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.(2ND TIME GOD-JESUS TELLS THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS TO GET READY TO EAT HUMAN FLESH.THE FIRST TIME WAS WHEN GOD TOLD THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS-TO EAT RUSSIA,GERMAN,ARAB, MUSLIM BODIES FOR 7 MONTHS IN EZEK 38 @ 39.
19 And I saw the beast,(E.U WORLD LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies,(HERE IT SAYS THE E.U WILL HAVE ITS OWN ARMY) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, (JESUS) and against his army.(RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (E.U WORLD LEADER) was taken, and with him the false prophet (POPE FRANCIS) that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

COUNCIL FOR EUROPE ON DEFENCE
https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/document/download/6d6f889c-e58d-4caa-8f3b-8b93154fe206_en?filename=SAFE%20Regulation.pdf

A switch from 'hammer Iran ASAP' to 'strangle them' over time-Trump shifts approach to waiting Iran out as Tehran intensifies threats on Gulf, Europe-CNN says US freezing talks, Trump thinks Iran will cave due to economic pressure; Tehran warns EU could be hit if war renews, NATO vows response; UAE cuts economic ties with regime By ToI Staff and Agencies 19 August 2026, 5:28 pm

US President Donald Trump has ordered negotiators to cut off talks with Iran indefinitely, halting “positive discussions” with the Islamic Republic, CNN reported Wednesday, citing US officials.Trump claimed as much on Tuesday, writing on his Truth Social platform: “There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He also shared an image on social media showing the Strait of Hormuz as a “new US territory,” pressing his threat to claim sovereignty over the vital waterway.The comments came a day after his son-in-law Jared Kushner, a senior member of the negotiating team, spoke of “robust” conversations between the US and Iran, while acknowledging that Tehran wasn’t yet ready to make a deal that is satisfactory to Washington.According to the CNN report, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Iran’s unwillingness to meet his demands, and has thus decided to shift strategies, cutting off engagement until Tehran shows it is willing to make a deal to his liking.In talks with allies, administration officials described the shift as going from “’hammer Iran ASAP’ to ‘strangle them’ over time,” CNN reported, noting that the White House believes economic pressure will eventually lead Iran to fold on the Strait of Hormuz and other key issues.As such, officials cited in the report expect the US to place “crushing” new sanctions on Iran, which it said could come as early as this week. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also said that he is prepared to enforce the naval blockade on Iran’s ports “indefinitely,” as the US appears to gear up for a long-term pressure campaign in lieu of progress in negotiations.According to the report, Trump envisions the Strait of Hormuz being managed as it was before the war began, meaning free passage of ships with no tolls or fees paid to Iran or any other parties. However, an emerging framework between Iran and Oman would see service fees or other costs charged to shipping companies who look to transit the Strait, which has sparked ire from Trump, who even threatened to bomb Oman for its involvement in the talks.Iran has effectively shut down the chokepoint, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits, in retaliation for the war Trump started along with Israel in late February over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran says it will not reopen the strait until Washington meets a sweeping list of demands including ending the US blockade of Iran’s ports, lifting oil sanctions, freeing up frozen Iranian assets and paying war damages.Iran ups threats on Gulf, Europe; NATO vows response if attacked-Tehran on Wednesday ratcheted up its threats, telling Gulf countries that assisting the US military would be tantamount to joining American military operations, and is reportedly considering targeting US assets in Europe if conflict renews.“We wish to warn that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation,” armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.“It seems unlikely that such a large number of military aircraft, particularly refueling aircraft, could be present at regional bases without knowledge of host countries,” Abdollahi said.“The countries bordering the Persian Gulf, which have issued various statements saying they would not allow the United States to use their territory against Iran should know that we are fully aware of the situation,” he warned.Iran is also considering targeting US military sites or assets in Europe should fighting flare up again, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing regime insiders.According to the British news outlet, military assets in Bulgaria or Cyprus could be attacked, significantly expanding the reach of the regime’s retaliatory action, which has focused mainly on the Middle East until now. Both countries have military bases that have been available to US troops and equipment.During the war that broke out on February 28, Iran fired a missile toward the Diego Garcia air base some 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away in the southern Indian Ocean, signaling its ability to fire at nearly anywhere in Europe, though analysts say the increased range would come at the cost of a smaller warhead, minimizing potential damage.Israeli officials have repeatedly warned of the Iranian threat to Europe.The regime insiders quoted in the report also raised the possibility of damaging fiber-optic cables running under the Strait of Hormuz, which could significantly impair telecommunications.One was cited saying Iran would have “no limits” on its response should the US attack. “Should the US go too far, Iran will defend itself at any price, go beyond the region and hit Europe too,” they are quoted saying.The second insider told the paper that threatened US attacks on infrastructure would trigger the wider response, pointing to an attack on Jordan in which three US servicemembers were killed as proof of Tehran’s targeting capabilities.“This was also a message to Europe: it can receive missiles, so it should know where it should stand in this war,” they were quoted saying. “A very big mistake, such as hitting our infrastructure, could make the war go beyond the region and reach Europe.”Responding to that report, a NATO official said the alliance is prepared to address any threat and will always do what is necessary to defend all allies,“As demonstrated earlier this year when NATO air defenses successfully intercepted ballistic missiles heading to Turkey from Iran on four separate occasions, our deterrence and defense posture is strong and effective,” the official said.UAE suspends financial ties with Iran until further notice-Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates decided Wednesday to suspend all financial and economic transactions with Iran until further notice, citing a military escalation by Tehran with a missile threat the day before.The UAE, a close US and Israeli ally and regional power, was the Gulf state most heavily hit by Tehran during the early stages of the Middle East war. However, the last reported attack on UAE soil was the May 4 strike on Fujairah port, a key oil export hub.The move by the UAE to sever commercial ties came after its defense ministry said that it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, an incident that marked the first time in months that residents received telephone alerts warning of possible threats.In a statement, the ministry said the missiles targeted “maritime traffic” based on its assessments. Both missiles fell into the sea, it said.The UAE also sent a phone alert later Tuesday to residents stating that the situation was safe and people should resume normal activities after the earlier warning.Iran’s foreign ministry rejected the statement by the UAE that its missiles targeted maritime traffic, describing it as “baseless.”The missile launch that the UAE blamed on Iran came as a 60-day window for US-Iranian peace talks expired without a breakthrough, raising fears of a new escalation in the conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since February and rattled global markets.UAE official Afra Al Hameli, director of the Strategic Communications Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the UAE was committed to dialogue and cooperation to advance peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.Al Hameli said that in light of regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security, all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been halted.The UAE was drawn into the wider war in the region which began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran’s attacks on UAE soil stopped in May, while they persisted in neighboring Kuwait and Bahrain. Attacks at sea on its vessels did not stop.In August, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s largest energy producers, said it was being significantly impacted by what it described as unprovoked attacks on its people and assets, as it sought to continue meeting customer requirements in an “exceptionally challenging environment.”ADNOC said in a statement that several of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict.Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have previously ​threatened action against vessels transiting the strait if they are linked to Tehran’s adversaries ​or fail to comply with Iranian directives.

Birth registration emerges as foundation for digital public infrastructure-Linking civil registration with national ID systems is reshaping DPI-Aug 13, 2026, 2:25 pm EDT | Ayang Macdonald

Governments and development partners are increasingly pushing to make birth registration and vital statistics (CRVS) a foundational layer of digital public infrastructure (DPI), arguing that establishing legal identity from birth can streamline access to services and help create more connected public systems.Two case studies by civil registration advocacy organization Vital Strategies, examining Rwanda and Thailand, show how this approach can work in practice and how integrating birth registration with national ID systems can strengthen the foundations for digital identity and public service delivery.Rwanda and Thailand show the model-In Rwanda, Vital Strategies says digitizing birth registration and integrating it with the national ID system has led to “real-time identity verification and data sharing across previously siloed sectors, yielding core benefits including improved service access, efficiency, and trust, along with higher quality data for policymaking.”The organization has worked with the country since 2016 to help modernize its CRVS system, moving it from a system in which families often had to travel long distances to register births and deaths, to a decentralized and digitalized one with thousands of registration points.The efforts, it added, have gone a long way in transforming civil registration to shared public infrastructure through a digital system which now connects with hospitals, government agencies and businesses and supports access to around 200 essential services. As of 2024, the government had digitized about 85 percent of all public services, thanks in large part, to the transition from paper-based records to a fully digitalized platform.Thailand offers a similar model. Vital Strategies describes the country’s CRVS system as one of the most comprehensive in Southeast Asia. It all began with reforms that not only modernized the system, but led it to near-universal civil registration. The country also went ahead to link the system with a unique 13-digit personal identification number (PIN), in what is described as many years of strategic infrastructure development and legislative reform.According to the case study, linking the civil registration system with digital public infrastructure has contributed to a number of benefits including access to services, exchange of data through an interoperable “linkage center,” enrollment of newborns for a Universal Coverage Scheme, and the inclusion of stateless persons.Civil registration becomes digital infrastructure-Citing Rwanda and Thailand, Vital Strategies argues that birth and death registration should be treated as foundational digital public infrastructure rather than a standalone administrative function. Birth registration establishes legal identity, and linking civil registration with national ID systems creates a trusted population register that can support digital identity, public services and interoperable government systems.Digitizing CRVS alone is no longer enough, the organization argues. Countries must make civil registration the foundation of DPI because when civil registration and national ID databases are not properly linked, discrepancies can emerge between the information held by different government systems which is the situation many countries continue to face. Even a sophisticated biometric system, the experts argue, cannot make up for an identity system that is built on a weak population register.The case studies reinforce Vital Strategies argument that countries should make birth registration more than just the issuance of certificates. It is the first step in establishing trusted legal identity throughout a person’s life. In April, the organization’s President and CEO, Mary-Ann Etiebet warned that a huge gender gap threatens global legal identity efforts.Africa’s next CRVS decade-The argument has particular resonance in Africa, where many countries are strengthening birth registration while simultaneously building national digital identity systems.Across much of the continent, experts argue governments must move beyond political commitments and build what they describe as an “architecture of visibility.”UNICEF’s latest figures show that only 51 percent of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa have their births registered, while the rate for children under one is even lower, at 46 percent.An opinion published on the occasion of the 9th Africa CRVS Day, which was observed on August 10, notes that as the continent enters its next CRVS decade (2027–2036), there is the need to put in place systems that ensure every birth, death, and vital event is registered, counted, and connected to services.The writers also reference the Africa eCRVS Shared Asset (ACSA), first introduced at the ID4Africa 2023 Annual General Meeting in Nairobi and championed by ID4Africa and other partners. The initiative is intended to accelerate the development of digital CRVS systems across Africa by promoting standardization and harmonization and making use of digital public goods, while remaining owned and led by African countries.In order to make the most of the new Africa CRVS decade, another write-up says countries should learn to scale what works for them, revise regulatory and governance frameworks, ensure inclusion, leverage systems that serve children, and prioritize funding for national registration.Momentum builds across Africa.In line with the 2026 Africa CRVS Day, UNICEF praised Burundi for engaging in civil registration reforms, but urged the government to align its efforts with objectives of the continent’s CRVS decade which is to achieve systems integration and interoperability.The UN agency also recognized Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening birth registration which is a prerequisite for obtaining a national identification number (NIN). The commitment follows the enactment of a new national ID legal framework, and the recent launch of a digital birth registration platform.In Liberia, the call was for more government investment in order to improve the CRVS system, and make it accessible to millions of citizens who still lack a legal identity.Tanzania, for its part, has also reported progress in child birth registration, as reported by The Guardian. Constitutional and Legal Affairs Minister Juma Homera is quoted as saying that the progress is thanks to sustained investment and awareness campaigns on the importance of the exercise. The figures stand at 65 percent, up from 55 percent in 2020.Together, the Vital Strategies case studies and Africa’s renewed focus on CRVS point to a broader shift in digital identity policy. Birth registration is no longer being viewed simply as an administrative process ending with a certificate. It is increasingly treated as the foundational infrastructure on which digital identity, interoperable government services and trusted public data depend.

Pakistan’s NADRA rolls out homegrown QR-based ID cards-Chipless ID cards, verifiable credentials and consent-based data sharing are transforming NADRA from an identity issuer into a digital trust platform-Aug 17, 2026, 7:57 am EDT | Ayang Macdonald

Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is transforming itself into a digital trust guarantor through homegrown innovation as it supports the country’s ambitious digital transformation agenda and simplifies access to a wide range of public and private sector servicesCreated more than 25 years ago, the body is evolving from an institution that offers digital ID credentials to one that enables trusted access to public and private sector services by leveraging local capacity and innovation.Many years ago, NADRA successfully put in place a foundational digital ID system which has continued to be expanded and modernized. Coupled with sustained investment from the government, a lucrative business model, and expanding partnerships, it is increasingly shifting from issuing identity credentials to making those credentials useful across government, finance and the wider digital economy.Innovation has been one of the powering engines of that shift. NADRA recently announced the launch of a chipless national ID card which has a secure QR code, Dunya News reports.It is an indigenous invention as the new card, whose issuance went operational on August 14, is manufactured domestically by the National Security Printing Company (NSPC) in Karachi, according to NADRA’s technical and security specifications. The change replaces an imported microchip with a QR code that can be scanned and verified using an ordinary smartphone through the PakID mobile application, the report indicates. The federal government approved the issuance of the new card on February 23 when it approved amendments to the National Identity Card Rules 2002 and the Pakistan Origin Card Rules 2002 that introduced QR-based verification, stronger anti-fraud controls and greater biometric recognition into the country’s identity framework.PakID surpassed 18 million downloads last month as the push for mobile-first digital ID in the country grows.According to NADRA, the chipless card will initially replace standard national ID cards before being extended to additional identity documents and specialized card categories from January.The move aims to strengthen technological self-reliance by eliminating imported microchips for its smart ID cards while improving practical identity verification.The development is part of NADRA’s work to put in place a much broader digital ID ecosystem which includes a national digital ID, a PakID vault, verifiable credentials, a unified platform for ID verification services, QR code document verification and a consent-based data-sharing system, all intended to make life easier for citizens. The move also aligns with broader work on QR-based digital identity, including UNHCR’s exploration of biometric QR codes for low-cost, smartphone-based identity verification.Ahead of the launch of the chipless ID, NADRA’s spokesperson had spoken about initiatives intended to make access to digital services easier. He cited a litany of services which are accessible in a secure and trustworthy manner through biometric authentication.Pakistan’s digital transformation builds on years of foundational efforts which are now overseen by the Pakistan Digital Authority, a body created last year to steer the country towards the Digital Pakistan 2030 objectives.The country is also moving to close its digital skills gap with the launch of digital skills courses by IT institutions across the country. The call was made recently by IT minister as the country seeks to enhance its digital workforce and better prepare the ground for a digital nation.

Foundational ID and biometric binding underpin digital trust-This week's top stories traced the identity lifecycle from issuance to ongoing verification-Aug 15, 2026, 12:17 pm EDT | Chris Burt

Biometric fundamentals and foundational ID are considerations at the very beginning of the identity lifecycle that are sometimes overlooked. If organizations can handle them better the rewards are improved trustworthy service delivery and stronger defenses against fraud.Fundamental considerations for biometrics include accuracy, but also scalability and other performance details. And crucially, if they are not bound to IDs when they are created, those credentials are vulnerable to compromise.When the credentials are created matters too, particularly since public services affect children and families.Countries that digitalize their birth registration systems can not only improve their civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems but also funnel people towards national ID systems that serve as a pillar of digital public infrastructure. The system must be trustworthy, however, or downstream costs pile up quickly.Two of the top stories of the week on Biometric Update illustrate this tension.Case studies on Rwanda and Thailand by advocacy group Vital Strategies show birth and death registration can contribute to trusted DPI that can be used in service delivery. On Africa CRVS Day Monday, observers credited Burundi’s example and ACSA’s promise as reasons for optimism that the continent is headed in the right direction.An attempt by Cameroon’s government to support public servants with the costs of raising a family has led to an investigation into almost a million birth certificates, many of which are suspected of being fraudulent. A recent increase in a monthly child allowance for government workers led to what authorities say is a statistically impossible spike in claims.UNICEF sees schools playing a potentially pivotal role in reducing the global birth registration gap of some 200 million children under five years old.The beginning of the identity credential lifecycle, likewise, depends on solid foundations, which means privacy-preserving biometric binding, Prove GM for New Market Initiatives Frances Zelazny emphasizes in an interview with Biometric Update. Bringing that piece of the digital identity puzzle to Prove with new IP including MCP and advanced cryptography is her new role with the company.Foundational identity is also becoming the platform for broader digital public infrastructure. This week, Biometric Update examined how Caribbean nations are building a cross-border layer of interoperable DPI, Sri Lanka is advancing its MOSIP-based digital identity with support from development partners, and a new framework argued that trustworthy government AI depends on strong digital public infrastructure.Biometric trust through operational performance and scalabilityNew editions of both the NIST FRTE 1:1 and 1:N show significant convergence in accuracy among the best developers.The 1:1 results indicate that differentiation among the leading face biometrics algorithm providers at this point is more a matter of operational performance, demographic and capture considerations than overall accuracy. Similarly, metrics for scalability, which is crucial for biometric deduplication, and unconstrained capture environments, which are critical for law enforcement scenarios, are becoming the keys to picking winners for particular applications in the 1:N assessment.Extending trust to applications-Mexico’s banking industry is switching to face biometrics for account-holder authentication to make use of government identity records, closing the circle with national ID. Identy CEO and Co-founder Jesús Aragón offers guidance for financial institutions looking to comply with the new regulations in a guest post for Biometric Update.The problem of continuous identity trust is behind the account-sharing rampant among gig workers, Trua Founder and CEO Raj Ananthanpillai writes in a guest post. Only strong binding between the credential and the worker can prove the person who passed the background check is the same one making the delivery.Nobody likes friction in banking.  But in online marketplaces?  Dating? GuyID Founder Ravi Shankar tells Biometric Update that robust identity verification that includes a little friction helps make online dating trustworthy by discouraging the kinds of catphishing and identity fraud that have plagued the industry.One of the effects of AI on scams and identity fraud is that the value of static identity signals is falling, Feedzai VP of Product Planning and Strategy Dan Holmes argues in a guest post. Continuous adaptive trust is the logical next step for identity verification, according to Holmes.On the latest episode of the Biometric Update Podcast, Aragón and Resemble.ai’s Zohaib Ahmed discuss how the growing availability of AI fraud tools is birthing whole new fraud categories, and making IAD and deepfake detection based on how the real world works table stakes for businesses online.Please let us know if you come across any podcasts, thought leadership pieces or other content you think we should share with those in biometrics and the digital identity community via the comments below or social media.

Asda to deploy Auror crime intelligence platform across its stores following London trial-Aug 18, 2026, 4:23 pm EDT | Lu-Hai Liang

UK supermarket chain Asda is massively expanding its use of Auror, the crime reporting and intelligence platform.Following a trial in 30 of its London stores, Asda will now deploy Auror Core across its entire store estate. “Rolling out Auror across our estate will further strengthen our ability to prevent and tackle retail crime,” says David Lepley, COO at Asda.“The results from our London pilot demonstrated the value of having a faster and more effective way to report incidents and identify repeat offenders in real time. By working more closely with police and retailers through a shared intelligence network, we can focus our efforts where they will have the greatest impact and help to tackle retail crime.”A pilot using Auror’s crime intelligence platform improved how retail crime was tracked and prevented, according to Asda, with staff able to identify repeat offenders more effectively and direct security resources where they’re most needed.Auror Core consolidates store crime data into a single system, with retailers and authorities detecting patterns and managing cases. During the trial, trained staff reviewed CCTV footage from serious incidents before uploading it to the platform alongside incident reports to support investigations. No live facial recognition was used.The rollout comes amid rising concern over violence against shop workers. The British Retail Consortium reported in 2025 that staff faced an average of 36 violent incidents involving weapons and about 1,600 cases of abuse or violence daily. Auror’s data shows that 10 percent of offenders account for 70 percent of retail crime, and these repeat offenders are up to four times more likely to be violent or armed.While Asda’s rollout is limited to Auror Core and does not include facial recognition, Auror recently introduced Subject Recognition in the UK. The product uses retailers’ existing crime data and applies facial recognition solely for crime prevention and store safety.“Auror has made it 80 percent faster to record crime for Asda colleagues and early pilot results saw the team identify dozens of prolific repeat offenders, with the majority known to offend at stores owned by other retail brands within the Auror Network,” claims Mark Gleeson, general manager UK and Europe at Auror.Auror has also been trialed by another of Britain’s “big four” supermarkets. Tesco deployed Auror’s platform across 40 stores to collect CCTV footage of serious incidents and theft for review by trained professionals at the Tesco Security Hub. There, facial recognition can be applied to still images for biometric suspect identification.Auror is not the only security technology used by Asda. It has also trialed live facial recognition. A few months ago Asda started a trial of FaiceTech’s LFR across a handful of its stores. FaiceTech was used for two months in five stores in the Greater Manchester area.  That system was integrated into the store’s existing CCTV networks to scan images of shoppers against a watchlist of previous offenders compiled by Asda.A hiccup at Sainsbury’s-Another “big four” supermarket chain is pausing its face scanning following a false accusation.Sainsbury’s will pause its use of Facewatch technology after a customer was mistaken for a shoplifter and wrongly ejected from the store.The falsely accused, Matt Arnold, told The Guardian newspaper that he was “embarrassed” and “mortified.” Arnold was scanning his items at a Sainsbury’s in southeast London when two managers approached him and said that due to an incident he would not be served.He was then asked to leave the store. Arnold said he noticed a CCTV monitor overhead that showed his face with a red circle around it as he left.Sainsbury’s has since said that it was “human error” that caused the customer ejection and not Facewatch. The company’s head office apologized to Arnold the day after his ordeal and has paused its use of Facewatch in the East Dulwich store as it carries out an investigation.Sainsbury’s had been using Facewatch’s LFR at two stores. The early results of that trial were encouraging enough to prompt the chain to expand the biometric technology to five more London locations. Those early results included a 46 percent reduction in “theft, harm, aggression and antisocial behavior.”More than 9 of 10 offenders did not return to the stores, Sainsbury’s said. The chain’s announcement noted that Facewatch’s face biometrics have a 99.98 percent accuracy rate and that all alerts are reviewed before action is taken.However, the East Dulwich incident was apparently due to staff error. “A correct alert was sent to the retailer, but was subsequently subject to human error in the way it was handled in store,” a Facewatch spokesperson said in The Guardian.

Thai regulators propose linking Roblox to national digital ID for age assurance-Social gaming platform developing new machine learning system for continuous age checks-Aug 17, 2026, 5:24 pm EDT | Joel R. McConvey

While it has surely been a busy few months for compliance teams at every large social media company, a special regulatory zeal has been reserved for Roblox, the social gaming platform that has faced numerous accusations of lax online safety measures leading to child sexual exploitation, and numerous lawsuits to match. Regulators globally have summoned Roblox for a word, including, most recently, Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.A report in Khaosod English says the ministry has had talks with Roblox over stronger safety and child protection measures, “including the possible use of Thailand’s National Digital ID system to verify users’ identities and ages.”Topics of discussion include age restrictions and age-based filtering, biometric facial age estimation technology, chat moderation systems to detect inappropriate messages, and Roblox’s plan to implement measures based on the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) rating system in 2027.Thailand is among a host of Asian nations testing the waters on age assurance legislation for social platforms and beyond. Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob has declared online safety a matter of urgency, and says his “efforts are intended to build long-term confidence among users, families and Thai society.”Chaichanok has raised the possibility of verifying users who wish to access Roblox by linking Thailand’s National Digital ID/KYC system with Roblox user accounts. He is planning a joint working group to study the proposed verification system.Government-linked systems offer a tradeoff, in that they can provide accurate age verification, but come with tracking and privacy concerns.‘Age assurance doesn’t end at the selfie’Roblox currently uses Persona’s facial age estimation technology. However, in its ongoing pushback against reputational and financial catastrophe, it is developing a new modular, multimodal behavioral machine learning system that aims to keep age checks up to date.“The technology we use for facial age checks was selected because it’s been tested and certified by third-party labs and has proven to be more accurate than self-declared age,” says a statement on Roblox’s website. “This initial age check is necessary, but age assurance doesn’t end at the selfie.”“To move age assurance beyond a point-in-time signal, we built a high-throughput ML layer that evaluates whether an account’s ongoing behavior still matches its estimated age over time. Our feature-level modular design enables efficient model updates and rapid adaptation to shifting behavioral patterns.”The motivating idea will be familiar to regular readers of Biometric Update: “no single behavioral signal can reliably capture nuanced behavioral patterns that shift over time and under adversarial pressure.” This could equally apply to fraud prevention, agentic IAM, deepfake detection, and more. Across the sector, the trend is to view online activity as an organic, continuous indicator, which Roblox breaks down into component signal families: social context, experience engagement, account and platform activity, communication patterns and learned user representations.Behavioral signals and age inferenceWhich is to say, it’s easier for Roblox to guess a user’s age at any given point in time if it knows who that user is connected to, who they talk to, what games they play and for how long, how old their account is and how often they sign in. Communications patterns yield “model-derived summaries of age-correlated language usage, including how communication patterns vary across context and time.” And higher-level representations capture broader usage patterns; “the same rich representations that predict what a user may engage with next,” Roblox says, “can be post-trained to become predictive of broad age bands.”It has been clear for some time that most tech companies’ preferred method for age assurance is an internally developed and controlled machine learning algorithm that relies on close analysis of user data to guess at an age profile. There is a plausible argument to be made that social media exists primarily to collect and monetize user data. Even though Roblox is not the same as Instagram, giving any massive tech platform express license to know more about their users is not likely to result in a safer, more private internet in the long run.

Sri Lanka digital ID rollout advances as procurement nears completion-Aug 17, 2026, 5:20 pm EDT | Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera

Sri Lanka’s digital identity (SL-UDI) program is moving toward a phased rollout as the Indian government finalizes procurement of the master systems provider responsible for implementing the platform.Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha said onboarding of the master systems provider is in its final stages, while Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne told Biometric Update on Monday the government is preparing an initial rollout focused on core infrastructure and early digital ID issuance.The Deputy Minister said the government expects to issue the first digital IDs in the coming months with a fully digital identity system targeted by next August. Approximately 17 million National Identity Card (NIC) holders will also be transitioned to the new system over the following two years.TCS, Infosys, and Protean remain under final evaluation for the MOSIP-based national digital ID system, after bids exceeded the value of India’s grant funding of INR 3 billion (approximately US$35 million).Speaking at the “India Calling” business event, Jha said Sri Lanka’s digital ID project was nearing launch, highlighting the potential for deeper economic integration and technology cooperation between the two countries. He underscored the success of India’s digital identity system in lowering poverty and boosting social safety nets, signifying that similar results could be achieved in Sri Lanka.

Latest round of BixeLab biometrics evaluations include Level 3 PAD, IAD tests-Legitimuz, Emirates Face Recognition and LexisNexis Risk Solutions complete independent testing as demand grows for standards-based biometric assurance.Aug 14, 2026, 2:35 pm EDT | Joel R. McConvey

A pair of facial recognition providers have passed Level 3 independent biometric Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) and Injection Attack Detection (IAD) evaluations by BixeLab among a series of assessments by the Australian lab.Legitimuz Tecnologia LTDA’s IAD product met the test criteria for compliance with CEN/TS 18099, in addition to the company’s LegitFace Android SDK face liveness solution passing assessments against ISO/IEC 30107-3 at PAD Levels 1, 2 and 3.Emirates Face Recognition LLC likewise submitted its EFR-Mobile SDK for ISO/IEC PAD testing at all three levels, and IAD testing against CEN/TS 18099. The software is used in production within the UAE’s banking system.Level 3 evaluations test the software’s ability to correctly identify attacks carried out with a high degree of effort, skill and resources, as BixeLab detailed in a white paper earlier this year. BixeLab General Manager Somya Singh explained what the levels of biometric PAD testing mean in a recent Biometric Update webinar.LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ IDVerse matching performance, liveness tested-A LinkedIn post from BixeLab says it has completed a biometrics testing program for LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ IDVerse solutions. The evaluation included ISO/IEC 19795-2 compliant biometric performance evaluation of the IDVerse FR5 matching engine and ISO/IEC 30107-3 compliant Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) evaluation of IDVerse Liveness 5 at Level 1 and Level 2 sophistication.The Letter of Confirmation for IDVerse FR5 says “the biometric performance evaluation was conducted remotely via a RESTful API, using a test corpus of 246 image pairs consisting of passport-style enrollment images and selfie-style verification images.” Both the False Match Rate and False Non-Match Rate were measured at zero percent.Likewise, assessments for both PAD Level 1 and PAD Level 2 for IDVerse Liveness 5 measured zero classification errors.BixeLab says completed assessments “provide independent evidence of solution performance and resilience against presentation attacks, conducted in accordance with internationally recognised testing standards.”Demand for trusted biometrics testing has risen with the growth of the identity market and the introduction of digital identity regulations.