WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 196 FRI SEPTEMBER 11,26 - AUGUST WAS THE HOTTEST ON EARTH EVER.AND IT WILL JUST GET WORSE FROM HERE.MY BIBLE QUOTE-GET READY GODLESS LIBERALS-DEMOCRATS.

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 196  FRI SEPTEMBER 11,26 - AUGUST WAS THE HOTTEST ON EARTH EVER.AND IT WILL JUST GET WORSE FROM HERE.MY BIBLE QUOTE-GET READY GODLESS LIBERALS-DEMOCRATS.

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 CLAN) 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)

Iranian missile attack on Jordan said to damage US warplanes-Trump reportedly warned by advisers Iran conflict could last beyond his presidency
WSJ report says Vance, Rubio and others told US president the war may extend beyond January 2029 inauguration, while he asserts it will end ‘immediately after’ November midterms By Agencies and ToI Staff 10 September 2026, 5:59 am

Top White House advisers, including US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have privately warned President Donald Trump that the conflict with Iran could extend through the remainder of his presidency, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing US officials.The report said Vance, Rubio and other officials have told Trump that Iran could continue holding out against American economic and military pressure, extending the conflict beyond the US presidential inauguration in January 2029.“President Trump has destroyed Iran’s military capabilities and is crippling what’s left of its abysmal economy with the most powerful naval blockade in world history and crushing sanctions,” a White House spokesperson told the newspaper in response. “Only President Trump knows what he will do and when.”The reported warning contrasts with Trump’s own public remarks about the war. The president on Wednesday predicted the war with Iran would end “immediately after” the US midterm elections in November because Tehran was trying to influence the vote but would not be able to withstand American economic pressure.“I think war is going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer. They’re desperate to try and affect the election,” he told reporters before departing for the Republican National Convention in Dallas.The US-Israel war with Iran, which recently entered its seventh month, has no immediate end in sight. On Wednesday, Iran said it attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also fired missiles at US ally Jordan, damaging multiple American military aircraft at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, CBS reported.One A-10 Thunderbolt, known as the Warthog, was struck and left with a missing wing, while roughly eight F-15s sustained light damage and were placed back into service, the networked added. There were no reports of casualties in the attack.The renewed fighting sent the price of oil surging with benchmark Brent crude future breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July.Trump’s approval ratings recently sank to a record low due to frustration from voters over the Iran war and deepening cost-of-living crisis. Midterm elections, due to be held on November 3 this year, are typically a referendum on the occupant of the White House.Oil prices would also come down right after the election, Trump said on Wednesday, once the war is over, while acknowledging diplomatic talks are still a possibility but not preferred.“Yes, a negotiation could possible happen, but it’s not something we’re looking at,” Trump said.‘The entire axis will ultimately collapse’Echoing Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday claimed Iran was close to defeat, the third such declaration he has made in the past week.Speaking from the Mount Hermon summit in Syrian territory that the IDF has held since the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in late 2024, Netanyahu added that Israel will not let a “terrorist army” establish itself on the border, in an apparent reference to the buffer zone Israel holds in Syria.“We will not allow any terrorist army to establish itself along our border, and this is one of the greatest achievements we have accomplished in the War of Revival,” said Netanyahu, using the term he coined for the multifront war that followed the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.There is more work to do, said Netanyahu: “The main task is to defeat the terrorist regime in Iran. We are very close to it. We know that the entire axis will ultimately collapse.”“We are committed to doing this, and we will do it,” he concluded.Israel and the US launched a war against the Iranian regime in late February and while the United States and Iran have continued to exchange fire, the fighting between Israel and the Islamic Republic largely stopped in April.Despite the assertions by Trump and Netanyahu that victory over Iran was near, Iran continued to strike a defiant tone. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday said the war could end if Washington stopped threatening the Islamic Republic and met Tehran’s conditions, which include a halt to interference in its nuclear program and an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.“If the enemy wants an end to this situation, it must, while completely stopping the war, refrain from renewed threats, withdraw the Israeli regime’s army from Lebanon, end the blockade of Yemen, release $24 billion in Iran’s frozen assets and refrain from any interference in the country’s nuclear and missile capabilities,” IRGC Spokesman Hossein Mohebi said, according to the Fars news agency.Those demands, however, were likely a nonstarter. Israel has repeatedly vowed that it will not accede to Iranian demands to withdraw from the buffer zone the IDF holds in south Lebanon. Israel has demanded that Iran’s terror proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, be disarmed, and has held negotiations with the Lebanese government to that end.

US to sanction unnamed 'large' bank on Monday, Bessent says-US slaps new sanctions on networks aiding Iran’s proxies in Middle East
Actions target entities and individuals in Iraq, UAE, Lebanon and Turkey that Washington says supported Iraqi Shia paramilitary group Kataeb Hezbollah-By Reuters and ToI Staff Today, 4:57 am-SEP 11,26

The US government announced new sanctions on Thursday against firms and individuals that it says are aiding Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East as it intensified its campaign to isolate Iran economically.The latest sanctions are part of the Treasury Department’s “Operation Economic Outcast,” announced August 24, which aims to cut off Tehran’s funding for the war, missile construction, cyberattacks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.Thursday’s actions by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control hit entities and individuals in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Turkey that Washington said supported Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia paramilitary group under the command of the IRGC, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia party, Treasury said in a statement.Treasury also announced a settlement with a US citizen who agreed to pay $1.43 million to settle their potential civil liability for 39 apparent violations of sanctions on Iran, and issued a broad whistleblower appeal for tips on any sanctions evasion or money laundering by Iran.OFAC issued a bulletin making clear that it would deny most Iran-related licensing requests, except in exceptional circumstances, and said its licensing division had immediately begun denying “the vast majority” of outstanding Iran-related specific license requests.“OFAC will maintain this licensing policy until Iran changes its behavior, including obstructing the Strait of Hormuz, attacking US personnel and partners in the Gulf, and pursuing nuclear and conventional weapons,” Treasury said.“Operation Economic Outcast is targeting those who continue to stand with the failing Iranian regime,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Whether they finance terror, launder money, or help Iran evade sanctions, we will find them, cut them off from the US financial system, and dismantle the networks keeping the regime afloat.”The Iran war, now in its seventh month, has dragged down President Donald Trump’s approval rating as Americans grapple with far higher gasoline prices, and could threaten his Republican Party’s chances of keeping control of Congress in midterm elections in November.Far from the quick US military operation in Venezuela that ousted leader Nicolas Maduro, the Iran war has dragged into a battle of attrition punctuated by attacks on oil tankers that is also spreading to neighboring countries.The new sanctions did not target Iran-aligned Houthis, who seized control of Yemen’s port city of Mocha on Thursday ​and advanced down the Red Sea coast, gaining further leverage over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern outlet of the Red Sea and one of the world’s most important shipping routes.Impact on oil shipments-But a US official said Treasury’s campaign was hitting Iran’s economy hard while the US naval blockade was squeezing Tehran’s ability to move oil. Loadings of Iranian oil were down to about 0.2 million barrels per day over the past 30 days from 1.8 million barrels per day in January and February, they said.Offloadings had dropped to 0.9 million barrels per day from 1.4 million barrels per day before the war, the official said.The amount of Iranian or suspected Iranian oil on the water had averaged just 110 million barrels over the past week, down from over 180 million barrels in January and February.Food prices increased sharply, the official said, while the Iranian rial depreciated by about 30% versus the US dollar since the start of the war, the official added.Brett Erickson, managing principal with Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the latest sanctions would have only a marginal impact on Iran’s ability to move hard currency.“These in no way move the needle,” he said. “Beyond this, they target Hezbollah, but not the far more consequential Iranian proxy in the Houthis that are wreaking havoc on the global energy markets.”US to sanction unnamed ‘large’ bank on Monday, Bessent says-Bessent said on Thursday the Trump administration will sanction a large bank next week as it continues to apply economic pressure on Tehran to end a more than six-month US conflict with Iran.He named neither the financial institution nor its country during his appearance on “Real America’s Voice,” but said the move would happen on Monday.Bessent said the move was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed because of the ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks — the deadliest assault on US soil.“We are just going to continue with this process until everyone stops dealing with this regime,” he said.“We will make it so unprofitable that if you want to risk an extinction-level event for your company or for your person, your personal finances, then have at it. But we are coming for you.”The United States has imposed a range of economic measures against Iran since the conflict began in February, targeting oil exports, shipping networks, weapons procurement channels, financial intermediaries, digital asset exchanges and aviation links.The Trump administration escalated its campaign last month with what Bessent called “Operation Economic Outcast,” imposing sanctions on nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels and expanding the scope of secondary sanctions on those doing business with Iran in sectors including shipping, aviation, technology, gold and digital assets.Despite the increasing pressure on Iran, Trump predicted on Wednesday that the war will not end until after November’s midterm elections.

Trump: No regrets on how Iran war has played out-Skeptical Vance reportedly sought direct intel from US generals on state of Iran war
‘Sobering private assessments’ were often quite different from Trump’s boastful public rhetoric on US performance in the conflict and deeply alarmed the VP By ToI Staff and Reuters Today, 4:24 am-SEP 11,26

US Vice President JD Vance reportedly sought direct insight from American generals on the war against Iran, seeking to bypass the Pentagon amid his skepticism of the extended military conflict.Citing over half a dozen current and former US officials, The New York Times said in a Thursday report that the “sobering private assessments” received by Vance were often quite different from the often boastful public rhetoric coming from US President Donald Trump.Vance was seeking direct intel from military commanders on “objectives, tactics, casualty estimates, what the Iranians would do in the Strait of Hormuz,” according to the report.The commanders warned Vance about severely depleted military stockpiles, as well as the Iranian regime’s willingness to dig in for a major and drawn-out fight, the report said, citing “more than half a dozen” current and former officials.Vance came away from his conversations with significant concern regarding the overall US strategy in the Iran conflict as well as the prospects for success, NYT said.The vice president did not hide his conversations with the American generals from others in the White House leadership, and he used what he learned from those conversations to make a case to Trump for how the war should be conducted going forward, the Times said.Asked for comment, a Pentagon spokesperson did not deny that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth facilitated conversations between Vance and the US Army generals.“There is no gap in the military advice provided to the president, the vice president, and the secretary of war,” a US military spokesperson said in a separate statement.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that “to ensure the president’s team receives all available data points regarding ongoing operations in the Middle East, the secretary has facilitated direct access to combatant commanders for the vice president and other senior White House leaders.”Trump: No regrets on how Iran war has played out-Later on Thursday, Trump was asked during a Fox News interview whether he had any regrets about how the Iran war has played out, given expectations that the conflict will hurt his party in the November midterms.“I don’t believe in the word ‘regret,’” he responded. “You can always question yourself a little bit, but if I had to do it again, I would do exactly as I did. I took out their nuclear capability.”The US did not target Iran’s nuclear sites in the war it launched with Israel in February. Trump has claimed Iran’s nuclear program was already completely destroyed in US strikes the previous year.Trump dismissed suggestions that some of his supporters were upset and demoralized about the war.“I don’t think they’re demoralized. I think they’re very proud of the fact that I’m not letting Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he says.Trump reiterated his claim that the war will end immediately after the midterm election, if not beforehand..@POTUS: "I don't believe in the word 'regret.'" pic.twitter.com/l1ayOV09oO — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 10, 2026-Contradicting Trump, US official says Iran attack on base in Jordan damaged military aircraft-Meanwhile, a US official told Reuters that Iranian strikes damaged multiple American military aircraft this week at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, contradicting Trump on the matter.The US military suffered material damage even before Iran’s strikes on Tuesday. This includes the destruction of more than two dozen drones, Iran striking fighter jets, and aircraft being lost to accidents.According to a May report from the Congressional Research Service, 42 US military aircraft had already been lost or damaged in the conflict.Since the Iran war started in February, 18 US service members have been killed and over 800 injured.A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday Iran’s attack hit one A-10 Thunderbolt II, known as the Warthog, leaving it with a missing wing, while roughly eight F-15s sustained light damage and were returned to service.Iran’s strike on the US base in Jordan came after US forces said they destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers. The US said its strikes were in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting a US Navy warship with ballistic ​missiles twice over the previous two days.The Iranian attack required US forces to fire roughly 30 Patriot interceptors to counter the missiles, the US official said, amid increasing concern about the inventory of US air defense interceptors and other missiles.While specific inventory numbers are classified, the Center for Strategic ​and International Studies has estimated that about 65% of US Patriot interceptors were expended between February and July, with fewer than 850 left on hand, down from 2,330 before the Iran war began.In a sign of the destruction caused by Iranian strikes against US military targets, acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao told the Epoch Times that Iran “blew the hell out of Bahrain.” He was referring to the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters based at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, which Tehran has struck.Earlier Thursday, Trump told News Nation that reports of damage caused to US aircraft in Jordan were false.“Nope,” Trump said. “No damage. No nothing.”

Iran said to resume missile production; PM warns of further action-UN nuclear watchdog chief says construction observed at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain
Underground site in Natanz likely used to store nuclear material, according to Western intel; Trump also cites ‘a little activity’ at Pickaxe, warns Tehran ‘not to get cute’ there By Lazar Berman 10 September 2026, 7:59 pm

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday that the agency has observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, which Western intelligence has flagged as a site likely used to store nuclear material.The statement came alongside a report that Iran had once again stated to manufacture ballistic missiles at underground sites. Apparently responding to the reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was trying to rearm and promised further Israeli action.“There are some indications that there is movement around this construction site,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi told Bloomberg. “We don’t have any concrete information as to activities that may be taking place there.”The IAEA has not sent inspectors into the heavily fortified underground complex, in the Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran, but is relying on remote imagery, Grossi told the news outlet.Iran’s leaders are thought to have commissioned the underground complex following a 2020 explosion, allegedly caused by Israel, that significantly harmed a centrifuge assembly site in Natanz.“They said at the time, ‘We are going to put everything in tunnels, inside a mountain’,” Grossi said. “This was going to be impermeable and protected from attacks.”Since Israel and the US struck Iran’s nuclear sites during the 12-day war in June 2025, Iran hasn’t given IAEA inspectors access to nuclear sites that were affected by the strikes.The IAEA also has been unable to verify the status of Iran’s stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium since the June bombing.On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said the United States may hit Pickaxe ​Mountain, urging Tehran to be cautious.“We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard,” Trump said in a speech at the midterm Republican convention.Also on Wednesday, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a statement that an analysis of six years of multisource imagery at Pickaxe Mountain indicated a surge in construction.The imagery “reveals a clear three-phase activity signature across the five key points of interest and the roads connecting them, indicating a site that has shifted from active excavation toward probable internal construction and continued exterior reinforcement,” the think tank said.“Together, these images reveal more road activity at Pickaxe Mountain in 2026 than at any point in the site’s history. There is a clear surge in construction activity in 2026 that corresponds to the raising and hardening of the portal accesses, paving of the internal road network, reinforcement around access areas, and the flattening and removal of excavation spoil,” it said.PM warns Iran rearming as it reportedly resumes missile production-The growing warnings about Iranian activity at Pickaxe came as the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Iran was also using underground facilities to once again manufacture ballistic missiles.Citing US and Middle East officials, the report said Tehran was using stockpiled parts to assemble both solid- and liquid-fueled missiles, with production taking place at several subterranean locations, including the Khojir complex east of Tehran.The Islamic Republic was working to build new production sites as well, according to the sources.“Iran is weaker now than ever before, and President Trump will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” a White House official told the newspaper in response, without directly commenting on whether Iran was again churning out ballistic missiles.Seeming to confirm the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Thursday that Iran was trying to rearm.“President Trump announced this evening that Iran is attempting to rearm with nuclear weapons,” said Netanyahu in a video filmed by his office at the Western Wall complex in Jerusalem’s Old City. “This is true.”“After we destroyed its immediate capability to produce nuclear bombs — in both Operation Rising Lion and Operation Roaring Lion, it is trying again,” Netanyahu continued, using the official Israeli names for the June 2025 war with Iran and the ongoing US-Israel conflict against the Islamic Republic that began in late February.He pledged that Iran will not attain a nuclear weapon as long as he was in office, and promised that further action against Iran and its allies as well.“We are striking the Iranian axis,” he said, “delivering heavy blows not only in the Gaza Strip but also in Lebanon. We have destroyed the Beaufort Ridge and are now dealing with the Ali Taher Ridge.”“More to come,” he concluded.
Netanyahu refrained from declaring that Israel was “very close” to defeating Iran, as he did several times in the preceding week as campaigning for the October 27 Knesset elections ramps up.Also on Thursday, Israeli television reported that Israel’s security services discussed the possibility of an escalation from Iran during the upcoming Jewish holidays. According to Channel 12 news, Israel was preparing to counter the possibility of Iranian ballistic missile fire at Israel and Iranian terror attacks on Israeli or Jewish targets abroad.The steady Iranian missile fire against Jordan and the success of the US economic blockade against Iran both point toward a potential escalation in Israeli eyes.Hezbollah was also working to convince Iran to come to its aid in Lebanon, the TV report said, while noting there was no concrete warning or specific plot that has been uncovered ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday that begins Friday night.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

August was hottest month ever recorded worldwide, European climate monitor says-El Niño pattern that triggered extremes expected to peak in 2027, but scientist warns that ‘record-shattering months will simply keep on coming’ as long as humans burn fossil fuels-By Nick Perry and Ali BEKHTAOUI 10 September 2026, 7:46 pm

PARIS, France (AFP) — Europe’s climate monitor said Thursday that August was the hottest month ever recorded around the world and warned of worse to come, as an unprecedented El Niño pattern grows stronger.Global temperatures over land and sea soared to all-time highs in August and capped an extreme summer of heatwaves and wildfires that ranked the hottest on record for western Europe and the contiguous United States.The Copernicus Climate Change Service said global average air temperatures in August were 16.96C (62.52F) — surpassing by 0.01C the previous record for a single month set in July 2023. The EU monitor said it considered the two months joint-highest given the narrow difference.Copernicus observations go back to 1940, but evidence from ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons puts today’s climate in a much starker historical context.“Humans haven’t seen temperatures as hot as today for, arguably, at least the last 100,000 years,” Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which oversees Copernicus, told AFP.UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the “evidence is irrefutable: this is the spiralling price of humanity’s fossil fuel addiction.”‘Striking’The exceptional summer also drove ocean temperatures to record highs for three straight months, said Simon van Gennip from Mercator Ocean International on Thursday.Marine heatwaves have persisted in some overheated basins for more than 60 days, “highlighting just how unusual and persistent” the situation was, he said.Global sea surface temperatures set a new all-time daily high in August and equalled the hottest month for oceans ever recorded. Copernicus said the main driver was global heating from burning coal, oil and gas, but also sharp-rising temperatures in the Pacific, where a historic El Niño is accumulating strength.El Niño episodes are characterized by unusually warm Pacific waters but trigger major global changes in rainfall and winds, raising the odds of wild weather thousands of miles away.Global forecasters predict this year’s event will peak later this year at an intensity never observed in the modern era.Copernicus said its influence was already being felt in Indonesia, where a long, intense dry season has fed wildfires that have torched swathes of Borneo island.But climate scientists said the worst was yet to come — and August’s extraordinary heat was just a preview.Even ordinary El Niño episodes have a temporary warming effect, boosting global heat and compounding the impact of long-term Scientists expect 2027 to become a record-setting year after the El Niño peaks, but Burgess said 2026 had emerged a serious contender.“We expected 2026 to be top five, but now it’s second place, maybe in first place… We’ve seen a striking reminder of how quickly the climate system can shift when multiple drivers have aligned,” she said.The double whammy of climate change and El Niño would mean records “falling over the next six months,” said Burgess, an ocean scientist and strategic lead for at ECMWF.“Climate change makes every El Niño hotter, and until we stop burning coal, oil, and gas these record-shattering months will simply keep on coming,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist from Imperial College London.Extremes-Copernicus said that western Europe experienced its hottest summer, outstripping the long-standing 2003 record.The season was marked by severe, back-to-back heatwaves that shut schools, dried up rivers and primed the land for devastating wildfires.Between mid-July and mid-August, the continent’s EuroMomo monitoring platform estimated that Europe saw more than 32,000 excess deaths.But it was abnormally hot elsewhere too — Copernicus said the June to August period was the equal-warmest globally on record, on par with 2024.An AFP analysis of Copernicus data showed that regions home to around 900 million people lived through the hottest July ever observed.And on Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the contiguous United States has endured its hottest summer on record.The summer has been “exceptional,” but the climate will “continue to get more extreme unless we turn off the tap to global emissions,” said Burgess.

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.”

‘The connection is spiritual’: Pacific island nations see prophecy in Jerusalem embassies-After Nauru becomes latest nation to set up shop in Israel’s capital, Fijian ex-diplomat says ‘Christianity is the biggest underlying factor’ in region’s support for Jewish state-By Steven Trask Today, 10:12 am-SEP 11,26

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — An ancient Biblical prophecy lies at the heart of a Pacific islands push to open embassies in Jerusalem, experts and former diplomats have told AFP.Israel may seem an unlikely partner for the far-flung nations of the tropical South Pacific, sharing little in common by way of culture, language, food or sport.And yet, Pacific island nations have often proven some of Israel’s most steadfast supporters on the international stage.Tiny Nauru opened an embassy in Jerusalem earlier this week, joining a handful of nations bucking international pressure by recognizing Israeli sovereignty in the holy city.Papua New Guinea and Fiji are already among just seven UN member-states to open embassies in Jerusalem, while Samoa has stated it will join them later this year.Former Fijian diplomat Salote Tagivakatini said the moves were less about calculated statecraft and more about religious conviction.“Christianity is the biggest underlying factor,” she told AFP. “Around 90 percent of indigenous Pacific islanders identify as Christians. Therefore, their interpretation of the Bible and reference to Jewish people as ‘God’s chosen people’ obligates them to support Israel.”Waves of European missionaries sailed through the South Pacific in the 19th century, bringing evangelical Christian teachings that were adopted with enthusiasm.
Many parts of the Pacific today hold deep-rooted beliefs in biblical prophecy, viewing Jews as destined to return to the Land of Israel.There are pockets of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji where some even identify as descendants of one of the “Lost Tribes of Israel.”Anthropologists have documented the Gogodala people of western Papua New Guinea singing Hebrew songs and hoisting the flag of Israel at tribal ceremonies.Religion mixes freely with politics in the South Pacific, where many nations declare their Christian faith in their founding constitutions.Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is a former lay preacher in the Methodist church, while Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape is the devout son of a Seventh-day Adventist pastor.Samoan Prime Minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt wore a Jewish prayer shawl when he was sworn in last year, entering the room to the sound of a ceremonial shofar horn — used during the Jewish High Holidays, which kick off Friday night with Rosh Hashanah.“I stand for Israel, the land of God,” he said at the time, according to local media. “Samoa will stand up and support the holy land of God.”Despite such strong political statements, support for Israel is not universal in the region. A small group of demonstrators waving Palestinian flags awaited Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar when he visited Fiji earlier this year.Most countries have kept their embassies in Tel Aviv on the grounds that Jerusalem’s status will be settled in a final resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.But US President Donald Trump shattered this consensus in 2018 by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.Only a handful of countries have followed suit: Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Nauru, plus Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay.There is a long history of outside nations courting Pacific island states for diplomatic clout.When Russia-backed separatists in northwestern Georgia tried to form a breakaway state in the early 2000s, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Nauru were among the few nations to offer recognition.Tuvalu, Palau and the Marshall Islands are among the only nations to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.China has in recent years persuaded Solomon Islands, Nauru and Kiribati to sever links with Taipei in favor of Beijing.‘Not transactional’International affairs expert Shannon Brincat said it was easy to see what Israel gained from its Pacific friends.“Symbolically, those things are huge. By moving their embassies to Jerusalem, it normalizes Israel’s claim that it’s the undivided capital.”It was less clear what these small nations received in return, Brincat told AFP.Lowy Institute data showed Israel had given $2 million for aid and development in the Pacific since 2015.Major donors such as Australia and China have, by comparison, spent hundreds of millions of dollars.Pacific security researcher Maima Koro said typical notions of give-and-take diplomacy missed the point.“Israel is the people of God to them. And there’s this promise that God made to Israel,” Koro, from Adelaide University, told AFP.“It’s not transactional. The connection is spiritual.”

IDF kills commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade in southern Gaza airstrike-Muhammad Abdul Salam al-Yazouri, also known as Abu al-Haitham, advanced dozens of attacks on troops, was working to rebuild brigade’s capabilities, military says By Emanuel Fabian Today, 12:23 pm-SEP 11,26

An overnight airstrike early Friday in the southern Gaza Strip killed the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, the IDF said on Friday morning.n a statement, the military and Shin Bet said that Khan Younis Brigade commander Muhammad Abdul Salam al-Yazouri was involved in advancing dozens of attacks on troops, as well as restoring Hamas’s capabilities.The same strike in Khan Younis also killed Hudheifa Muammar, a company commander, and Muhammad Bahjat Rashi, another Hamas operative, according to the IDF.“IDF forces under the Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement, and will continue to operate to eliminate any immediate threat,” the military said.The previous Khan Younis Brigade chief, Rafa’a Salameh, was killed alongside Hamas military wing chief Muhammad Deif in July 2024.The army published footage of the strike that killed Yazouri.Hamas announced Yazouri’s death ahead of the IDF, publishing a “martyr poster” for the commander, also known as Abu al-Haitham, on an X account that the terror group uses to announce the deaths of members.The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 people hostage.The ensuing war between Israel and Hamas has killed over 73,400 people in Gaza, including more than 1,330 since the October 2025 ceasefire, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.The Israeli military says it has killed over 24,000 combatants in Gaza and another 1,200 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught. It believes that Hamas’s overall toll is largely accurate, with IDF officials estimating that two to three civilians were killed for every dead terror operative.????ELIMINATED: Muhammad Yazouri, Commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade in Gaza, alongside Hudheifa Muammar, a company commander, and Muhammad Bahjat Rashi, a terrorist in the same brigade. Advertisement Muhammad Yazouri held several roles within the brigade, including Deputy Commander,… pic.twitter.com/A7WXP8JXKb — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 11, 2026-While the October 2025 US-backed ceasefire halted major fighting in the shattered territory, it hasn’t ended strikes by the IDF, which the military says are meant to thwart attacks by Gaza terrorists.Gaza remains bisected into Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas, and talks to bring about Hamas’s disarmament and the territory’s reconstruction have made only limited progress.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 477. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.

Next round of Israel-Lebanon talks set for next week in Rome-IDF blows up Hezbollah’s ‘strategic’ complex beneath south Lebanon’s Ali Taher Ridge
Military says it used 1,100 tons of explosives to raze 2kms of tunnels under hill in southern Lebanon, following reported Iranian warnings; blast triggers 4.1-magnitude tremor-By Emanuel Fabian and Jacob Magid Today, 12:53 amUpdated at 10:09 am-SEP 11,26

Using 1,100 tons of explosives, the Israeli military said on Thursday that it had demolished a “strategic” underground facility belonging to the Hezbollah terror group beneath a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon.The Ali Taher Ridge is located within Israel’s southern Lebanon buffer zone, near Nabatieh. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the tunnel systems under Ali Taher served as the “nerve center” of the terror group’s Badr regional division — a unit tasked with the area of southern Lebanon that is north of the Litani River.Last week, the military said it had completed capturing and clearing out the tunnel system of Hezbollah operatives, killing some of them while others fled.Iran ostensibly warned the US that it would respond to any Israeli offensive against the Hezbollah facility beneath the hill, according to a report by Reuters last week, although that came after the IDF had already captured and cleared the site.A military official said after the tunnels had been blown up that “the IDF is prepared for a variety of scenarios, including multi-arena scenarios.”A massive blast was heard throughout the region as the IDF demolished the two tunnel routes under the hill with 1,100 tons of explosives. Footage showed a massive fireball erupting above the mountain. Seismic systems also detected the explosion as a 4.1-magnitude earthquake, the United States Geological Survey said.Footage shows the demolition of Hezbollah's tunnels beneath the Ali Taher Ridge in southern Lebanon by the IDF tonight. pic.twitter.com/dpFDSok54n — Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 10, 2026-The IDF described the facility as a “strategic infrastructure that was built over two decades,” an activity it said was financed and planned by Iran.Some 50 Hezbollah operatives were believed to be holed up under Ali Taher when a new ceasefire took effect in June. The IDF asserted, contrary to the recent Reuters report, that no members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were in the tunnels.Israel had initially given the Hezbollah operatives inside the tunnels the option to surrender to troops, a military official said. However, the members of the terror group refused and instead fought or tried to flee.The military said it killed many of the Hezbollah operatives during the offensive to capture the underground site, including some trying to flee the tunnels and some trying to bring reinforcements.A video published by the IDF showed two Hezbollah operatives being struck after opening fire from one of the tunnel shafts. Inside the tunnels, around a dozen bodies were found by the troops, according to the military.Still, some of the Hezbollah operatives were assessed by the IDF to have fled the area.Inside the two tunnels — spanning over two kilometers — troops found dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles and drones, along with firearms, anti-tank missiles, and hundreds of mines and other explosives, the military said.The tunnel also featured “command centers, weapons rooms, generator rooms, living quarters, showers, and a kitchen,” which the IDF said enabled Hezbollah operatives “to conduct fighting and remain there for extended periods.”In a separate joint statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the underground facility was destroyed following their directive, and the IDF has now “completed the organization of the security zone in southern Lebanon.”“The terror infrastructure and headquarters under the ridge were intended to serve as a base for the conquest of the Galilee, and surveillance and fire over Metula and Kiryat Shmona,” Netanyahu and Katz said.Netanyahu and Katz said that following the blast, the IDF is “preparing for defense in the area and to prevent the enemy from returning to the territory.”The military said it would “reorganize” its deployment in the area following the destruction of the tunnels, but would still remain in control of the ridge with surveillance and firepower.Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East conflict in March by launching rockets at Israel in support of its sponsor Iran, which had come under attack by a US-Israeli air campaign. Israel responded to the Hezbollah attacks with a heavy air campaign and ground invasion.Fighting has persisted despite the ceasefire declared in Lebanon in April, but at a reduced rate. Israeli forces continue to operate inside a self-declared “security zone,” which runs around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory along the border.In June, Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement committing Lebanon to restoring sovereignty over its territory through the “verified disarmament of non-state armed groups,” which would in turn enable a progressive Israeli withdrawal. The State of Lebanon, along with Israel and the US, signed the agreement, but Hezbollah and its allies are opposed to it.Israel pulled forces out of three pilot zones into which the Lebanese army entered, but has said it will not carry out any further withdrawals before Hezbollah is disarmed.Israel and Lebanon have been holding negotiations to advance the framework deal since April, and an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Thursday that the next round of talks will take place next week in Rome.The talks will take place over two days, but it has not yet been finalized whether they will begin on Tuesday or Wednesday, the official said.
Meanwhile, a US State Department official says in a statement to querying reporters that Washington is closely monitoring “calls from Southern Lebanon, where people are demanding their government assert sovereignty and stop Hezbollah from firing and storing weapons in their communities.”“We applaud those communities and support the Government of Lebanon’s receptiveness to their requests,” the official continued. “We urge the Government of Lebanon to formulate a plan for disarmament in all Lebanese territory, as laid out in the Trilateral Framework.”

Yemen’s Houthis seize port city of Mocha, closing in on strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait-Government forces retreat south to establish alternate command center, aiming to keep vital shipping route in their hands; women and children flee Mocha for safer provinces-By Reuters 10 September 2026, 3:23 pm

ADEN/DUBAI — Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of the historic port city of Mocha on Thursday, four Yemeni government military sources said, gaining further leverage over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.The Houthis were launching attacks on the strategic Red Sea islands of Hanish, the government sources told Reuters. Government forces and their allies were relocating south to Dhubab, which sits directly on the strait, across from the island of Perim.Control of Dhubab and the island is key to gaining hold of the strait, they said.There has been an escalation in fighting in recent days between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia’s Yemeni allies in the internationally backed government, creating a second theater of war in the Iran conflict that threatens global energy supplies.In 2014, the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa, driving the ​internationally recognized government south towards Aden.Fearful of growing Iranian influence in Yemen and chaos on its borders, Saudi Arabia led a ​military intervention against the Houthis in 2015, to dislodge the group and restore the government.The resulting civil war triggered one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises and ‌led to ⁠years of bitter fighting and devastating airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners, including the United Arab Emirates.A UN-brokered truce in Yemen in 2022 largely halted years of war but has not led to a lasting settlement, with the latest fighting threatening a return to full-scale conflict.Bab el-Mandeb, or the Gate of Tears, named for its perilous navigation conditions, is the southern outlet of the Red Sea, between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast, making it a major prize for the Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas and much of the north.It is one of the world’s most important routes for crude oil and fuel from the Gulf bound for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, or the Suez-Mediterranean pipeline on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, as well as commodities bound for Asia, including Russian oil.Blocking the narrow passage would isolate Gulf oil-producing countries, such as energy superpower Saudi Arabia, from their main shipping routes, after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz — the primary maritime energy artery between Asia and Europe.The escalating conflict in Yemen comes as Iran and the United States have staged their biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping in the Gulf region since the war began in February.Warning to Tehran-A military leader allied with Yemen’s government forces said on Thursday that he directed his group on the west coast to establish an alternative command center in a safe location.The instructions from Tarek Saleh, nephew of assassinated Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, were another sign that the Houthis were pushing his National Resistance Forces from the west.Pakistan has delivered a Saudi warning to Iran to rein in its Houthi allies after they stepped up attacks on the kingdom, in an effort to prevent the crisis from spiralling, Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian sources said.A senior Iranian official confirmed that Pakistan conveyed the message to Tehran on Tuesday and its response was that “Iran does not control the Houthis.”However, two Iranian sources said Tehran told the Houthis last week to carry out attacks on Saudi Arabia, promising additional funding and weapons, while several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders had travelled to Yemen to help coordinate the attacks.Pakistan said Thursday that there were no discussions about a military reaction from Islamabad under the Mecca agreement in response to the Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia, but added that Pakistan would act when the “time comes.”“There is no such thing under discussion right now,” Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said at a weekly media briefing, in response to a question asking how Islamabad planned to fulfill its obligations under the joint defense accord signed with Turkey and Saudi Arabia.The joint defense agreement signed last month stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack on all of them.The question arose after Iran-backed Houthis struck Saudi cities and energy infrastructure this week.The Houthis, a military, political and religious movement that rules most of northwest Yemen, have disrupted global trade and energy markets with attacks on cargo ships and tankers in the Red Sea.They began firing on ships and ​launching drones and missiles at Israel in November 2023, saying they were acting in support of Palestinians during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza that began after the terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack.The attacks on Red Sea shipping, as well as on Saudi Arabia, resumed this year in response to the United States’ and Israel’s ⁠war on Iran.Attacks on Saudi cities-Hundreds of women and children left Mocha on Thursday for the provinces of Lahj and Aden, controlled by the Saudi-backed government, seeking shelter after losing relatives in fighting between the Houthis and government forces, according to Yemeni government data.In areas of Taiz and al-Hodeidah provinces, more than 20,000 people have been displaced due to clashes over the past two weeks.The Houthis said on Wednesday that Saudi strikes hit the Yemeni provinces of Jawaf, Marib and Saada, bordering the kingdom, as well as Taiz in the south and al-Hodeidah along the Red Sea coast, a Houthi stronghold used as a base for their broader campaign of attacks on shipping in the waterway. Saudi Arabia did not confirm the strikes.Saudi Arabia said Houthis have stepped up attacks on the kingdom in recent days, wounding 73 people including women and children, after targeting civilian and economic sites in the south.

8 Muslim states, including UAE, call for countries to follow UK in sanctioning settlements-Joint statement also calls to implement Trump’s plan for Gaza and reiterates demand for Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as capital, saying it’s only ‘viable path’ to peace-By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff 9 September 2026, 8:53 pm

A group of eight Muslim-majority countries, including Israel’s ally the United Arab Emirates, praised the United Kingdom on Wednesday for announcing that it will impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and called on other countries to do the same.The foreign ministers of Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in a joint statement, said they “welcome the decision of the Government of the United Kingdom to ban the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”The statement came a day after British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced sweeping sanctions and a total ban on all dealings with West Bank settlements.Shortly after Miliband’s speech, the leaders of the UK, France and Canada issued a joint statement confirming that they would “take steps to ban the importation of goods from settlements and enforce targeted measures against settlements and those who facilitate them or profit from them.”Then, Canada, France, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden released a separate statement promising they would also “introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements,” or were at least “actively considering” doing so.Acknowledging these steps, the eight foreign ministers expressed “the hope that this decision will help mobilize the international community to take similar actions in line with international law and hold accountable settlement organizations and individuals engaged in illegal settlement activities.”The ministers said they also “reiterate their call for Israel to rescind all measures taken in connection with settlement activities and other measures aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”Separately, the statement called for “the full and immediate implementation” of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point postwar plan in Gaza, and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, a notion that Israel rejects.“The Ministers underscore that the only viable path to achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace is the implementation of the two-state solution, through the realization of an independent, sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian State,” the statement concluded.In the wake of Miliband’s speech on Tuesday, Israel announced a series of retaliatory measures against the UK, including the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians.Other measures ordered by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar included the expulsion of UK representatives from an international Gaza support center and the termination of British activities to train Palestinian Authority security forces.The UK ban on dealings with West Bank settlements comes amid soaring settler violence against Palestinians on a near-daily basis — an issue that Miliband said the British government views as amounting to “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians… perpetrated by settler terrorists.”Arrests of Israelis involved in these attacks are rare, and critics have accused the government of condoning or even encouraging the violence.Agencies contributed to this report.

Netanyahu planning quick trip for UN speech to defy Mamdani over arrest threat — envoy-Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, notes General Assembly falls in middle of Jewish holidays, election period, but says it’s ‘important’ that the PM attend, if only for 24 hours
By Edith M. Lederer 9 September 2026, 6:07 pm

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a whirlwind 24-hour trip to speak at the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders this month because “there is no option” after New York City’s mayor urged his arrest over the war in Gaza, Israel’s UN envoy said Tuesday.Ambassador Danny Danon accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of “doing politics” when he called the prime minister a “war criminal” and said he’d seek his arrest, a plan he had to walk back because New York City does not have authority to take Netanyahu into custody.“You know, it became very trendy to do politics by blaming Israel,” Danon added. He stressed, “For us, it’s important the prime minister will come.”Netanyahu has become an increasingly polarizing figure over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the terror group’s deadly invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023.Mamdani, whose office did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday, has pointed to the arrest warrant issued by the world’s top war crimes tribunal for Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing him and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant of crimes against humanity.The International Criminal Court warrant said there was reason to believe Netanyahu used “starvation as a weapon of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in the campaign against Hamas — charges Israel denies.While New York City does not have legal authority to execute an ICC arrest warrant, Mamdani has encouraged the federal government to do so. The US and Israel are not members of the court, and the Trump administration has imposed a series of sanctions on ICC staffers in a campaign to dismantle the tribunal.Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive in New York late on September 23, address the UN General Assembly on the afternoon of September 24, and fly back to Israel that night, Danon said.Danon noted that the meeting of leaders from the 193 UN member nations is taking place during the Jewish holidays and an election campaign as Netanyahu tries to keep his job as prime minister.Danon said protests against Netanyahu would “create more chaos” on New York streets during the high-level meetings on the week of September 22-28.Last year, there was a mass walkout from the UN General Assembly hall when Netanyahu started to speak from the podium. This year, Danon said, “I expect that there will be something like another show.”But the ambassador said Netanyahu is experienced, “and I’m sure he will deliver his speech despite those attempts.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Next 9/11 shock might be being planned where we’re not looking, UK’s MI5 chief says-Domestic security service director warns against preparing to fight ‘yesterday’s enemy using yesterday’s methods,’ points to foiled plot to kill hundreds of Jews in Manchester-By Reuters Today, 9:24 am-SEP 11,26

LONDON — Intelligence services must not dwell too much on past threats but accept that a new strategic shock along the lines of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks could already be in preparation where they are not looking, the head of Britain’s MI5 spy agency said.In an opinion piece published on Friday to mark 25 years since al-Qaeda terrorists crashed hijacked US passenger planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, MI5’s Director General Ken McCallum said security agencies had to be ready to adapt to current and future challenges.“We know that the next strategic shock will, by definition, not resemble the last one. That is perhaps the most important lesson of all,” McCallum wrote in the commentary for the Independent newspaper.“We must of course always learn from the last attack — but must beware of preparing brilliantly to fight yesterday’s enemy, using yesterday’s methods, against yesterday’s target… The uncomfortable truth is that the next strategic shock may already be taking shape somewhere we are not yet looking.”Al-Qaeda, though diminished, remains a threat, as does the aspiration of that group and other terrorists for mass casualty attacks, McCallum said.This was recently borne out by a foiled Islamist plot to kill hundreds in gun attacks on the Jewish community in the northern English city of Manchester, he added.But McCallum said MI5 was also facing rising state-backed aggression, ranging from sabotage carried out by criminal proxies to cyberattacks on power stations.Unlike in 2001, many systems and services are in the hands of the private sector, and it will require governments, businesses and academia working together to close vulnerabilities and respond swiftly in a crisis, he said.“We cannot wait for the next shock to discover who owns the vulnerability, who has the authority to act, or who was supposed to pick up the phone,” he wrote.“We owe the victims of 9/11 — and those who will otherwise become the victims of tomorrow’s attack — something more than remembrance. We owe them preparation, resilience and the courage to adapt before the next shock arrives.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Jewish religious rights vs. conservative Christian doctrine-Case pitting Indiana Jews against an abortion ban heads back to court-State Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments in case sparked by local Jewish group’s religious freedom challenge to abortion ban, which was later rejected by lower court
By Andrew Lapin Today, 5:49 am-SEP 11,26

JTA — A landmark legal battle to determine whether Jewish women have a religious right to an abortion entered a critical new stage in Indiana.The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Thursday in a case that began with a local Jewish group’s 2022 religious freedom challenge to Indiana’s near-total abortion ban. The state is appealing a permanent blocking of the ban that a lower court imposed in March.The arguments, held in Indianapolis, explored a legal theory that the state’s abortion ban impedes Jews’ religious freedom because many interpretations of Jewish law prioritize the life of the mother over that of the fetus.The case, one of the recent major challenges based on Jewish law to an abortion ban, could carry significant ramifications for how the American legal system weighs Jewish religious rights against conservative Christian doctrine, which strongly opposes abortion.Indiana was one of several states to pass severe abortion restrictions following the 2022 US Supreme Court ruling overturning its 1972 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion. Separately, Christian groups and businesses have prevailed in national religious freedom cases determining whether they can be compelled to pay for contraception that can be used to perform abortions, arguing doing so violates their religious views.But Kenneth Falk, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, argued before the court Thursday that it was the abortion bans that curtailed the free exercise of religion. “Under Jewish law, the human life does not begin until the first breath,” said Falk, who argued the case on behalf of Hoosier Jews for Choice, a group formed explicitly to challenge the state’s abortion law, as well as two anonymous plaintiffs. While liberal Jewish denominations are generally permissive of abortion, Orthodox scholars offer more mixed interpretations.In response to a question by Chief Justice Loretta Rush about what the state should do “further along in a pregnancy,” Falk said, “I don’t think anyone is going to be advocating for abortions of a viable fetus.”In his arguments, Falk compared the Jewish women’s standing to what he called “secular” exceptions to the abortion ban in cases of rape or incest.“What is the reason for allowing these secular exceptions, but not a religious exception?” Falk asked the justices. He also referred to permitted religious exceptions to healthcare laws in other cases, including vaccine mandates.In March, a judge in the Marion County Superior Court ruled in favor of Hoosier Jews for Choice, permanently blocking the state’s near-total abortion ban in cases where it would “substantially burden their religious exercise.”That ruling prompted the appeal from the state now under consideration, as well as conservative backlash, with Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks calling for the judge’s impeachment.“Our nation’s long tradition of respect for religious exercise has never been understood to encompass a right to intentionally destroy human life, any more than a right to abusively punish children,” Indiana Solicitor General James Barta argued before the state Supreme Court on Thursday.Today, Solicitor General James Barta stood before the Indiana Supreme Court on behalf of our office to, once again, vigorously defend Indiana’s pro-life law. For four years we have fought an unprecedented and radical attempt to weaponize the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration… pic.twitter.com/5MLKomSQsY — AG Todd Rokita (@AGToddRokita) September 11, 2026-Barta otherwise largely sidestepped the Jewish group’s religious arguments in his own presentation. Instead he insisted that the plaintiffs did not have proper standing because they were not actively seeking abortions themselves, though one is hoping to get pregnant but worried about getting proper care if an abortion were required.Their case, Barta insisted, was “purely hypothetical.”A similar argument briefly prevailed in Kentucky in 2024, when a judge threw out a religious freedom lawsuit brought by three Jewish mothers against that state’s abortion law. The plaintiffs, the judge said in that case, lacked standing because none of them were currently pregnant. One of the plaintiffs, who was considering a pregnancy via in vitro fertilization, was allowed to appeal the case, which resulted in a partial victory this May when a judge struck down part of Kentucky’s abortion ban — related to a definition of when human life begins — as unconstitutional.Many mainstream and progressive-leaning Jewish organizations, including the National Council of Jewish Women, the Anti-Defamation League and representatives of the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, are supporting Hoosier Jews for Choice and have signed onto briefs on the group’s behalf in court.In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the NCJW noted that questioning from the justices Thursday “appeared to focus on more procedural matters,” rather than “the merits of the case.” Yet Darcy Hirsh, the group’s vice president of government relations and advocacy, said she was “hopeful” the court would rule in the Jewish groups’ favor.“No individual should be forced to abandon their religious beliefs in order to comply with a narrow, Christian belief of when life begins,” Hirsh said.A representative for the state of Indiana did not return a JTA request for comment following the oral arguments.There are also Jews on the other side of the debate. The Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, a legal advocacy group, has filed amicus briefs in support of the state.“From a theological perspective, it’s hard to say what is the single Jewish teaching on abortion,” Josh Blackman, an attorney with the coalition and professor at the South Texas College of Law, told JTA following the oral arguments.Blackman added that, of all major religions, Judaism has “the strongest basis for the right to terminate a pregnancy.” But, he said, Jewish groups should be mindful of advocating for a system “where Jews in Indiana can have an abortion but Catholics cannot.”“At a time when there’s growing hostility between people on the right and Jews, I”m not sure this is the best use of Jewish resources,” Blackman said. “This could actually backfire in significant ways.”There is no timeline for when the state Supreme Court might issue a decision on the case.

Interview Abdullahi says IDF troops in Somaliland could be a deterrent-Somaliland president says country could contribute troops to Gaza peacekeeping force-Abdirahman Abdullahi tells ToI he could offer 2,000 soldiers, but US hasn’t asked, as move would likely anger Gaza mediating countries who oppose African state’s split from Somalia-By Jacob Magid Today, 12:10 amSEP 11,26

WASHINGTON — Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said Wednesday that his country is prepared to contribute to the International Stabilization Force tasked with helping secure the postwar Gaza Strip on behalf of the US-controlled Board of Peace.“We haven’t been approached about this, but if we are asked, we can provide,” Abdullahi told The Times of Israel on the sidelines of the MEAD conference in Washington.The US may be holding off on issuing such a request because doing so may be seen as a nod of legitimacy to Somaliland, whose 1991 breakaway from Somalia is opposed by key Gaza mediating countries Egypt, Turkey and Qatar.The Board of Peace is trying to build a 20,000-strong ISF to help secure Gaza’s borders, assist in Hamas’s disarmament and facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid.Uganda has committed around 1,200 personnel, and Morocco has committed up to 500. Kosovo, Kazakhstan, and Albania, in total, have committed around 80. The Board of Peace is also in talks with Burundi about contributing another 500.Abdullahi — who was slated to hold meetings at the State Department and with members of Congress in the coming days — said his country could contribute as many as 2,000 soldiers to the ISF.While US officials initially spoke of commencing the ISF’s deployment at the beginning of 2026, plans stalled amid Hamas’s refusal to accept the Board of Peace’s disarmament plan. The terror group finally agreed on July 30, but then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out against the proposal.Board of Peace officials are hoping to commence the plan — which envisions a new Palestinian technocratic government entering Gaza along with a new police force and the IDF, Hamas handing over its weapons for decommissioning and Israel gradually withdrawing from the Strip — after the October 27 Knesset election.Israel is the only country to recognize Somaliland, doing so in December of last year. While Hargeisa hoped the move would lead to similar recognitions from countries such as the US, Abdullahi said he is not disappointed because the Israeli decision still significantly raised international awareness of Somaliland.Located in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland enjoys a strategic position across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, where the Houthi rebels hold territory, making it strategically valuable for Israel.Abdullahi said the IDF has not yet deployed troops in his country but suggested that such a presence could serve as a deterrent for Somaliland, which he said has come under increased threat from Somalia and others as a result of the Israeli recognition.“There are no free lunches,” he said. “Everything has some negative and some positive.

Signaling support for UK sanctions, Olmert decries ‘ethnic cleansing’ in West Bank-After being quoted by British FM in sanctions announcement, ex-PM denounces extremist settlers as a ‘group of murderous criminal terrorists’ seeking ‘to harm, steal, destroy, burn and kill Palestinians’By ToI Staff 10 September 2026, 10:44 pm-SEP 11,26

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday signaled support for Britain’s decision to sanction all dealings with settlements in the West Bank, where he denounced the extremist settlers and their backers as a “group of murderous criminal terrorists” seeking to ethnically cleanse Palestinians.Speaking with Radio 103FM, Olmert doubled down on his assessment that there was “a violent and criminal effort to ethnically cleanse territories in the West Bank” taking place, which British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband quoted when announcing the decision this week.“What is happening in [the West Bank] is no less than attempted ethnic cleansing by a group of murderous criminal terrorists who systemically act on a near-daily basis to harm, steal, destroy, burn and kill Palestinians who live there, as part of an effort to expel them from their places of residence in the hope of it leading the State of Israel to be able to annex the territories,” Olmert said.According to Olmert, the violence is carried out by “hundreds of people who receive support from thousands within the system,” with the perpetrators frequently receiving “active assistance” from the army, law enforcement and government ministers.Olmert charged that “of course” ultranationalist ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich “symbolize this brutal policy, probably more than anyone else, but others share in it.” He also accused Israeli security forces of acting discriminately, citing Defense Minister Israel Katz’s decision to stop signing off on administrative detention orders against Jews, which allows Israeli authorities to hold a suspect without charge.The former prime minister warned that due to Israel’s policies in the West Bank, where the military is sovereign, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir could be exposed to an international arrest warrant.“They see everything but do nothing because they represent policies that in practice support these terrible things,” Olmert said, referring to senior military commanders. “It’s tough for the chief of staff, but at some point… he will unjustly become a target for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, because formally he’s the sovereign on the ground.”He added that while he doesn’t blame Zamir, the military chief should “not hesitate to use all the tools at his disposal as chief of staff to prevent these things. They are intolerable and unforgivable.”The ex-premier also seemed to dismiss the remarks by a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an interview with British personality Piers Morgan on Wednesday, when he railed at “self-hating Jews, including former prime ministers who’ve been to jail.” The spokesman was referring to Olmert’s conviction for graft, which Netanyahu is also on trial for as part of a separate criminal trial.Unlike Olmert, Israel’s government reacted with fury to the UK move and announced a series of retaliatory measures, including the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians. Other measures ordered by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar included the expulsion of UK representatives from an international Gaza support center and the termination of British activities to train Palestinian Authority security forces.The UK ban on dealings with West Bank settlements comes amid soaring settler violence against Palestinians on a near-daily basis — an issue that Miliband said amounted to “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians… perpetrated by settler terrorists.”Arrests of Israelis involved in these attacks are rare, and critics have accused the government of condoning or even encouraging the violence.

Israel’s new envoy to Turkey takes up post as relations remain strained-Joel Lion takes over as acting chargé d’affaires after presenting his credentials to Ankara, where the Israeli embassy is still shuttered amid tensions over Gaza and Syria-By Lazar Berman 10 September 2026, 6:57 pm

Israel’s new top diplomatic envoy to Turkey, Joel Lion, presented his credentials to the Turkish foreign ministry in Ankara on Wednesday, Jerusalem announced Thursday.Lion, who was previously ambassador to Ukraine, Moldova, and Armenia, will serve as the acting chargé d’affaires.He replaced Irit Lillian, who was appointed Israel’s ambassador to Ankara in 2022 and retired over the summer. She had returned to Israel following the outbreak of the war against Hamas after the October 7, 2023, attack due to security concerns. Turkey subsequently recalled its own ambassador from Israel.Since then, Lillian had continued managing ties with Turkish officials on a professional level from Israel, passing messages between the sides and handling issues involving Israeli citizens in Turkey.The Israeli embassy in Turkey remains closed.Israel’s relations with Turkey, once a close security ally of Israel, drastically deteriorated following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rise to power. They have collapsed since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and subsequent Gaza war. Turkey has hosted Hamas leaders, and Erdogan has praised the terror group and castigated Israel, ending trade and direct flights between the countries.Turkey and Israel have also traded barbs over Syria, where last month Israel carried out airstrikes on an airbase it said Turkish troops could be deployed to, drawing condemnation from Ankara and criticism from the United States. Syria and Turkey have insisted there were no plans to deploy Turkish troops to the base.Turkey’s influence in Syria as an ally of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist commander, has stirred Israeli alarm since Sharaa’s forces toppled longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2024.Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.