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Gunmen stand guard at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was  killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, February 7, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed) Hamas leadership is planning to intensify efforts to kidnap Israeli soldiers, and has framed kidnappings as the only effective means of securing the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an internal message published Monday by Israeli Public Broadcaster KAN News.  The letter, circulated internally among Hamas operatives in Gaza, came after a new law was passed by the Knesset that would impose the  death penalty on convicted terrorists . In the document, Hamas described the proposed legislation as a “fascist law,” and urged members of the organization’s military wing to escalate and carry out “active operations.” Go to the full article > >

Palestinian members of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement. (photo credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90) A captured  Hamas  military document found by IDF troops in the Gaza Strip in early 2025 shows how the terrorist organization used the ceasefire to train new fighters for a possible renewed war with Israel. The document, which was revealed on Tuesday, outlines a compressed seven-day training course for 121 new recruits in Hamas’s Shejaia Battalion, including weapons training, battlefield first aid, counter-drone instruction, and lessons drawn from the October 7 massacre. The training program was designed around a tight schedule, apparently due to Hamas concerns that the ceasefire could collapse. Recruits were instructed in the use of Israeli weapons, including M16 rifles and Tavor assault rifles, as well as attacks on tanks and armored personnel carriers from short and long range. Go to the full article > >

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks about health care costs and affordability from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, DC, US, May 18, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST) US President Trump said that he was about "an hour away" from making the decision to attack Iran today before several Middle Eastern governments called to ask him to wait several days for negotiations, while talking to reporters on Tuesday. He added that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait, "a little bit," were working with the US "like a team." This is a developing story.  Go to the full article > >

Smoke rises above Riyadh, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 5, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER/FILE PHOTO) Iraq is concerned about US pressure regarding Iranian-backed militias in  Iraq . As such, Baghdad and even the militias are trying to put out messaging that distances the militias from recent incidents. One incident is the US detention of a Kataib Hezbollah member, who was taken from Turkey to the US to face charges. In addition, Saudi Arabia has said three drones flew from Iraq in an attack on the Kingdom. Iraq is worried that these continued attacks will lead to pressure on the new government to dismantle the militias. Shafaq News in Iraq has provided new details on Baghdad’s moves in recent days Iraq condemned recent drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, vowed cooperation in the investigation, and moved to distance Iranian-backed militias amid growing US pressure. Go to the full article > >

People raise V-signs and take photos from a boat decorated with Palestinian flags as another vessel displaying solidarity signs sails past near the port in Marmaris, Turkey, on May 14, 2026. (photo credit: Murat Kocabas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images) A  Turkish flotilla  of 53 vessels, organized by the IHH, the same group behind the Mavi Marmara flotilla, is reportedly en route to Israel. An Israeli official related that Netanyahu held a preliminary security consultation on the matter on Sunday. The flotilla is an element of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which departed Turkey for Gaza on Thursday on its second blockade run, the first of which occured in April and ended with 20 of its vessels intercepted by the Israeli Navy. The IHH's flotilla is expected to reach Israel’s shores within 48 hours. Prime Minister  Benjamin Netanyahu  is scheduled to hold an operational meeting on the matter with senior defense officials. Go to the full article...

Smoke rises above Riyadh, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 5, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER/FILE PHOTO) Saudi Arabia says that it has intercepted three drones that “‌entered ⁠its territory from Iraqi ⁠airspace,” according to Saudi Arabia’s Arab News. The attack follows a drone attack in the area of Abu Dhabi’s  Barakah nuclear plant  on Sunday. The two attacks could be connected, although it is too early to tell. Arab News noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s “defense ministry spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki ⁠said that ‌it would ‌take the necessary ‌operational ‌measures to respond to ‌any attempt to violate its ⁠sovereignty ⁠and security.” The attack follows a drone attack in the area of Abu Dhabi’s Barakah nuclear plant on Sunday. The two attacks could be connected, although it is too early to tell. Go to the full article > >

IDF troops active in Southern Lebanon, published on April 28, 2026. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) Israel’s military  manpower crisis  is expected to deepen unless legislation extending mandatory service advances separately from the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft bill, as the IDF faces a widening gap between wartime operational needs and the number of soldiers available to meet them. Defense officials raised a red flag on Sunday that by the end of the year, units could face a severe manpower shortage, with an emphasis on a lack of thousands of regular-service combat soldiers. The issue has become more urgent as the  haredi conscription bill  returned to the Knesset agenda on Sunday, ahead of its final readings and amid a coalition crisis over a possible vote to dissolve the Knesset. While the haredi draft bill has become one of the central political fights threatening Netanyahu’s coalition, defense officials have also pushed for a separate extension of m...