Senior ISIS official killed in Syria, CENTCOM says
(JNS) — A senior ISIS member and financier for the terror group was killed during an American raid in northern Syria on Aug. 19, U.S. Central Command announced on Thursday.
The U.S. military did not name the terrorist but said that he planned attacks in Syria and in Iraq.
“He had relationships throughout the ISIS network in the region, posing a direct threat to U.S. and coalition forces and the new Syrian government,” according to the Israeli military.
“We will continue to pursue ISIS terrorists with unwavering determination throughout the region,” stated Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
Israeli released from Lebanon after year in prison
(JNS) — Saleh Abu Hussein, an Israeli citizen who was imprisoned in Lebanon for about a year, was returned to Israel on Thursday.
Lebanese authorities handed over Abu Hussein to Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing in the Prime Minister’s Office, at the Rosh Hanikra/Ras Al Naqoura Crossing.
After questioning and an initial medical examination, the IDF transferred the civilian to a hospital for a comprehensive medical examination, after which he met with his family.
Abu Hussain is a mentally unstable resident of Rumana, near Nazareth in the Galilee, Ynet reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “welcomed the return of the Israeli citizen who was repatriated from Lebanon,” according to a statement from Jerusalem.
“This is a positive step and a sign of things to come,” it added.
In May, Israel agreed to release five Lebanese detained during operations against Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon.
On Aug. 5, the Lebanese government ordered the army to prepare a plan to disarm all armed militias, including Hezbollah, by the end of the year. Hezbollah said it would not comply.
Netanyahu says report that he and Trump got into shouting match over Gaza aid is ‘fake news’
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting an NBC News report that a recent conversation between him and President Donald Trump “devolved into shouting” on the issue of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
NBC reported that four sources characterized a July 28 phone call between the two leaders that way. That was the day Trump told reporters that he believed there was “real starvation” in Gaza, which Israel has denied, and said he was pressing Netanyahu to get more aid to hungry Gazans.
Trump did not immediately respond to the report, which came in a story published Thursday evening about Israel’s apparent preparations for further ground operations in Gaza. But Netanyahu’s office issued a firm denial.
“The report alleging that a shouting match occurred between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump is total fake news,” the office said in a statement.
In the intervening 10 days, Trump has continued to express concern about humanitarian conditions in Gaza but also has withheld any criticism about Netanyahu’s ambitions to widen the war there in an effort to defeat Hamas, which it has been battling since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. He has also called on Hamas to “surrender.”
Uzbek cleric on trial for inciting hate, after backing call for jihad against Israel
(JNS) — A prominent cleric went on trial on Tuesday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on charges of promoting extremism and inciting hatred against Israel, in one of the highest-profile religious cases in the Muslim majority Central Asian nation in years.
Alisher Tursunov, 51, commonly known as Mubashshir Ahmad, was charged with inciting religious hatred, distribution of materials that threaten public order and illegal distribution of materials with religious content, Reuters reported.
He faces up to eight years in prison.
The cleric, who was living in Turkey, was arrested and extradited to Uzbekistan in May.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, local media reported.
In a post on his social media channel, Tursunov spoke out in favor of a religious ruling issued by a Qatar-based group the International Union of Muslim Scholars advocating for jihad against Israel over “the bloodshed in Gaza.”
The landlocked former Soviet Republic, which is home to some 38 million people, has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992. The countries have strengthened ties through high-level visits and increased tourism, particularly after the introduction of a visa-free regime for Israeli citizens.
Israel to acquire KC-46 refueling aircraft in $500 million US-funded deal
(JNS) — Hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Sunday at the end of a day of demonstrations around the country to call for the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza.
Demonstrations took place in at least 200 locations, and some municipalities and employers shut down completely in response to a call from hostage families for a general strike. The country’s largest labor coalition did not join in the strike, saying it did not think a strike could influence the government’s decisions around the war in Gaza.
Still, the demonstrations were among the largest ever against the war, and they gave voice to the 80% of Israelis whom polls show want to see Netanyahu make a deal with Hamas to bring all the hostages home. Organizers said 1 million people — more than 10% of the population — had participated during the day, including half a million at the Tel Aviv rally featuring several family members of hostages. Police said they had arrested dozens of demonstrators.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged against demonstrating, saying that the protests emboldened Hamas and actually make it less likely that the hostages, of whom 20 are thought to be alive, would ever go free. The vast majority of hostages released since Hamas took about 250 on Oct. 7, 2023, have gained their freedom through negotiations.
