Charity ‘distressed’ by US halt to visas from Gaza, says no taxpayer money used

The organisation that has been working with the US State Department to evacuate severely wounded Palestinian children and their families from Gaza criticised the decision to halt all entry from the enclave.

HEAL Palestine said it is a US humanitarian non-profit organisation delivering urgent aid, and that the children and any accompanying family members are returned to the Middle East after treatment.

“This is a medical treatment programme, not a refugee resettlement programme,” it said in a statement published online.

“Our mission gives children a renewed chance at life, whether through life-saving surgery or the ability to walk again. US tax dollars do not fund this treatment.

Israeli general’s words further expose ‘deliberate policy of genocide’: B’Tselem

The prominent Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, which in late July declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, has reinforced its assessment in light of comments by the former head of military intelligence Aharon Haliva that 50 Palestinians must be killed for each Israeli killed by Hamas.

It said the remarks join a long list of similar statements that “expose a deliberate policy of genocide”.

For 22 months, Israel has pursued a policy of systematically destroying Palestinian life in Gaza. Senior officials in government and the military openly speak of devastation and annihilation.

The remarks by former head of Military Intelligence Aharon Haliva are part of a long… pic.twitter.com/rw1fEbsF9t

— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) August 17, 2025

Israel’s army gives draft-dodgers chance to enlist without punishment amid force shortages: Report

The Israeli military has reportedly told draft-dodgers, most of them ultra-Orthodox men, that they can avoid jail time over refusing to serve if they enlist within five days.

Israeli media report that there are some 14,600 draft-dodgers in Israel, who can now sign up without fearing punishment over previously failing to answer summons for mandatory service.

The Israeli army also said it plans to intensify enforcement of jail sentences for those who will still refuse to enlist amid the expanding war on Gaza. The army has reportedly said it needs some 12,000 new soldiers, including about 7,000 combat soldiers.

The Haredi community continues to denounce the government over calling up ultra-Orthodox students for military service, with Shas spiritual leader, senior rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, on Saturday calling Benjamin Netanyahu an “atheist” who cannot be trusted.

لليوم الـ30.. مسيرة في رام الله؛ إسنادًا لغزة وتنديدًا بالتجويع والعدوان الإسرائيلي. pic.twitter.com/4GpJVOiW0v

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) August 17, 2025

Translation: For the 30th day … a march in Ramallah in support of Gaza and in condemnation of the starvation and Israeli aggression.


Israeli special forces abduct two Palestinians south of Ramallah

Israeli special forces have been filmed taking two young Palestinian men from a street in the Am’ari refugee camp, located south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Footage circulating on local media, which has been verified by Al Jazeera, showed armed soldiers jumping out of a white van to abduct the two.

This comes amid several Israeli raids in the Ramallah and el-Bireh area, including on the towns of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya and Turmus Aya, as well as the village of Khirbet Abu Falah, according to the Wafa news service.

Israeli forces storm several areas across occupied West Bank

Israeli forces have stormed the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, sources on the ground told our colleagues.

At the same time, Wafa reported that troops had stormed several areas in Ramallah and the el-Bireh governorate, including the towns of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, Turmus Aya, and the village of Abu Falah.

Egypt opposes Israel’s Gaza occupation plans in meeting with PA leaders

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty have hosted the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership for talks in El Alamein on the Mediterranean coast.

Palestinian PM Mohammed Mustafa and other officials were assured that Cairo opposes any Israeli plans aimed at displacing Palestinians or undermining their right to statehood, according to Egyptian state media.

Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, reported that the two sides discussed plans for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, in addition to the currently stalled ceasefire talks and ways to get more humanitarian aid into the enclave.

PM Mostafa Madbouly met with Palestinian PM Mohammad Mustafa. He reaffirmed Egypt’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and its opposition to any plans aimed at displacing Palestinians or undermining their right to statehood. For more details https://t.co/8MRz7vfcAG pic.twitter.com/rvKuSnaHtn

— State Info. Service (@SISEGY) August 17, 2025

Netanyahu vows to fight Palestinian state in visit to occupied West Bank

The Israeli prime minister paid a visit to the illegal Ofra settlement in the northern part of the occupied West Bank to meet with officials from the Yesha Council, the umbrella group representing Jewish settlements in the occupied territory.

Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that he had stayed true to his decades-long promise that Israel would continue to hold onto lands in the West Bank and stop the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The council authorities renewed their call for Israel to formally annex the West Bank. Netanyahu reportedly told them that he cannot publicly share the steps being taken because it may harm the advances made in the process.

אחרי דרישת מועצת יש"ע להחיל ריבונות - נתניהו נפגש עם ראשי הרשויות בעופרה: "נעשה הכל כדי להבטיח את המשך אחיזתנו בארץ ישראל, ולמנוע הקמת מדינה פלסטינית"@GLZRadio pic.twitter.com/JAu4GB82Ev

— שלמה רייכמן🎗️ || shlomo raichman (@shlomoraichman) August 17, 2025

Translation: After the demand of the Yesha Council to apply sovereignty – Netanyahu met with the heads of the authorities in Ofra: “We will do everything to ensure the continuation of our hold on the land of Israel and to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

Hundreds of thousands attend protest calling for return of captives



As we’ve been reporting, Israelis have taken to the streets across the country to urge the government to return the captives held in Gaza and agree to end the war.

In footage verified by Al Jazeera, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv in a massive act against the government’s decision to continue the fighting and not prioritise the return of those held in the enclave.

More than 200K Israelis (according to the organizers) protested tonight in Tel Aviv, calling for a deal for the release of the hostages and ending the war in Gaza (Video: Yair Palti) pic.twitter.com/qs9o65CMzx

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) August 17, 2025

Israeli protesters arrested outside Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv

Israeli police have been filmed clashing with several protesters in Tel Aviv, who moved to demonstrate in front of the headquarters of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. At least four protesters were arrested, and videos circulating online showed police officers violently confronting people as other demonstrators chanted and banged on drums.

Organisers said nearly half a million people turned up at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square tonight, and more than 1 million people participated in hundreds of activities held across the country throughout the day.

״אני לא מתנגד״ זעק המפגין שנגרר בידי 5 שוטרים

פרשים על המדרכות, מעצרים ואלימות שוטרים בסיום הצעדה בת"א

| צילום: חן ליאופולד Chen Leopold pic.twitter.com/UMcaAdhyeO

— Restart Israel (@restart_israel) August 17, 2025

Translation: “I’m not resisting,” shouted the protester being dragged by five police officers on the sidewalks amid arrests and police violence at the end of the march in Tel Aviv.

That's significant on a population of 10 million, 5% protesting, 10% participating.

Main events on August 17th

• The Israeli military killed dozens more Palestinians, including aid seekers, as it began forcibly displacing people from Gaza City towards the southern parts of the besieged enclave.
• Organisers said that more than a million Israelis participated in protest activities throughout the country, including nearly 500,000 people in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, to denounce the government and demand a deal to end the war and bring back all captives.
• Israeli soldiers and settlers launched attacks on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including an incursion by special forces who abducted two young men from Ramallah.
• The Houthis confirmed they were behind a ballistic missile attack that targeted the Ben Gurion airport. Israel intercepted the projectile and promised harsher attacks on Yemen. Israel also bombed a power plant near the capital, Sanaa, in what it said was a direct response to “repeated Houthi attacks”.
• Serbia is reportedly behind a $1.63bn arms deal with Israel’s Elbit Systems, which will include long-range precision rockets and a host of other military capabilities.

Serbia behind $1.6bn weapons deal with Israel’s Elbit: Reports

Reports in Israeli media have named Serbia as the European country that has reached a $1.63bn deal with major Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

The Israeli company, which is feeding the country’s war effort in Gaza with drones and other weapons, last week confirmed that it was awarded the contract to deliver arms for a five-year period, but did not name the European country.

The contract will see Elbit provide Serbia with long-range precision rockets, as well as a host of other military capabilities, including communications and signals intelligence systems.

Elbit Systems was awarded a $1.635Bn contract to deliver a range of defense solutions to a European country over a five-year period.

The contract includes long-range precision strike systems, unmanned aerial platforms, ISTAR capabilities (SIGINT, COMINT, electronic warfare),… pic.twitter.com/W4J7VgczI4

— Elbit Systems (@ElbitSystemsLtd) August 13, 2025

Trump’s epic surrender; Netanyahu’s associate allowed to leave US after arrest

US President Donald Trump is facing more scrutiny for two key developments this week. In the first development, the US State Department suspended the visa scheme that allowed children from Gaza to come to the US for medical treatment after one of Trump supporters raised objections. In another incident, a man working as a top cybersecurity department under Benjamin Netanyahu’s office was allowed to leave the IS after his arrest by the Las Vegas Police. Rifat Jawaid says that both these developments should worry US nationals.

Israeli historian Yuval Harari warns of a ‘spiritual catastrophe’ for Judaism

"What is happening right now in Israel could basically, I think, destroy, void 2000 years of Jewish thinking and culture and existence."

Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari warned that if Israel continues on its present path such a trajectory would bring a “spiritual catastrophe” for Judaism itself. Speaking during a conversation shared on the Unholy Podcast, he said the worst-case scenario could see an ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza and the West Bank, the expulsion of millions of Palestinians, the disintegration of Israeli democracy and the rise of a greater Israel built on Jewish supremacy.

Harari compared the moment to the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE, calling it one of the most significant turning points in Jewish history. He said the danger is that this new reality would redefine Judaism worldwide, leaving Jews everywhere forced to grapple with an identity rooted in “the worship of power and violence” instead of values developed over two millennia.

It's still not too late for Judaism to denounce Zionism and make clear those are very different. It's not just Judaism either, plenty evangelical priests in the US are cheering on the ethnic cleansing. Mike Huckabee is fully for annexing the Westbank which he openly calls Judea and Samaria.

But he's right, tragically Judaism will have to bear the burden of what Neo-Zionists are and already have turned Israel into.

'Democracy' at work

Netanyahu holds talks as election fears grow: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stepped up political consultations as he prepares for possible national elections later this year, Israeli news site Ynet reported.

Quoting unnamed political sources close to the premier, Ynet said Netanyahu is seeking ways to hold together his bloc should his coalition collapse when the Knesset returns from recess in October.

Discussions reportedly focused on convincing Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit, Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism, and Avi Maoz’s Noam party to run together, as they did in 2022.

Netanyahu has also considered launching a satellite party to draw right-wing voters reluctant to back his Likud or its partners, Ynet reported.

Talks also touched on merging Likud with Gideon Saar’s New Hope, announced last week, and maintaining Netanyahu’s control over Likud’s internal structures.

Israeli army considering recruiting from abroad amid soldier shortage

Israel’s military is weighing a plan to enlist young Jewish people from abroad to offset what officials describe as a severe shortage of soldiers, Army Radio has reported.

The move comes as the military struggles with a shortfall of 10,000 to 12,000 troops, driven largely by the refusal of ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredim, to serve.

Haredim, who account for about 13 percent of Israel’s population of 10 million, reject compulsory service, saying they dedicate their lives to Torah study and warning that integration into secular society would erode their religious identity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to advance legislation granting blanket exemptions for Haredim has drawn resistance from the coalition and opposition lawmakers alike, with critics denouncing the plan as discriminatory.

According to the Army Radio, the military intends to target major Jewish communities abroad for recruitment, particularly in the United States and France, with the aim of adding about 700 recruits each year.

The shortage has compounded wider problems for Israel’s armed forces, including equipment deficits and a reserve system strained by months of fighting in Gaza. Many reservists have reported psychological issues and exhaustion linked to the war.

Qatari Prime Minister heading to Egypt for talks on Gaza

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is heading to Egypt today for talks on a ceasefire deal for Gaza, sources have told Al Jazeera Arabic.

Egypt and Qatar have been mediating between Israel and Hamas in an attempt to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. A source told Al Jazeera that “intensive discussions” are currently taking place in Egypt between a Hamas delegation and mediators.

The latest round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, facilitated in Doha by mediators, lasted for several weeks before concluding on July 25 without any results.

Meanwhile the gap between Netanyahu's and Hamas' demands has only grown, all from Israel's side. 

‘Historically genocides don’t end through negotiated solutions’

Abdullah Al-Arian, an associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar, says that in light of the news that the Qatari PM is heading to Egypt today for ceasefire talks, it is important to remember that these exact types of negotiations have occurred before, but it is “a lack of Israeli political will” that has ultimately stalled them.

Israel “has continued to pursue this genocide and taking it to new, horrific, unprecedented levels”, he said, adding that there has been a lack of international pressure to secure a ceasefire agreement.

He told Al Jazeera that during the last ceasefire between January and March “the US, Qatar and Egypt were all the guarantors of that agreement, and when it was violated by Israel, there was no accountability.

“Historically, genocides don’t end through negotiated solutions … They end usually because the party that committed the genocide is forced to end it, usually through external pressure, external intervention of some kind, and that has not happened yet,” he said.

Sadly it doesn't matter how many organizations state the obvious, keeps falling on deaf ears.

Israel carrying out ‘deliberate campaign of starvation’ in Gaza, Amnesty says

Amnesty International says Israel is “carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip, systematically destroying the health, wellbeing and social fabric of Palestinian life”.

In a statement, the human rights organisation said new testimonies it had gathered revealed that the “deadly combination of hunger and disease is not an unfortunate byproduct of Israel’s military operations. It is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented over the past 22 months.

“As Israeli authorities threaten to launch a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza City, the testimonies we have collected are far more than accounts of suffering, they are a searing indictment of an international system that has granted Israel a licence to torment Palestinians with near-total impunity for decades,” Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns at Amnesty International, was quoted as saying.

‘I can tolerate the hunger, but children cannot’

As we reported earlier, Amnesty International has published testimonies from people facing hunger in Gaza, which it says show Israel is “carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation” in the Strip.

Abu Alaa, a 62-year-old displaced man from Jabalia refugee camp, told Amnesty that he is surviving on one meal of lentil soup a day and that bread is only distributed once a week, while he has not eaten any fruit in months.

“I can tolerate the hunger, but children cannot,” he said, going on to describe the desperate scramble at aid sites. “In the past, we used to support each other, especially those in need. Even during the beginning of this war. Now people are just led by the individual instinct to survive,” he said.

Nahed, 66, told Amnesty that the desperate situation near aid sites “has denied people their humanity”.

He added: “I had to go there because I have nobody to look after me. I saw with my own eyes people carrying bags of flour stained with the blood of those who had just been shot; even people I knew were almost unrecognisable. The experience of hunger and war has changed Gaza completely; it has changed our values.”

Aziza, 75, told Amnesty she feels like she has become “a burden” on her family.

“When we were displaced, they had to push me on a wheelchair. With toilet queues extremely long in the camp where we stay, I need adult diapers, which are extremely expensive. I need medication for diabetes, blood pressure and a heart condition, and have had to take medicine which has expired,” she said.

“I always feel like these young children, they are the ones who deserve to live, my grandchildren. I feel like I’m a burden on them, on my son.”

Australia bars far-right Israeli politician over ‘hate and division’ concerns: Report

Australia has barred entry to far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman before a planned “solidarity tour”, The Guardian reported, quoting Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

Rothman, a Knesset member from the Religious Zionism party and part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, was scheduled to appear at public events in Sydney and Melbourne in August, along with two private gatherings.

Burke said on Monday that Rothman’s visa application had been rejected and that he would be unable to apply again for three years.

“Our government takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division,” Burke said in a statement. “If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we don’t want you here.”

Rothman has previously described Gaza’s children as “enemies” and called for Israel’s full control of the occupied West Bank. The events were organised by the right-leaning Australian Jewish Association.

Should be applied to all Israeli's at this point, except for those seeking political asylum.

Norway sovereign wealth fund to exclude six companies linked to Gaza, West Bank

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, says it has decided to exclude six companies with connections to Gaza and the occupied West Bank from its portfolio after a review of its Israeli investments.

The $2 trillion wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude but said these would be made public once the divestments were completed.

The announcement follows an urgent review launched this month after reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel’s armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets used in the war in Gaza.

On August 11, the fund said it was terminating all contracts with asset managers handling its Israeli investments and had divested parts of its portfolio.

The fund’s ethics council watchdog said it would continue to assess Israeli companies every quarter.