[IsraelTimes] Bessel van der Kolk issues apology for likening Israelis to Nazis, as incident at Omega Institute highlights how once-apolitical institutions are being dragged into Gaza war debate
For decades, Bessel van der Kolk, a psychiatrist whose ideas about how the body records pain helped millions find language for their suffering, has been regarded as the world’s leading expert in the study of trauma. His 2014 best-selling book, "The Body Keeps the Score," turned him into an unlikely celebrity, a household name among therapists, yoga teachers and patients.
But earlier this month, at a bucolic retreat in the Hudson Valley, the 82-year-old van der Kolk triggered trauma and suffering among many of his students with strident comments on Israel.
According to interviews with several participants as well their written accounts, van der Kolk strayed from his course on trauma and neuroscience to share his political views on a variety of current events, including the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... . They say he compared Israelis to Nazis, and doubled down on the analogy after being challenged by an audience member who told him she was the descendant of Holocaust survivors.
"At what was meant to be a trauma workshop, the person leading it inflicted fresh trauma on me and on several other Jewish attendees," Avinoam Lerner, a Boston-based trauma recovery coach, said in an interview.
Van der Kolk’s remarks prompted several of the roughly 125 attendees to walk out and later to lodge complaints with the Omega Institute, the retreat center that hosted the event. Omega, a prominent global hub for alternative healing and spiritual practice, responded swiftly, condemning van der Kolk’s comments and announcing he would no longer be invited to teach there.
"Dr. van der Kolk made inappropriate and antisemitic comments that are deeply troubling and entirely inconsistent with Omega’s core values and community standards," the institute said in a statement Friday.
Van der Kolk sent an apology letter to participants, retracting his claim about the war in Gaza and tracing the reaction he shared to his early life. He was born in the Hague in 1943.
"I want to express my deep regret for talking about what is happening in Gaza being equivalent to what the Nazis did in the 1940s," he wrote. "It was a gratuitous, offensive, inaccurate and completely unnecessary comment, rooted in my own identification with children in bombed out cities during, and shortly after, World War II."
What utter bullshit. The Dutch experience of being bombed was very different than that of the Germans not long thereafter,though both were ruled by the Nazis when the bombs fell on them. If he does not know that, he has no business advising any other human being about anything.
Van der Kolk did not respond to a request for an interview.
As word of the incident spreads, the fallout is rattling both the community of therapists for whom van der Kolk is a hero and the broader wellness world, in which Omega occupies a unique place.
Founded in 1977, Omega has long been a center for spiritual and healing movements, offering courses in meditation, yoga, psychology and holistic health. To be banned from teaching at its campus in Rhinebeck, New York, is a sharp rebuke, one that underscores how institutions once seen as removed from politics are being drawn into the debates and divisions unleashed by the Israel-Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... war.
And that’s why the good doctor apologized. Possibly he realized he was being a vicious idiot when he was punished, but the odds are good he is still self-righteously hateful.
Van der Kolk, whose career began in the late 1970s treating Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, has built his reputation on the idea that trauma is embedded in the body and requires not only talk therapy but also physical and emotional practices to heal. His lectures, which feature neuroscience, picking apart case studies and philosophical reflections, attract audiences worldwide.
Several participants in the August retreat at Omega said the episode was especially jarring because of the reverence they had long held for van der Kolk. The remarks came on the first day of a five-day program that cost up to $585 in tuition.
Among those in attendance was Judy Leventhal, co-author of the “Small Miracles” inspirational book series, a New York Times bestseller in the 1990s and 2000s. A psychotherapist and longtime student at Omega, Leventhal said she was stunned when van der Kolk offhandedly compared the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the Holocaust.
She spoke up to clarify his meaning, but after an exchange in which he insisted the comparison between Israelis and Nazis was valid, she stood and walked out.
“I am a psychotherapist, so I am trained to think before I talk, but when I confronted him, it all disappeared, and what came out was visceral,” Leventhal said in an interview. “I felt the legacy trauma of millennia. My body kept the score.”
Moments later, people still inside the lecture hall heard her screaming, “How dare you?” She was addressing Licia Sky, van der Kolk’s wife and co-leader of the workshop, who was defending him.
“I must have connected to the scream of my ancestors as they were shut into the gas chambers knowing that the gas will soon consume them and their beautiful children which they clutched onto with one hand while their nails scratched the cement walls as they all finally fell to the ground,” Leventhal later wrote in a poetic account of the incident.
A small group of attendees gathered around her outside, including Lerner, the trauma recovery coach, who is an Israeli army veteran.
He said he recognized her outburst as an expression of profound pain and shared her reaction, while also feeling horrified as a practitioner, describing van der Kolk’s conduct as the very antithesis of his teachings.
“There was no context, no invitation to discuss, just a sweeping and dehumanizing statement by someone in a position of authority,” Lerner said. “Empathy and restraint are qualities that are foundational to trauma work.”
Lerner said that the moment following Leventhal’s exit and screaming should have given van der Kolk pause, but that he carried on without inquiring or attempting to find repair.
#1
van der Kolk has been involved in controversy for quite a while now.
From a Boston Globe 2018 article:
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, a best-selling author on trauma whose research has attracted a world-wide following, has been fired from his job over allegations that he bullied and denigrated employees at his renowned Trauma Center.
Van der Kolk was removed as medical director of the Brookline center in January, according to several accounts, although his photo and job description remained prominently on its website until early this week, when the Globe requested information. His firing capped a tumultuous three months at the center that van der Kolk founded 35 years ago.
Executive director Joseph Spinazzola, like van der Kolk a longtime advocate for abuse victims, was removed in November over his alleged mistreatment of female employees, executives said. Staff then received a flurry of conflicting emails from executives about the reasons for the upheaval, according to copies of the emails provided to the Globe.
#2
I found some of van der Kolk's writings helpful. I have been studying PTSD and related phenomena for about 60 years now.
"reverence" for van der Kolk INNSHO was never warranted.
Either do or don’t do, but don’t leave those people in limbo.
[KhaamaPress] Around 400 Afghans awaiting relocation to Germany have been arrested in Pakistan, with several deported to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, sparking urgent calls from rights groups to halt removals and resume transfers.
Hundreds of Afghans awaiting relocation to Germany have been arrested in Pakistan following Berlin’s suspension of its resettlement program for vulnerable Afghans. Humanitarian groups warn that some detainees have already been deported to Afghanistan.
According to a Politico report on Thursday, August 14, Pakistani authorities have detained around 400 Afghans in recent weeks, with several forcibly returned. The arrests have intensified fears for those left stranded.
Germany’s decision to freeze the program, which was designed to relocate Afghans at risk under Taliban rule, has left more than 2,200 people in legal limbo in Pakistan. Among them are women’s rights defenders and members of the LGBTQ community who face severe persecution if returned.
The humanitarian organization Kabul Luftbrücke said it has received “dozens of reports” of deportations and continues to get urgent calls for help. It estimates that 1,700 women and children are among those in immediate danger.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned that its budget is running out as the mass expulsion of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan continues.
In a statement on Sunday, August 17, the agency appealed for urgent international assistance to sustain its operations supporting Afghan returnees.
According to UNHCR figures, since the start of this year, more than 2.2 million Afghans have been deported from Iran and Pakistan.
The UN highlighted that poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan are rising sharply, with more than half of the population dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.
Other UN bodies have also voiced concern over the collective expulsions, stressing that many returnees face restrictions and threats under Taliban rule upon their return.
Iran to Deport Two Million Undocumented Afghan Migrants
August 18, 2025
[KhaamaPress] Iran’s Interior Minister, Eskandar Momeni, announced that a new program is underway to return around two million undocumented Afghan nationals to their country with “dignity and respect.”
Speaking to reporters in Mashhad on Monday, he said the first phase will focus on undocumented Afghans who entered Iran without legal documents. He noted that more than six million Afghans currently live in Iran, stressing that managing such a large population requires serious national and international cooperation.
According to the minister, most Afghan nationals are expected to leave through the Khorasan Razavi border, which has long been a key crossing point between the two countries.
The announcement comes as Pakistan also prepares to begin its own repatriation campaign for Afghan migrants starting in September, highlighting mounting regional pressure on Afghan refugees.
And one happy story:
30 Afghan Female Students Will Be Relocated from Qatar to Canada
August 19, 2025
[KhaamaPress] Thirty Afghan female students stranded in Qatar will be relocated to Canada, as the University of Regina and a rights group secure funding to support their continued education.
The University of Regina, in partnership with a Canadian human rights organization, is working to secure funding to bring 30 Afghan female students from Qatar to Canada.
These students have been stranded in Qatar since U.S. financial aid for their studies was cut, leaving them in a state of deep uncertainty about their future.
According to Global News, published Tuesday, August 19, the university has proposed transferring the students to Saskatchewan, where they could continue their education in a supportive environment.
Fariba Rezaei, founder of the Vancouver-based group Women Leaders of Tomorrow, said her organization has raised between $140,000 and $500,000 toward the tuition fees required by the University of Regina.
Mercenaries are bodies without minds. The funny thing is that the Russian African Legion is fighting and dying in Africa, while African mercenaries are fighting and dying for 🇷🇺 in 🇺🇦.The 🇷🇺 are taking Africa's gold, while the Africans are happy with a few worthless rubles. ➡️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/aJ757fphb4
But I thought Libya’s gold was going to Turkey in exchange for what turned out to be worthless Syrian “mercenaries” (demobbed former ISIS and Turkmen Muslim Brotherhood jihadis, mostly) whom the Turks neglected to pay — or feed — once they were settled in up north. What are they giving it to the UAE for?
This has reached the point of needing to purge the guilty, and asking if this is incompetence or enemy action.
[KhaamaPress] The UK Defence Ministry admitted 49 data breaches in Afghan relocation programmes, sparking criticism from lawyers and campaigners who warn that repeated failures endangered vulnerable Afghans’ lives.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has admitted that 49 data breaches have occurred in the past four years within the unit responsible for processing Afghan relocation applications.
According to a BBC investigation, some of these breaches were previously made public, including a major incident in 2022 when an Excel file containing details of nearly 19,000 Afghan citizens was accidentally released. That disclosure, kept from the public until last month after the High Court lifted a legal order, led to the secret transfer of thousands of Afghans to Britannia.
At the time, Britannia’s Information Commissioner’s Office described the release as a "one-off mistake caused by a failure to follow routine checks," denying it was evidence of a "wider culture of non-compliance." However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... lawyers representing Afghan applicants argue that the new figures reveal repeated failures that put lives at risk.
The MoD has not provided details of each incident, but earlier cases involved applicants’ email addresses and personal data being mistakenly sent to third parties. One of the most serious breaches occurred in September 2021, when more than 250 Afghans were copied into a single email, exposing 265 addresses. The error led to a £350,000 government fine.
Adnan Malik, head of data protection at Barings Law, which represents hundreds of Afghans affected by the 2022 leak, told the BBC: "What began as an isolated incident that the Ministry sought to conceal has now become a chain of catastrophic failures." He demanded full transparency, stressing that victims should not have to learn the truth only through court action or media reports.
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), launched in April 2021 to support those who worked with British forces, ended in July this year. Despite its role in helping thousands escape Taliban ...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan... persecution, the programme has been repeatedly criticised for poor data security that endangered those it was meant to protect.
The disclosures have reignited criticism of the UK government’s handling of Afghan relocation efforts. For many of those who served alongside British troops, accidental data leaks not only compromised privacy but also heightened the threat of Taliban retribution.
As pressure builds, the government is being urged to overhaul its data protection practices, strengthen oversight, and ensure that relocation and asylum programmes do not repeat the same life-threatening mistakes.
[Townhall] The White House has instructed the military to ready itself for strikes against Mexican drug cartels as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to stem the flow of dangerous illicit drugs into the United States.
The president has repeatedly railed against the cartels, noting how they have killed scores of Americans by smuggling fentanyl and other dangerous substances across the southern border. Earlier this year, his administration labeled the cartels as terrorist organizations.
"The previous Administration allowed these criminals to run free and commit crimes all over the world. The Trump Administration is declaring these thugs as terrorists, because that is what they are, and demanding justice for the American people,” the White House said in a statement back in February after authorizing military action against the drug traffickers in Mexico.
Now, it seems the administration is ready to escalate its efforts to combat the cartels, according to journalist Ken Klippenstein. In a post on his Substack, Klippenstein explained that Northern Command (NORTHCOM) would be spearheading the military effort.
The Trump administration has directed the military to prepare for lethal strikes against cartel targets inside Mexico, three military sources tell us. The Top Secret planning order, issued in late Spring, directs Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to manage the attack plans, which are to be ready by mid-September.
Only a few weeks from now. Whee!
Though U.S.-Mexico military relations are broad and cooperative, any military action south of the border is considered extremely sensitive for both Washington and the Mexican federal government and is rarely discussed in public.
“Not only is Donald Trump uniquely focused on TCOs [transnational criminal organizations, the official name for cartels], having designated them terrorists in one of his first Executive Orders, but he has shown himself to be willing to take unilateral action despite potentially negative political ramifications,” says one senior intelligence official. He and the other sources say that military action could be unilateral — that is, without the involvement or approval of the Mexican government.
The unprecedented order was discussed at a July meeting at NORTHCOM headquarters in Colorado Springs that was led by Colby Jenkins, the unconfirmed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. Within days, Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of NORTHCOM, hosted the two highest ranking Mexican military officials: Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Secretary of National Defense, and Adm. Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, Secretary of the Navy.
Sources told Klippenstein that Special Operations Command (SOCNORTH), will go through “operational preparation of the battlespace” in Mexico to lay the foundation for future military strikes. In particular, the military is expected to target the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The military action could involve air and drone strikes, as well as special operations. Klippenstein noted that the Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs, or Marines could be deployed to carry out small-scale operations in Mexico.
The Mexican government has pushed back against US military action on Mexico’s soil. However, it has historically participated in joint operations with the US to crack down on cartels.
But Trump seems poised to bypass this type of cooperation if necessary. “We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply drug dealing operations,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview.
After their arrests, both Gomez and Chavez went before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker, who set their bonds at $100,000. Both have been released as they await trial.
The deployment of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to US Southern Command, which has not been previously reported, is part of a broader repositioning of military assets to the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility that has been underway over the last three weeks, one of the officials said.
A nuclear-powered attack submarine, additional P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser are also being allocated to US Southern Command as part of the mission, the officials said.
[IsraelTimes] A wave of AI-generated videos show Jewish people asserting ownership over cities, cars, and dogs, trivializing historical attachment to the Land of Israel.
[Rudaw] Thousands of Iraqi and Kurdistan Region nationals are currently awaiting decisions on their asylum applications in Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... , the Swiss justice ministry told Rudaw on Thursday.
According to the ministry, around 7,289 individuals from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are currently residing in Switzerland. Of those, some "2,080 are at various stages of the asylum process," with their cases still under review.
The latter figure marks a 17.3 percent decrease compared to January 2024, when there were 2,515 pending asylum applications from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
The overall number of Iraqis and Kurds living in Switzerland has also risen.
In January 2024, that figure was 6,866, meaning there has been a 6.2 percent increase in their population over the past months. However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... these figures exclude individuals whose asylum applications are still being processed.
The largest concentration of the Iraqi-Kurdish community is in Zurich, which is home to 1,469 residents from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Government data shows that Switzerland hosts around 2.19 million foreign nationals, making up roughly a quarter of its 9 million population, with Zurich having the highest concentration of foreigners.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry, citing a 2020 bilateral agreement with Iraq, stated, "The focus is on the return and reintegration of rejected asylum seekers. Switzerland seeks to strengthen cooperation with Iraq on migration issues and is committed to supporting internally displaced people."
Meanwhile,
...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) continues to campaign for stricter immigration controls. It has launched a petition calling for migration limits, while the Swiss government has increased border checks in a bid to reduce irregular migration.
[ToloNews] Italia has transferred 114 Paleostinians, including 31 children, suffering from severe injuries and serious illnesses to its territory for medical treatment.
These patients were flown by the Italian Air Force from southern Israel to the cities of Rome, Pisa, and Milan.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said: "The babies are going to be admitted to several paediatric hospitals in Italia. They are here in addition to the dozens of other Paleostinian kids who are already in our hospitals and are being taken care of. The important thing for us is to continue to support the Paleostinian people. It is important for us to help those who are suffering, and treat those who are in need in our country."
Protecting the odd idea that Jews are people, just like everybody else.
[IsraelTimes] The US House Committee on Education and the Workforce is investigating antisemitism in the National Education Association, a leading teacher union, representing more than three million public school educators and administrators.
The committee has put heavy pressure on universities for alleged antisemitism since the start of the war in Gaza.
In a letter to the president of the union, US Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican, cites the union’s vote to ban materials by the Anti-Defamation League and alleged antisemitism in the union’s 2025 handbook.
In one example, the union’s handbook says the group will mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day by “recognizing more than 12 million victims of the Holocaust,” without mentioning Jews.
The handbook also says the union plans to educate members about the Nakba, without providing context about the creation of the State of Israel, the letter says.
The committee demands that the union provide all documents and communications from its leadership relating to antisemitism, Israel, and the Palestinians since the start of the Gaza war; meeting minutes that refer to the conflict; documents related to the ADL vote; and other materials related to the conflict and antisemitism.
The committee gives the union a deadline of September 4 to respond.
Page 59+ is but a sample of the perversions and Racial discrimination that the NEA has and continues to support.
The fact that the DNC and the NEA interact politically speaks volumes as to the organized agenda.
[IsraelTimes] The US Defense Department will spend more than $3.5 billion to replace missile interceptors and other equipment used to defend Israel during its fighting with Iran, Bloomberg reports.
The Pentagon budget documents from May cite “the situation in Israel” in addition to US military actions “executed at the request of or in coordination with Israel for the defense of Israeli territory, personnel or assets during attacks by Iran,” Bloomberg reports.
A large part of the request covers missile interceptors used to repel Iran’s April 2024 attack on Israel, when the Islamic Republic shot more than 300 missiles and drones at the country that were largely shot down by Israel and its allies, including the United States.
The request appears to predate the 12-day June war between Israel and Iran, in which the US also struck Iranian nuclear sites. However, it also asks for reimbursement for “the movement of new production SM-3 IB rounds” that replaced earlier spent rounds. Bloomberg reports that SM-3 missiles were fired by the US in the June war.
The $3.5 billion is separate from $4.2 billion in weapons and equipment the US sent Israel starting with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza, until May. The $3.5 billion request stems from $14 billion in US military assistance for Israel that was passed last year, Bloomberg reports.
Approximately $1 billion of the request is for a type of missile interceptor fired during the April 2024 attack.
#3
I read that as the replacement of our stocks not Israel's. It specifically calls out to specify the (standard)) SM-3 IB shipboard missile. A weapon that Israel has never used and does not operate. We used many of those in the Red Sea to counter Houthi attacks.
Posted by: Difar Dave ||
08/22/2025 12:39 Comments ||
Top||
#4
$3.5B could be used to kick off a low orbit missile defense platform.
[IsraelTimes] US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says Israel’s decision to approve the controversial E1 settlement project, preventing Paleostinian contiguity in the West Bank, was a response to the decisions by Western countries to announce plans to recognize a Paleostinian state.
Huckabee tells Al Arabiya that US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... ’s administration hasn’t taken a position on the E1 approval, but did reverse longstanding US policy in his first year by declaring that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not a violation of international law.
"One of the reasons we’re seeing the more aggressive decision to move into some of these areas is because it’s in reaction to what the Europeans have done — in concert with the Paleostinian Authority — pushing for a unilateral recognition of a Paleostinian state... that has had a totally disastrous effect, not only on the tension in Judea and Samaria, but it’s had a detrimental effect on resolving things in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ," Huckabee says.
The US has argued that Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... hardened its stance in negotiations after countries began to recognize a Paleostinian state, but the French decision that began the trend came after the terror group submitted its response that led to the collapse of negotiations in Doha last month.
Moreover, the Knesset passed a non-binding resolution in favor of annexing the West Bank, also prior to La Belle France’s decision.
"I don’t know what the Europeans thought they were going to accomplish, but by their actions, they’re accomplishing something that I don’t think they wanted to do, and that is to essentially to give a green light or encourage the Israelis to go ahead and take more pieces of Judea and Samaria, either by declaring illusory sovereignty or annexation," Huckabee says, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.
"I don’t think that was their goal, but pushing for unilateral recognition of a Paleostinian state without the cooperation and participation of Israel is a violation of Oslo," Huckabee says.
"If there’s going to be this massive violation of the Oslo agreement, then I think people have to prepare for the consequences of that on both sides of the conflict,"
Israel has also been accused of violating the Oslo Accords due to a number of its policies in the West Bank and through its withholding of billions of shekels in tax revenues that belong to the PA.
[IsraelTimes] The UK Foreign Office says it has summoned Israel’s ambassador to London, Tzipi Hotovely, in protest of Jerusalem’s approval of the E1 settlement project that severely hampers efforts to establish a Palestinian state.
The UK also joins 20 countries in a joint statement condemning the project.
“If implemented, these settlement plans would be a flagrant breach of international law and would divide a future Palestinian state in two, critically undermining a two-state solution,” the statement from the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom says.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF denies a report claiming that figures from a “classified military intelligence database” indicate five out of six Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip during the war were civilians, saying that the authors of the story lack “fundamental military understanding.”
The report, by the Israeli left-wing activist outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call, and the UK’s Guardian, claims the Military Intelligence Directorate has only identified the deaths of 8,900 terror operatives in Gaza by name, out of a list of 47,653 confirmed members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s military wings.
The report cites intelligence sources as saying that the total number of terror operatives killed is likely higher than the number in the database, because it does not include Hamas and PIJ operatives who were killed but not identified by name; Gazans who participated in the fighting and were not members of the two groups; or Hamas members who were not members of its military wing.
The IDF has, during the war, provided numbers on the number of terror operatives it assesses it has killed in Gaza, following fresh assessments and intelligence.
In January, the military said 20,000 terror operatives had been killed, and yesterday it updated that number to over 22,000. Hamas authorities say 62,000 people in the Strip have been killed during the war.
In May, IDF officials said that the combatant-to-civilian deaths ratio has remained relatively the same throughout the war, with two to three civilians killed for every dead Hamas terror operative.
Responding to the Guardian, the IDF says, “The figures presented in the article are incorrect and do not reflect the data available in the IDF’s systems.”
“Throughout the war, continuous intelligence assessments are conducted regarding the number of terrorists eliminated in the Gaza Strip, based on BDA (bomb damage assessment) methodologies and cross-checking efforts from various sources. One of the sources of information cross-referenced is documents originating from terrorist organizations in the Strip,” the response continues.
“The IDF is a professional military that operates according to operational methods accepted by many armies worldwide — the claims presented in the article are not only false but also reflect a fundamental lack of military understanding,” the IDF adds.
Full IDF Statement:
The figures presented in the article are incorrect and do not reflect the data available in the IDF’s systems.
Throughout the war, continuous intelligence assessments are conducted regarding the number of terrorists eliminated in the Gaza Strip, based on BDA… pic.twitter.com/xTLCHu9PQ2
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) August 21, 2025
[IsraelTimes] A Fatah summer camp in Nablus calls on children "to follow the path of the deaders and prisoners."
The Nablus branch of Fatah in the West Bank organized a three-day camp in the beginning of August for 200 Paleostinian children under the slogan "Fatah Army."
Fatah is the movement headed by Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> , whose members currently hold most of the key positions in the Paleostinian Authority and the PLO.
According to footage circulated online, members of the Paleostinian security forces took part in the camp. In a statement issued by Fatah’s Nablus branch at the conclusion of the camp on August 4, it was said that the event was intended "to prepare a new generation that will carry the message and continue the path of the deaders and prisoners."
Not kind, but an important reality check for a culture immersed in impossible fantasies of conquest.
[IsraelTimes] National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visits an Israeli prison where a large photo of destruction in Gaza was hung for Palestinian security prisoners to see.
In a video released from the visit, Ben Gvir is seen pointing to the image, saying that prisoners are forced to look at the scene on their way to their daily courtyard time, and even claims that one recognized his own home.
“This is how it’s supposed to look,” he adds.
The footage, posted to Telegram, is captioned: “The Israel Prison Service placed photos of destroyed Gaza in the terrorists’ wings — so they understand that you don’t mess with the people of Israel!”
The visit comes just days after Ben Gvir was filmed entering the cell of prominent Palestinian terror convict Marwan Barghouti and appearing to taunt him.
In the footage, published Thursday, Ben Gvir told Barghouti, “You won’t win. Whoever messes with the Nation of Israel, whoever murders our children and women — we will wipe them out. You should know this, [this happened] throughout history.”
#2
/\ With some of the finest intelligence capabilities in the region, possibly the world; a lingering question. Planning and preparation for the 7 Oct 2023 Hamas attack on the Nova Festival went undetected. Perhaps Grom, you could shed some light on this tragic occurrence.
The brutal Hamas massacre on October 7 was preceded by months of warning signs noted by IDF surveillance soldiers and disregarded as unimportant by intelligence officials, according to eyewitness accounts given in recent days.
[IsraelTimes] Responding to op-ed calling him a ‘useful idiot,’ Gantz’s Blue and White-National Unity says: ‘An idiot is someone who hates [Netanyahu] more than they want to return the hostages’.
Finally someone in that country shows a modicum of sense.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] On August 20, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the start of a new phase of the military operation in the Gaza Strip.
The plan, dubbed "Gideon II's Chariots," aims to establish "final operational control" over the Palestinian enclave - including Gaza City, Hamas's "main stronghold."
However, despite the emphatically optimistic assessments of the situation, the Israeli authorities are in no hurry to act "on the ground". And the prime minister is also looking for ways to "insure" his own reputation.
SECOND APPROACH
The first "Gideon's Chariots," launched in late May 2025, allowed Israel to occupy up to three-quarters of the Gaza Strip, and the new operation essentially continues the course of establishing operational military control over the entire enclave and conducting "comprehensive filtration" among the local population.
According to the authorities, the operation should become the final stage in the defeat of Hamas and its allied forces.
True, to solve the tasks set, Tel Aviv needs an order of magnitude more forces.
According to the most optimistic estimates, a contingent of 250,000 people is needed to fully control Gaza - almost three times more than is currently deployed in this direction. Not to mention the personnel to ensure timely rotation. Therefore, the first stage of the new "Chariots" was a large-scale campaign to call up reservists.
60 thousand people have received summonses. They should join the ranks in early September.
Two more stages of conscription are planned (the last one is for March 2026), the total number of summonses exceeds 130 thousand. Judging by the reports of the Ministry of Defense, large-scale offensive actions are planned to begin by autumn.
Although the first shots were fired on the approaches to Gaza on August 21, this was more of a reconnaissance in force.
THE PEOPLE ARE TIRED
The main problem facing the Israeli authorities is the rapidly growing fatigue of the Israeli population with the fighting.
The Gaza campaign is gradually approaching its two-year anniversary, and the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023 have not yet been released. Moreover, Tel Aviv is trying to raise its price in negotiations with the Palestinians and is acting on the principle of "all or nothing".
Thus, a few days before the start of the second "Chariots", Israeli negotiators rejected the offer of the resistance organization to release half of the hostages in exchange for a humanitarian pause and threatened their counterparts with a "military scenario". This approach of the authorities meets with less and less understanding among Israeli citizens.
For several months now, the country has seen large-scale street protests demanding the release of hostages “at any cost” and an end to the war, as well as an end to the large-scale call-up of reservists.
Tel Aviv has attempted to quell discontent by extending mobilization activities until the spring of 2026 and excluding particularly protesting categories (for example, the ultra-Orthodox) from the lists, but these steps have not had a significant positive effect.
Quite the opposite: Israelis perceive them as "prevarication" and demand that the authorities agree to a diplomatic settlement. The expectation that Hamas will completely give up its positions, "frightened" by the upcoming military operation, seems too naive to Israeli society.
Moreover, Tel Aviv’s decision to “go all the way” greatly increases the risk of retaliatory strikes.
Thus, just half an hour after the Israeli Defense Ministry's report, an attempt to seize an Israeli checkpoint was recorded in the south of the enclave. Moreover, the Hamas raiders did not aim to seize a strategic point, but to seize soldiers. Apparently, with the aim of replenishing the exchange fund.
The Israelis fear that over time the geography of the raids could expand and include the territory of the West Bank, where Israeli settlements are located.
The far-right "hawks" led by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Betzalel Smotrich have already drawn attention to this problem and are demanding that the authorities "untie the hands" of the settlers; allow them to determine the boundaries of acceptable self-defense in the West Bank.
This creates a new point of tension - since the Palestinian National Authority, identified with the internationally recognized Palestine, perceives the pumping of weapons into the Israelis in the West Bank as a prelude to Tel Aviv establishing full control over the area, even in defiance of the UN position.
KATZ PULLED THE BLANKET OVER
Interestingly, the second Chariots are taking place in the context of a radical restructuring of the Israeli Armed Forces command system.
In mid-August, Chief of the General Staff (CGS) Eyal Zamir criticized the mobilization plan and the idea of a “last hurdle,” for which he was accused by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of panicking and defeatism and was effectively removed from decision-making on the upcoming operation.
The "managerial vacuum" was quickly filled by the head of the Ministry of Defense, Israel Katz. In addition to the fact that Katz took over (under the pretext of systematizing management in the armed forces) the authority to approve candidates for command positions for officers of the rank of colonel and above (previously the responsibility of the Chief of General Staff), he also took on full participation in the preparation of draft lists, as well as, if necessary, overseeing the army's work with dissatisfied sections of the population.
Katz's zeal for service endears him to Netanyahu. That is why the media coverage of the preparations for the second "Chariots" has been handed over to the defense ministry - although in the previous stages of the operation in Gaza the focus was almost entirely on the figure of the prime minister. But this is not at all a matter of modesty.
If the operation fails (or is delayed), a wave of public indignation will fall on the Ministry of Defense, and not on the Prime Minister’s office.
This will also allow the disgraced Chief of the General Staff Zamir to be removed from the line of fire - despite the recent major spat, Netanyahu is in no hurry to remove him from his post and thus create personnel chaos in the General Staff. Zamir (due to his extensive military service experience) can easily become Katz's "reserve successor" - which will allow the government to quickly relieve public tension by dismissing the defense minister or transferring him to a civilian agency.
Zamir's "defeatist" statements will be interpreted as a sober analysis of the situation and will become an argument in favor of the transfer. Especially since the current counterintelligence chief David Zini was appointed to the post using the same formula "warned, but was not heard". And since the precedent has already been created, nothing prevents Netanyahu from playing this combination again.
However, if the second "Chariots" is successful, Netanyahu will receive the laurels for the victory - as the main ideologist of the operation and Katz's patron, who at one time gave him carte blanche to act in Gaza. In other words, the image of the Israeli prime minister, regardless of the outcome of the campaign, will not be seriously damaged.
[IsraelTimes] The Defense Ministry says it will procure millions of dollars’ worth of first-person view (FPV) drones for the IDF Ground Forces from Israeli firm XTEND.
The drones will be delivered in the coming months “alongside comprehensive training and instruction programs provided by the company,” the ministry says.
A source tells the Globes newspaper that XTEND will supply some 5,000 FPV drones, at an estimated cost of NIS 3,500 per unit, making the cost of the company’s tender-winning bid around NIS 20 million.
The ministry says the drones “are expected to significantly enhance the operational capabilities of the Ground Forces while delivering optimal solutions to modern warfare challenges.”
[IsraelTimes] American sanctions target Greek national and his network of companies and vessels, while Britain blacklists son of senior Khamenei adviser and several companies
The Trump administration issued more Iran-related sanctions on Thursday, targeting 13 entities based in Hong Kong, China, the United Arab Emirates, and the Marshall Islands, as well as eight vessels, the US Treasury Department said.
The measures target Greek national Antonios Margaritis and his network of companies and vessels, which the Treasury said were involved in transporting Iranian oil exports in violation of sanctions.
Treasury also designated Ares Shipping Limited in Hong Kong, Comford Management in the Marshall Islands, and Hong Kong Hangshun Shipping Limited in Hong Kong.
Designated crude oil tankers include Panama-flagged vessels Adeline G and Kongm, and Lafit under the flag of Sao Tome and Principe.
The State Department separately said it imposed sanctions on two China-based operators of oil-related terminals and storage. It said they handled imports of Iranian oil aboard tankers previously targeted by US sanctions.
The firms were identified as Qingdao Port Haiye Dongjiakou Oil Products Co in Shandong province and Yangshan Shengang International Petroleum Storage and Transportation Co in Zhejiang province.
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... suspended talks with Washington aimed at curbing the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s nuclear ambitions after the US and Israel struck its nuclear sites in June. Iran denies any intent to develop atomic bombs.
Iran’s top diplomat said Wednesday that the moment for "effective" nuclear talks with the United States has not yet arrived, adding that Iran would not completely cut off cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Britannia on Thursday also imposed new Iran-related sanctions, blacklisting an Iranian oil magnate and four companies, saying they are part of a network that supports Tehran’s overseas activities, including "destabilization" in Ukraine and Israel.
The sanctions include an asset freeze and travel ban on Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, and an asset freeze on companies in the shipping, petrochemical and financial sectors, the Foreign Office said.
"Iran’s reliance on revenues from trading networks and connected organizations enables it to carry out its destabilizing activities, including supporting proxies and partners across the region and facilitating state threats on UK soil," Britannia’s Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer said.
The Iranian embassy in London said it condemned what it called Britannia’s "unilateral and illegal measures" and "baseless allegations."
Shamkhani, the son of an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> , could not be reached for comment.
The United States, which sanctioned Shamkhani last month, said he controls a vast network of container ships and tankers through a complex web of intermediaries that sell Iranian and Russian oil and other goods throughout the world.
Some of the companies sanctioned by Britannia on Thursday were cited for acting on behalf of or at the direction of Shamkhani, who is accused of aiding Iran’s overseas operations. Shamkhani was also sanctioned by the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... in July.
British politicians warned last month that Iran posed a growing and multifaceted threat to Britannia, and while it does not yet rival the scale of challenges posed by Russia or China, they said the government was ill-prepared to confront it.
They said the Iranian threat spanned physical attacks and potential liquidations targeting dissidents and Jewish communities, as well as espionage, offensive cyber operations, and efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran has rejected these claims, calling them "unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations."
[Rudaw] The United States announced on Wednesday that it assisted Tanzania in repatriating one woman and three children from the Roj camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) earlier this month, expressing gratitude to its local partner, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), for facilitating the transfer.
"With U.S. government assistance, Tanzania repatriated one woman and three children from the Roj displaced persons camp in northeast Syria on Monday, August 11," the State Department said in a statement.
Washington also thanked the Tanzanian government for cooperating on the repatriation and praised "our local partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces, for their assistance" and their "commitment to ensure the enduring defeat of [the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... ] ISIS."
As of late July, Rudaw English learned that al-Hol was home to more than 28,000 people, including 6,654 Iraqis, 15,364 Syrians, and 6,401 foreigners, according to Sheikhmous Ahmed, one of the officials overseeing camps in Rojava.
For its part, Iraq has also been repatriating its citizens from the Roj and al-Hol camps in batches since 2021. By late July, around 15,000 Iraqis had been returned, with nearly 10,000 resettled in their hometowns and villages, according to an Iraqi migration ministry official.
Baghdad is also preparing to host a conference in Geneva this September aimed at encouraging further international repatriations. The Iraqi government has set a target to repatriate all its citizens from the camps in Rojava by 2027.
[IsraelTimes] Handover marks modest first step in plan to disarm Palestinian refugee camps, though Hamas vows factions will stay armed ‘so as long as the occupation remains on Palestinian soil’
Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... said that some Paleostinian factions began handing over weapons held in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Beirut to the Lebanese army Thursday, an initial step in implementing a plan officials announced three months earlier for removing arms from the camps.
It was a modest first step. One pickup left the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs loaded with light weapons packed in bags. The butts of machine guns could be seen protruding from some of the sacks.
An AFP photographer saw a truck filled with weapons and ammunition transported from the camp to a nearby parking lot, where Lebanese army vehicles and personnel were deployed to inspect the cargo.
The step of removing weapons from the camps was seen as a precursor to the much more difficult step of disarming Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, which last year fought a bruising war with Israel that ended in a ceasefire in November. Hezbollah has been under domestic and international pressure since then to give up its remaining arsenal, which it has so far refused to do.
The decision to remove weapons from the Paleostinian camps was announced in May during a visit by Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> to Lebanon, during which he and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced that arms would be consolidated under the authority of the Lebanese government.
It was unclear if factions other than Abbas’s Fatah movement would abide by the decision.
Representatives of Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... and the allied Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... did not respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for Hamas sent a statement signed by "the Paleostinian Factions in Lebanon" that called Thursday’s handover of weapons "an internal organizational matter within the Fatah movement" that "has no connection, near or far, to the issue of Paleostinian weapons in the camps."
It added, "Our weapons have always been and will always be linked to the right of return and the just Paleostinian cause and will remain so as long as the occupation remains on Paleostinian soil."
Some officials with Paleostinian factions also said only "illegal" weapons would be handed over, not those belonging to organized factions. They also said personal light weapons would not be included.
Badih al-Habet, a spokesperson for Fatah in Beirut, told news hounds that Aoun had acknowledged that "personal weapons are part of Arab and national culture," and that Thursday would see the "turning over of illegitimate weapons in the hands of illegitimate individuals."
Ramez Dimashkieh, head of the Lebanese-Paleostinian Dialogue Committee, a government body that serves as an interlocutor between Paleostinian refugees and officials, said in a statement that the handover "will be the first step, with further batches to be delivered in the coming weeks from Burj al-Barajneh camp and the rest of the camps," the statement said.
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesperson for Abbas, said in a statement that weapons were also handed over Thursday at al-Bass camp in southern Lebanon and would continue in other camps in implementation of the agreement between Abbas and the Lebanese government.
US envoy Tom Barrack congratulated the Lebanese government and Fatah "for their agreement on voluntary disarmament in Beirut camps."
In a post on X, he called it "a historic step toward unity and stability, showing true commitment to peace and cooperation."
Implementation of the plan for the Paleostinian camps was delayed amid disagreements among and within the various Paleostinian factions operating in Lebanon, which include Abbas’ Fatah movement, the rival Hamas terror group and a range of other Islamist and leftist organizations, over the mechanism for handing over the weapons.
Hamas and other armed factions were involved in firing at Israel from Lebanon with the start of the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war and the ensuing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which a November ceasefire sought to end.
The ceasefire stipulated that only the Lebanese military would bear arms and that all forces would withdraw from the country’s south, with the exception of the army and UN peacekeepers.
Israel has continued to strike Lebanon in cases where it sees Hezbollah violating the ceasefire, and its troops still hold five positions in the south that it deems strategic for its defense.
Earlier this week, Barrack said following Beirut’s commitment to disarm Hezbollah, it was Israel’s turn to make good on its side of the ceasefire, apparently referring to the retreat of troops back into Israel.
US network Axios reported Thursday that US officials had asked Israel to temporarily cut back on strikes in Lebanon deemed "non-urgent" and pull troops from one border point, as a show of good faith in support of the Lebanese effort. Though officials doubt Beirut is strong enough to forcibly disarm Hezbollah, they hope Israel’s move will help give it the needed maneuverability to seize the terror group’s weapons.
[IsraelTimes] Drills take place in Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, with naval boats launching missiles at targets, as Tehran tries to project power after 12-day war and defeat of its proxies
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... kicked off its first military exercise since the end of its 12-day war with Israel, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported Thursday, with navy vessels launching missiles at targets at sea in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.
While such drills are routine in the Islamic Theocratic Republic, the "Sustainable Power 1404″ exercise comes as authorities in Iran are trying to project strength in the wake of a war that saw Israel destroy air defense systems and bomb nuclear facilities and other sites.
The state TV report said naval vessels would fire cruise missiles at targets and use drones over the open water. It did not immediately air any footage from the exercise.
Iran’s navy, estimated to have some 18,000 personnel, apparently avoided any major attack during the June war.
The navy, based out of the port city of Bandar Abbas, patrols the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean and the Caspian Sea, and broadly leaves the Persian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz, to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The Guard’s naval forces are known for seizures of Western vessels during the breakdown of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, as well as closely shadowing passing US Navy vessels coming into the region.
Since the end of the war, Iran has increasingly insisted that it is ready to counter any future Israeli attack.
Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh said that the country has equipped its forces with new missiles, in remarks reported Wednesday by the state-run IRNA news agency.
"The missiles used in the 12-day war were manufactured... a few years ago," Nassirzadeh said. "Today, we have manufactured and possess missiles with far greater capabilities than previous missiles, and if the Zionist enemy embarks on the adventure again, we will undoubtedly use them."
The 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran began on June 13 with a surprise Israeli attack.
Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Theocratic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.
Iran retaliated to Israel’s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel. The attacks killed 31 people and maimed over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.
Not nearly enough of a return on what was intended to be an overwhelming onslaught…
Meanwhile, Iran has suspended its cooperation with the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been monitoring its nuclear sites as Tehran enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels amid the tensions.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the European parties to Iran’s nuclear deal, have warned that if Tehran doesn’t reach a “satisfactory solution” to its dispute with the IAEA by August 31, they will trigger a “snapback” reimposition of all United Nations sanctions on it previously lifted by the accord.
During a naval missile drill, Iran’s Navy successfully destroyed surface targets at sea by simultaneously launching ‘Nasir’ and ‘Qadir’ cruise missiles from missile systems and naval vessels, along with the coastal ‘Ghader’ anti-ship missile.
[Rudaw] Battered on the battlefield and stripped of the vast territory it once claimed, the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) group is now experimenting with a new weapon: artificial intelligence, to rebuild itself, according to United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... (UN) officials.
On Wednesday, Vladimir Voronkov, the UN’s top counterterrorism official, told the Security Council that ISIS - or Da’esh, as it is known in Arabic - "remains volatile and complex," continuing to adapt even as its fighters are hunted across Iraq and Syria.
Last year, UN officials estimated ISIS fighters to be around 12,000 scattered across the Middle East and Africa with the majority of them (nearly 6,000) being in Afghanistan and nearly 3,000 of them in Iraq and Syria.
Last year, UN officials estimated ISIS fighters to be around 12,000 scattered across the Middle East and Africa with the majority of them (nearly 6,000) being in Afghanistan and nearly 3,000 of them in Iraq and Syria.
Now, officials say, ISIS has begun folding artificial intelligence into its arsenal - not on the battlefield, but online.
FROM BATTLEFIELD LOSSES TO DEEPFAKE NEWS ANCHORS
In recent months, experts have observed that ISIS have used videos featuring AI-generated news anchors, slickly produced in English and other languages, in a sophisticated propaganda campaign to recruit more followers in the West.
One clip, released days after the concert hall bombing in Moscow that claimed at least 145 lives last year, showed a fabricated presenter calmly praising the assault.
Another video, produced by ISIS’s Afghan affiliate, featured a digital Pashto-speaking host that resembled a local newscaster.
Equally unsettling, researchers say, is how ISIS supporters have been able to circulate AI-dubbed chants, or nasheeds, that mimic the voices of cartoon characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Peter Griffin from Family Guy, clearly tailored for the younger generation, especially those born after the September 11 attacks. Some clips received hundreds of thousands of views on social media and messaging apps before they were removed.
Colin P. Clarke, research director at the Soufan Center, cautioned that the group’s use of AI is still primitive.
"Right now the Islamic State’s use of artificial intelligence is really in its nascent stages. There’s not too much cause for concern at the moment," he told Rudaw.
However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt... he added that ISIS has a proven ability to adapt.
"This is a group that’s highly adaptive. We’ve watched it evolve over the years and master different tactics, techniques, and procedures," Clarke said. He pointed to warnings from experts like Adam Hadley of Tech Against Terrorism, who has described the risk of "agentic AI" - systems capable of running tens of thousands of bots at once - as a looming danger.
RECRUITMENT IN THE AGE OF CHATBOTS
UN officials warn that AI could help ISIS scale up recruitment in ways that were not possible before. Natalia Gherman, head of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, told the Council that ISIS’s "use of artificial intelligence and social media for recruitment, fundraising and propaganda demands innovative responses."
Analysts worry that chatbots, trained on hard boy messaging, could simulate conversations with potential recruits - meeting young people in online forums, mirroring their interests, and gradually nudging them toward violent mostly peaceful ideology.
Governments and technology companies seem to be struggling to keep pace. The UN is urging states to deploy AI for defensive purposes, helping to detect and disrupt hard boy content before it spreads.
Tech Against Terrorism says it has already archived tens of thousands of AI-generated images tied to hard boys, and is working with Microsoft to build tools to identify and remove such material at scale.
Yet the speed of technological change - and the willingness of ISIS to embrace it - means the threat is likely to grow. "We stand at the crossroads of technological transformation and geopolitical uncertainty," Gherman said, warning of a "more diffuse and complex" terrorism landscape.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan...
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
..always the voice of sweet reason...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
