KOENIG

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet at 6 p.m. Thursday at his office in Jerusalem, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, where it is expected to approve fresh plans for the continuation of the war in Gaza.

During a three-hour security discussion among a smaller group on Tuesday, Netanyahu was presented with options for continued military operations in the Gaza Strip by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

The cabinet is reportedly expected to approve a full military occupation of the Strip during Thursday’s meeting, despite Zamir and army officials warning against it.

U.S. President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday that Washington views the question of how Israel proceeds militarily in Gaza as being up to Jerusalem.

Asked by a reporter at the White House, “Would you support Israel … reoccupying all of Gaza as [has] been suggested by some Israeli officials?” the president claimed he was not familiar with such suggestions, adding, “I can’t really say. It will be up to Israel.”

Romania was forced to scramble F-16 jets after Russia carried out a strike just half a mile from the NATO nation's territory.

The country's Ministry of National Defense (MApN) confirmed in a post on X that Russia carried out a drone attack near its border.

"On the night of August 5-6, the Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the civilian infrastructure in the Ismail area, Ukraine, in the vicinity of the border with Romania," Romania's defense ministry wrote in a post on X.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has directed the Lebanese Armed Forces to develop a comprehensive plan for consolidating all weapons under state control by the end of 2025. 

The announcement, made following a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, implies that Hezbollah and other armed factions would be required to disarm.

The cabinet was widely expected to announce a formal decision on the disarmament of Hezbollah during Tuesday's session.

Those who continue to back a Palestinian state have "directly assassinated the hostage deal and ceasefire," Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement at the UN on Tuesday.

"They gave Hamas free gifts. Let me be clear: These countries prolonged the war," he said.

Sa'ar discussed the recent videos released by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavsky.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a full-scale military occupation of Gaza without input from Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and told the latter to resign if he isn’t on board, the New York Post reported, citing an internal memo.

“The die is cast. We are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip,” a senior Israeli official stated, per Israeli media.

The IDF has repeatedly voiced opposition to a full military takeover, arguing it could take years to dismantle Hamas’s remaining infrastructure and could put the lives of the hostages at further risk.

The Trump administration said states and cities will not receive funding to prepare for natural disasters if they choose to boycott Israeli companies, according to an agency statement.

States must certify that they will not cut off “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to receive the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the agency’s terms for grantees.

The condition applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search and rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries, and backup power systems, among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.

Israel’s military operation in Syria “complicates matters” and is “not helpful,” according to Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey, special envoy to Syria and a close friend of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he said that Washington lacks a “common understanding” with the Jewish state on the right way to handle Syria, with the Trump administration aiming to guide Damascus to stability.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said special envoy Steve Witkoff may travel to Russia, potentially on Wednesday or Thursday, as he warned that he would impose sanctions if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine before Friday.

"There'll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions," Trump told reporters in New Jersey.

"They're wily characters and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we'll see what happens."

Israeli troops overnight Saturday completed an operation targeting weapons trafficking networks in the Hader area of southern Syria, questioning several suspects on site.

Acting on prior intelligence and an in-depth field investigation, Israel Defense Forces soldiers simultaneously raided four locations, uncovering a cache of weapons.

Troops from the IDF’s 210th Division remain deployed in the area to prevent the entrenchment of terrorist elements in Syria, with the stated goal of protecting Israeli civilians—particularly residents of the Golan Heights.

Hamas on Saturday said it would not disarm “as long as the occupation exists,” denying reported remarks to the contrary by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and blasting him for visiting an aid site run by the controversial, US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

In a statement, Hamas vowed to continue its violent struggle, saying its right to do so was guaranteed by international law until Palestinians’ “national rights” were realized, “foremost among them… the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty and Jerusalem as its capital.”

The Israel Defense Forces will soon know whether a deal to recover the 50 remaining hostages in Gaza is possible or whether the military campaign will need to intensify, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Friday.

“I think that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages. If not, the combat will continue without rest,” he said during a situational assessment in Strip.

“We will adapt it to the changing reality according to our interests—the achievements you have made provide us with operational flexibility,” he told soldiers in the Strip.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff stated that the US was planning to end the war and called for an all-or-nothing approach to end the Israel-Hamas War in a meeting with hostage families on Saturday.

According to a press release, Witkoff said that the US had a plan to "end the war and bring everyone home," and that this was US President Donald Trump's top priority.

US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited Gaza on Friday amid growing international concern and criticism regarding the current US- and Israel-backed aid distribution system.

Witkoff said he spent five hours inside Gaza on Friday, “level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions and meeting with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.”

He tweeted: “The purpose of the visit was to give US President Donald Trump a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.”

President Donald Trump on Friday said that he ordered two nuclear submarines “to be positioned in the appropriate regions” in response to warnings made to the United States this week by high-ranking Russian official Dmitry Medvedev.

Medvedev in a social media post on Monday wrote that each new ultimatum that Trump makes about Russia to force an end to its war on Ukraine “is a threat and a step towards war.”

“Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev wrote on X that day.

The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority on Thursday over their “pay-to-slay” payment scheme for terrorists.

The department said that the organizations had fallen afoul of the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002.

“It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and P.A. accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,” the department stated.

As negotiations with Hamas stall, Israel and the United States are now aligned on aiming for a comprehensive framework in place of a partial ceasefire and hostage-release deal, a senior Israeli official told reporters during a Thursday briefing.

“There will be no more partial deals,” the official was quoted as saying, explaining that Israel and the US now concur on the need to “shift from a framework for the release of some of the hostages to a framework for the release of all of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.”

If actualized, it would mark a massive shift for Israel, which came up with the phased hostage deal framework during the first year of the war, as it enabled Israel to secure the release of some of its hostages, while maintaining the ability to resume the war — something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needed in order to maintain his coalition, as far-right partners threatened to collapse the government if Israel agreed to a permanent ceasefire.

U.S. special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his office in Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently meeting at his office with the U.S. president’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff,” the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed in a statement.

Witkoff’s trip marks his first visit to the Jewish state since May and comes after the collapse of indirect ceasefire negotiations between Jerusalem and the Hamas terrorist group in Doha last week.

US President Donald Trump criticizes Canada for announcing it will recognize a Palestinian state, linking the issue to efforts to negotiate a trade agreement with America’s northern neighbor for the first time.

“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!” Trump writes in one of several Truth Social posts on trade that he has fired off since midnight.

The post appears to be a departure from previous remarks he has made on the decisions by the UK and France to recognize a Palestinian state, in which he noted that he disagreed with the moves, which would “reward” Hamas, but would not seek to influence their decisions.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that the UK would recognize a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and meets several other conditions, including recommitting to a viable peace process.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday the country's intentions to recognize Palestinian statehood at the 80th session of the United National General Assembly in September.

"This intention is predicated by the Palestinian Authority's commitment to much-needed reforms," Carney said.

He explained that PA's President Mahmoud Abbas plans to reform its government, hold general elections in 2026, in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia’s sparsely populated Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. Several people were injured, but none gravely, and no major damage has been reported so far.

Authorities warned the risk from the 8.8 magnitude quake could last for hours, and millions of people potentially in the path of the waves were initially told to move away from the shore or seek high ground.

The worst appeared to have passed for many areas, including the U.S., Japan and Russia. But along South America’s Pacific Coast, new warnings were forcing evacuations in Chile and Colombia.

In the immediate aftermath of the quake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, residents fled inland as ports flooded, and several were injured while rushing to leave buildings.

A very powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka coast on Wednesday triggered tsunami warnings as far away as French Polynesia and Chile, and was followed by an eruption of the most active volcano on the peninsula.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the Kremlin said, to discuss various developments in the Middle East, including recent sectarian violence in Syria and Iran’s nuclear program.

During the call, Putin stressed Syria’s territorial integrity, the Kremlin said, after sectarian violence in the Druze majority city of Sweida earlier this month prompted Israeli intervention in the form of airstrikes against Syrian military targets in both Sweida and Damascus.

Also during the call, Putin again offered to mediate in talks on Iran’s nuclear program, after negotiations ground to a halt last month, when Israel launched its surprise attack on Iranian military and nuclear targets, kickstarting a 12-day war between the two countries.