A recently published <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-vindicated-gaza-nutrition-data-after-blood-libel-starvation-claims-un-envoy-says">survey</a> backed by the United Nations shows acute malnutrition among young children in Gaza at or below prewar levels, undermining claims that Israel deliberately starved the population during the war.
“During the war in Gaza, Israel was accused by many countries and by many U.N. <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ohchr-statement-22aug25/">officials</a> that we deliberately <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2025/sgsm22772.doc.htm">starved</a> the population in Gaza. That was a blood libel,” Israeli Ambassador Danon <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-vindicated-gaza-nutrition-data-after-blood-libel-starvation-claims-un-envoy-says">told</a> Fox News on Tuesday. “When we actually answered those claims and asked our colleagues where they got the data, the answer was that they relied on Hamas reports.”
The Gaza SMART nutrition survey, coordinated by the UNICEF-led Nutrition Cluster and presented by the State of Palestine Nutrition Cluster on July 22, 2026, examined 1,335 children under age 5. The assessment covered regions home to about 83% of Gaza’s population. Roughly 17% of the population could not be surveyed because of security and operational constraints.
The survey recorded acute malnutrition rates between 0.2%-0.8% using weight-for-height measurements, with a global estimate around 0.5%. Using mid-upper arm circumference, the rate stood at 1.3%. Evaluators concluded there was “no widespread acute malnutrition at population level.” The rates were significantly lower than those in neighboring countries.
Danon argued that the latest figures debunked earlier starvation claims and said previous numbers drawn from Hamas sources were fabricated. “For the future, we shouldn’t count on a terrorist organization. We are a reliable country, we share data, we share concerns regarding humanitarian issues, and we should not collaborate with terrorists,” he said.
He pointed to specific past statements by senior international officials. U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher, in a 2025 BBC interview about border access, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0k3d1y10pzo">said</a> 14,000 babies were at risk of dying within 48 hours without immediate nutritional aid. That figure was later clarified as an 11-month projection involving children at risk of severe malnutrition.
“That was false and did not happen. Using starvation and babies to spread blood libels against Israel is outrageous,” Danon said. “We care about babies in Gaza more than those making these allegations against us.”
Danon mentioned that Israel maintained records of food supplies entering the territory throughout the conflict. “In terms of the food coming into Gaza, that was very easy for us to prove because we control the checkpoints and count the number of trucks coming in,” he explained.
The survey results arrive as prominent Left-wing and anti-Israel politicians have continued to push the claim that Israel has been starving people in Gaza.
Last year, then-New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani <a href="https://x.com/ZohranKMamdani/status/1925239850929688735">posted</a>, “Netanyahu said he’d allow aid into Gaza. He lied. For nearly 80 days, nothing has reached Gaza’s soup kitchens, bakeries, or hospitals. Thousands of babies — and countless adults — are being starved by the Israeli government. This is a heinous war crime, one that should shock and anger every single one of us.”
In a July 25, 2025, statement, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said, “After many months of Israel blocking humanitarian aid, children and other vulnerable people are starving to death in increasing numbers. The World Food Programme says that the food crisis has reached ‘new and astonishing levels of desperation, with a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row.’ Children’s bodies are eating themselves from within, their organs are shutting down. 
“Doctors themselves are fainting from hunger,” Sanders added.

International Red Cross

Leftist Anti-Israel Smear Fails Sniff Test As U.N.-Backed Survey Debunks Starvation Claims

anti-Israel

Gaza

Iran war

Israel

Palestine

surveys

UNICEF

Zohran Mamdani

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that Israel rejects President Donald Trump’s 15-point plan for Gaza. 
He said the Israeli military will not pull back a single step until Hamas is stripped of every weapon it holds, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-rejects-trumps-15-point-plan-gaza-pm-netanyahu-says-2026-08-09/">according</a> to Reuters.
“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting. “The military will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed … it means heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry.”
He had made the same point Tuesday in a social media post. Israeli officials have already shared their reservations with Washington. Netanyahu said the two sides are still talking. “They have ideas, some of which are acceptable to us and some of which are unacceptable to us,&#8221; he said of the Americans.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-touts-a-historic-gaza-disarmament-agreement?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Touts+A+%E2%80%98Historic%E2%80%99+Gaza+Disarmament+Agreement">announced</a> the deal late last month and called it a historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and every other armed group in Gaza. The framework, negotiated with Arab mediators in Cairo and overseen by Trump&#8217;s Board of Peace, laid out a phased process.
Hamas would surrender both heavy and light weapons over several months, disclose the locations of tunnels and weapons depots, and allow a new Palestinian technocratic administration to take control under the Board’s supervision. 
Israeli forces would leave only after areas were independently verified as demilitarized. An international stabilization force would then work with a new Palestinian police unit to keep order. Trump said that the arrangement would finally stop Gaza from being used as a launchpad for attacks and give Israel the security it needs.
That second phase was meant to follow the October 2025 ceasefire, which covered the exchange of hostages and prisoners and brought a sharp decline in intensive fighting. The new document tackled the harder issues which were complete disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, and who actually runs Gaza afterwards.
The two sides immediately disagreed on the order of those steps. Israel insists on complete disarmament first. The plan describes a more deliberate process in which weapons are removed sector by sector and Israeli troops then leave those cleared areas. 
The Board of Peace has <a href="https://x.com/BoardOfPeace/status/2084333685869084696">said</a> Israeli forces will not withdraw beyond current lines until Hamas&#8217;s weapons are fully decommissioned. Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace&#8217;s highest representative for Gaza, has met with Netanyahu repeatedly in recent months, most recently on Monday, when he pressed Israel to stop airstrikes and abide by the terms of the earlier ceasefire.
Israel has already changed how it operates on the ground. Attacks have been scaled back since Monday, when Mladenov met with Netanyahu. A source familiar with Israel’s position told Reuters the military is now limited to responding to only to what it sees as immediate threats. 
Approval for any remaining strikes was tightened so that the chief of staff must sign off rather than subordinate commanders, <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjoyhyjlzx">according</a> to Ynet Global.
The Israeli military reported <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-rejects-trump-plan-for-hamas-disarmament-2d1475cb?mod=middle-east_news_article_pos1">no strikes</a> in Gaza for six days as of Sunday. Netanyahu said the military will continue to act against threats to Israeli forces and citizens.
Hamas says it remains committed to the plan agreed upon in Cairo about ten days ago. Senior official Basem Naim told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-rejects-trumps-15-point-plan-gaza-pm-netanyahu-says-2026-08-09/">Reuters</a> the group expects the mediators and the United States to press Netanyahu and his government to stick to the plan and not obstruct it for internal political or electoral reasons. 
Hamas avoids the word “disarmament.” It describes the arrangement as handing weapons over for storage under a U.S.-backed Palestinian technocratic administration supervised by the Board of Peace. Hamas also insists that implementation depends on Israel first meeting its own commitments, withdrawal and a halt to attacks.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised Netanyahu’s stand. “We went to war with a central goal: the destruction of Hamas,” he said. “The [military] cannot withdraw even a millimeter from the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu is under pressure on multiple fronts. An election is scheduled for October 27, and polls show him struggling to put together a ruling majority. His coalition partners have objected loudly to any concessions. 
At the same time the Trump administration has pushed hard for progress on the plan, treating it as a major foreign policy goal of the president’s second term. Relations between the two leaders have been strained for months amid differences over the Iran conflict, with reports of tense phone calls.
Israeli forces still control and have largely emptied two-thirds of the enclave. More than two million residents are confined to a narrow coastal strip under Hamas control, most living in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.

Hamas

Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s Gaza Plan: No Withdrawal Until Hamas Gives Up ‘All Weaponry’

Benjamin Netanyahu

foreign affairs

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Trump

An Israel Defense Force (IDF) dog with a body camera entered a tunnel in southern Gaza and found dozens of rockets and other munitions inside.
Paratroopers found the terror tunnel while clearing the Israeli-held area of the Gaza Strip marked by the Yellow Line of terrorist infrastructure above and below ground.
Hamas&#8217; tunnel <a href="https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/hamas/everything-you-need-to-know-about-hamas-underground-city-of-terror/">network</a> is described by the IDF as “A vast underground city with dozens of access points located throughout Gaza. Hamas uses these tunnels as weapons caches, bunkers, command centers, and a concealed transportation artery for terrorists and weapons, including rocket launchers.”
Engineering units later destroyed the tunnel. Video of the blast shows a large explosion rising from an open field beside a road. The tunnel had remained undiscovered throughout the Israel-Hamas war until this operation. Its removal forms part of sustained work to clear terrorist infrastructure in accordance with the ceasefire framework.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said in 2021 that the network ran for roughly 310 miles beneath a territory only about twice the size of Washington. Israeli assessments during the war placed the total even higher at hundreds of miles. The IDF has destroyed numerous systems of tunnels in recent months as operations continue.
Troops locate entrances, map the branches, search for explosives and weapons, and then destroy the routes so they cannot be repaired and reused. In one tunnel, soldiers entered a space identified as a Hamas commander’s room.
It contained porcelain sinks, telephone wiring, electricity, and a bed fitted with a mattress supplied as humanitarian aid “from the people of Japan.” It sat underground inside the infrastructure used by the group. Other complexes found during the war have held bathrooms, kitchens, electrical rooms, ventilation systems, and weapon stores. Senior operatives could remain below ground for days or weeks while directing activity.
In Rafah, where Israeli forces had already operated for more than a year, tunnels continued to surface. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an IDF international spokesman, described the reality directly, <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2026/07/21/israels-campaign-against-hamass-vast-tunnel-network-continues-during-gaza-ceasefire-kan-reports/">saying</a>, “The IDF are world-class experts in dealing with terror tunnels. And still after a year plus in Rafah there are still tunnels.” He noted that dozens of shafts could remain in a single sector and that troops were dismantling only single digits each week.
The IDF recently dismantled eight underground tunnel <a href="https://x.com/IDF/status/2052709542362849443">routes</a> used by Hamas that spanned more than 2.5 kilometers. One of those routes was part of the network in eastern Rafah. Hamas terrorists operating inside it were eliminated during the engineering activity.

Terrorist Tunnels

Military Dog’s Incredible Find Leaves Troops Stunned

Islamic Jihad

Military

Terror Tunnels

Jews were the targets in 70% of all hate crimes recorded in New York City last month, according to NYPD <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/news/PR012/nypd-fewest-shooting-incidents-shooting-victims-murders-recorded-history-the">data</a> released Monday. Of the 33 confirmed hate crimes citywide in July, 23 were antisemitic.
That figure is 53% higher than the 15 antisemitic incidents logged in July 2025. Jews have been targeted more than every other group combined every month for the past several years. In July, the imbalance was sharper than usual.
Since Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office on January 1, overall hate crimes in the city are up 9.4% compared with the same stretch last year, rising from 329 to 360. Confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes stand at 205 so far in 2026, an 8.5% increase from the 189 recorded during the same period in 2025. 
That works out to one antisemitic hate crime every 25 hours on average. Jews make up roughly 10% of New York City&#8217;s population, yet 57% of all hate crimes recorded this year have targeted Jews, which is nearly identical to the share last year before Mamdani entered office.
Hate crimes against Asians, black people, and white people declined this year. Incidents targeting Hispanic people and Muslims rose, according to the NYPD.
Among the July cases: a Jewish man was stabbed with a screwdriver on the Upper West Side; an Asian man who is not Jewish was also injured in that attack. In Brooklyn, an assailant shoved a 64-year-old Jewish man to the ground while shouting antisemitic slurs. In Queens, a suspect threw bags of motor oil and feces at two synagogues.
Mamdani addressed the numbers at a Monday press conference, saying, &#8220;The work to uproot antisemitism out of this city is one that will continue until we see hate crimes come to an end in the city.&#8221;
City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is Jewish and has pushed efforts against antisemitism in city government, said she remains “deeply concerned and very troubled by the unacceptable spike in all hate crimes, particularly driven by those targeting Jewish New Yorkers.”
Major crimes such as shootings, murders, robberies, and assaults are generally down in the city. The rise in hate crimes presents a challenge for Mamdani, who took office promising to combat hatred and has increased funding for hate crimes prevention. New York has the largest Jewish population of any city outside of Israel.
Jewish leaders have repeatedly warned that the mayor’s anti-Israel rhetoric risks fueling more antisemitism. Last month, several prominent Jewish leaders and groups criticized a video in which Mamdani called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal,” while noting that as mayor he lacked the power to arrest him during any visit to New York.
A global report covering <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/2025-was-deadliest-year-for-antisemitic-violence-since-1994-new-report-finds?author=Leona+Salinas&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=2025+Was+Deadliest+Year+For+Antisemitic+Violence+Since+1994%2C+New+Report+Finds">2025</a> found that year was the deadliest for antisemitic violence since 1994, with 20 people killed in attacks across seven countries that together hold more than 90% of the Jewish population outside Israel. More than 23,000 antisemitic incidents were documented in those countries alone.

Protesters Rally In New York During United Nations General Assembly

New York City Records Rising Number Of Antisemitic Hate Crimes

Anti-Semitism

New York

Karma just landed on the tarmac, and it seems Israel is getting the ultimate last laugh at Ireland’s expense.
The hyper-anti-Israel Irish government thought it was scoring political points by virtue-signaling its way through foreign policy. But its obsession with boycotting the Jewish state has literally left its own ruling class grounded in the fog.
According to a shocking <a href="https://www.thejournal.ie/dassault-falcon-6x-irish-air-corps-government-jet-elbit-7117818-Aug2026/?lang=en">report</a> from The Journal, Ireland’s brand-new $61 million Dassault Falcon 6X government jet, which was purchased specifically to transport top officials and ministers was delivered without a vital, state-of-the-art infrared mapping system.
Why? Because the cutting-edge &#8220;FalconEye&#8221; system, which uses specialized infra-red technology to allow pilots to safely land through low visibility and thick fog, happens to be manufactured by Elbit Systems, a top Israeli defense company.
Rather than signing off on a contract with an Israeli vendor, stubborn Dublin bureaucrats threw a geopolitical temper tantrum and opted to leave the safety feature completely off the plane.
Now, the ruling elite’s shiny new joyride is rendered practically useless whenever the weather gets dicey.
The Journal wrote: &#8220;We asked the Department of Defence in April was the lack of the system limiting the use of the aircraft. It responded: &#8216;While it would not be appropriate to provide further comments on the specification of the aircraft it can be confirmed that there are no current limits on the operational capability of the aircraft.&#8217; &#8230; While the State’s response to our query says there are no current limits on the operational capability, the well-placed sources we spoke to all said the absence of the system placed limits on the range of options available to pilots.&#8221;
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face; while everyday pilots rely on advanced technology to stay safe in unpredictable skies, Ireland’s grandstanding politicians are voluntarily risking mid-air diversions and grounded flights just to keep its anti-Israel boycott intact.
This self-inflicted humiliation is just the latest chapter in Ireland’s obsessive crusade against Israel. Over the past few years, Dublin has eagerly led the anti-Israel charge in Europe. From becoming the first European country to push bills <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-859160">targeting goods</a> from Judea and Samaria, to <a href="https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/05/28/spain-norway-ireland-officially-recognize-palestinian-state-denmarks-parliament-rejects-proposal/">formally recognizing</a> an imaginary Palestinian state, and repeatedly leveling <a href="https://www.breakingnews.ie/israel-hamas/leo-varadkar-says-israel-has-become-blinded-by-rage-1588287.html">inflammatory charges</a> against the Israeli military, Irish leadership has missed no opportunity to smear the Middle East&#8217;s only democracy. The hostility became so toxic that Israel <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/15/europe/israel-ireland-embassy-closure-intl/index.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20actions%20and%20antisemitic%20rhetoric,to%20a%20foreign%20ministry%20statement.">officially closed</a> its embassy in Dublin, citing the country&#8217;s relentless double standards.
Irish leaders like Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris have insisted their policies are merely about &#8220;human rights,&#8221; but this latest blunder exposes the sheer stupidity of the country&#8217;s woke dogma. In its rush to appease radical leftists and boycott Jewish technology, the Irish government ended up crippling its own official aircraft.
While Dublin’s political class sits stranded on the runway waiting for the fog to clear, Jerusalem is undoubtedly enjoying a well-deserved chuckle.
It turns out that when you build your entire foreign policy around anti-Israel spite, the only thing you end up blindsiding is yourself.

Farnborough International Air Show 2026

Ireland Shoots Itself In Foot Over Woke Boycott Of Israeli Jet Tech

Ireland

Jets

Pilots

Severe Weather

Technology

Bar Asraf, a 30-year-old resident of the Israeli Sha&#8217;arei Tikva settlement, was found dead after he shot himself at the grave of his girlfriend Liron Barda, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, The Jerusalem Post <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-904382">reported</a> on Monday.
Barda, who worked as the bar manager at the festival, stayed and gave first aid to the wounded during Hamas&#8217; attack despite pleas from friends and family for her to run. Asraf&#8217;s sister Lihi said the family was celebrating her other brother&#8217;s wedding just before Asraf was found dead. 
&#8220;We were at my brothers wedding. He apparently started to feel lonely. You could not tell. He was always happy and laughing,&#8221; Lihi said. &#8220;At the groom&#8217;s celebration there was dancing and a Shabbat reception with a singer. It was magical. We were at the peak of the family&#8217;s life.&#8221;
&#8220;He was actually coping well but he had a moment of madness being alone while seeing everyone with their families,&#8221; Lihi added. &#8220;People need to know what <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nova-festival">Nova</a> did to people. On that day [October 7] he started driving toward Re&#8217;im to save her until he realized there was no one left to save and they turned him back halfway.&#8221;
After Asraf left the gathering, Lihi thought he had gone to be alone to think as he often did. After two hours passed, the family began to search, first checking a few places before going to Barda&#8217;s grave. &#8220;He loved talking there and being with her,&#8221; Lihi said.
&#8220;I walked over and suddenly I saw him lying next to Liron&#8217;s grave. I said to him, &#8216;Bar, get up, what are you doing again,&#8217; and then I realized he was covered in blood. I stepped on a gun beside him. I screamed. I could not function. My father started CPR. I knew it was the end. He was cold. &#8230; He died in the place he wanted to be most with the woman he wanted to be with most.&#8221;
Their mother, Bracha, called her son &#8220;a special boy&#8221; and described Barda and Asraf as &#8220;soulmates since childhood.&#8221;
&#8220;There were three nerve-wracking days when we did not know what happened to her at Nova. He stayed at my house and did not leave my side from morning until evening sitting with her entire family,&#8221; Bracha said. &#8220;He stayed in touch with them ever since, brought her mother bouquets of flowers and got a tattoo of her. A little while ago I saw him looking sad and asked what was wrong. He said, &#8216;Mom, I am sad. It is hard for me without Liron. I miss her. There is no one who can replace her, no one to cheer me up.&#8217; We felt he was struggling deeply without her.&#8221;
Shiran Maor of SafeHeart, which supports survivors of the October 7 festivals and their families, said, &#8220;Our hearts break over this devastating tragedy. We share in the family&#8217;s deep grief and stand with everyone who knew and loved him.&#8221;
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free hotline for individuals in crisis or distress or for those looking to help someone else. It is available 24/7 by dialing 988.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT

Man Kills Himself At Grave Of Girlfriend Murdered By Hamas

Death

Nova festival

October 7

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that negotiators have his reached what he described as a &#8220;historic agreement&#8221; aimed at ending Hamas&#8217; control of Gaza, though the deal still awaits final approval from the terrorist group.
&#8220;Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza,&#8221; Trump wrote on Truth Social. &#8220;This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/30/hamas-weapons-gaza-deal-israel-board-peace">Axios</a> reported Thursday that U.S. officials and the Board of Peace believe Hamas could formally sign the agreement within days after agreeing to its terms during negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey. However, the outlet noted that Israeli officials and Western diplomats remain skeptical that Hamas will ultimately follow through with its commitments.
According to Trump, the deal would pave the way for Gaza to be governed by a new Palestinian government working alongside the Board of Peace while ensuring Israel &#8220;will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.&#8221;
The president said the agreement would be implemented in phases as Hamas and other armed groups surrender their weapons, after which Israeli forces would withdraw and an international stabilization force would help a new Palestinian police force maintain security.
Under the reported framework, Hamas would surrender both heavy and light weapons over six to eight months, disclose the locations of tunnels and weapons depots, and allow a new Palestinian government to gradually assume control of Gaza. Israeli withdrawals would occur only after areas are independently verified as demilitarized, per the <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-904113">Jerusalem Post</a>.
Trump thanked Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey for their mediation efforts and praised his negotiating team, declaring that &#8220;the threat that emerged from Gaza on October 7 will NOT be allowed to rebuild.&#8221;
The negotiations remain ongoing, and officials caution that talks could still collapse before a final agreement is signed.
&nbsp;

Trump And Hamas

Trump Touts A ‘Historic’ Gaza Disarmament Agreement

Board of Peace

Donald Trump

Egypt

Global Politics

Global power

Peace Deal

Peace negotiations

President Trump

Qatar

Turkey

Former Rep. Cori Bush is attempting a political comeback in the 2026 midterms, hoping to reclaim Missouri&#8217;s deep-blue 1st Congressional District from the Democrat who unseated her two years ago.
Bush, a former member of the far-left Squad, is challenging Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) in a rematch of the expensive 2024 Democratic primary. Because the St. Louis-area district is overwhelmingly Democratic, the winner of Tuesday&#8217;s primary is heavily favored to return to Washington in January.
The race has become yet another test of whether the Democratic Party&#8217;s recent leftward shift — fueled by victories from left-wing and Democratic-Socialist candidates in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Denver — extends towards one of the movement&#8217;s most recognizable national figures.
Bush&#8217;s campaign also revives one of the Democratic Party&#8217;s most contentious internal divides: support for Israel.
When <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/wesley-bell-backed-by-aipac-defeats-squad-member-cori-bush-in-st-louis-distrct-primary">Bell defeated Bush in 2024</a>, the race became one of the most expensive House primaries in American history after pro-Israel groups, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee&#8217;s United Democracy Project, poured $9.3 million into the contest. Bush had become one of Congress&#8217; most outspoken critics of Israel after introducing one of the first congressional resolutions calling for a ceasefire following Hamas&#8217; October 7, 2023 terrorist attack.
Bell has continued backing military assistance for Israel while arguing the United States must support allies confronting hostile regimes. &#8220;I think we have to support our allies not only in Israel, but in Taiwan and in Ukraine,&#8221; Bell said during a recent <a href="https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2026-07-29/missouri-primary-bush-bell-democrat-litmus">joint appearance</a> with Bush. &#8220;They are on the front lines of our sworn enemies.&#8221;
Over the past year, several insurgent Democratic candidates who criticized party leadership and took hard-line positions against U.S. support for Israel have won competitive primaries, leading progressives to argue that voters are increasingly rewarding candidates willing to challenge the Democratic establishment.
For their part, establishment Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) have endorsed Bell&#8217;s reelection. Bell has argued that his first term demonstrates he can effectively work within Congress while delivering results for the district, particularly following the devastating tornado that struck St. Louis in 2025.
Bush has countered that Bell has failed to provide the aggressive leadership voters expected, criticizing what she characterizes as an inadequate response to the tornado recovery effort and arguing the district needs a more confrontational representative willing to challenge both Republicans and Democratic leadership.
&#8220;The fight does not end because I got my feelings hurt,&#8221; Bush <a href="https://19thnews.org/2026/07/cori-bush-missouri-primaries/">told supporters</a>. &#8220;If you&#8217;re a true fighter, you get knocked down, and I got back up.&#8221;
Bush first rose to national prominence as an activist during the 2014 Ferguson protests following the police shooting of Michael Brown before defeating longtime Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay in 2020. During her two terms in Congress, she became one of the most recognizable members of the Squad alongside Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
Her tenure frequently put her at odds with Democratic leadership. Bush opposed former President Joe Biden&#8217;s bipartisan infrastructure package, advocated defunding police departments, slept on the Capitol steps to protest the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium, and became one of Congress&#8217; earliest and loudest critics of Israel.
Bell continues to support military assistance for Israel while Bush remains committed to cutting it off, making the issue one of the few major policy differences separating the candidates, who agree on many domestic issues.
For the left, a Bush victory would mark the return of one of the movement&#8217;s original national standard-bearers and suggest the Democratic Party&#8217;s activist base continues moving leftward after several high-profile primary victories around the country.
For Democratic leadership, another Bell victory would reinforce the coalition that removed Bush from office in 2024 and demonstrate that establishment-backed incumbents can still withstand challenges from the party&#8217;s activist wing.
The Missouri primaries are scheduled for Tuesday, August 4.

House-Oversight-Democrats-Hold-Discussion-On-Supreme-Court-Ethic

The Cori Bush Comeback? Ex-Squad Member Hopes To Ride Left-Wing Wave Back To Congress

Cori Bush

House Democrats

House of Representatives

Leftism

Pro-Palestinian

Radical Left

The Squad

U.S. House of Representatives

Vice President JD Vance touched on something real in his three-hour sit-down with Joe Rogan: The United States has a problem with foreign governments trying to influence our government to make decisions in their own best interests rather than ours. The country the vice president picked to illustrate his point was Israel, our ally in an ongoing war with Iran and the only functioning democracy in the Middle East. It was an odd example, given the tiny amount Israel expends on lobbying in the U.S. A far more obvious example would be Qatar, which has used its vast oil wealth to massively affect U.S. politics, culture, and education. And as an Islamic monarchy that hosts the Hamas terror organization and the anti-American Al Jazeera network, one would think its influence at any scale would provoke more alarm.
Qatar is a small Gulf emirate with a population of roughly 3 million people, of whom 90% are expats and often abused or exploited migrant workers. The number of actual Qatari citizens is only a few hundred thousand. Yet this tiny country maintains one of the most active foreign diplomatic and financial footprints in the United States. This includes a new pledge of a $1.2 trillion “economic exchange” on top of the $400 billion already invested in American real estate, private equity, universities, and lobbying.
Qatar spends <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/11/21/inside-qatars-225-million-effort-to-court-us-policymakers-and-press/">roughly a quarter-billion dollars</a> annually on a sprawling network of 88 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)-registered lobbying and public-relations firms. This money funds everything from congressional staffer junkets to Doha to paid influencer trips designed to launder the emirate&#8217;s disreputable image. <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/3916768/what-to-know-qatar-web-of-influence/">Justice Department records</a> document <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/3916768/what-to-know-qatar-web-of-influence/">thousands of political communications</a> by Qatari foreign agents since 2020, reaching the offices of two-thirds of Congress. Those same agents <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/3420993/qatar-lobbying-foreign-agents-frequently-donate-congressional-offices/">donate hundreds of thousands of dollars</a> to the elected officials in those very offices they’re paid to influence.
Qatar is also the single largest foreign funder of American higher education.
It poured more than <a href="https://www.jpost.com/international/article-886508">$1.1 billion</a> into U.S. universities in 2025 alone, <a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/qatar-already-the-largest-foreign-financier-of-us-universities-tripled-its-funding-in-2025/">more than triple its 2024 total</a>. A Qatari royal sits on Georgetown&#8217;s governing board. By comparison, <a href="https://www.jns.org/u.s.-news/ed-department-portal-finds-qatar-highest-source-of-foreign-funding-to-us-colleges-universities">Israel’s gifts and contracts</a> to universities totaled just $342 million between 2014 and 2024, barely one-third of what Qatar spent in a single year. The pro-Hamas riots that swept campuses after October 7 did not happen in a vacuum. Years of Qatari money built the very departments and centers incubating this radicalism and spreading anti-Semitic propaganda.
The money is only part of the story. Doha hosted terrorist organization Hamas&#8217;s political bureau for more than a decade, and its fanatical leaders lived openly in five-star comfort through the October 7 massacre and the war that followed. When Israel struck Hamas&#8217;s negotiators in Doha in September 2025, Qatar&#8217;s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/world/qatar-denounces-israel-ahead-of-summit-over-israeli-strike-on-doha-targeting-hamas-leaders">called</a> the Israeli strike “state terrorism” and “reckless and treacherous aggression,” and demanded the international community “punish Israel.” He had no interest in punishing Hamas for its brutal terrorist attacks.
Rather than snuff out the Qatari influence operation, the administration embraces it. In May 2025, the Pentagon accepted Qatar’s “gift” of a luxury <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2025-10-10/hegseth-qatar-air-base-idaho-19382457.html">$400 million Boeing 747</a> to serve as an interim Air Force One. Even worse, the aircraft will <a href="https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/idaho-press/qatari-air-force-facility-coming-to-mountain-home-air-force-base/277-0e8e701a-de60-4102-a721-00de106a8b60">transfer</a> to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation’s private ownership once his term ends.
The United States also agreed to allow Qatar to build a dedicated training facility at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, a privilege not granted to Israel. It will host Qatari F-15s and pilots.
Why is Doha&#8217;s stock so high in this administration? Follow the payroll. Multiple cabinet-<a href="https://quincyinst.org/research/soft-power-hard-influence-how-qatar-became-a-giant-in-washington/">level officials</a> (including former Attorney General Pam Bondi and current FBI Director Kash Patel) previously held consulting or lobbying roles on Qatar&#8217;s behalf. Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, took in millions of dollars from Qatar. Qatar&#8217;s sovereign wealth fund bought the Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan from Steve Witkoff&#8217;s firm in 2023. It is outrageously unacceptable self-dealing.
Qatar markets itself as an indispensable peace broker between Iran and the U.S. In reality, the Memorandum of Understanding crumbled while Iran enjoyed a month’s respite to regroup and assert control over the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. is fully capable of being its own “mediator” with Iran and should exhibit more caution in routing our diplomacy through a country that has financed, hosted, and spread propaganda for terrorists.
Anyone truly concerned about foreign influence should denounce Qatar — the country that outspends every other nation on our universities 20-to-1, gifted the president a $400 million airplane, bought its way into the portfolios of the president&#8217;s own envoys and family (Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner), and supported Hamas terrorists. Those who single out Qatar’s regional foes instead are behaving suspiciously like Qatar-firsters.
***
Ali Holcomb is a national security fellow at Advancing American Freedom Foundation. Joel Griffith is a senior fellow at the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise at Advancing American Freedom Foundation.

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday eulogized the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as &#8220;the giant of the United States Senate&#8221; whose unwavering belief in American strength defined both his public career and his personal life, telling mourners gathered at Washington National Cathedral that the longtime South Carolina Republican &#8220;felt in his bones that our destiny is to win.&#8221;
Speaking before a congregation that included Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, members of Trump&#8217;s Cabinet and congressional leaders from both parties, the president remembered Graham as one of the U.S. Senate&#8217;s defining figures whose influence stretched far beyond Capitol Hill.
&#8220;The giant of the United States Senate, a true American original who left us much too soon,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it. Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it.&#8221;
Trump centered much of his remarks on Graham&#8217;s worldview, describing the late senator&#8217;s foreign policy philosophy as one rooted in projecting American strength abroad. &#8220;Above all, Lindsey Graham believed in a strong America,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;He had unwavering faith in the righteousness of American power and prayer. &#8230; He felt in his bones that our destiny is to win — and that his job was to do everything he could to ensure our enemies would lose.&#8221; 
Trump said that conviction motivated Graham&#8217;s 33 years of military service in the Air Force and Air National Guard, as well as his frequent overseas travel as a senator. &#8220;It was this conviction that took him as a senator to almost every country on earth, confronting America&#8217;s adversaries and standing up for America&#8217;s friends,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a testament to his towering impact that among those mourning him here today are leaders, presidents, prime ministers from all over the globe.&#8221;
The president also reflected on his unlikely friendship with Graham, recalling their bitter rivalry during the 2016 Republican presidential primary before the two became close political allies. &#8220;We became great friends, and Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years,&#8221; Trump joked. &#8220;I always cherished the memories of our golf games.&#8221;
Trump acknowledged Graham&#8217;s reputation as one of the Senate&#8217;s most hawkish members while framing it as an extension of his patriotism. &#8220;He was extremely hawkish. I will tell you, he never saw a war that he didn&#8217;t like,&#8221; Trump said to laughter. &#8220;Only his true friends would understand that — but he wanted it for the good of our country.&#8221;
Fox News host Sean Hannity, one of Graham&#8217;s closest friends, echoed many of those themes during his own eulogy, rejecting criticism that Graham was a warmonger. &#8220;The truth was the opposite,&#8221; Hannity said. &#8220;Lindsey desperately wanted a lasting peace in the Middle East.&#8221; Hannity argued that Graham&#8217;s support for a strong military stemmed from what he called the senator&#8217;s &#8220;moral clarity.&#8221;
&#8220;He understood right from wrong, good from evil,&#8221; Hannity said. &#8220;He knew &#8230; there can be no path to peace until evil is defeated.&#8221; The longtime television host also reflected on Graham&#8217;s decades of military service, his devotion to South Carolina, and his friendship with Trump, saying the president had given Graham &#8220;the greatest gift of his life&#8221; by allowing him &#8220;a front-row seat at the highest levels of history.&#8221;
Graham&#8217;s niece, Emillie Boggs Roberts, offered a more personal portrait of the senator, reflecting on his deep pride in his family and the relationships that shaped him away from public life. She described him as more than an uncle or senator, but &#8220;the foundation of our family.&#8221; 
Roberts recalled how he became both brother and parent to her mother after their parents died, and said that despite decades in national politics, Graham never failed to prioritize his family, making time for holidays, vacations, graduations, hospital visits, and phone calls from home, no matter what demands awaited him in Washington.
The funeral concluded ahead of Graham&#8217;s burial in South Carolina, where the longtime senator will be laid to rest after more than three decades in Congress.

Services Held For Late Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham Funeral

Trump Honors Lindsey Graham: ‘The Giant Of The United States Senate’

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President Donald Trump on Monday brushed aside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#8217;s objections to selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, saying the United States alone will decide what weapons it exports. 
Speaking aboard Air Force One ahead of Netanyahu&#8217;s White House visit, Trump praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while making clear that foreign leaders would not dictate U.S. arms sales.
&#8220;Nobody tells me what we should be selling,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Turkey has been a tremendous ally for me.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
&#8220;Prime Minister Netanyahu opposes sending the F-35s to Turkey&#8230;&#8221;<a href="https://x.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not. Turkey has been a tremendous ally.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/8gSzavJ6Ce">pic.twitter.com/8gSzavJ6Ce</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2081797692389286004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
Trump&#8217;s remarks came just weeks after Netanyahu urged Washington not to approve a sale, arguing Turkey&#8217;s increasingly hostile posture toward Israel makes transferring the stealth fighters too risky. 
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think they should be given F-35s or engines for their fighter jets,&#8221; Netanyahu said in an interview with <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6400346259112">Fox News</a>. 
In the same interview, Netanyahu described Turkey as &#8220;a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood&#8221; and warned that it posed a growing regional threat to both Israel and the United States.
Trump, however, dismissed the notion that Israel&#8217;s concerns should determine American policy. 
&#8220;Turkey&#8217;s not a big fan of Israel. You know that, right? They&#8217;re not a big fan of Bibi,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;But they&#8217;ve been great for me.&#8221; He went on to praise Turkey&#8217;s military capabilities. &#8220;Very powerful country, by the way. Tremendous military. Very big military. Very powerful military. Has a lot of great equipment.&#8221;
The exchange highlighted one of the few areas where Trump has publicly broken with Netanyahu, continuing to pursue closer ties with Turkey despite Israeli objections. 
The proposed sale remains complicated, and certainly not final. Trump indicated during a July meeting with Erdogan that he favored moving forward, but the State Department recently <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-903578">informed</a> Congress that Turkey still does not meet the legal requirements necessary to rejoin the F-35 program.
Turkey was removed from the multinational F-35 program in 2020 after purchasing Russia&#8217;s S-400 air defense system, triggering sanctions under the Countering America&#8217;s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The State Department told Congress that American policy &#8220;remains unchanged&#8221; and that Turkey must resolve the S-400 issue before any sale can proceed.
The F-35 is widely regarded as the world&#8217;s most advanced operational fighter jet, and Israel is currently the only country in the Middle East to operate the aircraft. Israeli leaders have long sought to preserve that military edge by opposing sales of the jets to neighboring countries.
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U.S. President Trump Arrives In Ankara, Turkey For NATO Summit

Trump Won’t Budge For Netanyahu: ‘Nobody Tells Me What We Should Be Selling’

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Talk about a foreign policy U-turn.
Colombia’s Right-wing president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, is pulling off a <a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/07/27/colombias-president-elect-reverses-israel-policy-moves-embassy-to-jerusalem/">massive diplomatic pivot</a>: completely scrapping plans for an embassy in Ramallah and instead opening one in Jerusalem this August.
The fiery conservative lawyer, nicknamed &#8220;El Tigre,” won the presidency in a razor-thin June runoff after promising to smash drug cartels and restore law and order. Now, he’s tearing up the radical anti-Israel playbook written by outgoing leftist Gustavo Petro, who accused Israel of genocide in May 2024.
Petro had kicked out Israel’s ambassador in 2024 and lauded the idea of a new Palestinian mission. But de la Espriella officially killed those plans, agreeing with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to re-establish deep ties with the Jewish state.
For roughly 20 years prior to Petro’s denunciation of Israel, Israel had <a href="https://www.tarb.co.il/the-not-yet-final-loss-of-colombia/#:~:text=This%20enhanced%20security%20cooperation%20built%20on%20previous,FARC%20and%20ELN%20and%20powerful%20drug%20cartels.">supported</a> Colombia’s security operations with military technology and training of its special forces as it confronted Marxist guerrilla movements like the FARC and ELN as well as the drug cartels.
By placing its flag in Jerusalem, Bogotá joins an exclusive club that includes the U.S., Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Fiji, and Somaliland. It’s a huge win for Jerusalem, regaining a crucial ally of 50 million people which is also a U.N. Security Council member and has had deep military ties to Israel dating back decades.
Colombia’s diplomatic 180 isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s the latest domino to fall in a massive conservative wave sweeping Latin America, as voters fed up with soaring crime, bad economies, and far-Left policies kick socialists out.
In Argentina, libertarian Javier Milei came to power in 2023 and slashed government spending; in Chile, José Antonio Kast crushed the Left in late 2025 on a strict border-security platform; in Ecuador and Peru, tough-on-crime leaders like Daniel Noboa and Keiko Fujimori won power to smash transnational drug gangs; in Bolivia, conservative Rodrigo Paz was elected in 2025 after 20 years of socialist rule.
Colombia recognized the State of Israel in February 1949. Official diplomatic relations were established in 1957, with full embassies opened in Bogotá and Tel Aviv.

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New Conservative Boss In South America Obliterates Previous Socialist Foreign Policy

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