News Digest — 6/17/26
Report:Al-Sharaa Hesitates To Confront Hezbollah To Avoid Being Seen As Defending Israel
Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa fears that a military intervention against Hezbollah could be perceived in the Arab world as a move to defend Israel, thereby damaging his regional standing, Kan 11 News reported Tuesday evening (16th) citing a Syrian source familiar with the mindset among the ruling elite in Damascus.
According to the source, Syrian military intervention against Hezbollah in Lebanon is a non-starter unless Israel accedes to Syrian demands, chief among them the withdrawal of the IDF from areas it seized in southern Syria following the collapse of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.
The report follows remarks made earlier on Tuesday (16th) by US President Donald Trump who stated that Al-Sharaa’s Syria would “take care of” Hezbollah instead of Israel.
The possibility of Syria assisting in dismantling the group’s military capabilities has surfaced repeatedly over recent months during various diplomatic talks.
However, in recent days, Al-Sharaa himself clarified that he has no intention of intervening militarily in Lebanon. According to the president, Syria’s efforts are strictly focused on securing its border with Lebanon and thwarting weapons smuggling to Hezbollah.
Last Thursday (11th) , Kan 11 News reported that Turkey had conveyed messages to Damascus advising against military action against Hezbollah, citing concerns that such a move would strengthen Israel’s regional position.
Meanwhile, new details have emerged regarding a proposal raised by Trump during a joint meeting between Israeli and Lebanese representatives. According to the report, the US President suggested that the Syrian military should lead the initiative to disarm Hezbollah.
Based on the published information, both Israel and Lebanon expressed reservations about the idea. Israel voiced skepticism regarding Syria’s capability and willingness to act against the group, while Lebanon opposed the deployment of a foreign army on its soil.
Israeli officials also criticized the burgeoning agreement being negotiated with the United States, arguing it could ultimately strengthen Hezbollah and grant the group political and security legitimacy in the region.
Is This A Ceasefire? Hezbollah Fired Rockets: IAF Destroys Launcher
The Israeli Air Force intercepted several rockets launched Tuesday (16th) by Hezbollah toward the area where IDF forces are operating in southern Lebanon. Later, it struck the launcher from which some of the rockets had been fired. The IDF said the strike was carried out rapidly after the source of the fire was identified.
According to the IDF, the rockets were fired toward the forces’ area of operations, but in accordance with existing policy, no warning sirens were activated.
The IDF also reported that earlier in the day, a suspicious vehicle was identified in the area where forces are operating in southern Lebanon. Troops initially fired warning shots toward the vehicle and later carried out a strike in the area to remove the threat.
Meanwhile Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen channel reported an Israeli strike in the village of Mifdoun in southern Lebanon.
The military said the strike was carried out approximately 2.5 kilometers from the security zone in which IDF forces are operating in southern Lebanon, with the aim of removing an immediate threat to the troops.
Huckabee: ‘Without Israel, There Would Be No America’
US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee spoke Tuesday evening (16th) at the opening of the International Conference on Israeli Heritage in Judea and Samaria held in Herodion National Park, and emphasized the importance of Israel and Jewish heritage in the United States.
Huckabee said that his role is not only to represent the United States in Israel, but also to represent to Americans the importance of Israel to their own country.
“It is your heritage, without a doubt,” the ambassador told the Jewish attendees. “It is also the heritage of the United States. Without Israel, without the Jewish foundation, there would be no America.”
“We owe our very existence to what happened in this land,” and “stand with Israel because of God’s promise, not politics,” he added
Huckabee’s comments came hours after US President Donald Trump addressed American involvement with Iran and said that without his intervention, Israel would not exist. “Without the US, without me – there would be no Israel,”Trump said.
Global Sumud Flotilla Announces New Gaza-Bound Mission To Challenge Israeli Blockade Once Again
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) has unveiled plans for a renewed maritime mission toward the Gaza Strip, escalating efforts once again to challenge Israel’s naval blockade and make yet another attempt to reach the war-torn enclave amid ongoing regional tensions.
During a meeting in Istanbul on Saturday (13th) hosted by the GSF’S Turkish branch, Behesti Ismail Songur, a member of the organization’s leadership, announced plans for a new mission that would seek to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza, though no date has yet been set.
According to Songur, the new effort is expected to depart “in the coming months,” with organizations promising an expanded number of vessels and broader international participation compared to flotillas launched earlier this spring.
“The Global Sumud Flotilla is setting out on a new mission toward Gaza with the aim of breaking the blockade and highlighting the humanitarian situation in the Strip,” he said.
The anti-Israel flotilla represents the latest attempt by activists to defy Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, even as Israel has reopened the Rafah crossing to allow Palestinians to travel to Egypt for medical care.
Israel launched the blockade to prevent Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that ruled Gaza before the war and currently controls about 40 percent of its territory, from getting weapons and other supplies to attack the Jewish state.
Before the war, the Rafah border crossing with Egypt served as the only direct exit for most Gazans and a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid.
The crossing has been largely closed since May 2024 and remains under Israeli military control on the Gaza side.
In recent months COGAT, the Israeli military unit responsible for humanitarian coordination, reopened the crossing in both directions for Gaza residents on foot only, with operations coordinated alongside Egypt and the European Union.
Gsf’s new announcement comes after Israeli naval forces intercepted the organization’s spring 2026 flotillas in international waters, stopping most of the 54 vessels carrying roughly 50 activists west of Cyprus in a large-scale maritime operation that unfolded over several days.
Dozens of vessels were halted at sea, and hundreds of activists were taken to Israel before being detained, processed, and subsequently deported.
Although the operation did not succeed, activists still described the flotillas as a media success and vowed to continue maritime pressure on Israel, pledging to return with a larger fleet in future attempts.
Experts have repeatedly noted that the amount of aid on the ships is small and limited compared to the truckloads of supplies that Israel has allowed into Gaza.
Israeli officials said more than 1.58 million metric tons of humanitarian aid and thousands of tons of medical supplies have entered Gaza since October 2025, when the ceasefire with Hamas went into effect.
The anti-Israel campaigners have also organized previous flotillas carrying symbolic humanitarian aid, including a similar mission last year that Israeli officials repeatedly denounced as a publicity stunt.
About 60 vessels carrying 500 activists took part in last year’s mission, but all were intercepted by Israeli forces and deported, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and European Parliament member Rima Hassan.
UK Appeals Court Upholds Ban On Palestine Action As A Terrorist Organization
A British appeals court ruled Monday (15th) that the government acted lawfully in banning a prominent pro-Palestine group as a terrorist organization.
Jewish groups welcomed the decision to maintain the ban on Palestine Action which has staged multiple destructive attacks on military installations and weapons manufacturers in Britain,
The government banned Palestine Action in July 2025 after some of its members broke into an air force base and damaged two military aircraft as part of a protest against the UK’s relationship with Israel during the war in Gaza.The ruling meant that anyone displaying support for the group has been subject to arrest and imprisonment.
The British High Court declared the ban unlawful in February, concluding that the ban interfered with Palestine Action members rights to speech and assembly.
Now, a five-judge UK Court of Appeals panel has ruled that the group’s activities met the legal standards for terrorism and the government’s decision to ban the group was justified and proportionate.
Sue Carr, England’s chief justice, said in a statement broadcast from the court that while many Palestine Action activities and affiliates were non violent, the group’s materials and impact showed that violence was integral to its activities.
British Jewish groups applauded the decision. “The court’s decision confirms the seriousness of Palestine Action’s activities,” Board of Deputies of British Jews acting President Adrian Cohen said in an email to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Cohen noted that Palestine Action’s targets have included Jewish communal institutions and Jewish-owned businesses.
The ruling comes days after four Palestine Action-affiliated activists were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in connection with an August 2024 break-in at the headquarters of Elbit Systems UK, the British outpost of an Israeli weapons company
The ruling also comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks new powers to ban state-backed groups, such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a terrorist organization.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British advocacy group, said the ruling about Palestine Action “underscores the Home Secretary’s power to proscribe terrorist networks”and called for the IRGC and other groups to be banned.
The Two-State Fantasy – Bassam Tawil
Nearly three years after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, many Western governments and diplomats remain trapped in a dangerous fantasy: the belief that creating a Palestinian state will bring peace to the Middle East. France is hosting an international conference in Paris this month to revive the two-state solution and promote the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The conference is detached from reality. Why would any country allow a barbaric, homicidal state, committed to its destruction, anywhere near it, let alone on its border? Would France welcome al-Qaeda or Islamic State on its border?
It is astonishing that after Oct. 7, anyone can still argue that a Palestinian state would enhance peace and security under current circumstances. The opposite is true. Such a hostile state, dedicated to Israel’s destruction, would pose an existential threat to its neighbor. Perhaps the actual wish is to help the Palestinians “finish the job.”
Gaza already served as a test case for Palestinian self-rule. After Israel removed every soldier and Jewish civilian from Gaza in 2005, Palestinians received an opportunity to build foundations of a future state. Instead, Hamas seized control in 2007 and transformed it into a base for jihad (holy war) against Israel. Billions of dollars in international aid flowed into Gaza. Much of the money was diverted to creating a military infrastructure designed for one purpose: the destruction of Israel.
Why should anyone believe that a Palestinian state in the West Bank would be any different? Palestinian leaders have failed to prepare Palestinians for peaceful coexistence with Israel. They continue to pay and glorify terrorists, incite hatred, and teach generations of Palestinians that Israel has no right to exist. (Gatestone Institute)
Trump Ended The War On His Terms, Leaving Israel With The Consequences – Col. (res.) Eldad Shavit
The understandings reached between the U.S. and Iran are not a historic agreement and certainly not a new nuclear deal. They are mainly an American attempt to stop a war that Trump no longer wanted. The president needed an exit. Now he is presenting it as a victory. But most of the difficult issues have not been resolved.
The nuclear program has not been dismantled. The fate of the enriched uranium remains disputed. Oversight is unclear. The 60-day negotiation window that is now supposed to open does not guarantee a breakthrough. It is more likely to become a mechanism for delay and buying time. Trump, having already declared success, will find it difficult to quickly return to a full-scale war. The more likely scenario is prolonged management of indecision.
Israel emerges from this campaign stronger militarily, but more constrained diplomatically. It proved its ability to strike Iran and operate alongside the U.S., but it also learned that Washington decides when to stop, what counts as victory, and how much Israel will be able to keep operating the day after.
Israel sought a decision. Trump sought a victory image. That gap erupted around the Israeli strike in Dahieh. From Israel’s perspective, it was part of the ongoing campaign against Hezbollah. From Trump’s perspective, it was almost an act of sabotage against his diplomatic move.
Regional states will not wish to conclude that Iran is out of the game. They saw that the U.S. knows how to apply tremendous military force, but is not built, politically or economically, to conduct a prolonged war until full victory over Iran. Many of them will return to maintaining channels with Tehran, understanding that, even after a severe blow, Iran remains a player that cannot be ignored.
Israel’s main concern now is freedom of action. Any Israeli operation against Iranian facilities, senior officials or strategic assets could be seen in Washington as an attempt to torpedo the agreement Trump is presenting as a personal achievement. In Lebanon, Israel may retain greater room to maneuver. But any significant strike in Dahieh or against Hezbollah will be examined through one question. Does it endanger the “understandings” with Iran?
The writer, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, previously served in senior roles in Israeli Defense Intelligence and the Mossad.
