News Digest — 8/29/25
Israel Estimates Houthi Defense Minister, Chief Of Staff, Killed In Strike On Yemen
The Israeli Air Force on Thursday (28th) struck targets in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
The strikes were conducted during an address by Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
A security official said the primary target was a gathering of senior members of the organization, described as a sort of cabinet meeting attended by both military leaders and Houthi ministers. The official added, “We estimated that we succeeded.”
Israel believes that among those eliminated in the strike were the Houthi Defense Minister and Chief of Staff, the latter of whom had previously been wounded in an earlier attack attributed to Israel. However, the group’s leader was apparently not present at the site.
The IDF also confirmed that it struck a Houthi terrorist regime military target in the area of Sanaa in Yemen.
“The Houthi terrorist organization has been operating under the Iranian direction and funding in order to harm the State of Israel and its allies since the beginning of the war, undermining regional stability and disrupting global freedom of navigation,” the IDF said.
It added: “The IDF is operating decisively against the Houthi terrorist regime, while simultaneously intensifying strikes against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, and will continue to act to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.”
According to foreign reports, the strike targeted safe houses where senior Houthi officials were hiding. A defense official confirmed that several Houthi officials were meeting at the site that was targeted.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, together with IDF Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir and the senior IDF command spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and approved the IDF strike in Yemen.
Katz stated: “As we warned the Houthis in Yemen, after the Plague of Darkness comes the Plague of the Firstborn. Whoever raises a hand against Israel – his hand will be cut off.”
The strike is the second in Yemen this week, after a series of strikes on Houthi targets on Sunday (24th).
During Sunday ‘s (24th) attack, 14 fighter jets dropped approximately 40 munitions on Houthi military targets in the Sanaa area.
Among the targets struck were the military complex that contains the presidential palace, the Asar and Hizaz power plants, and a fuel storage site used by the Houthi military.
The IDF stated on Sunday (24th) that “the strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory in recent days.”
“The presidential palace in the Sanaa area is located within a military site from which the military forces of the Houthi terrorist regime operate,” the IDF added. “In addition, the Hizaz and Asar power plants, which served as a significant electricity supply facility for military activities, were struck.”
Strength Comes Before Peace: Netanyahu Visits Druze Village After Reported Israeli Strike Near Damascus
Amid reports of an Israeli military operation in Syria, including a wave of strikes near Damascus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the northern Israeli Druze town of Julis on Thursday (28th) to meet Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the community’s spiritual leader.
“We are focused right now on defending the Druze in Sweida, but not only there,” Netanyahu said. He recounted a recent phone call with Sheikh Tarif, who urged Israel to act. “He said to me, ‘The Jews cried out for help in the Holocaust, and no one came. Israel must come.’ That pierced my heart like an arrow. It is true, not only factually, but morally and humanly. This is especially true due to the deep, genuine bond between us. We are brothers. When I understood the magnitude of the disaster, we acted immediately.”
Netanyahu stressed that Israel would not remain passive. “I am not naive. I understand who we are dealing with and what we are dealing with. That is why we used force. I told President Trump: we both believe in the same idea — it’s called peace through strength. Strength comes first, then peace. That is how it works, certainly in our region, but not only here. But first, and foremost, in our area.”
Sheikh Tarif said the Druze community in Syria is enduring a grave crisis. “We meet today at a decisive moment for the Druze in Syria and across the Middle East. Sweida province has been under heavy siege for 45 days, and the Druze are suffering a brutal massacre – an attempt at ethnic cleansing driven by religious motives, just as happened to our Jewish brothers on October 7,” he said.
He described the atrocities facing the community. “Day after day, horrifying scenes emerge: doctors and families murdered, children and the elderly killed, rapes, hundreds kidnapped, and dozens of villages destroyed. These are crimes against humanity, posing an existential threat to the Druze and destabilizing the entire region.
Tarif urged immediate action from Israel: “We demand that Israel act now – to open a humanitarian corridor, deliver aid by air, rescue the kidnapped Druze and return the displaced to their homes, ensure a genuine cease-fire, and remove terrorist forces from Sweida. The fate of our Druze brothers depends on actions taken now.”
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official told a Saudi channel that Israeli forces had dismantled Turkish surveillance devices planted in Syria, to which Israel made no comment.
Father of Gaza Hostage: World Must Pressure Hamas, Not Israel To Release Hostages
The world needs to pressure Hamas to release the hostages, not Israel, Ilan Gilboa-Dalal told Japanese media in Tokyo on Thursday (28th). “We need the world to understand that pressuring Israel will not lead us to this goal, because when Hamas sees pressure on Israel from all over the world, they simply back out of agreeing to a deal,” he said.
“My son is dying in the dark tunnels of Hamas in Gaza without air and without food,” he added.
Knesset Speaker Amit Ohana accompanied the family of Gaza hostage Guy GilboaDalal to Tokya.
Ilan Gilboa Dalal, Guy’s father added that he is disappointed in Western countries, which, instead of supporting Israel, have rewarded terrorist organizations with recognition of a Palestinian state.
This prolongs the war and suffering of both Israel and Gaza, he argued in response to a question from a Swedish reporter.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and relatives of Gaza hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, answered questions during a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, August 26, 2025
“If Hamas praises you, it means you are advancing their goals,” Ohana commented in reference to what he called “weak leaders” recognizing a Palestinian state.
“Those who feed the beast of terror will ultimately be devoured by it,” he added, denouncing any recognition of a Palestinian state as a reward for Hamas’ October 7 massacre.
Talking to Hamas is “impossible,” Ilan Gilboa-Dalal said in response to a journalist asking if expanding military operations into Gaza City is the best way to free the remaining hostages, with Gilboa-Dalal commenting on his view that Hamas has violated every agreement that has been reached.
“Hamas must be eliminated and they must not control Gaza in the aftermath.” Gilboa-Dalal added, claiming that the main problem Israel is facing is that they are “not dealing with rational people.”
Ilan’s son Gal, also commented in response to the question.
“Hamas is using Hostages as ‘bargaining chips.’ ”
“If you really want peace, you can’t achieve it with Hamas. They will not release the hostages, he said, adding that he will never stop fighting for his brother, Guy to be freed from terror captivity.
Gilboa-Dalal, while looking at Ohana, said that he did not vote for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, but acknowledged that they are “facing probably the toughest negotiations humanity has ever seen,” and are doing everything they can, in response to a question from a Japanese journalist asking the family if Netanyahu’s government could be doing anything differently.
The family also commented on Guy’s fascination with Japanese culture and how visiting Japan is his dream.
“Guy feels a deep connection to Japanese culture. He learned Japanese, and he had previously bought a ticket to Japan before being abducted on October 7,” they said.
Israel: “We Need To Survive First, After That Comes Popularity” – Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar interviewed by Eliot Kaufman
• Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar marveled at how governments in the UK, France, Canada and Australia “came to the conclusion that they need to recognize a Palestinian state now. In the beginning, it was supposed to be under certain “conditions” – if the Palestinians would make peace. Instead, they made war, and “all conditions were forgotten.” The states’ plan is to make their recognition official in September.
• Many Europeans “cannot understand that the Palestinians – all the factions – their ideology is to eliminate the Jewish state. It’s a nice term, ‘two-state solution.’ First of all, you must have a solution. But when you ask, ‘Do you want a terror state’?” It becomes a different conversation.
• In Gaza, “the real aid situation has improved dramatically. The prices of basic products that had been very expensive fell during the past weeks. And this is because the quantities that enter Gaza, mainly by trucks, and also by airdrops, are huge.” Israel has had to facilitate the increase knowing it is “sustaining Hamas’ war machine.”
• “Of course we are in a very tough diplomatic battle. We are a small nation. We are standing against huge propaganda.” But “take into consideration that the current reality comes after a consistent two years of war. I want to hope it won’t last with the same temperature on calmer days. We will finish this war.”
• “We will not risk real interests for a temporary period of quiet and better PR. I still recall how Israel had great PR after the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.” It didn’t last. Hamas took over and Israel is still paying the price in diplomacy and in lives.
• “We need to survive first. After that, there comes popularity and how much we are able to convince others around the world.”
(wsj.com)
Largest-Ever ‘Aid Flotilla Heading To Gaza
The largest “aid flotilla” ever organized is expected to set sail for the Gaza Strip in the coming days. According to Italy’s La Republica , dozens of vessels will depart from Barcelona, Genoa, Sicily, Tunisia, and Greece, carrying humanitarian supplies and international crews from 44 countries. Organizers say the mission is designed to complicate efforts by Israel security forces to block the ships and to increase international pressure on Israel. They describe it as the “largest civilian maritime mission ever attempted.”
The first boats are scheduled to leave European ports on August 31, with more expected to join from September 4. Organizers say Greta Thunberg, the anti-Israel Swedish climate activist, plans once again to take part, this time alongside Ada Solau, former mayor of Barcelona, as well as other pro-Palestinian activists.
Most of the vessels are expected to be relatively small boats carrying humanitarian supplies. Organizers claim that some 30,000 people are on the waiting list to join. They say the flotilla aims to “break the siege of ‘starving’ Gaza and establish a permanent humanitarian corridor.”
Since the flotilla involves an illegal attempt to breach Israeli territory, it is expected to be stopped by Israeli security forces. One of the organizers , Maria Elena Delia, who serves as the flotilla’s spokesperson, told La Republica: “We understand there is a risk involved in setting out. At the same time, we cannot remain indifferent to what is happening in Gaza”
She added: “Stopping so many boats and people could be complicated for Israel, and international conventions are on our side. It is the duty of governments to protect us.” Reports in the past have noted that former flotilla initiators have had close ties to the Hamas terrorist organization.
The organizers say their strategy is not only to burden Israeli security forces with numerous vessels, but also to place as many civilians from different countries on each boat as possible, to generate maximum international pressure in the event of arrests. Many details of the flotilla are being withheld “for different reasons.”
In recent months, several smaller “aid flotillas” have been attempted, including in May and July. The most notable effort involved the Handala ship, which carried Thunberg and European Parliament member Rima Hassan. Both were detained and deported by Israel, along with other activists on board.
Israel has repeatedly offered to transfer humanitarian supplies to Gaza through alternative channels, stressing that it will not allow unauthorized vessels to enter the Strip. Flotilla activists, however, have refused to abandon their plans.
