News Digest — 8/4/25
Thousands Visit Temple Mount On Tisha B’Av
Thousands of Jewish Israelis, including government ministers, visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem Sunday (3rd), the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av.
In a departure from previous years, police authorized singing within the Temple Mount compound.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Isaac Wasserlauf were among those who visited the site.
Ben-Gvir, speaking from the Temple Mount, addressed the release of distributing videos by Gazan terrorist groups of emaciated Israeli hostages.
He described the footage as part of Hamas’ ongoing efforts “to create pressure on the State of Israel.”
“On Tisha B’Av , we mourn not only the past – but the pain that still endures.”
He emphasized that the Temple Mount itself served as evidence that “sovereignty and governance are possible.”
“Precisely from here, a message must be sent,” Ben-Gvir asserted, outlining his prescription for responding to Hamas.
He called for Israel to “conquer all of Gaza, declare sovereignty over the entire Strip, take down every Hamas member, and encourage voluntary migration.”
According to Ben-Gvir, only by taking these steps can Israel hope to secure the release of hostages and achieve victory in the current conflict.
Thousands had already gathered at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem on Saturday evening (2nd) to mark the start of Tisha B’Av ( the 9th of Av) – a day when Jews mourn the destruction of both ancient Temples that once stood on the Temple Mount in Israel’s capital, considered the holiest site in Judaism. It is a day of fasting and lamentation.
Under the current government, the Temple Mount has seen a surge in Jewish visits and open worship especially on important holidays such as Tisha B’av.
The Prime Minister’s Office, however, asserted on Sunday (3rd): “Israel’s policy to maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change.”
Netanyahu: Hamas Wants To Break Us—We will Eliminate Them
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a strong response on Sunday evening (3rd) to the recent hostage video released by Hamas.
“Dear citizens of Israel, like you, I too was shocked yesterday. I saw the horrific videos of our precious sons, Rom and Evyatar. I called their families and embraced them on behalf of myself, my wife, and all of you,” Netanyahu began.
He continued: “You see them wasting away in a dungeon. But the Hamas monsters surrounding them – they are well-fed, with thick arms. They have everything they need to eat. They are starving our boys the way the Nazis starved the Jews. And when I see this, I understand exactly what Hamas wants. They don’t want a deal – they want to break us with these horror videos, with the false and grotesque propaganda they spread around the world.”
“But we will not break. I am filled with even greater determination – to free our kidnapped sons, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to the State of Israel,” the Prime Minister declared.
Earlier, a senior Israeli official stated that Israel has come to understand that Hamas is not interested in a deal, and therefore the plan is to intensify military pressure in order to secure the hostages’ release.
“We are in talks with the Americans. There is growing understanding that Hamas does not want a deal, and therefore the Prime Minister is pushing for the hostages to be freed through military victory – combined with the entry of humanitarian aid into the areas outside the combat zones and , as much as possible, outside Hamas control,” the official said.
On Sunday evening, (3rd) Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with Julien Lerisso, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in the region, requesting his involvement in delivering urgent food and medical treatment to the hostages.
Netanyahu told Lerisso: “Hamas’ lie of starvation echoes around the world, while the real systematic starvation is being inflicted on our hostages, who are suffering brutal physical and psychological abuse. The world cannot stand idly by in the face of these shocking images, reminiscent of Nazi crimes.”
He urges the international community to denounce the terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and to cease all direct and indirect support for them, stressing that their actions violate international law and the Geneva Convention.
Israel’s Goals In Gaza Are Legal And Just – Maj. (ret.) John Spencer
To claim that Israel has already achieved its goals and should end the war is not accurate and is disconnected from reality. Likewise, saying that Israel cannot achieve its goals is also untrue. Israel’s goals in Gaza, as stated clearly and consistently by its political leadership, are: return all hostages; dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza; and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.
These three goals are both legal and just in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, when Hamas invaded Israel. In response, Israel exercised its rights under Article 51 of the UN Charter and declared a self-defense war against Hamas. This legal framework affirms the inherent right of a nation to defend itself following an armed assault, and Israel’s military operations in Gaza are grounded in that right.
Many commentators rely on double standards that are applied only to Israel, such as measuring legal adherence to the laws of war by citing daily casualty counts from the enemy force, which is an internationally designated terrorist organization. This is not how war is assessed for any other nation.
Moreover, the idea that an attacking military must present a plan for replacement governance before the opposing force has been defeated through force or surrender is another double standard. Victory and defeat must come first. Replacement comes after, not before.
Israel has been providing humanitarian aid to the enemy’s population during wartime, while battles are ongoing, while the enemy still controls territory, continues to launch attacks, and holds hostages. Israel has done this out of moral responsibility and to balance military objectives with humanitarian imperatives. However, the argument that this is a legal requirement is a double standard.
The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Moder War Institute at West Point. (X)
(x.com)
IDF Downs Drone From Yemen Near Egyptian Border
The IDF said Sunday (3rd) it intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle launched from Yemen, marking the latest in a series of cross-border attacks linked to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The drone triggered an alert in the southern Israeli community of Bnei Netzarim, near the Egypt-Israel border. The military confirmed that the UAV, which entered Israeli airspace from Yemen, was successfully downed by the Israeli Air Force. There were no injuries or damages reported.
Shortly after the alert was issued, the Home Front Command announced the incident had concluded. “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago regarding a hostile aircraft infiltration in Bnei Netzarim, a suspicious aerial target launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF,” the IDF said in a statement.
On Friday (1st), Israeli forces intercepted a ballistic missile that prompted widespread alarms in central Israel, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea region and the West Bank. The missile was downed without casualties, but flights were temporarily delayed at Ben Gurion International Airport.
Earlier in the week, additional UAVs were intercepted over Egyptian territory, including near the community of Shlomit in the Eshkol Regional Council. In those instances, alerts were limited, and no injuries or damages were reported. On Tuesday (7/29), another ballistic missile was intercepted after alarms sounded in major urban areas, including Tel Aviv, the Yarkon region and parts of the West Bank.
Despite repeated Israeli airstrikes targeting Houthi infrastructure in Yemen, the rebel group has continued its attempts to strike Israeli territory. On July 21, the IDF carried out attacks on the Houthis main port: targeting efforts to rebuild damaged infrastructure, as well as fuel tanks, vessels used for military operations and other assets the IDF said were used to support “terror activities and naval targets in the region.”
IDF Says Soldiers Questioned Suspected Dealers, Seized Arms In Overnight Syria Raid
Israeli soldiers questioned several suspected arms dealers and seized weapons during an overnight raid in southern Syria, the military said Sunday morning (3rd).
Troops of the 226th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade and field interrogators of the intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 operated in the Druze town of Hader, just across the border.
The Israeli Defense Forces said information gathered during the questioning of suspected arms dealers, along with prior intelligence, led the troops to four sites in the area where weapons were being stored.
The soldiers raided the sites simultaneously and seized “numerous weapons that the suspects had been trafficking,” the army said.
Israel has been involved militarily in Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024. In the immediate aftermath, Israel occupied Syria’s demilitarized zone and destroyed most of the Assad military’s facilities in a widespread bombing campaign.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, the IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria, mostly within the UN-patrolled buffer zone.
Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”
In recent months, the IDF said ground troops had conducted over 300 “routine operations” in southern Syria, including arresting suspected terror operatives, preventing “enemy entrenchment,” and thwarting arms smuggling to Lebanon.
The military has also been operating a medical facility next to Hader to treat the Druze residents of the town and other Syrians. The “forward mobile triage” site was established in May. It was closed due to the war in Iran in June, as the forces operating it were diverted to other tasks, and reopened last month.
The military has also been constructing a barrier, “New East,” along the Israeli-Syrian border, which resembles a trench to prevent the crossing of vehicles.
In July, the IDF conducted airstrikes on Syrian government forces to support Syrian Druze—who have close relations with Israel’s Druze community—amid violent clashes in the Sweida area of southern Syria.
Iran Expert Claims US, Israel Manipulating Weather As Water Crisis Nears Breaking Point
An Iranian water resources expert has accused Israel and the United States of orchestrating a decades-long effort to divert rain clouds away from Iran, allegedly contributing to the country’s deepening water crisis, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported.
The claims were made by Mohsen Arbabian during a July 10 interview on the Iranian YouTube channel Khateh Energy. Arbabian alleged that Israel and the U.S., which he described as openly hostile to Iran, have been “gradually working” to manipulate regional weather patterns over 40 years.
He specifically pointed to the differences in water levels between Lake Van in Turkey, which he claims is full, and Iran’s Lake Umia, once the largest saltwater lake in the Middle East, which has nearly dried up.
According to Arbabian, clouds originating in the Mediterranean that would typically bring rainfall to Iran are instead being redirected toward neighboring countries such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.
Iran has been in the grips of its worst drought in decades, struggling under five years of below-average rainfall—dropping by more than 40% in several regions—and rapidly depleting its reservoirs. President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned that Tehran’s dams may run completely dry by September or October without severe water-use cuts.
Authorities recently declared a public holiday across Tehran and asked 10 provinces to conserve water and electricity even though extreme heatwaves exceeded 50 degrees Celsius.
By early 2025, dam levels had dropped to record lows – Tehran’s main reservoir hovering around 1%, others ranging 30-60% capacity – and several provinces already facing drought conditions. This crisis has led to widespread rationing, protests and demonstrations in cities like Khomam and urgent calls for water-use reduction of at least 20% from residents.
