The administration of President Donald Trump has authorized $230 million in assistance for Lebanon’s security institutions this week as part of efforts to weaken and eventually disarm Hezbollah, once considered the dominant armed group in the country, according to officials in both Washington and Beirut.
A Lebanese official familiar with the details explained that the allocation includes $190 million earmarked for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and another $40 million directed to the Internal Security Forces (ISF).
Democratic congressional aides in Washington noted that the aid was finalized just before the close of the U.S. fiscal year on September 30. One aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “For a small country like Lebanon, that’s really, really significant.”
The U.S. State Department offered no response when asked for comment. The decision to release the money came despite the administration cutting back sharply on numerous foreign aid initiatives, under the principle that spending American tax dollars should be guided by an America First approach.
Observers suggested the release of the funds underscores Trump’s focus on pursuing a solution to the fighting in Gaza and broader regional tensions.
In a written response to inquiries, a State Department spokesperson said that U.S. support is intended to bolster Lebanese forces “as they work to assert Lebanese sovereignty across the country and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the only viable framework for a durable security arrangement for both Lebanese and Israelis.”
The 1701 resolution, passed by the UN in August 2006, formally brought an end to the previous war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The current conflict, which reignited between Israel and Lebanon a year ago, has severely weakened Hezbollah while inflicting heavy damage across large areas of Lebanon.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, in an appeal made on August 5, urged the LAF to prepare a plan that would ensure all weapons in the country would be placed under the authority of official security services by the end of this year.
Hezbollah, however, has consistently refused to disarm since its last war with Israel, though it now faces growing pressure from within Lebanon as well as from Washington to give up its arsenal.
According to the Lebanese source, part of the American funding will enable the ISF to take greater responsibility for internal security, thereby allowing the Lebanese Armed Forces to concentrate on broader strategic priorities.
{Matzav.com}
None of the 40 vessels in the Global Sumud Flotilla, intercepted by Israel on Yom Kippur, contained any humanitarian aid bound for Gaza, Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said. The ministry released footage showing the empty interior of one of the flotilla’s largest ships, narrated by Israeli Police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne. “It was never about bringing aid to Gaza,” Elsdunne said in the video. “It was about the headlines and social media followings.” He noted that the absence of supplies explained why flotilla organizers had rejected offers from Israel and other countries to transfer aid through legal channels rather than attempt to breach the naval blockade. The controversy comes as additional flotillas head toward the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israeli warnings. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition confirmed that a ship named Conscience departed Italy on Wednesday carrying roughly 100 people — described by the group as a mix of activists, healthcare workers, and journalists. Meanwhile, another eight boats that left Italy nearly a week ago are currently sailing near Crete, according to online tracking platforms. Social media accounts tied to the Sumud Flotilla also claimed that a second convoy of 45 vessels had departed from the Turkish port of Arsuz, releasing video purportedly showing the departure. Israeli officials have not yet confirmed whether those boats are bound for Gaza. The flotillas come amid intensifying pressure on Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where international aid groups have warned of shortages of food, medicine, and basic supplies. Israel, however, has repeatedly described the maritime convoys as security threats and propaganda stunts rather than relief missions. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
According to a report in the New York Times on Friday morning, a U.S. federal judge has dismissed the case brought against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) by over 100 survivors and relatives of victims of the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacres in southern Israel.
The lawsuit, which was submitted in June in the Southern District of New York, demanded $1 billion in damages and accused UNRWA of assisting Hamas by letting its facilities serve as storage sites for weapons, as well as being used for tunnels, command centers, and transferring money to Hamas through salaries paid in U.S. dollars.
The court concluded that because UNRWA operates as part of the United Nations, it can rely on the UN’s immunity protections to avoid being sued.
As of the time of the ruling, neither UNRWA nor the plaintiffs had released any formal reaction to the court’s decision.
Earlier this year, in April, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a letter stating that UNRWA is not entitled to invoke the UN’s immunity in American courts, since it does not qualify as a “subsidiary organ” of the UN under the International Organizations Immunities Act.
That April letter represented a shift from the DOJ’s earlier position during the Biden administration, when the department held that UNRWA did have immunity and, on that basis, had blocked the lawsuit from moving forward.
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump on Thursday told One America News Network that his “big plans” for the upcoming midterm elections include little more than surviving. “I have big plans, I want to survive,” Trump said with a chuckle in the interview, before pivoting to a more somber warning. “You look at what’s going on, it’s crazy. You know, the rhetoric that these crazy Democrats are using is very dangerous. They’ve made politics very dangerous.” The president’s comments underscored the degree to which physical security — already a central theme of his second term following two attempts on his life — has become intertwined with his political strategy heading into the 2026 midterms. Trump’s remarks come just over a year after he was nearly killed at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when 22-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a rooftop. A bullet clipped Trump’s ear, leaving him bloodied but alive, while firefighter Corey Compartore was fatally shot as he shielded his daughter. Trump has repeatedly invoked Compartore’s sacrifice, describing the attack as a moment that permanently altered his outlook. Two months later, another armed assailant, Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested at Trump’s Palm Beach golf course after allegedly pointing a gun in the president’s direction. Routh, 59, expressed disillusionment with both parties in writings prior to the incident, noting his frustration with America’s entrenched two-party system. And just last month, Trump ally and TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a college debate in Utah. Despite the threats, Trump has wasted little time turning his post-2024 victory into a financial war chest for allies. He told Republican governors earlier this year that he had raised over $1 billion since defeating Kamala Harris — and that the money would flow into key races. “So we’ve got that money, and I got to spend it somewhere,” Trump quipped earlier this year. “If I can’t spend it on me, I guess that means I’m going to be spending it on some of my friends, right?” But his OAN interview struck a more cautious note. “The one thing that I worry about is that, if you look over many, many years … the person that wins the presidency always seems to lose the midterms,” he said, hinting at the historical pattern that has haunted modern administrations. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has become one of the most powerful vehicles for spreading antisemitism in modern history, according to a sweeping investigation released Monday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA). The nearly yearlong probe found “systemic failures” in X’s content moderation that allow antisemitic conspiracy theories and abuse to flourish unchecked — often through influential, monetized accounts. The report warns that the unchecked spread of this content is fueling polarization and increasing the risk of real-world violence. “Platforms like X enable antisemitic content to reach millions for zero cost to the producer, with little to no accountability,” said Imran Ahmed, CCDH’s founder and CEO. “Unless platforms change course, live up to their terms of service, and stop the spread of antisemitism and broader hate and extremism, it will likely lead to further violent incidents targeting Jewish and other vulnerable communities.” Researchers used OpenAI’s GPT-4o model to analyze a sample of content, identifying 679,000 posts that violated X’s antisemitism policies. Together, those posts racked up 193 million views in 11 months — despite the company’s public commitments to reduce visibility of hate speech. The analysis focused only on English-language text, not images or video, and had an estimated 85 percent accuracy rate. Conspiracy theories dominated the data. The report found that 59 percent of antisemitic posts promoted conspiracies, yet those drew 73 percent of total likes. Posts alleging Jews secretly control global media, finance or politics made up 30 percent of the sample, but attracted 44 percent of likes and views. The FBI has repeatedly warned that such narratives serve as a catalyst for violent extremism. The groups also charged that X’s decentralized “Community Notes” fact-checking system is failing to counter antisemitism. Of the 300 most-viewed antisemitic posts studied, just four included a visible note — and even those were only shown 22 percent of the time. “Despite Elon Musk’s assurances that ‘a falsehood like Holocaust denial… can immediately be corrected’ by Community Notes, this report finds negligible evidence of effective correction,” the authors wrote. The report also found that X makes it easier for so-called “antisemitism influencers” to build large audiences and monetize their content. Ten accounts were responsible for nearly a third of total likes in the sample; nine of them had larger followings on X than on any other social platform. Researchers found ads displayed next to posts from five of the top 10 accounts, estimating that X could be earning up to $141,000 a year in advertising revenue tied directly to antisemitic content. Jewish organizations have long warned about antisemitism on X. Fourteen U.S. Jewish groups announced earlier this year that they would quit the platform over the surge in hate speech. In September 2023, more than 120 Jewish activists urged advertisers and app stores to sever ties with X. “Antisemitic conspiracy theories and hate that were once fringe have been wholly normalized — thriving in plain sight and amplified by X’s failure to live up to its own policies,” said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of JCPA. “At a time when polarization, extremism and violence are rising at home and abroad, the unchecked spread of antisemitism online is a direct threat not only to Jewish safety, but to the safety of all communities and […]
Israeli intelligence officials say they played a key role in thwarting a Hamas-linked terror plot on German soil, underscoring the reach of the Mossad’s European counterterrorism operations. On Wednesday, federal prosecutors in Germany announced the arrest of three men accused of preparing “a serious act of violence” on behalf of Hamas. Authorities say the suspects were actively working to procure firearms and ammunition since the summer, with plans to attack Israeli and Jewish institutions in Berlin and beyond. “In the course of today’s arrests, various weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle and several pistols, as well as a considerable amount of ammunition, were found,” prosecutors said in a statement. The men — identified under German privacy laws only as Abed Al G., a German citizen; Wael F. M., a Lebanese national; and Ahmad I., also a German citizen — were arrested in coordinated raids across the capital. The Mossad issued an unusual public confirmation of its role, saying the arrests were the result of “close coordination” with German intelligence and law enforcement. Israeli officials described the takedown as part of “an extensive Mossad effort throughout Europe” that has uncovered weapons caches and led to additional arrests of operatives suspected of plotting attacks. German authorities have not specified which institutions were under threat, but said the suspects were tied to Hamas networks seeking to carry out assassinations. The operation highlights a growing concern among European governments that Hamas and its affiliates are seeking to expand their operational footprint in Western countries. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Henry Hamra, a Jew of Syrian origin now residing in the United States, has announced his candidacy for a seat representing the Damascus district. The vote is set for October 5. Hamra, who fled Syria in 1992 at age 15 with his father, Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, is pledging to use his candidacy to rally Syrian expatriates abroad—particularly in the U.S.—to dismantle the “Caesar Act,” Washington’s sweeping sanctions regime against Damascus. The legislation, enacted in 2019, conditions relief on sweeping political reforms by the Assad government and has been blamed by Syrian officials for crippling the country’s already battered economy. Hamra returned to Damascus in February on a highly symbolic visit to the city’s abandoned Jewish quarter, where only a handful of Jews remain from what was once a thriving community of 100,000. His campaign announcement leans heavily on that symbolism, presenting him as both a bridge to Syria’s exiled diaspora and a political outsider with ties to Washington. The bid is unprecedented. Syria’s parliament, tightly controlled by the Assad regime, has not seen a Jewish representative in decades. While Hamra’s chances of winning remain unclear, his candidacy alone has drawn attention across the Middle East and among Syrian exile communities abroad—where debates rage over whether his campaign signals a genuine political opening or a carefully managed gesture by Damascus aimed at undermining U.S. sanctions. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that one of the victims killed during a Yom Kippur terror attack at a shul may have been struck by gunfire from armed officers responding to the scene. The victims were identified as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Kravitz hy”d, 66, though it wasn’t clear which one had been shot by police. Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said forensic evidence indicates that the terrorist, identified as Jihad al-Shamie, was not armed with a firearm during Wednesday’s attack. “The only shots fired were from GMP’s Authorised Firearms Officers as they worked to prevent the offender from entering the synagogue and causing further harm to our Jewish community,” Watson said. A Home Office pathologist confirmed that one victim sustained a gunshot wound. Police believe the injury “may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence” of officers’ actions to halt the attack. Another victim also suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Both were reportedly standing close together behind the shul door as mispalelim fought to block the attacker’s entry. In total, three people were wounded in the attack. Watson praised the community’s response, saying, “It is believed that both victims were close together behind the synagogue door, as worshippers acted bravely to prevent the attacker from gaining entry.” He added: “Our thoughts and prayers remain with all of the families, and the wider community, impacted by this incident across Greater Manchester and beyond. Specialist officers are providing support and care for all of those directly affected, including our brave first responders.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The White House confirmed Thursday that President Donald Trump is preparing to establish a clear red line for how long Hamas will be given to agree to a ceasefire framework that has Israel’s backing, Reuters reported.
Although no fixed enforcement date has been officially announced, Trump said earlier in the week that Hamas had three to four days to answer the offer, which calls for the terrorist group to surrender its weapons — a demand Hamas has repeatedly refused in the past.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt appeared on Fox News, where she was pressed on when the administration would consider Hamas to have walked away from negotiations.
“Well, it’s a very good question, and it’s a red line that the president of the United States is going to have to draw. And I’m confident that he will,” Leavitt responded.
She stressed the effort put into creating the proposal. “The president and his team worked very hard on this 20-point, comprehensive, detailed plan that has been applauded all over the world.”
“This is an acceptable plan, and we hope and we expect Hamas should accept this plan so we can move forward,” she added.
Earlier this week, CBS News reported that Hamas was leaning toward agreeing to Trump’s initiative to bring the conflict to a close.
But by Wednesday morning, a Hamas representative told the BBC that the organization was more likely to turn it down, insisting the deal “serves Israel’s interests” and “ignores those of the Palestinian people”.
The following day, the BBC reported that mediators from Qatar and Egypt had spoken with Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza. He made his opposition to the plan unmistakably clear.
According to that report, al-Haddad argued that the American proposal is structured to bring an end to Hamas’s rule regardless of whether they agree, and therefore he sees no reason to accept it — saying Hamas must continue its fight.
{Matzav.com}
Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said Thursday night that the terror strike in Manchester on Yom Kippur was the inevitable outcome of the steady rise of antisemitism across the country.
“Our hearts are shattered. Emerging from the holy fast of Yom Kippur, British Jews are now grasping the full extent of today’s terror attack at the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester,” Rabbi Mirvis wrote in a message posted on X.
“This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come. For so long we have witnessed an unrelenting wave of Jew hatred on our streets, on campuses, on social media and elsewhere – this is the tragic result,” he added.
He explained that the massacre was “not only an assault on the Jewish community, but an attack on the very foundations of humanity and the values of compassion, dignity and respect which we all share.”
Rabbi Mirvis also shared that he had spoken personally with Rabbi Daniel Walker, the rov of Heaton Park Synagogue. “His courageous leadership, together with the resilience of his congregation, are an inspiration to us all,” he continued.
“May the victims’ memories be for a blessing and may the injured be granted a swift recovery. I pray that this tragedy strengthens our collective resolve to confront antisemitism, in all its guises, once and for all,” concluded Rabbi Mirvis.
The attack, which occurred outside the Manchester shul on Yom Kippur, left two Yidden murdered and three others in serious condition.
Witnesses described a vehicle suddenly racing toward the crowd standing outside the building. After hitting multiple people, the assailant got out of the car and began stabbing before he was stopped by police. Authorities called in bomb disposal experts and later confirmed the assault was a terrorist attack. They also announced that two people had been taken into custody.
Amid the chaos, Rabbi Daniel Walker saved many lives by shutting and blocking the doors of the shul, preventing the terrorist from forcing his way inside after striking and stabbing mispallelim outside.
{Matzav.com}
A U.S. immigration judge has denied a bid for asylum from Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose case has become a proxy for the partisan power struggle over immigration policy. The judge in Baltimore on Wednesday rejected an application to reopen Abrego Garcia’s 2019 asylum case, but that is not the final word. Abrego Garcia has 30 days to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The Salvadoran national has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the United States illegally as a teenager. In 2019, he was arrested by immigration agents. He requested asylum but was not eligible because he had been in the U.S. for more than a year. But the judge ruled he could not be deported to El Salvador, where he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family. He was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by President Donald Trump’s administration in March and was held in a notorious prison, and his case soon became a rallying point for those who oppose the Republican president’s immigration crackdown. Facing a ruling from the Supreme Court, the administration returned him to the U.S. in June, only to immediately charge him with human smuggling. Abrego Garcia faces criminal charges in Tennessee, based on a 2022 traffic stop. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also seeking to deport him to a third country, proposing Uganda first and then Eswatini, a small country in southern Africa where the king still holds absolute power. His attorneys have denounced the criminal charges and the deportation efforts, saying they are an attempt to punish him for standing up to the administration. Abrego Garcia’s request to reopen his asylum case is a calculated risk. If approved, asylum could provide him with a green card and a path to citizenship. But if he loses, an immigration judge could remove his protection from being returned to his native country. That could place him back in the infamous Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. It’s where, he alleges in a lawsuit, he suffered severe beatings, sleep deprivation and psychological torture. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has denied those allegations. Trump administration officials have waged a relentless public relations campaign against Abrego Garcia, repeatedly referring to him as a member of the MS-13 gang, among other things, despite the fact he has not been convicted of any crimes. His lawyers have filed motions requesting a gag order and say he will not be able to receive a fair trial because of the “highly prejudicial, inflammatory, and false statements” made about him. While the federal judge in Tennessee can order prosecutors there not to make any prejudicial statements about Abrego Garcia, it is unclear whether the judge’s authority extends to the Department of Homeland Security, which posted about the immigration court ruling on X on Wednesday. “His lawyers tried to fight his removal from the U.S. but one thing is certain, this Salvadoran man is not going to be able to remain in our country,” according to the post. (AP)
UK counter-terror officials announced that the terrorist who carried out the horrific assault outside a Manchester shul on Yom Kippur has been identified as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, a British national with Syrian roots.
Police emphasized that official confirmation of identity has not yet been finalized but stated clearly that Al-Shamie is believed to have been behind the murderous attack.
“We are now able to confirm that, although formal identification is yet to take place, we believe the person responsible for today’s attacks is 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie. He is a British citizen of Syrian descent,” authorities said in a statement cited by CNN.
Investigators reported that Al-Shamie had not previously been flagged to the UK Home Office’s Prevent program, a cornerstone of Britain’s counter-terror strategy.
Law enforcement also revealed that three other people have been arrested in connection with the atrocity. The suspects include two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s, all held “on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed earlier that the terrorist was neutralized by armed units who shot him dead at the scene.
The attack was carried out on Yom Kippur, the most sacred day in the Jewish year, as mispallelim gathered for tefillah.
In the middle of the chaos, Rabbi Daniel Walker, the rov of the shul, displayed remarkable courage by blocking the entrance of the shul, preventing the terrorist from storming inside after already ramming into and stabbing Jews outside. His quick action spared countless lives.
{Matzav.com}
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States that supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington but will not change the situation on the battlefield where the Russian army is making slow but steady advances. The potential supply of U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv will signal a “qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the U.S.,” Putin said at a forum of foreign policy experts in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi. The Russian leader noted that even though Tomahawk missiles will inflict damage on Russia if supplied to Ukraine, Russian air defenses will quickly adapt to the new threat. “It will certainly not change the balance of force on the battlefield,” he added, emphasizing that the Russian military is continuously making gains against Ukraine. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Putin’s remarks. At the same time, Putin hailed U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to help negotiate peace in Ukraine and described their August summit in Alaska as productive. “It was good that we made an attempt to search for and find possible ways to settle the Ukrainian crisis,” he said, adding that he felt “comfortable” talking to Trump. While praising Trump and trying to emphasize potential common interests, including nuclear arms control, the Russian president sent a stern warning to Ukraine’s Western allies against trying to seize ships that carry Russian oil to global markers. He argued that would amount to piracy and could trigger a forceful response while sharply destabilizing the global oil market. Asked about the detention of an oil tanker off France’s Atlantic coast, which President Emmanuel Macron linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of aging tankers of uncertain ownership that are avoiding Western sanctions, Putin cast it as an attempt by Macron to distract public attention from his country’s own internal problems. He strongly warned the West against such action, arguing that it defies international maritime law and could trigger a forceful response. “The risk of confrontation will seriously increase,” he added. Putin also scoffed at Western claims of possible Russian involvement in recent drone flights over Denmark, casting them as part of purported NATO efforts to “inflame tensions to boost the defense spending.” “I won’t do it anymore — to France, Denmark, Copenhagen, Lisbon — wherever they could reach,” he said with a sardonic grin. Asked about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Putin called it a “heinous crime” that reflected a “deep split” in American society. He hailed Kirk as a hero killed for promoting the same conservative values that Russia shares. Putin also praised Michael Gloss, an American and the son of a deputy CIA chief, who joined the Russian military and was killed in action in Ukraine in 2024. He said he had awarded Gloss with a medal, which he handed to Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff during his visit to Moscow. The Russian leader likened Gloss to Kirk, saying they championed similar “traditional” values. “He gave his life while defending those values as a Russian soldier, and Kirk gave his life while fighting for the same values in the United States,” Putin said. In response to questions about Gloss, the CIA said in a statement that the agency “considers Michael’s passing to be a private […]
Trump says US is in ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels after ordering strikes in the Caribbean President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a “non-international armed conflict,” according to a Trump administration memo, following recent U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean. Congress was notified about the designation by Pentagon officials on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The memo, startling in scope, signals a potential new moment not just in the Trump administration’s willingness to reach beyond the norms of presidential authority to wage war but in Trump’s stated “America First” agenda.
Drone video captured homes that collapsed into the ocean on North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Tuesday amid rough surf from dual hurricanes off the Southeast coast. Five homes fell within a 45-minute period on Tuesday afternoon, and a sixth fell overnight.
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