Israel-Hamas War Day 256: What is happening in Gaza, Israel's North?

Israeli artillery shelled targets in the area of Khiyam and Kafr Shuba in southern Lebanon on Tuesday morning, the pro-Iranian news outlet Al Mayadeen reported.

Rocket sirens sounded in the Gaza border community of Kerem Shalom in southern Israel.

The Maldives is pausing plans to ban Israelis from entering the country, as the blanket law could impact some of the 2 million Arab citizens of Israel, the Algemeiner reported on Monday.

Ahmed Usham, the nation’s attorney general, reportedly told journalists at a conference last week “The biggest concern is that there are many Palestinians with Israeli passports, millions of them. What happens when we impose a blanket ban?”

Lawmaker Qasim Ibrahim reportedly critiqued the bill as singling out Jewish Israelis, telling fellow parliamentarians “When we decide that a person with Israeli nationality can’t come to the Maldives, that means we’re talking about deciding that Jews can’t come."

Ibrahim further noted, "Therefore, as they are people who have believed in prophets of a religion revealed by Allah, we need to think very deeply about the chance of us doing such a thing, from that perspective. We need to think about that very carefully.”

Two key Democrats in the US Congress have agreed to support a major arms sale to Israel that includes 50 F-15 fighter jets worth more than $18 billion, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing three unnamed officials.

Representative Gregory Meeks and Senator Ben Cardin have signed off on the deal under heavy pressure from the Biden administration after the two lawmakers had for months held up the sale, the Post reported.

"Any issues or concerns Chair Cardin had were addressed through our ongoing consultations with the (Biden)Administration, and that’s why he felt it appropriate to allow this case to move forward,” Eric Harris, communications director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the Post in a statement.

The US military said on Monday it had destroyed four Houthi radars, one uncrewed surface vessel and one drone in the past 24 hours.

The radars and uncrewed surface vessel were destroyed in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, US Central Command said in a post on the social media site X. The drone was destroyed over the Red Sea.

The United States announced on Monday night that it was designated Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA) as ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorists’ under Executive Order 13224.

HAAA, which is a part of the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, is an Iran-aligned militia. 

Why was the group designated?

HAAA has claimed responsibility for dozens of recent attacks against US military personnel in Iraq and Syria and has promised future attacks. The department also stressed the terror group has terrorized Iraqi civilians. the United Arab Emirates in 2021 and 2022.

International spending on nuclear weapons increased 13% in 2023 to $91.4 billion, according to calculations from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) pressure group published this June.

The increase of $10.7 billion is largely attributed to an increase in the United States’s defense budget. 

While the US may have contributed most to the increased nuclear weapons budget, all nine nuclear-armed countries are spending more.

(JTA) — Steeply discounted shipping of donations to support the Israeli war effort aboard El Al aircraft is coming back days after Israel’s national airline said it planned to end the program. 

El Al’s decision to reinstate the discount follows reporting on the end of the program by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and subsequent public outcry both in Israel and among Jewish donors in the Diaspora. 

The police detained 8 protesters on Monday night in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem.

The protesters had attempted to break into Netanyahu's house, according to the police.

Furthermore, the volunteer doctor and gynecologist Dr. Tal Weissbach a was seriously injured in the eye by protest dispersal water cannon, and was evacuated for medical attention.

Following Dr. Weissbach's eye injury, Prof. Hagai Levine of the leaders of  the organization White Coats stated, "Just today we warned in the Knesset about excessive police violence, moreover when using special means, endangering public health. Police rampage, following unlawful ministerial directives, poses a serious threat to citizens' health and may cost lives.

"We demand an immediate and thorough investigation of the incident and an immediate cessation of unnecessary violence against innocent civilians. The medical association must take organizational steps tomorrow morning to prevent bloodshed."