(Washington Post) Shira Rubin - Hamas is facing its worst financial and administrative crisis in its four-decade history. "Hamas is not rebuilding their tunnels, they're not paying their highly trained fighters, they're only surviving," said Oded Ailam, former head of the Counterterrorism Division in the Mossad, and now a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. Nor can the Hamas administration meet the payroll of police and ministry employees in Gaza, or continue to pay death benefits to the families of fighters killed. Earlier in the war, Hamas relied on taxes imposed on commercial shipments and the seizure of humanitarian goods. Hamas profited "especially off the aid that had cost them nothing but whose prices they hike up," said a Gazan contractor. He saw Hamas routinely collect 20,000 shekels ($6,000) from local merchants, threatening to confiscate their trucks if they did not pay. Hamas civil servants threatened several times to kill him or call him a collaborator with Israel if he did not cooperate with their demands to divert aid. He knew at least two aid truck drivers who were killed by Hamas for refusing to pay.

(Washington Post) Mikhail Klimentov - The Houthis in Yemen began attacking vessels in the Red Sea and beyond in solidarity with Gaza following Israel's response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. The Port of Eilat, in southern Israel, has seen a 90% drop in activity since, according to chief executive Gideon Golber. "You cannot let terror organizations close any route," Golber said Sunday. The port has continued paying employees' salaries, as well as land and port fees to the government and municipality "without having any work," he said. Eilat is Israel's third largest port and a major point of entry for goods from China, India and Australia, while fertilizers and minerals were exported through Eilat. The port also serves cruises and passenger ships.

(JTA) Grace Gilson - The U.S. House of Representatives voted 422-6 on Friday to block an amendment by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to slash $500 million for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense program.

(Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday rejected a statement signed by more than 20 countries calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, saying "it is disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas. All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it." "Instead of agreeing to a ceasefire, Hamas is busy running a campaign to spread lies about Israel. At the same time, Hamas is deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid." "There is a concrete proposal for a ceasefire deal, and Israel has repeatedly said yes to this proposal, while Hamas stubbornly refuses to accept it. The statement fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognize Hamas's role and responsibility for the situation. Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides."

(Israel Hayom-Times of Israel) Lilach Shoval - Israeli Air Force drones struck Houthi targets at the port of Hudaydah in Yemen on Monday, targeting engineering equipment used to restore the port's infrastructure, fuel tanks, vessels employed in military activity and operations against Israel, and ships in the maritime area near the port. "We're hitting components they're trying to rebuild and engineering tools, which makes it harder for them," Israeli officials said. "This is a long campaign, not every strike needs to involve 30 aircraft. It's about using the right approach." Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday, "Yemen is no different from Tehran. The Houthis will pay a heavy price for launching missiles toward the State of Israel." Since March 18, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 62 ballistic missiles and at least 15 drones at Israel.

(Press Service of Israel) An independent investigation has refuted claims that Israelis deliberately set fire to a 1,500-year-old church in the Palestinian village of Taybeh. An inspection of the footage of the incident reveals several young men from the adjacent Jewish farm running up the hill with fire extinguishing equipment and protective vests, attempting to put out the flames - not start them. Palestinian social media posts had labeled them as arsonists. One of the Israeli shepherds said he was in the field grazing the animals when suddenly, a fire started a few meters away. He called to report the fire and tried to smother it with his shirt. While he was doing that, several Palestinians came out shouting and throwing things at him. Furthermore, separate fires on July 7, 8, and 11 were documented in areas of pastureland dozens of meters away from the church compound. In all cases, a Jewish farmer whose farm is next to the church compound complained to the police that someone had torched the area where his shepherd was grazing.

(X) David Lange - The Israeli Police Spokesperson's Unit said Monday: "Contrary to false reports and following recent foreign media coverage regarding the alleged arson within the archaeological site of the Church of Saint George in the village of Taybeh, we wish to clarify that these reports are factually incorrect, lack any evidentiary basis, and risk misleading the public." "Findings gathered on the ground unequivocally show that no damage or harm was caused to the holy site itself. It has been established that there was a localized fire in an adjacent open area, with no buildings, no crops, and no infrastructure of the site damaged."

(Jerusalem Post) U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed on Monday that the visa issue concerning American evangelical organizations has been fully resolved, following a meeting with Interior Minister Moshe Arbel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Starting in January, changes in how visas for Christian organizations were processed led to serious bureaucratic and financial challenges for these groups," Huckabee explained. "The Christian organizations did not at any time ask for different or special treatment, but merely a return to what has been an efficient and satisfactory process for many years. I'm convinced the Interior Minister was not fully aware of the change being imposed and I'm grateful he has personally intervened to completely restore the long-standing process. American Christians are some of Israel's strongest supporters, and the resolution of this issue among friends is a welcome outcome."

(Times of Israel) Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin - Last week, just a few dozen miles from Israel's northern border, a brutal massacre unfolded in southern Syria's Sweida province against the Druze minority, an Arabic-speaking community that has long lived in the region. Faced with harrowing images of kidnappings, executions, and mass violence, Israel chose to act cautiously and proportionally: first by sending discreet warnings to the Syrian regime and then launching strikes against jihadist militias in Sweida. When those measures failed, Israel escalated, targeting the Syrian Ministry of Defense and general staff in Damascus for the first time since 1973. That strike was effective and helped bring about a ceasefire, brokered by America. Israel did not act to gain territory or interfere in Syria's sovereignty. It acted to protect civilians, specifically a minority community with which it shares a deep historical bond. The Druze in Israel serve in the military, hold public office, and form an integral part of Israel's social fabric. Israel's intervention also served its national interests. Sweida sits in a region increasingly contested by jihadist groups, Iranian proxies, and tribal militias. Syrian President Al-Sharaa's inability or unwillingness to stop the attacks by Sunni Bedouin tribes on Druze villages raises serious questions. Israel's actions in Sweida were guided not only by conscience but by a clear-eyed assessment of strategic needs: preventing direct threats to its northeastern border, blocking renewed Iranian entrenchment near the Golan Heights, and containing Turkish military influence in southern Syria. Israel's measured escalation, preceded by backchannel warnings and initially limited military action, demonstrates that it is not seeking confrontation. Rather, it is pursuing stability, protection of minorities, and long-term deterrence. The writer is a former chief of Israeli Military Intelligence.

(JNS) Sarah N. Stern - Looking out over the Druze military cemetery in Shefa-Amr (Shefar'am) in northern Israel, one sees row after row of graves of brave soldiers who did not hesitate to make the ultimate sacrifice for the State of Israel. The Druze community, a small but fiercely loyal religious minority in Israel, has stood shoulder to shoulder with Jewish Israelis since Israel's founding in 1948. Druze men have proudly served in the Israel Defense Forces in disproportionately high numbers. Many have risen to positions of command. Far too many have fallen in battle. The Druze are Arab, not Jewish, with their own unique faith and culture. By choice and conviction, they have thrown in their lot with the Jewish state. In villages in the Galilee and the slopes of Mount Carmel, Druze families raise children with the expectation of service to the country as a whole. Israel has few allies as devoted, brave and steadfast as the Druze. The writer is founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET).

(Jerusalem Strategic Tribune) Ehud Yaari - Hamas is no longer a cohesive organization with a clear chain of command and a formidable armed wing. Rival groups around Khaled Mash'al and Khalil al-Hayeh squabble fiercely among themselves, seeking to fill the vacuum created by the demise of well-entrenched leaders. The internal debates focus on conclusions to be derived from the aftermath of Oct. 7, the disintegration of the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance, and the catastrophe that befell the population of Gaza. From Hamas's perspective in hindsight, the surprise attack on Oct. 7 managed to exact a huge loss of lives in Israel and the abduction of 255 hostages. But the Iranians and their proxies didn't join in with all their capabilities, allowing the IDF to concentrate on defeating Hamas. The West Bank population didn't rise up in arms against Israel. Despite initial success, the war did not unfold as planned. The faction led by former Hamas chairman Khaled Mash'al argues that Hamas is no longer capable of ruling over Gaza, and should pay the price now in the hope of recovery later. The other faction, represented by al-Hayeh, angrily rejects these proposals. They argue that playing the "hostages card" smartly will allow Hamas to achieve the full withdrawal of the IDF and ultimately to maintain its exclusive control over Gaza. The writer is chief Middle East commentator of Israel's Channel 12 and an international fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

(Israel Hayom) Shachar Kleiman - Hamas's Internal Security forces detained and abused Palestinians who had approached aid centers operated by the U.S.-affiliated Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). After returning from the centers, they were stripped, beaten, and accused of theft and "collaboration with Israel." Scenes captured on video showed terrorists armed with clubs, saws, and hammers escorting civilians under duress - aimed at deterring Gazans from seeking aid outside Hamas's control. In a separate video circulating online, residents of the Muwasi humanitarian zone are seen protesting against Hamas. The demonstrators chanted: "Stop the war, we want to live. Leave us alone, Hamas."

(X) Eitan Fischberger - UNRWA, the agency that's run Gaza's aid-state for decades, is the template for how other relief agencies can launder Western taxpayer money under the guise of humanitarianism. It is a fact that UNRWA employees have engaged in terrorism. It is a fact that UNRWA has cultivated a symbiotic relationship with Hamas, which weaponizes the aid system to sustain its rule. Gaza has been a welfare client of the UN for decades, not because of Israel - which fully withdrew in 2005 - but because UNRWA needs a crisis to justify its existence. Gazans have become the ultimate victim population because, in the halls of the UN, anything is permitted as long as it can be used as a weapon to bludgeon the Jewish state. Why would the UN care if another group hands out food in Gaza? Why would it care that American veterans are protecting aid convoys and keeping supplies out of Hamas's hands? Because the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) success threatens the UN's model. With the GHF there is no more plausible deniability, no more working through partners who happen to be terrorists. The UN's talking heads are smearing GHF - not for doing harm, but for committing the unpardonable sin of delivering food without collaborating with terrorists. Make no mistake: the UN's aid mechanisms have prolonged this war, increased suffering, and entrenched Hamas rule. The source of Gaza's suffering is not the GHF.

(Jerusalem Post) Lt.-Col. Ryan Gity - The 2025 Israel-Iran war marked the first large-scale military conflict in which artificial intelligence (AI) was indispensable to battlefield operations. The coordinated Israeli-American strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure were the outcome of a meticulously orchestrated digital war plan that leveraged AI to enable unprecedented tempo, reach, and precision. The Israeli Air Force neutralized thousands of high-value targets within 12 days, a level of effectiveness made possible by the deployment of AI systems capable of operating semi-independently across Iranian skies. These systems fused data from multiple sensors, reconnaissance platforms, satellites, and cyber-intelligence feeds to deliver high-resolution, real-time situational awareness - all without requiring continuous human intervention. Israeli forces initiated the campaign with a high-tempo, multi-domain strike. Dozens of long-range platforms, both manned and unmanned, penetrated Iranian airspace in near-simultaneous waves. Artificial intelligence systems processed incoming intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data in real time, detecting and prioritizing targets through pattern recognition and behavior prediction. Precision firepower was directed at operational chokepoints, command bunkers, and strategic launch sites, generating systemic disruption across Iranian military infrastructure. The speed of the operation limited Iran's ability to recover, reorient, or protect its remaining capabilities. Precision - the ability to strike only high-value, time-sensitive targets - was equally important. AI systems supported battle damage assessment, reprioritization of targets, autonomous threat avoidance, and dynamic retasking of airborne assets, allowing for adaptive battlefield dominance in a highly fluid, high-threat environment. AI served as a force multiplier - accelerating the tempo of decision-making, enhancing the quality of data fusion, and optimizing strike efficiency. But all final strike authorizations required human validation. The June 2025 campaign was a demonstration of what happens when AI-enabled warfare reaches maturity, establishing a new standard for military effectiveness. The writer is a recognized leader in defense innovation with over 22 years of experience in Israel's Directorate of Defense Research and Development.

(Wall Street Journal) Michael Doran and Zineb Riboua - The 12-day war between Israel and Iran featured an unprecedented cyber campaign against the Islamic Republic's financial system. Israel destroyed digital assets and banking records to undermine the regime. Israel first struck Bank Sepah, Iran's oldest and largest state-owned bank that serves as the central financial institution of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Predatory Sparrow, a hacker group linked to the Israeli government, claimed credit for erasing Bank Sepah's banking data and rendering its systems inoperable. Automated teller machines went dark, and online and in-branch services shut down. Salary and pension payments halted. As panic spread, a run on all banks ensued. Iran's largest commercial bank, Bank Melli, though untouched by the hack, couldn't meet the demand for cash. The Tehran Stock Exchange crashed, and the Iranian rial collapsed, losing 12% of its value after the first day of the war. On June 18, Predatory Sparrow reportedly extracted $90 million from cryptocurrency wallets linked to the Revolutionary Guards. These Israeli operations made clear that the Islamic Republic's financial infrastructure survives at the pleasure of the Jewish state. Mr. Doran is a senior fellow and Ms. Riboua a research fellow at the Hudson Institute.

(Jerusalem Post) Doron Cucos - After the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, China issued highly critical and confrontational statements against Israel. However, during the war between Israel and Iran in June, China adopted a critical tone toward Iran. Chinese scholars branded Iran as a "paper tiger," implying that it is weak and unsustainable as a strategic partner. From Beijing's perspective, the war demonstrated that Iran is lagging behind the regional and global pace, and that its ideological bloc is disintegrating. Prominent Chinese voices argued that China should disengage from failing partners. In essence, Iran is no longer an asset to China - and possibly even a liability - and Beijing must realign its Middle East policy accordingly. Chinese social media - particularly Weibo (China's Twitter) - reflected this emerging consensus. Many posts praised Israel's surgical military operations, its avoidance of civilian casualties, and framed its actions as legitimate self-defense. Some bloggers even portrayed Israel's intelligence penetration of Iran as near-mythical. Weibo is tightly monitored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and public narratives emerging on the platform often mirror internal CCP sentiments. Iran is increasingly viewed as a burden, while Israel's regional value is rising. The writer is an expert in Chinese politics and economy.

(Israel Hayom) Amb. Freddy Eytan - Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, the mood in Europe has been clearly anti-Israeli. EU countries, and France in particular, accuse Israel of "flouting international law in the Palestinian territories." This accusation is based primarily on biased reports from Hamas and pro-Palestinian NGOs. Moreover, the anti-Israel condemnations and threats of sanctions fail to take into account Hamas's human rights violations or the difficulties for a democratic state fighting on the ground against a terrorist organization that holds hostages in inhumane conditions and uses its own population as human shields. EU threats to restrict trade relations, sanction Israeli ministers, and impose an arms embargo are senseless and unprecedented measures against a friendly and allied state that is fighting Islamist terrorism single-handedly. French President Macron condemns at every opportunity "an unjustifiable war" in Gaza and gives the impression that he has erased the memory of the massacre of Oct. 7, 2023. His Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, is to chair an international meeting on the Palestinian issue planned for New York on July 28. Macron's obsession with playing the role of referee in our region at all costs is unacceptable. The writer, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, is a former Foreign Ministry senior adviser who was Israel's first ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

(Israel Hayom) Amb. Dror Eydar - Many of Israel's European critics despise Israel and hope for its downfall. On the other hand, they watch helplessly as radical Islam steadily takes over city after city in Europe. Europe is asleep at the wheel of its own civilization. Rather than confront the threat, it clings to a familiar tradition: sacrifice the Jews to save yourselves, hoping radical Islam will let you be. It will not. History has shown that a society's treatment of Jews is a litmus test for its health. Israel, unlike Europe, recognizes the threat of radical Islam and fights back on multiple fronts. Israel is fighting for the entire Free World, while they condemn. We declare some values are worth dying for. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians was a textbook act of genocide. To counter this, the "Gaza genocide" lie was disseminated to shift attention from the Palestinian goal of Israel's destruction and the murder of Jews. In fact, the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza during the war was, on average, higher than before the war. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry classifies combatants as "innocent civilians" and hides natural death figures. There is no evidence of a systematic Israeli policy targeting civilians, and the IDF has taken extensive precautions to minimize collateral damage. The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to Italy.

(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - For the most part, the world did not take much notice of the brutality of Syrian soldiers in the Druze region of Sweida. The first article about the situation to appear on the front page of the New York Times print edition was on July 17. That piece led not with the story of atrocities in Sweida, but "deadly airstrikes" launched by Israel in Damascus. In the 10 days since the incident that spurred the fighting in Syria that claimed more than 1,200 lives, the Times devoted more of its front page to stories and pictures about Gaza and Israel than to Sweida and Syria. In an age where pictures are more important than words, there were no pictures from Syria but two large pictures from Gaza on the Times front page during this period. The Times' lead story on Monday was "Israelis shoot dozens rushing for aid in Gaza," a piece that relied heavily on figures provided by Hamas, numbers Israel insists are significantly inflated. That same day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 205 people killed in Syria - more than the number cited in Gaza. Yet it was Gaza that led the front page. The disparity in international attention is predictable. Gaza leads the global conversation. The fighting in Syria, unless Israel is involved, struggles to get notice. Israel is held to different standards and is judged by a different measuring stick. Moreover, Hamas spokespeople - camouflaged as the Gaza Health Ministry - feed journalists a steady stream of data, images, and interviews. Gaza fits a frame the media loves: strong vs. weak. That David-and-Goliath template is easy to tell and emotionally resonant. Sweida? It's messy. Bedouin militias, Government loyalists, Druze fighters. No clear villain, no single victim group. It's complex, local, tribal. That makes it harder to explain and easier to ignore. Pro-Palestinian advocacy is highly organized, heavily funded (thank you, Qatar), and globally embedded - across university campuses, human rights organizations, and social media influencers. The Druze, on the other hand, have no such infrastructure. They're not backed by Gulf money, and they lack a global network of activists lobbying on their behalf. This is, ultimately, about what the world chooses to see and what it opts to ignore.

(Gatestone Institute) Bassam Tawil - Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, Al-Jazeera has been openly serving as the unofficial mouthpiece of Hamas. Even before the war, Hamas's political and military leaders often chose Al-Jazeera to spread their propaganda and call for jihad against Israel. Hamas knows it can trust Al-Jazeera: the two share the same radical Islamist ideology that calls for the elimination of Israel and replacing it with an Islamist terror state. Hamas does not need its own television station. It has Al-Jazeera, one of the most influential and wealthiest TV networks in the Arab world, funded by Qatar. The network does not allow any criticism of Hamas or Qatar. In 2024, Israeli security forces disclosed intelligence information confirming the military affiliation of six Al-Jazeera journalists with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Bahrain have shut the offices of Al-Jazeera, blocked its websites, and demanded that Qatar curb the station. Even the Palestinian Authority suspended Al-Jazeera's broadcasting in the West Bank.

(Times of Israel) Debra Messing - I've spoken out, marched, signed petitions, testified before Congress, and shown up for communities facing injustice, violence, and inequity, for people who felt unseen or unsafe. For 25 years, no one has questioned my commitment to social justice. But now, when the people being threatened are my own, when I speak out against calls for the extermination of Jews, I am suddenly contemptible. Every post I share on social media, no matter how apolitical, is inundated with hateful comments. I did not expect to see the shadow of antisemitism growing in places I had always trusted. In rooms that had always felt safe. Among people who say they stand for the vulnerable. Leaders who once stood for all marginalized people suddenly grew quiet when the hate was directed at Jews. Progressives often speak about listening to the lived experiences of those who have been hurt. But when Jewish people speak about our fear, our trauma, our history, our murdered families, we are too often met with silence. Or suspicion. Or conditional solidarity. Some say "Globalize the intifada" is a call for justice. But for those of us who know what the word intifada has meant in practice, it's historical and personal. It's the bombing of a Jerusalem cafe and the murder of a bride the night before her wedding. It's a school bus full of young children snuffed out by a suicide bomber. These are not metaphors. These are memories for many Jews. This language that references mass civilian murder means death to Jews everywhere. Hate has always found a way to survive. What troubles me is the way it is being rationalized. Dismissed. The way it is reframed as something noble by those who should know better. Jewish safety and progressive values should never be in conflict. I still believe in the progressive vision. But if it can't make space for my community, then it's not what it claims to be. The writer, an Emmy Award-winning actress, is the executive producer of the documentary "Oct 8," and a lifelong human rights activist.

(Israel Hayom) Ofir Dayan - In recent years, antagonism toward Israel has practically become Ireland's national sport. Ireland is now poised to become the first European country to criminalize the import of goods produced in Judea and Samaria. This would be in direct conflict with EU law, which states that only the EU itself can determine the trade policy of its member states. Under American law, U.S. companies - including those operating in Ireland - are barred from participating in boycotts not endorsed by Washington. Such companies employ more than 10% of Ireland's workforce. If forced to choose between violating U.S. or Irish law, many may opt to relocate, delivering a blow to the Irish economy. Morally, Ireland's decision to single out Judea and Samaria while ignoring far more egregious regions around the world is shameful. Dublin is not leading any similar crusades against companies operating in China's Xinjiang region, where millions of Muslims are persecuted. Practically speaking, this law would also harm Palestinians. Many Palestinians work in factories and businesses in these areas. What do Irish lawmakers think will happen to these workers if these companies are boycotted? The writer is a research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies.

(YouTube) Maurice Cohen, Chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, told the Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee of the Irish Parliament on July 18: "I always thought of myself as an Irishman who happened to be Jewish. Now I know that I am just a Jew living in Ireland."