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How the Media Distorts the IDF’s Preemptive Strike on Hezbollah
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah meets with top Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on July 5, 2024, Lebanon. Photo: Hezbollah Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
In the early hours of Sunday, Israel initiated a preemptive strike to neutralize an imminent and large-scale drone and rocket attack by Hezbollah.
Israeli Air Force jets targeted multiple sites within Lebanese territory — locations that the Iranian-backed terrorist group had prepared for launching their assault. The intended targets of this attack included Israeli civilian areas such as Tel Aviv.
Starting around 5:30 am, Hezbollah boasted that it had launched approximately 320 rockets at northern Israel, targeting areas such as Safed and Acre, along with 11 military bases that had largely been untouched by the Lebanese terror group until now.
The IDF reported that Hezbollah’s attack was significantly less severe than the group claimed, attributing the reduced impact to Israel’s successful preemptive strike on the Hezbollah weapons.
Shortly after Hezbollah carried out what it called “the first phase” of its response to the Israeli operation that killed its second-in-command, Fouad Shukr, the group announced that leader Hassan Nasrallah would address the “Zionist claims” of a preemptive strike in a forthcoming speech.
In short, Hezbollah admitted it had planned a large-scale attack on Israel, which Israel acted to prevent.
“In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the IDF is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”
Listen to an update from IDF Spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari, regarding Hezbollah’s plans to attack… pic.twitter.com/fKvbUVSmbT
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 25, 2024
Unfortunately, the coverage from several leading news organizations of Sunday’s escalation exemplified how omitting a single crucial detail can distort the entire narrative.
The New York Times ran an early headline stating: “Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon, which fires rockets at Israel.”
The missing word? Preemptively. Israel preemptively struck launching sites being prepared for an imminent attack just hours later.
The headline’s implication was undoubtedly deliberate the Times presented a skewed image of an aggressive Israel, seemingly provoking a broader regional conflict by needlessly attacking Hezbollah.
Even after Hezbollah confirms it was involved in a major assault against Israel, @nytimes does its best to paint Israel as the aggressor for defending itself.https://t.co/G3i5jfA6tC pic.twitter.com/MbKzyfRxtc
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 25, 2024
This narrative was echoed by The Los Angeles Times and CBS News, with the former downplaying Hezbollah’s drone and rocket strikes, while the latter went as far as to suggest Israel might have both ignited a wider conflict and hindered ceasefire negotiations.
Hezbollah was preparing to launch thousands of rockets & drones at Tel Aviv and central Israel. The IDF launched a preemptive strike to take out the launchers.
And this is the best headline @latimes could come up with. https://t.co/tmSKwOod2R pic.twitter.com/mEBmD2hC3S
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 25, 2024
In one of the more hyperbolic and misleading headlines, the Daily Mail claimed that the Middle East conflict had “explod[ed]” as Israel bombed Lebanon and Hezbollah fired “150 rockets towards the Iron Dome.”
One doesn’t need to be a munitions expert to know that Hezbollah doesn’t aim at the very missile interceptors designed to neutralize its rockets. Israel has been forced to use those defensive weapons to prevent the death of its own people.
Note to @MailOnline: Hezbollah doesn’t fire towards the very Iron Dome interceptors that take out their own rockets.
And Israel isn’t simply dropping bombs inside Lebanon, it’s targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers.#HeadlineFailhttps://t.co/Cj0KCTyTVd pic.twitter.com/8IZcHjBsm7
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 25, 2024
Meanwhile, “confused” best describes NPR’s take on the events, as they somehow managed to portray Hezbollah as the victim while simultaneously implying that Lebanon is a party to the ongoing ceasefire talks.
Shocking #HeadlineFail courtesy of @NPR.
This isn’t “Israel attacks, Hezbollah responds.” The terror org was primed to launch a massive barrage when Israel took preventative action.
And the ceasefire talks? They’re about Gaza, not Lebanon.https://t.co/sEgZCZ7WlA pic.twitter.com/bpfbPpOqR4
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) August 25, 2024
The UK’s Independent further muddled the timeline, implying that Hezbollah’s attack was “retaliation” for Israel’s preemptive strikes — despite the terror group itself stating the opposite.
Finally, BBC News correspondent Jon Donnison, whose history of editorial “slips” while reporting on Israel should have earned him a reassignment far from the region, managed to misstep not once, but twice in his analysis.
He incorrectly referred to Tel Aviv as Israel’s largest city and painted Israel as war-mongering, describing the strikes as potentially the “largest attack on Lebanon” since the 2006 war.
The reality of Israel’s precarious position in the Middle East — surrounded by armed and powerful terrorist entities — is often overlooked by the international media, which prefer to portray Israel as vying for regional dominance.
This reality necessitates Israel’s decisive actions, such as sending jets to strike Hezbollah targets, which are being used to launch rockets and drones at Israeli civilians, like the 12 Druze children tragically killed while playing soccer in Majdal Shams.
By downplaying or omitting the preemptive nature of Israel’s actions, these publications not only mislead but also shift blame from the true aggressor to the defender. This kind of coverage fuels a broader and pernicious agenda, painting Israel as a destabilizing force in the Middle East while undermining its right to self-defense. It’s a dangerous game.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post How the Media Distorts the IDF’s Preemptive Strike on Hezbollah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire

Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel

People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns

Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.