IDF: Gaza strike killed Islamic Jihad terrorist who took hostage from Be’eri on Oct. 7
Runway of Syrian military airport said targeted by unidentified jets; some outlets suspect Israel
The runway of a military airport in northwestern Syria was targeted overnight by unidentified fighter jets, according to Arab media, with some reports suspecting that Israel was behind the strike.
Al Jazeera reports that four strikes hit the runway of Abu al-Zuhour Military Airport near Idlib — not far from the border with Turkey — and Al Hadath described them as “likely Israeli.”
There has been no comment from Israel on the reports.
Israel has been seeking to prevent Turkish entrenchment and influence in Syria, and in the past carried out strikes purportedly to stop Turkey from assisting in building up the new Syrian government’s air force.
If confirmed to be an Israeli airstrike, it would mark the first such attack by the Israeli Air Force since March 2026, when the IDF said it hit Syrian military camps in the country’s south in response to an alleged attack on Druze civilians in the Sweida area. Before that, in July 2025, the IDF bombed the Syrian general staff command building in Damascus, also in response to attacks on the Druze.
Key Update
Six Thai workers hurt in blast from old munition in Metula
Six Thai workers are injured in a blast from an old explosive in an agricultural field in Metula, according to police and medics.
Three of those injured — two of them seriously and one of them moderately — are being airlifted to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
Three others, who are lightly hurt, are being taken by ambulance to Ziv Medical Center in Safed, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
Police say they are investigating the incident.
Hormuz crossings rise slightly from weekend, remain in single digits, data shows
SINGAPORE — Ship crossings via the Strait of Hormuz were still in single digits yesterday, despite rising slightly from the weekend, according to preliminary shipping data today, amid a stalemate in US and Iranian peace talks.
Six commodity ships transited the strait yesterday, of which three were exiting the Gulf and three were entering, Kpler ship-tracking data shows, compared with the 10-day average of 11 ships. Three ships transited on Saturday while two moved through the waterway on Sunday.
There were no very large crude carriers or tankers carrying liquefied natural gas passing through.
Some vessels could be passing through the strait with their transponders switched off, and they are not considered in the tally.
The very large gas carrier (VLGC) Xavia entered the strait via the Iranian route under ballast, meaning empty of cargo, according to the data. VLGCs are typically used to ship liquefied petroleum gases such as propane and butane.
A medium-range fuel tanker and an intermediate-range tanker also entered the Gulf, the data shows, while a medium-sized LPG carrier, a Panamax bulk carrier, and a Panamax-sized fuel tanker exited the Gulf.
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Vessel struck by unknown projectile while leaving Hormuz, British agency says
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) receives a report that a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound in the Strait of Hormuz, causing engine room damage and a crew casualty, with the remaining crew being assisted by the Omani Coast Guard.
Eli Cohen holding top spot in Likud primary, with over 50% of vote counted
With 53 percent of the vote counted, Energy Minister Eli Cohen is set to win first place in the Likud party primary.
Cohen is trailed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Transportation Minister Miri Regev and coalition whip Ofir Katz.
The current results are as follows:
1. Eli Cohen
2. Yariv Levin
3. Amir Ohana
4. Miri Regev
5. Ofir Katz
6. Miki Zohar
7. Yoav Kisch
8. Almog Cohen
9. Amichai Chikli
10. Moshe Saada
11. David Amsalem
12. Tally Gotliv
13. David Bitan
14. Shlomo Karhi
15. Nir Barkat
16. Boaz Bismuth
Given that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has consistently been polling in the low 20s, and given that roughly one-third of the first 30 slots on the Likud list are reserved for candidates hand-picked by the premier, those who do not finish in the top 16 in the Likud primary are not expected to make it into the next Knesset.
If the current results hold, that would mean current ministers Ze’ev Elkin, May Golan, Idit Silman and Avi Dichter will be out of a job come October, along with current Likud MKs Hanoch Milwidsky, Keti Shitrit, Ariel Kallner, Amit Halevi and Nissim Vaturi.
While Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel is not faring well, she is still leading the running for the last of three realistic spots on the Likud slate reserved for a woman, with Eti Atiya less than 100 votes behind.
Parents at US high school sue over field trip that pushed students to wear hijabs
Parents at Palo Alto High School in California are suing the school for taking students on a field trip to a mosque, where students were allegedly pushed to wear hijabs and given Qurans.
The trip was part of the school’s “Social Justice Pathway” and the trip framed Islam as aligned with social work, The New York Post reports.
The parents’ children are Jewish, Hindu and Zoroastrian, the report says.
The lawsuit is brought by a group called the Plaintiff Community Members for Religious Neutrality in Public Schools.
The Palo Alto Unified School District and the high school principle are also named in the lawsuit.
The students on the trip also met Zahra Billoo of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, the report says.
Billoo has a history of extremist statements against “Zionists.”
A school administrator tells The San Francisco Chronicle that, according to the school district’s policy, says that lessons about religion must be neutral, academic, and not devotional, and would not comment on pending litigation.
Settlers reportedly torch Palestinian fields in one of several attacks across West Bank
Settlers torched fields on the outskirts of the central West Bank Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya on Monday evening, the official Palestinian Authority Wafa news outlet reports.
Palestinian media also reports that the IDF held up a Palestinian ambulance that was trying to reach the village in order to put out the fire.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
فلسطين.. النيران تلتهم سهل بلدة ترمسعيا شمال رام الله بعد إشعالها من قبل مستوطنين pic.twitter.com/2Ua4Q65omL
— التلفزيون العربي (@AlarabyTV) August 17, 2026
Turmus Ayya has been one of the Palestinian villages most frequently targeted by settlers, who have established several illegal outposts nearby. The vast majority of the village’s residents hold American citizenship, but they knocked the US government for not doing enough to protect them from the Israeli attacks, which go largely unpunished.
The alleged attack in Turmus Ayya was one of several that took place on Monday evening alone, according to Wafa.
Settlers also raided the northern West Bank Palestinian village of Beita and hurled stones at residents, injuring two of them, Wafa says.
On a road outside the West Bank city of Bethlehem, settlers held up a Palestinian vehicle at gunpoint and proceeded to pepper spray the passengers inside the car, including a young child, according to Arabic media reports.
There are no reports of arrests.
Just another horrific day under Israeli settler terrorism in the West Bank.
Israeli settler terrorists pepper-sprayed Palestinian children after stopping their vehicle and pointing weapons at them on Abu Njeim Road, south of Bethlehem. pic.twitter.com/ghMAiYSOFf
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) August 17, 2026
Key Update
IDF uses marker to tag interrogated Palestinian on forehead, months after admitting policy inappropriate
IDF soldiers are still using markers to tag Palestinians on their bodies after it assured reporters several months ago that the practice was inappropriate and would cease.
A Palestinian interrogated by troops during a raid of the northern West Bank village of Qabatiya on Monday spoke to Palestinian media with the number 44 still seen on his forehead.
He says troops marked him along with others that it interrogated during its raid of the village.
Mr. No. 44 speaks about his arrest by the army.
The army writes numbers on the skin of young men from the West Bank for identification and interrogation. pic.twitter.com/Zbk2eEdSej
— Abo Bashar ابو بشار (@abomoamar) August 17, 2026
During the interrogation, the Qabatiya resident says troops warned him not to take part in clashes against settlers if the latter raids the village. Such settler incursions have become common throughout the West Bank, where violence by Israeli extremists has gone largely unchecked.
A similar incident unfolded in April, when Israeli troops used a marker to tag the hands of Palestinians it was allowing to briefly return to the Jenin refugee camp to gather their belongings.
The IDF has been conducting a counterterror operation in the camp for months, displacing thousands of Palestinians who were living there.
The army said troops were trying to maintain an orderly return of the residents to the refugee camp, which the IDF has divided into sections that it identifies by a number and a letter.
The IDF claimed writing the section of the camp to which each resident was from on their respective hand was the Palestinians’ idea.
Still, “this was a case of poor judgment,” the army said in a statement, insisting that proper conduct has been clarified and that lessons have been learned after
critics accused the IDF of dehumanizing Palestinians.
After the latest incident unfolded in Qabatiya, a military source acknowledges to The Times of Israel that the soldiers involved acted inappropriately and that steps would be taken to address what happened.
Erdogan urges Trump to continue talks with Iran, laments continued IDF strikes in Gaza
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged US President Donald Trump in a Monday phone call to pursue talks with Iran to de-escalate tensions between the two countries, and offered Ankara’s support for peace efforts, the Turkish presidency says.
Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army and borders Iran, has repeatedly called for an end to the war. It has maintained close contact with the United States, Iran, and mediators such as Pakistan and Qatar, while also acting as an intermediary between the parties.
“Erdogan stated that it is of great importance to make the utmost of diplomacy regarding the tensions between Iran and the United States, that we hope the talks will continue, and that Turkey will continue to support peace efforts,” the presidency says in a statement.
The call comes after a senior Iranian official told Reuters earlier on Monday that Iran would shift to a “fully offensive” military posture because efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war have stalled, as Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement.
Progress towards a resumption of oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has also stalled.
Turkey has criticised the US and Israeli assault on Iran, while also condemning the Iranian attacks on Gulf states and calling for the re-opening of the strategic strait.
On Monday, Turkey’s foreign minister discussed the strait’s re-opening and the continuation of the ceasefire with his Iranian counterpart.
The presidency adds that Erdogan and Trump also discussed bilateral ties, the war in Gaza, and a defence pact signed between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, adding that the Turkish leader praised the accord as a sign of a “strong stance” for regional stability and security.
It says Erdogan told Trump that Israel’s attacks on Palestinians had increased at a time when the second phase of Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan was supposed to come into effect.
The White House does not immediately respond to a request for comment on the call.
Kushner: US having robust talks with the Iranians, but they’re not ready to make deal we want
US special envoy Jared Kushner says conversations between the US and different areas of the Iranian government have probably been more robust than ever, but the two sides have not yet reached an understanding.
Kushner tells Fox News that Trump is currently focused on maintaining economic pressure against Iran, through the US blockade of Iranian ports and other means.
“If Iran is willing to finish the deal that they’ve been discussing with us to give up their ability to create a nuclear weapon, then [Trump] wants to make a deal that could be great for the Iranian people,” he continues. “But right now they’re not showing any interest in doing something that makes sense for us.”
“President Trump is going to be very patient. He doesn’t want to rush you a deal. He’ll make the right deal when the right deal is ready. But we are having very positive and active conversations,” Kushner adds.
Key Update
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