Tag: israel

DNC panel rejects AIPAC-specific resolution, advances broader measure condemning dark money

A Democratic National Committee (DNC) panel voted on Thursday to reject a resolution condemning “the growing influence” of dark money and corporate-backed outside spending in Democratic races, particularly the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). 

At the DNC’s spring meeting in New Orleans this week, the resolutions committee voted to kill the push, which would have been nonbinding, as scrutiny over the pro-Israel lobby grows amid the midterms. 

“The use of massive outside spending to support or oppose candidates based on their positions regarding international conflicts or foreign governments raises concerns about undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking, potentially constraining elected officials’ ability to represent the views of their constituents,” reads the resolution, submitted by Florida DNC member Allison Minnerly, pointing out AIPAC in particular for spending some $14 million in the Illinois Democratic primaries last month. 

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), who was once an AIPAC donor, condemned the group after the primaries — joining a growing number of Democrats once supportive of AIPAC who have turned on the political powerhouse over its involvement in elections this year. 

While the panel on Thursday voted to recommend a broader resolution condemning the influence of dark money in the 2026 Democratic primary elections, it did not specifically call for AIPAC contributions to be rejected, though the attitude was largely implied. 

The resolution calls for “robust” campaign finance transparency and says the DNC “reaffirms its commitment to campaign finance practices that align with the Party’s core values.” It further adds that the aspects of the resolution “shall inform the development of the 2028 Democratic Party Platform.”

The AIPAC resolution’s failure to advance out of the DNC committee shows that while there is an appetite within the party to take a more forceful stance against the organization — an influential pro-Israel group whose opposition against conditions on aid to Israel has made it more divisive in races more recently — it’s not one that many DNC members are comfortable standing behind. 

The DNC resolution panel’s rejection of the resolution means it will not go before the full body for a final vote on Friday. Still, AIPAC remains a wedge issue for the party.

Some political groups cheered the resolutions panel’s decision to reject the resolution.

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Seven Messages – Can Israel Survive Defeat without Setting the Region Ablaze?

The moment a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran was announced – brokered through Pakistani mediation on April 7 – Iran declared that Lebanon was included in the arrangement. It was a clear message: the war could not be compartmentalized, and the fronts were linked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to deny it. But the denial exposed more than it concealed. Lebanon and other resistance fronts were already embedded within Iran’s broader ten-point proposal – a framework the Trump administration had accepted as a workable basis for negotiations set to begin Friday.

Netanyahu was left politically and strategically exposed.

Iran was never just another battlefield. It was the culmination of a long campaign of perpetual war that Netanyahu has sustained for years – beginning with the genocide in Gaza, expanding into Lebanon, and stretching across multiple fronts whenever his political survival demanded escalation.

Each war served a purpose: to silence dissent within his coalition, to distract from collapsing approval ratings, to evade accountability in corruption trials. War became governance.

But the Iran gambit failed. And failure, for Netanyahu, is never an endpoint. It is a trigger. With no victory to claim and no strategic gains to present, he turned – once again – to Lebanon.

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Trump claims Netanyahu will scale back strikes on Lebanon 

US President Donald Trump has said he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back the bombing of Lebanon as Gulf countries and some NATO members insisted that a ceasefire in the area must be part of a broader truce with Iran.

Despite Trump’s assertion, Lebanese media reported Israeli strikes across the country on Friday morning. An estimated 1,800 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the start of the escalation in the Middle East, with more than 300 dying on Wednesday alone. The attacks triggered significant public outcry, including from US allies in the EU.

Iran has insisted that fighting in Lebanon must cease as part of the two-week truce framework with the US – something Washington and the Jewish state have opposed.

The exact outlines of a potential US-Iran peace deal remain unclear, after Iranian media shared a plan envisaging non-aggression, Tehran’s control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of some uranium enrichment, stopping Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, and the lifting of all sanctions. The US previously opposed many of the terms.

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What Trump’s inner circle really thought of plan to go to war with Iran: CIA ‘dismissed regime-change plan as “farcical”. JD Vance said “it’s a bad idea”. But Donald went with his instinct’

Donald Trump’s inner circle’s almost all thought the Iran war was a bad idea when Israel gave a secret White House briefing that convinced him to launch Operation Epic Fury, it has been claimed.

Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to make his case for war in the Situation Room, The New York Times reports, a venue rarely used for in-person briefings with foreign leaders.

Seated across from the President on February 11, the Israeli prime minister delivered a detailed, hour-long presentation. His message was clear – Iran was vulnerable and the time was ripe for regime change. 

The Israeli delegation painted a picture of swift and decisive victory. Iran’s missile capabilities, they argued, could be dismantled within weeks.

The Strait of Hormuz would remain open, and retaliation against American targets would be minimal.

Behind the scenes, Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, could help spark an internal uprising to finish the job.

At one point, Netanyahu played a video montage highlighting potential future leaders of Iran should the regime collapse – including Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the country’s last shah.

Trump’s reaction was positive, and he appeared to be on board.

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Scenes of devastation after Israel bombs Lebanon 100 times in 10 minutes

Israeli strikes rained down on residential areas and estates in central Beirut today without warning, hours after a ceasefire was announced between the US and Iran.

Israel has said the agreement does not extend to its conflict with the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, however.

Today, the IDF launched more than 100 strikes on Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley.

At least 254 people have been killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon today, according to civil defence authorities.

The highest death toll was ⁠in the capital Beirut, where Israeli strikes killed 91 people. These tolls are expected to rise.

Black smoke towered over several parts of the seaside capital, and booms interrupted the honking of traffic on what had been a blue-sky afternoon, as ambulances raced toward open flames.

At least one apartment building was struck as emergency responders searched charred vehicles. There was no sign of Hezbollah launching strikes against Israel in the first couple of hours after the attacks.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the airstrikes hit at least five different neighbourhoods in Beirut’s central and coastal areas.

Lebanon’s minister of social affairs, Haneed Sayed, said the strikes were in the ‘heart of Beirut’ where half of the internally displaced people had been.

She said Lebanon’s government is ready to enter into negotiations with Israel for an end to hostilities, an offer that the president previously made.

Israel has not responded.

Hezbollah had fired missiles across the border days after the US and Israel attacked Iran, resparking a lengthy regional conflict.

Israel responded with widespread bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion, and claims to have killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters.

Israel has killed more than 1,530 people in Lebanon, including more than 100 women and 130 children, in the attacks. More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon.

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Israeli MPs furious over Trump’s ceasefire with Iran

A ceasefire deal struck by Washington and Tehran is a “disaster” and “failure,” several prominent Israeli politicians have said. Israel was left out of the equation, they argued, calling it a strategic mistake on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US President Donald Trump announced a two-week pause to the US-Israeli war on Iran to negotiate a long-term solution to the conflict on the basis of a 10-point plan put forward by Tehran. It reportedly includes Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of its uranium enrichment, the lifting of sanctions, and the cessation of war on all fronts, including Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday it “supports” Trump’s decision while maintaining that Israel would continue its military campaign against the Iran-linked Hezbollah group in neighboring Lebanon.

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Israeli-Backed Militia Launches Deadly Attack on Gaza Refugee Camp Under Cover of Airstrikes

The dead and wounded were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah by car, truck, ambulance, and motorized rickshaw following a brutal attack by an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia supported by airstrikes on Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Monday.

Inside the hospital morgue, young men wept openly as they gathered around the lifeless bodies of their relatives lying on blankets on the floor. “Don’t leave me brother,” one man screamed as he put his head on the chest of his dead relative before grabbing his limp hand and putting it to his lips in grief. At least 10 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in the assault, according to the WAFA news agency.

The attack began when members of an Israeli-backed militia raided the eastern part of Al-Maghazi refugee camp, multiple eyewitnesses told Drop Site News. The area was just 50 meters from the “yellow line,” where Israeli troops withdrew after the October “ceasefire” agreement, effectively cleaving the Gaza Strip in half.

“We were shocked when Abu Nasira’s forces—or the militia—entered the neighborhood and began firing at people’s homes and at the children inside those homes,” Ahmed Al-Maghari, a resident who witnessed the attacks, said in reference to an Israeli-backed militia. “Some residents of the neighborhood were forced to go out and defend the area and their community, so they began firing back at the militias that were there,” he said, adding that the area was then targeted by Israeli aircraft with multiple airstrikes.

“There were three or four injured people just three to four meters away from our homes, and we were unable to reach them because of the direct gunfire from the militia,” Al-Maghari said. “Whenever anyone tried to approach to provide aid to the injured, they were immediately targeted by the aircraft.”

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Lebanon excluded from US‑Iran ceasefire deal because of Hezbollah, Trump says; Israel hits 100 targets

Israel carried out its most intense air campaign on Lebanon since the outbreak of the current conflict, striking more than 100 Hezbollah targets across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon in roughly ten minutes, the Israeli military said. The assault came hours after the announcement of a temporary two‑week US–Iran ceasefire. Meanwhile, in a brief exchange with a PBS correspondent, US President Donald Trump confirmed that Lebanon was excluded from the truce because of Hezbollah.

Israel struck Hezbollah targets across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon within about ten minutes, the Israeli military said. Earlier, Israel had also made clear that the truce did not extend to its operations against the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Lebanon’s health ministry said the strikes killed dozens and wounded hundreds, with ambulances unable to keep up with the wounded and emergency responders tackling fires and collapsed vehicles across the country.

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Report: Trump Considers Pulling Troops Out of NATO Countries Deemed ‘Unhelpful’ to Iran War Effort

The Trump administration is considering a plan to “punish” NATO countries that the president has deemed “unhelpful” to the US-Israeli war effort against Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The potential plan would involve withdrawing US troops from those NATO countries and placing them in the territory of other allies that the administration believes were helpful to the US-Israel war, far short of President Trump’s suggestion that he may leave NATO altogether.

The most notable NATO member opposing the US war with Iran was Spain, which took steps to block the use of its territory and airspace for any military activity related to the Middle East conflict.

Italy also blocked a US aircraft from landing at an airbase in Sicily before it headed to the Middle East, and officials from several NATO countries were very critical of the war, including in Germany. The largest opposition party in Germany, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), recently called for the removal of the tens of thousands of US troops stationed in German territory.

The Journal report said that Trump’s plan could involve closing a military base, either in Germany or Spain. It could also lead to the US placing more troops in countries closer to Russia, such as Poland, Romania, and Lithuania.

Trump was unhappy that no NATO allies heeded his call to help the US military open the Strait of Hormuz and was expected to discuss the situation with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if the president would bring up the idea of the US leaving NATO and said, “It’s something the president has discussed, and I think it’s something the president will be discussing in a couple of hours with Secretary-General Rutte.”

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Israel Carpet Bombs Lebanon After Announcement of Iran Ceasefire

sraeli forces launched some of the most intense bombardments of Lebanon in recent years on Wednesday, striking Beirut and towns and cities across the country just hours after a ceasefire deal that reportedly includes Lebanon was announced.

The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it targeted over 100 sites with strikes over just the course of 10 minutes in Lebanon. The UN also reported that it has recorded over 60 locations struck. The intensity of the strikes was unprecedented in recent times, one Al Jazeera reporter said, reminiscent of the scale of Israel’s invasion of Beirut in 1982 or Israel’s beeper attack in 2024.

Video of the strikes circulated online. One showed a massive fire in the wreckage of destroyed buildings in Beirut, sending plumes of dark smoke into the air. Another video purportedly taken in Beirut showed the top floors of a building completely destroyed and smoking, while the streets below were covered in flaming debris.

Another video from Tyre, in southern Lebanon, showed an Israeli strike hitting a building in the city center, with the explosion spreading horizontally across what appeared to be several city blocks and sending a plume into the air that shot higher than the hills in the background.

The death toll is unclear, but early reports have said that hundreds have been killed by the strikes.

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