"By way of deception, thou shalt do war." -- Motto of the Mossad
The genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is the longest and most expensive military campaign in Israel's history, costing an estimated $142 billion so far and set to approach roughly $169 billion, Haaretz reported on 16 August.
Israeli occupation forces detained at least 30 Palestinians during overnight raids across the occupied West Bank on 19 August, as illegal settlers, under military protection, continued their siege of Qusra for an 11th day straight.
Israeli forces and settlers launched at least 467 attacks on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank over the past week, the Palestinian prime minister’s office said.
In a post on X, the office said the violence damaged 75 Palestinian homes and other structures.
It described the attacks as part of a “relentless escalation of violence, dispossession, and destruction”.
Turkey has sought to downplay Tuesday’s Israeli strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, about 70km from the Turkish border, viewing them as an election stunt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has recently portrayed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani as enemies of Israel in his election campaign materials.
Jurors at a London court were discharged after being unable to reach verdicts for seven Palestine Action defendants accused of coordinating a raid on an Israeli-owned arms factory.
One person who could not be named for legal reasons was convicted by a majority of 9-1 of criminal damage in relation to the incident.
A high-ranking Russian general has issued a stark warning that Israel could ‘cease to exist as a state’ if the escalating West Asia conflict continues to widen, while US-Iran tensions remain high over diplomatic engagement and naval blockades.
The entire UN raised its hand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Except for one country pic.twitter.com/6UK6HrnKDj— Persian Girl (@Persianserene1) August 19, 2026
The US placed sanctions on two officials with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
On Tuesday, Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio announced that the US would sanction Tomoko Akane of Japan, the ICC president, and Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, an ICC senior trial lawyer. He said the sanctions were a part of a “diplomatic campaign to dismantle the ICC’s threat to our national sovereignty.”
By Tyler Durden
Summary: