English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  August 25/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
When you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12,54-59/: "Jesus also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, "It is going to rain"; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, "There will be scorching heat"; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? ‘And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny."

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 24-25/2025
On the anniversary of Bashir’s election, we reaffirm our faith that Bashir—the Cause—is alive and will never die. For he who has God as his supporter, none can prevail against him/Elias Bejjani/August 23/2025
A Series of Heresies, Blasphemies, and Betrayals by the Inciter—Mufti Ahmad Qabalan/Elias Bejjani/Augst 20/2025
US envoy meets Netanyahu on Lebanon and Syria, Israeli officials say
Lebanon: Hezbollah Using Sectarian Playbook to Counter State’s Bid to Curb its Weapons
Lebanese-Syrian Security Meeting, Sponsored by Saudi Arabia, to Keep Terrorist Organizations Away from the Shared Border
Ammunition Smuggling Ring Uncovered, Hidden in Milk Containers Heading to Lebanon
Lebanon Awaits Arrival of Barrak and Ortagus
The Fate of UNIFIL: Is August 29 the Decisive Date?
Lebanon to Receive Detailed Israeli Response on Tuesday!
Senator Graham to Beirut Tomorrow with U.S. Envoys; Barrack and Netanyahu Discuss Strikes on Lebanon and Negotiations with Syria

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 24-25/2025
Iran's Khamenei calls US issue 'unsolvable' amid nuclear standoff
Push to recruit Kurds and religious minorities to Syrian security forces brings hope and skepticism
Israeli strikes in Yemen’s capital kill two, Houthis say
Israel Strikes Yemeni Capital Sanaa
Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz offers political truce to help secure Gaza hostage deal
Israel pounds Gaza City suburbs, vows to press on with offensive
4 Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces while seeking aid near Gaza City, witnesses say
Gaza’s biggest city is in chaos ahead of an imminent Israeli assault
Israeli Forces Kill 4 More Aid Seekers as Northern Gaza Braces for Looming Offensive
WHO Reports Release of Staff Member Detained by Israeli Forces in Gaza
Jordan’s King Abdullah, foreign minister hold talks with US Congress delegation
Nigerian military airstrikes free 76 hostages, including children
Ukraine drone hits Russian nuclear plant, sparks huge fire at Novatek's Ust-Luga terminal
Ukraine is stepping up attacks on Russian energy - and it’s working

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 24-25/2025
Fraud Threatens EU’s Green Ambitions/Najib Saab/ Asharq Al Awsat/August 24, 2025
The Illusion of ‘Greater Israel’ Is an Existential Threat and a Danger to International Peace and Security/Abbas Araghchi-Iranian Foreign Minister/Asharq Al Awsat/August 24, 2025
Frankly Speaking: How former Israeli PM Olmert views the war/Arab News/August 24, 2025
Grand Egyptian Museum reshaping Egypt’s image/Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/August 24, 2025
AI, work and the future of employment/Dr. John Sfakianakis/Arab News/August 24/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 24-25/2025
On the anniversary of Bashir’s election, we reaffirm our faith that Bashir—the Cause—is alive and will never die. For he who has God as his supporter, none can prevail against him.”
Elias Bejjani/August 23/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/66952/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBVzm_nxqQ
Bashir Gemayel was elected President of Lebanon on August 23, 1982. On this day, we proudly remember that historic moment and affirm that Bashir's dream remains alive. It is carried forward in the strong will of Lebanon’s honorable and sovereign youth, who have taken it upon themselves to bear the torch of freedom, dignity, liberation, and independence in a peaceful and civilized way. God willing, this will ultimately lead to rescuing the nation from Iranian occupation, traitors, and collaborators, and to restoring its independence and freedom.
On the day of his election, U.S. President Ronald Reagan described Bashir as “the young president who brought the light of hope to Lebanon.”
Bachir was more than a leader—he was a strategic planner who boldly crossed red lines, driven by his boundless love for Lebanon. He made the Lebanese of every background and affiliation believe in his vision: a Lebanon where people live in peace and dignity. He injected courage and willpower into the people, urging them to demand and work for a true state of citizenship, and to preserve Lebanon as a land of freedom, a nation worth every sacrifice.
On this day in 1982, Bachir's love for his country ignited a renewed sense of belonging. He planted an eternal dream in the heart of every free Lebanese, at home and abroad. His cause—the cause of Lebanon—remains alive, because “whoever has God as their supporter will never be defeated.”
It is true that the forces of evil and darkness succeeded in assassinating Bashir’s body, but they failed to kill the cause he embodied. That cause still beats in the hearts and minds of every free Lebanese: the cause of the state, of law and constitution, of freedom and democracy, and of genuine coexistence. Bashir’s legacy lives on in the conscience and culture of every sovereign Lebanese. Bashir will never die.
The man whose body was assassinated on September 14, 1982, remains alive in memory as a model of patriotism and integrity. By contrast, most political leaders still living in body are dead in spirit, consumed by greed, betrayal, and opportunism. Their presence is an absence, and their absence is a blessing.
On the Feast of the Holy Cross, September 14, 1982, treachery struck down Bashir’s body, but it failed to kill his cause, his patriotism, and his spirit of resistance. On that day, Lebanon’s Cross was raised to the sky, bearing the martyr president, Sheikh Bashir Gemayel, surrounded by his 23 faithful companions. He had dedicated his life to Lebanon and its sacred cause, and together with his companions he returned to the eternal paradise of the righteous and the saints.
Bashir was lifted on the Cross of Lebanon after he and his companions watered the blessed soil of the Cedar Nation with their pure blood. The martyr of 10,452 square kilometers ascended to his Lord with a clear conscience and a heart full of faith, leaving behind a clear framework for the Lebanese cause. He instilled in the conscience of his people the spirit of sacrifice, resistance, and the certainty of Lebanon’s inevitable victory—the Nation of the Message, where Christ performed His first miracle, and which the Virgin Mary blessed with her presence.
It was God’s will to distinguish Bashir even in death, just as He had graced him with talents, faith, and vision in life. God called him to eternal glory on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross—the same day His only Son was crucified as a ransom for humanity, to liberate mankind from sin. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Bashir embraced the Cross as his path and his beacon. He made it the symbol of his Lebanese message: a message of coexistence, love, loyalty, dignity, and honor. He loved his people so deeply that he offered himself as a sacrifice for their salvation and freedom. Protected by the Cross, he will not be defeated by the devils of treachery nor defiled by the hypocrisy of false leaders. And just as Christ rose from the dead, Bashir’s message will endure until the end of time. It will raise Lebanon, sooner or later, from the grave of dependency, occupation, and servitude.
Bashir’s Lebanon will not die. It lives in the struggle, resistance, and pride of every Lebanese who believes in his dream—the dream of a sovereign, free, independent, and democratic nation, where justice reigns, human dignity is safeguarded, and freedom is protected. A Lebanon liberated from foreign armies and mercenaries, ruled by its people, not by traitors.
Bashir fought to restore unity to Lebanon’s land, sovereignty to its state, dignity to its people, and effectiveness to its institutions. He famously declared: “We want to live with our heads held high. What must change is the mentality, and the renewal of the person, to renew Lebanon.” As the prophet Malachi said, “The law of truth was in his mouth.”

A Series of Heresies, Blasphemies, and Betrayals by the Inciter—Mufti Ahmad Qabalan
Elias Bejjani/Augst 20/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/08/146478/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N99kYdAmdxA
It is no longer a secret to anyone that Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan, the “Supreme Jaafari Mufti,” does not represent his religious denomination or his country. He is merely a paid mouthpiece and instigator for Iran and its armed terrorist group,blasphemously named “Hezbollah.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, he responded to Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi’s interview with AlArabiya TV using provocative and inflammatory language. He declared: “The weapons of Hezbollah and Amal are the weapons of God, and no one can take them away.”
What kind of moral and religious decline is this? How can a religious leader who receives his salary from the Lebanese state declare rebellion against it, its constitution, and its decisions, turning the weapons of a foreign, Jihadi, and terrorist militia into the "weapons of God"? Shouldn't he be a voice of unity and peace, instead of a cheap instrument for Iran’s clerics?
A Comparison Between Patriarch Al-Rahi and the Instigator Mufti Qabalan
Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi clearly and unambiguously defined the national position:
“The government’s decision is clear: all illegal weapons must be in the hands of the state.”
“There is a decisive Lebanese consensus on implementing the decision to disarm Hezbollah.”
“The members of the Shiite community are tired of war and want to live in peace.”
“The army protects all Lebanese without discrimination.”
“Resistance is not about submitting to Iran’s dictates.”
“There is no objection to peace with Israel in the future when conditions are appropriate.”
Meanwhile, the instigator Qabalan, instead of speaking with a language of religion and unity, responded with arrogant superiority and a disgusting fanaticism:
“Hezbollah’s weapon is God’s weapon.”
“Whoever wants Israel should go to live there.”
“There will be no peace with the killers of prophets.”
Who speaks for Lebanon? The Patriarch, who is guided by the constitution and legitimacy, or the instigator who deifies the arsenal of Iran and its party?
Let's remind Mufti Qabalan: if peace with Israel is a crime, then why did Iran itself negotiate with the "Great Satan," America? And why did "Hezbollah," through Nabih Berri, negotiate with American envoys and sign ceasefire agreements with Israel—agreements that Hezbollah itself accepted after losing the war and surrendering? Furthermore, why did Nabih Berri recognize Israel in the agreement that he and Hezbollah brokered in 2022, the "Agreement on the Delimitation of the Maritime Border between Lebanon and Israel," surrendering Lebanese land and maritime waters?
Legitimacy Invalidates the Heresies of the Instigator Qabalan
The instigator Qabalan conveniently forgets that his claims are nullified by several key agreements:
The Taif Agreement (1989): This called for the dissolution of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias.
UN Resolution 1559 (2004): This explicitly called for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon.
UN Resolution 1701 (2006): This mandated an end to armed presence south of the Litani River and restricted weapons to the state.
The Latest Ceasefire Agreement (2025): This clearly stipulated that all weapons must be limited to the legitimate Lebanese forces—from the army to the smallest municipal guard—and that any militia, particularly Hezbollah, must be disarmed.
By what right does Qabalan defy the constitution, government, and international resolutions to grant a fake religious legitimacy to an illegal Iranian firearm?
A Reply to His False Slogan
Qabalan said defiantly: “Whoever wants peace with Israel should go to live there.”
And we say to him: You, O instigator of Iran, should go to Tehran and take its weapons with you.
Lebanon is a land of peace, not a land of perpetual war. Lebanon is a land of coexistence, not a battlefield for proxy conflicts. Lebanon belongs to its legitimate army, not to sectarian militias.
The Mask Falls Off
Ahmad Qabalan has never been a true mufti; he is an instigator who plants the seeds of division between Christians and Muslims and among the Lebanese themselves. With his culture, rhetoric, and actions, he is more Iranian than the Iranians, raising Khamenei's flag above Lebanon's and legitimizing Hezbollah’s occupation of the state’s decisions.
In contrast, the voice of Patriarch Al-Rahi is the true voice of Lebanon: for sovereignty, the constitution, the Taif Agreement, international resolutions, peace, and neutrality. Whoever desires otherwise should look for another homeland besides Lebanon.
The fact remains that the Iranian terrorist and Jihadi "Hezbollah" has never protected Lebanon. Instead, it has plunged it into futile wars that have destroyed villages, killed young men, displaced families, and placed the Lebanese, particularly the Shiite community, in a state of hostility with their Arab surroundings and the international community. The weapon he claims is “divine” is, in reality, a tool of Iranian occupation that uses the Lebanese as fuel for battles that are none of their concern.
A Direct Call to the Esteemed Shiite Community
Dear brothers and sisters in the Shiite community: you are not hostages, and you are not mere numbers in the project of "Wilayat al-Faqih." "Hezbollah" has kidnapped you from your state, confiscated your decision-making, killed your sons in wars that do not concern you, destroyed your regions, and involved you in animosity with the entire world. The time has come for you to say: enough. Free yourselves from this great prison that has been imposed on you in the name of religion and false resistance. Your future and the future of your children are contingent upon your return to the Lebanese state, to normal life, and to a genuine partnership with all components of the nation.
Lebanon cannot be built with illegal weapons or Iranian ideological illusions, but with peace, the constitution, and the sovereignty of a single, unified state.

US envoy meets Netanyahu on Lebanon and Syria, Israeli officials say
Reuters/August 24, 2025
(Reuters) -Top U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack arrived in Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Syria and Lebanon, three Israeli officials said. The meeting was first reported by Axios, citing three Israeli and U.S. sources, and followed discussions between Barrack and Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Defence Minister Israel Katz. Dermer held talks with Syria's foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani in Paris on Tuesday on security arrangements in southern Syria, two Syrian sources familiar with the meeting said. Syrian and Israeli officials have been conducting U.S.-mediated talks on de-escalating conflict in southern Syria. A previous round of talks was held in Paris in late July but ended without a final accord. On Monday, Barrack said in Lebanon that Israel should comply with a plan under which Lebanese militant group Hezbollah would be disarmed by the end of the year in exchange for a halt to Israel's military operations in Lebanon. The plan sets out a phased roadmap for armed groups to hand in their arsenals as Israel's military halts ground, air and sea operations and withdraws troops from Lebanon's south. Lebanon's cabinet approved the plan's objectives earlier this month despite Hezbollah's refusal to disarm, and Barrack said it was now Israel's turn to cooperate. There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office.

US Presses for Clear Timetable to Withdraw UNIFIL from South Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/August 24, 2025
Western diplomats said they expect an imminent call between French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio aimed at clearing what one described as the “final hurdle” before the UN Security Council votes to renew the mandate of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year. The move follows Washington’s decision on Friday to break the “silence procedure” on an amended draft resolution prepared by France. Paris had circulated a revised text after a week of negotiations with US diplomats in New York to bridge differences over language addressing UNIFIL’s eventual withdrawal from southern Lebanon. US officials have signaled readiness to back a full 12-month renewal. But if Rubio and Barrot fail to finalize the wording, Russia, which holds the Council presidency in August, could delay Monday morning’s planned session until later this week, before the current mandate expires on Aug. 31, a diplomat familiar with the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Diplomats said Israeli pressure was shaping the dispute. One European envoy linked it to Europe’s broader policies in the region, including France’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state. Another said Washington’s insistence on a clear timetable for UNIFIL’s exit reflected Israeli demands to “end Europe’s role in the Middle East.” European troops, notably from France, Italy, Spain and Norway, make up the backbone of UNIFIL, which was first deployed after Israel’s 1978 invasion of Lebanon and expanded after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, diplomats added, is also benefiting from senior Trump administration officials’ reluctance to support UN peace operations worldwide. France’s latest draft, seen by Asharq al-Awsat, includes concessions to Washington. The preamble now welcomes Lebanese government efforts to assert sovereignty through its armed forces, rejects recognition of any authority other than the state, and notes “positive progress” by UNIFIL since November 27, 2024, in uncovering weapons caches and expanding patrols alongside the Lebanese army. The operative clauses were also revised. The first extends UNIFIL’s mandate until Aug. 31, 2026, “with a plan for withdrawal” in line with paragraph five – the crux of the current negotiations. That clause states the Council intends to work toward UNIFIL’s exit so the Lebanese state alone is responsible for security in the south, provided Beirut establishes full control nationwide through its armed forces and institutions, and both parties agree on a comprehensive political arrangement. Two new clauses were added. One directs UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to conduct by March 1, 2026, a strategic review assessing conditions for UNIFIL’s withdrawal, with a view to starting a phased exit no later than Aug. 31, 2026, and to explore options for supporting Lebanese army redeployment south of the Litani River. The second calls on Lebanon to fully comply with its 1995 status-of-forces agreement, particularly UNIFIL’s freedom of movement and immunities, and to ensure the mission’s security until its last personnel depart. It also tasks the mission with safeguarding its assets during withdrawal and instructs Guterres to keep the Council regularly informed. US negotiators argue the wording could allow UNIFIL to remain beyond 2026, a prospect Netanyahu’s government and pro-Israel US officials strongly oppose.

Lebanon: Hezbollah Using Sectarian Playbook to Counter State’s Bid to Curb its Weapons
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/August 24, 2025
Each time Hezbollah faces a political challenge tied to its role in Lebanon, the group falls back on a familiar tool: sectarian mobilization. Political disputes are recast as attacks on the Shiite community, shifting the confrontation from legal or constitutional grounds to sectarian identity. Lebanese have seen this formula at work for more than two decades, most vividly whenever debate turns to Hezbollah’s arsenal or its regional role. In the latest flare-up over a government decision to enforce a monopoly on arms by the state, Hezbollah framed the move not as a constitutional or legal issue, but as an attempt to “disarm the Shiites.”Analysts say that narrative raises the cost of challenging the group, by making political opposition appear as a confrontation with an entire sect rather than a party. “Hezbollah has relied since its inception on sectarian mobilization inside the Shiite community, using it at every political or security crossroads,” said Mona Fayyad, a professor of political psychology. She told Asharq Al-Awsat that such rhetoric “has turned into a tool for stirring the street, especially in moments of tension or key decisions, like the recent one on state control of arms.”Images of Hezbollah supporters riding motorbikes and waving flags through Beirut’s southern suburbs after the decision reflected an effort to stage “a street versus street” confrontation, she said. “This strategy is not new. Since the late 1980s Hezbollah has sought to eliminate rivals, starting with Amal, and shifted from an ‘Islamic state’ discourse to one adapted to Lebanese realities, while maintaining sectarian substance,” Fayyad added. “Through welfare and social institutions, it bound a wide base of followers who march behind it no matter what.”That structure, she said, created a solid ground for Hezbollah’s project but also trapped the community in a one-dimensional narrative that silences criticism. Political analyst Hareth Sleiman said the motorbike rallies did not reflect a Shiite consensus, nor an organized mass movement, but “managed acts by marginal groups Hezbollah uses to send political messages.”“These groups come largely from the city’s underclass and are mobilized through intermediaries, with limited logistical support – a fuel fill-up, a charged phone – to perform in the street,” Sleiman said. “The aim is to suggest that the entire Shiite community is furious, while in reality the silent majority disagrees with these tactics.”
He described the rallies as “a fabricated threat” – not a genuine sectarian clash but a short-lived show orchestrated by networks linked to the party. Observers say Hezbollah has succeeded in blurring the line between itself and the Shiite community in public perception, making it difficult to separate the party’s fate from that of the sect. The main beneficiary, they argue, is Iran. “Iran uses the Lebanese arena as a tool in its regional struggle,” said Fayyad, noting that Tehran is indifferent to whether such mobilization sparks internal strife. “As long as Lebanon remains a card in its hand, the tensions don’t matter.”She said this does not necessarily mean full-scale sectarian war, but raises the risk of street scuffles during moments of tension. The difference now, she added, is that the Lebanese army has both political cover and the capacity to keep order. Still, Fayyad believes Hezbollah’s ability to rally Shiites en masse is waning. A growing number are unwilling to take to the streets for the group, she said, recognizing that such moves serve only a narrow circle tied to Iran’s project. “The arms that Hezbollah portrays as the Shiite community’s weapons are in fact Iranian weapons, used to serve external objectives,” she said. “Clinging to that equation keeps Lebanon hostage.”

Lebanese-Syrian Security Meeting, Sponsored by Saudi Arabia, to Keep Terrorist Organizations Away from the Shared Border
Southern Lebanon/August 24/2025
A Lebanese-Syrian security meeting was held under Saudi sponsorship, attended by Prince Khaled bin Salman and Prince Yazeed bin Farhan, according to information from Al Jadeed TV. The station, which did not specify the time or location of the meeting, reported that during the talks, Syrian Intelligence Chief Hassan Al-Salameh surprised Lebanese Intelligence Director Brigadier General Tony Kahwaji by saying, "We want to learn from you how to cooperate along the border, and what can be done to accomplish this together."The sources indicated that the Lebanese side expressed its disappointment at the lack of reciprocity, explaining that while two Lebanese prime ministers had visited Damascus, no Syrian official had yet visited Beirut. The Lebanese delegation also requested guarantees to keep terrorist organizations away from the shared border. The Syrian Intelligence Chief responded by saying, "Fighting ISIS is my specialty."

Ammunition Smuggling Ring Uncovered, Hidden in Milk Containers Heading to Lebanon
Damascus/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 24, 2025
The Internal Security Directorate in Homs province seized a motorcycle in the Al-Qusayr area that was carrying boxes of ammunition prepared for smuggling. The Homs Governorate, through its Telegram channel, explained that the ammunition boxes were hidden inside barrels used for transporting milk to create a disguise. The shipment was en route to Lebanon. According to the Internal Security Directorate, the motorcycle driver fled, while the relevant authorities continue their search and pursuit to find those involved. A few days prior, the Internal Security Forces in Homs had seized a car carrying Grad rockets, as well as various shells and ammunition, which were hidden in the eastern Homs countryside and prepared for smuggling. These efforts are part of the ongoing campaign against such operations. In June, the Internal Security Directorate in the city of Al-Qusayr announced it had foiled an attempt to smuggle a weapons shipment in a truck bound for Lebanese territory. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the Internal Security Directorate in Al-Qusayr confiscated anti-tank guided missiles and 30mm ammunition, arrested the driver, and referred him to the relevant judiciary for legal action. It is worth noting that since the fall of the Assad regime in December, controlling the shared border between Syria and Lebanon has become an urgent issue, given the approximately 375-kilometer border with its complex geographical overlap.

Lebanon Awaits Arrival of Barrak and Ortagus
Beirut/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 24, 2025
Lebanon is anticipating the arrival of U.S. envoys Tom Barrack and Morgan Ortagus in Beirut. They will be carrying Israel's response to the Lebanese counter-proposal on the "American paper" after holding meetings with officials in Tel Aviv. News website Axios, citing three Israeli and American sources, said that Barrack arrived in Israel and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday (Sunday) to discuss the U.S. request for Israel to limit its strikes on Lebanon and the negotiations with Syria, as reported by Reuters. The website added that Barrack also met with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz. This comes at a time when negotiations between the Lebanese Presidency and Hezbollah regarding the withdrawal of the group's weapons have not yielded any results, according to informed sources.

The Fate of UNIFIL: Is August 29 the Decisive Date?
Al-Markaziya/August 24/2025
High-level diplomatic sources at the United Nations told MTV that "disagreements are no longer limited to the wording of the UNIFIL renewal resolution but are now linked to the parallel political process and the messages and guarantees Barrack will bring to the Lebanese government." European sources indicated that "delay is the preferred option right now, and the vote on UNIFIL's renewal might be postponed until the last day of the session on August 29 to allow for more political pressure and deliberations among countries, rather than for a vote." According to a high-ranking source at the U.S. State Department, "as of now, there is no official date for the UNIFIL renewal vote."

Lebanon to Receive Detailed Israeli Response on Tuesday!
Al-Markaziya/August 24/2025
Information has revealed that U.S. envoy Tom Barrack will deliver the detailed Israeli response to Lebanese officials on Tuesday. He will be accompanied by a high-level American delegation that includes military figures and prominent Senator Lindsey Graham, who is known for his close ties to the U.S. President and his hardline stances against Iran and Hezbollah. According to sources, Barrack and his delegation will have lunch with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Tuesday. It was reported that the proposal Barrack and Ortagus will carry is a project extending along the southern border, where villages have been completely destroyed. The project would transform this area into an industrial zone belonging to Lebanon, serving as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel. Residents of these homes would receive alternative land and compensation for new houses.

Senator Graham to Beirut Tomorrow with U.S. Envoys; Barrack and Netanyahu Discuss Strikes on Lebanon and Negotiations with Syria
Al-Markaziya/August 24/ 2025
The Israeli website "I24" reported that prominent Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is scheduled to arrive in Beirut tomorrow, accompanied by U.S. envoys Morgan Ortagus and Tom Barrack. The website highlighted the visit's importance, as "Graham chairs the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, which gives it a political and economic dimension." Observers believe the visit's goal is to send a direct message to the Lebanese that any international aid for Lebanon is contingent on tangible steps in the file of dismantling Hezbollah. In the same context, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid revealed that Tom Barrack arrived in Israel today, Sunday, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a number of senior Israeli officials to discuss the U.S. administration's request for Israel to restrain its strikes in Lebanon, in addition to discussing the ongoing negotiations with Syria. Ravid reported that Barrack also met with Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Gidon Sa'ar, and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz. He added, "The Trump administration is simultaneously working to push for the implementation of new security arrangements between Israel and Lebanon, and between Israel and Syria, as a first step toward potential future normalization of relations." U.S. officials pointed out that the ongoing war in Gaza gives Israel an interest in de-escalating the situation on its borders with Syria and Lebanon and reaching new agreements with both countries.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 24-25/2025
Iran's Khamenei calls US issue 'unsolvable' amid nuclear standoff
Reuters/August 24, 2025
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's supreme leader said the current situation with the United States was "unsolvable", and that Tehran would never bow to pressure to obey Washington, amid a standoff with Western powers over its nuclear programme, state media reported on Sunday.
The Islamic Republic suspended nuclear negotiations with the United States after the U.S. and Israel bombed its nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments come after Iran and European powers agreed on Friday to resume talks to try to restart full negotiations on curbing Tehran's nuclear enrichment work. "They want Iran to be obedient to America. The Iranian nation will stand with all of its power against those who have such erroneous expectations," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reported as saying.
"People who ask us not to issue slogans against the U.S. ... to have direct negotiations with the U.S. only see appearances ... This issue is unsolvable", he added. France, Britain and Germany have said they could reactivate United Nations sanctions on Iran under a "snapback" mechanism if Tehran does not return to the table. The European states, along with the U.S., say Iran is working towards developing nuclear weapons. Iran says it is only interested in developing nuclear power.

Push to recruit Kurds and religious minorities to Syrian security forces brings hope and skepticism
Omar Albam And Abby Sewell/AP/August 24, 2025
AFRIN, Syria (AP) — Young Kurdish men, including members of religious minorities, recently signed up to join the Syrian government’s General Security forces in Afrin, an area in the country’s north from which Kurds were forcibly displaced years ago.
The push to recruit ethnic and religious minorities comes as the government in Damascus faces increased scrutiny after outbreaks of sectarian violence in recent months during which there were widespread reports of government-affiliated fighters killing and humiliating civilians from the Alawite and Druze sects. A U.N.-backed commission that investigated violence on Syria’s coast recommended earlier this month that authorities should recruit from minority communities for a more “diverse security force composition” to improve community relations and trust. Minorities are increasingly wary of the new authorities in Damascus, who are led by Sunni Muslim Islamist former insurgents who overthrew President Bashar Assad in December after a nearly 14-year civil war. An agreement reached in March between Damascus and Kurdish-led forces that control much of northeast Syria also has been on shaky ground.
Seeking a role in the new state
Abbas Mohammad Hamouda, a Kurdish Alawite, was among the young men lining up at a recruitment center in Afrin on Wednesday. “I came with young men from my district to join the new state,” he said. “We will stand together, united, and avoid problems and wars from now on.”The Kurds in Afrin “have been subjected to a lot over the past eight years,” Hamouda said, adding, “I hope that the youth of Afrin will not think badly of us because of this affiliation” with the new authorities. Formerly a Kurdish-majority area, Afrin was seized by Turkish forces and allied Syrian opposition fighters in 2018, following a Turkey-backed military operation that pushed fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and thousands of Kurdish civilians from the area. Arabs displaced from other parts of Syria have settled in the area since then and the Kurds who stayed have complained of discrimination against them. Some are hoping the recent drive to recruit them to the security forces signals a shift toward more inclusion. Malik Moussa, a Kurd from the Yazidi sect who signed up, said he had come hoping to be “part of the Syrian army and for there to be no discrimination.” “We hope that the new government will be for all the people, for there not to be oppression like there was in the past,” he said. Ferhad Khurto, a government official responsible for political affairs in the Afrin district, said about 1,000 young men had signed up in recent days to join General Security in the area from “all of its sects and colors and doctrines.” He did not give a breakdown of the demographics of the new recruits. “This is the first step, and there is a strategy … for the sons of Afrin to share in all the government institutions, not only on the side of internal security but in civilian institutions,” he said, adding that the recruitment drive in Afrin is part of a larger national strategy. When asked for the numbers and percentage of minorities joining the security forces, Noureddine al-Baba, spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Interior, told The Associated Press “competence and patriotism are the criteria used, not sectarian quotas.”
Skepticism about the government's intent
The recruitment effort drew skepticism in some quarters.
The Afrin Social Association, an initiative providing support to people displaced from Afrin in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, said in a statement posted on Facebook that “enrollment of some young people in the General Security Forces, without any guarantees to protect Afrin’s communities and ensure the dignified and voluntary return of the displaced, is an irresponsible act.”The association accused the authorities in Damascus of trying to “circumvent” the March agreement, which called for displaced people to be able to return to their homes, including in Afrin, along with a merger of the new government’s army and the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Wladimir van Wilgenburg, an Iraq-based Kurdish affairs analyst, said “in theory, the recruitment could improve the situation of Kurds in Afrin.”“It also depends if Kurds will be appointed to leadership positions in the security forces in Afrin and if they will really have any say, and if some Turkish-backed groups would return to their original areas ... and if some of the violations stop," he said. A Kurdish man living in Afrin, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, said locals have mixed feelings about the recruitment. They believe it could be positive if the authorities are "really serious about giving a role in Afrin to the original people of this area,” but they fear the Kurdish recruits would be "employed negatively” in case of an armed conflict between the state forces and SDF, he said. Some Kurdish families are pushing their sons to join, either because the security forces are seen as a career path for those without other options or in hopes of gaining political benefits, the man said. “I know a young guy who was working as a barber and his grandfather forced him to go to the General Security, saying that we must have influence in the state,” he said.

Israeli strikes in Yemen’s capital kill two, Houthis say
AFP/August 24, 2025 13:48
SANAA: Israel struck Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Sunday, killing at least two people, according to the country’s Iran-backed Houthis who have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel throughout the Gaza war. AFP images showed a large fireball lighting up the skies over the Houthi-held Yemeni capital, leaving behind a column of thick, black smoke. The Houthis’ health ministry reported “two martyrs and 35 wounded” in the Israeli raid. A Houthi security source told AFP that the air raid targeted a municipal building in central Sanaa, while the group’s Al-Masirah TV reported that the two dead were in a strike on an oil company facility in the city. The channel said the targets also included a power station in Sanaa’s south that was previously hit last Sunday. The Israeli army said it had targeted Houthi military sites in Sanaa, including areas near the presidential palace, two power plants and a fuel storage facility. “The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians,” the military said in a statement.
Late Friday, the Houthis fired a missile that Israeli authorities said had “most likely fragmented in mid-air.”Since the October 2023 start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel, claiming to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians. Most of the Houthi attacks have been intercepted, but they have prompted retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. On August 17, Israel said it targeted an energy infrastructure site in Sanaa linked to the Houthis, with Al-Masirah reporting at the time the capital’s Haziz power station was hit. The latest Israeli statement said the Haziz facility was targeted again on Sunday. A photographer working with AFP reported significant damage after the August 17 strike. Beyond attacks on Israel itself, the Houthis have also targeted ships they say are linked to the country in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden off Yemen. The group broadened its campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after the two countries began military strikes aimed at securing the waterway in January 2024. In May, the Houthis cemented a ceasefire with the United States that ended weeks of intense US strikes, but vowed to continue targeting Israeli ships. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier this month that the Houthis would “pay with compound interest for every attempt to fire at Israel.”

Israel Strikes Yemeni Capital Sanaa
Asharq Al Awsat/August 24/2025
Israeli strikes hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday in retaliation for Houthi missiles fired towards Israel, with Houthi media saying the attack killed at least two people and injured five. The strikes are the latest in over a year of direct attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi militants in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza, Reuters reported. The Israeli military said the targets included a military compound housing the presidential palace, two power plants and a fuel storage site. The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said the strikes killed at least two people and injured five. "The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory in recent days," the military said in statement. On Friday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile towards Israel in their latest attack, which they said was in support of Palestinians in Gaza. An Israeli Air Force official said on Sunday the missile most likely carried several sub-munitions "intended to be detonated upon impact." "This is the first time that this kind of missile has been launched from Yemen," the official said.

Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz offers political truce to help secure Gaza hostage deal
FRANCE 24/August 24, 2025
Former Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz on Saturday offered to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a unity government to help secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. Reliant on far-right allies to remain in power, Netanyahu has launched a renewed military assault on famine-stricken Gaza City to put pressure on Hamas, who last week accepted a ceasefire proposal involving a partial hostage release. Israeli former defence minister Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to forge a unity government along with members of the opposition in a bid to help release the hostages held in Gaza. Netanyahu's coalition government depends on support from far-right members who oppose ending the war and making any deal with Palestinian group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war. Gantz, a rival of Netanyahu who nonetheless joined his government in the early days of the war, proposed a temporary coalition that would side-step far-right parties and strike a hostage release deal. "I am here on behalf of the hostages who have no voice. I am here for the soldiers who are crying out, and whom no one in this government is listening to," Gantz told a televised press conference. "The duty of our state is first and foremost to save the lives of Jews and all citizens," Gantz added, calling on fellow opposition party leaders Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman to also consider the offer. Both opposition chief Lapid and Lieberman have previously rejected joining any Netanyahu-led government. Netanyahu's coalition faces a risk of collapse after the parliament's summer recess ends, following the loss of support from ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties over legislation seeking to draft students of religious seminaries into the military.
Growing protests.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of Netanyahu's ruling coalition who could be sidelined if Gantz's plan succeeds, was quick to dismiss it. "Right-wing voters chose a right-wing policy – not Gantz's policy, not a centrist government, not surrender deals with Hamas, but yes to absolute victory," Ben Gvir said in a statement. The government has faced increasing domestic pressure to secure an end to the war in Gaza, with mass protests calling for a deal that would see the hostages released. Earlier this week, Netanyahu said he had ordered negotiations aimed at freeing the remaining hostages, adding that the diplomatic push would accompany a new offensive to take control of Gaza City. The plan to expand the offensive in Gaza, which Netanyahu's security cabinet approved earlier this month, has been met with opposition in Israel over concerns for the fate of the hostages. It has also sparked fears that the onslaught would exacerbate already dire conditions on the ground after more than 22 months of war. The UN officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming the "systematic obstruction" of aid by Israel during more than 22 months of war. The Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said famine was affecting 500,000 people in Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory including Gaza City. Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed on Friday that Israel would destroy Gaza City as it has other parts of the territory if Hamas did not agree to disarm, release all remaining hostages in the territory and end the war on Israel's terms. Hamas has said it would release captives in exchange for ending the war, but it rejects disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state. Residents of Gaza City said the Israeli strikes targeting the area had been relentless for days. International mediators have been waiting for days for an Israeli response to their latest ceasefire proposal, which Hamas accepted last week. On Saturday thousands of protesters again took to the streets of Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv. Yotam Cohen, whose brother Nimrod is held in Gaza, said that "instead of saving lives, Netanyahu is sentencing the living hostages to death and causing the fallen to be lost forever". Out of 251 hostages seized during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Palestinian militants also hold the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in a 2014 war.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)

Israel pounds Gaza City suburbs, vows to press on with offensive
Nidal al-Mughrabi and Lili Bayer/Reuters/August 24, 2025
CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday to Sunday, destroying buildings and homes, residents said, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city. Witnesses reported the sound of explosions non-stop overnight in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia, while tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighbourhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern town of Jabalia. Fire lit the skies from the direction of the explosions, causing panic, prompting some families to stream out of the city. Others said they would prefer to die and not leave. The Israeli military said on Sunday that its forces have returned to combat in the Jabalia area in recent days, to dismantle militant tunnels and strengthen control of the area. It added that the operation there "enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas."Israel approved a plan this month to seize control of Gaza City, describing it as the last bastion of Hamas militants. It is not expected to begin for a few weeks, leaving room for mediators Egypt and Qatar to try and resume ceasefire talks. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz on Sunday vowed to press on with the offensive on the city where famine has been declared, which has raised alarm abroad and objections at home. Katz has said that Gaza City will be razed unless Hamas agrees to end the war on Israel's terms and release all hostages. Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that Israel's plan to take over Gaza City showed it wasn't serious about a ceasefire. It said a ceasefire agreement was "the only way to return the hostages", holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for their lives. The proposal on the table calls for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza and of 18 bodies. In turn, Israel would release about 200 long-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Once a temporary ceasefire begins, the proposal is for Hamas and Israel to begin negotiations on a permanent ceasefire that would include the return of the remaining hostages. On Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel would immediately resume negotiations for the release of all 50 hostages - of whom Israel believes around 20 are still living - and an end to the nearly two-year-old war but on terms acceptable to Israel.
'HUNGRY AND AFRAID'
Around half of the enclave's two million people currently live in Gaza City. A few thousand have already left, carrying their belongings on vehicles and rickshaws. "I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City," said Mohammad, 40, via a chat app. "No place is safe, but I can't take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire."
Others said they will not leave, no matter what.
"We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home," said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn't afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation, even if they did try to leave. "We are hungry, afraid and don't have money."A global hunger monitor said on Friday that Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread. Israel has rejected the assessment and says it ignores steps it has taken since late July to increase aid. On Sunday, the Gaza health ministry said eight more people died of malnutrition and starvation in the enclave, raising deaths from such causes to 289 people, including 115 children, since the war started. Israel disputes fatality figures by the health ministry in the Hamas-run strip. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Israel's military offensive against Hamas has since killed at least 62,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, left much of the territory in ruins and internally displaced nearly its entire population.

4 Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces while seeking aid near Gaza City, witnesses say
Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy And Sam Metz/AP/August 24/2025
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinian aid-seekers traveling Sunday through a military zone south of Gaza City that is regularly used to reach a food distribution point, a hospital and witnesses said. Gaza City is in famine after 22 months of war, while Israel’s military moves ahead with a planned offensive to seize the city, perhaps within days. Israel's defense minister has warned that the city of hundreds of thousands of people could be destroyed. Al-Awda Hospital and two witnesses told The Associated Press the Palestinians were killed when troops opened fire on a crowd heading to a site run by the Israeli-backed U.S. contractor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Netzarim corridor area, hundreds of meters (yards) from the site. “The gunfire was indiscriminate,” said Mohamed Abed, a father of two from the Bureij refugee camp. Abed and Aymed Sayyad, another aid-seeker, said troops opened fire when a group near the front of the crowd pushed toward the site before its scheduled opening. Sayyad said he and others helped two people wounded by gunshots. “This incident didn’t occur near our site nor as described,” the GHF said in an email. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Eight more malnutrition-related deaths
Gaza's Health Ministry reported another eight malnutrition-related deaths Sunday, including a child. That brings the total number of malnutrition-related deaths during the war to 289, with 115 of them children. At least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the ministry, including missing people confirmed dead by a special ministry judicial committee. Of those, more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,500 wounded while seeking aid at distribution points or along convoy routes used by the United Nations and other aid groups, according to the Health Ministry. The Health Ministry does not say how many of the dead are fighters or civilians but says around half have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. The world’s leading authority on food crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, said Friday that famine is occurring in Gaza City and could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of next month. Aid groups have long warned that the war and months of Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies entering Gaza are causing starvation. Israel has denied the existence of widespread hunger, calling reports of starvation “lies” promoted by Hamas.
‘Non-stop explosions’ near Gaza City
In Jabaliya, the densely populated refugee camp just north of Gaza City, residents said they endured heavy explosions overnight. Days after Israel’s military announced it was intensifying its operations in the area and mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists to take the city, they said they lived in constant fear. One displaced Palestinian there, Ossama Matter, said neighborhoods had been razed beyond recognition. “They want it like Rafah,” he said, referring to the southern Gaza city destroyed earlier in the war. “There have been non-stop explosions and strikes in the past days.” While fleeing Jabaliya, teacher Salim Dhaher said he saw robots planting explosives as troops advanced. Dhaher said he feared it was part of a larger effort to forcibly remove Palestinians from the north. The aim is clear, he said: “To destroy everything above the ground and force the transfer.”There was little sign of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians evacuating south ahead of Israel’s invasion of Gaza City, which Israel says is still a Hamas stronghold. Many are exhausted by repeated displacements and unconvinced that any area — including so-called humanitarian zones — offers safety. The war began when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain in Gaza, with around 20 believed to be alive. Hostages' loved ones fear a new offensive will endanger them further, and many Israelis are increasingly vocal about the need for a deal to stop the fighting and bring everyone home. A new call-up of reservists has added to the anxiety. But efforts toward a ceasefire appear to be waiting for Israel's next move, after Hamas said it accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators. “We agreed to a partial deal, while we also expressed readiness for a comprehensive one, HOWEVER, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu rejects all solutions,” Hamas said in a statement Sunday.

Gaza’s biggest city is in chaos ahead of an imminent Israeli assault
Mostafa Salem, Ibrahim Dahman, Oren Liebermann, Lou Robinson, CNN/August 24, 2025
Two years ago, Gaza’s largest city was sprawling with life. Classrooms brimmed with schoolchildren, markets were full of shoppers and beachside cafes offered respite for those escaping the stresses of a besieged enclave. Gaza City boasts a rich history, inhabited for thousands of years and shaped by successive takeovers from ancient civilizations. It served as a key landing point for Palestinians displaced during Israel’s founding in 1948 and has hundreds of millennia-old sites documenting its past.
It was therefore no surprise that Islamist militant group Hamas chose Gaza City as its de facto capital when it seized control of the strip in 2007. Years of conflict, a crippling blockade and Hamas’ autocratic rule made life for Palestinians hard. But the institutions set up by the militants, with help from regional governments like Qatar and a robust United Nations aid system, gave some structure to the strip’s exhausted population.
An established underground smuggling system gave Gaza City a taste of the outside world amid the land, air and sea siege imposed by neighbors Israel and Egypt – who both designate Hamas a terror organization. While life was far from easy in Gaza City, with half the population unemployed and Hamas’ police strictly patrolling the streets, you could still get a matcha latte on the way to a yoga studio, or relax in a park.
Today, what was once the cultural and financial hub of the enclave, lies in lawless ruins, devastated by months of a brutal Israeli assault triggered by Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel almost two years ago. And as Israel’s plans to launch a new offensive on the densely populated area to eliminate Hamas militants hiding underground, Palestinians of the Gaza historic city reckon, once again, with mounting fears of survival.
Life in Gaza City. Normal life in the coastal enclave collapsed after Israel’s brutal retaliation to Hamas’ attack.
Hundreds of thousands sheltering in shattered buildings of the city have been left to fend for themselves after the fall of Hamas’ policing apparatus. Unclear about their future, residents of Gaza City listen for news of the next food shipment, or the sudden sound of a trickle of salty water from bathroom pipes – which would give them a rare chance for a shower.
Israel does not allow journalists into Gaza. CNN spoke to several of Gaza City’s residents to paint a picture of how the city looks amidst the war. Tens of thousands of Israeli strikes have left the city’s many towers lying in rubble as garbage and sewage water flood the streets. Black smoke from burning plastic and wood, used by residents for fuel, fill the skies and the sounds of overhead Israeli drones buzz non-stop amid sporadic blasts from airstrikes nearby. A chaotic web of wires from street generators supply power to those who can afford to pay. Markets display a random assortment of exorbitantly priced food items, possibly looted by criminal gangs from the few aid trucks Israel allows into the strip.
Hospitals and pharmacies no longer function, and hygiene products remain a scarcity for Palestinians, who say infestations of lice, a lack of vitamins, with no food have left them ill and weak. As night falls, armed thugs roam the streets and families pick up guns to protect themselves. Cash can be transferred to Gaza through an informal banking system – but those seeking to withdraw it are forced to pay up to 50% in commission to individuals and groups controlling the money supply.
Dogs ‘eating so many bodies’
Majdi Abu Hamdi, 40, a father of four, said dust from the explosions chokes the streets and seeps into the homes that are still standing, where blown-out windows make it hard to breathe. Even stray dogs have changed their behaviour, he told CNN. “At night, we hear dogs howling. They have turned wild from eating so many bodies. Their barking has changed, becoming fierce.” “They are even dangerous to people, attacking residents savagely. Two days ago, by mistake, a cat walked near them. More than twenty dogs attacked and tore it apart,” he said. He continued, “People may be thirty years old, but the exhaustion of war makes them look seventy. Hunger and poor food wear them down. We only use the bathroom every three days because of lack of food and high prices.”
Hamas, once so visible on the streets of Gaza City, is now absent. Its political offices, organizational municipalities and police stations are destroyed, and its militants stay hidden.
“The sons of bitches have no control, it’s not like old times… but sometimes you find them appearing suddenly, you don’t know where from,” said Abu Mohamed, a resident of Gaza City who opposes Hamas. The resident, who didn’t provide his full name out of fear of Hamas’ retaliation, said the group has no forces visibly present, and civilians do not know how the group organizes itself. “They don’t have specific places where they gather. They have their own special ways on how they communicate or how they organize… we don’t know how they do that,” Abu Mohamed said of Hamas. Bashar Taleb, a journalist in Gaza City, questioned the purpose of Hamas’s weapons if they fail to protect Palestinians.
“What is the use of the weaponry if it has not protected a single civilian, and has not prevented the hunger and the continuous death that has lasted for nearly seven hundred days among innocent civilians who have no power in this war,” Taleb wrote on Facebook.
“I want one reasonable person to answer me or to give me just one benefit, even a single benefit, of Hamas’s weapons.”
Hamas isn’t a ‘static institution’
When an agreement was reached with Israel for a ceasefire and the release of some hostages in January, armed members of Hamas emerged en masse wearing their full uniform at a public square in Gaza City. It was Hamas’ reminder that the group was still alive months after Israel set out to destroy it. In the weeks that followed, Hamas choreographed ceremonies to parade its strength during scheduled releases of Israeli hostages captured on October 7. The ceremonies were so infuriating to Israel that it threatened to withdraw from the agreement.
In one of the most recent videos circulating on social media and geolocated by CNN, an armed group of masked men chanted for Hamas’ armed wing – Al Qassam Brigades – while carrying automatic weapons. The video, released in August, showed masked militants setting fire to a vehicle and threatening “thieves and businessmen” who steal aid.
Self-styled as ‘Al Rade’a, or ‘The Deterring,’ the subgroup said in its first statement that it was formed by Hamas’ security apparatus to “deter monopolizing businessmen” and gangs who collaborate with Israel in Gaza. Al Rade’a claimed that it executed people who belong to gangs that collaborate with Israel, including six people last month in the southern city of Khan Younis. “Let’s not forget Hamas is not a static institution or figure. They started out with a certain number of fighters on October 7, and then given the destruction and deaths inside Gaza, they’ve also gone on a recruiting spree and replaced folks that were there,” Alex Plitsas, a military expert and senior non-resident fellow for the Atlantic Council, told CNN.
It is near-impossible to establish an accurate picture of the number of Hamas militants remaining in Gaza City. “Hamas is not a uniform force, while their government was elected in Gaza and they have institutions that they’re responsible for, their military wing doesn’t operate like a uniform military… they effectively act like an insurgent force for an elected government that is in the middle of a war, and they don’t play by the rules,” Plitsas said.
‘They know we’re coming’
The takeover and occupation of the largest city in northern Gaza, which Netanyahu said is one of the last Hamas strongholds, will require the Israeli military to bring in 60,000 more reserve troops and extend the service of another 20,000, in addition to those already called up. Another Israeli military official could not provide a figure on how many Hamas forces are in Gaza City, but the official said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not ventured deep into the area in nearly two years of war. The expectation is that troops will face an enemy that has had time to dig in, using its extensive tunnel network under Gaza City
“They know we’re coming,” the official said, “so they prepare for that.”The Hamas “metro,” as Israel calls it, is more than just a system of uniform tunnels, the official explained. It’s far more complex than the IDF anticipated, with larger strategic hubs and branches, as well as smaller tactical tunnels for quick movement and surprise attacks. Once Gaza City is evacuated, the IDF will likely strike an expanded set of targets in the dense urban area, the official added, including sites that weren’t struck before because of the density of the civilian population.
But Israel’s incoming operation is drawing warning from governments and aid groups, who remain concerned about the Israeli military’s conduct over the past two years amid a high civilian casualty rate, reports of war crimes, human rights abuses and aid blockades.
“The Israeli military would probably take a couple of months to go into every single building, clear it up and hit all the tunnels. Is it possible? Yes,” Plitsas said, “Is it extremely difficult and will it take a lot of troops to clear and take all the territory? Also yes.”

Israeli Forces Kill 4 More Aid Seekers as Northern Gaza Braces for Looming Offensive
Asharq Al Awsat/August 24/2025
Israeli forces killed four aid seekers traveling on Sunday through a military zone south of Gaza City — an area regularly used by Palestinians trying to reach a food distribution point, a hospital and witnesses said. The deaths add to the growing toll of Palestinians killed while seeking food, as parts of the Gaza Strip plunge into famine and Israel’s military ramps up activity in northern Gaza ahead of a planned offensive to seize its largest city. Al-Awda Hospital and two eyewitnesses told The Associated Press that the four Palestinians were killed when troops opened fire on a crowd heading to a site run by the Israeli-backed American contractor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, in the Netzarim corridor area. It occurred hundreds of meters (yards) away from the site, the eyewitnesses said.
“The gunfire was indiscriminate,” Mohamed Abed, a father of two from the Bureij refugee camp, said, adding that while many fled some people fell to the ground after being shot.
Abed and Aymed Sayyad, another aid seeker among the crowd, said troops opened fire when a group near the front of the crowd pushed forward toward a distribution site before its scheduled opening. Sayyad said he and others helped two people who were wounded by gunshots, one in his shoulder and the leg in his leg. The Israeli military and GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Malnutrition-related deaths The four deaths are the latest in areas where UN convoys have been overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds, and where people have been shot and killed while heading to sites run by the GHF. More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,500 wounded while seeking aid at distribution points or along convoy routes used by the United Nations and other aid groups, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry said on Sunday that at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including missing people now confirmed dead by a special ministry judicial committee. It said the number of malnutrition-related deaths rose by eight to 289 on Sunday. The deaths include a child, bringing the death toll among children to 115 since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023. The health ministry does not say how many of those killed have been fighters or civilians but says around half have been women and children. It is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification — the world’s leading authority on food crises — said Friday that famine is happening in Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of next month. Aid groups have long warned that the war and months of Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies entering Gaza are causing starvation. Israel has denied the existence of widespread hunger in Gaza, calling reports of starvation “lies” promoted by Hamas.
‘Non-stop explosions’ In Jabaliya, the densely populated refugee camp just north of Gaza City, residents said they endured heavy explosions overnight. Days after Israel’s military announced it was intensifying its operations in the area and mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists to take the city, they said they were living in constant fear. In the part of Gaza City where he and his family have sheltered since being displaced from a neighborhood on the city’s southern edge, Ossama Matter said he had seen houses reduced to rubble and neighborhoods razed beyond recognition. “They want it like Rafah,” he said, referring to a town in southern Gaza destroyed earlier in the war. “There have been non-stop explosions and strikes in the past days.”While fleeing westward from Jabaliya, schoolteacher Salim Dhaher said he saw weaponized robots planting explosives as troops advanced from the opposite direction. As they set the stage for Israel’s push to seize the city, Dhaher said he feared it was part of a larger effort to forcibly remove Palestinians from the north.
The aim is clear, he said: “To destroy everything above the ground, and force the transfer.”There has been little sign of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians evacuating south ahead of Israel’s invasion of Gaza City, which Israel says is still a Hamas stronghold. Many are exhausted by repeated displacements and unconvinced that any area— including so-called humanitarian zones — offers safety. The military operation could begin within days in a region that threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are sheltering above an area Israel has invaded multiple times but still believes harbors a network of militant tunnels underground.

WHO Reports Release of Staff Member Detained by Israeli Forces in Gaza
Asharq Al Awsat/August 24/2025
The World Health Organization said a staff member was released on Sunday more than four weeks after being detained in Gaza by Israeli forces. "Extremely relieved that our colleague, detained since 21 July in Gaza, was released this morning," agency Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X. He reiterated a call for protection of all WHO staff and personnel, and health and humanitarian workers, Reuters reported. In July, the United Nations agency said the Israeli military had attacked its staff residence and main warehouse in the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah. During that time, the WHO said that two of its staff members and two family members were detained by Israeli forces. Three were later released, while one staff member remained in detention. Last week, a global hunger monitor determined that famine has struck an area of Gaza and would likely spread over the next month, an assessment that could escalate pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave. The WHO describes the health sector in Gaza as being "on its knees", with shortages of fuel, medical supplies and frequent mass casualty influxes.

Jordan’s King Abdullah, foreign minister hold talks with US Congress delegation
Arab News/August 24, 2025
AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday received a US Congress delegation, which included Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Joe Wilson, for talks on relations and regional developments, the Jordan News Agency reported. The discussions focused on the strategic partnership between Jordan and the US, as well as joint efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, JNA added. King Abdullah stressed to the delegation the urgent need to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid by all possible means to all areas of the enclave. He reiterated Jordan’s rejection of Israel’s plan to consolidate its occupation of Gaza, expand military control over it, and increase settlement activity in the West Bank. The king also underlined the importance of supporting Palestinians in securing their just and legitimate rights, foremost the establishment of an independent state on the basis of the two-state solution. He further reaffirmed Jordan’s support for Syria’s efforts to safeguard its security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

Nigerian military airstrikes free 76 hostages, including children
Dyepkazah Shibayan/The Associated Press/August 24, 2025
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 76 hostages, including children, have been freed after Nigeria’s military targeted militants with precision airstrikes in the country’s northwest, local authorities said. The airstrikes were launched on targets around Pauwa Hill, located in the Kankara area of Katsina state, in the early hours of Saturday, Nasir Mu’azu, the state’s commissioner for internal security, said in a statement. The air assault was launched in a manhunt for a notorious kidnapper. The rescued hostages include some of those kidnapped during an attack on a mosque in Unguwan Mantau that led to the death of at least 50 people, the commissioner said. “However, it was regrettably noted that one child tragically lost his life during the ordeal,” Mu’azu said. In recent months, there has been an uptick in attacks on communities in the northwest and north-central regions of Africa’s most populous country, where farmers often clash over limited access to land and water. An attack last month in north-central Nigeria killed 150 people. The conflict has become deadlier in recent years, with authorities and analysts warning that more herdsmen are taking up more sophisticated arms. The commissioner said the air assault is “part of a broader strategy to dismantle criminal hideouts, weaken their networks and put an end to the cycle of killings, kidnappings, and extortion that have plagued innocent citizens.”The West African country is also dealing with an insurgency in its northeast region that has resulted in the death of around 35,000 civilians and the displacement of more than 2 million others, according to the United Nations. Also on Saturday, separate airstrikes in the northwest of Nigeria killed 35 militants in a targeted attack. Despite the efforts by the government of President Bola Tinubu to curb jihadi attacks, the militancy has persisted.
Dyepkazah Shibayan, The Associated Press

Ukraine drone hits Russian nuclear plant, sparks huge fire at Novatek's Ust-Luga terminal
Guy Faulconbridge and Lidia Kelly/Reuters/August 24, 2025
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russia on Sunday, forcing a sharp fall in the capacity of a reactor at one of Russia's biggest nuclear power plants and sparking a huge blaze at the major Ust-Luga fuel export terminal, Russian officials said.
Despite talk of peace by Russia and Ukraine, the deadliest European war since World War Two is continuing along the 2,000 km (1,250 mile) front line accompanied by missile and drone attacks deep into both Russia and Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry said at least 95 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted across more than a dozen Russian regions on August 24, the day that Ukraine celebrates its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The Kursk nuclear power plant, just 60 km (38 miles) from the border with Ukraine, said that air defences shot down a drone that detonated near the plant just after midnight, damaging an auxiliary transformer and forcing a 50% reduction in the operating capacity at reactor No. 3. Radiation levels were normal and there were no injuries from the fire which the drone sparked, the plant said. Two other reactors are operating without power generation and one is undergoing scheduled repairs. The United Nations' nuclear agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said it was aware of reports that a transformer at the plant caught fire due to military activity and stressed that every nuclear facility should be protected at all times. A thousand km north, on the Gulf of Finland, at least 10 Ukrainian drones were downed over the port of Ust-Luga in Russia's northern Leningrad region, with debris sparking fire at the Novatek-operated terminal - a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal and processing complex, the regional governor said.
PLUME OF BLACK SMOKE
Unverified footage on Russian Telegram channels showed a drone flying directly into a fuel terminal, followed by a huge ball of fire rising high into the sky followed by a plume of black smoke billowing into the horizon. "Firefighters and emergency services are currently working to extinguish the blaze," Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Russia's Leningrad region, said. There were no injuries, he added. According to Novatek, the Ust-Luga complex, which opened in 2013, processes gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil and gasoil, and enables the company to ship oil products as well as gas condensate to international markets. Novatek produces mostly naphtha for Asia, including China, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, as well as jet fuel with delivery to Istanbul. Rosaviatsia, Russia's civil aviation authority, said flights were halted for hours on end at several Russian airports overnight, including at the Pulkovo airport in the Leningrad region.
Ukrainian drones also attacked an industrial enterprise in the southern Russian city of Syzran, the governor of the Samara region said on Sunday. A child was injured in the attack, according to the governor, who did not specify exactly what had been attacked.
Earlier this month, the Ukrainian military said it had struck the Syzran oil refinery. The Rosneft-owned refinery was forced to suspend production and crude intake after the attack, sources told Reuters. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv has said its strikes inside Russia are in response to Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine and are aimed at destroying infrastructure deemed crucial to Moscow's overall military efforts.

Ukraine is stepping up attacks on Russian energy - and it’s working
Tim Lister and Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN/August 24, 2025
A dramatic rise in Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries has sent gasoline prices in Russia to record highs, despite the government banning petrol exports to cope with the crunch. Ukraine is focusing drone attacks on refineries, pumping stations and fuel trains in an effort to hurt the Russian war machine - but also to disrupt daily life in Russia. Summer sees peak demand among Russia’s drivers and farmers for petrol. Ukrainian drones have struck at least ten key Russian energy facilities this month alone, according to a CNN tally of attacks. The latest, on Sunday, targeted a complex near St. Petersburg, setting off an extensive fire, according to geolocated video. The regional governor, Alexander Drozdenko, said fuel tanks at a port nearby had not been affected. The strategy seems to be working. The refineries struck account for more than 44 million tons of products annually – more than 10% of Russia’s capacity - according to Ukraine’s intelligence service. Among the targets - the giant Lukoil refinery in Volgograd, the largest in southern Russia. CNN geolocated clouds of smoke billowing from the plant, which was struck in the early hours of August 14. The Russian defense ministry acknowledged damage to the plant, which was attacked again on August 19. A large refinery in Saratov, also in southern Russia, was attacked earlier this month. And fires continued to burn Saturday at another refinery – in Rostov region – more than two days after it was hit, according to Robert Brovdi, Commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems. Gasoline shortages are reported in several Russian regions and in annexed Crimea. Its Russia-appointed governor, Sergey Aksyonov attributed gasoline shortages to “logistics issues,” and said the government was “taking all possible measures to purchase the necessary volumes of fuel and stabilize prices.”
An activist with a pro-Ukrainian group in Crimea, – Yellow Ribbon, - said on Telegram that the most popular grade of petrol had disappeared, and “the understanding that this is the result of the good drones work on the Russian economy does not allow me to be sad.”
Despite government subsidies, Russian consumers are paying more at the pump. Wholesale petrol prices on the St Petersburg exchange have risen by nearly 10% this month alone, and by about 50% since the beginning of the year.
Much of that increase is being passed on to consumers, with the Russian far east especially impacted. Analysts expect no relief for at least a month, even though the Russian government imposed a ban on exporting petrol in late July - which in turn contributed to a rise in exports of crude oil instead. “Unfortunately, our forecast is unfavorable for now — we will most likely have to wait at least another month for prices to fall,” Sergey Frolov, managing partner at NEFT Research, told the Russian newspaper Kommersant. Kommersant said that the surge in prices this month was “due to accidents at oil refineries.”The military is less affected because its demand is mainly for diesel, supplies of which are less impacted.
A new focus
The Ukrainian military and intelligence services have developed long-range warfare using drones, missiles and sabotage even as a very different conflict unfolds on the ground. The military claimed this month that long-range attacks this year have caused $74 billion in damage, with nearly 40% of strikes at least 500 kilometers inside Russia. It’s not possible to verify such claims, but there is plenty of visual evidence of the damage done to refineries, storage tanks and pumping stations in recent months. Repairing such infrastructure is complicated by European and US sanctions.
In a report on Thursday, Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service said that Russian companies were urgently purchasing petroleum from Belarus to address domestic shortages. The state-owned refiner in Belarus, Belneftekhim, says that in the last week “interest in Belarusian oil products on the Russian market has surged.”Ukraine is also trying to impede Russian exports of oil. Last week its drones struck the Druzhba pipeline that supplies Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia – two EU countries whose governments remain on good terms with Moscow.
Both complained to the EU, saying that “with these attacks Ukraine is not primarily hurting Russia, but Hungary and Slovakia.”US President Donald Trump also intervened, saying in a hand-written note to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that he was “very angry” about the disruption. But for Ukraine, under pressure on the frontlines, attacks on Russia’s vital energy industry are a way to counter Moscow’s narrative that its victory is ultimately inevitable. Ukraine is trying to add to its arsenal of long-range weapons and last week unveiled a domestically produced cruise missile called the Flamingo. The manufacturer aims to produce 200 a month. Missile expert Fabian Hoffman says that for a soft target such as distillation columns of Russian refineries, for example, the Flamingo’s lethal radius would be upwards of 38 meters. That would cause substantial damage. “Each missile that successfully hits its target will cause much more damage [than existing Ukrainian weapons] with its 1,150-kilogram warhead,” says Mick Ryan, author of the blog Futura Doctrina. “While I would not call it a silver bullet, it will have a significant impact on Ukraine’s capacity to hurt Russia,” not least because it’s hard to defend every oil refinery. In the meantime, analysts do not expect thousands of Russian gas stations to run dry but believe the disruption will aggravate already high inflation and likely mean an extension of the ban on gasoline exports into the autumn, as the Kremlin tries to tamp down prices and ensure supply.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on August 24-25/2025
Fraud Threatens EU’s Green Ambitions
Najib Saab/ Asharq Al Awsat/August 24, 2025
The embezzlement of hundreds of millions of European agricultural funds in Greece is not an isolated incident, but rather a manifestation of a trend not limited to the EU or Greece in particular. It involved 400 million Euros in subsidies to support sustainable agriculture and land management, allegedly plundered by politicians and their family members. Lax supervision, poor transparency, and a lack of accountability have enabled such fraud. Waste and mismanagement have plagued numerous aid programs around the world, supported by international organizations, many of which focus on the environment, climate, and nature conservation. These acts are not only borne by those who steal public funds, but also by donor organizations, whose loose programs are inherently prone to misuse, waste and favouritism.
It is well established that successful implementation of public policies involving sweeping transformation requires a balance of incentives and deterrents, which support good practices and penalise harmful ones. For instance, phasing out ozone-depleting substances succeeded only with sustained financial and technical support for transition programs, especially in developing nations. Similarly, transitioning to renewable energy, adopting sustainable agricultural practices, preserving natural habitats, and reducing harmful pesticides and fertilizers demand robust financial backing. To maximize impact, this should be accompanied by high levies to penalize bad practices.
These programs, costing hundreds of billions, succeed only when they involve clear realistic goals, strict controls, and independent supervision. The worst is when program initiators supervise themselves, fostering favouritism and corruption among a select group of opportunists. In Greece, politicians and officials siphoned millions for fictitious farming projects, some on non-existent lands, falsifying documents and reports to cover their tracks. Alarmingly, one culprit in the latest fraud was the coordinator of EU funds in the Greek ruling party, which highlights serious flaws in the system. Such exploitation extends beyond agriculture to other fields, including environment and climate initiatives, with private companies and bogus NGOs often complicit.
Scandals like this fuel populist isolationist movements seeking to discredit and dismantle the EU, by portraying it as a failed body. That’s why ending waste and corruption is essential to safeguarding the EU, a vital institution for the future of European countries, the Mediterranean, and global cooperation in general. The EU’s leading spot in global environment and climate action is indispensable, with its Green Deal, linking climate action with environment protection, serving as pioneering model. Despite delays from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and global economic rumblings, the Green Deal sets ambitious targets for 2030, including 25% organic farming, 20% less chemical fertilizer, and 50% reduced pesticide use. The EU remains committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, with a 55% emissions cut by 2030, a critical balancing stance as the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement.
The EU’s role and clout extend beyond its borders, particularly to its neighbours in southern Mediterranean countries, which rely on its support in many aspects, including the transition to sustainable development. In return, cooperation with these nations offer mutual opportunities and widens the scope of the EU region. The Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), under which Barcelona Convention and its protocols are implemented, unites the EU with 21 Mediterranean countries. One of the main MAP initiatives is the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD), involving governments, NGOs, academia, and local authorities. Its main objective is to monitor and update a common strategy translated into actions, fostering cooperation despite national and regional differences.
The Greek affair underscores the need for reform. Euro-Mediterranean programs must be transparently run under stringent governance. Regarding organs like the MCSD, it shouldn’t be tolerated that some parties exploit loopholes, by operating under different entity names controlled by the same individuals, thus violating rotation principles. Such practices block fair representation and sabotage fresh perspectives by hijacking the floor and suppressing new vision. This also enables cliques to form, using their privileged position to funnel millions - often from EU funds - to entities they control, thus creating blatant conflict of interest. The EU and its Mediterranean partners cannot afford to lose trust due to corruption. European peoples and their southern neighbours rely on the EU’s unifying spirit for cooperative action that contributes to global stability. Yet, maintaining its strength demands measures to ensure efficiency and prevent waste. Failure to act risks empowering populist movements and jeopardizing the EU’s role as a model of regional cooperation.
To address these challenges, the EU, as well as its UN partners, must enforce rigorous supervisory mechanisms, independent audits, and clear eligibility criteria for funding. Programs should prioritize measurable outcomes, with regular public reporting to ensure accountability. Encouraging open debate, strengthening whistle-blower protections and imposing severe penalties for fraud will deter misconduct. This will secure that transgression similar to what happened in Greece could be prevented or detected at an early stage. It is true that the Greek affair prompted strong EU reaction, alongside resignations and sacking of government officials, but this was too late and could have been prevented,
The Greek scandal is a wake-up call. It highlights the fragility of trust in international cooperation and the urgent need to protect public funds from misuse. By addressing these systemic flaws, the EU, alongside its international partners, can reinforce its leadership in climate and environmental action, fostering a sustainable future for Europe and its neighbours. The stakes are high: unchecked corruption not only undermines progress but also threatens the foundations that make the EU a beacon of hope in a fractured world.

The Illusion of ‘Greater Israel’ Is an Existential Threat and a Danger to International Peace and Security
Abbas Araghchi-Iranian Foreign Minister/Asharq Al Awsat/August 24, 2025
On the eve of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers, the gravest existential threat facing the region and the Islamic world weighs more heavily on the conscience of the world than ever. It is the Zionist entity that continues its relentless scorched-earth campaign in Gaza, committing horrific massacres against women and children, as well as repeatedly displacing the population. It has turned hunger and famine into a new tool of this genocide, food distribution centers into death traps for hungry women and children, underlining the fact that this is among the darkest humanitarian tragedies of the modern era.
This war on the Gaza Strip is not merely a fleeting military conflict or an ordinary humanitarian crisis: it is a systematic, full-fledged genocide explicitly intended to achieve ethnic cleansing amid the complicit silence of the United States and the West more broadly.
The crimes of the Zionist entity are by no means confined to Gaza. Its settlement expansion in the West Bank is accelerating, and armed settlers’ terror against Palestinians there is escalating. Alongside this annexation push, Israel is intensifying the Judaization of Jerusalem, constantly violating ceasefires with Lebanon, attacking Yemen’s infrastructure, and undermining the pillars of the Syrian state as it fuels domestic strife to divide the Syrian people. Iran became its newest target after the war that claimed the lives of more than one thousand of my compatriots. We must also mention the public statements of this entity’s leaders and their distorted maps of what they call the “Greater Middle East.” They are openly boasting about their expansionist intentions and threatening their neighbors, leaving no reason to doubt that this malignant tumor is spreading across the body of the region.
Its plans to fully occupy the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace its population to remote areas are nothing but another link in a chain of efforts to exterminate the Palestinian people. These actions, along with the statements issued by Zionist war criminals (many of whom are wanted by international courts), show that this artificial entity is intent on ethnic cleansing. Their goal is the total and irreversible erasure of Gaza and its political identity, as well as the Palestinian cause more broadly.
As it engineers tragedy, wages wars, and goes on unruly adventures in Gaza, Lebanon, and other parts of the region, the occupation is striving to tear Syria apart with its strikes on vital state infrastructure and the chaos it is creating in Sweida.
This raises an essential and decisive question: after Syria, which regional country will be targeted by Israel’s military aggression or occupation next? Can one even begin to see the limits of this entity’s insatiable expansionist ambitions?
The recent statements of this entity’s prime minister amid its expansionist and belligerent pursuit of a “Greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates” are not idle remarks. They explicitly and unequivocally lay out his political strategy: violating national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security of independent states across the region. His inflammatory claims amount to a flagrant breach of the United Nations Charter and international law, exposing the entity’s schemes to dominate the Islamic world as a whole.
Through their cooperation and support for this criminal entity, certain Western powers (particularly the United States), are not merely complicit; they are posing a threat to peace and stability in the region and the world. US vetoes at the Security Council have paralyzed it, preventing the Council from fulfilling its duty to end Israel’s aggression and hold the perpetrators accountable.
This Extraordinary Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation comes at a time when the situation in occupied Palestine is beyond catastrophic; there are no words for a humanitarian and moral tragedy of this magnitude. The statistics are shocking and shameful: over seventy thousand people, most of them women and children, have lost their lives or remain buried beneath the rubble that has accumulated over the past two years, and more than one hundred and seventy thousand people have been injured.
According to the United Nations, Israel kills an average of thirty-eight Palestinian children per day. Ninety percent of Gaza has become uninhabitable, and Israel has officially begun its campaign to militarily occupy the city and displace its homeless population to the south of the Strip. Emboldened by overwhelming Western support, the prime minister of this criminal entity openly speaks of a mandate to establish “Greater Israel”- a sinister project that entails the occupation and annexation of Arab and Islamic lands.
Amid this state of affairs, illusions and complacency are not tenable. The Extraordinary Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers must become a turning point. It must reflect and reinforce Islamic nations’ shared resolve to confront the insatiable ambitions of Netanyahu and his clique, and to put an end to their slaughter of innocents, their assaults on Islamic countries, and the pursuit of annexation. We cannot merely declare our solidarity with the Palestinian people or voice concerns. This meeting constitutes a genuine historical test for the Islamic Ummah; it might be a rare opportunity to build a regional and global front capable of standing against Israel’s aggression.
Beyond statements and condemnations, the meeting must build serious political and diplomatic momentum by forging a strong global coalition that forces the Zionist entity to immediately end its genocidal campaign and abandon its expansionist, separatist, and colonial projects.
The pursuit of legal accountability is equally essential. Cases must be followed up in international institutions, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, to prosecute the leaders of this criminal entity and impose comprehensive military and economic sanctions against it.
In parallel with these measures, a secure humanitarian corridor overseen by the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation must be established to ensure the immediate and unconditional provision of food, medicine, and fuel to the besieged population - this is an urgent moral and legal obligation.
The Islamic Republic of Iran regards this meeting as a necessary step toward a collective effort to develop and implement effective, urgent, and deterrent measures. As representatives of Islamic nations, we have a religious and humanitarian responsibility (as well as our legal obligations under the United Nations Charter, the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide, and the four Geneva Conventions of 1949) to endorse decisive and serious steps in support of our brothers and sisters in Gaza and the West Bank, halt the ongoing genocide, hold criminals accountable, and build a bulwark against the expansionist ambitions of this lawless entity threatening the Islamic world.
Hesitation or negligence will come at a devastating cost for the Islamic Ummah, as would falling for the empty promises of initiatives like the so-called “Abraham Accords”. Silence and inaction in the face of the atrocities and crimes committed by the Zionist entity - delaying confrontation with the Nazi-like policies and actions of today’s would-be Hitler - are not only a betrayal of the oppressed Palestinian people, but also the very foundations of morality, human civilization, and regional security.
The era of slogans, statements, condemnation, and concern is over. Now is the time for unity and solidarity, in both word and deed. The Islamic world must take decisive action and strengthen holistic cooperation and coordination. We must save innocent lives in Gaza and safeguard the Islamic world, as history will judge us.
Let us prove that the Islamic Ummah, at one of the most painful and decisive moments in its history, managed to defend the oppressed and restrain their oppressor.
The preservation of the Islamic world, the national security and sovereignty of the region’s states, and our sacred pursuit of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital all hinge on the bold and resolute decisions that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation must take in the face of the existential threat posed by this genocidal occupying power.

Frankly Speaking: How former Israeli PM Olmert views the war
Arab News/August 24, 2025
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2612893/middle-east
Olmert warns the Gaza war is endangering Israel’s global standing, accuses Netanyahu of reckless policies driven by self-interest
Asked whether Israel’s Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are terrorists, Olmert went even further, branding them “messianic” and “extremists”
RIYADH: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been outspoken in his criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu. While stopping short of accusing his successor of committing genocide, he has repeatedly said that what is happening in Gaza constitutes war crimes.
Speaking to Katie Jensen, host of the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Olmert said that although Israel’s response was justified following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, the conflict had become untenable — and a “death trap for Israelis.”“The whole war which started after the ... violation of the temporary ceasefire agreement in March of 2025 is an illegitimate war,” said Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009.
“And in the illegitimate war, which is opposed by the majority of the Israelis, over 70 percent, in which lots of Israeli soldiers will be killed, when there is a serious danger to the lives of the hostages, and there will be thousands of Palestinians killed for a war which has no objective, which can’t reach any goal, which will do nothing good for any party involved, such a war is a crime, and I’ve accused the Israeli government of doing it.”
He added that many Israelis now believe the war primarily serves Netanyahu’s personal interests rather than the families of the remaining hostages and the security of wider Israeli society. “This is what everyone says in Israel now,” he said. “This is an unneeded and unnecessary war, that there is not any national interest of Israel which can be served by continuing the war. And therefore, the inevitable conclusion is that it serves the personal interests of the prime minister. This is something which has been said by everyone.
“Expanding the war now against Gaza, which is so densely populated with more than a million people and where Hamas is hiding inside the most densely populated areas with non-involved citizens, is a death trap for Israelis, for something which doesn’t serve any national interest is a crime, and you have to ask yourself: What does it serve? And therefore many people conclude that it serves a personal interest.”
When asked by Jensen whether he still believes Netanyahu belongs in The Hague to face war crimes charges, Olmert said he did not recall making such a statement. This is despite a widely shared clip from an interview with UK broadcaster Piers Morgan on June 2, in which Olmert was asked directly whether Netanyahu should face trial in The Hague.
“Look, there should be a voice. And if as a result of the fact that I was prime minister and I’m fairly well-known in the international community that people want to hear what I have to say, I have to say it. Yes,” Olmert told Morgan in the clip.
Although he now appears to have walked back those comments, Olmert did endorse describing Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as terrorists, calling them “messianic” and “extremists.”
Ben-Gvir has provoked outrage by leading Jewish prayers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, violating long-standing agreements and drawing condemnation from Palestinian, Arab, and international leaders.
He has also advocated for Israeli sovereignty over Gaza, and promoting mass “voluntary” Palestinian emigration. Western governments have sanctioned him for incitement to violence and past criminal convictions for supporting terrorism and racism.
Smotrich, also sanctioned by Western states, has been criticized for inflammatory statements backing settlement expansion in the West Bank, incitement against Palestinians, and positions seen by EU partners and rights groups as undermining Palestinian rights and peace prospects.
Jensen teed up the issue with this question: “When we look at some of the comments from (Netanyahu’s) ministers, people like Smotrich, who said there is no such thing as Palestinian people — he stood under a map of ‘Greater Israel’ while saying that — he also said the Palestinian village of Huwara should be wiped out.
“Or comments from Ben-Gvir, who went on Israeli television and said his right to move freely in the West Bank is more important than Palestinians’ freedom of movement … If we consider these men’s words and actions, in your view, are these men terrorists?”
Olmert was unequivocal in his response.
“Look, this is an easy part of the question,” he said. “Yes, they are in a way in the sense that Ben-Gvir was convicted for taking part in what is considered to be terrorist actions in the past. But I think that this situation is more, somewhat more complex.
“Let’s face it. On one hand, there are these messianic groups, which are totally, totally unacceptable. For the majority of the Israelis, there’s no question about it. They are extreme, they are messianic.
“Yes, indeed, they want to expel all the Palestinians from the West Bank and annex the West Bank. And so they want to do it in Gaza. But I think that the majority of the Israelis are against it.”
Unlike Netanyahu, who has leaned into the rhetoric of his far-right ministers, Olmert said he would never have supported the notion of a “Greater Israel” — a political concept espoused by extremists that envisions expanding Israeli territory to include swathes of Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and even land between the Nile and the Euphrates.
Olmert warned that such rhetoric and policies were costing Israel friends and allies.
“There is a deep division between a major part of the public opinion, which is in favor of changing course, and a part which is now governed by the Netanyahus and the group of thugs which are known to be the cabinet ministers,” he said.
“Now, what they are doing, they are causing a very big damage to the reputation of the state of Israel, to the integrity of the state of Israel, and to the perception of what Israel stands for.
“And that causes a huge difficulty in the relations of Israel with the traditional friends of Israel, European countries, France, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, other countries. And it also creates difficulties that will become more and more difficult to deal with, with America.
“And unfortunately also it creates difficulties with our very important friends in Egypt and Jordan, and also in the Emirates. And it certainly prevents the possible movement towards a normalization process with Saudi Arabia.”
Netanyahu has faced corruption charges since 2019, including allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. His trial, which began in 2020, has been repeatedly delayed on security grounds. He denies all charges.
There are also outstanding arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, relating to alleged war crimes in Gaza. Israel itself faces charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
Olmert himself resigned as prime minister in 2009 amid corruption allegations and was later convicted and imprisoned for bribery and breach of trust. Despite this, he insists his voice carries weight, arguing that most Israelis now oppose Netanyahu.
Indeed, mass demonstrations across Israel in recent weeks opposing an expansion of the war in Gaza highlight a dramatic shift in public attitudes toward the trajectory of the right-wing coalition government.
“Had I been prime minister, it would have been entirely different,” said Olmert. “I would have adopted what I represented at the time that I was prime minister, talking about the two-state solution, negotiating, (and) hopefully trying to force a Palestinian leadership to comply.”
Olmert said the failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to date could not be blamed entirely on Israel. He recalled that during his tenure he had offered the Palestinians a state, but says they rejected the proposal.
“Let’s not forget that in 2008, 2009, when I was prime minister, I proposed to the president of the Palestinian Authority a comprehensive peace plan based on the (19)67 borders,” he said.
His plan included an Israeli withdrawal from much of the West Bank, land swaps for annexed settlements, a corridor linking Gaza and the West Bank, shared or international administration of Jerusalem’s holy sites, and the symbolic acceptance of a limited number of Palestinian refugees into Israel, with compensation and resettlement for the rest.
The Palestinians rejected the deal over concerns about the right of return, the rushed timetable for consideration, doubts over Olmert’s political survival, and dissatisfaction with the terms on Jerusalem and land allocation.
Regardless of fault, the repeated collapse of peace efforts in this period culminated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack and Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza, which has since killed at least 60,000 Palestinians and left the enclave devastated.
One of the war’s greatest scandals to date has been the creation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in early 2025. Critics have denounced the GHF for sidelining UN-led relief mechanisms in favor of a US- and Israeli-backed scheme that placed military personnel and private US contractors in charge of distributing aid in militarized zones.
Reports have documented hundreds of deaths and injuries among Palestinians seeking food at GHF aid sites. Groups including Medecins Sans Frontieres described the locations as scenes of “orchestrated killing” and demanded the program’s immediate suspension.
Olmert said he did not know whether Israelis had deliberately targeted civilians at GHF sites, but insisted it was Israel’s responsibility to feed Gazans.
“I think that there is a lot of fake information about precisely the circumstances regarding the humanitarian supplies and how Hamas is trying to provoke in order to reach out for food for their own needs, knowing that Hamas is not particularly careful about the lives of Palestinians and … how much is it a result of very unacceptable practices of Israeli soldiers. I don’t know,” he said.
“I say one thing and this is at the bottom line, which I think is what counts. Israel controls Gaza, we are in charge there. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Israel to provide the humanitarian needs in Gaza to everyone that needs it, effectively, comprehensively, and without the interference or the provocations of whoever wants to disturb it. This is our responsibility.”

Grand Egyptian Museum reshaping Egypt’s image
Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/August 24, 2025
At the foot of the Giza pyramids, on the sacred land of ancient Memphis — the first capital of the world’s oldest known nation — a new and unprecedented project is taking shape: the Grand Egyptian Museum. Far beyond being a traditional cultural edifice or archaeological display, it is a symbolic expression of Egypt’s strategic transformation toward redefining its global stature. It bridges an unparalleled civilizational legacy with contemporary capabilities in design, administration and international promotion. Scheduled for official inauguration on Nov. 1, after years of meticulous planning and delays, the Grand Egyptian Museum is set to become a turning point in the history of museology worldwide. It is a multidimensional development project that reflects Egypt’s ambition to rebuild its soft power on modern foundations. The idea emerged in the 1990s, spearheaded by artist and former Culture Minister Farouk Hosny. In 2002, former President Hosni Mubarak laid the foundation stone, launching a long journey of design, planning and implementation, one not without its setbacks, particularly amid the political turbulence following 2011.
The project was revitalized under the decisive leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who placed the museum under direct presidential supervision. He prioritized integrating the development of the surrounding area, including the Giza Plateau, Sphinx International Airport and the Fayoum highway, transforming the entire region into a unified cultural and tourism zone. With total costs exceeding $1 billion, the museum received vital financial support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which extended two soft loans totaling $800 million. In addition, significant technical and scientific collaborations contributed to the establishment of one of the world’s largest and most advanced conservation and restoration centers. The Grand Egyptian Museum spans 480,000 sq. meters and is located just 2 km from the pyramids of Giza, positioning it as the world’s largest cultural and tourism hub. An Irish architectural firm won the international UNESCO-supervised competition to design the museum, envisioning it as a visual and structural extension of the pyramids themselves — essentially a “fourth pyramid” in both form and symbolism.
The building’s design is imbued with layered meaning: its five-story facade captures sunlight along the horizon, while its internal layout gradually unfolds like layers of memory revealing history. The monumental entrance, where an 11-meter-high statue of Ramses II stands, evokes ancient majesty while offering a contemporary welcome. The museum’s popular acronym, “GEM,” meaning “jewel,” is no longer just a metaphor, it is a tangible reality in terms of architecture, content and global resonance. The museum houses more than 100,000 artifacts spanning all eras of ancient Egyptian history, from predynastic times to the Greco-Roman period. Its most iconic feature, however, is the complete collection of King Tutankhamen’s treasures, with more than 5,300 items being displayed in full, together for the first time, across 7,500 sq. meters. These are presented using cutting-edge technologies such as augmented reality and spatial mapping that links each artifact to its original discovery site.
Egypt is reintroducing itself to the world as a modern state capable of leveraging its history to build its future.
The Grand Egyptian Museum forms a cornerstone of Egypt’s strategic plan to double its number of tourist arrivals by 2031, targeting 30 million visitors annually. It is projected that the museum alone will attract between 5 million and 7 million tourists per year, particularly given the integrated infrastructure surrounding it.
The museum’s economic impact extends far beyond the traditional realm of tourism. Its presence is already stimulating the high-end hospitality and real estate markets in the vicinity of the Giza pyramids, transforming the area into a premium destination for luxury hotels, residential developments and commercial projects. Simultaneously, it is breathing new life into Egypt’s cultural and creative industries by reviving traditional crafts and boosting the production of high-quality replicas of ancient artifacts — an emerging market with significant global appeal. Beyond these visible developments, the museum is generating thousands of direct and indirect job opportunities across multiple sectors, including tourism, cultural management, security, archaeological restoration, hospitality services and smart technologies. Furthermore, it is giving momentum to Egypt’s informal economy by invigorating small businesses and local services such as shops, transport, food vendors and entertainment providers, all of which benefit from the growing influx of visitors to the area.
Moreover, the museum acts as a golden gateway for attracting foreign investment. International hotel chains and commercial developers have already begun negotiating projects in its vicinity. The Grand Egyptian Museum cannot be seen in isolation; it is a pillar of Egypt’s broader vision to reshape its national image. Through the museum, Egypt is reintroducing itself to the world not just as a cradle of civilization but as a modern state capable of leveraging its history to build its future.
The museum embodies three interwoven dimensions of soft power that elevate Egypt’s global standing. First, it serves as a powerful symbol of civilizational continuity, presenting a compelling narrative of Egypt as a timeless force that has shaped the world’s heritage in art, religion, engineering and statecraft. Second, it functions as a vehicle of cultural diplomacy, with the invitations extended to global leaders for its grand opening reflecting Egypt’s renewed role as a beacon of ancient culture and international dialogue. Third, the museum acts as a tool of global promotion. Its widespread coverage in major international outlets such as Forbes, Time magazine, The New York Times and the Smithsonian magazine has positioned it as one of the most eagerly anticipated cultural events worldwide, enhancing Egypt’s image and influence on the global stage.
Its administration aims to establish the museum as a magnet for Egyptology scholars and students through partnerships with international universities, training programs and curated research opportunities, advancing archaeological studies and preserving global heritage.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is far more than an archaeological project or tourist destination. It is a national renaissance, an intellectual and developmental transformation in how heritage is managed, presented and leveraged as an engine of economic vitality and national pride. It stands as an organic extension of Egypt’s civilizational memory and a tangible realization of its future aspirations. In a world rediscovering its roots through culture, Egypt sends a clear message: civilizations do not die, they are reborn, from the heart of the pyramids.
***Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy has covered conflicts worldwide. X: @ALMenawy

AI, work and the future of employment
Dr. John Sfakianakis/Arab News/August 24/2025
For two centuries, technological revolutions have promised both upheaval and renewal. The spinning jenny broke the guild system, tractors displaced farm laborers but fed millions more, and computers hollowed out clerical work while spawning entire industries. Each wave of innovation stirred anxiety about mass unemployment yet, each time, new sectors absorbed the displaced. Artificial intelligence, however, is different. Unlike the loom or the tractor, AI threatens not just manual labor but cognitive work: drafting contracts, diagnosing illnesses, even writing software. The question confronting policymakers in 2025 is no longer whether AI will reshape labor markets, but where humans will still find employment once machines do the thinking.
The pace of change is extraordinary. ChatGPT’s debut in 2022 was followed by Google’s Genie 3 in 2024, a system that allowed robots to navigate real-world environments. GPT-5, released in 2025, pushed the frontier of reasoning further. These are not niche tools. They are general-purpose technologies diffusing at a speed no earlier industrial revolution ever witnessed. Projections vary, but they all point in the same direction: tens of millions of jobs lost, hundreds of millions potentially automated worldwide and layoffs in the US already at their highest since the pandemic years.
Surveys suggest nearly half of US companies expect to cut headcount because of AI. The International Labour Organization estimates that 14 percent of jobs globally are at high risk of automation, with another 32 percent likely to undergo major transformations. Goldman Sachs has put the potential displacement figure at 300 million jobs worldwide. This upheaval is no longer hypothetical — it is underway.
History offers precedents, but not necessarily comfort. The Luddites who smashed textile machinery were proven wrong and the computer revolution eliminated typing pools but created whole new industries. Yet today’s analogy falters. Those earlier innovations displaced manual or clerical work while opening new industrial frontiers — steel, automobiles, IT, etc. By contrast, AI automates cognition itself. If tractors freed farmhands to move into factories, where will lawyers go when contracts write themselves or coders when software repairs its own code? This time, even the professional classes, long considered automation-proof, are at risk.
Governments are scrambling. Singapore is pouring money into AI-related retraining. The EU is piloting “skills passports” to help workers shift across sectors. In the US, universal basic income — once a fringe idea — has entered mainstream debate. Yet these efforts feel like patches on a rupture. McKinsey estimates AI could add $4.4 trillion in annual productivity to the global economy by 2040, but those gains will not arrive evenly and will not compensate those left behind. If AI continues advancing, it will not only displace clerks and paralegals but also radiologists, analysts and even teachers, shaking the foundations of the middle class.
The geopolitical context adds urgency. Training state-of-the-art AI systems is so resource-intensive that only a few countries and firms can compete. The race has narrowed to American and Chinese giants. Global private investment in AI hit $67 billion in 2024, with the US capturing roughly half, while China has pledged more than $150 billion in AI spending by 2030. Seventy percent of graduate students in AI-related fields in the US are foreign-born and China provides the deepest bench. Chinese nationals account for about 30 percent of AI doctorates in America. Chinese immigrants founded eight of the 48 most important US AI firms and half of Meta’s “superintelligence” team is Chinese. Yet Washington is tightening the H-1B lottery and chastising elite universities for relying on foreign talent — the “birth of the ICE age.” At the very moment America most needs global minds, it is shutting them out. The irony is glaring: a country terrified of losing the AI race to China is sidelining the very Chinese engineers and entrepreneurs who fuel its edge.
Frontier AI research today is not an open field but a tightly gated domain, constrained less by money than by the scarcity of people capable of pushing the edge forward. The comparison is less to consumer technology than to the early days of nuclear physics, when breakthroughs hinged on a handful of minds clustered in a few labs.
If AI continues advancing, it will displace radiologists, analysts and even teachers, shaking the foundations of the middle class.
For the largest technology firms, even with billions to spend, the pool of researchers who truly matter numbers only in the low hundreds — and, within that, there are perhaps a few dozen whose insights disproportionately shape the direction of the field.
But the central uncertainty is not only who leads the race — it is where the race is headed. The literature on AI and productivity remains unsettled not only because evidence is thin but because we do not yet know what direction AI itself will take. Will it prove the new electricity, saturating the economy, or an overhyped tool — brilliant in flashes but limited? Until the trajectory clarifies, every confident claim about AI’s long-term impact is more speculative than scientific.
Some argue humans will shift into areas where trust, empathy and physical presence are indispensable — elder care, hospitality, community services and crafts, for example. Others pin their hopes on entirely new industries like synthetic biology or space exploration. But such alternatives are speculative and unlikely to absorb tens of millions of displaced professionals at comparable wages. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warns that AI-driven automation is likely to hollow out the middle class, disproportionately affecting mid-skill jobs that sustain social stability.
The more unsettling possibility is that societies will accept permanent structural unemployment, relying on redistribution rather than work. That raises questions of identity and dignity: can societies hold together when the social role of work diminishes? And more profoundly: what happens to humanity when the very act of thinking — a task that once defined our species — is outsourced? This is not merely an economic problem but a civilizational riddle. What will people do when someone else — or something else — does their thinking for them?
Public unease reflects this uncertainty. A recent Pew survey found that 62 percent of Americans expect AI to have a major impact on jobs within 20 years, but only 28 percent believe it will improve job opportunities. In other words, most people see disruption coming but few expect to benefit from it. This anxiety is not misplaced — it mirrors the scale of the changes already underway.
Policymakers are only just beginning to grapple with this. Redistribution through basic income or negative income taxes could cushion the blow, but whether taxpayers will sustain such programs is uncertain. Human-AI collaboration, in which machines augment rather than replace workers, may slow the erosion but not stop it. More radical still is redefining “work” itself — expanding recognition to caregiving, volunteerism and creative pursuits that AI cannot fully replicate. But this demands a reimagining of economic value and social status that few governments are prepared to undertake.
The stakes could not be higher. AI is already eliminating jobs at a pace unseen since the Great Depression. Historical analogies are comforting but misleading: the steam engine, electricity and computers reshaped economies but preserved human primacy in cognitive domains. This time, machines are coming for the desk, not just the factory floor.
The reckoning is unavoidable. Societies that adapt may navigate the transition by building safety nets, investing in human-AI complementarity and nurturing new industries. Those that fail risk mass unemployment and political unrest of a scale unseen in living memory. The AI revolution leaves us with a sharper question: not only what jobs will remain but whether the dignity of work itself can survive when machines outthink us.
The challenge is no longer to keep pace with the machines but to decide what kind of society we want when they inevitably pull ahead.
***Dr. John Sfakianakis is Chief Economist and Head of Economic Research at the Gulf Research Center.