Marwa Osman/MidEaStream

Habbat | Habbat.org https://share.google/kUYsV8UQzG1Ac4JUv

Statement by the *Gathering of Families of Child Martyrs in Lebanon* Against the Zionist Israeli Massacre in the southern Lebanese village of Ansar- August 15, 2026 The Gathering of Families of Child Martyrs in Lebanon condemns the new massacre perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces at dawn today, 15 August 2026, against a family in the southern Lebanese town of Ansar. The massacre resulted in the killing of Ali Al-Hajj Hassan, Zeinab Nasser Al-Din, and their children Zahraa, Hassan, Hussein and Abbas. From the shared place of pain that unites us as fathers and mothers who have lost their children, we extend our deepest condolences to the martyrs' family. We affirm that their children are not numbers in a record of massacres. Each one of them had a face, a story, a dream, and a life that should have continued. We, the families of child martyrs, know what it means to have a child torn from our arms. We therefore cannot accept that the killing of Lebanese children becomes a scene that is repeated, only to be forgotten. We will not become accustomed to the killing of our children, nor will we allow their targeting to become normalized. From this position, we call on our people across Lebanon to stand in solidarity with the martyrs’ families, because the blood of a Lebanese child belongs to no one region over another. We also call on the Lebanese state to assume its full responsibilities, to document this massacre and all crimes targeting civilians and children, and to urgently refer them to regional and international human rights and judicial bodies, ensuring that evidence is preserved and that those responsible are pursued through all available legal paths. We call on the Lebanese authorities to take practical and firm measures to protect civilians, and to build a unified national position that safeguards Lebanon and its people's right to defend themselves in the face of brutal Israeli aggression, while preventing the enemy from exploiting any existing "understandings" or frameworks to justify the continued assault on the Lebanese people. We further call on the media to assume its ethical and professional responsibility by placing the issue of child martyrs at the forefront of its coverage and documenting their stories, names and faces. We also call for clear language condemning the criminal enemy responsible for killing children, rather than promoting its claims, even indirectly. We affirm that Lebanon and its people have an inherent right to defend themselves against aggression, and that this is first and foremost the responsibility of the state. Otherwise, the state would be relinquishing its sovereignty. We will not become accustomed to the killing of our children, and we will not allow them to be reduced to numbers. May the blood of our children become a force for uniting the hearts and will of all Lebanese people, in defense of human life, of Lebanon and of the future of every child in Lebanon.

The "military infrastructure" that the terrorist Israeli occupation claimed it was targeting this morning👇🏻 A mother and her children were among the martyrs of the Israeli massacre in the village of Ansar, south Lebanon.

#BREAKING Terrorist Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike on Deir al-Zahrani, south Lebanon on a civilian highway, putting the lives of ordinary people travelling on the road at direct risk.

Terrorist Israel attacked at dawn the southern Lebanese town of Ansar in the Nabatieh governorate with an airstrike, murdering at least 7 civilians. No way in hell Israel will stop aggression until it sees its own settlers in body bags.

This is what Israel has done to our kids with more than 757 babies, toddlers, kids and teenagers who did not survive Zionist terrorism in Lebanon in the past few months. Aceel is one of thousands of wounded kids who survived that terrorism and who are now walking talking evidence of war crimes and massacres in Lebanon. For more about the babies who did not make it, see habbat.org Share their faces, names and stories. They were NOT numbers. Report by Middle East Eye.

Apparently, in the new Syria, the fastest route to becoming a judge (and a self-proclaimed President too) is to have a criminal record. Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, the judge who reportedly sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death, is himself wanted and has reportedly been sentenced in absentia to death over allegations of establishing irregular courts and issuing death sentences in Idlib without lawful judicial authority. He has also been accused of affiliation with extremist takfiri factions appearing on international terrorism lists. You couldn't write a more absurd script if you tried. The inmates aren't just running the asylum anymore, they're apparently running the courthouse too. Darkest humor out there.

There will be days heavier than mountains, but not with the intention to bring you sadness, but to bring you closer. Allah sw will manage it. Do not worry.

#BREAKING Israeli occupation forces are now usin white phosphorus to shell Ali al-Taher Heights in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon. White phosphorus strikes on Ali al-Taher are not simply another entry in the daily list of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon. White phosphorus is an incendiary weapon with devastating effects on people, land, forests and agriculture. Its use is not automatically prohibited in every circumstance (God knows why), but international humanitarian law strictly regulates how incendiary weapons may be used. When incendiary munitions deliberately or foreseeably burn forests, agricultural land and ecosystems, the destruction goes far beyond the immediate battlefield. International humanitarian law protects the natural environment and prohibits attacks expected to cause excessive environmental damage; particularly severe environmental destruction is subject to additional international protections except when Israel does the deed apparently. This is why the destruction of southern Lebanon's forests, farmland and biodiversity should be documented not only as military damage, but as an ecocide with deliberate and reckless destruction of an ecosystem on a scale that can leave consequences long after the bombs stop falling. The smoke eventually disappears. But poisoned soil, destroyed forests, ruined agricultural land and displaced communities can take decades to recover. Will there ever be accountability for the destruction of both human life and the land itself by terrorist Israel? Quick answer: No.

When I read news like this, that is when I start paying very close attention. It's when I become alert to the possibility of an all-out war... a large-scale bombing campaign of aggression aimed at shifting the balance of power in favor of the US. When it happens, mark my words: all hell will break loose across West Asia. And I mean that literally, word for word.

I don't take anything reported by American or Western media at face value when it comes to the war on Iran, whether it is the latest claim about a "diminishing stockpile" or reports that Chief of Staff Dan Caine is supposedly looking for a way out. If the US genuinely wanted to stop this war, it already knows exactly how to do it: abide by the MoU it signed and the agreement Trump proudly posed with for 101 photos. And if Washington truly believed its stockpiles were running dangerously low, why would it be restocking, reorganizing and reinforcing its military presence across the region? Why would it continue attacking Iran, Iraq and Yemen? Why would it even participate in the attacks on Lebanon, reportedly using US warplanes stationed in Jordan, just as it did in 2006? They would do it again in a heartbeat if they believed it was necessary to protect Israel's warmongering policies and its genocidal campaign. So whenever Western media suddenly starts hyping American "failures" in exaggerated and almost theatrical fashion, I take a step back and ask a more important question: What are they preparing us for? My reading is that Trump wants the war to continue, but he doesn't want the United States to bear the cost of it. He doesn't want American soldiers coming home in body bags because that is increasingly angering the American public. He doesn't want oil and commodity prices spiraling further. And he certainly doesn't want to spend indefinitely on another war in the Middle East. What he appears to want is for the newly assembled "Sunni alliance" to carry more of the burden while Washington remains behind the curtain, giving the orders and selling the weapons and feeding just the absolutely necessary intelligence. I could be wrong. But I believe we should be very careful about mistaking American propaganda about "war fatigue" for an actual intention to end the war. In fact, I believe we may be witnessing the beginning of what could become one of the longest and most consequential wars of the post-modern era. And the price will not be paid by Netanyahu or Trump alone. The entire region will pay. The global economy will pay. And ultimately, ordinary people everywhere will pay a very heavy price for Netanyahu's genocidal ambitions and Trump's political and economic deliberate miscalculations. Empires rarely disappear quietly. When this one eventually begins to crack, it will make a mess that the entire world, and generations to come, will have to live with. And yet, perhaps there is a strange hope buried in all this destruction. The mess may be so profound that it finally forces humanity to confront, and perhaps once and for all, rid itself of the evil legacy of colonialism and the endless pursuit of domination. Maybe, at the end of all this suffering, humanity will finally learn the simplest lesson it has somehow forgotten, that nations can exist without controlling others, that people can prosper without stealing someone else's resources, and that we can learn to live and let live instead of constantly seeking to dominate, exploit and subjugate one another.

How about we put the "Islamic NATO" headlines aside and look at this strategically? My reading of the Saudi–Turkish–Pakistani security pact is not that these countries have suddenly decided to build an independent regional security architecture free from American influence as much of the western media is propagating. Quite the opposite. I think there is a very real possibility that Washington could eventually turn this into another instrument of American power in the region, with these countries becoming the pawns rather than the architects of the new security order. And this is where the timing matters. If Trump eventually decides that air strikes and proxies are not enough and that boots on the ground are required in a future confrontation with Iran, particularly if Netanyahu succeeds in pushing him further in that direction, Washington will need regional partners. Not necessarily American soldiers everywhere. It would be far more convenient to have regional militaries, regional bases, regional logistics and regional political cover doing part of the job. That is precisely why I would not dismiss this pact as merely defensive. A formal commitment to treat an attack on one member as an attack on all three creates a framework that could potentially be activated in a much broader regional conflict. And let's be realistic: the United States has a long history of building "regional security" arrangements that ultimately serve American strategic objectives. The question is therefore not simply whether Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan want to fight Iran. The question is whether, once a major confrontation begins, they can remain outside it. I am particularly skeptical of the idea that Pakistan would willingly enter a war against Iran. Pakistan has its own security calculations, its geographic realities and, most importantly, a nuclear deterrent. Turkey has its own interests and certainly does not need another disastrous regional war. But alliances have a way of creating obligations that become difficult to escape once the shooting starts. And Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia has the money, the infrastructure and the strategic geography but its vulnerability is also enormous. Its energy infrastructure remains one of the most obvious pressure points in any regional war. Just ask Yemen's Ansarullah about it. That is why I don't see this as some neat military coalition preparing for an inevitable attack on Iran. I see it as a potentially useful piece on the American chessboard. If Washington eventually chooses escalation, these countries could provide the regional depth, bases, logistics, intelligence, political legitimacy and military manpower that an American campaign would require. And that brings us to the second possibility. The pact could eventually evolve into something genuinely regional and independent, perhaps even involving Iran and other states, and become part of a framework designed to prevent exactly the war Washington might want to wage. But that would require these countries to exercise genuine strategic autonomy. And that is the part I am not convinced about. Because if the ultimate purpose is simply to rearrange the pieces so that America can fight its next war with fewer American boots on the ground, then this isn't an 'Islamic NATO". It's something much more familiar: another regional security architecture in which the region supplies the soldiers, the bases, the money and ultimately the blood, while Washington supplies the strategy. And if Trump is eventually persuaded that Iran must be dealt with militarily, I would be watching this pact very, very closely. Because the most dangerous outcome is not necessarily that these countries want a war with Iran. It is that they could find themselves participating in one they never intended to start.

Big moves are happening right now that will directly impact the US taxpayers. Look at what Washington is doing with Japan and the yen. The US intervening in Japan's currency market is sure as heck not about being a good ally or helping Tokyo manage its currency. It is about protecting a much bigger American vulnerability. Japan is the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries, with roughly $1.2 trillion in American debt. If Japan starts selling significant amounts of those Treasuries to defend the yen or bring capital back home, it could put upward pressure on US bond yields. And higher yields mean higher borrowing costs for America. Mortgages. Car loans. Credit cards. Business loans. And, most importantly, the interest bill on the US government's enormous debt. Guess who ultimately pays for that? Yep. The American taxpayer. This is why Washington is so interested in keeping the yen from spiraling and in finding ways for Japan to access dollars without having to dump Treasuries onto the market. But here is the uncomfortable part of reality: You can support the yen. You can provide dollar liquidity. You can manipulate interest rates and create financial backstops. But you cannot permanently fix the underlying problem. The US has built an economy increasingly dependent on the rest of the world continuing to finance its debt. So if Japan, and eventually other major holders, decide that their own interests matter more than supporting the American debt machine, Washington is cooked. And if the US eventually loses the ability to influence the dollar-yen relationship, the consequences won't remain in Tokyo. They will eventually show up in American mortgage payments, consumer prices, government spending, taxes and the cost of living. Basically, Washington is trying to stop one part of the boat from taking on water. The problem is that the hole is underneath the boat and a band-aid won't fix that.

In Trump’s universe, apparently everyone is lying. Scientists? Lying. Admirals? Lying. Economists? Lying. Journalists? Lying. Doctors? Lying. Intelligence officials? Lying. Anyone with a degree, a laboratory, a uniform, a newspaper column, or inconvenient facts? Definitely lying. And then there is Trump, a man actually convicted of crimes and have been caught lying thousands of times, apparently standing alone as the supreme beacon of truth, honesty and intellectual integrity. Forget peer reviewed research. Forget military assessments. Forget economic data. Forget medical expertise. Just ask the guy who tells you everyone else is lying. Hahahahahahaha it's like a one-man truth ministry. America is cooked.

One of the biggest misconceptions about Hezbollah is the belief that, because it possessed military power, its objective was to seize the state. That fundamentally misunderstands the movement's own political doctrine. For decades, martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrullah repeatedly argued that Lebanon needs a strong state, a strong national army, and institutions capable of defending the country. His vision was never that the resistance should replace the state, but that it should exist only as long as the state remained incapable of fulfilling its primary duty: defending Lebanon from Israeli/Takfiri aggression. If power for its own sake had been the objective, the year 2000, after the liberation of South Lebanon, would have been the easiest moment to pursue it. Popular support was at historic highs, military superiority was unquestionable and the political landscape was far less hostile than it is today. Yet that never happened. Why? Because the resistance was built around confronting external occupation, not ruling over fellow Lebanese at gunpoint. There is a profound difference between a resistance movement and a militia seeking power. One fights an occupier; the other fights its own people. You may disagree with Hezbollah's politics or strategy. But attributing to it ambitions it repeatedly refused to pursue, even when it had the means, ignores both the historical record and the ideological framework that has guided its decisions for decades. Strength is measured not only by what you can do, but also by what you deliberately choose not to do.

To Israel's credit: it is impressive how they can pluck a missile going 5 times the speed of sound out of the air like that👌🏼 The precision really puts what they are doing in Gaza into sharp context. Image illustrations below. Hint: Dark Sarcasm that pins a deliberate pre-planned genocide to Israel's hands.

18 Moroccans lost their lives trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, while nearly 50,000 others crossed into the territory in what became a major humanitarian crisis. According to widespread allegations, Rabat deliberately allowed the mass crossing as political leverage against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez after he restored relations with Algeria following a diplomatic rift. Now, Trump, the White House, and Netanyahu's political allies have joined the pressure campaign against Sánchez over his principled stance on Palestine. Some of the strongest attacks came from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and members of her government, who have even called for Spain to face consequences within the Schengen system. It's worth remembering, especially as so many European governments continue to shield Israel, that Sánchez has been one of the few Western leaders willing to back his rhetoric with concrete action. Spain cut diplomatic ties with Israel, joined the genocide case before the International Court of Justice, suspended military trade, barred Israeli-linked military shipments from passing through Spanish ports and airspace, banned imports from illegal Israeli settlements and ended consular services for Israeli citizens living in those settlements, among other measures. Morocco, meanwhile, has moved in the opposite direction. It has welcomed Israeli officials accused of war crimes, expanded military and defense cooperation with Israel, hosted joint military exercises, received Israeli vessels rejected elsewhere, and signed billions of dollars' worth of defense agreements, all while Gaza remains under relentless attack and continuous genocide. The Moroccan monarchy is hardly unique among Arab governments that have normalized relations with Israel despite overwhelming public opposition. What makes this case particularly striking, however, is the allegation that thousands of desperate Moroccans were effectively used as political pawns to pressure Spain, while Crown Prince Hassan was photographed enjoying life aboard a reported $4 million luxury yacht, an image many Moroccans see as emblematic of a ruling elite detached from the hardships facing ordinary citizens. Cue the usual wave of regime loyalists, online propagandists and apologists rushing to defend the indefensible, the same political class that protects corruption, squanders public wealth and treats ordinary Moroccans as expendable whenever it serves the interests of those in power. Honestly, wherever there is a human-made tragedy, just look for Israel and its allies.

https://youtu.be/CyyuVVLLobc?si=XDg4pSW-iDVuDRkO

I genuinely believe that, years from now, Operation Epic Fury, the ridiculous name Donald Trump proudly gave this campaign of aggression against Iran on February 28, will be studied as one of the greatest strategic miscalculations of modern warfare. The promise was straightforward: topple the Iranian authority, eliminate its ballistic missile capability, destroy its military infrastructure, seize or neutralize its nuclear material and do it all in record time through overwhelming military force. Yet here we are, more than 5 months later. The Islamic Republic of Iran is still standing. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains fully operational, retaining the command and control necessary to launch precision strikes into terrorist Israel and across the Persian Gulf puppet states. The nuclear issue remains unresolved. And the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before February 28, remains closed, driving up energy prices and reshaping global trade. The assumption in Washington and Tel Aviv was that military supremacy would produce a rapid political victory. Instead, they've spent billions of dollars, fired countless missiles, exhausted significant military resources and achieved virtually none of the strategic objectives they set for themselves. But the greatest irony is this: Trump entered this war claiming he would eliminate Iran's ultimate strategic leverage: its nuclear program. Instead, he may have handed Tehran something even more potent. Iran's real strategic weapon today is not a nuclear bomb. It is the ability to disrupt one of the world's most vital economic arteries. It costs a fraction of developing a nuclear arsenal, projects strategic pressure on a global scale and imposes enormous economic costs on its adversaries without the catastrophic human toll of nuclear warfare (which is why it is forbidden in Shia Islam to make the bomb). In trying to prevent one form of deterrence, Trump may have helped create another. One that is cheaper, more sustainable, and in many ways far more effective. That is the irony history may remember most.