The Lanterns of Guidance

Hamad was abandoned by the Muslim community in Pittsburgh while he was under constant harassment and eventual arrest. The institutions that preach opposition to injustice have left our brother while we watch his home country being bombed and subjected to massacres. This not just a betrayal on the behalf of the community Hamad would call his own, this also exposes the corruption of the so called justice system of Pennsylvania. Hamad’s case is not the only one facing unjust punishment for speaking out against genocide. Many others in PA, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, have faced harassment via sources such as Canary Mission or have faced police brutality on their own campuses. Our mission would like to call upon those who read Mohamad’s story and fundraise for him and insha’Allah eventually push for his release. There is a deadline of September 1st by which time we must retain a new lawyer for Mohamad. On September 1st pre-trial motions will begin and without a lawyer ready to fight for his case, he will be locked into a system designed to sentence our young Arab Muslim brothers to death by incarceration. If convicted at trial, Mohamad could face up to 35 years. The difference between retaining a competent lawyer or not, could be the difference between a life behind bars for one of our own! VoxUmmah endorses those who are pushing for the release of Mohamad Hamad. We are putting out this fundraiser link for Hamad, who has a deadline to raise $50k in order to retain a lawyer by September 1st or face a botched trial with his currently antagonistic state-assigned pro-bono attorney. Fundraiser: https://durub.link/fundraiser-free-mo Caption

Mohamad Hamad is a 24 year old Lebanese-American political prisoner who has been in federal prison for over 16 months awaiting trial on bogus charges related to his Palestine activism. In a campaign rife with anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, Mohamad has also been denied due process, including competent legal representation. The prosecution's egregious behavior includes calling "Mr. Hamas" and playing October 7th resistance footage in a ridiculous Islamophobic charade.

The past 48 hours in southern Lebanon have exposed more than an Israeli military escalation; they have exposed the depth of US complicity. Washington sought to push the Lebanese authorities toward a dangerous confrontation between the army and the resistance over the Ali al-Taher area—effectively asking Lebanon to achieve what the Israeli enemy had failed to accomplish militarily. Sheikh Naim Qassem’s recent speech disrupted this scheme and publicly exposed the political calculations surrounding it. So the Israeli enemy attempted to advance towards key positions around Ali al-Taher. Reportedly, the Resistance heroes confronted the advancing troops in fierce clashes, forcing them to withdraw after their command vehicle was destroyed and casualties were sustained. Hebrew media subsequently described the incident as a “difficult security event,” while Israeli aircraft launched intense strikes against surrounding civilian areas, including Ansar, Deir al-Zahrani and Nabatieh al-Fawqa. The tragedy is that Washington’s support does not merely enable Israeli military action; it expands its political space. Civilian victims become part of a broader strategy of pressure: pressure on southern communities, pressure on Lebanon’s institutions, and ultimately pressure on the resistance. The massacre in Ansar, which killed an entire family, including four children, demonstrates the human cost of this aggression. American responsibility cannot be separated from Israel’s actions when Washington provides the political cover, diplomatic protection and operational latitude that allow them to continue.

Latest from Al-Manar (Lebanon): Title: Hezbollah: Israeli Occupation’s Continued Attacks on Lebanon Will Be Met With an Appropriate Response (Published 16/08/26). Title: Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei: An agreement has been reached on a navigation route map between Iran and Oman (Published 16/08/26). Title: Lebanese Health Ministry: Israeli strikes on Saturday have resulted in 11 martyrs and wounded 19 others (Published 16/08/26). Title: Yemeni media: Saudi-backed gunmen fire several artillery shells at populated villages in the Al-Arouq and Al-Aboos areas of Hayfan District (Published 16/08/26). Title: Lebanon’s Gathering of Families of Child Martyrs Condemn Israeli Massacre in Ansar (Published 16/08/26). Title: Hezbollah Lawyers’ Assembly strongly condemns Israeli massacres and attacks targeting civilians in the towns of Ansar and Deir Al-Zahrani: An extension of Israeli enemy’s genocidal aggression (Published 16/08/26). Title: Hezbollah Lawyers’ Association: We call on the Lebanese authorities to withdraw from the framework agreement, restore Lebanon’s right to pursue the enemy before all international and legal bodies, document its crimes, and refer them to the relevant international authorities (Published 16/08/26). Title: Hezbollah Lawyers’ Assembly Calls on Lebanon to Restore Right to Pursue “Israel” Internationally (Published 16/08/26). Follow Practical Islam on: 🎙️ Podcast Notifications: @pracislampodcasts 🤖 Telegram @pracislam 🚀 Website practicalislam.net

☠️ No medicine, no oxygen, no exit: Gaza’s patients are being left to die Cancer patients in Gaza are dying at two to three times the pre-war rate, with three to five patients reportedly dying every day as Israel blocks medicines, treatment and travel abroad, Press TV reported. Gaza’s only cancer-dedicated hospital was detonated by Israeli forces in March 2025, leaving more than 12,000 cancer patients without the facility built to treat them. More than 4,000 patients reportedly have urgent travel permits — but Israel continues to obstruct their exit for treatment. Now Gaza’s oxygen system is also collapsing. At least 22 of the enclave’s 34 oxygen stations are out of service, while the remaining 12 are running beyond capacity. Only four of 30 oxygen-cylinder filling machines still work. 💬 “The availability of oxygen is not a medical luxury; it is a lifeline for many vital and life-saving departments,” Gaza’s Health Ministry warned. The bombs destroy the hospitals. The blockade finishes the patients. And the US keeps standing behind it. 👍 Substack | Chat | @geopolitics_prime

🪐 From Starlink to Starshield: How Musk is building a military satellite empire In 2021, SpaceX signed a $1.8 billion contract with the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an agency responsible for operating spy satellites. Under this agreement, SpaceX is building a military counterpart to its Starlink constellation, called Starshield. The satellites use the same heavy platform as the civilian V2 Starlink models, but the equipment on board is fundamentally different: ➡️ high-resolution optical telescopes ➡️ synthetic aperture radars for all-weather imaging ➡️ signals intelligence modules for intercepting communications ➡️ infrared sensors for missile warning By August 2026, approximately 245 Starshield satellites have been deployed, with most of them launched in just the last 8 months. This means the NRO suddenly increased its fleet from dozens to over 100 satellites in less than a year. 👉 The expansion In late 2025, the US Space Force ordered another batch of about 480 Starshield-based satellites from SpaceX for a separate military communications network called MILNET. This system will provide secure, low-latency data transmission for global military operations, including drone control, naval coordination, and battlefield communications. The launch of 500 spy satellites represents an unprecedented scale of surveillance in human history. Previously, leading nations operated only 10 to 20 heavy optical and signals intelligence satellites in orbit. Starshield's architecture multiplies US intelligence capabilities by roughly 50 times. 🔴 For a long time, intelligence services relied on a small number of high-tech but very expensive and large spy satellites 🔴 The new strategy relies on mass production and affordability. The production of small satellites has been streamlined through standardization and reusable launch vehicles, allowing constellations of hundreds of satellites to be built In addition, SpaceX also plans to deploy 15,000 Direct to Cell satellites, with about 650 currently in orbit. These satellites provide mobile connectivity but also have the potential to support intelligence gathering, expanding the surveillance network further. 🔍 The dependency problem The rapid deployment of Starshield has created a significant concentration of US military space capability in a single company. Between 2022 and 2024, about 60% of US military satellites deployed used SpaceX's satellite manufacturing capability. This represents a dramatic shift from a dispersed contract award system to one where nearly two-thirds of deployed satellites come from one provider. This dependency carries inherent risks. SpaceX has already demonstrated its ability to influence military operations, as seen during the Ukraine conflict when the company restricted Starlink access in Crimea. The risk is compounded by Musk's erratic and unstable behavior and the potential for a "house of cards" scenario if SpaceX's growth falters. If SpaceX were unable to fulfill its commitments to the Pentagon for any reason, it would create significant vulnerabilities in US satellite infrastructure.   🤔 What Musk is building toward SpaceX has embedded itself so deeply into the US national security apparatus that the government cannot afford to sever ties. In 2025 alone, the US government paid SpaceX approximately $4 billion, and that figure is set to climb sharply. Musk has positioned SpaceX as the "backbone" of US military operations in low Earth orbit, with his company becoming the architecture on which American military space capabilities now depend. With Starshield, Musk is building an empire that gives him leverage over the Pentagon. The same man who has publicly feuded with presidents and threatened to cut off critical services now controls the satellites that guide US drones, coordinate its fleets, and track its adversaries. 👍 Substack | Chat | @geopolitics_prime

🇫🇷🇮🇷 France caught red-handed: Iran exposes ‘malicious’ infiltration operation Amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, France appears to have decided it wants a piece of the action. Documents seized during the arrest of two diplomats who were discovered attending a secret meeting revealed a “malicious” French-designed project, reports Mehr news Agency. According to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, the diplomats had a long record of violations of Iranian law and diplomatic commitments, and were handed over to the French ambassador after their identities were confirmed. Iran says that the seized files revealed a large-scale clandestine operation. Dubbed the “Termite Project”, it details methodologies for: 🔴 identification of potential assets and collaborators 🔴 covert contacts both inside and outside Iranian territory 🔴 systematic network building using sophisticated concealment principles 🔴 laying groundwork for actions against Iran's independence and stability Contracts linked to the operation even reportedly bear the signature of a former French ambassador to Iran. The ministry made it clear that France must answer for these "illegal and interventionist actions," particularly "during wartime," and warned that any repetition of such offenses will be met with direct countermeasures. 👍 Substack | Chat | @geopolitics_prime

Iranian analyst and expert Seyed Mohammad Marandi told Al Mayadeen that the Iranian public expects a response to the killing of commanders and children, the destruction of infrastructure, and the continuation of the war, stressing that Tehran's position remains tied to the consequences of the attacks. Marandi also criticized US President Donald Trump, saying he has "not an ounce of respect for the countries of the region" when speaking about controlling the territories of regional states, despite lacking the capability to do so. Additionally, Marandi said the Strait of Hormuz will remain largely closed, with the exception of vessels that pass through the waterway in accordance with Iranian measures, until Washington complies with Tehran's demands. He reiterated that the strait will remain closed until Iran's demands are met, adding that these demands include Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq.

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful “Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with Allah. Among them are those who have fulfilled their vow [by martyrdom], and among them are those who are still waiting, and they have not changed in the least.” “Allah, the Most High, the Almighty, has spoken the truth.” Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance announce to their beloved supporters the following honoured martyrs: The blessed martyr, Hajj Ali Samir Al-Hajj Hassan The blessed martyr, Zaynab Mahdi Nasr al-Din The blessed martyr, Hassan Ali Al-Hajj Hassan The blessed martyr, Zahraa Ali Al-Hajj Hassan The martyr Hussein Ali Al-Hajj Hassan The martyr Abbas Ali Al-Hajj Hassan, from the town of Shmistar in the Bekaa They have risen as martyrs in defence of Lebanon and its people. The date and arrangements for their funeral processions will be announced later. May Allah greatly increase our reward and yours [for these losses]. 15 August 2026 To their souls, and to the souls of all the martyrs and scholars, and to all our deceased, we dedicate the reward of reciting Surat al-Fatihah. Hezbollah – [the] Region

🇮🇷🇺🇸| Iran published high-quality satellite imagery of US assets it destroyed in the UAE & Bahrain. 🇦🇪 Destruction of AN/TPS-57 radar at Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE 🇧🇭 Destruction of a data center supporting US Sintelligence operations in Bahrain. 🇦🇪 Destruction of a gas compression unit at the Habshan refinery, part of US economic interests in the UAE 🇦🇪 Destruction of a carbon unit belonging to a US aluminum company in the UAE @FotrosResistancee

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇾🇪| US Sen. Jack Reed calls on Pete Hegseth to testify over mass civilian casualties from US attacks in Yemen and Iran, including the Minab school. Reed says Hegseth’s leadership fails to provide an accounting of the Minab attack. @FotrosResistancee

🇮🇷| Iran’s Central Military Command (Khatam al Anbiya) “No ship can safely pass through the Strait of Hormoz without Iran’s authorization and oversight.” @FotrosResistancee

▪️Thursdays with Ulama Repaying the debt to Prophet Muhammad means performing complete jihad—not just military combat, but striving in science, politics, knowledge, and ethics—as a form of submission to God’s command (Quran 22:78). True repayment is fulfilling this all-encompassing struggle for Islam in every field of life. ▶️The Martyred Leader was not just a speaker of this truth—he was its living proof, and he brought his teachings to full fruition. 🆔 @ImamRezaEN 📲 +989338604490

In response to Israeli massacres across southern Lebanon on Saturday morning, killing at least 11 people, including an entire family in Ansar, Hezbollah issued a statement vowing that “The Israeli enemy must fully understand that its attacks, transgressions, and attempts to impose a fait accompli cannot continue, and they will be met with an appropriate response in defense of Lebanon, its people, its sovereignty, and its national dignity." ￭ “The Americans are partners with the Israeli enemy in its crimes and massacres against Lebanon,” the resistance emphasized. Follow us on X and Instagram !

#Lebanon Statement issued by Hezbollah: Lebanese people awoke at dawn today to the sound of an aggressive escalation and a brutal massacre perpetrated by the criminal Zionist enemy against civilians in the south, through the targeting of a house on the outskirts of Ansar town in southern Lebanon and a building in Deir Al-Zahrani. The attack resulted in the martyrdom of eleven people, including children and women, and twelve others were wounded, in a documented crime added to the enemy's long record of massacres, crimes, and the shedding of Lebanese blood, as well as the demolition of their homes, bulldozing of their fields, and erasure of the features of their villages. This "Israeli" escalation, through targeting civilians and expanding the areas targeted, reflects the desire and determination of the criminal enemy Prime Minister Netanyahu to escalate the war in order to bolster his domestic political standing, serve his electoral objectives, and appease the far right. The continuation of this aggression and violation of Lebanon's sovereignty is the responsibility of the enemy government and the United States, which provides it with support and cover. Meanwhile, the Lebanese authorities must seek all available means to halt this aggression and must not insist on continuing the humiliating path of direct negotiations and offering free gifts to the enemy, despite all the crimes and attacks it commits and the aggressive and expansionist intentions it declares toward Lebanon. The time has come for the authorities to comprehensively reassess their calculations in a manner that preserves Lebanon's sovereignty and rights, rather than continuing policies that have demonstrated their inability to protect Lebanon and its people. They must adopt a national, courageous, and responsible position, stop running after the negotiations being dragged into by the Americans, and realize that relying on American guarantees and mediation is a futile gamble, as the Americans are partners of the "Israeli" enemy in its crimes and massacres against Lebanon. The latest, blatant, and coercive statement by the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, in which he called for the surrender of the resistance's weapons, while he should instead be pressuring the "Israeli" enemy to withdraw from the areas it occupies, only confirms that what the Americans seek is the "Israeli" enemy's interests and security at the expense of Lebanon's sovereignty and people. All Lebanese, in all their communities, must recognize the danger of the approach being pursued by these authorities toward Lebanon, its unity, security, and independence. The "Israeli" enemy must also understand clearly that its attacks, violations, and attempts to impose a fait accompli cannot continue and will be met with an appropriate response in defense of Lebanon, its people, sovereignty, and national dignity.

#Yemen Ansar Allah Political Bureau: – We extend our sincere congratulations and blessings to Hezbollah Secretary-General His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem and the Lebanese Islamic Resistance on the 20th anniversary of the historic July victory. – Over the course of 33 days of confrontation, the Lebanese resistance wrote a glorious chapter in the history of the nation. – In July, the Lebanese resistance established a strategic balance of deterrence with the Zionist enemy and imposed new rules of engagement upon it. – Through its victories and sacrifices, Hezbollah painted a radiant picture of steadfastness and pride, and through its struggle and the wisdom of its leadership, presented an honorable model for the Arab and Islamic nation and for all free people of the world. – Through this strategic victory in July, Hezbollah succeeded in drawing a clear line against the Zionist-American projects, foremost among them the so-called "New Middle East". – We highly commend Hezbollah's victories and the sacrifices of its fighters. – We reaffirm that the American and "Israeli" targeting of Lebanon and the Islamic Resistance stems from Hezbollah's position of supporting and backing the Palestinian cause. – The American and "Israeli" targeting comes because Hezbollah constitutes an impenetrable barrier defending Lebanon, its people, sovereignty, and independence in the face of American and Israeli projects. – On this occasion, we do not forget the great and significant role of the Master of the Ummah's Martyrs, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who stood up for the oppressed of this nation, foremost among them the Palestinian people. – Martyr Sayyed Nasrallah stood alongside the Yemeni people and championed their cause in the face of the tyrants and arrogant forces among the Arab hypocrites. #Military_Media