Reuters: Deadly Bomb Blast In Tel Aviv Was A Terrorist Attack, Israeli Police Say

“A bomb blast in Tel Aviv late on Sunday has been confirmed as a terrorist attack, Israeli police and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency said on Monday. The man carrying the bomb, which exploded near a synagogue, was killed and a passerby was injured, according to police at the scene. "It can now be confirmed that this was a terror attack," police and Shin Bet said in a joint statement on Monday. Sunday's explosion came about an hour after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv to push for a ceasefire in Gaza that will end the 10-month-old war between Israel and Hamas. There has been increased urgency to reach a ceasefire deal amid fears of an escalation across the wider region. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Israel has not claimed responsibility for his death.”

Reuters: Blinken Warns Israel, Hamas Of Last Chance To End Gaza War

“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday that the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was probably the best and possibly last opportunity, urging Israel and Hamas towards an elusive agreement. Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has cast doubt on the chances of reaching a deal since talks in Qatar last week paused without a breakthrough, but the negotiations are to resume this week based on a U.S. "bridging proposal". Blinken met Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday before heading into a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while in Gaza Israeli forces thrust further into Khan Younis, residents said, in the latest phase of their assault. "This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security," Blinken told reporters before meeting Herzog.”

CEP Mentions

RTS: Parents Of Swiss Jihadist Accused Of ‘Financing Terrorism’

“The parents of a Swiss jihadist fighter are in the dock on Monday in Bellinzona, Ticino. They are being tried by the Federal Criminal Court for having sent more than 50,000 francs to their son who had gone to Syria. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland accuses the parents of "financing terrorism". […] According to Hans-Jakob Schindler, an expert on terrorist financing interviewed Monday on La Matinale, "the people who send money have no control over what the terrorist fighter is going to do with it. Whether he buys Nutella or parts to build an explosive device to kill soldiers, they simply don't know. So when we approach cases [like this], we have to assume that the money sent could have financed the purchase of bombs or other weapons."”

Soester-Anzeiger: Sabotage Against Bundeswehr Bases In NRW: “There Is Much Evidence For A Russian Attack Attempt”

“... Hans-Jakob Schindler, for example, a terrorism expert from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), sees three groups as possible suspects: Russian or Russian-backed actors, radical Islamists or left-wing extremists. He considers one suspicion to be particularly likely: "The first thing I would check is whether it was a Russian or Russian-backed attack attempt or whether it was at least Russian-initiated," said Schindler in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA . There is much to support this theory. Germany has been the focus of Russian attackers since 2022 at the latest, if not since the Minsk Agreement in 2015. And the NATO base in Geilenkirchen in particular plays a special role in the context of the Ukraine war: AWACS aircraft are stationed there, which can be used to observe movements on NATO's eastern flank.”

Syria

The Guardian: Fighting Intensifies Between Israel And Hezbollah Despite Diplomatic Drive

“Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has intensified over the weekend despite diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions between the two and prevent an expected Hezbollah and Iranian attack against Israel. An Israeli attack on Saturday was one of the bloodiest for civilians since fighting began in October, killing 10 Syrian workers and their family members in what Israel said was a strike on a Hezbollah weapons depot in Nabatieh, south Lebanon. In response, Hezbollah launched a 55-missile barrage at the town of Ayelet HaShahar, in north Israel. Three Unifil peacekeepers were also lightly injured in an explosion on Sunday while on patrol in the Lebanese border town of Yarin. A source within Unifil said they believed the soldiers were injured by a nearby Israeli airstrike, but that they were still investigating the incident.”

Yemen

Associated Press: Former Saudi Official Alleges Prince Mohammed Forged King’s Signature On Yemen War Decree, BBC Says

“A former Saudi official alleged in a report that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman forged the signature of his father on the royal decree that launched the kingdom’s yearslong, stalemated war against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the allegations made without supporting evidence by Saad al-Jabri in an interview published Monday by the BBC, though the kingdom has described him as “a discredited former government official.” Al-Jabri, a former Saudi intelligence official who lives in exile in Canada, has been a yearslong dispute with the kingdom as his two children have been imprisoned in case he describes as trying to lure him back to Saudi Arabia. The allegation comes as Prince Mohammed now serves as the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, often meeting leaders in place of his father, the 88-year-old King Salman.”

Lebanon

CBS News: Israeli Strike In Lebanon Kills At Least 10 Including Mother And Her 2 Children

“An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon early Saturday killed at least 10 Syrian nationals, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The strike on Wadi al-Kfour in Nabatieh province is among the deadliest in Lebanon since the Hezbollah militant group and Israeli military started trading strikes on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel and sparked the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah maintains that it will stop its attacks once a cease-fire is reached in the Gaza Strip. Among the dead were a woman and her two children, the ministry said. Five others were wounded, two of whom were in critical condition. An Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, said the strike in the southern province targeted a weapons depot belonging to Hezbollah.”

Middle East

Reuters: Israel Kills Two Hamas Militants In West Bank Air Strike

“Israel said it killed two senior Hamas militants in an airstrike on their car in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, claiming they were involved in the killing of an Israeli. A joint statement from the Israel Security Agency and the Israel Defense Forces identified the militants as Ahmed Abu Ara and Rafet Dawasi, both from the West Bank's northern district around Jenin. In a statement, Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades military wing said it was mourning the deaths of two fighters in an Israeli air strike on their vehicle in Jenin. The Israeli statement said the two militants were involved in planning a shooting attack last week in the West Bank's Jordan Valley where an Israeli man, Yonatan Deutsch, was killed. Israeli authorities said then that Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a main road in the occupied West Bank on Aug. 11, killing one and wounding another.”

Africa

Associated Press: 16 Villagers Killed And 20 Abducted In Congo In Attacks Blamed On Islamic State-Linked Rebels

“At least 16 villagers were killed and 20 others were abducted in northeastern Congo during attacks by militants with ties to the Islamic State group, a local civil society group said Friday. The assailants with the Allied Democratic Forces staged a series of attacks on locals, some while working on their farmlands, between Wednesday and Friday in Ituri province’s Mambasa territory, said John Vulverio, coordinator of the New Civil Society of Congo. “The (death) toll remains provisional, as the fate of 20 others kidnapped remains unknown,” he said. Among those kidnapped in the attacks were the mother and sister of Gilbert Sivamwenda, a local government official, local media quoted the legislator as saying. Dozens of villages across Congo are besieged by armed groups made up of either local rebels fighting for power and valuable mineral resources or militants with extremist ideologies.”

Associated Press: Sudan’s Paramilitary Fighters Killed 85 People In An Attack On A Central Village, Residents Say

“Fighters from Sudan’s paramilitary group rampaged through a central village, looting and burning and killing at least 85 people, including women and children, authorities and residents said Saturday, the latest atrocity in the country’s 18-month devastating conflict. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began attacking Galgani in the central province of Sennar late in July and last week RSF fighters “indiscriminately opened fire on the village’s unarmed residents” after they resisted attempts to abduct and sexually assault women and girls, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. More than 150 villagers were wounded, it said. The RSF has been repeatedly accused of massacres, rapes and other gross violations across the country since the war started in April last year, when simmering tensions between the military and the group exploded into open fighting in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere.”

United Kingdom

BBC: Misogyny To Be Treated As Extremism By UK Government

“Extreme misogyny will be treated as a form of extremism under new government plans, the Home Office has said. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, has ordered a review of the UK's counter-extremism strategy to determine how best to tackle threats posed by harmful ideologies. The analysis will look at hatred of women as one of the ideological trends that the government says is gaining traction. Ms Cooper said there has been a rise in extremism "both online and on our streets" that "frays the very fabric of our communities and our democracy". The review will look at the rise of Islamist and far-right extremism in the UK, as well as wider ideological trends, including extreme misogyny or beliefs which fit into broader categories, such as violence. It will also look at the causes and conduct of the radicalisation of young people. Ms Cooper said the strategy will "map and monitor extremist trends" to work out how to disrupt and divert people away from them.”

Europe

Associated Press: Irish Police Investigate Potential Terrorism Motive In Attack On Army Chaplain

“Irish police said Friday they were investigating a potential terrorism motive in an attack on a chaplain at an army barracks in County Galway. Police said the army chaplain was approached by a young person outside Renmore Barracks in western Ireland and was stabbed a number of times Thursday night. The Catholic priest, who is in his 50s, was rushed to a hospital and was treated for injuries that were serious but not life-threatening. The Defense Forces said shots were fired by on-duty personnel after the chaplain was attacked, and a male teenager was quickly detained at the scene. The suspect was being questioned in detention at a police station. Police said “one line of inquiry is to establish if this attack had a terrorism motivation.” They added that the incident was not believed to be “part of a wider conspiracy.””