📰 GAZA DISARMAMENT AND STRIKES AS U.S.-IRAN STANDOFF CENTERS ON HORMUZ
🕑 Published: August 19, 2026 · 12:22 AM Israel time
🎯 GAZA OPERATIONS AND DISARMAMENT: The IDF carried out a precise aerial strike on a meeting of Hamas Nukhba commanders in northern Gaza’s Shati area, targeting a company commander, three platoon commanders and additional terrorists advancing attacks against IDF troops. One of those targeted had infiltrated Israel and participated in the October 7 Massacre. The IDF said further information on the strike’s results would follow; Gazan media later reported six people killed and 10 wounded, after initially reporting one killed and several wounded near the Gaza City port.
Prime Minister Netanyahu separately criticized Jared Kushner over his meeting with Hamas leadership and said targeted killings in Gaza would continue. Following subsequent meetings involving Kushner, Mladenov and President Herzog, the Prime Minister’s Office announced two working groups: one focused on Hamas disarmament and Gaza’s demilitarization before reconstruction, and another addressing sanitation, clean water and public-health issues affecting Gaza residents and Israelis.
A senior Peace Council official said the IDF would not redeploy out of Gaza until Hamas is completely disarmed and the Strip demilitarized, while Israel would retain the ability to act if Hamas attempts to rebuild its military capabilities. Netanyahu said Israel would honor its previous commitments. Kushner told Fox News that progress could be visible within a month, with efforts to remove weapons beginning and tunnels potentially being sealed over the following three months.
Officers from Uganda and Burundi also toured a base near Gaza ahead of the planned deployment of hundreds of troops from the two countries to the Strip.
⚓ IRAN AND THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ: President Trump said no talks with Iran are underway or planned and that Washington is not seeking an extension of the existing MoU. He said his objective remains an agreement preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, while maintaining that Tehran is unwilling to accept the terms he considers necessary.
Trump said the U.S. naval blockade remains in place, the Strait of Hormuz is open and operational, and all naval mines have been removed. He also said he liked the idea of declaring the Strait U.S. territory and threatened military action against Oman if it obstructed U.S. objectives in the conflict with Iran.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran is moving from a defensive posture to a “fully offensive” policy and is giving Washington “a few weeks” to implement the peace deal. The official warned that Iranian entities were prepared to increase pressure in the Strait of Hormuz and across the region if diplomacy fails.
Iran also launched two ballistic missiles toward the UAE, according to the Emirati Defense Ministry. One fell outside Emirati borders and the second in UAE territorial waters. Separately, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that Iranian forces seized an Emirati tanker near Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz.
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