US Top Middle East Commander Visits Deployed Aircraft Carrier

This US Navy handout photograph released on August 4, 2026, by US Central Command Public Affairs shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on July 31, 2026. (AFP / US Navy / Navcent Public Affairs)
This US Navy handout photograph released on August 4, 2026, by US Central Command Public Affairs shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on July 31, 2026. (AFP / US Navy / Navcent Public Affairs)
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US Top Middle East Commander Visits Deployed Aircraft Carrier

This US Navy handout photograph released on August 4, 2026, by US Central Command Public Affairs shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on July 31, 2026. (AFP / US Navy / Navcent Public Affairs)
This US Navy handout photograph released on August 4, 2026, by US Central Command Public Affairs shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on July 31, 2026. (AFP / US Navy / Navcent Public Affairs)

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top US military commander in the Middle East, visited the USS Lincoln in the Arabian Sea during a 10-day tour in the region that concluded on Saturday, US Central Command said.

The Lincoln arrived in the Middle East in January and has been supporting the US war against Iran, including the blockade on Iranian ports. Its deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.

Extended deployments of carriers, which can have more than 5,000 sailors and Marines on board, have raised concerns about the impact not only on the ships but on service members.

“History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era,” Cooper said of the Lincoln strike group in a statement released Saturday.



Hamas Delegation in Cairo for Gaza Ceasefire Talks

15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians crowd the beach, as the coastline has become a refuge for thousands displaced from different parts of the Gaza Strip by the war. (dpa)
15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians crowd the beach, as the coastline has become a refuge for thousands displaced from different parts of the Gaza Strip by the war. (dpa)
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Hamas Delegation in Cairo for Gaza Ceasefire Talks

15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians crowd the beach, as the coastline has become a refuge for thousands displaced from different parts of the Gaza Strip by the war. (dpa)
15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians crowd the beach, as the coastline has become a refuge for thousands displaced from different parts of the Gaza Strip by the war. (dpa)

A Hamas delegation, chaired by the group’s leader Khalil al-Hayya, is in Cairo Sunday for Gaza ceasefire-related talks with Egyptian officials, the group said.

The talks come as mediators push for the implementation of a roadmap to move forward with US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area as well as handing over power to Palestinian technocrats.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Trump’s latest plan to advance the stalled ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel will not withdraw from any of the roughly 60% of the territory it controls until Hamas has been completely disarmed — something the group controlling the other 40% has long resisted.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether al-Hayya would meet with Trump’s son-in-law and negotiator Jared Kushner, the Board of Peace’s high representative Nickolay Mladenov, or executive board member and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who are scheduled to travel to Israel and Egypt this week.


Israel Vows to Go After Hezbollah as It Names Another Killed

15 August 2026, Lebanon, Nabatieh district: An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on a house in a tourist area of Ansar, southern Lebanon, before dawn, completely destroying the building and causing extensive damage to surrounding properties. (dpa)
15 August 2026, Lebanon, Nabatieh district: An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on a house in a tourist area of Ansar, southern Lebanon, before dawn, completely destroying the building and causing extensive damage to surrounding properties. (dpa)
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Israel Vows to Go After Hezbollah as It Names Another Killed

15 August 2026, Lebanon, Nabatieh district: An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on a house in a tourist area of Ansar, southern Lebanon, before dawn, completely destroying the building and causing extensive damage to surrounding properties. (dpa)
15 August 2026, Lebanon, Nabatieh district: An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on a house in a tourist area of Ansar, southern Lebanon, before dawn, completely destroying the building and causing extensive damage to surrounding properties. (dpa)

Israel vowed Sunday it would hit Hezbollah again if threatened, as it identified what it described as a commander killed in strikes a day earlier that also left several children dead. 

Israeli strikes on Saturday killed 11 people in southern Lebanon, according to authorities, in the deadliest attacks since a deal was reached in June aimed at ending hostilities. 

Israel said the strikes were a response to Hezbollah setting off explosive drones inside a so-called "security zone" in southern Lebanon, seriously injuring three Israeli troops including an officer. 

"No score will be left unsettled in any arena. We'll defend our soldiers and our civilians with full power," Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X. 

The Israeli military identified one of those killed on Saturday as Abu Hassan Alaa, saying he was a senior commander of Hezbollah's Badr unit who had been involved in firing drones at Israeli troops. 

Israel earlier said that the strike killed a commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan. 

The Israeli military acknowledged that Hassan's family was present but defended the strike by saying they were not the target. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said a whole family had been killed in the strike in the village of Ansar, with Lebanon's health ministry reporting that three children and two women died. 

Imran Riza, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, condemned the strike. 

"Children and civilians continue to pay an unacceptable price. International humanitarian law is clear: civilians must be protected at all times," he said. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hezbollah of deliberately placing civilians in harm's way. 

Hezbollah denied the account, saying that "another entire family has been wiped out following orders issued by Netanyahu". 

"Netanyahu, who is the subject of proceedings before the International Criminal Court over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, is once again presiding over the killing of Lebanese civilians," Hezbollah said in a statement. 

Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the regional war in March by firing rockets at Israel in support of Iran, after US-Israeli strikes there sparked war in late February. 

Lebanon and Israel signed a US-brokered deal in which Lebanon's army will gradually take over security in southern areas occupied by Israel, but Hezbollah has refused to disarm. 


Israel Sends Message to Lebanon and Hezbollah through Strikes

A man watches as heavy machinery, first aid responders and residents search the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese village of Deir al-Zahrani on August 15, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)
A man watches as heavy machinery, first aid responders and residents search the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese village of Deir al-Zahrani on August 15, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)
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Israel Sends Message to Lebanon and Hezbollah through Strikes

A man watches as heavy machinery, first aid responders and residents search the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese village of Deir al-Zahrani on August 15, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)
A man watches as heavy machinery, first aid responders and residents search the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern Lebanese village of Deir al-Zahrani on August 15, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)

Israel sent political and security messages on Saturday to the Lebanese state and Hezbollah through a sudden escalation of strikes in southern Lebanon.

Israeli airstrikes on two towns killed 11 people, including an entire family, in what the Israeli military said was a response to a military operation carried out by Hezbollah against its forces operating in southern Lebanon. The military said it had targeted a Hezbollah command center, killing a senior commander in the group’s Radwan Force.

The escalation comes on the eve of the Monday expiration of the 60-day deadline stipulated in the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran. It also coincides with US mediation efforts between Lebanon and Israel to consolidate the ceasefire and expand the designated pilot areas in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, President Joseph Aoun said the escalation is a “message to the negotiation path and the US efforts aiming to consolidate the Framework Agreement”.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also said the escalation was “extremely dangerous and undermines efforts to consolidate stability in the south”, stressing that “dealing with any military infrastructure, if present on Lebanese territory, is the exclusive responsibility of the state, and its presence does not give Israel the right to violate Lebanese territory or put civilians at risk.”

While Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for any military operation, Tel Aviv is seeking to establish new rules of engagement linked to Israeli preparations to seize control of the Ali al-Taher Heights.

According to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, Israel is trying to send Hezbollah a message that “any attempt to halt the advance toward Ali al-Taher heights will be met with an expansion of the bombing deeper into Lebanese territory.”