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US National Intelligence Director: Monitoring Gaza Ceasefire is a Challenging Mission

FILE PHOTO: Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence, testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence, testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
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US National Intelligence Director: Monitoring Gaza Ceasefire is a Challenging Mission

FILE PHOTO: Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence, testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence, testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Monday in remarks to Fox News that monitoring the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip is a “challenging” task which requires “communication, coordination and transparency.”

"This is a challenging mission which requires clear communication, coordination and transparency," Gabbard said. "Intelligence supports not only security, and achieving lasting peace and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians."

Her remarks came during a surprise visit to the US-operated Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) as American forces work on the planning and implementation of phase two in the ceasefire deal, according to the news service.

"It’s a living example of what can happen when nations unite for common interests with the potential impact of lasting peace that benefits generations to come," Gabbard told Fox News about the CMCC.

The CMCC will support the stabilization efforts inside Gaza and facilitate humanitarian and security assistance that is under development as part of the broader Trump administration peace plan.

"For the first time in a generation, there’s a genuine sense of hope and optimism, not just in Israel, but across the Middle East," Gabbard added. "That’s because of President Trump’s leadership and the groundwork he laid through his historic peace deal”, she told Fox News.

Intelligence sharing and coordination are expected to play a critical role in the success of the ceasefire, part of the reason Gabbard arrived in Israel to see operations first-hand.

The Director of National Intelligence revealed that right now 16 countries and 20 NGOs are working side-by-side as part of this multinational civilian and military force aimed at bringing stability to Gaza, while ushering in a new chapter for the Middle East.

"The American people should know that the US presence at the CMCC is about leadership, coordination, and service," Gabbard said.

Around 200 US service members are on the ground participating in the CMCC, but will not enter the Gaza Strip. A coalition of forces from Arab countries will ultimately send stabilization personnel into the enclave to assist with implementing the administration’s peace plan, said Fox News.

"In conversations I had with leaders from across the region, including in Manama, people spoke openly and hopefully about a future defined not by conflict, but by cooperation and stability," Gabbard said. "Progress is possible with strong leadership and a shared vision for peace."

Gabbard, who also visited the Kerem Shalom Crossing along the Gaza border, is the latest Trump administration official to visit Israel as part of a broader push to ensure the peace plan is successful. Her trip follows similar visits by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

"This is a challenging mission which requires clear communication, coordination and transparency," Gabbard concluded. "Intelligence supports not only security, and achieving lasting peace and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians."

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Arab World

3 Killed in Houthi Attack on Cargo Ship in Bab el-Mandeb Strait

The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
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3 Killed in Houthi Attack on Cargo Ship in Bab el-Mandeb Strait

The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The navigation bridge of a sunken vessel is all that is seen at the surface of the water in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)

A small cargo ship was attacked on Tuesday by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing three crew members, said two Yemeni coast guard sources and two military officials in the government.

Maritime security sources told Reuters a small cargo ship was believed to have been targeted in the Red Sea, but ‌the fate of ‌the crew was unclear.

If confirmed, ‌the ⁠fatalities on the ⁠Tanzania-flagged Tihamah would be the first deaths in a Houthi strike on a ship since Middle East conflict was triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February.

The Houthis have not yet claimed the attack, which Yemeni sources said killed two Pakistanis and one Indonesian person on the boat sailing ‌from Salalah in Oman via Djibouti.

Attacks on ships in the Bab ⁠el-Mandeb ⁠Strait have increased uncertainty for shipping companies already hobbled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

An average of 32 ships per day passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait last week, Kpler data showed. Prior to the blockade an average of 50 ships per day transited the strait.

The Houthis also attacked the government-held port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast and other areas of the country, deepening fears over threats to strategic shipping routes and a potential return to civil war.

Yemen's military said the militants targeted both Mokha and the central province of Marib with missiles and drones.

The Houthis struck Marib and the eastern province of Hadramawt last week, killing dozens of government troops and civilians. They hit Mokha with missiles and drones over the weekend and killed at least seven people, including three troops, according to the Yemeni military.

Arab World

Lebanon Abolishes Death Penalty in Landmark Parliament Vote

Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss a proposed general amnesty law, the abolition of the death penalty and the salaries of retired members of Lebanon’s security forces in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2026. (EPA)
Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss a proposed general amnesty law, the abolition of the death penalty and the salaries of retired members of Lebanon’s security forces in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2026. (EPA)
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Lebanon Abolishes Death Penalty in Landmark Parliament Vote

Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss a proposed general amnesty law, the abolition of the death penalty and the salaries of retired members of Lebanon’s security forces in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2026. (EPA)
Lebanese lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to discuss a proposed general amnesty law, the abolition of the death penalty and the salaries of retired members of Lebanon’s security forces in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2026. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament Tuesday abolished the death penalty, making it the first country in the Arab world to replace the sentencing with life imprisonment with aggravated hard labor.

The country has committed to an unofficial moratorium on executions since January 2004. However, dozens of death sentences since then have been issued, but later suspended or commuted.

A majority of Lebanon's 128-member parliament voted in favor of ending the death penalty, with the exception of the parliamentary bloc of Hezbollah.

Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who was in Parliament, called it a “historic step” for the country.

Rights groups that have called for formalizing the moratorium or ending the death penalty altogether have also celebrated the vote.

Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon Researcher at Human Rights Watch, says Lebanon is “marking a final break from a cruel sentence that should never be imposed.”

“Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality and is plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error,” he said.

It's unclear how aggravated hard labor would be enforced, as some legislators said the terms of the new punishment are not yet clear. Lebanon does have the punishment of hard labor written into law and court decisions, but even those have been rarely enforced in recent years due to cash-strapped Lebanon's lack of resources and capacity within its overcrowded prisons.

Lebanon's abolition of the death penalty comes as parliament is debating a controversial general amnesty law, the largest since the end of its 15-year civil war in 1990, that could reduce sentences or even release convicted militants and drug dealers, with some exceptions.

Family members of Lebanese soldiers and servicemen killed or attacked by extremist militant groups have repeatedly protested against the law, some saying they had hoped to see the perpetrators who killed their family members executed rather than be issued reduced prison sentences.

Hezbollah did not immediately issue a comment about the landmark vote. Neither did Lebanon's diverse religious institutions, where the death penalty is considered legal in some their respective court systems.

Arab World

Lebanon Says Israeli Strike on South Wounds Two, Damages Ambulance

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the town of Deir Seryan as seen from the 'pilot zone' village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon, 31 July 2026, following a US-brokered security agreement between Lebanon and Israel. EPA/STRINGER
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the town of Deir Seryan as seen from the 'pilot zone' village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon, 31 July 2026, following a US-brokered security agreement between Lebanon and Israel. EPA/STRINGER
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Lebanon Says Israeli Strike on South Wounds Two, Damages Ambulance

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the town of Deir Seryan as seen from the 'pilot zone' village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon, 31 July 2026, following a US-brokered security agreement between Lebanon and Israel. EPA/STRINGER
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the town of Deir Seryan as seen from the 'pilot zone' village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon, 31 July 2026, following a US-brokered security agreement between Lebanon and Israel. EPA/STRINGER

An Israeli double-tap strike on southern Lebanon wounded two people on Tuesday and damaged an ambulance, the Lebanese health ministry said, condemning the "continued targeting" of rescuers. 

The incident is the latest Israeli strike despite an ongoing truce in the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. 

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strike targeted a vehicle in the southern city of Nabatieh, with the health ministry reported two wounded. 

The ministry said the Israeli military struck again when rescuers from the Risala Scouts Association, linked to the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, came to the scene, damaging the ambulance. 

"The ministry reiterates its condemnation of the enemy's continued targeting of rescue teams, which constitutes an unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law and all international norms," it said. 

Lebanon's civil defense meanwhile said that its personnel were targeted by an Israeli drone strike while they were trying to extinguish a bushfire, also in the Nabatieh area. 

No one was wounded, but the incident forced them to leave. 

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran. 

Israel responded with heavy air strikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people. 

While violence has significantly decreased since the signing of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June and a framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel days later, Beirut still reports intermittent Israeli strikes and demolitions. 

The Israel-Lebanon deal involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in two "pilot zones". 

Hezbollah rejects the deal and refuses to disarm.