PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Six months of fighting with Iran have killed 18 US service members and cost over $37.5 billion. Trump called the conflict “small potatoes.”

Key Developments

• President Donald Trump called the US-Iran conflict “small potatoes for us” and said it was “not a big thing.”
• The six-month war has killed 18 US service members and cost American taxpayers more than $37.5 billion.
• Trump defended Vice President JD Vance’s refusal to call the fighting a war and compared US casualties with those of the Vietnam War.

‘Small Potatoes for Us’: Trump Downplays Iran War after 18 US Troops Killed

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: The Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced a new maritime mission to Gaza, with vessels traveling through European ports before sailing toward the enclave.

Key Developments

• Freedom Flotilla vessels will visit ports in Spain, Portugal and Italy before attempting to reach Gaza in October.
• The coalition said the mission aims to challenge Israel’s blockade and mobilize public pressure across Europe.
• Organizers called on governments to guarantee safe passage and take diplomatic, economic and legal measures against the blockade.

New Gaza Flotilla Mission is Underway: All You Need to Know

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Israeli occupation forces forcibly displaced over 33,000 Palestinians from three West Bank refugee camps, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing, a UN report says.

Key Takeaways

• Israeli forces forcibly displaced the entire populations of the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps during Operation Iron Wall and continue to prevent their return.
• The UN said the systematic displacement of more than 33,000 Palestinians raises serious concerns of forcible transfer as a crime against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
• Israeli forces killed 102 Palestinians, including 21 children, during the period covered by the report, accounting for 46 percent of West Bank killings by Israeli forces.

‘Ethnic Cleansing’: UN Says Israel Displaced 33,000 Palestinians from West Bank

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called settler attacks against Palestinians terrorism during a West Bank visit, as settlers reportedly entered the town simultaneously.

Key Developments

• US Ambassador Mike Huckabee visited Turmus Ayya and described violence intended to intimidate Palestinians from their homes as “terrorism by any definition.”
• According to Quds News Network, illegal Israeli settlers entered Turmus Ayya while Huckabee was visiting the Palestinian town to discuss settler attacks.
• Huckabee called on the Israeli government to guarantee Palestinians’ safety but said Washington lacked authority to intervene directly in the occupied West Bank.

US Envoy Calls Settler Attacks ‘Terrorism’ as Settlers Raid Town during His Visit

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Israeli attacks killed five people and wounded 24 across Lebanon Friday, with renewed airstrikes and artillery shelling continuing into Saturday morning.

Key Developments

• Five people were killed and 24 wounded in Israeli attacks Friday, including strikes on Nabatieh, Al-Ramadiyah, Kfar Rumman, Mayfadoun and the western Bekaa.
• Six paramedics, three women and two children were among 15 people wounded in an Israeli strike on Al-Ramadiyah in southern Lebanon.
• Israeli attacks continued Saturday with strikes on Al-Mansouri, Wadi al-Salouqi and Wadi al-Hujair and artillery shelling around Mayfadoun.

Five Killed, 24 Wounded as Israel Launches New Attacks across Lebanon

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Explosions were heard near Iran’s strategic Kharg Island Saturday amid Iranian media reports that US forces struck an oil tanker nearby.

Key Developments

• Explosions were heard near Kharg Island early Saturday, although Fars reported no visible smoke and said the source of the blasts was initially unknown.
• Iranian outlets reported that a small Iranian oil tanker was targeted by US forces; Asr Iran said four projectiles struck the vessel while it was being unloaded.
• The incident comes days after Trump posted an AI-generated video claiming Kharg was being destroyed, prompting Iran to warn against attacking the strategic oil hub.

Explosions near Kharg Island amid Reports US Struck Iranian Oil Tanker

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Beyond Europe, the same heat intensifies suffering in places already subjected to genocide and mass displacement. In Gaza, where a genocide is unfolding under bombardment, blockade and systematic destruction, nearly a million people live in tents or overcrowded shelters. Temperatures inside the tents turn them into ovens.

There is little or no electricity for fans. Clean water is scarce — many families survive on less than six liters per person per day, far below emergency standards — after the deliberate destruction of wells, pipelines and desalination capacity. Heatstroke, especially among children and the elderly, has become routine. Food spoils without refrigeration. The sea, contaminated by sewage from collapsed infrastructure, offers only polluted relief. Extreme heat here is not a separate crisis; it is another weapon in a campaign that has already destroyed the conditions of life.

Read the latest article by Michael Leonardi.

The Summer of Never-Ending Heat in the Age of Genocide

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Italy’s proposed antisemitism law could restrict criticism of Israel, prompting warnings over Palestinian advocacy and a nationwide protest in Rome.

Key Takeaways

• Italy’s Senate approved the measure known as DDL 1004 on March 4. Now designated C.2830, it returns to a parliamentary committee on September 9, with votes expected.
• The bill applies the IHRA definition of antisemitism and establishes a national strategy covering law enforcement, online speech, schools, universities, public broadcasting and civil society.
• Critics warn that the measure could conflate antisemitism with anti-Zionism, exposing Palestinian advocacy, boycotts, academic work and independent journalism to censorship and legal intimidation.

Italy’s ‘Antisemitism Bill’ Raises Fears of Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: US Vice President JD Vance rejected calling the six-month confrontation with Iran a “war,” while refusing to predict when the fighting will end.

Key Takeaways

• Vance said, “I wouldn’t call it a war,” despite six months of US-Iran fighting and another round of American strikes this week.
• He refused to predict whether the confrontation would end before the November 3 midterm elections, saying he would not impose “artificial timelines.”
• The war has pushed Brent crude above $95 a barrel and US gasoline above $4 a gallon, complicating the administration’s efforts to contain its domestic political costs.

‘I Wouldn’t Call It a War’: Vance Downplays Six-Month US-Iran Conflict

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: US intelligence assessments reportedly conclude that Iran has emerged from six months of war increasingly confident in its military capabilities and leverage over Washington.

Key Takeaways

• Recent US intelligence reports assess that Iran has become more confident in its ability to strike regional targets and could sustain the confrontation for months.
• Tehran has reportedly developed a clearer understanding of its missile and drone capabilities, its leverage over Hormuz and potential constraints on further large-scale US strikes.
• US officials believe Iran may see prolonging the confrontation through the November midterms as a way to increase political and economic pressure on Washington.

US Intelligence: Iran Emerges More Confident, Prepared for Longer War – NYT

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Oman’s foreign minister has issued a stark warning against military and economic coercion as Muscat struggles to broker an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz.

Key Takeaways

• Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi warned against both “gunboat diplomacy” and using economic power to “bully entire populations into submission.”
• He linked such coercion to attempts at “regime change” and the installation of a “compliant proxy administration.”
• Oman said negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz had not yet succeeded but declared: “We are not walking away.”

‘Bullying Entire Populations into Submission’: Oman FM Blasts Economic Warfare

PALESTINE CHRONICLE: Days before her death, Samah al-Khalidi was preparing for her son’s wedding. Her final moments became a desperate defense of her family.

Key Developments

• Samah al-Khalidi was killed during an Israeli special operation in western Gaza City that wounded her sons and resulted in her husband’s capture.
• Her family says she took her wounded son’s rifle and opened fire on the infiltrating force as it attempted to reach her injured husband.
• Days earlier, the mother of three had been preparing to celebrate her youngest son’s marriage; instead, the family gathered for her funeral.

Who Was Samah Al-Khalidi, the Gaza Mother Who Took Up Arms to Defend Her Family?