Embedded Files
The Middle East
The Middle East
Posted August 31, 2026
Iran and Lebanon
Iran and Lebanon
The War on Iran and Lebanon, initiated by the unprovoked attacks by the United States and Israel on February 28, is at a stalemate. Negotiations are at a standstill, the Strait of Hormuz is barely functioning, Iran's economy has been massively damaged, and as many as 10,000 people have been killed in Iran and Lebanon.
Many factors were at play in this illegal gambit - the lawless regime of Donald Trump, the distorted exceptionalism and the long-standing hypocrisy of the United States toward international law, the outsized influence of accused war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, and the lack of will (or perhaps bad faith) to bring the nuclear negotiations with Iran to a successful conclusion.
Shortly after the attacks on Iran, the war expanded to southern Lebanon. On March 2, in retaliation for the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei, Hezbollah** launched rockets towards northern Israel. Israel countered with airstrikes across the Beqaa Valley and Beirut. Following two weeks of cross-border rocket and drone exchanges, Israel escalated its operations by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
The US and Iran brokered a short-lived ceasefire in early April. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that the ceasefire did not extend to Lebanon. Just hours after the ceasefire went into effect, Israel executed a massive 10-minute blitz on Beirut that killed over 300 people, severely straining the broader diplomatic process.
By late May, Israeli ground forces pushed north of the Litani River, marking Israel's deepest incursion into Lebanon in over a quarter-century and leaving Israel in control of roughly 20% of Lebanese territory.
In June, Iran cited the deep ground invasion of Lebanon as a direct violation of regional security. In response, Iran launched fresh ballistic missile bombardments at Israel in solidarity with Lebanon, formalizing Lebanon as the central theater of the expanded war.
More than "4300 people in Lebanon and more than 30 Israeli soldiers and civilians have been killed, according to local authorities. Israel’s destruction of the south has been immense. Over one million people have been displaced, villages and towns flattened. For those, returning home has become more and more unimaginable." [Below]
The entire Middle East has now become more militarized, more unstable, and less economically secure. Supply chain disruptions extend as far as Japan. Here in the US, gasoline prices have been driven as high as $4.50/gallon with some West Coast locations seeing $5-$6/gallon.
Trump has threatened new crushing sanctions on Iran, and Iran has responded with threats of its own.
The peace talks are at a standstill with neither side indicating they will compromise. The Israeli siege of Lebanon is a key factor in the failure of the negotiations. Iran insists the siege must be ended for the overall war to end.
At the six-month mark of the strikes on Iran, Al Jazeera looks at what each side has gained and lost.
Notes
*Relations between the United States and Iran have been strained for decades. The initiating event was the coup d'état carried out by Great Britain and the United States in 1953 in an attempt to maintain control of Iran's oil. They replaced the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, an autocratic ruler whose subsequent 25-year reign was characterized by human rights abuses, forced Westernization, and severe economic mismanagement. In 1978, Iranians revolted and drove him from power. The exiled cleric Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Tehran in February 1979.
For a timeline on the Iran-US relationship from the coup to the present day, see Iran - US Relations from the Coup to the 2026 Assassination.
**Hezbollah was established in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War. In the first few months of the invasion, Israel killed an estimated 19,000 people, primarily Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, alongside Syrian and Palestinian fighters. In the capital city of Beirut, 84% of those killed were civilians.
This Month in Palestine
It may have fallen out of the headlines, but the ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes continue across Gaza and the West Bank. The IDF has killed nearly 1300 Palestinians since the "ceasefire"; at least 1330 settler attacks against Palestinians have been documented in the West Bank so far this year; and in August, accused war criminal B Netanyahu rejected the "Board of Peace" recommendation that Israel withdraw from Gaza as Hamas disarms.
Here are headlines from each day in August 2026, ten months after the ceasefire of October 2025. The United States enabled the genocide from its early days. By continuing to unconditionally arm Israel in spite of its numerous violations of the ceasefire, we are continuing our disgraceful role.
August 1 - Israel launches attacks across Gaza one day after Hamas agrees to disarm; Israeli strikes kill seven across Gaza, destroy medical supply warehouse [1], [2] August 2 - Israel kills 19 in Gaza...ceasefire violations mount as strikes target critical Gaza infrastructure and residential buildings [3] August 3 - The Death of Awdah Hathaleen: Report Details Settler Killing of “No Other Land” Producer in West Bank [4] August 4 - More than 100 bodies recovered from 2023 Israeli strike laid to rest in Gaza ; Israeli forces demolish a school, bulldoze land as settlers attack West Bank communities [5] August 5 - Israel approves $37m to seize more than 70 occupied West Bank sites [6] August 6 - As the Board of Peace Cosplays Diplomacy, Israel Once Again Ramps Up Killing in Gaza [7] August 7 - Contaminated water putting Gaza families at risk [8] August 8 - Israel's Brutal Retaliation Against Imprisoned Palestinian Doctors Seeking Legal Appeals; I Saw Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya Save Lives. Now Israel Is Holding Him Hostage. [9], [10] August 9 - Israeli Plan for Crocodile Moat around Palestinian Prisoners Blocked Over Concerns Crocodiles Would Be Harmed [11]August 10 - NYT: Flotilla Activists Detail Beatings, Electric Shocks and Other Abuse in Israeli Detention [12]
August 11 - Israel continues its assault on the occupied West Bank with 504 attacks in one week [15] August 12 - Israel's arrest of Ramallah's 'doctor of the poor' shows Palestinians that no one is safe [14] August 13 - Doctors Without Borders Accuses Israel of ‘Deliberate Effort to Make Existence Itself Impossible’ in Gaza [13] August 14 - “American Doctor”: New Film Follows U.S. Doctors to Gaza as Israel Bombs Hospitals, Kills Staff, Patients [21] August 15 - Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon kill 11 in worst toll since June truce [23] August 16 - Why has Israel escalated attacks in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire? [22] August 17 - Inside the ‘displacement economy’ Gazans built to survive the genocide [17]; Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Condemned for Calling to Kill ‘30 to 40’ Palestinians in Gaza Each Day [20] August 18 - Israel’s siege on Gaza is creating a breast cancer crisis [16] August 19 - Palestine Letter: In Gaza, dreams are rewritten by the genocide [19] August 20 - The Israeli Siege of Palestinian Families in Qusra Is Part of an Escalating Tactic [18]
August 21 -Israeli army, settlers kill 2 Palestinians in separate West Bank incidents; Why Israeli tenders for illegal E1 West Bank settlement prompted outrage [24] [25] August 22 - West Bank: Israel-Backed Settler Violence Drives Displacement [26] August 23 - Hind Rajab, Israeli Impunity and the International Community [27] August 24 - Israeli strikes kill six Palestinians, target a mosque and a water desalination plant in Gaza [28] August 25 - After Kushner departs, Israel escalates Gaza attacks [29] August 26 - New Report: Acute malnutrition soars across the Strip...Gaza unable to recover from famine due to Israeli restriction on food entry [30] August 27 - Palestinian children return to school under threat of Israel demolition [31] August 28 - New Israeli roadblocks entrench settler siege of homes in West Bank’s Qusra [32] August 29 - Israeli attacks across Gaza kill two people, hit hospital supply warehouse [33] August 30 - The Ecocide: toxic waste of War on Gaza has reached Israel [34] August 31 - Gaza’s archaeological heritage was destroyed in Israel’s genocide. Volunteers are trying to salvage it from the rubble. [35]
The Toll of the Genocide
The results of the Israeli assault from October 2023 to the present are mind-numbing:
Of Gaza's pre-genocide population of 2.1 million, 73,000 have been killed and more than 170,000 injured. Approximately 9500 are still missing. Most of the dead are women and children.
UN satellite analysis shows damage to ~190,000 buildings, about 70% of all pre‑war structures. About 100,000 buildings buildings have been fully destroyed.
300,000 homes destroyed including ~77% of apartment buildings. 1.9 million people displaced, with ~1 million sheltering in UNRWA schools—many of which were later struck or evacuated.
Extensive damage to water, sanitation, and waste‑management systems; lack of fuel and spare parts has made remaining infrastructure barely functional. The entire population is considered at risk of disease outbreaks due to contaminated water and poor hygiene conditions.
Gaza’s main power plant and much of the grid have been repeatedly knocked out; most of the strip has little to no reliable electricity, relying on small generators when fuel is available.
Hospitals and clinics have been destroyed, damaged, or forced to operate without supplies, leading to thousands of indirect deaths from treatable conditions, injuries, and childbirth complications. By early 2025, estimates suggested 4,500–12,500 indirect deaths from collapse of health care, sanitation, and food systems.
Nearly the entire education system in Gaza has been destroyed or rendered unusable since October 2023. Satellite and field assessments show 70% of schools suffered direct hits.
24% of university campuses were totally destroyed, and almost all higher‑education institutions have been affected.
The Midterms
The Midterms
POSTED SEPTEMBER 5, 2026
In two months, we get our last chance to slow down the second Trump Administration. Capturing both the House and the Senate is imperative - the former, to change the focus from insane military expenditures and forever wars to programs for the common good; the latter, to avoid an ultra-conservative replacement for one of the aging ultra-conservatives on the Supreme Court. The Senate majority will need to be "Fetterman-proof". Dems need to hold 52 seats. The Pennsylvania Senator has backed some Trump administration appointees, formed a joint fundraising initiative with Republican Senator David McCormick, defended ICE agents, and taken staunchly pro-Israel stances that put him at odds with the Democratic base and the progressive wing of his party.
To accomplish this recapture of the legislative wing of the Federal government, the Democratic Party will need to come together, run on issues that bring the base out to vote,and take some lessons from Zohan Mamdani's victory in the New York City mayoral race last year. Only a massive turnout will overcome the unprecedented attempt by Trump to subvert the elections.
Trump has had plenty of help from the John Roberts Supreme Court, which has weakened voting rights for more than a decade. Louisiana vs. Callais was just the final nail in the coffin of the concept of "one person, one vote". The 2026 midterms will be the first elections since the VRA that our multiracial democracy is truly and completely dead.
This year is also one of the largest gubernatorial cycles in U.S. history - with 36 states holding elections for governor, and one of the largest state legislature election years - with 46 states holding elections. Republicans currently control the governor's office and at least one chamber of the state legislature in 23 states; the Democrats, in 16. There are 11 states with a "divided" state government with neither party controlling both the governor's office and at least on chamber of the state legislature. Given the critical role state legislatures play in drawing voting maps, a trifecta (governor, upper chamber, lower chamber) would allow the possibility of clawing back some of the 18 or so House of Representative districts picked up in their gerrymandering blitz since Rucho v Common Cause, accelerated by Trump's attack on the midterms.
Here are the latest polling figures on the most contested races and how they may play out in November..
US House of Representatives
US House of Representatives
Republicans currently hold a 5-vote majority in the House of Representatives. With Trump's historically low approval numbers, there is a reasonable chance that Democrats will regain control of the House of Representatives - in spite of the gerrymandering blitz Republicans managed to pull off across the country.
If Democrats do win, it will be with a small majority and nothing like the blue wave some Democratic-favoring media outlets are predicting.
The State of Play: September 2
Democrats will need to win 218 seats for control of the 435 seat lower chamber. The August 31 interactive map on 270 to Win shows Democrats likely or solid, 208; Republicans, 207; toss-up, 20.
Of the toss-up races, prediction market (Kalshi) shows 6 leaning Dem (80% or higher), which is still 5 votes short of a majority.
Democrats 213 - Republicans 207
Here are the latest polling figures for the remaining 14 toss-up seats identified by 270-to-Win.
FL-14 - Democrat +8
FL-25 - Democrat +1 (high uncertainty)
IA -1 - Democrat +3
IA-2 - Democrat+1 (limited polling; pollsmax forecast "likely Republican")
IA-3 - Republican +6
MI-7 - Democrat+2
MI-10 - Tied
NC-1 - Tied
NC-11 - Democrat+1
NY-17 - Republican+2
OH-9 - no poll since April
PA-7 - Democrat +4
PA-8 - Democrat +2
TX-34 - Democrat+3
While Democrats lead in 9 of the 14, they have a comfortable lead (4 pts or more) in just 2. Republicans have a comfortable lead in 1 district.
Democrats 216 to Republicans 208
Assuming a 5/6 split of the remaining 11 races),
Bottom Line
Democrats 221 to Republicans 214
US Senate
US Senate
Republicans currently hold a 6-vote majority in the Senate (53-47). Thirty-five seats will be contested in the midterms. To get a "Fetterman-proof" majority of 52, Democrats will need to hold all the seats they currently have and pickup 5 seats currently held by Republicans.
The Cook Political Report identifies 6 toss-up races (AK IA ME MI OH TX), 3 "lean-Democrat" races (GA NC NH), and no "lean-Republican" races. The nine contested races include 3 seats held by Democrats, 6 by Republicans.
Ballotpedia lists 12 battleground contests. In addition to the 9 close races noted in the Cook list, Ballotpedia identifies MT, NE, and FL as contested. These three seats are currently held by Republicans.
Before considering these 12 battleground races, the Senate composition is
Democrats 44 - Republicans 44
State [incumbent] : polls
Alaska [R] : Peltola (D) +2 over Sullivan(R)
Florida [R]: Moody (R) +8 over Nixon (D)
Georgia [D]: Ossoff (D) +7 over Collins (R)
Iowa [R]: Hinson (R) +4 over Turek (D)
Maine [R]: Jackson (D) +5 over Collins (R)
Michigan [D]: El-Sayed (D) +4 over Rogers (R)
Montana [R]:Alme (R) +15 over Bodnar (I)
Nebraska [R]: Osborn (I) tied with Ricketts (R)
New Hampshire [D]: Pappas (D) + 2 over Sununu(R)
N. Carolina [R]: Cooper (D) +7 v. Whatley (R)
Ohio [R]: Brown (D) +4 over Husted (R)
Texas [R]: Talarico (D) +1 over Paxton (R)
Dems have solid lead (4 pts or more) in 5 races; GOP, in 3.
Democrats 49 - Republicans 47
Assuming a 2/2 split in the four tight races (Alaska, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Texas).
Optimistic Bottom Line
Democrats 51 to Republicans 49
2/2 split is an optimistic assumption since 3 of these 4 states gave Trump margins of 13 points or more in 2024.
Possible Bottom Line
Democrats 50 to Republicans 50
State Races
State Races
First, we'll look at the governor and legislature races in states that flipped from Biden (2020) to Trump (2024).
Arizona (divided) Aug 24 poll
Governor: Hobbs (D) +15 over Biggs (R)
Legislature: Tossup
Georgia (Republican controlled) Aug 31
Governor: Bottoms (D) = 1.5 over Jackson (R)
Legislature: Republicans "heavily favored" to retain control of both chambers
Nevada (divided)
Governor : one of the most competitive in the country Cook Political Report rates it a toss-up
Legislature: Democrats favored to retain control of both chambers.
Pennsylvania (divided) Aug 24
Governor: Shapiro (D) 55% to Garrity (R) 39%
Legislature: Dems must maintain control of the General Assembly where they currently have a one-vote majority and gain 3 seats in the Senate to complete a trifecta ("a heavy lift" but Pennsylvania elections could look very different if Democrats control state government.)
Wisconsin (divided) likely voters Aug 24
Governor: Crowley (D) 49% to Tiffany (R) 44%
Legislature: Senate is a toss-up; Dems favored to win Assembly with a slim majority Aug 28
Ballot Measures
Here are some of the ballot measures trending across the country. (Source ballotpedia.org/2026_ballot_measures)
Voter ID
Voters in seven states— AZ, CA, Colorado, NV, NC, OH, and OK - will decide ballot measures that would establish or expand voter identification requirements.
Citizenship requirements for voting
Six states — AK, AZ, AR, KS, SD, and WV - will vote on measures that would provide that only U.S. citizens may vote in state and local elections.
Criminal sentencing, penalties, and bail
Five states - AL, CO, IN, LA, and TN - will vote on measures related to criminal sentencing, penalties, and bail requirements that would make criminal justice policy more punitive.
Abortion policy
Four states - ID, MO, NV and VA - will vote on abortion policy. Three measures - ID, NV, VA -would provide for a state right to an abortion. Voters in MO will decide a ballot measure to repeal the constitutional right to abortion that voters approved in 2024.
Housing policy
Four states - CA, HI, MA, RI - vote on measures to address housing development funding, housing assistance programs, and zoning and permitting.
Sex-based sports eligibility and medical procedures for transgender minors
Voters in AZ, CO, and WA will decide ballot measures concerning sex-based regulations involving minors in school athletics. Voters in CO and MO will vote on measures to prohibit certain medical and surgical procedures for transgender minors when provided to alter sex characteristics.
News and Opinion from the Web
News and Opinion from the Web
The American left is making strides. But can they win in November? (The Guardian, Aug 6)
Ukraine War Briefing (The Guardian, Aug 30)
People fleeing Sudan civil war face ‘dire and deteriorating’ conditions in refuge city (The Guardian, Aug 30)
What to know about US airstrike that hit a wedding in Iran | AP News (Sep 2)
US communities are organizing to end complicity with genocide - Waging Nonviolence (Sep 3)
Trump's War on the Left and Free Speech
Prairieland Protester Autumn Hill (Democracy Now!, Aug 25)
Rolling Stone's Jack Crosbie on the Prairieland Nine and NSPM-7 (Democracy Now!, Aug 26)
Trump Goes After Anonymous Email Provider in Italy. The Real Target Is Free Speech in the U.S. (The Intercept, Aug 28)
Trump's War on Voting
How Democrats in Congress are preparing for Trump midterm election interference (Aug 28)
ICE Is Coming for the Voter Rolls (Olivia of Troye, Sep 1)
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to clear the way for new mail-in voting rule to be implemented (SCOUTS Blog, Sep 3)
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse