Terrorism Information - The Amit Terrorism and Intelligence Research Institute

Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (July 29—August 5, 2026)

Articles in the Iranian media emphasized the growing importance of the Islamic Republic’s regional proxies within the framework of the “unity of the arenas” concept amid the continuing escalation with the United States and its allies; Iran publicly opposed the disarmament of Hamas following the announcement by the Peace Council of the agreement reached in the Gaza Strip; the Iranian Foreign Minister visited Iraq and declared that relations between the two countries are at their best; The pro-Iranian militias in Iraq demanded that the Iraqi government respond to the joint US-Saudi strikes on Iraqi territory and made clear that they intend to expand their weapons stockpiles in light of the tensions; The Houthi leader claimed that Israel is “planning to destroy” part of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (July 27 – August 4, 2026)

A new round of talks between Lebanon and Israel began in Rome on August 4, 2026. The Lebanese delegation focuses on halting Israeli strikes and advancing additional IDF withdrawals from south Lebanon; Hezbollah secretary general called on the Lebanese authorities to halt the negotiations, claiming they only involved Lebanese concessions to Israel; ; The Lebanese army continued to consolidate its control over the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya as part of the pilot areas plan, but claimed legal restrictions prevented them from searching private homes and accused Israel's strikes of hindering its mission; IDF forces destroyed key Hezbollah underground facilities in the Beaufort Ridge area and continued locating weapons and eliminating terrorists in the security zone; The Lebanese president visited Turkey, and Ankara is reportedly interested in participating in a future multinational force to be deployed in south Lebanon once UNIFIL's mandate ends. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (July 20-27, 2026)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with the American president at the White House and noted the importance of activating the framework agreement and "dealing with" Hezbollah's weapons while avoiding an internal Lebanese confrontation; Activating the first stage of the framework agreement began with the deployment of the Lebanese army in three pilot areas towns in south Lebanon; Prime Minister Salam visited the south Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, where he said the army's deployment was the first step toward the return of the residents and reconstruction. Hezbollah claimed there had been no Israeli withdrawal and an IDF shooting incident involving Lebanese army forces proved Israel still controlled south Lebanon; Hezbollah accused the IDF of a series of ceasefire violations, including airstrikes which wounded two members of Hezbollah's medical organization; Hezbollah did not respond to the alleged attack; Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei wrote a letter to Hezbollah in which he said Iran supported the complete end of "Zionist aggression" in accordance with the memorandum of understanding with the United States. The Iranian leadership was reportedly disappointed with Hezbollah's performance in the confrontation with Israel and was increasing its control over the organization's decision-making; Syrian President al-Sharaa said Syria would not intervene militarily in Lebanon to deal with Hezbollah's disarmament, adding that he supported the Lebanese state's monopoly on arms. Read more...

Khalil al-Hayya Elected to Chair Hamas political bureau – Insights and Reactions

Khalil al-Hayya is the new chairman of Hamas after defeating Khaled Mashaal; Hamas declared that all members of the movement and its institutions stood behind al-Hayya, while Iran and the "resistance axis" praised his election as "a proof of the victory of the resistance"; Al-Hayya, a native of Gaza City, joined Hamas when it was established in 1987 and was chairman of the movement's faction in the Palestinian National Council. He had been Yahya al-Sinwar's deputy in the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip since 2017 and, following al-Sinwar's elimination, became Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip; Al-Hayya was a member of the Hamas delegations which conducted indirect negotiations with Israel over hostage deals and has headed the negotiating team since the outbreak of the war following the October 7, 2023 terrorist invasion and massacre. He also survived several attempts to kill him and four of his sons died in Israeli strikes; Al-Hayya is expected to continue al-Sinwar's ideological line, especially "resistance" and close relations with Iran. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 7-14, 2026)

Hamas announced the dissolution of its government emergency committee in preparation for transferring administrative responsibilities to the national committee for the administration of Gaza. However, it continued to enforce physical control by executing alleged collaborators and displaying flags at the funerals of eliminated terrorist operatives. Members of the Board of Peace said they would judge actions rather than declarations; IDF forces continued operating within the Yellow Line and other areas of the Gaza Strip, destroying terrorist infrastructure and eliminating more than ten terrorists who were involved in advancing attacks or restoring Hamas' military capabilities. Many of them had participated in the atrocities of the October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre and held hostages. Hamas' spokesman in the Gaza Strip reportedly survived an attempted targeted killing; his bodyguard was killed; A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo to continue talks with the mediators on the remaining bones of contention, including weapons, the future of public-sector employees in the Gaza Strip and the IDF withdrawal; A senior UN official condemned Hamas after armed men attacked a food distribution point and a warehouse belonging to an international aid organization; An international pro-Palestinian campaign is calling for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, who is being detained in Israel because of his status as a senior Hamas officer and his involvement in terrorist activity carried out at the hospital; Hamas has reportedly transferred a significant portion of its "organizational activity" to Turkey for "security reasons" and to reduce American and Israeli pressure on Qatar to expel the movement's leadership. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 28 – August 3, 2026)

The American president and the Board of Peace announced agreement on the road map for the second phase of the ceasefire, along with the IDF's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip; Hamas claimed it had made "concessions" to end the aggression but would continue its "political and national activities" to "liberate all Palestinian land from the occupation on all fronts"; IDF forces continued operations in the Yellow Line area and other parts of the Gaza Strip, destroying weapons depots, and eliminating operatives from Hamas and the other terrorist organizations, including operatives involved in the atrocities of the October 7, 2023 invasion and massacre; Hamas' new political bureau chairman, Khalil al-Hayya, met with the Turkish foreign minister and spoke with the prime minister of Qatar; Israeli security forces continued extensive counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samaria, detaining more than 200 wanted individuals and suspects and seizing weapons and other military equipment; The PLO established a center to monitor, and document alleged Israeli violations for use in proceedings before international legal institutions and in academic and journalistic research. Read more...

Agreement for Collecting Weapons from Hamas and the Other Armed Organizations in the Gaza Strip – Significance and Reactions

The American president and the Board of Peace announced they had reached an agreement with Hamas on a road map for implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip; Hamas and the armed factions will transfer their heavy weapons, weapons depots, production facilities and tunnels to the responsibility of the Palestinian administration committee, which will store and supervise them; A senior Hamas figure claimed they had been "flexible", but added that the movement would continue to work to "liberate" the land from the "occupation" on all fronts; In The Amit Terrorism and Intelligence Research Institute assessment, the new agreement is not sufficiently clear and, based on what has been published so far, does not ensure the disarmament of Hamas and the other Palestinian armed factions; The framework also does not determine the fate of the commanders of the military wings and other terrorist operatives; The agreement also imposes restrictions on the IDF's use of force and its ability to deal with immediate or emerging threats. Read more...