Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-01-29 at 14:08 cover art

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-01-29 at 14:08

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-01-29 at 14:08

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 HEADLINESTurkey breaks Iran espionage ring near IncirlikSaudi UAE split sparks Red Sea crisisNazareth court indicts West Bank killerThe time is now 9:01 AM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.Good morning. Here is your hourly update on the latest developments shaping the Middle East and the broader regional security environment.Turkish authorities say they have arrested six people, including an Iranian national, in a coordinated operation across five provinces on charges of political and military espionage for Iran. The suspects are accused of gathering information on military bases and other sensitive locations in Turkey and abroad, allegedly in coordination with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence arm. They are also suspected of conducting reconnaissance around the NATO-run Incirlik air base in the Adana province, taking part in shipments of drones through Turkey for use in third countries, and sharing information with Iranian intelligence. The arrests followed a joint investigation by Istanbul prosecutors, anti-terror police, and Turkey’s intelligence agency. This case comes as Iran faces domestic unrest and increasing pressure from the United States over its nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is slated to visit Turkey on Friday for talks with Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, amid broader regional tensions and questions about how Ankara may help manage the spillover from tensions with Washington and Tehran.A new review from the Middle East Forum raises questions about Qatar’s influence on Georgetown University’s Qatar campus and on broader scholarship in Washington. The report says Georgetown’s campus in Doha, launched in 2005 and renewed through 2035, has received about one billion dollars from the Qatar Foundation over the past two decades. The document argues that Qatar’s funding has shaped academic programs, hiring, and research agendas at Georgetown campuses in Doha and Washington, and it claims a drift toward postcolonial and anti-Western themes and, it says, anti-Israel activism. The report links Qatar Foundation leadership and certain Georgetown faculty with perspectives sympathetic to pro-Palestinian causes and argues that Qatar’s financial influence extends into curricular and institutional collaborations. Georgetown has long partnered with Qatar to expand Arab Studies and other programs, and the critique reflects a broader debate over foreign funding and influence in American higher education.A widening gulf among Gulf powers adds a new dimension to the confrontation with Iran and its proxies. The Saudi-UAE split has fractured the anti-Houthi coalition along the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthi forces have signaled they may resume attacks on commercial vessels as a US carrier group enters the region and President Donald Trump has warned of potential US action against Iran. The divergence between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi has accelerated military realignments in southern Yemen, with Saudi-backed forces moving to consolidate control in Aden and Hadramaut, challenging UAE-backed authorities. Protests tied to this realignment have underscored the fragility of previously cohesive Gulf security arrangements. Analysts describe the split as creating security vacuums that could be exploited by the Houthis and by other regional actors during a period of rising US-Iran tensions and ongoing turbulence in the Red Sea corridor.In Israel, an indictment was filed in the Nazareth District Court against Ahmad Abd al-Rahim Abu al-Rub, a 34-year-old resident of the West Bank town of Kabatia near Jenin. Prosecutors say the defendant carried out a pre-planned killing spree on December 26, 2025, in the Jezreel and Beit She’an valleys, using a vehicle to ram pedestrians and then stabbing victims. The charges include two counts of murder as an act of terrorism and three attempted murders, along with related offenses tied to illegal entry. The investigation involved Israel Police and the Shin Bet security service, and prosecutors are seeking remand to continue the case, citing the severity and ideological motivation of the offenses and the danger to public safety.Iran has come under new scrutiny over the handling of protesters, with rights groups and media reports accusing the regime of using hospitals and medical personnel to suppress demonstrations. Norwegian-based Iran Human Rights and other organizations say medics have faced arrest or punishment for caring for those wounded in protests, with doctors described as targets in some cities. The United States, through its State Department, has condemned the arrests of doctors and urged the release of medical professionals; the reporting highlights the danger to medical workers who treat injured protesters in a climate of aggressive security crackdowns.Russia says it is prepared to evacuate its staff from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant if necessary. The head of Russia...
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