VFI News Pakistan's Defense Minister Threatens Israel after Signing Pact with Saudis and Turkey

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia & Turkey just signed a joint defense pact — and Pakistan's Defense Minister immediately called for a united military front against Israel. This is bigger than it looks. 🔴

Pakistan's minister has previously called Israel "a cancerous state." Now with a formal Saudi–Turkey defense pact signed, the pressure on Israel is escalating on multiple fronts. Meanwhile, Hezbollah disarmament talks continue in Rome, and Israel and Cyprus move closer to European energy connection. Pray for Israel's protection, for wise leadership, and that the counsel of hostile nations would come to nothing. 🙏

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Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared on Saturday, August 8, that “Israel is a threat to the entire Muslim world” and called for “a united military front” against it, just one day after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed a joint defense agreement. “In the context of Israel, all Muslim countries must unite. I have no doubt about this,” Asif told an outlet in his country.

Asif called Israel “a product of the Balfour Declaration, which was established in the 1940s as an illegitimate state,” and asserted that it could pose a direct threat to any country in the region. The 1917 British declaration expressed support for the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish People in the Land of Israel, setting the stage for Israeli independence three decades later. Pakistan itself was similarly established based on a British declaration in 1947, just a year before the founding of Israel. The minister has previously branded Israel “evil and a curse for humanity” and a “cancerous state.”

Asif told his interviewers that his fierce opposition to Israel will not change even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defeated in Israel’s elections, which are set for October 27. “No matter who comes to power in Jerusalem – whether it’s Bennett or any other leader – the differences are only marginal,” he said, charging that “as long as the Palestinian issue is not permanently resolved, the Islamic world must stand against them as one.”

(TOI/VFI News)

Pray for the protection of Israel from every alliance and threat arrayed against her, that the counsel of hostile nations would come to nothing, that leaders across the Muslim world would turn from confrontation toward peace, and that God would guard the people of Israel through the election season ahead.

Iran has taken delivery of hundreds of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from Russia and China in recent weeks, sources in the Kurdish and Arab opposition in Iran’s Ahvaz Province told the US-funded Arabic-language outlet Alhurra. The shipment included approximately 300 advanced 9K333 Verba man-portable air-defense systems, which were transported across the Caspian Sea in five small shipping containers.

After arriving in Iran, the missiles were distributed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to military bases and other sensitive sites across the country. The sources stated that the weapons were deployed in the Tehran area, Kermanshah, Isfahan, near the Iraqi Kurdistan border, and along the Strait of Hormuz – locations the Iranian regime considers strategically important. In addition to the deployment of Russian- and Chinese-made air defense systems near Iran’s borders, further shoulder-fired missiles were transferred in late July and early August 2026 to Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq.

Word of the deal first surfaced in April 2026, but at the time a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington denied the allegations, stating that China has not supplied weapons to either side in the conflict. The spokesperson dismissed the account as inaccurate and urged the United States to refrain from unfounded accusations, calling instead for efforts to reduce tensions. At the same time, separate indications emerged that Russia has been supplying Iran with advanced drones as Tehran works to rebuild its air defenses following the recent conflict.

(INN/VFI News)

"The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples." – Psalm 33:10

Lebanon and Israel have agreed on a shortlist of countries that could send troops to verify the disarmament of Hezbollah under a US-brokered agreement, a Lebanese official said on Friday, August 7, with the United States due to select the nations from the list. The official declined to identify any of the countries on the shortlist or say how many there were, though another Lebanese official and two foreign diplomats have previously indicated that Israel and the United States vetoed France.

The list was produced during meetings between Lebanon and Israel at the US embassy in Rome during the week of August 3, the latest round of talks on how to implement a June 26 deal that links Israel’s progressive withdrawal of troops from Lebanon to the disarmament of Hezbollah, which would be verified by a third party. Hezbollah is not a party to the agreement and has refused to give up its arsenal. “We have reached a short list of countries. We decided which parties were impossible for each and set the potential actors,” the Lebanese official said. “The Americans will now decide, and could pick more than one country.”

There was no immediate response from Israel’s Foreign Ministry to questions on the shortlist. When asked about it, a US State Department spokesperson said the talks were “productive on the technical and expert levels” but did not provide further details.

(TOI/VFI News)

Pray for genuine peace along Israel’s northern border, that the disarmament of Hezbollah would be carried out fully and verifiably, that the negotiators meeting in Rome would act with wisdom and honesty, and that the communities of northern Israel would know lasting quiet and security.

Cyprus’s energy minister on Friday, August 7, hailed the entry of French investment company Meridiam as a backer of the Great Seas Interconnector project, an electricity cable that will connect Europe’s power grid with that of Cyprus and eventually Israel. The ambitious project would not only end Cyprus and Israel’s energy isolation, but would also serve as an important building block for a new energy and trade route to the Gulf and India that the European Union is pursuing.

The project is currently tied up in red tape over its real cost above an earlier estimate of $2.2 billion, and a European Investment Bank assessment due in the coming months will offer clarity on the matter. That is important for Cyprus because under an existing agreement, Cypriot energy consumers would have to put up as much as 63 percent of the cable’s construction cost, meaning a significant jump in electricity prices. Additional private investment is being courted to offset that burden on consumers while further EU funding is being weighed, Energy Minister Michael Damianos said.

The European Union has already committed $760 million (658 million euros) to the project. “It’s a very important project for Europe because it connects Cyprus, which is isolated, to the European grid. And the idea is to then proceed and connect to Israel,” Damianos said in an interview.

(TOI/VFI News)

"I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles." – Isaiah 42:6

Join Barry and Batya in this song of giving thanks to God for His unfailing love and mercy. "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever." - Psalm 136:1

US Congressman Ed Case, a Democrat from Hawaii with a pro-Israel voting record, defeated a progressive primary challenger on Saturday, August 8, in a race that drew special attention after a string of wins by anti-Israel leftists in primary races elsewhere in the country. The 73-year-old moderate led his opponent, State Senator Jarett Keohokalole, by more than twenty points when the Associated Press called the race, at 60–36, with 80 percent of the vote counted.

Keohokalole conceded the race, calling his opponent “a good guy.” “We ran because we had policy differences and we ran because we felt that the moment called for more,” he said, with turnout standing at some 29 percent. The 43-year-old state senator campaigned on expanded government healthcare and ending military aid to Israel, an issue that has played a prominent role in Democratic primary campaigns in 2026, with anti-Israel candidates winning races in Michigan, New York, and Colorado.

Case, who was elected to his seat in 2018, holds a pro-Israel legislative record, having voted in July 2026 against a proposed ban on $3 billion in security aid to Israel, while also criticizing Israel’s military response to the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023. Keohokalole said he would have voted for the ban, while Case argued that his role on the House Appropriations Committee gives his district outsize influence that would be lost with a progressive challenger.

(TOI/VFI News)

An 18-year-old Jewish teenager sitting at a Starbucks inside a Target store in Miami was targeted for wearing a kippah, struck with a cell phone, and assaulted with a metal chair in a violent antisemitic attack. The incident occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, August 2, at a Target store located at 140th Street and Biscayne Boulevard.

The victim was sitting in the Starbucks seating area while his family shopped when a woman approached him. “I wasn’t looking for problems, didn’t interact with her before, zero, it was completely unprovoked,” he told a local news station. Police records from the North Miami Beach Police Department and witness statements show that 43-year-old Chyvonne Juanita Palmer stood up from her seat, approached the teenager, and began screaming at him before hitting him twice in the head and shoulder with a black cell phone.

After briefly returning to her seat, Palmer got back up and wielded a metal chair against him while shouting repeatedly, “I hate them.” Two bystanders intervened to prevent the chair attack while ushering the teenager away from the scene, and he hid in the store’s restroom. Police took Palmer into custody at the scene, and she has been charged with multiple offenses, including aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with prejudice, and disorderly conduct.

(JPost/VFI News)

Pray for the full recovery and peace of mind of the young man attacked in Miami, for the protection of Jewish people everywhere who wear their identity openly, for justice to be carried out faithfully in this case, and for more courageous bystanders who step in when hatred erupts.

At the entrance to Nikšić, Montenegro’s second-largest city, a vintage fighter jet painted in the colors of the Israeli Air Force perches atop a giant concrete pedestal, as if about to take flight. The monument, unveiled in 2024, commemorates “Operation Velvetta” – a top-secret plan that ferried 17 Supermarine Spitfire aircraft from Czechoslovakia, via what was then Yugoslavia, to Israel in 1948, helping ensure the fledgling Jewish state’s military superiority during its War of Independence. At the monument’s base, a bronze plaque in Serbian, English, and Hebrew calls it “a permanent reminder to the unbreakable friendship of Montenegro and Israel.”

Lately, that friendship is being tested in ways not seen since Montenegro – the smallest of the six republics that once comprised Yugoslavia – declared its independence in 2006. “Yes, there’s antisemitism here. It’s much better than some other places, but the situation has changed,” said Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, who heads the Religious Jewish Community of Montenegro in Podgorica, the capital. Since October 7, 2023, Free Gaza marches have been held in all the major cities, and the rabbi’s office now monitors local news portals and retains a lawyer to track antisemitic content.

Several recent incidents involving Israeli visitors to the Connecticut-sized country of 625,000 have unnerved the local Jewish community, which numbers fewer than 1,000. Even so, the capital is on the verge of receiving a major new Jewish cultural center, set for completion in the fall of 2026, as the community continues to build openly and maintain its 24-hour security presence.

(TOI/VFI News)

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." – Deuteronomy 31:6

Nefesh B’Nefesh has celebrated the arrival of its 100,000th North American oleh – immigrant to Israel – a landmark achievement since the organization was founded in 2002. To commemorate the milestone, Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the family to the President’s Residence on Sunday, August 9, alongside Israel’s Aliyah and Integration Minister, Ofir Sofer, and Nefesh B’Nefesh co-founders Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart.

The milestone was marked by the arrival in Israel of Jeffrey and Atara Douglas alongside their three children: Nathaniel, 10, Hallie, 9, and Emilia, 6. “I am delighted to welcome to Israel the Douglas family, including their six-year-old daughter Emilia, who is the 100,000th Olah to make aliyah with Nefesh B’Nefesh to Israel,” Herzog said. “The Douglas family is setting a wonderful example for millions of Jews all over the world, and I wish them every success in their integration and new life here in Israel.”

The president expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the work of Nefesh B’Nefesh under the leadership of Fass and Gelbart, who he said have changed the whole model of aliyah, and thanked Sofer for his ongoing efforts to support and strengthen immigration to the State of Israel. “May you all continue to go from strength to strength,” Herzog added. Gelbart said the celebration belongs not just to Nefesh B’Nefesh, but to every oleh who chose to make the move to Israel.

(JPost/VFI News)

"For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land." – Ezekiel 36:24

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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