Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-07-17 at 18:02

HEADLINES
Florida shock trial for USS Ted Stevens
Iran hits Kuwait Bahrain drone depot
Emanuel's Tel Aviv trip signals Democratic shift

The time is now 6:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.

In US Military Role, the US Geological Survey described an experimental explosion off the coast of Ponce Inlet, Florida as a magnitude 3.9 event, with a Navy spokesman saying it was the first of two scheduled test events for Full Ship Shock Trials as part of the certification process for the Future USS Ted Stevens (DDG-128) under the DDG 51 Flight III Program. Separately, CENTCOM announced fresh Iran strikes for a seventh consecutive night, with forces redirecting four commercial vessels, disabling one and boarding another during the blockade on Iranian ports.

In Regional Impacts, Iran fired several ballistic missiles and drones at Kuwait, Kuwait's military said. Several Kuwaiti soldiers were wounded by falling shrapnel, according to the Defense Ministry. Multiple sites were hit, including a power station and a water desalination plant, with fires and material damage reported; no civilians were wounded. The IRGC claimed responsibility for previous strikes on Kuwait and said it had struck and damaged a US military drone depot in Bahrain in response to US strikes last night. On Friday, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mohsen Rezaei threatened that Tehran will move into a phase of full-scale offensive operations if the United States continues.

In US Policy Concerning Israel, the piece argues that Rahm Emanuel’s Tel Aviv trip underscores a broader challenge for Democrats: the party is losing ground in its support for Israel as Netanyahu’s leadership strains the US-Israel relationship. It suggests that Israel is also losing traction within the Republican Party, and that the dynamic goes beyond any single public figure, with events in one country resonating across the globe.

In Antisemitism and Anti-Jewish Hate, the global war to delegitimize Israel argues that Israel faces a coordinated campaign to erode its legitimacy through narratives, disinformation, lawfare, diplomatic isolation, media manipulation, and psychological warfare, aimed not at battlefield defeat but at legitimacy. The pieces note that the missiles described in the piece are not explosives but accusations such as genocide, war crimes, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and sanctions. No, this isn't Zionist propaganda. The meme referencing Ismail Haniyeh’s Oct 2023 speech (Al-Mayadeen, translated by MEMRI) is described as Hamas needing "the blood of the women, children and elderly" of Gaza to awaken revolutionary spirit and resolve against Israel; the article says Hamas leaders have repeatedly glorified civilian sacrifice and used human shields, and that the core message in the meme is accurate.

In Uplifting News, Lost Holocaust music, nearly erased by Stalin, goes on tour in Asia. The story centers on 263 songs recorded in 1944 by Soviet Jewish ethnomusicologist Moisei Beregovsky from Ukrainian Jews freed from Romanian occupation. Beregovsky was later arrested in the Soviet Union, died in 1961, and his collection was confiscated; it was rediscovered in the 1990s in the Vernadsky National Library in Kyiv. Now 15 of the songs are featured on Yiddish Glory: The Silenced Songs of World War II, an album released in April by Six Degrees Records, compiled by Anna Shternshis.

Thank you for tuning in to this Israel Today: Ongoing War Report update.
I'm Noa Levi. Stay safe and informed.
Keep in mind that this AI-generated report may contain occasional inaccuracies, so consult multiple sources for a comprehensive view. Find the code and more details in the podcast description.

SOURCES
https://t.me/DefenderDome/22240
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjiq91100vzg
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-902856
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-902588
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-902689
https://t.me/beholdisraelchannel/78335
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-902854