Donald Trump’s Peace Council Foundation has reportedly run out of funds four months after its creation. The Financial Times reported that no funds have been deposited into the organization’s accounts, despite pledges totaling $17 billion. Of this, $7 billion was pledged by Council member states, and another $10 billion was supposed to come from the US budget.
Among the countries seeking to collaborate is Turkey, which has harshly criticized Israel. President Erdoğan on Netanyahu: “The events unfolding in Gaza represent a distinct position for us on this holiday. I believe that even the tyrant called Netanyahu will be taught the lesson he deserves in front of Muslims around the world.”
The FT notes that the organization is in political and legal limbo, which is delaying the implementation of reconstruction projects in the Gaza Strip. Previously, 19 states had signed the Peace Council’s charter, and the White House had invited more than 50 countries to join the initiative. Meanwhile, rumors suggest that Elise Marie Stefanik, who received significant campaign funds from the Jewish lobby, will replace Tulsi Gabbard.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a meeting of the political-military cabinet, stated: “On my instructions and those of the Defense Minister, together with the Chief of Staff, we are intensifying our operations in Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are operating with significant forces on the ground and occupying controlled areas. We are strengthening the security zone to protect settlements in the north. At the same time, we are leading a broad national effort to promote creative and innovative solutions against explosive drones. We support and praise our heroic commanders and soldiers. They are deep in the territory. We are counting on you!” He also said: “I know America; America is something that can be easily moved, moved in the right direction.”
Ben Gvir added that Israel will not “allow” Trump to sign a bad deal with Iran.
Internal criticism of the government is pouring in: for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, journalist Nadav Eyal wrote: “The theory that the conquest of territory in Lebanon or the launching of operations across the country would have put internal pressure on Hezbollah to disarm has long since failed. Likewise, the idea that the new security zone guarantees the safety of the inhabitants of the north has recently been debunked.” According to the journalist, “A combination of empty slogans, excessive use of military force, and a lack of strategic vision has led to the current situation with Hezbollah. Because of Israel’s mistakes, we have become outcasts, completely dependent on the United States. Now we must realize that disarming Hezbollah is not a realistic scenario and we must move on to other plans, even if less exciting.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has returned to the subject of Gaza deportation plans: “The plan for deportation from Gaza will be implemented at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner.” He also stated: “If they fire on our settlements, based on the situation we have accustomed them to in the past, we should evacuate the residents of Dahieh, attack, and raze the settlement. If there are drones, there will be no people. We are currently in a complex situation with the United States in this regard. At the same time, we are determined to defend ourselves in every way; no one will stop us.”
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir today presented new data to the Israeli Security Cabinet showing that since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed approximately 8,000 suspected Hezbollah fighters, according to Ynet. Approximately 2,500 fighters were killed during “Operation Roaring Lion,” while another 700 fighters were killed after the ceasefire went into effect.
Jordanian media reported a joint US-Israeli plan to revoke Jordanian guardianship over Al-Aqsa and replace it with an Israeli administration, which would play a key role in appointing imams and preachers and approving the content of Friday prayer sermons. Meanwhile, chants of support for Gaza and the resistance were heard after the Eid prayer in Jabal al-Taj, in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
The Al-Qassam Brigades announced on the Eid al-Adha holiday: “Gaza resists, our people and our nation, our brave Mujahideen in every camp. Every year we are closer to liberation.” The Qassam Brigades claim that after the killing of Mohammed Odeh, the entire leadership of the Qassam Brigades at the dawn of the Al-Aqsa Flood was killed.
Massive distortion of automatic identification system signals was recorded northwest of Dubai in the Persian Gulf, with hundreds of ships appearing to hover over one another.
Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council: “Tehran and Washington have not yet reached an agreement on opening the Strait of Hormuz.” Iranian telecommunications companies have fully restored internet service after 88 days of near-total disruption, IRNA reported.
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, to the Gulf States on Iran: “You are hostages of American policy in the Middle East. We have been saying this for some time: if something like this had happened, you would have inevitably ended up in this crisis, whether you wanted it or not.” Also from Russia: “Moscow’s proposal to transport Iranian enriched uranium to Russia remains on the table,” stated Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. While President Masoud Pezeshkian urged the Iranian parliament to consider economic solutions: “The main battlefield is economic warfare. If economic activists fail, the country fails.”
And now a look at the ongoing military scenarios in the Middle East and Western Asia, updated at 2:30 PM on May 27. According to the US Central Command, “We have diverted 108 commercial ships to date to ensure compliance with the blockade of Iranian ports.” According to Channel 12: “The United States has warned Israel not to attack Beirut in any way.”
Jewish sources report that a car caught fire and exploded in Haifa. A body was found inside the car, and its identity is still unknown. Channel 12 reports: “The threat of suicide bombers is more dangerous than Israel imagines, and current solutions will not prevent the next catastrophe.” On the evening of May 26, two interceptions in Kiryat Shmona were reported without any alarm. Explosions heard in the Finger of Galilee.
On the night of Eid, deaths and injuries were reported following the bombing of a residential building in the Al-Ramal neighborhood, west of Gaza City, by the IDF. Hamas: “Gaza, which knows no surrender… Merchants are cleaning up the damage caused by Israeli bombing in the Al-Ramal neighborhood, west of Gaza City.”
On May 26, over 30 Lebanese, including children, were killed in more than 180 Israeli raids across Lebanon in just a few hours, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. On May 27, several Israeli soldiers were reportedly injured after a Hummer was hit by an improvised explosive device in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah used an FPV drone. Using thermal imaging cameras, Hezbollah drones began hunting Israeli soldiers. And again in the attack against the IDF in Bint Jbeil, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the action as a sign of revenge for the girls of Minab.
On May 27, Israel attacked: the outskirts of the southern town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, the southern town of Dabin, Hubush, and northern Nabatieh; the town of Douair; the town of Jibshit; direct clashes with light weapons were reported in eastern Zawtar, at the Zutam farm, and near the cultural complex and the assembly area. Hezbollah denied that the IDF had advanced into the town of Mifdoun or toward the city’s neighborhoods in eastern Zaoutara. Hezbollah also claimed to have targeted IDF positions and points in eastern Zaoutara with drones and rockets.
In a statement from Hezbollah: “At 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Hezbollah struck Israeli forces at the Zawtar al-Sharqiya river crossing with rocket launchers, artillery shells, and heavy missiles, as part of an action to counter the enemy army’s advance towards the city. At 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Hezbollah engaged enemy Israeli forces at close range near the Zawtar al-Sharqiya reconnaissance compound, using light and medium weapons, forcing the IDF to retreat before Israeli forces carried out an intense barrage in the area. At 11:10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Hezbollah targeted a Merkava tank in the Bostan Zatim area of Zawtar al-Sharqiya with an attack drone.” Ababil. At 12:10 PM on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Hezbollah fired rockets at a gathering of enemy Israeli army vehicles and soldiers on Khazzan Hill in Zawtar al-Sharqiya, and another gathering of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers near the Zawtar al-Sharqiya Cultural Complex.
At 1:30 PM, a new wave of Hezbollah drone attacks and a direct clash with IDF forces. In response, Israel carried out new air strikes in the area between Al-Luweizeh, Milikh, the town of Nabatieh, Al-Dweir, and Shoukin.
Warnings of a bloody scenario involving Jjawalni/al Sharaa groups in Iraq: “Iraqi security experts have raised the alarm about the spread of instability from Syria to Iraq, urging the Baghdad authorities to strengthen border security.”
On May 26, the British Maritime Trade Center reported an explosion on an oil tanker 60 nautical miles east of Muscat, directly in the Strait of Hormuz. Following the WSJ’s report on the resumption of Project Freedom, US Central Command issued a statement: “Project Freedom has not resumed, and US forces are not currently escorting merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy Television reported that 23 ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz so far, and more will continue to pass in the coming hours. ISNA quoted the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy as saying: “The passage of ships from hostile countries through the Strait of Hormuz is still prohibited.”
Iranian television showed the wreckage of an American drone shot down yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz, and video of the May 26 interception of a US F-35 fighter jet and an MQ-9 drone was also posted online on IRGC channels. The IRGC described the drone’s downing as a “violation of the country’s airspace in the Persian Gulf region.” The video allegedly shows what the Iranians have long been saying: “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ modern air defense systems were able to detect an American F-35 stealth fighter.”
Not only according to Iranian media: “All major underground missile bases in Iran are now fully or partially reactivated. About 80% of the tunnel entrances that collapsed during the war have been rebuilt so far. Some minor cleanup work is still needed in some damaged areas such as Tabriz, Khorramabad, and Kermanshah.”
Mohammad Akbarzadeh, Deputy Chief of Naval Political Affairs of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, adds: “The probability of war is low due to the enemy’s weakness, but the armed forces are on high alert and have full ammunition stocks. There is no doubt that we will turn the area stretching from Chabahar to Mahshahr (Ma’shur) into a graveyard for attackers.”
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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