The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has strongly condemned Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s incursion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, calling it a "dangerous escalation" and a war crime.

 Ben-Gvir, along with illegal settlers, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East al-Quds on Wednesday in a new provocation amid the ongoing war on Gaza.

In a statement, Hamas decried the raid as “a dangerous escalation as part of the [Israeli] genocidal war against the Palestinian people.” 

It called on the Palestinians to escalate confrontations with the Israeli army in defense of the holy site.

The efforts by “the terrorist regime led by the war criminal Netanyahu [aims] to Judaize the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and impose a fait accompli on the holy city,” said Hamas.

“We call on our Palestinian people and our rebellious youth in the West Bank to escalate the situation of engagement with this arrogant enemy everywhere in defense of our land and holy sites,” the statement read.

Elsewhere in the statement, the Palestinian resistance group called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League to “take effective actions” to stop Israel’s systematic violations against the al-Aqsa Mosque.

The incursion was the sixth by the Israeli minister into the noble sanctuary of al-Aqsa since he joined Netanyahu’s regime in 2022.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry condemned the visit by Ben-Gvir, lambasting him for "storming" the area.

Riyadh voiced its "strongest condemnation of the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque" by the Israeli minister under the protection of occupation police, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Separately, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the move “could worsen the already deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, with catastrophic impacts on regional security and stability.”

The ministry emphasized that Israel’s attempts “will not change the legal and historical situation” or the fact that occupied East al-Quds remains part of Palestinian territory under international law.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry also denounced Ben-Gvir’s incursion as “a deliberate provocation” and a violation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s “established historical and legal status quo.”

The ministry stressed that Israel has “no sovereignty over occupied al-Quds and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.”

For decades, a delicate status quo has governed worship and visits to the site, permitting only Muslims to pray in its courtyards and prayer halls.

The latest incursion came after the Israeli minister of military affairs announced a significant expansion of ground offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel Katz said large parts of the strip are set to be occupied, and large-scale evacuations of Palestinians will be enforced.

The Israeli military has already issued evacuation warnings to Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis. In response to these plans, Palestinians in Gaza have pledged to stand steadfast amid the Israeli aggression.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has instructed diplomats overseas to monitor the social media activity of student visa applicants to deny entry to those critical of the United States and Israel, according to a report.

On Tuesday, The New York Times cited two American officials as saying that Rubio issued the directive in a long cable to diplomatic missions overseas. 

The directive is part of a broader campaign of deportations targeting students who have expressed support for Palestinians amid the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza or participated in campus protests against Israel.

Rubio said that, starting immediately, consular officers must refer certain student and exchange visitor visa applicants to the “fraud prevention unit” for a “mandatory social media check.”

The cable sets out the broad parameters the diplomats should use to judge whether to deny a visa.

According to the report, applicants whose social media posts should be scrutinized are those who are “suspected of having terrorist ties or sympathies” and who either had a student or exchange visa between October 7, 2023, the start date of Israel’s war, and August 31, 2024 or had their visa terminated from the date of the war to the present.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance movement, designated by the US as a “terrorist” group, waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long violence against Palestinians. Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed over 50,000 Palestinians.

“The dates specified by Mr. Rubio in the cable indicate that one of the main aims of the social media searches is to reject the applications of students who have expressed sympathy for Palestinians during the war,” the Times reported. 

The cable also states that applicants can be denied a visa if their behavior or actions show they bear “a hostile attitude toward US citizens or US culture (including government, institutions, or founding principles).”

Since becoming secretary of state in late January, Rubio has cancelled over 300 visas, many of them belonging to students, having personally signed off on every visa revocation.

This comes as the US continues with its crackdown on pro-Palestine activism.

Last week, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, was arrested in a street in the town of Somerville, Massachusetts, the school's president said in a statement, over expressing pro-Palestine leanings in an article she co-authored.

Also last month, federal authorities arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and a Palestinian activist who helped organize campus protests against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza across the US last year.

Khalil has been facing deportation despite being a legal permanent resident in the US.

Earlier, the Department of Homeland Security arrested Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian student who had taken part in protests at Columbia University, for allegedly overstaying her F-1 student visa.

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Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the ever-growing dignity of Islam and effective struggle against the bullying and extortion of superpowers hinge upon the unity and insight of the Muslim world.

“The technique to effectively confront the unmatched crimes of the Zionist regime and its supporters in Palestine and Lebanon is through unity, empathy, and common language among Muslim states,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with government officials and the ambassadors of Islamic countries to Tehran on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, on Monday.

The Leader described Eid al-Fitr as one of the occasions that connects different sections of the Muslim world together, and contributes to the rising dignity of Islam as well as its esteemed messenger Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

“The prerequisite for ever-growing dignity of Islam is the unity, determination, and insight of the Muslim Ummah,” Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.

The Leader said the rapid pace of international developments necessitates that Muslim governments must quickly and accurately determine their positions, and devise plans for them.

Ayatollah Khamenei then described the large population of Muslims, their abundant natural wealth as well as their sensitive geographic location as marvelous opportunities for the Muslim world.

“The prerequisite for taking advantage of such opportunities and sensitive traits is the unity of the Muslim world. Of course, unity does not mean that governments amalgamate or they think alike in all political spheres; but rather it means recognition of common interests and definition of one's own interests in a way that does not cause disagreements, conflicts, or disputes among each other.”

Ayatollah Khamenei went on to emphasize that the Islamic Republic of Iran extends its hand to all Muslim governments, and considers itself a brother to them and on the same general front.

The Leader termed cooperation and consensus among Muslim countries as a bulwark against the aggression, coercion, and blackmail of aggressors and oppressors.

“Nowadays, blackmail and extortion from weak governments and nations has unfortunately become a common and overt practice of superpowers. In response, we as Muslim states must defend the rights of the Muslim world and not allow [the United States of] America or else to blackmail.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to the miseries inflicted upon Palestine and Lebanon as a result of the crimes of the Zionist regime and its sponsors, stressing the need for the Muslim world to stand firmly against such sufferings.

“With unity, empathy, and common language of Islamic governments, others will know their position and status. We hope that the officials of Muslim countries could from the Muslim Ummah in the true sense of the term through their own efforts, motivation, and measures,” the Leader noted.

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? Every traveler likes to go the right way to get to the destination easier if we don't know the road, we may never get to the destination.

? On a trip, if we go the wrong way and at the same time be sure to go right, whatever we go, we will get away from the goal and make it harder for us.

 Life is also a path that has the beginning and end. If we go the right way, we will get out of paradise and if we go the wrong way of hell ....

How can the maze of life be found in the wrong way ?? !!

? In the culture of the Holy Qur'an, this ability is called "Farqan".

 *Ferghan means the ability to recognize correctly from incorrect.*

? In verse 2 of Surat al -Anfal, God says:

Qualifying the engine of your existence at the command of God and stop by God's command. Wherever God says, be, and wherever you don't like you.

? *piety means complete submission to right *

?Themia means not for divine commands ....

In the importance of piety, it is enough that all good deeds are accepted only from the piety:

 ⚡ *

 (Maeda 1)

⚡ *Rightly that God only accepts piety.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited this supplication to one of his companions.

Sayyid ibn Tawoos narrated in the book Mahj al-Dawaat, p. 130 that the Prophet taught this supplication to one of his companions. When Hajjaj became ruler and wanted to kill him, he recited this supplication and Hajjaj's swordsman was unable to kill him.

The supplication is:

يَا سَامِعَ كُلِّ صَوْتٍ يَا مُحْيِيَ النُّفوسِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ يَا مَنْ لَا يَعْجَلُ لأَنَّهُ لَا يَخَافُ الْفوْتَ يَا دَائِمَ الثَّبَاتِ يَا مُخْرِجَ النَباتِ يَا مُحْيِيَ الْعِظَامِ الرَّميمِ الدَّارِسَاتِ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ اعْتَصَمْتُ بِاللَّهِ وَ تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ وَرَمَيْتُ كُلَّ مَنْ يُؤْذِينِي بِلا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهُ الْعَلي العظيم.

Translation:

O Hearer of all sounds, O Giver of life to souls after death, O He Who is in no hurry, for He fears no loss. O Ever-Sustainer; O Bringer of vegetation, O Giver of life to decayed and perished bones. In the blessed name of God, I have clung to God and relied on the Living One who never dies, and I have repelled whoever intends to harm me with the blessed phrase, “There is no power and no strength except with the power and might of God, the Most High, the Great.”

"From the Sacrifice of the Soul to the Building of the Kaaba: The Narrative of Monotheism and Family in the Life of Ismail (AS)"

In the scorching heat of the desert of Mecca, a child named "Ismail" was born; a name that means "God hears." His birth was the beginning of a story that became not only the destiny of a prophet, but also a divine plan to guide humanity until the end of history. This narrative is not just a historical story, but a mirror in which every human being can find his own face; from the struggle with the soul to building a society based on monotheism.

When Ibrahim (AS) received the good news of the birth of Ismail in his old age, he could not even imagine that this child would one day become a role model for parents who today wander between the love of their child and the command of God. The Quran, with the verse “So We gave Abraham the good news of a forbearing son” (As-Saffat: 101), shows that raising a forbearing child is possible not by endless pampering, but by forgoing the “desires of the soul.” In a narration from Imam Sadiq (AS), it is stated: “Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, loves the forbearing and hates the ignorant” (Al-Kafi, Vol. 2, p. 111); Allah loves the forbearing and hates the ignorant. Modern research also confirms that children who grow up in an environment mixed with faith remain more steadfast in the storms of life (Harvard University study, 2019).

But the most difficult test came when Abraham (AS) saw in a dream that he had to sacrifice his beloved son. The young Ismail, knowing that this command might mean the end of his life, immediately said:

“O father, do what you are commanded” (As-Safat: 102) – Father! Do what you are commanded. This sentence is not a simple surrender, but a cry against the selfishness of today’s man who is ready to sacrifice even his family for fleeting benefits. Imam Ali (AS) says in Nahj al-Balagha: “The most miserable of people is the one who makes his parents suffer” (Wisdom 449); the most miserable of people is the one who makes his parents suffer. Mystics consider this scene to be a symbol of the “death of the soul”; The same lesson that is called “overcoming the ego” in psychology today (Ibn Arabi, Fusous al-Hakam, p. 123)!

After this test, Ismail (AS) laid the foundations of a family whose lessons are worth gold for the present age. He married a woman from the tribe of “Jorhum”, but when Ibrahim (AS) saw his wife’s inappropriate behavior on his journey to Mecca, he told his son: “This woman is not worthy of you.” Ismail immediately followed his father’s advice. The Prophet (PBUH) confirmed this principle by saying: “Whoever obeys me has obeyed Allah” (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 7321); Whoever obeys me has obeyed Allah. The Quran reminds us that a successful family is not based on wealth or ethnicity, but on piety, with the verse “And enjoin prayer on your family and be steadfast in it” (Taha: 132).

Ishmael (peace be upon him) and his father, together, dipped their hands in clay to build the Kaaba. As they raised the walls, they prayed: “Our Lord, and make us Muslims, submitting to You, and from our descendants a nation, submitting to You” (Baqarah: 128) – Our Lord! Make us submit to You and make a Muslim nation from our descendants. This prayer is the wish of every parent who wants their children to walk in the path of God. Imam Baqir (AS) said in his commentary on this verse: “Whoever asks Allah for Paradise three times, Allah will say to him: Indeed, you are of its people” (Tafsir Noor al-Thaqalayn, Vol. 1, p. 142). But today, when we encourage our children to “earn money”, are we also thinking of building a “Muslim nation”?

After Ishmael (AS), his people returned to idolatry. The Quran says in the verse “Do you take idols as gods” (Al-An’am: 74) – Do you take idols as gods? – It warns us that today’s idols – wealth, power and fame – are the same idols of yesterday. Imam Reza (AS) said:

“Whoever has Satan as his model, let him seek refuge in Allah”

(Ayoun Akhbar al-Rida, vol. 2, p. 69); Whoever sees Satan in front of him, let him seek refuge in Allah. We see the result of this deviation in the bitter statistics of depression and suicide; as if the Quran had said centuries ago: “So Allah made them taste hunger and fear” (An-Nahl: 112) – Allah made them taste hunger and fear.

But the most beautiful part of the story is the connection of Ismail (AS) with the Prophet Khatam (PBUH). God promised in the Quran: “And We placed among their descendants prophethood and the Scripture” (Al-Hadid: 26) – We placed prophethood and the Scripture in the descendants of Abraham and Ishmael.

Iran says US President Donald Trump’s open threat of “bombing” the country is an affront to global peace and security.

“An open threat of ‘bombing’ by a Head of State against Iran is a shocking _affront_ to the very essence of International Peace and Security,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a post on his X account on Monday.

On Saturday, Trump said Iran will be bombed if it does not make a deal with the United States.

“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he said in an interview with NBC News. He also threatened to punish Iran with what he called “secondary tariffs.”

Baghaei said such threats are in violation of the United Nations Charter and a betrayal of Safeguards under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Violence breeds violence, peace begets peace. The US can choose the course...; and concede to CONSEQUENCES,” he warned.

On March 7, Trump announced he had written to Iran to call for nuclear negotiations and threaten military action. The letter was delivered to Tehran on March 12 by UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on March 21 that US threats “will get them nowhere” and warned of reciprocal measures “if they do anything malign” against Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei also dismissed Trump’s outreach for talks, which he said was an attempt to deceive global public opinion by portraying the United States as willing to negotiate while framing Iran as unwilling to engage.

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s official response to a letter from Trump has been sent through Oman.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic’s response to his American counterpart’s letter leaves open the possibility of indirect talks with Washington, stressing that the continuation of the negotiation process depends on the Americans’ behavior.

Press TV’s website

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the only proxy force in the region is the Zionist regime, which invades other countries on behalf of the world’s colonial powers and "must be uprooted."

Ayatollah Khamenei made the comments during a speech at the Grand Mosalla Mosque of Tehran on Monday after leading Eid al-Fitr’s prayers. The Islamic festivities known as Eid al-Fitr mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

“The Westerners accuse the zealous youths of the regional nations of being proxies. I would like to say that there is only one proxy force in this region which is the corrupt usurping [Israeli] regime,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader added that Israel is committing genocide and if given the opportunity, it will invade other countries’ territories, just as it invaded Syria as the proxy force of the colonizers.

“This criminal gang must be uprooted from Palestine and it will be uprooted. Everyone must strive to eliminate this evil entity from the region,” he asserted.

The Leader lamented that the “bloody” incidents in Gaza, Lebanon, and Palestine made the people’s lives bitter during the holy month of Ramadan.

He went on to say that the assassination of officials is a common practice of the Israeli regime, which is backed by the US and Western governments.

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the vicious Zionist regime is blatantly committing genocide, killing children, beating massive people, and assassinating figures.

However, the Leader added, arrogant Western powers are turning a blind eye to all such crimes and even smiling and supporting them.

The Leader noted that it is a religious, moral and humanitarian duty to strive to eradicate the Israeli regime.

'Crushing blow'

The Leader pointed to US threats against Iran, warning that any wicked act would certainly receive a "crushing and decisive blow."

“If the enemies are thinking of stirring any sedition inside the country, the Iranian nation will respond to them,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.

Pointing to the assassination of resistance figures in various countries and the Iraqi scientists by the Israeli regime, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “The US and a number of Western countries defend such clear terrorist acts and the entire world only witnesses them.”

The Leader also denounced the total disregard of the self-proclaimed defenders of human rights for the Israeli massacre of some 20,000 Palestinian children since the beginning of the genocidal war in October 2023.

The people of Europe and the United States are holding protest rallies against the Israeli regime and US crimes and would stage more demonstrations if they were fully informed about the US-Israeli criminal acts, Ayatollah Khamenei said.

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In the latest flagrant violation of a shaky ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, the Israeli military has carried out a strike against a residential building in a southern suburb of the capital Beirut, killing at least three and wounding several others.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a brief statement that at least three people lost their lives and seven others sustained injuries in the Israeli attack on Beirut’s Sfeir area.

The local al-Mayadeen television news channel reported that the airstrike targeted a densely populated area at around 3:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT) on Tuesday, destroying a building and damaging nearby structures.

The report added that the Lebanese army had arrived at the scene and set up a security cordon in the vicinity of the blast.

Civil defense teams and ambulances also rushed to the spot, rescuing people from under the rubble and transporting the injured to hospitals.

The Israeli military later announced in a statement that it targeted a member of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement “who had recently directed Hamas operatives and assisted them.”

A joint statement released by the Israeli military and the regime’s so-called internal security service, Shin Bet, alleged that the aerial attack had targeted a leading Hezbollah figure in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Informed sources, however, dismissed the claim, and told al-Mayadeen TV that an ordinary member of Hezbollah had been martyred in the strike.

The Israeli airstrike marks the second such attack on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital.

On Thursday, the Israeli army targeted the southern Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood for the first time since a ceasefire went into effect in late November between Israel and Hezbollah.

And now, with this second attack, it seems this is Israel’s new strategy and the occupying regime is not going to stop.

Just two days ago, Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem warned that if Israel continues attacking the group or Lebanon’s capital, the resistance movement will retaliate accordingly.

After enduring substantial losses over almost 14 months of conflict and not achieving its aims in the offensive against Lebanon, Israel had no choice but to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah. The ceasefire was implemented on November 27.

Since the initiation of the agreement, the occupying forces have been conducting attacks on Lebanon, violating the ceasefire, which encompasses airstrikes across the Arab nation.

On January 27, Lebanon declared its decision to prolong the ceasefire with Israel until February 18.

Despite the February 18 deadline having passed, Israel persists in its occupation of five critical areas in southern Lebanon, which include Labbouneh, Mount Blat, Owayda Hill, Aaziyyeh, and Hammamis Hill, located near the border.

Lebanon has denounced the ongoing presence of Israeli military personnel, which constitutes a breach of the ceasefire agreement and the stipulated withdrawal timeline. High-ranking officials in Beirut have stated their intention to “employ all measures” necessary to expel the occupying forces from the Arab country.

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Yemen’s Defense Minister Major General Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi says the armed forces have become a “formidable power” amid the ongoing aggression by the United States and Britain, asserting that the Yemeni forces are now “difficult to defeat”.

In a statement released on Monday, Atifi said Yemen “possess vast and significant capabilities and surprises in military manufacturing and war production that will astonish the enemy and reassure our allies.”

"The armed forces have established a qualitative industrial base and are steadily advancing in this direction, with doors to success wide open."

The United States and the UK resorted to heavy offensive naval buildup off Yemen’s coastline, and escalated attacks on the Arab Peninsula country to try to stop its pro-Palestinian strikes.

Sana’a has been responding to the intensified attacks by targeting American warships, and enhancing its preparedness to take on the naval assets.

The Yemeni minister further said the Yemeni forces were now "capable of achieving major victories not only for Yemen but also for the vital causes of the Ummah."

The minister affirmed that Yemen's supportive stance toward the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip will remain steadfast despite US-Israeli aggression.

"Yemen’s steadfast position in support of the Palestinian people will remain unchanged, no matter the risks faced by our steadfast Yemeni people."

The statement also denounced Arab stances toward the great injustice against the Palestinian people by the US-backed Israeli regime.

Atifi said the Yemeni people "cannot stand silent or neutral" in the face of the destructive chaos and the fires of Zionist ambitions that have spread throughout the region.

Elsewhere in the statement, Atifi hailed the role of strong leadership of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in confronting aggression by the US and its allies across the West Asia region.

"Yemen, with its armed forces and strong backing from the Leader of the Revolution, now possesses a multi-purpose military arsenal."

The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement said in a televised speech on Thursday stated that there is no justification for US strikes against Yemen. Houthi said the US launched the onslaught against our country at the same time as the Gaza genocidal war to support the Zionist regime began.

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