US and allies prepare to defend Israel as Netanyahu says it’s already in ‘multi-front war’ with Iran

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Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday, as the United States and allies prepared to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict.

Tensions have soared following nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the killing last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister was making a rare trip to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts — “We want the escalation to end,” Ayman Safadi said — while the Pentagon has moved significant assets to the region.

“We are doing everything possible to make sure that this situation does not boil over,” White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told ABC.

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In Israel, some prepared bomb shelters and recalled Iran’s unprecedented direct military assault in April following a suspected Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals. Israel said almost all the drones and ballistic and cruise missiles were intercepted.

A stabbing attack on Sunday near Tel Aviv killed a woman in her 70s and an 80-year-old man, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, and two others were wounded. The police said the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant, who was “neutralized.”

Inside Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 25 people were killed and 19 others injured when Israel struck two schools in Gaza City. AP video showed at least one child among the dead. Israel’s military, which regularly accuses Palestinian militants of sheltering in civilian areas, said it hit Hamas command centers.

“As you can see, there is no equipment to recover the injured. Rescuers are digging with their hands,” said one man, Yusuf Al-Mashharawi.

Earlier, Israeli strikes killed at least 18 people. One hit a tent camp for thousands of displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, killing four people, including one woman, the Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it targeted a Palestinian militant in the strike, which it said caused secondary explosions, “indicating the presence of weaponry in the area.”

 

The hospital in Deir al-Balah is the main medical facility operating in central Gaza as many others in the territory no longer function. A separate strike on a home near Deir al-Balah killed a girl and her parents, according to the hospital.

Another strike flattened a house in northern Gaza, killing at least eight, including three children, their parents and their grandmother, according to the Health Ministry. Another three people were killed in a strike on a vehicle in Gaza City, according to Civil Defense first responders.

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired at least five projectiles at Israeli communities near the border without causing casualties or damage, the military said. The military later told people in some parts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis to evacuate.

The Health Ministry also said an Israeli strike on Saturday at a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed at least 16 people. Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas command center.

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage.

Israel’s massive offensive in response has killed at least 39,580 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Heavy airstrikes and ground operations have caused widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times.

The militant group Hezbollah and Israel have continued to trade fire along the Lebanon border since the war began, with the severity growing in recent months. The Lebanese state-run National News Agency said an Israeli strike targeted a house in Beit Lef, and the Lebanese Health Ministry said two people were critically wounded.

Hezbollah says it’s aimed at relieving pressure on fellow Iran-backed ally Hamas. A growing number of countries, including the U.S., are encouraging citizens to leave Lebanon after last week’s killing of a senior commander.

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Flurry of diplomacy to ease Mideast tensions as Israel awaits Iran attack

Diplomatic pressure mounted Monday to avoid an escalation between Iran and Israel following high-profile killings that have sent regional tensions soaring, while numerous governments urged their citizens to leave Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Sunday that his country was "determined to stand against" Iran and its allied armed groups "on all fronts".

As its war against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza nears its 11th month, Israel has been bracing for retaliation from the Tehran-aligned "axis of resistance" for the assassinations of two senior figures.

Palestinian armed group Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on Wednesday, in an attack blamed on Israel which has not directly commented on it, hours after an Israeli strike on Beirut left Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr dead.

Tehran said Monday that "no one has the right to doubt Iran's legal right to punish the Zionist regime" for Haniyeh's killing.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 nations in a conference call on Sunday that any attack, which he expected to be a joint undertaking between Hezbollah and Iran, could happen within 24 to 48 hours, as early as Monday, US news site Axios reported.

Blinken asked his counterparts to place diplomatic pressure on Tehran, Hezbollah and Israel to "maintain maximum restraint", it added.

The United Nations' rights chief Volker Turk called on "all parties, along with those states with influence, to act urgently to de-escalate what has become a very precarious situation".

Israel's military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Sunday night that "as of now there is no change" in its policy for protecting civilians.

- 'Path of dialogue' -

Experts and diplomats fear that the expected attack on Israel could rapidly spiral into a regional war.

Turkey on Monday joined multiple Western and other nations calling on their citizens to leave Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.

Numerous airlines have suspended flights to the country or limited them to daylight hours.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, whose country currently holds the rotating G7 presidency, said in a statement: "Together with our partners, we have expressed strong concern about recent events that threaten to determine a regionalisation of the crisis, starting from Lebanon".

"We call on the parties involved to desist from any initiative that could hinder the path of dialogue and moderation," he added.

On Sunday, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi made a rare trip to the Iranian capital during which he delivered a message from King Abdullah II to President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Jordanian "airspace will probably be a theatre for missiles and anti-missile" fire in any direct Iranian-Israeli clashes, but Amman would strongly object to violations of its sovereignty, said political analyst Oraib Rantawi.

"The Iranians must find other ways to spare Jordan this embarrassment," Rantawi, director of the Amman-based Al Quds Center for Political Studies, told AFP.

The Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the Palestinian group's October 7 attack, has already drawn in Iran-backed militants in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

- Cross-border clashes -

Even as the region braced for further escalation, Hezbollah and Israel continued their near-daily cross-border exchanges of fire.

The Lebanese health ministry said four people were killed in two separate strikes on the border towns of Mais al-Jabal and Hula, while Hezbollah said it had targeted military sites in northern Israel with "explosive-laden drones".

The cross-border violence since October has killed at least 549 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including at least 116 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

On the Israeli side, including the annexed Golan Heights, 22 soldiers and 25 civilians have been killed, according to army figures.

Analysts have told AFP that a joint but measured action from Iran and its allies was likely, while Tehran said it expects Hezbollah to hit deeper inside Israel and no longer be confined to military targets.

Israel's ally the United States said it was moving additional warships and fighter jets to the region.

US President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with his national security team later Monday "to discuss developments in the Middle East", the White House said.

- Rockets -

The Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 39,623 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.

The toll includes 40 deaths in the past 24 hours, the ministry said Monday.

The Israeli military said around 15 rockets had crossed from the southern Gaza Strip into Israel on Monday, with medics saying they were treating an injured man.

Months of talks, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aimed at a ceasefire and a hostage-release deal have repeatedly stalled.

Hamas officials but also some analysts as well as protesters in Israel have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war to safeguard his hard-right ruling coalition.

The killing of Haniyeh, who was Hamas's lead negotiator in truce talks, "does not suggest Israel is sincerely interested in a ceasefire", said Middle East expert Andreas Krieg.

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Israel-Hamas war latest: Hezbollah says it launched a drone attack on northern Israel

Passengers whose flights were cancelled, wait at the departure terminal ground of Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Turkey and Japan became the latest countries to urge their citizens to leave Lebanon amid rising tensions with Israel following last week's airstrike in Beirut that killed a top Hezbollah military commander. Fears of an escalation in the simmering conflict between Hezbollah and Israel have prompted some airlines to cancel flights to Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack early Monday on northern Israel that the Israeli military said wounded two Israeli troops. The violence came amid fears of an all-out regional war following the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah said it targeted a military base in northern Israel in response to “attacks and assassinations” by Israel in several villages in southern Lebanon. The attack did not appear to be the more intense retaliation that's expected from Iran and its allied militias.

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months during the war in Gaza. But last week’s assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut sent regional tensions soaring.

The head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Israel on Monday over the assassination of Haniyeh, warning that Israel was “digging its own grave” with its actions against Hamas.

Israel's defense minister says the military is ready for a “swift transition to offense.”

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Here’s the latest:

Biden will speak with Jordan's king and meet with his national security team

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to consult later Monday with the White House national security team. And Biden will speak with King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose foreign minister made a rare visit to Iran over the weekend.

The activity follows a weekend of outreach by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others in the Biden administration to Western and Middle East allies and partners as the U.S. tries to prepare for any Iranian retaliation to the killing of Hamas' political leader in Tehran last week. Iran has blamed Israel.

Blinken on Sunday told foreign members in the Group of Seven economic powers that Iran’s response could come in as soon as 24 to 48 hours.

Iran state media say secretary of Russia’s Security Council has arrived for talks

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s state news agency says the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, has arrived in Tehran for talks on bilateral and international issues.

The IRNA report did not elaborate, but Russia’s state Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies reported that Shoigu was scheduled to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Akbar Ahmadian; and chief of the Iranian military’s General Staff, Mohammad Bagheri.

Diplomatic efforts have increased after the assassination last week of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran has blamed Israel and vowed to retaliate.

Head of the U.S. Central Command is in the Middle East, official says

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. defense official says the head of the U.S. Central Command, Gen. Eric Kurilla, is in the Middle East region.

The official wouldn’t say where specifically Kurilla is, but added that he “often visits the region to work and consult with regional partners.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss travel not yet made public.

The United States and allies have been preparing to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike from Iran and its allies and prevent a wider regional conflict after the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation.

— Lolita Baldor

Israel's defense minister says the military is ready for ‘swift transition to offense’

JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister says the military is prepared for a “swift transition to offense” as the country braces for an Iranian attack after the killing of Hamas’ political leader in Tehran.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke Monday at a briefing with air force officials. “We must be prepared for anything – including a swift transition to offense," he said.

Iran has said it is planning to respond with “power and decisiveness” to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week, which it blamed on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. The escalating threats have raised fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.

Israeli airstrike kills 5 in Hamas-run police force while securing aid convoy

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike has killed five members of Gaza’s Hamas-run police force who were securing an aid convoy. Another two policemen were wounded in Monday’s strike, according to records at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since seizing power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. It operates a police force numbering in the tens of thousands that provided a high degree of public security before the war. But the police have largely disappeared as Israel has targeted them with airstrikes, contributing to the collapse of law and order and hindering aid delivery to the enclave.

Israel does not differentiate between Hamas’ armed wing and its government. It says it is committed to destroying both after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war. It also accuses Hamas of hijacking aid for its own purposes.

Aid groups say they have struggled to deliver desperately needed food and supplies because of Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the collapse of public order.

Israel returns more than 80 bodies to the Gaza Strip, Palestinian official says

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KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — A Palestinian official says Israel has returned more than 80 bodies to the Gaza Strip.

The identities of the deceased and the cause of death were not immediately known.

Over the course of its nearly 10-month offensive in Gaza, the military has exhumed remains as it searches for the bodies of hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the war.

Weam Fares, a spokesperson for the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, says 84 bodies were handed over at the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday and were taken directly for burial. The hospital did not provide further details.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.

Associated Press reporters saw the bodies being brought to a cemetery in a container truck belonging to a private company. They were buried in a mass grave.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was not involved in the transfer.

Israeli military says Palestinian militants fired at least 15 projectiles into Israel from Gaza

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says Palestinian militants fired at least 15 projectiles into Israel from Gaza, and first responders say one person was lightly wounded.

Rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza have dwindled as Israel has waged its massive offensive there in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. But militants are still able to regularly fire short-range projectiles on Israeli communities and army bases near the border.

Most rockets fired from Gaza are intercepted or fall in open areas, and they rarely cause casualties or damage. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service says one person was lightly wounded in Monday’s barrage.

Israel has vowed to continue the war until it has eliminated Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.

Iran vows to respond with ‘power and decisiveness’ to killing of Hamas' top political leader

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has vowed to respond with “power and decisiveness” to the targeted killing of Hamas’ top political leader, which it blamed on Israel.

The killing of Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran explosion last week has raised fears of a major retaliatory attack and the outbreak of a wider war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and allied armed groups across the Middle East.

Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said Monday that Iran has “the intrinsic right to provide for its own security and punish the aggressor,” and “will definitely take serious deterrent action with power and decisiveness.” He said it would be acting in accordance with international law and the right of self-defense.

He added, however, that Iran “is not after intensifying tension in the region.” He urged the international community to support Iran in punishing Israel.

On Saturday, Iran said a short-range projectile was behind the killing of Haniyeh, who was in Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iran says Israel carried out the attack with U.S. support and has vowed to avenge it. Israel has not said whether it was involved.

Israeli airstrike kills official in Hamas-run government in Gaza

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JERUSALEM — An Israeli airstrike killed an official in the Hamas-run government in Gaza who Israel said was also involved in militant activities.

Hamas confirmed that Abdel-Fattah al-Zariai was killed alongside his mother in an airstrike on Sunday. In a statement of mourning, it identified him as the undersecretary of its Economy Ministry and said he had held other “honorable positions” without referring to any militant role.

The Israeli military identified him as the economy minister and said he also worked in the manufacturing department of Hamas’ armed wing. It said he was involved in seizing humanitarian aid that entered Gaza and distributing it for militant purposes, without providing evidence.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007 in a week of deadly clashes with forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and dominated by the secular Fatah party.

Hamas established its own government with ministries and tens of thousands of civil servants who provided public services. It also operated a police force.

The government has largely melted away in the war triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel, but the militant group still exerts control on the ground.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard chief says Israel is ‘digging its own grave’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Israel on Monday after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Gen. Hossein Salami, speaking to journalists at an event, warned that Israel was “digging its own grave” with its actions in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and that it is suspected of carrying out Haniyeh’s killing.

“When they receive a blow, they will notice they are making mistakes. They are making mistakes all the time,” Salami said in his speech at the Day of the Journalists event. “They will see the result of their mistake. They will see when, how and where they will get their response.”

Salami also touched on a long-held suspicions about an Israeli assassination program targeting Iran’s nuclear scientists amid concerns over the country’s atomic program. Iran now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels, but maintains its program is peaceful. U.S. intelligence services don’t believe Iran is actively pursuing the bomb, but a nuclear-armed Tehran remains a top fear for Israel.

“Israel is the cradle of terrorism and it has been created out of killing and murder,” he said. “They think they can kill the nuclear scientists of another country and impede that country’s path toward peaceful nuclear technology. They think that by killing the leader of a resistance group ... in another country will give them more time to live.”

He added: “They are just digging their own grave."

Lebanese state media says Israeli drone strike kills 2 in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says an Israeli drone strike near a cemetery in a southern village killed two people, including a paramedic.

The agency did not give further details about the Monday morning strike in the village of Meissa al-Jabal. It said one of the dead was a member of the Islamic Risala Scout Association paramedic group. The group identified the member killed as Mohammed Fawzi Hamadi.

Tensions in the region have risen sharply since last week after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the militant Hezbollah group.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed that the group will retaliate against Israel.

Australia lifts terrorism threat level from ‘possible’ to ‘probable,’ but says no specific threat

MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian government on Monday elevated the nation’s terrorism threat alert level from “possible” to “probable,” citing concerns about increasing radicalization among young people and community tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.

It is the first time the threat level has been elevated to the midpoint of the five-tier National Terrorism Threat Advisory System since November 2022. The level had been “probable” the previous eight years.

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added that while government officials think the current climate makes terrorism an increased danger, they didn’t know of any specific threats.

“I want to reassure Australians probable does not mean inevitable, and it does not mean there is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger,” Albanese told reporters.

He said the government was acting on the advice of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main domestic spy agency known as ASIO.

“The advice that we’ve received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant,” Albanese said.

Netanyahu says Israel is already in a ‘multi-front war’ with Iran

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday, as the United States and allies prepared to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict.

Tensions have soared following nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the killing last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister was making a rare trip to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts — “We want the escalation to end,” Ayman Safadi said — while the Pentagon has moved significant assets to the region.

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