Middle East Tensions: Hezbollah Shells Israeli Military Site; Houthis Claim Attack On Cargo In Gulf Of Aden

Iranian Revolutionary Guards have vowed "severe revenge" for the killing of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. While Iran has blamed Israel for the assassination, Tel Aviv has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the strike against Haniyeh.

Days after Israel carried out targeted strikes agaisnt Hezbollah commanders, the Leabnese militant group has launched a barrage of rockets towards Tel Aviv.

As per the statement issued by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group said that its latest attack is in response to Israel’s attacks on Kfar Kela and Deir Siriane in Lebanon which, it claims, injured civilians there.

Many of the rocket projectiles were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome system.

In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden urged the Israeli leader to "stand down" and not retaliate, especially towards the threats coming in from Iran.

While Israel has neither confrimed nor denied its role, Biden told Netanyahu that Haniyeh's killing came at a bad time as it could jeopradise the peace deal for Gaza.

As per Gaza's media office, the latest Israeli attack on tents housing displaced Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital has killed at least three people and wounded 18 others.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this new massacre by the occupation,” read the official statement, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to cease its “genocide” and bring an end to the “waterfall of blood” gushing in the Gaza Strip.

In a series of targeted strikes and assassinations carried out by Israel, two more commanders have been confirmed as dead. As per reports, two commanders from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed in Israeli attacks near Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank.

Along with the two commanders, fiver other were killed.

With tensions escalating in the Middle East, many countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Sweden have urged their citizens to leave Beirut as soon as possible.

The announcement comes amid rising tensions between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran and as global airlines continue to cancel their flights over the region.

A suspected missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck a container ship travelling through the Gulf of Aden, authorities said on Sunday, likely the first assault by the group since Israeli airstrikes targeted them.

The Houthis have offered no explanation for the two-week pause in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor, which have seen similar slowdowns since the assaults began in November over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

But the resumption comes after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the Houthis' main benefactor, amid renewed concerns over the war breaking out into a regional conflict.

(via AP)

Pro-Palestine protests continued across the globe. Protestors in Iraq, Canada, London, Jordan and more countries returned to the streets and called for Israel to end its "genocide" in the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under fire as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East. From Joe Biden in the US to members of the Israeli government, the prime minister has been accused of jeopradising the truce deal for Gaza time and again.

Apart from the recent backlash due to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Gaza and allegedly Iran, family members of the Gaza hostages also called out the Israeli leader for failing to mention anything about a hostage deal

The New York Times reports that US President Joe Biden stated that the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran was “poorly timed, coming right at what the Americans hoped would be the endgame” of ceasefire and hostage release talks.

Citing an unnamed US official, the newspaper added that Biden argued the operation could spark a regional war. The report further added that Netanyahu has denied that Tel Aviv is stalling the talks and pinned the blame on Hamas.

As tensions with Iran increased, Israel is hopeful for an alliance deal with the US and UK to keep up its defences.

Referring to the alliance as the Abraham Alliance, Israeli PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are working with the US and UK to work towards increasing its defence against Iran and its proxies.

A woman was stabbed to death and three others were wounded in Holon, a city in the Tel Aviv district in a knife attack earlier today.

The police said in a statement that the assailant was “neutralised” at the scene. Search operations are ongoing in case other people were involved in the attack.

The victim has been identified as a 70-year-old woman. Along with her, a 70-year-old man has been injured and tow others aged 68 and 26 were injured in the knife attack.

The French Foreign Ministry has urged French citizens in Lebanon to leave the country, citing a risk of military escalation in the Middle East. The ministry also urged French citizens against travelling to Lebanon amid tensions.

The death toll from the stabbing attack in Holon has increased to two. The second victim was a man in his 70s who succumbed to the injuries caused due to the knife attack.

Two others - aged 68 and 26 - are being treated in the hospital for their wounds.

As per the data received on July 31, around 39,480 people, including more than 15,000 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

In the occupied West Bank, the death toll stands at 594, which including 144 children.

As tensions rise in the Middle East, several countries have issued travel advisories for citizens travelling to Lebanon. These countries are -

• France

• United States

• United Kingdom

• The Netherlands

• Canada

• India

• Jordan

• Saudi Arabia

• Germany

• Ireland

• Norway

• Sweden

• Belgium

• Denmark

• Australia

• Russia

• Spain

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will visit Iran on Sunday for talks with his Iranian counterpart amid heightened regional tensions after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. (Reuters)

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has slammed Itamar Ben-Gvir for his record as national security minister.

“Since he took office, our streets have been flooded with crimes and operations,” Lapid said on X. “By all standards, personal security is in a state of collapse, the police are at rock bottom more than ever, the only thing he does is press interviews, deception and provocations from morning to evening,” he added.

Lapid’s comments came after two people were killed in a stabbing attack near Tel Aviv.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said a short-range projectile was behind the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and accused the United States of supporting the attack which it blamed on Israel, state TV reported.

The televised statement, which reiterated a call for retaliation, said a rocket with a seven-kg warhead was used to target the residence of Hamas' political leader in the capital Tehran on Wednesday, adding it caused heavy devastation. It didn't share details of the residence's location.

“The action was designed and carried out by the Zionist regime and supported by the US,” said the Guard's statement. It added that “the warmongering and terrorist Zionist regime will receive harsh punishment in the suitable time, place, and capacity.”

(via AP)

The Chief of the US Central Command’s General Michael Kurilla is in the Middle East. As per local reports, the CENTCOM chief's visit to the Middle East comes as Israel prepares to defend itself from a possible Iranina strike.

Incoming rocket sirens have been heard near the southern coastal city of Ashdod. Alerts have been activated in Gan Yavne, Bitzaron, Hatzor, Azrikam, Sde Uziyahu, and Shtulim.

As per local reports, the sirens were activated due to rocket fire from Gaza.

As of now, there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Israeli media have identified the Holon attacker as a 34-year-old from Salfit, a town in northern occupied West Bank who had entered Israel without permit.

Two senior citizens were killed in the stabbing attack and two more have been injured.

The Israeli military says Nofal has been killed by its air force aircraft “with precision weaponry” under the intelligence guidance from the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency.

The attack came earlier this week in the Nazareth area of Israel, the military statement said on X.

The army claimed Nofal was involved in rocket attacks against Israel and took part in the October 7 incursion by Hamas fighters from Gaza.

- Aljazeera

Israel's shares have fell sharply amid continuous threats of attack from Iran and its proxies.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirms the Israeli forces will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing near the Gaza-Egypt border.

He claims in a video posted on his X account that Hamas is not ready to accept any mechanism that prevents the passage of weapons and fighters to the northern Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu also accused the Palestinian group that controls Gaza of preventing a deal to return the Israeli captives by rejecting the broad outlines.

“Anyone who, like me, wants to release the abductees should continue to put pressure on Hamas, not the Israeli government,” he said. “We will continue to exert military pressure on Hamas and its leaders until all abductees are returned and the goals of war are achieved.”

ALJAZEERA

Israeli strikes early Sunday killed 18 people in Gaza, including four who were sheltering in a tent camp for displaced Palestinians inside a hospital complex, while a stabbing attack carried out by a Palestinian killed two people in a Tel Aviv suburb.

Tensions have soared following nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the killing of two senior militants in separate strikes in Lebanon and Iran last week. Those killings brought threats of revenge from Iran and its allies and raised fears of an even more destructive regional war.

A woman in her 70s and an 80-year-old man were killed in the stabbing attack, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service and a nearby hospital, and two other men were wounded. The police said the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant, who was “neutralised.”

The rescuers said the wounded were found in three different locations, each about 500 metres (yards) apart. Police initially said they were searching for other suspects but later ruled out the possibility of there having been more than one assailant. AP

The Israeli military on Sunday said five rockets were fired from southern Gaza as one of the rockets fell in an area near Ashkelon in southern Israel, without causing any casualties.

France has urged its citizens residing in Iran to temporarily leave the country, citing the risk of its airspace being closed.

Yemeni Houthis have reportedly taken down US MQ-9 drone over the country's northern province Saada, Reuters reported.

Jordan's foreign minister is expected in Iran on Sunday, as the United States and its Arab allies try to prevent a wider war after the back-to-back killings of top Iran-allied militants sparked vows of revenge against Israel.

Ayman Safadi would be the first senior Jordanian official to pay an official visit to Iran in over 20 years. Jordan is a close Western ally and helped intercept scores of missiles and drones fired by Iran toward Israel in April. Iran said it was retaliating for the killing of its generals in an Israeli strike in Syria.

Many fear Iran and its regional allies could launch a similar attack following the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in an Israeli strike on Beirut last week and of Hamas' top political leader in an explosion in Tehran a day later.

Both attacks were widely blamed on Israel, which has acknowledged killing the Hezbollah commander. Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas have vowed to avenge the killings. AP

A major fire has broken out in a electricity conversion station reportedly at a water utility site in the southern Lebanese town of Taybeh after an Israeli drone strike on the facility. ALJAZEERA

A missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck a Liberian-flagged container ship travelling through the Gulf of Aden, authorities said Sunday, the first assault by the group since Israeli airstrikes targeted them.

The Houthis offered no explanation for the two-week pause in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor, which have seen similar slowdowns since the assaults began in November over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

But the resumption comes after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the Houthis' main benefactor, amid renewed concerns over the war breaking out into a regional conflict.

The attack on Saturday happened some 225 km (140 miles) southeast of Aden in a stretch of the Gulf of Aden that has seen numerous Houthi attacks previously. It hit the container ship Groton just above its waterline, causing minor damage, said the Joint Maritime Information Centre, a multinational coalition overseen by the US Navy. An earlier missile attack missed the vessel, the JMIC said. AP

The Palestinian health ministry has launched a blood donation campaign for the people of Gaza, the Wafa news agency reports.

Announcing the blood drive in Ramallah, Health Minister Majid Abu Ramadan said that the campaign titled “Our blood is one” will be “active at all blood banks within the ministry’s hospitals, as well as through a mobile blood bank vehicle” in the occupied West Bank.

The blood will be transferred to Gaza, where more than 90,000 have been injured in the Israeli offensive since October 7.

- Aljazeera

Saudi Arabia on Sundady urged its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately as tensions soar following high-profile killings in Tehran and Beirut.

Israel on Sunday said the “schools were used by Hamas’s Al Furqan Battalion as a hiding place for its terrorist operatives and as command centres used to plan and execute attacks”.

According to the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, 80percent of those killed and injured in the strikes are children.

At least 25 Palestinians have been reported killed by the strikes on the two schools which were sheltering displaced people near Gaza City. ALJAZEERA

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has asked tourists not to go to Lebanon and for those already there to immediately leave the country.

The US is deploying additional military might in the Middle East as a defensive measure with a goal of de-escalating tensions in the region, a White House official said on Sunday.

Regional tensions have increased following the assassination on Wednesday of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Iranian capital Tehran a day after an Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Both groups are backed by Iran. Reuters

At least 30 bodies have been recovered from the al-Nasr and Hassan Salama schools after Israeli air attacks, according to the Gaza’s Civil Defence.

The rescue service said on Telegram that about 16 displaced people were still missing under the rubble of the al-Nasr school. ALJAZEERA

Hezbollah says it shelled Israel’s military site near the Malkia settlement in the north.

Its statement on Telegram did not elaborate on the result of the attack.

Hezbollah has frequently said that its attacks on northern Israel will cease once Israel ends its war on Gaza.

- Aljazeera

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated that the Yemeni group targeted the Groton, a Liberia-flagged cargo ship, in the Gulf of Aden using several ballistic missiles.

Late on Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that an unnamed cargo ship was attacked twice off Yemen’s coast, with at least one missile hitting it.

Saree also confirmed that the group has shot down a US-made MQ-9 Reaper drone, which is the seventh drone downed since the Gaza conflict began.

- Aljazeera

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, 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. 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. AP

G7 foreign ministers meet by videoconference to discuss Middle East, over threat of escalation, said Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Sunday.