US personnel injured in rocket attack on Iraq Ain Al-Asad base

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Israeli aircraft targeted a motorcycle on Salah Al-Din Road near Al-Zawaida in central Gaza, leading to one person being killed, according to Palestinian media outlets.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant have agreed in a call that the "Iran-aligned militia attack on US forces stationed at Al-Asad airbase" in Iraq represented a "dangerous escalation and demonstrated Iran's destabilising role in the region", the Pentagon says.

A readout provided by Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder says that Austin spoke with Gallant to "reiterate unwavering US commitment to Israel's security in the face of threats" from Iran, Hezbollah, and "other Iran-aligned militia groups".

"Secretary Austin provided an update on measures to strengthen U.S. military posture in the region in light of this escalating situation," the readout adds.

Meta Platforms apologised on Tuesday for the removal of content from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Facebook and Instagram accounts related to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh last week.

The content has since been restored "with the correct newsworthy label", a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed response to questions.

(Reuters)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Russia on 12–14 August, Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a diplomatic source.

(Reuters)

At least four Palestinians were killed and seven others injured by Israeli fire in the town of Aqaba, Tubas District, in the occupied West Bank early on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Two of the injured were in critical condition.

"Israeli forces stormed the town of Aqaba, surrounded a house, and clashed with young men, after which Israeli soldiers fired live bullets," the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The dead include a 36-year-old man, two 19-year-olds, and a 14-year-old boy, a health ministry spokesman said.

"Special units of the [Israeli] army initially stormed the town and surrounded a house, followed by the arrival of occupation military vehicles," Wafa added, quoting local residents.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

(Reuters)

The killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was intended to prolong the Gaza war and will complicate talks on resolving the crisis, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Russia's RIA state news agency in remarks published on Tuesday.

"There is no doubt that the purpose of Mr. Haniyeh's assassination is to prolong the war and expand its scope," RIA cited Abbas as saying.

"It will have a negative impact on the ongoing negotiations to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza."

Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran last week, an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fuelled concern that the war on Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.

"We consider this a cowardly act and a dangerous development in Israeli politics," Abbas said.

"The Israeli occupation authorities are required to abandon their ambitions and stop their aggressive actions against our people and our cause, to comply with international law and implement the Arab Peace Initiative, as well as an immediate and lasting ceasefire and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."

(Reuters)

Jordan's King Abdullah, in a phone call on Monday with US President Joe Biden, warned of what he called "hostile acts" by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and "unilateral measures" that threaten the status quo of Jerusalem's holy sites.

King Abdullah's Hashemite dynasty is custodian of the Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

"His Majesty warned of extremist settler violence against Palestinians, as well as unilateral Israeli measures that undermine the prospects of peace and target the historical and legal status quo of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, which may fuel violence in the region," the Jordanian royal court said in a statement.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no change in policy regarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, after a far-right cabinet minister said Jews could pray there.

The compound, in Jerusalem's walled Old City, houses Islam's third-holiest site.

The status-quo agreement in force at Al-Aqsa reserves prayer at the compound for Muslims alone.

King Abdullah also discussed with Biden the need for de-escalation in the region and "establishing comprehensive calm to prevent a regional war", the royal court added.

(Reuters)

Hamas's armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, says it attacked four Israeli Merkava tanks and an M113 personnel carrier.

Al-Yassin 105 shells were used against the vehicles, while an explosive device was also used to attack the M113, according the Al-Quds Brigades.

The group says it monitored a helicopter landing for evacuation.

Hezbollah mourns a member called Ali Jamal Al-Din Jawad from the town of Zebdine in southern Lebanon.

Several US personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq on Monday, three US officials told Reuters.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspected rocket attack took place at Al-Asad airbase in Iraq. They said they were citing initial information which could change.

"Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment," one of the officials added.

Two Katyusha rockets on Monday were fired at the base in western Iraq, security sources said. One security source said the rockets fell inside the base.

Last week the US carried out a strike in Iraq against individuals US officials said were militants getting ready to launch drones and posed a threat to US and coalition forces.

(Reuters)

Israel returned the bodies of more than 80 Palestinians killed in its military offensive on the Gaza Strip, as Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 more people on Monday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Yamen Abu Suleiman, the director of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said it was unclear whether the bodies had been dug up from cemeteries by the army during the ground offensive, or whether they were "detainees who had been tortured and killed".

"The occupation provided us with no information about the names, or ages, or anything. This is a war crime, a crime against humanity," Abu Suleiman said.

He said the bodies would be examined in an attempt to determine the causes of death and to identify them, before being buried in a mass grave at a cemetery near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

The Gaza government media office said Israel had sent 89 bodies as "bones and decomposed bodies in an inhumane manner".

It said Israeli forces had "stolen" 2,000 bodies since Oct 7 from dozens of cemeteries, which they bulldozed during their ongoing military offensive.

(Reuters)

The Qatari and Egyptian foreign ministers discussed Gaza mediation efforts on Monday.

Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thank, who also serves as prime minister, received a phone call from Egypt's Badr Abdel Atty, Doha's foreign ministry says on X.

"During the call, they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and means to support and develop them, the latest developments in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, and enhancing joint cooperation to bring more humanitarian aid into the strip," the Qatari ministry adds.

"The call also discussed the latest developments of the joint mediation efforts to end the war on the Gaza Strip, the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and stressed the need for calm and de-escalation in the region."

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs @MBA_AlThani_ Receives Phone Call from Egyptian Foreign Minister#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/de7l2EIJkq

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) August 5, 2024

A Qatari minister emphasised the importance of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza during a meeting with a UK minister.

Doha's foreign ministry says that Mohammed bin Abdel Aziz Al-Khulaifi "stressed the need to reach an immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, and "accelerating the pace of delivering humanitarian aid to the strip" in his meeting with Hamish Falconer.

"The meeting discussed bilateral cooperation relations and ways to enhance and develop them," the Qatari ministry says on X.

"It also discussed the developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, and the latest updates in the region."

The ministry adds that the Qatari ambassador to the UK, Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani, attended the meeting.

Minister of State at Ministry of Foreign Affairs @Dr_Al_Khulaifi Meets Minister for Middle East, North Africa at British Foreign Office#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/Uk2aEjAzEB

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) August 5, 2024

The United States has been urging countries through its diplomatic engagements to tell Iran that escalation in the Middle East is not in Tehran's interest, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday.

Speaking at a daily briefing, Miller said this was a "critical moment" for the region and that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was working the phones to help calm the tensions, but also said Washington was preparing for all possibilities.

The top US diplomat on Monday spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty on the tensions in the Middle East.

"One of the points of the engagements that we have had is to urge countries to pass messages to Iran and urge countries to make clear to Iran that it is very much not in their interests to escalate this conflict, that it is very much not in their interest to launch another attack on Israel," he said.

Miller did not say definitively whether or not Washington's messages have been disseminated to Iran or through which channel.

"I would expect that some of them would pass that message along and impress that point upon the government of Iran," he added.

(Reuters)

At least two Katyusha rockets targeted the US Ain Al-Asad base in Iraq with no reports of losses so far, Iraqi sources have told The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The foreign ministers of Italy and Iraq called on Monday for diplomacy and de-escalation in the Middle East, saying they were deeply concerned about increasing tension threatening the entire region.

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran last week, an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled further concern that the war on Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.

Italy's Antonio Tajani and Iraq's Fouad Hussein said in a joint statement they called on "all involved parties to resort to dialogue and diplomacy in order to foster de-escalation and provide space for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza".

(Reuters)

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes killed three people Monday in the country's south, with Hezbollah announcing one of its fighters killed and a rescue group mourning a paramedic.

The ministry said an "Israeli enemy strike that targeted a motorbike" in the southern village of Ebba killed one person, wounded another, and caused a pregnant woman who was near the site to miscarry due to "shock".

Earlier, the health ministry said an "enemy raid" near the cemetery in the border village of Mais Al-Jabal "killed two people".

An Israeli army statement claimed that "soldiers identified a terrorist cell operating a drone" in the Mais Al-Jabal area, and that air forces "struck and eliminated the terrorists".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said one of those killed in Mais Al-Jabal was a paramedic with the Risala Scouts association, which is affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement.

The frontline village is less than two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the border with Israel and has experienced heavy bombardment since cross-border fighting began, forcing most residents to leave.

Hezbollah later also announced that a fighter from Mais Al-Jabal had been killed by Israeli fire.

Hamas's armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, says it exploded the booby-trapped eye of a tunnel on an Israeli engineering force, leading to injuries and deaths, in the Zalata area east of Rafah city in southern Gaza.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call on Monday to pressure Israel to "seriously engage" in Gaza ceasefire talks, the Egyptian foreign ministry says in a statement.

Abdel Atty also asked his US counterpart to pressure Israel to stop practising the policy of "brinkmanship", the statement adds.

(Reuters)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad's armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, says it shelled Israeli soldiers and vehicles with mortars in the Netzarim Corridor that splits the Gaza Strip in two.

The Qatari prime minister has spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Doha's foreign ministry says on the social media platform X that Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, received a phone call from Blinken.

They "discussed the developments in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, the updates of the joint mediation efforts aimed at ending the war on the strip, and the constant tensions in the Middle East, stressing the need for calm and de-escalation in the region", the ministry adds.

It says they also spoke about the "close strategic ties" between Qatar and the US and "ways to support and strengthen them".

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Receives Phone Call from US Secretary of State#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/dfJdMoq229

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) August 5, 2024

Germany is preparing to evacuate its nationals from Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East amid concerns over an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran and the Tehran-aligned group Hezbollah, Spiegel magazine reported on Monday.

Germany's air force has been readying a small fleet of A400M transport aircraft that could shuttle people from Beirut to Cyprus, Spiegel said, without specifying its sources.

(Reuters)

The Israeli army ordered evacuations in nine neighbourhoods in central Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, and Israel prepares for a renewed assault.

The army said residents have to evacuate to the "humanitarian zone" - despite reports confirming there are no safe zone in the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv Monday to mark the fifth birthday of Ariel Bibas, held captive in Gaza, and to call for the liberation of him and his family.

Ariel and his baby brother Kfir, who would now be one year old, were kidnapped along with their parents, Yarden and Shiri, from their homes in the Nir Oz kibbutz community near Gaza on 7 October.

Hamas said in November that the two boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Israel has yet to confirm if they are alive.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday that Turkey would formally submit its declaration of intervention in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice ICJ in The Hague on Wednesday.

Turkey had announced in May that it had decided to join the case launched by South Africa as it stepped up measures against Israel over its assault on Gaza and that it would submit a bid after the necessary legal preparations.

Fidan was speaking at a news conference in Cairo.

(Reuters)

Jordan has requested all airlines landing at its airports carry 45 minutes of reserve fuel, in what experts see as a precautionary measure in case of an attack by Iran against Israel.

Jordanian authorities issued the NOTAM, a safety notice for pilots, on Sunday. It asks all airlines to carry the reserve fuel for "operational reasons" and is effective until 2200 GMT on Tuesday.

In a bulletin, OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information, said the move was ahead of the anticipated closure of Jordanian airspace, a cautionary move in case of an attack on Israel by Iran.

"The Jordan NOTAM is relevant because in the April aerial attack on Israel, Jordan was the first country to close their airspace by NOTAM, well ahead of even Israel, Iran, or Iraq," Mark Zee, OPSGROUP's Chief Executive, told Reuters.

"The 45 minutes would be intended to provide enough additional fuel for an aircraft to leave Jordanian airspace and land elsewhere," he added.

(Reuters)

A 26-year-old Palestinian man died from physical abuse and torture he sustained while in Israeli prison.

The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) confirmed that Omar Junaid, from the Gaza Strip, died in July.

Junaid was detained on 23 December with his brother, who was released after four months.

Twenty-one detainees have died in Israeli custody since 7 October.

Israeli forces raided Jenin city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Videos show forces ramming their vehicles into civilian cars, injuring two people and shooting an electricity transformer. 

Local sources also told Wafa the army also invaded a money exchange shop, and snipers took over the rooftops of several buildings and turned them into military observation points.

The Chinese embassy in Lebanon on Monday told Chinese citizens to travel to the country with caution, citing "grim and complex" security situation.

The embassy also called on Chinese nationals and institutions in Lebanon to stay on high alert and strengthen safety precautions, it said in a statement. 

(Reuters)

Ireland Prime Minister Simon Harris is advising its citizens not to travel to Israel "due to growing instability in the region". 

"The same advice applies to Lebanon and Palestine," the PM wrote on X.

Our travel advice for Israel has changed due to growing instability in the region. The government is now advising Irish citizens do not travel to Israel.

The same advice applies to Lebanon and Palestine.

— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) August 5, 2024

German airline giant Lufthansa said Monday that its flights would avoid Iraqi and Iranian airspace until at least 7 August amid heightened tension in the region.

In a statement, the airline said that "based on its current security analysis", it "will not be using Iranian and Iraqi airspace up to and including August 7", adding that flights to Amman and Erbil would be suspended up to the same date and that those to Tel Aviv, Tehran and Beirut would be suspended until 12 August.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered the seizure of 100 million shekels ($26 million) of tax funds intended for the Palestinian Authority, saying it would be used to pay for Israeli victims of terrorism.

In a statement issued late on Sunday, the finance ministry said the confiscation of funds was "part of measures to combat terrorism".

The statement quoted Smotrich as accusing the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, of diverting the funds to the "families of terrorists".

Israeli politicians have regularly criticised the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority for granting financial support to the families of Palestinians killed or jailed for acts of violence against Israel.

Six civilians were killed after an Israeli airstrike struck south of Gaza City in the Tal Al-Hawa area.

Local sources told Wafa that the forces also shelled civilians in the area and Al-Abraj Street, killing four Palestinians.

Medical sources have told Wafa that the Israeli forces handed over the 84 bodies of Palestinians who had been taken from cemeteries in the Gaza Strip.

Wafa correspondent said the bodies were buried in the Turkish cemetery in the Austrian neighbourhood southwest of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip.

The reporter added that this is the third batch of bodies that the forces have handed over to the Red Cross since 7 October.

Lebanon on Monday received emergency medical supplies to equip its hospitals for possible war injuries, and Beirut airport was teeming with people trying to leave the country amid fears a full-scale conflict was on the horizon.

The World Health Organisation delivered 32 tons of medical supplies to Lebanon's health ministry, including at least 1,000 trauma kits to treat possible war wounded.

"The goal is to get these supplies and medicines to various hospitals and to the health sector in Lebanon, especially in the places most exposed (to hostilities) so that we can be ready to deal with any emergency," Health Minister Firass Abiad told reporters at the airport landing strip where the aid arrived.

(Reuters)

Iran said Monday it has the "legal right" to respond to the assassination in Tehran last week of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, an attack blamed on Israel amid its war on Gaza.

"No one has the right to doubt Iran's legal right to punish the Zionist regime", Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told a regular news conference.

The Gaza Health Ministry has confirmed that over 39,623 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October, while 91,469 have been injured.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry issued a travel alert on Monday urging Japanese citizens in Lebanon to evacuate the country due to rising tensions in the Middle East.

(Reuters)

Turkey urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country if they do not need to stay due to the possibility that the security situation there will deteriorate rapidly, its foreign ministry said late on Sunday.

Tensions have soared since the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, in Tehran on Wednesday, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a top military commander from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Turks in Lebanon should be cautious and should not go to Nebatiyeh, South Lebanon, Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel governorates unless it is essential, the ministry said in a statement.

"Those who do not need to stay in Lebanon should leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still operating, if possible," it said, adding that Turks should avoid travelling to Lebanon unless essential.

(Reuters)

Lebanon's health ministry said two people were killed on Monday in an Israeli strike on the country's south, where Hezbollah has been trading near-daily fire with Israel since the start of the war on Gaza.

Since last week, tensions have soared as Iran and Tehran-backed groups, including Hezbollah, vowed revenge for the killing of Hamas's political leader in Tehran and Israel's killing of Hezbollah's military chief in Beirut.

"The enemy raid that took place near the (Mais Al-Jabal) town's cemetery killed two people," Lebanon's Health Ministry said in a statement.

"One of the two martyrs who fell in the Mais Al-Jabal raid this morning was a Risala Scouts paramedic," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said.

Three Palestinians were detained on Monday after Israeli forces raided east Nablus. Israeli forces also set fire to parts of the central vegetable market and fired tear gas bombs.

Local sources told Wafa that the army was accompanied by a military bulldozer, storming the area and was deployed claiming to secure settlers storming the tomb of the biblical figure Joseph.

Australia "omitted crucial details" when presenting a report into the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza, Israel's embassy in Canberra said Monday in a frank diplomatic rebuke.

Australian national Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was among a group of seven charity workers killed in April when an Israeli air strike hit their World Central Kitchen aid convoy.

A declassified Australian report last week blamed the lethal error on operational failures such as the "mistaken identification" of armed security staff as Hamas hijackers.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held talks Sunday during a rare visit to Iran, as fears of an escalation between Tehran and Israel grew following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.

The political head of the Palestinian group Hamas was killed early on Wednesday in Tehran, where he had attended the inauguration of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iran and Hamas, which Tehran supports, vowed to retaliate and blamed the strike on Israel, which has declined to comment.

ISNA news agency said Safadi "met and held consultations with" acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri after landing in Tehran.