Syria live updates: Putin to give Assad asylum in Russia, Kremlin says
Delil Souleiman via Getty Images
(DAMASCUS, SYRIA) — Rebel forces in Syria captured the capital Damascus and toppled the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides.
Putin to grant Assad asylum in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin will grant political asylum to toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
“Of course, such decisions cannot be made without the head of state,” Peskov said, as quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax. “This is his decision,”
“We have nothing to tell you about Mr. Assad’s whereabouts right now,” Peskov said, adding there was no official meeting between Putin and Assad planned.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Israel bombed Syrian chemical weapons sites, foreign minister says
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters on Monday that Israeli forces “attacked strategic weapons arrays, residual chemical weapons capabilities, missiles and long-range rockets” inside Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of “extremist elements.”
Israeli forces have been striking inside Syria and occupying positions on Syrian territory in recent days, as rebel forces — some with roots in jihadist organizations — surged into major Syrian cities and precipitated the collapse of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus.
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday it had taken up positions in the demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria established by a bilateral 1974 agreement.
Saar said the presence of “armed men” in the zone and their alleged attacks on United Nations positions there prompted the Israeli decision to cross the border.
Saar said Israeli deployments into the buffer zone are “targeted and temporary” and intended to prevent an “Oct. 7 scenario from Syria,” referring to last year’s devastating Hamas infiltration attack into southern Israel.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Dana Savir
Israeli forces cross into buffer zone separating occupied Golan Heights from Syria
Israel Defense Forces tanks and armored vehicles have entered the buffer zone that separates the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria on Sunday night.
The move puts IDF troops in operations on four fronts in the Middle East, Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
The advancement into Syria comes after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to Islamist rebels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision was made to “protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned positions,” according to AP.
The IDF has reportedly warned Syrian residents in five southern communities to stay home for their safety.
Israeli forces on Sunday also took over the Syrian side of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, according to AP.
Iranian foreign minister says he fears ‘renewed civil war’ in Syria
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi commented on the fall of Syria’s government during an interview on Iranian state TV on Sunday.
He said Syria’s ousted president, Bashar al-Assad, was “surprised” and “complained about the way his own army was performing.”
Araghchi also said Iran was fully aware of the situation in Syria through “the intelligence and security system of our country.”
Iran is monitoring the developments in Syria and is concerned about the “possibility of a renewed civil war or a sectarian war between different sects or the division of Syria and the collapse of Syria and its transformation into a haven for terrorists,” Araghchi said.
-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi and Ellie Kaufman
US strikes 75 ISIS targets in Syria
The United States launched dozens of against ISIS targets in central Syria on Sunday in an attempt to “disrupt, degrade and defeat” the terrorist group, according to the head of the U.S. Central Command.
CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement that 75 ISIS targets were hit in precision airstrikes Sunday in Syria. He said the mission was carried out by U.S. Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s and A-10s.
“There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria. All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way,” Kurilla said.
Kurilla said the strikes hit known ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria.
During a speech at the White House on Sunday, President Joe Biden mentioned the U.S. strikes on ISIS targets in Syria. He said U.S. forces are also bolstering security at detention facilities in Syria where ISIS fighters are being held.
“We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its capability and to create a safe haven,” Biden said. “We will not let that happen.”
(NEW YORK) — Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging hundreds of cross-border strikes in the wake of the shocking explosions of wireless devices across Lebanon last week.
Here’s how the news is developing:
At least 492 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon
At least 492 people were killed and over 1,600 injured in Lebanon early Monday as the Israeli military expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Among the deceased were 35 children and 58 women, the ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said they struck at least 800 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed they were changing “the security balance, the balance of power in the North.”
“For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel’s policy — we do not wait for a threat, we anticipate it. Everywhere, in every arena, at any time,” Netanyahu said. “We eliminate senior officials, eliminate terrorists, eliminate missiles — and our hands are bent.”
“Whoever tries to hurt us, we hurt him even more,” he added.
Hezbollah senior commander Ali Karaki, who was targeted in Monday’s strike on Beirut, survived the attack, Hezbollah officials said.
Two senior Israeli sources confirmed to ABC News that Karaki had been the target of the strike.
At least 356 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon
At least 356 people were killed and over 1,200 injured in Lebanon early Monday as the Israeli military expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Among the deceased were 24 children and 42 women, the ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces said they struck at least 800 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed they were changing “the security balance, the balance of power in the North.”
“For those who have not yet understood, I want to clarify Israel’s policy — we do not wait for a threat, we anticipate it. Everywhere, in every arena, at any time,” Netanyahu said. “We eliminate senior officials, eliminate terrorists, eliminate missiles — and our hands are bent.”
“Whoever tries to hurt us, we hurt him even more,” he added.
At least 6 injured in Israeli strike on southern Beirut
At least six people were injured Monday in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut, according to Lebanese state media.
The Israel Defense Forces conducted the targeted missile strike on a residential building in Bir al-Abd, a southern suburb of Beirut.
US deploying ‘small number’ of additional troops to Middle East, DOD says
The U.S. is sending “a small number” of additional troops to the Middle East amid growing tensions in the region, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced Monday.
“In light of increased tension in the Middle East, and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region,” Ryder said.
He would not give additional details on the size or nature of these additional forces, citing operational security concerns.
IDF calls for more civilians to evacuate Lebanon
As Israeli forces continue to bombard southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces is calling on civilians living in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley to leave now. This comes after an earlier call for civilians to leave southern Lebanon.
“I urge the Lebanese residents of the villages in the Beqaa Valley who are inside or near houses where rockets and weapons are stored, to move away immediately! For your safety and protection,” IDF spokesman spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Monday.
Hagari claimed every house the IDF is striking contains rockets, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles “that are intended to kill Israeli civilians.”
Hundreds killed and wounded by Israeli bombing, Lebanese authorities say
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said 100 people were killed and more than 400 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Monday.
Women, children and medical personnel were among the casualties, the ministry said.
Israeli warplanes struck 300 Hezbollah targets in the south of the country on Monday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said, following a weekend of intense exchanges across the Israel-Lebanon border.
ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Morgan Winsor
Israel strikes 300 targets in southern Lebanon
Dozens of Israeli warplanes struck at least 300 targets in southern Lebanon on Monday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces, the attacks coinciding with an IDF warning of an expanded airstrike campaign against Hezbollah.
A steady bombardment rocked several Lebanese villages close to the Israeli border.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and 20 injured in the ongoing strikes.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
IDF previews new strikes on targets ‘throughout Lebanon’
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari warned Lebanese border residents that more Israeli strikes are planned against Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure” — specifically on homes hiding missiles.
In a statement and accompanying video released on Monday morning, Hagari accused Hezbollah of using residential properties to house and fire cruise missiles.
“The terrorists create a designated opening for the missile launch,” Hagari said, showing footage of a purported strike on a building being prepared for an attack by a Hezbollah operative.
“Shortly, the IDF will engage in extensive, precise strikes against terror targets which have been embedded widely throughout Lebanon,” Hagari added.
“We advise civilians from Lebanese villages located in and next to buildings and areas used by Hezbollah for military purposes, such as those used to store weapons, to immediately move out of harm’s way for their own safety.”
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Joe Simonetti
IDF striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Israeli forces are “currently conducting extensive strikes” on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, the IDF said in a release early Monday morning local time.
No further details were immediately available.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Israeli fighter jets intercept drone fired from Iraq
Israeli Air Force fighter jets “successfully intercepted” a drone that was fired from Iraq and approached its territory early Monday morning local time, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
“Following the sirens that sounded between 04:45 and 04:54 in the Southern Golan area, IAF fighter jets successfully intercepted a UAV that was fired from Iraq and approached Israeli territory from Syria,” the IDF said.
No injuries were reported, according to the IDF.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility for a drone attack towards Israel early Monday morning in a statement posted on Telegram.
This is the second time drones fired from Iraq towards Israel have been intercepted by the IDF between Sunday and Monday.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Netanyahu considering plan to force civilians out of northern Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering implementing a plan that would involve forcing all Palestinian civilians to leave northern Gaza, and then refusing to allow any aid in to the remaining people, laying siege to the area.
News that Netanyahu was considering the plan was first reported by CNN on Sunday.
The plan was formulated by a group of retired Israeli generals, led by Giora Eiland, who was head of Israel’s National Security Council from 2004 to 2006.
It does not address whether Palestinians would be allowed to return to northern Gaza in the future if Israel were to carry out the plan.
Eiland told ABC News he presented the plan in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, last week. A press readout of that meeting said the head of the committee Eiland spoke to said he would speak with Netanyahu about the plan.
Eiland said he believes there is “wide political and military support for the plan,” and that while he hasn’t spoken to Netanyahu personally, he’s spoken to people close to the prime minister. “The PM knows the plan and is considering to adopt it,” Eiland told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
UAV from Iraq intercepted over Golan Heights, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said it detected an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Iraq crossing into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday night.
Interceptors were launched toward it and no injuries were reported, according to the IDF.
On Sunday morning, an IDF spokesperson said three projectiles had been detected coming from Iraq overnight, but all of them were intercepted.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF strikes 2nd Gaza school in 2 days
The Israel Defense Forces said it conducted a strike Sunday on a school in Gaza City, which it said was targeting Hamas militants operating inside the school.
It was the second strike on a Gaza school in two days.
The Gaza Civil Defense said six people were killed in Sunday’s strike.
The IDF claimed that “terrorists were operating from within a compound that previously served as the ‘Kafr Qasem’ School.” It said in a statement, in part, that “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to uninvolved civilians.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Israel ‘can’t accept’ Hezbollah attacks, Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released two statements Sunday — one in Hebrew and one in English — addressing the ongoing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
In both statements, the prime minister said Israel is committed to returning tens of thousands of evacuated citizens to the north of the country.
“We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes,” he said.
In the statement in Hebrew, the prime minister said Israel dealt a heavy blow to Hezbollah this week, adding: “If Hezbollah did not understand the message, I promise you — it will understand the message.”
In the English statement, Netanyahu compared Hamas and Hezbollah, noting the latter’s daily tempo of attacks since Oct. 8. “No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities,” he said. “We can’t accept it either.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz also released a statement addressed to other foreign ministers, saying the world must force Hezbollah to comply with a 2006 United Nations resolution that required the militant group to stay north of the Litani River in Lebanon; around 18 miles north of the Israeli border.
“We will do everything necessary to protect our citizens. If the world does not withdraw Hezbollah north of Litani in accordance with Resolution 1701 — Israel will do so,” Katz said.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Israel strikes Lebanon after 115 Hezbollah launches, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces is again striking “Hezbollah terrorist targets” in Lebanon as of Sunday morning amid renewed cross-border fire, the IDF said in a statement.
“Over the past few hours, Hezbollah launched approximately 115 aerial threats toward civilian areas in northern Israel,” the IDF said.
“The IDF defensive arrays are deployed in the area” and are “on high preparedness to thwart threats,” it added.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
4 injured by shrapnel in northern Israel, emergency service says
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said its responders treated four people who sustained shrapnel injuries in the north of the country on Sunday morning, as Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces continued intense cross-border strikes.
Among those reported injured were a 76-year-old male “in moderate condition from a shrapnel wound to the upper body,” as well as a 16-year-old female “in mild condition,” the MDA said in a post to X.
Both were injured in the Krayot region near the northern city of Haifa, less than 20 miles from the border with Lebanon.
Several other people were “mildly injured” or “suffering from anxiety” while heading to safe areas and shelters in northern Israel, the MDA said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel closes schools, beaches in north amid attacks
The Israel Defense Forces has issued new defensive guidelines for the north of the country amid intensifying cross-border fire by the Hezbollah militant group and a ramped up IDF strike campaign in southern Lebanon and Beirut.
Outdoor gatherings must now be limited to 10 people and indoor gatherings at 100 people, the IDF said in its new guidance.
Beaches will be closed and all educational activities “prohibited,” the force said. Work activities can continue if workers are within reach of a protected space.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
State Dept. updates level 4 travel advisory for Lebanon
The U.S. State Department reissued its level 4 “do not travel” warning for Lebanon Saturday to include threats posed by “recent explosions throughout Lebanon, including Beirut.”
The Department’s prevailing guidance for American citizens in the country—which is to “depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available”—is unchanged from its last advisory issued in July.
“At this time, commercial flights are available, but at reduced capacity. If the security situation worsens, commercial options to depart may become unavailable,” the advisory said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
Israel striking Lebanon, upping defense readiness in north: Israeli official
Israel’s chief military spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari addressed the ongoing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, saying in a statement Israel is currently conducting more strikes in Lebanon and has struck 400 “targets” on Saturday alone.
He also announced a change to defensive readiness for Israelis in Haifa and north of Haifa. They must now always be able to reach a shelter quickly and gatherings are limited to 300 people indoors and 30 people outdoors.
Asked about a possible ground invasion of Lebanon, he would only say, “Our mission is to return the residents of the north safely to their homes and for that we will do whatever it takes.”
Hagari also addressed Gaza and said Israeli forces killed militants they believe were holding Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostages who were found dead last month.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
IDF says it struck 180 targets in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said it struck 180 targets in Lebanon on Saturday, targeting “launcher barrels” that were ready for launching weapons toward Israel.
Four people have been injured in the Israeli strikes Saturday, one critically, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.
The IDF said 90 launches were identified coming from Lebanon today but no casualties or damage were reported.
Hezbollah said they have launched nine aerial attacks toward Israel on Saturday.
The IDF said it “will continue operating to dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and terror infrastructure.”
– ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Anna Burd.
37 dead in Israel’s Beirut strike, Lebanon ministry says
The Lebanese health ministry issued another update Saturday, bringing the total number of dead in Friday’s Beirut strike to 37. It says first responders are continuing to search the rubble.
The dead include at least three children – ages 4, 6 and 10 – and seven women, the ministry said during a press conference earlier. Dozens more people have been wounded.
The Israel Defense Forces described the strike on Friday as a “targeted” assault.
22 dead in Israeli strike on Gaza school, Gaza Health Ministry says
Twenty-two people were killed and 30 more were injured in an Israeli strike on a school in Gaza City, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.
Civil Defense, the local first responders, said they recovered the bodies of 13 children.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement a military strike targeted terrorists who were operational in a “Hamas command and control center.”
Video shows rubble strewn in hallways and classrooms turned shelters. A witness told Reuters that women and children were gathered in the yard when two missiles hit the school.
Additional verified video shows first responders gathering body parts from under rubble, along with toddlers with severed limbs being tended to.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, IDF says
The Israeli military on Saturday began strikes within Lebanon that were aimed at targets belonging to the Hezbollah militant group, the Israel Defense Forces said.
31 dead in Beirut strike, Lebanon ministry says
Thirty-one people were killed and 68 were injured in Israel’s strike on Friday in Beirut, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Saturday.
Among the dead are three children — ages 4, 6 and 10 — and seven women, the ministry said during a press conference. Three Syrian nationals were also killed, it said.
Among the wounded, 53 have been discharged from hospital. Two remain in critical condition, the ministry said.
Rescue teams were on Saturday morning still searching the rubble searching for additional bodies. The health multiple buildings and cars were damaged and destroyed in the strike.
The Israel Defense Force described the strike on Friday as a “targeted” assault, saying it killed a key Hezbollah commander, Ibrahim Aqil, along with his chain of command.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz, Nasser Atta, Emma Ogao and Victoria Beaule
Israeli device attacks emphasize depth of security breach: Sources
The Israeli strike on Beirut on the heels of pager and walkie-talkie explosions this week are designed to emphasize to Hezbollah and Iran the depth of the security breach Israel has achieved, two intelligence sources told ABC News.
The sentiment is if the Israelis can plant exploding pagers and radios, they could have already placed sources and devices that reveal key info and personnel in places thought to be protected, sources said.
The Israelis could well be trying to soften the ground for an assault, but the sources believe the consequence of this week’s events could actually be a realization by Iran and Hezbollah that a return to the uneasy status quo on the northern border might be the right move right now.
Prior to the pager explosions, Israeli intelligence had been running out of actionable information about locations and patterns of life among top Hezbollah officials. Learning where the pagers and radios were and who had them created an invaluable trove of intel.
-ABC News’ Josh Margolin
Key Hezbollah leader, commanders killed in strike in Beirut, Israel says
A key Hezbollah commander and members of his chain of command were killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut on Friday, according to the Israel Defense Forces, as tensions continue to rise along the Israel-Lebanon border.
At least nine people, including a key Hezbollah member, were killed in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut Friday.
Ibrahim Aqil, a senior member of Hezbollah and the target of the strike in southern Beirut, was killed, according to the Israeli army. Top operatives and the chain of command of the Raduan unit were also killed in the strike, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Aqil and the commanders who were killed were allegedly planning to occupy Galilee, in what Israel claimed would have been similar to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
Delta pauses flights between New York and Tel Aviv through December
Delta Air Lines has paused all flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv, Israel, through Dec. 31 due to the “ongoing conflict in the region,” the airline said in a release Thursday.
“Customers impacted by the schedule change will receive notifications via the Fly Delta app and contact information listed in their reservation as these cancellations are processed in Delta’s system,” Delta said in a statement.
Travelers can still book seats on Delta partner airlines Air France and EL AL Israel Airlines through Delta’s website.
Germany being selective with arms shipments to Israel
Germany is being selective with what arms it is sending to Israel in light of rising tensions with Hezbollah and Hamas.
“There is no ban on licenses for arms exports to Israel and there will be no ban. The Federal Government decides on the granting of licenses for arms exports on a case-by-case basis and in the light of the respective situation after careful examination, taking into account foreign and security policy considerations in accordance with legal and political requirements,” the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection said in a statement.
“In doing so, the Federal Government takes into account compliance with international humanitarian law. In this case-by-case assessment, the current situation is always taken into account, including the attacks on Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah as well as the course of the operation in Gaza,” the ministry said.
Lebanon death toll rises after device explosions
At least 37 people — including two children — were killed across the country by exploding communication devices on Tuesday and Wednesday, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Al-Abyad said in a press conference Thursday. About 3,000 people were injured, he said.
“It is certain that what happened in terms of aggression is considered a war crime, as the majority of the injuries were recorded in civilian areas and not in the battlefield, and the government is doing its duty and has called for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, and human rights organizations are doing their duty on this issue,” Al-Abyad said.
Hezbollah said 20 of its members were killed in Wednesday’s walkie-talkie explosions. Another 11 were killed in Tuesday’s pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria, bringing the overall death toll for the group to 31.
Israel was responsible for Tuesday’s explosions, a source confirmed to ABC News, in which pagers detonated across Beirut and southern Lebanon. Walkie-talkies exploded on Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Nasser Atta and Ghazi Balkiz
IDF carrying out strikes in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said it is carrying out strikes in Lebanon to “degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure,” according to a statement.
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization has turned southern Lebanon into a combat zone. For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them, and used civilians as human shields. The IDF is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes, as well as to achieve of all of the war goals,” the IDF said in a statement.
The strikes come after two consecutive days of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkie devices in Lebanon, which left at least 37 people dead.
Israeli arrested over Iran-directed plot to kill Netanyahu, police say
Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence service foiled an alleged plot to kill Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu and other prominent individuals, according to details of an indictment released on Thursday.
Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli businessman from the city of Ashkelon, is accused of twice smuggling himself into Iran via Turkey to meet with intelligence officials directing would-be plots from Tehran.
The discussions allegedly included potential plans to attack Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, among others.
Police and Shin Bet said the alleged plots were intended as retaliation for the killing of Ismail Hanieyh in Tehran in July, which Iran blamed on Israel.
A joint police and Shin Bet statement also accused Maman of discussing the possibility of acting as a money courier for others in Israel, locating Russian and American elements for the elimination of Tehran’s opponents in Europe and the U.S. and recruiting Mossad personnel as double agents.
“The Israeli citizen demanded an advance payment of $1 million dollars before performing any action,” police and Shin Bet said. “Iranian agents refused his request and informed him they would contact him in the future.”
Maman allegedly received around $558,000 — paid in euros — for attending the meetings with Iranian intelligence personnel.
Lebanon toll rises after device explosions
The Lebanese Health Ministry said that at least 32 people — including two children — were killed across the country by exploding communication devices on Tuesday and Wednesday. More than 3,250 people were injured, it said.
Hezbollah said 20 of its members were killed in Wednesday’s walkie-talkie explosions. Another 11 were killed in Tuesday’s pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria, bringing the overall death toll for the group to 31.
A source confirmed to ABC News that Israel was responsible for Tuesday’s explosions, in which pagers detonated across Beirut and southern Lebanon. Walkie-talkies exploded on Wednesday.
Israeli forces conduct airstrike on school in Gaza City
Israeli forces conducted an airstrike on what they claim were Hamas terrorists operating within a command and control center embedded inside a school in Gaza City, Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement Wednesday.
Ten people were killed from the strike, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.
“A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists operating within a command and control center embedded inside a compound that previously served as the ‘Ibn Al-Haytam’ School in the area of Gaza City,” the IDF said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia will not recognize Israel without Palestinian state: Crown Prince
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom would not recognize Israel as a state without a Palestinian state.
“The Palestinian cause is at the forefront of your country’s affairs. We renew the kingdom’s rejection and strong condemnation of the crimes of the Israeli occupation authority against the Palestinian people, ignoring international and humanitarian law in a new and bitter chapter of suffering,” Prince Mohammed said.
“The kingdom will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that. We extend our thanks to the countries that have recognized the Palestinian state, in accordance with international legitimacy, and we urge the rest of the countries to take similar steps,” Prince Mohammed said.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia had previously paved the way for normalizing relations with Israel before the eruption of the war in the Gaza Strip last October put those plans on hold.
Fighting in the north moves into ‘new phase,’ Gallant says
Israel has begun a “new phase in the war,” with Israel diverting forces and resources toward northern Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at the air force’s Ramat David base on Wednesday.
“The center of gravity is moving north, the meaning is that we are diverting forces, resources, energy towards the north. We have not forgotten the abductees and we have not forgotten our tasks in the south, this is our duty and we are carrying it out at the same time,” Gallant said.
“It is very important to do things at this stage in close cooperation — between all organizations, at all levels,” Gallant said.
US ‘did not know’ about Israel’s pager operation: Blinken
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a press conference in Egypt on Wednesday that the U.S. “did not know about and was not involved” in Israel’s pager attacks in Lebanon and Syria — but said that officials were still gathering information and did not directly blame Israel.
“Broadly speaking, we’ve been very clear, and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we’re trying to resolve in Gaza,” Blinken said.
Its spread to other fronts, he added, is “clearly not in the interest of anyone involved.”
Blinken also reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to reaching a cease-fire, which he said would “materially improve the prospects of defusing the situation” on the Israeli-Lebanese border and allow thousands of people living near the area on both sides of the divide to return home.
“That’s clearly the best path forward for everyone involved. So again, it’s imperative that everyone avoid taking steps that could further escalate or spread the conflict,” he said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty was also asked about the matter, and had much more to say. He declared, via a translator, that Egypt was “against any unilateral action that attacks the sovereignty of Lebanon.”
“We have condemned and we will condemn any targeting of the Lebanese sovereignty,” he said. “It does not encourage any civility.”
He continued: “Such dangerous escalation can lead to what we have warned of before, which is leading to the edge of a regional war which can kill everyone.”
The foreign minister also asserted that the “heart of the crisis” facing the Middle East was “Israeli aggression in Gaza.”
Israel moves troops toward Lebanon border
The Israel Defense Forces’ 98th Division will be deployed to the northern part of the country close to the border with Lebanon, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The division was previously active in the Gaza Strip and is being deployed to the north amid rising tensions and ongoing skirmishes between the IDF and the Hezbollah militant group operating from southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has vowed retaliation for Israel’s exploding pager attack that killed at least 12 people and injured at least 2,800 in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday.
Israel behind Lebanon pagers attack, sources confirm
Sources confirmed to ABC News that Israel was responsible for the explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday.
The pagers began exploding around 3:30 p.m. local time, according to Hezbollah officials. An intelligence source familiar with the situation told ABC News that Israel has long been working to perfect this type of “supply chain interdiction attack.”
At least nine civilians were killed and more than 2,750 injured by the explosions, Lebanese health authorities said.
Hezbollah said 11 of its members were killed on Tuesday, though did not disclose the circumstances of their deaths. The militant group vowed retaliation against Israel.
Four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said four of its soldiers were killed fighting in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Capt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon were killed in combat, the IDF said in a statement.
One officer and two soldiers from the Shaked Battalion, Givati Brigade, were “severely injured” during the same incident, the statement said. Another two soldiers were “moderately injured.”
An officer from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit was also “severely injured” in southern Gaza, the IDF said.
Hezbollah vows ‘reckoning’ for pager explosions
In a Wednesday morning statement, the Hezbollah militant group said it would continue operations to “support Gaza” and vowed a “reckoning” for Israel after Tuesday’s “massacre” when more than 2,750 people were injured by exploding pagers in Lebanon.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the operation, which killed at least nine civilians. Eleven Hezbollah members died on Tuesday, the group said, though — as is typical in its statements — did not specify how they died.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to speak on Thursday afternoon to address the situation.
Israel has not commented on its alleged involvement in Tuesday’s explosions in Lebanon.
IDF strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes hit Hezbollah targets in six locations in southern Lebanon into Wednesday. Artillery strikes were also conducted, it added.
Israeli aircraft bombed “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” in the areas of Majdal Selm, Odaisseh, Markaba, Blida, Maroun El Ras and Chihine in southern Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.
Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways cancel all flights to Israel
Three major European airlines have canceled all flights to Israel hours after a deadly attack on Hezbollah left at least nine people dead and over 2,700 people injured.
Air France has canceled flights to Tel Aviv for Sept. 18 and 19, according to the flight status board on their website. Lufthansa has canceled flights to Israel through Sept. 19 and British Airways has canceled flights to Israel through Sept. 27.
Netanyahu undermining security with ‘petty politics,’ political rival alleges
Benny Gantz — the leader of the centrist National Unity coalition — on Tuesday accused rival Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering Israeli security “in the most tangible way that I can remember being done by a prime minister during a war, and in general.”
In a public statement — later also published on his X page — Gantz accused the prime minister of “security recklessness” over reports that Netanyahu is preparing to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is a major critic of the prime minister’s approach to cease-fire negotiations in Gaza.
Gantz said the alleged political maneuvering is particularly dangerous ahead of a potential expansion of the conflict in the north of the country, where the Israel Defense Forces has been engaged in cross-border fighting with the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia since Oct. 8.
“Human lives and the future of the nation are at stake,” Gantz said, describing the situation as the “dictionary definition of petty politics, at the expense of national security.”
11,000 students killed in Gaza, education ministry says
The Palestinian Ministry of Education said Tuesday that some 11,000 students have been killed and more than 17,000 others have been injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s campaign there started on Oct. 7.
The ministry also said 500 schools and universities have been bombed across the territory in almost one year of war.
Islamic Jihad rocket commander ‘eliminated’ in Gaza, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said it “eliminated” the head of the Islamic Jihad militia group’s southern rocket and missile unit in a Monday airstrike on a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.
Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash was the commander of the Islamic Jihad’s rocket forces in the southern Rafah area, the IDF said in a statement. He was “an important source of knowledge of rocket fire within the Islamic Jihad terror organization in Gaza,” the IDF added.
Al-Hashash was killed while “operating inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Younis,” the IDF said, referring to one of the areas designated by the Israeli military as safer locations for civilians amid the devastating campaign in Gaza.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said.
The IDF often launches strikes inside Gaza humanitarian zones in pursuit of militant leaders.
Gaza Health Ministry identifies more than 34,300 people killed
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry published a 649-page document identifying 34,344 people killed in the strip between Oct.7, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024.
The document includes the name, age, gender and identification number of each person killed.
The first 13 pages of the document include names of people all under 1 year old.
The document only includes the names of those the Health Ministry said it has been able to identify. Thousands more who are a part of the overall death toll are considered missing, the ministry said.
The current death toll in Gaza is 41,226 as of Sept. 16, according to the Hamas-run ministry.
Blinken to travel to Egypt
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt this week to discuss efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal, the State Department said.
Blinken will travel to Egypt Wednesday through Friday to co-chair the opening of the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, the department said.
He will also meet with Egyptian officials “to discuss ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security,” the State Department said in a statement.
State Department doesn’t have timeline on new cease-fire proposal
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller declined to predict when a new Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal proposal might be ready.
“We continue to engage with our partners in the region, most specifically with Egypt and Qatar, about what that proposal will contain, and making sure — or trying to see that it’s a proposal that can get the parties to an ultimate agreement,” Miller told reporters Monday.
“I don’t have a timetable for you other than to say that we are working expeditiously to try to develop that proposal, try to find something that would bring both the parties to say yes and to formally submit it,” Miller added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously said more than a week ago that a proposal would be presented to both Israel and Hamas “in the coming days.”
Miller said Monday that — just like in the negotiations overall — the main hurdles for creating the new proposal were the security situation in the Philadelphi corridor and the number of hostages and Palestinian prisoners that would be released.
‘Trajectory is clear’ at Israel-Lebanon border: Gallant
Time is running out for a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict at the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in an overnight phone call.
“Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas — the trajectory is clear,” Gallant told Austin per a readout from the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Gallant “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the removal of Hezbollah presence in southern Lebanon, and to enabling the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” the defense ministry said.
Cross-border fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah — which is aligned with Iran and Hamas through the so-called “Axis of Resistance” — has been near-constant since Oct. 8.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have left their homes in the north of the country amid the fighting, with Israeli leaders repeatedly threatening a significant military operation to pacify Hezbollah forces operating in southern Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Sunday statement that the “current situation will not continue. This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Israel now says Houthi missile was hit by interceptor
A missile described by the Houthis as a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” was hit by an Israeli interceptor, Israeli military officials said Sunday, after initially saying it got through its defenses and fell in an open area.
An Israeli interceptor hit the missile fired into central Israel from Yemen, causing it to fragment, according to Israeli officials. The missile was not destroyed, but caused no damage, the Israeli officials said.
“The conclusion into the review of the surface-to-surface missile that was fired this morning is that there was a hit on the target from an interceptor, as a result of which the target fragmented but was not destroyed,” an Israeli military official said in a statement.
The Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the missile attack, claiming in a statement that it was aimed at an “important military target” in the Tel Aviv region. The Houthis claimed the missile flew some 1,267 miles in less than 12 minutes and that Israeli anti-missile defenses “failed to intercept” the weapon.
The Israel Defense Forces initially confirmed to ABC News that its defenses failed to intercept the missile but changed its conclusions upon further investigation.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
IDF: ‘High probability’ 3 hostages were killed by Israeli airstrike in November
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces released the results of its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three hostages, whose bodies were recovered from Gaza by IDF forces in December.
The three hostages — two soldiers, Ron Sherman and Nik Beizer, and civilian Elia Toledano — were killed “as a byproduct” of an Israeli airstrike on the compound where they were being held, according to the investigation. The IDF said the strike was targeting a Hamas commander, and that they believed the hostages were being held elsewhere.
“The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF airstrike, during the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10th, 2023,” the IDF said Sunday in a statement.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Netanyahu vows to inflict ‘high price’ for Houthi missile attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against the Houthi movement after a missile fired from Yemen fell in central Israel on Sunday morning.
“This morning, the Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen at our territory,” Netanyahu said before a cabinet meeting. “They should know that we exact a high price for any attempt to attack us.”
“Whoever needs a reminder of this, is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah,” the prime minister added, referring to Israel’s bombing of the strategic Yemeni port in July after a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv.
“Whoever attacks us will not evade our strike,” Netanyahu said.
(RIO DE JANEIRO) — Scientists have quantified how much more fire-prone South America has become in recent decades, as several parts of the continent experience severe wildfires.
Some regions in South America are experiencing many more days with extreme fire conditions, putting some of the continent’s most important ecosystems — such as the Amazon rainforest and the Gran Chaco forest — in grave danger of a single spark starting an uncontrollable wildfire, according to a study published Thursday in Communications Earth & Environment journal.
Since 1970, the number of days per year that are extremely hot, dry and have conditions of high fire risk, such as heavy winds, have tripled — even quadrupled — in some parts of South America, the researchers found. Millions of square kilometers have experienced the high increase to fire risk, Raul Cordero, a climate scientist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and lead author of the study, told ABC News.
A concurrence of a drought and heat wave is a “horrible” cocktail for the onset of a wildfire, Cordero said. While the conditions have existed in South America before, the frequency at which the fire-risk days are happening today “cannot be compared what used to be normal in the 80s,” Cordero said.
“If somebody sets a fire, it’s going to make it quite hard to control the propagation of that fire,” Cordero said.
The researchers calculated the number of days per year that each 30-by-30 kilometer grid cell on the South American continent experienced simultaneous hot, dry and flammable extremes between 1971 and 2022. The extremes for each condition were measured by daily maximum temperature records, 30-day rainfall averages and daily fire weather index records, according to the paper.
The frequency of these simultaneous extremes increased across the entire continent during the time frame, the data showed.
There are four fire-prone “hotspots” in South America that researchers found to have particularly increasing risk for fire: the Amazon rainforest in most of its nine-country span; the border between Venezuela and Colombia; the Gran Chaco, the second-largest forest on the continent located in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay; and central Chile, which experienced severe wildfires in February, Cordero said.
The main driver to the increase of fire conditions is climate change, Cordero said.
Places like the Amazon rainforest have been experiencing persistent drought for the last two decades, while the global temperature has been increasing simultaneously, he said.
When agricultural fires are set, it gives way for the fires to get out of control, and fast, Cordero said. Agricultural fires are typically set by farmers aiming to clear the land before the next season but also for illegal activity, such as logging, he said.
“Because of the weather conditions are so extreme, they set the fire, and then the propagation on the fire can’t be controlled,” he said. “That’s the problem.”
In addition, the warm El Niño phase increased the fire risk in the northern Amazon region, while the cooler La Niña phase led to increased fire risk in central South America, the paper found.
Several parts of South America are currently experiencing record-breaking wildfires, including the Amazon rainforest, the Cerrado tropical savanna and the Pantanal wetlands.
Further deforestation in the region will lead to more severe wildfires in the future, experts say.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. military has struck Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, U.S. officials told ABC News.
“U.S. Central Command forces conducted multiple airstrikes on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” a U.S. defense official said.
The defense official said the weapons were used to “target military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that B-2 strategic stealth bombers were used in the strikes against “five hardened underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”
His statement also hinted that using such significant aircraft for the job was meant to send a signal to other bad actors in the region.
“The employment of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrate U.S. global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere,” it said.
Austin’s statement also boasted of the military’s “ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified.”
U.S. Central Command said in a statement: “These actions were taken to degrade the Houthi’s capability to continue their reckless and unlawful attacks on international commercial shipping.”
Early assessments indicate no civilian casualties, according to CENTCOM.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
