Ten people arrested in attack on two US Marines in Turkey
(IZMIR, Turkey) — Ten of the people accused of assaulting two U.S. Marines in Turkey on Monday were arrested on Tuesday, according to the Criminal Court of Izmir. The grounds for their arrest is “deprivation of liberty of more than one person,” the court said, and five other people will be tried without their being arrested.
The 10 arrested will “appeal the court’s decision and ask for a lifting of arrests” on Wednesday, the Turkish Youth Union lawyer representing them told ABC News.
The Marines, who were wearing civilian clothes, were assaulted by a group of two women and 13 men who were members of the Turkish Youth Union, according to the Izmir Governorship, the local governor’s office, in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The Turkish Youth Union is a national youth and student group that has an anti-American and anti-imperialist stance. They are linked to the Turkish “Vatan Party,” a nationalist political party in Turkey.
As a safety precaution, U.S. service members ported in Izmir are restricted to their ship, a U.S. official told ABC News on Tuesday.
A video posted on the group’s website showed multiple people attacking the two Marines while chanting “Yankee go home!” as they try to put a bag over one Marine’s head. The video later shares a link to join the group.
The U.S. Embassy in Turkey confirmed the attack in a post on X and said the service members were safe and thanked the Turkish authorities “for their rapid response and ongoing investigation.”
The Izmir Governorship said “5 plain clothes US soldiers saw the incident from a distance, and got involved.”
The Sixth Fleet said the two Marines were aided by other Marines in the area and were taken to a local hospital for evaluation but were not injured and have returned to the USS Wasp. No Marines were detained by authorities and those involved were cooperating with investigators, it said.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday, “In terms of the reaction of the Marines, we’re certainly very proud of the professionalism of our service members.”
Asked if the incident would cause restrictions on other U.S. military installations abroad, Ryder said that was a question for local commanders.
“Of course, every situation is judged based on its own merits,” he said. “Force protection is always a consideration, and any commander has the authority to make those kinds of decisions.”
The Turkish Youth Union has been accused of attacking U.S. service members before. In a 2014 incident, three U.S. sailors were assaulted by about 20 people in Istanbul who claimed to be from the group while the sailors were on leave from the destroyer USS Ross, which had docked there. That incident was also videotaped and posted to the group’s site.
The USS Wasp arrived in Izmir on Sunday for a “regularly scheduled port visit,” the Department of Defense said.
The Marines are part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is on a routine deployment aboard the Wasp in the U.S. Sixth Fleet’s area of operations, including the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where it recently completed a bilateral training exercise with Turkey.
(LONDON) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, cease-fire discussions are occurring in the Middle East, with officials hoping to bring an end to the conflict.
The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal, with discussions set for this week.
US not involved in Israel’s pre-emptive strike on Lebanon, official says
Last Updated: August 25, 1:00 PM ET
A U.S. official reaffirmed Sunday that the United States was not involved in Israel’s pre-emptive strike Saturday night on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon but had provided Israel some intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information believed to have been used in the mission.
The U.S. had provided some “ISR support in terms of tracking incoming Lebanese Hezbollah attacks but did not conduct any kinetic operations as they were not required,” the official said.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation and remain well-postured and ready to support the defense of Israel from attacks by Iran and any of its proxies, to include Lebanese Hezbollah,” the official said.
At least three people were killed overnight in the Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Sunday. The casualties included two people who were killed in the village of At Tiri and one in the town of Khiam, the ministry said, adding that two additional people were injured and required hospitalization.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
IDF issues new evacuation order in central Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces announced a new evacuation order Sunday for a small strip of land in a humanitarian area of central Gaza.
The new evacuation order for an area of Deir al-Balah came just days after the IDF ordered the evacuation of two refugee camps in the same area as the Israeli military prepared for a new ground offensive in the humanitarian zone.
The IDF suspects that Hamas terrorists are hiding in the area and using Palestinian refugees as human shields.
Sunday’s evacuation order affected those living in a relatively small area of Deir al-Balah that includes five schools sheltering displaced people and tent camps around them. The area is near the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, one of the largest remaining functional hospitals in Gaza, servicing all of central Gaza.
-ABC News’ Bictoria Beaule
Hezbollah planned to strike Israeli intelligence, sources tell ABC News
Israel believes the Hezbollah targets in central Israel were meant to be a complex of intelligence bases and the headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, just north of Tel Aviv, two Israeli security sources told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Bruno Nota
3 killed, 2 injured in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, officials say
At least three people were killed overnight in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Sunday.
Two were killed in the village of At Tiri and one in the town of Khiam, the ministry said, adding that two additional people were injured and required hospitalization.
The United Nations agency in charge of peacekeeping in southern Lebanon called on Sunday for a cease-fire and for all sides to “refrain from further escalatory action.”
“In light of worrying developments across the Blue Line since the early morning, UNSCOL and UNIFIL call on all to cease fire and refrain from further escalatory action,” the agency said in a statement, referring to a demarcation line separating Israel from Lebanon.
There have been no reports of injuries on the Israeli side, according to emergency services in Israel.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz, Jordana Miller and Victoria Beaule
Israel continues strikes in southern Lebanon, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said the military was targeting Hezbollah with additional strikes in southern Lebanon.
“In the last hour, the IDF struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon to remove threats,” the IDF said in a statement. “In addition, the IDF identified a terrorist cell operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon. The IAF swiftly struck the terrorists.”
-ABC News’ Anna Burd and Victoria Beaule
‘Whoever harms us — we will harm them,’ Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday described his country’s preemptive strikes within Lebanon as a “strong action to foil the threats” raised by a potential attack by Hezbollah.
“It has eliminated thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel,” Netanyahu said as he convened his Security Cabinet for a meeting at 7 a.m. local time. “It is thwarting many other threats and is taking very strong action — both defensively and offensively.”
Netanyahu had earlier in the morning been managing the situation with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, his office said. The prime minister’s office released photos of the pair meeting with military officials.
“We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north securely to their homes and to continue upholding a simple rule: Whoever harms us — we will harm them,” Netanyahu said.
-ABC News’ Kevin Shalvey
‘Thousands’ of Hezbollah rocket launchers destroyed, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said it had destroyed “thousands” of Hezbollah rocket launchers.
“Approximately 100 IAF fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
The statement added, “Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel. More than 40 launches areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Kevin Shalvey
Israel warns Lebanese citizens of danger as it strikes Hezbollah
The Israeli Air Force launched “dozens” of planes to attack locations throughout southern Lebanon, saying it was continuing “to remove threats, to vigorously attack the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”
“Israel’s air defense systems, navy ships and Air Force planes are on a defense mission above the country’s skies, identifying, intercepting threats and attacking wherever in Lebanon it is required in order to remove threats and harm Hezbollah,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
The aerial strikes within Lebanon were coming as Israeli defenses were dealing with “different types of threats,” including scores of rockets and drones launched into Israeli airspace, he said.
“We have already intercepted a number of rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles that approached the territory of the State of Israel,” Hagari said.He added, “We warn the Lebanese citizens in South Lebanon. We recognize that Hezbollah is firing in a large area near your homes. You are in danger. We attack and remove Hezbollah threats.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Kevin Shalvey
Hezbollah claims hundreds of rockets launched at Israel
Hezbollah claimed early on Sunday to have launched more than 320 rockets toward 11 military locations within Israel and Golan Heights.
The “enemy sites” that had been targeted were detailed in a statement. They included military bases in Meron, Ein Zeytim and Al-Sahl.
Barracks in Naveh Ziv, Ramot Naftali and Zaoura were also among the sites targeted, Hezbollah said.
The group described those launches as a “first stage,” saying they were “targeting Israeli barracks and sites to facilitate the passage of offensive drones towards their desired target deep inside” Israel.
(LONDON) — Anti-government demonstrators are gathering in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv for a second day of protests demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conclude a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
Street protests are expected to resume across the country on Monday, coinciding with a general strike called by Israel’s largest trade union — Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, which has hundreds of thousands of members — which has caused disruptions to services in some areas of the country.
Airlines operating out of Ben-Gurion International Airport, for example, temporarily halted some flights on Monday morning due to the strike, according to the airport. The union said Sunday the strike was only expected to affect some departing flights. The general strike was expected to last until Monday at about 2:30 p.m. local time, according to union Chairman Arnon Bar-David.
The current wave of demonstrations was sparked by the recovery of the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday — among them American Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The Israel Defense Forces said the captives were killed by militants “shortly” before their discovery.
The killings prompted fury in Israel, where some place blame for the deaths on Netanyahu’s months-long failure to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a statement while expressing his support for the general strike: “They were alive. Netanyahu and the death cabinet decided not to save them. There are still live hostages there, a deal can still be made. Netanyahu is not doing it for political reasons.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, meanwhile, posted on X linking the deaths of the six captives to Netanyahu’s reported decision last week to retain military control of the Philadelphi Corridor — the strip of land running along the Gaza-Egypt border — despite Hamas objections. Gallant called for the security cabinet to immediately reverse the decision in order to save the remaining hostages.
Public anger flared on Sunday night with hundreds of thousands of Israelis taking to the streets, with some engaging in clashes with police. Authorities said 29 people were arrested in Tel Aviv, as protesters set fire to barricades and launched fireworks.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the continued failure of cease-fire and hostage-release talks.
“Whoever murders hostages – does not want a deal,” the prime minister said in a statement released on Sunday. “Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals.”
“The government of Israel is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue striving toward a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence,” he added.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of intentionally sabotaging negotiations by adding unacceptable new demands, which it said were “aimed at obstructing reaching an agreement to preserve his power.”
Some of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have pushed back on the protesters’ demands for a deal.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for example, noted in a post on X that he was seeking legal action to break up the general strike. Its organizers, he said, “will not be allowed to turn the country upside down.”
Strikers, he added, “serve the interests of [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, tensions are escalating after the assassinations of two Hamas and Hezbollah leaders this week.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Israeli officer and soldier injured in aerial attack from Lebanon: IDF
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer and a soldier were injured after an aerial attack in northern Israel’s upper Galilee region near Ayelet HaShahar early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement.
The aerial targets crossed from Lebanon, the IDF said.
“Israel Fire Services are currently operating to extinguish a fire that was ignited in the area as a result of the attack,” the IDF said.
Netanyahu says Israel will strike wherever necessary
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is prepared to stand against attacks from Iran and its proxies.
“Iran and its detractors seek to surround us with a choke ring of terrorism on seven fronts. Their open aggression is insatiable,” Netanyahu said during a state memorial service commemorating the death of Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky in 1940.
Netanyahu added, “We are determined to stand against them on every front, in every arena, far and near. “
Netanyahu’s comments came just days after the assassination in Iran of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. He was killed in an explosion on Wednesday at a guest house in Tehran that he was staying in while attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh’s death.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for “revenge” against Israel.
Haniyeh’s assassination followed the death of Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas’ military wing, in a “precise, targeted strike” in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis on July 13. Deif was allegedly one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
IDF officials also announced that they killed top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in a precision missile strike Tuesday in Beirut, Lebanon. Officials claim he had been orchestrating drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel, including one on July 27 in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers playing soccer.
“Anyone who murders our citizens, anyone who harms our country, will not be cleared of responsibility,” Netanyahu said Sunday. “He will pay a very heavy price. Our long hand strikes in the Gaza Strip, in Yemen, in Beirut, wherever necessary.”
Netanyahu said Israel’s goals are to “secure our future” and the ensure that hostages taken by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack in Israel are returned home.
“We will continue to press the pedal,” Netanyahu said. “We did not let up from the pressure in all combat areas. We will take an offensive, creative, persistent initiative — until victory comes.”