June 28: US shifts assault ship to Mediterranean Sea to deter Israel-Hezbollah war

Counting begins after polls close in Iran, with initial results expected Saturday

Polls closed shortly after midnight across Iran, following three extensions of voting hours.

Iranian state media says those who were still waiting at the polling stations were allowed to cast their ballots but no one else was be allowed in after that. Counting began immediately, with initial results expected on Saturday, the reports say.

Earlier in the evening, as the weather cooled off a little, more people headed to vote and long lines formed outside polling stations in downtown Tehran and in southern parts of the Iranian capital.

IDF says fighter jets carried out ‘wave of attacks’ against Hezbollah in southern lebanon

After Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel this evening, the IDF says it struck several sites belonging to the terror group in southern Lebanon.

The targets include a military site in Zibqin, infrastructure in Khiam and Houla, and a building used by Hezbollah in Odaisseh, according to the military.

The IDF publishes footage of the strikes targeted in what it describes as the “wave of attacks” against Hezbollah.

מטוסי קרב תקפו בשעות האחרונות מספר מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון.

בין המטרות שהותקפו, אתר צבאי של חיזבאללה במרחב זבקין, שתי תשתיות מבצעיות במרחבים אל-חיאם וחולא ומבנה צבאי של הארגון במרחב אל-עדייסא pic.twitter.com/nlsBuOrppE

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 28, 2024

Trump again uses ‘Palestinian’ as slur, this time employing it against Schumer

Former US president Donald Trump again uses the term “Palestinian” as a slur after branding his successor Joe Biden a “weak Palestinian” at last night’s debate.

At a campaign rally in Virginia, Trump says Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has also become a Palestinian.

“He’s Jewish but he’s become a Palestinian,” he says, apparently suggesting that the Democratic senator has become too critical of Israel

Trump: Schumer has become a Palestinian. He’s Jewish but he’s become a Palestinian pic.twitter.com/w95R9AbA8X

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 28, 2024

Trump says he does not think Biden will quit race

Republican Donald Trump says he does not believe US President Joe Biden will exit the 2024 White House race, after the incumbent’s lackluster debate performance sparked alarm within the Democratic Party.

“Many people are saying that after last night’s performance that Joe Biden is leaving the race. But the fact is, I don’t really believe that because he does better in polls than any of the Democrats they’re talking about,” Trump tells a campaign rally in Virginia.

Hezbollah claims responsibility for night’s rocket, drone attacks on northern Israel

Hezbollah claims responsibility for this evening’s rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel.

In separate statements, the terror group says it launched dozens of rockets at a military base near Kiryat Shmona, fired explosive-laden drones at another army position in the Western Galilee, and several more attacks along the border.

There were no reports of injuries in the attacks, although a home in the border community of Shlomi was damaged by one of the rockets.

Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted four vessels in Red Sea and Mediterranean

Illustrative: Houthi supporters attend anti-Israel and anti-US protests in Sanaa, Yemen, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Yemen’s Houthi militant group have claimed responsibility for attacking a Liberia-flagged vessel in the Red Sea that a maritime agency said had survived five missiles, while also saying they targeted three other vessels including two in the Mediterranean.

The Iran-aligned Houthis say their attacks on shipping lanes are in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas.

Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, says in a televised statement that the group launched ballistic missiles at the Delonix, an oil tanker, and that it took a “direct hit.”

However, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) monitor said earlier in the day that the ship, which was targeted 150 nautical miles (172 miles) northwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, reported no damage and was heading northward.

Saree also says the Houthis attacked the Ioannis ship in the Red Sea, as well as the Waler oil tanker and the Johannes Maersk vessel in the Mediterranean.

He says the Johannes Maersk, which is owned by Maersk MAERSKb.CO, the world’s second-largest container carrier, was targeted because it belongs to “one of the most supportive companies for the Zionist entity and the most that violates ban decision of access to the ports of occupied Palestine.”

International shipping has been disrupted since November by attacks in the region launched by the Houthis. Many vessels have opted to avoid the Red Sea route to the Suez Canal, taking the longer journey around the southern tip of Africa instead.

بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن تنفيذ أربع عمليات عسكرية نوعية، منها عملية مشتركة مع المقاومة العراقية استهدفت سفينة "Waler" النفطية في البحر الأبيض المتوسط بعدد من الطائرات المسيرة…..
pic.twitter.com/8sU1Hff1jU

— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) June 28, 2024

Biden campaign: Cold, sore throat aren’t excuses for president’s debate performance last night

A spokesperson for US President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign says Biden came down with a cold and a sore throat before last night’s debate, but adds that this is not an excuse for what the president has acknowledged was not a good performance against Donald Trump.

The spokesperson tells reporters traveling with Biden that the president will participate in the next debate on September 10.

Obama: Bad debates happen, but don’t elect someone who only cares about himself

File - Former US president Barack Obama (L) claps for US President Joe Biden during a campaign fundraising event at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on March 28, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

Bad debate nights happen. Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the…

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 28, 2024

Germany slams ‘cynical, disturbing’ Israeli sanctions against PA over EU countries recognizing Palestinian state

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, center, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, right, and Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, attend a Religious Zionism faction meeting in the West Bank settlement of Givat Harel, February 14, 2023. (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)

Germany’s foreign ministry slams the Israeli security cabinet’s decision last night to sanction the Palestinian Authority in response to Ramallah’s support for steps against Jerusalem in international tribunals and for countries unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state.

“We condemn approval of new settlements and legalization of outposts,” says a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry.

“Justifying this with the recognition of Palestine by some states is disturbing and cynical.”

“The conflict can only be solved with, not against a reformed PA; reject measures to weaken it,” the spokesperson adds.

IDF: Western Galilee sirens triggered by 3 explosive-laden drones, 25 rockets from Lebanon

Three explosive-laden drones launched from Lebanon struck areas in the Western Galilee earlier this evening, the military says.

The IDF says it launched interceptor missiles at the drones, but failed to down the devices.

Additionally, some 25 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee and the Kiryat Shmona area in separate barrages, according to the IDF.

Damage was caused to a building in the Western Galilee by one of the rockets, the military says.

The rockets also sparked several fires in northern Israel.

No injuries were caused in the drone and rocket attacks.

The IDF says it shelled the sources of fire with artillery.

Biden: ‘I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know how to do this job’

US President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina on June 28, 2024. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

US President Joe Biden acknowledges his poor performance in last night’s debate against his predecessor Donald Trump but insists that he’s still capable of another term in office and that his opponent would be a danger to America.

“I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden says at a campaign event in North Carolina, his first public appearance since last night’s debate.

“But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.”

“I know what millions of Americans know. When you get knocked down, you get back up,” he says to cheers from the crowd.

“I’m here in North Carolina for one reason because I intend to win this state in November… We win here, we win the election,” he says.

“I give my word as a Biden that I would not be running if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I can do this job.”

“The stakes are too high. Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation, a threat to freedom, a threat to democracy and a threat to everything America stands for.

Folks, I might not walk as easily or talk as smoothly as I used to.

I might not debate as well as I used to.

But what I do know is how to tell the truth.pic.twitter.com/ep5D0EhT5P

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 28, 2024

US pier again removed from Gaza coast due to sea conditions, Pentagon says

The image provided by US Central Command shows American and Israeli forces placing the Trident Pier on the coast of Gaza Strip on May 16, 2024. (US Central Command via AP)

The US military’s pier off Gaza has once again been removed because of sea conditions, the Pentagon says, adding it did not make sense for it to return until aid is moved from a nearby marshalling area to people in Gaza.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh tells reporters the military would monitor weather conditions to determine when the pier should return, but acknowledges the marshaling area is nearly full of stockpiled aid awaiting distribution by the United Nations.

“If there’s not enough room on the marshaling yard then it doesn’t make sense to put our men and women out there, when there’s nothing to move,” Singh adds.

Iran installs four of eight new centrifuge clusters planned at Fordow, IAEA report says

Illustrative: Centrifuges line a hall at the Uranium Enrichment Facility in Natanz, Iran, in a still image from a video aired by the Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting company on April 17, 2021, six days after the hall had been damaged in a mysterious attack. (IRIB via AP, File)

Iran has so far installed four out of the eight clusters of advanced IR-6 centrifuges it said earlier this month it would quickly set up at its Fordow uranium-enrichment plant, the UN atomic watchdog says in a report seen by Reuters.

“Since the Director-General’s previous quarterly report, the Agency has verified that Iran has installed four of the aforementioned eight IR-6 cascades in Unit 1 at FFEP (Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant),” the International Atomic Energy Agency says in the confidential report to member states.

Rocket sirens triggered in Kiryat Shmona, surrounding northern towns

Rocket sirens sound in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona and nearby communities in the Galilee Panhandle, close to Lebanon.

The sirens come after a series of drone infiltration sirens in the Western Galilee.

There are no immediate reports of injuries in the incidents.

IDF says it struck site belonging to Hezbollah’s air defense unit in Lebanon

A facility belonging to Hezbollah’s air defense unit in the Jabal Safi mountain region in Lebanon was struck earlier today, the military says.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah had launched anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli aircraft from the site in recent months.

Jabal Safi is located some 21 kilometers from the Israeli border, just north of the Lebanese city of Nabatieh.

Rocket, suspected drone infiltration sirens triggered in Western Galilee

A series of suspected drone infiltration sirens sound in the Western Galilee.

Rocket sirens also sound in a number of towns, apparently due to interceptor missiles being launched at a suspected drone that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon.

The alerts are activated in the coastal city of Nahariya and several more communities in the area.

Gallant: Israel doesn’t seek war but ‘knows what to do’ if Hezbollah escalates

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks with troops at an Iron Dome battery in northern Israel, July 28, 2024. (Shachar Yurman/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is not looking for a war with Hezbollah but is preparing for one and “will know what to do” if the terror group decides to escalate.

Speaking to troops at an Iron Dome air defense system battery in northern Israel, Gallant says the country is developing two “significant” alternatives for Lebanon.

“[We are] preparing the military force… and this can happen quickly. On the other hand, the political alternative is being prepared, it is always better,” he says.

“We are not looking for war but we are ready for it. And we will reach a junction, it will be a T junction both for the enemy and for us. If [Hezbollah] chooses to go to war, we will know what to do. If it chooses to go to an agreement, we will respond to this matter,” Gallant says.

“I know it’s not easy, not easy for you and not easy for the residents of the north. There is one thing I can tell you and that is that it is much more difficult for Hezbollah and Lebanon. It is easy to speak from the bunker and make statements,” he says, referring to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

“At the end of the day, there are over 450 terrorists killed [in Lebanon]. The area is hit on a very severe level. Therefore, this burden is placed on the enemy in a much greater way than on us,” Gallant adds.

Iran authorities extend election by two hours, urging public to vote amid low turnout

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his ballot during the presidential election, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2024. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Iran’s election authority has extended the polling time by two hours until 8 p.m. local time, as per tradition in the country.

Authorities say the extension comes after more voters turned up at polling stations late Friday. Successive extensions are expected until nearly midnight.

Many Iranians did not turn out to vote earlier today because it is a weekend in the country and because of the hot weather. Many voters reportedly cast their ballots in the evening in previous elections.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman condemned US “interference” in its domestic affairs, after the US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley said that today’s election was not expected to change Iran’s direction.

“As the Iranian regime prepares for its presidential elections, the US unfortunately has no expectation of free and fair elections or fundamental change in Iran’s direction,” Abram Paley said in a series of posts on his X account on Wednesday.

Earlier today, a former Iranian opposition leader said he was boycotting the election.

Zahra Mousavi, the daughter of former opposition leader and Iran’s last prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, said in her Instagram account that her parents have said they are not voting after being asked by security officials if they need a ballot box to be taken to their residence.

US shifts assault ship to Mediterranean to deter Israel-Hezbollah escalation

Sailors and military service personnel arrive on the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship on the Hudson River during fleet week, May 24, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, FIle)

The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp entered the eastern Mediterranean Sea this week as the US positions warships to try to keep fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon from escalating into a wider war in the Middle East.

While the Wasp has the capability to assist in the evacuation of civilians if full-scale war breaks out between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror group along the Lebanon border, that’s not the primary reason it was rotated in, a US official says. “It’s about deterrence,” the official says.

A second US official says the rotation is similar to the US sending the USS Bataan assault ship into the waters around Israel shortly after Hamas’s October 7 attack, with the vessel remaining for months in the eastern Mediterranean to help provide options and try to contain the conflict. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operational details.

US officials said last week that the deployment of the Wasp was likely as the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier and its air wing left the region. The Wasp carries F-35 fighter jets, which do short takeoffs and vertical landings, so they can do airstrike missions off smaller ships.

US European Command, which is responsible for ships operating in the Mediterranean, announced the move this week, saying the Wasp and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard would sail with the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, which is used to transport Marines, landing craft, vehicles and cargo. The Oak Hill is already in the Mediterranean.

The Wasp also is sailing with the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, which can deliver troops either by on-deck helicopters or landing vessels.

It all comes as Hezbollah and Israel have escalated their near-daily attacks on one another.

Times of Israel contributed to this article.

Gazans living in ‘unbearable’ conditions — UNRWA

People gather around an impact crater in the aftermath of Israeli bombardment in the Sabra neighbourhood in the south of Gaza City on June 27, 2024. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Gazans are forced to live in bombed-out buildings or camp next to giant piles of trash, a United Nations spokeswoman says, denouncing the “unbearable” conditions in the besieged territory.

Louise Wateridge from UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, describes the “extremely dire” living conditions in the Gaza Strip.

“It’s really unbearable,” she tells reporters in Geneva, via video-link from central Gaza.

Wateridge, who returned Wednesday after four weeks outside the territory, says that even in that time the situation had “significantly deteriorated.”

“Today, it has to be the worst it’s ever been. I don’t doubt that tomorrow again will be the worst it’s ever been,” she says.

Nearly nine months into the war between the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, Wateridge says the Gaza Strip had been “destroyed.”

She says she had been “shocked” on returning to Khan Yunis in central Gaza.

“The buildings are skeletons, if at all. Everything is rubble,” she says.

“And yet people are living there again.”

“There’s no water there, there’s no sanitation, there’s no food. And now, people are living back in these buildings that are empty shells,” with sheets covering the gaps left by blown-out walls.

With no bathrooms, “people are relieving themselves anywhere they can.”

MK says his far-right party could bolt gov’t if Israel doesn’t launch war against Hezbollah

MK Yitzhak Kroizer attends a Knesset committee, July 12, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Otza Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer tells the Makor Rishon weekly that his far-right party might leave the government if Israel doesn’t launch an offensive against Hezbollah.

“If there is no campaign in the north, we will have to make a decision about remaining in the government. This government cannot continue to exist if a diplomatic agreement is made [to end tensions] in the north,” he says.

The comments echoed ones made by Otzma Yehudit chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who said during last night’s cabinet meeting that only a war against Hezbollah will restore security for Israel’s northern residents.

IDF evacuates troops from West Bank base as large fire engulfs area

The IDF has evacuated most soldiers from the Etzion Regional Brigade base in the West Bank, as a large fire burns in the area.

The Fire and Rescue Service says the blaze spread from the Kfar Etzion settlement area to the military base, adding that it was not caused by arson.

Firefighters, IDF troops and police officers are working to extinguish the fire.

There are no injuries, and the IDF says the Etzion Regional Brigade continues to carry out “operational activity” as usual.

שריפה מתפשטת בשטח בסיס חטמ"ר עציון: חיילים פונו, לא הושגה שליטה על האש; 20 צוותי כיבוי ושישה מטוסים פועלים בשריפה, שהחלה בקיבוץ כפר עציון הסמוך והתפשטה @hod_barel pic.twitter.com/qx51CBUgVz

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) June 28, 2024

IDF says it shot down suspected drone that entered airspace from Lebanon

A suspected drone that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon was shot down by air defenses over the Upper Galilee a short while ago, the military says.

Drone infiltration sirens had sounded in the northern communities of Malkia and Dishon amid the incident.

IDF says it struck south Lebanon building with Hezbollah operatives inside

A building in southern Lebanon’s Kafr Kila, where the military says a group of Hezbollah operatives were gathered, was struck by a fighter jet earlier today.

The IDF says the Hezbollah operatives were spotted by troops of the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, who then called in the strike shortly after.

Another building used by Hezbollah was struck in Chihine, the IDF says.

Additionally, the IDF says troops shelled areas near Naqoura with artillery to “remove threats.”

Also earlier today, several anti-tank missiles were fired by Hezbollah at the Western Galilee.

The IDF says there were no injuries in the attack.

Hezbollah took responsibility, claiming to have targeted IDF positions.

כוח צה"ל מיחידה 869 זיהה לפני זמן קצר מחבלים פועלים במבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב הכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון.
בסגירת מעגל מהירה, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו את המבנה בו שהו המחבלים.

בנוסף, מטוסי קרב תקפו מבנה צבאי נוסף של הארגון במרחב שיחין שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/izOtotjDVN

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 28, 2024

EU sanctions 6 people and 3 firms in Hamas finance crackdown

The European Union has decided to sanction six people and three companies for financing Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the EU council says.

The EU says it is sanctioning Jamil Yusuf Ahmad Aliyan, Ahmed Sharif Abdallah Odeh, Zuheir Shamlakh, Ismail Barhoum, Ali Morshed Shirazi and Maher Rebhi Obeid.

It adds that it is also sanctioning the companies Zawaya Group for Development & Investment Co Ltd., Larrycom for Investment Ltd. and the Al Zawaya Group for Development & Investment Sociedad limitada.

The individuals and companies will be subject to an asset freeze, and the six people will also be banned from traveling to the EU.

German foreign minister urges Iran to help stop Middle East escalation

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gives a statement on the situation in the Middle East on April 14, 2024 at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin (Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tells her Iranian counterpart, Ali Bagheri Kani, that Iran needed to help prevent a further escalation of the situation in the Middle East.

“Further escalation must be prevented at all costs, and Iran must also contribute to this,” Baerbock told the acting Iranian foreign minister in a phone call, according to a German foreign ministry post on X.

‘You can’t make deals with Nazis’: Far-right ministers spar with security chiefs at cabinet meet

Israel's security cabinet meets after rocket barrages from Lebanon, April 6, 2023. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is seated opposite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)

Last night’s security cabinet meeting turned into another shouting match, as far-right ministers pushed for war with Hezbollah and laid into the IDF for failing to thwart Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

One argument began after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant relayed to ministers that he had reiterated during his meetings this week in Washington Israel’s long-held position that it prefers a diplomatic solution to the escalating northern tensions as opposed to going to war with Hezbollah.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir shot back that calm on the border would not be restored without a war with Hezbollah. “Have we not learned anything from the past 20 years of [diplomatic] agreements? Within a year or two, they’ll rape our women and murder our children,” Ben Gvir said in remarks leaked to various Hebrew media outlets.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer then pointed out that even if Israel goes to war, it’ll eventually end with some kind of diplomatic agreement. Ben Gvir responded that an agreement with Hezbollah won’t be necessary because Israel will defeat the terror group.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chimed in, asserting that a diplomatic agreement with the right conditions is Israel’s preferred option.

Ben Gvir hit back: “An agreement with Hezbollah will lead to another October 7. You can’t make a deal with Nazis.

Later in the meeting, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called out IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi for remarks at a previous cabinet meeting when the army chief knocked ministers for refusing to take responsibility for the October 7 onslaught, as he had done. “Don’t lecture us on responsibility. We weren’t the ones who went to sleep on October 6,” Smotrich said.

“Take that back!” Halevi shot back.

Gallant then came to the IDF chief’s defense, saying he would not accept such unprecedented attacks on the army’s leaders by ministers.

Netanyahu interjected, but refused to take sides, saying both Smotrich’s remark at the meeting and Halevi’s at the last one were unacceptable.

Biden advisers say he has no plans to step aside after lackluster debate performance

US President Joe Biden speaks as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at CNN's studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

Joe Biden’s advisers tell CNN the US president has no plans to step aside following mounting concerns over last night’s debate performance.

“There’s no basis for that… There’s nothing that voters have indicated that they agree with that,” the adviser told CNN on the possibility that Biden might bow out.

While acknowledging last night’s performance was lackluster, another adviser tells the network that Biden also plans to participate in the second presidential debate in September.

The second adviser says the campaign will highlight what it says were Biden’s strong moments in the debate before moving on. The aide adds that many of Biden’s staff worked for former president Barak Obama, who managed to recover from a poor debate performance against Mitt Romney to win re-election in 2008.

Meanwhile, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries tells reporters he doesn’t think Biden should step down.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman tweets, “Chill the f**k out,” adding that he knows firsthand that “a rough debate is not the sum total of a person and their record.”

“I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulder after the debate. No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record,” Fetterman writes.

“Morning-after thermonuclear beat downs from my race from the debate and polling geniuses like 538 predicted l’d lose by 2. And what happened? The only seat to flip and won by a historic margin (+5),” he adds.

IDF says air defenses have shot down suspected drone heading from Lebanon

A suspected drone that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon has been shot down by air defenses over the Galilee Panhandle, the military says.

Sirens had sounded in the northern communities of Kfar Blum and Amir amid fears of falling shrapnel.

Palestinian Authority official: Legalization of West Bank outposts aimed at pursuing ‘genocide’

A senior Palestinian Authority official rejects the Israeli government’s decision to legalize five West Bank outposts and impose sanctions on the PA, claiming the move is aimed at pursuing a “war of genocide” against Palestinians.

Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), says the settlements are “illegal colonies that violate all international resolutions.

“The decisions by the occupation government aim to pursue the war of genocide against our Palestinian people,” he tells Reuters.

He says the PLO and the Palestinian Authority will continue to press for Israel to be taken before international courts and punished for “crimes against our people, and in particular in the Gaza Strip.”

Likud’s Edelstein indicates he’ll push for a law that drafts Haredim to the army

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein leads a Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, Jerusalem, June 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, appears to send the message that he will push for the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox men, tweeting a clip from Channel 14 in which a pundit says the veteran Likud lawmaker “will legislate a law that [says that] what the army wants — the army will get.”

The pundits are “telling the whole story in 10 seconds,” Edelstein tweets.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has previously stated that the establishment of additional Haredi battalions within the IDF is a “definite need,” noting the difficulties faced by reservists who “have been away from home for almost eight months with few breaks.”

Earlier this week, Edelstein said that his committee would not pass an ultra-Orthodox enlistment bill without reaching a broad consensus, causing concern among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Haredi allies that he will act against their interests.

The ultra-Orthodox are seeking to prevent the enlistment of yeshiva students following a High Court ruling that their exemptions are no longer in force and that they must be drafted.

High Court gives state a month to explain why it’s not forming state inquiry for Oct. 7 failures

The High Court of Justice orders the state to explain by July 28 why it hasn’t yet formed a state commission of inquiry into the failures of October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza.

The decision in the petition, which was filed on June 16 by the Movement for Quality Government organization, indicates that the court isn’t rejecting the case outright and that the state now must submit its response.

Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz is overseeing the case even though a commission of inquiry could potentially review decisions made by her husband, former Likud lawmaker and minister Yuval Steinitz, who quit politics in 2022.

The government has insisted that the time to probe the grave failures that enabled Hamas’s October 7 onslaught will be after the war in Gaza is over. Its members have adamantly refused to accept responsibility for the failures.

Sole reformist Iranian candidate says he’ll seek better ties ‘with all countries except Israel’

The sole reformist running in today’s Iranian presidential election tells journalists after voting: “God willing, we will try to have friendly relations with all countries except Israel.”

The remark by Masoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon who seeks a return to the atomic accord and better relations with the West, comes after he faced a thinly veiled warning from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his outreach to the United States.

With the comment, Pezeshkian signals his effort to energize those who want more engagement with the West after the collapse of the country’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. However, close ties to the West — particularly the US — would be anathema to the hardliners he faces.

FM Katz confirms he’s been invited to next month’s NATO summit

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, meets Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem, June 10, 2024. (Lior Dekel/GPO)

A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirms a report that he has been invited to take part in next month’s NATO Summit.

In a statement, the spokesperson says the invitation was extended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The July 9 confab in Washington, which marks the 75th anniversary of the NATO alliance, will be attended by US President Biden and many other top officials, reportedly including the top diplomats of several Arab countries.

Shas party urges prayers for Beersheba chief rabbi, who is hospitalized with infection

Rabbi Yehuda Deri (R), chief rabbi of the southern city of Beersheba, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on December 12, 2012. (Yoav Ari Dudkevitch / FLASH90)

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party issues a public call for prayers for Rabbi Yehuda Deri, the chief rabbi of Beersheba and the brother of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, who is currently in hospital with a leg infection.

Yehuda Deri’s situation “continues to be very difficult and he needs much mercy from heaven,” says the statement, issued in the name of Aryeh Deri’s wife Yaffa, calling for women to pray with “tears and supplications for his complete recovery” while lighting Shabbat candles this evening.

IDF says deputy chief discussed munitions supplies in string of meetings with US officials

Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amir Baram discussed with American officials “how to accelerate the rate of supplies of the required munitions for the IDF” during a visit to the US this week, the military says.

Baram had traveled to the US with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for a visit focused on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and unfreezing a shipment of heavy-duty bombs it has been withholding from Israel.

In a statement, the IDF says Baram met with senior commanders in the US Central Command, NORTHCON, Navy, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Department of Defense, to “strengthen cooperation” between the military and “prepare for emerging challenges.”

It says Baram held a “strategic discussion with senior officials of the US military and the Pentagon regarding operational plans” for the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as “preparations in countering Iran and its proxies, and the common interests of the IDF and the US military in the Middle East.”

The deputy IDF chief also “discussed with his counterparts how to accelerate the rate of supplies of the required munitions for the IDF, on which joint mechanisms for acceleration and control were agreed,” the statement adds.

Ship captain reports 5 missiles landed near his vessel off Yemen coast, no damage caused

A ship captain has reported that five missiles landed close to his vessel in the Red Sea, 150 nautical miles (172 miles) northwest of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

UKMTO says the ship has reported no damage from the incident and is heading northward.

‘De facto annexation’: Labor chief blasts outpost legalization as ‘end of the Zionist dream’

Yair Golan speaks after the results were announced in the Labor party primary elections, in Tel Aviv, May 28, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Yair Golan, the leader of the left-wing Labor party, chastises the government for approving the legalization of five West Bank outposts and imposing a series of measures against the Palestinian Authority, alleging that the step practically amounts to “de facto annexation.”

“The government of Israel is advancing de facto annexation of millions of Palestinians to our territory,” Golan says on X. “This annexation will harm the security of our citizens, the future of our children, and will bring about the end of the Zionist dream.”

Calling for early elections, Golan also slams the government for refusing to discuss who will replace Hamas as Gaza’s rulers in the event that the terror group is toppled in the ongoing war, dragging on the fighting indefinitely and refusing to reach a hostage and ceasefire deal.

Thousands take part in funeral of soldier killed in West Bank’s Jenin

Cpt. Alon Sacgiu, 22 from Hadera, killed in a roadside bomb attack in the West Bank city of Jenin, June 27, 2024 (Social media)

Thousands attend the funeral of IDF soldier Cpt. Alon Sacgiu, 22, who was killed yesterday as roadside bombs were detonated during an operation in the northern West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp, which also injured 16 troops.

Sacgiu, a sniper team commander in the Kfir Brigade’s Haruv reconnaissance unit, is being laid to rest in his hometown of Hadera.

Health Ministry says 81 diagnosed with West Nile fever, 7 have died in outbreak

The Health Ministry announces that 81 people have been diagnosed with West Nile fever in an ongoing outbreak this month, with 64 hospitalized and six on ventilators.

A total of seven people diagnosed with the virus have died.

Most of the patients are from the central region of the country.

The Health Ministry stresses that the virus is not transmitted from person to person.

IDF confirms Shejaiya op; says it struck terrorists hiding in schools, humanitarian zone

The IDF confirms it launched a new pinpoint operation in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood yesterday.

The raid, being carried out by the 98th Division, comes following intelligence information on Hamas operatives and infrastructure in the area.

The IDF says the division’s 7th Armored Brigade pushed into the Shejaiya area during the day, and overnight, the Paratroopers Brigade began to raid sites in the neighborhood.

Dozens of Hamas sites were struck from the air as the ground forces pushed in, the military says.

In separate “significant” strikes in northern Gaza, the IDF says it killed dozens of terror operatives who were holed up in a school and other UNRWA facilities.

Meanwhile, overnight, the military says a fighter jet struck a Hamas operative in a building in central Gaza’s Deir al Balah, within the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone.”

“The terrorist operated from within the humanitarian area, which the organization uses as a shield for terrorist activity,” the IDF says.

The military says that ahead of the strike, it worked to evacuate the civilian population from the area of the building. It also says it used aerial surveillance, a precision munition, and other means to mitigate harm to Palestinian civilians.

Man killed, another moderately hurt as car explodes in Herzliya

A car has exploded in Herzliya, with medical officials saying a man in his 40s has died after being trapped inside the burning vehicle, with a second man, in his 30s, suffering moderate injuries.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says medics have treated the wounded man for burns and taken him to hospital.

The circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

NYT’s Friedman, a close Biden confidant, urges US president to quit election race

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a close associate of US President Joe Biden, says the incumbent must be replaced as a candidate in November’s election, compounding the Democrat’s abysmal performance in the debate with Donald Trump.

In an op-ed titled “President Biden Is My Friend. He Must Bow Out of the Race,” Friedman writes that the debate “made me weep. I cannot remember a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime.”

Friedman has close ties with Biden’s office, and has often publicly conveyed messages from the president that the latter chose not to deliver officially.

‘We have stopped turning the other cheek’: Far-right basks in apparent outpost legalization

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, center, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, right, and Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, attend a Religious Zionism faction meeting in the West Bank settlement of Givat Harel, February 14, 2023. (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)

Settler leaders and far-right politicians celebrate the security cabinet’s apparent approval overnight of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s proposal to legalize five West Bank outposts and a series of sanctions against the Palestinian Authority.

“I congratulate my friend Smotrich for leading the move, which I had the honor of co-initiating and taking part in preparing,” tweets Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, of Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party.

“We have stopped turning the other cheek,” she adds. “We too know how to impose sanctions and exact painful prices… Any attempt to weaken us will only strengthen our hold on our land.”

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, says in a statement that it is a “Zionist decision and a strong message of victory.”

“The new settlement will complete a succession of settlements in the region,” says Yaron Rosenthal, the head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council.

Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, casts the decision as a measure “that strengthens the State of Israel.”

In contrast, the left-wing Peace Now organization says the decision is “crazy” and damages Israel’s relations with the US.

“Instead of worrying about the abandoned residents of the south and the north, the settler government gives a prize to criminals at the height of the war to satisfy Smotrich, who is collapsing in the polls,” the group says, referencing surveys consistently showing his Religious Zionism party failing to enter the Knesset if elections were to be held now.

“This is an illegitimate government that lost the faith of the people a long time ago and is being managed by a messianic, extremist minority that has to get out of our lives,” it claims.

Biden says debate with Trump went ‘well’

US President Joe Biden takes pictures with supporters as he visits a Biden-Harris campaign debate watch party in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024, after Biden debated former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

US President Joe Biden says he believes he did well in a debate against Donald Trump, after widespread criticism that his performance was faltering.

“I think we did well,” Biden tells reporters as he drops by a Waffle House restaurant in Atlanta for post-debate food.

Polls open in Iran for presidential election

Voting stations in Iran opened at 8 a.m. (local time) for a snap presidential election, the interior ministry says, following the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.

“We start the elections” for the country’s 14th presidential elections, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi says in a televised address.

Wife, sons of Negev mayor injured as gunman shoots at their home

The wife and two sons of the mayor of the Ar’arat an-Naqab (Ar’ara BaNegev) Bedouin township in the Negev desert have been injured after a gunman shot at their home, Hebrew media reports, in what police say is part of a “criminal dispute.”

The assailant fired shots at the home of Talab Abu Arar, with the three taken in light to moderate condition to Beersheba’s Soroka hospital.

Police say officers quickly identified a suspicious car from which the gunshots were likely fired, in addition to more findings.

Report: US invites Israeli, Arab foreign ministers to NATO summit

The United States has invited the foreign ministers of Israel and several Arab countries to a NATO summit in Washington next month, the Financial Times reports.

“Secretary-General Stoltenberg has invited heads of state and governments of all 32 allies, plus the leaders of our Indo-Pacific partners,” the paper says, citing a statement by a NATO official.

It lists Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea as Indo-Pacific partners.

Israeli strikes hit Hezbollah buildings day after barrage on north

Israeli fighter jets struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Khiam and Odaisseh overnight, the IDF says.

The military publishes footage of the airstrikes.

The strikes come after Hezbollah launched a barrage of some 40 rockets on northern Israel yesterday.

Israeli fighter jets struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon's Khiam and Odaisseh overnight, the IDF says.

The strikes come after Hezbollah launched a barrage of some 40 rockets on northern Israel yesterday. pic.twitter.com/7mlBpWqEKr

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 28, 2024

As Democrats said to panic over Biden bomb, president shows no sign of backing out

First lady Jill Biden, right, greets President Joe Biden at the conclusion of a presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump hosted by CNN, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP/Gerald Herbert)

CNN quotes a democratic official saying “It’s hard to argue that Biden should be our nominee,” amid reports of panic among Democrats after the US president struggled to express himself throughout the debate.

The message is repeated across the American mediasphere.

About halfway through the debate, a Democratic strategist who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign called it a “disaster,” Reuters reports.

But publicly, Joe Biden’s campaign and those closest to him are backing the president and noting that he was on point about policy.

Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledges that her boss had a “slow start,” but insists he had a “strong finish.”

“It was a slow start, that’s obvious to everyone. I’m not going to debate that point,” she tells CNN.

However, she adds that “he got into a groove where it counted,” according to the New York Times. “Our president showed that he will win the election.”

Biden makes no mention of his performance in a short appearance at a rally following the debate.

“Let’s keep going,” he says, adding “See you at the next one.”

Soldier killed in Gaza fighting Thursday, army says

Sergeant Eyal Shynes. (Courtesy)

The IDF announces that a soldier was killed Thursday, bringing the death toll in and around Gaza after nine months of fighting to 316.

Sergeant Eyal Shynes, 19, from Kibbutz Afik was killed during fighting in southern Gaza, the IDF says.

Shynes served with the 931st Battalion in the Nahal Brigade.

Trump: Pro-Palestinian protests much worse than Charlottesville

As the debate draws to a close after thought-provoking dialectics on porn stars and golf scores, former president Donald Trump devotes part of his closing remarks to criticizing Biden’s policies regarding Iran and Palestinians.

Trump repeats his oft-used claim that Biden’s decision to release money to Iran led to support for Hamas and Hezbollah.

Trump also points to pro-Palestinian protests in cities around the US, saying they are ruining the country.

“We have the Palestinians and we have everybody else rioting all over the place,” Trump says. “You talk about Charlottesville, this is a hundred times  Charlottesville, a thousand times. The whole country is exploding because of you.”

As the debate ends, analysts point to Trump’s inability to stick to facts as a point against him.

But many see a bigger issue in Biden’s lurching, unclear and sometimes rambling answers, with some in the Democrat camp openly calling for him to withdraw from the presidential race after bombing in the debate.

I wish Biden would reflect on this debate performance and then announce his decision to withdraw from the race, throwing the choice of Democratic nominee to the convention. Someone like @gretchenwhitmer or @SherrodBrown or @SecRaimondo could still jump in and beat Trump.

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) June 28, 2024

Biden notes Trump’s ‘fine people’ comment after Charlottesville rally

Denouncing antisemitism and racism, US President Joe Biden says former president Donald Trump called Nazis and others at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017 “fine people.”

He also claims Trump thinks Hitler had good ideas. “I’d like to know what they are,” Biden quips.

Trump responds by saying the claims about what he said following Charlottesville have been debunked, while contending that Biden’s claim that he ran for president due to Charlottesville was made up.

During a subsequent break, several outlets report that Biden’s team is claiming he has a cold, explaining his hoarse voice, which has made him hard to understand at times, an issue Trump and his team have hammered.

Trump doesn’t answer on support for Palestinian state

Former US president Donald Trump is asked whether he supports Palestinian statehood.

“I’d have to see,” he says.

He then launches into a diatribe about NATO defense spending.

Biden says Israel wants Gaza war to end, Trump disagrees

Former US president Donald Trump tries to turn a question about Russia into criticism of President Joe Biden’s policy on Iran.

“Israel would have never been invaded in a million years by Hamas,” Trump says. “You know why? Because Iran was broke with me.”

Asked about the war in Gaza, Biden touts his defense of Israel, and accuses Hamas of being the only one who wants to keep fighting.

“We are providing Israel with all the weapons they need,” he says.

He also appears to slip when claiming that nobody was hurt in Iran’s April attack on Israel — a young Bedouin girl was seriously wounded.

Biden says Hamas has been “greatly weakened and they should be, they should be eliminated. But you have got to be careful” about using large bombs in populated areas.

Asked to respond, Trump first steers back to Ukraine before turning back to Gaza. he disputes Biden’s claim that Israel does not want to continue fighting.

“Israel is the one who wants to keep going,” he says, adding that they should not be held back from doing so.

“He’s become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he’s a bad one,” Trump says.

Trump and Biden trade barbs over claim terrorists coming in over border

After questions on inflation and abortion, Donald Trump and Joe Biden spar on whether terrorists are coming across the southern border.

Trump claims terrorists are coming in from Mexico: “Not just from South America, from the Middle East, from all over.”

Biden, who has stumbled over his words during the debate, claims the only terrorist to ever come in over the border was a person from Afghanistan who came in under Trump’s watch and who killed three people.

Trump answers by touting his administration’s assassinations of Islamic State leader al-Baghdadi and Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, and intimates migrants/terrorists are killing people everywhere.

“We are living in a rat’s nest, they are killing people … in every state in the union,” Trump says.

Biden notes that the actual numbers do not bear that out.

Debate kicks off without handshake

US President Joe Biden, right, and Republican presidential candidate former president Donald Trump, left, during a presidential debate hosted by CNN, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP/Gerald Herbert)

The first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle has kicked off.

The two candidates, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, do not shake hands at the outset, in a break with normal protocol.

This is the first time the two men have appeared together in public since 2020.

The first question is related to the economy, reflecting what is considered the number one issue on voters’ minds.

Biden and Trump set to hold first debate

People converse during setup in the spin room for the upcoming CNN Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Atlanta, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP/Gerald Herbert)

US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump have both arrived in Atlanta with a debate between the two candidates set to kick off in some 30 minutes.

A lively crowd of supporters greeted Biden as he arrived at his Atlanta hotel ahead of the debate earlier.

The crowd of about 50 chanted “Four more years.” Many wore campaign T-shirts. Some held placards with Biden’s trademark aviator sunglasses on them. Others had signs with the face of Biden’s alter ego “Dark Brandon.”

The president pumped his fist and embraced one man, a possible sign of how he’s getting energized for the evening’s showdown with former President Donald Trump.

Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, who flew to Georgia with the former president, says Trump was in a “good mood” ahead of Thursday’s general election debate.

Lewandowski says a “small footprint” of Trump’s inner circle was on the plane including top aides Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita.

Trump heard some last-minute advice, Lewandowski says, but was relaxed on the trip.

Security around the debate site, which will take place without an audience or live press, has tightened up in recent hours.

Signage for a CNN presidential debate is seen as Bob Kunst of Miami Beach, Florida wears a prison costume next to his signs that read “Lock Biden Up” and “Biden Betrayed America and Israel” outside the studios at the Turner Entertainment Networks on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP)

Unscalable fencing has gone up around the CNN studios, as well as the Georgia Tech arena where hundreds of journalists are gathered to cover the debate.

There have been at least a few protesters near the site, including a man clad in a black-and-white prison-style outfit and a sign reading “Lock Biden Up,” and accusing the president of betraying Israel and the US.

A group of pro-Palestinian protesters are also gathered outside, calling to end US support for Israel.

Jawahir Kamal leads pro-Palestinian protesters in a chant as they gather before a presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Atlanta, Thursday, June 27, 2024. (AP/Ben Gray)

Various groups have indicated their intent to gather near the debate site, but a downpour of mid-afternoon rain may be dampening — literally — some of those plans.

Smotrich said set to release PA tax funds, extend banks waiver as part of outposts deal

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will sign off on moves unfreezing tax funds withheld from the Palestinian Authority as part of a deal to win cabinet approval to legalize West Bank outposts and place new sanctions on senior Palestinian officials, according to reports.

The hardline minister will also extend a waiver allowing Israeli banks to work with their Palestinian counterparts, Haaretz reports.

Smotrich had pledged to withhold funds collected by Israel on the PA’s behalf and allow the banks waiver to expire after June until the Israeli government adopts a series of punitive measures against the PA over the moves taken by Norway, Spain and Ireland, in addition to Ramallah’s support for the cases against Israel in the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

The minister said late Thursday that the security cabinet had signed off on his proposal to legalize five outposts, revoke “various approvals and benefits” for senior PA officials, expand Israeli enforcement powers against Palestinian building in the West Bank and okay thousands of new settlement homes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, which usually announces cabinet-level decisions, has not issued any statements and is not reachable for immediate comment.

An Israeli official told ToI this month that the government was interested in placating Smotrich so that he’ll release some of the Palestinian tax revenues, a major point of contention between Jerusalem and Washington, and extend indemnity to Israeli correspondent banks.

The expiration of the waiver would severely hamper the West Bank economy, which is intrinsically dependent on Israel due to the power imbalance between the sides.

It’s unclear if the scheme will placate Washington, though. A US official said last week that the sides are liable to find themselves in the same situation a month or two down the line “if and when [Smotrich] decides to hold up the funds again.”

“These funds cannot continue to be held for ransom. They belong to the Palestinians,” the US official told ToI.

Jacob Magid and Reuters contributed to this report.

UN Security Council demands Houthis stop attacks, skirts around Gaza war

The UN Security Council has approved a resolution demanding Yemen’s Houthi rebels halt all attacks on ships and urged that the disruption to maritime security in a critical Middle East waterway be urgently addressed.

The resolution makes no mention that the Iran-backed rebels claim they are staging the attacks because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The resolution, which also extended the requirement that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres report monthly on the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, was approved by a 12-0 vote, with Russia, China and Algeria abstaining.

The resolution condemns the Houthis’ continuing attacks, emphasizing the need to address root causes, “including the conflicts contributing to regional tensions and the disruption to maritime security.”

The resolution, which was a follow-up resolution to one adopted on January 10 that condemned and demanded an immediate halt to Houthi attacks, “urges caution and restraint to avoid further escalation of the situation in the Red Sea and the broader region.”

Speaking on behalf of the United States and Japan, which sponsored the resolution, US deputy ambassador Robert Wood says the Houthi attacks “threaten international peace and security” and that they are “a global challenge” that “necessitates a global solution.”

“With this resolution, the council once again sends a clear message to the Houthis: Cease these attacks immediately,” he says.

China’s deputy UN ambassador Geng Shuang said Beijing abstained as it did in January because some key elements in the resolution “could have negative consequences and lead to further escalation of regional tensions.”

An immediate and lasting cease-fire in Gaza “will help cool down the situation in Yemen and the Red Sea,” Geng says.

Pennsylvania Senate advances bill pulling state funds from schools that boycott Israel

Pennsylvania’s state Senate has approved legislation that would block state aid from going to any university that boycotts or divests from Israel, following pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country that included demands for divestment.

The measure, which passes by a vote of 41 to 7, also would bar the state treasurer and public pension systems from boycotting or divesting from Israel’s government or commercial financial activity in that country.

The bill wins support from all but one Republican and most Democrats. It now goes to the House.

Supporters of the legislation say it was motivated by a desire to support an ally nation in its war with Hamas, to fight a rising tide of antisemitism in the United States and to alert state-subsidized universities that they must protect Jewish students from threats and bullying by anti-Israel protesters.

Democratic Sen. Judy Schwank, said she hopes it sends a message to college administrators and boards of trustees that are responsible for campus safety.

“Bodily harm, death threats, go beyond just hurt feelings and they certainly stretch the limits of free speech,” Schwank says.

Feds probing anti-Israel protest outside LA synagogue as Garland decries antisemitism

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers clash with anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles, June 23, 2024. (DAVID SWANSON / AFP)

Federal officials are investigating a weekend demonstration against Israel that spiraled into violence as protesters blocked access to a Los Angeles synagogue, US Attorney General Merrick Garland says, saying the incident appeared to have been motivated by antisemitic hate.

Fighting between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and counterprotesters erupted Sunday outside the Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood and police were called in to break it up. One person was arrested, and footage showed at least one pro-Israel figure badly bloodied.

Garland says the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California “have been and, as we speak, are collecting evidence on that matter.”

A supporter of Israel with blood on his face after clashing with pro-Palestinian protesters blocking access to the Adas Torah Orthodox synagogue, in Los Angeles, June 23, 2024. (DAVID SWANSON / AFP)

The “Justice Department will not tolerate criminal acts motivated by antisemitic hate,” Garland says, becoming emotional as he recalls his family’s own history fleeing the pogroms of eastern Europe at the start of the 20th century.

“Let me promise to the Jewish community that this Justice Department will do everything within its power, working with federal partners and state and local partners, to secure the community’s safety,” he says. “And as attorney general, I will do everything in my power to do that.”

Garland does not comment further on what exactly officials are examining.

US President Joe Biden condemned the violence in a post Monday on social media platform X. “Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” Biden said.

The Los Angeles Police Department on Monday began providing additional patrols in Pico-Robertson and outside houses of worship citywide.

Estonian PM Kallas named as new EU foreign policy chief

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas speaks during a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the occasion of their meeting, in Tallinn, Estonia, March 8, 2022. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)

Estonia’s Kaja Kallas has been named as the European Union’s next top diplomat replacing Josep Borrell, whose tenure was marked by outspoken criticism of Israel.

European Union leaders signed off on the appointment of Kallas as part of a deal that keeps German conservative Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission for another five years and names Antonio Costa of Portugal as European Council president.

Kallas is prime minister of her tiny Baltic home country. She comes from the pro-business liberal group, which is also home to embattled French President Emmanuel Macron and lost seats in the June poll, trailing into fourth place.

“This is an enormous responsibility in this time of geopolitical tensions. There’s war in Europe, but there’s also growing instability globally,” Kallas tells reporters.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a debate in Strasbourg, eastern France, April 24, 2024. (Jean-Francois Badias/AP)

She and von der Leyen must still be approved by a majority of lawmakers in the European Parliament, which could take place when the newly constituted legislature meets next month.

Kallas, who turns 47 on Tuesday, has made her name as an eloquent critic of neighboring Russia and its expansionist aims since she became Estonian prime minister in early 2021.

An uncompromising voice in the EU and NATO for unconditional support to Kyiv and for containing Moscow, she led her country of 1.4 million people to become among the highest per-capita military donors to Ukraine.

But she is considered largely untested on foreign affairs matters farther from home, including in the Middle East. She has voiced support for Israel’s right to defend itself in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre, but has also decried the humanitarian crisis in Gaza since Israel invaded the Strip.