March 8: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say ‘ready for complete obedience’ to Mojtaba Khamenei

Bahrain says civilians injured, buildings damaged in Iranian drone attack

Several people are injured in an Iranian drone attack on Bahrain’s island of Sitra, its interior ministry says, as two loud explosions are heard.

“As a result of the blatant Iranian aggression, injuries among citizens were reported, one of them serious, and a number of houses in Sitra were damaged as a result of an attack by drones,” the ministry says.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say ‘ready for complete obedience’ to Mojtaba Khamenei

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards pledge allegiance to the country’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, after he was appointed his father’s successor by the Assembly of Experts.

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps… is ready for complete obedience and self-sacrifice in carrying out the divine commands of the Guardian Jurist of the time, His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei,” the Guards say in a statement.

NYT: US orders diplomats in Saudi Arabia to exit the country

The US embassy headquarters in Riyadh is pictured on March 3, 2026, after it was hit by drone strikes earlier. (AFP)

American personnel at the US diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia have been ordered to leave the country, The New York Times reports, citing current and former officials.

The reported order from the US State Department would be a first during the ongoing Iran war.

It comes more than a week after US-Israeli strikes on the Iranian regime began, and hours after CENTCOM said an American soldier injured in an Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia on March 1 had succumbed to their wounds. Iran has fired at targets across the Gulf during the war.

On Tuesday, the Saudi Defense Ministry said the US embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones, which sparked a small fire. The US closed the embassy following the attack. Americans in multiple Saudi cities were given orders to shelter in place, according to the Times, which said Saudi Arabia reported shooting down another drone aimed at the district housing the US embassy today.

US diplomats in Saudi Arabia had requested the order to leave, according to the report. Nonessential workers and their families at other US embassies, including in Israel, have been told they may leave the country if they wish.

Qatari PM says he will seek de-escalation with Iran, in Sky News interview

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani addresses a press conference following Israeli strikes in Doha on September 9, 2025. (Karim JAAFAR / AFP)

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani says in a Sky News interview that his country will continue to seek de-escalation with Iran.

“We will continue talking to the Iranians, we will continue trying to seek de-escalation,” the prime minister says in the interview.

“What happened is really a huge shake-up for the trust in the relationship that we have with Iran,” he adds.

Sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona amid rocket attack from Lebanon, no injuries reported

Sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona amid a rocket attack from Lebanon.

Sirens warning of a drone infiltration also sound in nearby towns. There are no immediate reports of injuries.

Hezbollah has carried out numerous rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel today.

Iranian President Pezeshkian pledges investigation of drone incident to Azerbaijan leader

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian takes questions from the media at a press briefing in New York, September 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian tells his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, that Tehran was not responsible for drone incursions into Azerbaijan, but pledges to investigate the incident, Aliyev’s office says.

“Noting that the incident involving (an) airstrike on Nakhchivan had no connection with Iran, President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasized that the incident would be investigated,” the statement says.

Azerbaijani authorities said four Iranian drones had crossed its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave Thursday.

Iran names Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, as new supreme leader, state media reports

Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a demonstration to mark al-Quds Day in Tehran, Iran, May 31, 2019. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Reuters)

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, state media reports.

Mojtaba has been named in recent days as the frontrunner to succeed his father, who was killed on the first day of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, on February 28. But US President Donald Trump has called the younger Khamenei “unacceptable” and demanded to have input in choosing Iran’s next leader, a request Islamic Republic officials have rebuffed.

Earlier today, he said whoever was chosen to replace the late supreme leader would not “last long” without US approval.

Mayor of northern Israel’s Arraba shot, injured along with fellow local politician

Unknown assailants shot at the mayor of Arraba, injuring him and another local politician near a bakery in the northern Arab city.

Mayor Ahmad Nasser and Anwar Yassin, the head of the city’s popular committee, both sustained moderate injuries in the ambush tonight, according to first responders.

Police say they have launched an investigation into the incident and are searching for suspects. No arrests have yet been reported.

The city’s popular committee decries the incident as a “grave criminal act” and “unacceptable attack on public figures who work to serve the city’s people.”

Trump speaks with UAE president, Emirati state media says

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (right) welcomes his US counterpart Donald Trump upon arrival at the presidential terminal in Abu Dhabi on May 15, 2025. (Giuseppe Cacae/AFP)

The UAE state news agency reports that US President Donald Trump just got off the phone with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed.

No details are given on their call, and the White House has not issued a readout yet.

Britain’s foreign office temporarily withdraws some staff from Lebanon

Britain’s Foreign Office says it has taken the precautionary measure of temporarily withdrawing some staff and dependents from Lebanon.

The British Embassy in Lebanon is operating as normal, the agency says in a post on X.

Russian, UAE foreign ministers seek end to attacks on Iran, Gulf states — Russian ministry

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and UAE's Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan enter a hall for their joint news conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, March 9, 2021. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates call for an end to all attacks on both Iran and Gulf states and say renewed diplomacy is needed to ensure long-term regional security, according to the Kremlin.

“Attention focused on the necessity of stopping attacks that lead to casualties among the civilian population and cause damage to civilian infrastructure both in the Arab countries of the … Gulf and in Iran,” Lavrov’s ministry said of his telephone conversation with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.

The UAE has maintained good relations with both Russia and Ukraine during their four-year-old war and acted as an intermediary in holding talks and arranging exchanges of prisoners of war. Russia is an ally of Iran.

Man dies of wounds after being shot, severely hurt in Jaffa — police

A young man has succumbed to his wounds after being shot and severely injured in Jaffa days ago, police say.

The victim, a man in his 20s named Mahmoud Daqqa, was taken to Holon’s Wolfson Medical Center after assailants opened fire on him Wednesday.

Two suspects were arrested in connection with the incident, which police describe as a conflict between criminals.

A court ruled that the pair will remain in custody until at least Wednesday, as police in the Tel Aviv District’s investigations and intelligence division continue to investigate the shooting.

According to the Arab48 news site, the slain man is the brother of Muhammad Daqqa, a 28-year-old man who was gunned down earlier this year in Pisgat Ze’ev, a Jewish neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Since the beginning of the year, 63 members of the Arab community have been killed in violent criminal incidents, nearly one per day. The high death toll follows the community’s bloodiest year to date, which saw 252 violent killings over the course of 2025.

Hezbollah claims to shoot down Israeli drone over southern Lebanon; IDF denies

A Hermes 450 drone comes in for a landing during a surprise exercise, 'Galilee Rose,' in February 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hezbollah claims to have shot down an Israeli military drone over southern Lebanon today.

In a statement, the terror group says that “in response to the criminal Israeli aggression that targeted dozens of Lebanese cities and towns, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut,” its operatives shot down an Elbit Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle this afternoon, over the Wadi Saluki area “using appropriate weapons.”

Known in the military as the Zik, the Hermes 450 UAV is used by the Israeli Air Force as a surveillance and attack drone.

The IDF says it is unaware of such an incident.

US State Department says over 32,000 Americans have come back from Middle East

An El Al flight takes off at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, during ongoing missile attacks from Iran toward Israel, February 28, 2026. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)

The US State Department says in an updated toll that 32,000 Americans have returned to the country from across the Middle East since the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28.

The tally does not include those who have relocated to other countries or those who are en route back to the US, posts Dylan Johnson, the US assistant secretary of state for global public affairs.

The US has urged its citizens to use the scant commercial flights available to get out of the region, but according to Johnson has also operated almost two dozen charter flights. The US government faced criticism in the war’s opening days for not having a plan in place to evacuate its citizens.

There are thought to be hundreds of thousands of US citizens across the Middle East. Johnson writes that the US is increasing the pathways Americans can take to exit the region, while adding that some have turned down government-sponsored options.

“While commercial flight availability across the region continues to improve, Department of State charter flight and ground transport operations continue to ramp up, as security conditions allow,” he writes.

“At this time, more than half of American citizens who requested help departing turn down U.S. Government-provided transportation options when contacted. Some American citizens wish to remain in country, while others prefer an alternative departure option,” he adds.

NYPD confirms explosive device used against anti-Muslim protest near Mamdani residence

A man holds a homemade explosive device before throwing it towards police during a protest organized by far-right influencer Jake Lang against alleged 'Islamification' in New York, in front of Gracie Mansion, March 7, 2026. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

The NYPD confirms that a suspect used an improvised explosive device at an anti-Muslim protest yesterday near Gracie Mansion, the residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

A white supremacist group held the rally near the residence in Manhattan. Mamdani is Muslim.

A larger group of counter-protesters gathered nearby.

Two men who appeared to be affiliated with the counter-protesters hurled an incendiary device near police, and dropped another device in the area.

Police said the devices were jars, with fuses, filled with nuts and bolts, but it was initially unclear whether the devices were functional explosives.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says in a statement that the NYPD bomb squad has determined that one of the devices was “not a hoax device or a smoke bomb,” but “an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”

Justice Ministry to pass Sde Teiman video leak probe to state attorney rather than AG

State Attorney Amit Aisman speaks during a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 21, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Justice Ministry intends to pass the police investigation into the Sde Teiman abuse video leak scandal to State Attorney Amit Aisman rather than his boss, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, claiming there is still concern she has a conflict of interest in the case.

The move comes after the High Court of Justice ordered the ministry’s legal adviser, Yael Kotik, to choose a legal official to handle the case after police completed their probe into the leak of footage purporting to show reservists severely abusing a Gazan detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility.

The affair is one aspect of a broad power struggle between Baharav-Miara and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who accuses the attorney general of having a conflict of interest in the case after her office oversaw an internal probe that recommended not opening a criminal investigation into the leak’s source. That source ended up being ex-military advocate general Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who admitted to the leak.

Last fall, Levin demanded that he be allowed to select someone from outside the state prosecution to oversee the investigation. The probe was ongoing at the time, with Baharav-Miara’s role still an open question, and the court granted his request. While judges allowed Levin to pick a supervisor, they rejected both of his nominees, who did not meet the guidelines set in their ruling.

After completing the investigation, police passed a summary of their findings to the Justice Ministry and requested that Baharav-Miara be allowed to begin overseeing the case, saying they ruled her out as a suspect in the affair.

Levin has nevertheless continued to insist on excluding her, and the case file sat idle in the Justice Ministry for a month.

Kotik writes in her opinion submitted to the High Court that Aisman’s involvement in the initial probe was limited. “As such… he is the most senior official in the system to whom the investigative materials can be transferred for review,” she continues.

Iran’s parliament speaker says Tehran is not seeking a ceasefire

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf waves to the media while registering his name as candidate for the June 28 presidential election at the Interior Ministry, in Tehran, Iran, June 3, 2024. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says Tehran is not seeking a ceasefire in its war with the US and Israel, adding that “aggressors” should be punished.

“If the enemy attacks us from any country, Tehran will respond decisively,” he tells Iran’s state TV.

The war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes and has seen Iran attack Israel and countries across the region.

US soldier dies of their wounds, in seventh American casaulty of Iran war

An American soldier injured in one of Iran’s attacks at the start of the war has succumbed to their wounds, the US Central Command announces.

According to CENTCOM, the service member was wounded in an attack on American troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1.

“This is the seventh service member killed in action during Operation Epic Fury,” CENTCOM says, adding that the soldier’s identity will be withheld until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification.

Iraqi oil production collapses as Hormuz still blocked by Iran war, sources say

Iraqi oil production from its main southern oilfields has fallen by 70 percent to just 1.3 million barrels per day as the country is unable to export oil via the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war, three industry sources say.

Production from the fields stood at around 4.3 million barrels per day before the war.

France’s Macron says he spoke with Iran’s president amid war with Israel and US

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the murder of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old French Jew who was tortured and murdered in 2006, at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on February 13, 2026. (Bertrand GUAY / POOL / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, calling on Iran to halt strikes against other countries in the region and to end the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Macron says.

In a post on X, Macron also reiterates France’s position that a diplomatic solution is necessary to end the conflict between Iran and Israel and the US.

Israel destroys Tehran HQ of IRGC’s air force, which managed missile fire — IDF

The Israeli Air Force destroyed the headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ air force in Tehran during a recent wave of strikes, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a press conference.

Defrin says Iran “managed the fire of missiles and drones at Israel and countries in the region” from the headquarters.

❌ ارتش دفاعی اسرائیل مقر نیروی هوافضای سپاه پاسداران را در قلب تهران هدف قرار داد

این مقر به عنوان مرکز فرماندهی و کنترل اصلی نیروهای هوایی رژیم استفاده می‌شد.
از این مقر، فرماندهی یگان موشک‌های بالستیک، سامانه پهپادها و دیگر واحدهای این نیرو فعالیت می‌کردند.
این مقر مسئول… pic.twitter.com/Enydb9kAKw

— ارتش دفاعی اسرائیل | IDF Farsi (@IDFFarsi) March 8, 2026

Report: Witkoff, Kushner coming to Israel as US irked over scope of strikes on Iran’s oil depots

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a speech as Jared Kushner looks on upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, January 6, 2026. (Ludovic Marin, Pool photo via AP)

US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are planning to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for talks as the US-Israeli war with Iran continues, a senior American official tells Channel 12.

The planned visit comes as disagreements have emerged between Israel and the US over Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities yesterday, according to the news outlet.

A senior American security official tells Channel 12 that Israel had informed Washington in advance about plans to target oil infrastructure, but did not indicate that the strikes would be as extensive as they were.

“We don’t think it was a good idea,” the official says, adding that the US military had expected a largely symbolic strike and was surprised by the scope of the operation.

According to the official, US officials are concerned that targeting infrastructure that also supplies fuel to Tehran’s civilian population could backfire by strengthening the Iranian regime and turning public opinion against Israel and the US.

An Israeli security official cited by Channel 12 says the strikes on the fuel depots were intended in part to send a message to Tehran to stop targeting civilian sites in Israel.

The report also says the discussion over the strikes has so far taken place mainly at the military level, without a clear political message being conveyed between the governments.

Earlier on Sunday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US would not target Iranian energy infrastructure.

Israeli officials float ‘slow collapse’ scenario for Iran, say ‘cracks’ forming in regime – report

Government supporters mourn during a gathering after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, March 1, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Israeli defense officials are outlining a scenario in which Iran’s regime does not immediately fall during the ongoing conflict, but instead undergoes a gradual collapse afterward, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, the scenario – referred to in internal discussions as a “slow collapse” – envisions the US-Israeli war with Iran ending with the current regime still in place but significantly weakened. That would be followed by a gradual erosion of its stability.

Security officials reportedly cite several factors that could drive such a process, including Iran’s worsening economic crisis, widespread public dissatisfaction with the regime, the potential emergence of alternative leadership, continued internal unrest, sustained regional pressure from a coalition of Gulf states and other foreign powers, and growing international diplomatic isolation.

Officials cited in the report also say Israeli assessments indicate “cracks” within Iran’s leadership, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the military chain of command that are “plain to see.”

According to the report, Israeli officials believe motivation among some Iranian military units – including air defense forces – has undergone a “dramatic drop,” with commanders said to be forcing soldiers who are scared of Israeli strikes to continue carrying out missile launches.

UK forces successfully engage drone fired from Iran towards Iraq

British forces intercepted a drone fired from Iran toward Iraq yesterday, the UK Defense Ministry says in an X post.

“UK forces successfully engaged a one-way attack drone fired from Iran towards Iraq last night,” the post says. “The engagement occurred as RAF Typhoons and F-35 jets continued to conduct defensive sorties across the region.”

The post adds that a UK helicopter is en route.

“A Merlin helicopter is due to arrive in theatre, further strengthening our ability to detect aerial threats,” the post says. “The aircraft can fly up to a mile in height, giving advance warning of incoming drones or missiles.”

Navy strike on Beirut hotel killed five top IRGC commanders, IDF says

Damaged hotel rooms hit by an Israeli strike targeting Iranian IRGC officials in Beirut, Lebanon, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Five top commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in an Israeli Navy strike targeting a hotel room in Beirut overnight, the IDF announces.

According to the military, the commanders who were killed “while hiding in a civilian hotel” served in the IRGC Quds Force’s Palestine and Lebanon corps, and were involved in aiding Hezbollah and Hamas with funds and intelligence.

They are named by the IDF as:

• Majid Hassini, a senior moneyman in the Lebanon Corps, who the IDF says was responsible for transferring funds from Iran to proxy groups in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and Hamas
• Ali Reza Bi-Azar, chief of intelligence in the Lebanon Corps
• Ahmad Rasouli, chief of intelligence in the Palestine Corps
• Hossein Ahmadlou, a lower-ranking intelligence operative in the Lebanon Corps
• Abu Muhammad Ali, Hezbollah’s representative in the Palestine Corps

Last week, Israel said it had killed Daoud Alizadeh, the acting commander of the Lebanon Corps, in a strike in Tehran. Another strike in Beirut last week killed the chief of staff of the Lebanon Corps, Reza Khazaei.

Senior Iranian cleric suggests Khamenei’s son Mojtaba to be named supreme leader

This handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (left) shows him during an address in Tehran on February 17, 2026. (Handout / KHAMENEI.IR / AFP); Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a demonstration to mark Jerusalem Day in Tehran, May 31, 2019. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Reuters)

A senior Iranian cleric involved in the vote to choose a new supreme leader indicates Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba will be his successor, although a formal announcement is still to come.

The comment by Ayatollah Hosseinali Eshkevari, a member of the Assembly of Experts, follows growing expectations that Mojtaba Khamenei, a hardline cleric like his father, will be named as supreme leader, a position giving him the final say in all matters of state in the Islamic Republic.

“The name of Khamenei will continue,” Eshkevari, one of the 88 members of the assembly, says in a video published in Iranian media.

“The vote has been cast and will be announced soon.” Eshkevari says, without providing further details.

The elder Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader, was killed on the first day of US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

If confirmed, the selection of his son could draw the ire of US President Donald Trump who has said he should have a role in the choice of the next leader, a demand Iran has roundly rejected. Trump has called Mojtaba Khamenei “unacceptable.”

Zamir vows nowhere is safe for ‘arms of Iranian evil,’ fight ‘will take a long time yet’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (right) and Home Front Command chief Maj. Gen. Shai Klapper are seen during an assessment, March 8, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says Hezbollah will “continue to pay a heavy price” for attacking Israel.

“Overnight, we acted against Iranian forces of the Quds Force in Lebanon, in Beirut, and hit them. I tell you that there is no safe place for the arms of Iranian evil, anywhere in the Middle East, not in Beirut and not anywhere else,” he says. The IDF had said a strike earlier in the day in Beirut hit key commanders of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force.

“At the same time, we experienced quite a bit of fire toward the northern communities, and there was also an incident during the night,” Zamir says, referring to the deaths of two soldiers in a Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon.

“Hezbollah is an extreme arm of the Iranian octopus. It is paying and will continue to pay a heavy price for this,” he says.

The remarks are made during an assessment Zamir holds with Home Front Command chief Maj. Gen. Shai Klapper and other military officials.

“Israel has already been in a state of prolonged emergency for two years. What we mainly need right now is perseverance and patience. It will take a long time yet, you need to be prepared for that, and however long it takes, it will take,” Zamir adds.

Macron to visit Cyprus tomorrow in wake of drone attack

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying a post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, January 6, 2026. (Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus tomorrow, his office says, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on the island EU member days ago.

Macron will meet his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show “solidarity” and detail moves to “strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean,” the Elysee says.

The visit will take place as the war pitting the US and Israel against Iran is in its second week, affecting much of the Middle East.

Cyprus on Monday was targeted by Iranian-made drones, leading Macron to order France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean and a frigate and air defense units to Cyprus.

“This trip is intended to demonstrate France’s solidarity with Cyprus, a member state of the European Union with which we have a strategic partnership,” and which was recently hit “by several drones and missile strikes,” the Elysee says.

France has insisted its stance in the region is “strictly defensive.”

The visit to Cyprus will also allow Macron “to emphasise the importance of guaranteeing freedom of navigation and maritime security in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, in particular through the European Union’s Aspides maritime operation”, it adds.

Numerous attacks have struck ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint in the Gulf, since the US-Israeli war with Iran started on February 28.

Macron writes on X that he spoke with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the presidents of Egypt and Azerbaijan.

Discussing the region with the Qatari ruler, Macron says he highlighted France’s “defensive military support,” particularly in the air, which he noted is deployed to the “benefit of Qatar.”

“Qatar and France share the same conviction: beyond the clamor of arms, lasting stability for all must come through de-escalation and negotiation,” Macron adds.

Iranian army says at least 104 killed in US attack on Iranian warship last week

Iran's military ship IRIS Dena is anchored in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

The Iranian army says at least 104 people were killed and 32 wounded in an attack by the US on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka’s coast last week.

A US submarine sank the frigate Dena in the Indian Ocean about 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s southern port city of Galle on Wednesday, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington’s pursuit of the Iranian navy.

Iran’s military warns it will target region’s oil sites if Israel hits energy infrastructure

Four men walk as a thick plume of smoke from a US-Israeli strike on an oil storage facility late Saturday lingers in the cloudy sky behind them in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Iran’s military warns that it will target oil sites in the region if Israel continues to strike energy infrastructure in the Islamic Republic.

“The governments of Islamic countries are expected to warn the criminal America and the savage Zionist regime of such cowardly, inhumane actions as soon as possible,” Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran’s central military command, tells state TV.

“Otherwise, similar measures will be taken in the region, and if you can tolerate oil at more than $200 per barrel, continue this game,” he says.

Israel struck Iranian oil depots yesterday, in an apparent first.

Over 2,000 taken to hospitals since beginning of Iran war — Health Ministry

Patients and medical staff are seen in an underground parking area converted into a treatment ward at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, after patients were relocated following missile fire from Iran toward Israel, February 28, 2026. (Flash90)

The Health Ministry reports that since the beginning of the war with Iran on February 28, 2,072 people have been admitted to hospitals, 155 of whom are currently hospitalized in intensive care.

Among those hospitalized, nine people are in serious condition, 42 people are in moderate condition, and 98 are in good condition. Three people are being treated for anxiety and four are undergoing medical evaluations.

The ministry also says that anyone who needs emotional support can contact the resilience centers and the emergency and support centers of the health funds to receive psychological assistance.

Ed Ministry has no data on shelters in 50% of kindergartens; many schools lack protection — report

Illustrative: Parents accompany their children to the kindergarten in Tel Aviv on October18, 2020. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Education Ministry does not possess any data on the existence of bomb shelters in about 50% of kindergartens, according to a new report by the Knesset Research and Information Center.

About 38% of schools have either no protection or only partial protection, the report says.

The report was compiled at the request of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee and is based on findings from the State Comptroller released in its audit of shelters in January.

According to the State Comptroller’s audit, the Ministry of Education lacks data for about 51% (10,975 classrooms) of kindergartens. For the remaining 49% (10,444 classrooms), the ministry assumes they are protected simply because they were built after 1992, when protection requirements took effect, but does not actually know since it has not been tracking the issue. Therefore, the number of unprotected kindergartens is likely much higher, it says.

The report notes that according to a ministry survey of 5,052 kindergarten classes, only 2,728 (approximately 54%) were actually found to have standard protection.

The ministry told the State Comptroller that it was in the process of contracting a company to collect updated information and map the status of all educational institutions, including kindergartens.

Meanwhile, 14% of Israeli schools have no protection, while 24% have partial protection. This means that about 466,000 students, comprising roughly one-quarter of the country’s students, lack adequate protection.

The State Comptroller noted, however, that 36% of the ministry’s data is outdated, having last been collected between 2018 and 2021.

Lebanon registers over 500,000 displaced by IDF strikes amid fight with Hezbollah

Displaced people fleeing Israeli airstrikes sleep at a school turned into a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanon’s social affairs minister says more than half a million people have been registered as displaced since the outbreak of the new conflict between Israel and Hezbollah on Monday.

In a press briefing, Haneen Sayed says that the total number of people who have registered their names on a website affiliated with the ministry reached 517,000, including 117,228 people in government shelters.

IDF confirms Gaza City strike, says it targeted Hamas operatives preparing sniper attack

The IDF confirms carrying out a strike in Gaza City this afternoon, saying it targeted two Hamas operatives who planned to carry out a sniper attack against troops.

The military says the two operatives planned to attack troops stationed in the Strip’s north “in the immediate timeframe.”

Palestinian media reported three dead in the strike, which took place on the Hamas side of the ceasefire line.

IDF says it hit elite Hezbollah command center, training compound in past day’s strikes

More than 100 strikes were carried out in Lebanon in the past day, the military says, amid the ongoing fighting against Hezbollah.

The IDF says the targets included weapon depots and dozens of other military sites belonging to the terror group.

In Beirut’s southern suburbs, the military says it struck a command center and a training compound of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, where members of the terror group had been preparing for attacks on Israel.

In the Beqaa Valley, the IDF says it killed a Hezbollah operative, named Mustafa Ahmad al-Zein, “who maintained close ties” with Iran’s IRGC Quds Force. According to the military, Zein lived in Iran in recent years.

צה"ל ממשיך לתקוף תשתיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, הותקפו מחסני אמצעי לחימה ועשרות אתרים צבאיים.

בדאחייה שבביירות, הותקפו מפקדה ומתחם אימונים של מחבלי יחידת 'כוח רדואן'. מחבלי היחידה שפעלו במתחם נערכו להוציא לפועל מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל ואזרחי מדינת ישראל.

בנוסף, צה"ל חיסל… pic.twitter.com/afg2PJVtqb

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 8, 2026

Syria’s Kurds caution Iran’s Kurds against aligning with US against Tehran

Members of the Kurdistan Freedom Party PAK stand guard in Irbil, Iraq, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Rashid Yahya)

Kurdish residents of northeast Syria warn Iran’s Kurds against aligning with the US to fight the Iranian government, citing their own experience in Syria in recent months as evidence their Iranian counterparts will be “abandoned.”

Iranian Kurdish militias based in northern Iraq have consulted with the United States in recent days about whether and how to attack security forces in western Iran, as the United States and Israel pound Iran with air strikes, Reuters has reported. US President Donald Trump recently discouraged such an attack.

In addition, Syria’s Kurds warn their Iranian counterparts against partnering with Washington.

“I hope that the Kurds of Iran will not ally themselves with America, because they will abandon them,” says Saad Ali, a 45-year-old resident of the northeastern Syrian Kurdish town of Qamishli.

“Tomorrow, if an agreement is made between them (the US) and the Iranians, they will eliminate you. Do not make our mistakes,” he tells Reuters.

Syrian Kurdish fighters aligned with the US more than a decade ago to fight the Islamic State jihadist group, setting up their own semi-autonomous zone in the territory they had seized from ISIS.

But in January, Syria’s new army under President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured most of the Kurdish-held areas in a sweeping offensive. Syria’s Kurds called on the US to intervene on their behalf, and felt betrayed when Washington instead urged them to merge with Sharaa’s forces.

An Iranian Kurdish source says Kurdish leaders did have concerns about being “betrayed” like the Kurdish groups in northern Syria.

The source says Iranian Kurdish leaders had requested guarantees from the US, without saying what they were.

Ahmed Barakat, head of the Kurdish Progressive Democratic Party in Syria, tells Reuters that Iranian Kurdish forces should exercise “extreme caution.”

Barakat says the decision is ultimately up to them, but he believes that “accepting the invitation of the United States and being considered the spearhead in confronting or weakening the Iranian regime is not, at present, in the best interest of the Kurds of Iran.”

Israel has been holding its own talks with Iranian Kurdish insurgent groups based in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan for around a year, Reuters reported last week.

No injuries or direct impacts reported following latest Iranian missile attack

There are no reports of injuries following the latest Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel, the ninth since midnight, medics say.

A small number of missiles were launched, setting off sirens across central and southern Israel.

The missiles were intercepted, according to preliminary military assessments, and there are no reports of direct impacts.

IDF confirms killing supreme leader’s military secretary based on ‘real-time emerging intel’

Plumes of smoke from a US-Israeli strike on an oil facility late Saturday linger and merge with the cloudy sky over Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

A top Iranian general who was killed in an airstrike in Tehran yesterday was targeted within an hour of fresh intelligence having been received by the military, according to the IDF.

Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier said that Abolghasem Babaeian, the military secretary to Iran’s supreme leader — who was appointed last week despite the supreme leader’s role being vacant following the assassination of Ali Khamenei — was killed in an Israeli strike.

The IDF now confirms killing Babaeian, saying he was targeted in Tehran on Saturday. The IDF says the strike targeting Babaeian was carried out following “real-time emerging intelligence.”

Israeli Air Force fighter jets took off for Iran while the intelligence was being consolidated, and within 50 minutes of the information being received, the jets launched the munitions that killed Babaeian.

The military says that in addition to being the intended head of the military bureau of the supreme leader, Babaeian was also chief of staff at the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, also known as Iran’s military emergency command.

“Babaeian was responsible for coordinating between regime bodies to advance actions against the State of Israel and to operate the regime’s emergency mechanisms,” the IDF says.

The IDF says Babaeian had been appointed to the role after the previous chief of Khamenei’s military bureau, Mohammad Shirazi, was killed in the opening strikes of the war alongside the supreme leader.

Sirens sound in central Israel as new Iranian missile launch detected

Sirens sound in central Israel after the IDF says it detected another launch of ballistic missiles from Iran.

A short while earlier, sirens had sounded in Beersheba and the surrounding area in southern Israel.

Those who go on unpaid leave due to Iran war to get unemployment benefits — Finance Ministry

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 5, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Finance Ministry presents an initial compensation framework for employees who need to go on unpaid leave to take care of children while the educational system remains closed or for other reasons related to the war with Iran.

According to the emerging framework, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an employer, in agreement with an employee, may place an employee on unpaid leave. For the unpaid leave period, the employee will receive unemployment benefits from the government, subject to eligibility conditions.

For the span of the war, the government will shorten the unpaid leave period that makes workers eligible for unemployment benefits from 30 days to 14 consecutive days, the Finance Ministry says. However, unemployment benefits will not cover the entire amount of missed salaries or benefits.

The Finance Ministry announces other employment-related relief measures as well, and says the plan’s full details will be published at a later stage.

A separate outline for compensating businesses whose revenue streams have been hurt will be published after being formulated in partnership with the Histadrut Labor Federation and the business sector, the ministry says.

New Iranian missile attack detected, with sirens set to sound in south

The IDF says it has detected a new ballistic missile attack from Iran, two hours after the last salvo.

Sirens are expected to sound in southern Israel in the coming minutes.

2 killed, 12 injured after projectile falls on Saudi residential location — civil defense

Two people are killed and 12 injured after a projectile falls on a residential location in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Kharj city, the Saudi Civil Defense says.

The two people killed were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationalities, it adds in a post on X.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said earlier today that they targeted radar systems in locations including Saudi’s Al-Kharj.

UK’s Starmer speaks with Trump on Middle East war following criticism

US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hands with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a joint press conference at Chequers near Aylesbury, England, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP/Evan Vucci)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with US President Donald Trump earlier today, Starmer’s office says in a statement.

“The leaders began by discussing the latest situation in the Middle East and the military cooperation between the UK and US through the use of RAF [Royal Air Force] bases in support of the collective self-defence of partners in the region,” a spokeswoman from Starmer’s office says in a statement.

“The Prime Minister also shared his heartfelt condolences with President Trump and the American people following the deaths of six US soldiers,” the statement says. “They looked forward to speaking again soon.”

Trump has heavily criticized Starmer in recent days, saying he is not cooperating sufficiently with the US-Israeli strikes on the Iranian regime.

US energy secretary: US won’t hit Iran energy sector, disruptions to last ‘a few weeks’

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright listens as US President Donald Trump meets with Argentina's President Javier Milei in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, October 14, 2025. (AP Photo/ Alex Brandon)

The United States will spare Iran’s energy infrastructure as it wages war alongside Israel against the Islamic Republic, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright says.

With oil prices rising dramatically, he tells CNN that disruptions to the petroleum and gas industry will be short-lived: “Worst case, that’s a few weeks. That’s not months,” he says.

Israel attacked oil storage facilities yesterday in and around Tehran, sparking huge fires in the first such attacks reported since the war started last weekend. Wright seems to downplay them.

“These are Israeli strikes, these are local fuel depots to fill up the gas tank,” Wright says.

He adds: “The US is targeting zero energy infrastructure. There are no plans to target Iran’s oil industry, their natural gas industry, or anything about their energy industry.”

The war has all but shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and about 20% of liquefied natural gas usually transit.

Energy markets have been riled by this disruption and oil prices have shot up. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark for oil, rose 12% just on Friday and is up 36% in a week.

Iran accounts for about 4% of world oil production, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Its oil industry is subject to international sanctions, but some oil is still exported, mainly to China, oil industry data shows.

US military: Iran firing missiles from populated areas, Iranian civilians should stay home

The US military warns that Iran’s regime is firing ballistic missiles and drones from heavily populated civilian areas, and is urging civilians to stay home to avoid being harmed.

“The Iranian regime is using heavily populated civilian areas to conduct military operations, including launching one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. This dangerous decision risks the lives of all civilians in Iran since locations used for military purposes lose protected status and could become legitimate military targets under international law,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) says.

“The US military takes every feasible precaution to minimize harm to civilians but cannot guarantee civilian safety in or near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes,” the CENTCOM statement adds.

Such launches are occurring in the cities of Dezful, Esfahan and Shiraz, US CENTCOM says in a “safety warning.” It adds: “US forces strongly urge civilians in Iran to stay at home.”

“The Iranian regime is knowingly endangering innocent lives. Additionally, Iranian forces are jeopardizing the safety of innocent people throughout the Middle East by deliberately and indiscriminately targeting civilian airports, hotels, and residential neighborhoods,” CENTCOM adds.

“Iran’s terrorist regime is blatantly disregarding civilian lives by attacking Gulf partners while compromising the safety of their own people,” says Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.

Trump, responding to threats, claims not to know of top Iranian official: ‘I couldn’t care less’

This composite shows President Donald Trump (left) at Mar-a-Lago, December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida, and Iranian Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut, Lebanon, August 13, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon, Bilal Hussein)

Following a threatening post on X by Ali Larijani, a top Iranian official who serves as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, US President Donald Trump claims not to know who he is.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about, who he is. I couldn’t care less,” Trump tells CBS News. He adds that Larijani has “already been defeated.”

On Saturday, Larijani had posted, “We will relentlessly avenge the blood of our Leader and our people. Trump must pay and will pay.”

Trump has demanded that Iran surrender unconditionally and allow him to be involved in the selection of its next leader.

Sirens warning of suspected drone sound in Galilee Panhandle

Sirens warning of a suspected drone infiltration sound in the Galilee Panhandle.

Hezbollah has launched several drones at northern Israel today, with no reports of injuries or damage caused.

16-year-old arrested in burning of police motorcycle during February Bnei Brak riot

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men clash with police following an assault on two female Israeli soldiers in Bnei Brak, February 15, 2026. (Oren Ziv/Flash90)

Police say they have arrested a suspect in the burning of a police motorcycle during a riot in Bnei Brak last month.

The alleged arsonist, a 16-year-old from Ashdod, was nabbed by officers this morning. A court ordered he remain in custody until Wednesday at least.

Weeks have passed since the incident, in which the motorcycle was completely destroyed, alongside tefillin and a prayer book that were left in its luggage box.

The motorcycle was set alight during a mass riot that erupted after a hundreds-strong mob attacked two female soldiers who came to the ultra-Orthodox city to visit a new recruit.

In addition to burning the motorcycle, the Haredi mob lightly injured five police officers and overturned a patrol car. Police at the time said they arrested 26 suspects in the riot, but all those detained went free the next day.

14 arrested, including minors, over string of wartime break-ins, burglaries — police

Cash that was allegedly stolen from a business in Jaffa by two men, residents of the city, after the money was recovered by police on March 8, 2026. (Israel Police)

Police say they arrested 14 suspects, including several minors, linked to a string of unrelated break-ins and burglaries in central Israel in recent days, as Iran continues to launch missiles at the region.

Those arrested include a 16-year-old from Afula, suspected of stealing a car in Herzliya. He was driving the stolen vehicle east on Route 5 when apprehended, police say.

A pair of 17-year-old boys from Holon were caught red-handed the next day, police add, trying to steal an expensive motorcycle in the city.

A Palestinian man and boy from the West Bank were arrested on the road while driving a car, also thought to have been stolen from Holon.

Alongside carjackings, several businesses in central Tel Aviv were broken into.

Police nabbed a 44-year-old West Bank Palestinian on suspicion of robbing a bank under renovation in the area, and later arrested two men from Jaffa thought to have stolen a large amount of cash from a hospitality business.

The latter two were arrested near the scene of the break-in.

Another man from Jaffa, 57 years old, was arrested for allegedly breaking into a building on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street and making off with property from the site, including work tools.

Air Force begins ‘extensive’ wave of airstrikes against Iranian regime targets — IDF

The Israeli Air Force has begun an “extensive” wave of airstrikes against Iranian regime infrastructure in Tehran and other areas of Iran, the IDF announces.

Further details are expected to be provided by the military later.

Trump: Next Iranian supreme leader ‘not going to last long’ without US approval

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media aboard Air Force One during a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, on March 7, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

US President Donald Trump says that Iran’s next leader won’t “last long” if he doesn’t have the approval of the White House.

“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump tells ABC News, as Iran prepares to name a replacement for late supreme leader Ali Khamenei. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.”

“I don’t want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again, or worse let them have a nuclear weapon,” says Trump.

Iran’s FM: We won’t surrender, Trump must apologize, no one can ‘interfere’ with selection of new supreme leader

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on during a meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, September 9, 2025. (AP/Khaled Elfiqi, File)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says US President Donald Trump should apologize to Iran and Gulf states for starting the ongoing war against the Islamic Republic.

“It is the president of the United States who should apologize to the people of the region and the Iranian people for the killing and destruction they have done against us,” Araghchi says on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Araghchi tells the US network that despite the killing of top Iranian officials, Iran’s government continues to manage the country and “everything is in its place.”

He also rejects Trump’s claim that he would decide who the next leader of Iran will be. “We allow nobody to interfere with our domestic affairs,” says Araghchi.

Araghchi says Iran will never accede to Trump’s demand that the war end with Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

“No surrender,” he says. “We continue to resist as long as it takes.”

Araghchi also says that Iran will not necessarily accept a ceasefire if the US offers one.

“Last time, we accepted the ceasefire, but this time is quite different,” says Araghchi.

“After attacking a second time in a year, they want to ask for a ceasefire again?” says Iran’s top diplomat. “It doesn’t work like this. There should be a permanent end to the war. Unless we get to that, I think we need to continue fighting.”

NOW – Reporter: "Are you afraid of a U.S. invasion in your country?"
Araghchi: "No, we are waiting for them."
Reporter: "You are waiting for the U.S. military to invade, the ground troops?!"
Araghchi: "Yes!" pic.twitter.com/0L0cNXLopd

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) March 5, 2026

He denies that Iran is targeting neighboring countries in the Middle East, despite ample footage of damage to civilian sites in Gulf countries.

“We are attacking American bases… which are unfortunately located on the soil of our neighbors,” he says.

Araghchi talks tough in the face of reports that Trump is considering the use of special forces on the ground in Iran.

“We have brave soldiers who are waiting for an enemy who enters our soil, to fight with them, to kill them and destroy them,” he says.

Amid reports that Russia is helping Iran target US troops in the region, Araghchi won’t deny cooperation, but won’t confirm the accounts.

“The military cooperation between Iran and Russia is not something new,” he says. “It’s not a secret. It has been in the past and it’s still there and will continue in the future.”

Israel strikes Palestinian camp in southern Lebanon, state media reports

The Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon, illustrative (YouTube screenshot)

Israel struck the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon today, Lebanese state media reports, amid the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.

The state-run National News Agency says “enemy warplanes launched two raids on the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon.”

3 dead in reported Israeli airstrike in Gaza City; IDF yet to comment

Palestinian media reports three dead in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in Gaza City.

The reported strike took place on the Hamas side of the ceasefire line.

The IDF has not yet commented.

No direct impacts or injuries reported in latest Iranian missile attack

The ballistic missile launched from Iran in the latest attack on central Israel was likely intercepted, according to initial military assessments.

There are no reports of direct impacts or injuries in the attack, the eighth since midnight, medics say.

Sirens had sounded across central Israel and parts of the West Bank.

Oman’s port of Duqm says port, maritime operations proceeding normally

Oman’s commercial port of Duqm says the port and maritime operations are proceeding normally, days after a fuel tank at the port was hit when the facility came under attack from several unmanned aircraft amid the Iran war.

“All operational and logistical services continue to function efficiently, ensuring the smooth movement of vessels and cargo to and from the port,” the port says in a post on X.

New Iranian missile launch detected, sirens set to sound in central Israel

The IDF says it has detected a new ballistic missile attack from Iran.

Sirens are expected to sound in central Israel in the coming minutes.

IDF says it hit Revolutionary Guards’ space and satellite HQ in Tehran

Vehicles move along a highway near plumes of black smoke billowing, in Tehran on March 8, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

The IDF details targets hit during recent waves of airstrikes in Tehran, saying they included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps space and satellite headquarters.

The IRGC space and satellite headquarters “served as a reception, transmission, and research center for the Iranian Space Agency, which is affiliated with the regime’s military,” the IDF says.

The headquarters included “research facilities as well as a command-and-control structure for the Khayyam satellite,” launched by Iran in August 2022, which the IDF says was used by the IRGC to “advance terror activities and monitor the State of Israel and countries in the region.”

Additionally, as part of the waves of strikes, the IDF says it also hit 50 bunkers at one of Iran’s internal security forces bases that were used to store ammunition; a base of the Basij paramilitary force; headquarters of the internal security forces; and a compound belonging to the IRGC ground forces.

Petition urges Australia to allow Iranian women’s soccer team to stay after Asian Cup ouster

Iran's Zahra Sarbali, top, and Philippines' Malea Cesar battle for the ball during the Women's Asian Cup soccer match between Iran and the Philippines in Robina, Australia, March 8, 2026. (Dave Hunt/AAP Image via AP)

A petition with 50,000 signatures urges Australia’s government to allow the Iranian women’s soccer team to stay Down Under after it was eliminated from the Women’s Asian Cup today.

The Iranian women’s squad arrived in Australia for the continental championship last month, before the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on the Iranian regime on February 28.

Teams ousted during the group stage usually leave within days but organizers have not announced details for the departure of the Iran delegation.

Their silence during the anthem before an opening loss to South Korea last Monday was viewed by some as an act of resistance and others as a show of mourning. The team hasn’t clarified. But the players sang the anthem and saluted during the national anthem ahead of their 4-0 loss to Australia last Thursday and a 2-0 loss to Philippines today.

Amid concerns for player welfare following reported criticism in the Iranian media, the Australian Iranian Council writes to Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke urging the government to protect the squad members while they’re in Australia.

It has launched an online petition, which had more than 50,000 electronic signatures before kick-off today, urging Australian authorities to “ensure that no member of Iran’s women’s national football team is to depart Australia while credible fears for their safety remain” and also to provide independent legal advice, support and interpreters.

The Australian Associated Press reports that protesters chanting “let them go” slightly delayed the departure of the Iran squad from the stadium.

Australia’s national news agency quotes Iran’s head coach Marziyeh Jafari saying the squad “want to come back to Iran as soon as we can.”

“I want to be with my country and home… We are eager to come back,” AAP quotes Jafari as saying.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong declines to comment on whether the Australian government had made contact with individuals but tells domestic media Australia stands in solidarity with the Iranian women’s team.

“It has been really moving for Australians to see them in Australia, and (Australia’s women’s team) swapping jerseys with them was a very evocative moment,” Wong tells the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday. “We know this regime has brutally oppressed many Iranian women.”

IDF soldier disciplined over vandalizing West Bank memorial for Yasser Arafat

An IDF soldier has been disciplined after footage showed him vandalizing a memorial for late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the northern West Bank.

The video published yesterday showed the soldier repeatedly hitting the memorial, in the town of Zababdeh, near Jenin, with a hammer.

In response to a query, the IDF says that the incident “is severe and does not align with the defined procedures.”

The military says the relevant brigade commander “conducted an immediate inquiry and the soldier was given disciplinary action.”

Soldiers and commanders also “underwent a clarification of procedures on the matter,” the IDF adds.

Israeli occupation forces vandalize a memorial for late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the town of Zababdeh, near Jenin. pic.twitter.com/NWu55Jy6RF

— WAFA News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) March 7, 2026

Smotrich: Government working to arrange unpaid leave for parents with children under 14

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addresses lawmakers ahead of the first reading of the 2026 state budget, January 28, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says the government is working on a plan that would provide unpaid leave for parents with children under the age of 14.

Smotrich says the plan will allow employers to place employees on state-funded leave to assist working parents. Educational institutions are closed this week but some workplaces are open.

Further details about what state-funded benefits and grants will be given to businesses and employees will be announced soon, Smotrich adds.

Similar unpaid leave models were retroactively implemented during the coronavirus pandemic and the war with Iran last June.

According to the emerging plan, one parent in families with children under the age of 14 will be able to take unpaid leave and stay home for as long as the education system remains shut due to the war with Iran.

“It is important for me to clarify: the Home Front Command’s guidelines that allow people to go back to work are not binding,” says Smotrich. “We understand that not everyone can return to work when the education system is closed, and in the coming days we will announce a special compensation plan that takes this into account.”

“Anyone who can go back to work in accordance with the guidelines is blessed and contributes to the resilience of the home front, morale, and the economy,” he says. “At the same time, we will provide a safety net for everyone, while understanding that not everyone can return to work.”

Workers taking unpaid leave will be protected from termination.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid criticizes the government for “telling parents to take unpaid leave because their children are at home during a war.”

“How does the finance minister think these people will pay the supermarket or their electricity bill?” Lapid asks.

At the same time, the Finance Ministry says it is working on formulating a plan that will be announced in the coming days to compensate businesses, including people who are self-employed and whose incomes have been hurt.

Egyptian pound hits record low as Mideast war roils markets

Egypt's President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sissi delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Egypt’s currency falls to a record low, trading at over 52 to the US dollar, as the economic fallout of the war in the Middle East hits the region’s most populous country and Israel’s southern neighbor.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has expanded across the Gulf and beyond, upending global energy markets and trade, and virtually halting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil travels.

Egpytian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi last week warned that the country was in a “state of near-emergency,” warning of renewed inflationary pressures.

Despite Egypt not having been directly hit by the war, the fighting has nonetheless pushed some shipping companies away from its Suez Canal, a key source of foreign currency.

Egypt’s import-dependent economy has proved highly sensitive to currency fluctuations in the past.

Inflation — 11.9 percent in January — peaked at nearly 40% in August 2023, on the back of a punishing economic crisis that has since eased, thanks in part to an over $50 billion bailout, mainly from the United Arab Emirates.

IDF says it has killed some 200 operatives of Hezbollah, other terror groups in Lebanon since Monday

Mourners gather in frontof the portraits of Hezbollah fighters who were killed by Israeli airstrikes during their funeral procession in Khreibeh village, eastern Lebanon, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Some 200 members of Hezbollah and other terror groups have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since hostilities intensified last week, according to the IDF.

The IDF says that it has conducted over 600 strikes in Lebanon, using over 820 bombs, after Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Monday in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader.

Of the 200 dead operatives, the IDF says they include 80 members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, 70 Hezbollah artillery operatives, and a number of top commanders, including the chief of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Lebanon.

According to Lebanon’s health ministry, Israeli strikes in the past week killed 394 people.

Thousands in Spain demonstrate against Iran war on International Women’s Day

A man holds a banner mocking US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a demonstration marking International Women's Day in Madrid on March 8, 2026. (Thomas COEX / AFP)

Thousands of people come out in cities across Spain to denounce violence against women and the war in the Middle East.

Demonstrations marking International Women’s Day take place in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Granada, Bilbao, and San Sebastian, among other cities.

“No to war” and “Anti-fascist feminists against imperialist war” are among the slogans written on signs at the protests.

Madrid sees two demonstrations in the center of the Spanish capital — one for transgender rights and the other for the legalization and regulation of prostitution.

“It is within our power to stop the war, to stop the barbarity, and to win rights. We proclaim ourselves in defense of peace, in defense of the Iranian people, in defense of Iranian women,” Yolanda Diaz, second vice president, tells the press at the rally.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has drawn the ire of the US administration after he has refused the use of Spain’s military bases for strikes against Iran, which he called an “extraordinary mistake” and “not in accordance with international law.”

US President Donald Trump lashed out at Sanchez’s government, threatening to sever all trade with the EU and NATO member, which he called “a loser.”

IDF says it destroyed Hezbollah rocket launchers that were ready to attack Israel

The IDF says it destroyed several Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon that were primed for attacks on Israel.

In another incident yesterday, the IDF says it struck a rocket launcher in Lebanon that had been used by Hezbollah to fire a barrage at Metula in northern Israel a short while earlier.

Separately, the IDF says it killed a Hezbollah operative in a drone strike in southern Lebanon after they were identified by ground troops.

צה"ל תקף משגרי רקטות בלבנון שהיו מוכנים לשיגור לעבר שטח מדינת ישראל

צה"ל ממשיך לתקוף משגרי רקטות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה מהם שוגרו רקטות לעבר שטח מדינת ישראל.

אתמול בשעות הצהריים זוהו מספר שיגורים לעבר מטולה. בסגירת מעגל מהירה, כוחות צה״ל השמידו את המשגר ממנו שוגרו הרקטות לעבר… pic.twitter.com/uGcAhCJkk3

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 8, 2026

Several homes in north damaged by helicopter fire during attempts to down Hezbollah drone, IDF says

Several homes in northern Israel were damaged by helicopter fire during attempts to shoot down a Hezbollah drone this morning, the IDF says.

The helicopter had used its 30mm cannons to shoot down the drone over the Lebanon border, according to the IDF.

“As part of the interception attempts, a small number of homes in Israeli territory were hit by artillery shells that were fired,” the military says, adding that no injuries were caused and the incident is under further investigation.

Zelensky says Ukrainian drone experts will be ‘on site’ in Mideast next week

Smoke rises from a high-rise building following a drone attack in Kuwait City on March 8, 2026 (AFP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Kyiv’s drone experts will be “on site” in the Mideast “next week,” as he seeks US air defense missiles in exchange for drone expertise.

“I think that next week, when the experts are on site, they will look at the situation and help,” Zelensky tells a press conference, when asked how the Ukrainians would be able to help the United States and the Gulf states to repel Iranian drones.

Rocket sirens in Safed, surrounding towns amid rocket attack from Lebanon

Rocket sirens sound in Safed and surrounding towns in northern Israel amid a rocket attack from Lebanon.

In the past day, Hezbollah has ramped up its rocket fire on northern Israel, with dozens of projectiles fired.

2 IDF soldiers killed in Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon

Sgt. First Class Maher Khatar killed in Lebanon on March 8, 2026 (Israel Defense Forces)

Two IDF soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon early this morning, the military announces.

One of the slain troops is named as Sgt. First Class Maher Khatar, 38, a heavy machinery operator in the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division’s combat engineering unit, from Majdal Shams.

The name of the second soldier is to be released later, the army says.

The incident took place near an army post in southern Lebanon, just across from the Israeli border community of Manara.

According to a preliminary IDF probe, the incident began when a tank got stuck amid operations in the area. The IDF sent a Puma armored personnel carrier and two D9 armored bulldozers in an attempt to extract it.

One of the D9 bulldozers was struck by a projectile, possibly an anti-tank missile or a mortar, causing a blaze that killed the two troops, according to the IDF’s probe. One officer was also lightly injured in the incident.

Fresh blasts heard in Emirates as Arab League chief castigates Iran over ‘reckless’ attacks

Blasts have been heard in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, witnesses tell AFP, as Iran continues to press its attacks across the Gulf region.

Abu Dhabi has weathered regular attacks for over a week since Tehran began its retaliatory campaign in the region after the US and Israel launched an aerial war against it.

In Egypt, Arab League head Ahmed Aboul Gheit calls Iran’s attacks on member states “reckless.”

Rescue service updates toll of wounded in apparent cluster bomb attack to six

Home Front Command soldiers operate at the site of a missile impact in central Israel, March 8, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The wounded toll of the apparent Iranian cluster bomb attack on central Israel rises to six, Magen David Adom says.

The ambulance service says a man his 40s was seriously wounded in Tel Aviv. In Petah Tikva, five others were hurt, including a man aged 25 in moderate condition and three in good condition.

Pictures and videos show scenes of damage.

🚨 BREAKING: Iranian missile strike hits central Israel, leaving 3 people injured — one in serious condition #IranIsraelWar #Israel #Dubai #USIranWar pic.twitter.com/u3CnM8kakd

— Global watch wire (@Globalwatchwire) March 8, 2026

Emirati sources deny ‘inappropriate’ Israeli reports of UAE strike on Iran

After Hebrew media reports emerged alleging that the United Arab Emirates had carried out a “symbolic” military strike in Iran, Emirati sources deny this as “fake news” and “inappropriate.”

The reports cited anonymous Israeli officials saying that the UAE had struck an desalination plant in Iran after consultations between Israeli and Emirati officials over the weekend, in response to Tehran’s retaliatory strikes across the Gulf during the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran.

“This is fake news. When we do something, we’ve the courage to announce it,” UAE Federal National Council Defense Affairs, Interior and Foreign Affairs chairman Rashid Al Nuaimi writes on X.

Separately, an Emirati source tells The Times of Israel: “We categorically deny this nonsense. If the UAE does something or takes an action, it will announce it and make it public.”

“The UAE is not in the business of denying or approving rumors… It is inappropriate for so-called ‘Israeli senior officials’ to talk on our behalf and/or spread rumors about UAE actions or intentions. The UAE doesn’t make statements on other countries’ actions nor their intentions, so we expect our friendly countries’ officials to refrain from doing so,” the source adds.

The Emirati foreign ministry does not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.

Meanwhile, the UAE defense ministry says that the death toll from Iranian drone and missile attacks on the country has risen to four, in a post on X.

UAE air defences intercept 16 ballistic missiles, 113 UAVs

UAE air defences today (8th March, 2026) detected 17 ballistic missiles, of which 16 were destroyed, while 1 missile fell into the sea. A total of 117 UAVs were also detected, with 113 intercepted, while 4 UAVs fell… pic.twitter.com/BTikC5pRyd

— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 8, 2026

“These attacks resulted in 4 deaths among Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationals, and 112 people sustained moderate to minor injuries,” the ministry says.

The ministry says that it shot down 16 of 17 ballistic missiles from Iran today and one fell into the sea, and that a total of 117 UAVs were detected today, with 113 intercepted while four fell within the country’s territory.

Aide-de-camp to hypothetical Iranian supreme leader killed, Israel says

Defense Minister Israel Katz says the military secretary to Iran’s supreme leader — who was appointed last week despite the supreme leader role being vacant — was killed in an Israeli strike.

During an assessment with the IDF’s top brass, Katz was updated that “Abolghasem Babaeian, the new head of the military bureau of the supreme leader, who had been appointed only a few days ago after his predecessor was eliminated in the opening strike, was also eliminated,” his office says.

Fresh launch detected, sirens expected in center, Jerusalem area

The IDF says it has detected another ballistic missile attack from Iran.

Sirens are expected to sound in central Israel and Jerusalem in the coming minutes.

3 injured, one seriously, in Iranian missile attack with suspected cluster bomb warhead

The site of a potential missile impact amid a barrage fired from Iran on March 8, 2026 (Magen David Adom)

Three people are injured, one of them seriously, at two impact sites in central Israel following Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack, which is suspected to have been a cluster bomb warhead, first responders say.

Magen David Adom says it treated three people with shrapnel injuries — a man in his 40s in serious condition in Tel Aviv, and a 25-year-old in moderate condition and 56-year-old man in good condition in Petah Tikva.

More than a dozen impact sites were reported across central Israel, police officials say, adding that the spread of the impact sites indicates the Iranian ballistic missile was likely carrying a cluster bomb warhead.

The IDF says search and rescue soldiers were dispatched to the scenes, and it is investigating the circumstances of the impacts.

סולימאן מסוודה: זירת הפגיעה בתל אביב.
🔅זירה פוליטית‼️ pic.twitter.com/9ev4eW3xg7

— 🔅 זירה פוליטית‼ (@Zira_politit) March 8, 2026

Fresh round of sirens in Karmiel, surrounding area amid rocket fire from Lebanon

Fresh rocket sirens sound in Karmiel and surrounding towns in northern Israel amid a rocket attack from Lebanon.

Karmiel was targeted in a rocket attack half an hour ago, with no reports of damage or injuries.

Schools for at-risk youth to reopen Monday, minister says

Education Minister Yoav Kisch says schools for at-risk youth will reopen tomorrow, the first sign of educational institutions reopening after a week of war.

Kisch says in a statement on X that only schools compliant with Home Front Command guidelines and with sufficient access to shelters will reopen.

Ina n accompanying video, Kisch notes that it’s safer for the students to be under institutional watch than out and about.

“The safety of the students and educational staff is of paramount concern,” he says in a statement.

Schools have been closed since the war began last Saturday, with most institutions shifting to remote learning.

The continued school closure has created a conundrum for working parents, with many job sites reopening Sunday under loosened army guidelines.

Possible missile impact reported in central Israel after attack

Medics say they are responding to reports of an impact site in central Israel following the latest Iranian ballistic missile attack, the sixth since midnight.

It is not immediately clear if it the report concerns a direct impact or fragments following an interception of a missile.

A small number of missiles were launched in the attack, according to initial military assessments. Sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv and the surrounding area in central Israel.

Meanwhile, the IDF Home Front Command says civilians in areas where sirens sounded can now leave bomb shelters.

Knesset panel to discuss lack of adequate shelters for one-third of population as well as in schools, hospitals

People take shelter in an underground train station in Tel Aviv, March 7, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Knesset State Control Committee will hold a discussion tomorrow regarding the lack of sufficient bomb shelters amid Israel’s conflict with Iran, following the publication of a report last week that found that over three million citizens — roughly one-third of the population — does not have adequate protection.

According to the Knesset Research Center report, citing data from the Home Front Command and the state comptroller, roughly 3.19 million residents (about 33% of the population) lack access to any protection from missile and rocket attacks — either a reinforced safe room, a public shelter, or “other forms of standard protective infrastructure.”

This is despite several reports from the State Comptroller’s Office on the subject since Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June. The most recent report, published in January, will be the focus of the committee’s discussion tomorrow.

Among the findings of that report was that the Arab community is among the least protected with less than 0.5% percent of public shelters in the country located in Arab towns, many of which are unfit for use.

Additionally, about 500,000 children are studying in schools without sufficient shelter and the Education Ministry “has no data at all” regarding whether there is shelter in over 50% of kindergartens.

The situation is also dire in hospitals. The report found that a majority of inpatient beds (56%) and nearly half of operating rooms (41%) lack sufficient protection. In geriatric hospitals, 63% of beds lack protection, and in psychiatric hospitals, the number rises to 75%.

Missile launch detected from Iran, sirens to sound in central Israel

After a lull of six hours, the IDF says it has detected a ballistic missile attack from Iran.

Sirens are expected to sound in central Israel in the coming minutes.

Rocket sirens sound in Karmiel, nearby towns amid rocket attack from Lebanon

Sirens sound in the northern city of Karmiel and surrounding towns following a rocket attack from Lebanon.

In the past day, Hezbollah has ramped up its rocket fire on northern Israel, with dozens of projectiles fired.

El Al to begin selling tickets for repatriation flights from 22 locations

An El Al aircraft, at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, on February 25, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

El Al will start to gradually open one-way ticket sales for repatriation flights to the general public today after giving its stranded customers seats on routes to Israel from 22 destinations.

The flag carrier says it has now assigned tickets to its 38,000 customers whose flights were canceled following the closure of Israeli airspace with the outbreak of the conflict with Iran.

The airline has been operating repatriation flights from 22 destinations since the partial reopening of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday night and will be adding Tokyo in the coming days.

Ticket sales to the general public will commence today at 4 p.m. via the El Al website. There will be a uniform price for all available seats on the plane from each location.

One-way tickets from Larnaca to Tel Aviv will be sold for $99, from Athens for $149, from Rome for $199, from Paris for $299, from Bangkok for $599, and from New York for $699, among other destinations.

Sirens in Haifa, surrounding towns amid rocket attack from Lebanon

Sirens sound in Haifa and nearby towns amid a rocket attack from Lebanon.

There are no immediate reports of injuries.

In the past day, Hezbollah has ramped up its rocket fire on northern Israel, with dozens of projectiles fired.

The IDF says that Hezbollah has been launching most of its attacks from deeper within southern Lebanon, and not from areas close to the border.

New Iranian supreme leader picked by clerical body, name not yet announced

A protestor holds a placard with an image of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei surrounded by Iranian flags outside the US consulate during a protest against the conflict in the Middle East in Mexico City on March 7, 2026. (Carl de Souza / AFP)

The clerical body tasked with selecting Iran’s new supreme leader has reached a decision, members say, although the name has yet to be announced.

“The vote to appoint the leader has taken place and the leader has been chosen,” says Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts, as quoted by Iran’s Mehr news agency.

He says the secretariat of the body will announce the name later.

Other members confirm the decision, with one suggesting the son of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei will take the post.

Mojtaba Khamenei has been touted as a possible successor to his father, who became supreme leader in 1989.

The position is the highest political and religious authority in Iran and has the final say on all matters of state.

Mohsen Heydari, who represents Khuzestan province in the selection body, says “the most suitable candidate, approved by the majority of the Assembly of Experts, has been determined,” according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.

“The ‘Great Satan’ has also mentioned the name of the choice made by the representatives,” he adds, in reference to the United States.

US President Donald Trump has insisted he should have a role in picking the next leader and has rejected the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei filling the role, dismissing him as a “lightweight.”

Iranian officials have categorically rejected the notion that Trump would have any role in choosing a successor.

Another member of the assembly, Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, confirms in a video carried by Iran’s Fars news agency that “a firm opinion reflecting the majority view has been reached.”

Missile launchers, weapons factories among 400 targets hit in recent wave of Iran strikes, IDF says

Over 400 Iranian targets were struck during a recent wave of airstrikes in western and central Iran, the military says.

The IDF says the targets struck over the past day included ballistic missile launchers and weapon production sites.

It issues footage showing some of the strikes.

צה״ל תקף יותר מ-400 מטרות במערב ומרכז איראן

חיל האוויר השלים גל תקיפות נרחב לאורך היממה האחרונה במערב ובמרכז איראן, במסגרתו הותקפו יותר מ-400 מטרות של משטר הטרור האיראני, בהם משגרי טילים בליסטיים ואתרי ייצור אמצעי לחימה.

מתחילת מבצע "שאגת הארי", חיל האוויר השלים מאות מטסי תקיפה… pic.twitter.com/rL4FH7Nctx

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 8, 2026

IDF repeats evacuation warning for civilians south of Lebanon’s Litani River

Smoke rises along the Israel-Lebanon border on March 8, 2026 (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

The IDF reiterates its warning to Lebanese civilians in all of southern Lebanon to evacuate amid the fighting against Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah’s terror activities are forcing the IDF to act against it with force in the area,” says army spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.

“Airstrikes are ongoing as the IDF operates with great force in the area. Therefore, for your safety, we once again urge you to evacuate your homes immediately and head north of the Litani River,” he says.

The warning was first issued by the IDF on Wednesday. The military estimates that over 420,000 Lebanese civilians have so far evacuated their homes.

#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان جنوب لبنان المتواجدين جنوب نهر الليطاني

🔸إن نشاطات حزب الله الإرهابي تُجبر جيش الدفاع على العمل ضده بقوة في تلك المنطقة.

🔴الغارات مستمرة حيث يعمل جيش الدفاع بقوة كبيرة في المنطقة ولذلك وحرصًا على سلامتكم نعود ونناشدكم اخلاء منازلكم فورًا والتوجه… pic.twitter.com/uXqJ79QwHM

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 8, 2026

Sirens in north warn of suspected drone attack from Lebanon

Sirens sound in northern Israel amid a suspected drone attack from Lebanon, likely carried out by Hezbollah.

The Iran-backed Lebanese terror group has fired many dozens of rockets and drones at Israel since Monday, according to the IDF.

Criminal investigation launched into killings of Palestinian villagers by settlers

People mourn next to the bodies of three Palestinians allegedly killed amid a settler attack, in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah on March 8, 2026 (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

The military says a criminal investigation has been opened into an incident in the West Bank overnight in which three Palestinian men were killed amid a reported attack by extremist settlers in the village of Khirbet Abu Falah.

The IDF says there is a criminal investigation into the killing of the two men by settlers, but does not address the fact that a third man also apparently died in the incident as a result of the actions of troops.

Palestinian media reported that two of the men — 24-year-old Thaer Hama’el and 57-year-old Fares Hama’el — were shot dead by extremist settlers. Their deaths were confirmed by the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry.

A third man, Muhammad Marah, 55, died due to suffocation after being exposed to tear gas fired by Israeli security forces who arrived at the scene, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency WAFA reported.

In a statement, the IDF says troops and Border Police officers entered the Palestinian village of Khirbet Abu Falah following reports of “several Israeli citizens who attacked Palestinians around homes in the village.”

The IDF says that the forces dispatched to the scene used riot dispersal means. It does not report using gunfire.

The military says it later received reports that two Palestinians were killed by gunfire in the area, and another man died of suffocation.

A preliminary probe into the incident was conducted by the chief of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, alongside police officials, the army says.

The IDF says that a criminal investigation has now been launched by the “relevant authorities,” referring to the Israel Police, indicating that the deadly gunfire was likely carried out by Israeli civilians rather than the soldiers. The Military Police has not yet launched an investigation into the incident, the IDF told The Times of Israel.

“In recent days, a number of irregular incidents have occurred in which Palestinians and Israeli civilians have been injured. The IDF views these incidents with great seriousness,” the IDF statement adds.

“This is an unacceptable event. There is and will be no tolerance for citizens who take the law into their own hands,” Bluth is quoted as saying in the statement.

“These actions are dangerous, do not represent the Jewish people or the State of Israel, distract us from the mission of protecting and thwarting terrorism, and also undermine security and stability in the region,” Bluth adds, saying that the IDF is working with other security services “to quickly reach those responsible and bring them to justice.”

Israel’s baseball team loses 11-3 to Venezuela in World Baseball Classic opener

Israel pitcher Ben Simon, second from left, stands on the mound before being relieved during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic game against Venezuela, March 7, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Israel began its World Baseball Classic campaign with an 11–3 loss to Venezuela last night.

The team, comprising primarily Jewish American baseball players, struggled early against Venezuelan pitcher Enmanuel De Jesus, who retired the first 14 batters.

Israel’s first run came in the fifth when Garrett Stubbs tripled and Matt Mervis drove him in with a single. RJ Schreck added a solo home run in the sixth, and Harrison Bader hit a solo homer in the ninth.

The team plays Nicaragua tonight, in what is expected to be its most likely opportunity for a win of its four first-round pool games. It is scheduled to play the Dominican Republic on Monday and the Netherlands on Tuesday. The team is looking to win at least one game in order to avoid needing to requalify for the next WBC tournament in four years.

“As a great Rabbi once said: ‘It ain’t over til it’s over,'” Team Israel posted on X, ostensibly referring to a famous quote by legendary New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra.

The team celebrated Shabbat together before the tournament started.

Heavy smoke over Tehran hours after strikes on oil facilities

Clothes clips covered in soot from burned fuel are seen as smoke from a strike on an oil facility lingers in the cloudy sky over Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The sky over Iran’s capital is blanketed with smoke, hours after strikes hit oil facilities in Tehran, images show.

The United States and Israel hit five oil facilities with overnight strikes in and near the Iranian capital, killing four people, an official told state TV.

The strikes sent up pillars of fire and smoke.

It appeared to be the first time a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the conflict.

Tehran is covered in thick black clouds of smoke this morning after a series of Israeli airstrikes struck multiple oil depots and a refinery.

Locals report that the morning rain was black and oily. pic.twitter.com/4lb7Ld62So

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 8, 2026

IDF says it will pursue those who meet to appoint successor of Iran’s Khamenei, as well as successor himself

A Shiite Muslim man hold a poster of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in Tahrir Square, in Baghdad on March 6, 2026. (Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)

The Israeli military warns it will continue pursuing every successor of Iran’s slain supreme leader.

In a post on X in Persian, the Israeli military warns it will also pursue every person who seeks to appoint a successor for ayatollah Ali Khamenei, referring to the clerical body charged with choosing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.

“After neutralizing the tyrant Khamenei, the terrorist regime of Iran is attempting to rebuild itself and select a new leader,” the IDF’s post reads.

“Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which has not convened for decades, will soon gather in the city of Qom. We want to tell you that the hand of the State of Israel will continue to pursue every successor and every person who seeks to appoint a successor,” warns the military. “We warn all those who intend to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you either.”

Palestinian said killed by IDF tear gas following deadly settler attack in Abu Falah

A Palestinian man from the Ramallah-area village of Abu Falah died after he choked on tear gas fired by IDF troops who arrived on the scene following a settler attack that killed two other Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency WAFA says.

He is identified as Muhammad Marah, 55. He reportedly suffered heart failure before arriving at a hospital.

3 drones launched from Lebanon downed over northern Israel; no reports of injuries

Three drones launched from Lebanon have been downed over northern Israel, Hebrew media reports.

While two of the UAVs were downed soon after they were detected, there was a prolonged chase after the third.

There are no reports of injuries or damage.

Passengers begin to fly out of Israel for first time since start of conflict with Iran

Passengers at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of the first departing flights since the start of the war with Iran, March 8, 2026 (Israel Airports Authority)

The first passengers are leaving the country after Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was partially reopened for outbound flights amid the conflict with Iran.

Flights are currently operated by Israeli airlines El Al, Israir, and Arkia, alongside a series of restrictions.

Earlier this morning, Israeli aviation authorities approved an increase in the permitted passenger quota on outbound flights from 70 to 100 passengers per flight, depending on the airline and size of aircraft. Passengers will also permitted to check in luggage.

Israeli citizens departing on the flights need to sign a form stating that they will not return to the country for at least 30 days from the date of departure.

Ben Gurion Airport was gradually reopened Wednesday night for inbound flights, to help repatriate some tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad since the country’s airspace was shut on February 28.

Passengers leaving on these flights need to use the early check-in program from home and arrive at the airport about two hours before departure. The guidelines aim to avoid overcrowding and limit the time passengers stay on the ground at the airport, as missile and rocket attacks from Iran and Lebanon continue.

Sirens continue across north as military chases suspected drone

Sirens are sounding across the north as the military chases a suspected drone.

The alerts have been heard in dozens of communities over a period of over 15 minutes, with the UAV apparently still in the air.

Iranians may still have access to enriched uranium at Isfahan site bombed by US last year – report

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows rubble before a roof was built over it at Iran's Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center outside of Isfahan, Iran, on Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Iranians could reportedly be able to access and move highly enriched uranium that had been previously thought to have been buried underground by US strikes on the Isfahan nuclear facility last June.

According to a New York Times report, US intelligence agencies have determined that there is now a “very narrow access point” through which the uranium could potentially be retrieved.

The newspaper, writing based on anonymous interviews with US officials, says that American spy agencies are constantly surveilling the Isfahan facility and believe they will know of any Iranian attempts to relocate the enriched uranium. US officials have reportedly been debating options on how to secure the uranium for several weeks.

Since the US and Israeli bombings last June, Iran has refused to show what happened to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium or allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors access to sites where enrichment took place.

US President Donald Trump said yesterday he would not rule out the idea of sending ground troops into Iran to secure the country’s stockpiles of enriched uranium.

Sirens in north amid rocket and suspected drone attacks from Lebanon

Sirens sound in northern Israel amid rocket and suspected drone attacks from Lebanon.

There are no immediate reports of injuries in the attacks, likely carried out by Hezbollah.

The Iran-backed Lebanese terror group has fired many dozens of rockets and drones at Israel since Monday, according to the IDF.

US and Israel hit 5 oil facilities in Tehran area overnight, Iranian official says

Flames rise from an oil storage facility south of the capital Tehran as strikes hit the city during the US–Israel military campaign, Iran, March 7, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

The United States and Israel hit five oil facilities with overnight strikes in and near the Iranian capital that killed four people, an official tells state TV.

“Last night, four oil depots and a petroleum products transport center in Tehran and the Alborz were attacked by enemy aircraft,” the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, Keramat Veyskarami, tells state TV.

“Four of our personnel, including two oil tanker drivers, were killed in the incident,” he adds saying facilities “were damaged” but the “fire was brought under control.”

Videos circulating on social media appear to show large fires as a result of the strikes.

'انبار نفت شهران #تهران: بلوار کوهسار جنت‌آباد داره می‌سوزه!'
ویدیوهای دریافتی، بامداد یکشنبه ۱۷ اسفند#Iran #Tehran pic.twitter.com/51czYF8bl3

— Vahid Online (@Vahid) March 7, 2026

Smoke from fires overnight hang over the capital, casting a dark haze across the city as morning breaks.

Residents report the smell of burning lingered in the air.

Veyskarami says Iran’s oil depots have “sufficient gasoline reserves.”

Video circulating from Tehran tonight. pic.twitter.com/7DfIrYol7X

— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) March 8, 2026

Majority consensus reached on Iran’s next supreme leader, Iranian report says

An Iranian walks past a shop and an image of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R), along a street at the Tajrish Square in Tehran on March 7, 2026 (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

A majority consensus over a successor to Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has more or less been reached, Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Mohammadmehdi Mirbaqeri said, according to Mehr news agency.

He said, though, that “some obstacles” need to be resolved regarding the process, according to the report.

The report does not name the successor.

Iranian media says the body tasked with appointing Iran’s supreme leader had a minor disagreement over whether its final decision must follow an in-person meeting or could instead be issued without adhering to this formality.

Repatriate flights to restart for Israelis stranded in UAE after agreement between Netanyahu, bin Zayed

Transportation Minister Miri Regev says Israel is resuming a plan to fly home thousands of Israelis stranded in the United Arab Emirates after efforts were paused following the closure of airports in the Gulf country due to Iranian missile and drone attacks.

At the request of Regev, the statement says, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to implement a plan to operate repatriation flights for Israelis stranded mainly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Special repatriation flights will be operated in cooperation with Emirati airlines to Israel and other countries, the ministry says. Passengers who want to be placed on these flights need to register via this link: https://safereturn.mot.gov.il/

“Together we will succeed in bringing everyone home,” Regev says.

The operation comes against the backdrop of the war in Iran, which has seen Tehran fire missiles and drones at Israel, the UAE and other countries in the region.

“The operation will be carried out subject to changing security developments and approvals by security authorities,” the Transportation Ministry says.

Israel was forced yesterday to pause an effort to repatriate some 4,000 citizens still stranded in the UAE after Dubai International Airport was hit in an Iranian strike, Hebrew media reported.

Pezeshkian says his comments on attacks on Gulf countries ‘misinterpreted by the enemy’

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of the late commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says his remarks yesterday were “misinterpreted by the enemy that seeks to sow division with neighbors,” state TV reports, after they were viewed as a decision to suspend attacks on Gulf countries while strikes did not stop.

“It has repeatedly been said we are brothers and must have good relations with neighbors. However, we are forced to retaliate to attacks but this does not mean we have a dispute with a [neighboring] country or want to upset their people,” Pezeshkian says.

Iranian F-14s destroyed in Isfahan airstrikes, military says

Iranian soldiers take a picture with a Winnie the Pooh character next to a F-14 fighter jet in an exhibition of achievements and equipment of Iran's air force in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Several Iranian F-14 fighter jets were destroyed in strikes at Isfahan airport yesterday, the IDF announces.

The US-made F-14 Tomcats were supplied to Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and are believed to be the last ones still in operation.

Additionally, detection and air defense systems that posed a risk to the Israeli Air Force’s aircraft were also hit.

The military says the destruction of the F-14s, along with the strikes on Friday that destroyed 16 aircraft used by the IRGC Quds Force at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, are part of efforts to strengthen Israel’s control of the skies over Iran.

No reports of injuries or damage after latest ballistic missile attack from Iran

There are no reports of injuries or damage after the latest ballistic missile attack from Iran, the fourth since midnight.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, some fragments from the interception fell in unpopulated areas.

Sirens in central Israel amid ballistic missile attack from Iran

The IDF says it has detected another ballistic missile attack from Iran.

Sirens are sounding in central Israel.

It is the fourth salvo fired at Israel from Iran since midnight.

Air Force engages in new wave of airstrikes across Iran

The Israeli Air Force has launched a new wave of airstrikes against Iranian regime targets across Iran, the IDF announces.

Further details on the strikes are expected to be provided by the military later.

Ballistic missile likely intercepted, no reports of impact

People take shelter as sirens warning of incoming Iranian missiles sound in Tel Aviv, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

The ballistic missile launched from Iran in the latest attack on southern Israel was likely intercepted, according to initial military assessments.

There are no reports of direct impacts or injuries in the attack, the third since midnight, medics say.

The IDF Home Front Command says civilians in areas where sirens sounded can now leave bomb shelters.

Sirens again expected in south as Iran launches missile

Shortly after telling civilians they can leave bomb shelters, the IDF says it has detected another ballistic missile attack from Iran.

Sirens are expected to sound in southern Israel in the coming minutes.

No reports of injuries in latest Iranian missile attack

There are no immediate reports of injuries in the latest Iranian ballistic missile attack, the second since midnight, medics say.

A small number of missiles were launched, which were likely intercepted, according to initial military assessments.

Sirens had sounded in Beersheba and the surrounding area in southern Israel, as well as in areas near Jerusalem.

The IDF Home Front Command says civilians in areas where sirens sounded can now leave bomb shelters.

Two Palestinians reported killed in latest settler attack in West Bank

Two Palestinians were killed in another settler attack overnight in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority health ministry says.

The latest armed attack took place in the village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah.

The victims are identified as 24-year-old Thaer Hama’el and 57-year-old Fares Hama’el.

BREAKING: Israeli settlers murdered two Palestinians from the village of Abu Falah—24-year-old Thaer Hamayel and 57-year-old Fare’e Hamayel—during a pogrom on the village. pic.twitter.com/3tovgFEGLe

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 8, 2026

Initial Palestinian reports identified a third casualty, but the health ministry has yet to confirm his death.

Palestinian media says all three were shot during a settler raid of their village.

🟨متابعة | تواجد مكثّف لسيارات الإسعاف وحشود من الأهالي في خربة أبو فلاح شرق رام الله، عقب هجوم نفذته مجموعات من المستوطنين على الخربة، . pic.twitter.com/DWjcA0SSDr

— شبكة يافا الإخبارية (@yaffa_ps) March 8, 2026

The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Five Palestinians have been reportedly shot dead by settlers in the past week alone, as attacks by Israeli extremists throughout the West Bank continue on a near-daily basis with almost complete impunity.

תקיפת פלסטינים בעיירה אבו פלאח, מצפון־מזרח לרמאללה
שימוש לפי סעיף 27א' לחוק זכויות יוצרים pic.twitter.com/sqp5XAyMcN

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) March 8, 2026

IDF says sirens expected in south after missile launch from Iran

The IDF says it has detected a new ballistic missile attack from Iran.

Sirens are expected to sound in southern Israel in the coming minutes.

2 arrested for allegedly throwing ‘ignited’ devices at anti-Muslim protest in NYC

Two men have been arrested for allegedly throwing homemade bomb-like incendiary devices at anti-Muslim protesters in New York City.

A group of around 20 anti-Muslim protesters gathered near Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence, this afternoon. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is Muslim.

The protest called, “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City,” was led by far-right provocateur Jake Lang, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says at a briefing.

Around 125 counter-protesters gathered nearby for a demonstration called “Run the Nazis out of New York City.”

BREAKING: NYPD ID'S both suspects after attempted bomb attack on outside Gracie Mansion.

Device is Jar wrapped in black tape with NUTS BOLT AND SCREWES and fuse inside.

Video shows second suspect pass bomb along to another,
second suspect being arrested by the NYPD outside… pic.twitter.com/7AITGeggwc

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) March 7, 2026

Tensions escalated between the two groups, and one of the anti-Muslim protesters used pepper spray against one of the counter-protesters and was arrested, Tisch says.

Shortly after, a suspect threw an “ignited device” toward the anti-Muslim protesters that gave off flames and smoke as it hurtled through the air, Tisch says.

The device struck a barrier and went out, a few feet from police.

The assailant fled on foot, obtained a second incendiary device from another suspect, lit the device, started running and dropped the device, Tisch says.

Video shows one of the suspects shouting “allahu akbar” while being arrested.

WATCH: Suspect seen lighting Home made smoke bomb after Molotov cocktail thrown at Anti-Muslim protest as suspect shouts Allahu Akbar while getting arrested #nyc Gracie Mansion

Videos by @edquinnphoto, @ScooterCasterNY and @yyeeaahhhboiii2 Desk@freedomnews.tv to license pic.twitter.com/4ue4emavS1

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) March 7, 2026

Video also shows the counter-protesters chasing a man down a street and beating him.

NYC: "Zionist!" crowds chase and shout at a man as he gets kicked on the ground outside Gracie Mansion during anti Islam protest pic.twitter.com/rwN9HK6i4K

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) March 7, 2026

Tisch describes the devices as jars a “bit smaller than a football,” wrapped in black tape, filled with nuts and bolts, and with a fuse.

Tisch says it’s unclear if the devices were functional explosives or hoaxes.

The suspects are identified as Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Nikk, 19. Balat allegedly threw the devices and Nikk gave him one of them.

The information is preliminary and an investigation is ongoing.

Iran Guards say can fight ‘intense war’ for six months

Iran can fight an intense war against the United States and Israel for at least six months, the Revolutionary Guards says in a statement carried by the Fars news agency.

“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are capable of continuing at least a 6-month intense war at the current pace of operations,” Guards spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini says, according to Fars.

The Guards, Iran’s elite force, also says it targeted “more than 200” locations related to American and Israeli bases and facilities across the region.

IDF says it hit key commanders of IRGC’s Quds Force in Beirut

First aid responders inspect a Ramada hotel room targeted by an Israeli strike, in Beirut's seaside Rawche area, on March 8, 2026. (Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)

After reports of an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut hotel killing at least four, the IDF says it carried out a targeted strike on key commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

It says the targets were members of the Lebanon Corps of the Quds Force, the IRGC’s extraterritorial arm, who “acted to advance terror plans against the State of Israel and its citizens from Lebanese territory.”

The army adds: “The Iranian terror regime systematically operates among civilian populations in both Iran and Lebanon, cynically exploiting residents and using them as human shields to further terrorist objectives.”

It says it took various steps to minimize the risk to civilians, including the use of precision weaponry and aerial surveillance.

Lebanese officials say the strike killed at least four people. An AFP photographer at the bombed seafront hotel saw shattered windows and heavy damage to one room while security forces sealed off the area.

Ten people were also injured in the attack on Beirut’s Raouche area, the Lebanese health ministry says in a statement.

Loud blast heard near US embassy in Oslo, Norway, police say

A loud blast was heard near the US embassy in western Oslo, triggering a large police response, investigators say.

It is not immediately clear what caused the blast, which happened at around 1 a.m. local time, or who was involved, the Oslo police department says in a statement.

“The police are in a dialogue with the embassy and there are no reports of any injured persons,” the statement says.

Heavily armed police officers and other emergency services seen outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, following reports of a possible explosion tonight near the Embassy. pic.twitter.com/8lx85QjTVo

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 8, 2026

Smoke was seen rising from the area around the embassy compound, eyewitnesses told Norwegian daily Verdens Gang.

The embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.