Oct. 1: Home Front Command eases restrictions after Iran missile attack
Palestinian killed by shrapnel in West Bank * IDF chief says Israel ‘will choose’ when to retaliate * Biden says US in ‘active discussion’ with Israel on how to respond to Tehran
Image taken from video shows missiles fired from Iran being intercepted over Jerusalem, October 1, 2024. (AP)
Israelis take cover inside a bomb shelter at Ben Gurion Airport amid a mass Iranian missile attack, October 1, 2024. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)
An anti-missile system fires interceptors at missiles fired from Iran, as seen in the West Bank on October 1, 2024. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
Members of Israel's Home Front Command and police forces inspect a crater left by a Iranian missle at a heavily-damaged school building in southern Israel on October 1, 2024. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
Israelis take cover in central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, October 1, 2024. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)
Parts of an Iranian missile that fell near the Beit El settlement in the West Bank October 1, 2024. (FLASH90)
An Iranian military truck carries parts of a Sayad 4-B missile past a portrait of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a military parade as part of a ceremony marking the country's annual army day in Tehran on April 17, 2024. (Atta Kenare / AFP)
First responders at the scene of a deadly terror attack in Jaffa on October 1, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
Two terrorists seen carrying out a deadly attack in Jaffa, October 1, 2024 (X screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the copyright law)
Hezbollah weapons and equipment recovered by the IDF from Lebanon in recent months, in a photo released by the IDF on October 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli soldiers sleep on tanks in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they unfolded.
Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says that missile attacks by Iran on Israel were “unacceptable.”
“Iran’s attack is unacceptable. We will condemn this strongly. But at the same time, we would like to cooperate (with the United States) to defuse the situation and prevent it from escalating into a full-on war,” Ishiba tells reporters.
French President Emmanuel Macron looks on during a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (not pictured) in Montreal, on September 26, 2024. (Ludovic Marin/AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron condemns “in the strongest possible terms” Iran’s attacks against Israel, adding that France has “mobilized” its military resources in the Middle East to counter Tehran.
Macron also demanded that Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah “cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population”, and asked Israel to “put an end to their military operations as soon as possible”, the Elysee Palace says in a statement, adding France would “shortly be organizing a conference in support of the Lebanese people and its institutions.”
UK Defense Secretary John Healey says that British forces played a role in preventing further escalation fuelled by Iran’s missile attack against Israel, but does not specify how they were involved.
In a statement on X, Healey writes: “British forces have this evening played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East,” and thanks the personnel involved for their courage and professionalism.
He does not elaborate and the defense ministry does not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on how British forces were involved.
The US Department of Homeland Security announces $210 million of additional funds to protect faith-based institutions and nonprofit organizations from targeted attacks caused by the rise in hate incidents amid war in the Middle East.
Rights advocates have warned about rising threats against American Jews and Muslims following the October 7 Hamas onslaught inside southern Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, now approaching the one-year mark.
The funding will let organizations equip themselves with personnel, technology and resources to improve security, the Homeland Security Department says.
The military announces it is currently striking “terror targets” in Beirut, after issuing a new call for residents of parts of the area to evacuate.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces says it will soon release further details.
A Lebanese security source told AFP that the attack targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs. AFP correspondents heard the sound of an explosion from the area, which Israel has struck repeatedly since last week, saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon addresses an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly a United Nations headquarters in New York, September 22, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP)
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the escalating situation in the Middle East for Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time, at the request of France and Israel.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon says in a letter to the council that the Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel “demonstrates that the charm offensive conducted by Iran and its new president is a mirage and the decision-making in Iran lies with the supreme leader and the Revolutionary Guards.”
He accuses Iran of trying to destroy Israel “with a ring of fire from seven fronts” and urges the Security Council to condemn the country and designate its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
Israeli strikes against Hezbollah targets in several regions of Lebanon on Tuesday killed 55 people and wounded 156, the country’s health ministry says.
The S&P Global logo is seen outside a building in Washington, on July 25, 2019. (Alastair Pike/AFP)
Following Moody’s, S&P Global announces it’s again downgrading Israel’s credit rating, warning that the fighting against Hamas in Gaza and with Hezbollah in Lebanon “could persist into 2025, with risks of retaliation.”
In a press release, S&P says it lowered Israel’s long-term credit rating from “A+” to “A” and that it continues to have a negative outlook, which it says “reflects the risks to Israel’s growth, public finances, and balance of payments from the intensifying conflict against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including direct security threats in case of retaliatory rocket attacks against Israel.”
“The negative outlook also reflects the risk of a more direct war with Iran, although this is not in our current base case,” the credit rating agency adds, while noting tonight’s missile attack.
Saying it “expects a delayed economic recovery,” S&P also lowers its growth forecast for this year and next, predicting zero percent growth in 2024 and 2.2% in 2025 “alongside widening fiscal deficits both in the short- and medium-term as defense-related spending increases further.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Tehran, Iran, August 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran exercised “self-defense” against Israel and its action is concluded unless the “Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says in a post on X.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, listen to the playing of the Israeli National Anthem during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, June 25, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in discussions with his counterpart in Israel after Iran fired a barrage of almost 200 missiles at the nation.
Austin received a short update from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and “is consulting closely with them on next steps,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder tells reporters.
Iran launched about twice as many ballistic missiles Tuesday as it did during an attack against Israel earlier this year, but it did not appear to launch drones, Ryder says.
Ryder says two US Navy destroyers — the USS Cole and the USS Bulkeley — fired about a dozen interceptors to defend Israel in the latest attack.
He decries reports indicating Iran wants to deescalate tensions in the region.
“You don’t launch that many missiles at a target without the intent on hitting something,” Ryder says.
US Vice President Kamala Harris slams the “reckless and brazen” Iranian missile attack, which further demonstrates that Tehran is a “destabilizing, dangerous force” in the Middle East.
In a statement to reporters, Harris says she backs US President Joe Biden’s decision to order US military personnel to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel, as he did in April.
Early indications suggest that “Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack,” Harris says, noting that the countries’ joint defenses helped save many innocent lives.
“I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist militias. My commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering,” she continues.
“Iran is not only a threat to Israel, Iran is also a threat to American personnel in the region, American interests and innocent civilians across the region who suffer at the hands of Iran-based and backed terrorist proxies,” Harris adds. “We will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend US forces and interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists, and we will continue to work with our allies and partners to disrupt Iran’s aggressive behavior and hold them accountable.”
The IDF Home Front Command announces it is easing restrictions in central Israel, Jerusalem area and some parts of the north following the Iranian missile attack.
The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians near two buildings in the southern suburb of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh, to evacuate immediately ahead of airstrikes.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes maps alongside the announcement, which call on civilians to distance themselves at least 500 meters from the sites.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في حي حارة حريك في المباني المحددة في الخريطتيْن والمباني المجاورة لها.
⭕️أنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت خطيرة تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل جيش الدفاع بقوة ضدها على المدى الزمني القريب.
Then-prime minister Naftali Bennett arrives at a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on October 23, 2022. (Alex Kolomoisky/Pool)
With emphasis added, former prime minister Naftali Bennett calls for Israel to act “now” against Iran’s nuclear program, saying the Islamic Republic “made a terrible mistake” with its major missile attack this evening.
“Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East,” Bennett writes in an English-language post on X. “We must act *now* to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime.”
“We must remove this terrible threat to our children’s future,” he continues, while saying that striking Iran could allow “the Iranian people an opportunity to rise up and shake off the regime that tyrannizes its women and daughters.”
“We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralyzed, Iran stands exposed.”
“There are times when history knocks at our door, and we must open it,” he concludes. “This opportunity must not be missed.”
Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East.
The leadership of Iran, which used to be good at chess, made a terrible mistake this evening.
We must act *now* to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to…
— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) October 1, 2024
Iran’s armed forces warn against any direct military intervention in support of Israel in response to Iran’s missile attack.
“In the event of direct intervention by countries supporting the regime [Israel]… their centers and interests in the region will also face a powerful attack by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the armed forces says in a statement quoted by Fars news agency.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a statement to the public following an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel, October 1, 2024. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
Iran made a “big mistake tonight,” says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening of the security cabinet meeting in Jerusalem shortly after an Iranian missile attack, “and it will pay for it.”
The strike on Israel earlier in the evening “failed,” he says.
“It was thwarted thanks to Israel’s air defense system, which is the most advanced in the world,” says the prime minister, thanking the US for its support as well.
“The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies,” says Netanyahu. “[Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and [top Hamas military commander Mohammed] Deif did not understand this, [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah and [Hezbollah chief of staff Fuad] Shukr did not understand this, and there are probably those in Tehran who do not understand this.”
“They will understand,” he threatens, stressing that “whoever attacks us — we will attack him.”
He says this is the case wherever Israel fights “the axis of evil” — in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iran.
Netanyahu calls for the “forces of light in the world” to unite against Tehran: “They must stand by Israel. The choice has never been clearer between tyranny and freedom, between blessing and curse.”
“Israel is on the move, and the axis of evil is retreating,” Netanyahu insists. “We will do everything necessary to continue this trend, to achieve all the goals of the war, primarily the return of all our hostages, and to ensure our existence and our future.”
Hezbollah weapons and equipment recovered by the IDF from Lebanon in recent months, in a photo released by the IDF on October 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases footage showing the 98th Division entering Lebanon last night for ground operations.
The military says the division’s Paratroopers Brigade located dozens of weapons and the Egoz commando unit located rocket launchers during operations in the past day.
More than 100 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon were struck by the Air Force in the past day, the IDF adds.
The IDF releases footage showing the 98th Division entering Lebanon last night for ground operations.
The military says the division's Paratroopers Brigade located dozens of weapons and the Egoz commando unit located rocket launchers during operations in the past day.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari speaks to reporters on October 1, 2024. (Screenshot/IDF)
In an English-language statement, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says that Israel will choose how and when to respond to tonight’s Iranian attack.
Hagari says that there were a “small number of hits in the center of Israel, and other hits in southern Israel” from the 180 ballistic missiles fired at Israel. “The majority of the incoming missiles were intercepted by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States.”
He says the attack is a “severe and dangerous escalation. There will be consequences. Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest levels of readiness. Our operational plans are ready. We will respond wherever, whenever, and however we choose, in accordance with the directive of the government of Israel.”
A military spokesman tells AFP that the attack aimed to “kill thousands” of Israeli civilians and was “unprecedented.”
“The intention to kill civilians is unprecedented. The goal of Iran was to kill thousands of civilians,” the spokesman says.
US President Joe Biden speaks during a briefing in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on October 1, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
US President Joe Biden says there is an “active discussion” ongoing over how he would like Israel to respond to the Iranian ballistic missile attack, and that the consequences for Tehran “remain to be seen.”
“At my direction, the United States military actively supported the defense of Israel. We’re still assessing the impact, but based on what we know now, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective,” Biden says in remarks to reporters at the White House.
“This is testament to Israeli military capability… [and] also a testament to intensive planning [between] the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against a brazen attack,” Biden says.
“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” he adds.
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles launched from Iran over Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1, 2024 .(Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says 90 percent of the missiles it launched against Israel hit their targets successfully.
The statement broadcast on state TV claims the attack targeted air and radar bases as well as security apparatus that planned the killing of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures.
It says Iran has a right to defend itself under international regulations. The TV station shows footage of missiles being launched in the darkness from unidentified locations in Iran.
Despite the hundreds of missiles, the only injuries in Israel were two people who were lightly wounded by shrapnel in Tel Aviv. A Palestinian man was killed by shrapnel near Jericho.
A number of impact sites have been identified across Israel, with images of missile fragments circulating on social media. The exact locations of such impacts and damage are barred from publication by the IDF censor.
Missiles launched from Iran towards Israel as seen from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The European Union condemns “in the strongest terms” an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel and calls for an immediate ceasefire across the Middle East.
“The dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation risks… spiraling out of control,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posts on X. “An immediate ceasefire across the region is needed.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, greets Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as he arrives during an honor cordon at the Pentagon on June 25, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images via AFP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shortly after Iran’s missile attack on Israel, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder says during a briefing.
Austin reaffirmed the US’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defense and stressed that the US remains well-postured in the Mideast to defend American assets and to defend Israel.
Ryder also tells reporters that Iran launched about twice as many ballistic missiles today as it did in its previous direct attack on Israel in April.
The attack was “about twice as large in terms of the number of ballistic missiles that they launched,” he says.
Missiles launched from Iran towards Israel are seen from the West Bank city of Nablus, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP/Majdi Mohammed)
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller calls Iran’s missile attack against Israel “brazen and unacceptable” and says that “every nation in the world must join us in condemning it.”
Miller says at a press briefing that US partners assisted Israel and the US in helping thwart the attack, but he declines to reveal those countries, saying he’ll let them speak for themselves.
He fiercely denies reports that Iran passed along a message to the US warning of the impending attack shortly before it was launched.
“What you saw Iran do today was come to the defense of a terrorist organization,” Miller adds.
The State Department spokesperson also flatly rejects Iran’s claim that its attack was in response to Israel’s violation of its sovereignty when it killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
“This event had nothing to do with Iran’s sovereignty. It has to do with the fact that a number of the terrorist organizations that Iran has set up for years as a way to undermine and attack the State of Israel have been weakened first over the past few months and then most recently over the past few weeks,” Miller says, highlighting the recent Israeli killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“To the extent that any Iranian officials have been killed in the past few days in Lebanon or in Syria, it’s because they were meeting with terrorist leaders,” the State Department spokesperson says.
“The president has made clear our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. We will continue to stand with the people of Israel at this critical moment,” Miller adds.
Missiles launched from Iran towards Israel as seen from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hails Tehran’s missile attack against Israel as a “decisive response” to what he called Israeli “aggression.”
“In accordance with legitimate rights and with the aim of [establishing] peace and security in Iran and the region, a decisive response has been made to the Zionist regime’s aggression,” Pezeshkian posts on X.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the 38th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, Iran, on September 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi meets with officers at the IDF HQ following the Iranian attack on Israel, October 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, following an assessment this evening, says Israel will respond to the Iranian attack.
“We proved our ability to prevent the enemy from an achievement, by combining exemplary civil behavior and a very strong air defense array,” he says in remarks provided by the IDF.
“We will choose when to exact the price, and prove our precise and surprising attack capabilities, in accordance with the guidance of the political echelon,” Halevi adds.
Anti-missile system fires interceptors as missiles are fired from Iran at Israel, as it seen over Jerusalem, on October 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Pentagon says that two US Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles aimed at Israel tonight.
Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder tells reporters that no other US military assets were used to shoot down the missiles, which were all fired from inside Iran.
Video posted to social media appears to show long lines of cars waiting to get gas in Iran amid concerns of a response after Tehran fired 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks about the situation in Israel during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2024. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says Iran’s missile attack against Israel “appears to have been defeated and ineffective.”
“This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event. We have made clear that there will be consequences, severe consequences, for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case,” Sullivan says during a press briefing at the White House.
Pressed on what that response might look like, Sullivan says the US has already begun discussing the issue with Israel and that those conversations will continue, but he declines to offer additional details.
Sullivan says Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in tonight’s attack, and that US naval destroyers joined Israeli air defense units in firing interceptors that shot down inbound missile.
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris monitored the attack from the White House Situation Room with their national security aides.
The US is still working to assess the damage of the attack but currently believes the only casualty was a Palestinian man reportedly killed in the West Bank city of Jericho, Sullivan adds.
“This is a significant escalation by Iran,” Sullivan emphasizes, “and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel.”
“We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure first and foremost American interests and then to promote stability — to the maximum extent possible — as we go forward,” he says.
Hailing the apparent success in thwarting the attack, Sullivan says this is thanks primarily to the IDF’s professionalism but also “the skilled work of the US military and meticulous joint planning in anticipation of the attack.”
“We are proud of the actions that we’ve taken alongside Israel to protect and defend Israel,” Sullivan says.
Sullivan also notes the terror attack that took place tonight in Jaffa, expressing condolence to the victims in addition to the victim of the Iranian missile attack in Jericho.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking during a meeting with Iran's president and his cabinet in Tehran on August 27, 2024. (Khamenei.ir/AFP)
After firing 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tweets an illustration of a large underground weapons cache, warning that victory for Tehran is near.
“Victory comes from Allah and it is close,” he writes.
In broken Hebrew, Khamenei tweets a message threatening that the “blows of the uprising front will become stronger and more painful on the worn and rotting body of the Zionist regime.”
בעזרת השם, מכות חזית ההתקוממות יהפכו חזקות וכואבות יותר על הגוף השחוק והנרקב של המשטר הציוני.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed on September 26, 2024 in New York. (Leon Neal/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemns Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel “in the strongest terms,” his office says.
During a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Starmer also “expressed the UK’s steadfast commitment to Israeli security and the protection of civilians,” according to a readout of the call from Starmer’s office.
An anti-Israel sign is displayed in Tehran's Palestine Square on October 1, 2024. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
Iran did not give the United States prior notice of its attack on Israel, Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York says.
“No notice was given to the United States prior to our response; however, a serious warning was issued afterwards,” the Iranian mission says in a statement.
Hours ahead of the attack, the US said it had “indications” that Iran was preparing to fire at Israel.
Dozens of Palestinian suspects began to approach Israeli forces in the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip this evening, the IDF says.
The military says the suspects “posed a threat,” and the troops opened fire at them.
No soldiers were hurt in the incident, which the IDF says is “under control.”
Palestinian medical officials say that Israeli forces killed at least three people trying to return to their homes in the northern Strip.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the central town of Deir al-Bahah says that IDF troops opened fired at the men. An Associated Press journalist saw ambulances taking people to the hospital, and counted the bodies. The officials said the men were among a group of people trying to return to their homes.
BEIRUT — Iran-backed Iraqi militias say if the US takes part in “any hostile action” against Iran then American interests in the region will be under threat.
The statement from the group calling itself the Coordination Committee for the Iraqi Resistance also warns Israel against using Iraqi airspace to retaliate against Iran for a missile barrage fired at Israel, saying “all American bases and interests in Iraq and the region will be our target.”
Iran-backed militias in Iraq regularly target bases housing US forces in Iraq and Syria with drones, saying they are retaliating for Washington’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hamas praises Iran’s missile attack on Israel and says it was in revenge for the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] blesses the heroic rocket launches carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran against wide areas of our occupied lands,” a statement says, adding it was “in revenge for the blood of our heroic martyrs.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gives a press conference on the sidelines of the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference at the UN Headquarters in Nairobi on May 10, 2024. (Tony Karumba/AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issues a statement condemning the “broadening of the Middle East conflict” that makes no mention of Iran, which launched 181 ballistic missiles at Israel earlier tonight.
“This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” Guterres says.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari speaks to reporters on October 1, 2024. (Screenshot/IDF)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari tells reporters that the Israeli Air Force “continues to operate at full capacity, and tonight will also continue to strike powerfully in the Middle East, as has been the case for the past year.”
“The Israeli and US air defense systems operated effectively. There was close cooperation in detection and interception,” he says on the Iranian attack of 180 missiles on Israel.
“We are still investigating [the result of the attack] and do not want to give the enemy all the information,” Hagari says.
“Iran carried out a serious act tonight and is pushing the Middle East to an escalation. We will act at the place and time of our choosing, in accordance with the guidance of the political echelon,” he continues.
“Tonight’s event will have consequences,” Hagari adds.
Image taken from video shows missiles fired from Iran being intercepted over Jerusalem, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
American forces are ready to provide “additional defensive support” to Israel after helping protect it during an Iranian missile attack, a US defense official says.
“Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect US forces operating in the region” after “defending against Iranian-launched missiles targeting Israel,” the official says on condition of anonymity.
Swedish police outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm (Courtesy Axel Ellung/TV4)
Police in Stockholm are looking into the possibility of a shooting outside Israel’s embassy in Sweden, according to the local TV4 Nyheterna.
After a loud bang was heard, the Swedish outlet reports, police found a gun and an empty bullet casing.
At least 10 police cars are at the site, and searches are being carried out by canine units.
Swedish police outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm (Courtesy Dan Norrå/TV4)
In May, a 15-year-old boy was arrested on the way to Israel’s embassy with a gun in his jacket. The following night, a 14-year-old boy was arrested after a shooting near the Israeli embassy.
Sweden’s intelligence agency, Sapo, on May 30 accused Iran of recruiting gang members in Sweden, some of them children, as proxies to commit “acts of violence against other states, groups or people in Sweden that it considers a threat.”
It cited in particular “Israeli and Jewish interests, targets and operations in Sweden.”
Smoke in the sky after a missile fired from Lebanon intercepted by anti-missile system, central Israel, October 1, 2024. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
The IDF says that it intercepted “a large number” of the 180 ballistic missiles launched by Iran at Israel this evening.
Israel’s air defenses were “effective,” the IDF says. The US also participated in the defense of Israel, both by detecting the threat from Iran and intercepting some of the missiles, according to the military.
The IDF says there are “isolated” impacts in central Israel and several more impacts in southern Israel.
There is no damage to the “competence” of the Israeli Air Force in the attack, and the IAF’s planes, air defenses, and air traffic control are operating normally, according to the military.
Smoke seeps out from building rubble at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike on the Laylaki neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs on October 1, 2024. (AFP)
The IDF says that it killed the commander of the Imam Hossein Division, an Iranian militia which operates alongside Hezbollah, in the same strike that killed the commander of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 in Beirut.
The military names the commander as Daw Alfakher Hinawi.
It says the Imam Hossein Division has carried out numerous rocket and drone attacks on Israel amid the war, from Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
The division was behind a drone that struck a school in Eilat in November 2023, causing damage.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a media interview while attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations in New York, on September 25, 2024. (Leon Neal/Pool/AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has spoken to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah, Sky News says.
The Sky News report came after Iran fired a massive barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel. Most of the projectiles were intercepted.
Starmer’s office did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
A Mahan Air passenger plane takes off from Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran, Febuary 7, 2016. (AP/Vahid Salemi, File)
Iran has suspended flights at Tehran international airport, Iranian media reports, after it carried out a missile attack on Israel drawing an immediate threat of a response.
“For the time being, we have suspended incoming and outgoing flights at Tehran International Airport,” the ISNA news agency quotes airport chief Said Chalandari as saying.
People take cover on the side of the road as a siren sounds a warning of incoming missiles from Iran on a freeway in Shoresh, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)
While only two people were reportedly lightly wounded in Israel from shrapnel, videos and photos circulating on social media show a number of craters caused by impacts from some of the 180 ballistic missiles fired by Iran.
One video shows a large sinkhole in the Sharon region of Israel, purportedly from a missile impact.
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Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles launched from Iran over Baqa al-Gharbiya on October 1, 2024 .(Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
Jordan’s Public Security Directorate says its air defenses intercepted missiles and drones as Iran attacked Israel.
“The Royal Jordanian Air Force and air defense systems responded to a number of missiles and drones that entered Jordanian airspace,” a statement says.
Israel has said some 180 ballistic missiles were fired from Iran during the attack earlier this evening.
US President Joe Biden speaks briefly to reporters as he arrives at St. Edmond Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Del., September 28, 2024. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
The White House canceled the annual phone call US President Joe Biden was slated to hold this afternoon with American Jewish community leaders to mark the Rosh Hashanah holiday, so that Biden could closely monitor the Iranian missile attack against Israel from the situation room, a US official says.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, Democrat-Florida, speaks during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 20, 2024. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)
Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz tweets, “Iran has made a mistake, it has put its nuclear facilities on the board as fair game.”
Moskowitz is known as a more moderate Democrat and one of the most pro-Israel lawmakers in the party.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei greets an audience during a meeting with military personnel and veterans of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, in Tehran, Iran, on September 25, 2024. (Khamenei.ir/AFP)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remains in a secure location after Tehran fired missiles at Israel, a senior Iranian official tells Reuters.
He was moved to a secure location after Israel assassinated Iran’s close ally Hezbollah terror group leader Hassan Nasrallah in a Beirut airstrike last week.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock delivers a statement to the media prior to the start of a European Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on May 27, 2024. (François Walschaerts/AFP)
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says she condemns the Iranian missile attack on Israel in the “strongest possible terms,” saying Iran must stop the attack immediately.
“We have urgently warned Iran about this dangerous escalation. Iran must stop the attack immediately. It is driving the region further to the brink of the abyss,” Baerbock says in a post on social media platform X.
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles launched from Iran over Hadera, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP/Ariel Schalit)
Celebratory gunfire erupts in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanese state media says, after Iran launched an attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of allied figures including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
“Heavy gunfire heard from automatic weapons from areas of the southern suburbs, rejoicing in the missile launch from Iran towards Israel,” Lebanon’s National News Agency says.
An AFP correspondent also reports the sound of gunfire from the Hezbollah bastion, which has been hit by heavy Israeli raids since Friday, when a huge strike killed Nasrallah.
First responders at the scene of a deadly terror attack in Jaffa on October 1, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
The death toll in the Jaffa terror attack has been revised to six, police say.
Another nine were wounded.
One of the terrorists was armed with an assault rifle, while the other had a knife. The pair shot and stabbed civilians on the Tel Aviv light rail, before continuing on foot, attacking people on Jerusalem Street in the city.
A municipal security officer and armed civilians shot and “neutralized” the two terrorists, police add.
Two suspected terrorists seen carrying out an attack in Jaffa, October 1, 2024 (X screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the copyright law)
Israelis take cover inside a bomb shelter at Ben Gurion Airport as a siren alert is sounds amid an Iranian missile attack October 1, 2024. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)
The Israeli airspace has reopened, says the Israel Aviation Authority. Takeoffs and landings are expected to resume in the next hour.
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles launched from Iran over Hadera, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP/Ariel Schalit)
Palestinian media report that a man was killed by missile shrapnel in the West Bank village of Nu’eima, near Jericho, amid the Iranian attack on Israel.
Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Mint Hill, North Carolina, on September 25, 2024. (Logan Cyrus/AFP)
Former US president Donald Trump issues a statement on the Iranian missile attack on Israel, claiming that the “world is on fire” and that US leadership is absent.
“Under ‘President Trump,’ we had NO WAR in the Middle East,” Trump says, referring to himself in the third person, and reiterating his claims that Hamas’s October 7 attack wouldn’t have happened had he been in the White House.
Smoke in the sky after a missile fired from Lebanon intercepted by anti-missile system, central Israel, October 1, 2024. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says there are no additional threats heading toward Israel from Iran currently, indicating that the missile attack is over.
Residents were notified a short while ago that they can leave bomb shelters, after an hour.
“During the defense, we carried out quite a few interceptions. There are some impacts in the center and areas in the south of the country,” Hagari says.
“At this stage, we are still carrying out an assessment [of the attack], but we are unaware of casualties,” he adds.
Image taken from video shows missiles fired from Iran being intercepted over Jerusalem, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says Israel will respond to the Iranian missile attack on the country.
“We are on heightened alert on defense and offensive, we will protect the citizens of Israel. This [missile] fire will have consequences. We have plans, and we will act in the time and place that we choose,” he says.
Asked whether Israel is facing regional war, he says: “We’ve been facing a multi-front war, for a long time.
“This isn’t the first time Iran has fired,” he says, referring to Iran’s April attack, but “this fire was wider in terms of missiles, and the defensive response was set up as required.”
He says there were “very few impacts” and no known injuries at this stage “because of the responsible behavior of the public…, the activation of our defenses, and the actions of our partners to defend the State of Israel. We’ll continue to act in this way — offensively and defensively.”
Asked if there will be an immediate response against Iran, he says only, “We’re at maximal readiness.”
US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base, in Dover, Delaware, Septemer 29, 2024, to return to Washington. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
US President Joe Biden has directed the US military to aid Israel’s defense against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel, the White House says.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are monitoring the Iranian attack against Israel from the White House Situation Room and receiving regular updates from their national security team, the White House adds.
Travellers at Ben Gurion International Airport on September 2, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
The Airports Authority announces that all flights arriving and departing from Ben Gurion airport are suspended amid a massive missile attack from Iran.
Israel’s Aviation Authority says Israel’s airspace is closed. Flights are redirected to alternative destinations outside of Israel.
Jordan and Iraq also announce that their airspace was temporarily closed.
Reuters reporters say they witnessed several interceptions in Jordanian airspace.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they launched dozens of missiles toward Israel and warned that if Israel retaliated Tehran’s response would be “more crushing and ruinous,” Iranian state TV reports.
An Iranian missile attack on Israel, October 1, 2024. (Channel 12 news screenshot)
The IDF says the missile fire from Iran is ongoing.
“You are asked to stay in a protected area until further notice,” the military says in a statement.
It adds that explosions heard across the country are interceptions or impacts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H8h73_3fLA
Multiple impact sites have been reported of either shrapnel or rocket impacts in Tel Aviv, near the Dead Sea, in the south and in the Sharon region.
Magen David Adom says there are no immediate reports of injuries. Eli Bin, the head of MDA, says hundreds of missiles are being fired. “We have no reports of injuries,” he tells Channel 12.
Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and US President Joe Biden arrive for an event in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, May 9, 2024. (Evan Vucci/AP)
The White House says US President Joe Biden convened a meeting earlier this morning with Vice President Kamala Harris and their national security advisers to discuss what was at the time Iran’s imminent attack on Israel.
The White House statement is issued after the attack has already began.
“They reviewed the status of US preparations to help Israel defend against these attacks and protect US personnel in the region,” the White House says in a statement.
First responders at the scene of a deadly terror attack in Jaffa on October 1, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
At least two terrorists, one of whom is seen armed with an assault rifle, carried out the shooting attack in Jaffa, according to surveillance camera images.
The images show the terrorists coming out of the light rail. One is seen opening fire at the body of a man on the ground.
At least two terrorists, one of whom is seen armed with an assault rifle, carried out the shooting attack in Jaffa, according to surveillance camera images. pic.twitter.com/wOP9ItbGVP
A damaged building is seen at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, October 1, 2024. (AP/Hassan Ammar)
The IDF says it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon.
Muhammad Ja’far Qassir, who headed Unit 4400, was killed in a strike carried out by fighter jets in Beirut, according to the military.
The IDF says Qassir was “one of the senior leaders of the Hezbollah terror organization and the most dominant [person] in the Iran-Hezbollah-Syria terror axis, and is considered close to the Iranian regime.”
He was involved in hundreds of “strategic” weapons smuggling operations from Iran to Hezbollah, and was among those who advanced the terror group’s precision missile project.
Qassir served as head of Unit 4400 for some 15 years, the IDF says.
First responders at the scene of a deadly terror attack in Jaffa on October 1, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
Medics are responding to reports of a shooting with several casualties in Jaffa in south Tel Aviv.
The incident is reported on Jerusalem Street in the city next to a light rail train station.
Police say the shooting in Jaffa is a suspected terror attack. Medics say there are several casualties in the apparent attack.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is treating several people who were in the shooting attack in Jaffa, including some who are unconscious.
Initial reports in Hebrew media indicate that there were at least two gunmen in the attack and that there are at least 10 wounded, including two in critical condition.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, listen to the playing of the Israeli National Anthem during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, June 25, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with his American counterpart, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin a short while ago amid the threat of an Iranian attack on Israel.
“The two discussed Iran’s intentions to attack Israel, military cooperation for joint defense, and the right of the State of Israel to defend itself and act against its enemies,” a readout from Gallant’s office says.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari speaks to reporters on October 1, 2024. (Screenshot/IDF)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the anticipated missile fire from Iran is likely to be large-scale.
“We are following the threat seriously. We ask the public to follow the Home Front Command guidelines. The fire from Iran could be wide in scope,” he says in a press conference.
“When a siren sounds, you are asked to enter a protected area and stay there until we notify you otherwise,” Hagari adds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, September 8, 2024. (Screen grab/GPO)
The security cabinet will meet at 7:30 p.m. amid warnings of an impending Iranian missile attack on Israel.
The meeting will take place for the first time during the war in a government bunker complex in Jerusalem, one of the ministers’ offices tells The Times of Israel.
According to Channel 12, the cabinet meeting takes place ahead of what will be a “significant night,” without elaborating.
People gather around a component from an intercepted ballistic missile fired by Iran on April 14, 2024 that fell near the Dead Sea, April 20, 2024. (AP/Itamar Grinberg)
Iran informed “international parties” of the size and timing of its anticipated attack on Israel, a US Defense Department official tells Sky News Arabia.
The US expressed concern earlier over Iran’s ballistic missiles, which can reach Israel in less than 15 minutes.
A US-based Axios reporter writes on X that Iran is expected to attack Israel with ballistic missiles that can reach targets within 12 minutes, and not with drones or cruise missiles that take longer.
A mobile shelter in a parking lot near a school in Kibbutz Kabri, 2024. (Tani Goldstein)
The IDF Home Front Command issues new instructions to residents of the central area of Israel, known as Gush Dan, warning them to remain “nearby” a bomb shelter or other protected area until further notice, following reports of an imminent Iranian attack.
The update warns residents to “avoid spending unnecessary time outdoors,” and reiterates that if sirens sound, citizens should enter a protected area and remain there for 10 minutes.
Rocket alert sirens are sounding in dozens of towns across central Israel and the Sharon region as well as in the northern West Bank, including Kfar Saba, Kafr Kassem, Rosh Ha’ayin and Hod Hasharon.
Initial reports indicate a single projectile was fired from Lebanon, and was intercepted. There are no immediate reports of casualties.
Illustrative: Israelis enjoy the beach in Bat Yam, June 29, 2024. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
Loud explosions are heard in several areas in and around Tel Aviv, without any sirens warning of a rocket attack.
The IDF says that one rocket crossed from Lebanon and fell in an “open area in the center of the country,” without elaborating.
Hebrew media reports suggest that the rocket fell in the sea near Bat Yam, without endangering any population centers and therefore not triggering sirens.
Yemeni coastguards loyal to the internationally recognized government ride in a patrol boat in the Red Sea off the government-held town of Mokha in the western Taiz province, close to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, on April 15, 2024. (Khaled Ziad/AFP)
Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched an explosive-loaded drone that crashed into one ship today in the Red Sea and a missile that exploded against another.
The first attack took place some 110 kilometers (70 miles) off the port city of Hodeida and targeted the Panama-flagged oil tanker Cordelia Moon, the multinational Joint Maritime Information Center says. A captain on a ship saw four “splashes” near the vessel, the center overseen by the US Navy says. That likely would have been missiles launched at the vessel that missed.
The drone boat later damaged the Cordelia Moon, which sustained a puncture to one of its ballast tanks in the attack. Those tanks control a ship’s buoyancy. Houthi strikes in the past have targeted ships at their waterline to disable the vessels.
Drone boats have been increasingly used by the Houthis. The ship had been heading north to the Suez Canal with armed private security guards aboard, the private security firm Ambrey says.
Another attack with a missile targeted a separate ship also heading north to the Suez Canal with armed security on board, Ambrey says.
Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree later claims the two attacks in a prerecorded message. He names the second vessel, though it does not match against another name circulated by private security officials. The discrepancy could not be immediately reconciled.
First responders at the scene of a shrapnel impact in Givat Avni in the Lower Galilee on October 1, 2024. (MDA)
A man was lightly wounded by broken glass caused by a rocket attack from Lebanon on Givat Avni in the Lower Galilee.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says that a 75-year-old man is being treated by paramedics from wounds due to broken glass caused by shrapnel impact in the town.
Rockets set off sirens in Givat Avni, Sde Ilan, Mitzpe Netufa and other areas west of the Sea of Galilee.
According to reports, damage was caused by impacts in the area, including near a highway.
The IDF did not immediately comment on the barrage.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during an interview at the United Nations headquarters, September 9, 2024. (Pamela Smith/AP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges a de-escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, his spokesperson says, as an intensifying Israeli offensive against the Hezbollah terror group raises fears of a spiraling regional war.
Guterres “appeals for an immediate ceasefire,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric says, adding that “an all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.”
Members of the Israeli military stand next to an Iranian ballistic missile which hit Israel on the weekend, during a media tour at the Julis military base near the southern city of Kiryat Malachi on April 16, 2024. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
The New York Times quotes three Israeli officials saying the anticipated Iranian attack will include drones and missiles, as well as a US official anticipating ballistic missiles. It says the attack is expected “in the coming hours.”
When Iran attacked Israel in April, ballistic missiles were calculated to take 12 minutes to reach Israel from Iran, cruise missiles to take two hours, and drones some nine hours to reach their target.
The three Israeli officials quoted anonymously by the Times said that Iran would target three military air bases, and “an intelligence headquarters north of Tel Aviv” which it said has been evacuated.
While all-out war was averted in April, the Times cites diplomats and experts saying full-scale war is more likely now, “with Israel expected to strike back hard after any new Iranian attack.”
Smoke seeps out from building rubble at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike on the Laylaki neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs on October 1, 2024. (AFP)
Turkey and Belgium joined a number of countries calling on their citizens to leave Lebanon as cross-border violence with Israel intensifies and Bulgaria continues to evacuate its countrymen.
The Belgian foreign ministry tells the Belga news agency that Belgian citizens should leave Lebanon as soon as possible.
Meanwhile a Bulgarian government jet departs for Beirut for the second day to pick up the remaining Bulgarian citizens who wanted to be evacuated, the prime minister says.
Dimitar Glavchev says 61 Bulgarians had asked to be evacuated on the second trip. A total of 89 people, mostly families with children, were evacuated from Lebanon yesterday. Glavchev says that empty seats on Tuesday’s flight will be offered to citizens of other EU countries.
Turkey’s foreign ministry says it is ready to carry out a possible evacuation of Turks from Lebanon via air and sea, and is working with around 20 countries on preparing for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Turkey.
It says a coordination center has been set up to handle evacuation requests in line with the plans made by Turkish institutions.
“The guidelines for the evacuation of foreign nationals via our country have also been set. The necessary preparations are being carried out with around 20 countries that have requested support so far,” it says.
The IDF says that a number of missiles crossed into Israel from Lebanon and fell in open areas in central Israel.
Sirens did not sound since population centers were not in danger.
Reports in Hebrew media indicate that at least one rocket fell in the sea off the coast of Netanya.
Hezbollah claims it launched missiles toward the largely unused Sde Dov airbase on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. The terror group says it launched “a salvo of Fadi-4 rockets” at the site “in response to the targeting of civilians and the massacres that the enemy carried out.”
Illustrative: A road sign shows the way towards the US embassy in Jerusalem on April 19, 2024. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)
The US embassy in Jerusalem issues a security warning telling its employees and their families “to shelter in place until further notice.”
The warning, similar to that issued in April ahead of an Iranian attack, comes amid indications from US intelligence that Tehran is planning to launch another ballistic missile attack on Israel.
Israeli armored vehicles seen in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP/Baz Ratner)
Egypt’s top diplomat deplores Israel’s “serious escalation” in southern Lebanon, after the IDF said it launched a “limited and focused” ground incursion.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaty warns that Israel’s escalation threatens to inflame the entire region “in a way that will lead to dire security and humanitarian consequences,” according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Abdelaty also says Egypt will reject any attempts to establish a new status quo that violates Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Israeli officials have said they have no intention of maintaining a military presence in southern Lebanon and that any ground operation will be as short as possible.
Illustrative: A photographer approaches the remains of a missile that landed on the shore of the Dead Sea, a week after the April 13 missile barrage fired by Iran, on April 21, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)
The US believes that a potential attack from Iran tonight would be similar to the attack launched by Tehran in April, CNN reports, citing a US official.
Iran launched over 300 missiles and drones, but Israel, the US, and Western and Arab allies shot down almost all the projectiles.
A passenger waits for his flight at Beirut's International airport on September 28, 2024. (Amanda MOUAWAD / AFP)
The Netherlands will repatriate its citizens from Lebanon, where Israeli commando and paratrooper units have started launching raids, Dutch news agency ANP reports.
Dozens of international airlines have canceled flights to Beirut amid the escalating cross-border violence, with many also suspending routes to Tel Aviv.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi meet with senior IDF officers on October 1, 2024. (Elad Malka)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi are holding a situation assessment with senior IDF officers, according to the Defense Ministry.
The meeting comes amid warnings from the US that Iran is about to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel.
France's Prime Minister Michel Barnier delivers a speech at the National Assembly, in Paris, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP/Thibault Camus)
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier vows to take a “zero tolerance’ approach regarding racism and antisemitism in leading the government of a country that has become increasingly divided on its shared values and political views.
“I have my own red lines, which are also those of the whole government — there will be zero tolerance for racism and antisemitism,” Barnier tells parliament.
An Israeli soldier patrols in the Palestinian Bedouin village of Tala in the West Bank on October 26, 2023, after residents were attacked by Israeli settlers. (Thomas Coex / AFP)
The United States imposes sanctions against a violent settler group in the West Bank that the Treasury Department says has repeatedly attacked Palestinians and destroyed their property.
“Through these violent activities, ‘Hilltop Youth’ is actively destabilizing the West Bank and harming the peace and security of Palestinians and Israelis alike,” Treasury says in a statement.
The Treasury claims that the group has carried out killings, arson and other attacks to intimidate Palestinians and has devastated communities in the process.
“The worsening violence and instability in the West Bank are detrimental to the long-term interests of Israelis and Palestinians, and the actions of violent organizations like Hilltop Youth only exacerbate the crisis,” says Bradley Smith, acting under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The move is just the latest in US sanctions on extremist settler groups operating in the West Bank.
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari speaks to reporters on October 1, 2024. (Screenshot/IDF)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the US has updated Israel that Iran is intending to launch missiles at the country. “A short while ago, our American allies updated us that they identify preparations by Iran for imminent missile fire at the State of Israel,” says Hagari.
He says that as of now, no aerial threats have been launched at Israel from Iran.
“We’ve dealt with this threat in the past, and we’ll deal with it now,” he says.
He calls on the public to continue to follow the Home Front Command guidelines, noting that they were updated earlier today.
He says the IDF is ready with its defensive and offensive capabilities. The Air Force is “patrolling the skies.”
“We are at the highest readiness — offensive and defensive,” he says.
“Together with the US,” he says, “we are watching developments in Iran.”
“Iranian fire on the State of Israel will have consequences,” he warns. “We have plans and we have capabilities.”
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburb early on October 1, 2024. (Fadel ITANI / AFP)
The IDF says it is carrying out a “targeted” airstrike in Beirut.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the public amid warnings of an impending Iranian missile strike on Israel, October 1, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)
Amid warnings from the US that Iran is about to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns of “days of great challenges” ahead.
“What I ask of you is two things,” says Netanyahu. “One, to strictly obey the directives of the Home Front Command. It saves lives.”
“And second, to stand together,” he continues. “We will stand firm together in the trying days ahead. Together we will stand, together we will fight, and together we will win.”
The IDF says that one rocket fired from Lebanon set off dozens of sirens across the Galilee as well as in Acre and Nahariya, and was successfully intercepted by the military.
Israeli media reports indicate the rocket may have been a surface-to-surface missile.
Twenty minutes earlier, a separate rocket from Lebanon triggered sirens in Shlomi and Betzet and was also intercepted, the IDF says.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” a senior White House official tells The Times of Israel.
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” the US official says.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (center) views weapons captured by IDF forces in Lebanon in a photo released for publication on October 1, 2024, and taken several days earlier. (Shahar Yurman)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel is “eliminating Hezbollah in southern Lebanon” as he viewed weapons captured by IDF forces operating covertly across the border several days ago, the Defense Ministry reveals.
“We are expanding the IDF operation in southern Lebanon,” said Gallant, well before the 98th Division entered Lebanon last night.
“Everything you see here — weapons, missiles, explosives, RPGs, these are things found by the IDF, from where the Radwan Force planned to attack Israeli citizens, kill them and kidnap them.”
The IDF revealed today that commandos have conducted over 70 raids into Lebanon in the past year.
“We are eliminating the Hezbollah organization in southern Lebanon and cutting off its arm, the Radwan Force, along the entire line of contact,” Gallant continued. “What we will do here is an expression of the meaning of returning the residents of the north to their homes safely. We are changing the security situation, from start to finish.”
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will stand by Lebanon and support it with all its means after Israel launched raids into Lebanon as part of a “limited” ground incursion.
“We will never leave our Lebanese brothers on their own in these difficult days and will support them with all our means,” Erdogan says in a speech at the reopening of the Turkish parliament following its summer recess.
Condemning the Israeli ground operations in Lebanon, Erdogan urges the United Nations and other international organizations to stop Israel without “wasting any more time.”
“Whatever it does, Israel will be stopped sooner or later,” he says.
Israeli soldiers work on tanks in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP/Baz Ratner)
The IDF says that following an assessment it is calling up four reservist brigades as well as other forces to take part in ongoing operations on the northern front.
An Israeli brigade is generally made up of several thousand soldiers.
The IDF says calling up the additional reservists “will allow the continuation of the fight against the Hezbollah terror organization.”
Sirens warning of a rocket attack are sounding in dozens of towns across northern Israel, including in the suburbs of Haifa and in Acre, Nahariya and many communities across the Galilee.
Hezbollah weapons and equipment recovered by the IDF from Lebanon in recent months, in a photo released by the IDF on October 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says that IDF troops will not be entering Beirut or any major cities in Lebanon, and says Israel’s ground operation in its northern neighbor will be as brief as possible.
Speaking in English after a similar briefing in Hebrew to reporters, Hagari says that Israeli forces “are not going to Beirut. We’re not going to the cities in southern Lebanon. We are focusing in the area of those villages, the area next to our border. We will do in this area what is necessary to dismantle and demolish Hezbollah’s infrastructure.”
Asked how long the ground operations are likely to continue, Hagari says that “I will not reveal to the enemy, but we are doing it as short as we can, days, weeks… We will do the necessary thing, the limited and local operation that we are conducting now.”
Hagari says that “in order to enable all 60,000 Israelis to safely return back to their homes in northern Israel, the IDF is taking action,” and has already been carrying out limited cross-border excursions for a period of many months.
“Our soldiers entered Hezbollah’s underground infrastructures, exposed Hezbollah’s hidden weapon caches, and seized and destroyed the weapons — including advanced Iranian-made weapons. Overall, IDF soldiers exposed and dismantled over 700 Hezbollah terror assets during these operations, and there’s a lot more work to do,” says Hagari.
The IDF spokesman says that “Hezbollah has built, prepared and equipped this infrastructure over many years in preparation for the day that it would carry out an invasion into northern Israel,” a plan similar to Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Syrian military sources claim to Reuters that Israel has struck at least three anti-aircraft radar stations in southern Syria, including one stationed in a military airfield.
The drone strikes reportedly hit two radar stations west of the city of Sweida, including one stationed in an airbase in the area.
Another purportedly hit a radar station in the adjoining Daraa province. They are part of the Syrian army’s air defenses in the southern region, one of the sources adds.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF, which rarely comments on strikes carried out in Syria.
Hezbollah weapons and equipment recovered by the IDF from Lebanon in recent months, in a photo released by the IDF on October 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant briefed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on ground operations the army launched inside south Lebanon targeting Hezbollah positions, his office says.
“The minister discussed the localized and targeted raids that the IDF launched overnight, against Hezbollah terror targets in the border area of southern Lebanon,” says the statement from the Defense Ministry.
Hezbollah weapons and equipment recovered by the IDF from Lebanon in recent months, on display at the IDF Northern Command in Safed, October 1, 2024 (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
As the Israel Defense Forces officially launched ground operations in southern Lebanon early this morning, the military is now disclosing that it has already carried out more than 70 small raids with special forces since the beginning of the war, destroying numerous Hezbollah positions, tunnels, and thousands of weapons that would have potentially been used by the terror group to invade Israel.
According to the IDF, troops in the raids over past months silently reached around 1,000 Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, some of them several kilometers from the border fence, including tunnels and bunkers where the terror group stored weapons. The IDF said the sites were located both inside Lebanese villages and in forested areas.
The raids have been carried out since early in the Israel-Hamas war, after the IDF said it managed to push back Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force from the border area, enabling Israeli commandos to enter Lebanon with almost no detection. There were no direct clashes with Hezbollah operatives amid any of the raids.
According to IDF assessments, some 2,400 Radwan terrorists and another 500 Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists — trained by Radwan — were waiting in southern Lebanon villages to attack Israel in the days after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
The IDF Northern Command had expected an invasion from Lebanon and bolstered its defenses. In the following weeks, it carried out numerous strikes on Hezbollah operatives and sites along the border, causing the thousands of Radwan terrorists to withdraw several kilometers back.
The raids carried out by the IDF commandos, including combat engineers, sometimes lasted three to four days, according to the military. In all, 200 nights’ worth of operations had been carried out.
The military showed reporters dozens of weapons, including assault rifles, machine guns, RPGs, anti-tank missiles, explosive devices, mines, mortars, and equipment such as walkie-talkies (which did not explode) that had been recovered by the commandos from within Hezbollah tunnels and bunkers.
Hezbollah weapons and equipment recovered by the IDF from Lebanon in recent months on display at the IDF Northern Command in Safed, October 1, 2024 (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
Military officials said that the recovered weapons were less than 1 percent of what had been found in the Hezbollah sites. Practically, it was difficult for the soldiers to lug back dozens of heavy weapons back to the country through the difficult terrain, but some soldiers still took on the challenge.
The IDF identified that while its commando operations were successful, it was not enough to be able to achieve the newest of Israel’s war goals — enabling the return of the displaced residents of the north to their homes.
Therefore, the IDF launched what it described as “limited, localized, and targeted raids” in southern Lebanon, carried out by an entire division, with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area.
The operation has much of the same goals as the commando raids, but now the army can be less silent with its activities, and destroy tunnel networks and other sites that normally can’t be carried out by small forces that are operating quietly. Previously, the IDF would strike the raided Hezbollah sites from the air after troops had withdrawn.
Military officials have said they aim for the offensive to be as short as possible, even just a few weeks. There has been no intention by the IDF to remain in southern Lebanon, but instead, it plans to bolster its defenses and surveillance on the border following the ground operation against the terror group, and make sure Hezbollah does not return to the area.
Israeli armored vehicles seen in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP/Baz Ratner)
The IDF sees a chance that its strikes on Hezbollah, killing its entire top leadership, could lead to a power balance change in Lebanon, with the government regaining control of areas in the country, especially the south, from the hands of the Iran-backed group.
Still, the IDF has assessed that Hezbollah still possesses rocket and missile fire capabilities, highlighted by this morning’s barrage on central Israel in which two people were wounded. Military officials said the army does not aim to “drain the ocean” and destroy every last rocket, but will work to disarm the terror group as much as possible.
Sirens are sounding again near the northern border with Lebanon, warning of incoming rocket fire.
The sirens, in communities including Mevo’ot Hermon Regional Council, Dishon, Malkia, Iftach and Ramot Naftali, come after some 30 rocket were fired from Lebanon at the area earlier today.
Rocket Alert [15:09:56] (6):
• Confrontation Line — Mevuot Hermon Regional Council, Dishon, Malkia, Iftach, Ramot Naftali • לב החולה Population: 2,900 pic.twitter.com/BgtS36CQtL
KLM confirms that it has joined a flood of airlines suspending flights to Israel, until at least the end of the year, the Dutch NL Times reports, extending a suspension that was previously set until the end of this month.
The decision was made amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, the report quotes a KLM spokesperson as saying.
MOSCOW — Russia calls on Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon and warns that the attack will lead to a further escalation of violence in the Middle East.
Israel said commando and paratroop units launched raids into Lebanon this morning as part of a “limited” ground incursion, while Iran-backed Hezbollah fired a barrage of missiles into Israel, claiming to target an IDF intelligence base near Herzliya in central Israel.
“Russia strongly condemns the attack on Lebanon and calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately cease hostilities, withdraw their troops from Lebanese territory and engage in a real search for peaceful ways to resolve the Middle East conflict,” Russia’s foreign ministry says.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara speaks at the retirement ceremony for outgoing Acting Supreme Court Justice Uzi Vogelman in Jerusalem, October 1, 2024, (Jeremy Sharon/Times of Israel)
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara lambastes Justice Minister Yariv Levin for what she says is his attempts to weaken the judiciary and refusing to appoint a Supreme Court president, during the retirement ceremony for outgoing acting Supreme Court Justice Uzi Vogelman.
Without referencing Levin directly but standing right next to the justice minister as she addressed the court, she says that “democracy is fragile” and that “efforts to dismantle mechanisms of governance and proper procedure which protect human rights and the rule of law” are still being felt.
Levin sat motionless throughout Baharav-Miara’s speech.
Baharav-Miara’s critique referred to efforts by the government to circumvent her offices and assert its own legal interpretations of the law, as well Levin’s obstructionism over the appointment of a new president and refusal to fill empty seats on the Supreme Court bench, which she said were the continuation of Levin’s radical judicial overhaul program to restrain the judiciary which he advanced in the first half of 2023.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin at a farewell ceremony for retiring acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, October 1, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Pool/Flash90)
“The meaning of a weakened and exhausted Supreme Court by diluting [its bench] is government without oversight, harm to human rights perforce, and the strengthening of dangerous phenomena,” she continues, including the failure to draft ultra-Orthodox men into military service and corruption on her list of internal dangers currently facing the country.
The attorney general also points to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent speech in the UN General Assembly, where he highlighted Israel’s “independent courts” in rebuking the International Criminal Court prosecutor for seeking arrest warrants for him and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
“Indeed, there is a lot to be proud of, and we must be careful not to destroy it,” snipes Baharav-Miara.
“Harming the judicial authority at this time is especially damaging. It is not responsible and runs contrary to the national interest.”
The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Courtesy)
Relatives of the hostage Bibas family speak in a press conference about what it feels like to mark a year since the entire family — Yarden, Shiri and their two children, Ariel, now 5 and Kfir, 20 months — were taken captive by Hamas terrorists to Gaza on October 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
The ongoing uncertainty is painful, says Ofri Bibas Levy, sister of Yarden who describes not knowing where her family is, whether they’re dead or alive, if they’re being tortured, and if they have food or water.
“Those thoughts are with me every minute — when I have a cup of coffee, or take a shower or see my five-year-old doing something new,” she says. She describes her anxiety when she hears a car outside her house, sure an army official is coming to notify her of the deaths of her relatives. “I carry this anxiety all the time.”
Bibas Levy says she hopes that a ceasefire in the north would force an agreement on both the north and south, and release the hostages from Gaza.
“If there is a ceasefire with Hezbollah without the hostages, it’s like a death sentence for my family,” she says.
Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel, 4, and baby Kfir, are abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. (Screenshot)
Bibas Levy last saw her brother and his family on Rosh Hashanah last year.
The Bibas family members all speak about losing hope some days, after months of appealing to every diplomat and world leader as well as the Israeli government.
“I meet all these important people. I’m not that important, I’m just a person living in Israel, and something horrible happened to my family — that’s why they are meeting with me. It’s surreal,” says Tomer Keshet, Yarden’s cousin, referring to meetings with Hillary Clinton, US senators, ambassadors and more. “It’s a horrible feeling to meet all of these people who have major influence and can’t bring our family back.”
“I feel a sort of personal failure that they’re not here yet,” says Yifat Zailer, a cousin of Shiri.
Yifat Zailer, cousin to Shiri Bibas, held hostage by terrorists in Gaza since October 7, visits the kindergarten at Kibbutz Nir Oz, to mark one year since her cousins were taken hostage, October 1, 2024. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)
Zailer talks about the year of mourning for her aunt and uncle, Shiri’s parents, Margit and Yossi Silverman, burned to death in their Nir Oz home on October 7. Margit Silverman, 63, had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “She couldn’t have run away,” said Zailer, who is sure her uncle, Yossi, would not have left Margit’s side.
“Their house burned to the ground for hours. It took two weeks to find their remains,” says Zailer. Her uncle passed on his red hair to his grandchildren.
“I need to stop and remember, and I haven’t allowed myself to do that until now,” she says. “I haven’t mourned them yet.”
The IDF Home Front Command issues new restrictions on civilians in northern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Sharon region, the Carmel area, Wadi Ara, and the northern West Bank, after Hezbollah fired rockets at the center of the country this morning, and ahead of the upcoming Jewish New Year holiday.
Educational activities and workplaces are permitted to be open only if an adequate shelter is nearby and can be reached in time, according to an IDF statement.
There are also restrictions on gatherings: up to 30 people outdoors and 300 people indoors.
Beaches will be closed, the IDF said, amid the escalation in fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The new guidelines are valid until Saturday, after the New Year holiday.
Channel 12 News reports that there are no changes to instructions at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, and that Israel’s airspace is open without restrictions.
President Isaac Herzog receives the credentials of Alexandra Rydmark, Ambassador of Sweden, October 1, 2024. (Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO)
Receiving the credentials of new ambassadors, President Isaac Herzog calls for the international community to bring about calm in the region by stopping Iran.
“We are being challenged by an empire of evil emanating from Tehran, and therefore we are fighting,” Herzog tells the ambassadors of Sweden, Slovakia, Belgium, Switzerland, and Papua New Guinea.
Herzog says that IDF troops are in Lebanon “to change the equation and enable a better life, first of all for Israeli citizens on the border, to enable them to come back home.”
“And secondly, of course, I think that there offers an opportunity to the people of Lebanon to have a better future without the oppression of Hezbollah,” he continues. “And most importantly, it calls for the international community to be extremely proactive in blocking the aspirations of Iran to derail the region and enable a better future for our region.”
Herzog urges the international community “to bring calm to our border with Lebanon, to enable our citizens to go back home, to bring a better future for the people of Lebanon, and bring our hostages back home. And this is our call to the international community.”
Smoke rises from the village of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, during an apparent IDF strike, as it seen from the Israeli side of the border, October 1, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)
Some 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the past few hours, the IDF says.
At least 15 rockets were fired at the Upper Galilee, which impacted open areas and sparked fires, and another 15 were launched at the Western Galilee, also impacting open areas.
There are no reports of injuries or major damage.
The IDF says it also carried out airstrikes on several buildings where Hezbollah stored weapons and rocket launchers in Lebanon.
An Israeli soldier sits on the top of a tank, in northern Israel, September 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The head of Hezbollah’s media office, Mohammad Afif, falsely claims that no Israeli troops have entered Lebanese territory, and warns that the group’s strikes on Tel Aviv hours earlier were “only the beginning.”
Two people were moderately injured when the Lebanon-based terror group fired several rockets at central Israel earlier in the day.
In a written statement to Reuters, Afif says Hezbollah has not engaged in “direct ground clashes” with IDF troops, but it would be ready to do so.
The IDF has not reported any clashes in the Lebanon raids this morning.
Smoke seeps out from building rubble at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike on the Laylaki neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs on October 1, 2024. (AFP)
The Israeli military urges residents of more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately, in a statement from IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X.
“The IDF does not want to harm you, and for your own safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, installations and combat equipment is putting their life in danger,” the IDF adds.
The statement comes after Israel this morning announced the commencement of limited ground operations against the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
Acting Supreme Court Chief Justice Uzi Vogelman speaks at the Israel Bar Association's annual conference in Tel Aviv, September 3, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Outgoing Acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman insists in his retirement speech at the Supreme Court that judicial independence is critical for protecting civil rights, upholding the rule of law, and protecting democracy in Israel, and criticizes efforts by the government to weaken the judiciary since it took office.
Vogelman was speaking in front of all the 11 other serving Supreme Court justices, as well as Justice Minister Yariv Levin – whose attempted overhaul to drastically curtail the judiciary’s powers was fiercely opposed by the outgoing acting president – as well as Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, all living former Supreme Court justices, and numerous other legal dignitaries.
“The executive branch of government in our system [of governance] has unprecedented power,” says Vogelman, due to what he said was its control over the Knesset and the lack of checks and balances in Israel that are inherent in other democracies, and asserted that “the need for effective judicial review” of government actions was crucial as a result.
Vogelman also scolded Levin, without mentioning his name, for refusing to allow a new Supreme Court president to be appointed over the last 12 months. Vogelman has served as acting president due to the absence of a permanent president, although he had said he would not be a candidate for the position since he would only have a year before his mandatory retirement at age 70.
The outgoing president said it was crucial to appoint a new president and to fill three open spots on the Supreme Court bench, which Levin has also refused to do, adding that “the need for broad agreement, which no one disagrees with, cannot come at the expense of quality judges,” in a reference to Levin’s position and the recent High Court ruling that the justice minister must hold a vote in the Judicial Selection Committee on a new president despite this stance.
“In this way we can ensure that the court will continue to fill its critical function in defense of the rule of law and human rights in Israel,” averred Vogelman.
Vogelman will be succeeded as acting president by Justice Isaac Amit, who as the most senior judge on the bench is also in line to become permanent president with the backing of at least five members of the Judicial Selection Committee when a vote is called later this year.
Israeli armored personnel carriers (APC) and tanks maneuver in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Turkey condemns Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon as an “unlawful invasion attempt” and calls for the withdrawal of its troops.
“This attack must end as soon as possible and Israeli soldiers must withdraw from Lebanese territory,” the Turkish foreign ministry says in a statement.
The IDF says its troops are locked in fierce clashes in Lebanon after launching a ground offensive early this morning, escalating the fight against the terror group after a week of airstrikes on Hezbollah sites.
“Israel’s violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country by launching a ground attack on Lebanon is an unlawful invasion attempt,” the Turkish statement charges.
Ankara warns that is likely to trigger a new wave of migrants.
“As a result of this dangerous invasion attempt, it is highly likely that a new wave of migration will emerge and extremists will gain ground all over the world,” the ministry says.
It urges the UN Security Council to “comply with international law and take the necessary measures.”
The UN peacekeeping force says the IDF has notified it of its intention to undertake limited ground incursions into Lebanon.
UNIFIL says in a statement that despite the developments in Lebanon, peacekeepers are remaining in position. It urges all actors to step back from escalatory acts.
“Any crossing into Lebanon is in violation of Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of (UN Security Council) resolution 1701,” UNIFIL says.
Israel’s operation is believed to be aimed at pushing Hezbollah north in line with UNSC 1701, which requires that the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers be the only armed force south of the Litani River.
A special forces soldier was seriously wounded during clashes in the West Bank overnight, the Israel Defense Forces says, and three other troops in the Duvdevan commando unit were moderately hurt during the firefight in the Balata refugee camp adjacent to Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Troops had been attempting to carry out an arrest at a building in the camp as part of an operation that began Sunday night, when they were fired on from inside. One gunman was killed and another wounded, according to the IDF.
Elsewhere, the army says troops killed a Palestinian accused by Israel of planning and executing attacks on troops in the area. A statement from the army says Abed Shaheen had recently attempted to put together a cell to attack soldiers near Nablus.
Six people were arrested during the overnight raids, the army says.
IDF troops operate on the northern border with Lebanon, in a photo released on October 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
A senior Israeli official accuses the US of endangering IDF soldiers by leaking plans for the Israeli ground operation in Lebanon. In comments to Kan news, the official calls the leaks yesterday “dangerous,” adding that they put Israeli troops in danger.
“This was done even though the US supports the operation,” says the official, “but it is clear to us that the US is worried — and therefore they outed the operation to try to limit it.”
The official also says that “there will be no [diplomatic] arrangement in Lebanon before the end of the operation.”
Hezbollah takes responsibility for the rocket fire on central Israel, saying it launched “Fadi-4” missiles at the Glilot Base near Herzliya, home to the IDF’s Unit 8200 and Mossad headquarters.
Two people were moderately injured in the attack and are receiving medical treatment.
Passengers at Ben Gurion International airport amid multiple delayed and canceled flights on August 25, 2024 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Several airlines extend their suspensions of flights to Israel after the IDF announced the start of targeted ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The Lufthansa Group, comprising carriers including Lufthansa, Swiss International, Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings, announces that it will not resume flights to Israel until November.
The announcement comes after the EU on Saturday warned airlines to avoid Lebanese and Israeli airspace for the coming month.
Israeli airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia have all said in recent days that they are operating as usual amid increased demand given the cancelations.
Addressing Israelis whose return flights to Israel have been canceled, El Al said yesterday that it was “working to bolster the flight schedule as much as possible, and recommends all passengers whose flights to Israel were canceled to make their way to Athens or Larnaca and register on the waiting list for flights back to Israel.”
The impact site of a rocket fired from Lebanon at central Israel on Route 6, near Kafr Qasim, October 1, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
Two people have been wounded in the Hezbollah rocket attack on central Israel, medics say.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it treated a 54-year-old bus driver in moderate condition and another motorist, 31, who was lightly hurt. The bus driver was hit by shrapnel in the head, MDA says.
One of the Hezbollah rockets impacted the Route 6 highway near Kafr Qasim.
Route 6 has been blocked in both directions near the Horeshim interchange in the Sharon area, Israel Police announces in a statement, after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit the road.
Police ask the public to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
Three or four rockets were launched from Lebanon at central Israel in the attack a short while ago, according to initial IDF assessments.
Some of the rockets were intercepted, and at least one impacted on Route 6 near Kafr Qasim.
A 54-year-old man was moderately wounded by shrapnel in the attack and is being taken to Beilinson Hospital, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
Alert sirens are sounding in dozens of towns and cities across northern Israel, warning of incoming rocket fire.
Sirens can be heard in cities including Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba and Ra’anana.
Several loud booms can be heard across the center of the country and the Sharon area.
Rocket Alert [11:03:29] (5):
• Sharon — Ra'anana, Givat Hen • Dan — Ramat HaSharon, Tel Aviv – Across the Yarkon, Herzeliya – Center and Glil Yam Population: 632,000 pic.twitter.com/VbpNenc4Ya
In an English-language statement as Israel begins a limited ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari says the terror group was planning to use villages near the border for “staging grounds for an October 7-style invasion into Israeli homes.”
“Hezbollah turned Lebanese villages next to Israeli villages into military bases already for an attack on Israel,” he says.
Hagari says the terror group had planned “to invade Israel, attack Israeli communities and massacre innocent men, women and children. They called this plan, ‘Conquer the Galilee.'”
“We will not let the 7th of October happen again on any one of our borders,” he vows, almost a year after some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, amid acts of brutality and sexual assault, sparking the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Hezbollah had prepared to use those villages — as staging grounds for an October 7-style invasion…into Israeli homes. Hezbollah planned to invade Israel, attack Israeli communities, and massacre innocent men women and children.”
Hagari points to UN Resolution 1701 from 2006, which declares that Hezbollah is barred from maintaining a military presence south of the Litani River, which lies about 30 kilometers (around 20 miles) from Lebanon’s southern border.
“Eighteen years after 1701, Hezbollah is the world’s largest non-state army, and southern Lebanon is swarming with Hezbollah terrorists and weapons,” Hagari says.
“If the state of Lebanon, and the world, can’t push Hezbollah away from our border, we have no choice but to do it ourselves,” he says, while reiterating that Israel’s war is with the Iran-backed terror group and not the Lebanese people, and that the IDF is taking measure to prevent civilian harm.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said yesterday that Beirut is ready to fully implement Resolution 1701 and deploy the Lebanese army south of the river.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claims the Yemeni rebels targeted Israeli military posts in Tel Aviv and Eilat with drones today, in a televised speech.
The claim of responsibility appears to be related to a drone intercepted by the Israeli Air Force early this morning over the Mediterranean Sea, dozens of kilometers west of Israel’s central coast.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir lauds recent Israeli military achievements against Hezbollah in Lebanon, calling for continued operations to “crush the terrorist organization” in order to allow displaced northern residents to return home safely.
“The decisions we made in the last few days are important, correct and necessary. At the same time, this is the time not to stop, [we must] continue doing everything, with all our might,” the ultranationalist minister urges in a statement.
“I pray for the success of the IDF soldiers who are currently fighting in difficult conditions in southern Lebanon; the people of Israel stand behind them,” he adds.
The Israeli military calls on Lebanese civilians in southern Lebanon to not drive vehicles in areas south of the Litani River until further notice.
“There is intense fighting in southern Lebanon, in which Hezbollah operatives are using the civilian environment and you as a human shield to organize to carry out attacks,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says on X.
“For your safety, we ask you to avoid movement in vehicles from the north to the south of the Litani River,” he says.
“This warning is valid until further notice,” Adraee adds.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان جنوب لبنان ⭕️يدور في منطقة جنوب لبنان قتالًا عنيفًا حيث يستغل خلاله عناصر حزب الله البيئة المدنية والسكان دروعًا بشرية لشن الهجمات.
⭕️من أجل سلامتكم الشخصية نطالبكم بعدم التحرك بالمركبات من منطقة الشمال إلى منطقة جنوب نهر الليطاني.
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seen after registering his candidacy for Iran's upcoming presidential election in Tehran, June 2, 2024. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims in an interview that the head of a Secret Service unit set up to target Mossad agents working in the country turned out to be an Israeli agent.
Speaking to CNN Turk, Ahmadinejad claims that a further 20 agents in the Iranian intelligence team tasked with monitoring Israeli intelligence activities were also turned against Tehran.
The alleged double agents were providing Israel with sensitive information on the Iranian nuclear program, according to his comments in the interview, which were widely picked up by international media.
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in an interview with @cnnturk said that Iran’s secret services had created a special unit to combat Mossad operating in Iran. However, turns out the head of this unit was himself a Mossad. (AI subtitles added.) pic.twitter.com/RoM61fFWUy
— Bucktron2021 🍆 #together 🚜 (@bucktron2021) October 1, 2024
Tehran frequently claims to foil Mossad operations in the country, but the veracity of such claims is unclear.
Last month, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that 12 people had been arrested on suspicion of serving as operatives collaborating with Israel and planning acts against Iran’s security.
Air strikes in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut overnight targeted several Hezbollah sites, including weapons production facilities and other military infrastructure, the IDF says in a statement.
“The terrorist organization Hezbollah intentionally builds its weapons production and military sites under the heart of Beirut and embeds them in population centers in the city,” the military says, adding that the IDF is continuing to operate “to ensure the restoration of security to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
The IDF releases footage of the overnight strikes.
אמש, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, בהכוונה מודיעינית מדויקת של אגף המודיעין, תקפו באופן ממוקד ברחבי הדאחייה שבביירות נגד מספר אתרים לייצור אמצעי לחימה ותשתיות צבאיות נוספות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה>> pic.twitter.com/z6WOE8gmb8
FILE - Former US president Jimmy Carter greets attendees as he departs the funeral service for his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., November 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool, File)
ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter is preparing to celebrate his 100th birthday today, the first time an American president has lived a full century and the latest milestone in a life that took the son of a Depression-era farmer to the White House and across the world as a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian and advocate for democracy.
Living the last 19 months in home hospice care in Plains, the Georgia Democrat and 39th president has continued to defy expectations, just as he did through a remarkable rise from his family peanut farming and warehouse business to the world stage. He served one presidential term from 1977 to 1981 and then worked more than four decades leading The Carter Center, which he and his wife Rosalynn co-founded in 1982 to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope.”
“Not everybody gets 100 years on this earth, and when somebody does, and when they use that time to do so much good for so many people, it’s worth celebrating,” Jason Carter, the former president’s grandson and chair of The Carter Center governing board, says in an interview.
The former president was born October 1, 1924 in Plains, where he has lived more than 80 of his 100 years. He is expected to mark his birthday in the same one-story home he and Rosalynn built in the early 1960s — before his first election to the Georgia state Senate. The former first lady, who was also born in Plains, died last November at 96.
The Carter Center on September 17 hosted a musical gala in Atlanta to celebrate the former president with a range of genres and artists, including some who campaigned with him in 1976. The event raised more than $1.2 million for the center’s programs and will be broadcast Tuesday evening on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, Habitat for Humanity volunteers are honoring Carter with a five-day effort to build 30 houses. The Carters became top ambassadors for the international organization after leaving the White House and hosted annual building projects into their 90s. Carter survived a cancer diagnosis at age 90, then several falls and a hip replacement in his mid-90s before announcing at 98 that he would enter hospice care.
Townspeople in Plains planned another concert this evening.
Jason Carter says the centenarian president, born only four years after women were granted the constitutional right to vote and four decades before Black women won ballot access, is eager to cast his 2024 presidential ballot — for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat who wants to become the first woman, second Black person and first person of south Asian descent to reach the Oval Office.
“He, like a lot of us, was incredibly gratified by his friend Joe Biden’s courageous choice to pass the torch,” the younger Carter says. “You know, my grandfather and The Carter Center have observed more than 100 elections in 40 other countries, right? So, he knows how rare it is for somebody who’s a sitting president to give up power in any context.”
Jason Carter continued, “When we started asking him about his 100th birthday, he said he was excited to vote for Kamala Harris.”
Early voting in Georgia begins October 15, two weeks into James Earl Carter Jr.’s 101st year.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson tells Times of Israel that the limited raids that the IDF launched against Hezbollah posts on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line are “in line with Israel’s right to defend its citizens and safely return civilians to their homes.”
“We support Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah and all Iranian-backed terror groups,” the NSC spokesperson says.
“Of course, we know that mission creep can be a risk and we will keep discussing that with the Israelis,” the spokesperson adds, referring to the US concern that Israel will get bogged down in Lebanon or be drawn to expand its mission once it’s already in motion.
“Ultimately, a diplomatic resolution is the only way to achieve lasting stability and security across the Israel-Lebanon border,” the statement says, stressing the US belief that military means alone won’t restore security to Israel’s northern or southern border towns.
The White House statement echoes an earlier Pentagon readout expressing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s support for “dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hezbollah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel’s northern communities.”
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says that it has received a report of an incident 64 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah, adding that the authorities are investigating.
The Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen have launched attacks on global shipping since November, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Three rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel this morning, the IDF says.
Two rockets launched at the Upper Galilee were shot down by air defense, while the third launched toward Bar’am impacted an open area, according to the military.
There were no reports of injuries in the attacks, which set off sirens in Safed and several nearby towns.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, listen to the playing of the Israeli National Anthem during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, June 25, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)
The Biden administration appears to express its support for the raids that the IDF began conducting late Monday night into Lebanon targeting Hezbollah sites along the border.
“We agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border to ensure that Lebanese Hezbollah cannot conduct October 7-style attacks on Israel’s northern communities,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in the Pentagon’s readout of his call with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
During the Monday call, the pair discussed Israel’s latest military operations, and Austin “made it clear that the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself.”
While seeming to voice support for the IDF operation, Austin stressed that the incursion was not an end in of itself.
“I reaffirmed that a diplomatic resolution is required to ensure that civilians can return safely to their homes on both sides of the border,” the US readout says.
Austin also “made clear that the United States is well-postured to defend US personnel, partners, and allies in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organizations and determined to prevent any actor from exploiting tensions or expanding the conflict,” the readout continues. “I reiterated the serious consequences for Iran in the event Iran chooses to launch a direct military attack against Israel.”
Multiple Katyusha rockets were fired near Baghdad International Airport, two Iraqi military officials told Reuters early on Tuesday, but a US official disputes reports that its military forces were targeted in the incident.
“All military personnel are accounted for and military forces were not targeted as had been reported,” the US defense official tells Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Two Iraqi security sources say an initial investigation showed three rockets were fired, including one that landed near buildings used by Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, causing damages and fire to some vehicles but no casualties.
The sources had previously said at least two Katyusha rockets were also fired at a military base hosting US forces and that air defenses intercepted the rockets.
But the US official says Washington was aware of reports of an attack instead on the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Complex, which is a Department of State facility.
The US Department of State is assessing the damage caused by the attack, according to a spokesperson, who says there were no casualties.
Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the United States and Iran, hosts 2,500 US troops and also has Iran-backed armed factions linked to its security forces.
Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq have repeatedly attacked US troops in the Middle East since the Gaza war began.
Syrian state media says three civilians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Damascus early Tuesday and nine others wounded, citing a military source.
“The Israeli enemy launched an air aggression with warplanes and drones from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting several points in Damascus,” the official SANA news agency says, adding that “three civilians were killed and nine others injured.”
Earlier, state media reported that one of its anchors had been killed in an Israeli strike.
An Israeli strike in Lebanon early on Tuesday targeted Mounir Maqdah, commander of the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Fatah movement’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, according to two Palestinian security officials.
Maqdah’s fate was unknown.
The strike hit a building in the crowded Ain El-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the sources said.
It marked the first strike on the camp, the largest of several Palestinian camps in Lebanon, since cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel broke out nearly a year ago.
Israel launched a strike on a building in Ain El-Hilweh Palestinian camp near south Lebanon’s Sidon early on Tuesday, a Palestinian source and Lebanese media says.
It marks the first strike on the overcrowded camp, Lebanon’s largest of several Palestinian camps, since cross-border hostilities broke out nearly a year ago.
Syrian state television says one of its anchors was killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus after midnight on Tuesday, with state-run media reporting three rounds of strikes in the capital area in one night.
State television says in a statement that it “mourns anchor Safaa Ahmad who was martyred in the Israeli aggression on the capital Damascus.”
The official SANA news agency earlier said that “air defense systems are intercepting hostile targets for the third time tonight in the Damascus area,” using a phrase that usually refers to Israeli strikes.
أكدت المديرية العامة للإذاعة والتلفزيون التابعة للنظام السوري مقتل الإعلامية صفاء أحمد نتيجة الهجوم الإسرائيلي الذي استهدف العاصمة دمشق. pic.twitter.com/INDb7GEZlX
The Israeli Air Force intercepted a drone over the Mediterranean Sea, dozens of kilometers west of Israel’s central coast, the IDF says.
The army adds that ten rockets were fired earlier tonight from Lebanon. Some of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel’s air defenses, while other rockets landed in open areas.
Syrian air defenses intercepted “hostile targets” over the vicinity of Damascus, following an explosion that was heard in the capital, state media says.
After the IDF said in announcing its recently launched ground incursion into southern Lebanon that the operation was authorized by the political echelon, the Axios news site reports that the approval was given by the security cabinet in its late Monday night meeting.
The operation was approved by the security cabinet is limited in both time and scope and is not intended to occupy southern Lebanon, two Israeli officials tell Axios.
IDF troops evacuate soldiers wounded by a Hezbollah missile attack against the the Ramim Ridge area, near the border with Lebanon, September 19, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
A US official tells The Times of Israel that the Biden administration understands and accepts what Israel is trying to accomplish with a limited ground incursion into Lebanon.
Israeli officials have told their US counterparts that the goal of the limited operation is to remove Hezbollah positions along Israel’s northern border, creating the conditions for a diplomatic agreement under which the terror group’s forces would be pushed back beyond the Litani River, in line with UN Security Council resolution, an Israeli official says.
The US official accepts the Israeli logic but says Washington is still concerned that the IDF will get bogged down in Lebanon or be drawn to expand the mission once it’s already in motion.
The US official notes that Israel is also concerned about such mission creep.
Another US official speaking to The Times of Israel points to how Israel also framed its 1982 invasion into Lebanon as a “limited” incursion, but it turned into an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a briefing earlier today: “We recognize that, at times, military pressure can enable diplomacy. That’s true. It is also true that military pressure can lead to miscalculation. It can lead to unintended consequences.”
A Lebanese security official says Israel conducted at least six strikes on south Beirut after midnight on Tuesday, after Israel’s army called on residents in the Hezbollah stronghold suburb known as the Dahiyeh to evacuate.
“Six or seven Israeli strikes hit the southern Beirut suburbs,” the official tells AFP, requesting anonymity.
At least two Katyusha rockets were fired at a military base hosting US forces near Baghdad International Airport, two Iraqi military officials tell Reuters.
At least 11 Palestinians were killed, including women and children, in an Israeli strike on a house in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza Strip, Gaza medics tell Reuters after midnight on Tuesday.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF, which says it takes steps to avoid casualties to civilians while Hamas embeds its fighters among them.
شهداء وإصابات بينهم أطفال في حالة خطرة جراء قصف الاحتلال لمنزل في مخيم النصيرات بوسط غزة. pic.twitter.com/6ZVw5nMWvI
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Image taken from video shows missiles fired from Iran being intercepted over Jerusalem, October 1, 2024. (AP)
Israelis take cover inside a bomb shelter at Ben Gurion Airport amid a mass Iranian missile attack, October 1, 2024. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)
An anti-missile system fires interceptors at missiles fired from Iran, as seen in the West Bank on October 1, 2024. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
Members of Israel's Home Front Command and police forces inspect a crater left by a Iranian missle at a heavily-damaged school building in southern Israel on October 1, 2024. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
Israelis take cover in central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, October 1, 2024. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)
Parts of an Iranian missile that fell near the Beit El settlement in the West Bank October 1, 2024. (FLASH90)
An Iranian military truck carries parts of a Sayad 4-B missile past a portrait of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a military parade as part of a ceremony marking the country's annual army day in Tehran on April 17, 2024. (Atta Kenare / AFP)
First responders at the scene of a deadly terror attack in Jaffa on October 1, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
Two terrorists seen carrying out a deadly attack in Jaffa, October 1, 2024 (X screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the copyright law)
Hezbollah weapons and equipment recovered by the IDF from Lebanon in recent months, in a photo released by the IDF on October 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli soldiers sleep on tanks in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
