Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Wednesday’s events as they unfolded.
Harris’s top security aide discusses Mideast diplomacy with Muslim and Arab community leaders
Vice President Kamala Harris's National Security Adviser Philip Gordon, in May 2024. (YouTube screenshot)
US Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security adviser Phil Gordon met earlier today with Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian American community leaders, laying out the Biden administration’s efforts to secure diplomatic solutions in Gaza and Lebanon while raising concern regarding destabilizing Israeli actions in the West Bank, the White House says.
The meeting appears to be an attempt to maintain ties with Arab and Muslim communities, whose members have fumed over the administration’s continued support for Israel in the war against Hamas, which has taken the lives of thousands of Palestinian civilians and left an ongoing humanitarian crisis for survivors.
An Arab American Institute survey of 500 eligible Arab voters conducted in late September said that 42 percent back former president Donald Trump in the upcoming election, compared to 41% who support Harris.
While the minority community’s socially conservative leanings would seem to make the Republican Party a more natural home for many, the GOP’s Mideast policies have long kept larger numbers of Arab and Muslim Americans away.
But many in those communities blame US President Joe Biden’s policies for the ongoing war, accusing him of complicity in “genocide.” Accordingly, some of those critics don’t see a difference between Biden and Trump — who has been far more hostile to the Palestinian cause — and are considering voting for the Republican nominee over Harris, who they view as an extension of the current administration.
Building in central Beirut reportedly hit in Israeli strike
People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment building in Beirut's Bashura neighborhood on October 3, 2024. (Ibrahim Amro/AFP)
A Lebanese security source tells Reuters that an Israeli strike hit within Beirut’s city limits, not far from downtown. Witnesses in the center of the Lebanese capital heard a massive blast.
Some initial images from the Bashoura neighborhood show significant damage to a building, with a fire burning on the third floor.
The strike comes shortly after the IDF announced it was carrying out a “targeted” attack in Beirut and a source close to Hezbollah told AFP that Israel launched three air raids on Beirut’s southern suburbs just before midnight.
AFP journalists just outside Beirut could hear the explosions, which were audible kilometers away.
مشاهد من مكان الغارة التي استهدفت مركز الهيئة الصحية في منطقة #الباشورة قرب #سليم_سلام في #بيروت#ملحق pic.twitter.com/Ops6Al9uIz
— Mulhak – ملحق (@Mulhak) October 2, 2024
‘The time for empty calls for deescalation is over,’ says Israeli UN envoy after Iran missile attack
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon speaks at the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at the United Nations on September 27, 2024 in New York. (Bryan R. Smith/AFP)
Israel’s UN ambassador says “the time for empty calls for deescalation is over.”
Danny Danon tells an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that “Iran’s true face is one of terror, death and chaos.”
“This is no longer a matter of words,” he said. “Iran is a very real and present danger to the world, and if they are not stopped, the next wave of missiles will not be aimed solely at Israel,” he says.
He calls Iran’s missile barrage aimed at Israel on Tuesday “a cold-blooded attack against 10 million civilians” and “an unprecedented act of aggression.”
Danon stresses that Israel will not stop until all of the hostages taken by Hamas and other terrorists are back in Israel.
“Let the world understand: Israel will defend itself, and we will do so with justice and strength,” he says.
Speaking before Danon, the Iranian ambassador claimed Iran had to launch a barrage of missiles at Israel to “restore balance” after a recent series of significant Israeli strikes targeting its regional proxies.
Amir Saeid Iravani describes the missile attack as “a necessary and proportionate response to Israel’s continued terrorist aggressive acts over the past two months.”
He claims Iran has “consistently pursued peace and stability” and that Israel sees Iranian restraint “not as a gesture of goodwill but as a weakness to exploit.”
“Each act of restraint taken by Iran has only emboldened Israel to commit greater crimes and more acts of aggression,” Iravani says. “Consequently, Iran’s response was necessary to restore balance and deterrence.”
Lebanon’s UN ambassador meanwhile says his government rejects the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hadi Hachem says the Lebanese government wants the enforcement of a UN Security Council resolution that was supposed to end the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. It called for all armed groups, including Hezbollah, to be disarmed and the deployment of Lebanese forces to the southern border with Israel. None of this has happened.
The Lebanese ambassador says fully implementing the resolution is the only solution to the ongoing war and Israel’s “barbaric aggression.” He says Lebanon is opening enlistment for 1,500 new soldiers to strengthen the national army’s presence in the south.
“Lebanon today is stuck between the Israeli destruction machine and the ambitions of others in the region,” Hachem says, alluding to Iran’s support for Hezbollah.
Lebanese health ministry reports 46 killed in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in past day
Forty six people were killed and 85 wounded in Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours, the Lebanese health ministry says in a statement early Thursday.
IDF confirms ‘targeted’ airstrike in Beirut
The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut a short while ago.
It describes the strike as “targeted,” and says further details will be provided later.
غارتان تستهدفان #الضاحية_الجنوبية pic.twitter.com/ee5nAUKXxJ
— هنا لبنان (@thisislebnews) October 2, 2024
According to Lebanese media, the strike was carried out in the southern suburb of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.
Report: Brother of slain senior Hezbollah commander killed in IDF strike in Syria
Hassan Qassir — the brother of a senior Hezbollah commander killed by Israel yesterday — was reportedly killed in the alleged IDF strike in Syria earlier today.
Qassir’s brother, Muhammad Ja’far, had headed Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon. He was killed in a strike in Beirut alongside the commander of the Imam Hossein Division, an Iranian militia which operates alongside Hezbollah.
According to various Arab media outlets, Hassan Qassir, who was killed in an alleged Israeli strike in the Mazzeh district of Damascus today, is also the son-in-law of Nasrallah.
Breaking. Target of the Israeli airstrike in #Damascus was Nasrallah's son-in-law, Hassan Qassir. He was killed.
His brother, a prominent Hezbollah financier, was killed few days ago in Beirut. https://t.co/52RzIsQBOP pic.twitter.com/0WoRmP09kv— Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) October 2, 2024
Melania Trump reflects on year since Oct. 7 in Rosh Hashanah message: My thoughts with those in captivity
First Lady Melania Trump introduces President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Valdosta, Georgia, Dec. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Former first lady Melania Trump tweets, “My thoughts are with those enduring the suffering of captivity. It is hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since the tragic events in Israel, where innocent lives have been destroyed.”
“Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, should inspire us to defend human dignity and commit to the safe return of every hostage. Together, we must strive for a world grounded in compassion, empathy, and tolerance – free from terrorism,” she adds.
Hezbollah said hesitant to tap new leader, fearing ongoing Israeli infiltration will put Nasrallah successor at risk
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s death has prompted Iranian authorities to thoroughly investigate possible infiltrations within Iran’s own ranks, from the powerful Revolutionary Guards to senior security officials, a senior Iranian official says.
They are especially focused on those who travel abroad or have relatives living outside Iran, another official says.
Tehran grew suspicious of certain members of the Guards who had been traveling to Lebanon, he says. Concerns were raised when one of these individuals began asking about Nasrallah’s whereabouts, particularly inquiring about how long he would remain in specific locations, the official adds.
The individual has been arrested along with several others, the first official says, after alarm was raised in Iran’s intelligence circles. The suspect’s family had relocated outside Iran, the official says, without identifying the suspect or his relatives.
The second official says the assassination has spread mistrust between Tehran and Hezbollah, and within Hezbollah.
“The trust that held everything together has disappeared,” the official says.
The Supreme Leader “no longer trusts anyone,” says a third source who is close to Iran’s establishment.
Nasrallah’s assassination followed two weeks of precise Israeli strikes that have destroyed weapons sites, eliminated half of Hezbollah’s leadership council and decimated its top military command.
Iran’s fears for the safety of Khamenei and the loss of trust, within both Hezbollah and Iran’s establishment and between them, emerged in the conversations with 10 sources for this story, who described a situation that could complicate the effective functioning of Iran’s Axis of Resistance alliance of anti-Israel irregular armed groups.
The disarray is also making it hard for Hezbollah to choose a new leader, fearing the ongoing infiltration will put the successor at risk, four Lebanese sources said.
Jordan FM tells Iran and Israel country will ‘defend itself’
Jordan’s top diplomat Ayman Safadi warns Israel and Iran that his country will “defend itself with all its capabilities against any threat” after Iranian missiles fired at Israel breached the kingdom’s airspace.
“Jordan will not be anyone’s battlefield,” Safadi says in a phone call with his British counterpart David Lammy, according to a ministry statement.
The country would “defend itself with all its capabilities against any threat to its security, its stability and the safety of its citizens,” he adds, saying “Jordan has clearly informed Iran and Israel of this stance.”
Israel has promised to retaliate after Iran launched around 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday in response to the killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.
The Jordanian Public Security Directorate said after the attack its air force and air defenses had intercepted missiles and drones.
The interior ministry says a number of people suffered minor injuries from falling debris.
Safadi calls for ceasefire agreements in both Gaza and Lebanon to “stop this dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.
Lebanon is in immediate need of a ceasefire, caretaker PM says
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says the country needed a ceasefire in hostilities between Israel and armed group Hezbollah, saying around 1.2 million people in Lebanon had been displaced by Israeli attacks.
“Stop fighting. We don’t need more blood. We don’t need more destruction,” Mikati says in an online briefing organized by the American Task Force on Lebanon, a US-based non-profit. “There is an immediate need for a ceasefire.”
Mikati says a diplomatic end to the escalating war would be a “win-win” for Israel and Lebanon and “all parties” would respect such a deal.
The caretaker premier says he hopes to deploy 10,000 Lebanese army troops in the south if a ceasefire is agreed.
In Rosh Hashanah greeting, Biden hails the Jewish people’s ‘unbreakable spirit’
US President Joe Biden tweets Rosh Hashanah greetings to Jews in the US and around the world.
“This year’s holidays come at a time of conflict and remembrance of painful losses. But I know that even with heavy hearts, the Jewish people have unbreakable spirits,” Biden says.
“During this time of reflection, may you be uplifted by the hope a new year brings. Shana Tovah U’Metukah,” he adds.
Emergency Gulf ministerial meeting starts to discuss developments in the region
Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al Hadath TV says an emergency Gulf countries ministerial meeting has started to discuss developments in the region.
Iran’s Khamenei warned Nasrallah of Israeli plot to kill him, sources say
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to flee Lebanon days before he was killed in an Israeli strike and is now deeply worried about Israeli infiltration of senior government ranks in Tehran, three Iranian sources say.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Hezbollah’s booby-trapped pagers on September 17, Khamenei sent a message with an envoy to beseech the Hezbollah secretary general to leave for Iran, citing intelligence reports that suggested Israel had operatives within Hezbollah and was planning to kill him, one of the sources, a senior Iranian official, tells Reuters.
The messenger, the official says, was a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, who was with Nasrallah in his bunker when it was hit by Israeli bombs and was also killed.
Khamenei, who has remained in a secure location inside Iran since Saturday, personally ordered a barrage of around 200 missiles to be fired at Israel on Tuesday, a senior Iranian official says.
Nasrallah’s death has prompted Iranian authorities to thoroughly investigate possible infiltrations within Iran’s own ranks, from the powerful Revolutionary Guards to senior security officials, a second senior Iranian official says. They are especially focused on those who travel abroad or have relatives living outside Iran, the first official said.
Tehran grew suspicious of certain members of the Guards who had been traveling to Lebanon, he says. Concerns were raised when one of these individuals began asking about Nasrallah’s whereabouts, particularly inquiring about how long he would remain in specific locations, the official adds.
The individual has been arrested along with several others, the first official says, after alarm was raised in Iran’s intelligence circles. The suspect’s family had relocated outside Iran, the official says, without identifying the suspect or his relatives.
The second official says the assassination has spread mistrust between Tehran and Hezbollah, and within Hezbollah.
“The trust that held everything together has disappeared,” the official says.
The Supreme Leader “no longer trusts anyone,” says a third source who is close to Iran’s establishment.
US pans ‘unproductive’ Israeli decision to bar UN chief who didn’t condemn Iran
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks at the UN Security Council meeting at the UN in New York, September 27, 2024. (Bryan R. Smith/AFP)
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller comes out against Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s decision to bar Antonio Guterres from the country after the UN secretary-general failed to condemn Iran in his statement speaking out against the latest Mideast escalation following Tehran’s missile attack against Israel.
“Steps like these are not productive to [Israel] improving its standing in the world,” Miller says.
“The UN does incredibly important work in Gaza. It does incredibly important work in the region. And the UN, when it’s acting at its best, can play an important role for security and stability,” Miller adds.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described the Israeli announcement as political and “just one more attack, so to speak, on UN staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.” He said the UN traditionally does not recognize the concept of persona non grata as applying to UN staff.
CIA expands online recruitment of informants to China, Iran and North Korea
The CIA has launched a new drive to recruit informants in China, Iran and North Korea, adding to what it says has been a successful effort to enlist Russians.
The premier US spy agency posted instructions in Mandarin, Farsi and Korean on its accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, LinkedIn and the Dark Web on how to contact it securely, a CIA spokesperson says in a statement.
“Our efforts on this front have been successful in Russia, and we want to make sure individuals in other authoritarian regimes know that we’re open for business,” the spokesperson says, adding that the CIA was adapting to increased state repression and global surveillance.
A Mandarin-language video posted to YouTube featuring only written instructions advised individuals to contact the CIA via its official website using trusted encrypted Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or the TOR network.
“Your safety and wellbeing is our foremost consideration,” it says.
It asks for individuals’ names, locations, and contact details not associated with their real identities, along with information that could be of interest to the CIA, cautioning that responses were not guaranteed and could take time.
Liu Pengyu, a Chinese embassy spokesman, accused the US of waging “an organized and systematic” disinformation campaign against China and said that “any attempts to drive a wedge between the Chinese people and the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] or to weaken their close bond will inevitably fail.”
The Russian embassy and Iran’s UN mission do not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US organized a flight out of Beirut as Americans seek to leave Lebanon, says State Dept
The United States organized a flight from Beirut to Istanbul on Wednesday to allow Americans to leave Lebanon amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.
Miller tells a press briefing that around 7,000 US citizens in Lebanon had registered with the US government to receive information about leaving the country, although not all of those are looking for assistance to leave.
The flight on Wednesday had a capacity of about 300 and carried around 100 Americans and their family members, Miller said, adding Washington had been working with airlines since Saturday to make seats available to Americans on commercial flights.
In message to family before entering Lebanon, slain soldier says he’s proud to embark on mission so future generations won’t have to
Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster. (IDF)
Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster’s family has released the final video he sent to them earlier this week before he was killed fighting in Lebanon earlier today.
“To my dear family. GK Chesterton once said that that ‘The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him,’” Oster says, reflecting on Israel’s northern border communities, which he laments have been turned into “ghost towns” over the past year due to repeated Hezbollah rocket fire.
“This was one of the hardest things for me to see,” he says.
Oster assures his family he and his soldiers are well-prepared for the mission at hand against Hezbollah.
“The time has come and our mission is to allow the residents of the north to return to their homes,” he says, adding that he views this as a “historic opportunity” that he is proud to take on so that his little nieces and nephews aren’t forced to deal with the same burden when they grow up.
“I embrace and recognize the weight of the responsibility on my shoulders and the responsibility I have for all of the soldiers under my command,” Oster continues.
He takes the opportunity to apologize to anyone in his family who he might have harmed over the past year and wishes them a happy new year.
“Until victory! I love you all,” he finishes.
The first killed Israeli soldier in Lebanon is Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster and he has filmed a short message to his family, friends and nation of Israel right before the start of the ground offensive in Lebanon. I have added English subtitles to it
RIP hero https://t.co/jGcLoFsFCb pic.twitter.com/ZhZaK5xSeQ
— Michael Elgort (@just_whatever) October 2, 2024
Security cabinet said to agree that Israeli response to Iran will come after coordinating with US
Channel 12 reports that the security cabinet decided during its meeting last night that Israel will respond forcefully to Iran’s ballistic missile attack, but will first work to coordinate with the US, as it seeks to target strategic sites in Iran.
IDF: Over 240 rockets fired from Lebanon at north, including 100 this evening
More than 240 rockets have been launched from Lebanon at northern Israel today, according to the military.
Some two hours ago, a barrage of 70 rockets was fired at the Western Galilee, impacting open areas, according to the IDF.
Two more rockets were fired at Avivim this evening, also hitting open areas, the IDF says.
The IDF says that 30 more rockets were fired at the Western Galilee half an hour ago, which all struck open areas.
One person sustained minor injuries as a result of glass shards from an impact or falling shrapnel during the attacks on the Western Galilee, medics say. There are no other reports of injuries.
Biden: US opposes Israel hitting Iran nuclear sites, response should be proportional
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 says he does not support a retaliatory strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear program.
“The answer is no,” Biden responds when asked whether he backs such a prospect.
“We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do, but all seven of us (G7 nations) agree that they have a right to respond but they should respond proportionally,” Biden tells reporters before boarding Air Force One.
Biden tells reporters that there would be more sanctions imposed on Iran and said he would speak soon with Netanyahu.
“Obviously, Iran is way off course,” he said.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said yesterday that the Iran will face “severe consequences” and that the US will work with Israel to ensure as much, without elaborating.
Biden, G7 leaders discuss new Iran sanctions following missile attack on Israel
The White House says US President Joe Biden coordinated the multilateral rollout of new sanctions against Iran following its missile attack on Israel during a phone call with G7 leaders earlier today.
“Biden and the G7 unequivocally condemned Iran’s attack against Israel. President Biden expressed the United States’ full solidarity and support to Israel and its people, and reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” says a White House readout.
Hamas takes responsibility for Jaffa terror attack
Hamas takes responsibility for the deadly terror attack in Jaffa last night, which left seven people dead and another 16 wounded.
Hamas says the two terrorists who carried out the attack, Mohammad Mesek and Ahmed Himouni from Hebron, are members of the terror group.
Six of the seven victims have been named as Revital Bronstein, 24, Ilia Nozadze, 42, Shahar Goldman, 30, Inbar Segev Vigder, 33, Nadia Sokolenco, 40, and Jonas Chrosis, 26.
US looking to align positions with Israel on response to Iran
The Biden administration over the next few days will focus its engagements with the Israelis to try to align its perspectives on any potential response to the Iranian attack on Israel, US Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell says, describing the current situation in the Middle East as “a moment of peril.”
“I think we recognize as important as a response of some kind should be, there is a recognition that the region is really on a knife’s edge, and real concerns about an even broader escalation or a continuing one,” says Campbell, speaking at a virtual event by DC-based think-tank Carnegie Endowment.
Iran’s president visits Qatar, aims to rally opposition to Israeli ‘crimes’
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Qatar for bilateral talks and a summit at which he said he hopes to enlist Asian countries’ help in preventing what he called “Israeli crimes” in the Middle East.
Starting his first trip to Qatar as president, Pezeshkian criticizes Israel over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Iran blames Israel for Haniyeh’s assassination on July 31. Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for his death.
“We also want security and peace. It was Israel that assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran,” Pezeshkian is quoted saying on his arrival in Qatar by Iran’s Student News Network.
“Europeans and the US says if we do not act, there will be a peace in Gaza in one week. We waited for them to have peace but they increased their killing.”
“If the Zionist regime [Israel] does not stop its crimes, it will face harsher reactions,” Iranian state media quotes Pezeshkian as saying as he left for Qatar.
Pezeshkian tells state television that the first goal in Doha was to discuss bilateral ties and sign agreements with the Qatari government. He will also attend a summit of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue.
“The second goal is to discuss how Asian countries can prevent Israeli crimes in the region… and prevent enemies from causing uproar in the Middle East,” Pezeshkian says.
France recommends French nationals residing in Iran leave temporarily
France’s embassy in Iran recommends on Wednesday that French nationals who are permanent residents in the country should leave temporarily once international air traffic resumes, because of heightened tensions in the Middle East.
The message from the embassy, which also urges French nationals visiting Iran to leave immediately, is similar to messages given earlier this year when tensions increased between Iran and Israel.
Syrian state media: Three killed, three wounded in alleged IDF strike in Damascus
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency says three people were killed and three others were wounded in the alleged Israeli strike on Damascus this afternoon.
SANA does not identify the dead, but says they are “civilians.”
The strike reportedly hit an apartment in a building in the Mezzeh district of the Syrian capital.
Netanyahu: We will rescue our hostages in the south and return our residents in the north
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video statement on October 2, 2024. (Screen capture)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sends his condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers in a video statement shortly after the IDF announced their deaths.
“I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of our heroes who fell today in Lebanon, may God avenge them, and may their memories be a blessing,” he begins.
“We are in the middle of a tough war against Iran’s axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us. This will not happen,” Netanyahu continues, “because we will stand together, and with God’s help — we will win together.”
“We will rescue our hostages in the south, we will return our residents in the north, we will guarantee Israel’s eternity,” he adds, referring to the official goals of the war.
Hostage families set up Rosh Hashanah dinner table outside PM’s Caesarea home
A Rosh Hashanah dinner table set up outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Caesarea home on October 2, 2024. (Oded Engel)
Families of the hostages held in Gaza have set a Rosh Hashanah dinner table in Caesarea, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence.
The tablecloth reads “Let the old year and its abandonment come to an end.”
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hezbollah says it destroyed 3 Israel tanks advancing on Lebanon village
Hezbollah says it destroyed three Israeli tanks on Wednesday as they advanced towards a Lebanese border village.
The Iran-backed terror group says it “destroyed three Merkava tanks with rockets as they advanced towards the village of Maroun al-Ras,” referring to an area where they reported clashes with Israeli troops earlier in the day.
G7 says ‘diplomatic solution still possible’ in Middle East
The G7 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — issue a statement vowing to work together to reduce tensions in the Middle East and asserting that a diplomatic solution to widening conflict “is still possible.”
A statement released from Italy — which holds the G7 presidency — says the G7 “reiterated that a conflict on a regional scale is in no one’s interest and that a diplomatic solution is still possible.”
US envoy urges Security Council members to condemn and sanction Iran over missile attack on Israel
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2024. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP)
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield urges members of the Security Council during an emergency meeting on the latest Mideast escalation to condemn and sanction Iran.
“This is a moment for this Council to speak out – with one voice – and condemn Iran for its unprovoked attack against another member state. And equally important, to impose serious consequences on the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] for its actions,” Thomas-Greenfield says.
“In a broad sense, Iran was complicit in the October 7th attacks on Israel – through its funding, training, capabilities, and support for the military wing of Hamas,” she continues. “And after Hamas’ horrific attack, carried out nearly a year ago today, the United States sent a clear message to Iran: Don’t exploit the situation in ways that would risk propelling the region into a broader war.”
“The IRGC flagrantly and repeatedly ignored this warning,” she says.
“Let me be clear: the Iranian regime will be held responsible for its actions. And we strongly warn against Iran – or its proxies – taking actions against the United States, or further actions against Israel,” the ambassador adds.
“If this Council sits on its hands, what message will that send? I fear that silence and inaction will only invite the IRGC to repeat attacks like what we saw yesterday, and on April 13th of this year, again and again and again,” says Thomas-Greenfield.
Syrian media reports two dead, several wounded in alleged Israeli strike in Damascus
Syrian media report at least two dead and several wounded in the alleged Israeli strike on Damascus.
The pro-government Sham FM radio says the strike targeted an apartment in a three-story building in the Mezzeh district of the capital.
IDF chief: Israel will respond to Iran, can reach and strike anywhere in the Mideast
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks in a video statement from the Tel Nof Airbase in central Israel, October 2, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says Israel will respond to the Iranian missile attack, vowing that the military has the capability to “reach and strike any point in the Middle East.”
“And those of our enemies who have not understood this until now, will understand it soon,” he says in a video statement, during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase.
“Iran fired about 200 missiles at the State of Israel yesterday. Iran attacked civilian areas and endangered the lives of many civilians. Thanks to proper civilian behavior and high-quality defense, the damage is relatively small,” Halevi says.
“We will respond, we know how to locate important targets, we know how to strike accurately and powerfully,” he adds.
IDF announces deaths of seven soldiers killed during fighting in southern Lebanon today
The IDF announces the deaths of seven more soldiers who were killed during fighting in southern Lebanon today.
They are named as:
- Cpt. Harel Etinger, 23, a team commander in the Egoz Commando Unit, from Eli.
- Cpt. Itai Ariel Giat, 23, of the Yahalom Combat Engineering Unit, from Shoham.
- Sgt. First Class Noam Barzilay, 22, of the Egoz Commando Unit, from Kohav Yair
- Sgt. First Class Or Mantzur, 21, of the Egoz Commando Unit, from Beit Aryeh.
- Sgt. First Class Nazar Itkin, 21, of the Egoz Commando Unit, from Kiryat Atta.
- Staff Sgt. Almken Terefe, 21, of the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Jerusalem.
- Staff Sgt. Ido Broyer, 21, of the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Nes Tziona
The Egoz commandos were all killed during a gun battle with Hezbollah operatives in a southern Lebanon village, along with Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster, whose death was announced earlier.
Another officer and four soldiers were seriously wounded in the same incident.
The two soldiers of the Golani recon unit were killed in a separate incident, in which another soldier was seriously wounded.
In a third incident, a combat medic with the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion was seriously wounded.
In all, eight soldiers have been killed today during ground operations in Lebanon.
Sixth Jaffa victim identified as Jonas Chrosis, a 26-year-old Greek citizen and architecture student
Jonas Chrosis. (Courtesy)
The sixth victim of last night’s Jaffa terror shooting has been identified as Jonas Chrosis, a 26-year-old Greek citizen who was living in Jerusalem while he studied architecture in Tel Aviv.
“He was kind-hearted and sensitive and always helped everyone,” one of his classmates tells Channel 12.
“He expressed infinite optimism in the face of every difficulty that came his way. He was talented, funny, and humble. He was always kind to the people around him and was a loyal friend who saw the good in everyone. He was a talented piano player,” the classmate adds.
IDF releases footage of 36th Division entering Lebanon overnight in targeted raids
Troops of the 36th Division are seen operating in southern Lebanon, in handout image published October 2, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases footage of the 36th Division entering Lebanon overnight.
There are now two IDF divisions operating in southern Lebanon.
The military has described the ground operations in southern Lebanon as “limited, localized, and targeted raids,” with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area.
Officials have said that the military intends for the operations to end as quickly as possible.
Man, who rescued wounded from Nova festival, shoots dead one of the terrorists in Jaffa attack
Lev Kreitman speaks to Kan on October 1, 2024. (Screen capture/X)
Lev Kreitman, who helped rescue wounded revelers at the Nova music festival on October 7, shot one of the terrorists during last night’s deadly terror attack in Jaffa.
Kreitman tells the Ynet news site that he had returned home shortly before the attack to grab his rifle and was at a local schnitzel shop in Jaffa when he heard gunshots.
He pulled out his weapon and went outside, understanding right away that a terror attack was unfolding, he tells Ynet.
Kreitman saw a man wearing an Israel Police hat who also had his rifle out and the two began looking for the attackers.
And now, the most Israeli story ever: the man who neutralized the terrorist in Jaffa is the chair of Israel’s “Burning Man”, Midburn, who happened to be in the area (he’s also a Nova survivor).
He did it in flip flops. pic.twitter.com/4b89iOlBhw
— Yael Bar tur 🎗️ (@yaelbt) October 1, 2024
Upon hearing another round of gunshots, he spotted the assailants at the Jaffa light rail station, next to the bodies of several of their victims.
At this point, he sent a voice note to a group chat of his army friends updating them on what was unfolding and that he was about to engage.
The terrorists split up, and one of them headed in the direction of Kreitman, and the police officer in civilian clothes. Kreitman managed to surprise the terrorist from the side, firing at him and striking him. The assailant briefly fled before falling to the ground.
Kreitman briefly took shelter in a nearby building, fearing that the second terrorist would re-appear. After some time passed, he went back out to the scene of the attack to check in on the wounded. One of them still had a pulse and later received treatment from a medic but Kreitman says he doesn’t know whether he survived and thought about him all night.
גיבור ישראל.
לב קרייטמן.
מנכ"ל קהילת המידברן.
שורד מסיבת הנובה שחילץ
פצועים תחת אש. נלחם בעזה.
חזר ממילואים. ניצב אמש מול
מחבל ביפו, חיסל אותו באומץ לב
בלתי רגיל והציל עשרות אזרחים
ממוות.
נפעם מהאדם הזה pic.twitter.com/ifsqeYrcR3— avishai matia (@avishai_matia) October 2, 2024
The second terrorist ended up being shot and seriously wounded by police officers. Seven people were killed in the attack.
Kreitman is the head of Midburn, the local Israeli version of the Burning Man festival. He was in the Re’im forest on October 7 at a smaller party adjacent to the Nova music festival where Hamas terrorists perpetrated the largest massacre of the onslaught, killing 364 people.
Kreitman says all 120 people at his satellite party survived the attack and that he and others there helped rescue seriously wounded people from the Nova festival.
Trump to participate in event marking one-year anniversary of Oct. 7 onslaught
Former US president Donald Trump will speak at an October 7th memorial event with Jewish community leaders in Miami, his campaign announces.
The vigil will honor the victims of Hamas’s onslaught along with the victims of antisemitic violence that has spiked globally since October 7.
Danish police believe Israel embassy blasts caused by hand grenades
Two blasts early Wednesday near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen were likely caused by hand grenades, Danish police say.
“Two explosions occurred at 3:20 am at the Israeli embassy. It is our preliminary assessment that it was due to two hand grenades,” Jens Jespersen of Copenhagen police tells a press conference, adding that three young Swedes had been arrested.
Germany urges citizens to leave Iran
Germany urges its citizens to leave Iran as regional tensions surge a day after Tehran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel.
“The situation in the entire region remains volatile and very tense,” the foreign ministry stresses in updated travel advice, while also warning German nationals against any travel to Iran.
Hezbollah says blast targets Israeli troops on Lebanon border
Hezbollah says it targeted an Israeli unit with an explosive device near a southern border village, as the group clashed with Israeli forces entering Lebanon.
“As the Israeli enemy army tried to sneak around the village of Yaroun… (Hezbollah) fighters surprised them by detonating an explosive device,” the terror group says, reporting Israeli casualties.
The IDF said earlier that troops were engaged in close-quarters combat with Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, and that at least one soldier had been killed.
Home Front Command eases some restrictions on gatherings in northern Israel
The IDF Home Front Command is easing some restrictions in northern Israel, as ground operations against Hezbollah continue.
Under the latest guidelines, residents in northern frontier towns, the Golan Heights, and Galilee, will be able to hold gatherings of up to 50 people outdoors, instead of 10, and 250 indoors, instead of 150.
In the Haifa Bay area, Jezreel Valley, Carmel, and Wadi Ara, gatherings of up to 60 people outdoors will be permitted, instead of 30.
Other restrictions, including in other areas of the country, remain unchanged.
Home Front Command restrictions issued October 2, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli response to Iran will aim to cause ‘significant financial damage’ — source
Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack will aim to cause “significant financial damage,” an Israeli source tells The Times of Israel.
The feeling is that the response “must be significant, and it must come soon.”
Netanyahu huddles with security chiefs in Tel Aviv
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a meeting with security chiefs in Tel Aviv on October 2, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)
As Israel continues to ponder its response to Iran’s missile attack last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a security deliberation with his security chiefs in Tel Aviv.
He is joined by Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, Mossad director David Barnea, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Lebanese army says soldier injured in Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon
An Israeli airstrike hits an area in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP/Leo Correa)
A Lebanese soldier was injured in an Israeli drone strike on southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army says in a statement.
The soldier was hurt as a Lebanese army unit worked to open a road at the entrance to the southern Lebanese town of Kawkaba, the army says.
“A soldier was wounded due to an attack by an Israeli enemy drone as an army unit was working to open the Marjayoun-Hasbaya road,” the Lebanese army says on X.
Germany summons Iranian ambassador over missile attack, urges its citizens to leave Iran
Germany summons the Iranian ambassador to condemn Tehran’s missile attack on Israel last night, a government spokesman says.
“We summoned the Iranian ambassador,” foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer tells reporters, adding that the ambassador himself was not in Berlin and that the charge d’affaires had attended instead.
Meanwhile the Germany foreign ministry urges its citizens to leave Iran, saying the situation there is volatile and could change at any time.
Pope calls for day of prayer on anniversary of October 7
Pope Francis takes part in an interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College in Singapore on September 13, 2024. (Tiziana FABI / AFP)
Pope Francis calls for a day of prayer for peace on October 7, the anniversary of Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel, as tensions in the Middle East soar.
Throughout his 11-year papacy, Francis has called days of fasting and prayer for other conflicts, from Syria to Ukraine.
“On October 7, I ask everyone to live a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the world,” the 87-year-old pontiff says after a mass in St Peter’s Square.
“There is a need for this, especially in this dramatic hour of our history, while the winds of war and the fires of violence continue to disrupt entire peoples and nations,” he adds.
The pope, who will visit Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on Sunday to pray for peace, has repeatedly called for an end to conflict in the Middle East.
IDF soldier killed fighting in south Lebanon in first casualty of ground operation
Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster, whose death fighting in Lebanon was announced on October 2, 2024. (IDF)
The IDF announces the death of an officer who was killed during fighting against Hezbollah, the first fatality of Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon.
The soldier is named as Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22, a team commander in the Egoz Commando Unit, from Modi’in.
Oster was killed during a battle with Hezbollah operatives in a village in southern Lebanon.
Around 40 rockets from Lebanon fired toward Safed, says IDF
Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome over the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel on October 2, 2024. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
A barrage of some 40 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Safed area an hour ago, the IDF says.
Additionally, the military says several drones launched at the Western Galilee were shot down by air defenses, and another drone launched impacted in the Upper Galilee.
Meanwhile, the IDF says it carried out dozens more strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, amid the military’s ground operations.
IDF says some Iranian missiles hit airbases, but no aircraft or major infrastructure damaged
Projectiles fly through the sky in central Israel as a siren sounds a warning of incoming missiles fired from Iran towards Israel, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The IDF acknowledges that some of its airbases were hit in last night’s Iranian missile attack on Israel.
The impacts damaged office buildings and other maintenance areas in the bases that do not impact the Israeli Air Force’s functioning, according to the military.
No IAF aircraft were damaged in the attack and all of the missile impacts in the airbases are deemed by the military as “ineffective,” meaning that no harm was caused to the continuous operations of the IAF.
The military reports no damage caused to fighter jets, drones, other aircraft, munitions and critical infrastructure.
Highlighting the ineffectiveness of the Iranian attack, the military notes that the IAF continued its operations in the following hours, including major strikes against Hezbollah in Beirut, support for ground forces in southern Lebanon and strikes in Gaza.
No major injuries were caused in the attack, with only two civilians lightly hurt by shrapnel in Tel Aviv.
The IDF says that it measures the effectiveness of an attack based on how much damage was caused to critical infrastructure and assets, and how many casualties were caused, and not how many missiles ultimately impacted. Air defenses successfully prevented such damage and major casualties, it says.
The IAF is also readying for a response against Iran, per the instructions of the political echelon.
Danish police arrest three over blasts near Israeli embassy
A police vehicle is seen as police officers investigate two blasts near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, October 2, 2024. (Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS)
Copenhagen police arrest three people in relation to two blasts early this morning near the Israeli embassy in the Danish capital.
“Two men were arrested on a train at Copenhagen Central Station. In addition, earlier in the day we arrested a man elsewhere in Copenhagen,” police say in a post on X.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said nobody was hurt in the explosions and no damage was caused to the building.
Greek citizen killed in Jaffa terror shooting attack, says Athens
The scene of a shooting terror attack at the Ehrlich station of the Tel Aviv Light Rail in Jaffa on October 1, 2024. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
Greece’s foreign ministry says one of its citizens, a resident of Jerusalem, was among those killed in the terror attack in Jaffa last night.
“We announce with profound sadness that among the victims of the attack was a Greek citizen, residing in Jerusalem,” says a brief ministry statement, offering condolences.
Other victims of the attack, which killed seven people, have been identified as Shahar Goldman, 30, Inbar Segev Vigder, 33, and Revital Bornstein, 24, Nadia Sokolenco, 40, and Ilia Nozadze, 42, a citizen of Georgia.
Khamenei says US, European presence in Mideast is source of ‘conflicts, wars’
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him greeting an audience during a meeting with military personnel and veterans of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, in Tehran on September 25, 2024. (AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slams the presence of American and European nations in the Middle East in his first public remarks since Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel.
Khamenei says their presence is a source of “conflicts, wars, concerns and enmities” but made no mention of the missile attack the night before.
“Regional nations can manage themselves and… they will live together in peace,” Khamenei is quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
He says Iran is hopeful of getting “rid of the enemies’ evil” and also urged Western nations to “cut their badness.”
Iran has long seen the US troop presence on its doorstep as a threat and demanded their evacuation from neighboring Iraq and elsewhere in the region.
FM Katz declares UN chief Guterres ‘persona non grata’ in Israel over response to Iran attack
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, at the foreign ministry headquarters in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, March 24, 2024. (AP/Amr Nabil)
Foreign Minister Israel Katz announces that he has designated UN Secretary General António Guterres “persona non grata,” meaning the Portuguese diplomat cannot enter Israel.
The Foreign Ministry says the decision is a reaction to Guterres’s response after Iran’s missile attack last night, “in which he failed to mention Iran by name and did not unequivocally condemn its grave aggression.”
Israel Guterres’s policies throughout the war have “provided backing to terrorists, rapists and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and now to the mothership of global terror, Iran.”
In a statement, Katz says that “anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as nearly all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil.”
It was not immediately clear if Katz has the authority to bar Guterres from the country, and reports in Hebrew media cite authorities from the Population, Immigration and Border Authority as saying such authority would lie only with the interior minister.
IDF says troops in south Lebanon engaged in close-quarters combat with Hezbollah operatives
Soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade are seen operating in southern Lebanon, in handout image published October 2, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases new footage of the 98th Division operating in southern Lebanon, since launching a ground operation there on Monday night.
The military says the division has been engaged in close-quarters combat with Hezbollah operatives, as well as directing airstrikes on gunmen and the terror group’s positions.
In one recent operation, the division’s Egoz commando unit destroyed a Hezbollah position, including a rocket launcher and a cache of explosives, according to the IDF.
More than 150 Hezbollah sites have been hit by the Israeli Air Force amid the operations, the military adds.
In a statement, Hezbollah says its fighters are clashing with Israeli forces entering the border town of Maroun Al-Ras.
Antisemitic incidents in UK hit record high over past year, says organization
An anti-Israel activist shouts through a loudspeaker on a march through London, during a National Day of Action for Palestine on March 9, 2024. (HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
The UK saw a record number of antisemitic incidents in the year since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, a Jewish charity says.
The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism in Britain, recorded 5,583 such incidents from October 7 until September 30 — its highest 12-month tally since it began its count in 1984.
It represented a 204% increase on the 1,830 incidents recorded in the prior yearlong period.
“When conflict rages in Israel, anti-Jewish hate rises in the UK,” CST writes on X, alongside a breakdown of its figures.
It adds that “incidents started flooding in before Israel’s military retaliation” for the October 7 attacks, calling the situation “unprecedented.”
In its breakdown of antisemitic incidents in Britain over the last year, CST categorized the majority — 4,583 — as “abusive behavior.” The organization recorded 302 as “assault” and one act of “extreme violence,” as well as 266 incidents of “damage and desecration” and 30 of antisemitic “literature.”
Rocket alert sirens sound in Safed and surrounding areas
Rocket alert sirens sound in Safed and a number of surrounding towns in the Galilee.
Saudi minister hopes ‘dialogue’ will lead to calming Mideast tensions
An anti-missile system fires interceptors at missiles fired from Iran, as seen in the West Bank on October 1, 2024. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
Saudi Arabia is hoping for de-escalation and dialogue, Economy Minister Faisal al-Ibrahim says, when asked at a conference in Berlin about the situation in the Middle East following Iran’s missile attack against Israel.
Al-Ibrahim calls the escalation unfortunate, but said it is very hard to avoid discussing.
“We hope that wisdom will prevail, de-escalation will happen, dialogue will come into place and more collaboration will be seen globally, but also regionally for us to address these challenges,” he says.
Houthis claim to have fired ‘Quds 5’ rockets at IDF posts in Israel
Houthi military spokesman Brigadier Yahya Saree delivers a statement during a rally in Sanaa in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza on March 15, 2024. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)
Yemen’s Houthis claim to have targeted military posts deep in Israel with three winged ‘Quds 5’ rockets.
There was no announcement from the IDF about any rocket fire from Yemen on Wednesday.
The group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, says the continuous support to Israel from the United States and the United Kingdom will put their interests “under fire.”
“We will not hesitate in broadening our military operations against the Israeli enemy and who is behind it until the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon ends,” Saree adds.
Fifth victim of Jaffa terror shooting named as Nadia Sokolenco
Israeli security forces at the scene of a deadly terror attack in Jaffa, October 1, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
Nadia Sokolenco, 40, a Moldovan-Israeli, has been named as one of the victims of last night’s terror shooting at a Jaffa light rail station.
Earlier, four of the other victims of the attack — in which seven people were killed — were named as Revital Bronstein, 24, Ilia Nozadze, 42, Shahar Goldman, 30 and Inbar Segev Vigder, 33.
Two of the victims have yet to be publicly identified.
Drone alerts sound in Rosh Hanikra, Shlomi
Alerts warning of a possible drone infiltration sound in Rosh Hanikra and Shlomi along the border with Lebanon
Troops map out homes of terrorists from Jaffa attack ahead of possible demolition, says IDF
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)
The IDF overnight says it operated in the West Bank city of Hebron to measure the homes of the Palestinian terrorists who carried out the deadly shooting and stabbing attack in Jaffa last night, ahead of potential demolitions.
Seven people were killed and 16 others were wounded in the attack on the Tel Aviv light rail and a nearby road in Jaffa. Among the injuries was an off-duty IDF soldier, who was seriously wounded.
The IDF says it also detained and questioned several suspects who are suspected of aiding the terrorists in purchasing the assault rifle used in the attack and infiltrating into Israel.
The military and Shin Bet are investigating how the pair entered Israel. Meanwhile, the IDF has imposed a closure on Hebron, the terrorists’ hometown.
One of the terrorists who carried out the attack was shot dead, while the second was seriously wounded, police say. One of them worked near where the attack was carried out, and therefore was familiar with the area, according to the investigation.
Spain to evacuate citizens from Lebanon, South Korea to repatriate those in Israel
Passengers check their flight times at the Beirut International Airport in Beirut on August 25, 2024. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Spain and South Korea are the latest countries to say they will be evacuating their citizens from Lebanon amid escalating cross-border violence and an Israeli ground incursion, with Seoul also saying it is working to bring those in Israel home.
Spain plans to send two military aircraft to evacuate as many as 350 citizens from Lebanon as early as tomorrow, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles says.
“The Spanish airplanes are ready, the staff are ready, as always with the professionalism of the Spanish army,” she says in an interview with Antena 3 TV station.
A group of 350 Spanish citizens present in Lebanon have asked to go to Spain, Robles adds.
Meanwhile South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered military aircraft to be deployed immediately to evacuate its citizens from Israel and other parts of the Middle East amid escalating tension, his office says.
South Korea’s foreign ministry urges its citizens in Israel and Lebanon to immediately leave by any means available.
Government data for 2023 showed there were 572 South Koreans in Israel including permanent residents and Israeli passport holders and 214 in Lebanon.
Rocket alert sirens sound in several towns near Lebanon border
Sirens warning of an incoming rocket alert sound in a number of towns near the Lebanon border, including Shlomi, Matzuva, Ya’ara and Hanita.
More than 100 rockets have already been fired from Lebanon at northern Israel today.
More victims in Jaffa shooting named; police say 1 terrorist killed, 2nd seriously wounded
Israeli security at the scene of a terror shooting attack in Jaffa, October 1, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
Two more victims of the Jaffa terror shooting last night have been named as Revital Bronstein, 24, a computer science student from Bat Yam, and Ilia Nozadze, 42, a citizen of Georgia.
Earlier, Shahar Goldman from Lod and Inbar Segev Vigder from Tel Aviv were named as two other victims in the mass shooting attack at a light rail stop, which killed seven people and wounded 16 others.
Police and the Shin Bet say the two terrorists, 19 and 25, both residents of Hebron, first opened fire inside the train carriage and then exited and continued shooting bystanders.
One of the terrorists was killed at the scene while the other was seriously wounded, police say. A number of arrests were carried out overnight in Hebron of those suspected of helping the terrorists plan and carry out the attack.
Australian woman charged for flying Hezbollah flag at protest
Hundreds of demonstrators hold flags and pictures of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at a protest rally in Sydney on September 29, 2024. (Saeed KHAN / AFP)
Australian police charge a 19-year-old woman after an investigation into Hezbollah flags flown at a Sydney demonstration.
“She was arrested and charged with cause [for] public display of prohibited terrorists organization symbol,” say New South Wales Police.
Other attendees at the pro-Palestine protests, which took place in Sydney and Melbourne last week, also waved Hamas flags or placards with slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Authorities remain on high alert ahead of two planned protests this week that will mark the one year anniversary since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught on southern Israel.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the two protests — set for October 6 and 7 — should not go ahead and that any demonstration would be seen “as incredibly provocative.”
“It would not advance any cause. It would cause a great deal of distress,” he tells national broadcaster ABC.
Hod Hasharon says many homes in city damaged by shock waves, shrapnel from Iran attack
Workers remove broken glass from a damaged building that was hit during Iran's missile attack in Tel Aviv, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP/Ariel Schalit)
The city of Hod Hasharon, a suburb of Tel Aviv, says that many homes in the city were damaged in last night’s Iranian missile attack, from shock waves and shrapnel.
The municipality says a number of homes were seriously damaged and dozens more suffered light damage in the attack, with around 100 homes suffering some damage, including from shrapnel and the shock set off by falling missile fragments.
IDF says around 100 rockets fired at northern Israel so far today, no injuries reported
The Iron Dome fires interception missiles at rockets fired from Lebanon, seen over Safed, September 26, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)
Some 100 rockets have been launched from Lebanon at northern Israel since this morning, according to the IDF.
In the last barrage, some 10 rockets were fired toward the Western Galilee and Haifa Bay area.
There are no reports of injuries in the latest attack.
Lapid calls for ‘tough’ response to Iran attack: ‘Israel will be victorious’
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid leads a meeting of his Yesh Atid faction at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on September 9, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid calls for a “tough” response to last night’s ballistic missile attack from Iran.
“There is something that should be clear to our enemies: Israel will be victorious,” he says in a statement.
“With our military capabilities, our defense industries, the support of our allies and in particular the strength of our incredible people,” continues the former prime minister, “we know that even when the cost is high, we will win.”
Tehran, he says, “will pay a significant and heavy price for last night’s attack. Tehran knows that Israel is coming. The response needs to be tough and it should send an unequivocal message to the terror axis in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and in Iran itself.”
Lapid also calls for a regional strategy designed to bring change to the region.
Iranian FM: We didn’t update US before attack, but we’re warning it now ‘not to intervene’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a news conference, at UN headquarters, September 25, 2024. (Frank Franklin II/AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran did not communicate with the US before its Iranian missile attack on Israel last night, but warns it against intervening in any response.
“Before the attack, there was no exchange of messages,” Araghchi tells state TV, adding that Iran communicated with the US after the attack.
“We have… warned the US forces to withdraw from this matter and not to intervene,” Araghchi says, adding that the message was relayed through the Swiss embassy in Tehran.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: ‘Iran is risking setting the entire region on fire’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on April 12, 2024 at the Chancellery in Berlin. (Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz calls on Iran and Hezbollah to immediately end their attacks on Israel and warns that Iran risks inflaming the entire region.
Germany and its partners will continue to work toward a ceasefire, he adds.
“Iran is risking setting the entire region on fire — this must be prevented at all costs. Hezbollah and Iran must immediately cease their attacks on Israel,” he says.
Rocket alert sirens sound in suburbs of Haifa
Sirens warning of a possible rocket attack sound in a number of suburbs of Haifa, as well as in several towns along the border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah has fired dozens of missiles at Israel so far this morning, causing serious damage but no injuries.
IDF calls on residents of two dozen villages in south Lebanon to evacuate immediately
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP/Baz Ratner)
The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians in two dozen villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately.
“Hezbollah’s activity forces the IDF to act against it. The IDF does not wish to harm you,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says in a statement on X.
“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately. Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives, their facilities or their weapons, puts themselves at risk,” he says.
Adraee says that any house used by Hezbollah for military purposes is a target.
The Lebanese civilians are called to evacuate and head north. “Attention, do not move south! Any movement south could endanger your life,” the statement says.
The IDF says it will update the civilians when they can return.
Yesterday, the IDF issued similar orders to 28 other villages in southern Lebanon.
The military has also warned against any movement in vehicles from the north of the Litani River to the south of it.
The military has described the ground operations in southern Lebanon as “limited, localized, and targeted raids,” with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area. Officials have said that the military intends for the operations to end as quickly as possible.
IDF: Around 50 rockets have been fired from Lebanon at northern Israel this morning
Illustrative: Black smoke rises from homes in the northern Israeli border community of Metula after being hit by Hezbollah anti-tank missiles, as seen from the Lebanese town of Marjayoun, June 22, 2024. (AP/Hussein Malla)
Some 50 rockets have been launched from Lebanon at northern Israel this morning, according to the IDF.
Sirens have been sounding in upper and western Galilee towns amid the attacks, with no immediate reports of injuries.
The municipality of Metula, which has been largely evacuated, says around 10 homes have been damaged in the barrage.
After the IDF update, sirens continue to sound in a number of border communities, including Avivim and Rihaniya.
IDF deploys another division to take part in southern Lebanon ground op
Israeli armored vehicles seen in a staging area in northern Israel near the Israel-Lebanon border, October 1, 2024. (AP/Baz Ratner)
The IDF says another division is being deployed to southern Lebanon for ground operations against Hezbollah.
The 36th Division is now joining the 98th Division, which had entered Lebanon on Monday night.
The military has described the ground operations in southern Lebanon as “limited, localized, and targeted raids,” with the goal of demolishing Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the border area.
Iran extends cancellation of all flights for another day
A Mahan Air passenger plane takes off from Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran, Febuary 7, 2016. (AP/Vahid Salemi, File)
All flights in Iran will remain canceled until tomorrow at 5 a.m. local time, the country’s Civil Aviation Organization announces, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, a day after Tehran fired at least 180 missiles at Israel.
Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport was briefly shut and Israeli airspace closed for a little over an hour last night amid the attack.
Another victim of Jaffa terror shooting named as Inbar Segev Vigder
Israeli security forces at the scene of a deadly terror attack in Jaffa, October 1, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
Another victim of the terror shooting in Jaffa last night has been named as Inbar Segev Vigder.
ענבר שגב ויגדר נרצחה בפיגוע ביפו אמש >>> https://t.co/x31c9tEmmA
צילום: לפי סעיף 27 א' pic.twitter.com/KgETvOy7ym— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 2, 2024
A personal trainer and pilates instructor, Segev Vigder is survived by her husband and 9-month-old baby.
Seven people were killed and nine others wounded when two terrorists opened fire at a light rail stop in the area of south Tel Aviv last night. Earlier, another victim was named as Shahar Goldman from Lod.
Report: Israel could target Iranian oil facilities in response to missile attack
Illustrative: A handout picture provided on April 30, 2017, shows a general view of the Setareh Khalij Fars (Star of the Persian Gulf) oil refinery in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. (Handout/Iranian Presidency/AFP)
Israel is reportedly planning a significant response to last night’s Iranian missile attack, although the details and timing are yet to be determined.
According to the Axios news site, citing unnamed Israeli officials, one of the likely targets is Iranian oil facilities, but an attack on Iran’s air defense system is also a possibility, as are targeted assassinations of senior figures.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last night that “Iran made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it,” while President Joe Biden said the US is working with Israel to formulate its response.
Fresh sirens sound across towns in Upper Galilee
Smoke billows from in the Upper Galilee after an exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah near Moshav Margaliot on Israel's border with Lebanon on November 11, 2023. (jalaa marey / AFP)
Fresh sirens are sounding in a number of towns across the Upper Galilee, including Misgav Am, Kiryat Shemona and Margaliot.
According to reports, a number of buildings were damaged in earlier rockets to the area, though no injuries were reported in the towns, which have largely been evacuated.
Hezbollah claims it clashed with Israeli troops in the Lebanese town of Odaisseh
Israeli troops operate near the border with Lebanon in this handout photo cleared for publication on October 1, 2024. (IDF)
Hezbollah claims it confronted Israeli forces “infiltrating” the Lebanese town of Odaisseh early this morning, and forced them to retreat.
Hezbollah operatives confronted “an Israeli enemy infantry force that tried to infiltrate into the village of Odaisseh… and clashed with them,” a statement says, adding separately that Hezbollah also targeted three different points across the border with rockets and artillery.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF. The Israeli military revealed yesterday that it had conducted dozens of cross-border raids into Hezbollah in recent months and did not have any direct clashes with Hezbollah operatives.
Australian PM condemns Iranian attack, calls for de-escalation
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the media at Parliament House in Canberra, June 17, 2024. (Lukas Coch/Pool Photo via AP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemns Iran’s missile attack on Israel and calls for de-escalation.
“We’re very concerned about Iran’s actions, which is why we condemn them,” Albanese tells reporters in Melbourne, Australia.
“It is a good thing that it would appear that the defense of Israel, supported by the United States, has ensured that there is no loss of civilian life, it would appear, at this stage. There’s been too much loss of life in that region,” Albanese adds.
Albanese says Israel has a right to defend itself.
“What we have called for consistently is for a de-escalation in the region, along with our friends in the United States and others,” Albanese adds.
Danish police investigating explosions near Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen
Illustrative: Danish soldiers guard a synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 29, 2017. (AFP/ SCANPIX DENMARK / Mads Claus Rasmussen)
Danish police say they are investigating two blasts in the vicinity of Israel’s Embassy in Copenhagen.
There were no injuries reported, police say in a statement.
“No one has been injured, and we are carrying out initial investigations at the scene,” Copenhagen police write on X. “A possible connection to the Israeli embassy, located in the area, is being investigated.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry says the embassy was closed during the explosions and that all of its staff are fine and no damage was caused to the building.
Rocket sirens sound in a number of towns in the Upper Galilee
Rocket sirens sound in a number of towns in the Upper Galilee, including Beit Hillel, Kiryat Shemona and Dafna.
IDF says it has struck a number of Hezbollah weapons production sites in Beirut in recent days
Lebanese ambulances and firefighters at the scene of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment building in south Beirut Jnah neighborhood, on October 1, 2024. (Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
The IDF says that it has carried out a number of strikes in recent days against Hezbollah infrastructure situated throughout Beirut, releasing footage of one such strike.
The military says that its fighter jets operated based on precise intelligence to strike “weapon production sites” and other terror infrastructure in and around Beirut.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר בהכוונה מודיענית מדויקת של אגף המודיעין, ביצעו שורה של תקיפות ממוקדות בימים האחרונים ברחבי ביירות כנגד מספר אתרי יצור אמצעי לחימה ותשתיות טרור נוספות במרחב>> pic.twitter.com/uiKU3WB8cY
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 2, 2024
It took steps to prevent harm to uninvolved civilians, the IDF says, including advance warnings to the population.
“The Hezbollah terror organization places its production sites and its weaponry under residential buildings in the heart of Beirut and endangers the population in the area,” the IDF says.
The strikes the military is referring to are separate from a number of targeted assassinations it has carried out in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut against Hezbollah officials.
Israel is continuing to strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon this morning as well, the IDF adds.
US embassy lifts ‘shelter in place’ order issued last night for staff
US Embassy in Jerusalem, October 27, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The US Embassy in Jerusalem lifts an order it issued last night to its staff and their families to shelter in place ahead of the mass Iranian missile attack on Israel.
The newest update notes that “the threat of missile barrages has diminished,” and following the easing of restrictions by the IDF Home Front Command, “the shelter in place order for US government employees and their family members has been lifted.”
Nevertheless, it says, “previous travel restrictions” on employees remain in place, which warn against any travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba areas. It also reiterates that “mortar and rocket fire and [drone] intrusions often take place without any warning” and that staff should remain alert.
IDF says it struck Hamas terrorists using school in Gaza; 9 reported dead
The IDF says it struck Hamas terrorists who were operating from a school in central Gaza, guided by pinpoint intelligence.
Hamas was using the school as a base to plan and to carry out “terror attacks against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel,” says the military.
The IDF says that ahead of the strike, it carried out a number of steps “to limit the harm to civilians.”
The WAFA Palestinian news agency reports that at least nine Palestinians were killed and 20 injured in the strike on the school, where displaced people were sheltering.
Sirens sound in several border communities near Lebanon
Sirens sound in the communities of Metula, Zar’it, Shomera and Even Menachem near the border with Lebanon.
Earlier, sirens sounded in Kiryat Shemona and several other towns in the Upper Galilee.
Separately, the IDF says that a missile from Lebanon fell in an open area in central Israel, and no sirens sounded because there was no danger to population centers.
US ‘fulfilled commitment’ to defend Israel amid Iranian attack, defense chief says
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a press conference at the AUKUS Defence Ministers Meeting at Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, September 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the US “fulfilled our commitment to partner with Israel in its defense” after intercepting roughly a dozen of the 181 missiles fired by Iran at Israel on Tuesday evening.
“We condemn this outrageous act of aggression by Iran, and we call on Iran to halt any further attacks, including from its proxy terrorist groups,” Austin says in a statement, adding that the US “will never hesitate to protect our forces and interests in the Middle East and to support the defense of Israel and our partners in the region.”
He hails US forces who “helped to save lives today from Iran’s assault and who continue to support Israel’s defense and to prevent a widening conflict or escalation.”
“Our forces remain postured to protect US troops and partners in the Middle East, and the department maintains significant capability to defend our people, provide further support for Israel’s self-defense, and deter further escalation,” Austin adds.
Lod resident Shahar Goldman named as one of seven victims of Jaffa terror attack
Thirty-year-old Shahar Goldman from the central Israel city of Lod has been identified as one of the seven people murdered in a shooting and stabbing terrorist attack in Jaffa on Tuesday evening.
Goldman, whose name was cleared for publication early on Wednesday morning, got married just last year and was a professional dancer who specialized in Latin dance, Hebrew media outlet Ynet reports.
The names of the six other victims of the attack have yet to be released.
Shahar Goldman, 30,
One of the victims of the Tel Aviv terrorist attack pic.twitter.com/BYSFIBERqM— Adin – עדין (@AdinHaykin1) October 1, 2024
IDF says soldier seriously injured in Jaffa terror attack on Tuesday evening
A female IDF soldier was seriously injured in the shooting and stabbing terror attack in Jaffa on Tuesday evening, the military says.
Seven people were killed in the attack and at least eight others were wounded, when two terrorists — one armed with a rifle and the other with a knife — attacked civilians on the Tel Aviv light rail before getting off and continuing on foot and shooting and stabbing people on Jerusalem Street in the city.
The soldier was taken from the scene of the attack to a hospital for medical treatment and her family was informed, the IDF says.
Rocket sirens sound in Misgav Am in northern Israel
Rocket warning sirens sound in the northern community of Misgav Am, close to Israel’s border with Lebanon.
On debate stage, Walz slams Trump for backing out of Iran nuclear deal
Democrat Tim Walz questions Republican Donald Trump’s fitness for office at the outset of Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, arguing that the former president is too unstable to be trusted at a time of crisis in the Middle East.
His Republican opponent for the country’s No. 2 office, JD Vance, responds by asserting that Trump had made the world more secure during his term in office.
The ongoing crisis in the Middle East, sparked a year ago by the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in southern Israel, is the debate’s first topic, giving the two men a chance to outline their foreign policy credentials.
Asked whether he would support a preemptive strike against Iran by Israel, Vance suggests he would defer to Israel’s judgment, while Walz did not directly answer the question.
Instead, Walz pivots to criticizing Trump for nixing the Iran nuclear deal. The 2015 deal, which then-President Trump abandoned in 2018, had capped Iran’s uranium enrichment at 3.67% purity and its stockpile of this material at 202.8 kg (447 pounds) – limits Tehran has since far exceeded.
“Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership,” he says.
Lebanese security source says at least 5 Israeli strikes hit Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold
A Lebanese security source says that at least five Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after the IDF twice called for residents in the Hezbollah stronghold, known as Dahiyeh, to clear the areas surrounding specific buildings ahead of imminent strikes.
“At least five Israeli strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the source says, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
AFP correspondents report hearing multiple explosions and saw smoke rising in one area while a fire appeared to burn.
The Israeli military says that it is “currently striking Hezbollah terror targets in Beirut.”
Vice presidential debate opens with question on crisis in the Middle East
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, left, and Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, shake hands as they arrive for a CBS News vice presidential debate, Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
US vice presidential contenders JD Vance and Tim Walz take to the stage Tuesday evening for a live TV debate, just weeks before the election with polls suggesting a close race for the White House.
The two shake hands in New York before the CBS event begins with a first question on the crisis in the Middle East.
IDF again instructs civilians to move away from building in Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold
The IDF again calls on Lebanese civilians near a specific building 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 a map which call on civilians to distance themselves at least 500 meters from the site.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا المتواجدين في المبنى المحدد في الخارطة في حي حدث غرب
⭕️أنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على مدى الزمني القريب
⭕️من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلتكم عليكم اخلاء هذا المبنى… pic.twitter.com/ugnHrLQUeW— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 2, 2024
Several hours prior, the IDF had issued similar instructions for residents surrounding two other buildings in the southern suburb.
IDF says it carried out strikes on Hamas members operating out of former schools in northern Gaza
Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out targeted strikes against Hamas operatives at command rooms embedded in former schools in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF says.
According to the military, Hamas was using command rooms in the Muscat and Rimal schools in the north of the enclave to “plan and carry out terrorist operations against the IDF and the State of Israel.”
The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, and accuses Hamas of “systematically” using civilian sites for terror.
read more: