The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they unfold.
Omar holds slight lead as first votes trickle in from Minneapolis area
Minnesota election officials have begun releasing initial results for the state’s 5th congressional district primary, showing Rep. Ilhan Omer holding a razor-thin lead over challenger Don Samuels in the closely watched race.
With just under 10 percent of precincts from the Minneapolis-area district reporting, Omar has 50.8% of the approximately 6,000 votes counted, to Samuels 47.6%, a difference of fewer than 200 votes, according to tallies posted by the state.
Omar, among the Congress’s most strident anti-Israel voices, narrowly beat out former Minneapolis City Council member Samuels, a more centrist liberal, in the 2022 primary.
Primary results for anti-Israel Rep. Ilhan Omar expected to be slow coming in
Polls have closed in Minnesota, where Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is hoping to avoid the fate of fellow members of the anti-Israel ‘Squad’ who lost primary challenges.
Unlike the races that saw New York’s Jerome Bowman and Missouri’s Cori Bush pushed off the ballot in favor of more moderate Democrats, Omar’s main challenger, Don Samuels, does not appear to be backed by the deep pockets of the United Democracy Project. The super political action committee, affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, poured millions into defeating Bowman and Bush.
Results from the Omar-Samuels race are expected to take a while. Hennepin County, which includes all of Minneapolis and all but a few communities in the district, didn’t release any results from the presidential primary in March until 9:40 p.m., when the county released nearly all its votes.
County officials say they expect a similar timeline for Tuesday’s primary due to a legislative change enacted this year that allows for ballots to be dropped off until 8 p.m. local time, which has resulted in slower results reporting.
The winner in the overwhelmingly Democratic district will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist and self-described secular Muslim who calls Omar pro-Hamas and a terrorist sympathizer.
Omar narrowly defeated Samuels in a 2022 primary.
A Somali American and Muslim — she came under fire from the Jamaican-born Samuels and others in her first term for comments that were widely criticized for invoking antisemitic tropes and suggesting Jewish Americans have divided loyalties. This time, Samuels has criticized her condemnation of the Israeli government’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
While Omar has also criticized Hamas for attacking Israel and taking hostages, Samuels says she’s one-sided and divisive. He’s also been stressing the public safety issues he focused on in 2022. The big issue at the time was policing in Minneapolis, where a former police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.
US army says it destroyed Houthi vessels in Red Sea
The US military says it destroyed two Houthi vessels in the Red Sea over the past day.
The vessels “presented a clear and imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” the US military’s Central Command says on X.
No other details are provided.
Harris campaign targeted by foreign influence operation, FBI says
US Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign said it was notified by the FBI last month that it was “targeted by a foreign actor influence operation,” a campaign official says.
“We have robust cybersecurity measures in place, and are not aware of any security breaches of our systems resulting from those efforts,” the official says, adding that the campaign remains in communication with authorities.
The FBI does not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bureau said on Monday that it was investigating after Republican rival Donald Trump’s presidential campaign said that it had been hacked.
The Trump campaign blamed Iran and pointed to a Friday report from Microsoft researchers that indicated that Iranian government-tied hackers tried breaking into the account of a “high-ranking official” on a US presidential campaign in June.
The Iranian government has denied hacking the Trump campaign.
US officials says base in Syria unscathed following Iran-backed attack
Projectiles launched in the direction of a US airbase in a gas field in Syria’s Deir al-Zour province did not hit the facility, two US officials say.
A security source earlier told Reuters that an Iran-backed militia targeted the base with six shells, all of which fell in the vicinity of the US base, adding that the US-led coalition responded to the attack with artillery.
The US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says the projectiles did not hit the base and there were no injuries. The official cites initial reports that can change.
Missile attack said to target US base in Syria
A missile attack has targeted a US airbase in Conoco gas field in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province, Syrian state media reports.
The attack is the latest suspected strike from Iran-backed groups targeted US troops in Irfaq and Syria. On Friday, a drone struck on another base housing US troops in Syria. minorly injured eight , Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder says eight servicemembers were treated for brain injuries and smoke inhalation “out of an abundance of caution.”
Three of them have since returned to duty.
Despite moving troops, jets and arms to the region in a bid to deter an Iranian attack on Israel, Ryder says the soldiers stationed in Syria remain focused on the mission of battling the Islamic State.
Sirens sound in southern town, IDF says false alarm
Rocket alert sirens have sounded in the small community of Holit in southern Israel near the border with Egypt.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the possible attack.
The IDF’s Home Front Command later announces the siren was a false alarm.
Two dozen rockets fired at north, no reports of injuries — IDF
A barrage of some 25 rockets was launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee in northern Israel a short while ago.
Sirens had sounded in the Mount Meron area, including the towns of Hurfeish, Elkosh, Fassuta, and Beit Jann.
The IDF says that the rockets struck open areas, and there have been no reports of injuries.
Footage posted to social media shows some of the rocket impacts.
A barrage of some 25 rockets was launched by Hezbollah at the Upper Galilee in northern Israel a short while ago.
Sirens had sounded in the Mount Meron area, including the towns of Hurfeish, Elkosh, Fassuta, and Beit Jann.
The IDF says that the rockets struck open areas,… https://t.co/E7oLakMACg pic.twitter.com/pZWbKb0otc
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 13, 2024
Hezbollah takes responsibility for the attack, claiming to have targeted a military base in the area.