The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
Pentagon chief says Iraq base attack a ‘dangerous escalation’ in call with Gallant
An attack by Iranian proxies on an airbase housing US troops in Iraq marks “a dangerous escalation” and the US is beefing up its military posture in the Mideast, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tells Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a phone call, the Pentagon says.
Five servicemembers were injured in the attack on al-Asad airbase late Monday.
“Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant agreed that today’s Iran-aligned militia attack on U.S. forces stationed at Al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq marked a dangerous escalation and demonstrated Iran’s destabilizing role in the region,” reads a US statement.
Austin also tells Gallant of “measures to strengthen U.S. military posture in the region in light of this escalating situation.”
According to the Pentagon, Austin called Gallant to “reiterate unwavering U.S. commitment to Israel’s security in the face of threats from Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and other Iran-aligned militia groups.”
Rocket sirens activated in two northern towns
Rocket sirens are sounding in two northern Israel communities, the IDF’s Homefront Command says.
The sirens are activated in the small communities of Jish and Kerem Ben Zimra.
Meta apologizes for removing Malaysian PM’s post mourning Haniyeh
Meta Platforms has apologized for the removal of content from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Facebook and Instagram accounts related to the assassination of Hamas terror group leader Ismail Haniyeh last week.
Malaysia had asked Meta for an explanation after the posts expressing condolences over Haniyeh’s death were removed.
“We apologize for an operational error where content from the Prime Minister’s Facebook and Instagram Pages were removed, and the content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label,” a Meta spokesperson tells Reuters in an emailed response to questions.
Malaysia’s communications minister and members of the Prime Minister’s Office had met Meta representatives on Monday to seek an explanation.
“The Prime Minister’s Office views Meta’s actions as discriminatory, unjust, and a blatant suppression of free expression,” the office said in a statement on Monday.
Unclear when or how Iran will attack Israel, aides tell Biden
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were told by their national security team that it is still unclear when Iran and Hezbollah are likely to launch an attack against Israel, according to a US official.
Reports have indicated that an Iranian or Hezbollah reprisal over the killings of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah military head Fuad Shukr is expected imminently, though Iran has kept its cards close to its chest.
Biden and Harris were also told that there is little info available regarding “the specifics of such an attack,” according to the US official.
Abbas accuses Israel of killing Haniyeh in order to expand Gaza conflict
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas tells Russia’s RIA state news agency that the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was intended to prolong the conflict in Gaza and will complicate talks on resolving the crisis.
“There is no doubt that the purpose of Mr. Haniyeh’s assassination is to prolong the war and expand its scope,” RIA cites Abbas as saying. “It will have a negative impact on the ongoing negotiations to end the aggression and withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza.”
Abbas calls the killing “a cowardly act and a dangerous development in Israeli politics.”
“The Israeli occupation authorities are required to abandon their ambitions and stop their aggressive actions against our people and our cause, to comply with international law and implement the Arab Peace Initiative, as well as an immediate and lasting ceasefire and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,” he says.
Russia reportedly delivering advanced air defenses to Iran as Tehran touts ties
Iranian officials quoted by The New York Times say Russia has begun delivering advanced air defense and radar equipment to Iran, after officials in Tehran asked the Kremlin for the arms.
The report comes as Iranian state media report that the country’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian told a visiting senior ally of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin that Tehran is determined to expand relations with its “strategic partner Russia.”
“Russia is among the countries that have stood by the Iranian nation during difficult times,” Pezeshkian told Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council, in a meeting, Iranian state media report.
In further comments reported during the meeting with Shoigu, Pezeshkian said Israel’s “criminal actions” in Gaza and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week “are clear examples of the violation of all international laws and regulations.”
Russia, which has largely backed Hamas and allied terror groups since the October 7 massacre, has condemned the killing of Haniyeh and called on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war.
Shared positions between Iran and Russia “in promoting a multipolar world will certainly lead to greater global security and peace,” Pezeshkian is quoted saying.
Shoigu was Russia’s defense minister before being moved to the security council in May. He was shown earlier by Russia’s Zvezda television meeting Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander who serves as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
Biden and Harris briefed on Iranian threat, including attack on US troops in Iraq
The US will respond to a missile attack on an Iraqi base housing US military personnel “in a manner and place of our choosing,” the White House says, after US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris discussed the matter with their national security team during a briefing regarding ongoing tensions in the Middle East that just wrapped.
At least five US personnel were injured when two Katyusha rockets were fired at the al Asad airbase in western Iraq, US and Iraqi sources say. There has been no claim of responsibility, but Iraq-based militias backed by Iran have carried out multiple such attacks against US servicemembers on al-Asad and elsewhere over the past several months
Biden and Harris were updated on the the threats posed by Iran and its proxies who are threatening Israel and US servicemembers in the region, the White House says.
The pair were also briefed on US military efforts to support the defense of Israel should it be attacked again like it was in April, when Iran fired some 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones at Israel.
They also discussed efforts to de-escalate tensions, particularly through the ceasefire-hostage release deal currently on the table between Israel and Hamas, the White House says.
Palestinian teen’s death raises toll in West Bank raid to 4
The Palestinian Authority says a teenage boy died of wounds sustained during a clash with Israeli forces in the northern West Bank town of Aqaba, raising the death toll in the raid to 4.
The teen is named as Bilal Izzaldin Sawafta, 14.
Palestinian health officials say all four fatalities were caused by Israeli bullets.
Another seven people are injured, the PA health ministry says.
Death toll from West Bank raid rises to three, Palestinians say
The Palestinian Authority health ministry raises the death toll from an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank from two to three, adding Ahmed Ghannam, 19, to the tally.
Palestinian accounts online share footage in which heavy gunfire can be heard. There is no verification that the fighting depicted took place at a hospital in Tubas where the injured from the raid were being brought.
The occupation forces open fire at the people in the yard of the Turkish hospital in Tubas city, West Bank
4 people have been killed in Tubas already pic.twitter.com/Q6ZbR2HFjH
— cheri ???? (@cheriblossom__) August 5, 2024
The Israel Defense Forces has yet to comment on the reported raid.
Several US troops injured in missile attack on base in Iraq
Several US personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq today, three US officials tell Reuters.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, say the suspected rocket attack took place at Al Asad airbase in Iraq, citing initial information which could change.
“Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment,” one of the officials adds.
Two Katyusha rockets were fired at the base in western Iraq, security sources say. One security source says the rockets fell inside the base.
The US is bracing for Iran to make good on its vow to respond to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week in Tehran – one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian terror group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages.