The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they unfold.
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
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.