Sirens sound in the Upper Galilee
Following sirens that sounded between 12:15 p.m. and 12:25 p.m. local time in the Upper Galilee, about 30 projectiles crossed from Lebanon into Israel, the IDF said.
Some of the projectiles were intercepted, and fallen projectiles were identified in the area.
60 killed, 168 wounded in 24 hours, Lebanese health ministry says
Israeli attacks have killed 60 and wounded at least 168, the Lebanese Public Health Ministry said yesterday evening, which included the death toll from bombing in central Beirut late on Thursday night.
In total, 2,229 people had died and 10,380 wounded since the current conflict began, adding that 187,000 displaced persons had been registered at official shelters, though over 1 million people are estimated to have been driven from their homes.
Biden asks Israel to stop hitting U.N. peacekeepers
President Biden said last night that he is "absolutely, positively" asking Israel to stop hitting U.N. peacekeepers.
The U.N. peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon were attacked yesterday at their base near the country’s border with Israel, injuring two soldiers and marking the second time in as many days that the forces sustained casualties.
The attack drew international condemnation from the leaders of the Spanish, French, and Italian governments, and Lebanon's prime minister Najib Mikati described the attacks as a criminal act.
The Israeli military said its soldiers were responding to “an immediate threat against them.”
IDF posts new evacuation orders in northern Gaza
The IDF said this morning it is "operating with great force" in northern Gaza, and issued evacuation orders for several neighborhoods in the area known as D5.
IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the area, including shelters, was considered a "dangerous combat zone," and urged residents to evacuate to the humanitarian zone much further south.
U.S. officials say Israel has narrowed down its targets for strike on Iran
U.S. officials believe Israel has narrowed down what they will target in their response to Iran’s attack, which these officials describe as Iranian military and energy infrastructure.
There is no indication that Israel will target nuclear facilities or carry out assassinations, but U.S. officials stressed that the Israelis have not made a final decision about how and when to act.
The U.S. does not know when Israel’s response could come but officials said the Israeli military is poised and ready to go at any time once the order is given.
U.S. officials stressed that they have no information to indicate the response will come today but admitted that Israel has not shared a specific timeline with them — and it is not clear Israeli officials have even agreed on one yet.
U.S. and Israeli officials said a response could come during the Yom Kippur holiday.
Nicaragua breaks diplomatic relations with Israel
Nicaragua is breaking off diplomatic relations with Israel, the Central American nation said on Friday, calling the Israeli government “fascist” and “genocidal.”
Nicaragua’s government, in a statement, said the break in relations was due to Israel’s attacks on Palestinian territories.
The nation’s congress had, earlier in the day, passed a resolution requesting Nicaragua take action to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Gaza war.
The conflict, the Nicaraguan government said, now also “extends against Lebanon and gravely threatens Syria, Yemen and Iran.” Iran is also an ally of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s administration.
Analysis: Putin meets with Iran’s president, as America’s adversaries move toward one another
The Iranian president’s latest stop in a diplomatic drive aimed at blunting Israel’s promised attacks was a meeting today with Russian President Putin in Turkmenistan.
“Relations with Iran are a priority for us,” the Kremlin said, as it released video of the two leaders together. “We work together actively in the international arena, and our assessment of events happening in the world are often very close.”
The relationship is about more than agreeing on anti-Western ideology. Russia has an air defense system that would help Iran if it comes under attack from Israel.
Iran, meanwhile, has supplied Russia with weapons like Shahed drones for its war in Ukraine. And support for Iran by a nuclear-armed Russia will inevitably factor into any assessment of a strike on the country.
The meeting between Putin and Iran’s Pezeshkian appears to have been arranged in a hurry. Russian media only announced it on Monday. And it underscores the ways in which events around the world are pushing America’s adversaries toward one another.
In 10 days, at a meeting in Russia of BRICS countries, which China is expected to attend, Pezeshkian says he hopes Iran will sign a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia. The last country to sign such an agreement with Moscow, earlier this year, was North Korea.
Spanish prime minister calls for arms embargo to Israel
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for countries to stop selling arms to Israel following a meeting with Pope Francis at Vatican City.
“I do believe that it is urgent that under the spotlight of all that is happening in the Middle East, the international community should cease to export arms to the Israeli government,” Sánchez told reporters.
The prime minister’s message came after peacemakers with the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured in Israeli attacks today. The Israeli military said its forces were responding to an “immediate threat” when it hit the UNIFIL post.
Over 100 medics and emergency workers killed in Lebanon over past year, U.N. rights office says
More than 100 medical and emergency workers have been killed in Lebanon since last October, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“There are recurring reports of essential civilian infrastructure having been struck, including hospitals, clinics, ambulances and schools — along with destruction of housing,” the U.N. office warned in a statement, adding that Lebanese civilians are “bearing the brunt” of the latest phase of the conflict.
The office said the only way the conflict will end is at the negotiating table.
“Widening conflict and progressive escalation put the lives and wellbeing of potentially millions of people across the region at risk,” the agency said.