Regional war looms closer after Golan rocket strike
Israeli warplanes hit several targets in southern Lebanon early July 28, as diplomats worked frantically to prevent a regional war after a rocket strike that killed 12 youths the previous day in the Golan Heights. Israel is blaming Hezbollah for the rocket, which struck a football field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams.
Hezbollah has denied responsibility, asserting that a projectile from Israel's own Iron Dome missile defense system hit the village amid strikes on military targets elsewhere in the area by the Iran-backed Lebanese armed organization. Israel and Hezbollah have been trading strikes over the Lebanese border since Oct. 8, a day after the start of the war in Gaza. Israel has killed 527 people in Lebanon since then, according to an AFP tally, including at least 104 civilians. Israel says 23 of its civilians and 17 soldiers have been killed by Hezbollah rocket-fire over this period. (The Guardian, MEE, Reuters)
The Golan Heights, seized by Israel from Syria in 1967 and formaly annexed in 1981, is considered to be occupied territory under international law and UN Security Council resolutions, and Syria continues to demand it be returned. More than 20,000 Druze live in the Golan Heights. Most of them identify as Syrian and rejected an offer of Israeli citizenship after the 1967 seizure. Those who refused were given Israeli residency cards but are not considered citizens. (CNN)
On the same day as the strike on the Golan, the Israeli military struck a school in south-central Gaza, with the Strip's health ministry reporting at least 30 Palestinians killed and some 100 injured. The Israel Defense Forces said that the school was being used as a Hamas command center. Hamas denied the IDF claims. Since the attack, a video of the aftermath has been verified by several major news outlets. The video appears to show children among the victims of the strike.
The strike on the Deir al-Balah school is the latest in a campaign by the IDF in and around Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza where Israel says it seeks to wipe out Hamas leadership. The Gaza Civil Defense Service says that 170 people have been killed in the campaign since it began a week ago. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 190,000 Palestinians have been displaced from Khan Younis as a result of the military operations. Meanwhile, the IDF has ordered civilians to relocate to an "adjusted humanitarian area" in al-Mawasi. (Jurist)
UK drops challenge to ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders
The UK's new Labour government has dropped its opposition to an international arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders—despite pressure from Washington not to do so.
Downing Street announced July 26 that the government will not submit a challenge to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, whose chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, is seeking a warrant against the Israeli prime minister. The move makes it more likely that the ICC will now grant Khan's request. (The Guardian)
In addition to the war crimes case before the ICC, Israel also faces a a genocide case before the International Court of Justice.
Hezbollah leader killed in Beirut; Hamas leader killed in Tehran
Israel said July 30 that it carried out a targeted strike in Beirut, against Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr AKA al-Hajj Mohsin, a senior military advisor to the organization's leader, Hasan Nasrallah. Lebanese authorities say at least one civilian was killed and several injured in the strike. (The Hill, NBC)
Hours later, Hamas announced that its leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in a targeted strike in Iran, where he was attending the inauguration of the country's new president. (AP)
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu tweeted in reaction to Haniyeh's assassination: "This is the right way to clean the world from this filth. No more imaginary 'peace'/surrender agreements, no more mercy for these mortals. Haniyeh's death makes the world a little better."
ICC prosecutor Karim AA Khan had been seeking the arrest of Haniyeh and two other amas leaders, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
US sends more warships to Middle East
The United States will deploy more warships—including ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers—to bolster its military presence in the Middle East, protect US personnel and defend Israel, the Pentagon said on Aug. 2. (DW)
Israel drone strike kills five on West Bank
Israel conducted a drone strike on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank Aug. 3, killing five, including a Hamas commander, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military said in a brief statement that it had struck a "terrorist cell" in the city of Tulkarm. (DW)
Israel protests again demand hostage deal
Ongoing protests demanding a hostage deal with Hamas again erupted in Israeli cities Aug. 3, The protesters called for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to either reach a hostage deal or resign from the government. A tota of 115 hostages are still being held by Hamas in Gaza, including a number of very young children. (Jurist)
Negotiations with Hamas are effectively on hold and will not pick up until after Iran launches its promised retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, and until after Hamas selects a replacement for the politburo chief, officials familiar with the matter told the Times of Israel.
US troops injured in attack in Iraq
Several US personnel were injured in a suspected rocket attack Aug. 5 against al-Asad Airbase in Iraq. (Politico)
More Israeli air-strikes on Gaza schools
At east 30 people people are reported killed in Israeli air-strikes on two schools in Gaza City. Some of those killed were displaced people sheltering at the schools, local authorities said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strikes, saying it had targeted "command and control centers" of Hamas' al-Furqan Battalion. The strikes were the third time in a week schools in the Strip have been hit by Israeli strikes. (BBC News, Al Jazeera)
More genocidal rhetoric from Israeli minister
In the latest outburst of genocidal rhetoric from the Israeli leadership, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saif he believes that blocking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip may be "justified and moral" even if it causes 2 million civilians to die of hunger, and complained that the international community won't allow this to happen.
"We are bringing in aid because there is no choice," Smotrich says at a conference in Yad Binyamin hosted by Israel Hayom newspaper. "We can't, in the current global reality, manage a war. Nobody will let us cause 2 million civilians to die of hunger even though it might be justified and moral until our hostages are returned. Humanitarian in exchange for humanitarian is morally justified, but what can we do? We live today in a certain reality, we need international legitimacy for this war." (ToI)
More than 100 reported killed in Gaza school attack
More than 100 people have been killed in an Israeli attack on the al-Tabin school in the Daraj area of Gaza City. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli strike kills senior Hamas figure in south Lebanon
Drone attack on US troops in Syria
US troops in northeastern Syria were attacked by a drone, officials said Aug. 9, although there were no injuries reported. The attack took place at Rumalyn Landing Zone, which is said to host US troops along with those from the US-led coalition. (This presumably means local Kurdish forces.)
US approves $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel
The White House has approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, the State Department announced Aug. 13. Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, high explosive mortars and tactical vehicles. (AP)
A partial "pause" on some arms shipments remains in place.
More Israeli air-strikes on Syria
Several people were killed in presumed Israeli air-strikes on a number of military sites in central Syria Sept. 8. A UK-based monitoring group reported that 26 people were killed and that the targets included a scientific research center near Masyaf. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights SOHR said Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers were stationed in the research area as part of a program to develop precision missiles and drones. (BBC News)
Israel's intermittent air-strikes on Iran-backed militia forces in Syria have been escalating since the Gaza bombardment began.
Netanyahu fires defense minister Yoav Gallant
In a surprise cabinet shakeup. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his popular defense minister, Yoav Gallant. There has been a growing rift between the two men, with Gallant pushing for a more pragmatic and diplomatic approach to ending the fighting in Gaza, as the prime minister sticks with relentless military pressure. (PBS)