[IMPORTANT] Hamas launches foot assault against settlements.

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The United Nations human rights office says Palestinians detained by Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza may have been tortured.

The UN report gathered testimony from men, women and children who had been detained, who said "they were held in cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers".

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said testimony received by his office suggested Israeli authorities may have inflicted "appalling acts" on detainees, including "waterboarding and the release of dogs".

Many have been held without without charge, access to a lawyer, and in "deplorable conditions," the report adds.

The report also documents the suffering Israeli hostages say they endured while held by Hamas. Former hostages said they were deprived of adequate food and water in captivity, with some also saying they were beaten.

Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians over the course of the war in Gaza - mostly from Gaza but also from the occupied West Bank and Israel itself.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has been refused permission to visit facilities where Palestinian prisoners are being held.

But today’s UN report contains the most extensive accounts, from former detainees and families of those detained, of alleged mistreatment.

The report suggests thousands of Palestinians have been arrested, some of them medical staff together with their patients, others children sheltering in schools. At least 53 people are believed to have died in detention.

Those released told UN human rights investigators of being blindfolded, deprived of food, sleep and water, subjected to electric shocks and burnt with cigarettes.

Some women and men also spoke of sexual and gender-based violence.

Mr Türk said the testimonies in the report indicated a "flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law."

Detaining people indefinitely, denying them access to lawyers or any contact with their families or humanitarian organisations could, the UN says, amount to the international crime of enforced disappearance.

The UN report calls on all parties to the conflict to "immediately end all forms of arbitrary detention, including the holding of hostages, as well as torture or other ill-treatment, rape and other forms of gender-based violence, and ensure accountability for serious violations and abuses"

Israeli airstrikes that killed international aid workers in Gaza in April were the result of serious operational failures but were not intentional, according to an Australian government review of the incident released on Friday.

Three Israeli airstrikes hit the convoy of aid vehicles traveling through Gaza on April 1, killing seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) staff, including Australian team leader Zomi Frankcom. Palestinians and citizens of the United States, Britain and Poland were also among those killed.

An Australian review into the deaths said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) decided to launch missiles at the convoy after mistakenly believing it was being hijacked by Hamas fighters, who were in fact locally contracted security guards.

In addition, information about the WCK convoy’s movements had not reached the IDF team behind the strike, it said. This confusion was compounded because Israeli officials could not directly communicate with the aid convoy, the review added.

IDF staff also violated standard procedures in ordering the second and third strikes on the convoy without carrying out another identification process, it said.

“In this incident, it appears that the IDF controls failed, leading to errors in decision making and a misidentification, likely compounded by a level of confirmation bias,” according to Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, who traveled to Israel to investigate the deaths.

“Based on the information available to me, it is my assessment that the IDF strike on the WCK aid workers was not knowingly or deliberately directed against the WCK.”

Israel’s investigation into the deaths had been “timely, appropriate and, with some exceptions, sufficient,” he said.

Binskin said an apology and compensation for the families were important considerations for Israel, but stopped short of recommending Australia demand either of Israel.

The IDF has apologized and dismissed two senior commanders involved in the strikes. Three other commanders were formally reprimanded. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were unintended and tragic.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia wanted those accountable to be held responsible, including criminal charges if appropriate.

Wong said she had written to her Israeli counterpart calling for greater protection for humanitarian workers.

“This is not an isolated incident,” she said.

“We have seen 250 aid workers killed during this conflict and we have also seen recent events where U.N. vehicles have been fired upon and it is clear that more needs to be done.”

The army Home Front Command, in charge of outlining defense directives for civilians, has yet to change its guidelines encouraging Israelis to maintain their routines.

“Iran has a wide range of options for their retaliation,” said Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, from Misgav Institute for National Security and former head of the Research Division in Israeli military intelligence. “All the sides understand that the chances of this conflict to deteriorate into a full-scale regional war are not small, despite everyone saying they have no interest in this.”

Bracing for an Iranian attack
Israelis are now bracing themselves for an Iranian attack which could then result in a larger regional conflict.

According to Zimmt, the chance of Iran not responding with an attack is slim.

“The big question is what the ramifications of such an attack will be and if, similar to April, it will be contained in a minor way,” he added. “If Israel will be dragged into a wider conflict, the more substantive threat is from Hezbollah, but a multi-front confrontation is definitely on the agenda.”

Iran’s spring attack on Israel was largely thwarted by the Israeli military, together with a regional coalition including American and British forces. Iran has the ability to strike again and will likely do so, aiming to yield a better result than the previous attempt.

“This time we might see a joint attack from Iran with other proxies,” said Zimmt. “Iran will likely use UAVs and cruise missiles but will likely do so from a wider geographic area than it did in April when Iran launched its attack from the same area.”

“If Israel is attacked, we certainly will help defend Israel,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday. “You saw us do that in April, you can expect to see us do that again.”

Israel’s ability to thwart the previous Iranian attack was also due to the fact that it was an isolated Iranian attack that did not involve any other actors, allowing Israel to focus on one threat.

Adding to the threats are the Houthi rebels, who have yet to retaliate for Israel’s strike against its main lifeline, the port of Hodeida, last month.

While Iran is considered Israel’s archenemy, Hezbollah is viewed by Israel as its most formidable and immediate threat. After months of contained exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, this could be the tipping point.

Defense analysts estimate Hezbollah has accumulated around 150,000 rockets, all with Iranian assistance. The terrorist organization is also believed to have improved its precision missile abilities and has thousands of highly trained operatives ready to attack Israel.

The multilayered Israeli air defense systems, considered to be highly sophisticated, will likely have difficulty fending off barrages of thousands of rockets every day in the event of a war with Hezbollah.

“Israel has invested years in developing abilities in systems that are meant to deal with such a reality,” Kuperwasser told The Media Line. “No country is ever prepared for every single extreme scenario.”

In recent years, Israel’s air force is believed to be behind hundreds of strikes that have targeted Hezbollah’s weapons. Yet success appears to be limited and the huge arsenal of rockets is also widely intact as demonstrated in the last 10 months. This effort has been part of an Israeli-Iranian shadow war that has been going on in the past two decades. In addition to Israeli airstrike, the Jewish state is believed to be behind cyberattacks against major infrastructure in the Islamic Republic. Iran is believed to be behind attacks against Israeli-operated oil tankers, attempts to abduct and kill Israelis in countries like Cyprus and Turkey in recent months and the steady supply of weapons to its proxies.

In the more distant past, Iran has exacted its retribution on Israeli targets abroad. Its proxies have perpetrated attacks against Israeli embassies and Jewish targets abroad, killing many. Those proxies have also targeted American soldiers around the world.

“The Iranian willingness to take risks, at the price of an escalation, is higher than before. Not only because of the latest events but because of the feeling of increased confidence and identification of Israeli weakness and therefore things that in the past seemed impossible have now become more and more of an option.”

After 10 months of war, Israel is on edge. The military stretched out to its maximum capabilities, the negotiations on the release of the hostages being held by Hamas endless, and the fighting in Gaza still ongoing.

“The current tensions should not divert Israel’s attention from its main effort to subdue Hamas and create the conditions to release the hostages in a way that will provide a response to Israel’s security and not destabilize it,” Kuperwasser summarized. “Afterward, Hezbollah and Iran should be taken care of.”

This is not just in Israel’s control and the coming hours and days will determine whether Israel can operate in that order or not.

The Israeli hacker group, "We Red Evils Original", took responsibility for reported WiFi outages in Iran, according to Israeli media on Thursday night.

Shortly before reports in Iran, the group posted a message on their Telegram saying, 'In the coming minutes, we will attack internet systems and providers in Iran. A severe blow is on the way.'

The Post found many comments in Iran from users saying they had heard the internet was down in parts of the country and that there were internet blackouts in certain parts of Tehran.

WeRedEvils has been operating in a non-official capacity since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

This is not the first time the group has reportedly hacked foreign countries. In October 2023, the group claimed to have hacked into the main project management system for oil infrastructure in Iran.

Other claims of success
In November, the hackers claimed to have successfully blocked all of the Hadid family members from their WhatsApp accounts, providing screenshots and contact details as proof, they announced on their Telegram.

According to X reports, they claimed to have cut off the internet in Yemen in early November in retaliation for Houthi missile launches. The Internet Observatory Netblocks corroborated it at the time.

Western intelligence sources told Sky News Arabia that they had evidence Iran plans to attack Israel on Tisha B’Av in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which begins on August 12 and ends on August 13, the site reported on Friday.

Iran’s attack will reportedly be coordinated with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror group embedded in Lebanon.

On Tisha B’Av, Jews lament the destruction of the first and second Temples. During the annual event, there is fasting, mourning and a practice of self-denial.

Three sources told the New York Times<that Iran planned to respond to the assassination of Haniyeh. The sentiment was echoed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khameini on X who wrote “Following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge.”

The report indicates that there is an emotional and psychological impact in targeting Israel on the holy day of mourning.

The report claimed that Jewish Israelis may feel particularly vulnerable on this day - adding an additional layer of psychological torment.

There is also reportedly a symbolic reason for attacking this date, reviving historical traumas and replaying the images of destruction.

Finally, Iran allegedly hopes that attacking on this day would bring an element of surprise. While security may be occupied with their own religious rituals or settling disagreements, they may be unprepared for a military attack.

Sky News Arabia also claimed that the media coverage on the attack would transmit a message to the Islamic world - that “Israel is vulnerable to destruction as the Jews have historically been.”
While the report claimed this may push for the international community to find political solutions to the conflict, it is unclear how this conclusion was reached.

The report also claimed that attacking on this day may restore morale to terror groups attacking Israel, reinvigorating them for future attacks and showing that Iran will continue to back terror leaders in the region.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has informed Israel about current and future changes to US forces in the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, amid threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.

The US military will deploy additional fighters and Navy warships to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Friday, as the United States seeks to bolster defenses following threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.

The expected changes come as the United States is bracing for Iran to make good on its threats to respond to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran - one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian terrorist group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages.

"(Austin) informed the minister of additional measures to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes that the department will take to support the defense of Israel," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters after a call between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

"(Austin) committed to minister Gallant and the President (Joe Biden) committed to (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that we will be bolstering our force protection in the region," she added.

It is unclear if the US preparations are as intensive as they were prior to April 13, when Iran launched an attack on Israeli territory with drones and missiles.

At the time, Israel successfully knocked down almost all of the roughly 300 drones and missiles with the help of the United States and other allies.

Biden and Netanyahu discuss strategy
Biden, in a phone call on Thursday with Netanyahu, discussed new US defensive military deployments to support Israel against threats such as missiles and drones, the White House said.

The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations told CBS News in an exclusive on Friday that the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah would begin deliberately targeting Israeli civilians - claiming that it had not done so until now.

Hezbollah has reportedly decided to increase its targets in attacks in response to the assassination of its commander, Fuad Shukr.

"Until now, Hezbollah and the regime have, in an unwritten understanding, practically adhered to certain limits in their military operations, meaning that confining their actions to border areas and shallow zones, targeting primarily military objectives," a spokesperson from the delegation told CBS News. "However, the regime's attack on Dahieh in Beirut and the targeting of a residential building marked a deviation from these boundaries. We anticipate that, in its response, Hezbollah will choose both broader and deeper targets, and will not restrict itself solely to military targets and means."

Israel anticipates an attack
While Greek media reported on Friday that it had been warned by foreign intelligence to prepare for attacks on Israeli interests in the country, Iran's mission told CBS News that Hezbollah would attack Israeli civilians only within Israeli territory.

An Israeli official confirmed to CBS News that while Iran's April 13 attack was thwarted, Israel was anticipating a "more aggressive" retaliation this time around - a retaliation which could extend to Israeli interests abroad.

The American and British governments urged their citizens in Lebanon on Saturday to leave the country as soon as possible, citing escalating tensions with Israel as the region braces for a promised Iranian and Hezbollah response to several high-profile assassinations last week.

“Tensions are high, and the situation could deteriorate rapidly,” UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement on Saturday. “While we are working round the clock to strengthen our consular presence in Lebanon, my message to British nationals there is clear — leave now.”

The US embassy in Lebanon also urged its citizens on Saturday to leave Lebanon on “any ticket available.” The warning came several days after the US raised its travel advisory for the country to Level Four, “Do Not Travel,” on Wednesday, citing “rising tensions between [Hezbollah] and Israel.”

Despite flight suspensions and cancellations, “commercial transportation options to leave Lebanon remain available,” the US embassy statement on Saturday said.

“We encourage those who wish to depart Lebanon to book any ticket available to them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route,” the statement continued.

Many countries issued urgent travel warnings about Lebanon last week, after a rocket attack by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group on July 27 killed 12 children and teens in the Golan Heights, and Israel vowed to make the Iranian-backed terror group pay a heavy price for the strike.

In the wake of that Hezbollah attack, the UK Foreign Office urged Brits to avoid “all travel to Lebanon,” and Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands all called on citizens to leave the country immediately. Sweden, Norway, Belgium and Denmark also reiterated calls for their citizens to leave Lebanon.

Many airlines, including Emirates, Aegean, Air France and Lufthansa have canceled flights to Lebanon amid the escalating tensions.

In addition, at least 18 airlines have canceled flights to Israel. Several Israel-bound flights last week were also redirected after take-off, returning to their place of departure.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, in a video posted to X on Wednesday, said, “My message to Australian citizens and residents in Lebanon is: now is the time to leave. If you are in Australia and thinking of traveling to Lebanon – do not.”

Poland also updated its travel guidance on Friday, in light of the escalating situation, advising citizens not to travel to Lebanon or Israel, as the country’s national airline canceled flights to the countries. Poland also advised against travel to Iran.

On Friday, Arabic media reported that Hezbollah has also been evacuating its senior personnel from strongholds in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in anticipation of potential Israeli strikes.

A conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden that took place this week saw the Israeli leader telling Biden, "We are making progress with the negotiations; send a delegation," Channel 12 revealed on Saturday.

Biden's blunt reply was: "Stop bullshitting me."

In addition to the tense exchange between Netanyahu and US officials, new information has surfaced about Netanyahu's discussions with Israeli security leaders. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told Netanyahu, "There are conditions for the deal. I believe it is right to enter negotiations and achieve the best possible outcome.

"We will continue to pressure Hamas until then, and after we secure a deal, we can turn our attention to the north. Regarding the Philadelphi corridor, I do not suggest making it an obstacle or something that prevents us from bringing 30 people back home in the first stage, half of whom are women."

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant joined the discussion, stating, "For all moral and strategic reasons, I think we should see the deal as an opportunity. There will be no deal under the conditions you set, and you know it. There is no security reason to delay the deal. Since we are speaking honestly, I will tell you that your considerations are not in the best interest of the matter."

Sources familiar with the hostage deal negotiations told Channel 12, "This is a protocol trip, a waste of time. Netanyahu's current positions will not lead to real progress."

Following these reports, the Prime Minister's Office reiterated its statement that Netanyahu expects the US not to interfere in Israeli politics.

"The leaks and false briefings from anonymous sources in the media are creating a misleading impression for the public," it said. "While Prime Minister Netanyahu has agreed to the outline, Hamas is attempting to introduce numerous changes that effectively nullify it.

"Hamas continues to demand the end of the war, the release of a minimal number of hostages, the ability to flood Gaza with weapons, to regain control, and to repeat the atrocities of October 7.

Delegation returns from Cairo
The Israeli hostage negotiation team arrived and returned from Cairo on Saturday and updated that no significant progress was made in the deal, Israeli media reported on Saturday, citing sources close to the matter.

According to the reports, the talks on Saturday focused on the issue of control over the Philadelphi corridor.

The U.S. general in charge of American forces in the Middle East arrived in the region on Saturday as preparations continue for a possible attack against Israel from Iran in retaliation for the assassinations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, two U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: Gen. Michael Kurilla's trip to the region was planned before the recent escalation between Israel, Iran and Hezbollah but he is expected to use the trip to try to mobilize the same international and regional coalition that defended Israel against an attack from Iran on Apr. 13, a U.S. official said.

Three U.S. and Israeli officials said they expect Iran to attack Israel as early as Monday.

U.S. officials expect any Iranian retaliation to be from the same playbook as their Apr. 13 attack on Israel — but potentially larger in scope — and it could also involve Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Biden administration is concerned it may be more difficult to mobilize the same international and regional coalition of countries that defended Israel from the previous Iranian attack because Haniyeh's assassination is in the context of the Israel-Hamas war, which has drawn sharp anti-Israel sentiments across the region.

Behind the scenes: According to a U.S. official, Kurilla is expected to visit several Gulf countries, Jordan and Israel.

Jordan will be a key stop on his trip. The Jordanians played a significant role during the Apr. 13 attack by intercepting Iranian drones that entered their territory headed for Israel and by allowing U.S. and Israeli jets to use their air space to intercept Iranian drones. The U.S. hopes the same will happen again if needed, the official said.

U.S. and Israeli officials said they don't know if Iran and Hezbollah will conduct a coordinated attack or operate separately.

They added that they think both Iran and Hezbollah are still working on finalizing their military plans and approving them at the political level.

A U.S. official said the Biden administration wanted to announce the boosting of U.S. forces on Friday as Iran and Hezbollah were still discussing what their retaliation would look like with the hope that the announcement would help to deter them and influence their military plans.

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Dozens of people have reportedly been killed in Israeli air strikes on two schools in Gaza, according to Palestinian rescuers and news outlets.

Some of those killed were displaced people sheltering at the schools, rescuers said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strikes, saying it had targeted Hamas "command and control centres" within two schools in Gaza City.

The strikes were the third time in a week schools in Gaza have been hit by Israeli strikes.

The IDF said: "The schools were used by Hamas's al-Furqan Battalion as a hiding place for its terrorist operatives and as command centres used to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops and the state of Israel."

Footage on social media purported to show bodies inside one of the schools as rescuers evacuated casualties, including children.

Palestinian media said at least 30 people were killed in the strikes. Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defence, said most of the dead were women and children.

He added that more people were believed to be buried under the rubble.

The attack on the al-Nasr and Hassan Salama schools came on the day of an attack on a camp for displaced people in a hospital in central Gaza, which reportedly killed at least five people.

On Saturday, officials said an air strike on Hamama School in Gaza City had killed at least 17 people.

Days earlier, a strike on Dalal al-Mughrabi School killed 15, according to officials.

In a separate development on Sunday morning, two people were killed in a stabbing attack in the Israeli city of Holon. The Palestinian attacker was later shot dead, police said.

ran has decided to attack Israel, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Monday amid an intense diplomatic push to avoid any further military action that could spark a direct war between the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state.

Iran’s message was delivered to Israel by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who called Katz to explain that he had received this information from acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri.

“Iran has informed us that it intends to attack Israel,” Katz said.

“The world should exact a price from Iran for any aggressive action it carries out,” he added.

In a conversation Bagheri held with his Bahraini counterpart, Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, he spoke about his country’s determination to respond to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

Biden set to meet with national security team
US President Joe Biden was expected to meet Monday afternoon with his national security team to discuss the situation. US CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla visited Israel on Monday and met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Gallant said the visit was “a direct translation of US support for Israel into action. The relationship between Israel and the United States is unshakable. We discussed the coordination of defense activities and ways to expand the international coalition facing aggressive actions by Iran and its proxies.”

In April, the United States, Israel, Jordan, the United Kingdom, and France defended Israel from a direct Iranian attack. Saudi Arabia lent tacit support to the coalition.

It is presumed that the US is attempting to coalesce the same five militaries even as it is scrambling to thwart an attack or at the very least limit its scope.

Saudi Arabia has said it would not allow Iranian missiles or drones to move through its airspace, according to media reports.

Jordan has said it wants its airspace to remain neutral, according to media reports. Biden and King Abdullah spoke Monday about regional tensions.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday spoke to Qatari Prime Minister Al Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty about the regional tensions. This followed conversations with his counterparts in the G7 countries and with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani on Sunday.

“The secretary has delivered a consistent message in all of these engagements,” US State Department Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Monday. “We are at a critical moment for the region. It is important that all parties take steps over the coming days to refrain from escalation and calm tensions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday said Tehran was determined to expand relations with its “strategic partner Russia,” Iranian state media reported.

Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, is visiting Iran and met with Pezeshkian and senior Iranian security officials as the Islamic Republic weighs its response to Haniyeh’s assassination.

“Russia is among the countries that have stood by the Iranian nation during difficult times,” Pezeshkian told Shoigu, Iranian state media reported.

Pezeshkian said shared positions between Iran and Russia “in promoting a multipolar world will certainly lead to greater global security and peace.”

Russia has condemned the killing of Haniyeh and has called on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war.

Pezeshkian said Israel’s “criminal actions” in Gaza and the assassination of Haniyeh “are clear examples of the violation of all international laws and regulations.”

Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran since the start of its war with Ukraine and has said it is preparing to sign a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with the Islamic state.

Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, Reuters reported in February.

The United Nations announced on Monday night that nine employees of the UNRWA agency for Palestinian refugees “may have been involved” in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and will be fired from the organization.

The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), an independent body of the United Nations Secretariat, said in a terse press release that it had completed its investigation into 19 UNRWA staff members alleged by Israel to have taken part in the October 7 atrocities and concluded that in nine cases, the evidence obtained by the organization “indicated that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October 2023.”

Added the OIOS, “The employment of these individuals will be terminated in the interests of the Agency.”

everal U.S. personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq on Monday, three U.S. officials told Reuters, as concerns in the region mounted following last week's killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the suspected rocket attack took place at Al Asad airbase in Iraq. They said they were citing initial information which could change.

"Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment," one of the officials added.
Two Katyusha rockets on Monday were fired at the base in western Iraq, security sources said. One security source said the rockets fell inside the base.

Last week the U.S. carried out a strike in Iraq against individuals U.S. officials said were militants getting ready to launch drones and posed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces.

Hezbollah may attack Israel regardless of whether Iran will join in, according to a recent report by CNN on Wednesday.

The Lebanon-based terror group looks increasingly likely to act independently and strike Israel without waiting for Iran's response, multiple sources familiar with the intelligence revealed.

Hezbollah may launch an attack in the coming days while Iran is still deliberating its next move.
One US military official noted that Iran has made some, but not all, of the expected preparations for a major attack on Israel. However, due to Lebanon’s proximity, Hezbollah could act with little to no notice, unlike Iran.

There is a sense that Hezbollah and Iran are not entirely in sync regarding their response to the recent assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' deceased political leader in Tehran, and Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah's deceased top military commander in Lebanon.

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has reportedly asked the Islamic Republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to refrain from attacking Israel, according to a report by Iran International on Wednesday.

Pezeshkian warned Khamenei of the potential attack's effects on his presidency, with Iran International quoting sources familiar with the development.

Khamenei 'noncommittal'
The new Iranian president cautioned that an Israeli retaliatory attack could cripple Iran's economy, infrastructure, and even lead to the country's collapse.

Iran International said that sources familiar with the subject noted that Khamenei "remained noncommittal" during the session, "neither supporting nor opposing Pezeshkian's concerns."

A film from Keshet 12's investigative newsmagazine program, Uvda (Hebrew for Fact), with Ilana Dayan, has just been nominated for an International Emmy Award.

The segment by Yoram Zak, "Brother & Sister in Captivity,” presented an in-depth and riveting interview with siblings Maya Regev and Itay Regev, who were kidnapped from the Nova festival to Gaza on October 7 and returned from Hamas captivity in the hostage deal in late 2023.
The nominees in the News & Current Affairs categories were announced in New York on Thursday.

Both Regev siblings were shot in their legs and were operated on without anesthesia by medical staffers who threatened to kill them if they cried out during the surgeries.
Maya, whose injuries became infected and who still faces a long road to recovery, posted a video Wednesday on her Instagram account showing her taking her first steps since October 7 with the aid of crutches.

The Regevs’ close friend, Omer Shem-Tov, is still held in Gaza. The siblings recounted how Shem-Tov helped them stay silent during these medical procedures that were carried out to cause maximum pain.

Telling the story of being kidnapped by Hamas
Shani’s film tells the story of Abigail Mor Idan, a three-year-old who was kidnapped by Hamas from her home on October 7 after her parents were murdered and detailed her life with her aunt and uncle, who have adopted her. It also showed the ordeal of her brother and sister, who hid from terrorists in a closet for hours.

Israeli tanks returned to the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Friday, forcing thousands to evacuate along congested roadways, as Palestinian fighters continued to attack Israeli troops from the ruins, residents and the military said.

Families fled eastern Khan Younis in vehicles and on foot, belongings heaped on donkey carts and motorcycle rickshaws as they made their slow escape along congested roads.

In recent weeks Israeli forces which swept into nearly the entire Gaza Strip over more than ten months of war have been returning to the ruins of areas where they previously claimed to have driven Hamas fighters out.

In the latest assault, the military dropped leaflets ordering residents and displaced people sheltering in eastern Khan Younis, Gaza's main southern city, to evacuate from an area that has already seen repeated waves of fighting.

Families packed into buses and cars, many seeking shelter in Al-Mawasi, a sandy stretch of ground along the coast, though some expressed fear that it has been attacked in the past despite being designated as a safe zone by Israeli forces.

"We don't know where are we going, to the beach to Al-Mawasi, any place we will stay at. There is no safe place here. They struck everywhere, they already struck Al-Mawasi and many people were killed. There is no safety, the safety is with God," said displaced man Ahmed al-Farra.

Um Raed Abu Elyan said she and her family were "running from the fire, we are running with our children from fear".

Asked where would she go she replied: "God knows, we are walking now. They said to go to humanitarian areas, but there is no safe place here in Gaza. It is all destroyed and damaged."

CEASEFIRE TALKS
There was no immediate detail on what was expected from the meeting called for Aug. 15 to discuss a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. Previous talks have failed to yield a ceasefire since a single week-long truce last November.

Israel's prime minister's office said a delegation would be sent to the talks but declined to give further details. There was no immediate comment from Hamas, whose newly appointed overall leader Yahya Sinwar is believed to run the battle, possibly from the tunnels of Gaza.

The mediators are anxious to revive the effort to halt the fighting in Gaza with fears growing of a possible broader conflict in the region. Iran has vowed to retaliate after Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran and Israel killed a top commander of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in a strike on a Beirut suburb.

A Hamas response to the latest proposal for talks "needs to be studied carefully with its allies. If Israel was serious about reaching a ceasefire, they could have simply accepted the proposal Hamas agreed to," said one Palestinian official familiar with the mediation effort.

Washington is set to provide Israel with $3.5 billion to spend on US weapons and military equipment, releasing the money months after it was appropriated by the US Congress, CNN reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The State Department notified lawmakers on Thursday night that the government intended to release the billions of dollars worth of foreign military financing to Israel, CNN reported, adding that the money comes from the $14.1 billion supplemental funding bill for Israel passed in April.
Sources also told the multinational news source that it takes time for the money to be released from these packages, and also that Israel won't receive the $3.5 billion worth of American-made weapons immediately.

The funding that Israel receives is so that it can procure systems that are being built now, but won't see them delivered until several years later.

An airstrike by the Israel Defense Forces on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 60 people and injured dozens more on Saturday morning, according to Palestinian health officials, in one of the deadliest days in the 10-month war as mediators discussed ongoing efforts to de-escalate soaring tensions in the region. The death toll is expected to rise.

The strikes hit the Tabeen school in Gaza City, including the mosque inside it, during dawn prayers.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was targeting a Hamas command center embedded in the school, and that “numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians,” including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence information.

Hamas denied that there was a command center in the school and in a statement, called the strike a "heinous massacre."

NBC News is unable to independently verify whether there was a command center at the school.

Mohammed Al-Mogher, of Gaza's Civil Defense, told NBC News that missiles tore through the school, where an estimated 4,200 displaced people were sheltering, before fire spread across the building.

Al-Mogher, who heads the agency’s documentation department, said the process of identifying the bodies was "extremely complex."

"Most of them have not been identified due to the disappearance of their features and the melting of the bodies, as most of them were molten remains," he said, adding that there were more than 60 bodies missing, and that most of the injured were in critical condition, with complete burns and amputated limbs.

Some have died on the operating tables, "due to a lack of medical equipment," Al-Mogher said.

The civil defense, he added, continued to suffer from severe shortages, "and are working with simple manual equipment, which has not enabled the teams to perform their duties effectively and save lives."

Mahmoud Saber Basal, an official spokesperson for the civil defense, said on Telegram that there were still large quantities of body parts and torn bodies inside the Arab National Hospital that have not been identified.

According to the United Nations, 477 out of 564 schools in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged since the current conflict began on October 7.

American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have continued to push for Israel and Hamas to achieve a cease-fire agreement. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss de-escalating tensions.

Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken reiterated the urgent need to reach a cease-fire in Gaza that would secure the release of hostages, allow a surge of humanitarian assistance, and create the conditions for broader regional stability.

Hamas said the latest strike was “a dangerous escalation,” and called on the international community to "take urgent action to stop these massacres."