Israeli military report ‘numerous projectiles’ from Lebanon

In its latest war update, Israel’s military says one of the projectiles hit the area of Avivim in northern Israel but that no injuries have been reported.

It said its forces had struck the sources of the fire and “additional targets to remove threats”.

UK agency reports incident in sea off Yemen

Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO says it has received a report of an incident 170 nautical miles (315km) southwest of the Yemeni city of Aden, where Houthis have been targeting Israel-linked commercial ships in a show of solidarity with Palestinians.

UKMTO WARNING INCIDENT 104

ATTACK

Warnings - 2024 (https://t.co/5An1YH0JyE)#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/MhwJV3dyWj

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) August 3, 2024

‘Small explosion in proximity’ of ship off Yemen’s Aden

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations confirms in an update on the incident earlier some 170 nautical miles (315km) off the Yemeni city of Aden that a ship was attacked.

“The master of a merchant vessel reports the armed security team observed a small explosion in close proximity to the vessel,” it says, adding that there was no damage and the crew are safe.

The Houthis in Yemen have not reported any attacks so far today.

UKMTO WARNING INCIDENT 104 UPDATE 001

ATTACK

Warnings - 2024 (https://t.co/5An1YH0JyE)#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/v22c6GD1kh

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) August 3, 2024

US military says it destroyed Houthi missile launcher

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that its forces destroyed “Houthi missile and launcher in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen” in the past 24 hours.

“It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to US and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure.”

August 3 U.S. Central Command Update

In the past 24 hours U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed an Iranian-backed Houthi missile and launcher in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. 
 
It was determined these weapons presented an imminent threat to U.S.… pic.twitter.com/PJClSZmQIG

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 3, 2024

Another security incident off Yemen’s coast

The British maritime security agency UKMTO is reporting a second security incident off the coast of Yemen, where the Houthis have been attacking Israel-linked vessels amid the war on Gaza.

The latest incident took place some 125 nautical miles (230km) east of Yemen’s Aden, according to UKMTO.

UKMTO WARNING INCIDENT 104 - ATTACKhttps://t.co/6mNrG6W5iO#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/OoHk9oBuqW

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) August 3, 2024

Vessel ‘hit by a missile’ off Yemen’s coast

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reports that a vessel has been targeted in two separate attacks off Yemen.

The security agency cites the owner company’s security officer as reporting that the vessel was “hit by a missile” but that there was no fire, water ingress or oil leak. This was the same ship that was targeted earlier in the day, with an explosion reported near the vessel during the first attack.

20240803-UKMTO INCIDENT 105 WARNING-ATTACK -UPDATE 001

The Company Security Officer reports that the vessel was hit by a missile. No fire, no water ingress, no oil leakage is observed.https://t.co/6mNrG6W5iO#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/fJANz5is9V

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) August 3, 2024

Canada tells citizens to avoid travel to Israel

The Canadian government is warning its citizens against travelling to Israel, saying the regional armed conflict endangers security.

“The security situation can deteriorate further without warning,” Canada says in a travel advisory issued to raise the risk level for travel to Israel.

“If the armed conflict intensifies, it could impact your ability to depart by commercial means. It may result in travel disruptions, including airspace closures and flight cancellations and diversions. You should not rely on the Government of Canada for an assisted departure or evacuation,” the travel advisory says.

 
France issues travel advisory for Lebanon

The French Foreign Ministry has urged French citizens in Lebanon to leave the country, citing a risk of military escalation in the Middle East.

The ministry also advised French citizens against travelling to Lebanon.

France tells citizens living in Iran to temporarily leave

The ministry has now recommended that French citizens residing in Iran temporarily leave the country, as well, citing the risk of its airspace being closed.

Italy’s top diplomat asks Italian tourists to leave Lebanon

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has asked Italian tourists not to go to Lebanon and for those already in the country to leave on commercial flights “as soon as possible”.

In a post on X, he said the advisory was issued due to “the worsening situation” in a region that is bracing itself for a response to Israeli assassinations in Tehran and Beirut.

We previously reported that France has also asked its own nationals to leave Lebanon as well as Iran given the danger of a military escalation in the Middle East.

Biden hopes Iran will stand down but is uncertain

US President Joe Biden has expressed hope that Iran refrain from acting on its threat to avenge the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran. When asked by reporters whether Iran would stand down, Biden said, “I hope so. I don’t know.”

‘No way Iran can stand down’ after Haniyeh’s killing

Colin Clarke, the director of research at The Soufan Group, told Al Jazeera that Iran has no choice but to respond to Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran.

“There’s no way the Iranians can stand down. They need to save face,” Clarke told Al Jazeera. “The fact that this assassination was conducted on Iranian soil, in Tehran, during what was supposed to be, for the Iranians, a fairly joyous event – the inauguration of their new president – means that the Israelis have essentially forced Iranians to respond.”

And this may be exactly what Netanyahu hoped for, Clarke said.

The analyst added that Iran could launch a direct attack or use one, if not all of the Iran-aligned groups in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary in Iraq.

“I think we’re already in a regional war,” he added. “Now we’re looking at how much further we’re gonna dial up this regional war.”

Iran’s acting foreign minister says ‘big red line’ crossed by Israel

Ali Bagheri Kani has told his Pakistani counterpart in a phone call that Tehran will respond to the assassination of Haniyeh, which he described as “the Zionist regime crossing a big red line of the Islamic Republic of Iran” with two major repercussions.

“First is Iran’s decisive response to this crime, and the other is the effect of the malign actions of the Zionists in disturbing stability and security and creating crises across the region,” he is quoted as saying by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Iran to teach Israel, US ‘historical lesson’: Parliament speaker

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has demanded “a deterrent response and revenge for the blood of Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh”, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

“Tehran has not left any attack on its territory unanswered and will not do so in the future,” Ghalibaf was quoted as saying. “Our armed forces will teach the Zionist entity and its main supporter, the United States, a historical lesson.”

Iran’s IRNA state news agency also reported that Ghalibaf, speaking during a parliament session, said: “We do not doubt that the people and resistance forces and freedom seekers of the world will be happy with Iran’s smart and crushing response, and the Zionist regime, especially its supporter, the United States, will be forced to regret it.”

‘Biden realised Netanyahu lied about captive deal’: Report

A senior official in the administration of President Joe Biden has told Israeli daily Haaretz that Netanyahu is ungrateful towards the US and disregards the significant amount of aid it has provided to Israel throughout the past 10 months of war.

The official also described the last two conversations between the two men – one during a White House meeting some 10 days ago, the other over the phone last week – as difficult and tense, according to Haaretz.

“Biden realised that Netanyahu was lying to him about the hostages,” the official told the publication.

“He’s not saying it publicly yet, but in the meeting between them, he specifically told him, ‘Stop bull*****ing me.'”

The official said the US is preparing to help Israel in the face of an Iranian and Hezbollah response to last week’s assassinations in Beirut and Tehran but stressed there would be no support for actions that further expand the scope of the conflict.

“Netanyahu is trying to prolong the war instead of focusing on how to get to a hostage deal,” the official said. “It’s making it harder for us to continue supporting Israel over time.”

Haaretz said the Israeli prime minister responded to the reports about the tense discussions with Biden through a press release attributed to his office that said: “The prime minister does not interfere in American politics and will work with whoever is elected president, just as he also expects the Americans not to interfere in Israeli politics.”

Israeli negotiators nowhere close to a deal after Cairo talks

The Israeli negotiating team, headed by the chief of Israel’s Mossad went to Cairo and came back to Israel, but sources within Israeli media are saying that they are nowhere closer to a deal.

Now, leaks from meetings with security officials say that Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the army chief of staff Herzi Halevi, believe that Netanyahu’s hardened stance is the reason why a deal is not coming about.

But Netanyahu’s office released a statement to the Israeli public broadcaster, saying that these leaks are false and that Netanyahu did not change anything within the Israeli proposal that has been on the table for weeks, and they accused Hamas of adding what they’re calling dozens of new additions to the proposal.

All this comes as the Israelis are on maximum alert after the assassinations of multiple individuals, including Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh, who was the negotiator for Hamas, and some are saying that Israel is not serious about these negotiations, if they are willing to assassinate the negotiator on the other side.

_{Demonstrations in Tel Aviv and around Israel on Saturday night called for the government to reach an immediate deal to release Israeli captives held in Gaza}

Israeli military tactics in Gaza ‘divorced from any kind of political strategy’

More from Clarke at The Soufan Group.

The analyst said that despite the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire, there has been no change in the Israeli military’s strategy in Gaza.

“Israeli military moves in Gaza – the tactical moves that we’re seeing – [are] completely divorced from any kind of broader political strategy. And that’s deliberate at this point,” Clarke told Al Jazeera.

“Netanyahu refuses to deal with the day after in Gaza. He’s essentially trying to run out the string, probably hoping that Donald Trump is re-elected president and that he gets more of a blank check from the United States. It’s a big gamble. Obviously he’s becoming increasingly unpopular in Israel itself for refusing to elevate the sense of urgency surrounding hostages and to push for a ceasefire deal. So this is a big roll of the dice.”

Hezbollah claims rocket attack on Israeli settlement

Hezbollah said it launched a barrage of Katyusha rockets towards the Beit Hillel settlement in northern Israel, claiming the attack was in response to Israel’s targeting of civilians in Lebanon.

As we reported earlier, Israeli Iron Dome air defences were seen intercepting multiple rockets over the northern Galilee region in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Israeli military claimed on Saturday multiple attacks on southern Lebanon, including a drone strike that killed a Hezbollah fighter in the village of Deir Siriane.

_{Israeli ‘Iron Dome’ missiles intercept rockets over the northern Galilee region in northern Israel, on Sunday}

Israel bombs Blat in southern Lebanon

Israeli warplanes have launched two air attacks on the outskirts of the town of Blat in southern Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera’s correspondent there.

We’ll bring you more on this soon.

Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) shows that Israel has carried out at least 17,081 air/drone strikes, shelling/missile attacks, remote explosives and property destruction in five countries – Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and the occupied Palestinian territory – since October 7.

Israeli military says it hit a Hezbollah rocket launcher in south Lebanon

The Israeli military is confirming attacks on southern Lebanon.

In a post on X, the Israeli military said its fighter jets carried out attacks on the site of a Hezbollah rocket launcher and other infrastructure in the Marjayoun area of southern Lebanon. It also carried out artillery attacks on the village of Odaisseh, which is located close to the Blue Line border between Israel and Lebanon.

Hezbollah destroys Israeli spy equipment in Ramya: Report

The Lebanese group said its fighters carried out a “direct hit” on and destroyed Israeli surveillance equipment in Ramya in northern Israel, according to the Lebanese NNA agency.

The attack took place at 8am local time (05:00 GMT), NNA reported. It followed Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s Marjayoun area and Hezbollah firing dozens of rockets at Israel’s Beit Hillel settlement.

Israeli drone misses target in southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that an Israeli drone has targeted a motorcycle in the Lebanese town of Rab el-Thalathine. The attack ended without any injuries because the drone missed its target, the agency said.

Hezbollah claims two attacks on Israeli military sites near Lebanon border

Hezbollah has claimed a shelling attack on Israel’s Birkat Risha military outpost near the Lebanese border.

The group did not elaborate on the results on the afternoon attack, which came 20 minutes before a rocket attack on another Israeli military site near the Manara kibbutz in northern Israel.

The results of that attack are also not clear. There was no immediate information from the Israeli army.

Power station on fire in Lebanon after Israeli drone strike: Report

A major fire has broken out in a electricity conversion station at a water utility site in the southern Lebanese town of Taybeh after an Israeli drone strike on the facility.

That’s according to a report by Lebanon’s National News Agency quoting the state electricity company, Electricite du Liban (EDL).

Palestinian man who was assaulted by Israeli settlers arrested

Israeli forces have arrested a young Palestinian man after he was assaulted by Israeli settlers in Jerusalem, according to the Wafa news agency.

Israeli soldiers have also raided several other locations across the occupied West Bank tonight, Wafa reported, including:

Israeli woman killed in knife attack in Holon

An Israeli woman has been killed and three others wounded in the city of Holon in Israel after a Palestinian man from the occupied West Bank attacked them with a knife, The Times of Israel reported, citing Israeli police.

Israeli far-right minister urges citizens to ‘take up arms’ following stabbing attack

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has encouraged citizens to take up arms after visiting the scene of the stabbing attack in Holon, Israeli media report.

“Our war is not only against Iran, but also here … We have distributed thousands of weapons to citizens in order to use them,” Ben-Gvir said. “I call on citizens to take up arms and use them,” he said.

‘Our streets flooded with crimes’: Opposition leader slams Ben-Gvir

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has slammed Itamar Ben-Gvir for his record as national security minister.

“Since he took office, our streets have been flooded with crimes and operations,” Lapid said on X. “By all standards, personal security is in a state of collapse, the police are at rock bottom more than ever, the only thing he does is press interviews, deception and provocations from morning to evening,” he added.

Lapid’s comments came after two people were killed in a stabbing attack near Tel Aviv. Ben-Gvir rushed to the scene where he lauded his controversial weapons’ distribution policy and urged residents to pick up arms.

In the wake of the October 7 attack, the far-right minister has eased distribution of guns to Israelis, including settlers, and has significantly relaxed the country’s gun control laws.

_{Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends an event to deliver weapons to local volunteer security group members in Ashkelon, Israel}

Holon assailant identified as man from Salfit: Reports

The suspect in the stabbing attack in Holon was a 34-year-old man from Salfit, a town in northern occupied West Bank, who had entered Israel without permit, according to Israeli media reports.

Following the assault, in which two people were killed, Israeli forces closed the entrance of Salfit – a development suggesting that Israeli forces were preparing to raid the town.

“What usually happens after such attacks, Israeli forces storm the house of the attacker, interrogate family members, friends and usually demolish the home as part of their policies of destroying houses of Palestinians deemed responsible for attacking Israeli targets,” Al Jazeera’s Niba Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah, said.

Ibrahim added that Israeli authorities were also likely going to tighten entry permits for Palestinian workers entering Israel.

Israeli forces storm house of Holon attack suspect

We are receiving reports that Israeli forces have stormed the house of the suspect in the Holon stabbing attack in Salfit, northern occupied West Bank.

A local source told Al Jazeera that more than 10 military vehicles reached the house and that they are preventing residents and journalists from approaching the site.

Detention of Israeli reservists suspected of abuse extended: Report

The Times of Israel reports that the detention of five reservists suspected of sexual abuse against a Palestinian detainee has been extended.

The Israeli military was quoted as saying the suspects will remain held until Wednesday for further investigation. Regarding three other suspects, the prosecutor has yet to decide whether to request an extension.

The reservists are accused of aggravated sodomy against a Palestinian man at the Sde Teiman detention facility.

The site has come under increased scrutiny following media reports and human rights organisations denouncing widespread abuse at the facility, with some comparing it to the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

_{A Palestinian activist holds a banner during a protest to support Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons in Nablus, West Bank}

Palestinian detainees describe torture in Israel’s Ofer Prison: Prisoners agency

Three Palestinians from Gaza who are being held in Israel’s Ofer Prison have recounted abuse and mistreatment, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

Mohammed Jamous, 44; Fadi Ayad, 39; and Fadi Howaydi, 38, told the commission’s lawyer who visited them last week that they were stripped of their clothes, beaten, tortured, bound and blindfolded.

The detainees described Israeli soldiers as “rabid beasts” who took pleasure in their suffering.

“We were turned into prey to these monsters, who enjoyed our hunger, thirst, screams and illnesses. We still do not believe that we are still alive,” a prisoner was quoted as saying.

The abuse, according to the detainees, began immediately upon their detention in Gaza and continued through transportation in military vehicles where they faced insults, degradation and torture.

“Today, we are all sick,” a detainee said, according to the commission. “Our bodies are exhausted, and we have become prey to illness and injury. No medical treatment or medication is provided. Despite these dire conditions, we cling to the hope of returning to our families alive.”