The Pentagon announced that one of its nuclear submarines arrived Sunday in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, which covers the Middle East.
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The newly arrived Ohio-class submarine is the largest in the U.S. Navy, equipped with ballistic missiles and serves as a key part of the United States' nuclear deterrent force.
CIA Director Bill Burns arrived in Israel on Sunday and met with his counterpart, Mossad chief David Barnea.
Burns, who is visiting as part of a tour that includes several Middle Eastern nations such as Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is scheduled to meet on Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is also likely to convene with the war Cabinet.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday, as he tours the Middle East attempting to tamp down tensions amid the Israel-Hamas war.
After an earlier visit to the West Bank, Blinken landed in Baghdad on Sunday evening for his first visit to the country as the U.S. top diplomat and held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani.
Washington wants to prevent a wider regional conflict and has stepped up diplomacy with regional countries whose populations have been angered by Israel's assault on Gaza.
Blinken landed at Baghdad's international airport, donned a ballistic vest and traveled by Black Hawk helicopter to the Green Zone, a remnant of the U.S. occupation of Iraq after its 2003 invasion. At the U.S. ambassador's residence, he was briefed on threats to U.S. facilities, before heading to the prime minister's office. He will travel to Turkey later on Sunday, where protests were already underway.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Sunday that the army was ready to go on the offensive on the northern front as cross-border violence against Hezbollah in Lebanon continued to escalate.
"We have a clear goal of restoring a significantly better security situation at the borders, not only in the Gaza Strip. We have a very good understanding of the situation and hear a lot about the feelings among the residents of the north," he said during a visit to the Northern Command headquarters.
We are ready to strike in the north at any moment. We understand that it can happen. We have a lot of trust in you that the defense here is strong. We trust you very much. I know that the spirit is very strong, I know that you are people with sky-high ambition. I believe in you very much. I think that the reserve forces, and believed this before as well, are strong. They have a lot of love for the State of Israel.”
Meanwhile, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Sunday evening that Israeli forces led by the Golani Brigade have completed the encirclement of Gaza City, reaching all the way to the city's coastline, effectively cutting the Gaza Strip in two. He urged civilians to relocate south for safety and warned of a significant escalation in attacks.
Additionally, Hagari updated that there are now 240 reported hostages in the Gaza Strip, one fewer than previously estimated.
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Firefighters extinguish a car that caught fire in Kiryat Shmona after it was struck by a rocket fired from Lebanon
(Photo: Avihu Shapira)
On Sunday evening, two rocket barrages struck the northern city of Kiryat Shmona. City officials stated that the initial barrage from Lebanon, launched just after 7pm, resulted in six impacts and one interception. Five of these rockets landed in open areas of the largely evacuated city. Additionally, one rocket made a direct hit on a car in a residential neighborhood, setting the vehicle ablaze.
Roughly two hours after the initial attack, a second barrage resulted in six additional impacts, all within the city's boundaries. Three residential buildings took direct hits. Despite the material damages, no physical injuries were reported. The rockets also caused damage to electric poles, leading to power outages in multiple locations across the city.
A heavy rocket volley from the Gaza Strip was fired toward central Israel, causing casualties. There were multiple reports of interceptions by air defenses and shrapnel was found in Rishon Lezion and Petah Tikva.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, claimed responsibility for the attack, asserting they launched missiles at Tel Aviv "in response to the Zionist massacre of civilians" in the Gaza Strip.
An Israeli civilian was killed in an anti-tank missile attack near Kibbutz Yiftach on the Lebanese border, Israeli authorities confirmed Sunday evening.
According to the report, the man sustained fatal injuries when the missile struck his car as he was leaving an IDF outpost to which he transported water.
In a media briefing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday compared Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in his indifference toward the welfare of his people.
“[Sinwar] is behaving like a little Hitler in his bunker," he said, adding that "he doesn't care about his people. He couldn’t care less about his people.”
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar
(Photo: EPA, Shutterstock)
Amid calls from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party for a cease-fire in Gaza, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders stated in a CNN interview Sunday that despite his support for a humanitarian pause of the conflict, he does not see how Israel could achieve a truce with Hamas whose stated goal is the eradication of Israel.
“I don’t know how you can have a permanent cease-fire with an organization like Hamas which is dedicated to turmoil and chaos and destroying the State of Israel and I think what the Arab countries in the region understand is that Hamas has got to go,” he said.
At least one man was hurt when an anti-tank missile struck a car in Kibbutz Yiftah in upper Galilee on Sunday. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack. The IDF said it was returned fire. Earlier the military said its forces shot down a UAV over Lebanon, as it was heading to Israel, and had also thwarted anti-tank missile fire when it attacked a squad across the border from Western Galilee.
Iran said that the United States would "be hit hard" if Washington did not implement a cease-fire in Gaza, the country's Minister of Defense was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Sunday. "Our advice to the Americans is to immediately stop the war in Gaza and implement a ceasefire, otherwise they will be hit hard," Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani said.
IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 9,770 Palestinians, including 4,800 children, have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.
Palestinian protesters demonstrated in Ramallah against U.S. support for Israel in the Gaza war, burning photos of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. At the same time, the secretary was in the West Bank city to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The IDF said on Sunday that its forces shot down a UAV over Lebanon, as it was heading to Israel. earlier the military said it thwarted anti-tank missile fire when it attacked a squad across the border from Western Galilee.
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U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
(Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Pool photo via AP)
Blinken told Abbas that the Palestinian Authority should play a central role in what comes next in the Gaza Strip, a senior State Department official told Reuters. "(The) future of Gaza was not the focus of the meeting but the PA seemed willing to play a role," the official said.
Qatar's foreign ministry said that efforts to secure the release of hostages required a "period of calm". Leaks from the negotiations are "harmful" and make it difficult for mediators to do their jobs, ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said during a press conference in Doha.
Earlier the military revealed that Hamas positioned rocket launchers near a public pool and in an amusement park in Gaza. "This is more proof that the terror group used civilians as human shields," the military said.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the IDF liaison to the Palestinians, showed in a post on X an event held in the Shifa hospital for supporters that was proof that there was no shortage of fuel for electricity there.
Hamas officials said fuel was running out to operate the hospital and others in the Strip as the pressure on Israel to allow fuel supplies to Gaza increased. On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after his meeting with Blinken that fuel would not enter Gaza because it would be used to operate the Hamas war machine.
The IDF attacked targets in southern Lebanon on Sunday after a projectile was fired at the Galilee. The Lebanese Al Mayadeen channel affiliated with the Hezbollah terror group said on Sunday that an Israeli tank fired at two ambulances in southern Lebanon when they removed wounded from the area. At least four people were hurt in the attack. UNIFIL and the Red Cross were attempting to reach the wounded, according to the report.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the IDF forces were operating in Gaza according to the highest standards of international law to avoid harming civilians. Netanyahu responded to comments made by Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu who said in an interview that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza was one option, a comment he later called metaphorical. He said he was only 60% satisfied with the force of Israel's offensive on Gaza.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid called for Eliyahu's immediate dismissal of the far-right minister whom he said was putting the hostages at risk. The Prime Minister's office said Eliyahu was suspended from participating in cabinet meetings until further notice.
Sources in Gaza said on Sunday that the terrorists who were seen abducting 85-year-old Yafa Adar on October 7, were killed by the IDF forces fighting in the Strip. "This raises questions we do not have answers to," her granddaughter said "I do not harbor thoughts of joy or revenge at the news. We just want her home," she said.
Lior Hayat, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday that diplomatic relations with Turkey remain unchanged despite the position taken by Ankara on the war in Gaza and the fact that the Turkish ambassador was recalled over the weekend. " We have to rethink how we prevent such a crisis," Hayat told Ynet in an interview.
The IDF spokesman said a humanitarian corridor allowing Gaza civilians to move south to escape the fighting would be opened between 10 am and 2 pm local time despite Hamas fire toward the same corridor on Saturday. "If you care about your safety and that of your relatives, we urge you to move to the south," the spokesman posted in Arabic.
In a briefing on Sunday morning, the military said some 2,500 Hamas targets were truck since the start of the war and that overnight, the forces attacked Hamas command posts, lookout positions and terror infrastructure.
President Joe Biden on Saturday said "yes" when asked by reporters whether any progress has been made on a possible humanitarian pause in the fighting in Gaza. Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington on Saturday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and to denounce President Joe Biden's policy towards the war. They carried placards reading "Palestinian Lives Matter," "Let Gaza Live" and "Their blood is in on your hands."
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Protesters march in Washington in support of Gaza
(Photo: Carl Court / Getty Images)
In London at least four police officers were injured and 29 protesters arrested in a demonstration protesting the Israeli war on Gaza.
Mohammad Mokhber, Iran's first vice president, called Israeli actions "a war crime", adding, "We need to end this immediately and provide more humanitarian assistance to Gaza."
A heavy rocket barrage was launched from the Gaza Strip toward central Israel late Saturday as sirens sounded across cities including Rishon LeZion and other communities in the area. According to the Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service, no injuries were reported following interceptions by the Iron Dome missile defense system in the attack.
Hamas on Saturday claimed to have fired Ayyash 250 long-rage rockets toward Eilat after sirens blared across Israeli communities in the country's southern Arava region. Hamas in a statement said the launch was a response to "the slaughter of Palestinian civilians."
According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, at least one rocket was intercepted by the Arrow long-range missile interception system in the barrage, and no reports of damages or injuries were received following the incident.
Israeli fighter jets, accompanied by artillery and tank fire, struck Hezbollah targets once again Staruday in response to earlier attacks from Lebanese territory. Rocket depots, military compounds and other infrastructure used by the terror organization were among the targets hit.
Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported that Israel bombed a vehicle in the village of Khila in the south of the country. The reports indicate that the bombing occurred in an area with a clear view of Metula, an Israeli border town, and was carried out as a message to Lebanese journalists not to stand at that point.
Border exchanges have been ongoing since the early morning. Earlier, IDF forces eliminated two terrorist cells that intended to fire into Israel. In another incident, mortar shells fired from Lebanon targeted IDF outposts near Dvoranit and Yakinton. This was followed by sirens in the Upper Galilee, where several rockets crashed in unpopulated areas near Dishon. The IDF responded with strikes in Lebanon.
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Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo on Saturday. Earlier, Mikati met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Amman, Jordan. During the meeting, Mikati emphasized Lebanon's commitment to implementing UN Resolution 1701, which was passed following the 2006 Lebanon War and led to the distancing of Hezbollah from the Israeli border.
Meanwhile, the IDF Arabic spokesperson called for the residents of Gaza City to evacuate once again, announcing that Israel will allow movement on Salah al-Din Road going south from 1pm to 4pm Saturday.
"For your safety, use this time to move beyond Wadi Gaza (Gaza Stream). If you care for yourselves and your loved ones, head south following our instructions. Rest assured that Hamas leaders are already seeing to their own protection," the IDF spokesperson's statement read.
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Graphic in Arabic showing evacuation path for Gaza civilians
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
U.S. Special Envoy David Satterfield said on Saturday that “there is an agreed mechanism to bring fuel” into the Gaza Strip when it runs out.
Talking to reporters in the Jordanian capital Amman, he said that there were no recorded instances of Hamas interdicting or seizing aid.
"Fuel in depots in Gaza has been accessed by UNRWA for aid trucks, de-salinization and hospitals in the south of Gaza," he noted.
He also said that between 800,000 to a million people have moved to the south of the Gaza Strip, while 350,000-400,000 remain in the north of the enclave.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not someone Turkey can engage with any longer, stating that Ankara has "erased him and tossed him aside," Turkish news agency Anadolu reported Saturday.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
(Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS)
Erdoğan told reporters that his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi would visit Turkey at the end of November to hold talks on Gaza, and that he would also attend a summit of Muslim countries in Riyadh later this month.
Speaking to reporters on his return flight from Kazakhstan on Friday, Erdogan said there would no longer be any trust in the global system if Israel was not stopped and held accountable for what he described as "its war crimes and human rights violations", broadcaster Haberturk and others reported.
He also said the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) would push for a cease-fire and discuss the parameters of such a move during its summit in Riyadh later this month.
First published: 13:00, 11.05.23