🇬🇧 Tuesday 13/08/24 – Day 312🎗️MORNING HEADLINES

IRAN🇮🇷   ⏳   ISRAEL🇮🇱   

  • Israel vowing to strike Iran even if its attack causes no casualties in Israel 
  • IDF on ‘peak alert’ for Iran, Hezbollah attacks; US expects it may happen this week
  • The United States is asking Turkey and other allies that have ties with Iran to persuade it to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East
  • Iran’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that calls for restraint regarding Israel from France, Germany and Britain „lack political logic and contradict principles of international law.“

LEBANON 🇱🇧                                                                                                                                                  

  • Hezbollah reportedly clears out entire operation from Beirut headquarters

HOSTAGES 🎗️

  • Hamas is not refusing to participate in ceasefire talks, but feels the current situation does not require a new round of negotiations
  • State Secretary Blinken stresses need for Hamas to attend Thursday ceasefire talks in call with Turkish FM
  • Hamas says its guards killed a hostage, wounded two others; IDF investigating claim
  • Groundbreaking study of 26 former Hamas hostages charts physical, psychological trauma
  • Hamas to release 20-30 live hostages to Israel in phase one of deal, Gallant confirms

ISRAEL 🇮🇱    

  • 4.8 earthquake with the epicenter in Damascus was felt throughout much of Israel
  • Over a thousand Jews have entered the Temple Mount Tuesday morning to mark the solemn fast day of Tisha B’Av, which mourns the destruction of the Temples that once stood in Judaism’s holiest site
  • Fitch downgrades Israel’s credit rating from A+ to A, with a negative rating forecast due to the war warning it could last well into 2025 
  • A postman helped the IDF assassinate Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif
  • In case of prolonged attacks, Ben-Gurion Airport may relocate operations to Ramon Airport in Eilat, which is smaller and farther from central Israel but better protected                                                   

USA 🇺🇸                                                                                                                                                           

  • U.S. Secretary Blinken is scheduled to travel to the Middle East on Tuesday with stops planned in Qatar, Egypt and Israel
  • The US warns Iran against sending ballistic missiles to Russia; „This will provoke a severe reaction from the US”                               
  • Columbia University is restricting campus access to prevent disruptions from expected anti-Israel protests as the new semester begins  

OTHERS 🇸🇦 🇫🇷                                                                                                                                                    

  • Saudi Arabia renews attacks on Houthis in Yemen
  • Antisemitic Incidents in France Have Tripled Since Last Fall, Interior Minister Warns   

Sources: Israel Realtime, Axios, Reuters, The Jerusalem Post, Ha’aretz, The Times of Israel, 

© ICEJ Slovakia, peter.svec@icej.sk