Israel-Hamas war latest: Hezbollah says it launched a drone attack on northern Israel

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. says it has fired nine staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack against Israel.

The U.N, secretary-general’s office announced the move in a brief statement to journalists Monday. It did not elaborate on the UNRWA staffers’ likely role in the attack. It said the nine included seven staffers who were fired previously over the claims.

The U.N.’s internal watchdog has been investigating the agency since Israel in January accused 12 UNRWA staffers of being involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others.

Israel’s allegations initially led top donor countries to suspend their funding for UNRWA, the main agency providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza amid the 10-month-old war there. That caused a cash crunch of about $450 million dollars. Since then, all donor countries except for the US have decided to resume funding.

JERUSALEM — A leading Israeli human rights group accused Israeli authorities of abusing and torturing Palestinian detainees in a report issued Monday, as scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners during the Israel-Hamas war mounts.

The group, B’Tselem, said it conducted interviews with 55 Palestinian inmates from Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem after their release. It said they described a list of abuses at the hands of Israeli prison guards including violence, sexual assault, starvation and sleep deprivation.

Israel’s prison service did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report. The military denies abuse at the facilities under its auspices and says detainees are granted basic rights.

B’Tselem’s findings come a week after the United Nations human rights office issued its own report which detailed similar findings about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli-run prisoners since the outbreak of the war.

Thirty of the inmates B’Tselem spoke with were from the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, 21 were from the Gaza Strip, while four others were Palestinian citizens of Israel, according to Monday’s report.

The report included testimony from Sde Teiman, a shadowy desert military facility which most of the detainees from Gaza have passed through. The military is currently investigating alleged abuse against a detainee from Sde Teiman.

Over the past ten months, the number of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons has nearly doubled from just over 5,000 to almost 10,000, according to HaMoked, an Israeli rights group that regularly gathers figures from prison authorities. The rise has been partly fueled by an influx of some 1,500 detainees from Gaza, according to HaMoked’s figures

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Jordanian King Abdullah II spoke Monday and discussed the possibility of an “immediate” cease-fire and hostage release deal involving Israel and the Palestinians in order to “de-escalate regional tensions,” the White House said in a statement.

Biden also congratulated the king on the birth of a baby girl, Iman, this past weekend to Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa.

CAIRO — Leaders in Egypt and Turkey are exhausting all avenues possible to prevent Israel’s war in Gaza from becoming a wider regional conflict, the Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers said Monday at a joint press conference.

Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s foreign and migration minister, said that he spoke with his counterpart Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s minister of foreign affairs, about the crisis in Gaza, the situation in Libya and Sudan, the situation in the Red Sea and the issues in Yemen.

Both ministers said they discussed important regional issues during their meeting this week, including fighting terrorism and ways to reduce tensions in the region, especially ones emerging from Israel’s war in Gaza.

Both countries share the same vision in achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and rejected recent assassinations in the region, including that of Hamas leader Ismail Hanyieh.

Abdelatty said that it’s important to achieve, not only discuss, the two-state solution and end Israeli occupation and aggression against Palestinians to bring stability to the region. He also warned against provocations emerging from the war in Gaza that could lead to miscalculations that would plunge the region into a full-scale war.

“I condemn Israel assassinating the main negotiator of the ceasefire talks, Ismael Haniyeh. We can conclude from this incident that Netanyahu doesn’t want peace. Netanyahu wants to burn the entire region,” said Fidan.

CAIRO — Turkey’s foreign minister has announced that his country will on Wednesday formally submit a request to intervene in the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Hakan Fidan, whose country is among the fiercest critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, made the comment in Cairo during a joint news conference with his Egyptian counterpart. Turkey in May had announced its intention to intervene in the case which was filed by South Africa.

During the news conference, Fidan praised Palestinians for their “constructive approach” in the peace negotiations while accusing Israel of undermining the efforts, citing the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh as evidence.

“Not satisfied with that, Israel has treacherously assassinated the chief negotiator of the ceasefire talks,” Fidan said. “This assassination has clearly shown that Netanyahu does not want peace.”

The Turkish minister also criticized the standing ovation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received while delivering a speech in the U.S. Congress last month.

“The parliamentary podium is no place for war criminals. The only place for war criminals is the dock,” he said.”

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to consult later Monday with the White House national security team. And Biden will speak with King Abdullah II of Jordan, whose foreign minister made a rare visit to Iran over the weekend.

The activity follows a weekend of outreach by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others in the Biden administration to Western and Middle East allies and partners as the U.S. tries to prepare for any Iranian retaliation to the killing of Hamas' political leader in Tehran last week. Iran has blamed Israel.

Blinken on Sunday told foreign members in the Group of Seven economic powers that Iran’s response could come in as soon as 24 to 48 hours.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s state news agency says the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, has arrived in Tehran for talks on bilateral and international issues.

The IRNA report did not elaborate, but Russia’s state Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies reported that Shoigu was scheduled to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Akbar Ahmadian; and chief of the Iranian military’s General Staff, Mohammad Bagheri.

Diplomatic efforts have increased after the assassination last week of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran has blamed Israel and vowed to retaliate.

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. defense official says the head of the U.S. Central Command, Gen. Eric Kurilla, is in the Middle East region.

The official wouldn’t say where specifically Kurilla is, but added that he “often visits the region to work and consult with regional partners.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss travel not yet made public.

The United States and allies have been preparing to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike from Iran and its allies and prevent a wider regional conflict after the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation.

— Lolita Baldor

JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister says the military is prepared for a “swift transition to offense” as the country braces for an Iranian attack after the killing of Hamas’ political leader in Tehran.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke Monday at a briefing with air force officials. “We must be prepared for anything – including a swift transition to offense," he said.

Iran has said it is planning to respond with “power and decisiveness” to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week, which it blamed on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. The escalating threats have raised fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike has killed five members of Gaza’s Hamas-run police force who were securing an aid convoy. Another two policemen were wounded in Monday’s strike, according to records at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken.

Hamas has ruled Gaza since seizing power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. It operates a police force numbering in the tens of thousands that provided a high degree of public security before the war. But the police have largely disappeared as Israel has targeted them with airstrikes, contributing to the collapse of law and order and hindering aid delivery to the enclave.

Israel does not differentiate between Hamas’ armed wing and its government. It says it is committed to destroying both after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war. It also accuses Hamas of hijacking aid for its own purposes.

Aid groups say they have struggled to deliver desperately needed food and supplies because of Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the collapse of public order.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — A Palestinian official says Israel has returned more than 80 bodies to the Gaza Strip.

The identities of the deceased and the cause of death were not immediately known.

Over the course of its nearly 10-month offensive in Gaza, the military has exhumed remains as it searches for the bodies of hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which ignited the war.

Weam Fares, a spokesperson for the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, says 84 bodies were handed over at the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday and were taken directly for burial. The hospital did not provide further details.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.

Associated Press reporters saw the bodies being brought to a cemetery in a container truck belonging to a private company. They were buried in a mass grave.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was not involved in the transfer.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says Palestinian militants fired at least 15 projectiles into Israel from Gaza, and first responders say one person was lightly wounded.

Rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza have dwindled as Israel has waged its massive offensive there in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. But militants are still able to regularly fire short-range projectiles on Israeli communities and army bases near the border.

Most rockets fired from Gaza are intercepted or fall in open areas, and they rarely cause casualties or damage. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service says one person was lightly wounded in Monday’s barrage.

Israel has vowed to continue the war until it has eliminated Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has vowed to respond with “power and decisiveness” to the targeted killing of Hamas’ top political leader, which it blamed on Israel.

The killing of Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran explosion last week has raised fears of a major retaliatory attack and the outbreak of a wider war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran and allied armed groups across the Middle East.

Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said Monday that Iran has “the intrinsic right to provide for its own security and punish the aggressor,” and “will definitely take serious deterrent action with power and decisiveness.” He said it would be acting in accordance with international law and the right of self-defense.

He added, however, that Iran “is not after intensifying tension in the region.” He urged the international community to support Iran in punishing Israel.

On Saturday, Iran said a short-range projectile was behind the killing of Haniyeh, who was in Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iran says Israel carried out the attack with U.S. support and has vowed to avenge it. Israel has not said whether it was involved.

JERUSALEM — An Israeli airstrike killed an official in the Hamas-run government in Gaza who Israel said was also involved in militant activities.

Hamas confirmed that Abdel-Fattah al-Zariai was killed alongside his mother in an airstrike on Sunday. In a statement of mourning, it identified him as the undersecretary of its Economy Ministry and said he had held other “honorable positions” without referring to any militant role.

The Israeli military identified him as the economy minister and said he also worked in the manufacturing department of Hamas’ armed wing. It said he was involved in seizing humanitarian aid that entered Gaza and distributing it for militant purposes, without providing evidence.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007 in a week of deadly clashes with forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and dominated by the secular Fatah party.

Hamas established its own government with ministries and tens of thousands of civil servants who provided public services. It also operated a police force.

The government has largely melted away in the war triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel, but the militant group still exerts control on the ground.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Israel on Monday after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Gen. Hossein Salami, speaking to journalists at an event, warned that Israel was “digging its own grave” with its actions in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and that it is suspected of carrying out Haniyeh’s killing.

“When they receive a blow, they will notice they are making mistakes. They are making mistakes all the time,” Salami said in his speech at the Day of the Journalists event. “They will see the result of their mistake. They will see when, how and where they will get their response.”

Salami also touched on a long-held suspicions about an Israeli assassination program targeting Iran’s nuclear scientists amid concerns over the country’s atomic program. Iran now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels, but maintains its program is peaceful. U.S. intelligence services don’t believe Iran is actively pursuing the bomb, but a nuclear-armed Tehran remains a top fear for Israel.

“Israel is the cradle of terrorism and it has been created out of killing and murder,” he said. “They think they can kill the nuclear scientists of another country and impede that country’s path toward peaceful nuclear technology. They think that by killing the leader of a resistance group ... in another country will give them more time to live.”

He added: “They are just digging their own grave."

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says an Israeli drone strike near a cemetery in a southern village killed two people, including a paramedic.

The agency did not give further details about the Monday morning strike in the village of Meissa al-Jabal. It said one of the dead was a member of the Islamic Risala Scout Association paramedic group. The group identified the member killed as Mohammed Fawzi Hamadi.

Tensions in the region have risen sharply since last week after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the militant Hezbollah group.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed that the group will retaliate against Israel.

MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian government on Monday elevated the nation’s terrorism threat alert level from “possible” to “probable,” citing concerns about increasing radicalization among young people and community tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.

It is the first time the threat level has been elevated to the midpoint of the five-tier National Terrorism Threat Advisory System since November 2022. The level had been “probable” the previous eight years.

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added that while government officials think the current climate makes terrorism an increased danger, they didn’t know of any specific threats.

“I want to reassure Australians probable does not mean inevitable, and it does not mean there is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger,” Albanese told reporters.

He said the government was acting on the advice of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main domestic spy agency known as ASIO.

“The advice that we’ve received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant,” Albanese said.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday, as the United States and allies prepared to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict.

Tensions have soared following nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the killing last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister was making a rare trip to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts — “We want the escalation to end,” Ayman Safadi said — while the Pentagon has moved significant assets to the region.