ISRAEL

Iran on Tuesday rejected Western calls to stand down its threat to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month.

Iran could launch a "significant" attack on Israel as soon as this week, the White House said Monday, as US President Joe Biden discussed the crisis with European leaders.

US credit rating agency Fitch downgraded Israel a notch on Monday, warning that its ongoing conflict against Hamas in Gaza could last "well into 2025" and weigh on economic activity.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has directed the deployment of a guided-missile submarine to the region.

Hamas on Sunday urged Gaza mediators to implement a truce plan presented by US President Joe Biden instead of holding more talks, as Palestinians fled a new Israeli military operation.

Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview published Thursday that he was "sorry" that Hamas was able to carry out its October 7 attack, without explicitly taking responsibility.

Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, the man Israel says masterminded the October 7 attack that sparked the Gaza war, as its new political chief following last week's killing of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh. The announcement came with the Middle East on edge as it awaited Iran's retaliation over the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran.

Thousands of mourners paid respects to Haniyeh as the Israeli military confirmed that an air strike in Gaza last month killed the Hamas military chief, Mohammed Deif. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for Haniyeh ahead of his burial in Qatar, having earlier threatened a "harsh punishment" for his killing.

Egypt warned that Israel's recent assassinations of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut jeopardize truce talks. T

US Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic election nominee, said Tuesday that Israel had a "right to defend itself" following a strike in Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut.

Israel's Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, stated on social media that "Hezbollah crossed the red line," emphasizing the severity of the attack and Israel's need to respond.

Israel vowed on Sunday to "hit the enemy hard" after rocket fire from Lebanon killed 12 young people in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and fanned fears that the war in Gaza will spread.

The attack wrecked classrooms, and survivors had to go through the debris to discover the victims and collect the remains.

Harris reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defense while expressing deep concerns over the high casualties in Gaza. "The devastation in Gaza over the past nine months is overwhelming. We cannot ignore these tragedies or become desensitized to the suffering," she said, adding, "We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Gaza ceasefire demonstrators Wednesday and called for a global alliance against the Iranian regime he accuses of funding them, as he addressed a US Congress divided by the war.

A Hamas official said Sunday that the Palestinian group was withdrawing from Gaza truce talks, as Israeli bombardments hit a school a day after a deadly strike targeting the militant commander Mohammed Deif.

Palestinian health officials labeled the attack a "massacre."

Israel's army dropped thousands of leaflets over war-torn Gaza City on Wednesday urging all residents to flee a heavy offensive through the main city of the besieged Palestinian territory. The leaflets, addressed to "everyone in Gaza City", set out designated escape routes and warned that the urban area would "remain a dangerous combat zone".

Hamas is now open to negotiating towards achieving a permanent ceasefire throughout the initial six-week phase of the agreement.

Witnesses reported intense bombing and shelling around Khan Yunis, southern Gaza's main city from which Israeli forces withdrew in early April after a devastating months-long battle.