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Thousands Flee Homes in Lebanon as Toll from Israeli Strikes Rises to 558, Officials Say [Live Updates], The Washington Post
Israel’s air force struck positions in southern and eastern Lebanon on Tuesday as thousands of people sought to flee to safer areas. Israel’s strikes that began Monday have killed at least 558 people, including 50 children, according to an updated toll from Lebanon’s Health Ministry. At least 1,835 were wounded. Hezbollah fired more rockets Tuesday as world leaders scrambled to cool tensions and avoid a wider war.
US Is Sending More Troops to the Middle East as Violence Rises Between Israel and Hezbollah, AP
The U.S. is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East in response to a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon that has raised the risk of a greater regional war, the Pentagon said Monday.
Israel’s Deadly Escalation with Hezbollah Hangs over Biden’s Speech to the UN, Haaretz
The speech comes as U.S. officials approach what may be a dead-end in both Gaza cease-fire talks and efforts toward a diplomatic resolution with Hezbollah. “The situation in the Middle East will be an important theme,” a senior administration official said ahead of this week’s events.
Iran’s President Accuses Israel of Seeking Wider Mideast War and Laying ‘Traps’ to Lead Iran Into It, AP
Masoud Pezeshkian [Iran’s president] told about two dozen media representatives that Iran doesn’t want to see the current war in Gaza and airstrikes across the Israeli-Lebanon border expanded. He said while Israel insists it doesn’t want a wider war, it is taking actions that show otherwise.
U.S. Asked Israel to Ensure Safety of Americans in Lebanon if They Are Evacuated, Axios
There are thousands of American citizens living and working in Lebanon and a further escalation of the fighting towards war is likely to trigger an evacuation. The last time the U.S. military evacuated Americans from Lebanon was during the 2006 war.
Beersheba Girl Suspended From School After Voicing Concern for Gazan Kids, The Times of Israel
When it was her turn to speak, the girl, a member of the Arab Bedouin community, mentioned that innocent children were killed in Gaza. “There are hungry children in Gaza, there are children without a home,” she reportedly said during the discussion. Following a heated incident after the class in which dozens of other students cursed the girl and threw things at her, she was suspended for three days.
Israel Targets Hezbollah’s Southern Front Commander in Beirut Strike, Axios
Hezbollah later said in a statement that the assassination attempt against Karaki failed and that he was transferred to a safe place. Karaki leads Hezbollah’s fighting in the area south of the Litani river and to Lebanon’s border with Israel.
Iran’s Guards Ban Communication Devices After Hezbollah Device Explosions, The Times of Israel
One of the security officials said a large-scale operation is underway by the IRGC to inspect all devices, not just communication equipment. He said most of these devices were either homemade or imported from China and Russia.
Turkey Slams Israel’s Attacks on Lebanon, Calls for International Measures, Reuters
In a statement late on Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said countries that “unconditionally support Israel” were helping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “shed blood for his political interests”. “It is imperative that all institutions responsible for maintaining international peace and security, especially the United Nations Security Council, as well as the international community, take the necessary measures without delay,” it said.
Not Just Trump: Antisemitism Is Pervasive in the Republican Party, Forward
Eric Alterman writes, “Truth be told, Trump’s consistent embrace of antisemitic tropes is one of the least weird, and most consistent, aspects of his politics. Unlike say, cat-eating immigrants or cancer-causing windmills, the antisemitic tropes on which he tends to lean — most recently by suggesting Jews would bear serious blame if he loses the November presidential election — have long been a staple of right-wing politics in America.”
Israel Vows to Return People North. Many Residents See War as Only Way., The Washington Post
Miriam Berger and Heidi Levine report, “Frustrated by 11 months of rocket exchanges and failed cease-fire talks, many of the Israelis who were evacuated from communities on the border with Lebanon — and some who defied orders and stayed — say they back another war with Hezbollah, even as some concede an all-out fight might not guarantee a safe return home.”
The Anti-Semitic Revolution on the American Right, The Atlantic
Yair Rosenberg argues, “With little fanfare, the tide had turned in favor of those advancing anti-Semitic arguments. In 2019, Fuentes and his faction were disrupting Republican politicians like Crenshaw. By 2022, Fuentes was shaking hands onstage with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. In 2019, the Groyper activists were picketing events held by Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization founded by the activist Charlie Kirk. By 2024, Turning Point was employing—and periodically firing and denouncing—anti-Semitic influencers who appeared at conventions run by Fuentes.”