Hundreds of people gathered in southern Israel and called for the return of Jewish settlements in the Gaza strip. Activists overlooked Gaza as they celebrated Tisha B’Av, which marks the destruction of the Biblical Jewish Temples, with a daylong fast. (AP Video: Shlomo Mor)
The leaders of France, Germany and Britain in a joint statement have endorsed the latest push by mediators United States, Qatar and Egypt to broker an agreement to end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war. They also call for the return of scores of hostages held by Hamas and the “unfettered” delivery of humanitarian aid.
Mediators have spent months trying to get the sides to agree to a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages captured in its Oct. 7 attack in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and Israel would withdraw from Gaza. Talks have been expected to resume Thursday.
The statement was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It also called on Iran and its allies to refrain from any retaliatory attacks that would further escalate regional tensions after the killing of two senior militants last month in Beirut and Tehran.
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Here’s the latest:
Fitch Ratings downgrades Israel’s credit rating and estimates the war in Gaza ‘could last well into 2025’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — One of the three major credit rating firms has downgraded Israel amid the monthslong Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, signaling the economic strain the country is under as it awaits a possible retaliatory strike from Iran.
Fitch Ratings in its advisory note downgraded Israel from an “A+” rating to an “A” rating, something that can affect Israel’s borrowing rate and its ability to seek cash from international lenders.
Fitch noted that “public finances have been hit” from the war and that it projects Israel to carry a budget deficit of 7.8% of its gross domestic product this year, with its overall debt to remain over 70% of its GDP.
“In our view, the conflict in Gaza could last well into 2025 and there are risks of it broadening to other fronts,” Fitch warned in its rating note issued late Monday in the United States. “In addition to human losses, it could result in significant additional military spending, destruction of infrastructure and more sustained damage to economic activity and investment, leading to a further deterioration of Israel’s credit metrics.”
Fitch added: “Israel is likely to maintain a stronger presence along its borders than in the past, plans to widen mandatory draft and to increase domestic military production, which would also add to spending.”
Responding to the rating decision in a post on the social platform X, Israel’s hard-line Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described his nation as being in “the midst of an existential war, the longest and most expensive in its history.”
“The downgrade following the war and the geopolitical risks it creates is natural,” he wrote. “Israel’s economy is strong and we will navigate it correctly and responsibly.”
S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service also lowered Israel’s ratings in recent months.
Over the past year, the Israeli shekel has been weighed down by the war, while the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has seen turbulence as well.
United Nations condemns continued loss of life in Gaza, sets Security Council meeting after Israeli airstrike on school
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council is set to meet Tuesday to discuss Gaza in the wake of this weekend’s Israeli airstrike on a school that was being used as a shelter, and the world body’s leader is calling the strike “devastating.”
Secretary-General António Guterres made that remark and condemned “the continued loss of life in Gaza” in a post Monday on the social media platform X.
Algeria called for the urgent Security Council meeting after missiles hit the school Saturday. Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed, without saying whether any were fighters. Israel says 31 were militants.
UK Prime Minister speaks by phone to Iran’s President, calls on Iran not to attack Israel
LONDON — United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday called on Iran not to attack Israel during a 30-minute phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“The Prime Minister said that he was deeply concerned by the situation in the region and called on all parties to de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation,” his office said in a statement. “He called on Iran to refrain from attacking Israel, adding that war was not in anyone’s interests.”
Starmer also emphasized his commitment to an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza, adding that the parties should focus on diplomatic negotiations to achieve these goals.
He also called on Iran to give necessary medical care to any foreign detainees.
The two leaders agreed that constructive dialogue between the UK and Iran was in both countries’ interests. Starmer said this could only happen if Iran stopped “destabilizing actions, including threats against individuals in the UK,” and did not provide further aid to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Israel’s military shot dead a Palestinian gunmen who opened fire in northern West Bank
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel’s military said its forces shot dead a Palestinian gunman Monday after he opened fire at an Israeli citizen in the northern West Bank, as violence surges in the Israeli-occupied territory.
The military said an Israeli national and two other Palestinians were injured in the gun attack that took place in the West Bank border town of Qalqilya. After a brief pursuit, the attacker was gunned down by Israeli troops and the Israeli national was evacuated to a hospital, it said.
Later Monday, The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that an 18-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces near the town of Azoun, roughly 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) east of Qalqilya, but did not elaborate on the circumstances of the killing.
No further information was immediately available.
Violence has flared in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last October. Since then, over 620 Palestinians in the territory have been killed by Israeli fire according to the Ramallah-seated Health Ministry, which tracks the deaths.
Israeli nationals are prohibited from entering certain areas of the West Bank that are under the control of the Palestinian Authority, including Qalqilya and other Palestinian cities.
White House says Iran could launch a strike on Israel this week, confirms Israeli intelligence assessment
WASHINGTON — The White House said Monday that it shares the Israeli intelligence assessment that Iran could launch a strike on Israel as soon as this week.
National security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that “it is difficult to ascertain at this particular time if there’s an attack by Iran or its proxies what it could look like,” but that the U.S. and its allies were preparing for “a significant set of attacks.”
This comes after the Pentagon beefed up the U.S. military posture in the Middle East, and after Biden held a call Monday morning with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom to coordinate their response to tensions in the region.
“The president is confident that we have the capability available to us to help defend Israel should it come to that,” Kirby said. “Nobody wants to see it come to that.”
The possibility of such an attack coming this week, “is a US assessment as well as an Israeli assessment,” Kirby said.
Biden administration warns Iran of ‘swift and severe’ response if it ships ballistic missiles to Russia
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration warned Iran of a “swift and severe” response if it ships ballistic missiles to Russia to aid that country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Briefing reporters on Monday, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said the U.S. and its security allies in Europe were discussing a potential response should Tehran transfer the arms to Russia.
“We are deeply concerned by reports that Iran is planning to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia and we continue to communicate with our European partners and allies regarding Potential measures we may take,” Patel said. “We’ve been warning of the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the middle east and around the world.”
The U.S. and its allies have warned for months that Iran could face greater international sanctions if it moves forward with the partnership.
On Monday Patel said the U.S. views the possible transfer of missiles as a “a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
“Together we are prepared to deliver a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward with the transfer of ballistic missiles,” Patel said.
German leader speaks with Iran’s new president and appeals against escalation
BERLIN — The German government says Chancellor Olaf Scholz has appealed to Iran’s new president to do everything to prevent a further military escalation in the Middle East.
Scholz spoke by phone Monday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and “expressed his great concern about the danger of a regional conflagration in the Middle East.” The government did not say who initiated the call. It said Scholz made clear that “the spiral of violence in the Middle East must now be broken.”
Scholz also underlined his call for a cease-fire agreement for Gaza to be finalized. His office said that “would be an important contribution to regional de-escalation.”
Israel’s military says weekend strike on school-turned-shelter killed 31 militants
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says a strike on a school-turned-shelter over the weekend killed 31 Palestinian militants.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the pre-dawn strike Saturday in Gaza City killed at least 80 people and wounded dozens more, without saying if any were fighters.
Israel previously released the names of 19 people it said were Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants killed in the strike. On Monday, it released the names of another 12. The military also has disputed the Health Ministry’s toll.
Hamas and Palestinian activists have disputed the military’s account, saying at least two of the people it identified as militants were killed in earlier strikes and that others were civilians.
Northern Gaza, including Gaza City, has been surrounded by Israeli forces and largely isolated. It is not possible to independently confirm the accounts from either side.
Israeli strikes killed 142 people over past 48 hours, Palestinian Health Ministry says
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says Israeli strikes over the past 48 hours have killed 142 people and wounded 150 others.
The fatalities announced on Monday bring the Palestinian death toll in Gaza to 39,897 since the start of the war, according to the ministry. It says over 92,000 people have been wounded.
The ministry does not say how many of the dead and wounded were combatants.
The Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and its casualty figures from previous wars have largely matched up with those of independent experts, the United Nations and even Israel’s own figures.
The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 others.
Around 110 hostages are still being held in Gaza after most of the rest were released during a cease-fire in November. Israeli authorities believe around a third of the remaining hostages are dead.
Hospital in southern Gaza receives bodies of 13 people, including a child
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A hospital in southern Gaza has received the bodies of 13 people, including a child, who were killed in apparent Israeli strikes on Khan Younis.
The strikes came as Israel has ordered mass evacuations from Gaza’s second-largest city in recent days, saying Palestinian militants are firing rockets from the area. Khan Younis suffered heavy destruction earlier this year during a major Israeli air and ground offensive.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the nearby Nasser Hospital and saw funeral prayers being held Monday morning.
The dead include a medic who was killed along with two others in a strike on his house, according to the hospital records.
The Israeli military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and accuses Hamas of putting them in danger by fighting in dense, residential areas. The army rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.
The Vatican calls on Iran to embrace ‘dialogue, negotiation and peace’
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is calling on Iran to refrain “in every way” from fueling the Middle East conflict.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, appealed instead for Tehran to embrace dialogue, negotiation and peace, during a phone call Monday with Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Parolin spoke with Pezeshkian to congratulate him on the start of his mandate.
According to a Vatican statement, Parolin “expressed the Holy See’s serious concern about what is happening in the Middle East, reiterating the need to avoid in any way the widening of the very serious conflict underway and preferring instead dialogue, negotiation and peace.”
The Vatican has tried to maintain a balanced position on Israel’s war in Gaza. It has reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself and called for Hamas to release hostages taken Oct. 7 but has also demanded a cease-fire, an end to the conflict and for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.
Airlines extend flight suspensions to and from the Middle East
BERLIN — Airlines are extending their suspension of flights to and from the Middle East as the region braces for possible Iranian and Hezbollah retaliation for the targeted killing of two top militants that were blamed on Israel.
The Lufthansa Group, which also includes Austrian Airlines and Swiss, said Monday that its flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Irbil will remain suspended until Aug. 21 inclusive. Its airlines also won’t use Iranian and Iraqi airspace during that time.
The company said passengers who aren’t affected by the current suspensions but have flights to or from those five destinations booked through Aug. 31 can cancel without cost.
Air France said it has extended the suspension of its flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut — as well as flights to and from Lebanon operated by its subsidiary, Transavia France – until Wednesday Aug. 14 due to the security situation in Lebanon.
Air France suspended flights to Beirut on July 29 after a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights killed 12 children and teens.
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said it was canceling all flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport outside of Tel Aviv from Tuesday until Aug. 26 “due to operational restrictions which are beyond our control.” The airline did not elaborate.
EU’s top diplomat criticizes Israeli minister’s call to cut off aid to Gaza
JERUSALEM — The European Union’s top diplomat says it should consider sanctions in response to calls by Israel’s far-right national security minister to cut off aid to Gaza.
Writing on the X platform late Sunday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the recent remarks by Itamar Ben-Gvir constitute “incitement to war crimes,” adding that “sanctions must be on our EU agenda.”
In his own post on X and in media interviews, Ben-Gvir said that instead of agreeing to a potential cease-fire deal, Israel should block the entry of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza until Hamas releases all of the hostages, saying that doing so would bring the militant group to its knees.
Ben-Gvir has also repeatedly called for Israel to permanently reoccupy Gaza, rebuild Jewish settlements there and encourage the “voluntary” migration of Palestinians from the territory.
Ben-Gvir, a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, has threatened to bring the government down if it makes too many concessions in the cease-fire talks.
Borrell called on Israel’s government to “unequivocally distance itself from these incitements to commit war crimes,” and to engage “in good faith” with cease-fire negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
The United States and Israel’s other Western allies have repeatedly voiced concern about the killing of Palestinian civilians and Israeli restrictions on aid operations in the 10-month-old war. But they continue to provide vital military and diplomatic support for its offensive.
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