Commander of US Middle East forces arrives in Israel

The US commander in charge of forces in the Middle East arrived in Israel for “joint preparations” over an expected revenge attack from Iran and Hezbollah.

General Michael Erik Kurilla met Israeli army chief, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, and “held a joint situational assessment on security and strategic issues, as well as joint preparations in the region, as part of the response to threats in the Middle East”, a statement said.

Meanwhile, a senior ally of Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran for talks with the Iranian president and his top security officials as the Islamic Republic weighs how to “punish” Israel.

Though Mr Putin has yet to comment in public on the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East, he has grown closer to Iran since the was in Ukraine

Senior Russian officials have said that those behind the killing of Ismail Haniyeh were seeking to scuttle any hope of peace in the Middle East and to draw the United States into military action.

06:35 PM BST

That’s all for now

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06:26 PM BST

Jordan’s king warns in call with Biden of Israeli ‘hostile acts’ in Jerusalem

Jordan’s King Abdullah, in a phone call on Monday with US president Joe Biden, warned of what he called “hostile acts” by Israeli settlers that threaten the status quo of Jerusalem’s holy sites, the royal court said in a statement.

06:09 PM BST

Nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in Oct 7 attack on Israel, says UN

Nine staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees may have been involved in the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and their employment will be terminated, the United Nations said on Monday.

“For nine people, the evidence was sufficient to conclude that they may have been involved in the seventh of October attacks,” deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

06:02 PM BST

Germany preparing to evacuate nationals out of Lebanon

Germany is preparing to evacuate its nationals from Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East amid concerns over an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran and the Hezbollah, Spiegel magazine reported on Monday.

Germany’s air force has been readying a small fleet of A400M transport aircraft that could shuttle people from Beirut to Cyprus, Spiegel said, without specifying its sources.

05:54 PM BST

Biden and Jordan’s King discuss efforts to decrease Mideast tensions

US president Joe Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah discussed efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East on Monday, the White House said after Iran vowed to retaliate against Israel over the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran.

“The leaders discussed their efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, including through an immediate ceasefire and hostage release deal,” the White House said in a statement.

05:31 PM BST

Israel army says US Centcom chief in Israel to assess security

The Israeli military said the head of US Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, arrived in Israel on Monday to assess the security situation.

He met Israeli army chief, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, and “held a joint situational assessment on security and strategic issues, as well as joint preparations in the region, as part of the response to threats in the Middle East”, a statement said.

05:20 PM BST

Israelis mark Gaza hostage Ariel Bibas’s fifth birthday

Thousands of Israelis have gathered in Tel Aviv to mark the fifth birthday of Ariel Bibas, held hostage in Gaza, and to call for the liberation of him and his family.

Ariel, his baby brother Kfir, who would now be one year old, were kidnapped along with their parents Yarden and Shiri from their homes in Nir Oz kibbutz community near Gaza on October 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel.

Kfir Bibas is the youngest of the 251 people taken hostage by militants that day.

Hamas said in November that the two boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Israel has yet to confirm if they are alive.

“It’s a hard day for us and we hope that we can change this reality, the one where two children are still captive in Gaza”, Eli Bibas, their grandfather, said at the march.

Some participants held a photo of Ariel bearing the words, “a deal now”, in reference to a Gaza ceasefire agreement that would secure the hostages’ release.

05:04 PM BST

France’s Macron calls for ‘restraint’

France’s president Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken to the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and all three had urged “restraint” to avoid an escalation in the Middle East.

“I have spoken to president Mohamed bin Zayed and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on the situation in the Middle East. We call on all actors to be responsible and show restraint to avoid a regional conflagration,” he wrote in a social media post.

04:54 PM BST

ICYMI: Israeli strike hits school and hospital camp in Gaza

04:38 PM BST

Almost half of Hamas’s battalions ‘have been rebuilt’

Nearly half of Hamas’s battalions in northern and central Gaza have rebuilt themselves despite nearly 10 months of Israeli pummeling, according to a new report.

The research shows that as of July 1 only three of Hamas’s 24 battalions have been destroyed. Among the reasons are the group’s ability to replenish their ranks, make effective use of scarce resources and employ guerilla tactics.

Several units have made a comeback in key areas Israel said it had cleared, according to the analysis by CNN, the Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threats Project.

“The Israelis would say that they cleared a place, but … they haven’t defeated these fighters at all,” said Brian Carter who led the joint research. “[Hamas] are ready to fight and want to fight.”

Eight battalions are “combat effective” and the remaining 13 have been “degraded”, the analysis showed, with those in central Gaza the least damaged and the northern battalions rebuilding the fastest.

04:30 PM BST

Jordan asks airlines to carry extra fuel

Jordan has requested all airlines landing at its airports carry 45 minutes of reserve fuel, in what experts see as a precautionary measure in case of an attack by Iran against Israel.

Some airlines are already avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace and cancelling flights to Israel and Lebanon, as concerns grow over a possible conflict in the region after the killing of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah last week.

The NOTAM, a safety notice provided to pilots, was issued on Sunday by Jordanian authorities, asking all airlines to carry the reserve fuel for “operational reasons”. It is effective until 2200 GMT on Tuesday.

04:26 PM BST

Biden to meet national security chiefs

Joe Biden was to hold crisis talks with his national security team today as fears grow of an Iranian attack on Israel in retaliation for the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran.

Mr Biden will also call Jordan’s King Abdullah II as part of a flurry of diplomacy aimed at preventing the situation in the Middle East from spiraling into an all-out war.

The United States has deployed extra fighter jets and warplanes to the region to support Israel, as reports suggested Iran could respond as soon as Monday to the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Mr Biden was due to meet his national security team in the Situation Room in the White House “to discuss developments in the Middle East” after flying back from a weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said.

03:56 PM BST

Turkey to submit bid to join South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel

Hakan Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister, said that Turkey would formally submit its declaration of intervention in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Wednesday.

Turkey had announced in May that it had decided to join the case launched by South Africa as it stepped up measures against Israel over its assault on Gaza, and that it would submit a bid after the necessary legal preparations.

03:39 PM BST

Iran warns airlines of potential GPS disruptions over the country

Iran has issued a notice to airlines, known as a NOTAM, warning of GPS disruptions over the country.

The significance of the disruptions is not immediately clear, nor who may be behind them, though GPS disruptions are sometimes used to confuse the targeting of precision-guided missiles, the Times of Israel reported.

03:28 PM BST

Israel returns 80 Palestinian bodies

Israel has returned the bodies of more than 80 Palestinians killed in its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 more people on Monday, Gazan authorities said.

Yamen Abu Suleiman, the director of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service in Khan Younis, said it was unclear whether the bodies had been dug up from cemeteries by the army during the ground offensive, or whether they were “detainees who had been tortured and killed”.

“The occupation provided us with no information about the names, or ages, or anything. This is a war crime, a crime against humanity,” Abu Suleiman said.

03:09 PM BST

Irish citizens told not to travel to Israel

Irish citizens have been warned not to travel to Israel due to fears of an Iranian attack on the country.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said the Department of Foreign Affairs had updated its travel advice and was also advising citizens not to travel to Lebanon and Palestine, which Dublin recognised as a state earlier this year..

“Our travel advice for Israel has changed due to growing instability in the region. The Government is now advising Irish citizens do not travel to Israel. The same advice applies to Lebanon and Palestine,” Mr Harris said.

The Foreign Affairs department added: “The security situation across both Israel and Palestine remains tense and unpredictable, with the potential for intense escalation.

“Please continue to exercise caution, monitor local media regularly, follow the advice of local authorities, and observe any additional security measures imposed during this time.

“There is a risk of rocket fire, drone infiltration and ballistic missiles which can occur without warning, and can disrupt civilian infrastructure, including transportation and communications. We strongly advise that travellers make themselves familiar with the location of their closest protected location.”

02:45 PM BST

Gallant: ‘We are ready for quick transition to offence’

As Israel readies itself for a possible retaliatory attack by Iran, Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defence minister, said the military was ready for “a quick transition to offense”.

Speaking to the IDF’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, he said: “Our enemies are carefully considering their steps thanks to the abilities you have demonstrated in the last year. However, we must prepare for all possibilities, including a quick transition to offense.”

Israel’s defence ministry added that Mr Gallant studied the Israeli Air Force’s preparations for “the possibilities of offensive action in all combat sectors”.

02:21 PM BST

Cairo denies existence of active tunnels between Egypt and Gaza

A high-ranking Egyptian official has denied the existence of active tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt after Israel allegedly uncovered dozens of them.

The unnamed official source told Al-Qahera News that reports in the Israeli media about the tunnels are “allegations” intended to help justify Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.

They added that Jerusalem has not provided evidence of these passages being open and in use.

On Sunday, the IDF releases footage of an unusually large Hamas tunnel close to the Gaza-Egypt border that appears to have been for vehicle passage.

Dozens of tunnels have been found along the Philadelphi Corridor, Israel’s military has said, including at least 25 that crossed into Egypt.

Read more on the tunnel discovery here.

01:51 PM BST

US prepares to defend Israel

As the US wakes up this Monday morning, the White House is bracing for potential escalation in the Middle East.

Joe Biden is scheduled to speak on the phone with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, a critical US ally, later this morning Washington time.

The phone call is part of a round of US diplomacy focused on cooling tensions between Iran and Israel.

Mr Biden will also convene his national security team later on Monday to discuss “developments in the Middle East”, the White House has said.

It comes as the US president deployed extra fighter jets and warships to the region amid growing fears of an Iranian attack.

Jon Finer, the White House’s deputy national security adviser, said the “overall goal” of the US efforts is “to turn the temperature down in the region”.

01:35 PM BST

Israel seizes £20m in tax funds intended for Palestinian Authority

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered the seizure of 100 million shekels (£20 million) in tax funds intended for the Palestinian Authority, saying it would be used to pay for Israeli victims of terrorism.

In a statement issued late on Sunday, the finance ministry said the confiscation of funds was “part of measures to combat terrorism”.

The statement quoted Mr Smotrich as accusing the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, of diverting the funds to the “families of terrorists”.

12:50 PM BST

Israel fears ‘infiltration’ attacks ordered by Iran

Israel has sent reinforcements to towns bordering the West Bank over fears of possible infiltrations, the Israel Defence Forces radio service has reported.

Army Radio said Israel received intelligence about imminent Palestinian ground attacks from the Israeli-occupied territory, directed by Iran and Hamas.

It warned that the West Bank could soon become a “main arena” in Israel’s war on Hamas as violence flared in the region, and with tensions high over the war in Gaza and a potential regional escalation.

Israel is braced for a major attack from Iran and its proxies after assassinations in Beirut and Tehran last week.

Israeli airstrikes on the West Bank killed nine suspected militants on Saturday, while a Palestinian from the West Bank killed two Israeli civilians and wounded two more in a stabbing spree near Tel Aviv on Sunday.

12:39 PM BST

‘Like a compound’: Israel’s Olympians under tight security

Security is tight for Israel’s team at the Paris Olympics as Middle East tensions spiral amid lingering memories of the 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Games.

The 88 members of the Israeli delegation are accompanied by elite French police and gendarmerie units wherever they go – a security deployment that is not always easy to manage.

“We have armed guards with us 24/7,” said Ashlee Bond, a member of Israel’s showjumping team. “Our place where we’re staying is like a compound. We can’t go out of the village without armed guards. And we can only go from the village [to competition site] and back.”

Israel had won six Olympic medals by Monday – one gold, four silver and one bronze – already a record in its Olympic history.

12:25 PM BST

Russian security chief arrives in Tehran

Russia’s security council secretary arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks with the Iranian leadership, including Masoud Pezeshkian, the president.

Sergei Shoigu’s is visiting at a time of acute tension in the Middle East amid fears of a wider regional war after Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran last week.

Iran has blamed Israel and said it will “punish” it. Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility.

Mr Shoigu, who was Russia’s defence minister before being moved to the security council in May, will also meet Iran’s national security chief and the head of the general staff, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.

12:07 PM BST

Turkey to hold talks with Instagram over ban

Turkey’s government will hold talks with Instagram officials on Monday after blocking access to the social media platform last week.

The move came after a senior Turkish official accused Instagram of blocking condolence posts following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Fahrettin Altun criticised Instagram for alleged “censorship, pure and simple,” over what he called its decision to bar condolence posts for Haniyeh after his killing in Tehran on July 31.

11:44 AM BST

Israel to consider preemptive strike on Iran if attack imminent - report

Israel could consider launching a pre-emptive strike on Iran if it uncovered definite evidence that Tehran was about to launch an attack, according to an Israeli media report.

On Sunday night, Benjamin Netanyahu summoned Israel’s security chiefs for an emergency meeting amid preparations for an Iranian response to the back-to-back assassinations of a Hezbollah military chief and Hamas’s political head.

The security cabinet discussed the option of striking Iran as a deterrence measure, Ynet said, citing Israeli officials who were at the talks.

It added that such a move would only be authorised if its own intelligence could completely confirm an attack was coming.

11:16 AM BST

Lebanon prepares for war as hospitals stock up and holidaymakers leave

Lebanon has received emergency medical supplies to equip its hospitals for possible war injuries, while Beirut airport was teeming with people trying to leave the country amid fears a full-scale conflict was on the horizon.

Hospitals in southern Lebanon, where most of the tit-for-tat exchanges between Hezbollah and the Israeli military have taken place, are worn down by a years-long economic meltdown and have struggled to cope with wounded patients over the last 10 months.

On Monday, the World Health Organization delivered 32 tons of medical supplies to Lebanon’s health ministry, including at least 1,000 trauma kits to treat possible war wounded.

The goal is to “be ready to deal with any emergency”, said Firass Abiad, the health minister.

11:04 AM BST

Gazan health ministry says war death toll at 39,623

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that at least 39,623 people have been killed in nearly 10 months of war.

The toll includes 40 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 91,469 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combat deaths and its figures cannot be independently verified.

10:40 AM BST

‘Iran will try to wear us out’, says official, as Israel braces for multi-day attack

Israel is preparing for a potential multi-day attack by Iran and its ally Hezbollah following the assassination of two top militant leaders last week, an Israeli official told NBC News.

The official said Israel fears waves of missiles and drones could be fired over several days. “They’ll just try to wear us out,” they said.

Such an attack threatens to overwhelm Israel’s air defence systems. This was also Iran’s aim when it attacked on April 13, firing 3,000 ballistic, cruise and and drones in tight volleys. The majority where intercepted by Israeli and US forces, with Hezbollah mostly staying out of the fight.

10:23 AM BST

Iran rejects calls for restraint amid fears of imminent attack on Israel

Iran is said to have rejected US calls to exercise restraint in its retaliation for the killing of Hamas’s political leader in Tehran as Israel braces for an imminent attack.

Over the weekend, Iranian officials told Arab diplomats they would not de-escalate, as requested by the US, but strike Israel even if it meant war, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

On Sunday, Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, told his G7 allies that an attack by Iran and Hezbollah on Israel could start as early as Monday, three sources briefed on the call told Axios.

The US has raced to dispatch diplomatic and military support to help defend its ally, moving additional warplanes and warships to the region, while the UK said it had Royal Navy ships and RAF helicopters on standby.

Jordan sent its top diplomat on a rare trip to Iran on Sunday, while the Lebanese foreign minister headed to Cairo to diffuse tensions.

10:06 AM BST

Iran says it does not want regional escalation but must ‘punish’ Israel

Iran is not looking to escalate regional tensions but believes it needs to “punish Israel” to prevent further instability, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.

“Iran seeks to establish stability in the region, but this will only come with punishing the aggressor and creating deterrence against the adventurism of the Zionist regime [Israel],” Nasser Kanaani said, adding that action from Tehran was inevitable.

He added that Iran had a “legal right” to respond to the assassination in Tehran last week of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, an attack blamed on Israel.

Mr Kanaani also called on the US to stop supporting Israel, saying the international community had failed in its duty to safeguard stability in the region and should support the “punishment of the aggressor”.

09:28 AM BST

Lebanon says two dead in Israeli strike

Lebanon’s health ministry said two people were killed on Monday in an Israeli strike on the country’s south, where Hezbollah has been trading near-daily fire with Israel since the start of the Gaza war in October.

“The enemy raid that took place near the [Mais Al-Jabal] town’s cemetery killed two people,” Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement.

“One of the two martyrs who fell in the Mais Al-Jabal raid this morning was a Risala Scouts paramedic,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said.

09:03 AM BST

Australia raises terror threat to ‘probable’ over Israel-Hamas war tensions

The Australian government on Monday elevated the nation’s terrorism threat alert level from “possible” to “probable,” citing concerns about increasing radicalisation 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 Nov 2022. The level had been “probable” the previous eight years.

“I want to reassure Australians probable does not mean inevitable, and it does not mean there is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger,” Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, said.

“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,” Mr Albanese added.

08:40 AM BST

Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest against conscription

08:26 AM BST

Japan and Turkey tell their citizens to leave Lebanon

Japan and Turkey have become the latest countries to warn their citizens to leave Lebanon amid fears of a wider war breaking out across the Middle East.

The Japanese foreign ministry issued a travel alert on Monday, urging its citizens in Lebanon to evacuate the country in light of the rising tensions in the region.

Turkey also told its nationals to leave, saying: “Those who do not need to stay in Lebanon should leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still operating, if possible.” It added that Turks should avoid travelling to Lebanon unless essential.

On Sunday, France and Italy issued an alert for their citizens to leave due to the risk of military escalation.

08:12 AM BST

Israeli warplanes strike Hezbollah weapons storage

Israel’s military said its warplanes struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility and several other targets overnight in southern Lebanon.

Its artillery forces also fired toward the areas of Shebaa and Rachaya Al Foukhar, the IDF said, posting footage of the strikes.

08:09 AM BST

Hezbollah launches drone attack that wounds Israeli troops

Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack early on Monday on northern Israel. The Israeli military said the attack wounded two Israeli troops and started a fire.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese group said in a statement it targeted a military base in northern Israel in response to “attacks and assassinations” carried out by Israel in several villages in south Lebanon.

It comes a day after it launched a barrage of “dozens” of rockets at Israel, which the IDF said it had intercepted “most” of and reported no injuries.

The attack did not appear to be part of a more intense retaliation expected in response to the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon last week.

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, but they have previously kept the conflict at a low level that had not escalated into full-on war.

08:09 AM BST

G7 urges de-escalation in Middle East

The Group of Seven major democracies urged restraint and de-escalation in the Middle East on Monday, saying that recent events “threatened to ignite a broader conflict in the region”.

The G7 urged “all involved parties once again to refrain from perpetuating the current destructive cycle of retaliatory violence, to lower tensions and engage constructively toward de-escalation” in a statement.

08:08 AM BST

Hello and welcome to our live coverage

We’re bringing you all the latest from the crisis in the Middle East as Israel braces for a retaliatory attack from Iran and its regional proxies.