Middle East: Israel mulls response to deadly Golan attack

US Central Command said on Monday that its forces had destroyed one drone belonging to Houthi fighters in Yemen.

"In the past 24 hours, US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed one Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicle in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen," CENTCOM said in its daily update.

"It was determined this weapon presented an imminent threat to US, coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region. This action was taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure," CENTCOM said. 

Houthis have increased their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in recent months, saying it's a response to Israel's military actions in Gaza. As a result, the US and the EU have deployed additional naval forces the area.

The UK's foreign ministry on Monday issued an updated reminder that it is advising against travel to Lebanon and recommending that British nationals in the country leave.

"We are advising British nationals to leave Lebanon and not to travel to the country," Foreign Secretary David Lammy wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "This is a fast moving situation."

He said diplomatic staff "are working round the clock to help ensure the safety of British nationals."

Although the UK's government originally posted the advice on July 2 this year, it was updated and shared again on Monday in the aftermath of Saturday's strike on the Golan Heights and Israel's military response. 

Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) advises people against travel to the country and suggests that those already there leave "while commercial options remain available."

It also warns that the assistance it could provide should the situation intensify may prove limited. 

"If you are currently in Lebanon, we encourage you to leave. Do not rely on FCDO being able to evacuate you in an emergency," the advisory tells people. "You should have a personal emergency plan that does not rely on the UK government."

United States National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that the risk of a full-blown conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is "exaggerated" and that Washington is "confident" that a wider war can be avoided.

Kirby said US and Israeli officials had had conversations at "multiple levels" over the weekend following the deadly rocket attack in the annexed Golan Heights that killed 12 children.

"Nobody wants a broader war, and I'm confident that we'll be able to avoid such an outcome," Kirby said in a call with reporters.

"We all heard about this 'all-out war' at multiple points over the last 10 months," he said. "Those predictions were exaggerated then and, quite frankly, we think they're exaggerated now."

The White House says that Israel has every right to respond to Hezbollah's strike on the Golan Heights, but is urging restraint.

"There's no reason, in our view, that this has to lead to some dramatic escalation," said Kirby. "There's still time and space for diplomacy."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on Monday that Hezbollah would be held accountable for a rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

"Minister Gallant noted that the attack on Saturday is a significant escalation, and that Iranian proxy Hezbollah will be held responsible," the minister's office said.

Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah has denied any connection with the incident.

Health authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza strip have declared a polio epidemic in the war-ravaged enclave, blaming it on Israel's military offensive.

The Gaza health ministry owed the situation to the scarcity of clean water and food, the overcrowding of residents and the destruction of the sewage system as well as the accumulation of "thousands of tons of garbage."

It said it detected Variant Poliovirus type 2 (CVPV2) in the sewage water in Khan Younis and the central province in Gaza.

Polio had previously been eradicated in the Palestinian territories, the health authorities added.

Last week, the UN's World Health Organization said it was "extremely worried" about a polio outbreak, after traces of the disease were found in sewage samples collected from two sites in the strip.

Clashes erupted at an Israeli military base on Monday as military personnel arrested nine soldiers over accusations of abusing a detainee at a facility where Israel has held Palestinian prisoners throughout the war in Gaza, the Israeli military has reported.

"Following suspected substantial abuse of a detainee held in the Sde Teiman detention facility...  an investigation was opened," the military said in a statement to French news agency AFP.

The investigation prompted an outcry from members of the far-right government.

Military police officers carrying out the arrest order at the Sde Teiman facility were met with protests and scuffles, Israeli media reported. Some even managed to break into the facility.

Hezri Halevi, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff commented on the confrontations in an IDF statement posted on social media. 

He said the incident of breaking into the facility was "extremely serious and against the law," stressing that such actions "endanger the security of the country," especially in times of war. He added that authorities were working to restore order at the base.

The military did not give details about the kind of abuse the Palestinian detainee has allegedly faced.

But since the war started, United Nations agencies, rights groups and media outlets have reported on Palestinians from Gaza allegedly facing abuse at Israeli prisons.

A statement by rights group Amnesty International earlier this month said it interviewed dozens of Palestinian former detainees who had been detained for periods of up to four and a half months amid the war.

"Between February and June 2024, Amnesty International documented 31 cases of incommunicado detention and found credible evidence of widespread use of torture and other ill treatment," the group said.

Amnesty particularly named the Sde Teiman military detention camp in southern Israel. The military has generally denied ill-treatment of detainees.

According to the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, 8,611 Palestinian prisoners were being held in Israeli detention facilities at the end of March. Almost half were subject to administrative detention, meaning they are imprisoned without trial or charge.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a "harsh" response to the weekend attack on the Israel-occupied Golan Heights in which 12 teenagers and children were killed.

Netanyahu visited the site of the attack in Majdal Shams on Monday. He again blamed the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has denied responsibility.

He said the group "with Iranian backing, launched an Iranian missile here" that claimed the lives of "12 children, pure souls."

The Israeli prime minister described the incident as a "terrible disaster," saying it has left Israel "shocked to the core."

"The state of Israel will not and cannot let this pass. Our response will come, and it will be harsh,"  Netanyahu said.

The number of Palestinian killed in almost ten months of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip climbed to 39,363 on Monday, local authorities in the Hamas-run enclave have said.

The Gaza health authorities, which do not differentiate between civilians and militants in their tolls, said 39 Palestinians were killed and 93 more were injured in the past 24 hours. The UN and multiple humanitarian organizations consider the casualty numbers broadly reliable.

Some 90,923 have been injured since the war started on October 7, following Hamas' deadly attacks on southern Israel which left 1,200 killed.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by Israel, the US, Germany, the EU and others.

The German Foreign Ministry urged all German citizens to leave Lebanon on Monday.

According to the ministry's crisis list, there are around 1,300 German citizens in the country.

Although Lufthansa canceled flights to Lebanon, the Foreign Office said other flights to Europe and Turkey are still available.

Two people were killed in a drone attack outside the southern Lebanese town of Shaqra on Monday, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported, adding that three others were injured.

A drone targeted a vehicle on the Shaqra road near the castle of Debbiyeh, injuring two people, NNA reported. Two more people approached the scene to inspect, when they were also targeted by a drone. Both were killed, and a child on a balcony nearby was injured.

The report did not mention whether those targeted were militants or civilians.

The attack comes as Lebanon braces for an Israeli retaliation following the weekend rocket strike by Hezbollah that killed 12 teenagers and children.

Iran-backed Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries, while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.

Germany's Lufthansa Group, which also includes Eurowings, Austrian Airlines, and Swiss Air, says it is suspending its five routes to Beirut.

Lufthansa said the decision would affect flights on at least Monday and Tuesday, and that it was acting out of "an abundance of caution."

Lebanon's Middle East Airlines (MEA) said that nearly all its flights in and out of the capital would be canceled, citing insurance risks.

The Israeli security Cabinet met to discuss its response to a deadly strike that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the prime minister's office said on Sunday.

"The meeting of the Security Cabinet has concluded," the office said in a message on social media. "The members of the Cabinet authorized the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister to decide on the manner and timing of the response against the Hezbollah terrorist organization."

Israel and the US have accused Hezbollah of carrying out the attack from Lebanon. The Iran-backed group has denied any responsibility.

The attack on Saturday hit an Arab Druze village, killing several children. Israel's immediate response was to strike targets in Lebanon overnight, but Sunday's Cabinet meeting suggests it will take further action, despite international warnings against escalation.

 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Paris, his office said on Sunday.

According to a statement, Starmer "reiterated his ongoing support for Israel's right to self-defence in accordance with international law."

But he went on to say that "there must be immediate steps towards a ceasefire, so that hostages can be released and more humanitarian aid can get in for those in desperate need."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday evening that Turkey could consider intervening in Israel as it has done in other countries, but without specifying what that would look like.

"We must be very strong so that Israel can't do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them," he said during a speech about the Turkish defense industry.

"There is no reason why we cannot do this ... We must be strong so that we can take these steps," he said in his televised address.

Erdogan has been openly critical of Israel's operations in Gaza, despite attempts to bring the two Middle Eastern powers closer before October 7.

The interventions that Erdogan referred to offered little to explain what he meant with his comment.

In 2020, Turkish military personnel were deployed to support the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord of Libya.

As for Nagorno-Karabakh, Ankara has previously denied involvement in the invasion by its close allies in Azerbaijan of the former enclave under ethnic Armenian control.

However, last year Turkey said it was using "all means", including military training and modernization, to support Azerbaijan's efforts.

ab/sri (Reuters, AFP, AP, EFE, dpa)