Syrian TV Presenter Flees Studio Following Airstrike; Israeli Defense Minister Posts Video With Caption: 'The Heavy Blows Have Started'
The Israeli army later confirmed it had targeted the Syrian army HQ in Damascus and a military target near the presidential palace.
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The strike came amid escalating sectarian violence between Syria's Druze minority, with which Israel is aligned, and Bedouin communities in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda, which in turn has led to the intervention of the Syrian army.
Syria TV posted footage on X of the moment the strike happened, showing presenter Dima Abodan gasping, hunching over and then making a swift exit.
مذيعة #تلفزيون_سوريا تغادر الاستوديو بسبب غارة للاحتلال الإسرائيلي استهدفت مبنى وزارة الدفاع وسط العاصمة #دمشق #نيو_ميديا_سوريا @DimaAbodan pic.twitter.com/lHVawfDOqA
— تلفزيون سوريا (@syr_television) July 16, 2025
Later, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz also posted the video on X, with the caption: 'The heavy blows have started.'
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Washington that the U.S, was 'very concerned' about the escalating violence.
'I just got off the phone with the relevant parties. We're very concerned about it, and hopefully, we'll have some updates later today. But we're very concerned about it,' Rubio said
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
New U.S. assessment finds American strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites
WASHINGTON — One of the three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran struck by the United States last month was mostly destroyed, setting work there back significantly. But the two others were not as badly damaged and may have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months if Iran wants it to, according to a recent U.S. assessment of the destruction caused by the military operation, five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the assessment told NBC News. The assessment, part of the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to determine the status of Iran's nuclear program since the facilities were struck, was briefed to some U.S. lawmakers, Defense Department officials and allied countries in recent days, four of those people said. NBC News has also learned that U.S. Central Command had developed a much more comprehensive plan to strike Iran that would have involved hitting three additional sites in an operation that would have stretched for several weeks instead of a single night, according to a current U.S. official and two former U.S. officials. President Donald Trump was briefed on that plan, but it was rejected because it was at odds with his foreign policy instincts to extract the United States from conflicts abroad, not dig deeper into them, as well as the possibility of a high number of casualties on both sides, one of the current officials and one of the former officials said. 'We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to,' one of the sources with knowledge of the plan said. In a speech in the hours after they took place, Trump called the strikes he directed 'a spectacular military success' and said, 'Iran's key enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.' The reality as gleaned through intelligence so far appears to be more nuanced. And if the early findings about the damage inflicted to Iran's nuclear program hold up as more intelligence comes in, the United States could find itself back in a conflict there. There have been discussions within both the American and Israeli governments about whether additional strikes on the two less-damaged facilities could be necessary if Iran does not soon agree to restart negotiations with the Trump administration on a nuclear deal or if there are signs Iran is trying to rebuild at those locations, one of the current officials and one of the former officials said. Iran has long said its nuclear program is purely for peaceful, civilian purposes. The recent assessment is a snapshot of the damage U.S. strikes inflicted amid an intelligence-gathering process that administration officials have said is expected to continue for months. Assessments of Iran's nuclear program after the U.S. strikes are expected to change over time, and according to two of the current officials, as the process progresses, the findings suggest more damage than previous assessments revealed. That assessment remains for now the current thinking on the impact of the strikes, officials said. 'As the President has said and experts have verified, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran's nuclear capabilities,' White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told NBC News in a statement. 'America and the world are safer, thanks to his decisive action.' In a statement of his own, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: 'The credibility of the Fake News Media is similar to that of the current state of the Iranian nuclear facilities: destroyed, in the dirt, and will take years to recover. President Trump was clear and the American people understand: Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated. There is no doubt about that.' He added, 'Operation Midnight Hammer was a significant blow to Iran's nuclear capabilities thanks to the decisive action of President Trump and the bravery of every man and woman in uniform who supported this mission.' Destruction and deterrence The U.S. strikes targeted three enrichment sites in Iran: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. U.S. officials believe the attack on Fordo, which has long been viewed as a critical component of Iran's nuclear ambitions, was successful in setting back Iranian enrichment capabilities at that site by as much as two years, according to two of the current officials. Much of the administration's public messaging about the strikes has focused on Fordo. In a Pentagon briefing they held in response to reporting on an initial Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that concluded that Iran's nuclear program had been set back by only three to six months, for instance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talked extensively about the strike at Fordo but not the strikes at Natanz and Isfahan. U.S. officials knew before the airstrikes that Iran had structures and enriched uranium at Natanz and Isfahan that were likely to be beyond the reach of even America's 30,000-pound GBU-57 'bunker buster' bombs, three of the sources said. Those bombs, which had never been used in combat before the strikes, were designed with the deeply buried facilities carved into the side of a mountain at Fordo in mind. As early as 2023, though, there were indications that Iran was digging tunnels at Natanz that were below where the GBU-57 could reach. There are also tunnels deep underground at Isfahan. The United States hit surface targets at Isfahan with Tomahawk missiles and did not drop GBU-57s there, but it did use them at Natanz. A U.S. official pointed NBC News to a closed-door briefing conducted in late June by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who told lawmakers that Iran's nuclear program was 'severely damaged' and that several key nuclear facilities were 'completely destroyed,' according to an administration official's description of the briefing. Ratcliffe said the only metal conversion facility at Natanz, required for nuclear enrichment, was destroyed to the point that it would take 'years to rebuild,' according to the official, who was authorized to describe some contents of the classified briefing. Ratcliffe also said that the intelligence community believes the strikes buried the vast majority of enriched uranium at Isfahan and Fordo and that thus it would be extremely difficult for the Iranians to extract it to resume enrichment, according to the official. The United States has not seen indications that Iran is trying to dig out the facilities, two officials said. As NBC News has reported, the Israeli government believes at least some of Iran's highly enriched uranium remains intact but buried beneath the Isfahan facility, according to a senior Israeli government official who briefed reporters in Washington last week. The official said, however, that Israel considers the material effectively unreachable, because it is watching and will conduct new strikes if it believes Iran is trying to dig up the uranium. The official also said Israel believes Iran's nuclear program has been set back by up to two years. Similarly, even if the targeted Iranian nuclear sites were not completely destroyed, U.S. officials and Republican advocates of the operation believe it was a success because it has changed the strategic equation for Iran. From their point of view, the regime in Tehran now faces a credible threat of more airstrikes if Israel and the United States believe it is trying to revive clandestine nuclear work. Asked late last month whether he would consider bombing Iran again if intelligence reports concluded Iran can enrich uranium at a level that concerns him, Trump said: 'Sure. Without question. Absolutely.' Iran's air defenses have been largely destroyed, making it all but impossible for Iran to defend against further strikes on facilities in the future, the U.S. official said. 'It was made clear that Iran no longer has any more [air defenses], so the idea that they can easily rebuild anything is ludicrous,' the official said. The 'all-in' plan Beginning during the Biden administration, as early as last fall and into this spring, Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, had developed a plan to go 'all-in' on striking Iran, according to a current U.S. official and two former officials. That option was designed to 'truly decimate' Iran's nuclear capabilities, in the words of one of the former officials. Under the plan, the United States would have hit six sites. The thinking was that the six sites would have to be hit repeatedly to inflict the kind of damage necessary to completely end the program, people familiar with the thinking said. The plan would also have involved targeting more of Iran's air defense and ballistic missile capabilities, and planners projected it could result in a high number of Iranian casualties. U.S. officials expected that if that were to take place, Iran would target American positions, for example in Iraq and Syria, a person familiar with the plan said. 'It would be a protracted air campaign,' the person said. Some Trump administration officials believed a deeper offensive option against Iran was a viable policy, two of the former officials said. Trump was briefed on the so-called all-in plan, but it was rejected ultimately because it would have required a sustained period of conflict. The history During his first term, in 2018, Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that was negotiated during the Obama administration. The agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, imposed strict limits on Iran's nuclear program in return for an easing of economic sanctions. Under the deal, Iran was a year away from obtaining enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb. After Trump withdrew from the accord and reimposed sanctions, Iran flouted restrictions on its uranium enrichment. Before the June airstrikes, the regime had enough fissile material for about nine to 10 bombs, according to U.S. officials and United Nations inspectors. Trump has since sought a new agreement with Iran that would block it from developing nuclear weapons. Indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials failed to clinch a deal before Israel launched airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran has long denied that it wants to build a nuclear weapon, a position its foreign minister reiterated in an interview with NBC News the day before the U.S. strikes. This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Hamas losing iron grip on Gaza as US-backed group gets aid to Palestinians in need
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been a central focus of international debate since Hamas' war with Israel began in 2023. Longstanding aid organizations and new ones have rushed to provide Palestinians with critical support. But one group in particular has received backlash for trying to deliver food to the Strip, the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). "The big difference between GHF and other aid organizations such as the U.N., for example, is that effectively GHF undercutting Hamas or keeping Hamas out of the loop here when it comes to aid," Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst and editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital. Despite the criticism and accusations of violence against Palestinians seeking aid at its distribution sites, GHF has delivered over 76 million meals since its operation began in late May. Truzman said that Hamas has taken notice — and is reacting — to the GHF's success, as the terror organization has been unable to control the aid coming from them. Truzman believes Hamas' reaction to the GHF is telling and could signal that the group is losing access to a key tool in its arsenal for maintaining control in Gaza. He told Fox News Digital that Hamas uses "a social welfare program" to keep its grip on the population. "So, for instance, charities that are controlled by Hamas, mosques that are controlled by Hamas, schools that are controlled Hamas and aid that is controlled by Hamas. Now they use it to either feed the community — Palestinians — and by doing that they gain this leverage over Palestinians," Truzman said. "Palestinian civilians need this aid to obviously survive and they count on Hamas to do it. So, this is how Hamas could control the population." Hamas' diversion of aid was something that concerned the U.S. when it began backing GHF as a way to provide Palestinians with what they need without letting terrorists get ahold of it. In June, when the U.S. announced $30 million in funding for the GHF, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott touted the organization's work distributing aid "while preventing Hamas looting." "If GHF wasn't around right now, I think we'd be back to the same old distribution where Hamas would control it, all right, or other Palestinian terrorist groups. I think that's a problem that nobody's really been able to figure out just yet," Truzman told Fox News Digital. The United Nations has been particularly critical of the GHF, something that Truzman attributes more to the U.N.'s "very anti-Israel stance" and institutional bias than officials' desire to stick with methods used in the past. "I think the UN is very unhappy in the situation that they are not in control anymore, at least, of distributing aid in the Gaza Strip," Truzman said. On Tuesday, GHF Executive Director Rev. Johnnie Moore said that his organization "helped get the U.N. reauthorized when Israel reopened access to Gaza." Fox News Digital reached out to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) about Moore's claim, but did not get a clear confirmation or denial. "We welcome when anyone with influence who has witnessed the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza for more than 21 months calls on the Israeli authorities to swiftly unlock access and enable the safe, sustained delivery of humanitarian aid," OCHA Spokesperson Eri Kaneko told Fox News Digital. "The lives of the people of Gaza are at stake. Ending their suffering must be the shared priority and ultimate goal for us all to work towards with urgency and determination."
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Pope ‘deeply saddened' after two people killed in strike on Gaza's only Catholic church
Pope Leo XIV was 'deeply saddened' after two people were killed in a strike on Gaza's only Catholic church, he said in a Vatican telegram on Thursday. Calling the strike a 'military attack,' the Vatican's Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said: 'In commending the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, the Holy Father prays for the consolation of those who grieve and for the recovery of the injured.' The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which has jurisdiction for Latin-rite Catholics in Gaza, said the two people were killed after Gaza's Holy Family Church was struck by Israel on Thursday morning. 'With deep sorrow, the Latin Patriarchate can now confirm that two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family Compound this morning,' the patriarchate said in a statement. The Israeli military said it was 'aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene,' adding that 'the circumstances of the incident are under review.' 'The (Israel Defense Forces) makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them,' it said. The two killed were named as Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh and Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, the patriarchate said. 'We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians,' its statement read. Funerals for both of the deceased will take place at Gaza City's Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church on Thursday afternoon, the church said in a post on Facebook. 'His Holiness renews his call for an immediate ceasefire, and he expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region,' Pope Leo's telegram continued. This is a developing story and will be updated.
