Israeli Army Chief Links Strikes on Iran to Military Objectives in Gaza

Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, has stated that recent Israeli strikes on Iran may serve to advance the country’s military objectives in Gaza, raising fresh concerns over the widening scope of the ongoing conflict. Speaking during a field tour of Israeli military positions in Gaza on Friday, Zamir claimed that Iran “has taken a heavy blow,” suggesting that the attack could directly support Israel’s operations in the Palestinian territory. “This may advance our objectives in Gaza,” he said. The comments come in the aftermath of Israel’s conclusion of “Operation Rising Lion,” which the military claims targeted elements of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Zamir further commended Israeli ground forces operating in Gaza, stating that their combat experience was “a significant part of the [Israel Defense Forces]’ ability to act with force in Iran.” His remarks appear to blur the distinction between Israel’s military confrontations with Iran and its ongoing war in Gaza, drawing criticism from analysts who warn that linking both theaters of conflict could signal a dangerous escalation. Despite months of air and ground assaults that have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians and widespread destruction across Gaza, Zamir admitted that Israel’s declared military objectives in the territory remain unfulfilled. The statement has further fueled international concern over the growing regional dimension of Israel’s war efforts and the humanitarian toll in Gaza.

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Iran, Israel Ceasefire Holds as Dozens Killed in Gaza

The US-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel appears to be holding as of Wednesday, as both sides signalled that their direct military confrontation had ended, at least for now, following 12 days of intense aerial and missile exchanges. Iranian lawmakers voted Wednesday in favour of suspending cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, state TV said, as an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “badly damaged” by US strikes. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israeli fire killed over 50. The latest in a string of deadly incidents near aid distribution sites came after the United Nations had condemned the “weaponisation of food” in the Gaza Strip, where a US- and Israeli-backed foundation has largely replaced established humanitarian organisations. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Israeli fire targeted thousands of civilians waiting for aid in an area of central Gaza where Palestinians have gathered each night in the hope of collecting food rations. He added that the crowd was hit by Israeli “bullets and tank shells”. Iran on Wednesday branded NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s gushing note to President Donald Trump on US strikes targeting key nuclear sites as “disgraceful, despicable and irresponsible”. On Tuesday, Rutte hailed in a pre-NATO summit note to Trump what he called his “decisive action” in Iran, days after the United States conducted unprecedented strikes on its nuclear facilities. Rutte said the move “was truly extraordinary and something no one else dared to do. It makes us safer.” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei hit back, saying it was “disgraceful, despicable and irresponsible for #NATO’s SG to congratulate a ‘truly extraordinary’ criminal act of aggression against a sovereign State.” Whoever “supports a crime is regarded as complicit,” Baqaei said in a post on X. President Donald Trump on Wednesday likened Washington’s strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities to the US dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. “Actually, if you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, you know that ended a war too,” Trump said as he wrapped up NATO’s summit in The Hague. “This ended a war in a different way, but it was so devastating.” The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards command centre, Ali Shadmani, died of wounds sustained during Israel’s military strikes on the country, Iranian state media said on Wednesday. The guards’ command centre vowed “harsh revenge” for his killing, state media added. Israel’s armed forces had said on 17 June that it killed Shadmani, who it identified as Iran’s wartime chief of staff and most senior military commander.

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Trump administration officials accidentally text a reporter Yemen ‘war plans’

Trump administration officials accidentally text a reporter Yemen ‘war plans’

The White House has confirmed a report by The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who says senior Trump administration officials accidentally included him in a Signal chat group in which they discussed plans to conduct strikes in Yemen Goldberg was included in a group chat in which US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top officials discussed upcoming strikes against Yemen’s Houthis. Trump announced strikes on March 15, but in a shocking security breach, Goldberg wrote that he had hours of advance notice via the group chat. “The message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told reporters. The security breach provoked outrage among Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Chris Coons, who wrote on X that “every single one of the government officials on this text chain have now committed a crime.” Signal, an open-source, encrypted messaging application, is not approved by the US government for sharing sensitive information.

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