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USAID worker killed in Israel, agency says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
A staff member with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) died Friday in the Israeli port city of Jaffa, the agency announced.
The male staffer was with USAID’s West Bank and Gaza mission, the agency said in a brief statement.
USAID did not provide details onthe circ*mstances around his death or hisidentity or citizenship.
“He was a dedicated member of our team for more than two decades, and our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues,” USAID said.
USAID is working with the US Embassy to work out details about the fatal incident and its follow-up investigation, it said.
US expects Iran to carry out direct strikes against targets inside Israel, sources say
From CNN's MJ Lee and Natasha Bertrand
The United States currently expects Iran will carry out strikes against multiple targets inside Israeland that Iranian proxies could also be involved in carrying out the attacks, according to a senior administration official and a source familiar with the intelligence.
The targets would likely be both inside Israel and around the region.
The beginning of a state-on-state conflict between Iran and Israel would mark a serious escalation in the region that the US has hoped to avoid.
US sees Iran moving military assets including drones and cruise missiles, sources say
From Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann
The US observed Iran moving military assets around internally, including drones and cruise missiles, signaling that it is possibly preparing to attack Israeli targets from inside its own territory, according to two people familiar with US intelligence.
It is not clear whether Iran is preparing to strike from its soil as part of an initial attack, or if it is posturing to try to deter Israel or the US from conducting a possible counter strike on its territory.
One of the people said the US had observed Iran readying as many as 100 cruise missiles.
Some context: The Iranians want their retaliatory strike on Israel — a response to the Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate last week in Damascus — to be "significant," one of the people familiar with the intelligence said. But they also want to avoid getting embroiled in a direct war with Israel and the US, CNN has reported, which is why US intelligence has assessed that Iran may use its proxy forces to launch the first attack.
Israeli settlers storm village in West Bank and kill at least 1 Palestinian. Here's what you should know
From CNN staff
Hundreds of armed Israeli settlers stormed a village in the occupied West Bank on Friday, setting fire to several homes and cars — and leaving at least one Palestinian dead — in one of the largest attacks by settlers this year, according to Palestinian officials.
The settlers attacked Al-Mughayyir village, east of Ramallah, raided homes and fired gunshots at residents, according to Amin Abu-Alia, the head of the village council. Videos obtained by CNN show parts of the village burning, with smoke billowing over several buildings and settlers lobbing rocks. Houses and cars are seen completely burnt up, with sounds of gunfire and clashes heard in the background.
Here are other headlines you should know:
- More Israeli attacks: An Israeli airstrike early Friday killed at least 29 peopleand injured dozens more after troops targeted a house belonging to the well-known Al-Tabatibi familyineasternGaza City, according to a local health official. Israeli forces also surrounded and attacked the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, wounding several journalists and at least one other person. And in the occupied West Bank, troops killed two Hamas members in a raid on the city of Tubas, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.
- Hezbollah-Israel clashes: Around 40 rockets were fired from Lebanon on Friday evening, according to the Israeli military.Some were intercepted and the rest fell in open areas, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. Israeli warplanes also carried out several airstrikes on Friday, targeting "military buildings" used by Hezbollah fighters in parts of southern Lebanon, the IDF said.
- Iranian threats: US President Joe Biden told reporters Friday he expects an attack from Iran will happen “sooner than later," with the White House adding that there is a "very credible" threat of Iranian retaliatory strikes against Israel. Additionally, the US Defense Department is moving additional assets to the Middle East region, a defense official told CNN, as the US and Israel brace for the potential attack. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and US Central Command Commander Gen. ErikKurilla on Friday discussed preparations for thepotential attack.
- Warnings amid Iranian threats: France, Germany, Canada and the United States are among countries that are warning their citizens not to travel to the region due to the threat of an Iranian attack against Israel.
- Humanitarian aid: The Israeli military does not understand how humanitarian operations work, a top United Nations official said Friday, maintaining there is a "degree of mistrust" that needs to be resolved between the IDF and nongovernmental organizations on the ground in Gaza.
- Sanctions: The European Council hasadopted sanctionsagainst three Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad entities, in light of "their responsibilities in the brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks" that occurred across Israel on October 7. The US is also sanctioningfour leaders of Hamas’ cyber and drone operations based in Gaza and Lebanon, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announced on Friday.
US will attempt to intercept launches at Israel if feasible, US officials say
From CNN's Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand
The USwill attempt tointerceptanyweapons launched at Israel if it’s feasible to do so, two US officials told CNN, in an indication of the level of ongoing cooperation between the two militaries before an anticipated Iranian attack.
US Navy forces in the Red Sea have previously intercepted long-rangemissiles launched from the Houthis in Yemen toward Israel. US forces in Iraq and Syria could also potentially intercept drones and rockets targeting northern Israel, depending on the location from which they’re launched.
Gen. Erik Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command, has been in Israel meeting with the country’s security leadership. On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, met with Kurilla.
There have been a number of conversations where US officials have urged Israel not to escalate the situation in retaliating against Iran, according to one of the US officials.
Remember: An Iranian attack is expected in response to Israel’s deadly strike of Tehran's consulate in Damascus, Syria, last week.
The Damascus attack was the latest incident to stoke fears of a wider regional conflict breaking out in the Middle East during Israel's campaign in Gaza.
Diplomatic efforts: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has held a slew of calls to foreign counterparts aimed at pressuring Iran not to attack Israel.
The top US diplomat spoke with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Friday, according to a readout from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Blinken also spoke with the Turkish, Chinese and Saudi foreign ministers in recent days, Miller said.
Israeli settlers kill at least 1 Palestinian while storming West Bank village
From CNN’s Kareem Khadder and Zeena Saifi in Jerusalem and CNN’s Benjamin Brown in London
Hundreds of armed Israeli settlers stormed a village in the occupied West Bank on Friday, setting fire to several homes and cars in one of the largest attacks by settlers this year, according to Palestinian officials.
At least one Palestinian man was killed when shots were fired by Israeli settlers in the village of Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, according to the head of the village council Amin Abu-Alia. He said he identified the killed Palestinian as his 26-year-old relative named Jihad Abu-Alia, who was meant to get married this summer.
At least 25 others were injured in the rampage, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, the scale of which has not been seen since hundreds of settlers stormed through the villages ofTurmusayyaandHuwarain two separate incidents last year.
Between 1,000 and 1,200 settlers surrounded the village, and around 500 stormed it just after midday local time on Friday, blocking all the roads in the area, Abu-Alia told CNN.
He added that Israeli security forces informed Palestinian officials that the settlers were looking for a 14-year-old Israeli boy who had gone missing earlier in the day.
They attacked the village, raided homes and fired gunshots at residents, Abu-Alia said. Videos obtained by CNN show parts of the village burning, with smoke billowing over several buildings and settlers lobbing rocks. Houses and cars are seen completely burnt up, with sounds of gunfire and clashes heard in the background.
According to Abu-Alia, the Israeli military arrived at the scene at around 3 p.m. and didn’t stop the settlers from attacking the village. Israeli soldiers allowed them to raid homes, prevented Palestinian residents from moving around and blocked ambulances from reaching the injured, he added.
Abu-Alia told CNN settlers stole approximately 70 sheep from the Palestinian village.
In response to a question by CNN, the IDF said “violent riots were instigated in multiple locations in the area” following the search for the boy.
Israel says airstrikes targeted Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
Israeli warplanes carried out several airstrikes on Friday, targeting "military buildings" used by Hezbollah fighters in parts of southern Lebanon, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The areas include the Aita al-Shaab and the Taybeh in southern Lebanon, said Avichay Adraee, IDF spokesperson for Arab media,in a post on X.
"During the day, several shells were fired from Lebanon towards the Upper Galilee region, without causing any casualties. IDF forces attacked the sources of fire," Adraeeadded.
The Israeli airstrikes were before the 40 rockets that were launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel Friday evening and claimed by Hezbollah.
Biden expects an attack from Iran will happen "sooner than later"
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
US President Joe Biden expects an attack from Iran will happen “sooner than later," he told reporters at the White House Friday.
“I don’t want to get into secure information but my expectation is sooner than later,” Biden said when asked how imminent an attack on Israel was.
Asked what his message to Tehran is right now, the president said “Don’t.”
In response to more shouted questions from reporters asking if American troops were at risk, Biden returned to the podium and said that the United States is "devoted” to the defense of Israel.
“We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” Biden said.
Remember: The United States says it is on high alert for a significant Iranian retaliatory attack following Israel's deadly strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus last week, raising fears of a wider regional war. There remains a “real,” “credible” and “viable” threat of Iran launching strikes, the White House said earlier Friday,following Israel’s attack ona diplomatic compound in Syria that killed three Iranian generals.
