Israel-Hamas war: Iran planning two waves of attacks on Israel

US intelligence officials have warned of Iran’s deadly plot to attack Israel as the Israeli military warns of a pre-emptive strike on Lebanon.

Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel is likely to take place in two waves, one from Iran and the other by Hezbollah, US intelligence officials have told US President Joe Biden, according to a report.

In a National Security Council meeting this morning (AEST) intelligence officials told Mr Biden and Kamala Harris of the threat, but said it was unclear which of the two forces would attack first as Tehran was still undecided, the Axios website reports.

Mr Biden called his national security team to the White House Situation Room amid fears of Iran striking Israel within hours following last week’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Israeli military is believed to have presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with plans for a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah, advising that the country should not wait for the Iran-backed group to attack before taking action.

It comes amid heightened regional tensions following a rocket attack on a base in Iraq, which wounded multiple US personnel.

Joe Biden and Vice Kamala Harris briefed by national security advisers and members of law enforcement agencies in the White House Situation Room. Picture: AFP

The rocket fire is the latest in a series of attacks targeting Ain al-Assad base in western Iraq, which hosts American troops as well as personnel from the US-led coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group.

“There was a suspected rocket attack today against US and coalition forces” at the base, a US defence spokesperson said.

“Initial indications are that several US personnel were injured.”

“Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment” and updates will be provided as more information becomes available, the spokesperson added.

An Iraqi military source had earlier said that multiple rockets were fired at base, with some landing inside it and another hitting nearby village but not causing damage.

A commander in a pro-Iran armed group told AFP that at least two rockets targeted the base on Monday local time, without saying who had carried out the attack.

Another source in the group and a security source confirmed an attack occurred.

There has been no claim of responsibility, but Iraq-based militias backed by Iran have carried out multiple such attacks against US servicemembers on al-Asad and elsewhere over the past several months.

The US President also spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah amid a flurry of calls between the US and its allies in an attempt to stave off all-out war between Iran and Israel.

The moves came as Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, said he was informed that Iran has decided it will definitely attack the Jewish state.

Katz said he received the message from Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who told him he was informed of the impending assault by acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri, the Jerusalem Post reported.

“Iran has informed us that it intends to attack Israel,” Katz said.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told G7 countries on Sunday (local time) that the attack could begin within 24 to 48 hours, or as early as Tuesday AEST.

In a statement, 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”.

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‘UNACCEPTABLE’: DUTTON ANGER AT UNWRA AID

Peter Dutton has called on the Albanese government to reconsider its funding of a UN aid organisation in Gaza following revelations staff “may have been involved” in the October 7 attack on Israel.

The United Nations said on Monday nine employees of UNRWA, its agency for Palestinian refugees, had been fired as a result of their possible involvement in the Hamas attack that killed 1200 Jews.

“It’s obviously a very significant revelation and not one that will come as a surprise to many people,” Mr Dutton told Sky News Australia on Tuesday.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the Albanese government needs to reconsider its funding of UNWRA. Picture: Dan Peled / NewsWire

“It should cause the Albanese government to reconsider their involvement, their engagement, their funding of UNWRA.

“It’s completely and utterly unacceptable that a UN agency would have employees involved in, or alleged to have been involved in, the October 7 tragedy.”

Australia was among more than a dozen donor countries that paused funding to the UN’s Relief and Works Agency in late January after Israel alleged 12 staff members were involved in the Hamas attacks.

But in March, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced Australia would resume its $6m in funding to the United Nation’s “lifesaving” aid agency in Gaza.

She said at that time the government had received assurances that UNRWA itself was not a terrorist organisation, and additional safeguards would “sufficiently protect” Australian taxpayer funding.

UN EMPLOYEES ‘MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED’ IN OCTOBER 7 ATTACK

The United Nations said that nine employees of its agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) “may have been involved” in the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, which sparked war in Gaza, and have been fired.

“We have sufficient information in order to take the actions that we’re taking - which is to say, the termination of these nine individuals,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Haq said the organisation will need to evaluate any further steps to “fully corroborate” the allegations.

Haq was speaking after the UN’s oversight body, the Office of Internal Oversight Services, completed its investigation into the allegations earlier this year by Israel that a total of 19 UNRWA employees may have been involved in the attack.

“In one case, no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations of the staff member’s involvement, while in nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff members’ involvement,” Haq said in a statement.

Smoke from Israeli bombardment billows in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

But in the other nine cases, “the evidence obtained by OIOS indicated that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October,” Haq said.

In a statement, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said those individuals “cannot work for UNRWA,” insisting that staff must respect its policies, insisting on the “humanitarian principle of neutrality.”

After the announcement, the international spokesman for Israel’s army, Lieutenant-Colonel Nadav Shoshani, said that UNRWA had “stooped to a new level of low.”

Stressing that UN internal investigations are confidential, Haq said he had no further information on the content of the accusations and evidence.

Investigators travelled to Israel to review Israeli information and to Amman to obtain information from UNRWA.

However “since information used by Israeli officials to support the allegations have remained in Israeli custody, OIOS was not able to independently authenticate most of the information provided to it,” Haq said.

Likewise, for security reasons, UN investigators also did not meet with the accused employees or potential witnesses, but received recorded video statements from some of those involved, the UN said.

IRAN WILL ATTACK ISRAEL ‘TONIGHT’

Donald Trump said Iran will attack Israel “tonight”.

“I’m hearing there’s going to be an attack tonight by Iran on Israel. There’s going to be an attack tonight I’m telling you right now,” Mr Trump said in an interview.

“I hear it just through the same ways, there’s no top secret information or anything, but I hear that Israel is going to be attacked tonight.”

BREAKING - Trump says he's hearing there’s going to be an attack tonight by Iran on Israel.

pic.twitter.com/dDqJf7koZx

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 5, 2024

Mr Trump’s prediction, and noted qualification that it wasn’t from classified information, comes after reports the former president was to start receiving intelligence briefings as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.

TRAVEL ADVICE FROM DFAT

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong reiterated her call for Australians in Lebanon to “leave now while you still have options to do so”.

“The security situation in the Middle East is highly risky,” she said.

“We are deeply concerned about the possibility of conflict, escalation.”

Israeli mounted police deploy as ultra-Orthodox protesters demonstrate in Tel Aviv on the first day religious Jewish men were requested to enlist for compulsory military service. Picture: AFP

The request for compulsory military service follows a court order a month. Picture: AFP

PENNY WONG CONDEMNS IRAN AMBASSADOR

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has condemned Iran’s ambassador to Australia for backing calls to eradicate the state of Israel — but stopped short of moving to expel him.

Over the weekend, the ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi called Israel a “Zionist plague” on social media, supporting terrorist group Hamas’s commitment to “wiping out” Israel by 2027 as a “heavenly and divine promise”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was unaware of the comments on Monday, prompting opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham to urge a tougher response and consider whether Mr Sadeghi had breached hate speech laws.

Men burry bodies that were taken and later released by Israel during a mass funeral at a cemetery in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

Senator Wong, speaking in Washington DC, said the ambassador’s views were “inflammatory” and “repugnant”.

“They are inconsistent with Australia’s values and our views,” she said, adding that her department had spoken to Mr Sadeghi “about these issues”.

But she sidestepped questions about whether the diplomat would be expelled from Australia.

Protesters lift placards and pictures during a gathering 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. Picture: AFP

IRAN PLOTS ISRAEL ATTACK

The United Kingdom has beefed up its presence in the Middle East sending two naval warships and several Royal Air Force helicopters to the region, amid growing fears of an all out war.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence also said it’s air-defence destroyer HMS Duncan and RFA Cardigan Bay were in the region and it was deploying military staff “to provide embassies with operational support the help British nationals”.

UK foreign secretary David Lammy said the situation in the region could “deteriorate rapidly”.

The British Royal Navy’s HMS Duncan is in the Middle East. Picture: AFP

His comments come as American officials said Iran could order a revenge strike on Israel within hours, reports The Sun.

The intelligence suggests Iran’s forthcoming attack will be larger than the April attack, where hundreds of missiles were launched by Tehran at Israel.

This latest strike threat comes after Hezbollah fired about 30 rockets towards Galilee on Saturday (local time), which were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome.

ISRAEL SLAMS REPORT INTO DEATH OF AUSSIE IN GAZA

Israel has rebuked an Australian report into the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza, saying in a statement from its embassy in Canberra that the findings “included some misrepresentations” and “omitted crucial details”.

Melbourne-born aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, 43, was among a Group of Seven charity workers killed in April when their World Central Kitchen aid convoy was mistakenly hit by an Israeli air strike south of Deir al-Balah.

The group had been helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza.

Australian Lalzawmi (Zomi) Frankcom was killed in an Israeli strike while delivering aid. Picture: World Central Kitchen / AFP

A declassified Australian report last week blamed the lethal error on operational failures such as the “mistaken identification” of security staff as Hamas hijackers.

“The IDF has taken full responsibility for the grave mistakes that led to the tragic incident of the night of April 1,” the embassy said in a statement, referring to the Israeli military.

The deaths — of Ms Frankcom, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole — triggered global outrage and a renewed push to ensure the safety of aid workers in Gaza.

Former Australian air force chief Mark Binskin was tasked with monitoring Israel’s efforts to unravel what went wrong.

It comes as the US, Britain, France, Canada, Jordan and Saudi Arabia joined Australia in calling for their citizens to leave Lebanon as tensions reach boiling point.

A senior US official said they were preparing for “every possibility” amid fears of a war breaking out between Iran and Israel.

The US embassy in Beirut asked its nationals to “prepare contingency plans” if they choose to stay in Lebanon and be prepared to “shelter in place for an extended period of time”.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese village of Taybeh. Picture: AFP

The UK’s Foreign Office also urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave “now while commercial options remain available”.

“Tensions are high, and the situation could deteriorate rapidly,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

“While we are working round the clock to strengthen our consular presence in Lebanon, my message to British nationals there is clear – leave now.”

The UK also confirmed that family members of its embassy staff in Beirut had been “temporarily withdrawn”.

The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs issued a travel advisory, inviting its citizens in Lebanon to leave “as soon as possible” due to the risk of a military escalation.

France estimates that some 23,000 of its citizens live in Lebanon, and last month around 10,000 French citizens were visiting to the country.

Sweden also announced the closure of its embassy in Beirut and called on its nationals to leave.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan’s King Abdullah II said a regional military escalation must be avoided “at all costs”, the French presidency said after they held a telephone call.

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defence system over the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel. Picture: AFP

‘LEAVE IMMEDIATELY’: AUSSIES IN LEBANON WARNED

It follows travel advice by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recommending Australians “leave immediately”.

On Thursday, Anthony Albanese warned there were increasing concerns Beirut Airport could close at short notice, which would mean visitors could be stranded for an extended period.

“There is a risk that the Beirut airport might not be open for commercial flights, and given the numbers of people that are there, there is no guarantee that we can just guarantee that people will be able to come home through other means if that airport is shut,” Mr Albanese said.

“We say to people, listen to the warnings which are there and please, over recent months we have seen people continue to go and travel to the region, and we have made very clear our warnings about that.”

Following the Pentagon’s announcement it would beef-up its military presence in the Middle East, White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said “we are preparing for every possibility.”

“The Pentagon is moving significant assets to the region, to prepare for what may be another need to defend Israel from an attack, while simultaneously we are working very hard to de-escalate this situation diplomatically because we do not believe that a regional war is in anyone’s interest in the current moment,” Mr Finer said.

Emergency crews look for survivors following an Israeli air strike at a Gaza school. Picture: AFP

The US mobilised more warships and fighter jets to protect its troops and ally Israel from threats by Iran and militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Their vows of vengeance followed the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday, hours after the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah’s military chief in Beirut.

It comes as an Israeli air strike hit two schools in Gaza, killing at least 25 people, according to the Palestinian official news agency.

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defence system over the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, on August 4. Picture: Jalaa Marey/AFP

IRAN WARNS HEZBOLLAH WILL STRIKE ‘DEEPER’ IN ISRAEL

Middle East tensions have soared as Iran and its allies readied their response to the assassination of Hamas’s political leader, blamed on Israel, spurring fears of a regional war.

Iran said it expected Lebanon’s Tehran-backed Hezbollah terror group would strike deeper inside Israel and no longer be confined to military targets after Israel killed Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr.

The United States has agreed to send F-22 fighters jets and missile-firing warships to help defend Israel ahead of an expected attack from Iran within days.

An Israeli Navy corvette patrols along the coast of the northern port city of Haifa amid tensions during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

The Pentagon confirmed US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered a boost to its presence in the region, with Iran, or Hezbollah in Lebanon, believed to be preparing an imminent attack.

“Austin has ordered adjustments to U.S. military posture designed to improve U.S. force protection, to increase support for the defence of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

The killing last week of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, hours after the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah’s military chief in Beirut, has triggered vows of vengeance from Iran and the so-called “axis of resistance”.

The United States has agreed to send F-22 fighters jets and missile-firing warships to help defend Israel. Picture: US Department of Defence

USS aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was also being sent to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which has been providing key support for Israeli forces.

Iran attacked Israel on April 13 in a widely telegraphed drone and missile strike, which inflicted little damage as they were shot down by Israeli and western forces.

There were fears that this time Iran would not provide as much warning, raising the chances of an all out war with Israel that could ultimately drag in US forces.

Israel said Shukr was responsible for the rocket attack that killed 12 children and teens playing on a soccer pitch in the Golan Heights.

Hours after Shukr’s killing, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a pre-dawn bombing in Tehran, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.