Iran says it will respond at 'maximum level' if Israel acts against its interests (2024)

The UN World Food Program has agreed to help deliver aid to the civilians of Gaza once the U.S. military completes a pier for transporting the humanitarian assistance by sea, U.S. officials said Friday.

The involvement of the UN agency could help resolve one of the major obstacles facing the U.S.-planned project – the reluctance of aid groups to handle on-the-ground distribution of food and other badly needed goods in Gaza absent significant changes by Israel.

The U.S. Agency for International Development confirmed to The Associated Press that it would partner with the WFP on delivering humanitarian assistance to Gaza via the maritime corridor.

"This is a complex operation that requires coordination between many partners, and our conversations are ongoing. Throughout Gaza, the safety and security of humanitarian actors is critical to the delivery of assistance, and we continue to advocate for measures that will give humanitarians greater assurances," USAID said in its statement to the AP.

U.S. and WFP officials were working on how to deliver the aid to Palestinian civilians "in an independent, neutral, and impartial manner," the agency said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday that Iran will respond at an immediate and "maximum level" if Israel acts against its interests.

"If Israel wants to do another adventurism and acts against the interests of Iran, our next response will be immediate and will be at the maximum level," Amirabdollahian said, speaking through a translator, in an interview with NBC News.

A huge blast rocked a military base used by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) to the south of Baghdad late on Friday, two PMF and two security sources told Reuters.

The two sources said the blast was a result of an unknown airstrike which happened around midnight Friday. They added that the strike resulted in one PMF fighter killed and six wounded.

PMF sources said the strikes targeted a headquarters of the PMF at the Kalso military base near the town of Iskandariya around 50 km south of Baghdad.

The PMF started out as a grouping of armed factions, many close to Iran, that was later recognized as a formal security force by Iraqi authorities. Factions within the PMF took part in months of rocket and drone attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq amid Israel's Gaza campaign but ceased to do so in February

By now, it shouldn't be surprising to anyone that there are those on the Western left who openly support the attacks of October 7 on Israeli civilians. The past six months have produced a long list of examples.

The latest came when Verso Books, easily the most renowned left-wing publishing house in the English-speaking world, released an article on its website by political theorist Jodi Dean.

Dean's position was made clear from her opening sentence in which she announces the image of October 7 paragliders, those who would go on to help brutally murder more than 300 young participants in a trance music festival, were "exhilarating" for her. She goes on to criticize the Western left for not doing enough to support Hamas and making clear that "[by] defending Hamas, we take the side of the Palestinian resistance."

Read the full article here

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday, the Pentagon said, adding that they discussed efforts to maintain regional stability, among other issues.

Here is what you need to know on day 196 of the war:

■ ABC News reported that Israeli aircraft fired three missiles from outside Iran in a 'very limited strike,' citing a senior U.S. official, targeting an air defense radar site intended to protect a nuclear facility. Early assessments show that "the strike took out the site, but the assessment hasn't been completed."

■ The U.S. and EU announced separate sanctions of prominent far-right Israeli activists, including Ben-Gvir associate Bentzi Gopstein, far-right political organizations and groups that fundraised for already sanctioned West Bank settlers.

■ The U.S. House of Representatives pushed a $26 billion Israel aid package to vote, which will go to the senate if passed.

■ The foreign ministers of the G7 countries issued a joint statement condemning the Iranian strikes on Israel.

■ Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the 'mini drones' that Israel reportedly launched at Iran "did not cause any damage or casualties" in Isfahan, "despite efforts by pro-Israeli media to portray a defeat as a victory," he added.

■ Four Palestinians were killed in an IDF operation in Tul Karm, including Muhammad Jaber, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad battalion commander.

■ An Iranian official said there were signs the drones allegedly used in the Israeli attack on Iran were launched from within Iran by 'infiltrators.'

■ Several dozen representatives of families of Israeli hostages blocked Israel's Highway 1 heading east, and started a bonfire on the road. One protester was injured after a driver struck her leg, the driver then fled the scene.

■ The IDF announced that Israeli aircraft attacked several Hezbollah military infrastructures in southern Lebanon.

■ The IDF also said that an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit a military vehicle in Metula, no casualties were reported.

■ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he will reveal his determinations 'very soon' on whether Israeli military or police units stand in violation of the so-called "Leahy Law," which prohibits military assistance to foreign security forces that violate human rights.