Middle East latest: Trump, Harris address Israeli airstrikes on Iran amid US presidential campaigns

Israel unleashed a predawn airstrikes against military sites in Iran on Saturday, saying it targeted facilities used to make the missiles fired at Israel earlier this month along with surface-to-air missile locations.

The attack risks pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran — including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — are already at war with Israel.

Lebanon's Health Ministry says the total toll over the past year there is over 2,600 killed and 12,200 wounded. The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children, according to the United Nations children's agency. Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah's top leadership since fighting ramped up in September.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between militants and civilians. The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, blew holes in Israel's security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.

___

Here's the latest:

On the campaign trail this weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump briefly addressed Israel’s airstrikes on Iran military sites.

“Israel is attacking -- we’ve got a war going on and she’s out partying,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan on Friday as Harris was holding an event with Beyoncé in Texas.

Meanwhile, Harris on Saturday called for “de-escalation and not an escalation of activities in that region.”

“I feel very strongly, we as the United States feel very strongly that Iran must stop what it is doing in terms of the threat that it presents to the region and we will always defend Israel against any attacks by Iran in that way,” she told reporters in Michigan.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a statement posted to X, gave his condolences to the families of the four people, all with the military air defense, killed in srael’s first-ever open attack on Iran early Saturday. The president also warned against future attacks.

“Enemies of Iran should know these brave people are standing fearlessly in defense of their land and will respond to any stupidity with tact and intelligence,” Pezeshkian wrote.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military says it's easing restrictions for residents in parts of northern Israel amid ongoing rocket fire from Lebanon and despite Israel’s first-ever open attack on Iran overnight.

The new guidelines issued Saturday allow schools that have quick access to bomb shelters to reopen in parts of the north, including communities close to the border with Lebanon, most of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and some of the communities in the Haifa Bay area and along Israel’s northern coast. In other areas, including the Jezreel Valley, all schools can resume regular operation, according to the new guidelines.

Restrictions on gatherings have also been eased in these areas. The army’s statement made no mention of the strike on Iran.

Some local authorities in the north notified residents on Saturday evening that they would not be reopening schools despite the new guidelines, citing “the tense reality” and the heavy rocket fire from Lebanon.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s military issued a carefully worded statement Saturday night suggesting a cease-fire in Gaza Strip and Lebanon trumps any retaliation against Israel.

While still saying it held the right to retaliate, the statement from Iran’s military suggests Tehran may be trying to find an off-ramp to further escalation in the war after Israel’s attack early Saturday morning.

It added that Israel used so-called “stand-off” missiles over Iraqi airspace to launch its attacks and that the warheads were much lighter in order to travel the distance to the targets they struck in three provinces in Iran.

The statement added that Iranian military radar sites had been damaged, but some already were under repair.

Iran has raised the death toll from Israel’s attack to four and said all served in the country’s military air defense.

UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns all acts escalating violence in the Middle East and says they must stop immediately, his spokesman said.

Expressing deep alarm following the Israeli air strikes on Iran, the U.N. chief urgently appealed again to all parties to cease military action, including in Gaza and Lebanon, and “exert maximum pressure to prevent an all-out regional war and return to the path of diplomacy,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Saturday.

PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden said Saturday that he got a head’s up from Israel before the strikes on Iran.

“Looks like they didn’t hit anything but military targets,” he told reporters in Philadelphia, where he was en route to a campaign event in Pittsburgh.

Biden said he had just finished a call with intelligence officials.

“I hope this is the end,” he said.

BEIRUT -- The Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group has condemned Israel’s attack against Iran, saying such strikes will not affect Tehran’s support for Lebanese and Palestinians fighting Israel.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah in a statement called the Israeli attacks a “dangerous escalation in the region” and said that by backing Israel, the United States is also responsible for the “massacres, disasters and pains” there.

Earlier, the Iran-backed Hamas called Israel’s attack “an escalation targeting the region’s security and its people’s safety.”

JERUSALEM -- Israel’s military says more than 200 projectiles have been fired at Israel from inside Lebanon on Saturday. The almost daily fire between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah over the past year has escalated into war in recent weeks.

Israel’s military in a statement said there were no reports of injuries. It said fragments from about 30 rockets damaged several buildings and cars in the northern town of Nahariya. Israel’s fire and rescue service said its teams were tackling fires sparked by rocket attacks at seven sites across northern Israel.

Israel in recent weeks launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon and stepped up airstrikes that have targeted other areas including parts of Beirut. It says it aims to push Hezbollah from the border so thousands of Israelis can return to their homes.

CAIRO — A top United Nations humanitarian official says the “entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying” and that what Israeli forces are doing in the “besieged” area cannot be allowed to continue.

Joyce Msuya in a statement issued the latest warning about deteriorating conditions as hospitals have been struck and shelters burned. “Families have been separated and men and boys are being taken away by the truckload,” she added.

She accused Israeli forces of “blatant disregard for humanity” as they pursue what they say are Hamas militants regrouping in parts of northern Gaza. Israel has again warned the entire population in the north to evacuate.

CAIRO — Egypt’s flagship airliner has canceled Saturday flights from Cairo to Baghdad and Erbil in Iraq and Amman, Jordan.

EgyptAir blamed the cancellations on “the ongoing developments in the region.”

The flight cancellations came hours after Israel launched a series of pre-dawn airstrikes against military sites in Iran.

ISTANBUL — Turkey accused Israel of having “brought our region to the brink of a greater war” following its strikes on Iran.

“Putting an end to the terror created by Israel in the region has become a historic duty in terms of establishing international security and peace,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It called on the international community to take “immediate action to enforce the law and stop the Netanyahu government.”

Turkey has been a harsh critic of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Lebanon while voicing support for Hamas.

CAIRO —Israeli troops withdrew from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza after holding a number of people inside detained for hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Those held included medical staff and patients, the ministry said, and women were held separately “with no water or food.” The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The troops later withdrew from the hospital, leaving behind massive damage, the ministry said. Footage circulated online showing the courtyard bulldozered and the wards vandalized.

The WHO director-general said 44 male staff members were detained at Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he said Gaza’s Health Ministry was reporting that Israel’s siege had ended. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said only female staff, the hospital director and one male doctor are left to care for almost 200 patients. He called the situation in northern Gaza “catastrophic.”

Among those detained and taken away was Dr. Mohamed Obeid, head of the orthopedics’ department at nearby Al-Awda Hospital, according to Al-Awda Hospital. His whereabouts are unknown.

The Israeli army began raiding the hospital, located in the Beit Lahiya area, on Friday as part of its weekslong ground offensive on the northern parts of Gaza.

Kamal Adwan is one of three hospitals in northern Gaza that has been left largely inaccessible because of the fighting.

Earlier this week, the director of the hospital told The Associated Press that the facility is facing a “catastrophic” shortage of basic supplies and that ambulances can no longer service the site.

Throughout the yearlong Israel-Hamas war, Israeli forces have stormed and bombarded a number of hospitals including the strip’s largest medical facility, Shifa Hospital. Israel accuses Hamas of using medical facilities across Gaza for military purposes, an accusation the militant group has denied.

CAIRO — Egypt said it's following with “great concern the rapid and serious escalation” in the region, including Israel’s attack on Iran, and warned about “serious confrontations” across the Middle East.

The Foreign Ministry said that a cease-fire deal in Gaza “is the sole means to de-escalate” tensions in the Middle East.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been leading efforts to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza, which includes the release of hostages held by Hamas as well as Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

APIA, Samoa — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Iran should not respond to Israeli airstrikes and urged all sides to show restraint.

His comments at the Commonwealth Summit in Samoa came after Israel attacked Iran with a series of pre-dawn airstrikes Saturday in what it said was a response to the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier this month.

Starmer said Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression.

“This is a live situation, and we are obviously monitoring it closely alongside our partners,” Starmer said. “We need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond. We will continue to work with allies to de-escalate the situation across the region.”

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli attacks on military bases and said Iran will respond.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry called the attacks a clear violation of international law and the U.N. Charter, particularly regarding the prohibition against threats or the use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations.

The ministry emphasized Iran’s inherent right to self-defense, as reflected in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, saying it has an obligation to respond to foreign aggression.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid praised the work of the military but said Israel should have struck harder.

“The decision not to attack strategic and economic targets in Iran was wrong. We could and should have exacted a much heavier price from Iran,” Lapid wrote in a post on X.

He said the air force actions showed its operational capabilities, and that Israel’s enemies know that its military is strong and can attack anywhere.

TEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian army said two soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes.

The army statement was carried by the Arabic-language channel of the state TV, Al-Alam. The report did not elaborate.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s military said early Saturday that Israeli strikes on the country targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage.”

The statement from Iran’s armed forces was read aloud on state television, which showed no images of the damage described. Iran’s military claimed its air defenses limited the damage done by the strikes, without providing additional evidence.

Israel said it launched attacks targeting missile manufacturing plants and other sites in the country.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel said early Saturday it had completed its strikes targeting Iran. The Israeli military issued a statement saying its planes “have safely returned home.”

Its aircraft “struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year,” the military said. “These missiles posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of the state of Israel.”

It added that it also “struck surface-to-air missile arrays and additional Iranian aerial capabilities, that were intended to restrict Israel’s aerial freedom of operation in Iran.” It offered no damage assessment.

Iran acknowledged only “limited damage” to military facilities.

The early Saturday airstrikes on Iran were in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault Oct. 1, Israeli officials said. The attack, threatened for weeks by Israel, comes as the Middle East sits on the precipice of a regional war more than a year after an initial attack by the militant group Hamas on Israel. In the time since, Israel has launched a devastating ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and an invasion of neighboring Lebanon, targeting militants long armed and aided by Tehran.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.