Middle East updates: Hamas names Sinwar new political leader

Hamas named Yahya Sinwar as its new leader on Tuesday. 

The announcement comes after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Iranlast week.

Sinwar will take charge of Hamas' political bureau after Haniyeh's assassination. 

Sinwar, the Palestinian militant group's top leader in Gaza, is believed to have been the mastermind and main plotter of the October 7 terror attacks on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people. Hamas also took hundreds of hostages from Israel in the attacks, though nearly half were released during a truce in November.

Israel, the United States and the European Union have designated Hamas a terrorist organization.

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews attempted to break into the Tel Hashomer base in the city of Ramat Gan, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, in protest against compulsory military service for their community.

Tel Hashomer, located east of Tel Aviv, is the largest base for newly enlisted army recruits in Israel.

The IDF said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that protesters initially demonstrated outside of the base. A group then entered an area of the base near the facilities' fence that contains a monument to the IDF's support corps.

Police officers, including border police, managed to remove the protesters from the premises, according to the statement.

A court ruling in June allowing the drafting of ultra-Orthodox Jews after decades of exemption from military service has been highly controversial among the community.

The IDF once again defended the decision on Tuesday, stressing the necessity of recruiting ultra-Orthodox individuals and ensuring it "takes place in accordance with the law, and we are determined to continue promoting it."

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the Lebanese militant group and its ally Iran would be forced to respond to the killing of top Hezbollah and Hamas officials.

He spoke a week after Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukur was killed by an Israeli strike on southern Beirut and several days after the head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a strike on Iran's capital, Tehran.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for killing Haniyeh.

Iran "finds itself obliged to respond, and the enemy is waiting in a great state of dread," Nasrallah said during a televised address.

He said that Hezbollah will respond "alone or in the context of a unified response" from Tehran-supported groups.

Nasrallah said that Hezbollah would act "whatever the consequences."

Israeli warplanes flew low over Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday, news agencies AFP and Reuters reported.

Witnesses told Reuters that the aircraft broke the sound barrier three times in 30 minutes. Residents opened windows to prevent the glass from shattering.

The aerial maneuver came moments before Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reports.

The death toll from Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday has climbed to 12, according to news agencies AFP and Reuters.

The Israeli army said three people were killed, and two others were arrested in the villages of Kafr Qud, west of Jenin. Palestinian medics confirmed the number of people killed in the village.

The information comes after the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah initially said four people had been killed in a separate Israeli raid in the Tubas district.

The ministry said another five people were killed in an Israeli operation in Jenin after the Red Crescent had initially reported that four people were killed.

Several other Palestinians were wounded during the raids.

The Israeli military said it struck "armed terrorist cells" in the Jenin area and neighboring villages, killing 11 "terrorists."

German authorities have fined a 22-year-old woman for using the slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" at a demonstration last year.

On Tuesday, a court in Berlin imposed a fine of 40 daily rates of €15 euros each — totaling €600 (approximately $655) — for chanting the slogan at a banned pro-Palestinian rally in the German capital's Neukölln district on October 11 last year.

The presiding judge said that the defendant chanted the slogan just four days after the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

The judge said that in this context, the slogan could only be understood as a denial of Israel's right to exist and an endorsement of the attack. The woman was, therefore, found guilty of "incitement" that disturbed the public peace.

The defendant said she was committed to fighting racism and antisemitism and was advocating for an end to violence. Her lawyers said the slogan was "ambiguous" with no connection to Hamas.

Her lawyer said she would appeal Tuesday's ruling.

Germany designates the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a terrorist organization, alongside many other countries.

Regional and world leaders are working to prevent escalation amid rising tension in the Middle East.

Iran, Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups have vowed to retaliate after an Israeli strike killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut last week. They also blamed Israel for the recent killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed four people on Tuesday, the country's Health Ministry said. In retaliation, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched a drone toward Israel.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib was in Egypt on Tuesday.

He said his government was working to ensure any response from Hezbollah against Israel did not lead to a wider regional war, Reuters reported.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was also "engaged in intense diplomacy, pretty much around the clock" to help calm tensions.

"All parties must refrain from escalation," said Blinken in Washington late on Monday night.

"All parties must take steps to ease tensions. Escalation is not in anyone's interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity." 

Iraq's military on Tuesday condemned all "reckless" actions against Iraqi military bases, diplomatic missions and US-led coalition outposts.

It comes after five US soldiers were reportedly injured on a rocket attack on a military base in Iraq on Monday.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Ain al-Assad air base, which has been the target of militant attacks in the past.

At least eight Palestinians were killed and several more were wounded during Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to Palestinian officials.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said four people were killed in an overnight raid in the village of Aqaaba in Tubas district.

Two 19-year-olds and a 14-year-old were among those killed, according to Palestinian officials.

Meanwhile, the Red Crescent said another four people, including an 18-year-old, were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in Jenin.

The Israeli army has confirmed that its aircraft struck "armed terrorist cells" in the Jenin area. The Islamic Jihad militant group also said it was fighting the Israeli army in the area.

zc/wmr (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)