Washington, D.C. – President Donald Trump announces a truce in the Israel-Iran conflict, but it is quickly violated. “I’m not happy with what Israel did. Both of them don’t know what the f… they’re doing,” thundered Trump, who then called the Israeli prime minister to halt the strikes, which they did. Iranian President Pezeshkian stated that Iran will respect the ceasefire if the Jewish state does the same and that Tehran is ready to return to the nuclear negotiating table. For Israeli President Herzog, “the Iranian nuclear threat has been removed.”

Qatar. After an advance warning from Iran, a salvo of 14 missiles landed on the American base. Thirteen of the 14 were intercepted in flight, while one fell in an uninhabited area of the base, causing no casualties.

Iran. Operation Midnight Hammer by the United States. The United States strikes three key nuclear sites in Iran, as the Iran-Israel conflict enters its second week: the Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz sites. The Fordow site is particularly significant because it is believed to be largely intact at depth after the Israeli strikes and before the American ones. It is located near the holy city of Qom and buried deep in a mountain range 80 to 90 meters underground. The United States is the only country with the type of bomb needed to strike that depth, as previously stated by Israeli officials and independent sources. “Iran can convert its current stockpile of 60% enriched uranium into 233 kg of weapons-grade uranium in three weeks at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant,” enough for nine nuclear weapons, according to the nonpartisan Institute for Science and International Security. Recent IAEA reports suggest that Iran has increased production of 60% enriched uranium at Fordow. The plant now contains 2,700 centrifuges, according to experts and the IAEA. At the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Plant, Iran’s largest uranium enrichment site, which contains 14,000 underground centrifuges capable of enriching uranium up to 60%, was hit. Finally, the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, which houses several facilities that convert yellowcake into uranium hexafluoride, produced reactor fuel and uranium metal for nuclear weapons. The United States used six B-2 bombers armed with 12 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs on Fordow and two on Natanz for a total of 14 MOPs, as well as 30 submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles (probably the USS Georgia-class) on targets at Natanz and Isfahan. The 13,000 kg (30,000 lb) GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bomb has a weight that allows it to penetrate approximately 18 m (60 ft) of concrete or 61 m (200 ft) of earth before exploding. The B-2 stealth bomber is the only U.S. military aircraft capable of carrying 6.2 m (20.5 ft) long MOP bombs. B-2s have a range of approximately 6,000 nautical miles (9,600 km) without refueling, but can also be refueled in flight. In the past, they have operated from a limited number of bases, including the US base at Whiteman, Missouri, and the British base at Diego Garcia. Six B-2 bombers were photographed at Diego Garcia in early April, but the UK has maintained that the base has not been used by the US for nighttime strikes against Iran.

In an unprecedented operation, Israel attacked targets in more than a dozen locations and cities across Iran. Codenamed Operation Rising Lion, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Mossad damaged key nuclear sites and military installations, killing several top Iranian military officials. The attack was the largest against Iran since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. In the early morning hours of June 13, explosions were reported across Tehran, including near military bases and in residential neighborhoods. Iranian nuclear facilities were targeted in Natanz, Khondab, and Khorramabad. Iran reported that the attack killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami, Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, nuclear scientists Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, and civilians, including 20 children. Attacks resumed in the afternoon and evening of June 13, with attacks reported near Tabriz airport and at the Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites. Residential buildings in Tehran were also attacked. On the evening of June 13, 2025, Iran began launching a series of retaliatory strikes against Israel with hundreds of missiles.

Russia. A series of drone strikes targeted military airfields across Russia: in the Murmansk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, Irkutsk, and Amur regions (the attack on Ukrainka airport failed). Around 4:06 PM EEST, the Ukrainian SBU conducted Operation Spider Web (Операція Павутиння), a drone strike that destroyed over 40 Russian military aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers and an A-50 radar plane, at airbases located deep within Russian territory, up to 5,000 kilometers from Ukraine. The operation was personally overseen by President Zelensky and led by SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk. FPV drones were smuggled into Russia in wooden cabins mounted on trucks, remotely controlled, and launched from within the country. The SBU reports that all Ukrainian agents involved have returned safely. The Tupolev Tu-95 is a nuclear bomber, and Russia currently owns (or owned) only 47 of them. It has four engines and can carry enormous payloads.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announces its dissolution, a historic move after decades of conflict with Turkey, which have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people. The militant group declared in a statement that “all activities” conducted under its name have ended. The Kurdish question has reached “a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics,” the PKK stated in a statement. The 12th Congress, the group’s high-level decision-making meeting, “decided to dissolve the PKK’s organizational structure and end the armed struggle,” the statement reads, adding that the implementation of the process will be managed and led by their imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who had, just weeks earlier, advocated for such a decision.

Black Sea, off the coast of Sevastopol and Novorossiysk. Ukraine’s new Magura V7 naval drone shot down two Russian Su-30 fighters with R-73 missiles (NATO codename AA-11 Archer), Russian missiles typically used by MiG-29 aircraft. Two pilots survived, two others died. The technique used is a first in the rapidly evolving combat techniques being witnessed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Al-Suweida Governorate, southern Syria. Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on Syrian soil to protect the Druze minority, who are under attack from Damascus. The airstrikes targeted Syrian military sites in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, as well as unknown targets in Deraa province in southern Syria and Hama province in northwestern Syria. Israeli officials said the strikes were intended to send a message to the Syrian government following days of bloody clashes near Damascus between pro-government militias and fighters from the Druze minority. Clashes had erupted in Druze-majority areas outside Damascus after an audio clip circulated on social media showing a man making disparaging comments about the Prophet Muhammad. The clip, falsely attributed to a Druze cleric, sparked the ire of many Sunni Muslims, but may have been fabricated. A UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said 56 people were killed in Sahnaya and the predominantly Druze Damascus suburb of Jaramana, including local armed fighters and members of the security forces. The Druze religious sect originated in the 10th century as an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the world’s approximately 1 million Druze live in Syria, mainly in the southern province of Sweida and some suburbs of Damascus. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 war and annexed in 1981. On May 4, Damascus forces withdrew from the Druze governorate of Al-Suweida and agreed to have it administered by local Druze personnel under a commander selected by Damascus.

Kashmir disputed between India and Pakistan. A military standoff has emerged between India and Pakistan following an Islamist terrorist attack in Pahalgam, in the Baisaran Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 27 people, including 25 Hindu tourists, a Christian tourist, and a local Muslim, and injured more than 20 others. The Kashmir Resistance Front (TRF) initially claimed responsibility for the attack. Armed skirmishes, with active use of military aircraft and drones, have been reported between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) since April 24, fueling fears of further escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. A ceasefire was announced on May 10, 2025. After the ceasefire expired, both countries accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Northern Yemen. American warplanes launched at least 106 strikes on dozens of targets in various areas of Yemen.

Northern Yemen. American warplanes launched 40 strikes on approximately 100 targets in various areas of Yemen.

Northern Yemen. US military strikes in Yemen: American warplanes attacked Saada province in northern Yemen. According to White House National Security Advisor Mike Walz, the US military killed “key members of the Houthi leadership in Yemen,” including the terrorist organization’s “top missile expert.” “We attacked their headquarters, communications centers, weapons factories, and some of their drone factories.” One of the Houthi leaders, Abdul Hakim Al-Khaiwani, head of the militia’s security and intelligence apparatus, was killed in US strikes that targeted the Military Intelligence Department at the militia’s military command building in the Tahrir district of Sana’a.

Al Anbar, western Iraq. A high-ranking Islamic State (IS) leader in Iraq and Syria was killed in an operation conducted by members of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (NIS) alongside US-led coalition forces, the Iraqi Prime Minister said. Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known as Abu Khadijah, “was considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world,” according to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. US President Donald Trump said he “was relentlessly hunted by our fearless fighters.” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it conducted a “precision airstrike” in the western Iraqi province of Al Anbar, killing “one of the most prominent” IS members on Thursday.

Kursk Region, Russia. The Ukrainian army retreats from much of the Kursk salient. The Ukrainians invaded Kursk in August and quickly captured hundreds of square miles. However, they never secured a defensible foothold on the far side of the Snahist River, on the western edge of the salient. Their efforts to extend the salient north were hampered by Russian counterattacks around the village of Pogrebki. Efforts to extend east ultimately met with 12,000 North Korean troops.

US President Donald Trump is firing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown, the country’s highest-ranking officer, as part of a major shakeup of the military’s top leadership. The day before, the dismissal of two other senior officers was announced: Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General Jim Slife. Admiral Franchetti was the first woman to lead the US Navy. All three senior officials removed on Friday were appointed by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

In a dramatic historic reversal in American diplomacy, President Donald Trump attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him “a mediocre comedian” and claiming that the war in Ukraine could have been avoided with a deal. He also expressed disappointment at Kiev’s reaction to negotiations between Washington and Moscow. “I’m very disappointed. I hear they’re angry—the Ukrainians—that they weren’t invited to the talks,” Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He believed even a “half-baked negotiator” could have secured an agreement years ago “without losing too much territory.” Then, addressing Zelensky directly, he added: “You’ve been there for three years… You should never have started the war. You could have reached an agreement.” Zelenskiy did not actually start any war; on the contrary, his country, Ukraine, was invaded twice, first in 2014 and then, on a large scale, on February 24, 2022, by Russia, which still occupies 20% of its territory and bombs the rest of Ukrainian territory every day.

Moscow, Russia. Armen Sargsyan, commander of the Arbat Battalion, died in hospital after being injured in an explosion in Moscow in the lobby of a residential building, 12 kilometers from the Kremlin. The Arbat Battalion is a pro-Russian paramilitary group active in the war against Ukraine, especially in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian troops remain present after launching a surprise offensive last August.

Kazakhstan, northeastern Caspian Sea coast. An Embraer 190 passenger plane belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines crashed. Russian air defense likely caused the crash of the Azerbaijani Embraer 190 passenger plane during a UAV attack in Chechnya. There were 67 passengers on board, including five crew members. 32 people survived the crash. All survivors were in the tail section of the plane. Azerbaijani government sources have exclusively confirmed that a missile launched by the Russian Pantsir-S air defense system caused the crash on Wednesday in Aktau, Kazakhstan. Various video testimonies on board the plane before, during, and after the crash, as well as videos from the ground, published on social media, were published within hours of the crash. A few days later, it was revealed that the plane had been denied landing permits at three Russian airports. Russian President Putin apologized for the incident, but did not take blame.

Moscow, Russia. High-ranking Russian Armed Forces General Igor Kirillov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov were killed by Ukrainian security services. Kirillov was the head of the nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) defense forces. The day before, the Ukrainian security agency SBU had charged Kirillov, 54, in absentia, stating on Telegram that he was “responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons” more than 4,800 times under the general’s leadership. In October, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Kirillov, saying he had overseen the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine and acted as a “significant mouthpiece for the Kremlin’s disinformation.”

Syria. Immediately after the fall of the Assad regime, the Americans bombed ISIS targets in the desert areas of eastern Syria, to prevent ISIS from taking advantage of the power vacuum. They used B-52, F-15, and A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft. In the same days and weeks that followed, Israel also carried out a massive bombing campaign to eliminate Syrian navy targets, ammunition depots, and ballistic missile storage sites.

Syria. The Assad family’s Alawite regime falls. The capital, Damascus, is reached and taken by rebel forces. President Assad leaves the capital for Moscow. People celebrate in the streets all night. Statues and symbols of the regime are torn down. The fall of Bashar al-Assad was almost unthinkable just a week earlier, when the rebels began their surprising campaign against the regime from their base in Idlib. This is a turning point for Syria. Assad came to power in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez, who ruled the country for 29 years, much like his son, with an iron fist. Assad junior inherited a tightly controlled and repressive political structure, in which opposition was not tolerated. Initially, there were hopes that he might be different, more open, less brutal. But they were short-lived. Assad will forever be remembered as the man who violently repressed peaceful protests against his regime in 2011, which led to a civil war. More than half a million people were killed, and another six million became refugees. With the help of Russia and Iran, he crushed the rebels and survived. Russia deployed its formidable air power, while Iran sent military advisers to Syria and Hezbollah, the militia it supports in neighboring Lebanon, deployed its highly trained fighters. This time, it didn’t happen. His allies, preoccupied with their own affairs, essentially abandoned him. Without their help, his troops were unable—and, in some places, apparently unwilling—to stop the rebels, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). First, they took Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city, with almost no resistance. Then Hama, and, days later, the nerve center of Homs. With insurgents also advancing from the east and south, the offensive isolated Damascus. Within hours, fighters entered the capital, Assad’s seat of power.

Syria. The territory controlled by troops of Assad’s Alawite family regime is rapidly collapsing as the government army withdraws from Hama, Deir Ezzor on the Euphrates, and numerous other locations, fleeing into Iraq through the crossing kept open by the Iraqi authorities. Jihadist forces from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group are besieging Homs, while other rebel forces are taking control of large portions of the southwestern part of the country (Daraa and al-Sawidaa in the Druze-inhabited mountains), where the pro-democracy revolution that sparked the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011. Meanwhile, in eastern Syria, Syrian Kurdish SDF forces (backed by the US during the war against ISIS) are crossing the Euphrates and spreading westward. And to the south, rebel forces who have received training from the American military at the Al Walid base on the Iraqi-Syrian border are pushing north and north-west, aiming for the capital Damascus.

Syria. Pro-Kurdish jihadist rebels take control of Aleppo. Thousands of civilians are fleeing the city, from which the Syrian army has also withdrawn. Jihadist forces from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied factions against Bashar al-Assad’s regime are advancing into the central Syrian province of Hama after conquering key territories in the northwestern Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, from which they were ousted in 2016. The surprise attack is prompted by the current situation: Hezbollah is engaged in anti-Israeli operations in Lebanon and has been severely weakened by the Israelis, several key points and weapons supply points in Syria have been hit by the Syrians in recent months, and the Iranians and Russians have reduced their supplies of weapons and personnel due to their respective internal situations (Israeli attacks and the war in Ukraine).

Red Sea. Yemen’s Houthi forces announced they targeted the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and two U.S. Navy destroyers in the Red Sea with cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones. The ships were attacked by at least eight unmanned one-way attack aircraft systems, five anti-ship ballistic missiles, and three anti-ship cruise missiles, which were engaged and shot down.

Iran. Israel claims to have struck military targets inside Iran in a wave of retaliatory strikes following Iran’s wave of ballistic missiles on Israel. The strikes targeted Iranian missile production sites in what appears to be a highly calculated response that avoids critical energy infrastructure, such as nuclear facilities. The attacks were long-anticipated and come as Israel mounts a major operation in northern Gaza and against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Alleged targets of Israeli strikes in Iran also include the Qadiri Barracks in Hassan Khan Castle, the missile production and preparation center, the Falaq Barracks in Bideghan, the Air Force logistics center in Sepah, and the Imam Ali Barracks in Bideghan. These were three waves of strikes in three and a half hours, with hundreds of aircraft—including F-35s—engaging in the strikes from 2,000 kilometers away, all of which returned to their respective bases in Israel.

Hezbollah confirmed that Hashem Safieddine, one of its top officials who was tipped to become the group’s next leader following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel had claimed he was killed in an attack earlier this month in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Gaza Strip. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed. The Israel Defense Forces says a unit from its 828th Bislamach Brigade was patrolling Tal al-Sultan, an area of Rafah, when three fighters were identified and engaged by Israeli troops, all of whom were killed. At that point, there appeared to be nothing particularly out of the ordinary in the firefight, and soldiers returned to the scene only on Thursday morning. It was then, during an inspection of the dead, that it was discovered that one of the bodies bore a striking resemblance to the Hamas leader. However, the body remained in place due to suspected booby traps, and instead part of a finger was removed and sent to Israel for testing. His body was finally extracted and brought to Israel later that day, when the area was secured. The chief pathologist who performed the autopsy on Yahya Sinwar’s body told CNN that the Hamas leader was killed by a gunshot to the head. Dr. Chen Kugel, chief pathologist at the Israel National Center for Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, said that although Sinwar suffered other serious wounds, including those from a tank shell or a missile, he was confident that a bullet to the head killed the Hamas leader. A video on the social network X shows a drone flying through the open window of a largely destroyed building and approaching a man, his head covered, sitting in a chair on the first floor of a house covered in debris. The man, who appears injured, then throws what appears to be a stick at the drone, and the video cuts off.

Southern Beirut, Lebanon. A heavy Israeli airstrike hits several Hezbollah leaders and their coordinators, the Quds Force: senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine (considered the successor to Nasrallah, who had just been killed by the Israelis) and Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, who had traveled to Lebanon after the killing of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah. Both Safieddine and Qaani have been missing since this new Israeli attack. Two weeks later, Hamas will acknowledge Saffiedine’s death.

Iran launches 180 ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles against Israeli territory. Virtually all of them are intercepted by Israel’s three concentric anti-missile shields (Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow) and by British and American military forces in the region. Damage is limited, with the only casualty being the debris of a downed missile that killed a Palestinian in Jericho, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The following day, the Israeli military will admit that several military air bases were also hit, causing damage only to secondary facilities, but not with hypersonic missiles, and without causing casualties or altering the operational plan of air missions.

Southern Lebanon. Israeli ground troops enter Lebanon at two points, penetrating a few kilometers into Hezbollah-controlled territory.

Beirut, Lebanon. The Israeli military claims to have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Iranian sources, however, say Nasrallah is alive and in a safe place. The following day, Hezbollah also admits Nasrallah’s death. He was killed in a “targeted attack” along with 20 other senior members of the Lebanon-based group, including Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front. The IDF says the attack was carried out against the militant group’s headquarters in Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut. They were in a bunker 30 meters beneath a residential area. Israeli fighter jets launched around 100 penetrating bombs to reach the bunker. At least two buildings partially or completely collapsed due to the explosions. Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by the United Kingdom, the United States, and others, is more than a militia. It is also a political party, with representation in the Lebanese parliament and part of the government. It has a significant support base and is part of Lebanese society. And Hezbollah’s support from its Iranian ally is unwavering. In Israel, however, the killing of Hassan Nasrallah will be seen as a major victory. For more than 30 years, he has been the beating heart of Hezbollah. With the help of his close allies in Iran, he transformed Hezbollah into a fighting force that in 2000 forced Israel to end a twenty-year occupation of southern Lebanon. In 2006, he led Hezbollah as it fought Israel until it was finally blocked. Nasrallah has been Israel’s greatest enemy: in recent years, only Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Hamas’s attack on Israel in October last year, has come close. Against the wishes of its American allies, Israel has begun fighting Hezbollah after nearly a year of exhausting border warfare. In recent weeks, Israel has activated a war plan it has been working on since the end of the last war with Hezbollah in 2006. The September 27 raid was conducted by F-15s from Squadron 69, the Hammers, which had already destroyed a Syrian reactor in 2007. The bombing leveled several buildings, likely using bunker-busting bombs (such as the American BLU-109, a 1-ton bomb with 242 kg of explosives), which dug gigantic craters and caused at least 11 deaths and 108 injuries. Designed to destroy protected structures (even concrete ones), they penetrate the target up to 30m underground (or 4 to 6m in concrete) and explode “inside” thanks to various systems,

Beirut, Lebanon. Israel carries out a targeted strike with two F-35 jets against a safehouse where a meeting of Hezbollah (the “Party of God”) high command is taking place. The victims number 45, including 32 civilians and at least 13 members of Hezbollah’s high command, the group’s elite and military leadership, including Ibrahim Aqil. Aqil, in addition to being an Israeli target for attacks on Israel, also has a $7 million bounty on his head from the U.S. government for the April 1983 massacre at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people, and for the killing of 241 Marines in Lebanon on October 23, 1983. Ibrahim Aqil had just been released from the hospital recovering from injuries sustained in the pager attack a few days earlier. Other elite Hezbollah casualties include Hassan Hussein, commander of the Aziz Regional Division’s special forces; Samer Halawi, commander of the Coastal Region; Abbas Muslimani, commander of the Qana Region; Abdullah Hijazi, commander of the Ramim Ridge Region; Muhammad Reda, commander of the Khiam Region; Hassan Madi, commander of the Mount Dov Region; Hassan Abd al-Satar, chief of operations; Hussein Hadraj, chief of staff; Mohammad al-Attar, commander of the training department; and Mahmoud Hamad, a senior operations officer.

Russia. A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered an earthquake-sized explosion at a major military arsenal in the Tver region, forcing the evacuation of a nearby town, Russian war bloggers and some media reported. A massive fireball exploded high in the night sky, and multiple detonations were seen and heard across a lake 380 km west of Moscow. NASA satellites detected intense heat sources emanating from an area of approximately 14 square kilometers. “Everything that can burn is already burning there (and exploding),” Russian blogs reported. According to George William Herbert of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, the size of the main explosion is consistent with the detonation of 200-240 tons of high explosives. The arsenal stored missiles for the S-300, S-400 and Grad systems, as well as North Korean-made Iskander and KN24 missiles, worth several thousand tons of explosive material.

Lebanon. “Israel has detonated thousands of personal radios (walkie-talkies) used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon in a second wave of its intelligence operation, which began the day before with the explosion of Hezbollah paging devices,” Axios journalist Barak Ravid reports, citing two knowledgeable sources. “The personal radios, which were pre-bombed by Israeli intelligence and then delivered to Hezbollah, were part of the militia’s emergency communications system, which was supposed to be used during a war with Israel,” the sources added to Ravid. Hundreds of people have been injured, with wounds primarily to the hands and stomach, and at least 20 have died in this new wave of explosions.

Lebanon. 3:00 PM. Thousands of pagers explode, blinding 500 Hezbollah members and allies. Among them is the Iranian ambassador. A simultaneous attack detonated thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah militants in Beirut, several other regions of Lebanon, and Damascus. Videos posted on social media show men calmly shopping at a market when something suddenly explodes around them. The pagers, recently issued to pro-Iranian Shiite militants to replace smartphones deemed unsafe, exploded all at once, causing chaos and terror, leaving at least 19 dead—including an 8-year-old girl and the son of a pro-Hezbollah MP—and 4,000 injured.

Syria. The Israeli Air Force carries out a daring and complex military operation, in which 120 members of special forces units raid and destroy an underground Iranian missile production facility deep in Syria. At the time, Bashar al-Assad’s regime is still in power in Syria, and Israel has not yet launched its devastating campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The raid, dubbed “Operation Many Ways,” aimed to destroy an underground facility in Syria used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision missiles for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Assad regime in Syria. The facility was dug into a mountainside near the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC, in the Masyaf area of Syria, west of Hama. The site is located more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the Israeli border and approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Syria’s western coast.

Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel. The Israeli military conducted preemptive airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after detecting plans for a major attack on its territory. Subsequently, Hezbollah confirmed it had launched “phase one” of a major attack on Israel, launching 320 Katyusha rockets and drones toward Israel and targeting 11 military sites. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that approximately 100 fighter jets “struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels” at more than 40 sites.

Kursk Oblast, Russia. During the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast. Thousands of soldiers crossed the border, supported by tanks, drones, and armored vehicles. The Kursk incursion surprised both Russia and Ukraine’s allies. It was the most significant cross-border attack since the 2022 invasion and the first carried out primarily by regular Ukrainian forces. In five days, they penetrated more than 30 kilometers, reaching and occupying several cross-border towns, such as Sudzha.

Tehran, Iran. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is killed in his temporary residence in the north of the Iranian capital, where he was visiting. Haniyeh’s death occurred only an hour after Israel declared it had killed Hezbollah’s military commander. Ismail Haniyeh was killed by an explosive planted in his apartment several months earlier.

Beirut, Lebanon. An Israeli airstrike hits and kills Fuad Shukur, Hezbollah leader, in retaliation for a July 27 rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which killed twelve Druze children playing soccer. An hour later, Israel also strikes in Tehran, Iran, killing Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader.

Tinzaouaten, Mali (bordering Algeria). The Russian Wagner Group has suffered significant losses on the battlefield in Mali, the military company acknowledged, following days of conflicting reports about what happened during fighting with rebels on the Algerian border. The group said its 13th Assault Brigade, which is fighting ethnic Tuareg alongside Malian forces, suffered losses during “fierce battles” with the rebels. The Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD), a coalition of Tuareg rebels, took responsibility for the attack, saying it wounded and killed dozens of Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries near the northeastern town of Tinzaouaten. At least eighty Russian Wagner soldiers were killed, several vehicles were destroyed or captured, and a Wagner helicopter was also shot down.

Golan Heights, Druze-Israeli village of Majdal Shams. An Iranian rocket, attributed to Hezbollah, hit a soccer field on Saturday afternoon around 5:00 PM. Twelve children who were playing there died. The event triggers a serious risk of escalation between Israel and Lebanon, 10 months after the start of the devastating war in the Gaza Strip.

Butler, Pennsylvania. Donald Trump is the target of an assassination attempt by Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks, a 20-year-old man, fires several shots at him from the roof of a nearby building, about 150 meters away. The attacker is killed shortly thereafter by Secret Service agents stationed on another building. Former President Trump, campaigning for the 2024 presidential election, reports only a wound to his right ear, having turned his head slightly moments before the bullets landed.

Khan Younis compound, Gaza Strip. Israeli bombardment. Hamas-run Gaza health authorities report more than 90 casualties. The Israeli military will state on August 1st, after intelligence checks, that it can confirm that Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif was killed in the July 13th attack. Israel claims that Deif was one of the figures responsible for planning the October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel, in which over 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Deif is widely considered the second-ranking Hamas official in Gaza, behind Yahya Sinwar, the group’s leader in the territory.

Kiev, Ukraine. A children’s hospital (Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital) is hit in broad daylight by a Russian missile. Images emerge of the missile landing at an angle, without rotating, and intact (not damaged by anti-aircraft fire as the Russians claim). The missile’s tail, bearing its serial number, is found at the impact site. It is a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. 17 people are killed and 41 injured. The images cause a worldwide sensation.

Gaza Strip. Four of the hostages captured by Hamas on October 7, prior to the Nova Festival, are freed in an operation by the IDF, Israeli intelligence agency Aman, and Israeli police force Yamam in Nuseirat. Numerous Palestinians lose their lives: Hamas estimates are 236. The hostages were held captive in civilian homes in central Gaza. The freed hostages are Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrei Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41. They are taken to the American floating humanitarian aid bridge recently assembled by the US Navy and evacuated by helicopter. The rescue was conducted in broad daylight, under heavy enemy fire, in two separate buildings in Nuseirat, central Gaza. Many people, including children, were killed and injured in the area where the operation took place due to crowding. Hamas claims more than 200 Palestinians have died, but the figures are not from medical sources. News of the rescues was announced over a loudspeaker on Israeli beaches and cheered in the streets of Tel Aviv. Gazans seized the opportunity, following the release of the hostages in Nuseirat, to level rare criticism at Hamas. Some vented anger and frustration, while others rushed to the group’s defense. Hassan Omar, 37, lamented the needless loss of life in Israeli attacks. “For every Israeli hostage, they could have freed 80 Palestinian prisoners and without any bloodshed—[which] is a million times better than having hundreds of deaths.” “We should get rid of those who control us from hotels in Qatar.” Since the beginning of the conflict, triggered by Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, Palestinian casualties in Gaza have numbered over 35,000 (UN source based on Hamas estimates), 54% of whom are women or children.