Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Lebanon:

I said that Southern Lebanon would become Gaza. We would apply the Rafah model.

We would destroy everything there. We would deal with them in exactly that way.

And that is what we did.

The infrastructure has been destroyed. Homes in 24 villages along the border—villages that had existed for hundreds of years and were used by Hezbollah as military outposts against Israel—have been demolished.

The army systematically flattened the villages with bulldozers and explosives. Ninety percent of the houses are gone. Between 15,000 and 20,000 homes have been destroyed.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Lebanon:

The 200,000 former residents of southern Lebanon will not return there for a very long time.

About half of their homes have already been destroyed. There are no civilians there anymore.

There are soldiers and destroyed houses.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:

One of the very first conditions they raise whenever negotiations begin is that the targeted killings must stop.

This Israeli method drives them crazy.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:

The buildings above ground are part of the threat. They are what allow the enemy to come back every time.

That is why they must be systematically demolished.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:

Since we struck Iran's nuclear program, they have not resumed it. They have not resumed it. That's a fact.

To restart it, they would first have to make a decision—and they haven't made that decision.

There is no active nuclear program in Iran today. People can say whatever they want.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:

The IDF has been instructed by the Prime Minister and by me to prepare for an independent Israeli military operation against Iran.

BREAKING: Explosions reported in Bushehr and Asaluyeh in southern Iran.

Senior U.S. official to Axios:

The U.S. military is striking Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz region in response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' firing on a merchant vessel.

CENTCOM:

At 7:15 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching the third round of strikes this week against Iran after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces blatantly attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

A civilian crew member is missing and the vessel is unable to continue the journey due to an onboard fire and significant engineroom damage.

Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels but has again failed.

In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait. The strikes are being carried out at the direction of the Commander in Chief.

Senior U.S. official to Axios:

Among the targets being struck are air surveillance radars, missile and drone storage facilities, missile and drone launch sites, maritime surveillance radars, and surface-to-air missile launchers.

Hegseth:

Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.

US forces struck multiple Iranian targets following a missile attack on a commercial ship.

▪️CENTCOM targeted IRGC radars, missile facilities, and drone storage.
▪️Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.
▪️One civilian crew member remains missing.

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An Iranian strike severely damaged the M/V GFS Galaxy in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing the crew to abandon ship and evacuate in a lifeboat.

BREAKING: U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has died.

Senator Graham was recently in Ukraine.

Iran's Ghalibaf:

The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.

Police and paramedics responded to a cardiac arrest call at Graham's Capitol Hill home Saturday night, according to police scanner audio.

Photos from the scene show paramedics carrying a person on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance, while police cars and fire trucks were also present.

Source: NBC News

Qatar's former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has died at the age of 74.

He ruled Qatar from 1995 to 2013 before stepping down and handing power to his son, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.