Israel wants an arms package worth billions from the US

Two Iranian generals were killed. Tehran threatens to retaliate. Israel wants a massive arms package from the US. More information on the news blog.

3:00 am: Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN) has described the suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Syria as a violation of the UN Charter, international law and the fundamental principle of non-violence of diplomatic and consular institutions. The attack poses a major threat to peace and security in the region. Iran's permanent embassy also called on the UN Security Council to condemn the attack.

1:06 am: The Hamas government media office said the aid workers died following Israeli airstrikes. As a result, at least five employees of the “World Central Kitchen” organization were reportedly killed in Deir al-Bala in the heart of the Gaza Strip. A spokesman for the Hamas government said the dead included Polish, Australian and a British citizen. A Palestinian was also killed. The Israeli army and the World Food Center have not yet commented on the incident.

0.40 am: US President Joe Biden's administration is considering releasing an $18 billion arms package to Israel, according to insiders. The package contained F-15 aircraft and ammunition, among other items, three people familiar with the matter said. The sale of 25 F-15 jets from Boeing to Israel is under consideration from an Israeli request in January 2023, one of the insiders said.

12:10 am: Representatives of the US government and representatives of the Israeli leadership will meet next week to discuss Israel's planned ground offensive in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah. After a video link with representatives from both sides, the White House issued a joint statement on Monday, pledging to meet face-to-face next week. Further details were initially left open.

High-level representatives of the two governments discussed Israel's planned ground offensive in Rafah via video conference. The conversation lasted two hours and was constructive, the statement said. The US side included National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The Israeli side includes National Security Adviser Sachi Hanekbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

The statement said both sides shared the goal of defeating Islamist Hamas in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. “The US side expressed concerns about different approaches in Rafah.” The Israeli side, taking these concerns into account, agreed to hold further discussions.

0 am: According to activists, pro-Iranian fighters from Iraq attempted to attack US troops in southeastern Syria with a drone on Monday evening. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the drone was shot down by US forces. Initially, no group claimed responsibility for the attack on the al-Tanf military base, which was used by US troops near the borders of Jordan and Iraq. It was unclear if there was any damage or injury. The US military did not initially comment on the incident.

According to reports from Tehran, two generals of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Syrian capital Damascus earlier on Monday afternoon. Five other IRGC members were also killed. Iran has blamed Israel for the brutal attack on the diplomatic wing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus.

11:35 PM: Confronted by calls for restrictions on US arms sales to Israel, the US State Department has insisted that these are too long-term in nature. Delivery of weapons to the country sometimes takes years, ministry spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday in Washington. He responded to a question about why the U.S. government had recently authorized the delivery of arms to Israel despite criticism of Israel's military actions in the Gaza war. Miller dodged the specific question, instead referring to the decades-long security partnership with the State of Israel.