Morning Briefing: July 29, 2024

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Monday with, including the US, UK and France issuing travel advisories for Lebanon amid regional tensions, Israel’s defense minister saying that Tel Aviv will ensure that Hezbollah "pays a price" after an attack in the Golan Heights and the UN peacekeeping force and mission warning of a "wider conflagration" between Israel and Hezbollah.

TOP STORIES

• US, UK, France issue travel advisories for Lebanon amid regional tensions

The US, UK and France issued a security alert for their citizens advising them not to travel to Lebanon, citing potential disruptions in air travel due to heightened regional tensions.

Tension in the region further escalated after the Israeli army presented the government with scenarios for a possible attack on the Lebanese group Hezbollah following a missile attack that killed 12 people in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, according to Israeli media.

• Israeli defense minister says will ensure Hezbollah ‘pays a price’ after Golan Heights attack

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said authorities will ensure that Hezbollah “pays a price," a day after accusing it of an attack in the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights.

“We mourn the innocent boys and girls killed in Majdal Shams," Gallant said in a post on X.

“There are 150,000 Druze in Israel, as well as millions of Jews and Arab Israelis. We live side by side and all suffer from Hezbollah's terror. We will ensure that Hezbollah, the proxy of Iran, pays a price for this loss."

• UN peacekeeping force, mission warn of ‘wider conflagration’ between Israel and Hezbollah

The heads of the UN mission and peacekeeping force in Lebanon warned of a “wider conflagration” between Israel and Hezbollah following a deadly attack on the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights.

In a joint statement, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Head of Mission and Force Commander Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro Saenz condemned “the deaths of civilians -- young children and teenagers -- in Majdal Shams.”

They urged “the parties to exercise maximum restraint and to put a stop to the ongoing intensified exchanges of fire.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Israeli warplanes launched a series of raids on four towns in southern Lebanon
• Middle East Airlines announced that flights scheduled to arrive in Beirut on the evening of July 28 will now be arriving on the morning of July 29.
• The UN condemned a rocket attack on a football ground in the Druze village of Majdal Shams, located in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which resulted in the tragic deaths of 12 civilians, primarily children and teenagers.
• The US said that a rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday that killed at least 12 people was conducted by the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
• Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, condemned the “insulting scenes” of Jesus Christ during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.
• At least three people were injured in Russia’s Moscow region due to a lightning strike.
• A Roman Catholic archimandrite from Ramallah, Abdullah Yulio, criticized a drag queen-led parody of the Last Supper during Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, calling it "very dangerous."
• Seven Palestinian detainees have attempted to commit suicide at Israel’s Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank due to the “brutality of jailers.”
• Libya’s Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh opened nominations for the prime minister of a unified government.
• At least five civilians were killed in an Israeli strike on a “humanitarian zone” for displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip.
• People in Venezuela are heading to polling stations to elect a new president.
• The chief of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad arrived in Rome to participate in a four-party summit to discuss a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal with the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
• Israel's military bombed villages and towns in Lebanon a day after accusing Hezbollah of an attack in Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights.
• The defense chiefs of Japan, the US and South Korea signed a memorandum to counter North Korea's "nuclear and missile threats" and other regional security challenges
• The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process condemned an "abhorrent rocket attack" on the northern part of the occupied Golan Heights.

SPORTS

• US men's basketball team begins 2024 Olympics with 110-84 win against Serbia

The US men's basketball team have begun the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 110-84 win against Serbia in Group C.

LeBron James led his team with 21 points and 9 rebounds, while his teammate Kevin Durant contributed 23 points at Pierre Mauroy Stadium.

Serbian star Nikola Jokic's 20 points were not enough for his team to grab a win.

• French swimmer Marchand wins gold medal with Olympic record

French swimmer Leon Marchand has won the gold medal in the men's 400m individual medley at the Paris 2024 Olympics with an Olympic record-setting time.

Marchand's 4 minutes and 02.95 seconds time set the new Olympic record, passing the former record of US swimmer Michael Phelps, which was 4 minutes and 03.84 seconds.

The current world record of the course was also owned by Marchand with 4 minutes 02.50 seconds.

• Mercedes' Hamilton declared winner of Belgian Grand Prix after Russell disqualified

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was declared the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after his teammate George Russell was disqualified, despite finishing the race first.

Russell, 26, was disqualified after his car was found to be underweight following the race, despite finishing it in 1 hour 19 minutes and 57.040 seconds.

"The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled," FIA Formula One Technical Delegate Jo Bauer said in an official letter.