Israeli Army tells residents of more southern Lebanon villages to evacuate ahead of attacks
The Israeli military told people living in seven villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes on Friday.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee issued an “urgent warning” to people in Al-Namriyah, Tayr Filisiya, Hallusiyah, Upper Hallusiyah, Turah, Marakah and Al-Abbayiyya, saying if they didn’t leave, their lives would be in danger.
Adraee, who has issued similar evacuation orders almost daily since Hezbollah and Israel started exchanging fire two days after the Iran war began, said the IDF was “compelled” to act against Hezbollah in light of the group’s “violation of the ceasefire agreement” brokered by the U.S.
That truce was signed between the Israeli and Lebanese governments. Hezbollah was not a party to it, and it quickly accused Israel of violating the deal and said it was launching attacks in response. That exchange of fire, with both Hezbollah and Israel accusing the other side of breaching the ceasefire, has continued since the truce came into force.
Hezbollah said Friday it had attacked an Israeli military bulldozer, tank and troops.
The IDF acknowledged several Hezbollah strikes against its forces and said one soldier was severely wounded, and two others moderately wounded.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said earlier this week that the death toll from Israel’s attacks since March 2 had risen to more than 2,700 people. More than 1 million people have been displaced from their homes by the fighting.
In Israel, more than 40 people have been killed by Iranian and Hezbollah attacks since the U.S. and Israel launched their joint war with Iran on Feb. 28.
Israel says 4 people arrested for spying for Iran when they were minors
Israel has arrested four people accused of spying for Iran when they were minors, the country’s military and main intelligence agency said in a joint statement Friday.
The Shin Bet intelligence service, Israeli police and Israel Defense Forces Israel said the civilian and three soldiers were suspected of “having long-term contacts with Iranian intelligence elements and carrying out missions under their direction.”
These allegedly include documenting various sites around Israel, including train stations, shopping centers, security cameras and “records of the Air Force Technical School where some of the suspects studied.”
“In addition, some of the defendants approached the operator on their own initiative to carry out security missions,” the statement continued.
The four were arrested in March. The three soldiers are suspected of carrying out the covert operations “before their recruitment to the IDF,” according to the bulletin.
The four were about 17 when they committed the offenses, according to Israeli news outlet Ynet.
Twenty-five Israelis and foreign residents in Israel were indicted on charges of spying for Iran in 2025, according to Shin Bet’s annual report, published in February. It said recruitment attempts on Israelis had increased by 400% compared to 2024.
Lebanon says Israeli strike kills rescuer in south
An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a member of Lebanon’s civil defense volunteer rescue organization, the group said Friday, a day after another strike killed a first responder with the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee.
In a statement, the civil defense said its member was killed, “as a result of an Israeli strike that targeted him” on a road between two southern towns.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that the U.N. agency had “verified 152 attacks on healthcare that resulted in 103 deaths and 241 injuries” in Lebanon since the war began on March 2.
A ceasefire between the Lebanese and Israeli governments, brokered by the Trump administration, remains ostensibly in effect, but it has not stopped fighting between Israeli forces and Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
CBS/AFP
Iran says U.S. has “crossed the point of no return” after exchange of fire in Strait of Hormuz
Iranian officials say the U.S. has “crossed the point of no return,” blasting American strikes on ports in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday as a violation of the ceasefire that President Trump insists is still in effect.
In a statement released Thursday night, Iran’s central military command, the Khatam Al-Anbiya headquarters, claimed the U.S. targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another vessel near the strait, prompting Iranian forces to return fire on U.S. warships.
“In a simultaneous attack” the U.S. launched air raids “targeting civilian areas” in cooperation with regional allies on ports in Khamir, Sirik as well as Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. officials, including President Trump, said Iran fired first at three U.S. Navy destroyers transiting the strait on Thursday, prompting “self-defense strikes” against military assets at Iranian ports.
Iran claimed its attacks on the ships caused “severe and substantial damage,” though President Trump said none were damaged in the exchange of fire.
Brigadier General Ebrahim Zulfuqari, a spokesman for the Al-Anbiya headquarters, said in a social media post Thursday that the U.S. had “crossed the point of no return, and the response will be commensurate with the crime and more.”
UAE says air defense systems activated over Iranian missile attack
The United Arab Emirates reported early Friday morning local time that its air defense systems had been activated to respond to drones and missiles launched by Iran.
The UAE’s defense ministry said in a social media post that “sounds heard in various parts of the country are the result of the UAE air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.”
The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority cautioned residents to “remain in a safe place and follow the warnings and updates on official websites.”
Trump says Iran deal “might not happen” but “could happen any day”
President Trump told reporters late Thursday that a deal with Iran “might not happen, but it could happen any day.”
“I believe they want the deal more than I do,” he said during a visit to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where his administration is installing blue filament as part of a renovation project.
Mr. Trump also addressed Iran’s attacks on three U.S. Navy destroyers, which drew an American counterattack.
“They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” he said. “They should not have done that today.”
Mr. Trump reiterated that the ceasefire is not over, in spite of Tuesday’s exchange.
“If there’s no ceasefire, you’re not going to have to know. You’re just going to have to look at one big glow coming out of Iran,” he said.
Trump says Iran sustained “great damage” after attacking U.S. warships
President Trump confirmed that three American destroyers passed through the Strait of Hormuz after dodging an Iranian onslaught — and warned Iran that it needs to strike a deal with the U.S. quickly.
Mr. Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. vessels were unharmed while Iran faced “great damage,” describing the military’s efforts to deflect Iranian boats, missiles and drones in vivid terms.
“They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!” he said of the U.S.’s response to the drone attacks.
“A normal Country would have allowed these Destroyers to pass, but Iran is not a normal Country. They are led by LUNATICS, and if they had the chance to use a Nuclear Weapon, they would do it, without question,” the president wrote.
He also warned that “we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!” Mr. Trump is seeking a longer-term peace deal with Iran, but the status of talks is unclear.
U.S. launches “self-defense strikes,” U.S. Central Command says
American forces “responded with self-defense strikes” on Iranian targets after three Navy destroyers came under missile and drone fire, but were not struck, U.S. Central Command said Thursday.
The destroyers USS Truxtun, USS Mason and USS Rafael Peralta were attacked by missiles, drones and small boats, CENTCOM said. The U.S. military responded by targeting Iranian facilities, including drone and missile launch sites.
U.S. destroyers face second round of Iranian attacks
Three U.S. Navy destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz came under renewed attack on Thursday, enduring what American officials described as a fiercer and more sustained Iranian assault than the barrage the warships faced only days earlier.
The destroyers came under an intense Iranian assault as swarms of Iranian fast-attack boats maneuvered close enough that American warships opened fire to keep them at bay, the U.S. officials told CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Iranian forces also launched drones and missiles during the confrontation, the officials said.
Over several hours, the American warships and supporting aircraft mounted a layered defense.
Despite the intensity of the attacks, neither U.S. vessel was struck.
Trump calls strikes on Iranian ports a “love tap,” says ceasefire still “in effect”
President Trump told ABC News Thursday that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire remains in effect despite American strikes on two Iranian ports, describing the strikes as “just a love tap.”
Mr. Trump spoke on the phone with ABC News senior political correspondent Rachel Scott.
When she asked if it means the ceasefire is over, she says he replied, “No, no, the ceasefire is going. It’s in effect.”
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