The IDF's Big Week

Israeli victories: Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its airstrikes in mid-July killed Mohammed Deif, a key Hamas operative and one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks.

On Wednesday, Ismail Haniyeh, another senior Hamas official, was killed by a bomb smuggled into a guesthouse in Tehran, Iran. Israel has claimed responsibility for the attack. “The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials,” reports The New York Times, also noting that it was detonated remotely. ”The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran.”

A third victory for Israel was notched this week, with the killing of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah operative, who was killed in a strike on Beirut.

Back in April, an Israeli hit on Iranian officials in Syria led to direct strikes being exchanged, though they were showy in nature, designed more to make a statement than to actually do intense damage. Now, it remains to be seen how these groups—proxies of Iran—will respond to Israel’s success in taking out these targets, as well as the fact that Haniyeh was taken out in Tehran.

“Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Mr. Haniyeh in Tehran, according to three Iranian officials briefed on the order,” reports the Times. “It is unclear how forcefully Iran will respond, and whether it will calibrate its attack to steer clear of escalation, as it did in April with a barrage of missiles and drones that was telegraphed well in advance.”

“We are on the verge of a large, large-scale escalation,” Danny Citrinowicz, who used to helm the Iran branch for Israeli military intelligence, told The Wall Street Journal. “Iran is leading the axis, and they cannot protect one of the leaders of the axis coming for [incoming President Masoud] Pezeshkian’s inauguration.”

Now, President Joe Biden’s administration claims it is hard at work deescalating tensions in the Middle East to stave off war. But, for those who’ve been following domestic politics, questions remain about the degree to which Biden—the 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. workday president—is even capable of handling a pressing foreign policy issue such as this one.

Scenes from New York: “Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank ruled on Thursday that the Council lacked the authority to expand access to the CityFHEPS voucher program for people facing eviction or homelessness to New Yorkers who earn above what current rules allow,” reports Gothamist. “Tenants who receive CityFHEPS assistance typically pay 30% of their income toward rent, and city-funded vouchers cover the rest.”

• “Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has found himself at the forefront of Venezuela’s crisis after [Nicolas] Maduro declared himself the victor of an election his opponents say was fraudulent,” reports Bloomberg. “The dispute and Maduro’s subsequent crackdown on dissent have thrust the leader of Latin America’s largest nation into an increasingly uncomfortable position. The Venezuelan president is an old ally who still has the support of many within Lula’s leftist Workers’ Party, which endorsed Maduro’s victory this week. The opposition and the growing list of global leaders who back it, meanwhile, have appealed to Lula’s efforts to paint himself as a defender of democracy, especially after he rallied international support for fair elections in his own race just two years ago.”
• For this week’s Just Asking Questions release, we interviewed Vivek Ramaswamy (beware, there were technical issues so the quality is suboptimal at times):

• Blake Masters defeated in Arizona:

BREAKING: Abraham Hamadeh wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. #APRaceCall at 5:27 p.m. MST. https://t.co/FjgpZFcJ4E

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) August 1, 2024

• Several journalists, including The Wall Street Journal‘s Evan Gershkovich, were just released from Russian prison in a swap. In total, 16 people were returned to America and European allies while eight were returned to Russia.

The @WSJ‘s piece about the secret negotiations to free Evan Gershkovich ends with an incredible anecdote: pic.twitter.com/wM7aWu44tu

— David Gura (@davidgura) August 1, 2024

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