Hostage delegation to head to Cairo, IDF kills five terrorists close to Sinwar

The United States is preparing to deploy warships throughout the Middle East following the escalation of tensions in the region this past week, according to a New York Times report, citing American officials.

The report comes after Israel's assassinations of Hezbollah Commander Fuad Shukr and alleged assassination of former Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Separately, the AFP news agency reported that Hezbollah might initiate a solo attack after an assault by factions from Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. 

The Israeli shekel has continued to weaken following the fear of a regional war as tensions escalate in the Middle East.

During this time, the dollar increased by 0.36% to 3.8055, the Euro increased by 0.55% to 4.1140, and the Pound strengthened by 001% to 4.8458.

A Fatah spokesman in an interview with Sky News said that the Palestinian Authority is ready to manage Gaza after the war and that this outlook is the Palestinian consensus.

Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's announcement of a day of mourning due to the assassination of former Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the flag outside of the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv could be seen lowered to half-mast on Friday.

In response to the lowered flag, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered Turkey's deputy ambassador to Israel to receive a " stern reprimand" and slammed the embassy representatives. 

On Katz's post on X, formally Twitter, he also wrote that Israel "will not accept expressions of participation in mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh who was the head of the Hamas terrorist organization that committed the acts of rape and murder on October 7."

The hearing regarding the petition to stop Red Cross representative visits to Palestinian prisoners in the Gaza Strip was requested to be postponed on Thursday, according to an official document released on the matter.

According to the document, the hearing set for August 4 was postponed due to recent escalations in the country's security situation. 

The petition was made by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, and the Center for the Protection of the Individual. 

Britain's Secretary of State for Defense John Healey and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs David Lammy made a trip to Israel and the Middle East to prevent escalation in the region and promote a ceasefire and hostage deal, Israeli media reported on Friday morning. 

According to a Y-Net report, the two ministers warned that rising tensions would not be in anyone's interest and met with Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The IDF killed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's deputy head of weapons production, Mohammed al-Jabari, in a targeted intelligence-based operation, the Israeli military said on Friday morning.

According to the IDF, Al-Jabari was responsible for financing weapon manufacturing infrastructure for the Islamic Jihad in northern Gaza.

Al-Jabari was also reportedly in charge of the distribution of salaries and funds to the organization's terrorists and actively participated in efforts to restore the group's rocket manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure.

The IDF emphasized that before the strike, which eliminated Al-Jabari, steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians through the usage of "precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence."

Rocket sirens sounded in the northern Israeli community of Arab el-Aramsha on Friday afternoon.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with the United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, release hostages, and increase humanitarian assistance, the US mission to the Gulf Arab state said on Friday.

Delta Airlines flights between New York-JFK and Tel Aviv will be paused through Friday, August 9, due to ongoing conflict in the region, Delta announced Wednesday. 

Italy's ITA Airways is also suspending flights to and from Tel Aviv "due to the geopolitical developments in the Middle East and to ensure the safety of its passengers and crews," the airline said in a statement on its website, Reuters reported.

Flights have been suspended until Aug. 6, it added.

A number of airlines have canceled or suspended flights as Lebanon braces for retaliation from Israel since a strike on Saturday in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 children and teenagers. Hezbollah has denied blame.