Israel's knocking out of Iranian air defenses also cleared the path for U.S. aircraft to launch their own strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran then attacked the U.S.'s Al Udeid military base in Qatar before a ceasefire was reached.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.

Israel's air force dominated Iran's airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country's air defenses while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory.

Violence in Syria's Druze province has triggered Israeli military action, complicating relations with Turkey and creating a power vacuum that Iran could exploit.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) early Friday blasted her Republican and Democratic colleagues after all six of her amendments to the House’s defense appropriations bill failed. The lower

Israel will raise its defense spending by 42 billion NIS ($12.5 billion) this year and in 2026, the Finance and Defense Ministries said on Thursday, citing the country's security challenges.

The Israeli shelling of the Holy Family Church in Gaza has drawn U.S. criticism while Pope Leo XIV spoke Sunday of his "deep sorrow" and called for an end to the "barbarity of war."

"If Israel feels that a certain leader...is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," a former Israeli envoy told Newsweek.

Israel can’t intervene in every conflict around the world. But this felt different — it was a moral and familial obligation,’ says one Rabbi with a