Selena - News and Updates

Russia launched another large-scale combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight, firing around 51 missiles, including 38 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, 6 Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles, 4 Kh-59/69 cruise missiles, 2 P-800 Oniks missiles, and 1 Kh-31P anti-radar missile. Over a 40-minute period, approximately 40 ballistic missiles targeted Kyiv in the largest ballistic barrage against the capital since the start of the full-scale war, while Ukrainian air defenses intercepted only a minimum of 2 ballistic missiles. The strikes primarily targeted military-industrial facilities in Kiev, including the Kiev Central Design Bureau of Valves, Meridian Radio Plant, Kyivkhimvolokno Plastics Factory, Artem Defence Plant, logistics warehouses, as well as targets in Yuzhnyi Port, Chornomorsk, and near Karolino-Buhaz in Odesa Oblast.

U.S. Central Command announced that a new wave of strikes against Iran began - the first since the announcement of 2 U.S. soldiers killed in Jordan. The new wave of U.S. attacks against Iran is expected to be far more powerful than past ones, with U.S. President Donald Trump telling military decision-makers to rain hell on Iran.

A Lebanese Army soldier, First Sergeant Ahmad Sami Khalil, was killed and 2 others, including an officer, were wounded after an explosive device detonated beneath their vehicle in Al-Mansouri, Tyre District, southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Army said investigations are ongoing, while the Israeli military stated the device was not planted by Israeli forces but was most likely left by Hezbollah, adding that the patrol had entered the Israeli-designated security zone without prior coordination and that Israeli troops had not recently operated in the area.

Belgium’s federal government has approved a ban on imports originating from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), fulfilling a policy commitment announced in 2025 as EU members remain divided over a bloc-wide trade prohibition. Hamas welcomed the move as a “historic decision,” while Belgium’s broader policy package also includes measures targeting Hamas leaders. Hamas in a statement: We welcome the announcement by the Belgian government to ban the import of products from the Zionist settlements established on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. This is a historic decision that is consistent with humanitarian values and international law.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a written statement following the recent round of clashes between Iran and the United States: The Great Satan’s repeated violations of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Presidents of Iran and the U.S. once again prove to everyone how worthless and unreliable the signature of the U.S. President is, and that bullying, hegemonic ambitions, and savagery are inseparable elements of the American way and doctrine. The Great Satan has once again revealed its true face without a mask, so that this dark experience of crime and bad faith will stand as yet another powerful testament to America's deceitfulness, irrationality, untrustworthiness, and wickedness. Now that the American enemy is seeking to ignite war and incur even heavier costs and greater disgrace, it should know that the beloved Iranian nation and the Axis of Resistance have unforgettable lessons in store for it.

U.S. Central Command announces that 2 American soldiers were killed in Iranian missile strikes against Jordan One more soldier is currently missing in action (MIA) and 4 others were evacuated to Jordanian hospitals for urgent treatment.

Iran officially exits the Memorandum of Understanding Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs of Iran, Kazem Gharibabadi: We have suspended our commitments under the Islamabad MoU. The US has violated and suspended all of its commitments. We have also suspended our commitments, are not currently implementing them, and are focused on defending the country.

The United States is significantly reinforcing its military posture in the Middle East as President Donald Trump weighs expanding operations against Iran in the coming days. U.S. fighter jets are being redeployed from Europe to regional bases, while dozens of additional aerial refueling aircraft, including 10 expected to arrive in Israel within the next day, are being positioned to support a potential broader strike campaign targeting Iranian infrastructure, nuclear facilities and the deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain site. Israeli officials have reportedly expressed concerns that hosting more U.S. aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport could increase the risk of direct Iranian retaliation against Israel. Separately, Iran has ordered Hezbollah to remain on full combat readiness in anticipation of possible escalation.

Mohsen Rezaee, senior member of the IRGC, member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council and senior advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran gives the United States an ultimatum: The policy of "negotiating while fighting" has ended. If the United States continues the conflict in the next two or three days, we will enter a phase of "full-scale attack and destruction" against the enemy. If we implement this strategy, we will not limit ourselves to retaliation, and no political border will be safe from Iranian forces.

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced a new oil field discovery called "Eassar," which holds approximately 195 million barrels of oil. The field, located in the Sirte Basin, is expected to produce around 5,000 barrels per day. The discovery was made by Austria's OMV after drilling the B1-106/4 well. NOC stated this proximity to existing infrastructure will expedite development. Libya's oil sector is crucial, as the country relies on oil revenue for 90% of its state budget and has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa. Currently, Libya produces over 1.4 million barrels of oil daily.

Israel's ministerial committee on Shin Bet affairs has approved extended security protection for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's immediate family, adopting a recommendation by Shin Bet chief David Zini to provide Sara Netanyahu with lifelong protection, while extending security coverage for their sons, Yair and Avner Netanyahu, by five additional years. The decision was justified by officials on the basis of an elevated threat assessment stemming from regional tensions and potential retaliation against senior Israeli figures and their families.

Israeli forces delivered evacuation notices east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza yesterday ahead of expanding the Yellow Line zone under its control Separately, today, the Israeli army carried out a massive demolition operation targeting infrastructure east of the Bani Suhaila roundabout, east of the city of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza. Additionally, the IDF carried out a targeted airstrike in the Al-Naser neighborhood of Gaza City, northern Gaza.

After the Israeli strike on a funeral of an Islamic Jihad terrorist yesterday in Nuseirat, central Gaza, Hamas calls on its military operatives not to attend funerals. Hamas Internal Security Apparatus:

From the interrogation of one of the collaborators in our custody, it emerged that Israel asks its agents to attend funerals in the Strip, to identify wanted individuals, and also to go to morgues in hospitals to identify the targets that were eliminated. In one case, a collaborator arrived at a strike site disguised as a journalist and reported to Israel that the target had survived the strike, and then another missile was launched and eliminated him. Therefore, all resistance operatives are requested to refrain from attending funerals and from visiting the wounded.

Separately, this morning, 3 terrorists were killed in a targeted Israeli UAV strike in the area of the al-Dawla junction in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, northern Gaza.

Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington on July 17 to rehabilitate and reconstruct the historic Haditha–Baniyas crude-oil pipeline originally built in the 1950s and largely out of service since the early 1980s. Chevron is expected to lead a U.S.-backed consortium handling the project’s technical and financial work. The announcement coincided with a U.S.–Iraq business summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi, and forms part of Baghdad’s effort to create export routes through Syria and Turkey that reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. Full revival is estimated to cost over $4 billion and take 2–3 years.

U.S. President Donald Trump blames Canada for the ongoing wildfires and the smoke affecting both countries, accusing Ottawa of failing to properly manage its forests and warning that the economic costs to the United States should be factored into tariffs imposed on Canadian imports.

Kuwait’s KNPC North Pier crude-oil export facility got struck by Iran, igniting a major fire whose smoke plume is visible in satellite imagery. Iranian media has started referring to Kuwait as "the enemy colony of Kuwait".

Kuwait’s Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences was struck by Iran during the latest wave of attacks. The state-run academy serves as the country's primary training institution for police and internal security forces.

A second Iranian strike in 2 days targeted a Kuwaiti power and desalination plant igniting a fire, after a similar facility was hit the previous day. Kuwait relies on desalination for roughly 90% of its drinking water. Additionally, the Kuwait National Oil Company announced that repeated Iranian attacks targeting the country’s vital oil facilities have caused injuries and material damage.

Iran launched 3 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) attacks on Jordan’s Muwaffaq Al Salti Air Base overnight amd today with multiple impacts reported at the installation, which hosts U.S. forces. Assessments indicate impact/s on the troop billeting area, where soldiers are housed in concrete culvert-style shelters. The extent of the damage and any casualties remains unknown as of now.