Five IDF reservists in serious condition following rocket, drone strike on northern Israel (2024)

European Union leaders decided on Wednesday to step up sanctions against Iran after Tehran's missile and drone attack on Israel left world powers scrambling to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East.

The summit in Brussels is the first meeting of the EU's 27 national leaders since Saturday's attack, more than six months into the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israel has signaled that it will retaliate but has not said how. EU leaders condemned the Iranian attack, reaffirmed their commitment to Israel's security and called on all sides to prevent more tensions, including in Lebanon.

"The European Union will take further restrictive measures against Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles," the leaders said in a joint statement.

Algeria gave the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) a $15 million exceptional fund, Algerian state TV said early on Thursday.

UNRWA provides aid and essential services to Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and across the wider region.

Lebanon's interior minister alleged Wednesday that the mysterious abduction and killing of a Hezbollah-linked Lebanese currency exchanger in a villa on the edge of a quiet mountain resort town earlier this month was likely the work of Israeli operatives.

The killing of Mohammad Srour, 57, who was sanctioned by the U.S., was like something out of an international spy thriller. Pistols equipped with silencers and gloves were found in a bucket of water and chemicals at the scene, apparently intended to remove fingerprints and other evidence, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said in an interview with The Associated Press. Thousand of dollars in cash were left scattered around Srour's body, as if to dispel any speculation that robbery was the motive.

"Lebanese security agencies have suspicion or accusations that Mossad was behind this operation," Mawlawi said, referring to the Israeli spy agency. "The way the crime was carried out led to this suspicion."

He provided no specific evidence for his allegations. Mawlawi said the investigation is still ongoing and once it's over the results will be made public and referred to judicial authorities.

The Israeli prime minister's office, which oversees Mossad, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The IDF said on Wednesday food trucks entered the Gaza Strip from Ashdod Port for the first time since the government approved the opening of the port to aid shipments.

"Eight World Food Program (WFP) trucks of flour entered the Gaza Strip from the Ashdod Port today," the statement said, adding that the trucks underwent security checks at the port and were then admitted into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Video documentation has been published of hostage Yarden Bibas' kidnapping to Gaza, where he is seen being beaten by a mob of Gazan residents and bleeding from his head. The video, published by Channel 12 News, shows Bibas mounted on a motorcycle on the way to Gaza, as his kidnappers make their way through the mob.

Yarden, his small children, Kfir and Ariel and his wife Shiri were kidnapped to Gaza on October 7. In November, Hamas claimed that Shiri and their children were killed in an Israeli airstrike and published a video showing Yarden receiving the news.

WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that his organization remains particularly concerned that lone actors could target large gatherings, high-profile events or symbolic targets ahead of the beginning of Passover next week.

"This is not a time for panic," Wray told a briefing organized by the Secure Community Network, but it is a time for continued vigilance."

"Even before October 7 to the threat to Jewish Americans had already elevated," he said. "In the six months since then, we've seen those threats elevated," he continued, adding the FBI opened three times more anti-Jewish hate crime investigations between October and January than in the four months before October 7.

Wray noted there has been a marked increase in hoax – including fake bomb and active shooter threats –though insisted that hoaxes disrupt activities while intimidating and terrorizing individuals and communities alike.

He repeated what he has told U.S. lawmakers over the course of the past six months – that foreign terror organizations have increased calls for attacks against the U.S. and its allies, highlighting Al-Qaida and ISIS and affiliate organizations in addition to Hamas and Hezbollah.

Noting the close proximity to Iran's attack against Israel, Wray said "due to the sheer volatility and fluidity of the environment abroad, we are urging all of our partners here and around the world to stay vigilant when it comes to potential threats that may emerge from Iran or its proxies – both overseas and even here in the homeland."