Monthly regional updates
Update
Middle East Overview: July 2024
Updates on tensions in the Middle East, including conflicts in Gaza, Iraq, and Oman.
Regional: Ten months of war push regional tensions to an all-time high
Tensions involving the Iran-led ‘axis of resistance,’ which has waged attacks on Israel and the United States in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza, reached a fever pitch in July.
A drone attack by Yemen’s Houthis on Tel Aviv on 19 July resulted in Israeli casualties for the first time, leaving one civilian dead and injuring at least eight others. The drone used by the Houthis was an upgraded version of their Sammad drone series that they called the ‘Yafa,’ a term the Houthis use to refer to Tel Aviv.1 Experts estimate that the drone flew for some 2,600 kilometers, a distance that had never been witnessed before from Houthi drones.2 In retaliation, Israeli fighter jets conducted strikes on the port city of al-Hudayda on Yemen’s West Coast region a day later....
Elsewhere, amid continued daily exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah across the Lebanese-Israeli border, a projectile fell on a football field in the majority-Druze, Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on 27 July, killing 12 children and youths.... 3 In retaliation, Israel killed Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in a precision strike in southern Beirut on 30 July.
A mere seven hours later, Hamas’s Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran... attempt to provoke.
Several exchanges of fire also occurred between United States forces and axis of resistance-affiliated groups in Syria and Iraq....
Gaza: In the absence of a ceasefire, the high toll of fatalities continues to increase
In the Gaza Strip, the war between Israel and Hamas entered its tenth month with no agreement reached in ceasefire talks.... 4 The ACLED Conflict Index’s 2024 mid-year update ranks Palestine as the deadliest conflict in the world and shows that 87% of the Palestinian population has been exposed to extreme violence.
Iraq: Turkey-PKK violence intensifies as Turkish forces advance into Iraq
In July, the Turkish army continued advancing into northern Iraq, deploying troops and armored vehicles to various new areas in Duhok and Erbil governorates. 5 Turkish forces also established new bases.... 6 These actions are part of Turkey’s broader plan...7. Turkish advancements were accompanied by a surge in violence...
Oman: The Islamic State carries out its first-ever attack in the sultanate
On 15 July, three Islamic State (IS) militants stormed a Shiite mosque in the suburbs of Muscat, Oman’s capital, and opened fire on the worshippers, killing five and injuring 28...
The attack came as a surprise in this otherwise peaceful and stable sultanate.... This attack followed other high-profile IS attacks...January 2024 and in Russia in March 2024, as the group seems to be trying to remain relevant by opening new fronts beyond its original foothold in Iraq and Syria.
Syria: Talks of a Turkish-Syrian rapprochement lead to unrest in northern Syria
Syria witnessed an intensification of demonstrations in July....8...9...10... amid the demonstrations.........while at least one civilian was killed as a result of Turkish fire at Jarablus crossing. More than 50 civilians and opposition rebels were detained following their participation in the demonstrations. .
