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New York, New Jersey leaders condemn unprecedented Hamas attack in Israel
NEW YORK — Leaders in New York and New Jersey are reacting to the unprecedented Hamas attack in Israel on Saturday.
Israeli authorities said hundreds were killed and hundreds were wounded in the deadliest attack in Israel in years, CBS News reported.
The NYPD released a statement saying, “We are aware of the situation and continue to monitor for further developments. At this time there is no known threat nor nexus to New York City.”
NYPD deploying resources to Jewish communities
Mayor Eric Adams said the NYPD is deploying resources to Jewish communities and houses of worship across the five boroughs as a precaution.
“We have resources on the ground in Israel gathering intelligence, and we are continually monitoring multiple channels to identify any potential threats, both here and abroad. I am also communicating directly with Police Commissioner Caban and Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Weiner about the situation. While there is no credible threat to New York City at this time, our administration is in touch with Jewish leaders across the five boroughs, and we have directed the NYPD to deploy additional resources to Jewish communities and houses of worship citywide to ensure that our communities have the resources they need to make sure everyone feels safe,” Adams said.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson added, “Working closely with our law enforcement partners in our Borough to ensure that our Jewish communities, Muslim communities, synagogues and mosques are safe during this time of heightened security. We stand with Israel and are praying for abundant peace.”
Gov. Hochul working to get New Yorkers home safely
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said, “As the home of the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, New York condemns the abhorrent attacks by Hamas. I stand with the people of Israel.”
She also spoke to CBS New York about her efforts to get New Yorkers in Israel home safely.
New York, New Jersey leaders condemn attack in Israel
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “The terrorist attacks by Hamas on the people of Israel are absolutely horrific. The U.S. stands with Israel in its unwavering right to defend itself. I stand ready to ensure Israel has the support to do so. My prayers are with the dead, reported hostages, and hundreds injured.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said, “I’m horrified by the scenes we’ve seen in Israel today. I strongly condemn these terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens, and my heart goes out to the families of those who have been killed or injured. The United States’ support for Israel is unwavering.”
On X, the New York City Council Jewish Caucus wrote, “As Jewish members of the @NYCcouncil, while we should be celebrating the joyous holidays of Shabbat and Simchat Torah, we are instead heartbroken at this morning’s unprecedented terrorist attacks on Israel. We stand with Israel and condemn these attacks.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy released a statement, saying in part:
The world must unequivocally condemn terrorism against innocent civilians. Just like any country, the State of Israel has a right to defend itself and rescue hostages who have been kidnapped. As a state with one of the largest Jewish and Israeli American communities in the world, today’s news is especially hard to fathom. As Governor, I stand with the people of Israel in this dark hour in a united show of resolve against terrorism.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin released a statement saying in part:
I have been in communication with the 21 County Prosecutors and law enforcement leaders across the state. While there is no credible threat to safety, law enforcement will be increasing patrols in sensitive areas — particularly houses of worship for both the Jewish and Islamic faiths — and taking other steps out of an abundance of caution. We also call upon New Jersey residents to be extra vigilant, and if you see suspicious activity please report it to your local authorities without delay.
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez released this statement:
I emphatically condemn the murderous invasion by Hamas into Israel during its religious holidays. The killing of innocent Israelis in their homes by Hamas, during an invasion from Gaza, shows them to be what they are – a murderous terrorist organization. I hope the detractors of Israel will now understand the constant life and death struggle the Israeli people live with every day. It is time for the international community to unequivocally condemn Hamas. The United States must unequivocally stand with Israel at this time of war with Hamas.
Leaders across the U.S. have vowed to support Israel after the attack.
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Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack at 2 secretive Iranian military bases
An Israeli attack on Iran damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran’s onetime nuclear weapons program and at another base tied to its ballistic missile program, satellite photos analyzed Sunday by The Associated Press show.
Some of the buildings damaged sat in Iran’s Parchin military base, where the International Atomic Energy Agency suspects Iran in the past conducted tests of high explosives that could trigger a nuclear weapon. Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though the IAEA, Western intelligence agencies and others say Tehran had an active weapons program up until 2003.
The other damage could be seen at the nearby Khojir military base, which analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites.
Israel launched a series of strikes on Iranian military facilities in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic republic fired on Israel earlier this month.
Iran’s military has not acknowledged damage at either Khojir or Parchin from Israel’s attack early Saturday, though it has said the assault killed four Iranian soldiers working in the country’s air defense systems.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Israeli military.
However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday told an audience that the Israeli attack “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed,” while stopping short of calling for an immediate retaliatory strike. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the strikes “severely harmed” Iran and achieved all of Israel’s goals.
“The air force struck throughout Iran. We severely harmed Iran’s defense capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed toward us,” Netanyahu said in his first public comments on the strikes.
It remains unclear how many sites in total were targeted in the Israeli attack. There have been no images of damage so far released by Iran’s military.
Iranian officials have identified affected areas as being in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces. Burned fields could be seen in satellite images from Planet Labs PBC around Iran’s Tange Bijar natural gas production site in Ilam province on Saturday, though it wasn’t immediately clear if it was related to the attack. Ilam province sits on the Iran-Iraq border in western Iran.
The most telling damage could be seen in Planet Labs images of Parchin, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of downtown Tehran near the Mamalu Dam. There, one structure appeared to be totally destroyed while others looked damaged in the attack.
At Khojir, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from downtown Tehran, damage could be seen on at least two structures in satellite images.
Analysts including Decker Eveleth at the Virginia-based think tank CNA, Joe Truzman at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former United Nations weapon inspector David Albright, as well as other open-source experts, first identified the damage to the bases. The locations of the two bases correspond to videos obtained by the AP showing Iranian air defense systems firing in the vicinity early Saturday.
At Parchin, Albright’s Institute for Science and International Security identified the destroyed building against a mountainside as “Taleghan 2.” It said an archive of Iranian nuclear data earlier seized by Israel identified the building as housing “a smaller, elongated high explosive chamber and a flash X-ray system to examine small-scale high explosive tests.”
“Such tests may have included high explosives compressing a core of natural uranium, simulating the initiation of a nuclear explosive,” a 2018 report by the institute says.
In a message posted to the social platform X early Sunday, the institute added: “It is not certain whether Iran used uranium at ‘Taleghan 2,’ but it is possible it studied the compression of natural uranium hemispheres, which would explain its hasty and secretive renovation efforts following the IAEA’s request to access Parchin in 2011.”
It’s unclear what, if any, equipment would have been inside of the “Taleghan 2” building early Saturday. There were no Israeli strikes on Iran’s oil industry, nor its nuclear enrichment sites or its nuclear power plant at Bushehr during the assault.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, who leads the IAEA, confirmed that on X, saying “Iran’s nuclear facilities have not been impacted.”
“Inspectors are safe and continue their vital work,” he added. “I call for prudence and restraint from actions that could jeopardize the safety & security of nuclear & other radioactive materials.”
Other buildings destroyed at Khojir and Parchin likely included a warehouse and other buildings where Iran used industrial mixers to create the solid fuel needed for its extensive ballistic missile arsenal, Eveleth said.
In a statement issued immediately after the attack Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted “missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”
Destroying such sites could greatly disrupt Iran’s ability to manufacture new ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal after the two attacks on Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country’s ballistic missile program, has been silent since Saturday’s attack.
Iran’s overall ballistic missile arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles unable to reach Israel, was estimated to be “over 3,000” by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, in testimony to the U.S. Senate in 2022. In the time since, Iran has fired hundreds of missiles in a series of attacks.
There have been no videos or photos posted to social media of missile parts or damage in civilian neighborhoods following the recent attack – suggesting that the Israeli strikes were far more accurate than Iran’s ballistic missile barrages targeting Israel in April and October. Israel relied on aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.
However, one factory appeared to have been hit in Shamsabad Industrial City, just south of Tehran near Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main gateway to the outside world. Online videos of the damaged building corresponded to an address for a firm known as TIECO, which advertises itself as building advanced machinery used in Iran’s oil and gas industry.
Officials at TIECO requested the AP write the company a letter before responding to questions. The firm did not immediately reply to a letter sent to it.
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