Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., recommended that Israel threaten to ‘blow up’ Iran’s oil refineries if the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack are not released soon. 

Appearing on CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ Graham was asked to respond to Israel’s military reporting that it launched preemptive strikes that struck and destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon before a planned attack on Israel this weekend, as well as the hostage and cease-fire talks that are resuming in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday. 

‘How should the U.S. respond to what’s going on in the Middle East? And what is your message to get the cease-fire and hostage release deal across the finish line?’ CNN’s Jake Tapper asked the senator. 

‘Well, number one, I think we got to remember that October the 7th attack was generated, in my view, to stop normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It’s a nightmare for Iran and her proxies, for the Arabs and Israelis to reconcile and make peace and take the region in a different direction,’ Graham said. ‘As to the hostages, I would hold Iran responsible for their well-being.’

‘If I were the state of Israel, I would tell the ayatollah, if these people do not come home alive – the ones that are left alive – and if we don’t get the bodies of the fallen, we’re going to blow up your oil refineries,’ Graham added. ‘That’s the only way you’re ever going to get the hostages released is to put pressure on Iran.’ 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed more ‘surprising blows’ against Iran-backed terrorist groups after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly struck launch sites in Lebanon just minutes before Hezbollah was planning to fire thousands of rockets into central Israel.

 ‘What happened today is not the end of the story. Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning,’ Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Tel Aviv. ‘We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful preemptive strike to remove the threat.’ 

Michael Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the United States, said in an appearance on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ that the IDF operation prevented a wider conflict. 

‘We identified concrete planning and preparation by Hezbollah to launch a massive missile and drone attack into Israel,’ Herzog said. ‘And we carried the real-time operation in order to degrade those capabilities that were about to be launched as well. We were successful. And nevertheless, they launched several hundred rockets into Israel and also drones that were aimed at central Israel. And we intercepted all of them. One of our soldiers was killed by the debris of Israeli interceptors.’ 

‘I believe that the success of our operation yesterday prevented an escalation to a major war,’ he added. ‘This threat is still there. We still need a settlement with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.’ 

Israel faces Iran-backed terrorist groups on multiple fronts: Hamas in Gaza, Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The war in Gaza began when Hamas and other terrorists staged a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, primarily civilians. Hamas is believed to still be holding around 110 hostages. Israeli authorities estimate about a third are dead.

Israel’s military announced the deaths of four more soldiers in combat in central Gaza on Friday.

In Egypt, the U.S. delegation, led by CIA Director William Burns and White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, held talks with senior Egyptian officials and then with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, according to a person familiar with the ongoing talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly.

The Egyptian and Qatari negotiators were expected to meet with Hamas officials on Saturday evening. Hamas won’t take part directly in Sunday’s talks but will be briefed by Egypt and Qatar, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawy told The Associated Press. Merdawy said Hamas’ position hadn’t changed from accepting an earlier draft that would include the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

An Israeli delegation that arrived Thursday included the heads of the Mossad foreign intelligence service and Shin Bet security service and Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.

The U.S. has been pushing a proposal that aims at closing the gaps between Israel and Hamas as fears grow over a wider regional war after the recent killings of leaders of the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups, both blamed on Israel.

President Biden called Netanyahu on Wednesday to stress the urgency of reaching a deal and discussed developments with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed more ‘surprising blows’ against Iran-backed terrorist groups after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly struck launch sites in Lebanon just minutes before Hezbollah was planning to fire thousands of rockets into central Israel. 

‘What happened today is not the end of the story. Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning,’ Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Tel Aviv Sunday morning. ‘We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful pre-emptive strike to remove the threat.’ 

‘The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, and they were all intended to harm our citizens and our forces in Galilee,’ he continued. ‘In addition, the IDF intercepted all the UAVs that Hezbollah launched for a strategic purpose in the center of the country. We are hitting Hezbollah with surprising blows…. Three weeks ago, we eliminated his chief of staff, and today, we foiled his attack plan.’ 

‘Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is another step on the way to change the situation in the north and return our residents safely to their homes,’ Netanyahu added. ‘And I repeat – this is not the end of the story.’ 

In an earlier statement, White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said President Biden ‘is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.’

‘He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening. At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability,’ Savett added.

It was national security adviser Jake Sullivan leading those updates to Biden throughout the night, officials tell Fox News. 

After Hezbollah announced last night that their attack was over, White House officials said they will keep monitoring the situation.

‘There are no indications right now that another round is coming,’ one official told Fox News. 

A Western intelligence official told the New York Times that Israel’s preemptive attack targeted and destroyed missile launchers in Lebanon that had been programmed to fire at 5 a.m. toward Tel Aviv. 

The IDF were able to carry out a preemptive attack on thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon after information gathered from Israeli intelligence agencies, including the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate (MID), found Hezbollah was planning to use them to target strategic military sites in central Israel, including in the Gush Dan region, the Israeli English-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. 

The IDF also intercepted drones traveling from Lebanon that were intended to target central Israel, according to the newspaper. 

Approximately 100 Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed ‘thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,’ the IDF said earlier. ‘Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel, and more than 40 launch areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.’ 

The IDF said its forces struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon to remove threats and identified a terrorist cell operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon. 

‘The IAF swiftly struck the terrorists,’ IDF wrote on X. 

At an earlier news briefing, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli forcesidentified ‘extensive preparation by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to fire toward the Israeli Home Front.’ 

‘After extensive identification, the IAF and Northern Command began proactively and broadly striking Hezbollah targets in order to remove the threats aimed at the citizens of Israel,’ Hagari said. ‘We are removing threats against the Israeli home front. Dozens of IAF jets are currently striking targets in various locations in southern Lebanon. We are continuing to remove threats, and to intensively strike against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.’

The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. Soon after, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, one of its founding members, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

By mid-morning, it appeared that the exchange had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets, according to The Associated Press. 

Israeli Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Hezbollah had intended to hit targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments found ‘very little damage’ in Israel, but that the military remained on high alert. 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and another two were wounded in the strikes in southern Lebanon. 

Separately, a fighter for the Amal group, which is allied with Hezbollah, was killed in a strike on a car, Amal said.

Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel, and a ‘large number’ of drones. It said the operation was targeting ‘a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later’ as well as ‘enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome (missile defense) platforms.’

Hezbollah said the strikes would allow it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel, but a later statement said that ‘military operations for today have been completed.’ The terrorist group said it targeted 11 bases, barracks and military positions in northern Israel, including the Golan Heights, and dismissed Israel’s claim to have thwarted a stronger attack. Hezbollah did not provide evidence for its claims.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was expected to give a speech later on Sunday.

After an emergency government meeting, Lebanon’s caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam said officials were ‘feeling a bit more optimistic’ about a de-escalation.

‘We feel more reassured since both sides confirmed that the expected operations ended, and we know that the negotiations in Cairo are very serious,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Egypt on Sunday is hosting high-level talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which diplomats hope will tamp down regional tensions.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. is expected to make a trip to the Middle East to participate in negotiations. 

‘Over the next few days, the Chairman will visit key allies and partners in the region, Egypt, Jordan and Israel, as a display of the long-term U.S. commitment to the Middle East and to further his understanding of the various perspectives of ongoing tensions,’ Joint Staff spokesperson Navy Capt. Jereal Dorsey said in a statement Saturday. 

Fox News’ Yonat Friling, Lucas Tomlinson, Kate Sprague and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed more ‘surprise blows’ against Iran-backed terrorist groups after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly struck launch sites in Lebanon just minutes before Hezbollah was planning to fire thousands of rockets into central Israel. 

‘What happened today is not the end of the story. Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones early in the morning,’ Netanyahu said at a government meeting in Tel Aviv Sunday morning. ‘We instructed the IDF to carry out a powerful pre-emptive strike to remove the threat.’ 

‘The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, and they were all intended to harm our citizens and our forces in Galilee,’ he continued. ‘In addition, the IDF intercepted all the UAVs that Hezbollah launched for a strategic purpose in the center of the country. We are hitting Hezbollah with surprising blows…. Three weeks ago, we eliminated his chief of staff, and today, we foiled his attack plan.’ 

‘Nasrallah in Beirut and Khamenei in Tehran should know that this is another step on the way to change the situation in the north and return our residents safely to their homes,’ Netanyahu added. ‘And I repeat – this is not the end of the story.’ 

In an earlier statement, White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said President Biden ‘is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.’

‘He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening. At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability,’ Savett added.

It was national security adviser Jake Sullivan leading those updates to Biden throughout the night, officials tell Fox News. 

After Hezbollah announced last night that their attack was over, White House officials said they will keep monitoring the situation.

‘There are no indications right now that another round is coming,’ one official told Fox News. 

A Western intelligence official told the New York Times that Israel’s preemptive attack targeted and destroyed missile launchers in Lebanon that had been programmed to fire at 5 a.m. toward Tel Aviv. 

The IDF were able to carry out a preemptive attack on thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon after information gathered from Israeli intelligence agencies, including the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate (MID), found Hezbollah was planning to use them to target strategic military sites in central Israel, including in the Gush Dan region, the Israeli English-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. 

The IDF also intercepted drones traveling from Lebanon that were intended to target central Israel, according to the newspaper. 

Approximately 100 Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, struck and destroyed ‘thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels that were located and embedded in southern Lebanon,’ the IDF said earlier. ‘Most of these launchers were aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel, and more than 40 launch areas in Lebanon were struck during the strikes.’ 

The IDF said its forces struck Hezbollah launchers in several areas in southern Lebanon to remove threats and identified a terrorist cell operating in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon. 

‘The IAF swiftly struck the terrorists,’ IDF wrote on X. 

At an earlier news briefing, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli forcesidentified ‘extensive preparation by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to fire toward the Israeli Home Front.’ 

‘After extensive identification, the IAF and Northern Command began proactively and broadly striking Hezbollah targets in order to remove the threats aimed at the citizens of Israel,’ Hagari said. ‘We are removing threats against the Israeli home front. Dozens of IAF jets are currently striking targets in various locations in southern Lebanon. We are continuing to remove threats, and to intensively strike against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.’

The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. Soon after, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, one of its founding members, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.

By mid-morning, it appeared that the exchange had ended, with both sides saying they had only aimed at military targets, according to The Associated Press. 

Israeli Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Hezbollah had intended to hit targets in northern and central Israel. He said initial assessments found ‘very little damage’ in Israel, but that the military remained on high alert. 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that two people were killed and another two were wounded in the strikes in southern Lebanon. 

Separately, a fighter for the Amal group, which is allied with Hezbollah, was killed in a strike on a car, Amal said.

Hezbollah said its attack involved more than 320 Katyusha rockets aimed at multiple sites in Israel, and a ‘large number’ of drones. It said the operation was targeting ‘a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later’ as well as ‘enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome (missile defense) platforms.’

Hezbollah said the strikes would allow it to launch more attacks deeper into Israel, but a later statement said that ‘military operations for today have been completed.’ The terrorist group said it targeted 11 bases, barracks and military positions in northern Israel, including the Golan Heights, and dismissed Israel’s claim to have thwarted a stronger attack. Hezbollah did not provide evidence for its claims.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was expected to give a speech later on Sunday.

After an emergency government meeting, Lebanon’s caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam said officials were ‘feeling a bit more optimistic’ about a de-escalation.

‘We feel more reassured since both sides confirmed that the expected operations ended, and we know that the negotiations in Cairo are very serious,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Egypt on Sunday is hosting high-level talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which diplomats hope will tamp down regional tensions.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. is expected to make a trip to the Middle East to participate in negotiations. 

‘Over the next few days, the Chairman will visit key allies and partners in the region, Egypt, Jordan and Israel, as a display of the long-term U.S. commitment to the Middle East and to further his understanding of the various perspectives of ongoing tensions,’ Joint Staff spokesperson Navy Capt. Jereal Dorsey said in a statement Saturday. 

Fox News’ Yonat Friling, Lucas Tomlinson, Kate Sprague and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A judge in Australia ruled Friday that the owner of a female-only social networking platform discriminated against a transgender woman by removing her from the app because she was born a male.

Reuters reported that Roxanne Tickle sued the Australian app Giggle for Girls, as well as its founder, Sally Grover, for unlawful gender identity discrimination in its services.

The suit claimed Grover removed Tickle’s account from the platform after she saw her photo and ‘considered her to be male.’

In a landmark decision on gender identity in Australia, the Federal Court — considered to be the country’s second-highest court — ordered Giggle for Girls to pay Tickle 10,000 Australian dollars ($6,700 U.S.) plus legal costs.

Judge Robert Bromwich, who oversaw the trial, did not order Giggle for Girls to issue a written apology, which Tickle had sought.

‘Tickle’s claim of direct gender identity discrimination fails, but her claim of indirect gender identity discrimination succeeds,’ Bromwich said.

This is the first time the Australian Federal Court has made a ruling on gender identity discrimination since the Sex Discrimination Act was modified in 2013.

Professor Paula Gerber of Monash University’s Faculty of Law said the court’s decision was ‘a great win for transgender women in Australia.’

‘This case sends a clear message to all Australians that it is unlawful to treat transgender women differently from cisgender women. It is not lawful to make decisions about whether a person is a woman based on how feminine they appear,’ she said.

The platform Giggle for Girls was marketed as a ‘safe space’ for women to share and discuss their experiences. Reuters reported that court filings show the platform had about 20,000 users in 2021.

The company placed a temporary stop to operations in 2022, but Grover says the platform will be relaunched soon.

In his decision, the judge claimed the platform considered only sex at birth as being a valid basis for a person to claim to be a man or woman.

The plaintiff was born a male and had sex reassignment surgery before Tickle’s birth certificate was updated, Bromwich said.

‘Unfortunately, we got the [judgment] we anticipated,’ Grover said in a post on X. ‘The fight for women’s rights continues.’

Tickle reportedly called the judge’s decision ‘healing,’ after receiving hateful comments online and seeing merchandise created specifically to mock her.

‘There is so much hate and bile cast on trans and gender-diverse people simply because of who we are,’ Australian media quoted her as saying outside the court.

Reuters contributed to this report.

‘Abandon Biden’ is now ‘Abandon Harris.’

The pro-Palestinian group opposing the Democratic Party announced on Friday that its members were ‘now mobilizing under the banner of ‘Abandon Harris.”

‘While we will keep the registered name of Abandon Biden, our mission is now laser-focused on exposing and opposing Kamala Harris and her complicity in genocide,’ the statement from the group explained. ‘We call on all people of conscience to join us in holding the Democratic Party accountable for the bloodshed in Gaza.’

‘The DNC’s recent actions have only confirmed what we’ve been saying all along: the Democratic Party has no interest in ending the genocide in Gaza,’ the group continued. ‘They are not mere bystanders; they are active participants in this brutal, unforgivable violence.’

Abandon Harris is part of a larger movement on the left opposing the Democratic Party due to its continued support of Israel in the Jewish state’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Anti-Israel demonstrators expressed their discontent with Harris’ campaign throughout this week’s Democratic National Convention with marches, protests, and demonstrations against speakers.

The Democratic presidential nominee attempted to extend an olive branch to the anti-Israel protesters during her speech at the convention, telling the crowd that President Biden’s administration is ‘working around the clock because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done.’

‘And let me be clear – I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7.’

At the same time, Harris said, ‘what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating,’ referring to the war casualties of innocent Palestinian people.

In July, Harris met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate the administration’s support for Israel, while also expressing her ‘serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there.’ There was an apparent cease-fire deal also discussed at the time. 

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.