US launches new airstrikes on Iran for eighth night in a row after soldiers killed in Jordan

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reports that an area near Sirik, on the Strait of Hormuz, was targeted around 1:30 a.m. local time, citing local authorities in southern Hormozgan province.

A location near Hajiabad, in the same province, was also targeted, and explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, according to IRNA. An area near Qeshm Island, inside the strait, was also targeted, according to Iran’s state-run broadcaster, IRIB.

In neighboring Iraq, a base of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an Iranian Kurdish dissident group, near Irbil was struck by a drone early Sunday, wounding eight of its members, Rebaz Sharifi, a military official with the group, says.

Residents of Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, also heard explosions from air defenses early Sunday.

Irbil has been targeted by drone attacks multiple times over the past four days, which coincided with a visit by new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to Washington last week and an ongoing escalation between the U.S. and Iran.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but in the past, both Iran and Iran-backed Iraqi militias have launched attacks in the Kurdish region, where both US troops and armed Kurdish Iranian dissident groups are present.

Palestinians report an Israeli settler attack on the West Bank village of Tuwani, in the South Hebron Hills.

According to the reports, the attackers set fire to a mosque and a Palestinian vehicle.

Images circulating on social media appear to show a Star of David was also painted on the exterior wall of the mosque.

There are no reports of injuries.

BREAKING: Israeli settler terrorists attacked the Palestinian village of Tuwani in the West Bank, setting a mosque and a vehicle on fire and spray-painting a Star of David on the mosque's wall. pic.twitter.com/m1nCyx1aRk

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) July 18, 2026

England beats France by a staggering 6 goals to 4, to take third place in the World Cup.

The 10-goal thriller in Miami is the highest-scoring World Cup game since 1982, when Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1, and the standout match of this year’s tournament.

England raced to a 4-0 lead at half-time, with Declan Rice opening the scoring in the third minute, completely overwhelming France. But France came out reinvigorated for the second half and would not be beaten.

With Kylian Mbappe leading the charge, France pulled back to 4-3, before England pushed further ahead to 5-3.

But France scored again for 5-4, and went looking to tie the game, only for England to complete the thrilling victory with a sixth goal, a glorious solo effort by Jude Bellingham, in stoppage time.

Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick for England — two in the first half and a second-half penalty.

Mbappe scored twice for France, in the process becoming the top scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals. Mbappe has scored his goals over three World Cups, and is now one ahead of Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

Messi’s Argentina plays Spain on Sunday in the World Cup final.

England had been at a low going into the game, having lost 2-1 to Argentina after leading 1-0 in Wednesday’s semi-final, with coach Thomas Tuchel heavily criticized for packing his team with defenders to try to retain the lead for the final half-hour of the game, only for a Messi-inspired Argentina to score twice in the game’s dying minutes.

Ahead of tonight’s game, it had been reported that neither side was too happy about having to play, with the contest for third place a marginal encounter following the two sides’ defeats in their respective semi-finals. France had lost 2-0 to Spain on Tuesday.

In the event, however, the lack of pressure led to a remarkably open game, with France’s ferocious but thwarted comeback and England’s insistent and delighted victory indicating that both teams had, in fact, been extremely determined to win.

Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok has signed a constitutional amendment passed by Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s ruling Tisza party that ends his term as head of state, Sulyok says in a statement.

The legislation was part of Magyar’s drive to dismantle former prime minister Viktor Orban’s bastions of power, for which Magyar says he received a strong mandate from voters after ousting the right-wing leader in an April election landslide.

The amendment will end Sulyok’s term immediately, citing society’s “serious loss of confidence” in a leader elected in early 2024 by lawmakers from Orban’s Fidesz party.

Sulyok says he had no choice but to rubber-stamp the legislation as it respected the letter of the law. However, the former Constitutional Court judge warned the reform has harmed the rule of law in Hungary.

“The seventeenth amendment to the Constitution has marked a watershed in Hungary’s constitutional democracy,” Sulyok said.

“By removing public office holders in a manner that openly violates the rule of law … it sets a negative precedent that inflicts a deep wound on the constitutional values of democracy, the separation of powers, and the rule of law.”

Parliament, where Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party has a two-thirds majority that allows it to change any laws, will elect a new president until a new constitution takes effect, or for a maximum of five years.

The amendment also imposes a 12-year term limit on lawmakers and sets a retirement age of 70 for Constitutional Court judges, which will force the court’s current president, Orban ally Peter Polt, to retire.

Since ousting Orban in April, Magyar has repeatedly called on Sulyok to step down, accusing him of failing to represent national unity on major issues and of serving the interests of Orban and his government.

The US military has begun a new round of airstrikes against Iran, for the eighth consecutive night.

US Central Command says the strikes are intended to “swiftly punish” Tehran for the deadly attacks against US service members in Jordan yesterday, and to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The US State Department issues a Worldwide Caution alert for US citizens “due to heightened tensions in the Middle East.”

It urges US citizens worldwide, and “especially in the Middle East,” to “follow the guidance in security alerts issued by the nearest US embassy or consulate.”

“Flight cancellations and periodic airspace closures may cause travel disruptions. US diplomatic facilities, including outside the Middle East, have been targeted,” it says, without offering further details.

It warns that “groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas or locations associated with the United States” around the world.

The US had already issued a travel warning for the Middle East in light of the escalated fighting with Iran, and the US Embassy in Jerusalem warned Americans to avoid traveling to northern Israel, Gaza, and to the Egyptian border.

Worldwide Caution: Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation. We remind Americans in the region of the continued need for caution and encourage them to monitor the news for breaking… pic.twitter.com/A3LKEQSRiO

— TravelGov (@TravelGov) July 18, 2026

The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.

There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.

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— Stav Levaton, military reporter

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