World

(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, tensions are escalating after the assassinations of two Hamas and Hezbollah leaders this week.

Here’s how the news is developing:

IDF soldiers accused of abusing Palestinian prisoners denied release

Five Israel Defense Forces soldiers who are in custody under suspicion of aggravated abuse of a Palestinian prisoner have been denied release by a military court on Thursday, according to the IDF.

The Military Court of Appeals approved the detention of the suspects until Sunday, stating that from the evidence presented, there is “reasonable suspicion of the commission of the acts attributed to them. The military court also determined that there was a clear cause of danger from the attributed acts,” the IDF said.

United Nations experts have called the reported widespread torture of Palestinian detainees a “preventable crime against humanity.”

“Reports of alleged torture and sexual violence in Israel’s Sde Teiman prison are grossly illegal and revolting, but they only represent the tip of the iceberg, independent human rights experts warned,” U.N. experts said on Tuesday.

Around 9,500 Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently imprisoned — about one-third of them without charge or trial, according to the U.N.

27 killed in Gaza, IDF says Hamas weapons workshop found in Khan Younis

At least 27 people were killed in different parts of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. Of those killed, 18 Palestinians were killed in eastern and central Khan Yunis.

The Israeli Defense Forces said they found a Hamas weapons manufacturing workshop in a tunnel below Khan Yunis in a statement Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Jordana Miller

Egypt advises airlines to avoid Iranian airspace

Egypt has issued a notice to all Egyptian airlines to not fly over Iranian airspace at times when Iran is conducting military exercises on Wednesday and Thursday.

59.3% buildings in Gaza Strip damaged or destroyed, CUNY analysis shows

A new map based on open-access satellite data shows the damage across the Gaza Strip through July 27, where an estimated 59.3% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed since Oct. 5, 2023.

According to the analysis, most of the destruction in July was in Rafah, where 750 additional buildings were damaged or destroyed last month, bringing the total infrastructural damage in the southernmost city of Gaza to 45.4%.

The damage analysis of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data was done by Corey Scher of CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University.

-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini

2 killed, 6 injured in Israeli strike on southern Lebanon

At least two people were killed and six others were injured in an Israeli drone raid on the town of Joya in southern Lebanon Wednesday.

The attack comes as Israel awaits a military response from Hezbollah or Iran after it assassinated leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.

Hezbollah said it carried out three retaliatory strikes on northern Israel on Wednesday — attacking the Al-Raheb site with artillery shells, the Jal Al-Alam site with artillery shells and the Al-Malikiyah site with rockets.

IDF calls Sinwar terrorist following appointment, remains committed to killing him

Shortly after Hamas announced it appointed Yahya Sinwar as a the head of its political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a spokesperson for the IDF said Israel remains committed to killing him.

“Yahya Sinwar is a terrorist, who is responsible for the most brutal terrorist attack in history – October 7th. There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7th terrorists. That is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him,” Daniel Hagari said in an interview with Al-Arabia.

Last Israeli designated missing after Oct. 7 attack confirmed dead

Bilha Yinon, the last hostage who was unaccounted for by the Israeli government, has now been confirmed dead.

Yinon was killed on Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Yahya Sinwar will replace Haniyeh as head of Hamas political bureau

Hamas has announced that Yahya Sinwar will replace Ismail Haniyeh as the head of the group’s political bureau after Israel’s assassination of Haniyeh. Sinwar was the head of Hamas in Gaza.

Sinwar has a $400,000 bounty on his head following the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Sinwar was chosen unanimously in negotiations managed by leadership, according to a top Hamas official.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Ghazi Balkiz

‘Hezbollah is obligated to respond’ to Israel, Nasrallah says

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to respond to the Israeli assassination of senior official Fouad Shukr, and predicted a response from Iran after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran last week.

“After the assassination of Commander Sayyed Fouad Shukr, Hezbollah is obligated to respond, and the enemy is waiting, anticipating, and calculating that every shout at him is a response. This Israeli weeklong waiting in anticipation — for a Hezb response — is part of the punishment, part of the response,” Nasrallah said in a speech Tuesday.

Multiple IDF troops injured in Rafah, humanitarian road closed

Several Israeli troops were injured and a humanitarian road was shut down after anti-tank missiles were fired toward them during operations in Rafah.

Injured troops have been evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.

The Kerem Shalom Crossing and the other entry routes for humanitarian aid are operating, according to the IDF.

Lebanon aims to prevent Hezbollah response to avoid wider war, says foreign minister

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the country is working to ensure that Hezbollah’s response to Israel does not trigger a total war, saying, “It would not benefit any of the countries involved.”

“Only those who want to incite conflict would gain from such a situation. We, as officials, do not want any war. Therefore, if a response is necessary, it should not be collective or so severe that it escalates into a broader conflict,” Bou Habib said.

At least 8 Palestinians killed during Israeli military raids in occupied West Bank

At least eight Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during military raids in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Palestinian health authorities said.

Five were killed in the city of Jenin, two in the nearby village of Khafer Dan and one in the city of Bethlehem, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank.

Earlier, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said at least 15 people were injured during the raid in Jenin on Tuesday. A spokesperson for PRCS told ABC News that the organization’s medical teams were stopped by Israeli troops from reaching the wounded.

ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Camilla Alcini

Palestinians in West Bank being blocked from medical care: New report

Palestinians in the West Bank are being restricted access to medical care, including for physical injuries and mental trauma, according to a new report from Doctors Without Borders.

“Access to medical care for Palestinians in Hebron is rapidly deteriorating because of restrictions imposed by Israeli forces and violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers and settlers,” Doctors Without Borders said.

Ministry of Health clinics across Hebron, in the West Bank, have been forced to close, pharmacies have run short of medications and ambulances transporting the sick and wounded have been obstructed and attacked. Faced with restrictions on their movements and the threat of violence, many sick people delay seeing a doctor or have no choice but to stop medical treatments altogether, according to data collected by Doctors Without Borders between June 2023 and April 2024.

“The movement restrictions, and harassment and violence by Israeli forces and settlers, is inflicting immense and unnecessary suffering on Palestinians in Hebron,” said Frederieke van Dongen, the group’s humanitarian affairs manager.

Israeli prisons are ‘network of torture’ for Palestinians: Human rights group

B’tselem, a major Israeli human rights group, published a report alleging that the Israeli prison system has become a “network of torture camps” for Palestinians arrested since Oct. 7.

The group reported abuse including “frequent acts of severe, arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation; deliberate starvation and sleep deprivation.”

The number of Palestinians in Israeli jails and detention centers stands at 9,623, the rights group said, including, 4,781 held without charge. An estimated 60 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody.

The Israeli army and government have denied allegations of systematic abuse, and the prisons service said it is are not aware of the claims in the report.

But, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister for national security who is in charge of the prisons service, has long championed the deteriorating conditions in prisons for Palestinian prisoners, who he said are “terrorists,” as a matter of policy.

“Since I assumed the position of Minister of National Security, one of the highest goals I have set for myself is to worsen the conditions of the terrorists in the prisons, and to reduce their rights to the minimum required by law,” he said in July. “Everything published about the abominable conditions of these vile murderers in prison was true.”

In response to claims of overcrowding, Ben-Gvir has advocated the death penalty as a response.

Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire, killing at least five in Lebanon and injuring two in Israel

Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets and drones toward northern Israel on Tuesday morning and afternoon, injuring at least two people, after an earlier Israeli airstrike killed at least five people in southern Lebanon, according to authorities on both sides.

The Lebanese militant group said in separate statements that Tuesday’s attacks against Israel — at least four so far — were carried out both in support of the Palestinian people in the war-torn Gaza Strip and in response to recent Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon.

One of those drones was intercepted by Israeli air defense and the falling shrapnel injured “several civilians” south of Nahariya, the northernmost coastal city of Israel, according to the IDF.

Israel’s Magen David Adam rescue service said its first responders were deployed to the scene and treated a 30-year-old man in serious condition and a 30-year-old woman in mild-to-moderate condition with shrapnel injuries to the lower limbs. Both patients were transported to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.

“We saw the male unconscious in the car with a severe head injury from shrapnel. A female who was fully conscious with shrapnel injuries to her lower limbs was in a parking lot nearby,” paramedic Roi Vishna and senior EMT Noam Levi said in a joint statement released by MDA.” We treated the male including ventilating him and providing medications, and evacuated him by MICU in very serious condition to hospital. The female casualty was evacuated in mild to moderate condition.”

Hezbollah launched the counterattacks after an Israeli airstrike on the town of Mifdoun in southern Lebanon killed at least five people on Tuesday morning, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. It was not immediately clear whether civilians were among the casualties.

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months amid the ongoing war in Gaza. But regional tensions have soared following last week’s assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Lebanon’s capital.

Israel kills another Hezbollah commander

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Monday they had killed another Hezbollah commander in a strike on Lebanon. Ali Jamal Aldin Jawad, a commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, was killed in the strike.

The death was also confirmed by Hezbollah.

“His elimination significantly degrades the capabilities of the Hezbollah terrorist organization to promote and carry out terror activities from southern Lebanon against northern Israel,” the IDF said.

Israel’s killing of a Hezbollah official in Beirut, Fuad Shukr, and a Hamas official in Iran, Ismail Haniyeh, has pushed the Middle East to the brink of further war.

Remains of about 80 deceased Palestinians returned after being taken by IDF

The deceased remains of an estimated 80 Palestinians — which Israeli forces took from Gazan cemeteries to identify whether hostages had been buried there — were returned by the Israel Defense Forces.

The bodies were decomposed beyond recognition, with Gazan officials saying between three and four bodies were in each bag. They will be reburied in a mass grave in Khan Younis.

A Gazan civil defense official on the ground said there is no data as to who these individuals were.

“I wished I could find him, to be at peace,” Suwa Abu Rajilah, a mother who traveled to the site to see if her son, killed in the war, was there. “To say I buried him, but I couldn’t find him.”

-ABC News’ Dia Ostaz

9 UN employees fired after investigation into ties to Oct. 7 attack

The U.N. has fired nine employees following a lengthy investigation into ties to the Oct. 7 attacks, the organization said.

The U.N.’s Office of Internal Oversight Services investigated 19 staff members with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East as part of the probe.

For nine of the staffers, evidence was found that they “may have been involved in the armed attacks,” the U.N. said.

“The employment of these individuals will be terminated in the interests of the Agency,” the organization said in a statement.

There was no evidence or insufficient evidence that the other investigated staffers had been involved, they added.

At least 7 Hezbollah attacks Monday

In another active day on the northern Israeli border, Hezbollah launched at least seven attacks on Monday.

The IDF said they “successfully intercepted” the projectiles, and no injuries were reported.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying in a statement they had launched them “in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their valiant and honorable resistance.”

The IDF also said Monday that they had “identified a terrorist cell operating a drone in the area of Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon.”

“Shortly following the identification, the IAF struck and eliminated the terrorists,” they said.

Israeli officer and soldier injured in aerial attack from Lebanon: IDF

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer and a soldier were injured after an aerial attack in northern Israel’s upper Galilee region near Ayelet HaShahar early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement.

The aerial targets crossed from Lebanon, the IDF said.

“Israel Fire Services are currently operating to extinguish a fire that was ignited in the area as a result of the attack,” the IDF said.

Netanyahu says Israel will strike wherever necessary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is prepared to stand against attacks from Iran and its proxies.

“Iran and its detractors seek to surround us with a choke ring of terrorism on seven fronts. Their open aggression is insatiable,” Netanyahu said during a state memorial service commemorating the death of Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky in 1940.

Netanyahu added, “We are determined to stand against them on every front, in every arena, far and near. “

Netanyahu’s comments came just days after the assassination in Iran of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. He was killed in an explosion on Wednesday at a guest house in Tehran that he was staying in while attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh’s death.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for “revenge” against Israel.

Haniyeh’s assassination followed the death of Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas’ military wing, in a “precise, targeted strike” in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis on July 13. Deif was allegedly one of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

IDF officials also announced that they killed top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in a precision missile strike Tuesday in Beirut, Lebanon. Officials claim he had been orchestrating drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel, including one on July 27 in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers playing soccer.

“Anyone who murders our citizens, anyone who harms our country, will not be cleared of responsibility,” Netanyahu said Sunday. “He will pay a very heavy price. Our long hand strikes in the Gaza Strip, in Yemen, in Beirut, wherever necessary.”

Netanyahu said Israel’s goals are to “secure our future” and the ensure that hostages taken by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack in Israel are returned home.

“We will continue to press the pedal,” Netanyahu said. “We did not let up from the pressure in all combat areas. We will take an offensive, creative, persistent initiative — until victory comes.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

For the first time in more than a year, the planet did not set a new monthly global temperature record. However, Earth did experience its two warmest days on record globally in July, and it’s becoming increasingly likely that 2024 will end up as the warmest year on record, according to a new report by Copernicus, the European Union’s Climate Change Service.

Last month registered as both the second-warmest July and the second-warmest overall month on record globally, marking the end of 13 months of record-breaking global temperature values for the respective month of the year, the report, released Wednesday, found.

A slight drop in the global average temperature was expected, according to scientists, due to the end of El Niño and the development of La Niña conditions over the equatorial eastern Pacific in the coming months.

The long-term global average temperature trend keeps going up due to human-amplified climate change, despite other variables driving shorter-term fluctuations.

“The overall context hasn’t changed, our climate continues to warm. The devastating effects of climate change started well before 2023 and will continue until global greenhouse gas emissions reach net zero”, Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said in a statement.

Although July 2024 was not quite as warm as July 2023 on average, Earth experienced its two warmest days on record in July, according to the Copernicus ERA5 data record.

The daily global average temperature reached 17.16 degrees Celsius, or 62.89 degrees Fahrenheit, on July 22 and 17.15 degrees Celsius, or 62.87 degrees Fahrenheit, on July 23. Given the small difference, it cannot be determined with complete certainty which was the warmest, the report found.

Researchers at Copernicus say that it is increasingly likely that 2024 is going to be the warmest year on record. The year-to-date global average temperature anomaly through the end of July currently ranks .27 degrees Celsius, or .49 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than the same period in 2023.

The average anomaly for the remaining months of this year would need to drop by at least .23 degrees Celsius, or .41 degrees Fahrenheit, for 2024 not to be warmer than 2023. This has rarely happened in the organization’s ERA5 dataset.

The last time Earth recorded a cooler-than-average year was in 1976, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA).

July 2024 had an average surface air temperature of 16.91 degrees Celsius, or 62.44 degrees Fahrenheit, registering just shy of the all-time highs for both, set in July 2023, according to the report.

The month as a whole was 1.48°C, or 2.66 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than an estimate of the July average for 1850 to 1900, the designated pre-industrial reference period set in the Paris Agreement.

The global average temperature over the past twelve months, August 2023 through July 2024, was 1.64 degrees Celsius, or 2.95 degrees Fahrenheit above the pre-industrial average, the report found.

The Paris Agreement goals aim to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels.

Scientists say that it is important to note that exceeding the 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold temporarily is not seen as a failure under the Paris Agreement since the agreement looks at the climate average over multiple decades. However, short-term breaches of the threshold are an important signal that those higher averages are likely to happen in the next decade if emissions aren’t reduced significantly.

Global daily sea surface temperatures across most of the world’s oceans remain well above average. The average global sea surface temperature for July 2024, between the latitudes of 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north, was 69.58 degrees Fahrenheit, the second-highest value on record for the month, the report found.

This marks the end of 15 months of record-breaking sea surface temperature values for the respective month of the year, according to Copernicus.

However, persistent marine heatwaves are keeping sea surface temperatures at near-record levels across parts of the globe. This is particularly concerning for forecasters tracking the tropics and the health of the world’s coral reefs.

Tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic Basin historically ramps up quickly during the month of August ahead of the season peak on Sept. 10, according to the National Hurricane Center. Persistent near-record ocean temperatures in the Atlantic were one of the primary factors that lead forecasters to issue the highest-ever May outlook calling for a very active season.

Persistent marine heatwaves are also a major concern for the world’s coral reefs. In April, NOAA reported that the second global coral reef bleaching event in the last 10 years was underway.

Antarctic sea ice extent dipped to its second-lowest value on record for the month of July, 11% below average. Arctic sea ice extent was 7% below average for the month and lower than the values observed during July 2022 and 2023, according to Copernicus.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(VIENNA, Austria) — Bomb-making materials were found in the home of one of two people suspected of planning a terror attack on upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Austria, authorities said, adding that ‘s capital this week, authorities said Thursday, adding that both suspects appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda.

The main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian citizen, fully confessed to attack plans during an interrogation, according to Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of Austria’s Directorate of State Security and Intelligence.

The suspect was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State” and allegedly intended to kill himself and “as many people as possible” outside the concert venue using knives and homemade explosives, Haijawi-Pirchner said during a press conference Thursday in Vienna.

The 19-year-old, who was from the Austrian town of Ternitz and had North Macedonian roots, had been preparing for the attack since late July and drastically changed his appearance, according to Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria’s Ministry of Interior. He researched bomb-making techniques and uploaded to the internet an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State, Haijawi-Pirchner said.

A second suspect — a 17-year-old Austrian citizen – was arrested in Vienna on Wednesday afternoon. A 15-year-old Turkish citizen was also detained and questioned, according to Haijawi-Pirchner. No further suspects are being sought, Ruf said.

Each of the two suspects was known to police and both were said to have been involved in the direct preparation of the foiled attack, according to Haijawi-Pirchner. Most of the plans and preparations were made at the 19-year-old’s home, Ruf said.

A 15-year-old, who was interrogated, had been asked by the main suspect about ignition mechanisms, Haijawi-Pirchner said.

The 17-year-old suspect, who has Turkish-Croatian roots, was employed a few days ago at a facility company providing services at the concert venue and would have been working there, according to Haijawi-Pirchner. It was discovered during the investigation that he was on the grounds of Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, where three Taylor Swift concerts were to be held,

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Will Gretsky, Emily Shapiro, Josh Margolin and Luke Barr contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 has rocked the coast of southern Japan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter of the earthquake is just a dozen miles off the coast of the city of Miyazaki on the island of Kyushu in Japan but the Japan Meteorological Agency has now lifted tsunami advisories for all but Miyazaki Prefecture.

There were reports of people falling and sustaining non-life-threatening injuries. One home in Kagoshima is said to have collapsed, but no injuries were reported. Regional nuclear plants are still reporting no abnormalities.

Miyazaki Airport experienced delays, and while bullet train services have resumed for the region, local services may still be disrupted.

The people of southwestern Japan seem to have avoided major damage, though the shaking would have been terrifying.

The epicenter was located in the Hyuganada Sea, just off the eastern coast of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu, and was measured at a depth of about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles). The Japan Meteorological Agency initially issued a tsunami advisory, predicting waves of up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) along the southern coast of Kyushu and nearby island of Shikoku.

People have been urged to stay away from the coast or river and have been warned that other quakes — even on the same magnitude –may occur.

Video filmed by Ryosuke Take, an employee at a local radio station in Kirishima on Japan’s island of Kyushu, shows objects in the office vigorously shaking.

“The shaking was very strong,” Ryosuke told ABC News. Listeners also reported that “in private homes, dishes fell from kitchens, and nearby hotels have reported that their elevators and kitchens are unusable.”

One area in Kochi prefecture is ordering residents to evacuate but drastic sea level changes have not been reported.

The quake registered a lower 6 in the hardest-hit areas — very high on the Japanese shake scale, which goes from 0 to 7. It would’ve been strong enough to knock over furniture, damage some concrete buildings and even topple some wooden ones.

However, there are currently no reports of any major damage and shaking was not felt in the capital city of Tokyo. Additionally, there have been no change or irregularities reported with regional nuclear plants so far.

ABC News’ Anthony Trotter and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(VIENNA, Austria) — Chemical substances and technical devices were found at the house of a 19-year-old Austrian suspected of planning an attack on upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, Austria, the public security director at Austria’s Ministry of Interior, Franz Ruf, told public broadcaster ORF’s Oe1 program in an interview Thursday.

Ruf added that these are still being evaluated by investigators. He previously confirmed during a press conference on Wednesday that chemical substances had been secured and were being evaluated.

Three of Swift’s concerts scheduled this week in Vienna were canceled after two suspects were arrested Wednesday for allegedly plotting a terror attack, authorities said.

The cancellations came hours after authorities announced a 19-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested Wednesday morning and a second suspect was arrested in the afternoon.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Felix Franz, Will Gretsky, Emily Shapiro, Josh Margolin and Luke Barr contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(VIENNA, Austria) — Taylor Swift’s three concerts in Vienna this week have been canceled after two suspects were arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack, authorities said.

“We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” a message from Barracuda Music said. “All tickets will be automatically refunded.”

The cancellation comes hours after authorities announced a 19-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested Wednesday morning and a second suspect was arrested in the afternoon.

The suspects allegedly radicalized themselves online, Franz Ruf, director-general for public safety in the Ministry of the Interior, said at a press conference. The 19-year-old suspect allegedly pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State at the beginning of July, Ruf said.

Vienna was a target of their planned attack and the 19-year-old suspect had a particular focus on Swift’s Vienna concert, Ruf said.

The pop star had concerts scheduled in Vienna this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Information about the threat to the tour dates originated with U.S. intelligence and was passed to the Austrians and Europol, multiple law enforcement and intelligence sources told ABC News.

Though inspired by ISIS, the sources said investigators do not believe the alleged plot was directed by ISIS operatives.

U.S. intelligence found at least one of the suspects pledged to ISIS-K on the messaging app, Telegram, in early July, the sources said.

Investigators are not convinced that the alleged plot would have worked and they do not know if a functioning bomb was produced. However, Viennese investigators did find explosive precursor chemicals which showed a degree of motivation and planning, sources told ABC News.

Before the shows were canceled, Ruf said security at the concerts would be increased. The shows were expected to draw 65,000 concertgoers per day, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 fans outside of the area, police said.

Swift kicked off the massively successful “Eras Tour” in Glendale, Arizona, on March 18, 2023.

Investigators in Austria are looking at surveillance footage to determine whether one or more of the suspects had previously visited the concert site for reconnaissance or if they had visited other potential targets.

As ABC News has previously reported, law enforcement officials have been concerned about mass gathering attacks since the deadly Moscow concert hall assault earlier this year for which ISIS-K claimed credit.

In October 2023, the pop star released a concert film chronicling the record-breaking tour, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” that went on to break records of its own and earn a Golden Globe nomination.

At the 100th stop of the tour this summer in Liverpool, England, the 14-time Grammy winner told the audience the tour “has definitely been the most exhausting, all-encompassing, but most joyful, most rewarding, most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life thus far.”

The Eras Tour will end in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 8.

ABC News’ Carson Blackwelder contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(VIENNA, Austria) — Taylor Swift’s three concerts in Vienna this week have been canceled after two suspects were arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack, authorities said.

“We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” a message from Barracuda Music said. “All tickets will be automatically refunded.”

The cancellation comes hours after authorities announced a 19-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested Wednesday morning and a second suspect was arrested in the afternoon.

The suspects allegedly radicalized themselves online, Franz Ruf, director-general for public safety in the Ministry of the Interior, said at a press conference. The 19-year-old suspect allegedly pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State in the beginning of July, Ruf said.

Vienna was a target of their planned attack and the 19-year-old suspect had a particular focus on Swift’s Vienna concert, Ruf said.

The pop star had concerts scheduled in Vienna this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Before the shows were canceled, Ruf said security at the concerts would be increased. The shows were expected to draw 65,000 concertgoers per day, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 fans outside of the area, police said.

Swift kicked off the massively successful “Eras Tour” in Glendale, Arizona, on March 18, 2023.

In October 2023, the pop star released a concert film chronicling the record-breaking tour, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” that went on to break records of its own and earn a Golden Globe nomination.

At the 100th stop of the tour this summer in Liverpool, England, the 14-time Grammy winner told the audience the tour “has definitely been the most exhausting, all-encompassing, but most joyful, most rewarding, most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life thus far.”

The “Eras Tour” will end in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 8.

ABC News’ Carson Blackwelder contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — A man wrapped in a red-and-white English flag raised his hand in a Nazi salute in the town center of Leicester, England, as a line of police officers looked on and a crowd of counterprotesters shouted out their collective disapproval.

“Off our streets, Nazi scum,” the counterprotesters chanted, according to a video of the incident posted on social media and verified by ABC News. The man saluting during the Aug. 3 rally appeared to hold his hand high throughout the duration of the 23-second clip.

Similarly racist, combative and at-times-violent scenes have played out on streets throughout the United Kingdom for more than a week. London’s Metropolitan Police has described the ongoing far-right rallies as a “national critical incident.”

“We will not tolerate this on our streets,” the Met said in a statement. “We will use every power, tactic and tool available to prevent further scenes of disorder.”

Dozens of additional rallies led by far-right groups were expected to be held Wednesday evening in London and elsewhere, the police said. Counterprotests were expected at many of them. Patrols were being increased in London in advance of the rallies, police said in a statement late Tuesday.

“We arrested more than 100 people in central London disorder last week and we will not hesitate to arrest hundreds more if they take to the streets intent on fueling violence,” the Met said.

The unrest follows the deaths of three girls, who were stabbed in a “ferocious” attack during a July 19 dance event in Southport, a seaside town, according to police.

A 17-year-old was arrested and charged with murder, police said. The suspect was from Banks, a coastal village in Lancashire, and was born in Cardiff, Wales, police said.

The Crown Court released the suspect’s name after a judge ruled it could be released despite his age. Although the suspect was born in the United Kingdom, online rumors spread calling into question his immigration status, police said.

“This recent activity is a clear lesson in how important it is to counter any misinformation posted online or on social media,” Shane O’Neill, Leicester Police’s chief superintendent, said in a statement.

Some of those who’ve attended the rallies have voiced concerns over immigration policies in the wake of a the stabbing deaths. Keir Starmer, the newly elected prime minister, described their actions as “far-right thuggery.”

“We will ensure those responsible will feel the full force of the law,” Downing Street said in a statement. “We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our Muslim communities. The full force of the law will be visited on all those who are identified as having taken part in these activities.”

Starmer said Downing Street had called for “swift action” against violent protesters, and the Crown Prosecution Service already charged and brought several rioters into court.

One 37-year-old pleaded guilty Tuesday to violent disorder after he “hurled missiles at police officers … following widespread unrest in Hull,” prosecutors said in a press release. Another 18-year-old from Bolton was sentenced Tuesday to two months in jail after pleading guilty to damaging two police cruisers during the unrest, prosecutors said.

Several arrests were also made in Leicester, where two protests were held in the city center on Aug. 3, including one 35-year-old woman who was later charged with racially or religiously aggravated intentional harassment and assault for allegedly beating an emergency worker, the Leicester Police said in a statement.

Along with the hundreds who’ve been arrested at rallies, others were arrested for “online offenses,” Starmer’s office said Tuesday.

“If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law,” Starmer said.

ABC News’ Camilla Alcini contributed to this report.

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(VIENNA, Austria) — Security measures have been increased for Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna, Austria, this week after two suspects were arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack, authorities said.

A 19-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested Wednesday morning and a second suspect was arrested in the afternoon, according to Franz Ruf, director-general for public safety in the Ministry of the Interior.

The suspects allegedly radicalized themselves online, Ruf said at a press conference. The 19-year-old suspect allegedly pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State in the beginning of July, Ruf said.

Vienna was a target of their planned attack and the 19-year-old suspect had a particular focus on Swift’s Vienna concert, Ruf said.

The pop star has concerts in Vienna this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The shows are expected to draw 65,000 concertgoers per day, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 fans outside of the area, police said.

Swift kicked off the massively successful “Eras Tour” in Glendale, Arizona, on March 18, 2023.

In October 2023, the pop star released a concert film chronicling the record-breaking tour, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” that went on to break records of its own and earn a Golden Globe nomination.

At the 100th stop of the tour this summer in Liverpool, England, the 14-time Grammy winner told the audience the tour “has definitely been the most exhausting, all-encompassing, but most joyful, most rewarding, most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life thus far.”

The “Eras Tour” will end in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 8.

ABC News’ Carson Blackwelder contributed to this report.

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(LONDON) — Ukraine has launched a major attack with Ukrainian troops into Russia, in what appears to be its biggest and most serious incursion into the country since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

A large Ukrainian force backed with armored vehicles appeared to advance on Tuesday across the border into Russia’s Kursk region, according to official and unofficial Russian sources, although exact details remain deeply unclear.

The Ukrainian troops appear to have captured a number of villages in the border area, advancing perhaps as much as 15 kilometers inside Russia, according to pro-Kremlin Russian military bloggers, with heavy fighting reported to be continuing for a second day.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Wednesday morning urgent meetings with his government and defense leadership, while local authorities said thousands of Russian civilians were being evacuated away from the fighting.

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