Live Update From the Liveblog of Thursday, July 2, 2026 An Iranian military commander warns the United States and Israel against any attack on Iran as it prepares for the state funeral of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes on the first day of the war. “We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the US and the Zionist regime, to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country,” Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, says in a statement carried by state media. Funeral processions for Khamenei will begin on July 4 in Tehran and conclude on July 9 with his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and Iraq in-between these dates. Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi gave a similar warning that Tehran would deliver an immediate and powerful response to any threat against its people or leadership after comments by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz that Iran’s current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “marked for death.” Iranian media reported heightened security measures during the funeral period, while the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation said that temporary airspace restrictions would be implemented over several cities, including Tehran and Mashhad. Pedestrians walk past a poster showing the slain Iranian supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini on a sidewalk at the Islamic Revolution square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Live Update From the Liveblog of Thursday, July 2, 2026 Today, 10:46 am Protests and memorial events are being held throughout Israel this morning to mark 1,000 days since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel, the worst terror attack in the country’s history. Protests against the government are being held at numerous intersections. At Re’im, in the south, families of victims hold a memorial event at the scene of the Nova music festival massacre. The focus of many of the protests is the government’s refusal to set up a state committee of investigation, the country’s most powerful investigative body, to investigate the failures of Oct. 7. The government claims that due to its efforts to curb the powers of the judiciary, a state committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, will be biased against it. It has sought to form a government-appointed commission. Critics say the government fears it will be blamed for the disaster, and are outraged that it seeks to appoint its own investigators. https://twitter.com/i/status/2072576664987431124 Protesters demonstrate outside the Knesset in Jerusalem, during events marking the 1,000th day since the October 7 massacre, July 2, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Live Update From the Liveblog of Thursday, July 2, 2026 By Nurit Yohanan Today, 2:04 pm - Hamas says it has executed a Gaza resident accused of collaborating with Israel. The man is identified only by the initials M.M. According to the statement, the man collaborated with Israel and assisted in the killing of several senior Hamas figures, including the head of Hamas’s military wing, Izz al-Din Haddad, who was killed last May. I guess the hundreds of others killed are not considered executed so they are not mentioned.

A small civilian plane flew into the heart of Beijing—and the real story may not be the crash itself. Why wasn't it intercepted? Did Xi Jinping's purge of top generals cripple the PLA's command system? Could the military have deliberately stood down? This investigation examines the hidden cost of Xi's military purge, the fallout for Cai Qi, and why one aircraft may have exposed deep cracks inside China's security apparatus. https://www.youtube.com/live/3FLy6DgUy60?is=m6PHl_dL0ZLIkj_L