Israel-Iran strikes: Israel says attack on Iran over as its forces kill 129 people in Gaza and Lebanon
Israeli air strikes cause ‘limited damage’ says Tehran
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Israel attacked Iran with three waves of air strikes early Saturday, saying it was in response to the recent missile strikes from Tehran. The attack, which Israel described as “precise and targeted”, further escalates the conflict between the two adversaries and risks a wider war in the Middle East.
The attack began shortly after 2am local time as Iranian media reported explosions in Tehran and surrounding areas.
Iran’s air defences reportedly intercepted many of the Israeli drones and missiles over the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam, and Tehran said the attack caused only “limited damage”.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the attack had concluded and its objectives had been achieved.
Iran vowed a “proportional reaction” to the attack, with the local media reporting that it was forthcoming.
The US said Israel’s overnight strikes should end the direct exchange of fire between the two countries and warned Tehran of “consequences” should it respond.
Israel, meanwhile, continued to attack Gaza and Lebanon, with its military killing at least 88 Palestinians and 41 Lebanese on Friday, Al Jazeera reported.
Saudi Arabia condemns military targeting of Iran as 'violation of its sovereignty', state news agency says
Saudi Arabia condemned the military targeting of Iran as a “violation of its sovereignty” and international laws, urging all parties to exercise maximum restraint and calling on the international community to take action towards de-escalation and ending conflicts in the region.
Blinken urges ceasefire talks as tensions rise in the Middle East
US secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati and other regional leaders in London on Friday, pushing for renewed diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Blinken highlighted the “sense of real urgency” to achieve a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reported the Washington Post.
He urged for “the full implementation” of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the framework established in 2006 to end major hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. The discussions with Lebanon also focused on concerns over civilian casualties and the US’s continued support for Lebanon’s armed forces and United Nations peacekeepers, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
The talks come ahead of scheduled US-Israeli negotiations in Qatar, where Mossad director David Barnea is expected to join CIA director William J Burns and Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Sunday to discuss potential ceasefire conditions.
The upcoming diplomatic push follows the recent death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whom US officials had identified as a key obstacle in ceasefire talks.
Israeli military kills three journalists in southern Lebanon
An Israeli air strike killed at least three journalists in southern Lebanon, striking their accommodation near Hasbaiyya, an area removed from active fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. The attack occurred at around 4am local time on Friday and killed two cameramen and a technician as they slept, with no prior warning given, according to eyewitness accounts.
Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from southern Lebanon, described the attack as “a very serious incident”, noting that Hasbaiyya was under no evacuation orders and remained “relatively calm” until the strike. The slain journalists were identified as Ghassan Najjar, a cameraman, and Mohamed Reda, an engineer with Al Mayadeen, a pan-Arab news channel. Al-Manar TV, affiliated with Hezbollah, confirmed the third victim as its own camera operator, Wissam Qassim.
Eyewitnesses said the bungalow housing the journalists was directly hit.
Lebanon’s information minister, Ziad Makary, condemned the killing of the journalists as “a war crime”, asserting that it amounted to “an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with premeditation and planning”.
According to Makary, 18 journalists from seven media organisations were present in the area at the time of the attack.
Israel military issues a statement after attack on Iran
Israel military said the planes returned safely after striking military targets in Iran, adding that the retaliatory strike has been completed and objectives achieved.
The sites targetted by IDF included missile manufacturing facilities used by Iran in its attack on Israel over the past year, said Israel.
Israeli airstrike attacks Syrian military targets, Sana says
Israel targeted some military sites in Syria’s central and southern parts with airstrikes early on Saturday, Syrian state news agency Sana reported. Israel has not confirmed striking Syria.
US warns Iran against responding to Israeli attack
The White House indicated that Israel’s strikes on Iran should end direct exchange of fire between the two enemy countries, while warning Tehran of “consequences” should it respond.
A senior White House official said the administration believed the Israeli operation should “close out” the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran, and said other allies were in agreement.
United States president Joe Biden was updated throughout the day on Friday as the operation was developing and by his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, as the operation was carried out by the Israelis, the official said.
The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the Israeli operation “was extensive, it was targeted, it was precise”. The official underscored that the U.S. had no involvement in the strike.
US was notified by Israel in advance, official says
Israel said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defence minister Yoav Gallant and other security officials were closely following the operation at the military’s command and control centre in Tel Aviv.
Mr Gallant spoke to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin shortly after Israel’s response began, a US defence official said.
The United States was notified by Israel ahead of its strikes on targets in Iran but was not involved in the operation, another US official told Reuters.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken, in the Middle East for another attempt to broker a peace deal, said on Wednesday Israel’s retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.
Even as it sought to convince Israel to calibrate its strikes, the United States moved to reassure its closest ally in the Middle East that it would aid in its defence should Tehran decide to stage a counter-attack.
This included Biden’s decision to move the US military’s Thaad anti-missile defences to Israel, along with about 100 US soldiers to operate them.
Iran plays down strikes
Iranian state TV quoted a military spokesperson as saying the explosions heard in Tehran were linked “to air defense systems reacting to efforts by the Zionist regime to attack three locations outside the city of Tehran”.
Footage carried by Iranian media showed air defences continuously firing at apparently incoming projectiles in central Tehran, without saying which sites were coming under attack.
The semi-official Iranian Fars news agency said several military bases in the west and southwest of Tehran had been targeted.
Iran cancels flights amid Israel attack
A spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation said flights on all routes were cancelled until further notice, state news agency IRNA reported.
Neighbouring Iraq also suspended flights in all of its airports until further notice, its state news agency said.
Iran says Israeli attacks thwarted, caused 'limited damage'
Iran said its air defence system successfully countered Israel’s attacks but that “limited damage” was caused to some locations.
In a statement, the Iranian air defence said Israel attacked military targets in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam.
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