Israel-Iran latest: Multiple blasts across Beirut as nine killed in airstrike on centre of Lebanon capital
Hezbollah says it detonated bomb against Israeli forces infiltrating village in southern Lebanon
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At least nine people have been killed after Israel launched an airstrike on Beirut, targeting a building near the parliament, in what is the closest an air assault has come to the central downtown district.
Lebanese health officials said 14 people were also wounded, while multiple blasts have been heard across the southern suburbs on Thursday.
The Israeli military have also issued fresh evacuation warnings for residents in 25 towns in the southern regions, urging them to leave immediately to “save your lives”.
It comes after Israel suffered its first military casualties in its ground invasion of southern Lebanon, with eight Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers killed in intense clashes against Hezbollah.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to defeat Iran’s “Axis of Evil”, saying: “We are at the height of a difficult war... we will stand together and with God’s help, we will win together.”
Hezbollah confirmed it was engaged in clashes with Israeli forces, claiming to have destroyed three Israeli Merkava tanks.
The Israeli military fired at a Lebanese army post in southern Lebanon on Thursday, killing a Lebanese soldier, with the Lebanese army reportedly firing back for the first time since last October because the post was hit.
Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden stated that the US would not support an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites, following Tehran’s missile attack on Israel.
Biden says US ‘discussing’ Israeli oil field strikes
US President Joe Biden has said “we are discussing that” when asked whether he would support Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities.
Reporters put the question to Biden as he left the White House on Thursday, with the US president appearing to hesitate at the end of his answer.
The BBC reports Biden’s words caused the price of crude oil to surge 5 per cent to $77 a barrel.
Dozens of health workers killed in Lebanon over past day, WHO says
At least 28 on-duty medics have been killed in the past 24 hours in Lebanon, where Israel has launched airstrikes and sent troops to fight Hezbollah in an escalating conflict, the World Health Organization chief said on Thursday.
"Many (other) health workers are not reporting to duty and fled the areas where they work due to bombardments," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online press briefing, calling for stronger protections for health workers.
"This is severely limiting the provision of mass trauma management and continuity of health services," he said.
The global health agency will not be able to deliver a large planned shipment of trauma and medical supplies to the country on Friday due to flight restrictions, he added.
WHO's representative in Lebanon Dr Abdinasir Abubakar told the briefing that all of the healthcare workers killed in the past day had been on duty, helping with the wounded.
A total of nearly 2,000 people have been killed, including 127 children, and 9,384 injured since the start of Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the last year, the country's health ministry said.
"Hospitals have been already evacuated. I think what I can say for now is the capacity for mass casualty management exists, but it's just a matter of time until the system actually reaches its limit," said the WHO's Abubakar.
Israel fires at Lebanese army post and Lebanese forces ‘fire back for first time’
Israel has fired at a Lebanese army post in southern Lebanon, with Lebanese forces reportedly firing back for the first time.
The Israeli fire in the town of Bint Jbeil on Thursday killed a Lebanese soldier, raising to two the number of members of the Lebanese military killed.
The Telegraph reported a military official told AFP this was the Lebanese army’s first response to Israeli fire since last October and came about because the post was “directly” hit.
The Lebanese army said in a statement that troops "open fire at the source of" the attack. It did not elaborate.
A Lebanese security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of regulations, said that the army post was hit by artillery fire.
Rockets, missiles and the Iron Dome: who calls the shots in the Middle East?
Escalating retaliatory strikes signify the severity of the situation between Israel and Iran. Tuesday’s strike was more aggressive than the April response by Iran to the Israeli strike on their consulate in Damascus, which killed Mohammed Zahedi, the IRGC commander of the Quds Force.
April’s attack consisted of 300 drones, which were largely neutralised by Israel’s Iron Dome, the joint US-Israeli aerial protection system that shoots down rockets. Tuesday night’s attack consisted of approximately 180 ballistic missiles delivering a more devastating payload, albeit countered in part by the Iron Dome.
Even Iran could not have anticipated the vehemence with which Israel would respond to the 7 October attacks. Israel’s latest switch to focus on the systematic dismantling of Hezbollah’s senior leadership in a single week has left Iran’s quest for regional hegemonic control in tatters. But whilst Hezbollah’s leadership is wounded, the force should not be underestimated.
Read the full analysis from Mike Crofts here:
Rockets, missiles and the Iron Dome: who calls the shots in the Middle East?
With the conflict having reached a new and extremely dangerous phase, former British army officer Mike Crofts weighs up the effectiveness of each side’s weaponry – and how they might use it next
Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli military industries base in Haifa Bay
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said on Thursday it targeted Israel‘s “Sakhnin base” for military industries in Haifa Bay with a salvo of rockets.
Israeli military says it has struck 200 Hezbollah targets
The Israeli military has said that it had struck around 200 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts, killing at least 15 Hezbollah fighters.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters detonated a roadside bomb when Israeli forces entered the Lebanese border village of Maroun el-Ras, kiling and wounding soldiers. It was not possible to independently confirm the claims made by either side. So far, ground clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have been confined to a narrow strip along the border. But hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, as Israel has warned people to evacuate from dozens of villages and towns in the south.
Black smoke rises from Lebanon's Beirut skyline
UAE flight delays: How is the unfolding Middle East conflict affecting international flights?
The late afternoon Emirates flight from London Heathrow to Dubai has an advertised connection to Bangkok of just one hour. Normally 60 minutes is sufficient for extricating passengers (and, separately, their checked baggage) from the world’s biggest passenger plane, the A380, and enabling them to board another SuperJumbo at a different gate at the airport that handles more international travellers than any in the world, all in the early hours of the morning.
But the remarkable, unrelenting choreography that allows millions of passengers to connect every day at Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi and many other hubs is under severe strain as a result of the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.
Read the full article here:
UAE flight delays: How is the Middle East conflict affecting international flights?
Exclusive: Airlines flying from Europe to the Gulf on Tuesday night into Wednesday experienced severe disruption
Ministers of Gulf states and Iran discuss de-escalation, say sources
Ministers from Gulf Arab states and Iran attending a meeting of Asian nations hosted by Qatar have discussed de-escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran, three sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The Gulf Arab states sought to reassure Iran of their neutrality in the conflict on the back of concerns that a wider escalation in violence could threaten Gulf oil facilities, two of the sources said.
What are Israel and Iran’s attack and defence capabilities?
Fears are rising of an all-out war across the Middle East in the wake of lran launching almost 200 ballistic missiles in an attack on Israel, marking a major escalation in the conflict between the two bitter enemies.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the missiles were launched in response to Israeli military troops military campaign against the Tehran-backed Hezbollah, including a ground invasion into Lebanon..
On 17 September, a series of exploding device attacks saw Hezbollah walkie talkies and pagers detonate, injuring more than 2,300 people and leading to a major escalation between the two countries.
Read the full article here:
What are Israel and Iran’s attack and defence capabilities?
The two bitter regional enemies are on the brink of all-out war
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