Middle East latest: Israel warns Iran it could end up like Gaza as it considers response to missile attack
Israel claims it is only targeting Hamas and Hezbollah military sites despite significant civilian casualties
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Israel’s defence minister has warned that Iran could end up like Gaza as it considers how to respond to Tehran’s unprecedented ballistic missile attack.
Yoav Gallant, a key ally of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the Iranian attack, which involved 180 ballistic missiles, had failed to do significant damage.
But warning against further assaults, he added: “Whoever thinks that a mere attempt to harm us will deter us from taking action should take a look at Gaza and Beirut.”
It comes as Israel is considering how to respond to Iran’s missile attack. US president Joe Biden has urged Israel not to hit Iran’s oil facilities for fear of the knock-effect on global oil supplies.
Meanwhile, at least 26 people have been killed and 93 others wounded after Israeli airstrikes targeted a mosque and a school sheltering displaced people in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run health ministry has said.
The strikes on the mosque and the school, near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, came as the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the enclave approaches its first anniversary tomorrow.
Israel expands strikes to northern Lebanon as more than one million people flee their homes
Israel has expanded its intense bombing campaign in Lebanon, pounding a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the country and unleashing dozens of strikes on the suburbs of Beirut.
Israeli warplanes hit areas as far north as the Beddawi camp, outside the city of Tripoli, on Saturday. The strikes killed a member of Hamas’s military wing in Lebanon, along with his wife and two daughters, according to the Palestinian militant group.
Israel said he served Hamas’ executive authority in Lebanon and had been directing attacks in the occupied West Bank.
Bel Trew reports:
Israel expands strikes in Lebanon as more than one million people flee their homes
Israeli attacks continued on Saturday as rumours circulated over the fate of killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s successor, Hashem Safieddine
Eight strikes on Beirut late Saturday
At least eight strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs late on Saturday including close to the country’s main airport, according to Reuters witnesses, after the Israeli military issued warnings to residents of certain buildings in the area.
Huge blast rocks southern Lebanon
Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.
A series of strong explosions were reported near midnight after Israel’s military called on residents to evacuate areas in Beirut’s Haret Hreik and Choueifat neighborhoods.
‘Shame on you’ Netanyahu hits back at Macron for call for arms embargoes
“As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilised countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.
“Yet, President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said shipments of arms used in the conflict in Gaza should be stopped as part of a broader effort to find a political solution.
“I think the priority today is to get back to a political solution (and) that arms used to fight in Gaza are halted. France doesn’t ship any,” Macron told France Inter radio.
Israel will retaliate against Iran when the time is right, military spokesman says
Israel will retaliate against Iran for the missile attack launched by Tehran when the time is right, a military spokesman said on Saturday.
“The way in which we respond to this disgraceful attack will be in the manner, at the location and the timing which we decide, according to the political leadership’s instructions,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a broadcast statement.
Israeli military spokespersonconfirms two Israeli airbases were hit in Iran’s Tuesday attack, says air force and bases remain fully operational
IDF say Israel must continue strikes on Hezbollah
IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi says that Israel must continue to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“We must continue exerting pressure on Hezbollah and creating additional and lasting damage to the enemy.
“Without relief and without allowing a respite for the organization,” he says in remarks provided by the IDF.
Arrests made as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gather in London
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in central London on Saturday ahead of the anniversary of the 7 October attacks in Israel.
Officers have made 15 arrests so far, the Metropolitan Police said, as part of a “significant” policing operation across the capital in response to the planned protest and memorial events.
One person was arrested on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation, and there were seven arrests on suspicion of public order offences – three of which were allegedly racially aggravated.
Arrests made as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gather in London
Officers have made 15 arrests so far as part of a ‘significant’ operation, the Metropolitan Police said
25 people and 127 wounded in Friday strikes
Twenty five people were killed and 127 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon on Saturday, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs with a dozen airstrikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters. Tens of thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.
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