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Danish police said on Wednesday morning that they were investigating two blasts in the vicinity of Israel’s embassy in Copenhagen.
“No one has been injured, and we are carrying out initial investigations at the scene,” Copenhagen police said in a statement. They said a “possible connection” to the Israeli embassy, which is located in the area, was being investigated.
Continue reading...Top Israeli diplomat at UN warns his country’s retaliation for Iranian missile attack will be heavier than Tehran ‘could ever have imagined’
Joe Biden has said he would not support an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites, as the US sought to temper Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack on Tuesday and contain a rapidly escalating regional conflict.
Biden’s comments came after the top Israeli diplomat at the UN warned his country’s retaliation for an Iranian salvo of nearly 200 ballistic missiles would be heavier than Tehran “could ever have imagined”.
Continue reading...First charter flight has left Beirut, says David Lammy, with officials planning ‘sea and air’ rescues if situation worsens
The UK has laid on a charter flight to evacuate Britons from Lebanon and said it is ready to commission more for the 5,000 nationals and their dependants remaining in the country.
Beirut’s international airport remains open but ministers and officials are preparing contingency plans for sea and air rescues via Cyprus should the security situation in Lebanon deteriorate to the point at which commercial flights are stopped.
Continue reading...Most of the defensive effort appears to have been undertaken by Israeli air defence systems
Quiet planning by the US, UK and other allies to help Israel repel an Iranian long-range attack have been going on for several months or more – but most of the defensive effort appears to have been undertaken by Israeli air defence systems.
The only reported military engagements in support of Israel were a dozen interceptors fired by two US warships in the eastern Mediterranean, while Jordan said its own air defence systems and air force were involved in targeting Iranian missiles.
Continue reading...In separate incident, Swedish police launch investigation after shots fired at Israeli embassy in Stockholm
Police in Denmark and Sweden are investigating after hand grenades were thrown near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen and shots were fired at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Three Swedish men were arrested in the Danish capital on Wednesday on suspicion of involvement in two explosions near the Israeli embassy at 3.20am in the Copenhagen district of Hellerup.
Continue reading...Iran sends more than 180 ballistic missiles in dramatic escalation of conflict
Israel has vowed to retaliate after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at targets across Israel in a dramatic intensification of a conflict that appeared to be escalating out of control.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it,” Benjamin Netanyahu told a meeting of his security cabinet late on Tuesday. “The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies.”
Continue reading...High-risk assault reflects Iranian elite’s belief that restraint after assassination of Ismail Haniyeh was strategic mistake
Iran said its supreme leader made the decision to fire dozens of missiles into Israel as retaliation for the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the recent killings of leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, two of the main groups in Iran’s so-called axis of resistance.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said the decision had been made by Ali Khamenei with the backing of the supreme national security council (SNSC) and the Iranian defence ministry.
Continue reading...President directed the military to aid Israel’s defense against any future assaults as US ‘fully supportive’ of ally
Joe Biden has reaffirmed US support for Israel after Iran’s ballistic missile attacks, describing the barrage as “defeated and ineffective” and ordering the US military to aid Israel’s defense against any future assaults.
“The attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective, and this is a testament to Israeli military capability and the US military,” the US president told reporters on Tuesday after Tehran launched an unprecedented salvo of 180 high-speed ballistic missiles.
Continue reading...Despite launching 180 ballistic missiles, Iran is likely to have wanted to keep most of its stock in case of a full-blown war with Israel
Iran’s decision to launch about 180 high-speed ballistic missiles at Israel indicates that Tehran sought to inflict serious damage in Tuesday’s night attack, unlike the well-telegraphed drone and missile attack in April.
Their sheer speed makes ballistic weapons challenging to intercept, but the initial reports of no fatalities within Israel and one in the West Bank would suggest despite the numbers of missiles launched it was a military failure, though some of the weapons or fragments appear to have struck the ground.
Continue reading...As forces of restraint in the Middle East weaken with every passing day, Israeli officials declare Iranian attack a declaration of war
The sight of missiles descending on Tel Aviv on Tuesday night was the clearest sign imaginable that the regional conflict so widely feared over the past year may finally have ignited.
This is the second Iranian aerial attack on Israel in less than six months, but last time there was several days’ notice; the much slower drones and cruise missiles arrived first, and the principal target was a military base in the underpopulated Negev desert.
Continue reading...Two men reportedly opened fire and stabbed people on train and in nearby street before being shot dead
Six people were killed and 10 wounded in a shooting and knife attack on the Israeli seaside city of Jaffa that occurred minutes before Iran launched a huge missile attack on Israel. Five of the wounded were described as being in a serious condition.
CCTV footage showed two men, reportedly armed with an assault rifle and a knife, dressed in black emerging from a train near the light-rail stop along Jerusalem Boulevard where they opened fire on passersby as well as on a second nearby street.
Continue reading...Oil prices rose by more than 4% as Israeli troops moved into Lebanon and Iran launched missiles on Israel
As Israeli troops moved into Lebanon and Iran launched a missile attack on Israel, the risk of a jump in oil prices that could trigger another global inflation shock appeared to be materialising.
Oil prices rose by more than 4% to about $75 a barrel on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Exclusive: police will ask state supreme court to prevent the protests due to safety concerns as Palestine Action Group says it ‘unequivocally opposes’ move
The organisers behind the weekly pro-Palestine protests have criticised New South Wales Police for their decision to apply to the state’s supreme court to prevent two rallies from going ahead on 6 and 7 October.
Palestine Action Group (PAG) had informed police of the protests and submitted the required paperwork request, known as form 1, for both.
Continue reading...Home affairs minister says he will cancel visas of people waving Hezbollah flags at rallies as experts point to nuanced community perspectives on group
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has accused Peter Dutton of seeking to “raise the temperature” of public debate over conflict in the Middle East, after protests on the weekend included some people holding the Hezbollah flag.
The opposition leader on Monday suggested parliament should be recalled to enact new anti-terror laws that would cover such actions, if it was not already illegal.
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Continue reading...IDF says it has launched raids on villages close to the border ‘that pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities’, as Lebanon says Israeli strikes have killed 95 people in past 24 hours
The Israeli military has begun a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, it has said, as it continued shelling areas close to the border and carrying out airstrikes on the capital, Beirut.
“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] began limited, localised, and targeted ground raids based on precise intelligence against Hezbollah terrorist targets and infrastructure in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement on X early on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Israel tells US state department it is targeting infrastructure just inside Lebanon, while Beirutis are urged to evacuate
Israeli forces appeared to have launched what sources called “limited ground operations” targeting Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon, US and other officials said late on Monday.
“This is what they have informed us that they are currently conducting, which are limited operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure near the border,” the state department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, told journalists.
Continue reading...Caretaker PM ‘trying to fill the gaps’ amid mass displacement of people from their homes
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, announced on Monday that he would meet donor countries to seek additional funding for Lebanon’s growing displacement crisis, as hundreds of thousands of people fled Israel’s widening aerial campaign.
“We are trying as much as possible to fill the gaps; as I said yesterday, it is not an easy process,” Mikati said, announcing that he would ask donors on Tuesday to give money to Lebanon through the UN.
Continue reading...An emboldened Israel appears to believe it can safely ignore a lame duck US president and grab the chance to reset the Middle East’s security dynamics
The Biden administration is losing influence over whether Benjamin Netanyahu launches a ground invasion into southern Lebanon or not.
For more than a year, Joe Biden and his senior advisers have managed to forestall an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon in fear of a larger war that could envelop the entire Middle East.
Continue reading...Naim Qassem claims Israel is committing massacres of civilians in Lebanon with US support; unconfirmed reports of blasts heard in Syrian capital
Here is the video clip of US president Joe Biden saying “a broader war in the Middle East had to be averted”. Despite diplomatic efforts the US, Egypt and Qatar have been unable to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza since the 2023 deal ended ten months ago on 30 November.
Itay Blumental, who is military correspondent at Israel’s Channel 11, reports on social media that the UAV intercepted earlier by Israel’s military was targeted at infrastructure in the Karish gas field out at sea. Israel’s military has also issued a video which it says shows the interception. The Karish gas field belongs to Israel as part of a deal brokered with Lebanon over disputed waters in 2022.
Continue reading...Palestine Action says papers show ministers attempted to sway police and prosecutors to crack down on protesters
Internal government documents show that Home Office ministers and staff tried to influence police and prosecutors to crack down on activists targeting the UK factories of an Israeli arms manufacturer, campaigners have claimed.
Briefing notes, obtained through freedom of information (FoI) requests by Palestine Action, show details of government meetings, predating the 7 October Hamas attacks and Israel’s response in Gaza, intended to “reassure” Elbit Systems UK, an Israeli arms manufacturer, which is subject to a direct action campaign by the campaign group.
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