Category Archives: Israel

Airlines pay the price as no-go airspace increases due to global conflicts

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US strikes on Iran are adding to the pressure on carriers, which are having to avoid war-torn regions, lengthening routes and pushing up costs

With barely 48 hours elapsed since the US launched strikes against Iran, the swift resumption of near-normal service circumnavigating the war zone underlines that few crises, short of the global pandemic, have stopped airlines and their passengers flying for long.

British Airways had been planning to restart flights to the Middle East cities of Doha and Dubai again, after cancelling departures from Heathrow at the weekend. However, on Monday evening Qatar temporarily closed its airspace again as Iran launched a missile attack on US bases in the country.

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Oil prices sink after Iranian strike on US airbase reduces fears of market disruption

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Crude oil prices dropped by 7% on hopes that the conflict would not immediately disrupt region’s oil supplies

Oil prices dropped sharply after Iran’s retaliatory missile strike on a US airbase reduced concern that the country was poised to strain energy markets by closing off a vital trade route.

Crude oil prices sank by 7% on Monday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures dropping to $68.51, as the Iranian action on the Al Udeid base in Qatar raised hopes that the conflict would not immediately disrupt oil supplies from the region.

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Trump decision for US to strike Iran splits Maga supporters – US politics live

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Maga diehards caught between supporting efforts against nuclear proliferation and opposing American involvement in foreign conflicts

JD Vance has said the US is “not at war” with Iran – but is with its nuclear weapons program, holding out a position that the White House hopes to maintain over the coming days as the Iranian regime considers a retributive response to Saturday’s US strike on three of its nuclear installations.

In an interview Sunday with NBC News’ Meet the Press, the US vice-president was asked if the US was now at war with Iran.

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David Lammy refuses to say if UK supported US strikes on Iran nuclear facilities

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UK foreign secretary also sidesteps questions on legality of strikes and Donald Trump’s ‘regime change’ post

The UK foreign secretary has repeatedly refused to say if the UK supported the US military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday or whether they were legal.

Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday for the first time since the US launched airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, David Lammy also sidestepped the question of whether he supported recent social media posts by Donald Trump that seemed to favour regime change in Tehran, saying that in all his discussions in the White House the sole focus had been on military targets.

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From shipping, to proxies, to targeting US bases, Iran’s options to strike back are limited

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Trump has warned of broader US involvement in Israel’s war if Iran attempts to strike back against US military sites in the region

Iran had sought to deter Donald Trump from joining Israel’s bombing campaign with dire threats of retaliation, but its options now are limited and fraught with risk.

Iranian officials have said specifically that US ships and military bases would be targeted, but much of the capacity it had relied on as a deterrent has been stripped away over the past few days by Israeli strikes. Those strikes however, have focused on long-range ballistic missile launchers. Iran still has a formidable arsenal of shorter-range missiles and drones.

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Israel’s appetite for war in Gaza threatens its relationship with the European Union

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Scale of death and destruction in Gaza, and the violence of settlers in the West Bank, has shifted public opinion in the EU

In Israel, it can seem like only one other place really matters. Washington DC is on the other side of the world but provides Israel with weapons, the backing of the most powerful military in the world, and a critical diplomatic shield in forums like the United Nations.

Yet the country’s economy is bound far more closely to Europe than to the United States. A third of its trade is with the European Union, key academic work is supported by grants from the EU’s multi-billion dollar Horizon research fund, and it is the top destination for Israelis who want to travel.

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‘A shell fell metres away’: one man’s attempt to reach GHF food hub in Gaza

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Abdullah Ahmed was hit by shrapnel while on a desperate mission to feed his family

Just after midnight on Thursday morning, Abdullah Ahmed left his sleeping wife and children in their small and crowded home in the battered al-Bureij camp in central Gaza and headed north. The 31-year-old vegetable seller had heard that the nearby aid distribution site recently opened by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a secretive Israeli- and US-backed private organisation that began operations in the territory last month, would be handing out food at 2am.

To get there early and maximise his chance of grabbing a box of flour, oil, beans and other basics, Ahmed and some friends set out across the dangerous rubble-strewn roads.

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Iran’s proxy militias may be unable to help if Tehran opts to hit back at US

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Weakening of ‘axis of resistance’ forces leaves Iran with limited options if it chooses to retaliate

Iran’s proxy militias across the Middle East have yet to retaliate for the overnight strikes against the Islamic Republic and are sending mixed signals about their willingness to strike US targets – or even Israel – in the coming days.

The apparent reluctance or inability of such groups to come to Iran’s aid will limit Tehran’s options if decision-makers there opt to escalate the conflict with the US.

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How effective was the US attack on Iran’s nuclear sites? A visual guide

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Trump claims the assault ‘totally obliterated’ the key facilities, but what do we know about its impact?

Donald Trump was quick to claim that US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had “completely and totally obliterated” them. Still, it remains unclear how much physical damage has been done or what the longer-term impact might be on Iran’s nuclear programme.

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Trump raises specter of further attacks against Iran after US military operation

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President warned that Tehran must start peace negotiations with Israel and stop enriching uranium

Fresh from ordering military strikes on Iran, Donald Trump on Saturday raised the specter of further attacks against Iran if its leadership did not engage in peace talks in a sweeping and at times ominous televised late night address delivered from the White House.

The remarks suggested that the president, who has repeatedly said he wanted to bring peace to global conflicts, at least partly viewed the strikes against Iran’s enrichment facilities as a tactic to force negotiations – just days after he had suggested he would given Iran two weeks before deciding on an attack.

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Trump’s inner circle shifted view to support limited, one-off strike on Iran nuclear sites

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As Trump considered striking Iran, some advisers adjusted public arguments to suggest quick bombing run

Donald Trump’s move to bomb three nuclear sites in Iran came as those inside his orbit who were opposed to US intervention in the conflict shifted their views in favor of a limited and one-off strike.

The US president had been under immense pressure from Republican anti-interventionists not to engage in any action against Iran out of concern that the US might be dragged into a protracted engagement to topple Iran’s leadership, or that strikes on facilities might have limited success.

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Outcome of Israel’s war with Iran is uncertain even if US joins conflict

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American involvement is not guaranteed to secure Israel’s objectives – and may lead to unintended consequences

Israel’s assault on Iran, including its nuclear and ballistic weapons programme, is unlikely to secure its long-term strategic objectives, even if Benjamin Netanyahu manages to persuade the Trump administration into joining the conflict in the coming days and weeks, experts have said.

According to diplomats, military specialists and security analysts, Israel – and its prime minister – is likely to face mounting headwinds in the campaign, amid warnings that it risks dangerously destabilising the region.

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EU cites ‘indications’ Israel is breaching human rights obligations over conduct in Gaza

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Leaked document marks significant moment in relations with ally but stops short of calling for immediate sanctions

The EU has said “there are indications” that Israel is in breach of human rights obligations over its conduct in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for immediate sanctions.

“There are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under article 2 of the EU-Israel association agreement,” states a leaked document from the EU’s foreign policy service, seen by the Guardian.

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Macron lays out broad European offer for Iran to end war with Israel

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Proposal would cover uranium enrichment and ballistic missile programmes and aim to end terrorist funding

Europe is to make Iran a comprehensive offer to end its war with Israel that would include an Iranian move to zero uranium enrichment, restrictions on its ballistic missile programme and an end to Tehran’s funding of terrorist groups, Emmanuel Macron has said.

The proposals are surprisingly broad, spanning a range of complex issues beyond Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, and are likely to complicate any solution unless an interim agreement can be agreed.

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British nationals who want to leave Israel to be offered flights to UK, says David Lammy

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Foreign secretary says government will provide charter flights from Tel Aviv when airspace reopens

British nationals who want to leave Israel will be offered charter flights from Tel Aviv as soon as airspace reopens, the government has said.

With the conflict with Iran continuing, Whitehall officials have been working to organise escape routes for the thousands of British and dual nationals in Israel.

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Fear and shock in Iran: ‘I’m constantly afraid a missile might hit my home’

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Anahita, a Tehran resident in her 30s, tells of fleeing the city, surging inflation and her hopes for regime change

The greatest impact of this war is fear and anxiety. We don’t know whether this situation will last for weeks, months or even years. Our lives have been thrown off routine, I spend most of my time just reading the news. I’m constantly afraid that a missile might hit my home, my city or the homes of my relatives and friends in other places.

I get the news from X and Instagram because we don’t have any reliable news networks and broadcasts that are not censored by the regime. We follow the updates through videos shared by people from different parts of the country on social media. The internet in Iran has become very slow and it was completely down yesterday [Wednesday].

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Trump denies approving Iran attack plan but will make decision ‘within two weeks’

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President denies report in Wall Street Journal and says newspaper has ‘no idea’ of his plans for Israel and Iran

Donald Trump has denied a report in the Wall Street Journal that he has approved US plans to attack Iran, saying that the news outlet has “no idea” what his thinking is concerning the Israel-Iran conflict.

He also confirmed, later on Thursday, via his press secretary, that he’d be making a decision within the “next two weeks”.

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What are the legal issues around Britain helping Trump bomb Iran?

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Keir Starmer is weighing up whether to back the US and – as a lawyer – will be aware of the legal landscape

As Keir Starmer considers whether Britain should support the US if Donald Trump decides to bomb Iran, the attorney general, Richard Hermer, has reportedly warned him that UK involvement could be illegal. The prime minister was an outspoken opponent of the Iraq war when he was a human rights lawyer in 2003 and will be well aware of the thorny legal issues around engagement in strikes against Iran.

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Protest at Sydney synagogue wasn’t targeting ‘religious event’ but Israel Defense Forces speaker, court told

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NSW Labor’s anti-protest laws protecting places of worship have ‘chilling effect’ on democracy, Palestine Action Group barrister tells supreme court

A protest outside a Sydney synagogue – which was the “catalyst” for the New South Wales government introducing anti-protest laws designed to curb antisemitism – was targeting an event where a member of the Israel Defense Forces was speaking, a court has been told during a constitutional challenge.

The Palestine Action Group is challenging in the NSW supreme court the Minns Labor government’s controversial laws giving police broad powers to restrict protests.

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Fears voiced as Britons in Israel advised to stay while embassy families depart

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UK Foreign Office causes confusion as it urges British nationals to register their presence but not to leave

The UK government removed families of Foreign Office officials from Israel due to security concerns but is continuing to advise British nationals to remain and to follow local guidance – prompting questions over whether the approaches are consistent.

While the dependants of diplomatic staff have left as a “precautionary measure”, with staff remaining at the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem, the broader travel advice has not changed.

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