Category Archives: Israel

Fears of escalation mount after Israeli killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders

Posted on by

Iran vows revenge after airstrikes kill Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on same day as commander killed in Beirut

Iran has vowed revenge after airstrikes killed the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut in the space of 12 hours, as the dual Israeli assassinations crushed hopes for an imminent Gaza ceasefire and fuelled fears of a “dangerous escalation” in the region.

Israel did not directly claim the attack on Haniyeh, but there was little doubt among the country’s enemies, and its own politicians and analysts, about who was responsible.

Continue reading...

Who are the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed since 7 October attack?

Posted on by

Israel has launched series of targeted strikes after vowing to kill all operatives who planned last year’s assault

The airstrikes on the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran early on Wednesday morning, and on the Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut late on Tuesday were the latest in a series of targeted assassinations across the region.

Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for both attacks, has vowed to kill all Hamas leaders responsible for the 7 October 2023 attack and go after senior commanders from Iran and its militant allies.

Continue reading...

Humiliation of Haniyeh’s killing creates early crisis for Iran’s new president

Posted on by

Masoud Pezeshkian hoped to improve relations with the west, but calls for armed response will be hard to ignore

Avenging the assassination of the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is now Tehran’s duty as his killing occurred while he was a “dear guest” on Iranian soil, the country’s supreme leader has warned in his first reaction to the killing.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described Haniyeh’s killing, which Tehran views as a provocation designed to escalate the conflict in the Middle East, as a “bitter and difficult incident that happened in the territory of the Islamic republic”.

Continue reading...

Two US airlines suspend flights to Tel Aviv – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog has now closed. You can read our full report on the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukur here

The death of Haniyeh is damaging to Hamas, but he was not involved in the military operations on the ground in Gaza, and the group has survived past assassinations of its leadership.

In 2004, Israel killed both Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin and co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in attacks in Gaza.

This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas and the will of our people and achieve fake goals. We confirm that this escalation will fail to achieve its objectives.

Hamas is a concept and an institution and not persons. Hamas will continue on this path regardless of the sacrifices and we are confident of victory.

Continue reading...

Australian government scrambles to clarify stance on Golan Heights after Wong references ‘Israeli town’

Posted on by

Foreign minister’s ‘alarming’ phrasing echoes sovereignty recognised only by Israel and the US under the Trump administration, Palestine advocates say

The Australian government has insisted it still regards the Golan Heights as occupied territory after Penny Wong described the site of a weekend attack as a “northern Israeli town”.

The foreign minister’s statement was met with a flood of comments online asking why she had effectively recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights – which Israel seized from Syria in the six-day war in 1967 – and not described it as occupied.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Iran vows revenge after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Tehran

Posted on by

Death came hours after Israel said it killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut, fuelling fears of regional conflict

Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was killed by a strike in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday morning, only hours after Israel said it had killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

The dual assassinations are heavy blows to Hamas and Hezbollah, but also raise the stakes for Iran, which backs both groups and vowed revenge. They will fuel growing fears that the war in Gaza could escalate into a broader regional conflict.

Continue reading...

Israel claims it killed Hezbollah top commander in south Beirut airstrike

Posted on by

Lebanon foreign minister says attack came as shock after assurances of ‘limited response’ from Israel

Israel has claimed it killed Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fuad Shukur, in an airstrike on a south Beirut suburb launched in retaliation for a rocket attack that killed 12 children at the weekend.

Shukur, also known as Hajj Mohsin, served as right hand man to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Israel’s military spokesperson R Adm Daniel Hagari said in a late night briefing.

Continue reading...

IDF charges reservist with aggravated abuse of Palestinian prisoners

Posted on by

Indictment comes as nine other soldiers appear in Israeli military court over allegations of sexual abuse of detainee

Israel’s military has charged a reservist with aggravated abuse of Palestinian prisoners, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, as nine other soldiers appeared in military court for an initial hearing over allegations they had sexually abused a detainee from Gaza.

The new indictment alleges that the unnamed soldier, assigned to escort handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinians, used a baton and his assault rifle to attack prisoners on multiple occasions.

Continue reading...

‘Deep moral deterioration’ being normalised in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Posted on by

Ministers and mobs protesting at arrests for torture of Palestinians shows diminishing respect for rule of law and human dignity

The far-right mob attack on two Israel Defense Forces bases in support of soldiers accused of sexually torturing a detainee did not come out of the blue – the parallels to a 2016 incident were immediately obvious.

In March that year, Elor Azaria, an IDF soldier serving in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, calmly walked over to Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, an injured Palestinian knife attacker lying on the ground, and shot him in the head. A video of the killing released by a human rights group led to political uproar.

Both the political and military establishments in Israel have been willing to deny or turn a blind eye to the repeated allegations of torture at Sde Teiman

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Israeli military said 10 rockets had been fired from Lebanon and that one of them hit kibbutz HaGoshrim – as it happened

Posted on by

An Israeli civilian has been killed by rocket fired from Lebanon, Israel’s N12 news channel is reporting.

David Lammy has reiterated a warning to British citizens in Lebanon.

“My message to British nationals in Lebanon is clear – leave,” he said.

Continue reading...

Rockets fired from Lebanon kill one Israeli citizen amid retaliation fears

Posted on by

US diplomatic efforts to constrain Israel’s reaction continue as Benjamin Netanyahu vows a ‘harsh’ response

Two barrages of rockets fired from Lebanon have killed one Israeli civilian in a kibbutz and injured another person, in attacks likely to add to political pressure inside Israel for a strong strike against Hezbollah and complicate a US-led push to de-escalate regional tensions.

America has been leading a global diplomatic effort to deter Israel from hitting Beirut or Lebanese infrastructure in retaliation for a weekend rocket attack on the occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children as they played football.

Continue reading...

Israeli inquest into alleged abuse of Palestinian detainees sparks far-right fury

Posted on by

Arrest of IDF reservists suspected of abuse prompts confrontation at notorious detention base and outcry from MPs

An investigation by the Israeli military into the alleged abuse of a Palestinian detainee at a notorious military detention camp for prisoners captured in Gaza has sparked protests from members of Israel’s far right.

The Israeli military said on Monday the office of its advocate general ordered an inquiry “following suspected substantial abuse of a detainee” at the Sde Teiman facility, which holds Palestinian detainees, including alleged members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba forces involved in the 7 October attack.

Continue reading...

Tanker carrying jet fuel for Israel must not dock in Gibraltar, say MPs

Posted on by

Campaigners say overseas territory will be complicit in breach of international law if US vessel stops there

There is an overwhelming case for the UK to intervene to stop a US oil tanker carrying 300,000 barrels of jet fuel for use by Israel in Gaza from docking in Gibraltar, according to a letter from a cross-party group of MPs addressed to David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary.

Protests in Spain led by trade unionists and political activists have already resulted in the owners of the Overseas Santorini abandoning plans to dock in the Spanish port of Algeciras. According to Marine Traffic, the ship is now destined to reach Gibraltar at 3pm UK time on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Netanyahu says Israel will issue ‘harsh’ response to Golan Heights strike – as it happened

Posted on by

Israeli prime minister releases statement following visit to scene of strike in which 12 youngsters died

Hundreds of thousands of people have converged on Deir al-Balah, a small city in the centre of the Gaza Strip that is the only major area yet to be stormed, Reuters reports.

Many have been forced there by fighting in the ruins of Khan Younis further south since last week.

Continue reading...

Israeli drones hit southern Lebanon as tensions mount over Golan Heights attack

Posted on by

Two reported dead as Israeli officials weigh up response to rocket strike blamed on Hezbollah that killed 12 children

Israeli drones struck a remote road in southern Lebanon, underscoring tensions as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised a “harsh” response to the rocket strike on the occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children.

“The state of Israel will not and cannot let this pass. Our response will come, and it will be harsh,” he said during a visit to the remote town of Majdal Shams, a majority Druze village in a region annexed by Israel from Syria in 1981.

Continue reading...

UK should stop arming Israel after ICJ advisory ruling, top lawyer says

Posted on by

Exclusive: Philippe Sands KC says non-binding opinion will nevertheless be seen as ‘authoritative statement of law’

The UK should stop arming Israel in order to comply with the historic advisory opinion by the UN’s top court that member states should not “render aid or assistance” to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, a lawyer who represented Palestine has said.

In a broad and damning ruling published this month, the international court of justice (ICJ), found that Israel’s settlement policies and occupation of the territories were in breach of international law. It also said UN member states were under an obligation to neither recognise the occupation as lawful nor abet it.

Continue reading...

Global leaders try to dissuade Israel from increasing attacks on Lebanon

Posted on by

US backed Israel in blaming Hezbollah for strike on Golan Heights but is ‘working on a diplomatic solution’

Global leaders were engaged in intensive diplomacy on Sunday to dissuade Israel from increasing attacks on Lebanon, amid fears that a wider regional war could erupt in response to a rocket strike that killed 12 children playing football in the occupied Golan Heights.

As the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, convened a meeting of his national security cabinet, the White House backed Israeli statements that blamed Saturday’s attack on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying: “It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”

Continue reading...

Biden administration blames Hezbollah for ‘horrific’ Golan Heights rocket attack

Posted on by

National security council says attack that killed 12 children and teenagers ‘should be universally condemned’

The Biden administration formally placed blame on Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah for the rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers on a soccer field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday.

National security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the attack was “conducted by Lebanese Hezbollah. It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”

Continue reading...

‘It was indescribable’: Golan Heights town mourns 12 children killed in strike

Posted on by

Majdal Shams residents tell of scenes of horror after children who had gathered to play football were struck

The funeral lament rang out across Majdal Shams, from the centre of the town, from balconies and from rooftops. Thousands of mourners packed the narrow streets and squares, carrying small coffins covered in white shrouds to their final resting place.

Men from the town in the occupied Golan Heights, some wearing traditional white hats topped with red, linked arms and sung a mourners’ chant. “The mother cries: ‘Where is my son? Don’t say he is among the victims,’” they intoned. “Oh, children, tears are pouring from the eyes of girls and young men.”

Continue reading...

Israeli minister threatens ‘all-out war’ with Hezbollah after Golan Heights attack – as it happened

Posted on by

Israel warplanes carry out strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, in apparent retaliation for attack on occupied Golan Heights

The Lebanese government has asked the US to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon’s foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, has told Reuters.

Bou Habib said the US had asked the Lebanese government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Sunday he does not want to see an escalation of conflict.

Continue reading...