Iran Attacks Israel Latest News Live: The Israeli Air Force (IAF) announced on Thursday that one of its strikes was aimed at “targets belonging to Hezbollah’s Intelligence Headquarters in Beirut, including terror operatives belonging to the unit.” A day after Israeli troops and Hezbollah militant group engaged in ‘close-range’ clashes in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that they had killed 15 Hezbollah militant groups in a strike on a municipality building in the region. A separate Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut has killed nine people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Meanwhile, the IDF has issued a warning to residents of over 20 more towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately.
What’s the ground situation? More than 1,900 people have been killed and over 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said about 1.2 million Lebanese had been displaced by Israeli attacks.
What’s India’s take on the situation? External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington DC and India while calling for “restraint by all concerned and protection of civilians.” advised all its nationals to “avoid all non-essential travel to Iran.” Meanwhile, the escalating conflict has increased the risk of trade disruptions, as Hezbollah shares close ties with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are responsible for the majority of the attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea route.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Thursday issued a warning to residents of over 20 more towns, in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately, including the city of Nabitieh, one of the largest cities in the south. "Evacuate your homes immediately. Be careful, you must not go south," an Israeli military spokesperson said in an X post.
The Israeli military had previously ordered 52 other villages inside Lebanon to evacuate, according to a report by The Guardian.
A view shows the runway of Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport as smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike. (Reuters)
A woman walks past damaged buildings and debris in the aftermath of a strike, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. (Reuters)
Smoke billows from Israeli bombardment, as seen from Tyre, southern Lebanon. (Reuters)
A drone view shows people standing around the apparent remains of a ballistic missile lying in the desert, following an attack by Iran on Israel, near the southern city of Arad, Israel. (Reuters)
The Israeli military said on Thursday it had "eliminated" Rawhi Mushtaha, the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, along with senior security officials Sameh al-Siraj and Sami Oudeh in strikes three months ago, reports Reuters.
Israel’s military has announced that in a strike “approximately three months ago” it killed three senior Hamas leaders, reports The Guardian.
Rawhi Mushtaha, the head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, Sameh al-Siraj, who held the security portfolio on Hamas’ political bureau and Hamas’ labor committee, and Sami Oudeh, commander of Hamas’ general security mechanism were killed three months ago, as per Israel.
Israeli military has said that it's struck a municipality building in Southern Lebanon's Bint Jbeil, killing at least fifteen Hezbollah members, reports Reuters.
After a halt in flight operations, flights in Iran have resumed on Thursday, says state media.
"Another sleepless night in Beirut. Counting the blasts shaking the city. No warning sirens. Not knowing what's next. Only that uncertainty lies ahead. Anxiety and fear are omnipresent," UN special coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, posted on X on Thursday.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced on Wednesday that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is banned from entering the country. This decision follows Guterres’s failure to unequivocally condemn Iran’s recent missile attack on Israel.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned Israel of a strong reaction if there’s any further escalation by the latter against it and has sought to rally Asian countries behind Tehran’s back as Pezeshkian visited Qatar on Wednesday.
Pezeshkian arrived in Qatar a day after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles on Israel and Israel also stepped up its rally of attack at Iran backed Lebanon based Hezbollah militant groups infrastructure.
On Wednesday, Biden joined a call with other leaders of the Group of Seven major powers to coordinate a response against the Iran's use of ballistic missiles against Israel, including new sanctions against Tehran, the White House said.
G7 leaders voiced "strong concern" over the Middle East crisis but said a diplomatic solution was still viable and a region-wide conflict was in no one's interest, a statement said.
Israeli forces on Monday (September 30) launched a “limited localised” ground offensive into Lebanon to target Hezbollah. The incursion marks the fourth time that Israeli soldiers have publicly entered Lebanese soil in nearly 50 years. It is also the first since Israel’s 34-day war in the country in 2006.
The Israel Defense Forces have urged residents of Lebanese villages who have evacuated their homes not to return until further notice. "IDF raids are continuing," spokesperson Adraee said on X on Thursday.
Lebanon’s foreign minister has claimed that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire pushed by the US and France just days before he was killed by an Israeli airstrike.
“He agreed, he agreed,” Abdallah Bou Habib told Christiane Amanpour in an interview on a CNN broadcast. He added, "We agreed completely... And they told us that Mr Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued by both presidents (Biden and Macron). "
Britain is urging nationals to leave Lebanon immediately, reports Reuters.
It has moved around 700 troops to Cyprus, bolstering its military assets, including two Royal Navy ships. On Wednesday, the UK chartered a flight to evacuate its nationals, and additional charter flights are to follow, diplomatic sources said, as per the report.
The Indian stock market plunged in early trade on Thursday with the Sensex dipping by 1,264.2 points to 83,456. The Nifty 50 index was also down 0.97% at 25,548.4 points. Twelve of the 13 major sectoral indexes declined at the open, with realty and auto stocks leading the losses. The decline in the benchmarks are in-line with Asian peers, which dropped 1.5% on the day.
US President Joe Biden announced earlier that he does not support an Israeli strike on Tehran’s nuclear sites in response to Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
When asked if he would back such a move, Biden firmly replied, “The answer is no.”
Following Iran’s launch of nearly 200 ballistic missiles, Israel’s UN diplomat warned that the country’s retaliation would be heavier than Tehran “could ever have imagined.”
The French Embassy in Iran has asked all its nationals to be wary of the developments in the Middle East and asked them to be careful in their travels to Iran, reports ANI.
Reuters is sharing a forecast of the Beirut skyline, where smoke is seen rising from buildings.
As per Lebanese health officials, at least 46 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on the city in the previous 24 hours, says The Guardian.
Australia is arranging evacuation flights from crisis-stricken Lebanon. Australian foreign minister Penny Wong has said her government has booked 500 seats on commercial aircraft for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their families to leave the coutry, reports The Guardian.
"Unfortunately, no leader, country or group of powers can nudge, influence and accomplish a ceasefire. Even countries that are at the forefront of anti-Israeli rhetoric are aware of the role of Hezbollah in bringing down the Lebanese state and its social cohesion. While the Iranian leadership has avoided the temptations of avenging Haniyeh’s assassination, Hezbollah is an easier option for the clergy to keep the tension boiling. Continuing tensions along the Gaza and Lebanon borders also provide a breather to Netanyahu to forestall any leadership challenge both within and outside the Likud," writes PR Kumaraswamy.
The widening of the conflict has increased the risk of trade disruptions, as Hezbollah shares close ties with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are responsible for the majority of the attacks on ships traversing the Red Sea route.
This assumes significance for India as it relies heavily on this route through the Suez Canal for its trade with Europe, the US, Africa, and West Asia, as these regions accounted for over $400 billion in FY23, according to Crisil Ratings. Read more
China called on the United Nations Security Council to take "urgent actions" to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, after Israel launched fresh air strikes on Lebanon. China's permanent representative, Fu Cong, said that the UN needed to make clear and unequivocal demands to stop the cycle of violence over the Israeli-Lebanon conflict, reported Reuters.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had warned Hezbollah leader Syyed Hassan Nasrallah to flee Lebanon days before he was killed in an Israeli strike, three Iranian sources have told news agency Reuters. In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Hezbollah's booby-trapped pagers on Sept. 17, Khamenei sent a message with an envoy to beseech the Hezbollah secretary general to leave for Iran, citing intelligence reports that suggested Israel had operatives within Hezbollah and was planning to kill him, one of the sources, a senior Iranian official, told Reuters.
The Israeli and Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations were embroiled in a war of words on Wednesday. As the Israel’s UN ambassador said that the “the time for empty calls for de-escalation is over”, Iran defended its launch of a barrage of missiles at Israel, saying it was necessary to “restore balance” in the region.
Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon told the UN Security Council that “Iran’s true face is one of terror, death and chaos.” “This is no longer a matter of words,” he said. “Iran is a very real and present danger to the world, and if they are not stopped, the next wave of missiles will not be aimed solely at Israel,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that the missile attack was “a necessary and proportionate response to Israel’s continued terrorist aggressive acts over the past two months.”
In case you’re tuning in right now, here’s a breakdown of where things stand now:
📌 Situation on the ground: Multiple blasts have rocked Lebanon since Wednesday night, with one in Beirut killing at least six people. Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have also engaged in fighting on the ground in southern Lebanon, both have confirmed.
Lebanon’s military said Wednesday an Israeli military force breached the border, reaching 400 meters into Lebanese territory before withdrawing. The IDF has sent evacuation orders to 51 villages in southern Lebanon, instructing residents to move north. The IDF also announced the death of eight Israeli soldiers who were killed in combat in Lebanon on Wednesday.
📌 What has been Israel’s take on the situation: Israel has barred United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres from entering the country. Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon over the past two weeks. Reacting to the missile barrage from Iran, Israeli military chief said. “We have the capability to reach and strike every location in the Middle East and those of our enemies who have not yet understood this, will understand this soon.”
📌 What Hezbollah has said: Following Iran’s missile attacks against Israel, Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammad Afif made his first public remarks on the developments. “For all those who doubted Iran’s stance after the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh until recent weeks have been smacked in the mouth by a big rock,” Afif said.
Hezbollah has claimed over two dozen attacks on Wednesday that mostly targeted Israeli troops amassing at the border in preparation for an invasion of south Lebanon.
📌 What Iran has said: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said while Iran does not seek war, it will deliver a “stronger response” if Israel retaliates. “We were left with no choice but to respond. If Israel wants to react, we will have a stronger response,” Pezeshkian said. Countries that helped block missiles targeting Israel will “be held responsible,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday.
The Iranian envoy to the UN also defended the missile attack, saying it was a “necessary and proportionate response” to Israel’s “aggressive acts” in the Middle East.
An American from Dearborn, Michigan, was killed in Lebanon in an Israeli airstrike, according to the man’s daughter quoted by news agency Reuters.
Democratic US Representative Rashida Tlaib's office said on Wednesday it was in touch with Kamel Ahmad Jawad's family, adding he was the Palestinian American congresswoman's constituent and a US citizen. His daughter, Nadine Jawad, said in a statement that her father was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon on Tuesday "while trying to save innocent lives." She added that in his final days, her father chose to stay near a hospital to help the elderly and the disabled.
After a day in which Israeli and Hezbollah troops clashed at close range in southern Lebanon, Israel bombed central Beirut in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least six people. Three missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud explosions were heard, Lebanese security officials said.
Israel has been fighting wars on multiple fronts — Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen — for months now and the recent strikes have only pushed the region towards escalation. The latest actions on multiple fronts have raised fears of a wider conflict that could draw in Iran as well as the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel. Follow our Live Blog for latest news and updates from the region.
Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs after a strike, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, October 3, 2024. (REUTERS)
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